Chapter Summaries

After Emperor Zetian vanished, Yang Qing and his companions found a Time Scroll revealing that the Heavenly Law had manipulated them and was seeking to take human form. The scroll left Yang Qing marked as an anomaly under the Heavenly Law’s constant watch, but he chose to pursue a peaceful life rather than challenge it.

• Emperor Zetian disappeared, and Jiangli fainted after its connection to him was severed.
• Mo Yang retrieved a glowing ball from a tree, and it fell and released golden rays containing a Time Scroll’s memories into Yang Qing and the others’ minds.
• Emperor Zetian’s memories revealed that the Heavenly Law had cut off his ascension and used Yang Qing and his companions to separate his soul from his body.
• The memories explained that Emperor Zetian’s final actions made Yang Qing an anomaly the Heavenly Law could not touch without evidence, while Bu Er and the others gained longer lives and would keep their youthful appearances.
• Yang Qing’s companions suggested he might overthrow the Heavenly Law, but he said he would rather live peacefully.

Yang Qing and his companions accepted Emperor Zetian’s warning not to challenge Heavenly Law and descended Rosy Cloud Mountain to recover. After settling in a small town, they were visited by an uninvited guest on their second day there.

• Emperor Zetian’s final message urged Yang Qing and the others to stay alive and act within their limits rather than fight Heavenly Law.
• Yang Qing and his companions agreed to remain together and head down Rosy Cloud Mountain before nightfall.
• Bu Er thought he saw something on the back of Yang Qing’s neck, but it disappeared before he could examine it.
• Emperor Zetian’s followers searched for him after he vanished, while Yang Qing’s group found a small town and settled there.
• An uninvited visitor arrived to see Yang Qing and his companions on their second day in town.

The Three Realms Immortal Lord visited Yang Qing and explained how human oaths had given rise to Heavenly Law, which had grown powerful enough to seek demonic transformation. He warned that Yang Qing would soon die if he stayed out of the crisis, then asked him to save a life.

• An ethereal-looking man introduced himself to Yang Qing as a fellow native of Yan Prefecture and asked about his Divine Beast, Jiangli.
• The man revealed that he was the Three Realms Immortal Lord, responsible for administering the laws of the Three Realms.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord explained that Heavenly Law had emerged from empowered human oaths and had grown beyond anyone's control as it sought to turn demonic.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou rejected his attempt to involve them, while the Three Realms Immortal Lord warned that Yang Qing would not live long if he stayed out of the affair.
• Yang Qing challenged the Three Realms Immortal Lord to explain his real purpose, and the Immortal Lord asked him to save a life.

The Three Realms Immortal Lord warned Yang Qing that Heavenly Law was growing stronger and offered a way for him and his companions to prepare to oppose it. Yang Qing chose to protect the others despite knowing he would die, and agreed to enter the Demon Abyss to cultivate.

• The Three Realms Immortal Lord told Yang Qing that Heavenly Law was growing more powerful and that Yang Qing was the only one who could still challenge it.
• Yang Qing questioned what would happen if they succeeded, then revealed that he expected to die and was chiefly concerned for Bu Er and the others.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord explained that Yang Qing could save his companions by confronting Heavenly Law, though he would still die.
• Yang Qing confirmed that he had already chosen to act and asked where they could gain the strength to oppose Heavenly Law.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord proposed that they cultivate in the Demon Abyss, beyond Heavenly Law's reach, and Yang Qing asked how to enter it.

Jiangli awoke and learned that Yang Qing was entering the Demon Abyss, a journey the Three Realms Immortal Lord called both a tribulation and a chance at survival. Yang Qing and his companions reached the Demon Abyss, where Mo Yang stepped forward to lead them through its gate.

• Jiangli confronted the Three Realms Immortal Lord over Yang Qing's fate, but he said the Demon Abyss might offer a path to survival and warned that trouble was brewing there.
• Yang Qing reassured Jiangli and learned that Mo Yang's Half-Demon bloodline might help them enter the Demon Abyss, though the Three Realms Immortal Lord could not discern Mo Yang's origins.
• The Three Realms Immortal Lord led Yang Qing, Mo Yang, Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Wood to a cliff above the Demon Abyss and promised to return in three years.
• Yang Qing jumped from the cliff, and a flash of lightning carried him and his companions to a path before the Demon Abyss's mountain gate.
• Mo Yang approached the gate to test whether his Half-Demon nature could lead them inside.

Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss after combining his blood with Mo Yang’s, then crossed a barren wilderness and met a bird demon. They agreed to attend the Demon Abyss Assembly in exchange for writing characters, and the bird gave them feathers that would let them enter.

• Mo Yang could pass through the mountain gate, but Bu Er and the others could not until Yang Qing combined his blood with Mo Yang’s and opened the way.
• Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss and walked through a vast, lifeless wilderness for nearly half a day.
• Yang Qing and the others met a multicolored bird that spoke to them and asked whether they had come for the Demon Abyss Assembly.
• Jiangli explained that the bird wanted each of them to write a character as payment for guiding them into the assembly.
• Yang Qing and his companions agreed, wrote characters for the bird, and received feathers that would allow them to enter the assembly.

Yang Qing and his companions attended the Demon Abyss Assembly, where the feathers they carried drew attention, and met Chen Qian, a human who had lived in the Demon Abyss for ten years. After settling in rooms behind Chen Qian’s tavern, Yang Qing asked him about suitable work, while still seeking to fulfill the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s mission.

• Yang Qing and his companions entered the Demon Abyss Assembly with the feathers they had received, and a magic beast’s recruitment offer ended when Yang Qing declined.
• They learned that the assembly was a martial contest between factions and later discovered, with Jiangli’s help, that Chen Qian was an ordinary human.
• Chen Qian introduced himself as a human who had been in the Demon Abyss for ten years, and Yang Qing introduced his companions while concealing Jiangli’s true appearance.
• Yang Qing and his companions settled into vacant rooms behind Chen Qian’s tavern and used their gemstones to meet their needs.
• Chen Qian asked how Yang Qing planned to make a living, and Yang Qing asked him what work would suit their group.

Chen Qian explained that tainted demon grass drove Magic Beasts in the Demon Abyss toward madness and revealed his suspicion that someone was using it to control them. He sent for someone who could help Yang Qing and the others investigate, and Yang Qing recognized the person as Yao Zhuang, the Heaven-and-Earth Storyteller.

• Chen Qian told Yang Qing that Magic Beasts ate too much demon grass and that clearing the Demon Grassland could help prevent them from losing their minds.
• Chen Qian described how he had investigated the demon grass for decades and discovered that it stayed alive for two months before withering and regrowing overnight.
• Chen Qian suspected someone was using the tainted grass to control Magic Beasts and unleash them in the human world.
• Chen Qian said he had summoned someone to help Yang Qing and the others, and Yang Qing identified him as Yao Zhuang, the Heaven-and-Earth Storyteller.

Yang Qing and his companions met the masked storyteller Yao Zhuang and learned he would guide them to the Demon Grassland. Though Yang Qing accepted that neither Yao Zhuang nor Chen Qian owed him help, Yao Zhuang’s changed expression the next day left Bu Er hopeful and uneasy.

• Chen Qian told Yang Qing and the others that the renowned storyteller Yao Zhuang was in the Demon Abyss and directed them to meet him.
• Yang Qing and his companions met Yao Zhuang, who warned them that the Demon Grassland was dangerous and asked why they planned to go there.
• Yang Qing explained that they wanted to investigate the strange situation in the Demon Grassland, and Yao Zhuang agreed to accompany them at noon the next day.
• Bu Er wondered whether Yao Zhuang was hiding something and hoped he would help Yang Qing, but Yang Qing said no one was obliged to bear another person’s karma.
• When Yang Qing and the others saw Yao Zhuang again the next day, his gaze toward them had changed, leaving Bu Er both glad and worried.

Yao Zhuang led Yang Qing and the others into the Demon Grassland, carrying his erhu and hinting at a personal reason for the journey. After they reached a small clearing, Yang Qing confronted him and asked him to explain what was really happening.

• Yao Zhuang told Yang Qing to bring plenty of food because they would be trapped in the Demon Grassland for several days.
• Yao Zhuang set out carrying his erhu, and Chen Qian hinted that he still could not forget someone.
• Yang Qing asked Yao Zhuang why he had brought the erhu and what lay behind his remarks; Yao Zhuang promised to explain if they both returned alive.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou followed Yao Zhuang into the tall demon grass and noticed his unusual speed and urgency.
• Yao Zhuang stopped in a clearing, and Yang Qing asked him to tell them the truth.

Yao Zhuang explained that he had spent ten years searching the Demon Grassland for his missing wife, who was not human. Yang Qing and his companions revealed that they had come to remove the Demon Grass’s poison, then discovered a Heart's Desire Formation and worried that one of Emperor Zetian’s subordinates had created it.

• Yao Zhuang told Yang Qing and the others that his wife had disappeared and that he believed she was living in the Demon Grassland.
• Yao Zhuang admitted that his wife was not an ordinary human and said he feared she might never meet him again.
• Yang Qing asked how to remove the Demon Grass’s poison and explained that the group had come to the Demon Abyss for that purpose.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er to fly above the grassland, but the Demon Grass rose with him and blocked his view.
• Yang Qing identified the Heart's Desire Formation, and Jiang Zhizhou worried that one of Emperor Zetian’s subordinates might be present.
• Yao Zhuang asked whether Yang Qing and the others had figured out anything about the formation.

Yang Qing discovered that the Demon Grassland hid several overlapping formations and had Mo Yang survey them from above. After Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou broke the illusion formation, a lake and wooden houses appeared, and Yao Zhuang urged the group to investigate them.

• Yang Qing concluded that the Demon Grassland concealed another face beneath several formations and asked Mo Yang to map their arrangement.
• Mo Yang surveyed the grassland from the air and sketched what he saw, helping Yang Qing and the others identify three or four formations.
• Yang Qing chose to break the illusion formation first, and Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou returned to report that they had done so.
• Yao Zhuang noticed that the trees at the grassland's edge had lost their leaves, while Mo Yang revealed that a small lake and several wooden houses had appeared.
• Yao Zhuang asked to search the wooden houses, and Yang Qing agreed that the group would investigate them.

Yang Qing’s group discovered that the dusty cabins had been used for Demon Race living sacrifices and found iron pieces inscribed in Demon Script. The records mentioned a peony presented to the Demon King, leading Yao Zhuang to wonder whether his wife had belonged to the Demon Race.

• Yang Qing comforted Yao Zhuang after the group found nothing useful inside the cabins.
• Yang Qing spotted objects on the cabin roofs, and Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou retrieved two iron pieces that expanded to reveal unfamiliar writing.
• Mo Yang recognized the writing as Demon Script, and Jiangli explained that the pieces recorded the cabins’ use for living sacrifices.
• Jiangli said the dust inside the cabins was what remained after the sacrifices had been burned by heavenly fire.
• Jiangli found a record of an unusually beautiful peony being dug up and presented to the Demon King, and Yao Zhuang revealed that Peony was his wife’s maiden name.

Jiangli revealed that Yao Zhuang’s long search for his wife had ended, and the old man left the Demon Grassland after losing hope. Yang Qing and the others continued investigating the formations, and Jiangli identified the next one as an Invisibility Formation.

• Jiangli told Yao Zhuang that his bond with the Peony Flower Demon had already ended, and Yao Zhuang realized they had missed each other.
• Yao Zhuang bowed to Yang Qing and the others, then walked out of the Demon Grassland, leaving Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou saddened.
• Bu Er suggested that the Demon Grassland’s strange Magic Beasts might be connected to concealed formations rather than the demon grass itself.
• Yang Qing reasoned that the Magic Beasts could be trapped inside a formation, and Jiangli confirmed that they were hidden somewhere below.
• Yang Qing asked Jiangli to identify the next formation, and Jiangli explained that it was an Invisibility Formation and warned him to focus as they began.

Yang Qing broke the Invisibility Formation after nearly collapsing, then recovered through meditation and destroyed its formation eye. The group reached the true Demon Grassland, where Yang Qing spotted a rare problematic stalk, but Jiangli said they needed another way to identify such plants across entire fields.

• Yang Qing nearly succumbed to the Invisibility Formation but endured its backlash and tore an opening in it.
• Jiangli urged Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to trust Yang Qing's improved resilience and let him recover without medicine.
• Yang Qing meditated on the cultivation method from the Wordless Heavenly Book, regained his strength, and destroyed the formation eye.
• The group saw the true Demon Grassland and discussed searching for Magic Beasts affected by the grass.
• Yang Qing identified a rare three-leaved stalk of problematic Demon Grass, and Jiangli pointed out that checking every stalk across a field would require another method.

Yang Qing and his companions searched the Demon Grassland by following a magic beast that picked out genuine four-leaf demon grass, while recalling how sentient demon grass could turn demonic and empower itself with magic beasts’ dark power. When the collected grass vanished from the Heaven and Earth Bag, Yang Qing suspected the Three Realms Immortal Lord had lured them into a trap.

• Yang Qing noticed a bold magic beast that screened demon grass before eating and led the group to genuine four-leaf stalks.
• The group harvested the four-leaf demon grass and watched it dry and shrivel after entering the bag.
• Yang Qing recalled that sentient demon grass could possess magic beasts, leave the Demon Grassland, and become a powerful demon by absorbing their dark power.
• Bu Er asked whether the dried grass was harmless, and Jiangli explained that the bag was a Heaven and Earth Bag rather than a Sumeru Bag.
• Bu Er discovered that the demon grass had disappeared from the bag, and Yang Qing wondered whether the Three Realms Immortal Lord had arranged their search as a trap.

Yang Qing and Jiangli discovered that someone had used the Three Realms Immortal Lord and a hidden Transposition Formation on Bu Er’s Heaven and Earth Bag to steal Demon Grass. Jiangli proposed refining the grass with heavenly fire, then revealed that Mo Yang would have to help draw it from the Earth Core Flame, leaving Yang Qing to question the danger of sending him alone.

• Yang Qing suspected that someone had tricked them into obtaining Demon Grass, and Jiangli explained that the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s upright nature had made him easy to manipulate.
• Jiangli revealed that someone had placed a hidden Transposition Formation on Bu Er’s Heaven and Earth Bag to steal the Demon Grass they found.
• Jiangli proposed passing the Demon Grass through heavenly fire to refine most of its power while still completing the Three Realms Immortal Lord’s mission.
• Jiangli said Mo Yang’s sensitivity as a Half-Demon could help them draw the Earth Core Flame from Demon Flame Valley.
• Yang Qing asked why Mo Yang had to face the dangerous task alone.

Jiangli revealed that Mo Yang’s innate abilities had been sealed and sent him to a place only he could enter, while Yang Qing secretly led the others toward the outskirts to gather treasures. Following Jiangli’s directions at night, the group reached a brilliantly lit area filled with patches of something not yet identified.

• Jiangli told Yang Qing that Mo Yang had exceptional talent sealed away and that overcoming the barrier was a trial for him.
• Jiangli privately explained that Yang Qing and the others could still explore the outskirts for heavenly treasures, and they waited until nightfall to set out.
• Yang Qing led Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others toward the place Mo Yang had gone, explaining that they could not enter it but could reach somewhere nearby.
• Jiangli directed Yang Qing through a sequence of steps, and the group found themselves before a brightly lit area covered in patches.

Jiangli explained that Wood would face danger while seeking a destined treasure and warned Yang Qing against interfering, though it reassured him that the future could still change. It then spotted a fading patch of Nightglow Grass and urged Yang Qing to gather it before it withered.

• Jiangli told Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others to search for treasures that resonated with them, while warning Wood to be especially careful and patient.
• Yang Qing asked Jiangli whether Wood would return empty-handed and whether he would be in danger; Jiangli said Wood would face danger and that Yang Qing's help might make matters worse.
• Jiangli told Yang Qing that similar hardships could arise in the future, but said their outcomes were not fixed and could still change.
• Jiangli pointed out glowing Nightglow Grass, explained that its light would fade within half an incense stick and the grass would then wither, and hurried Yang Qing to gather it.

Yang Qing and his companions encountered the mysterious Nightglow Grass Beast, while Suotu revealed the truth about three thousand men to Chu Jinghui. Chu Jinghui decided to inspect the Capital Outskirts Secret Chamber himself, but a heavy thud outside interrupted them as Suotu rushed to investigate.

• Yang Qing spotted a figure approaching through the nightglow grass and realized the newcomer was a butterfly spirit using the Soul-Seizing Art.
• Yang Qing challenged the newcomer, who said the group had entered his territory uninvited and identified himself as the Nightglow Grass Beast.
• Suotu told Chu Jinghui that he had extinguished a fire and blocked the exits, trapping three thousand of Wei Sizhong's men in the underground passages.
• Chu Jinghui confronted Suotu over his actions and decided to visit the Capital Outskirts Secret Chamber despite Suotu's warning.
• A muffled thud sounded outside the hall, and Suotu rushed out to investigate.