Chapter Summaries

Ding Songyan gathered clues about a Ghost-Wyrm Path traitor and checked that Shi Wuyan posed no threat over Twelfth Madam Luo. When news spread that a masked Jade Maiden had killed Huo Minglou, Ding Songyan realized his sister Qingyan was behind the identity and planned to muddy the waters by creating more Jade Maidens.

• Ding Songyan paid Lay Buddhist Little Zhang for information, and Zhang Qiang shared clues suggesting the Ghost-Wyrm Path was hunting a turtle-featured traitor.
• Ding Songyan secretly used the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror to check Zhang Qiang's thoughts, then asked him to find the Ghost-Wyrm Path traitor.
• Ding Songyan told Shi Wuyan that his performance with Twelfth Madam Luo had been a favor and warned him not to become an unwelcome suitor; Shi Wuyan said he only wished her well.
• Fan Chunlin and the others reported that a woman wearing a Jade Maiden Mask had killed Huo Minglou, and Ding Songyan realized his sister Qingyan had worn the mask.
• Ding Songyan told Twelfth Madam Luo that the Jade Maiden was an enemy framing him as her partner, then proposed creating more Jade Maidens to confuse their pursuers.

Ding Songyan agreed to teach Hu Chaohui a lesson at Twelfth Madam Luo’s request, after learning about the Treading the Sea Gang leader and his gambling business. He infiltrated Hu Chaohui’s residence and struck as the man relaxed with a concubine.

• Ding Songyan offered to teach someone Twelfth Madam Luo wanted to punish, and she named Hu Chaohui, leader of the Treading the Sea Gang.
• Twelfth Madam Luo explained that she wanted to warn the gang over its Silver Hook Gambling House, but spared Liu Cheng because he was injured and opposed to the business.
• Twelfth Madam Luo described Hu Chaohui’s background, martial arts, and guards, while Ding Songyan asked about his residence and prepared to go there as the Jade Maiden.
• Ding Songyan infiltrated the Hu Residence, avoided its guards and sentries, and learned from a concubine’s dream where Hu Chaohui was staying.
• Ding Songyan found Hu Chaohui smoking beside his favorite concubine and suddenly attacked him with a shadowy fist.

Ding Songyan disguised himself as a Jade Maiden and nearly killed Hu Chaohui, prompting Yi Beiwang to suspect Ji Hanyi was behind several masked attacks. After returning to his room, Ding Songyan was approached by someone who called him “Second Brother.”

• Ding Songyan attacked Hu Chaohui, used the Book of Returning to Silence to make him mistake the technique for the Returning Ruins Divine Art, and escaped after injuring him.
• Ding Songyan told Twelfth Madam Luo he had spared Hu Chaohui because the man had acted strangely and he wanted to investigate further.
• Yi Beiwang heard Hu Chaohui had been attacked by someone wearing a Jade Maiden Mask and suspected the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden identities were being used to mislead the Martial Prohibition Bureau.
• Yi Beiwang identified Ji Hanyi, the Nine-Evil Witch, as the likeliest suspect behind the masked attacks.
• Ding Songyan returned to the Prince's Residence and, just after getting into bed, heard a voice call him “Second Brother.”

Ding Songyan questioned Ji Hanyi about the Demon Seed, Jiang Weichen, and the Xiaoming Great Art, but she revealed little about her own secrets. After teasing him about his schemes and romantic interests, she had him tell several installments of a story before asking which woman the Spirit-Communicating Precious Jade would choose.

• Ding Songyan found Ji Hanyi sharing his bed, dressed, and asked whether she had arranged the events involving Mister Wei, Fu Yangquan, the Demon Seed, and the Two-Faced Clan.
• Ji Hanyi said she had not known about the Demon Seed, and Ding Songyan told her about Jiang Weichen and asked who had helped her escape through the Netherworld Grounds.
• Ji Hanyi said Jiang Weichen had not helped her and promised to reveal the helper after Ding Songyan satisfied her with his future performance.
• Ji Hanyi explained that the Xiaoming Great Art remained with the Accumulated Evil Path and mentioned surviving lineages, then teased Ding Songyan about his disguises and his interest in women.
• Ding Songyan told Ji Hanyi three installments of his story, and she asked whether the Spirit-Communicating Precious Jade would choose Tree Demon Xiaoqian, Jade Pool Crimson Grass, or Princess Iron Fan.

Ding Songyan comforted Li Baima after the Fire-Stealing Sect leader died on a secret assignment for Prince Kang's Residence, then kept searching for clues about the mission. Steward Peng Jushan summoned him for a task involving his ability to perform Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld.

• Ji Hanyi teased Ding Songyan about his story's romantic choices, then left him with her scent lingering beneath the quilt.
• Liu Cheng worried that masked Jade Maiden attackers had killed Huo Minglou and nearly killed his adoptive father, and reconsidered whether Ding Songyan was connected to them.
• Li Baima told Ding Songyan that the Fire-Stealing Sect leader had died from injuries sustained while working for the prince, but he did not know the nature of the assignment.
• Ding Songyan urged Li Baima to take time away from the side gate to grieve, while he and the others covered his duties.
• Steward Peng Jushan asked Ding Songyan whether he could perform Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld and said he had a task for him.

Ding Songyan used Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld to question a dead guard and uncovered signs that the Yellow Heaven Path and Sage-Slaying Path were cooperating. He realized Han Shun had summoned him partly to make the ghost disappear, and left the Prince's Residence aware that its secret mission involved deeper intrigue.

• Peng Jushan led Ding Songyan to Commander Han Shun, who asked him to question a dead guard and keep the matter secret.
• Ding Songyan learned that the guard had leaked mission information to the Yellow Heaven Path after they gained leverage over him.
• Ding Songyan discovered that a silent woman wearing a Black Gauze Veil Hat had appeared during both the leak and the guard's earlier mistake, suggesting the Sage-Slaying Path was involved.
• The ghost dissipated during questioning, and Han Shun said he would report the apparent cooperation between the two paths to Prince Kang.
• As Ding Songyan left, he concluded that Han Shun had wanted him to destroy the Yin Soul and decided to wait before confronting him.

Ding Songyan received and read a heartfelt letter from Zheng Zhuxi, while she learned of the masked fighters in the Flame Capital and grew worried that he might be entangled with Ji Hanyi. Zheng Zhuxi asked her father to let Ding Songyan study the Book of Utmost Sincerity, and Zheng Ziming asked whether Ding had killed Sun Feiyang.

• A Director from the Martial Prohibition Bureau delivered Zheng Zhuxi’s letter to Ding Songyan, and Li Baima, Wu Mo, and Fan Chunlin realized his senior sister was Miss Zheng of the Xiaoming Sect.
• Ding Songyan went to Twelfth Madam Luo’s East Wing Room, read Zheng Zhuxi’s letter, and planned to send his reply through the Xie Family and the banks owned by those surnamed Fang.
• Zheng Ziming told Zheng Zhuxi about the masked fighters in the Flame Capital, and she suspected that the male Jade Maiden who attacked Hu Chaohui was Ding Songyan and that the Jade Maiden who killed Huo Minglou might be Ji Hanyi.
• Zheng Zhuxi decided not to alert others about her suspicions and asked Zheng Ziming to keep Ding Songyan’s secrets while explaining his martial arts path.
• Zheng Zhuxi asked her father to let Ding Songyan read the Book of Utmost Sincerity, excluding its methods for opening orifices and organ dressing, and Zheng Ziming asked if Ding had killed Sun Feiyang.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo disguised Wu Zheng as Ding Songyan, then as the invented Hero Lin, to get him safely to the Phoenix Bookshop and alert the Five Saints Sect about He Jin. Their pursuers followed them, while Ding Songyan’s explanation for inventing Lin Chong’s detailed identity was that he was a Storyteller.

• Ding Songyan encountered his younger sister Ji Hanyi in the marketplace, allowed her to speak into his sea of consciousness, and wondered why she had appeared on Shushui Street.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo disguised Wu Zheng as Ding Songyan, using the Heavenly Mind Formula and their answers to make the likeness convincing for two hours.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo left the Cheap Wine Shop with Wu Zheng while martial artists watched, divided up, and reported to He Jin.
• At a restaurant, Ding Songyan joined Wu Zheng and Twelfth Madam Luo in a private room, where they ate before changing Wu Zheng’s disguise.
• Twelfth Madam Luo transformed Wu Zheng into the older Hero Lin, and Ding Songyan instructed him to go to the Phoenix Bookshop after they left and tell the Five Saints Sect about He Jin.
• Ding Songyan confirmed that their pursuers had followed them from the restaurant, then told Twelfth Madam Luo he had invented Lin Chong because he was a Storyteller.

Wu Zheng reached Phoenix Terrace Studio safely and sought Yu Chongyuan’s protection, revealing his family’s connection to Fire Virtue True Lord Wu Hui and the attack that drove him into hiding. Twelfth Madam Luo returned to the Cheap Wine Shop after nearly encountering someone from her past, and she and Ding Songyan spoke of the difficulty of forgetting someone.

• Wu Zheng followed Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo’s instructions, reached Phoenix Terrace Studio without drawing attention, and broke down in tears upon entering.
• Twelfth Madam Luo and Ding Songyan watched from nearby, then discussed Ding Songyan’s writing and the Legend of the White Snake before Luo abruptly led him away from the market.
• Yu Chongyuan met Wu Zheng in a quiet room, heard the account of his parents’ deaths and He Jin’s involvement, and agreed to shelter him while investigating.
• Zhang Yingbo confirmed Wu Zheng’s martial arts came from Fire Virtue True Lord Wu Hui, and Yu Chongyuan wondered whether the mysterious disguise was connected to Emperor Terrace.
• Twelfth Madam Luo returned to the Cheap Wine Shop and told Ding Songyan she had nearly encountered someone she did not want to see.
• Twelfth Madam Luo asked whether Ding Songyan had ever wanted both to forget someone and draw close to them, and he admitted that he had.

Ding Songyan met Jiang Lanting and Bai Qilin at Xiumei Mountain, where Jiang challenged him to a swordsmanship exchange. Ding exposed the weakness in Jiang’s Great Thousand Myriad Forms Art, and the encounter ended with Jiang declaring that the defeated “Young Master Jiang” was now “Miss Jiang.”

• Xie Fengchao brought Ding Songyan to Xiumei Mountain and introduced him to Jiang Lanting and Bai Qilin.
• Bai Qilin asked whether Ding had beaten Xie, and Ding explained that Xie’s overconfidence had cost him the match.
• Jiang Lanting revealed that he had worn both a Jade Maiden Mask and a Golden Boy costume in recent days.
• Jiang challenged Ding to exchange Cosmic Star-Dipper Swordsmanship through incense smoke, and Ding repeatedly broke his attacks with a single move.
• Jiang stopped the spar after realizing Ding was exploiting the manifested swordsmanship’s reduced power, then announced that the defeated Jiang was now Miss Jiang.
• Xie Fengchao told Ding that Jiang was born with both female and male aspects, suited to the Yin-Yang Religion’s arts.

Ding Songyan learned more about Jiang Lanting and the Yin-Yang Religion before killing a Ghost-Wyrm Path assassin who suddenly attacked Jiang. He used Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld to question the assassin’s Yin Soul about the employer and informant.

• Xie Fengchao told Ding Songyan about Jiang Lanting’s struggles with his dual nature and asked him to keep the Yin-Yang Religion’s secrets private.
• Jiang Lanting explained aspects of the Religion’s transformations and arts, then discussed martial arts with Ding Songyan, whose Swordsmanship insights impressed him.
• As the group left to eat, a masked Ghost-Wyrm Path assassin attacked Jiang Lanting, but Ding Songyan killed him with Cold Shadow.
• Jiang Lanting wondered who had ordered the attack, and Ding Songyan questioned the assassin’s Yin Soul about the assignment and who had gathered information on Jiang.

Ding Songyan, Jiang Lanting, and their companions traced a failed assassination attempt to the Secluded Perfume Shop and searched for He Jianyun. They learned He had gone to Huaiyuan Street, where they found a flayed face matching his description nailed beside an alley.

• The assassin's Yin Soul revealed that Black Sanlang had ordered the attack on Jiang Lanting and that He Jianyun had helped the assassin hide and gather information.
• The assassin said the Ghost-Wyrm Path would make another attempt and explained that Surveillance Watchers observed assassinations, prompting Jiang Lanting and his companions to hurry to the Secluded Perfume Shop.
• Xie Fengchao admitted he did not know the shop's location, so Ding Songyan questioned the assassin and learned it was on Sandbridge Street.
• At the shop, the group learned from Niao Mingwei that He Jianyun had left for Huaiyuan Street and learned his appearance and distinguishing features.
• The group reached Huaiyuan Street and found a flayed face with a black mole between its eyebrows nailed to a wall, as Constables approached.

Ding Songyan and his companions discovered that He Jianyun, a Ghost-Wyrm Path Accountant, had been killed and dismembered, and helped Heaven-Bearing Prefecture locate his remains. Jiang Lanting left for the Yin and Yang Abbey, while Ding Songyan learned that the Heavenly Fool Scripture could conceal thoughts and memories.

• Ding Songyan recognized He Jianyun's peeled face, and the group realized the Ghost-Wyrm Path Accountant had been assassinated and dismembered.
• Ding Songyan, Jiang Lanting, and Bai Qilin used tracking arts to help Head Constable Hong locate the scattered remains, which Heaven-Bearing Prefecture handed over to the Martial Prohibition Bureau.
• Jiang Lanting decided not to pursue He Jianyun's yin soul and asked Ding Songyan to question it about the Dark Passage Book and the Seven Sand-Spitting Methods if they found the body at Xiumei Mountain.
• Jiang Lanting discovered the body had already been taken to the Martial Prohibition Bureau, then left for the Yin and Yang Abbey while Ding Songyan, Xie Fengchao, and Bai Qilin descended the mountain.
• Ding Songyan asked Bai Qilin whether the Heavenly Fool Scripture could conceal thoughts and memories, and Bai Qilin confirmed that it could.

Ding Songyan warned Liu Cheng away from the Silver Hook Gambling House and learned that Hu Chaohui would be staying at Liu’s residence that night. After returning to write a letter, Ding Songyan secretly entered the Liu Family compound and began using Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming near Hu Chaohui.

• Ding Songyan searched Huaiyuan, East Town, and Shuning Streets for the Ghost-Wyrm Path traitor but found no trace, then met Twelfth Madam Luo selling handmade goods on South-Pacifying Street.
• Ding Songyan told Twelfth Madam Luo that his warning to Hu Chaohui about the Silver Hook Gambling House had gone unheeded, and she expressed resolute killing intent.
• Ding Songyan warned Liu Cheng to stop visiting the Silver Hook Gambling House, and Liu Cheng agreed before leaving without entering it.
• Liu Cheng told Ding Songyan that Hu Chaohui was mentally shaken and had been hiding at Liu’s residence, where he was expected again that night.
• Ding Songyan returned with Twelfth Madam Luo to Tiger Tail Alley, wrote a letter, and later sneaked into the Liu Family compound to locate Hu Chaohui and manifest Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming.

Ding Songyan entered Hu Chaohui’s dream and witnessed the cave murals connect the Glazed Sea-Holding Art to Emperor Xuanyuan, whose gaze then reached across the world and shook the Flame Capital. After escaping notice, Ding Songyan discovered that his Yin Eye and several acupoints had changed, and he began planning to develop a way to sense Heaven’s will without relying on the Heavenly Heart Imprint.

• Ding Songyan studied the murals in Hu Chaohui’s dream and triggered a vision of Emperor Xuanyuan, whose gaze pierced the dream and turned toward him.
• Ding Songyan’s mind returned to his body as the aura of heaven and earth changed, and his Hundun abnormalities and Yin Eye manifested.
• Ji Hanyi, a man at Phoenix Terrace Studio, and Twelfth Madam Luo each sensed the disturbance in the Flame Capital, with Twelfth Madam Luo wondering whether it was related to the Celestial Emperor.
• Ding Songyan concealed his abnormalities and traces, escaped the Liu Family estate, and returned to the Side Courtyard of the Prince’s Residence.
• Ding Songyan found that he could sense his remaining external acupoints and activate his Yin Eye and Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld without the Heavenly Heart Imprint.
• Ding Songyan decided to use the Essentials of the Heavenly Mandate as a basis for developing martial arts that could replace his reliance on the Heavenly Heart Imprint.

Hu Chaohui’s frightening dream led him to entrust the Treading the Sea Gang to Liu Cheng while he went into seclusion, and Su Qingli persuaded her father to take the family to the Flame Capital for the consort selection. In the Flame Capital, Jiang Lanting visited Ding Songyan and said he had brought him something good.

• Hu Chaohui told Liu Cheng that he had dreamed again of the person wearing the Jade Maiden Mask and decided to enter secluded cultivation, leaving the Treading the Sea Gang in Liu Cheng’s care.
• Liu Cheng urged Hu Chaohui to focus on respectable businesses, but Hu Chaohui said the gang’s uncertain situation meant he could only trust Liu Cheng with it.
• Su Qingli received a letter from Second Brother Ding and persuaded Su Changzhou to take her and her mother to the Flame Capital for Emperor Jianwu’s consort selection.
• Su Qingli asked Su Changzhou whether Luo Mingyin might be her aunt, and he said he would need to judge her temperament before deciding.
• Ding Songyan continued writing and practicing martial arts, while he and his friends postponed their planned outing because of Li Baima’s family loss.
• Jiang Lanting arrived at Ding Songyan’s courtyard, and after Ding introduced him as Young Master Mingxi, Jiang said he had brought Ding something good.

Jiang Lanting visited Ding Songyan to repay his help, gave him a Tiger-Leopard Hidden Dragon Pill, and read one of Ding’s stories. Two days later, Ding sought martial arts guidance from Twelfth Madam Luo, but their discussion was interrupted when someone collapsed in the alley with serious hidden injuries.

• Ding Songyan refused Jiang Lanting’s offer of a reward but accepted the Tiger-Leopard Hidden Dragon Pill after learning he could owe Jiang a favor.
• Jiang Lanting read Ding Songyan’s story, became tearful over its romance, and left after promising not to visit for seven days.
• Ding Songyan swallowed the pill, then spent two days avoiding pretty women while its effects took hold.
• Ding Songyan visited Twelfth Madam Luo and asked her about the flow of heaven and earth’s Qi.
• Twelfth Madam Luo and Ding Songyan noticed someone collapse in the alley behind the Main Room with grave hidden injuries.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo rescued the badly injured Wu Zheng, who revealed that his family had been attacked over its Myriad Flames Origin Flow Art and that Zhurong’s inheritors were among the attackers. After Ding Songyan gave him a Life-Prolonging Pill, Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding to care for Wu Zheng in the East Wing Room and teased him about the rumors this would create.

• Twelfth Madam Luo carried an unconscious young man from behind the Main Room to the Cheap Wine Shop, and Ding Songyan erased the traces of their rescue.
• Ding Songyan questioned the recovering man, who identified himself as Wu Zheng and said his parents had been killed for his family’s Myriad Flames Origin Flow Art, a legacy of Fire Virtue True Lord Wu Hui.
• Wu Zheng explained that inheritors of Zhurong were among his attackers, so he feared reporting them to the authorities; Ding Songyan judged his account truthful and gave him a Life-Prolonging Pill.
• Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding Songyan that sage Master Zuo had cultivated Wu Hui’s legacy through the Astral Phenomena and Heavenly Secrets Scripture.
• Twelfth Madam Luo ordered Ding Songyan to stay in the East Wing Room and care for Wu Zheng, then joked that any resulting scandal would damage Ding’s reputation more than hers.

Ding Songyan moved into Twelfth Madam Luo’s courtyard to protect Wu Zheng and drove off a Martial Grandmaster who tried to search it. The intruder reported back that the courtyard’s owner had unfathomable strength, while his companion questioned that conclusion.

• Ding Songyan agreed to stay with Twelfth Madam Luo, then told Li Baima and the others that he was hunting the person harassing her and used the Tiger-Leopard Hidden Dragon Pill as proof of his restraint.
• Wu Zheng thanked Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo for saving him, and Twelfth Madam Luo persuaded him to remain hidden while he recovered.
• Ding Songyan spotted a black-robed old man lurking outside the courtyard and used a broom to frighten him into fleeing without drawing the Watchtower’s attention.
• Twelfth Madam Luo asked Ding Songyan why he had not pursued the old man, and he explained that the situation seemed dangerous and he was wary of encountering a Great Grandmaster.
• The old man reported to a horned man that he had failed to search one courtyard because its owner detected him, and the horned man challenged his claim that the owner’s strength was unfathomable.

He Jin infiltrated the Cheap Wine Shop’s courtyard using the Five Elements Escape Art but was effortlessly knocked unconscious by Twelfth Madam Luo. Ding Songyan learned that Prince Shen, Hong Yuanqing, had ordered the search for the Myriad Flames Origin Flow Art, while He Jin woke in an alley and remained unsure whether the wine shop manager had rescued Wu Zheng.

• He Jin used the Five Elements Escape Art to enter the Cheap Wine Shop’s courtyard, where Twelfth Madam Luo struck him unconscious with a broom.
• Ding Songyan entered He Jin’s dream and learned that Prince Shen, Hong Yuanqing, had ordered the group to seize the Myriad Flames Origin Flow Art.
• He Jin reported to Prince Shen’s Residence, was sent away to reflect, and returned to studying the Five Elements Escape Art.
• Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding Songyan to send Wu Zheng to Phoenix Terrace Studio after he recovered and warned him to keep the Xiaoming Sect out of serious trouble.
• He Jin woke at an alley entrance, unharmed, and guessed that Twelfth Madam Luo had shown goodwill while protecting the secrets of her courtyard.