Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• After the Heavenly Emperor agrees to help Cihang and the others, Ran Deng flies home to Vulture Mountain, baffled and angry at his colleagues’ appeal for aid. Breaking into his abode’s protective formations causes him to suffer backlash.
• Kong Xuan arrives at Vulture Mountain, smashes through the cave’s defenses, and frees his younger brother, Golden Roc, from confinement.
• Ran Deng returns too late: Golden Roc catches and swallows him, then celebrates his freedom. Kong Xuan and Golden Roc set off for the Vermilion Bird Realm, where they plan to report to the Holy Venerable.
• Trapped inside Golden Roc, Ran Deng threatens him with the authority of the Saint who had ordered his imprisonment. Golden Roc counters that the Saints have left the Primordial World, so the Expounding Teaching can no longer use them to intimidate him.
• Ran Deng tries to blast his way out, but Kong Xuan suppresses his magic. Cornered, Ran Deng finally escapes through Golden Roc’s rear exit, to the brothers’ astonishment.

Character developments and interactions

• Ran Deng shifts from indignant authority figure to desperate captive. When threats and force fail, he abandons dignity to escape.
• Golden Roc is exuberant after his release and openly defiant toward Ran Deng, eager to repay the mistreatment he endured. He relies on Kong Xuan when Ran Deng attacks from inside him.
• Kong Xuan acts decisively to free his brother, then backs him up by suppressing Ran Deng’s escape attempt. Their easy cooperation and affectionate exchange emphasize their close bond.
• Guang Chengzi and Chi Jingzi are puzzled by Ran Deng’s anger and head toward the Heavenly Court to ask how the others won the Emperor’s support.

Significant themes

• Power and changing authority: With the Saints absent, Ran Deng’s title and threats lose much of their force.
• Revenge and reversal: The former prisoner gains control over his captor, turning the old hierarchy upside down.
• Family loyalty: Kong Xuan risks himself to free and protect Golden Roc.
• Humiliation and survival: Ran Deng’s increasingly undignified predicament culminates in an outrageous but effective escape.

Key plot points and events

• Ran Deng escapes Kong Xuan and Golden Roc by fleeing at full speed, determined not to return to Mount Kunlun.
• In the Heavenly Court, Ao Yue realizes that the Demon Realm’s fortune can coexist with the Heavenly Court’s because the Court governs all living beings, rather than belonging solely to the Immortal Dao.
• Acting on that insight, Ao Yue creates a demonic incarnation from a fragment of his soul and one of his scales. He names it Dragon Demon and sends it to the lower realm.
• Ran Deng lands near the capital of the Youqiong Kingdom, hoping to hide among humans. He senses faint devilish energy in the city.
• A royal notice offers a large reward and the post of state preceptor to anyone who can cure Princess Xiang Yao, who has been comatose since the previous year. Ran Deng accepts the challenge, seeing the title as a way to connect himself with the kingdom’s fortune.
• As Ran Deng is brought to the palace, a young man hiding in the rear garden recognizes his aura.

Character developments

• Ran Deng shifts from desperate fugitive to opportunist: he seeks safety in the human world but quickly sees the princess’s illness as a chance to gain influence.
• Ao Yue broadens his understanding of the relationship between the Heavenly Court and the Demon Realm. He also advances his plans by creating a demonic counterpart, though he remains wary of devils.
• The young man in the palace is revealed to be sensitive to powerful spiritual auras and recognizes Ran Deng, setting up a likely confrontation or connection.

Significant themes

• Coexistence of opposing forces: Ao Yue concludes that divine and demonic powers need not automatically conflict when the Heavenly Court represents all beings.
• Fortune and political authority: Ran Deng’s interest in becoming state preceptor reflects the chapter’s link between spiritual power and human political influence.
• Identity and transformation: Ao Yue’s soul fragment becomes a devil, while the chapter repeatedly blurs the boundary between beings, roles, and realms.

Character interactions

• Kong Xuan supports the injured Golden Roc after Ran Deng’s escape, while the brothers’ reaction underscores the humiliating nature of Ran Deng’s escape route.
• Ao Yue commands and names Dragon Demon, then dispatches him to the lower realm.
• Ran Deng persuades the royal general that he can cure the princess; the general accepts his confidence and escorts him to the palace.
• The palace’s hidden young man identifies Ran Deng by his aura while listening to a witch maiden play the zither.

Key plot points and events

• A powerful Devil Race member, secretly disguised as the Bright Demon Beast Silver Spirit, recognizes that the arriving immortal is Ran Deng. He briefly worries the visit may be aimed at him, but decides he could defeat Ran Deng if necessary.
• Su Nu begs Silver Spirit to help awaken Princess Xiang Yao, but he refuses, unwilling to help humans.
• Mage Li Luo’s ritual artifact begins glowing, which he interprets as a sign that a divine being has answered the kingdom’s prayers. He and Su Nu go to welcome the visitor.
• Ran Deng arrives and is greeted by Li Luo, Su Nu, and the anxious king. Pleased by the king’s promise to honor him as the kingdom’s state preceptor, Ran Deng assures him he can save the princess.
• Ran Deng detects demonic influence in the palace and diagnoses the princess as being possessed by Spirit-Devouring Demon Insects. He begins casting a spell to expel them.
• Elsewhere, the Devil Race member senses the spell, identifies Ran Deng, and—convinced he poses no threat—plays his erhu faster, strengthening its demonic power.

Character developments and interactions

• Silver Spirit: Revealed as a Devil Race member in disguise. He knows what Su Nu wants but refuses to help, while remaining confident in his own strength.
• Su Nu: Her concern for the princess drives her to plead with Silver Spirit, then eagerly accompany Li Luo to meet the supposed divine helper.
• Li Luo: Trusts the ritual artifact as evidence that the gods have answered the kingdom’s prayers and presents this hope to Su Nu.
• Ran Deng: Acts as a composed, powerful healer, quickly identifying the cause of the princess’s condition. The king’s lavish promise also satisfies his pride.
• The king: Desperate to save his daughter, he offers Ran Deng lasting honor and worship in exchange for help.
• Silver Spirit and Ran Deng: Though they have not met, their opposing aims bring them into conflict: Ran Deng is trying to free the princess, while Silver Spirit’s demonic music appears to sustain the danger.

Significant themes

• Competing loyalties: Silver Spirit refuses to help because of his allegiance to the Devil Race, despite Su Nu’s appeal.
• Faith and authority: The kingdom interprets the glowing artifact and Ran Deng’s supernatural display as proof that heaven has answered its prayers.
• Hidden danger: The demon insects infiltrate the palace unnoticed, while the concealed devil watches events unfold from outside.
• Overconfidence and looming conflict: Both Silver Spirit and Ran Deng appear assured of their own power, foreshadowing a confrontation.

Plot and key events

• Ran Deng exorcises the Spirit-Devouring Demon Insects from the Youqiong princess, destroying them, but she remains unconscious.
• He discovers that a much stronger demon curse also afflicts her. Its caster is Dream Demon, now a quasi-saint, who warns Ran Deng through a dream illusion not to interfere: the princess is his prey.
• Knowing he cannot defeat Dream Demon, Ran Deng withdraws. He tells the ruler and Li Luo that ordinary cultivators cannot break the curse and that only a quasi-saint might be able to save the princess.
• With Ran Deng gone and no other solution, Su Nu proposes seeking help from the Bear God in the Iron-Eating Forest. The kingdom is distantly connected to the Elder Youxiong Tribe, whose people once revered the Iron-Eating Beast.
• The ruler asks Li Luo to make the dangerous journey. Before he can answer, Su Nu volunteers to go in his place.

Character developments and interactions

• Ran Deng is capable enough to destroy the insects, but his encounter with Dream Demon exposes the limits of his power. Though reluctant to abandon the princess, fear of facing a quasi-saint makes him retreat.
• Li Luo is delighted when the princess’s possession is lifted, revealing that he still loves her. He is then left helpless by the curse and is put on the spot when the ruler asks him to seek help.
• Su Nu feels hurt by Li Luo’s lingering feelings for the princess, yet acts compassionately and decisively. She volunteers to protect her senior brother from the dangerous expedition.
• The ruler is frightened and desperate to save his daughter, but his request that Li Luo take the risk contrasts with Su Nu’s willingness to go herself.
• Dream Demon is established as a formidable antagonist: he has claimed the princess as prey and is powerful enough to intimidate Ran Deng.

Significant themes

• Limits of power: Even an accomplished immortal cannot solve every crisis; the princess’s curse requires help from someone of quasi-saint stature.
• Fear and responsibility: Ran Deng chooses self-preservation, while Su Nu accepts danger to help others.
• Unrequited love and sacrifice: Su Nu’s concern for Li Luo persists despite her pain over his love for the princess.
• Turning to ancestral tradition: The kingdom’s last hope lies in seeking aid from the Bear God, a figure tied to its old tribal heritage.

Plot points and events

• Su Nu insists on going alone to the Iron-Eating Forest to seek help for the unconscious Princess Xiang Yao. Li Luo wants to accompany her, but the king orders him to remain in the palace to protect the kingdom.
• Ran Deng leaves the capital, only to be intercepted by Kong Xuan and Golden Roc. He tries to evade them by returning to the city.
• Golden Roc threatens to swallow the whole kingdom to capture Ran Deng, but Kong Xuan stops him, warning that harming the Human Race would bring dangerous karma.
• The brothers pursue Ran Deng through the crowded capital. Kong Xuan freezes nearby onlookers with divine light, and the chase continues for three days without either side daring to attack.
• Su Nu reaches the Iron-Eating Forest and enters, hoping its bear gods can help the princess after other sources of aid have failed.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Nu shows resolve and independence, refusing to let Li Luo take the risk in her place.
• Li Luo is torn between protecting Su Nu and staying to guard the princess and kingdom. The king’s order keeps him behind.
• The king prioritizes his daughter’s recovery and resents the demons who harmed her.
• Kong Xuan is disciplined and cautious, restraining Golden Roc and avoiding harm to civilians.
• Golden Roc is furious at Ran Deng because of their prior humiliations and grudges, but reluctantly follows Kong Xuan’s restraint.
• Ran Deng is frustrated and desperate as the brothers repeatedly close in on him.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: Su Nu accepts danger herself, while Li Luo must remain responsible for the kingdom.
• Restraint and consequences: Kong Xuan warns that violence against innocents creates karma and could harm the Human Race.
• Pursuit and revenge: Golden Roc’s personal anger drives the chase, while Ran Deng struggles to escape his pursuers.
• Hope amid uncertainty: Su Nu seeks help from the forest’s ancient bear gods despite not knowing whether they will answer.

Key plot points and events

• Su Nu, witch maiden of the Youqiong Kingdom, enters the Iron-Eating Forest to ask its Bear God for help saving Princess Xiang Yao.
• The forest’s old protective barrier is gone, but its mist and winding paths make it difficult to navigate. Su Nu eventually reaches a bamboo grove full of playing cubs, who ignore her because they have not yet awakened their intelligence.
• Xiong Meng appears and jokingly demands that Su Nu kiss their paw. Nine Li arrives, teases Xiong Meng, and easily restrains them.
• Nine Li challenges the Youqiong Kingdom for abandoning its centuries-old custom of paying homage to the Iron-Eating Beasts, suggesting it had grown comfortable and taken their protection for granted.
• Su Nu admits the kingdom’s fault and promises three years of tax revenue, a temple for the Bear God, and a return to the ten-year homage. Nine Li agrees to help, provided the sovereign comes personally to apologize and pay homage.
• Nine Li proposes that he and Xiong Meng go together. After Xiong Meng protests, Nine Li knocks them unconscious with one punch, delighted by how strong he has become.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Nu is respectful and desperate, but initially struggles to explain the kingdom’s neglect. She accepts responsibility and offers restitution rather than making excuses.
• Nine Li is playful with Xiong Meng but stern toward Su Nu, insisting that old obligations matter. His concern for the Human Race softens his rebuke, and he ultimately agrees to help. His victory over Xiong Meng reveals his newfound confidence after seclusion.
• Xiong Meng is boastful and mischievous, eager to receive unusual displays of respect, but is easily outmaneuvered by Nine Li. Their lively banter suggests familiarity and an ongoing comic rivalry.
• The cubs provide a contrast to the serious appeal: they are innocent, absorbed in play, and unable to understand Su Nu’s plea.

Significant themes

• Gratitude and reciprocity: The kingdom cannot expect help after taking protection for granted; it must acknowledge its past obligations.
• Tradition and responsibility: Nine Li treats the old homage custom as a meaningful bond, not an empty ritual.
• Power and humility: Su Nu must humble herself, while Xiong Meng’s grand posturing is undercut by Nine Li’s effortless strength.
• Humor amid serious stakes: The absurd paw-kissing demand and Nine Li’s teasing lighten a chapter centered on a princess’s danger and a kingdom’s appeal.

Key plot points and events

• The system rewards Gungun for lazily drifting in the Heavenly River and offers him the Devil Race’s Heavenly Demon Dance, a powerful enchantment spell. He buys it, then privately rationalizes that he’ll give it to his clone, Blood Demon, rather than learn it himself.
• In the Youqiong Kingdom, Ran Deng escapes Kong Xuan and Golden Roc by entering the princess’s dream, where she is under a demonic curse.
• The brothers follow him into the dream despite Kong Xuan’s warning that it was created by a Demon Realm Great Sage and may be dangerous. Golden Roc rushes in first; Kong Xuan reluctantly follows.
• The king and mage Li Luo are left behind. The king is furious and confused, while Li Luo worries about the princess.
• Outside the capital, Dream Demon realizes that the immortals’ intrusion may ruin the princess’s sweet dreams by turning them into nightmares.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun remains boastful and pleasure-seeking, but his purchase suggests he may use the spell indirectly through his clone.
• Golden Roc’s impatience again leads him to act before understanding the danger. Kong Xuan is more cautious and perceptive, suspecting Ran Deng may be connected to the Devil Race.
• Ran Deng shows desperation and resourcefulness by using the princess’s dream as a hiding place.
• The king and Li Luo are powerless amid the supernatural conflict; Li Luo’s concern centers on the princess’s suffering.
• Dream Demon is irritated that the pursuit has disrupted his plan to collect the princess’s pleasant dreams.

Significant themes

• The contrast between recklessness and caution drives the brothers’ choices.
• Dreams as vulnerable territory become the setting for conflict, with outside interference threatening to transform comfort into terror.
• Comedy amid danger appears in Gungun’s self-serving excuses and Dream Demon’s complaint about unwanted visitors.

Key plot points and events

• The Dream Demon has stopped killing indiscriminately, but still draws people into dreams. Anyone who chooses to remain immersed is kept there permanently, and their dream is added to his collection.
• His latest target is Princess Xiang Yao, whose dream features a happy life on the grasslands with a dream-illusion of Hou Yi. Her indecision about waking frustrates the Dream Demon.
• Ran Deng, Kong Xuan, and Golden Roc enter the dream. Kong Xuan and Golden Roc pursue Ran Deng, who refuses to surrender and takes Xiang Yao hostage as he tries to escape.
• The Dream Demon responds by conjuring ten blazing suns—the Ten Golden Crows—threatening everyone in the dream.
• Meanwhile, Nine Li and Xiong Meng bring Su Nu to the Youqiong Kingdom’s palace. Su Nu promises the kingdom will honor its agreement to restore worship of the Iron-Eating Forest.
• Nine Li warns Xiong Meng that if the kingdom breaks its promise, he will avenge the Iron-Eating Beasts and destroy it. Xiong Meng misses the implication and asks him to explain.

Character developments and interactions

• The Dream Demon remains possessive of beautiful dreams and becomes openly hostile when the immortals disrupt Xiang Yao’s dream.
• Xiang Yao is content in her dream with “Hou Yi,” though she notices the unexpected visitors and wonders why they appeared there.
• Ran Deng chooses resistance over surrender and uses Xiang Yao to shield his escape.
• Kong Xuan and Golden Roc work together to chase Ran Deng, treating the dream-Hou Yi as an illusion.
• Nine Li acts as protector and enforcer for his uncle’s people, while Xiong Meng is blunt and food-focused, prompting comic misunderstandings.
• Su Nu respectfully assures the pair that her kingdom will repay their help.

Significant themes

• Dreams and choice: The Dream Demon’s rules hinge on whether a person chooses to wake or remain in a pleasurable illusion.
• Duty and reciprocity: Su Nu’s promise reflects the expectation that aid must be repaid; Nine Li is prepared to enforce that obligation.
• Illusion versus reality: Dream-Hou Yi is only a constructed figure, but the dream’s events have real danger for those trapped inside.
• Comedy amid conflict: Xiong Meng’s literal-mindedness contrasts with Nine Li’s ominous, unfinished threat.

Plot points and events

• Su Nu brings Nine Li and Xiong Meng to the Youqiong king’s bedchamber, where the king and mage Li Luo kneel to honor Xiong Meng as the Bear God. Xiong Meng demands that they kiss her muddy, furry toes; Nine Li cuts the awkward exchange short and takes her to the unconscious Princess Xiang Yao.
• Nine Li discovers that the princess is trapped by Dream Demon’s Dream Illusion Curse, with several powerful forces tangled in her dream. Li Luo explains that the demons must have targeted her because she is exceptionally virtuous. Xiong Meng mocks both Li Luo and Su Nu as “sycophants.”
• Nine Li casts a Nightmare Curse to frighten the princess awake. In her dream, Ran Deng has abducted her and is bargaining with Dream Demon for help against Kong Xuan and Golden Roc. Dream Demon summons ten Golden Crows; Kong Xuan shields Golden Roc and battles them.
• The princess calls for “Brother Hou Yi.” A dream-version of Hou Yi appears, rescues her from Ran Deng, and comforts her. Nine Li’s nightmare then intrudes: as a giant, he threatens to kill the man she loves. The terror briefly wakes the princess, but Dream Demon pulls her consciousness back into the dream.
• Xiong Meng guesses that the princess must be Hou Yi’s secret “kept woman,” reasoning that her devotion and Hou Yi’s apparent failure to rescue her fit that explanation. Nine Li is initially stunned but finds the theory disturbingly plausible. The chapter ends with Hou Yi and Xiong Meng both sneezing, as if someone has been speaking ill of them.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiong Meng is irreverent and blunt, mixing divine authority with comic demands and snap judgments. She repeatedly insults Su Nu and Li Luo, then confidently invents an explanation for the princess’s connection to Hou Yi.
• Nine Li acts decisively to save the princess, but the failed attempt reveals the limits of his power against Dream Demon. He is also drawn into Xiong Meng’s increasingly outrageous theory.
• Li Luo demonstrates concern for the king and princess, though his flattering explanation of the princess’s virtue earns Xiong Meng’s scorn. His reaction to her calling for Hou Yi leaves him speechless.
• Su Nu defends Li Luo and explains why she went to seek help, but Xiong Meng dismisses her as a sycophant.
• Princess Xiang Yao shows deep affection for Hou Yi in her dream, calling for him in danger and embracing the dream-version who rescues her.
• Dream Demon proves powerful enough to manipulate the dream and counter Nine Li’s intervention. Ran Deng resorts to threatening the princess to force Dream Demon’s cooperation, while Kong Xuan protects Golden Roc and captures the Ten Golden Crows with his Five-Colored Divine Light.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Even Nine Li’s magic cannot easily overcome Dream Demon’s Quasi-Saint-level curse.
• Dreams and reality: The dream’s figures and events are constructed, yet the princess’s feelings—and the danger to her—are real within it.
• Flattery and self-deception: Xiong Meng’s “sycophant” accusations and the characters’ speculative explanations create much of the chapter’s humor.
• Misunderstanding and gossip: Xiong Meng turns scant evidence into a confident, scandalous theory about Hou Yi, highlighting how easily assumptions become “truth.”

Key plot points and events

• Princess Xiang Yao briefly wakes from Dream Demon’s curse, calls out for Hou Yi, then falls unconscious again. Nine Li explains that he can only interfere with the curse; breaking it may require a more powerful elder. The king and mage Li Luo beg him to save her.
• Nine Li contacts his uncle Hou Yi for help. He initially conceals that he is in the Youqiong Kingdom, hoping to learn whether Hou Yi has a connection to the princess.
• Hou Yi clarifies that Jade Rabbit had once impersonated him in the mortal realm and befriended Xiang Yao, but that she and the princess were only ordinary friends. Xiang Yao’s feelings appear to be a secret crush, not a relationship with Hou Yi.
• Hou Yi warns Nine Li to leave Dream Demon alone. He argues that the princess may wake if she rejects the dream, and that confronting a quasi-saint could cost the Heavenly Court dearly. Nine Li objects that ordinary mortals may be unable to resist such vivid temptations, but ends the call and decides to find another way.
• Hou Yi and Gungun discuss whether intervening is worthwhile. Both acknowledge the danger and limited scale of Dream Demon’s recent killings, though Gungun agrees with Nine Li that mortals should not be blamed for failing to resist their dreams.
• Gungun falls asleep and enters an unfamiliar dream world, where it sees Hou Yi with a human woman, as well as Kong Xuan, Golden Roc, and Ran Deng.

Character developments and interactions

• Nine Li shows compassion and a strong sense of duty, refusing to abandon Xiang Yao even when his uncle advises him to retreat. His attempt to uncover Hou Yi’s feelings also reveals his curiosity and playful side.
• Hou Yi is cautious and pragmatic: he weighs the cost of fighting Dream Demon against the limited threat he poses. He and Nine Li clash over whether that calculation excuses leaving a vulnerable mortal unaided.
• Gungun supports Nine Li’s concern for mortals but is also candidly reluctant to take on another dangerous fight. Its teasing exchanges with Hou Yi underscore their familiarity.
• Xiong Meng is blunt and frivolous, while Li Luo and the king look to Nine Li as the more dependable protector.
• Xiang Yao’s feelings form a tangled chain of unspoken affection: she likes Jade Rabbit while Jade Rabbit is disguised as Hou Yi; Li Luo appears to care for Xiang Yao, and Su Nu has her own feelings for Li Luo.

Significant themes

• Duty versus pragmatism: Nine Li believes the Heavenly Court should protect the vulnerable; Hou Yi and Gungun weigh that duty against the risks and costs of confronting a powerful enemy.
• Choice and responsibility: Dream Demon’s curse raises the question of whether a person can fairly be held responsible for choosing a dream when its temptations feel real.
• Unrequited and mistaken love: Disguises and secret feelings create confusion about whom Xiang Yao loves and why.
• Power and limits: Even mighty gods must choose which threats to confront, while their decisions shape the fate of ordinary people.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun secretly watches the princess’s dream, where an imaginary Hou Yi rescues her and defeats Ran Deng, Kong Xuan, and Golden Roc. The princess praises him as the world’s mightiest male god and clings to him affectionately.
• Golden Roc attacks again, but “Hou Yi” easily overwhelms him. Kong Xuan decides to retreat with the injured Golden Roc and Ran Deng.
• As Kong Xuan carries the two away through a gateway to reality, Nine Li rushes into the dream and crashes into them, knocking all four to the ground.
• Dream Demon, exhausted by the constant interruptions, wonders why the princess’s dream has attracted so many powerful figures and struggles to keep it on track.
• Nine Li confronts “Hou Yi” and tells Princess Xiang Yao that she is dreaming: the man beside her is an illusion created from her desires, and her father is worried about her.
• Xiang Yao doubts Nine Li, especially when “Hou Yi” claims to be his uncle. She finds it strange that Nine Li looks older than him. “Hou Yi” jokingly suggests Nine Li simply looks old for his age.
• Humiliated, Nine Li attacks “Hou Yi” with the Heaven-Splitting Divine Palm.

Character developments and interactions

• Gungun is jealous of the princess’s admiration for the imaginary Hou Yi and is scandalized by her romantic feelings, though he keeps spying instead of intervening.
• Princess Xiang Yao remains enamored of her heroic dream-companion and resists Nine Li’s attempt to expose the dream.
• Nine Li enters boldly to rescue the princess, but his claims are undermined by the convincing illusion and his awkward family resemblance dispute. His wounded pride provokes him to attack.
• Dream Demon grows frustrated and dispirited as the dream is repeatedly disrupted.
• Kong Xuan prioritizes retreating with his injured companions, while Golden Roc continues to act aggressively despite being badly hurt.

Significant themes

• Dream versus reality: Dream Demon’s power makes imagined events physically consequential, blurring the boundary between illusion and truth.
• Desire and self-deception: Hou Yi’s dream-image reflects Xiang Yao’s longing, making her reluctant to believe he is unreal.
• Pride and mistaken appearances: Nine Li’s indignation over looking older than his “uncle” turns an attempted rescue into a personal confrontation.
• Comic disruption: The serious clash of powerful beings is repeatedly undercut by misunderstandings, jealousy, and absurd timing.

Plot and key events

• Nine Li rejects being called old and attacks the apparent Hou Yi, who is actually Dream Demon’s creation. The impostor’s powerful counterattack knocks Nine Li down, but he presses the figure with questions about Hou Yi’s life and knowledge. The figure cannot answer, exposing the deception.
• Dream Demon ends the dream, and the imagined Hou Yi vanishes. Princess Xiang Yao is devastated when she learns that the man she loved in the dream was only a product of her imagination.
• Dream Demon argues that his spells offer comfort to people who choose to remain in dreams, and warns Nine Li not to interfere again. Xiang Yao’s Dream World shatters, releasing Nine Li, Kong Xuan, Golden Roc, and Ran Deng.
• Xiang Yao awakens but remains inconsolable, weeping and calling for Hou Yi. The king and mage Li Luo try to comfort her without success.
• The chapter closes with a comic romantic tangle: Li Luo loves Xiang Yao, Su Nu loves Li Luo, and a young armored man loves Su Nu. Meanwhile, Golden Roc ignores the heartbreak around him and grabs Ran Deng, eager to capture him.

Character developments and interactions

• Nine Li shows confidence and persistence, challenging the impostor both physically and by testing his knowledge. His pride is also apparent in his insistence that he is still young.
• Dream Demon remains unrepentant, viewing his dream magic as a source of comfort rather than a crime. He overpowers the situation by ending the dream, but chooses to let the others go.
• Xiang Yao moves from pride in her dream-Hou Yi to shock and grief when the illusion disappears. Her attachment remains fixed on Hou Yi even after waking.
• Li Luo, Su Nu, and the armored young man embody an unreturned chain of affection: each longs for someone whose attention is directed elsewhere.
• Golden Roc and Ran Deng provide a humorous counterpoint: Golden Roc is still focused on capturing Ran Deng, who reacts with exasperated disbelief.

Significant themes

• Dreams, illusion, and emotional refuge: A comforting fantasy can feel real, but waking from it can deepen grief.
• Unrequited love: Several characters love people who do not return their feelings, creating a cycle of longing.
• Truth and identity: Nine Li exposes the impostor by appealing to shared knowledge and history, not merely by force.
• Comedy amid tragedy: The romantic misalignments and Golden Roc’s pursuit of Ran Deng offset Xiang Yao’s sorrow.

Plot points and events

• Dream Demon mourns losing the chance to harvest Princess Xiang Yao’s sweet dream after Ran Deng, Kong Xuan, Golden Roc, and Nine Li disrupted it.
• As he prepares to leave the Youqiong Kingdom, a mysterious black-and-white passage pulls him into Gungun’s dream world.
• Gungun orders Dream Demon to use his Dream Illusion Law to create a vivid, effortless sweet dream based on Gungun’s true desires. Terrified of the powerful Netherworld Emperor, Dream Demon complies, playing his erhu.
• Gungun falls into an unusually deep, restorative sleep. It wakes in what appears to be Mount Buzhou before its collapse, where Houtu is scolding it for neglecting the Witch God Scripture.
• When Houtu threatens to hit it, Gungun unexpectedly kicks her away. It realizes it retains its supreme Quasi-Saint powers and concludes that it has somehow returned to the era before the War of the Liches. Believing Houtu is no match for it, Gungun charges at her.

Character developments and interactions

• Dream Demon is timid and deferential toward Gungun, fearing its authority and ability to punish even a dead being. He obeys but is not shown what Gungun’s resulting dream contains.
• Gungun remains self-indulgent and sleepy, but its confidence expands when it discovers that its present-day strength is intact. It resists Houtu’s authority and turns the old scolding relationship into a confrontation.
• Houtu appears as Gungun remembers her from before her transformation into Reincarnation. She tries to discipline Gungun, then reacts angrily when it fights back.

Significant themes

• Dreams and desire: Gungun wants a dream that feels real and reflects its hidden wishes, rather than one it must consciously maintain.
• Power and rebellion: Gungun’s retained strength overturns the familiar hierarchy between it and Houtu.
• Comic reversal: A scene of routine reprimand becomes a fight after Gungun discovers it can overpower its former disciplinarian.

Summary

Plot points and events

• Gungun dreams that he defeats Houtu after a brutal fight, then declares her his battle pet and mount. Just as he celebrates, the dream collapses and he wakes beside the Heavenly River, where Hou Yi has been fishing.
• Gungun returns to the dream and finds Dream Demon, the creator of the illusion, waiting anxiously. Rather than punish him, Gungun praises the dream and appoints him his personal Dream Maker.
• Gungun offers to forgive Dream Demon’s offenses in the mortal world if he serves him for one hundred million years. Faced with the threat of death, Dream Demon accepts.
• As a reward, Gungun authorizes Dream Demon to collect the dreams of death-row prisoners. Gungun considers this both a benefit to Dream Demon and a merciful arrangement for the condemned.

Character developments

• Gungun reveals a long-standing wish to overpower and ride Houtu—a desire he gets to indulge in his dream. He also shows his self-satisfaction, comic mood swings, and talent for turning a pardon into an enormous personal bargain.
• Dream Demon goes from fearing that Gungun will kill him for discovering his private desire to accepting a century-spanning sentence because survival matters more. He remains outwardly respectful while inwardly recognizing the absurdity of his new duties.
• Hou Yi appears briefly as a bystander, curious about Gungun’s excited reaction to waking.

Significant themes

• Dreams versus reality: Dreams offer Gungun an escape from limitations he has never overcome in real life.
• Power and coercion: Gungun frames Dream Demon’s “choice” between death and 100 million years of service as a voluntary decision.
• Self-serving justice: Gungun presents his personal reward and lenient pardon as fair punishment and mercy.
• Comedy through contradiction: Gungun shifts from laughter to tears and back again, while Dream Demon’s polite responses contrast with his private dismay.

Character interactions

• Gungun’s dream portrays him dominating Houtu, but the encounter is entirely imagined.
• With Dream Demon, Gungun uses praise, reassurance, and a veiled threat to secure lifelong service.
• Dream Demon responds with deference, while privately fearing for his life and doubting that condemned prisoners will provide pleasant dreams.

Key plot points and events

• Gungun recruits Dream Demon as his personal “dream weaver.” To make the devil acceptable in the Heavenly Court, he seals Dream Demon’s devilish aura and changes his appearance. Dream Demon remains deeply uneasy about serving a god.
• In Princess Xiang Yao’s bedchamber, Golden Roc and Ran Deng are still fighting. The Youqiong king asks Nine Li to help Ran Deng, but Kong Xuan intervenes, arguing that Ran Deng deserves retribution for imprisoning Golden Roc and forcing him to serve as a mount.
• Nine Li and Kong Xuan clash over their opposing views of Ran Deng’s actions, then take their fight high above the capital. Meanwhile, the king and his attendants join the fray against Golden Roc, whom they treat as a demon despite his past service to humanity.
• Nine Li lands a solid blow, but Kong Xuan counters with his Five-Colored Divine Light. Nine Li protects himself with the Apricot-Yellow Banner of Wu and Ji, then transforms into his enormous, fearsome Great Shaman True Form and prepares to strike.

Character developments and interactions

• Dream Demon is outwardly given a place in Gungun’s service but remains distrustful and anxious about being among gods.
• Gungun is delighted by his new servant and pragmatically hides Dream Demon’s identity to avoid criticism in the Heavenly Court.
• Kong Xuan defends his brother Golden Roc and fights with pride and restraint, refusing to make excuses after Nine Li wounds him—even though Dream Demon had injured his shoulder in a dream.
• Nine Li feels obligated to rescue his teacher Ran Deng, directly opposing Kong Xuan. He relies on the banner to withstand Kong Xuan’s signature technique before escalating to his full form.
• Golden Roc feels betrayed by the humans he once helped, as the king and his court attack him while he wrestles Ran Deng.
• The Youqiong king shifts from comforting his daughter to aggressively joining the battle, with Li Luo and Su Nu following his orders.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and concealment: Dream Demon’s identity must be hidden for him to work in the Heavenly Court, despite claims that all beings are equal.
• Retribution and competing loyalties: Kong Xuan and Nine Li judge Ran Deng’s treatment of Golden Roc differently, each defending family or teacher.
• Ingratitude and political change: Golden Roc believes the fall of Great Shang has erased humanity’s memory of his past loyalty.
• The brutality of immortals: The chapter’s fighting is so chaotic that the king wonders whether gods and demons are even more savage than mortals.

Key plot points and events

• Kong Xuan and Nine Li continue their fight, watched by the Phoenix elders and by Nine Li’s father, Quan Jiu, through a Light Screen.
• Phoenix elder Lingguang refuses to send help, insisting Kong Xuan must prove himself if he is to lead the Phoenix Race. The elders disagree over whether Kong Xuan or Nine Li has the advantage.
• Nine Li uses the Apricot-Yellow Banner of Wu and Ji to defend against Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light, and attacks with his Tiger Soul Saber. Kong Xuan counters by enlarging himself and attempting to swallow Nine Li, but Nine Li prepares a powerful palm strike.
• Before either can land a decisive blow, two enormous pillars of black and white light suppress them and force them to the ground.
• The newcomers are two black-and-white bears. The white bear says he came to stop the fight; the black bear says he wants to protect his “property”—both fighters.

Character developments and interactions

• Kong Xuan shows fierce loyalty to his brother Golden Roc: he fought Nine Li because Nine Li defended Ran Deng’s punishment of Golden Roc. His pride and strength are evident, though his injury and Nine Li’s protective banner complicate the duel.
• Nine Li proves powerful and bold, meeting Kong Xuan’s enormous charge rather than retreating. He is briefly caught off guard when his saber attack is swept away.
• Lingguang is stern and demanding, treating the duel as a test of Kong Xuan’s fitness to lead the Phoenix Race.
• Quan Jiu watches anxiously, then feels pride in his son’s strength.
• The bears abruptly take control of the situation. Nine Li recognizes them as his uncles, but the black bear’s claim that he owns both fighters leaves him bewildered.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and conflict: Kong Xuan’s defense of Golden Roc sparks the duel, while Quan Jiu’s concern shows a father’s pride and anxiety.
• Power and leadership: The Phoenix elders debate whether strength and judgment make Kong Xuan suitable to lead their people.
• Intervention and control: The bears’ overwhelming power ends a fight the combatants cannot resolve—and their possessive “property” joke adds a comic note.

Summary

• Plot and events: The narrator opens by noting that September has been an exhausting month and announces a day off to rest. They address “Old Dream” and their “handsome buddies,” asking readers to understand. They also invite readers to suggest future plot ideas—and jokingly say they’re happy to copy suggestions wholesale.
• Character development: The narrator shows fatigue and recognizes the need to pause rather than keep working.
• Themes: Rest, creative burnout, and the value of audience participation. The lighthearted tone makes the break feel candid and playful.
• Interactions: The narrator speaks directly to readers, seeking their understanding and inviting them to contribute story ideas.

Plot points and events

• A Bei and the Black Bear Ancestor stop Nine Li and Kong Xuan’s fight. A Bei frees them and reprimands them for risking their lives and potentially provoking conflict between the Witch and Phoenix Races.
• Nine Li explains that he fought because Kong Xuan and Golden Roc attacked Ran Deng. Kong Xuan says Ran Deng had imprisoned Golden Roc and forced him to serve as a mount.
• A Bei senses that Golden Roc and Ran Deng are also fighting in a nearby princess’s bedchamber. He teleports them to the group and orders everyone to stop before their injuries become fatal.
• Golden Roc insists that his feud with Ran Deng must be settled. A Bei proposes a duel between the two in the Heavenly Court’s God-Fighting Arena, five hundred years later, with no outside interference.
• Ran Deng initially fears that he will still be injured by then, but Nine Li secretly promises him a drop of three lights divine water to heal him. Ran Deng accepts, intending to defeat Golden Roc.
• A Bei sends Kong Xuan and Golden Roc to the Southern Wastes, and Nine Li and Ran Deng to Mount Kunlun. After A Bei departs, Black Bear notices an extraordinary firefly in the nearby capital and turns his attention toward it.

Character developments and interactions

• A Bei acts as mediator, preventing the immediate fight and arranging a future contest. His apparent impartiality conceals a political calculation: either Golden Roc or Ran Deng—or both—may be removed, which would benefit the Heavenly Court.
• Nine Li accepts responsibility for his part in the clash and supports Ran Deng by secretly offering healing water.
• Kong Xuan explains that his conflict is rooted in his brother’s mistreatment, while making clear he did not intend to antagonize the Witch Race or Expounding Teaching.
• Golden Roc remains furious and eager for revenge, even while badly injured.
• Ran Deng is wary and self-interested: he agrees to the duel only after learning he can recover, and privately blames Golden Roc and Kong Xuan for his predicament.
• Black Bear recognizes A Bei’s hidden motives and privately judges his plan as just as ruthless as his own. He also detects a new potential target or discovery: the Bright Demon Beast.

Significant themes

• Revenge and karmic debts: Golden Roc and Ran Deng’s grievances are deferred, not resolved.
• Mediation and political strategy: A Bei stops violence in the present while channeling it into a controlled future duel that serves the Heavenly Court’s interests.
• Power, vulnerability, and recovery: The outcome of the promised duel may depend as much on healing and preparation as on strength.
• Conflict spreading beyond individuals: The fighters’ personal disputes risk inflaming tensions between larger factions.

Plot points and events

• Ran Deng and Golden Roc mysteriously disappear, leaving the rulers of Youqiong Kingdom relieved that the kingdom can return to peace.
• Princess Xiang Yao remains heartbroken, murmuring Hou Yi’s name. Li Luo comforts her, while Su Nu mistakenly concludes that Li Luo loves the princess and decides to put aside her own feelings.
• Su Nu goes to the palace’s Divine Temple and prays for Li Luo and Xiang Yao to have a happy life together.
• The Black Bear Ancestor appears, claiming to have heard her prayer. He directs her to Qingcheng Mountain to seek Soaring Serpent, who can supposedly provide a red thread to secure the couple’s marriage.
• Su Nu agrees to go. Bright Demon Beast rushes in to warn her that the bear is an evil god and the Corpse of the Heavenly Emperor—but the bear’s magic has already sent her away.
• Bright Demon Beast confronts the Black Bear Ancestor and demands to know where Su Nu went. Learning she was sent to Qingcheng Mountain, he hurries after her. The bear follows, and the chapter ends with the two fighting in the air above the mountain.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Nu sacrifices her own romantic hopes for what she believes is Li Luo’s happiness. Her devotion leads her to trust the Black Bear Ancestor’s guidance.
• Bright Demon Beast is deeply moved by Su Nu’s selflessness and longs to comfort her, but believes his demonic nature makes their feelings impossible. His concern overrides his caution when he sees her in danger.
• Black Bear Ancestor manipulates Su Nu’s trust by posing as a benevolent divine figure and sending her to Qingcheng Mountain. His confrontation with Bright Demon Beast turns the chapter into a direct magical clash.
• Li Luo remains devoted to comforting Xiang Yao, while Su Nu misunderstands his feelings and steps aside.

Significant themes

• Selfless love and mistaken assumptions: Su Nu’s noble gesture is based on an uncertain reading of Li Luo’s feelings.
• Identity and belonging: Bright Demon Beast’s belief that humans could never accept a demon causes him private pain.
• Faith and deception: Su Nu’s sincere prayer makes her vulnerable to the Black Bear Ancestor’s false or manipulative assurances.

Key plot points and events

• Black Bear, Gungun’s violent Corpse of Evil, battles Bright Demon Beast and overwhelms him. Bright Demon’s Illusion Curse fails against Black Bear’s Six-Foot Golden Body, and his later demonic attacks are likewise countered.
• As they fight, Bright Demon accuses the Heavenly Court of neglecting the people of Youqiong. Black Bear argues that the princess’s troubles arose from karmic causes: she brought home a flower whose insects then attached themselves to her, while her longing for Hou Yi attracted Dream Demon. He also says the Court lacks the strength to launch a major campaign against a Quasi-Saint, and that Bright Demon’s past role in the attack on Heaven makes him a more urgent target.
• Just before Black Bear can kill him, Bright Demon escapes aboard a Stone Boat. He reaches the Northern Dark Sea badly wounded and credits the Devil Ancestor’s gift with saving his life. While recovering, he thinks anxiously of Su Nu and hopes to reunite with her.
• Su Nu reaches Soaring Serpent’s palace to obtain a Red Thread for her senior brother. Soaring Serpent, annoyed that Black Bear’s fight took place on his territory, nevertheless decides to give her one—though he modifies it so it works only on mortals. After Su Nu’s humble entreaties, he hands it over.
• Su Nu takes six months to return to Youqiong, where she learns that the old king died during her absence. He entrusted the kingdom and Princess Xiang Yao to Li Luo; Li Luo married the princess and became king. Su Nu returns too late to carry out her intended plan, and says nothing when Li Luo asks where she has been.
• On Mount Kunlun, Ran Deng has recovered from his injuries but has made no progress toward the Quasi-Saint realm despite strenuous cultivation. Nine Li and Guang Chengzi doubt whether he can defeat Golden Roc in their future duel. Yuding then returns from teaching the monkey, prompting speculation that the monkey may have mastered his skills.

Character developments and interactions

• Black Bear is both formidable and self-aggrandizing: he fights to punish an old enemy, but also openly hopes to use the victory to establish his own reputation and authority. His clash with Bright Demon exposes their opposing views of divine responsibility and moral cause.
• Bright Demon Beast is cornered but resourceful, surviving through the Stone Boat. His concern for Su Nu remains central even while he tends his wounds.
• Soaring Serpent is indulgent toward his attendants and harsh when challenged, yet grudgingly accommodates Su Nu’s request—partly to avoid further trouble with Black Bear.
• Su Nu remains devoted to helping her senior brother, but her long absence leaves her confronting an irreversible change in the kingdom and in Xiang Yao’s life.
• Ran Deng is determined to avenge himself on Golden Roc, but his lack of progress undermines his confidence and prospects. Nine Li and Guang Chengzi discuss his chances as Yuding’s unexpected return shifts attention to the monkey.

Significant themes

• Karma and responsibility: Black Bear frames suffering as the consequence of prior actions, challenging the idea that offerings obligate gods to intervene.
• Divine duty and power: Bright Demon criticizes heavenly indifference, while Black Bear points to the Heavenly Court’s limits and the complexity of intervening.
• Love, devotion, and missed timing: Bright Demon longs for Su Nu, while Su Nu’s own mission is overtaken by events during her six-month journey.
• Ambition and rivalry: Black Bear seeks public prestige, and Ran Deng continues to fixate on defeating Golden Roc.
• Fate and uncertain outcomes: Bright Demon’s survival, Su Nu’s disappointment, and Ran Deng’s stalled cultivation all hinge on forces beyond their immediate intentions.