Chapter Summaries

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi confronted Fu Yangquan after suspecting he belonged to the Two-Faced Clan, and Zheng defeated him while keeping him alive. Ding Songyan knocked Fu Yangquan unconscious so he could investigate the captive through his dreams before the County Yamen arrived.

• Ding Songyan warned Liang Gan about the Accumulated Evil Path while secretly studying and dissolving the black qi spreading from Fu Yangquan.
• Ding Songyan asked Fu Yangquan to accompany them to the County Yamen, and Fu pretended to agree before trying to flee.
• Zheng Zhuxi intercepted Fu Yangquan and wounded him with her sword, then disarmed him and left him alive for questioning.
• Liang Gan dislocated Fu Yangquan's limbs, while Ding Songyan dissolved the black qi that was beginning to reach him.
• Zheng Zhuxi warned Liang Gan that Fu Yangquan might belong to the Two-Faced Clan, and Liang realized Ding had been warning him too.
• Ding Songyan knocked Fu Yangquan unconscious with Cold Shadow so he could investigate him in his dreams.

Ding Songyan questioned Fu Yangquan in a dream and then through his Yin Soul, uncovering how the Two-Faced Clan transformed him and the mission he had been given. After identifying Mister Wei’s inheritance as Suan Yu’s, Yi Qincang ordered the discovery kept secret and arranged to bait the unknown contact who was supposed to seek Fu Yangquan.

• Ding Songyan impersonated Mister Wei in Fu Yangquan’s dream and learned that Fu Yangquan’s wealth was in the Heavenly Capital and that he had been ordered to assist someone who would come looking for him.
• Yi Qincang’s men arrived, Zheng Zhuxi confirmed Fu Yangquan was a member of the Two-Faced Clan, and a constable killed him so Ding Songyan could question his Yin Soul.
• Fu Yangquan’s Yin Soul said Mister Wei had transformed him and arranged his entry into official service, and described the clan’s contamination range, transformation time, and lifespan cost.
• Ding Songyan, Zheng Zhuxi, and Yi Qincang identified Mister Wei’s snake-like, six-eyed appearance as Suan Yu and linked the Two-Faced Clan to the Heart Demon Scripture.
• Yi Qincang ordered the details reported to the Martial Prohibition Bureau and kept secret, then arranged for someone resembling Fu Yangquan to wait for his unknown contact.

Ding Songyan borrowed the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror, mastered it at the cost of five years of lifespan, and discovered its expanded range let him hear Zheng Zhuxi’s thoughts. After the pair returned to the Xiaoming Sect, they found its disciples behaving strangely, while Su Qingli considered replying to Ding Songyan’s delayed letter and remembered her promise to investigate the Imperial Daughter Sect.

• Liang Gan lent Ding Songyan the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror after Ding explained that he wanted to study it for a difficult secret art.
• Ding Songyan practiced the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror, used five years of lifespan to remember it, and discovered that he could hear thoughts within ten feet and five inches.
• Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi that he had accidentally heard her thoughts, embarrassing her, and explained that she could not combine the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror with her main technique.
• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi spent several days exploring and training before returning to the Xiaoming Sect, where they saw disciples scattered around watching ants and lingering by Peaceful Lake.
• Su Qingli complained that Ding Songyan had taken months to reply to her letter, then decided to write back and remembered she had promised to inquire about the Imperial Daughter Sect.

Ding Songyan reached the Law Realm and continued refining the Lesser Limitless Method as he prepared birthday gifts for Su Qingli and Zheng Zhuxi. After Xing Chang left for the capital, Yi Qincang revealed that a young member of the Two-Faced Clan had been sent to infiltrate the Xiaoming Sect after Tao Wenshu died.

• Ding Songyan read Su Qingli’s letter and planned to send her Chrysanthemum Cakes and a revised, handwritten Legend of the White Snake for her birthday.
• Ding Songyan reviewed the Lesser Limitless Method he had adapted for Zheng Zhuxi and realized the Hundun Scripture required him to refine 128,304 void apertures.
• Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi that practitioners of the Great Method of Hiding One's Nature in the Mystic Pass and Remaining Undimmed Through Tribulations had suffered dangerous changes in temperament.
• Xing Chang thanked Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi for improving battle-formation coordination, then said goodbye before leaving for the capital.
• Yi Qincang reported that a young member of the Two-Faced Clan had confessed to waiting for Tao Wenshu to die before infiltrating the Xiaoming Sect.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi hurried back to the Xiaoming Sect after learning that Tao Wenshu was expected to die, only to find her fighting Bai Zhaolin in a Life-and-Death Duel. Suspecting Bai Zhaolin might be tied to the Two-Faced Clan, Ding Songyan prepared to secretly reach the island as Bai waited for an opening.

• Ding Songyan told Yi Qincang to guard the captured Two-Faced Clan member and report the threat while he and Zheng Zhuxi rushed back to Flat Lake Mountain.
• Ding Songyan revealed his perfected Law Realm movement skill as he and Zheng Zhuxi reached the Xiaoming Sect and found Tao Wenshu battling Bai Zhaolin on an island.
• Xue Xian and Wang Zhou explained that Bai Zhaolin had challenged Tao Wenshu over the death of his father, Bai Huan, whom Tao had killed in a Life-and-Death Duel years earlier.
• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi suspected Bai Zhaolin's challenge was connected to the Two-Faced Clan and identified his Wind and Rain Eight Desolations Canon as an inheritance associated with calamity.
• Ding Songyan asked Zheng Zhuxi to shield him while he swam toward the island, and she agreed as Bai Zhaolin held his defense and waited for an opportunity.

Bai Zhaolin used the hidden Disaster Upon the World to mortally wound Tao Wenshu in their duel, then escaped as she died surrounded by her disciples. Ding Songyan later caught up with Bai Zhaolin in the forest and asked how long his wound would take to heal.

• Bai Zhaolin countered Tao Wenshu's Bewitching Star Shines High with the concealed Disaster Upon the World, and their blades struck each other in a fatal exchange.
• Ding Songyan reached the island as Bai Zhaolin withdrew, and Bai Zhaolin left after declaring that he had avenged his father.
• Tao Wenshu gave Zheng Zhuxi her final instructions, asked Ding Songyan to care for her daughter, and died in Zheng Zhuxi's arms.
• Zheng Ziming sensed Tao Wenshu's impending death in Flame Capital and was overcome with grief.
• Bai Zhaolin fled into a forest and treated his wound, but Ding Songyan tracked him down and asked when he would recover.

Ding Songyan challenged Bai Zhaolin to a Life-and-Death Duel and waited three days for his injuries to heal while the Xiaoming Sect mourned Tao Wenshu. As Bai declared himself recovered, Ding Songyan opened his eyes, and their duel was about to begin.

• Ding Songyan challenged Bai Zhaolin to a Life-and-Death Duel, and Bai agreed to fight after three days of recovery.
• Zheng Zhuxi organized Tao Wenshu's mourning rites, asked the sect to notify Ding Songyan, and arranged for Wang Zhou to report suspicions that Bai Zhaolin had colluded with evil forces.
• Zheng Zhuxi told Wang Zhou not to pursue Ding Songyan and asked him to claim credit if Ding killed Bai and the suspicions were confirmed.
• Zheng Ziming arrived at Flat Lake Mountain, comforted Zheng Zhuxi, and mourned Tao Wenshu beside her coffin.
• Three days later, Zheng Zhuxi waited for Ding Songyan before performing Organ Dressing with the Azure Dragon, while Bai Zhaolin announced that his injuries had healed and Ding Songyan opened his eyes.

Ding Songyan fought Bai Zhaolin through a stormy forest, concealing his true strategy beneath an appearance of impatience and desperation. He overcame Bai Zhaolin’s countermeasures and killed him with Bewitching Star Shines High.

• Ding Songyan opened with Candlelight Illuminates the Heart, but Bai Zhaolin evaded the thrust and countered with his Wind and Rain Eight Desolations Canon.
• Ding Songyan and Bai Zhaolin exchanged fierce attacks as Bai Zhaolin defended, studied his opponent, and escaped Bewitching Star Shines High with Wind Calamity Shows No Mercy.
• Bai Zhaolin lured Ding Songyan toward a trap with Wind and Rain Stir the Eight Desolations, but Ding Songyan avoided the killing storm and struck him with Bewitching Star Shines High again.
• Bai Zhaolin unleashed Disaster Upon the World, but Ding Songyan drew on candle-flame Sword Qi he had secretly accumulated and wounded him.
• Ding Songyan pierced Bai Zhaolin between the brows with Cold Shadow, then revealed that he had intended to kill him with Bewitching Star Shines High.

Ding Songyan learned that Sun Feiyang of the Accumulated Evil Path had armed Bai Zhaolin with a hidden technique years earlier to help him challenge Tao Wenshu. While Zheng Zhuxi kept vigil and worried over Ding Songyan’s absence, he returned to the Xiaoming Sect at dawn carrying a bloodstained, horned head.

• Ding Songyan questioned Bai Zhaolin’s yin soul and learned that Sun Feiyang had supplied him with Disaster Upon the World four years earlier to exploit a weakness in Tao Wenshu’s swordsmanship.
• Bai Zhaolin denied taking part in other schemes, and Ding Songyan resolved to preserve his soul for questioning under official observation.
• At the mourning hall, Yan Jingxian told Zheng Zhuxi that officials had found no trace of Bai Zhaolin, while Zheng worried that Ding Songyan might be in danger.
• Zheng Zhuxi asked Yan Jingxian to have Wang search for Ding Songyan if he had not returned by the following afternoon, warning that Accumulated Evil Path experts might be nearby.
• At dawn, Zheng Zhuxi heard familiar footsteps and saw Ding Songyan arrive in torn, bloodied clothes, carrying a bloodstained head with ram’s horns.

Ding Songyan visited the recovering Zheng Zhuxi, then went with Wang Zhou to the Prefectural Yamen to question a captured Two-Faced Clan member. The captive’s answers revealed that an “Immortal Seed” had made him Two-Faced and could conceal his second face, leaving Ding Songyan to suspect the enemy had hidden his identity.

• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi agreed on a cover story for Bai Zhaolin’s death, and she offered to help him learn a martial art involving foresight.
• Zheng Zhuxi finished assimilating the “Azure Dragon” organs, and Ding Songyan left with Wang Zhou for the Prefecture City.
• Yi Qincang explained that the Two-Faced Clan captive had been caught after the authorities spotted his second face.
• Ding Songyan ordered Yi Qincang to kill the captive and used Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld to question his yin soul.
• The captive said an “Immortal Seed” had made him Two-Faced and confirmed it could conceal his second face.

Ding Songyan learned that the Devil Lord’s demon seeds could conceal a Two-Faced Clan member’s second face, explaining why Tao Wenshu may have been targeted. He and the others realized the plot was likely aimed at infiltrating Emperor Jianwu’s next consort selection, and they faced the possibility that further plans were already underway.

• Ding Songyan questioned the dead infiltrator and learned he planned to enter the Xiaoming Sect through recruitment or the Hongxin Trading Company, then use his demon seed to corrupt promising Martial Grandmasters.
• Ding Songyan told Yi Qincang and Wang Zhou that demon seeds could hide a second face from Candle Eyes and Star Pupils unless the observer was near the perfected law realm.
• Ding Songyan met Yu Qiu, Mu Ying, and Lin Hansheng, and explained his suspicion that the demon seed’s concealment had contributed to Tao Wenshu’s death.
• Yu Qiu and Mu Ying connected Bai Zhaolin’s collusion with the Accumulated Evil Path four years earlier to Emperor Jianwu’s first consort selection, which Tao Wenshu had helped oversee.
• Ding Songyan concluded that the Devil Lord had targeted Tao Wenshu to clear the way for infiltrators at the next consort selection, while Mu Ying lamented that the court was holding another one.

Ding Songyan questioned Bai Zhaolin’s yin soul and learned how the Accumulated Evil Path had arranged his duel with Tao Wenshu. After Mu Ying destroyed the soul, Yu Qiu and the others found evidence that the Accumulated Evil Path had also hired an assassin and concealed another person near the duel site.

• Yu Qiu and Mu Ying arranged to alert trusted sects and the court about demon seeds, then offered the Xiaoming Sect help from Shennong Hall.
• Ding Songyan questioned Bai Zhaolin’s ghost, who admitted the Accumulated Evil Path had directed the timing and location of his duel with Tao Wenshu and that someone had secretly followed him.
• Mu Ying and Yu Qiu combined their sword moves to destroy Bai Zhaolin’s yin soul, and Ding Songyan handed the dead Martial Grandmaster’s possessions and weapons to Wang Zhou.
• Ding Songyan joined Yu Qiu, Mu Ying, Zheng Ziming, and Wang Zhou in searching Peaceful Lake for signs of the Accumulated Evil Path’s other preparations.
• Mu Ying found traces of poison on the island that pointed to a Ghost-Wyrm Path assassin, and Yu Qiu discovered signs that another person had hidden nearby.

Ding Songyan and the others uncovered the Accumulated Evil Path’s preparations for next year’s Consort Selection, while Zheng Zhuxi recovered from her mother Tao Wenshu’s death. Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi that he could have reached Lakeheart Island in time to help save Tao Wenshu, but had chosen a slower route partly to protect his own future.

• Mu Ying and Yu Qiu explained how a Zhourao person could conceal themselves through the flow of qi, and the group suspected the Zhourao Tribe was involved in the Accumulated Evil Path’s plans for the Consort Selection.
• Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi about the Demon Seed, Bai Zhaolin’s confession, and the Accumulated Evil Path’s arrangements; Zheng Zhuxi agreed that Ding Songyan had been right not to reveal his suspicions sooner.
• Zheng Zhuxi advised Ding Songyan to treat numerology and the Foreknowledge Method as references, and he explained why he had waited for Bai Zhaolin to recover before challenging him to a Life-and-Death Duel.
• Sun Tie returned to the mountain and postponed taking command of the sect until Tao Wenshu’s funeral vigil ended; Wan Guhong arrived, mourned Tao Wenshu, and told Ding Songyan he would have to become the family’s support.
• On the thirteenth day of the vigil, Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi that he could have rushed back to Lakeheart Island to help save Tao Wenshu, but doing so would have exhausted his Hundun power and jeopardized his path to becoming a Celestial Person.

Ding Songyan sought Tao Wenshu’s ghost to learn whether she blamed him for arriving too late, and her answer eased his guilt while Zheng Zhuxi remained uncertain about her grief. As Zheng Zhuxi left to mourn with her father, Ding Songyan prepared to continue his journey and warn allies about the hidden demon seed method.

• Zheng Zhuxi returned to Ding Songyan, and they ate together before keeping vigil at the Memorial Hall.
• Ding Songyan used Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld to ask Tao Wenshu whether she blamed him for not reaching her in time, and Tao Wenshu said she understood his choice and wanted him to protect the Xiaoming Sect’s future.
• Zheng Zhuxi told Ding Songyan she planned to mourn with her father in Changhua, and he gave her the Lesser Limitless Method manual.
• Two days later, Ding Songyan joined the Xiaoming Sect disciples as they carried Tao Wenshu’s coffin onto the Painted Airship, and Zheng Ziming warned him to beware of the concealed demon seed method.
• Zheng Zhuxi promised to write to Ding Songyan before the Painted Airship departed, and the other disciples discussed their plans to travel or remain at the sect.
• Ding Songyan decided to warn Miss Xiaoqing, Brother Youyang, Xie Five, and Xing Chang about the demon seed Two-Faced Clan.

At year's end, Ding Songyan analyzed the hidden threat of the Demon Seed and continued refining his martial arts while waiting for a letter from Senior Sister. Yang Shiduo bid him farewell before leaving for the Flame Capital, and Ding Songyan mistakenly asked Xu Chang'an whether he was leaving too.

• Ding Songyan reviewed letters from Su Qingli, Ren Youyang, Xie Fengchao, and Xing Chang, then reasoned about the Demon Seed's limits and Qin Guanchan's possible backup plan.
• Ding Songyan brought the Celestial Stars Scripture to the perfected Law Realm, completed minor mastery of the Cosmic Star-Dipper Swordsmanship, and continued studying and refining martial arts.
• Ding Songyan noticed that Senior Sister still had not replied to the two letters he had sent her.
• Yang Shiduo told Ding Songyan that he planned to travel with Master Liu to the Flame Capital, seek a position, and prepare for the Jade Orchid Grace Examination.
• Yang Shiduo thanked Ding Songyan over wine and left through the snow, and Ding Songyan asked Xu Chang'an whether he was leaving too.

Ding Songyan helped Xu Chang'an create his first unusual aperture, while Xu and Pan Yunzhou both prepared to return home for the New Year. In Flat Lake Town, Ding met the Lü siblings and offered them a place in a new Xiaoming Sect branch, leaving Lü Huaijin asking what martial arts they would practice.

• Ding Songyan took Xu Chang'an to Doctor Shao, who charged three taels to create Xu's Ghost Mound aperture.
• After leaving the medical hall, Xu Chang'an celebrated entering the Dayan Realm and planned to sell chapters of the Blameless Profound Art to his senior brothers.
• Xu Chang'an left for his eldest uncle's home for the New Year, and Ding Songyan returned to Flat Lake Mountain.
• Ding Songyan met Pan Yunzhou leaving Flat Lake Town to spend the New Year at home; Pan said he planned to implant the Black Tortoise in spring and seek the Law Realm.
• Ding Songyan met the Lü siblings, who hoped to join the Xiaoming Sect, and offered them places in a new branch with different martial arts and himself as their main guide.
• Lü Huaijin hesitated and asked Ding Songyan which cultivation methods the siblings would practice.

Ding Songyan offered Lü Huaijin and Lü Woyu a chance to join a secret branch and study different powerful martial arts, then returned to Xiaoming Sect through the snow. He read Zheng’s letter recalling their shared adventures and gatherings, and stood before the snow-covered, empty courtyard as the volume ended.

• Ding Songyan offered Lü Huaijin and Lü Woyu a place in a secret branch, and Lü Huaijin chose the Cosmic Union Chapter while Lü Woyu deferred to her choice.
• Ding Songyan visited the Mei Family Eatery, where Owner Mei explained that he still closed the shop for New Year because the young sect master used to visit.
• A guarding disciple gave Ding Songyan a letter from Zheng as he returned to the mountain.
• Ding Songyan read Zheng’s memories of their past adventures, New Year’s Eve, and a gathering with friends.
• Ding Songyan opened his courtyard gate and found its trees, table, stools, and ground buried beneath untouched snow.

Ding Songyan refined his Dao One Sword and prepared to travel with Wang Zhou to the Flame Capital, where the Xiaoming Sect would oversee the Jade Orchid Grace Examination and Consort Selection. He planned to guard Prince Kang’s Residence and use his Candle Eyes and Star Pupils to investigate threats, while his letters revealed his ongoing research and the imperial family’s allies.

• Ding Songyan formed the rudiments of his all-encompassing sword treatise and named the resulting technique the Dao One Sword.
• Wang Zhou told Ding Songyan that the Jade Orchid Grace Examination would take place at year’s end and the Consort Selection the following spring, then invited him to the Flame Capital.
• Ding Songyan chose to serve as a guard at Prince Kang’s Residence so he could watch for attacks and investigate Qin Guanchan’s possible plans.
• Ding Songyan read Zheng Zhuxi’s account of the imperial family’s five main forces and replied with an update about his journey and their cultivation research.
• Ding Songyan revised Passing the Torch and wrote to Zheng Zhuxi and his friends before leaving Flat Lake Mountain with Wang Zhou and other Xiaoming Sect members aboard the Painted Airship.

Ding Songyan arrived in Flame Capital with the Xiaoming Sect delegation and met Prince Kang Hong Jingyuan and his powerful retainers. He began his new post at Prince Kang's Residence as a guard, while the sect's other disciples received duties protecting the princess consorts.

• Ding Songyan surveyed Flame Capital and learned that tall waterwheels sprayed river water toward the city to relieve summer heat.
• Wang Zhou led the delegation into Flame Capital, where Ding Songyan observed the city's many different tribespeople before they reached Prince Kang's Residence.
• Hong Jingyuan welcomed Wang Zhou and the Xiaoming Sect, while Ding Songyan identified the prince's trusted retainers Niao Jingbai and Shi Mantian.
• Eunuch Zhang Dou assigned two female disciples to protect the princess consorts and appointed Ding Songyan and two other disciples as guards at the residence.
• Zhang Dou called on Zhang Quan to escort the three young guards to their courtyards and introduce them to the residence's duties.

Ding Songyan met his fellow guards at the prince's residence and learned about their duties and habits before joining Li Baima and Wu Mo at Luo Twelfth Madam's wine shop. He began assessing the shop and its staff, while the unexplained attack on Fan Chunlin remained a possible concern.

• Zhang Quan introduced Ding Songyan to Li Baima, Wu Mo, and Fan Chunlin, the other guards sharing his courtyard.
• Li Baima explained that the guards had light duties, and Ding Songyan chose the west side room and offered to treat his companions to drinks.
• Ding Songyan, Li Baima, and Wu Mo saw Zhang Yingbo visiting the Princess Consort and discussed her reputation before leaving the residence.
• Li Baima warned Ding Songyan about Luo Twelfth Madam as the three guards entered her Cheap Wine Shop.
• Luo Twelfth Madam insulted a leering customer, then asked Ding Songyan and his companions what they wanted to order.
• Ding Songyan used his Candle Eyes and Star Pupils to inspect the wine shop and counted its staff.