Chapter Summaries

Shen Chuanlian escaped the courtyard after Liu Zimu and Yuanbao tried to stop him from going to the Qilin ceremony. At the Heaven-Worshipping Altar, the Qilin Horn passed over the crowd and approached Consort Jing and her child, who she believed would be chosen.

• Liu Zimu asked Shen Chuanlian to return with him, while Yuanbao warned him that the Qilin could expose his identity.
• Yuanbao fought Gu Ming, leaving Shen Chuanlian free to face the servants and guards at the courtyard gate.
• Shen Chuanlian hid his lotus jade pendant, sent baleful aura toward Qing Da and the others, then escaped as black mist when Liu Zimu protected them with his Peace Talisman.
• Gu Ming held Yuanbao back, and Yuanbao ultimately did not pursue Shen Chuanlian.
• The Qilin appeared over the Heaven-Worshipping Altar, and the Ruler of Eastern Lin asked it to acknowledge a master and bless East Lin.
• The Qilin Horn passed over the crowd and headed toward Consort Jing, who raised her child and expected the Qilin to choose him.

At the ceremony, the Qilin Horn first appeared to choose Eastern Lin's infant prince, but black resentful vapor made the Qilin reject him. The Ruler of Eastern Lin paid ten years of his life for a second test, and the chapter ended as the horn turned away from the prince and flew toward a three-year-old girl eating a Licorice Stick.

• The Qilin Horn hovered above Consort Jing's infant son, and the Ruler of Eastern Lin and his mission celebrated him as the Qilin Lord.
• Black vapor rose from the Little Imperial Prince, so the Qilin withdrew its horn and the State Preceptor declared the child an evil spirit steeped in resentment.
• Consort Jing insisted the Qilin had mistaken an evil spirit clinging to her son for the child himself, and the Ruler ordered another test.
• The State Preceptor warned that calming the Qilin would cost the Ruler ten years of his life, and the Ruler agreed after the horn purified the prince's resentful aura.
• The Qilin took ten years from the Ruler and tested the infant again, but its horn suddenly turned away and flew toward a three-year-old girl chewing a Licorice Stick.

The Qilin Horn chose Xia Wanwan as its master and fused with her, but its power overwhelmed her and left her in agony. As the Ruler of Eastern Lin launched a real assassination, Shen Chuanlian warned that Xia Wanwan would die unless the horn was removed.

• The Qilin Horn bypassed the Little Imperial Prince and settled above Xia Wanwan before fusing with her, while the Qilin acknowledged her as its master.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin and his people knelt before Xia Wanwan, and tiny golden Qilin horns appeared on her head.
• Xia Wanwan suffered intense pain and fainted, prompting Liu Wan and Xia Siheng to call for an Imperial Physician.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin ordered Ci Mang and the Death Warriors to kill Xia Wanwan, and they attacked amid the chaos.
• Xia Siheng and Jing Er's Hidden Guards fought the assassins as Liu Wan held Xia Wanwan, and Shen Chuanlian warned that the Qilin Horn's power could kill her unless it was removed.

As Xia Wanwan suffered from the Qilin Horn’s power, Shen Chuanlian tried to convince Liu Wan to let him extract it, while Princess Liuli urged her to refuse. Liu Wan protected Shen Chuanlian and Xia Wanwan from an assassin, then saved her daughter with a drop of her own blood; Xia Wanwan still needed a Phoenix Feather Plume to wake.

• Shen Chuanlian warned Liu Wan that Xia Wanwan would die unless he drew out the Qilin’s power, but Princess Liuli told her not to allow it.
• Liu Wan sent a Hidden Guard to fetch Yuanbao while Shen Chuanlian and the Ruler of Eastern Lin watched for an opening amid the attack.
• Shen Chuanlian reached toward Xia Wanwan, but Liu Wan shielded both children from an assassin’s blade, and Shen Chuanlian blasted the attacker into bloody mist.
• Shen Chuanlian told Liu Wan that her blood could help Xia Wanwan, and Liu Wan gave her daughter a drop, easing her pain.
• Shen Chuanlian explained that a Phoenix Feather Plume could help wake Xia Wanwan, and Liu Wan promised they would find one.

Shen Chuanlian revealed his Demon God power after the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s assassination plot endangered Xia Wanwan and Liu Wan. He destroyed the State Preceptor and the Eastern Lin Death Warriors, leaving the ruler drenched in blood and warned not to target his protected ones again.

• Jing Wu brought Imperial Physician Huang to examine Xia Wanwan, then led his men into the battle.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin realized Shen Chuanlian was the Demon God, and Shen accused him of touching someone he should never have touched.
• Shen Chuanlian lifted the State Preceptor into the air and killed him with baleful aura.
• Consort Jing slipped away with her child while Shen Chuanlian confronted the Ruler of Eastern Lin and warned him not to target his protected ones again.
• Shen Chuanlian raised the Eastern Lin Death Warriors into the air and exploded them into clouds of blood as Xia Siheng gathered Liu Wan and her daughter close.

Shen Chuanlian wiped out the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s death warriors, then collapsed after saving Xia Siheng’s family. Xia Siheng protected him from the Ruler, but a report revealed Duke Yan had seized the palace and poisoned the emperor.

• Shen Chuanlian annihilated the death warriors and fell unconscious, while the Ruler of Eastern Lin realized his plans had been ruined.
• Xia Siheng had Jing Wu carry Shen Chuanlian to Imperial Physician Huang and refused to let the Ruler kill him.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin blamed Duke Yan for the attack on Xia Siheng’s family, and Xia Siheng questioned his claim.
• A wounded guard reported that Duke Yan had rebelled, taken control of the palace with Lin Jun and death warriors, and poisoned the emperor, whom he had imprisoned in Chaoyang Hall.
• Yuanbao dropped what he was carrying and anxiously asked about the emperor.

Xia Siheng went to the Imperial Palace with the Ruler of Eastern Lin while Yuanbao examined the unconscious Xia Wanwan and helped Shen Chuanlian recover. As they returned to the Ninth Prince's Residence, Shen Chuanlian asked Liu Wan if he could call her Mother.

• Xia Siheng ordered Jing Wu to escort Liu Wan, the children, and Yuanbao to the residence, then left with the Ruler of Eastern Lin and sent Jing Er to mobilize troops.
• Yuanbao examined Xia Wanwan and said she needed power comparable to the Qilin's to finish absorbing its power, so he planned to try the Phoenix Feather Plume.
• Yuanbao used spiritual power to help Shen Chuanlian awaken, and Shen Chuanlian thanked Liu Wan for saving him.
• Liu Wan offered Shen Chuanlian food and water on the ride back, and he told her she reminded him of his mother.
• Shen Chuanlian asked Liu Wan if he could call her Mother.

Liu Wan urged Shen Chuanlian to consider what he wanted to carry into a new life and warned him not to let hatred control him. Shen Chuanlian remained uncertain, but Liu Zimu’s blunt account of resolving his own grudge helped him see that his enemy was already dead.

• Liu Wan met Liu Zimu and Shen Chuanlian in Zi Mu’s courtyard and asked Liu Zimu whether he had resented her for rebuilding his education.
• Liu Zimu said he had chosen to study and thanked Liu Wan for helping him pursue that path.
• Liu Wan asked Shen Chuanlian to think carefully about what to keep and what to relinquish before beginning a new life.
• Shen Chuanlian said he could not let go of his hatred for the Patriarch of the Mystic Sect, who had sealed him in the World-Suppressing Tower.
• Liu Wan told Shen Chuanlian that letting go did not mean abandoning revenge, but meant refusing to let hatred rule his life.
• Liu Zimu said he had dealt with his own grudge by killing his enemy, prompting Shen Chuanlian to realize that the Patriarch had been dead for a thousand years.

Liu Zimu thanked Shen Chuanlian for saving her family and encouraged him to face the future. Meanwhile, Xia Wanwan remained unconscious with glowing horns, and Yuanbao discovered that Jing Wu could not resist his cat ears.

• Liu Zimu told Shen Chuanlian she hoped he could move past his painful memories, and he agreed to look ahead.
• Liu Wan worried that Xia Wanwan's little Qilin horns might not disappear, while Yuanbao revealed his cat ears and suggested Wanwan might learn to retract her horns with spiritual power.
• Jing Wu dropped the medicine when he saw Yuanbao's cat ears, and Yuanbao caught the bowl before it spilled.
• Liu Wan sent Jing Wu and Yuanbao outside, then helped Imperial Physician Huang give Xia Wanwan her medicine.
• Jing Wu took Yuanbao back to his courtyard and bit his cat ears, making Yuanbao realize why Liu Wan had warned him to hide them.

Jing Wu showed Yuanbao the fish pond he had dug for him and asked him to wear the Rosy Mist Dress when Jing Wu returned from war. At the palace, Xia Siheng set a plan in motion to rescue the emperor while the Ruler of Eastern Lin entered Chaoyang Hall and revealed his ambition to place Xia Siheng on the throne.

• Jing Wu showed Yuanbao his pond of fish fry and explained he had raised them for Yuanbao to eat.
• Jing Wu told Yuanbao he might leave for war with the Prince and asked him to wear the Rosy Mist Dress when he returned; Yuanbao agreed only if Jing Wu came back safely.
• Xia Siheng asked the Ruler of Eastern Lin to delay Duke Yan inside Chaoyang Hall while Xia Siheng summoned the officials and troops to rescue the emperor.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin entered Chaoyang Hall and found the poisoned emperor gravely weakened.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin told the emperor he intended to put Xia Siheng on the throne after the emperor died, claiming Great Xia would still belong to the Imperial House of East Lin.

The emperor forced the Ruler of Eastern Lin to reveal his plots against Great Xia and the people he had killed. As Xia Siheng arrived with the officials, the emperor drove the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s blade into his own stomach, leaving the scene poised to look like the foreign ruler had stabbed him.

• The Ruler of Eastern Lin confessed that he had ordered the Ninth Imperial Younger Brother’s mother killed and kept her son alive to take Great Xia’s throne.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin revealed that he had used Duke Yan’s family to control him and had blinded and poisoned the Empress Dowager.
• The emperor endured the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s torture and drew out his plan to have Duke Yan kill him so Xia Siheng could take the throne.
• Eunuch Mo announced that Xia Siheng had fought his way into the palace with the civil and military officials.
• The emperor seized the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s hand and drove the blade into his own stomach as Xia Siheng entered the hall.

The Ruler of Eastern Lin was framed for stabbing Great Xia’s emperor, while he mistook Xia Siheng’s deployment of the Purple Gold Guard for a plan to seize the throne. Xia Siheng instead ordered the guards to arrest and kill his uncle, leaving the Ruler of Eastern Lin surrounded with blades at his neck.

• Court officials rushed into the hall and accused the Ruler of Eastern Lin of stabbing the emperor, who claimed his uncle was killing him.
• Qian Zhibing shoved the Ruler of Eastern Lin aside and pulled the dagger from the emperor’s abdomen, making the accusation appear undeniable.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin realized the emperor had arranged the scene to frame him and appealed to Xia Siheng for help.
• Xia Siheng summoned the Purple Gold Guard, and the Ruler of Eastern Lin urged him to seize power and suppress the officials.
• Xia Siheng ordered the guards to seize and kill the Ruler of Eastern Lin, and they pressed their blades to his neck.

Xia Siheng exposed the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s scheme and staged an exchange to rescue the Empress Dowager while pursuing the fleeing sovereign. He declared that Great Xia had severed ties with East Lin and would go to war, leaving the emperor gravely wounded and the campaign underway.

• Xia Siheng accused the Ruler of Eastern Lin of attempting to assassinate the emperor and ordered him imprisoned.
• Duke Yan arrived with death warriors, holding the Empress Dowager hostage, and demanded the Ruler of Eastern Lin in exchange for her.
• The Empress Dowager refused to cooperate, while officials and soldiers knelt and pleaded with Xia Siheng to save her.
• Xia Siheng agreed to Duke Yan’s terms, and Duke Yan fled toward the city gates with the Ruler of Eastern Lin after the exchange.
• Xia Siheng ordered Old General Mo to pursue Duke Yan and then declared war on East Lin in the emperor’s name.

The Ruler of Eastern Lin fled toward his kingdom but turned back to recover his family and Yuanbao before Great Xia’s troops caught up. Duke Yan stayed behind with the Empress Dowager to delay the pursuit, then rode after the ruler to pursue his revenge, while the Empress Dowager hoped he would return alive.

• The Ruler of Eastern Lin ordered his party to turn back toward the Capital to retrieve Consort Jing, the Imperial children, and Yuanbao.
• Duke Yan warned the ruler that their forces had no escape, then proposed that he flee while Duke Yan delayed Great Xia’s troops and Ci Mang returned to the Capital.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin escaped with Yan Xiurong and the Death Warriors, while Ci Mang led men toward the Capital and Duke Yan remained with the Empress Dowager.
• Duke Yan held the Empress Dowager at blade-point until Old General Mo withdrew his troops, then knelt and asked her to protect Xiurong if Great Xia conquered East Lin.
• Duke Yan bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and rode after the Ruler of Eastern Lin to avenge his family, while she watched him leave and urged him to return safely.

The Ruler of Eastern Lin fled to East Lin without Princess Liuli, while Xia Siheng returned to the Ninth Prince's Residence with the Phoenix Feather Plume to wake Xia Wanwan. Shen Chuanlian used the plume to rouse her, but when she remained asleep, he immobilized Liu Zimu and approached her with baleful energy, threatening to take Liu Wan for himself.

• Ci Mang reported that Princess Liuli and Yuanbao were at the Ninth Prince's Residence, but the Ruler of Eastern Lin ordered his party to leave for East Lin without them.
• Consort Jing realized the Ruler of Eastern Lin might abandon her and her son just as he had abandoned Princess Liuli.
• After learning that her father had fled, Princess Liuli left with Yuanbao for the Embassy while Liu Wan learned the emperor had survived the coup.
• Xia Siheng brought the Phoenix Feather Plume to the Ninth Prince's Residence, and Shen Chuanlian used it to channel Phoenix power into Xia Wanwan.
• When Xia Wanwan did not wake, Shen Chuanlian immobilized Liu Zimu, ordered Gu Ming to watch him, and approached Xia Wanwan with baleful energy.

Xia Wanwan remained trapped in a dream while the Patriarch of the Mystic Sect explained that Shen Chuanlian was born from the desires Yue Xuanji removed from herself as Heavenly Dao. She learned that her mother, Liu Wan, had a lotus sacred body like Shen Chuanlian’s mother, leaving her terrified that Shen Chuanlian would steal her mother.

• Xia Wanwan struck Shen Chuanlian with her shovel while still unable to wake, and Liu Zimu realized she could hear them but remained trapped in her dream.
• The Patriarch of the Mystic Sect met Xia Wanwan in her dream and revealed that Yue Xuanji had once been a mortal chosen to become the Heavenly Dao.
• The Patriarch explained that Yue Xuanji extracted her seven emotions and six desires, which were reincarnated as a demon embryo.
• The Patriarch revealed that Shen Chuanlian was that demon embryo and that his mother had possessed a lotus sacred body.
• The Patriarch told Xia Wanwan that her mother, Liu Wan, also had a lotus sacred body, and Xia Wanwan feared Shen Chuanlian would steal her mother.

The Patriarch of the Mystic Sect told Xia Wanwan that the Heavenly Dao might be trying to eliminate Shen Chuanlian’s demonic desires to preserve its own position, and that he would refuse to aid an unjust Heavenly Dao. After waking, Xia Wanwan mistook Shen Chuanlian for someone stealing her mother and tried to eat him.

• The Patriarch of the Mystic Sect explained that Shen Chuanlian had become the Demon God after his mother suffered and died, and that they had perished together when he subdued him.
• The Patriarch told Xia Wanwan that the Heavenly Dao might want Shen Chuanlian’s soul sealed inside her so his desires could be purified, possibly to keep the Heavenly Dao from losing its position.
• The Patriarch said he would not obey if the Heavenly Dao used them to protect itself, and explained that he planned to ascend by accumulating merit rather than return to life.
• The Patriarch sent Xia Wanwan out of the temple, and she woke beside Liu Wan and Liu Zimu while chewing on a pig trotter.
• Xia Wanwan hit Shen Chuanlian with a shovel, bit his forehead, and declared she would eat him because she thought he was stealing her mother.

After waking, Xia Wanwan learned that Liuli had been left behind by her Imperial Father when he fled the city. Moved by Liuli’s abandonment and her kindness, Xia Wanwan asked Yuanbao to take her to see her.

• Xia Wanwan bit Shen Chuanlian for claiming Liu Wan would become his, and Liu Wan refused to help him pry her off.
• Yuanbao told Liu Wan that he found the Embassy’s secret passage deserted and brought Liuli back after she searched for her father and cried herself to sleep.
• Liu Wan explained that Liuli had brought precious medicines for Xia Wanwan and missed her chance to flee with her Imperial Father.
• Xia Wanwan noticed Liuli’s get-well note, asked Yuanbao to take her to see Older Sister Liuli, and was carried away by him.

Shen Chuanlian prepared to join Liu Wan’s family and decided to return the Phoenix Feather Plume, while Xia Wanwan maneuvered her way into her parents’ bed before Xia Siheng sent her away. The next morning, news of a rebellion on the Eastern Lin border forced Xia Siheng to leave for war immediately.

• Shen Chuanlian asked Liu Wan if he could call her Mother in two days, then decided to return the Phoenix Feather Plume to Xia Siheng rather than use it to regain his power.
• Xia Wanwan brought her pillow to Liu Wan and Xia Siheng’s room, persuaded them to let her sleep between them, and secretly celebrated getting to cuddle her mother.
• After Xia Wanwan fell asleep, Xia Siheng carried her out and handed her to Pan Chun, then returned to Liu Wan.
• Jing Wu delivered a border message reporting that the Ironclad Army Fifth Battalion had rebelled and intercepted Old General Mo’s forces, prompting the Empress Dowager to urge Xia Siheng to lead the troops out immediately.

After Yuan Can betrayed Great Xia and blocked Old General Mo’s troops, Xia Siheng prepared to leave early for the East Lin border. He asked Xia Wanwan to divine the danger, but she found that Yuan Can’s betrayal was hidden by heavenly secrets.

• Xia Siheng learned that Yuan Can had turned traitor and ordered his forces to prepare to march toward the East Lin border.
• Jing Er and Jing Wu explained that Yuan Can’s family and circumstances had shown no sign of a reason to betray Great Xia.
• Xia Siheng agreed to set out a day early and went to ask Xia Wanwan for a divination.
• Xia Wanwan cast the divination and found Xia Siheng would not be in danger, but Yuan Can posed a serious problem.
• Xia Wanwan saw that Yuan Can’s fate indicated loyalty and a bright future, then tried a ritual but could not uncover the reason for his betrayal because heavenly secrets veiled it.