Recaps

Ding Songyan learned that Ding Qingyan was Ji Hanyi, Yan Changqing’s ruthless former disciple, and agreed to help Yan escape by attacking her. Their clash unleashed a whirlwind that shattered the building, while Tao Wenshu drew her sword from the watchtower.

• Ji Hanyi revealed herself to Yan Changqing and explained that she had been watching him and arranging events to learn what he knew.
• Yan Changqing told Ding Songyan that Ji Hanyi had planted a heavenly heart imprint in his mind, then restored his qi and urged him to help escape.
• Yan Changqing offered Ji Hanyi Dijiang’s remains and other treasures from the Celestial Emperor’s Palace in exchange for rescuing him.
• Ji Hanyi explained how she had tracked Yan Changqing through the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Yan Changqing ordered Ding Songyan to attack.
• Ding Songyan struck Ji Hanyi with the power of the heavenly heart, but she met his palm, and their clash shattered the building in a massive whirlwind.
• Tao Wenshu drew her sword atop the tallest watchtower.

Ding Songyan fled the battle at the Zhen Estate with Yan Changqing and tried to protect Su Qingli and her companions from Ma Hanjiang. Ren Youyang was killed by Ma Hanjiang, but then revived through the Useless Divine Art, leaving Ding Songyan to discover how the art truly worked.

• Tao Wenshu attacked Ji Hanyi as Yan Changqing darkened the Zhen Estate, allowing Ding Songyan to carry him away while Qi Xiaoxiang disguised herself and escaped.
• Ma Hanjiang struck Ding Songyan, but Yan Changqing's Qi protected him and sent him crashing into the building where Su Qingli and Ren Youyang were hiding.
• After Su Qingli's Grand Void Illusion failed, Ding Songyan offered to draw Ma Hanjiang away, but Ren Youyang stepped outside to face the Martial Grandmaster instead.
• Ma Hanjiang killed Ren Youyang with a punch, and Su Qingli explained that the Useless Divine Art was useless in life but divine in death.
• Ren Youyang revived as ghostly green and golden light repaired his body, then warned Ma Hanjiang not to hit his face.

Ding Songyan escaped with Yan Changqing, then realized Yan was manipulating him and attacked him while trying to remove the Strange Object. As Ji Hanyi fled Tao Wenshu, Ding Songyan exploited Yan’s concern about the Hundun Remains to weaken his control of qi and push the dagger deeper toward his head.

• Su Qingli explained that Ren Youyang’s Useless Divine Art strengthened him through death, while Yan Changqing warned her that its practitioners attracted deadly tribulations.
• Ren Youyang caught Ma Hanjiang’s punch, froze him with a palm strike, and slashed at his divine soul with a golden sword.
• Yan Changqing told Ding Songyan to flee with him and remove the Strange Object; Ding cut open Yan’s abdomen and found a yellow object embedded in its dark stomach.
• Ding Songyan used Zheng Zhuxi’s sword intent to break free of Yan’s control and stabbed at his eye, but Yan resisted with qi as Ji Hanyi escaped Tao Wenshu amid lightning and rain.
• Ding Songyan taunted Yan about the Hundun Remains and his plan to regain his strength, causing Yan’s qi barrier to loosen and letting the dagger sink deeper.

Tao Wenshu searched for Ji Hanyi and the others while the city’s defenders tried to contain the fiends, and Li Zhi fought to keep the eastern gate open. In the Zhen Estate, Ding Songyan exploited Yan Changqing’s doubts about the Hundun Remains and killed him, leaving the larger conflict unresolved.

• Tao Wenshu realized that Yan Changqing’s Celestial Person power had let Ji Hanyi escape her control and worried that the unexpected events had disrupted their plans.
• Li Zhi evaded Yi Qincang’s arrows, realized the authorities were closing the gates, and used two dead horses to prevent them from shutting the eastern barbican.
• Ding Songyan deduced that Yan Changqing had been slowly digesting the Hundun Remains and had arranged to use him to remove the excess substance.
• Ding Songyan threatened to eat the Hundun Remains and questioned how Yan Changqing had found Kunlun and entered the Celestial Emperor’s Palace.
• Yan Changqing’s invisible-qi barrier collapsed, allowing Ding Songyan to stab him through the eye and kill him.

Ding Songyan killed Yan Changqing and tried to claim the Hundun Remains, but Ji Hanyi arrived and used her heavenly heart imprint to control what he could do. After revealing she knew Ding Songyan had once returned from death, Ji Hanyi left him alive for now, while a hidden piece of the Hundun Remains remained inside an Obsidian Pillar.

• Ding Songyan stabbed Yan Changqing again to ensure he was dead, then cut off a small portion of the Hundun Remains.
• Ji Hanyi arrived before Ding Songyan could eat the remains and explained how she and Zhen Qianfan had used him to expose Yan Changqing's weakness.
• Ding Songyan secretly hid his portion of the Hundun Remains inside an Obsidian Pillar while Ji Hanyi spoke to Yan Changqing's corpse.
• Ji Hanyi confronted Ding Songyan about his return from death and revealed that she had witnessed it herself.
• Ji Hanyi withdrew into the rain, telling Ding Songyan she would let him live a little longer.

After Ji Hanyi spared Ding Songyan and sought help escaping Dingjiang Prefecture, Yi Qincang killed Li Zhi as Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang escaped the Barbican. Ding Songyan abandoned his plan to retrieve the Hundun Remains when Tao Wenshu arrived, removed lingering imprints, and accepted her offer to become his disciple.

• Ding Songyan realized Ji Hanyi had spared him and suspected her oath had played a role; Ji Hanyi asked an unseen presence across the Lotus Pond to help her escape Dingjiang Prefecture.
• Yi Qincang wounded Li Zhi with arrows as Li Zhi cleared the Barbican for Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang, who escaped through the gate using Qiu Chen's swarm of insects to distract the soldiers.
• Yi Qincang fired three Sun-Piercing Arrows, killing Li Zhi and destroying the horses carrying Qiu Chen and Qi Xiaoxiang; the pair abandoned their mounts and fled toward the woods.
• Ding Songyan prepared to retrieve and eat the Hundun Remains, but Tao Wenshu arrived before he could do so and used her Candlelight Sword Intent to clear the lingering imprints from him.
• Ding Songyan told Tao Wenshu that he had killed Yan Changqing and concealed that he had taken a piece of Hundun Remains; Tao Wenshu offered to take him as her disciple, and he accepted.

After Tao Wenshu explained what Ji Hanyi’s talk of severing worldly ties might mean, Ding Songyan told her about the witch and learned that Yan Changqing had once found Kunlun. With Su Qingli present and Tao Wenshu setting terms for sharing what they learned, Ding Songyan opened his Yin Eye and saw Yan Changqing’s lingering soul.

• Ding Songyan recounted Ji Hanyi’s assumed-sister act and asked Tao Wenshu what severing worldly ties meant; she warned that the Heterodox Path might mean leaving him without any relatives.
• Su Qingli rushed in, learned that Ding Songyan had killed Yan Changqing, and explained that Ren Youyang had gone to Riverwave Hall to help the others.
• Tao Wenshu revealed that Yan Changqing had found Kunlun and entered the Celestial Emperor’s Palace, prompting Su Qingli to connect it to Ding Songyan’s search for the complete Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas.
• Ding Songyan told Tao Wenshu and Su Qingli that his Yin Eye let him speak with ghosts, and Tao Wenshu allowed Su Qingli to listen if she kept the information within her family and shared future discoveries about Kunlun.
• Ding Songyan moved Qingmengmeng’s Seed between his brows and saw Yan Changqing’s bewildered ghost wandering nearby.

Ding Songyan questioned Yan Changqing’s remnant soul about the hidden Kunlun, but Netherworld Lightning destroyed the ghost before he could reveal the location. Tao Wenshu sent Ding Songyan home with Su Qingli, and he secretly kept the Hundun Remains as they began their journey.

• Ding Songyan learned from Yan Changqing that Kunlun was hidden between Redwater and Blackwater and that entering it required a Kunlun relic, the Kunlun Secret Compendium, and a particular location.
• Yan Changqing began to mention someone named Jiang, but Netherworld Lightning struck and erased his remnant soul before he could finish.
• Su Qingli and Tao Wenshu discussed which powerful sects might have summoned the lightning and wondered who Jiang was.
• Tao Wenshu praised Ding Songyan’s contribution, gave Su Qingli a token to leave North Water Street, and went to assist at Riverwave Hall.
• Ding Songyan secretly retrieved the Hundun Remains, then traveled with Su Qingli and Yu Yao toward home while keeping it hidden.

Ding Songyan learned more about Ji Hanyi and survived the upheaval on North Water Street, where Tao Wenshu exposed Zhen Qianfan and killed Dai Shen. He returned to the empty Ding Family courtyard, but Xu Chang'an and Zheng Zhuxi soon arrived, leaving him with unexpected company.

• Ding Songyan told Su Qingli about Yan Changqing's deception and Ji Hanyi's identity, then described the day's events while hiding the Hundun Remains he had kept.
• A warm sword light broke the Heart-Bewitching Chaos-Divine Art's influence, and Lin Hansheng and Ren Youyang forced Dai Shen off balance before Tao Wenshu killed him with the Northern Dipper Killing Sword.
• Tao Wenshu confronted Zhen Qianfan about his ties to the Sage-Slaying Path and questioned him about the letter that had led him to Yan Yong and the Celestial Emperor's Palace.
• Zhen Qianfan revealed that the letter had vanished, learned that Ji Hanyi had taken the Hundun Remains, and killed himself after Tao Wenshu promised to spare his uninvolved descendants.
• Ding Songyan and Su Qingli parted ways, and he returned to the empty Ding Family courtyard carrying the Hundun Remains.
• Xu Chang'an and Zheng Zhuxi arrived to check on Ding Songyan, and Zheng Zhuxi reassured him that she was glad he was safe.

Su Qingli learned that Yan Yong had entered the Celestial Emperor’s Palace, while Su Chongxiao hurried to get her out of Dingjiang Prefecture. On a departing ship, Qi Xiaoxiang killed Qiu Chen and reunited with Ji Hanyi; meanwhile, Ding Songyan ate the Hundun Remains and began a startling transformation.

• Su Qingli told Su Chongxiao that Yan Yong had found the lost Kunlun and entered the Celestial Emperor’s Palace, and Su Chongxiao ordered her to prepare to leave for the eastern docks.
• Qi Xiaoxiang killed Qiu Chen aboard the tower ship, took the Moth Scripture from his body, and reported to Ji Hanyi, who was already aboard.
• Ji Hanyi watched an old man depart on another tower ship, then ate a large portion of the Hundun Remains.
• Ding Songyan swallowed a small lump of the Hundun Remains as Su Qingli approached his courtyard and recoiled in terror.
• Ding Songyan’s body changed as strange organs and meridians formed, six legs appeared, four seasonal wings unfurled, and a mass of chaos gathered between his brows.

After assimilating the Hundun Remains, Ding Songyan explored his new Law Realm abilities and learned to use Yan Changqing’s remaining qi to derive transformations for his own true qi. He concealed his altered appearance, then received a farewell letter from Su Qingli saying she had to leave at once.

• Ding Songyan assessed his Law Realm perfection, noting that his strength and many changes from the Hundun Remains would fade within three to five years unless he stabilized them through martial cultivation.
• Ding Songyan discovered that chaos hid his thoughts in his Sea of Consciousness and that Yan Changqing’s remaining qi could serve as a model for deriving abilities such as Falsehood-Piercing and concealment.
• Ding Songyan used derived qi to restore his appearance, changed into his Lantern-Sleeved Robe, and opened the courtyard gate after Xu Chang'an knocked.
• Xu Chang'an delivered a letter from Su Qingli, who said her Second Uncle required her to leave immediately and hoped they would meet again in the martial world.

Ding Songyan and Ren Youyang shared drinks with Su Qingli as her ship departed, while Ding Songyan discovered that Ren Youyang sensed something unusual about him. The chapter ended with Ren Youyang asking whether Ding Songyan had eaten something.

• Ding Songyan learned that Su Qingli had left a letter and headed for the eastern dock, then met Ren Youyang, who had come to drink with him before returning to Dan Prefecture.
• Su Qingli asked Su Chongxiao how someone could approach a person whose trait countered hers, and he explained that she would need to become stronger than that person.
• Ding Songyan and Ren Youyang called out to Su Qingli aboard the departing ship, and she climbed onto its deck to join them in a farewell toast.
• The three drank together across the distance, exchanged hopeful farewells, and finished their jars before Su Qingli returned to her cabin delighted by the experience.
• Ding Songyan teased Ren Youyang about being seen drinking in public, then discussed his own resistance to medicinal effects and offered to treat Ren Youyang to wine and women.
• Ren Youyang explained that his nature as a ghost and corpse god let him sense something unusual in Ding Songyan, then asked whether Ding Songyan had eaten something.

Ding Songyan and Ren Youyang shared a meal, discussed the limits of consuming mythical remains, and parted after Ren promised to return Li Zhi’s body to dust. Back home, Ding Songyan found a handwritten copy of the Legend of the White Snake in his chest.

• Ding Songyan and Ren Youyang ate and drank while Ren explained why consuming remains could no longer raise someone through realms after the severance of heaven and earth.
• Ren told Ding Songyan that the Great Joy Sect’s legacy came from King Ziye and that he had once wanted to join the sect.
• Ren revealed that Li Zhi’s body was at the Lingjiang County Yamen, and Ding Songyan refused to claim it for the True Spirit Sect, asking that Li be allowed to return to the Netherworld.
• Ren advised Ding Songyan to learn Xiaoming Sect martial arts and said he would leave for Dan Prefecture the next day without a farewell, then the two parted.
• Ding Songyan returned to Chengyu Lane and found a crudely made thread-bound book containing the Legend of the White Snake in familiar handwriting.

Ding Songyan studied the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, copied Ji Hanyi’s Legend of the White Snake, and learned that Xu Chang'an’s family had suffered further losses. After telling Xu Chang'an he had joined the Xiaoming Sect, Ding Songyan received a courtyard deed and an Opening Orifices manual from Tao Wenshu.

• Ding Songyan connected the Taowu and She Bi Shi descriptions to his traits and considered developing his own martial arts from them.
• Ding Songyan recopied the Legend of the White Snake, discovering that his Deriving Dao and De gave him precise, balanced handwriting.
• Ding Songyan woke, cooked egg fried rice, and shared breakfast with Xu Chang'an, who told him that Ji Qingyan was Demoness Ji and that Qiu Chen had been found dead by the river.
• Ding Songyan told Xu Chang'an he had become Tao Wenshu’s personal disciple, and Xu Chang'an asked him to help him join the Xiaoming Sect later in the year.
• Tao Wenshu arrived with Zheng Zhuxi and gave Ding Songyan a deed to a courtyard in Baoping Lane and a secret manual containing a method for Opening Orifices.

Ding Songyan gave Xu Chang'an the valuable martial manual left by his master, settled his affairs, and left Chengyu Lane to join Tao Wenshu at Flat Lake Mountain. On the journey, he confessed that he had obtained and consumed a piece of the Hundun Remains.

• Ding Songyan examined the Mystic Art of Ten Bodies and Hundred Hands and gave it to Xu Chang'an, who chose to practice it rather than wait for a chance to join a Great Sect.
• Ding Songyan accepted Tao Wenshu's invitation to return to the sect, packed his belongings, and entrusted Xu Chang'an with managing his new Baoping Lane residence and other affairs.
• Zheng Zhuxi explained the sect's patrol arrangements and gave Ding Songyan several cultivation manuals without their Opening Orifices sections, promising to guide him after returning to the mountain.
• Tao Wenshu and Ding Songyan rode west from the prefectural city, and Ding Songyan proved he could ride after the horse became docile in his presence.
• While crossing a river, Ding Songyan told Tao Wenshu that he had hidden a piece of the Hundun Remains in the Netherworld Grounds and consumed it after returning home.

Tao Wenshu explained how the Xiaoming Sect rebuilt its damaged scriptures after the Southern Crossing and admitted that the Hundun Remains could have tempted her to abandon her principles. She and Ding Songyan agreed to conceal his unusual cultivation while he trained at the sect, and they arrived at Flat Lake Mountain.

• Tao Wenshu told Ding Songyan that hiding the Hundun Remains had spared her from a dangerous temptation to consume it for the sake of perfecting her cultivation.
• Tao Wenshu recounted how Patriarch Pei Yuan and the surviving Xiaoming Sect disciples repaired the Celestial Stars Scripture and the Illuminating the Long Night Scripture after the Southern Crossing.
• Tao Wenshu assigned Ding Songyan the task of continuing the sect's work, and he agreed to cultivate both scriptures while asking about the risks of becoming a Martial Grandmaster through a divine object.
• Ding Songyan disclosed that his cultivation and strength would regress within three to five years, and Tao Wenshu advised him to cultivate patiently and conceal his realm from the other disciples.
• Tao Wenshu agreed to help hide Ding Songyan's cultivation from outsiders and explained the danger that Heterodox Path forces would pose if they learned of his potential.
• Tao Wenshu and Ding Songyan reached Flat Lake Mountain, passed through Flat Lake Town, and climbed to the sect's peaceful lake and surrounding courtyards.

Ding Songyan refined his self-created martial arts and discussed improvements to the Xiaoming Sect’s introductory sword art with Wan Guhong. He then entered the Scripture Repository to begin aperture refinement using the Celestial Stars Diagram.

• Ding Songyan practiced the Nine Primal Arts and reviewed the Positive and Reverse Circulation Chapter he had developed for himself.
• Wan Guhong declined to try Ding Songyan’s family art and instead taught him the Dawnbreak introductory sword art.
• Ding Songyan showed Wan Guhong how to turn feints in Left Assistant, Right Support into real attacks through eye and shoulder coordination, then offered ideas for all thirty-six forms.
• Ding Songyan presented Tao Wenshu’s jade token to Wang Zhou and said he was ready to refine his apertures.
• Wang Zhou took Ding Songyan underground, gave him the Celestial Stars Diagram, and offered him a choice of quiet cultivation chambers.

Ding Songyan experimented with the Celestial Stars Diagram and used the Heavenly Mind Formula to make its aperture-refinement state instinctive. He mastered ten thousand stars true qi in under two hours and demonstrated it to Wang Zhou, who recognized the feat as a sign of the Hundun lineage.

• Ding Songyan studied Tao Wenshu’s Celestial Stars Diagram and found that visualizing Purple Tenuity quickly refined his ancestral aperture, but its effects faded when he stopped.
• He divided his attention to visualize all three hundred and sixty apertures at once, mastering ten thousand stars true qi in the time it took to drink two cups of tea.
• Ding Songyan used the Heavenly Mind Formula to make the apertures’ starry state an instinct, spending an estimated two to three years of lifespan in the process.
• After memorizing Purple Tenuity as a trigger, Ding Songyan demonstrated ten thousand stars true qi to Wang Zhou.
• Wang Zhou realized Ding Songyan had refined every aperture in the diagram and marveled at the Hundun lineage’s unique abilities.

After exhausting himself with Aperture Refinement, Ding Songyan enjoyed the lake, accepted Zheng Zhuxi’s offer of calming incense, and agreed to accompany her to Flat Lake Town. The next morning, as he watched a falling leaf and the ants on it, Pan Yunzhou arrived seeking urgent business with Sect Master Tao.

• Ding Songyan admired the lakeside scenery and spoke with Zheng Zhuxi, who offered him incense and asked him to stroll with her in Flat Lake Town the next afternoon.
• Ding Songyan returned to his courtyard, ate dinner, and fell asleep while reading after lighting Zheng Zhuxi’s incense; an illusory, snow-covered wing appeared and extinguished his lamp.
• Ding Songyan woke fully recovered, missed breakfast because of his Do not disturb sign, and met Wan Guhong, from whose parcel he took two meat buns.
• Ding Songyan watched a leaf drift to the Xiaoming Sect boundary marker and studied its veins and the ants crossing it.
• Pan Yunzhou of the Pan Family in Eastern Plain Prefecture, Treasure Province, arrived and asked the guards to announce his urgent business with Sect Master Tao.

Pan Yunzhou asked to join the Xiaoming Sect and use its Celestial Stars Scripture to restore his clan’s incomplete Great Canon of the Stars. Tao Wenshu began assessing his request, while Ding Songyan quickly learned the Great Canon’s star-order true qi and demonstrated it to her.

• Ding Songyan brought Pan Yunzhou to Tao Wenshu, who discussed the Heavenly Heart Wisdom Scripture and Ji Hanyi with him while they waited.
• Pan Yunzhou explained that the Pan Family had lost the Twelve Explanations of Time and parts of the Great Canon of the Stars, leaving none of its members able to reach the Law Realm.
• Pan Yunzhou offered the Great Canon of the Stars to help the Xiaoming Sect perfect its scriptures and asked to join so he could complete the canon and teach it to his clansmen.
• Tao Wenshu said she needed to consult the sect’s Martial Grandmasters and began examining Pan Yunzhou’s manual.
• Tao Wenshu gave the manual to Ding Songyan, who rapidly learned its star-order true qi and showed its distinctive qualities to her.

Ding Songyan and Tao Wenshu examined Pan Yunzhou’s Great Canon of the Stars and decided to test whether its saber arts could complement the Xiaoming Sect’s Celestial Stars Formation. Ding Songyan sparred with Pan Yunzhou, whose Sun-Moon Divine Saber he countered with the Dawn-Breaking Sword Art, then launched a sudden counterattack.

• Tao Wenshu asked Pan Yunzhou for permission to show the Great Canon of the Stars to the sect’s Martial Grandmasters, and he agreed.
• Ding Songyan told Tao Wenshu that evolving certain true qi consumed his vital essence and lifespan, and she praised his caution before directing him to spar with Pan Yunzhou.
• Ding Songyan visited Pan Yunzhou at the Warm Lantern Pavilion and explained that Tao Wenshu wanted to test the Great Canon’s saber arts against the Celestial Stars Formation.
• At the Dipper Martial Training Ground, Pan Yunzhou introduced the Sun-Moon Divine Saber and attacked Ding Songyan with Sun at Its Zenith.
• Ding Songyan used Faint Light in the Dark Night to deflect Pan Yunzhou’s strike, then blocked Sunset, Moonrise and countered with Candlelight Like a Star.

Ding Songyan defeated Pan Yunzhou by weaving deception into the Dawn-Breaking Sword Art, then worked with Wan Guhong to improve the art. Pan Yunzhou left impressed and began studying insects near the Xiaoming Sect boundary marker, while Wan Guhong was astonished by Ding Songyan’s swordsmanship.

• Ding Songyan used a prepared variation to land his sword at Pan Yunzhou’s chest and win their sparring match.
• Ding Songyan explained that he had used earlier attacks to make Pan Yunzhou stop guarding against the variation, and Pan Yunzhou asked whether he had ever fought in a life-and-death battle.
• Ding Songyan stayed at the Dipper Martial Training Ground to practice the Nine Primal Arts, then agreed to continue refining the Dawn-Breaking Sword Art with Wan Guhong.
• Pan Yunzhou wandered to the Xiaoming Sect boundary marker and crouched to study weeds, leaves, and insects, convinced Ding Songyan’s earlier behavior held a deeper meaning.
• Ding Songyan and Wan Guhong resolved the Dawn-Breaking Sword Art’s remaining issues in half a morning, and Wan Guhong wondered whether Ding Songyan had studied the sword before.

Ding Songyan received a powerful new sword from Tao Wenshu and named it Cold Shadow. He and Zheng Zhuxi strolled through Flat Lake Town, where she explained her effort to prevent wealthy outsiders from gaining unfair advantages in the sect’s disciple recruitment, before a report of someone afflicted by an evil influence interrupted their outing.

• Tao Wenshu gave Ding Songyan a specially forged sword, and he named it Cold Shadow.
• Zheng Zhuxi took Ding Songyan to Flat Lake Town to help him relax after his secluded cultivation.
• Zheng Zhuxi explained that she watched for wealthy outsiders using connections to influence the sect’s disciple recruitment.
• Zheng Zhuxi praised Cold Shadow and offered to pick out a sword tassel for Ding Songyan.
• A Xiaoming Sect disciple reported that someone had been afflicted by an evil influence, and Zheng Zhuxi went to investigate with Ding Songyan.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi investigated a possessed Tongfu Inn worker, and Zheng Zhuxi drove the snake-like spirit from him with her Candlelight Sword Intent. Their search led them to Earth Room Three and a guest named Feng Zhengning, whose listed home in the Yin-Yang Religion’s territory raised Ding Songyan’s suspicions.

• Zheng Zhuxi fought the possessed inn worker while Ding Songyan used his Yin Eye to see a snake-like spirit clinging to him.
• Ding Songyan secretly froze the worker and spirit, allowing Zheng Zhuxi to strike again and dissolve the spirit with her Candlelight Sword Intent.
• Zheng Zhuxi and Ding Songyan questioned the recovered worker, who recalled cleaning Earth Room Three before losing consciousness.
• Zheng Zhuxi, Ding Songyan, and Qiu Tongfu searched Earth Room Three but found no clues, then checked the inn register.
• Qiu Tongfu identified the departed guest as Feng Zhengning, a traveling silk merchant from Jinyang Prefecture, where the Yin-Yang Religion’s sacred altar stood.
• Ding Songyan wondered whether Feng Zhengning’s recorded details were truthful and whether his listed origin was meant to mislead them.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi investigated Feng Zhengning’s escape and discussed whether he belonged to the Accumulated Evil Path. When Feng ambushed Zheng Zhuxi at the Zheng Residence, Ding Songyan killed him with a sword strike, though Feng’s final reaction suggested the danger might not be over.

• Zheng Zhuxi learned that Feng Zhengning had left Flat Lake Town through the west gate and told Ding Songyan that the Enforcement Hall would take over the investigation.
• Zheng Zhuxi treated Ding Songyan to iced desserts and explained how the Accumulated Evil Path might use its Demon-Swallowing Evil-Eating Art to collect evil entities.
• Zheng Zhuxi brought Ding Songyan to the Zheng Residence and explained that he could stay there if he arrived at the mountain too late.
• Feng Zhengning hid in the Zheng Residence after changing his appearance and sneaking back into town, intending to ambush Zheng Zhuxi.
• As Feng Zhengning prepared to attack, Ding Songyan drew his sword and cut his throat before calmly continuing on with Zheng Zhuxi.
• Feng Zhengning collapsed, heard Ding Songyan say he thought he had killed an evil entity, and then saw Ding Songyan again as his body shook uncontrollably.