Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu and his companions reach Dingya Temple with the bridal sedan, but the villagers block their retreat and demand that they bring the bride inside as an “Attendant” for the Three Joys Goddess.
• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin attack the villagers, revealed to be Corpse Charms. They cut down the creatures outside the temple, though Chen Mu expects them to return unless the illusion is broken.
• Inside the ruined hall, the villagers worship a mass of black flesh, cutting pieces from it and eating it—even as maggots burst from the meat. They claim the flesh comes from the Three Joys Goddess and insist an Attendant is needed for further blessings.
• The flesh awakens and forms a colossal, decayed woman with a long, scaled neck. Despite her grotesque body, she speaks with apparent compassion and asks for the Attendant.
• When a villager tries to fetch the bride, Chen Mu kills him and uses a powerful lightning-based saber strike to destroy the remaining Corpse Charms.
• The Goddess then offers the group meat, which instantly grows back on her body and gives off an enticing fragrance. Bai Jingwen and the others succumb to its appeal and rush toward it, leaving them vulnerable as the chapter ends.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains composed and decisive. He recognizes the danger of the temple’s apparent “mercy,” protects the bride from being presented, and reveals a formidable ability that impresses the others.
• Xiao Wenbin is eager to destroy the demon, but accepts Chen Mu’s warning to look more carefully. He is surprised by Chen Mu’s new power and acknowledges his recent progress.
• Bai Jingwen, Wang Yong, and Lu Qian shift from fear to awe after Chen Mu’s intervention, but they are ultimately overcome by the Goddess’s magically tempting food.
• The villagers are shown as fanatical and corrupted: they treat the grotesque flesh as a blessing and willingly consume it despite its horrifying contents.
• The Three Joys Goddess presents herself as merciful and sorrowful, yet demands an Attendant and uses irresistible food to draw people into her influence.

Significant themes

• False mercy and corrupted worship: The Goddess’s gentle words disguise a monstrous bargain, while the villagers’ devotion masks exploitation and horror.
• Hunger as a means of control: The promise of food and relief from hunger makes the victims willing to ignore—or embrace—the grotesque source of their meal.
• Illusion and vigilance: The companions must distinguish apparent kindness and familiar human behavior from the supernatural danger beneath them.
• Moral responsibility: Chen Mu rejects the villagers’ ritual and intervenes before the bride can be sacrificed, while the villagers’ devotion makes them complicit in the horror.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu takes command of the group, urging Xiao Wenbin to fight and later warning him not to attack the Goddess without understanding what lies inside the flesh.
• The villagers appeal to Chen Mu for protection at first, then turn on him when he prevents them from presenting the bride.
• Xiao Wenbin expresses admiration for Chen Mu’s power, reinforcing Chen Mu’s growing authority among the group.
• The Goddess addresses the intruders with apparent kindness, offering food in exchange for reverence; her words and the meat’s fragrance immediately overpower Bai Jingwen and the others.

Plot points and events

• An enormous, flesh-covered “Three Joys Goddess” tempts Chen Mu’s companions with an irresistible smell. Chen Mu breaks the enchantment with Demon-Banishing Violet Lightning, waking them and revealing the creature as black tai sui.
• He sends Xiao Wenbin, Bai Jingwen, and the constables outside, then destroys the monstrous flesh with the Spirit-Binding and General-Dispatching art, aided by A Zhu. A small, usable lump of black tai sui remains.
• Chen Mu explains that black tai sui is a rare spiritual substance with powerful regenerative and medicinal properties, but it can cause mutations if misused. The villagers had cultivated it as a “flesh field,” corrupting its energies with bloodshed and resentment.
• His spell reveals two spirits bound to the place: a red-robed older sister and a little girl named Xi’er. The older spirit recounts that famine-stricken villagers cooperated with evil monks at Dingya Temple, who raised tai sui by feeding it living victims.
• The monks targeted the two sisters for their supposed great blessings. The older girl was tortured and killed while being made into a “Joy God”; when the villagers later subjected Xi’er to the same treatment, her sister’s hatred bound them to the temple and trapped the village in its haunting.

Character developments

• Chen Mu shows composure and control, protecting his companions before confronting the threat alone. Though he could simply destroy the spirits to end the haunting, he chooses to hear their story, partly out of compassion for A Zhu’s concern.
• A Zhu recognizes the girls as spirits and urges Chen Mu to help them, revealing her sympathy and knowledge of mystic arts.
• Bai Jingwen recognizes the black tai sui, while Xiao Wenbin acts cautiously, escorting the others out and leaving Chen Mu to handle the danger.
• The older sister’s grief and fury emerge as the source of her vengeful haunting; little Xi’er remains gentle and tries to comfort her despite being dead.

Significant themes

• Greed turned blessing into calamity: the villagers’ attempt to exploit fortune, prosperity, and longevity through tai sui cultivation brought mutation, death, and haunting.
• Cruelty in famine: desperation does not excuse the villagers’ betrayal of the girls or their complicity with the monks.
• Grief, vengeance, and compassion: the sisters’ suffering fuels the haunting, while Chen Mu’s willingness to listen suggests a possibility of resolution beyond simply destroying them.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu’s lightning snaps his companions out of the creature’s hypnotic influence; he then protects them by sending them away.
• A Zhu silently lends Chen Mu her power and asks him to help the spirits.
• The older sister kneels before Chen Mu and recounts the betrayal and torture, while Xi’er tenderly tries to comfort her—even though her hand cannot touch her sister’s face.

Chen Mu learned how Feng Niang and Xi'er had been sacrificed and trapped in a cycle of torment, then helped the sisters resolve their final attachments and pass on. As their souls vanished, a strange crimson-and-gold spiritual light remained, leaving Chen Mu surprised.

• Feng Niang begged Chen Mu to help Xi'er pass on, and Xi'er asked to touch her sister again.
• Chen Mu bound Feng Niang and Xi'er in the Profound Thunder Cauldron, collected cleansed tai sui flesh, and found an ink-black scale in Dingya Temple.
• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin returned to Nine Parasol Village, where they killed the gathered corpse charms and other evil creatures.
• Chen Mu entered the well and found Feng Niang and Xi'er's uncorrupted bodies on stone slabs, still tormented by tai sui flesh and bloody wounds.
• Chen Mu released the sisters' souls into their bodies, and Feng Niang and Xi'er embraced before asking whether Xi'er could be reborn into a good family.
• Chen Mu reassured Feng Niang, and the sisters bowed, said their farewells, and vanished as a crimson-and-gold speck of spiritual light appeared.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu discovers that Feng Niang’s final remnant is a Red Lotus Karmic Flame Seed, forged from her resentment, Baleful Intent, and accumulated karmic slaughter. Recognizing its value, he stores it for later rather than refining it immediately.
• With the women’s souls gone, Nine Parasol Village rapidly collapses: its tree and houses rot away, while the sky turns dark and snow sweeps through. The trapped survivors awaken, and the skeletons beneath the village archway reveal the horror behind the place.
• Chen Mu reunites with Xiao Wenbin and the others. He sends the rescued survivors back toward the city with the constables, then leaves with Xiao Wenbin for Cloud Prefecture City to seek help for Everlasting Prosperity Town.
• The Slaughter Register rewards Chen Mu with gold, Seventh-Rank Marrow-Cleansing Pills, and Fire Phoenix True Blood for his actions in the village.
• Chen Mu summons the injured Shadow Leopard, Qishan, who has mostly refined the Corpse Venom in his body. The group rides through the snow toward Cloud Prefecture City.
• After they leave, Wei Wuji appears at the ruined village with several ravens, who address him as Fellow Daoist Wei. He reveals that he deliberately allowed Chen Mu to go because the trip will help set his plan in motion.
• Wei and the ravens intend to wait for the Snake Demon of Mangdang Mountain to be killed, then carry out a Blood Sacrifice of Cloud Province. Their larger aim is to Reforge the Primordial Embryo for the Imperial Princess. One raven also holds a grudge against Chen Mu for killing the Heaven and Earth corpses.

Character developments

• Chen Mu gains a powerful potential resource in Feng Niang’s flame seed and receives rewards that can strengthen his cultivation, but prioritizes the urgent mission over exploiting them.
• Xiao Wenbin remains focused on getting help for Everlasting Prosperity Town and trusts Chen Mu’s judgment.
• Qishan shows loyalty and resilience, recovering from the Heaven Corpse Daoist’s poison enough to travel.
• Wei Wuji emerges as a calculating antagonist whose apparent restraint is part of a larger scheme.
• The raven Daoist’s personal resentment toward Chen Mu foreshadows a future confrontation.

Significant themes

• Karma and transformation: Feng Niang’s suffering and violence become the Red Lotus Karmic Flame Seed, turning her death into both a lasting legacy and a source of power.
• The cost of evil: The village’s collapse exposes the remains of those consumed by its curse.
• Duty over reward: Chen Mu sets aside valuable prizes and presses on toward the larger crisis.
• Fate and manipulation: Wei Wuji speaks of fate while engineering events to serve his own plans.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin coordinate their next move, leaving the survivors in the constables’ care.
• Chen Mu checks Qishan’s condition and brings Xiao Wenbin along on the leopard’s journey.
• Wei Wuji explains his strategy to the ravens, who praise his foresight and share an enemy in Chen Mu.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin reach Cloud Prefecture City after traveling through the night. Acting on Liu Qingcang’s instructions, they intend to deliver a secret letter and request troops from Governor Chen Yanzhao.
• The city appears prosperous and peaceful, with busy streets and wealthy residents—an unsettling contrast to the dangers at the northern frontier.
• At a restaurant, they learn Governor Chen has been inspecting the northern military training ground. They head there immediately.
• The camp guards summon an armed squad, whose scarred leader treats the visitors with immediate hostility. Despite their explanation and offer of proof, he accuses them of being northern spies and orders them seized.
• Chen Mu senses through Divine Sense that the officer intends to kill them. He tries to withdraw with Xiao Wenbin, but the officer attacks with a deadly saber strike.
• Xiao Wenbin stays behind to protect Chen Mu and intercepts the attack with his iron abacus. Outmatched by the officer’s superior cultivation, he is nearly overwhelmed as the chapter ends.

Character developments

• Chen Mu remains composed and observant. He recognizes the officer’s murderous intent before the attack and quickly decides that arguing is pointless.
• Xiao Wenbin is cautious but loyal, ready to defend Chen Mu and the secret letter at personal risk.
• The scar-eyed officer is revealed as aggressive and seemingly determined to kill the two visitors, though his motive is not explained.

Significant themes

• Prosperity versus looming danger: Cloud Prefecture’s wealth and calm may be temporary, given the threat on the frontier.
• Power and vulnerability: Chen Mu’s mission depends on influential officials, but even reaching them proves dangerous.
• Suspicion and injustice: The officer labels the visitors spies without allowing them a fair hearing.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Xiao Wenbin’s instinct is to protect Chen Mu, even against a stronger opponent.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin work together to investigate the city and pursue Governor Chen, with Xiao Wenbin offering light humor about their shared surname.
• At the training ground, Xiao Wenbin attempts to explain their mission, while Chen Mu questions the officer calmly.
• When the confrontation turns violent, Chen Mu urges retreat; Xiao Wenbin instead turns to shield him, placing the secret letter and Chen Mu’s safety first.

Plot points and events

• General Deng’s cavalry confront Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin before they can explain why they have come. Chen Mu’s Nine-Nether Profound Thunder drives Deng back, and Chen Mu escapes with Xiao Wenbin on Qishan. Qishan’s lightning destroys the soldiers’ crossbow bolts, preventing pursuit.
• Deng orders the city gates sealed and the two men hunted, while insisting that news of the governor’s grave injuries and an attempted assassination be kept secret. He says that revealing the truth could plunge the city into chaos, especially with enemies outside its walls.
• Back in the city, Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin disguise themselves and investigate separately. Chen Mu questions a waiter at the Wind-Listening Tower, learning that the governor has recently been spending his days overseeing military drills and that his personal-guard commander is Zheng Hongyi, a prominent local who rarely leaves his side.
• Chen Mu suspects the governor is at the military camp and plans to sneak in after dark. He spends the remaining afternoon preparing to refine the Karmic Flame Seed he obtained in Nine Parasol Village.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu acts decisively under threat, prioritizing escape over a prolonged fight. He remains alert and resourceful, using disguise, questioning, and deduction to investigate the apparent deception.
• Xiao Wenbin trusts Chen Mu’s judgment and cooperates with the escape and their separate inquiries, though he is baffled by the soldiers’ hostility.
• General Deng is forceful and secretive. When a deputy questions his decision to seize the visitors, Deng makes clear that controlling information and preserving order matter more to him than hearing their explanation.
• The deputy voices reasonable doubts but ultimately obeys Deng. The waiter is helpful for pay, though he becomes wary when Chen Mu presses for information he does not have.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and political instability: The governor’s injuries and the possible assassination are concealed because disclosure could destabilize the city.
• Trust and suspicion: Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin’s identity claims are ignored, while Deng’s motives remain uncertain; the pair must investigate without knowing whom to trust.
• Prudence over confrontation: Chen Mu uses force only to create an opening, then escapes and gathers information rather than risking a larger battle.

Key plot points and events

• Unable to find any signs of trouble in the strangely quiet city, Chen Mu agrees on a contact signal with Xiao Wenbin and rents a secluded courtyard at the Cloud-Pasture Inn.
• Preparing carefully, he takes out the Karmic Flame Seed, twelve drops of Fire Phoenix True Blood, and a Fire Phoenix Demon Core, intending to strengthen his Divine Lihuo Eyes and advance his cultivation. He asks A Zhu to guard him.
• Chen Mu swallows the flame seed. Its scarlet fire forms a bladed lotus inside his dantian, injuring his meridians, but he eventually crushes it with repeated assaults of yin-and-yang True Qi.
• He consumes the Fire Phoenix True Blood, which tempers his flesh and bones and gives his upper body the first signs of “Jade Bone, Golden Marrow.”
• Using Karmic Slaughter to advance his inner art, Chen Mu breaks through to the fifth stage of Meridian Opening, then opens his Mouth Aperture. His old teeth fall out and are replaced by jade-hard ones. He reaches the sixth stage, with Astral Force now circulating automatically and forming armor beyond his skin.
• The cultivation surge stirs the Separation-Longing Demon Fire planted by Su Yue’e. Chen Mu deliberately releases it from the Nine-Nether Profound Thunder’s suppression and uses his Red Lotus Karmic Fire and Blood Essence to refine it.
• After absorbing the demon fire, Chen Mu draws the Karmic Flame back into his eyes. His Divine Lihuo Eyes advance to 2/9, unlocking the second manifestation: Emperor Heart Lotus-Seeding.

Character developments

• Chen Mu shows greater caution and discipline than during his previous flame refinement, preparing carefully and arranging for A Zhu to guard him.
• His cultivation advances from the fourth to the sixth stage of Meridian Opening, and his body begins its transformation through the marrow-washing process.
• He gains tighter control over dangerous flames, successfully absorbing both the Karmic Flame and the demon fire planted in him.

Significant themes

• Transformation through ordeal: Painful fire refinement and the loss of his old teeth mark Chen Mu’s physical and spiritual remaking.
• Control over dangerous power: Chen Mu turns hostile, volatile flames into sources of strength through discipline and force of will.
• Progress at a cost: Each advance brings greater power but also risk, as the flames threaten to damage his body and stir his emotions.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu coordinates with Xiao Wenbin by agreeing on a contact signal before entering seclusion.
• He relies on A Zhu as a guard and consults him before beginning.
• Su Yue’e’s earlier act of planting the Separation-Longing Demon Fire continues to affect Chen Mu, though he ultimately absorbs and neutralizes it.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu’s divine ability advances into Divine Lihuo Eyes: Emperor Heart Lotus-Seeding, combining Red Lotus Karmic Fire with Separation-Longing Demon Fire. Its flames are nearly impossible to extinguish and grow stronger by consuming Karmic Slaughter—including an enemy’s. He can also briefly bewitch weaker opponents by planting a spark in their Spirit Platform.
• After stabilizing his Blood Essence, Chen Mu reviews his progress. His fighting skills have improved, but he feels his techniques are scattered and inadequate against formidable foes such as Yan Qing. He considers refining them into a more powerful martial art later.
• When Senior Brother Xiao Wenbin fails to return at the agreed time, Chen Mu suspects trouble. He leaves a note and mark at the inn, then sneaks through the city at night to investigate the Military Camp.
• Avoiding hidden sentries, Chen Mu enters the camp and observes its defenses. He overhears soldiers say that Commander Zheng captured a spy from Everlasting Prosperity Town and that the prisoner has been locked in the dungeon—strong evidence that Xiao has been captured.
• Chen Mu approaches a five-man patrol and uses his new ability. The soldiers become dazed, mistake him for Commander Zheng, and kneel to pay their respects.

Character developments

• Chen Mu gains a potent new combat ability and quickly identifies how its fire and brief mind-bewitching effect might help him in battle. He also shows caution and initiative, investigating Xiao’s absence rather than waiting passively.
• Chen Mu recognizes that his broad collection of martial arts lacks focus and that he needs stronger, more integrated techniques to face powerful opponents.
• Xiao Wenbin does not appear directly, but the soldiers’ report suggests he has been captured and imprisoned.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu and Xiao’s planned meeting is disrupted by Xiao’s disappearance, prompting Chen Mu to act.
• Chen Mu overhears patrol soldiers discussing the captured spy, then confronts another patrol and uses his new ability to make its members believe he is their commander.

Significant themes

• Power with a cost and a resource: Karmic Fire is extraordinarily destructive, but it depends on Karmic Slaughter as fuel.
• Adaptation and strategy: Chen Mu evaluates his new ability, uses stealth to penetrate a guarded camp, and exploits the patrol’s confusion rather than fighting openly.
• The limits of strength: Despite his breakthrough, Chen Mu recognizes that varied techniques alone are not enough against exceptional foes.
• Deception and perception: The chapter ends with Chen Mu manipulating the soldiers’ minds, turning their assumptions into an opening.

Plot and events

• Chen Mu uses Emperor Heart Lotus-Seeding to control patrol guards and learn that Xiao Wenbin is alone in the C-Class dungeon cell. The effort rapidly drains his Divine Sense, limiting how many people he can control at once.
• He stuns the guards with Yin Lightning rather than killing them, hides them, and reaches the dungeon. After knocking out the jailer and taking his key, he frees Xiao Wenbin.
• Xiao explains that he was captured after following apparent Demon Sect scouts into the city. He saw them head toward the military camp and speak with Commander Zheng Hongyi, raising suspicion that Zheng has ties to the Demon Sect.
• Before Chen Mu and Xiao can leave, Zheng arrives with nearly a hundred soldiers and reveals that the dungeon was being watched as a trap.
• Zheng then identifies the other man with him as Chen Yanzhao, the Cloud Province Governor. Chen Yanzhao orders the troops dismissed and treats Chen Mu and Xiao as visitors from Everlasting Prosperity Town. Chen Mu realizes Zheng had investigated their identities and reported them to the governor, then formally introduces himself.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu demonstrates tactical restraint and resourcefulness: he uses mind control to gather information, avoids killing the guards, and keeps his composure when surrounded. He initially suspects Zheng, then quickly revises his understanding once Chen Yanzhao appears.
• Xiao Wenbin is weakened but alert. He reunites with Chen Mu, explains his capture, and shares the observation that points to Zheng’s possible dealings with the Demon Sect.
• Zheng Hongyi first appears to be an enemy laying a trap, but his actions suggest he captured and investigated Xiao before reporting the men’s identities to the governor.
• Chen Yanzhao emerges as the authority behind the encounter. His calm dismissal of the troops shifts the scene from confrontation toward a formal meeting.

Significant themes

• Deception and misjudgment: The apparent trap and Zheng’s suspicious conduct conceal a more complicated political situation.
• Practical use of power: Chen Mu weighs the cost of his Divine Sense and uses controlled force rather than unnecessary killing.
• Trust and uncertainty: The Demon Sect sighting casts doubt on Zheng’s loyalties, while the governor’s arrival complicates Chen Mu’s assumptions.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin are captured after entering Chen Yanzhao’s heavily guarded camp, but Chen Yanzhao recognizes Chen Mu’s Dragon-Slayer Saber as a sign that he is Grandmaster Liu Qingcang’s disciple.
• Chen Yanzhao dismisses his suspicious officer, Zheng Hongyi, and takes the two visitors to his command tent. He explains that a Demon Sect assassin nearly killed him two weeks earlier, prompting the camp’s strict security.
• Chen Yanzhao’s spies have uncovered a Demon Sect plot in Cloud Province. The sect is placing agents in the city and may be preparing a large uprising; its members have recently become unusually active.
• Chen Mu delivers Liu Qingcang’s letter and asks Chen Yanzhao to send troops to reinforce Everlasting Prosperity Town, which may fall within days. Its loss would disrupt supplies and expose the northern front to a devastating attack.
• Chen Yanzhao refuses. Cloud Province has only 3,000 combat-ready soldiers, and he fears that sending them away would leave its 100,000 residents vulnerable to the Demon Sect.
• He reveals the deeper threat: the sect plans to repeat a massacre from thirty years earlier, sacrificing Cloud Province’s people in a blood ritual to create an army of Corpse Demons.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu demonstrates composure and social skill, using the saber and his connection to Liu Qingcang to earn Chen Yanzhao’s trust. He then makes an urgent case for reinforcements.
• Chen Yanzhao is revealed as a wounded but vigilant commander balancing two threats. Though he respects Liu Qingcang and treats Chen Mu as a junior, he will not risk Cloud Province’s people by sending troops away.
• Xiao Wenbin passionately argues that abandoning the border could endanger the entire country, but Chen Yanzhao insists that the local threat cannot be ignored.
• Zheng Hongyi remains suspicious of the visitors but obeys Chen Yanzhao’s order to leave them alone with him.

Significant themes

• Conflicting duties: Chen Yanzhao must choose between defending the northern front and protecting Cloud Province.
• The cost of limited resources: With too few troops, responding to one crisis may make another catastrophic.
• Deception and vigilance: The Demon Sect hides among civilians and infiltrates institutions, making the danger difficult to detect.
• Escalating stakes: What begins as a request for military aid becomes a confrontation with a possible mass sacrifice and the creation of Corpse Demons.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Yanzhao explains that the Demon Sect is preparing a vast blood sacrifice in Cloud Province. Sending troops to defend Everlasting Prosperity Town would weaken the larger defense and could let the Sect turn Cloud Prefecture City into a staging ground for a mass of corpse soldiers.
• Great Yue cannot quickly send help: it is beset by threats on every frontier, and the Demon Suppression Bureau’s forces and protective arrays are needed to hold the Five Capitals. Reinforcements for Cloud Province may not arrive until next spring.
• Chen Mu decides the party must warn Everlasting Prosperity Town. Xiao Wenbin rides north with Chen Yanzhao’s sealed letter, which urges the town to hold if possible but abandon it rather than sacrifice everyone.
• Chen Mu stays behind, intending to confront the Demon Sect and learn more. He promises to return within three days.
• Alone with Chen Yanzhao, Chen Mu asks why he called Liu Qingcang a grandmaster. Chen Yanzhao reveals that Liu once completed all nine stages of Blood Exchange, then suffered a grave wound fighting a flood dragon. In the near-death crisis, he formed a Martial Dao Golden Core and reached the grandmaster realm. A later injury made him fall from that height, prompting his withdrawal from the martial world and the founding of his academy.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Yanzhao shows the burden of command: he cares deeply about Cloud Province’s people but refuses to risk a disastrous split in his forces. He is candid with Chen Mu and Xiao Wenbin about the wider crisis and Liu Qingcang’s past.
• Chen Mu weighs the town’s danger against the need to act against the Demon Sect. He chooses to stay and investigate, while also showing curiosity about his master’s history.
• Xiao Wenbin accepts Chen Mu’s decision, takes the warning to Liu Qingcang, and departs promptly despite the bleak outlook.
• The exchange between Chen Mu and Chen Yanzhao shifts from military strategy to the personal history behind Liu Qingcang’s title and retreat.

Significant themes

• Duty amid impossible choices: Leaders must decide where limited forces can do the most good, even when every option risks lives.
• The cost of wider conflict: Great Yue’s many enemies leave even a dangerous local crisis without immediate support.
• Sacrifice versus survival: The letter asks Liu Qingcang to preserve his disciples and the town’s people rather than make a futile last stand.
• Hidden pasts and lost greatness: Liu Qingcang’s quiet life conceals a remarkable rise and a painful fall from the grandmaster realm.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Yanzhao recounts Liu Qingcang’s hidden past to Chen Mu. Liu once carried the Azure Dragon Lineage’s treasured Dragon-Slayer Saber and, after a defeat at Pingyin River, was rescued by Shen Niang, a mute village woman. They married, and Liu soon broke through to the elixir realm.
• While Liu was away fighting the Sky Wolfers, Shen Village was massacred, and his pregnant wife was killed. Grief-stricken, Liu rode alone into the Golden Horde’s territory to seek vengeance. He returned months later with a shattered golden core, diminished cultivation, and a broken saber. He buried the enemies’ heads beneath the village tree, then withdrew from the world to teach. The saber in Chen Mu’s possession was later reforged using a dragon scale.
• Moved by the story and worried about his master’s condition, Chen Mu offers to help investigate the Demon Sect in Cloud Province. Chen Yanzhao agrees and assigns Zheng Hongyi to assist him, hoping that capturing a major cult figure could resolve the threat and free troops to aid Everlasting Prosperity Town.
• Zheng privately resists the assignment and tells Chen Mu to leave. Chen Mu challenges his authority, but follows him to a concealed barracks in Cloud Prefecture City, where they meet the spy Wu Tiezui.
• Wu explains that a cult calling itself the Qingping Evil Cult has spent months recruiting poor residents with money, talismans, and promises of health and peace. Chen Mu recognizes the danger as resembling a previous scheme involving poisoned talisman water.
• Intelligence suggests a major Demon Sect operative has entered the city disguised as Yu Hongxiu, the celebrated leading courtesan of the Red Sleeve House. Her unusual visit to the Azure Sun Temple and changed demeanor raised suspicions. The Mirror Lake Night Banquet is taking place that night, offering a chance to investigate her.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu learns that Liu Qingcang’s quiet life followed immense personal loss and sacrifice. His grief deepens, but he remains focused on protecting Everlasting Prosperity Town and actively volunteers to confront the cult.
• Liu Qingcang, though absent, is revealed as a once-renowned grandmaster whose revenge for Shen Niang’s murder cost him his core and his former stature.
• Chen Yanzhao shares the painful history, then entrusts Chen Mu with a potentially decisive mission.
• Zheng Hongyi is openly hostile and attempts to obstruct Chen Mu, creating tension over authority and cooperation. Chen Mu refuses to be intimidated, while Wu Tiezui tries to calm their dispute.
• Wu Tiezui provides the crucial intelligence and identifies the suspected infiltrator and the opportunity to pursue her.

Significant themes

• Grief, vengeance, and their cost: Liu’s response to Shen Niang’s murder brings justice of a kind, but destroys his cultivation and changes the course of his life.
• Hidden histories and inherited legacy: Chen Mu’s saber links him to Liu’s past, while the previously untold story reshapes his understanding of his master.
• Duty amid personal crisis: Chen Mu balances concern for his master and hometown with the wider danger threatening Cloud Province.
• Deception and social vulnerability: The cult exploits the poor’s need for aid, disguising its influence as charity and spiritual comfort.
• Authority and cooperation: Chen Mu and Zheng’s clash shows how personal distrust can hinder a mission even when the stakes are shared.

Plot points and events

• Wu Tiezui reports that the courtesan Madam Yu may be an impostor connected to the Demon Sect. Chen Mu sees a chance to expose her and learn the Sect’s plans, potentially easing the threat to Cloud Prefecture and freeing troops to reinforce Everlasting Prosperity Town.
• Chen Mu proposes a coordinated capture: he will enter the pleasure boat undercover while Commander Zheng Hongyi surrounds it with soldiers and blocks escape routes. Zheng agrees, though he warns Chen that failure could jeopardize the military operation; Chen returns the warning by pointing out that a weak encirclement would let the courtesan escape.
• The chapter shifts to that night. Zheng deploys his troops around Mirror Lake, while Chen and Wu go ahead without them. Chen disguises himself as a refined young gentleman, and Wu poses as his elderly servant.
• At the lake, they learn that Madam Yu is entertaining guests aboard the lavish Red Sleeve House, where a treasure auction is also being held. Chen decides to offer the remaining Blackwater Mystic Serpent poison core for sale, hoping the display will help him attract attention and approach the courtesan.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu shows strategic confidence, quick improvisation, and a willingness to take the risk of entering alone. He also adapts his disguise and turns the auction into a possible tool for his investigation.
• Wu Tiezui acts as Chen’s guide and informant, helping him navigate the plan and the lake.
• Zheng Hongyi remains skeptical and prickly, but accepts Chen’s reasonable operational proposal. Their exchange highlights their rivalry and mutual wariness.
• Chen’s brief recollection of the demon cores he has used, traded, or given away recalls his ties to Qin Xiangjun and A-Ning, before he refocuses on the mission.

Significant themes

• Suspicion and deception: The possibility that Madam Yu has been replaced makes appearances—and Chen’s own disguise—central to the investigation.
• Strategy and cooperation: Success depends on coordinating Chen’s covert entry with Zheng’s military cordon, despite their distrust.
• Using opportunity: Chen turns an unexpected auction into a means of gaining access and drawing attention to himself.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu boards the Red Sleeve House’s pleasure boat on Mirror Lake, posing as a wealthy young gentleman seeking an audience with the celebrated Miss Red Sleeve.
• Ying Niang, a seasoned hostess, welcomes him and guides him to the elegant third-floor auction rooms. Chen has already arranged for Wu Tiezui to submit a demon core as an auction lot.
• Ying Niang explains that the night’s final item is a Golden Phoenix Hairpin worn by Miss Red Sleeve; winning it may earn the buyer a private meeting with her.
• The auction begins. Chen Mu buys a three-hundred-year-old lingzhi but ignores most of the other lots. Using his divine sense, he observes that the guests are mostly wealthy young men, with few martial artists.
• Puzzled by the Demon Sect’s apparent purpose in staging the event, Chen asks a maid named Qing’er where Miss Red Sleeve is. She tells him the young woman is resting in the Phoenix-Watching Pavilion at the stern.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu convincingly adopts the manners of a rich visitor, while remaining alert and suspicious. His abrupt, cool questioning of Qing’er reveals that his interest may be more strategic than romantic.
• Ying Niang displays sharp people-reading skills and polished hospitality. She quickly recognizes Chen as an outsider and valuable guest, personally sees to his comfort, and arranges the handling of his auction entry.
• Qing’er is a trained, deferential attendant. Though surprised by Chen’s cold question, she answers plainly.
• Wu Tiezui is tasked with arranging the demon core’s inclusion in the auction.

Significant themes

• Disguise and performance: Chen plays the role of a wealthy young man, while the pleasure house’s staff perform their practiced roles as hosts and attendants.
• Luxury masking suspicion: The elegant banquet and auction contrast with Chen’s uncertainty about the Demon Sect’s motives.
• Power through observation: Chen relies on his divine sense and careful questioning to assess the gathering and pursue his own aims.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu learns that the elusive woman posing as Yu Hongxiu is not in the private room he was shown. He decides to wait and watch the auction.
• His Blackwater Mystic Serpent venom core is auctioned. Young Master Yu, seated with Cui Yuyao in Heaven Box A, wins it with a bid of five thousand taels.
• The auction’s next major item is presented as a mystery. Chen Mu’s divine sense cannot penetrate its sandalwood box, and he senses a trace of Demon Sect killing intent around it.
• Ying Niang reveals the item: the Feathered Ascension Art, an ancient Daoist scripture supposedly left by the Imperial Preceptor of the former Great Wei dynasty, said to teach practitioners how to become immortals.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu remains patient and observant, using his mind-subduing ability to assess what he is told and his divine sense to investigate the auction items.
• Young Master Yu and Cui Yuyao unexpectedly appear together at the auction. Young Master Yu’s high bid draws attention, though Chen Mu does not yet know why they are there.
• Ying Niang skillfully builds suspense and entertains the crowd, then reveals the scripture when the audience grows impatient.
• Chen Mu’s curiosity intensifies when he detects the box’s unusual restriction and Demon Sect aura, suggesting the scripture may be more than an ordinary antique.

Significant themes

• Appearance and secrecy: The disguised woman’s whereabouts and the sealed box’s contents remain hidden.
• The supernatural beneath ordinary commerce: The auction shifts from valuable goods to an object associated with immortality and the Demon Sect.
• Suspense and uncertainty: The scripture’s legendary claims are presented, but its true nature and the purpose of the aura surrounding it remain unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• A Daoist scripture advertised as a method of “ascending to immortality” is auctioned. Though the crowd initially doubts it, Ying Niang claims the Exquisite Treasures Pavilion has authenticated it, prompting fierce bidding. It sells for 15,000 taels.
• Chen Mu senses blood-red baleful energy around the scripture and concludes it is likely a demonic technique, not an immortal art. He suspects the auction is meant to spread it and orders Wu Tiezui to arrange for it to be intercepted.
• Chen Mu leaves his private room, knocking Qing’er unconscious with yin lightning when she tries to stop him. He searches the pleasure boat and learns that the courtesan queen has apparently escaped toward Azure Sun Temple.
• Chen Mu doubts the escape story. He spots a small boat carrying a woman in red toward shore and suspects the apparent flight is a decoy. He tells Wu Tiezui to recall Zheng Hongyi’s men, surround the group, and stop the scripture from circulating.
• Chen Mu follows the people who come ashore, marking their route while waiting to discover their destination.
• Back aboard the pleasure boat, Ying Niang discovers that Miss Red Sleeve is missing. She is then summoned to meet Young Master Yu, an influential heir of the Nangong Family, and rushes to attend to him.

Character developments

• Chen Mu shows caution and investigative skill: he recognizes the scripture’s demonic nature, sees through the likely diversion, and chooses to follow the suspects rather than rush into action.
• Wu Tiezui acts as Chen Mu’s informant and aide, passing along what he learned and accepting Chen Mu’s orders despite not knowing his reasoning.
• Ying Niang remains composed while selling the scripture, but becomes anxious when Miss Red Sleeve disappears. She is also keenly aware of the political importance of Young Master Yu.
• Qing’er is left unconscious after attempting to keep Chen Mu from leaving.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: The “immortal art,” the courtesan queen’s supposed escape, and the auction itself may all be parts of a larger scheme.
• Greed and longing: The promise of immortality drives wealthy bidders to spend enormous sums despite uncertainty.
• Power and status: The Exquisite Treasures Pavilion’s reputation lends credibility to the scripture, while Young Master Yu’s lineage commands immediate deference.
• Caution versus impulse: Chen Mu resists the crowd’s excitement and investigates before acting.

Character interactions

• The bidders challenge Ying Niang’s claims, then rapidly compete for the scripture once she invokes the Pavilion’s authentication.
• Chen Mu dismisses Qing’er’s objections and leaves her behind so he can investigate.
• Chen Mu briefs Wu Tiezui and directs him to coordinate with Zheng Hongyi’s forces.
• Ying Niang’s staff search for Miss Red Sleeve while she hurries to meet Young Master Yu.

Key plot points and events

• In a private room aboard the pleasure boat, Young Master Yu learns that his sister, Nangong Wan, has escaped before he could find her. He suspects the courtesan queen is Wan in disguise, since the woman’s features resemble his sister’s.
• Yu orders his guard, Xu Fengnian, to question the boat’s operator and learn everything about the courtesan queen. He intends to bring Wan back to the Nangong family to face judgment.
• Meanwhile, Chen Mu tracks the Red-Clad Woman out of Cloud Prefecture and catches up with her on a small boat near the Grass River.
• The woman recognizes Chen Mu from their earlier encounter at the Mass Grave, where she had escaped after leading him into danger. She also asks about a Golden Phoenix Hairpin she lost there; Chen remembers that Li Xuan found it.
• Chen attacks without giving her time to manipulate the situation. She evades his saber and flees across the reeds, but he pursues her relentlessly.
• The chase ends at an abandoned brickyard, where the Demoness can go no farther. She asks Chen to hear her out before deciding whether to kill her.

Character developments

• Young Master Yu is determined and family-proud, viewing Wan’s departure as a threat to the Nangong lineage’s reputation as well as a personal betrayal. His resemblance theory makes him confident he has found her.
• Chen Mu is cautious about the Demoness’s schemes and acts decisively rather than trusting her charm or conversation. He remembers their past encounter and recognizes the significance of the hairpin.
• The Demoness remains witty, flirtatious, and elusive, using charm to unsettle Chen even while fleeing. As her escape fails, her composure gives way to apparent desperation and a plea to speak.

Significant themes

• Family duty versus individual choice: Yu intends to restore Wan to the family and enforce its judgment, while her flight suggests a deep break with that obligation.
• Deception and identity: The courtesan queen may be a false persona adopted by Nangong Wan, and both her disguise and her evasions shape the pursuit.
• Pursuit and control: Yu’s search for his sister and Chen’s chase after the Demoness mirror one another, with both men trying to decide another person’s fate.
• Charm versus force: The Demoness relies on wit and movement to survive, while Chen counters with persistence and direct violence.

Character interactions

• Yu gives Xu Fengnian instructions about finding Wan and investigating the courtesan queen; Xu then intercepts Ying Niang to question her.
• Chen and the Demoness exchange teasing remarks that recall their earlier meeting, but Chen refuses to be drawn into conversation and attacks.
• During the chase, she continues to taunt him as he presses his advantage; cornered at the brickyard, she asks for a chance to explain herself.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu corners and captures a seemingly weak courtesan who may be a decoy. She tries to distract him, then attacks with concealed needles, but his Divine Lihuo Eyes disrupt her and his Hardened Golden Body deflects the weapons.
• He disables her with a grappling strike and knocks her unconscious. When a venomous scorpion hidden in her clothing stings him, it cannot pierce his skin; he crushes it.
• Chen Mu returns to the military camp and reports to Chen Yanzhao. Zheng Hongyi has not yet returned, but Chen Yanzhao says he has sent men to assist him.
• In the dungeon, Chen Yanzhao has the captive awakened and interrogated. She initially threatens Chen Mu, then begs to confess when she sees the army’s torturers.
• Under torture, she reveals that she is a substitute—and claims both courtesans aboard the pleasure boat were substitutes. The real operative entered the city disguised as a courtesan, then disappeared. Chen Yanzhao orders the questioning to continue and seeks information about the Demon Sect’s leaders and plans.

Character developments

• Chen Mu shows caution and tactical skill, relying on his eyes, defensive cultivation, and physical techniques to overcome the ambush. His suspicion that the captive is a decoy proves correct.
• Chen Yanzhao remains confident that Zheng Hongyi will be supported, but becomes angry when he learns the enemy’s deception may have allowed the real operative to escape.
• The Demoness shifts from smugly attempting to manipulate Chen Mu to helplessness and fear. Her disclosures reveal she is a disposable substitute rather than the central figure.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: The Demon Sect uses substitutes to conceal the real operative’s identity and movements.
• Caution and preparation: Chen Mu’s vigilance prevents the captive’s tricks and hidden weapon from succeeding.
• Violence and power: The chapter contrasts Chen Mu’s controlled combat with the army’s brutal interrogation methods.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu outmaneuvers the Demoness’s verbal feint and concealed-weapon attack, then captures her.
• Chen Mu reports to Chen Yanzhao, who reassures him about Zheng Hongyi and later brings him to the interrogation.
• Chen Yanzhao directs the jailers and torturers, while Chen Mu watches as the captive’s resistance breaks and her revelations deepen the military’s concerns.

Key plot points

• After severe torture, a Demoness threatens that the Devil Lord will avenge her, then appears to die.
• Chen Mu intervenes before she can be taken away. He revives her with medicinal pills and uses his Divine Lihuo Eyes to make her believe he is the Devil Lord.
• Under the illusion, she reveals that the Demon Sect’s scheme has two parts: gather more than eight thousand Pure Peace Cult followers through talisman water, and secretly distribute a corrupted “immortal” scripture among Cloud Prefecture’s nobles.
• The scripture lets ordinary people cultivate spiritual energy, but once they advance, they must consume blood and take the Cult’s Blood-Transforming Pills. Without them, their blood will burst through their bodies—giving the Cult control over its practitioners.
• The Demoness identifies herself as the Pure Peace Cult’s leader and explains that another woman handled the scripture and the nobles. That woman—the Imperial Princess’s stand-in—has apparently left for the north of the city. The Demoness dies before she can say more.
• Chen Mu reports the intelligence to Governor Chen Yanzhao. Yanzhao is alarmed and recognizes that Chen Mu’s suspicions about the scripture may have prevented Cloud Prefecture from falling from within.
• Chen Mu warns that the danger is not over, leaving the chapter poised for further revelations.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu proves resourceful and decisive: rather than wait for the Demoness to recover, he exploits her weakened state and deception to extract information. He remains cautious even after exposing the plan.
• Chen Yanzhao shifts from skepticism and reliance on torture to surprise and gratitude at Chen Mu’s success. He is ready to act, but Chen Mu’s final warning tempers his confidence.
• The Demoness briefly regains focus to threaten her captors, then—under Chen Mu’s illusion—becomes deferential and confesses. Her death cuts off the interrogation.
• Chen Mu and Yanzhao maintain a respectful uncle-and-nephew rapport, with Yanzhao giving Chen Mu room to act and then listening closely to his report.

Significant themes

• Deception and manipulation: The Demon Sect uses talisman water, false spiritual teachings, and mind control to infiltrate the city.
• Power through dependency: The scripture’s practitioners become physically dependent on the Cult’s blood supplies and pills.
• Vigilance and incomplete victories: Uncovering the plan averts one threat, but the Imperial Princess’s movements and the already-distributed scripture leave serious uncertainties.

Plot points and events

• Chen Mu reports the Demoness’s fragmented confession: the figure who replaced the courtesan queen is supposedly Yaoji, a princess of the former Great Wei dynasty—someone believed to have died centuries ago.
• Chen Mu and Chen Yanzhao consider whether Yaoji could have survived through Mystic Sect methods. Chen Mu also suspects she may be connected to Princess Yuanyao, though he has no proof.
• Commander Zheng Hongyi returns wounded and reports that a young man in white rescued the Demoness at a dockside inn, defeating Zheng and two other Innate Realm officers with three sword moves. Chen Mu suspects the attacker was Young Master Yu, whom he encountered earlier.
• Chen Yanzhao orders a purge of the Pure Peace Cult and nobles practicing evil arts. He declines Chen Mu’s offer to help, confident that his forces can handle the city’s remaining threats.
• To reinforce Everlasting Prosperity Town, Chen Yanzhao gives Chen Mu a transfer order for 500 soldiers: 300 elite regulars and 200 archers and crossbowmen.
• Chen Mu warns that sending troops will leave Cloud Province more vulnerable, but Chen Yanzhao remains confident. Chen Mu sets out north immediately, hoping to reach town before winter attacks.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu weighs the possibility that ancient Mystic Sect techniques could explain Yaoji’s survival, but keeps his theories separate from confirmed intelligence. He remains focused on securing reinforcements and protecting Everlasting Prosperity Town.
• Chen Yanzhao balances the danger in Cloud Province with the need to aid Chen Mu. He acts decisively, provides troops, and sends a friendly message to Chen Mu’s master, while refusing to be deterred by warnings about the city’s defenses.
• Zheng Hongyi accepts responsibility for the Demoness’s escape rather than making excuses, and gives a concise account of the white-clad swordsman’s overwhelming strength.
• Chen Mu and Chen Yanzhao share mutual respect: Chen Mu cautions the older commander about the risk of weakening the city, while Chen Yanzhao reassures him and urges him to depart.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and hidden history: The claim that Yaoji is alive challenges accepted knowledge and hints that the former dynasty’s Mystic Sect may have possessed powers now lost.
• Duty and strategic sacrifice: Chen Yanzhao must divide his forces between suppressing a threat at home and defending a vulnerable town.
• Loyalty and cooperation: Chen Mu’s urgent mission is supported by Chen Yanzhao’s generosity and goodwill, despite the risks to Cloud Province.
• Power and secrecy: The unknown swordsman’s intervention shows that powerful actors are operating beyond the authorities’ understanding.