Chapter Summaries

Yang Qing and the others discovered vegetables growing in Mo Beixing’s inaccessible courtyard, suggesting someone lived there despite the Holy Maiden’s absence. They waited through the night and saw the mysterious pillar of light rise from the roof.

• Du Yongquan and Lin Zhong led Yang Qing and the others to Mo Beixing’s house at the edge of the island and explained that they had long tried to escape.
• Bu Er and Ouyang Lin failed to enter the courtyard, so Yang Qing decided they would wait outside to see what happened that night.
• Ouyang Lin noticed vegetables growing inside the courtyard, and Yang Qing inferred that a hidden freshwater pool and caretaker were there.
• Lin Zhong realized someone might be living in the courtyard without the islanders’ knowledge.
• At midnight, a slender pillar of light emerged from the courtyard’s rooftop.

Yang Qing and the others discovered that Mo Beixing's courtyard was a Yin-Yang Courtyard with a hidden nighttime entrance. After sitting in its chairs, they were transported to an empty plaza beneath the Holy Maiden's courtyard.

• A pillar of light appeared above Mo Beixing's courtyard, and Yang Qing told Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan they had been looking in the wrong place.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Mu Feng spotted a second courtyard hidden behind the first and identified the structure as a Yin-Yang Courtyard.
• Mu Feng opened the courtyard gate, and Yang Qing led the group inside before the moon set.
• Yang Qing told everyone to sit in the chairs, and the group was transported from the courtyard to an empty plaza.
• Yang Qing said the plaza was the secret beneath the Holy Maiden's courtyard.

Yang Qing found the same Ancestral Shrine as before and uncovered a wooden box beneath the floor. When he used the key-like object to open it, the key snapped and flames engulfed him, prompting Bu Er and the others to rush back inside.

• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou entered the Ancestral Shrine and found the Yang ancestors’ spirit tablets arranged just as they had been in the shrine at Four-Square Land.
• Yang Qing directed Bu Er to dig beneath a brick where he had previously found a wooden box, and Bu Er uncovered another box that would not open.
• Yang Qing inserted his key-like object into the box and felt resistance as he tried to turn it.
• Yang Qing ordered everyone to leave, then forced the key another full turn, breaking it and triggering an explosion of flame from the box.
• Bu Er rushed back toward Yang Qing, and Jiang Zhizhou and the others followed as the blaze swallowed him.

Yang Qing was engulfed by flames from the Wooden Box, leaving Bu Er and the others believing he had died. Inside the fire, Yang Qing discovered that the flames were refining his body, while his companions remained unable to reach him.

• Bu Er and the others tried to rescue Yang Qing from the flames but were stopped by the intense heat.
• Lin Zhong spotted a human figure standing inside the fire, and Bu Er and the others saw it move.
• Jiang Zhizhou charged toward the flames after seeing Yang Qing move but could not get through.
• Yang Qing opened his eyes inside the fire and realized that explosive sounds and burning pain accompanied a miraculous body-refining process.

Yang Qing endured a mysterious fire that transformed his body, while Bu Er and the others waited anxiously outside. A strange rain extinguished the flames, and Yang Qing reunited with his companions, asking them to find him clothes.

• Yang Qing endured four hours of flames as his body changed, and Bu Er and the others saw him move and realized he was alive.
• Yang Qing noticed fiery marks and gold-threaded blood beneath his skin, but found himself too weak to clench a fist.
• A cloud gathered overhead, and rain fell only on Yang Qing, gradually shrinking the flames and washing away the ash.
• Bu Er rushed to embrace Yang Qing when he emerged, and Jiang Zhizhou, Mu Feng, and the others gathered around them.
• Yang Qing quietly asked everyone to get him clothes, making the group laugh.

Yang Qing survived the heavenly fire inside the Wooden Box and emerged with greatly improved health, while the Ancestral Shrine crumbled around him. With the moon reappearing and time running short, he noticed that the courtyard’s Moonlight Flowers were flickering and suggested they might reveal the way out.

• Yang Qing reunited with Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others, then described the strange trial he had endured inside the flames.
• Bu Er examined Yang Qing’s pulse and found that his health had greatly improved, though he had gained no martial arts ability.
• The Ancestral Shrine collapsed, and Jiang Zhizhou said it had been built to draw Yang Qing in and temper his body with fire.
• Yang Qing suspected that someone had been secretly guiding him through extraordinary opportunities and resolved to strike back when their purpose became clear.
• After the moon reappeared, Yang Qing pointed out that the Moonlight Flowers in the courtyard had flickered and told everyone to watch them.

Yang Qing and the others uncovered a hidden stone passage beneath the Mo Household’s courtyard and found a cavern containing seven mysterious coffins and an empty lotus platform. Yang Qing realized Mo Beixing had been protecting the place, but Wuming had taken her away before they could learn its secrets, and the group hurried to leave as the lamps dimmed.

• Lin Zhong, Du Yongquan, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou followed the Moonlight Flowers’ flickering light to a hollow that opened into a hidden stone gate.
• Yang Qing and the others entered the passage, whose walls were lined with valuable eastern pearls, and reached a vast cavern lit by nine ever-burning lamps.
• The group found seven gold-lacquered stone coffins arranged like the Big Dipper around an empty lotus-shaped platform.
• Yang Qing concluded that Mo Beixing had been meant to protect the cavern rather than Immortal Island and realized Wuming had taken her to keep its secrets from them.
• When the ever-burning lamps dimmed, Yang Qing ordered everyone to leave, and Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan rushed toward the passage entrance.

After escaping Mo Beixing’s courtyard before it became inaccessible again, Yang Qing and the others encountered a boat that had reached Immortal Island without the dangers they had faced. The Sacred Emperor’s Envoy stepped ashore and revealed that he had underestimated how quickly they would find the island.

• Yang Qing led the group out of the courtyard and warned them not to take anything from it.
• The courtyard became untouchable again, and Ouyang Lin worried that he and the others might be trapped on Immortal Island.
• Yang Qing spotted a boat approaching the shore and realized it had bypassed the obstacles that had delayed his group.
• Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan grew tense as they wondered which Eastern Radiance Remnant had returned to the island.
• The Sacred Emperor’s Envoy stepped off the boat and told Yang Qing and the others that he had not expected them to find their way there so quickly.

Yang Qing and his companions met the masked Envoy after obtaining the Rootless Wood, and he offered them a boat on the condition that they take Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan with them. The Envoy made clear that they had to leave before the one-year deadline, leaving Yang Qing to face the forced departure and the two remnants’ request to join them.

• The masked Envoy arrived and revealed that he knew Yang Qing and his companions had obtained the Rootless Wood.
• The Envoy rebuked Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan, then offered them identity plaques if they helped secure the group’s agreement to take them off Immortal Island.
• The Envoy offered the group his stocked boat, but Yang Qing questioned whether they could trust the gift and warned that taking the two remnants would be a burden.
• The Envoy declared that the group had to return to the mainland before the Fierce Beast appeared again, whether they agreed or not.
• The Envoy motioned for Yang Qing and the others to board the boat with Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan.

Yang Qing and his companions left Immortal Island by boat and endured the sea beasts’ Binding Formation without opening their eyes. After reaching safety, Yang Qing told Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan to follow their instructions until the boat reached shore, but said they would part ways there.

• Yang Qing agreed to board the special envoy’s boat, and Bu Er and the others followed him.
• The boat entered the sea beasts’ Binding Formation, where Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan nearly opened their eyes in fear before Bu Er and Ouyang Lin held them down.
• Yang Qing and the others stayed still with their eyes closed until the sea beasts’ attack subsided and the boat left Immortal Island’s domain.
• Yang Qing told Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan to obey the group until they reached shore, then said they would go their separate ways.
• Yang Qing wondered whether he would see Master Si again and how much the fishing village had changed.

Yang Qing and his companions reached shore after nearly half a month at sea, then traveled inland to Shaoyu City. There, they heard the familiar name Si Yifan amid a restaurant commotion.

• Yang Qing's party reached an unfamiliar coast, and their boat broke apart moments after they stepped ashore.
• Yang Qing and Ouyang Lin blamed the Envoy for the danger and vowed to settle accounts with him later.
• Yang Qing parted ways with Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan, then led the others south toward a city.
• The group reached Shaoyu City, where Jiang Zhizhou suggested looking for signs of the Fierce Beast's imminent awakening to convince others of the danger.
• After entering Shaoyu City, Yang Qing and his companions heard people mention Si Yifan at a nearby restaurant.

Yang Qing and his companions learned that Si Yifan had died of a grave illness and suspected Qian Tong had caused it. After resolving to pursue clues about the Fierce Beasts and avenge Si Yifan, they were interrupted by cries that another disaster had struck.

• Yang Qing and his companions entered a restaurant and heard storyteller Mou report that Si Yifan had died half a month earlier.
• Yang Qing invited Mou to a private room, where Mou explained that he had stayed with the Si Collateral Branch and witnessed Si Yifan's sudden illness and death.
• Yang Qing and his companions suspected Qian Tong had harmed Si Yifan because of their connection to him and mourned their friend's death.
• Mou warned that the Si Household could fall into disorder without Si Yifan, and Yang Qing's group concluded that his death had severed their leads about the Holy Envoys.
• Yang Qing vowed that those responsible would pay and urged the group to seek clues about the Fierce Beasts before they were interrupted by cries that something else had happened.

Yang Qing and his companions learned that three households in Shaoyu City had been slaughtered over the past half month, with each victim drained of blood. Suspecting the Fierce Beast was responsible, they set out to inspect the latest scene in case it was still nearby.

• Ouyang Lin stopped a fleeing man and gave him an eastern pearl in exchange for information about the incidents.
• The man said the first household had been found dead half a month earlier, each person bearing a bloody hole in the neck and showing signs of blood loss.
• He explained that the first household was notorious for its wickedness, but a few days later a virtuous family was also massacred, and the County Office found no clues.
• The man reported that a third household had been killed that day and invited Yang Qing and his companions to see the scene.
• Yang Qing and his companions accepted, hoping to investigate the latest killings and find the Fierce Beast if it was still nearby.

Yang Qing and his companions identified Qiongqi as the killer behind the massacres after spotting its mark on the latest victims. They concluded that its next target would be a charitable household in Shaoyu City and began seeking information to stop it.

• Yang Qing and his companions followed a local man to the scene of another household massacre in Shaoyu City.
• As government soldiers carried away the victims, Yang Qing spotted an ordered bluish-purple mark on their wrists and recognized it as a sign of an ancient Fierce Beast.
• Yang Qing and his companions deduced that Qiongqi had killed the household to absorb power and would next target a family known for good deeds.
• Ouyang Lin pointed out the local man as a source of information, and the man hurried over to greet them.
• Ouyang Lin asked the man to help them find their way again.

Yang Qing and his companions traveled to the estate of Master Mo, Shaoyu City’s most famous philanthropist, hoping to protect him from a possible attack by Qiongqi. They arrived to find Master Mo already expecting them, and his steward invited them inside to explain why he welcomed strangers as honored guests.

• Yang Qing asked a local man to guide them to Master Mo’s estate and gave him an eastern pearl for his help.
• Yang Qing explained that they planned to wait at a charitable household because Qiongqi might target another philanthropist, and Ouyang Lin and Mu Feng agreed to proceed cautiously.
• The man returned with a carriage, and Yang Qing and his companions traveled to Master Mo’s estate.
• Yang Qing paid the man for the carriage, and the group examined the estate’s modest, refined grounds.
• Master Mo’s steward welcomed them as honored guests, prompting Ouyang Lin to ask whether his master always received strangers this way.
• The steward invited Yang Qing and the others inside so he could explain.

Yang Qing and his companions visited Shaoyu City's philanthropist, Mo Chong, and learned about his generous approach to helping the city's residents. Yang Qing asked him about the recent terrifying cases, and Mo Chong revealed that the Mo Residence had arranged the victims' funerals.

• The steward explained that Mo Chong welcomed everyone and gave dishonest visitors money or goods once, hoping to help them mend their ways.
• Yang Qing and his companions met Mo Chong, who warmly welcomed them and explained how he knew they were new to Shaoyu City.
• Yang Qing praised Mo Chong's sincere care for the city's people, and Mo Chong humbly stopped him from bowing.
• Yang Qing asked Mo Chong about the bizarre cases in Shaoyu City, and Mo Chong said the Mo Residence had handled the victims' funeral arrangements.

Yang Qing warned Mo Chong that the Fierce Beast Qiongqi was behind the strange killings and might target the Mo Family Manor to restore its strength. Mo Chong refused to disperse the household, believing their collective righteous aura was the bait that would draw Qiongqi in.

• Yang Qing told Mo Chong that the unknown killer might target him and his family, and advised him to send household members away temporarily.
• Yang Qing revealed that he and his companions had fought the Fierce Beast at Azure Cloud Fortress, where two of his friends died.
• Yang Qing explained that Qiongqi had grown stronger over the past year and was targeting the Mo Family because of its collective righteous aura.
• Mo Chong concluded that dispersing the household would weaken that aura and resolutely insisted that the people of Mo Family Manor stay together.

Yang Qing and his companions prepared Mo Family Manor to lure and confront Qiongqi, while Mo Chong insisted on remaining as bait after evacuating the manor’s residents. As Qiongqi’s arrival drew near, Yang Qing warned his companions to prioritize survival if they could not defeat it.

• Mo Chong agreed to evacuate the people at Mo Family Manor but chose to stay because he believed his Righteous Aura would attract Qiongqi.
• Mo Family stewards and their families left in batches under the cover story that they were traveling to buy grain for drought relief.
• The old steward refused to leave Mo Chong and offered his knowledge of the manor to help Yang Qing and the others prepare.
• After the manor was emptied, Yang Qing, Mo Chong, the old steward, and Yang Qing’s companions made preparations and waited for Qiongqi.
• Bu Er tried to reassure Yang Qing by pointing to their preparations and the Rootless Wood, but Yang Qing urged everyone not to sacrifice their lives if they could not win.

Yang Qing and his companions prepared to face Qiongqi at Mo Family Manor, using the beast’s past pattern to predict a midnight attack. As they took their assigned positions, strange rain began falling beneath a bright moon, signaling Qiongqi’s return.

• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou consoled Yang Qing over the deaths of Fan Liyou and Pei Buji, and Yang Qing recovered and urged everyone to prepare for every possibility.
• Yang Qing and Mo Chong inspected the deserted manor while the others completed their preparations, and Yang Qing concealed the Rootless Wood that could drive Qiongqi away.
• As the predicted day passed, Yang Qing explained that Qiongqi would likely attack at midnight, when yin energy was strongest, and Mo Chong hosted the group for a meal.
• With one hour remaining before midnight, Yang Qing sent Bu Er and the others to their assigned positions while Mo Chong and the old steward praised their confidence.
• Dense raindrops began falling beneath the bright moon as the group waited for Qiongqi.

Yang Qing used the Bone Jade Thumb Ring to drive black smoke from Mo Chong, briefly stopping Qiongqi’s strange rain. As Yang Qing reached for the fallen ring, Mo Chong grabbed him by the neck, leaving Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou rushing to intervene.

• Fishy-smelling rain fell beneath a clear moon, and Mo Chong began choking as an unseen Qiongqi attacked him.
• Yang Qing recalled Qiongqi’s connection to Emperor Zetian and used his blood to activate the Bone Jade Thumb Ring.
• Yang Qing hurled the bloodstained ring at Mo Chong’s forehead, and black smoke emerged as the rain stopped.
• Yang Qing rushed to retrieve the fallen ring despite Bu Er’s warning, but Mo Chong seized him by the neck.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou lunged toward Yang Qing to help him.