Recaps

A girl arrived at Diancheng People's Hospital with a rapidly swelling belly filled with countless glowing eyes, and the doctors suspected she had been afflicted with gu. Meng Huai appeared and drove a torrent of insects from her body, leaving the hospital staff stunned.

• A girl’s belly swelled dramatically on the way to the hospital, and her father begged the doctors to save her.
• A scan revealed countless eye-like lights inside the girl, and the mentor recognized signs of gu.
• The mentor prepared to operate, but Meng Huai arrived and warned that the girl had a common insect gu.
• Meng Huai gave the girl liquor and struck her belly with a Hand Seal, causing a mass of insects to pour into a bin.

Meng Huai saved Zhang Meimei from insect gu and learned that someone had targeted her, though her parents knew of no conflict or suspicious contact. After Zhang Meimei woke the next morning, Meng Huai saw a thread of cause and effect attached to her, showing that the danger had not passed.

• Meng Huai killed and burned the worms afflicting Zhang Meimei, then told her parents she was out of danger but might have suffered lasting damage.
• Meng Huai explained that Zhang Meimei had been attacked with gu, and her parents said she had seemed down before her stomach suddenly began swelling.
• Meng Huai asked Ai Libin to watch over Zhang Meimei and try to wake her by morning, then went with Yuan Yan to drink liquor.
• Zhang Meimei woke the next morning, and Meng Huai hurried to her bedside after seeing a thread of cause and effect attached to her.

Meng Huai investigated the Insect Gu that had poisoned Zhang Meimei and waited for the culprit to reveal themselves. Zhang Meimei secretly left the hospital to confront the girl who had planted the Gu, and Meng Huai watched from nearby.

• Meng Huai told Zhang Meimei that an Insect Gu had poisoned her and pressed her to identify who was responsible, but she refused to speak.
• After three days without the culprit appearing, Meng Huai kept Zhang Meimei in the hospital while she recovered.
• That night, Zhang Meimei used two insect Gu to put the nurses to sleep and left the hospital for a nearby hilltop pavilion.
• Zhang Meimei called out to the person who had tried to kill her, then cried as she waited.
• A short-haired girl appeared and said she had meant to kill the scumbag, not Zhang Meimei, and apologized for nearly poisoning her to death.
• Zhang Meimei admitted she loved the man the girl had targeted and had protected him, while Meng Huai watched from a nearby stone.

Meng Huai confronted the girl who had harmed Zhang Meimei, but she tried to trick him with her life-bound gu. After he defeated her and took her back to the hospital, he drank himself into a stupor and sensed someone near him.

• Meng Huai tracked Zhang Meimei to the girl and offered to spare her if she destroyed her life-bound gu and stopped harming people.
• The girl threatened Zhang Meimei, but Zhang Meimei offered to sacrifice herself and urged her friend to stop hurting others.
• The girl pretended to surrender, then sent two life-bound gu into Meng Huai, but his Golden Silkworm Gu devoured them.
• Meng Huai used a Hand Seal to kill the girl after she lost her gu, while Zhang Meimei watched.
• Meng Huai took Zhang Meimei back to the hospital, then left and drank himself into a stupor.
• In his haze, Meng Huai seemed to be with someone and felt waves of warmth.

Meng Huai woke beside Yun Zimo after they had sex, and they pieced together that she had lost control and pursued him while he was drunk. When Yun Zimo succumbed to the same compulsion again, Meng Huai drew a tiny insect from her mouth and trapped it in a teacup, leaving her dressed and demanding an explanation.

• Meng Huai woke in bed beside Yun Zimo and stopped her from screaming by kissing her.
• Meng Huai and Yun Zimo recalled that she had driven him to her home and initiated sex while under an inexplicable influence.
• Yun Zimo introduced herself and begged Meng Huai to stay with her when the influence returned.
• Meng Huai resisted Yun Zimo's advances, formed hand seals, and drew a tiny peach-pink insect from her mouth.
• Meng Huai trapped the insect under an inverted teacup, and Yun Zimo dressed while he examined it.

Yun Zimo learned that a Gu insect had caused her to lose control and took Meng Huai to investigate after discovering that her models had suffered the same affliction. They arrived at her agency amid a paparazzi swarm, where the scandal drew attention to Meng Huai.

• Meng Huai told Yun Zimo that a Lust Gu had caused her episodes and warned that only finding the person who planted it could end the danger.
• After a phone call revealed that the models at her agency had also lost control during a runway show, Yun Zimo asked Meng Huai to prove his claims.
• Yun Zimo bought Meng Huai underwear and explained that the incident had ruined her agency’s reputation and harmed the models.
• Yun Zimo and Meng Huai arrived at her agency, where paparazzi questioned her about the scandal.
• Yun Zimo promised reporters that her agency would investigate and hold those responsible accountable, while paparazzi turned their attention to Meng Huai.

Meng Huai claimed to be Yun Zimo’s fiancé in front of the paparazzi, diverting attention from her company’s crisis. He then extracted gu worms from the tied-up models and burned them, concluding that someone had deliberately targeted them.

• Meng Huai put his arm around Yun Zimo and told the paparazzi he was her fiancé, saying he had come to help with her company’s troubles.
• Security guards cleared a path for Meng Huai and Yun Zimo to enter the building, and Meng Huai explained that his announcement would draw attention away from the models.
• Meng Huai warned the models to keep quiet, then extracted a gu worm from one girl and caught it in a paper cup.
• Yun Zimo brought Meng Huai a bottle of premium baijiu, and he used his methods to remove gu worms from the remaining models.
• Meng Huai spat liquor into the cup, killed the worms, and burned them, realizing someone was behind the attacks.

Meng Huai explained how he refined the Lust Gu and warned Yun Zimo that she, not the models, had been the intended target of the previous night's attack. After describing the difference between Miaojiang gu arts and Silla head-lowering curses, he asked what the women had all eaten or drunk, and Yun Zimo remembered something.

• Meng Huai refined the Lust Gu into a valuable aphrodisiac, and Yun Zimo offered to support him when she objected to selling it.
• Yun Zimo learned that the models had been attacked after she failed to arrive, and Meng Huai said she had likely been the real target and might be attacked again.
• Meng Huai explained to Fan Yuli and the other models that gu arts came from Miaojiang and differed from Silla head-lowering curses.
• Yun Zimo ended the discussion and ordered the models to resume training while asking Meng Huai how they could prevent another attack.
• Meng Huai asked whether the models and Yun Zimo had shared any food or drink the previous day, and Yun Zimo suddenly remembered something.

Meng Huai discovered that a cake had been laced with gu insects meant to target Yun Zimo and the models who ate it. After confronting Xiang Yu, Meng Huai secretly planted an Echo Gu on him and learned that he planned to involve a mysterious Special Envoy.

• Yun Zimo suspected the sponsor's cake had caused the models' strange condition, and Meng Huai used a Hand Seal to reveal gu insects hidden in it.
• Meng Huai concluded that the insects were intended to make Yun Zimo vulnerable after the show, and Yun Zimo blamed Xiang Yu for the attack.
• Xiang Yu barged into the training room, blamed Yun Zimo for ruining the show, and demanded that she become his woman in exchange for protection from the company's shareholders.
• Meng Huai claimed to be Yun Zimo's fiancé, and Yun Zimo backed him up by saying she had spent the previous night with him.
• Xiang Yu threatened to seek compensation and summon the Special Envoy, while Meng Huai realized he had secretly planted an Echo Gu on him.

Meng Huai learned that the Night God Church planned to target Yun Zimo that night, and stayed with her to protect her. As the attack approached, Meng Huai noticed something outside the villa.

• Yun Zimo asked Meng Huai whether her attacker would strike again, and he predicted that the enemy would come that night.
• Yun Zimo dismissed the models and returned home with Meng Huai, who teased her while promising to protect her.
• Xiang Yu met Ye Zifeng at the Night God Church, where Ye Zifeng promised that the Night God would visit Yun Zimo that night.
• Meng Huai learned of the cult's plan through an Echo Gu and decided to stop them from using Gu poison to harm people.
• At Yun Zimo's villa, Meng Huai turned toward the window after noticing something outside.

Meng Huai defended Yun Zimo from Ye Zifeng, a Gu user from the Night God Church, and rejected his offer to join them. The two men began fighting, leaving Ye Zifeng weakened after Meng Huai burned his Gu insects.

• Meng Huai warned Yun Zimo that enemies had arrived and placed a Protective Gu on her.
• A toad ate the centipedes that crawled through the window, but a poisonous snake swallowed the toad before the Protective Gu killed the snake.
• Ye Zifeng emerged from a mass of bugs and revealed that he knew Meng Huai was a Gu Master.
• Ye Zifeng offered Meng Huai a Special Envoy position in the Night God Church, but Meng Huai refused and challenged him.
• Ye Zifeng unleashed bugs raised inside his body, but Meng Huai drenched them in wine and burned them with a lighter, greatly weakening Ye Zifeng.

Ye Zifeng escaped after Meng Huai repelled his gu insects, while Meng Huai promised to protect Yun Zimo and learned more about the mysterious Night God Church. Back at his villa, Ye Zifeng sacrificed young women to replenish his gu insects and prepared to seek revenge.

• Ye Zifeng sent another swarm of gu insects at Meng Huai, then used them to escape through a window when Meng Huai prepared to counterattack.
• Meng Huai reassured Yun Zimo that he would stay and protect her, then gathered information about the Night God Church through phone calls.
• Meng Huai learned that the Night God Church had emerged five years earlier, targeted narcotics officers, and resisted investigation by the authorities.
• Ye Zifeng returned to his villa and used gu insects to drain the vitality of two young women, killing them as he recovered his strength.
• Ye Zifeng repeated the process with more young women, replenished his gu insects, and vowed to take revenge on Meng Huai.

Meng Huai accompanied Yun Zimo to meet Shan Meirong, the chairwoman of Fenglan Group, to explain how Xiang Yu’s gu poison had ruined the fashion show. After Shan Meirong rejected their explanation, Meng Huai revealed that she had also been poisoned and used another gu insect to force the original one out.

• Yun Zimo explained that she needed Shan Meirong’s understanding over the ruined fashion show, and Meng Huai went with her to Fenglan Group.
• Meng Huai saw black energy between Shan Meirong’s brows and recognized signs of gu affliction.
• Shan Meirong rejected Yun Zimo’s account and said she would pursue compensation for the ruined show.
• Meng Huai described Shan Meirong’s private symptoms and told her that her son had poisoned her with gu.
• Meng Huai sent another gu insect into Shan Meirong to make the original one emerge, and she ran to the restroom when a sharp pain hit her abdomen.

Shan Meirong expelled the gu worms and discovered that her son Xiang Yu had joined the Night God Church and used them to harm her. Xiang Yu tried to kill Shan Meirong, Yun Zimo, and Meng Huai with a drum, and a giant worm formed from the black threadworms emerging from his body.

• Shan Meirong expelled worms and believed Yun Zimo's warning that Xiang Yu had harmed her through the Night God Church.
• Shan Meirong confronted Xiang Yu over his unexplained spending and froze his access to company funds.
• Xiang Yu threatened his mother with the gu curse and revealed that he had joined the Night God Church, but his power had no effect on her.
• Xiang Yu realized Yun Zimo and Meng Huai were hiding nearby, and Yun Zimo confronted him for poisoning his mother.
• Xiang Yu beat his drum and threatened to kill the three of them as black threadworms emerged from his pores and formed a giant worm.

Meng Huai exposed Xiang Yu’s Luofu Drum as a fake, defeated him, and removed the Gu poison from his body. Yun Zimo became the host of Meng Huai’s silver snake, while Shan Meirong asked them to keep Xiang Yu’s actions secret; Xiang Yu then knelt and kowtowed to his mother.

• Meng Huai recognized Xiang Yu’s drum as an imitation of the Luofu Drum and summoned a silver snake to attack him.
• Xiang Yu’s drum broke under the snake’s assault, and the snake bit his shoulder and drew out the Gu poison.
• The silver snake unexpectedly entered Yun Zimo’s body and accepted her as its master.
• Meng Huai told Shan Meirong that Xiang Yu was now an ordinary person, and Shan Meirong agreed to let the fashion-show dispute go and asked them to keep the truth secret.
• Xiang Yu knelt before Shan Meirong and kowtowed twice.

After Xiang Yu was freed from the gu poison, he confessed that the Night God Church had ensnared him, but the church killed him before Meng Huai and Yun Zimo could pursue its members. Meng Huai and Yun Zimo reached the church’s abandoned villa and found a strange statue of the Night God that Meng Huai vaguely recognized.

• Xiang Yu begged Shan Meirong’s forgiveness and agreed to help her run the business after admitting he had been bewitched by the Night God Church.
• Xiang Yu told Meng Huai that a tour guide named He Huaying, known as Golden Flower, had introduced him to the church and revealed where its members were staying.
• Meng Huai left with Yun Zimo to investigate, but Xiang Yu fell from the third floor and died; Meng Huai suspected the Night God Church had killed him with a spell.
• Meng Huai and Yun Zimo reached the villa and found that everyone had fled, then entered together to investigate.
• Meng Huai examined a statue showing the Night God with a snake’s tail and five poisonous creatures, and led Yun Zimo upstairs after noting he could not recall where he had seen it before.

Meng Huai and Yun Zimo fought the gu-controlled corpses inside the Villa, but the people responsible escaped before they arrived. As they tried to leave, armed newcomers stormed in and held them at gunpoint.

• Meng Huai found eight dead young women in a second-floor room and used Hand Seals to remove the Corpse-Control Gu insects controlling them.
• Yun Zimo screamed when more skeletal corpses emerged from the other rooms, so Meng Huai carried her downstairs to escape them.
• Meng Huai summoned two toads to extract the gu insects from the corpses, but a green cloud killed the toads before his little silkworm devoured it.
• Meng Huai lamented that the perpetrators had escaped, and he and Yun Zimo headed for the Villa's exit.
• More than a dozen armed people burst through the front door, aimed their guns at Meng Huai and Yun Zimo, and ordered them to put their hands on their heads.

Meng Huai and Yun Zimo encountered Li Can and the Military Special Operations Office after finding the dead women, and learned the Night God Church was behind the larger conflict. Though Meng Huai insisted he wanted no part in the affair, he decided to keep investigating to protect Yun Zimo, then rushed toward the staff dormitory after Fan Yuli screamed over the phone.

• Li Can and his armed subordinates arrived at the villa, confirmed the victims were dead, and lowered their guns after identifying themselves as the Military Special Operations Office.
• Meng Huai and Li Can exchanged information about their cultivation backgrounds, and Li Can urged Meng Huai to help destroy the Night God Church.
• Li Can let Meng Huai and Yun Zimo leave, then ordered his men to burn the villa and conceal the deaths as a camping accident.
• Meng Huai told Yun Zimo they would visit the Golden Flower Tour Group the next day, since the Night God Church would not leave them alone.
• Fan Yuli called Yun Zimo and screamed, so Meng Huai and Yun Zimo turned the car around and sped toward the staff dormitory.

After Qi Xiaoyun died in a grotesque attack involving black threadworms, Meng Huai contained the supernatural threat and Yun Zimo moved the frightened models to her villa. The models’ account pointed to Qi Xiaoyun’s takeout, while Meng Huai wondered why someone had targeted her and resolved to reconsider what he had missed.

• Yun Zimo and Meng Huai found Qi Xiaoyun dead in the dormitory, her abdomen infested with black threadworms.
• Meng Huai trapped the worms in a bamboo basket, destroyed it when cold black flames appeared, and restored Qi Xiaoyun’s abdomen but could not revive her.
• Yun Zimo scolded Meng Huai for looking at the models, then arranged for Qi Xiaoyun’s death to be reported as a sudden illness and brought the other models to her villa.
• Fan Yuli told Meng Huai that Qi Xiaoyun had ordered takeout before she screamed and died, and that she had mentioned a Japanese clothing group offering the models paid work.
• Meng Huai suspected the takeout was connected to the attack and questioned why anyone would target Qi Xiaoyun, deciding to rethink the events.

Meng Huai and Yun Zimo investigated tour guide He Huaying, who seemed unaware of the mysterious sect until she called Meng Huai and led him into a ghost domain. He reached the Butterfly Bar and encountered He Huaying transformed into a completely different-looking woman.

• Yun Zimo and Meng Huai hired He Huaying as their guide and asked her about the mysterious sect, but she claimed not to know anything about it.
• Yun Zimo arranged a tour for herself and Meng Huai while He Huaying guided them around for two days; He Huaying continued to appear ignorant of the sect.
• After Yun Zimo left to handle business, He Huaying called Meng Huai and told him to find her at the nonexistent Butterfly Bar in Butterfly Alley.
• Meng Huai followed the directions and discovered that Butterfly Alley was a ghost domain before entering the bar.
• The bartender, You Xueli, told Meng Huai that only people with a destined connection could enter the bar, and He Huaying appeared beside him looking completely different.

Meng Huai confronted He Huaying at the Butterfly Bar over the deaths of several women and refused to let her Gu operation continue. After learning the bar was a Lawless Land where his Gu could not help him, he found himself mysteriously back in his bed.

• Meng Huai resisted He Huaying’s nighttime charm and accused her of being responsible for the deaths of female students and a model.
• He Huaying said the students had sought luxury and the model had broken a promise, then asked Meng Huai to leave her group alone.
• Meng Huai vowed that she could not use Gu to harm people, but his Gu insects failed to appear when he tried to summon them.
• Hu Tianzhen introduced herself as the Butterfly Bar’s owner and explained that no one could fight or use magic in the Lawless Land.
• Meng Huai rejected He Huaying’s offer to back down, then lost consciousness and awoke in his own bed.

Meng Huai realized the Butterfly Bar incident had taken place in a dream and confronted Fan Yuli about Qi Xiaoyun’s death and the fashion show sabotage. Fan Yuli confessed to activating the lust gu early, and Yun Zimo learned that her trusted employee had betrayed her, while Meng Huai demanded to know who had put the gu in Fan Yuli.

• Meng Huai woke from the apparent dream, confirmed Yun Zimo was safe, and suspected that Qi Xiaoyun’s death was connected to something Fan Yuli had concealed.
• Meng Huai learned that He Huaying had suddenly fallen gravely ill and died, then concluded the Butterfly Bar had been part of a dream created with the Dream-Entering Grand Method.
• Meng Huai used a special rhythm to awaken the gu in Fan Yuli and accused her of influencing the models and helping Xiang Yu sabotage the fashion show.
• Fan Yuli admitted that she had made the gu activate early to ruin the show and take revenge, and said the models were used as playthings by powerful men.
• Meng Huai accused Fan Yuli of helping destroy the company and having a role in Qi Xiaoyun’s death, while Yun Zimo confronted her over the betrayal.
• Meng Huai demanded that Fan Yuli reveal who had put the gu in her.

Meng Huai and Yun Zimo uncovered how Fan Yuli had helped Pei Cuiyun target the company and how Qi Xiaoyun had been drawn into the scheme. Yun Zimo chose to sell her company to Fame and use the money to establish a charity in Xiaoyun’s name, but the chapter ended with Meng Huai recognizing Hoshino Aki as a fellow practitioner.

• Yun Zimo and Meng Huai confronted Fan Yuli, who admitted that Pei Cuiyun and Hoshino Aki had persuaded her to betray the company and lure Qi Xiaoyun away.
• Fan Yuli left to work for Pei Cuiyun, and many models followed her, worsening Yun Zimo’s company’s troubles.
• Yun Zimo decided to sell her modeling company to Fame and donate the proceeds to a foundation for children who could not afford schooling, named after Qi Xiaoyun.
• Yun Zimo and Meng Huai arrived at the company the next day and found many departments deserted.
• Fan Yuli returned with a businesswoman and Hoshino Aki, whom Meng Huai recognized as a fellow practitioner.

Pei Cuiyun threatened Yun Zimo after taking control of her company, while Hoshino Aki tried to bewitch Yun Zimo and was stopped by the Silver Snake. Meng Huai confronted Hoshino Aki about the attack and the deaths linked to gu poison, then turned to Fan Yuli, suspecting she had concealed the truth.

• Pei Cuiyun taunted Yun Zimo over losing her company and threatened to destroy her family if she tried to live happily with her fiancé.
• Hoshino Aki used Japanese dark arts on Yun Zimo, but the Silver Snake emerged from Yun Zimo's brow and wounded Hoshino Aki's face.
• Meng Huai revealed his Natal Golden Cicada Gu's aura and demanded that Hoshino Aki explain her attack on his fiancée.
• Hoshino Aki admitted Pei Cuiyun had hired her but denied knowing gu poison arts or causing the deaths of Fan Yuli's victims.
• Meng Huai questioned Fan Yuli about the Lust Gu and Qi Xiaoyun's death, and Fan Yuli met his gaze with an eerie smile.

Meng Huai confronted Ye Yao, who had been using Fan Yuli as a vessel, and secured a payment from Hoshino Aki before Ye Yao escaped by faking Fan Yuli's death. After warning that the Night God Church remained a threat, Meng Huai suggested breaking up with Yun Zimo to protect her, but she dragged him back to the villa.

• Ye Yao revealed himself through Fan Yuli and offered Meng Huai a place as Left Protector of the Night God Church, but Meng Huai refused.
• Yun Zimo tried to escape, but Ye Yao blocked the side door and trapped her and Meng Huai.
• Ye Yao demanded that Hoshino Aki pay ten times the company's purchase price, and Hoshino Aki wrote a check while Pei Cuiyun objected.
• Ye Yao jumped from the window, leaving Fan Yuli's body behind, and Meng Huai accepted Hoshino Aki's payment while warning her not to cause trouble.
• Meng Huai realized the figure Yun Zimo saw leaving was Ye Yao and warned that the Night God Church would be difficult to handle.
• Meng Huai suggested that he and Yun Zimo break up to keep her safe, but Yun Zimo drove him back to the villa and dragged him inside.