Chapter Summaries

Yang Qing and his companions freed him from Mo Chong’s grip without killing Mo Chong, then tried to keep Qiongqi trapped inside him. Jiangli returned and scratched everyone before striking Mo Chong and unleashing a piercing cry, leaving Yang Qing’s ears bleeding as it prepared to shriek again.

• Mo Chong nearly strangled Yang Qing, but Yang Qing stopped Ouyang Lin and Mu Feng from stabbing Mo Chong because Qiongqi still controlled his body.
• Mo Chong’s grip loosened, allowing Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, Mu Feng, and Ouyang Lin to pull him away from Yang Qing.
• Yang Qing warned that Qiongqi had to be lured out of Mo Chong before it escaped and fully awakened.
• Jiangli returned, scratched Yang Qing, Mu Feng, Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, and Jiang Zhizhou, then leaped onto Mo Chong.
• Jiangli struck Mo Chong’s chest and shrieked, making Yang Qing’s ears bleed as Bu Er and Mu Feng shielded his heart meridians from its next cry.

Jiangli used Yang Qing’s bone jade Signet Ring to grow a Strange Tree bearing Red-and-Green Fruits, then drew the Qiongqi out of Mo Chong and bound it to the tree. The fruits were drained until only their skins remained, while Mo Chong lay unconscious.

• Jiangli scratched Yang Qing and the others, marked Mo Chong with bloody paw prints, and handed Yang Qing a sprout topped with his shrunken bone jade Signet Ring.
• Yang Qing threw the sprout where Jiangli indicated, and it grew into a person-high Strange Tree bearing fragrant Red-and-Green Fruits.
• Jiangli gathered more blood from the others and struck the Strange Tree five times, causing it to grow to three times a person's height and its fruits to grow to fist size.
• Mo Chong, possessed by Qiongqi, hurled himself at the fruits, struck the tree, and fell unconscious as black mist streamed from his back and wrapped around the tree.
• The black mist coiled around the Red-and-Green Fruits and drained them until only empty skins remained.

Yang Qing and the others watched the Rootless Wood and Bone Jade Thumb Ring consume Qiongqi’s black mist, leaving the tree withered. When the tree split apart, a tiny beast emerged and transformed into an infant, whom they recognized as Qiongqi.

• Jiangli fed Mo Chong a red fruit and a green fruit, and Yang Qing and the others carried him to the Side Room after his condition stabilized.
• Red flowers and green shoots emerged from the fruit husks, revealing that Jiangli had brought back the Rootless Wood.
• The flowers on the Rootless Wood devoured the black mist, which gathered around Yang Qing’s Bone Jade Thumb Ring and was absorbed into it as the ring changed shape.
• After the black mist disappeared, the flowers and leaves withered and fell from the Rootless Wood.
• The Rootless Wood split in two, and a tiny beast emerged, transformed into an infant, and was identified by Yang Qing and the others as Qiongqi.

Mu Feng explained that Qiongqi had reverted to his human origin after losing his strength, and Mo Chong offered to raise him as Mo Yi. The threat was entrusted to the Mo Family, and the Rootless Wood began to recover.

• Mu Feng told Yang Qing and the others that Qiongqi’s infant human form showed he had suffered a devastating loss of strength and returned to his true origin.
• Mu Chong asked to raise and teach Qiongqi, and Yang Qing and the others agreed that his household could guide the child toward goodness.
• Mo Chong named the infant Mo Yi and took him into his care, while the old steward promised to help raise him and prevent anyone’s malice from harming him.
• The Rootless Wood began growing leaves and flower buds again, prompting everyone to declare that it had come back to life.

After Qiongqi’s defeat, Yang Qing gave Mo Chong a protective charm for Mo Yi, and the Rootless Wood settled into his hair as a wooden hairpin. The group left Mo Family Manor to keep the family safe and set off south to search for the remaining Holy Envoys.

• The revived Rootless Wood shrank into a wooden hairpin and lodged itself in Yang Qing’s hair.
• Yang Qing gave Mo Chong a sphere containing the Rootless Wood’s leaf and flower, with the Bone Jade Signet Ring, and told him to keep it on Mo Yi.
• Mo Chong arranged for monks to bless Mo Yi, and Yang Qing and the others rested after their battle with Qiongqi.
• Yang Qing and his companions decided to leave Shaoyu City at daybreak so any hidden enemy would not target Mo Family Manor or Mo Yi.
• Mo Chong sent them off with provisions, travel money, and a letter, and Yang Qing chose to head south in search of the remaining Holy Envoys.

Yang Qing and his companions decided to stop burdening themselves with urgent missions and travel through the Violet Luo Kingdom for pleasure. As their carriage entered the saline land near Heavenly Luo City, they heard a commotion coming from the saltworks ahead.

• Mu Feng urged Yang Qing to rest now that the threat of the Fierce Beasts had passed, and Yang Qing agreed to travel at leisure.
• Ouyang Lin looked forward to Heavenly Luo City's food, while Bu Er explained that saline land around the city left many people struggling to find food.
• Yang Qing warned Bu Er and Ouyang Lin not to seek trouble at the saltworks, and they abandoned their plan to visit.
• Yang Qing and his companions entered the gray-white saline land and spotted saltworks shacks as a commotion arose ahead.

Yang Qing and his companions were stopped by salt workers who accused them of trespassing and demanded their supplies. After Mu Feng put the workers to sleep and the group turned back, they found someone blocking the road ahead.

• Jiang Zhizhou pulled the carriage aside to let an approaching crowd pass, but the salt workers surrounded them and accused them of coming from the Cheng Household.
• Jiang Zhizhou explained that they had taken the wrong road and tried to turn around, but the workers demanded their food and supplies.
• Jiang Zhizhou realized someone had likely sent the workers to provoke them into attacking the Cheng Household.
• Mu Feng put the salt workers to sleep, and he and Jiang Zhizhou moved them off the road.
• Jiang Zhizhou turned the carriage around and found someone blocking the road ahead.

A bronze-skinned enforcer intercepted Yang Qing and his companions at the saltworks and demanded they go with him to Heavenly Luo City. The group agreed to accompany him, and his beast-taming skill began guiding their carriage onward, leaving them wary of his strength and motives.

• A group of armed enforcers surrounded Yang Qing's carriage, and their leader said he wanted to meet the person inside it.
• Jiang Zhizhou refused the leader's offer, prompting him to threaten the travelers and reveal that he wanted Yang Qing to come to Heavenly Luo City.
• Yang Qing and his companions agreed to go with the leader to learn what he wanted, avoiding a fight with the unfamiliar group.
• The leader sent most of his enforcers away and used his beast-taming technique to make the carriage horse move forward.
• Jiang Zhizhou and the others marveled at the leader's abilities as the carriage proceeded toward Heavenly Luo City.

Yang Qing and his companions questioned the burly man leading them away from the road to Heavenly Luo City, only for him to reveal that their suspicions had clouded their judgment. After Jiangli briefly broke the man’s influence over Yang Qing, the man explained that they were still going to Heavenly Luo City—but not the one they expected.

• Yang Qing and his companions admired the martial skill of the people keeping pace with their fast-moving carriage.
• Yang Qing noticed the group was traveling away from the visible walls of Heavenly Luo City and challenged the burly man leading them.
• The burly man accused Yang Qing of being attached to appearances and suggested his suspicions had distorted what he perceived.
• Yang Qing nearly attacked the man under the influence of a growing hostile impulse, but Jiangli intervened and cleared his mind.
• Yang Qing realized Jiangli’s intervention had been weakened and feared the burly man could restrain even a Divine Beast.
• The burly man said they were heading to a different Heavenly Luo City, then confirmed that two Heavenly Luo Cities existed.

Yang Qing and his companions were brought past one Heavenly Luo City and through a passage to a second, where the guards inspected them before they entered. The burly man told them they were in the Outer City and that everyone lived in the Inner City.

• A burly man showed Yang Qing and his companions a token of the Luo Family and ordered them to go to the Heavenly Luo City behind the one ahead, saying he was following orders and they could no longer change course.
• Yang Qing and the others rode through the first Heavenly Luo City and into the wilderness, where darkness gave way to a second, towering Heavenly Luo City.
• The guards at the second city inspected the burly man's identification plaque and used a small stick to examine Yang Qing and his companions before allowing them through.
• Yang Qing and the others entered the deserted Outer City, and the burly man explained that everyone lived in the Inner City.

Yang Qing and his companions were brought to a secluded courtyard linked to the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom, where they waited to meet a hidden master. After boarding a larger carriage and realizing someone was concealed behind its beaded curtains, Yang Qing directly asked why they had been summoned.

• A burly man took Yang Qing and his companions through the busy city and left them at a small courtyard, telling them someone would come for them in an hour.
• Yang Qing and the others found Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom traditions throughout the courtyard and suspected their hosts might want them to keep searching for the Twelve Holy Envoys.
• They waited without sitting down or touching the flowers, while Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou examined the courtyard plants.
• After an hour, a hoarse-voiced attendant arrived with a larger carriage, and Yang Qing and his companions boarded it.
• A concealed person behind beaded curtains said they knew where he came from, and Yang Qing asked why he had sent people to bring them there.

Yang Qing and his companions confronted the hidden man who had manipulated their fates, but he seized Jiangli and nearly killed it to demonstrate his power. After the man vanished and ordered them to find the other successors to the Twelve Holy Envoys, the group tried to save Jiangli.

• The man behind the beaded curtain revealed that he had been directing Yang Qing and his companions and warned them they could not choose their own path until their strength surpassed his.
• Jiangli leapt behind the curtain, and the man seized it by the neck, threatening to kill it.
• Yang Qing lunged to save Jiangli, and Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, and the others rushed after him, but the man disappeared from behind the curtain.
• The man reappeared behind the group, mocked their attempt to save Jiangli, and ordered them to find the other successors to the Twelve Holy Envoys.
• Yang Qing asked Xiao Zhou and Mu Feng to help Jiang Zhizhou treat Jiangli, whose life was fading.

After the mysterious man killed Jiangli and left the group a better carriage and a clue, Yang Qing resolved to continue investigating the Twelve Holy Envoys. The clue pointed to Xiangyang City, where Mu Feng revealed that his Lineage was located and connected to the new lead.

• Jiangli died in Yang Qing's arms despite Jiang Zhizhou and Mu Feng giving it medicine, and Yang Qing decided to take its body out of the carriage.
• Yang Qing realized that Heavenly Luo City had never been divided into two cities and vowed to settle his debts with the mysterious man.
• Yang Qing concluded that the man had left clues for them in the carriage, and Mu Feng brought out a box pointing to Xiangyang City.
• Yang Qing told Mu Feng that he could share his troubles with the group when he was ready.
• Mu Feng revealed that his Lineage was in Xiangyang City and that the new lead on the Twelve Holy Envoys lay within it.

Mu Feng revealed that he had been born into the Chen Household, where his half-brother stole his Holy Envoy token, and decided to return to Xiangyang City with Yang Qing and the others. The group planned to use the danger surrounding the Twelve Holy Envoys to make Chen Zhilan face the consequences of taking Mu Feng’s place.

• Mu Feng told Yang Qing that he had taken his maternal grandparents’ surname, Mu, and no longer cared about returning to his lineage.
• Yang Qing and the others buried Jiangli on a hillside overlooking the sea, then set off for Xiangyang City.
• Mu Feng explained that the person they were searching for might be him, but Chen Zhilan had stolen his Holy Envoy token and claimed his position.
• Mu Feng planned to expose Chen Zhilan to the dangers of being a Holy Envoy and use the mysterious man’s interest in the Twelve Holy Envoys against the Chen Household.
• The group arrived in Xiangyang City, where the Chen Household controlled much of the commerce, and Yang Qing agreed to help Mu Feng confront them.

Yang Qing and Mu Feng arrived at the Chen Estate to confront the household, whose guards dismissed them as nobodies. Mu Feng presented the Chen Family Heirloom Jade, forcing the guards to take it inside while the group waited.

• Yang Qing and his companions reached Xiangyang City, pawned their carriage for safekeeping, and spent two days exploring the city.
• Yang Qing learned that Mu Feng's father, the head of the Chen Household, would return that day with the household's eldest young master, so they decided to visit the estate.
• Two Chen Estate guards stopped Yang Qing's carriage and insulted him when he asked to see the household head.
• Mu Feng showed the guards the Chen Family Heirloom Jade and told them to present it to their master.
• The guards recognized the jade's markings, took it inside, and asked Yang Qing and his companions to wait.

Mu Feng entered the Chen Estate with Yang Qing and the others after presenting the Chen Family Heirloom Jade. His return provoked Madam Ji, who confronted him after he knocked down her youngest son.

• A guard recognized Mu Feng's Jade Pendant and allowed him and his companions into the Chen Estate.
• Madam Ji's young son brought out the jade, insulted Mu Feng and his companions, and treated the heirloom carelessly.
• Mu Feng reclaimed the chipped jade and tossed the boy aside when he called Mu Feng a bastard.
• Mu Feng questioned whether Chen Jing still ruled the estate as Madam Ji arrived and threatened him.

Mu Feng visited the Chen Household with Yang Qing, Bu Er, and the others, provoking Madam Ji while showing her a Holy Envoy token numbered nine. He left without confronting her, but confirmed to Bu Er that he had come for revenge.

• Madam Ji confronted Mu Feng and reminded him that she had once persuaded Chen Dewang to spare his life.
• Mu Feng introduced his companions and claimed they had come to pay a special visit because Chen Dewang and Chen Zhilan had returned.
• Mu Feng showed Madam Ji a button bearing the Holy Envoy number nine, and her reaction revealed that she understood its significance.
• Madam Ji ordered Mu Feng to leave and warned him not to scheme against Chen Zhilan.
• Mu Feng led Yang Qing, Bu Er, and the others out of the Chen Household, then told Bu Er that he had come for revenge.

Mu Feng and Yang Qing planned to use Mu Feng’s Holy Envoy Token to lure Chen Zhilan into disrupting the hidden man’s plans. Mu Feng recalled that his Jade Pendant could preserve anything it touched, and Yang Qing suggested its power was Time Imprisonment.

• Mu Feng said Chen Zhilan had gained his status through a Holy Envoy Token and wanted to use the token in his hand to draw him out.
• Yang Qing, Mu Feng, Bu Er, and the others agreed to oppose the hidden man and use the token to interfere with his search for the Twelve Holy Envoys.
• At an inn, Yang Qing reasoned that Chen Zhilan would be more interested if Mu Feng’s token had a unique power.
• Mu Feng recalled that his Jade Pendant had fallen on his dead rabbit, which remained unchanged for years after he buried it.
• Yang Qing called the token’s power Time Imprisonment, and Mu Feng offered to take them to see the rabbit the next day.

Yang Qing and his companions plotted to exploit Chen Zhilan’s lack of children to gain access to the Chen Estate and destroy the Holy Envoy Token. Ouyang Lin’s suspiciously easy visit led Yang Qing to suspect that a hidden lord was manipulating them, so they decided to find another way to help Mu Feng.

• Ouyang Lin told Yang Qing that rumors claimed Chen Zhilan had no children, and Yang Qing proposed using the matter to pressure him.
• Yang Qing and his companions spent several days preparing, then bribed a minor steward to bring Ouyang Lin into the Chen Estate as a miracle physician.
• Ouyang Lin met Chen Zhilan’s personal steward, left a prescription, and returned to warn the others that his visit had gone too smoothly.
• Yang Qing reasoned that a hidden lord might be waiting for them to eliminate the Chen Household’s false Holy Envoys and then blame them for destroying the token.
• Yang Qing and the others decided to find another way to let Mu Feng vent his anger without falling into the hidden lord’s scheme.

Chen Zhilan decided to steal the Holy Envoy Token from his mother, Madam Ji, and use it to trick Mu Feng into giving up his higher-ranked token. As he left with the brocade box, an unfamiliar man intercepted him, took it, and warned him to stay in the manor if he valued his life.

• Mu Feng and the others concluded that Chen Zhilan’s success through the Holy Envoy Token could bring about the Chen Household’s downfall.
• Chen Zhilan decided to follow the prescription and obtain Mu Feng’s token, believing he could use his own as bait.
• Madam Ji warned Chen Zhilan that Mu Feng’s return and new token might be a trap, and refused to give him the Jade Pendant.
• After Madam Ji left, Chen Zhilan secretly took the brocade box containing the token from her inner chamber.
• An unfamiliar man stopped Chen Zhilan, seized the brocade box, and warned him not to leave the manor if he valued his life.