Chapter Summaries

Emperor Zetian’s Soul Body took over Gongsun Ze after failing to possess Yang Qing, then trapped Yang Qing, Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Mu Feng in a courtyard to starve. Mu Feng was gravely wounded, and the group was left searching for a way to survive and stop Emperor Zetian’s return to power.

• Yang Qing saw Gongsun Ze’s Different-Colored Eyes return and realized Emperor Zetian’s Soul Body had possessed him.
• Emperor Zetian condemned Yang Qing for betraying the royal family and ordered Gongsun Ru to trap Yang Qing and his companions in the courtyard.
• Emperor Zetian left the group unable to reach the open gate, intending to make them starve or turn on one another.
• Yang Qing gave Mu Feng a Great Restoration Pill, but it did not help the wounds from Emperor Zetian’s attack.
• Mu Feng urged Yang Qing to return the world to its people if they escaped, while Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing reflected on the royal family’s centuries-long effort to resurrect Emperor Zetian.

Yang Qing and his companions remained trapped in Emperor Zetian’s courtyard, where poisoned potatoes and dwindling supplies left them facing death, while Mu Feng’s condition worsened after he saved Yang Qing. Jiangli woke, declared that the Sacred Emperor had been reborn, then struck Mu Feng’s face with a paw.

• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou found poisoned potatoes buried in the courtyard as their dry rations dwindled.
• Yang Qing reflected on Emperor Zetian’s rebirth plan and learned that Mu Feng had become completely motionless, with blood filling his eyes.
• Jiangli woke and sensed that the Sacred Emperor had been reborn.
• Jiangli leaped onto Mu Feng and struck his face with a paw, splattering blood.

Jiangli wounded Mu Feng and broke a gap in the Binding Formation, allowing the group to leave the courtyard, but the formation was linked to Yang Qing's life and injured him. Old Xia then appeared, handed Yang Qing an object, and told him to come along.

• Jiangli struck Mu Feng across the eyes, then told the others to cover his wounds and promised to break the Binding Formation.
• Jiangli opened a gap in the formation, and Yang Qing, Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the injured Mu Feng passed through the courtyard gate.
• Yang Qing began coughing up blood, realizing Emperor Zetian had linked the Binding Formation to his life so breaking it would injure him.
• Yang Qing reassured the remorseful Jiangli and stroked its head.
• Old Xia appeared, placed an object in Yang Qing's hand, and told him to come with him.

After Old Xia rescued Yang Qing and his companions from the Sacred Mountain, he warned Yang Qing that time passed differently there and that the world below had changed. Yang Qing learned that Upside-Down City had been moved and that the Sacred Emperor had brought a new age of prosperity to the mortal world, leaving him to wonder what suffering lay beneath it.

• Old Xia rescued Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Mu Feng from the Sacred Mountain and left without explanation.
• Yang Qing and the others reached the riverbank and found Upside-Down City gone, then took shelter in a pavilion from the coming rain.
• Old Xia returned and told Yang Qing that there were two paths down from the mountain and that time on the summit passed far more slowly than in the world below.
• Old Xia explained that only a few hours had passed for Yang Qing on the summit, while the Sacred Emperor had moved Upside-Down City to the mountain’s foot and ushered in an age of prosperity.
• Yang Qing asked whether Eastern Splendor's former glory had returned, then wondered how many lonely souls suffered beneath that prosperity.

After descending the mountain, Yang Qing and his companions found Eastern Splendor restored and realized they could not safely escape the Sacred Emperor’s reach. Yang Qing decided they had to enter Eastern Splendor City to seek answers, and the others agreed to face the danger with him.

• Yang Qing, Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Mu Feng descended the mountain and found the surrounding territory under Eastern Splendor’s rule again.
• Yang Qing grew wary of the Sacred Emperor’s unexplained restraint and suspected that a hidden threat was watching them.
• Bu Er urged Yang Qing to leave the city behind and finally live in peace, but Yang Qing said their freedom was beyond reach.
• Yang Qing concluded that the road ahead offered no escape and that Eastern Splendor City was their only remaining path.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou agreed to enter the city with Yang Qing despite the danger.

Yang Qing and his companions witnessed the Sacred Emperor’s campaign against neighboring countries and saw the suffering it caused ordinary people. While studying a map of the conquered cities, they began to suspect that the Sacred Emperor’s advance followed a hidden purpose tied to the former Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom.

• Yang Qing and his companions hid beside the road as Eastern Splendor’s army marched past toward war.
• Jiangli told Yang Qing that cities within several hundred miles would soon become satellite cities of Eastern Splendor.
• The Sacred Emperor personally led a force of one hundred thousand to defeat a million enemy soldiers and more than double Eastern Splendor’s territory.
• Yang Qing and his companions saw the devastation and displaced people left by the campaign, though the small city where they stayed had surrendered without a fight.
• Mu Feng studied the map of conquered cities and told Yang Qing that they were connected to cities of the former Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom.
• Yang Qing recognized a pattern in the campaign route and wondered whether the Sacred Emperor was pursuing an old scheme.

Yang Qing and his companions realized Emperor Zetian was pursuing immortality and would eventually target Yang Qing’s body. They went to Xiangyang City to reach the Heavenly Stone, but arrived without knowing how to enter the resting place of Eastern Splendor’s ancestors.

• Yang Qing and his companions connected the cities Emperor Zetian had conquered and saw that they formed a phoenix around the Heavenly Stone in Xiangyang City.
• Yang Qing concluded Emperor Zetian sought immortality so he could preserve his rule, and Bu Er warned that Gongsun Ze’s body was only a temporary vessel before Emperor Zetian targeted Yang Qing.
• Yang Qing chose to strike directly at Emperor Zetian’s plans by returning to Xiangyang City.
• Mu Feng worried Emperor Zetian would anticipate their move, but Yang Qing decided they had little choice but to proceed.
• Yang Qing and his companions entered Xiangyang City, then found themselves unable to access the resting place without Qin Yue’s help.

Yang Qing and his companions remained trapped in Xiangyang City, unable to enter the ancestral Resting Place and confront the Heavenly Stone of prophecy. As Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou debated power and the Sacred Emperor, the Mysterious Man from Unrivaled City appeared, offering a possible solution to their impasse.

• Yang Qing and his companions spent three days trying and failing to find a way into the secret realm, then paused their efforts so they could regain their composure.
• Jiang Zhizhou asked Yang Qing whether he had ever considered rising to the summit so they could take control of their own fates.
• Yang Qing warned Jiang Zhizhou that power and immortality could corrupt them into becoming like the Sacred Emperor, and Jiang Zhizhou admitted he had become fixated on the idea.
• Jiang Zhizhou asked how they could enter the ancestral Resting Place, which remained their most urgent problem.
• The Mysterious Man they had met in Unrivaled City appeared again, and his arrival seemed poised to solve their problem.

Yang Qing confronted the black-robed Mysterious Man, who warned him against resisting the Sacred Emperor. When Yang Qing and his companions cut away the man’s hood, they discovered a familiar face and realized he was not the original Envoy.

• The black-robed Mysterious Man arrived at Yang Qing’s courtyard in Xiangyang City and warned him that resisting the Sacred Emperor would shorten his life.
• Yang Qing rejected the warning and challenged the man to reveal his face, saying he lacked the standing to advise him while hiding his identity.
• Yang Qing signaled Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou, and they used Sword Qi to slice away half the man’s hood.
• Yang Qing said he had guessed the man was not the original Envoy, while Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou cried out in shock at his revealed face.

Yang Qing discovered that the Black Hat was Qin Yue, the friend he had believed died at the Life-and-Death Gate. Qin Yue warned that the Sacred Emperor’s centuries-long plan left Yang Qing no choice, but Yang Qing refused to surrender and learned that Qin Yue had been sent to persuade or control him.

• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou reacted in shock when the Black Hat revealed his face, and Yang Qing recognized Qin Yue, whom he had believed dead.
• Yang Qing explained that their shared past had exposed Qin Yue’s disguise, and Qin Yue warned him that the Sacred Emperor’s plan could not be defeated.
• Qin Yue argued that Yang Qing had no choice but to accept his role as a sacrifice, while Yang Qing recalled his oath to command his own fate.
• Yang Qing refused to give up trying, and Qin Yue warned that the Sacred Emperor would be away for months but that Yang Qing would lose his freedom if he resisted.
• Yang Qing understood that Qin Yue had been sent to persuade him and would be forced to control him if persuasion failed.

Yang Qing pressed Qin Yue to reveal what he intended to do as the Sacred Emperor’s Envoy, while refusing to abandon the chance to investigate the Heavenly Stone. Qin Yue chose to obey the Sacred Emperor’s orders outwardly but secretly gave Yang Qing a clue before attacking Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.

• Yang Qing questioned Qin Yue’s intentions and suspected the Sacred Emperor had used both of them as pieces in his plans.
• Qin Yue said the Sacred Emperor controlled the outcome and urged Yang Qing to accept a few more years of life, but Yang Qing refused to surrender the chance to examine the Heavenly Stone.
• Yang Qing explained that the Heavenly Stone might contain hidden information and that this could be their last chance to uncover it.
• Qin Yue warned that the Sacred Emperor had planned for centuries and could not tolerate their interference, then told Yang Qing he could move somewhere else but not leave Xiangyang City.
• As he passed Yang Qing, Qin Yue traced the word “south” on his hand, then drew his sword and thrust it at Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.

Yang Qing refused Qin Yue’s attempt to help him and his companions escape, forcing Qin Yue to leave so he might avoid the Sacred Emperor’s punishment. The Sacred Emperor then appeared briefly at the courtyard gate, leaving Yang Qing aware that their peril remained inescapable.

• Qin Yue pointed his sword at Yang Qing and urged him to leave Xiangyang City, but Yang Qing refused to let him risk his life for them.
• Yang Qing told Qin Yue to leave and act as if they had never met, while Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou attacked Qin Yue and drove him beyond the courtyard gate.
• Yang Qing used an array to prevent Qin Yue from entering again, and Qin Yue eventually boarded his carriage and left.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou accepted that death awaited them, while Jiangli stayed unusually silent in Yang Qing’s arms.
• An image of Gongsun Ze, or Emperor Zetian, appeared briefly at the gate, and Yang Qing realized the Sacred Emperor could reach them from hundreds of li away.

Emperor Zetian brought Qin Yue back to warn Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou against opposing him, then killed Qin Yue with a single palm strike. After burying Qin Yue, the survivors abandoned their plans to reach the Resting Place of the Ancestor Imperial Merchant, and Jiangli awoke.

• Emperor Zetian's Divine Soul carried Qin Yue back to the courtyard gate and released him before Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou.
• Qin Yue traced "Take care" into Yang Qing's palm before dying from the destruction of his heart meridians.
• Yang Qing blamed himself for Qin Yue's death, while Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou urged him to keep living.
• Yang Qing and the others buried Qin Yue and stopped discussing how to enter the Resting Place of the Ancestor Imperial Merchant.
• Jiangli awoke again.

Jiangli revealed that it had sensed an Earth Dragon Upheaval likely to devastate the surrounding region, and Yang Qing considered how to protect the people. Jiangli warned him that the Sacred Emperor might exploit the disaster and urged him to preserve himself first, leaving Yang Qing to question whether he had another choice.

• Yang Qing feared Jiangli's listlessness meant its health had worsened, and his despair over losing those close to him led him to spit blood.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er comforted Yang Qing, and Jiangli explained that it had exhausted itself sensing signs of an Earth Dragon Upheaval.
• Jiangli admitted it could not predict when the upheaval would strike but warned that everything within several hundred miles might be affected.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou about the danger and said they could gamble on finding a chance to survive.
• Jiangli said the Sacred Emperor had sent Astronomical Bureau experts to monitor the earth dragon and suggested the ruler intended to use the disaster's power.
• Jiangli told Yang Qing that he should protect himself before trying to save others, and Yang Qing wondered whether he had any other path.

Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou followed Jiangli’s directions into a valley to escape the Earth Dragon Upheaval, reaching a raised platform beside a waterfall. They survived the first major tremor there, but waited anxiously as the disaster intensified around them.

• Yang Qing accepted Jiangli’s warning that he could not alert the people to the disaster without drawing the Eastern Splendor Royal Family’s attention.
• When the Earth Dragon Upheaval began, Yang Qing stopped Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou from heading for the mountains and sent them toward the valley Jiangli had indicated.
• Yang Qing and his companions traveled for hours through the dark valley until they reached a waterfall and found a raised platform beside it.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou used ropes and daggers to climb the platform, then brought Yang Qing up after checking the area.
• A deep rumble toppled trees and opened huge pits in the forest, while the three companions waited on the platform for the next wave of upheaval.

Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er waited out the Earth Dragon Upheaval on Jiangli’s high platform as tremors, fissures, lightning, and fire devastated the valley. After two days, they remained sheltered, but the platform had sunk twenty feet and the waterfall was nearly dry.

• Yang Qing noticed the valley had grown eerily silent, and Bu Er climbed down to catch fish.
• The earth dragon’s movement shook the platform, and Bu Er hurried back up with the fish.
• Further tremors split the nearby woodland and opened a deep fissure, while lightning ignited a vast fire.
• The fissure turned toward the pool, draining much of its water, and Yang Qing reflected that Emperor Zetian’s defiance of the Heavenly Dao would end in ruin.
• Over the next two days, the earth dragon split the valley and reduced the waterfall to a narrow stream as the high platform sank twenty feet.

As the platform sank to ground level, Jiangli guided Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou through fallen woods instead of a winding trail. After Yang Qing was injured by a branch with a corpse-like odor, he realized the wound was worsening and ordered Bu Er to cut away the affected flesh.

• Yang Qing watched the platform sink during another earth dragon tremor and waited until it finally reached ground level.
• Jiangli told Yang Qing to avoid the winding trail and escape along the edge of the fallen woods.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou struggled through the woods, and Yang Qing emerged with a branch embedded in his back.
• Yang Qing noticed the branch smelled like the odor they had found near the platform and suspected the wound was contaminated.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou found the wound had spread, so Yang Qing urged Bu Er to gouge the affected flesh from his back.

Yang Qing used burning wild peach wood to purge the strange corruption in his wound, then climbed to survey the earthquake’s devastation. He saw that a corner of Xiangyang City containing the ancestral emperor’s resting place and the Heavenly Stone had vanished, leaving him unsure whether the change was a blessing or a calamity.

• Yang Qing stopped Bu Er from cutting away more flesh and told him to smoke the wound with branches from a wild peach tree.
• Bu Er repeatedly applied the burning peach wood until the wound stopped bleeding and a layer of blackened flesh fell away as ash.
• Yang Qing reassured Bu Er that they must live and wondered how the world outside had changed.
• Yang Qing led Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou out of the valley and climbed a nearby hillside to survey the terrain.
• Yang Qing saw that an enormous earthquake had devastated the land and sheared off a corner of Xiangyang City, including the ancestral emperor’s resting place and the Heavenly Stone.

After the earthquake destroyed much of Xiangyang City and the entrance to the ancestral resting place, Yang Qing realized Emperor Zetian was turning the disaster’s survivors into power for the Spirit-Gathering Formation. Yang Qing and his companions remained free for now, as some urgent matter had diverted Emperor Zetian’s attention.

• The earthquake devastated Xiangyang City and buried the entrance Yang Qing and his companions had planned to visit.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and their companion returned to their damaged courtyard, then left because its foundations were unsafe.
• The three found no residents or bodies in the city, and Yang Qing deduced that the survivors had been gathered and guarded.
• Yang Qing realized Emperor Zetian intended to use the disaster’s accumulated resentment to activate the Spirit-Gathering Formation.
• Yang Qing concluded that Emperor Zetian was occupied with another urgent matter, giving the three companions a brief respite.

After seeing black energy rise from Xiangyang City's grieving townsfolk toward the City Lord's Mansion, Yang Qing tried to frustrate the Sacred Emperor's plan by secretly giving the displaced households money. At dawn, black smoke rose again, but Bu Er spotted a change in its color, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Yang Qing and his companions saw black energy gather above the injured and bereaved townsfolk and drift toward the City Lord's Mansion.
• Yang Qing decided to ease the townsfolk's hardship, hoping to reduce their resentment and undermine the Sacred Emperor's plan.
• Yang Qing ordered Bu Er to give households ten taels of silver and Jiang Zhizhou to enlist trustworthy residents to distribute the money.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou carried out their tasks in secret, then returned to report to Yang Qing that night.
• At dawn, black smoke rose again, and Bu Er pointed out that its color had changed in one spot.