Chapter Summaries

Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to consider an alliance against Yin Xian, arguing that Yin Xian possessed the Imperial Heirloom Seal and threatened to bring chaos to the realm. The chapter ended with Yang Qing offering Mo Yi the seal and dominion over the realm as the rewards for sending troops to Urn City.

• Mo Yi's guards brought Yang Qing and his companions from their inn to the Imperial Palace.
• Yang Qing told Mo Yi that the lord of Urn City had sent them to discuss a profitable deal.
• Yang Qing warned Mo Yi that Yin Xian had truly obtained the Imperial Heirloom Seal and could use it to claim dominion over the realm.
• Yang Qing argued that Mo Yi would be a better ruler than Yin Xian and urged him to act before Yin Xian could seize power.
• Mo Yi questioned what he would gain from sending troops against Yin Xian, and Yang Qing named the Imperial Heirloom Seal and dominion over the realm.

Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to send reinforcements toward Urn City, while Mo Yi suspected he was part of a plot involving Mo Ze. When Mo Yi’s army disappeared in the desert, Yang Qing blamed mirages and won permission to leave the Imperial Capital to find them.

• Mo Yi suspected Yang Qing and his companions of plotting with Mo Ze, but lowered his guard after reading the Wengcheng City Lord’s letter and seeing his seal.
• Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to dispatch troops toward Urn City in search of the Imperial Heirloom Seal.
• Mo Yi kept Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Fen Liyou in the Imperial Capital, intending to detain them.
• After over ten thousand troops vanished on the road, Mo Yi confronted Yang Qing, who said autumn mirages could have trapped them in the desert.
• Mo Yi accepted that he had sent the reinforcements ahead without a guide and ordered Yang Qing to find the army or face punishment.

Yang Qing led his companions across the desert in search of Mo Yi’s missing army, explaining that the soldiers had likely vanished into an ancient underground river route. After Mo Yi’s guards tried to kill them when the search deadline passed, Bu Er disarmed their leader and forced the guards to drive toward Urn City, which remained on the brink of destruction.

• Yang Qing told Bu Er that his claim about mirages was a fabrication, while the guards accompanying them kept watch on the carriage.
• After a day in the desert, the group found no trace of the army, and Fen Liyou explained that the region had once been a river and the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s Military Training Grounds.
• Yang Qing said the missing troops might have entered an underground river leading near Urn City and told his companions to continue toward its exit.
• After three days without finding the army, Mo Yi’s personal guard blocked the road and threatened to enforce military law against Yang Qing and his companions.
• Bu Er severed the lead guard’s sword hand when he attacked, then forced the guards to drive the carriage toward Urn City.

Yin Xian attacked the City Lord's Mansion after learning Yang Qing and his companions had left Urn City, but the Western Regions army arrived and defeated his forces. Yin Xian leapt from a cliff rather than surrender the Imperial Heirloom Seal, leaving his fate unknown.

• Yin Xian ordered his men to besiege the City Lord's Mansion, forcing the Wengcheng City Lord's forces to defend themselves.
• A Western Regions army of more than ten thousand arrived, and Yin Xian halted his attack while he tried to learn their intentions.
• The Western Regions general told Yin Xian his master wanted Urn City and the Imperial Heirloom Seal, then led the army into battle.
• The Western Regions army defeated Yin Xian's men and pursued him to a cliff, where the general demanded the Imperial Heirloom Seal.
• Yin Xian said he did not have the seal and leapt from the cliff; the general ordered his men to take and examine Yin Xian's abandoned wheelchair.

After Urn City’s siege ended, Yang Qing and his companions thanked the Wengcheng City Lord, accepted travel money, and prepared to leave. They went to meet Ouyang Lin and Great Hero Pei at the post station, where a fire suddenly broke out.

• The Western Regions troops withdrew after Yin Xian’s fate became unknown, ending the siege of Urn City.
• Yang Qing and his companions visited the Wengcheng City Lord, who offered them a reward for helping save the city.
• Yang Qing told the City Lord they planned to leave Urn City and warned that the Western Regions Kingdom might have future dealings with him.
• The City Lord gave Yang Qing banknotes and gold ingots, and Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and their companions left the mansion.
• Yang Qing’s group went to the post station to meet Ouyang Lin and Great Hero Pei, but a fire erupted inside as they arrived.

Jiang Zhizhou, Ouyang Lin, and Pei Buji rescued the unconscious Yijiang Saintess and her guardian from a burning relay station, then fled with Yang Qing and their companions. Three days later, the saintess awoke, struck Yang Qing, and introduced herself as Mo Beixing before admitting she had acted rashly.

• Jiang Zhizhou rushed into the burning relay station and emerged with Ouyang Lin and Pei Buji, carrying two unconscious people.
• Ouyang Lin explained that he and Pei Buji had overheard a plot targeting the Yijiang Saintess and killed the attackers before escaping with her and her guardian.
• Yang Qing and the others left in a carriage with the rescued pair, uncertain what their involvement with the saintess would mean for their travels.
• Three days later, Mo Beixing awoke and slapped Yang Qing, prompting Bu Er to hold the Howling Heaven Sword to her neck.
• Mo Beixing identified herself as the Yijiang Saintess, thanked her rescuers, and apologized for acting rashly.

Yang Qing and his companions learned that Mo Beixing had been attacked after a secret Saintess trial was leaked, then Yijiang assassins surrounded their carriage to seize her and her Guardian. Jiang Zhizhou, Pei Buji, and Bu Er fought off the attackers while Yang Qing remained calm, leaving Mo Beixing intrigued by him.

• Yang Qing asked why Mo Beixing had been in Urn City, and she explained that she had been traveling for a secret trial held once every hundred years and suspected someone had leaked its purpose.
• Mo Beixing warned Yang Qing and the others that helping her had made them targets, but Jiang Zhizhou noticed that pursuers had already surrounded the carriage.
• Over a hundred black-clad Yijiang assassins demanded that the carriage surrender Mo Beixing and her Guardian, and Jiang Zhizhou and Pei Buji killed the leading attackers.
• The assassins resumed their assault, and Jiang Zhizhou and Pei Buji fought them outside while Bu Er defended the carriage from those trying to enter.
• Mo Beixing asked why Yang Qing was unafraid, and he said he cared only about staying true to himself and trusted his companions to prevail.

Yang Qing and his companions escorted Mo Beixing through the night after assassins delayed their journey, and Mo Beixing revealed how confined her life as Saintess was. The next morning, she and her guardian parted ways with the group in town, and Yang Qing ordered everyone to resupply and leave at once.

• Yang Qing reassured Mo Beixing that the attackers had been dealt with, but kept his distance and could not tell her how far they were from town.
• After the carriage was delayed by assassins, Yang Qing and his companions camped by a fire, where Mo Beixing described the isolation and burdens of serving as Saintess.
• Mo Beixing thanked the group and returned to the carriage, then privately resolved to accept her fate while wondering why assassins were targeting her descent from the mountain.
• Jiang Zhizhou asked Yang Qing why he had not questioned Mo Beixing about her mission, and Yang Qing told him to wait rather than pry.
• The group reached a town the next morning, where Mo Beixing and her awakened guardian thanked Yang Qing and departed; Yang Qing told his companions to restock food and leave immediately.

Yang Qing followed Mo Beixing toward Azure Cloud Fortress after the Remnant Book revealed new words, while reflecting on his lost Dark Alliance. In the mountains, Mo Beixing and her injured Grand Protector were ambushed, and a shadow suddenly descended behind them.

• Yang Qing showed Jiang Zhizhou new words in the Remnant Book and sent Bu Er to secretly follow Mo Beixing and her protector.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou left town for the mountains, following Bu Er’s marks toward Azure Cloud Fortress.
• Yang Qing remembered the Dark Alliance and the losses it had suffered, and wondered whether he could reconnect with those who remained.
• A burly man tried to make Mo Beixing travel with him, then attacked her when she refused.
• The man targeted the injured Grand Protector with hidden weapons, and a dark shadow descended behind Mo Beixing as she watched helplessly.

Bu Er saved Mo Beixing and the High Protector from an ambush, while Yang Qing’s party continued toward Azure Cloud Fortress. Yang Qing suspected the Holy Maiden’s journey might be connected to the fortress’s upcoming Martial Arts Tournament and prepared his companions for what awaited them.

• Bu Er interrupted a man’s attempt to abduct Mo Beixing and the High Protector, then killed him after he attacked with a dagger.
• Mo Beixing and the High Protector realized Bu Er was traveling with the young master and continued toward Azure Cloud Fortress.
• Yang Qing’s party followed Bu Er’s marks through the mountains and confirmed that Mo Beixing was heading to the same destination.
• Fen Liyou pointed out that Azure Cloud Fortress’s five-yearly Martial Arts Tournament would begin soon, and Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou considered attending.
• Yang Qing noted that Mo Beixing’s arrival might have an unusual purpose and told his companions to be cautious as they approached Azure Cloud Fortress.

Yang Qing and his companions reached Azure Cloud Fortress, where Sun Wu demonstrated the Sun Family Saber and was challenged by a Peng Family Saber inheritor. Sun Wu won their duel, but Yang Qing realized something was wrong after Sun Wu applied wound powder, and the chapter ended with him calling for Xiao Zhou to save Sun Wu.

• Yang Qing and his companions arrived at Azure Cloud Fortress and watched Sun Wu demonstrate the Sun Family Saber Technique.
• A man claiming to inherit the Peng Family Saber challenged Sun Wu and demanded that the loser abandon his family's saber art.
• Sun Wu recovered from an early disadvantage, defeated the challenger, and forced him to concede the Sun Family Saber was superior.
• Yang Qing noticed Sun Wu's wound changing color after he applied wound powder and called for Xiao Zhou to save him.

Yang Qing and his companions saved Sun Wu from a poisoned wound and found a place to stay in the crowded Azure Cloud Fortress. After learning that Mo Beixing had gone to the Mu Family ahead of the Martial Arts Tournament, Yang Qing wondered whether the prophecy about the Holy Maiden would come true.

• Jiang Zhizhou treated Sun Wu's poisoned shoulder, and Yang Qing's group carried him into the Azure Cloud Fortress.
• The group failed to find an available inn, so a waiter led them to a courtyard house and Yang Qing paid for a month's lodging and meals.
• Sun Wu awoke, accepted Yang Qing's offer to stay with them, and said he did not know why the Peng family fighter had tried to kill him.
• After the group returned from the restaurant, Bu Er told Yang Qing that Mo Beixing had gone to the Mu Family, and Yang Qing decided to wait for the Martial Arts Tournament.
• Yang Qing suspected Mo Beixing's journey was connected to the Mu Family and the tournament, and wondered whether the prophecy about the Holy Maiden would come true.

Yang Qing and his companions discovered that their restaurant food had been poisoned and tried to identify who was targeting them. Sun Wu recognized the poison as Heavenly Fragrance, which came from the Eastern Sea, leaving them baffled about why anyone from there would attack them.

• Jiang Zhizhou tested the food and found a concealed poison, while Yang Qing suspected that someone at the restaurant was behind the attack.
• Yang Qing considered whether the Mu Family had arranged the poisoning because of Mo Beixing, but Sun Wu doubted that explanation.
• Sun Wu revealed that his father had died from the same poison and identified it as Heavenly Fragrance.
• Sun Wu explained that Heavenly Fragrance came from the Eastern Sea and that the Mu Family had no usual connection to its island lords.
• Yang Qing and his companions could not recall any contact or feud with the Eastern Sea, and Yang Qing said they would watch the restaurant for the poisoner.

Sun Wu revealed that he could identify the user of Heavenly Fragrance Poison and planned to seek him at the Martial Arts Tournament. After Yang Qing suspected the poisoner intended to strike the tournament or the Mu Family, the group hurried to the Mu Family Residence to stop a possible attack.

• Sun Wu said Heavenly Fragrance Poison could be remedied and explained that he could recognize someone who had handled it for years by their scent.
• A waiter checked on Yang Qing and the others, prompting Jiang Zhizhou to suspect the poisoner was staying at their inn.
• Jiang Zhizhou explained that the Martial Arts Tournament’s main events were held at the Mu Family Residence, and Ouyang Lin produced a Hero Invitation that would let them enter.
• Yang Qing suspected the poisoner might be targeting all the gathered heroes or the Mu Family, and connected the danger to the Holy Maiden and the Remnant Book’s prophecy.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Ouyang Lin, Sun Wu, Bu Er, Pei Buji, and Fen Liyou set out for the Mu Family Residence, fearing an attack was imminent.

Yang Qing and his companions entered the Mu Family Residence and discussed how to expose the person using Heavenly Fragrance Poison before the Martial Arts Tournament began. Unable to approach the Mu Family Head safely or rule out a culprit from one of the Three Great Schools, Yang Qing decided they still needed to meet the Holy Maiden.

• Yang Qing stopped Bu Er from contacting the Holy Maiden, warning that she might be watched and that careless action could alert their enemy.
• Yang Qing proposed that Sun Wu and Ouyang Lin search the Guest Lodge for the poisoner by identifying the unusual scent associated with Heavenly Fragrance Poison.
• Ouyang Lin warned that if the culprit was among the quarters reserved for the Three Great Schools, they would be far more powerful and dangerous.
• Yang Qing told the others to act normally and asked Ouyang Lin whether they could approach the Three Great Schools’ quarters, but Ouyang Lin said the Mu Family’s rules made it nearly impossible.
• Yang Qing concluded that meeting the Holy Maiden was their safest remaining option.

Yang Qing used the Bone Flute to contact Mo Beixing, who secretly arranged a midnight meeting with Jiang Zhizhou and Ouyang Lin. They learned that Mo Beixing and the Mu family head were investigating the plot to destabilize the martial arts world, but they still had no answer about the source of the Heavenly Fragrance Poison.

• Yang Qing sent Jiang Zhizhou to locate Mo Beixing and learned she was staying in a heavily guarded courtyard near the Mu family head’s quarters.
• Yang Qing played the Bone Flute outside Mo Beixing’s courtyard, hoping she would recognize its sound and understand that he needed to speak with her.
• Yang Qing met the Holy Maiden’s Grand Protector the next morning and found two leaves marked with a secret midnight meeting time.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Ouyang Lin met Mo Beixing in the rain and told her what they suspected.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Ouyang Lin reported that the Mu family head was also secretly investigating the threat, but they did not learn where the Heavenly Fragrance Poison came from.

Mu Haiyun visited Yang Qing and his companions to discuss Heavenly Fragrance Poison, revealing that his long-lost elder brother Mu Hailin had acquired the poison and was plotting to control the martial world. Yang Qing offered to help Mu Haiyun, but the chapter ended before Mu Haiyun stated what he wanted them to do.

• Mu Haiyun arrived with several black-robed followers, introduced himself as the Mu Family patriarch, and asked Yang Qing and his companions to speak with him.
• Mu Haiyun confirmed that Heavenly Fragrance Poison could suppress its victims and make them easier to control rather than kill them.
• Mu Haiyun revealed that the poisoner was his elder brother Mu Hailin, who had vanished thirty years earlier and later become an island lord in the Eastern Sea.
• Mu Haiyun explained that Mu Hailin had returned ten years earlier and used Heavenly Fragrance Poison against Sun Wu's father.
• Yang Qing offered to lend Mu Haiyun their strength, and Mu Haiyun's request remained unstated.

Yang Qing and his companions grew suspicious of Mu Haiyun’s motives after he invited them to a banquet at the Mu Family Residence. At the banquet, they sought a way to escape and find allies, and Ouyang Lin suggested contacting the powerful Mystic Physician.

• Mu Haiyun declined to rush into dealing with his brother Mu Hailin and invited Yang Qing and his companions to a banquet.
• Yang Qing secretly warned his companions that the Heavenly Fragrance Poison affair might be more complicated than they had thought and urged them to leave the Mu Family Residence.
• Mu Haiyun’s Household Guards escorted Yang Qing and the others to the banquet, where they noticed guards posted throughout the residence.
• Yang Qing told his companions to avoid fighting, prioritize survival, and find the Holy Maiden, whom he suspected might also be kept in the dark.
• Pei Buji said he could not safely contact his allies, while Ouyang Lin proposed seeking help from the reclusive Mystic Physician.

Yang Qing and Ouyang Lin searched for the Mystic Physician, hoping to get his help with their plan to save themselves. Yang Qing identified the medicine the physician was preparing as a Clear Tranquility Pill and challenged his approach, leaving the physician demanding an explanation.

• Yang Qing decided to find the Mystic Physician while Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Great Hero Pei searched secretly for the Holy Maiden.
• Ouyang Lin led Yang Qing toward the mountain behind the Mu Family Residence, where the Mystic Physician went to avoid crowds and poisonous miasma kept others away.
• The Mystic Physician appeared at the mountain’s foot and rebuked Yang Qing for inspecting him and claiming to know about medicine.
• Yang Qing recognized that the Mystic Physician was preparing a Clear Tranquility Pill and said he was focusing on its medicinal properties while mistaking the branches for the root.

Yang Qing and Ouyang Lin warned the Mystic Physician that Heavenly Fragrance Poison might be inside the Mu Family Residence and that Mu Haiyun could be planning to use it. After returning to the guest courtyard, Yang Qing concluded the Mu Family might seek power over both the martial world and the imperial court, and urged the group to gather support before it was too late.

• Yang Qing showed the Mystic Physician an unusual Clear Tranquility Pill, and the physician admitted he had been mistaken about its nature.
• Yang Qing told the Mystic Physician that Heavenly Fragrance Poison had appeared in Azure Cloud Fortress and that its user might have entered the Mu Family Residence; the physician agreed to consider intervening.
• Yang Qing and Ouyang Lin returned to the guest courtyard and learned that Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou had searched for the Holy Maiden without finding her, while Mo Beixing's courtyard remained heavily guarded.
• Yang Qing warned that Mu Haiyun might act against the Holy Maiden, and Sun Wu realized the Mu Family could be concealing ambitions beyond leadership of the martial world.
• Yang Qing urged the group to persuade as many people as possible to leave the Mu Family Residence so they could resist the Mu Family.