Chapter Summaries

After He Jin was defeated by Twelfth Madam Luo, he and Hou Yang investigated the Cheap Wine Shop and decided to watch it while awaiting the prince’s orders. In the courtyard, Ding Songyan mastered the Five Elements Escape Art, helped care for Wu Zheng, and spent a quiet morning with Twelfth Madam Luo as Wu Zheng mourned his lost family.

• He Jin told Hou Yang that Twelfth Madam Luo had knocked him unconscious with one move, and the two concluded she was likely a Great Grandmaster.
• Their gathered information identified Ding Songyan as a Xiaoming Sect disciple, while He Jin suspected Twelfth Madam Luo was the true power behind the wine shop and ordered surveillance as they awaited the prince’s decision.
• Twelfth Madam Luo used Spirit-Calming Incense to ease Wu Zheng’s damaged divine soul, while Ding Songyan reviewed and mastered the Five Elements Escape Art at the cost of six years of lifespan.
• Ding Songyan practiced swordsmanship the next morning, and Twelfth Madam Luo explained how he might adapt the essence of the Betrayal-Trust Sword to his own techniques.
• Twelfth Madam Luo and Ding Songyan prepared breakfast and discussed keeping Wu Zheng hidden; watching them reminded Wu Zheng of his family, and grief overwhelmed him.

Wu Zheng recovered enough to witness Ding Songyan’s baffling swordsmanship, while Ding Songyan planned to get him safely to Phoenix Terrace Studio using a disguise built on the Dao of Name and Reality. On a walk to map He Jin’s surveillance, Ding Songyan was struck by a falling bamboo pole and recognized the woman at the window as someone who had read his story.

• Wu Zheng watched Ding Songyan practice swordsmanship and realized he could not defend against its seemingly clumsy moves, while Twelfth Madam Luo warned that the technique could mislead an inexperienced martial artist.
• Ding Songyan asked Twelfth Madam Luo about using the Dao of Name and Reality to disguise someone as him, then arranged for her to look after Wu Zheng while he investigated the hidden lookouts.
• Twelfth Madam Luo read Ding Songyan’s story and questioned him about a plot in which a falling bamboo pole brought two characters together.
• Ding Songyan walked through the streets toward Golden Pool Lake, changing his route to draw out and assess He Jin’s pursuer.
• A bamboo pole fell beside Ding Songyan, and he looked up to see a beautiful woman in a veiled hat watching him from an open window.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo disguised Wu Zheng so he could reach Phoenix Terrace Studio without being recognized by He Jin’s watchers. The plan left Wu Zheng hidden in a restaurant as Lin Chong, while Ding Songyan and Luo drew their pursuers away.

• Ding Songyan encountered Ji Hanyi on Shushui Street, let her enter his Sea of Consciousness, and wondered whether she wanted him to investigate the street.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo used their answers to transform Wu Zheng’s appearance into a convincing likeness of Ding Songyan for two hours.
• Wu Zheng left the Cheap Wine Shop with Luo, prompting He Jin’s watchers to split up and follow them or report back.
• At a restaurant, Ding Songyan hid while Wu Zheng passed as him, then Luo changed Wu Zheng’s disguise into that of Lin Chong, a supposed hero.
• Ding Songyan and Luo left Wu Zheng hidden in the private room and led their pursuers away before Wu Zheng was to go to Phoenix Terrace Studio and inform the Five Saints Sect about He Jin.

Ding Songyan arranged false clues to mislead He Jin’s search for Wu Zheng while caring for the wounded man and continuing his martial arts practice and writing. He Jin heard that a disguised, sickly man had sought a calming prescription and suspected Wu Zheng, but Luo Mingyin’s identity remained unknown.

• Ding Songyan asked Twelfth Madam Luo to help create false trails in South City and questioned Wu Zheng about the signs and techniques of his family’s inherited art.
• Ding Songyan paid Shi Wuyan to send three disguised young men on separate errands designed to suggest Wu Zheng’s presence.
• Ding Songyan practiced the Essentials of the Heavenly Mandate, then adapted his sword routine to imitate the rhythm of Twelfth Madam Luo’s fist practice.
• Twelfth Madam Luo read Ding Songyan’s story and teased him about its romantic characters and possible ending.
• Hou Yang told He Jin that a disguised, sickly man had sought a prescription on Jade Distant Street, and He Jin suspected Wu Zheng.
• He Jin learned that the Prince’s Residence had not identified Luo Mingyin.

Ding Songyan told Twelfth Madam Luo how jealousy and insecurity had ruined his first love, and how a later bond helped him open his heart again. He resolved to pursue a future with the girl he cared for despite the danger posed by his powerful enemy, then invited Twelfth Madam Luo to share her own story.

• Ding Songyan recounted how his insecurity led to repeated jealous arguments and eventually ended his relationship with the girl he had married.
• Twelfth Madam Luo explained that his jealousy had become a Heart Demon rooted in human desire, while Ding Songyan accepted responsibility for his mistakes.
• Ding Songyan described meeting another girl who helped him untie the knot in his heart and become willing to welcome a new future.
• Ding Songyan said he would tell the girl he loved the truth and pursue her despite the threat from his enemy.
• Ding Songyan invited Twelfth Madam Luo to tell her own story, and she began by saying it was very simple.

Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding Songyan how she left her sect after her senior brother rejected her, and the two shared stories that eased her troubled mood. The next morning, she revealed she was a Celestial Person and agreed to help Ding Songyan scare off Ji Hanyi, the Nine-Evil Witch.

• Twelfth Madam Luo recalled loving her senior brother, who refused to marry her when she fled an arranged match, so she left the sect and began tempering her heart in the mortal world.
• Twelfth Madam Luo explained that she had not returned to the sect or spoken with her father, though she sometimes secretly visited him, and she had nearly encountered her senior brother earlier.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo shared tea and stories, then spent the evening at the Cheap Wine Shop, where she read his writing and appeared more at ease the next morning.
• Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding Songyan she was a Celestial Person after he asked about her cultivation.
• Ding Songyan asked Twelfth Madam Luo to scare away Ji Hanyi, the Nine-Evil Witch, and she agreed.

Ding Songyan warned Wang Zhou about the dangerous struggle surrounding the Hundun Remains and arranged for rumors about his Tiger-Leopard Hidden Dragon Pill to clear his name. That night, Ji Hanyi approached the Cheap Wine Shop and was driven back by a mysterious woman, whom she identified as Feng Yining.

• Twelfth Madam Luo agreed to help Ding Songyan deal with Demoness Ji, and he warned her that Ji had reached the Celestial Person realm through the Hundun Method.
• Ding Songyan told Wang Zhou about the Fire-Stealing Sect leader’s death, Prince Shen’s pursuit of True Lord of Fire Virtue’s inheritance, and the danger of getting involved.
• Ding Songyan explained how the Tiger-Leopard Hidden Dragon Pill and his colleagues could help restore his reputation, and Wang Zhou agreed to defend Twelfth Madam Luo’s concealed identity.
• Ding Songyan returned to the Wine Shop’s Rear Courtyard, practiced, ate with Twelfth Madam Luo, and settled in for the night.
• Ji Hanyi went to investigate Twelfth Madam Luo but was struck by a spear attack from an unseen woman and forced to retreat.
• Ji Hanyi recognized her unseen attacker as Feng Yining.

Ding Songyan returned to the Prince's Residence after Twelfth Madam Luo drove off Demoness Ji, while secretly planning to keep visiting the Cheap Wine Shop for her guidance. In a letter to Zheng Zhuxi, he hinted at his role in recent killings and confessed how often he thought of her, leaving her flushed and moved.

• Twelfth Madam Luo told Ding Songyan she had scared Demoness Ji off, and he thanked her before returning to bed.
• Twelfth Madam Luo avoided asking about Ding Songyan's feud with Demoness Ji, and Ding Songyan moved back to the Prince's Residence while saying he would still visit the Cheap Wine Shop.
• Ding Songyan told his colleagues he would protect Twelfth Madam Luo from harassment, then decided to limit his movements while Demoness Ji might seek revenge.
• Zheng Zhuxi received Ding Songyan's letter and inferred that he had worn the Golden Boy Mask to kill Sun Feiyang and had disguised himself as Jade Maiden to warn her about Demoness Ji.
• Zheng Zhuxi read Ding Songyan's confession that he thought of her often, then went to answer her master's summons with flushed cheeks.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo shared a meal, discussed martial arts and the Xiaoming Sect’s lost Celestial Person methods, then went together to investigate a place where Demoness Ji had appeared. Meanwhile, Yu Chongyuan connected Wu Zheng’s case to Prince Shen and received Emperor Jianwu’s order to find He Jin and help Wu Zheng obtain justice.

• Ding Songyan visited Twelfth Madam Luo, admitted he had fought Li Linquan in disguise, and accepted her offer to accompany him to help Li Linquan.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo ate together, and she explained that the Xiaoming Sect had several possible Celestial Person Methods.
• Zhang Yingbo told Yu Chongyuan that He Jin had been an Attendant at Prince Shen’s Residence, and Yu Chongyuan went to report Wu Zheng’s case to Emperor Jianwu.
• Emperor Jianwu told Yu Chongyuan to find He Jin and help Wu Zheng obtain justice, then asked whether there had been any word from her.
• Ding Songyan brought Twelfth Madam Luo to Shushui Street to investigate Demoness Ji’s possible secret, and she angrily called him shameless.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo investigated the house where Ji Hanyi had appeared and discovered a failed Shamanic Religion ritual and a buried corpse. They left the scene to draw attention from the authorities, while Twelfth Madam confirmed that Ji Hanyi knew her identity.

• Ding Songyan explained how Ji Hanyi had lured him to Shushui Street, and Twelfth Madam Luo teased him about a possible romantic connection.
• Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam searched the vacant house and spotted a divine residence in the alley behind it.
• They entered the divine residence, found bloodstains and ritual objects, and dug up a grotesque corpse that Twelfth Madam identified as the result of a failed God-Inviting Secret Art tied to the Shamanic Religion.
• Twelfth Madam told Ding Songyan to report the discovery without mentioning her, so he set a small fire and shouted to attract witnesses before they slipped away.
• Ding Songyan asked whether Ji Hanyi had recognized Twelfth Madam, and Twelfth Madam confirmed that Ji Hanyi knew her identity but would not reveal it while pursuing her plans.

Ding Songyan and Twelfth Madam Luo went to Xiumei Mountain, where he disguised himself and challenged Li Linquan to break him out of his confusion. Li Linquan grasped the path he had been pursuing, while Ding Songyan disappeared after the encounter.

• Ding Songyan decided to have Chef Shi and the others investigate Shushui Street before he and Twelfth Madam Luo headed toward Xiumei Mountain.
• Twelfth Madam Luo won a phoenix sugar painting, and she and Ding Songyan joked over homemade sugar cakes before continuing up the mountain.
• Ding Songyan bought a plain longsword and, with Twelfth Madam Luo's help, disguised himself as Ling Donglai to keep Li Linquan from recognizing him.
• Ding Songyan attacked Li Linquan with a succession of sword techniques, forcing Li Linquan to defend himself and showing him how varied techniques converged on simplicity.
• Ding Songyan told Li Linquan that someone had asked him to knock sense into him, then vanished as Li Linquan understood the path he had been seeking.

Li Linquan recovered from his martial obsession after witnessing Ding Songyan’s swordsmanship, while Twelfth Madam Luo discussed his potential and challenged Ding to consider Emperor Jianwu’s authority. Back at the Prince’s Residence, Ding tested his new insights against Li Baima, who asked him for regular instruction.

• Li Linquan left Xiumei Mountain with a renewed understanding of swordsmanship and told Xie Fengchao and Bai Qilin that an unknown Great Grandmaster had shown him the path of a sword immortal.
• Twelfth Madam Luo explained how Li Linquan’s acquired Yin might improve the Thunderlight Heaven-Splitting Sword, then asked Ding Songyan to consider why Emperor Jianwu commanded the realm despite being only a Law Realm Martial Grandmaster.
• Twelfth Madam Luo recalled her youthful ambition by Golden Pool Lake before heading toward Tiger Tail Alley, while Ding Songyan reflected on her guidance.
• Ding Songyan returned to the Prince’s Residence and practiced incorporating his new insights into Dao One Sword, then agreed to spar with Li Baima.
• Ding Songyan repeatedly broke through Li Baima’s sword techniques with precise strikes, leaving Li Baima convinced he should seek Ding’s instruction regularly.

Ding Songyan guided Li Baima in the Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword, improving his own Passing the Torch as they learned from one another. He sought information on the Ghost-Wyrm Path and a member of the Returning Ruins Sect, then asked Twelfth Madam Luo how to hide from a deduction of Heaven's secrets.

• Li Baima asked Ding Songyan for guidance, and Ding corrected his Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword while Li practiced with intense focus.
• Ding used what he learned from Li to improve Passing the Torch by controlling scattered sparks for longer.
• Ding planned to find a Returning Ruins Sect member and obtain True Qi before Twelfth Madam Luo left the Flame Capital, then went out to pursue those leads.
• Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin saw Li practicing obsessively and worried that he had gone mad like Li Linquan.
• At the Cheap Wine Shop, Shi Wuyan sold Ding a lead on a Ghost-Wyrm Path traitor for one thousand taels and agreed to search for a Returning Ruins Sect member.
• Ding asked Twelfth Madam Luo whether he could conceal himself from a deduction of Heaven's secrets.

Ding Songyan learned that his bond with Demoness Ji might let her divine his whereabouts even after he disguised himself, so Twelfth Madam Luo secretly followed him as he went after the Ghost-Wyrm Path's Traitor. Ge Heng escaped Ding Songyan's ambush, but found crude figures depicting sword stances drawn on his jacket, exposing the openings in his defenses.

• Twelfth Madam Luo explained that divinations grew vague after seven days, but a close connection could still let Demoness Ji track Ding Songyan.
• Twelfth Madam Luo disguised Ding Songyan as Ling Donglai and agreed to follow him secretly while he investigated the Ghost-Wyrm Path's Traitor.
• Ding Songyan watched Cui Tieshan at the Mianheng Rice Shop before confronting him in the storeroom and demanding to know who had ordered him to investigate Ge Heng.
• Ge Heng resisted the terrifying shadow that appeared to him, abandoned his chance to kill Cui Tieshan, and fled to a hidden refuge.
• Ge Heng found crude figures drawn on his jacket, each showing a sword stance aimed at an opening in his defenses.

Ding Songyan, disguised as Ling Donglai, confronted Ge Heng and learned how he defected from the Ghost-Wyrm Path and why he had been hiding in the Flame Capital. He agreed to protect Ge Heng from the Path for now and sent him to deliver cultivation methods through Twelfth Madam Luo, while planning to target the Ghost-Wyrm Path himself.

• Ge Heng discovered that someone had drawn a charcoal figure on his jacket, then found Ling Donglai waiting by the window and gave up his attempt to flee.
• Ge Heng told Ling Donglai that he had been Human Character Number Nine, defected after falling in love with a woman, and fled to protect her from the Ghost-Wyrm Path.
• Ge Heng explained that he had not entered the Law Realm and offered Ling Donglai his saved silver for the woman if Ling Donglai chose to kill him for his past assassinations.
• Ling Donglai spared Ge Heng and agreed to help against the Ghost-Wyrm Path, while Ge Heng revealed that Black Sanlang was Earth Character Number Three and controlled all three sections of the Ancestor Yu Scripture.
• Ling Donglai told Ge Heng to move near the Treasure Market and deliver the Heaven and Earth Gloom section and Seven Sand-Spitting Methods to Twelfth Madam Luo at the Cheap Wine Shop.
• Ling Donglai said he would eventually make trouble for the Ghost-Wyrm Path, then vanished before Ge Heng could see him leave.