Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Gu Tong visits Peaceful Way Abbey and greets its sect leader, Quan Yong, with outward warmth while each privately distrusts the other.
• Gu Tong asks whether reports from Yu Sword Gate and Boyue Mountain have arrived. Quan Yong’s brief hesitation exposes that he has not received them, despite Jia Hua’s usual role in delivering copies to Flying Yellow Mountain.
• Gu Tong infers that something has happened to Jia Hua. Quan Yong, recognizing that he has revealed a weakness, quickly ushers Gu Tong inside to meet the Pivot Court envoy, Wei Qingcheng.
• Wei Qingcheng tells Ning Xiucong that the rival groups in the Northern Lands are “pitiable people,” trapped in a foreign land and still fighting among themselves. She urges him to trust the Pivot Court, Azure Fish Peak, and their master, and confirms that their master intends to take him as a disciple.
• Gu Tong exchanges only formal pleasantries with Wei Qingcheng, choosing not to probe her presence at the abbey.
• Half a month later, Gu Yun reports that Jia Hua disappeared after leaving the Gao household in Huaishuo Town. Gu Tong concludes that Jia Hua is likely dead—or at least unavailable—and that Quan Yong has been left in a vulnerable, passive position as the Hunting Grounds approach.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Tong shows himself to be observant and calculating: he uses a casual question to test Quan Yong, then patiently waits for confirmation before judging the situation.
• Quan Yong maintains a courteous façade but is unsettled by the possibility that Gu Tong has detected the abbey’s troubles. Their polite exchange masks mutual hostility.
• Wei Qingcheng presents herself as composed and pragmatic. Her warning to Ning Xiucong emphasizes the dangers of factional conflict and the need for trust and loyalty.
• Ning Xiucong responds respectfully, accepting her guidance and the news that he is expected to join their master as a disciple.
• Gu Yun completes his investigation and is rewarded with cultivation supplies.

Significant themes

• Courtesy concealing rivalry: Formal greetings and pleasant conversation hide suspicion, hostility, and strategic probing.
• Factional strife and vulnerability: Even powerful groups are divided by betrayal and conflict; weaker parties must choose allies carefully.
• Secrets and pressure: Jia Hua’s disappearance threatens to expose Quan Yong’s hidden plans, while the approaching Hunting Grounds increase the stakes.

Key plot points and events

• Quan Yong receives a short note from Li Fuchan, whose connection to the Pivot Court leaves him feeling trapped. He expects that using the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to find the Secret Seal will expose his hidden affairs to the other Five Mountains Immortal Sects.
• His disguise breaks down, revealing his ghostly appearance. He vows that, as Li Fuchan’s secrets emerge, he will try to seize leverage over him—and warns the “Medicine Buddha” to wait.
• Near Huaishuo Town, Li Fuchan kills a Bear-Shaped Ming Beast and reflects on the Twenty-Month Azure Fish Ring. Although he might want the artifact, he refuses to take it from the Fei Household, which has no grievance against him. He is wary of needless risks and wants to preserve his moral limits and stay unnoticed.
• Li Fuchan worries about the mysterious link between Quan Yong, the Five Thieves, and the four aspects of slaying bandits. Becoming one of those aspects could draw the attention of the Purple Mansion and destroy his ability to remain hidden.
• He suspects that strengthening his Register Qi might help him conceal or lock away his destiny, but knows that his cultivation is too low for this to be an immediate solution.
• A sudden, unexplained fixation on Quan Yong alarms Li Fuchan. He activates Embrace-Lock Crouching Cicada, flees to a remote mountain, and checks for the dangerous resonance associated with becoming a bandit-slaying aspect.
• Finding no direct resonance with Quan Yong, Li Fuchan tests the name “Li Yaoshi.” He senses a thread reaching toward him, but an immense force blocks it. He realizes that Li Yaoshi may have become one of the aspects—and suspects Li Thunder is the force shielding him.

Character developments and interactions

• Quan Yong shifts from outward composure to open bitterness and menace. He resents Li Fuchan’s pressure and hopes to gain leverage over him.
• Li Fuchan shows restraint by refusing to take a treasure he could use, while remaining pragmatic and highly alert to supernatural threats. His concern about the fate-bound connection makes him increasingly cautious.
• Their interaction is indirect but consequential: Li Fuchan’s note corners Quan Yong, while Quan Yong’s possible connection to the bandit-slaying mystery becomes a danger Li Fuchan must investigate. Li Thunder appears to be protecting Li Yaoshi—or obstructing the mysterious connection to Li Fuchan.

Significant themes

• Destiny versus resistance: Li Fuchan searches for ways to evade a karmic connection that may be beyond his control.
• Concealment and exposure: Both men fear that hidden truths will draw powerful sects or the Purple Mansion’s attention.
• Moral restraint amid ambition: Li Fuchan chooses not to seize a useful artifact simply because he can.
• Power and leverage: A few words from Li Fuchan force Quan Yong toward a dangerous course, prompting him to consider how he might retaliate.

Key events and plot points

• Li Fuchan realizes that “Li Thunder” prevented him from becoming one of the four recognized bandit-slayers. Instead, it made him a hidden Fifth Aspect, linked to the name Li Yaoshi. Through that identity, he could potentially connect to any of the Five Thieves and claim a share of their Changze—without Purple Mansion Lords detecting him. He could also abandon the name and its karma.
• Though the opportunity is valuable, Li Fuchan refuses to act on it. The four recognized places are already tied to powerful claimants: Xu Xuan’s share is reserved for a South-of-the-Yangtze cultivator, Gao Xianxiang’s is targeted by the Wisdom King, and Quan Yong’s appears unclaimed. Taking a reserved share would invite a major investigation and expose him.
• Li Fuchan decides instead to use Li Yaoshi as a disguise, exploiting its strengthened connection to Li Thunder while avoiding actions that would draw Purple Mansion scrutiny.
• He reaffirms his larger aims in the Northern Lands: cultivate Muffled Crow in Ambush and the Wudu Seven Marquis Military Strike Art, explore the Great Moth Pivot Secret Seal, obtain the Peaceful Way Abbey’s Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact, and eventually carry out his Mountain-Smiting, Temple-Breaking undertaking.
• He also chooses not to use tribulation divination yet. Its growing influence can push him into danger, and it is not a risk-free way to bypass uncertainty. Having already learned much about the Northern Lands, he believes he can proceed without it.
• Li Fuchan suspects Quan Yong has briefly sensed the karmic link to Li Yaoshi but cannot locate him unless he reveals himself. He sees Quan Yong’s unease as a possible opening.

Character development and interactions

• Li Fuchan remains calculating and cautious, but he is not simply retreating: he sees the new identity as a way to act more freely while protecting his long-term plans. His unease about Li Thunder deepens when he wonders whether it seems “like a person,” a thought he forcibly suppresses.
• Li Thunder appears to have actively shaped Li Fuchan’s fate, blocking one karmic connection and creating the hidden Fifth Aspect. Its motives remain unclear.
• Quan Yong is indirectly affected by the new arrangement and may be unsettled by his brief awareness of the connection.
• The chapter also recalls Li Fuchan’s earlier encounters with Jia Hua, the Wisdom King, Huici, and others as examples of how schemes have repeatedly drawn him into danger.

Significant themes

• Hidden identity and karmic ties: Names can create or conceal real connections, and Li Yaoshi gives Li Fuchan both opportunity and cover.
• Caution versus ambition: He must balance the temptation of power against the danger of attracting the attention of powerful cultivators.
• The cost of foresight: Divination provides information but also accumulates tribulation qi and can itself propel events toward disaster.
• Agency within larger schemes: Li Fuchan recognizes that neither divination nor concealment can do the work for him; he must still act carefully amid forces beyond his control.

Plot points and events

• Li Fuchan realizes the changed circumstances give him a chance to turn his former scheme against Quan Yong. Now operating as “Contrary Thunder,” he plans to pose as a cultivator connected to the elusive Muffled Crow in Ambush and use the name Li Yaoshi to draw Quan Yong into offering him the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact.
• He compares their positions with the previous Tribulation Divination: Three Nothing once constrained him, while Quan Yong had Jia Hua’s support and could rely on his secret-revealing treasure. Now Three Nothing and Jia Hua are gone, Quan Yong is pressured by the Five Mountains Immortal Sect and the Pivot Court, and Li Fuchan has stronger disguises and protection against certain Divine Abilities.
• At the Peaceful Way Abbey, Pivot Court envoy Wei Qingcheng presses Quan Yong to hurry. He promises to give her an answer after preparing his Magical Treasure.
• In a secret chamber, Quan Yong watches over Jia Hua’s corpse. Zilu, speaking from within Quan Yong, urges him to use the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror on Jia Hua to locate the Secret Seal and resolve the Pivot Court’s demands.
• Quan Yong resists because using the mirror would reveal it to the other Five Mountains Immortal Sects, who might then take it from him. Zilu explains that he has one last wish: after the mirror absorbs Jia Hua’s Life Force, Quan Yong should examine Jia Hua’s life and determine whether Jia Hua knew about Quan Yong’s “filthy dealings.”

Character developments and interactions

• Li Fuchan is newly confident and calculating. He believes the balance of power has shifted in his favor and intends to exploit Quan Yong’s desperation.
• Quan Yong remains guarded and politically trapped. He must weigh immediate relief from the Pivot Court against losing the secrecy—and likely possession—of his mirror.
• Zilu speaks more calmly and respectfully than before, but his request reveals lingering resentment toward Quan Yong for devouring him. His “last wish” is a bid to uncover what Jia Hua knew.
• Wei Qingcheng applies pressure on Quan Yong by invoking her master’s orders and the need to return quickly.
• Jia Hua, though dead, remains central: his body holds secrets, and both the Pivot Court’s search and Zilu’s unresolved questions hinge on him.

Significant themes

• Shifting power and timing: Li Fuchan’s fortunes have improved while Quan Yong’s support network has collapsed.
• Secrecy and exposure: Quan Yong’s mirror could solve one crisis but expose him to powerful rivals.
• Karma and coercion: Quan Yong’s karmic bond and Zilu’s survival as a voice within him make past violence an ongoing burden.
• Manipulation and mistrust: Li Fuchan plans to exploit Quan Yong’s lack of options, while Zilu’s final request tests whether Quan Yong will confront the truth of his past.

Key plot points and events

• Quan Yong uses the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror on Jia Hua’s corpse. The mirror can reveal only the strongest thought before death, not survey an entire life.
• Jia Hua’s final words are: “I am going to die; only, this will be hard on Senior Brother.” Zilu reacts with grief and bitter laughter, realizing Jia Hua never understood the truth about Quan Yong.
• Zilu taunts Quan Yong, claiming that the forces now closing in on him—the Pivot Court, the Five Mountains Immortal Sect, the Medicine Buddha, and the changing times—will bring about his death. Quan Yong remains composed and insists he will survive, as he has escaped death before.
• The mirror reveals the secret seal’s location and two people connected to it. Quan Yong identifies a list of eleven people, including Jia Hua, as having died through their own foolishness.
• Quan Yong gives Wei Qingcheng the secret seal’s location and letters of introduction to the Yu Sword Gate and Boyue Mountain. She promptly leads the Elephant-Washing Peak disciples toward the Hunting Grounds to investigate.
• After they leave, Quan Yong senses that danger is approaching. A visitor sends a blunt calling card demanding the Peaceful Way Abbey’s “contrary thunder” spirit artifact. Wary of the stranger’s motives, Quan Yong agrees to meet him.

Character developments and interactions

• Quan Yong remains outwardly calm and strategic, balancing courtesy toward Wei Qingcheng with confidence in his own ability to survive. His controlled handling of Zilu contrasts with the latter’s emotional outbursts.
• Zilu moves from a plea to hear Jia Hua’s last words into grief, rage, and accusations against Quan Yong. His reaction suggests Jia Hua’s final concern—and his failure to recognize Quan Yong’s true nature—deeply affects him.
• Wei Qingcheng responds efficiently to Quan Yong’s discovery, showing little interest in how he obtained it and focusing instead on acting quickly.
• Quan Yong and Wei Qingcheng maintain formal, cordial relations, with Quan Yong presenting his help as service to the High Sect.
• Quan Yong and the unknown caller are set up for a tense encounter: the caller’s audacious demand immediately raises Quan Yong’s suspicions.

Significant themes

• Misjudgment and hidden ability: Others once considered Quan Yong mediocre, while he has become powerful and repeatedly escaped death.
• Betrayal, regret, and tragic ignorance: Jia Hua dies worried about his senior brother without understanding the danger surrounding him.
• Fate versus resilience: Zilu predicts Quan Yong’s downfall, but Quan Yong rejects the certainty of death.
• Political uncertainty and looming danger: The departing disciples, approaching storm, and mysterious demand all signal that conflict is intensifying.

Key plot points and events

• Quan Yong refuses to meet a visitor who demands that he come down from Peaceful Way Abbey, ordering the man turned away instead.
• The visitor responds by injuring the abbey’s guards and breaking their hastily assembled Enemy-Repelling Formation with dark, heavy lightning. He leaves before Quan Yong reaches the mountain gate.
• The man sends Quan Yong a pointed message: since Quan Yong refused to see him earlier, he now refuses to meet Quan Yong unless the abbey master brings him a Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact.
• Quan Yong rewards the injured disciples with Spirit Objects and healing pills rather than punishing them, then considers using the artifact to recruit the visitor—while suspecting the man may be connected to the Medicine Buddha and the Four Aspects of Slaying Bandits.
• Back in the Patriarch Hall, Quan Yong uses the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to identify the thief-slayer bound to him by karma. The mirror reveals that the karmic trail leads into the Great Pivot’s Secret Seal.
• Quan Yong realizes the suspected thief-slayer is hiding inside the Secret Seal. But because the Pivot Court has already located it, he can no longer secretly enter and deal with the man.

Character developments and interactions

• Quan Yong remains outwardly composed, even when challenged and when his disciples fail to stop the visitor. He is cautious and calculating, weighing the visitor’s possible connection to Contrary Thunder against the possibility that he is the thief-slayer.
• The visitor is forceful and proud: he refuses to enter another sect’s grounds, demonstrates overwhelming power, and makes Quan Yong’s earlier dismissal count against him.
• The disciples are frightened and ineffective, but Quan Yong responds with reassurance and aid rather than immediate punishment. Their formal submission contrasts with the visitor’s defiance.
• Quan Yong and the Pivot Court are now constrained by the Court’s claim to the Secret Seal; Quan Yong must avoid provoking its powerful envoys.

Significant themes

• Pride and respect: Quan Yong’s initial refusal to meet the visitor changes the balance of their encounter.
• Hidden identities and uncertain motives: The visitor’s unusual lightning and sudden arrival raise questions about his connection to major figures and events.
• Power and restraint: The visitor displays strength openly, while Quan Yong relies on observation, leverage, and strategy.
• Missed opportunities and timing: Quan Yong’s earlier choices prevent him from investigating the Secret Seal before the Pivot Court claims it.

Plot points

• Quan Yong considers how to deal with Li Fuchan, who demanded the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact and is connected to Yaoshi, now hiding in the Great Pivot’s secret seal.
• He reasons that Li Fuchan and Yaoshi are only weakly allied, and that Li Fuchan’s appearance may be a deliberate attempt to expose Yaoshi and bargain for the artifact.
• Deciding to test Li Fuchan rather than wait passively, Quan Yong leaves the abbey in secret to find him.
• Li Fuchan expects Quan Yong to come, believing his maneuver has set events in motion. But Quan Yong locates him almost immediately, despite Li Fuchan’s effort to leave no trail.
• Quan Yong attacks with Reflecting Shadow Chill, trapping Li Fuchan’s shadow in a pool of water. Li Fuchan counters with the Ancient Art Rare Image, turning himself into filthy water and escaping as a false body.
• Recognizing Li Fuchan’s unusual abilities, Quan Yong abandons the immediate attempt to kill him and pursues him through a supernatural pool formed by azure rain.

Character developments

• Quan Yong is calculating and wary, weighing cooperation against the risk posed by Li Fuchan’s knowledge. When Li Fuchan proves less powerful than expected, Quan Yong initially decides to kill him—but his judgment shifts once Li reveals his escape technique.
• Li Fuchan shows confidence in his plans and demonstrates that he has more resources than his apparent cultivation level suggests. His concealed Ancient Art lets him evade a potentially fatal attack.

Character interactions

• Quan Yong interprets Li Fuchan’s demand as a possible offer to trade information and help draw Yaoshi out, but wants to test his strength and intentions first.
• Their meeting quickly becomes a confrontation: Quan Yong tests Li with Reflecting Shadow Chill, while Li counters with Rare Image. The encounter ends in pursuit rather than resolution.

Significant themes

• Information and perspective: Both men make plans based on what they know, but Li Fuchan’s broader view of the Northern Lands gives him an advantage over Quan Yong.
• Risk and leverage: The Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact, Li’s knowledge, and the possibility of cooperation all serve as tools for controlling others.
• Hidden strength and deception: Li’s modest cultivation conceals a rare ability, while the conflict’s true stakes extend beyond what either man can readily see.

Key plot points

• Li Fuchan realizes Quan Yong deliberately held back when confronting his false body. He suspects Quan has entered his scheme and will keep testing him, though he still cannot work out how Quan found him.
• Li plans to avoid a direct fight: he will use Quan’s reputation as cover to extort tribute, then confuse the situation. His false body, disguised with spirit talismans, travels to the Gao clan in Huaishuo Town.
• Claiming to be an envoy from Peaceful Way Abbey, Li requests tribute. Gao Gonglu doubts the story because he does not recognize Li, but is wary of provoking an Outer Scenery cultivator.
• Li says the Abbey Master will arrive after the tribute is handed over and offers to wait inside the Gao clan’s mountain-protecting formation. Gao Gonglu lets him enter, believing the formation will give the clan an advantage if Li causes trouble.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Fuchan shows himself to be calculating and confident in deception, using a carefully prepared false body and a plausible but fabricated claim of authority. He keeps the encounter controlled and refuses to let Gao Gonglu stall him.
• Gao Gonglu is cautious and politically minded. Though he suspects Li is an impostor exploiting the unsettled situation around the Hunting Grounds, he masks his doubts with courtesy and chooses to rely on the clan’s defenses.
• Quan Yong, though absent from the scene, remains a looming influence: his restraint convinces Li that he is probing Li’s abilities and intentions.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: Li uses disguise, invented authority, and Quan’s implied backing to manipulate the Gao clan.
• Power and risk: Both men weigh the danger of challenging an Outer Scenery cultivator against the protection offered by the Gao clan’s formation.
• Political caution: Gao Gonglu prioritizes avoiding a needless conflict while his clan’s position is already delicate.

Plot points

• Li Fuchan enters the Gao Household’s mountain-protecting formation, confident despite its suppressive force. He demands tribute and presents Gao Gonglu with a prepared list.
• The first item is a magic robe. Gao Gonglu resents the demand but complies, partly because the Household has endured past exploitation and is now relying on the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King’s support.
• Gao Gonglu brings out Flying Firmament, an Aperture Opening–grade robe that lets its wearer ride the wind briefly without using dharma power. Li Fuchan finds it unimpressive but accepts it.
• Quan Yong suddenly appears and reveals that Li Fuchan is using a false body. He warns that another use of the technique will expose Li Fuchan’s true body. A pool of blue-green water forms beneath the false body, showing Quan Yong’s power and control.
• Li Fuchan hands the robe toward Quan Yong, asking him to return it once he finds Li Fuchan’s true body. Quan Yong refuses to take it; the box falls, the robe is swallowed by the water, and Li Fuchan’s false body dissolves.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Fuchan remains bold and calculating, using his apparent authority to pressure the Gao Household. Yet Quan Yong’s arrival reveals the limits of his false-body technique, and Li Fuchan recognizes that Quan could kill him if he chose.
• Gao Gonglu shifts repeatedly from anger to deference. His willingness to endure the insult is shaped by the Household’s history of being victimized and its current dependence on powerful allies.
• Quan Yong demonstrates calm dominance. He identifies Li Fuchan’s deception, explains its cost, and appears to let the false body perish rather than immediately attack Li’s true self.
• The exchange between Li Fuchan and Gao Gonglu is marked by concealed hostility beneath formal politeness; Quan Yong’s intervention abruptly changes the balance of power.

Significant themes

• Power and humiliation: Gao Gonglu swallows his anger because opposing stronger forces has brought ruin before.
• Deception and exposure: Li Fuchan’s false body lets him act boldly, but Quan Yong can see through the trick and threatens to uncover its true source.
• Strategic restraint: Both Gao Gonglu and Quan Yong avoid immediate escalation, each seemingly waiting for a more favorable moment.

Plot points

• Quan Yong destroys Li Fuchan’s false body, turning it into turbid water, and asks Gao Gonglu about Gao Huan’s progress.
• Quan Yong warns Gao Gonglu that people who try to meddle in the Northern Lands’ balance of power are foolish or dangerously reckless. He then asks where Gao Gongjin is, suggesting the Gao Household is under scrutiny.
• Li Fuchan reappears in a distant forest. He recognizes Quan Yong’s power as an Inner Vision Great True Person but believes his true identity remains protected by layers of concealment.
• Li reveals that his visit to the Gao Household was never mainly about obtaining an enchanted robe. He used Quan Yong to expose the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King’s secret attempt to regain influence over Changze.
• By destroying the false body and erasing its traces, Quan Yong has inadvertently helped conceal Li’s role. Li expects attention to shift toward the Gao Household and the Wisdom King, leaving him overlooked.

Character developments and interactions

• Quan Yong demonstrates overwhelming power and a blunt, uncompromising approach. His destruction of Li’s false body frustrates Li’s plan to manipulate him, but also serves Li’s larger purpose.
• Gao Gonglu is shaken and intimidated by Quan Yong. Though a powerful cultivator and clan head, he becomes deferential and even experiences the supernatural effect of Quan Yong’s water-based power.
• Li Fuchan remains calculating and self-assured despite his setback. He is irritated at losing the chance to obtain the robe, but sees the exposure of the Wisdom King’s scheme as a greater success.
• The interaction between Quan Yong and Gao Gonglu is marked by a stark imbalance of authority; Li, meanwhile, has maneuvered Quan Yong into unwittingly advancing his plans.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Minor players risk destruction when they try to influence conflicts among far stronger figures.
• Concealment and misdirection: Li hides his true purpose behind the apparent quest for an enchanted robe and uses others’ actions to obscure his own role.
• Unintended consequences: Quan Yong defeats Li’s immediate plan but unknowingly helps protect Li’s identity and redirect attention.
• The butterfly metaphor: Li sees himself as a nearly invisible butterfly whose small actions stir events without attracting notice—though their effects may still redirect the gaze of greater powers.

Plot points and events

• Li Fuchan, pursued by Quan Yong, visits the Yuchi Household to demand tribute while posing as a Peaceful Way Abbey disciple. His real aim is to keep extorting households and make his earlier visit to the Gao Household seem less deliberate.
• Yuchi Yuanqing refuses to pay without proof of Li’s identity. When Li readily turns to leave, Yuanqing grows suspicious, orders him to stay for questioning, and attacks.
• Li counters with a golden beam, revealing that he is an Ancient Art Cultivator. Yuanqing uses the Yuchi Household’s Three Qi Lightening, which strips away the blood qi in Li’s false body and disperses it, leaving a spirit talisman.
• Quan Yong arrives just as Yuanqing reaches for the talisman and takes it. Yuanqing’s technique has destroyed the false body, but this prevents Quan Yong from getting the result he needs: killing a false body with turbidity to locate Li’s true body.
• Quan Yong does not punish Yuanqing. He recognizes that his own goals—surviving the Northern Lands, protecting his sect, dealing with the Slay the Thief practitioner, and securing help—may require cooperation with Li. He decides that Li’s apparent scheming and hidden knowledge make him a promising ally.
• Convinced that his probes have given him the understanding he needs, Quan Yong transforms into turbid water and disappears, preparing to make his own move.

Character developments

• Li Fuchan enjoys manipulating others but checks his own excitement and remains focused on survival and strategy. When Yuanqing’s technique destroys his false body, his surprise reveals that the method is a serious threat to his usual tactics.
• Yuchi Yuanqing is proud and wary, initially dismissing Li and then trying to detain him. He demonstrates the power of his household’s technique, though he unknowingly disrupts Quan Yong’s plan.
• Quan Yong emerges as a cautious, politically minded strategist. Rather than acting on Li’s expectations or blaming Yuanqing, he evaluates the larger situation and chooses to approach Li as a possible source of aid.

Significant themes

• Schemes and counter-schemes: Characters’ actions can serve another person’s plan, even when they believe they are acting independently.
• The limits of foresight: Quan Yong admits he cannot fully see through a more capable schemer, so he relies on judgment and intuition.
• Alliance as necessity: Quan Yong’s many threats and obligations push him toward seeking outside help, even from someone whose motives remain unclear.

Character interactions

• Li tries to manipulate Yuanqing through his false identity and calculated departure; Yuanqing’s suspicion turns the encounter into a fight.
• Their clash unintentionally brings Quan Yong face-to-face with Li’s spirit talisman and confirms that Li gives him the same unsettling impression as the anonymous letters.
• Quan Yong declines the retaliation Li expected and instead treats the encounter as a step toward deciding whether Li can help him.

Jiang Chengzi helped Wei Qingcheng’s party enter the Great Scorpion Pivot’s Secret Seal and retrieve an Ancient Arts text while Li Fuchan hid nearby. Quan Yong trapped Li Fuchan, gave him the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact, and demanded that he help Peaceful Way Abbey return south.

• Jiang Chengzi guided Wei Qingcheng and her party into the Secret Seal, where he used controlled Sword Qi to make a safe path through the bats.
• Wei Qingcheng found the Ancient Arts text, unaware that Li Fuchan was watching from a hidden chamber.
• Qu Chuling entered the Secret Seal, prompting Li Fuchan to flee, but Quan Yong stopped him and revealed that he had used a False Body to reach the chamber.
• Quan Yong explained that he had offered the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to secure help from Yu Sword Gate or Boyue Mountain, then handed Li Fuchan the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact.
• Quan Yong declared that he wanted to return south and insisted that Li Fuchan help him lead Peaceful Way Abbey there.

Li Fuchan and Quan Yong swore a Spirit Oath and exchanged a series of concessions, with Li Fuchan obtaining the Errant Thunder Drum, a Magic Robe, an Enchanted Sword, and the Upper Pool Fishing Azure Art. Quan Yong then ordered him to sabotage the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King's scheme, leaving Li Fuchan stunned.

• Li Fuchan agreed to join forces with Quan Yong, and they swore a Spirit Oath.
• Quan Yong explained the Errant Thunder Drum's powers, and Li Fuchan considered how it might work with the Fu Ying Contemplation and Perception Sutra.
• Quan Yong agreed to give Li Fuchan the Yulun Magic Robe and an Enchanted Sword.
• Li Fuchan pressured Quan Yong into giving him the Upper Pool Fishing Azure Art, then resolved to replenish his Fate Root and reach Inner Vision before leaving the Northern Lands.
• Quan Yong told Li Fuchan to sabotage the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King's scheme, and Li Fuchan's composure froze.

Li Fuchan pretended to accept Quan Yong’s request to kill Gao Gongjin, then trapped him with the Great Banner Pivot Heart-Locking Stele. With Quan Yong caught and the threat of being drawn into Purple Mansion schemes still looming, Li Fuchan returned to Tribulation Divination.

• Quan Yong asked Li Fuchan to kill Gao Gongjin, promising that a patron connected to the Peaceful Way Abbey would shoulder the consequences.
• Li Fuchan appeared to agree and followed Quan Yong, then used the Great Banner Pivot Heart-Locking Stele to trap him in an illusion.
• Quan Yong realized he had been trapped and sat before the stele, while Li Fuchan considered how his schemes had left him vulnerable to Quan Yong’s demands.
• Li Fuchan reflected that he had acted out of necessity to survive and advance his Dao Attainment, and feared Quan Yong might expose him to a Purple Mansion Lord.
• Li Fuchan returned to his hiding place and entered Tribulation Divination again.

Li Fuchan used the Errant Thunder Drum to wound Quan Yong’s Life Force and planted a spell in him before pulling him from the Stone Stele’s illusion. After Quan Yong tried to kill him and was forced back into the illusion, he agreed to continue cooperating with Li Fuchan.

• Li Fuchan decided to use Tribulation Qi for divination and make the situation more chaotic rather than risk being exposed to Purple Mansion cultivators.
• Li Fuchan struck the Errant Thunder Drum three times, sending dim gray lightning into Quan Yong and disrupting his Life Force.
• Li Fuchan used the Fu Ying Contemplation and Perception Sutra to plant a protective spell in Quan Yong while he remained trapped in the Stone Stele’s illusion.
• Li Fuchan pulled Quan Yong from the illusion, but Quan Yong attacked him with Turbid Water and tried to kill him.
• Li Fuchan stopped the Sutra, dragged Quan Yong back into the illusion, then freed him again after refining away the Turbid Water.
• Quan Yong recognized that Li Fuchan could keep him in check and agreed to continue cooperating.

Li Fuchan accepted Quan Yong’s plan to draw Gao Gongjin out and went to Huaishuo Town, where he waited as forces shifted and Ming Beasts broke loose. When Quan Yong’s letter arrived, Li Fuchan struck the Yellow War Drum, while Gao Gongjin emerged from seclusion, convinced they had nowhere left to retreat.

• Quan Yong gave Li Fuchan the Yulun Magic Robe and instructed him to wait in Huaishuo Town until Gao Gongjin was forced to reveal himself.
• Li Fuchan entered Huaishuo Town and received the robe, deciding to use the unfolding tribulation divination to test his conjecture.
• Gao Huan left to guard White Forest Town, regretting that he had not named his child before departing.
• The Gao Household moved troops and cultivators as Ming Beasts escaped the Hunting Grounds and charged toward Huaishuo Town.
• Li Fuchan burned Quan Yong’s letter and struck the Yellow War Drum with lightning.
• Gao Gongjin emerged from seclusion, and Gao Gonglu urged him to return, but Gao Gongjin said they had nowhere left to retreat.

Mu Suli faced True Lord Changshu and True Lord Xiue over his plans, while Changshu’s Edict caused Quan Yong’s death through the Errant Thunder Drum. Changshu then transferred the order to kill Gao to Li Fuchan, who accepted the Edict and received the Jade Dawn Purple Qi Talisman.

• Mu Suli appeared before True Lord Changshu and True Lord Xiue, and Changshu accused him of taking the demon of the five thieves and plotting to seize “You.”
• Changshu tried to act against Quan Yong but discovered he had become a ghost, then sent an Edict into the Peaceful Way Abbey.
• Quan Yong realized the curse script was merging with him, but the Errant Thunder Drum sounded and killed him as the contrary thunder’s effect ended.
• Changshu’s Edict reached Li Fuchan in Huaishuo Town and transformed into the Jade Dawn Purple Qi Talisman, ordering him to kill Gao.
• Li Fuchan accepted the Edict, while Embrace-Lock Crouching Cicada secretly neutralized its influence and locked away a trace of qi.