Chapter Summaries

After being demoted, Consort Jing decided to flee East Lin with Jiu'er, the Little Imperial Prince, and her rabbit before Xia Siheng’s army reached the palace. Shen Chuanlian urged Xia Siheng to march on East Lin, then returned at dawn to order him to get up and fight.

• Consort Jing told Jiu'er that East Lin would lose the war and planned to escape with her and the Little Imperial Prince.
• Consort Jing decided to bring along the rabbit that had comforted her through pregnancy and childbirth.
• Shen Chuanlian entered Xia Siheng’s tent and urged him to attack East Lin’s Imperial Palace within three days.
• Xia Siheng refused to act rashly without knowing Shen Chuanlian’s purpose and preparing for battle.
• At dawn, Shen Chuanlian appeared by Xia Siheng’s bed and told him to get up and fight.

Shen Chuanlian told Xia Siheng that Liu Wan had died after the Heavenly Dao used the Phoenix Feather Plume against her, and urged him to attack East Lin for revenge. Xia Siheng agreed to fight alongside Shen Chuanlian, while the victorious army’s letter home reached Liu Wan, addressed to Xia Wanwan.

• Shen Chuanlian revealed his identity to Xia Siheng and explained that he was seeking a way to save Liu Wan.
• Xia Siheng learned that the Heavenly Dao had caused Liu Wan’s death and grieved, then resolved to avenge her with Shen Chuanlian.
• Xia Siheng ordered his troops to march on East Lin and said he would ask Xia Wanwan to join them.
• Shen Chuanlian and his attendant helped Great Xia seize East Lin’s second city in a single day, and reports of their victory spread.
• Half a month later, Liu Wan received Xia Siheng’s letter, which was addressed to Xia Wanwan.

After reading Xia Siheng’s letter, Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan decided she would travel to the battlefield to tell him Liu Wan was alive. As Xia Wanwan prepared to leave with Yuanbao, he took her to the place where he had lived as a kitten, promising to explain why he and Wushuang looked alike.

• Xia Wanwan told Liu Wan that Xia Siheng had grieved over her apparent death and vowed to join her in the Yellow Springs after conquering East Lin.
• Liu Wan agreed that Xia Wanwan should go to the battlefield and urged her to return safely with Xia Siheng.
• Liu Wan gave Xia Wanwan food, clothes, and a bottle of her own blood, while Xia Wanwan gave a Qilin Horn to Liu Wan and another to her eldest brother.
• Yuanbao arrived to escort Xia Wanwan and invited her to visit the place where he had lived as a kitten before going to the battlefield.
• Yuanbao told Xia Wanwan that meeting Wushuang would explain why the two of them looked exactly alike.

Yuanbao brought Xia Wanwan to Wushuang’s grave and revealed how the Ruler of Eastern Lin destroyed Wushuang’s life and drove him to his death. After recovering Wushuang’s jade pendant, Yuanbao and Xia Wanwan hurried toward the war, hoping to stop Xia Wanwan’s father from dying.

• Liu Wan cared for Consort Ling, and Consort Ling promised to accompany her to the clan ceremony for Zi Mu.
• Zi Mu discovered that the family was raising the phoenix Yuanbao had entrusted to Liu Wan.
• Yuanbao brought Xia Wanwan to Wushuang’s grave and explained that the Ruler of Eastern Lin had violated Wushuang and forced him to flee as a spy.
• Wushuang had asked Yuanbao to find his fiancée, Rong Xue, and pass on his final message if she remained unmarried.
• Yuanbao dug up Wushuang’s crescent-shaped jade pendant and urged Xia Wanwan to ensure her father showed the Ruler of Eastern Lin no mercy.
• Xia Wanwan panicked that her father would soon die after winning the war and shouted for them to hurry to East Lin.

Xia Siheng’s army reached the outskirts of East Lin’s Imperial City after conquering dozens of cities, while the exhausted Ruler of Eastern Lin sought a way to negotiate peace and restore public support. He approved Grand Tutor Peng’s plan to use the Empress Dowager to negotiate and later spread a false account blaming Great Xia for the war.

• Xia Siheng agreed to let his exhausted battalion commanders rest for a day as his army camped near East Lin’s Imperial City.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin’s ministers warned that the people blamed him for the war and urged him to negotiate peace with Great Xia.
• Eunuch Mo proposed sending the Empress Dowager to negotiate and offering Duke Yan to Xia Siheng as a gesture of sincerity.
• Grand Tutor Peng suggested that the Ruler use the Empress Dowager’s popularity to claim Great Xia had framed him and invaded for profit.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin approved Grand Tutor Peng’s plan to restore his reputation after Great Xia withdrew.

The Ruler of Eastern Lin ordered the Empress Dowager to take a Gu Worm to restore her appearance before Great Xia attacked, but she used the moment to send him a brocade box and endured the Gu's terrible pain. Meanwhile, Duke Yan brought her to Xia Siheng’s camp, where she reunited with her grandson despite her blindness.

• The Ruler of Eastern Lin learned the Empress Dowager could not regain her appearance in time and agreed to summon a Witch Doctor, whose Gu Worm could restore her looks but would kill her within three days.
• After hearing the Ruler and Eunuch Mo discuss the Gu, the Empress Dowager asked Eunuch Mo to retrieve a brocade box and deliver it to the Ruler as his final opportunity.
• The Empress Dowager drank the Gu medicine and collapsed in agony as the Worm consumed her vital blood.
• Duke Yan brought the Empress Dowager to Xia Siheng’s military camp, where Xia Siheng greeted her and learned she had been blinded for more than twenty years.
• The Empress Dowager recognized Xia Siheng by touch, and he nestled his face in her palm and told her he was there.

The Empress Dowager told Xia Siheng not to kill his uncle and chose to remain in Eastern Lin as she neared death. After the Xia army withdrew, the Sovereign celebrated the peace but rejected the Empress Dowager’s brocade box, leaving its opportunity undiscovered.

• The Empress Dowager recalled her daughter Yue'er and her final words, then asked Xia Siheng not to kill his uncle.
• The Empress Dowager refused to return with Xia Siheng and closed her eyes after entrusting him with her final request.
• The Xia army withdrew, and Eastern Lin's Sovereign celebrated the peace and planned to win back the people's support.
• The Sovereign ordered Eunuch Mo to monitor Duke Yan and planned for his mother and Grand Tutor Peng to meet the people.
• The Sovereign refused to open the Empress Dowager's brocade box, and Eunuch Mo put it in a corner.

Xia Wanwan, Yuanbao, and Shen Chuanlian met at the border, where Shen Chuanlian explained that Xia Siheng had withdrawn his troops after someone claiming to be his maternal grandmother arrived from East Lin. As Shen Chuanlian tried to discuss who had killed Liu Wan, Xia Wanwan bit his arm.

• Yuanbao and Xia Wanwan reached the border and found no Great Xia soldiers stationed there.
• Shen Chuanlian trapped Yuanbao in a Barrier and appeared with Gu Ming, prompting Xia Wanwan to charge at him in anger.
• Shen Chuanlian took Xia Wanwan's shovel and set her beside Gu Ming, who fed her and Yuanbao roasted pheasant.
• Shen Chuanlian apologized for nearly getting Xia Siheng killed and said Xia Siheng had withdrawn his troops after someone claiming to be his maternal grandmother arrived from East Lin.
• Shen Chuanlian asked whether Xia Wanwan wanted revenge on the person who killed Liu Wan, and she demanded he kneel before biting his arm.

Shen Chuanlian told Xia Wanwan how the Heavenly Dao altered his mother’s fate and drove him to become a demon. Xia Wanwan realized that the Heavenly Dao had manipulated both of them, and Shen Chuanlian resolved to kill her and use her power to rewrite Liu Wan’s destiny.

• Shen Chuanlian asked Xia Wanwan whether she wanted to kill the Heavenly Dao and explained how he had searched for it after becoming a demon.
• Shen Chuanlian recounted how the Heavenly Dao changed his mother’s fate, leading to years of abuse, her suicide, and the desecration of her corpse.
• Xia Wanwan concluded that the Heavenly Dao had altered both their families’ destinies to make them destroy each other.
• Shen Chuanlian learned that the Heavenly Dao would lose its position if it had desires, and he decided to use its power to rewrite Liu Wan’s destiny.

Xia Wanwan agreed to rest before searching for her father after Shen Chuanlian promised to take her to him in the morning. While she slept beside him in the safe Barrier, Shen Chuanlian examined her desires and discovered that she wanted to eat him.

• Xia Wanwan worried about her father, but Shen Chuanlian promised he would keep him alive and take her to find him after she rested.
• Gu Ming explained that he and Shen Chuanlian knew where to search, and Yuanbao said he trusted Gu Ming rather than Shen Chuanlian.
• Xia Wanwan fell asleep against Shen Chuanlian's arm, while Yuanbao rested in a tree and Gu Ming kept watch by the fire.
• Shen Chuanlian covered Xia Wanwan with a quilt and used his power to inspect her desires.
• Shen Chuanlian discovered that Xia Wanwan repeatedly wanted to eat him and reacted with disbelief and anger.

The Empress Dowager went to the South City Gate to address the people of Eastern Lin after Great Xia withdrew its troops. She exposed the Sovereign’s crimes and abuse before the Sovereign’s death warriors seized her, sparking a furious riot.

• The people gathered at the South City Gate to hear the Empress Dowager explain Great Xia’s attack, while Grand Tutor Peng prevented Eunuch Mo from accompanying her onto the wall.
• The Empress Dowager asked the people whether they had been living well and said she had come to clear up matters on the Sovereign’s behalf.
• The Empress Dowager revealed that the Sovereign had murdered his father and younger brother, imprisoned and abused her, and arranged the Little Princess’s death.
• Eunuch Mo ordered the death warriors to silence the Empress Dowager, and the crowd erupted in protests when they seized her.
• The Empress Dowager showed the crowd her scars, condemned the Sovereign, and collapsed after spitting blood.

The Empress Dowager exposed the Sovereign’s cruelty before the people, but a Gu Worm left her dying. As Xia Siheng’s army returned, Grand Tutor Peng persuaded the people to open the gates and welcome the Xia Army.

• The Empress Dowager collapsed after the Gu poison flared, while Uncle Qi revealed his disguise and captured Eunuch Mo with the Death Warriors’ help.
• Eunuch Mo sent up a signal to have Duke Yan’s Daughter seized, then gloated that the Sovereign would remain in power, until Uncle Qi kicked him quiet.
• Grand Tutor Peng and the people mourned as the Empress Dowager rapidly wasted away from the Gu Worm.
• Xia Siheng led Great Xia’s troops back toward East Lin Imperial City, and Eunuch Mo realized the Sovereign’s position was collapsing.
• Grand Tutor Peng promised the Xia Army would not harm the people, and the Peng Family swore to guarantee their safety.
• The people demanded that the gates be opened, and Grand Tutor Peng ordered his soldiers to welcome the Xia Army.

Xia Siheng mourned the Empress Dowager and nearly took his own life after conquering East Lin, but Xia Wanwan arrived and stopped him by beating him senseless. She told him her mother had been brought back to life, and Xia Siheng celebrated by kissing and tossing her above the city wall.

• Xia Siheng entered East Lin and held the dying Empress Dowager until she passed away after hearing the Xia Army had secured the city and spared its people.
• Xia Siheng cut down East Lin’s banner, cast Eunuch Mo’s corpse from the wall, and prepared to kill himself while telling Xia Wanwan he had made her East Lin’s heir.
• A black energy swept Xia Siheng’s sword away, and Shen Chuanlian arrived with Xia Wanwan in his arms.
• Xia Wanwan slapped Xia Siheng and beat him with her little shovel for trying to die, then told him that her mother was alive again.
• Xia Siheng joyfully kissed Xia Wanwan and tossed her into the air above the city wall, promising to put her down if she forgave him.

Xia Wanwan and Xia Siheng prepared for the coming battle against the Heavenly Dao, while Yan Xiurong abandoned her plan to use Xia Qianhui as leverage and helped him escape. Duke Yan drugged the Ruler of Eastern Lin and revealed that he wanted him dead.

• Xia Siheng told Xia Wanwan that Daoist Qianyun had brought five children to the city, and he warned her not to tell Shen Chuanlian that her mother was alive.
• Yan Xiurong freed the drugged Xia Qianhui instead of leaving him as leverage, then headed toward the Imperial Palace to check on her father.
• Xia Qianhui revealed that he had only pretended to be unconscious to test Yan Xiurong, and he sent a guard to protect her before recovering his strength.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin visited Duke Yan with Consort Xian, who gave him drugged tea.
• Duke Yan told the drugged Ruler of Eastern Lin that he wanted him dead.

Duke Yan drugged and captured the Ruler of Eastern Lin, then revealed how his plots had helped the Xia Army invade East Lin. As Duke Yan prepared to burn the Imperial Study, the ruler found a sealed imperial edict that left him stunned.

• Consort Xian drugged the Ruler of Eastern Lin, and Duke Yan kicked him from the throne and bound him.
• Duke Yan told the ruler that Wushuang had sought to escape him and had died refusing rescue, while the ruler insisted Wushuang had loved him.
• Duke Yan revealed that his men had infiltrated the ruler's death warriors and that the Xia Army was entering the capital after the city gates were opened.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin learned that the Empress Dowager had acted to protect the commoners, not to help him.
• Duke Yan spread oil around the Imperial Study, then showed the ruler a sealed imperial edict and letter, whose contents shocked him.

The Ruler of Eastern Lin learned that his Empress Dowager had once recognized his worth, then watched Duke Yan set the Imperial Study ablaze and die with him. The Ruler escaped through a hidden passage, only to meet a black-clad youth.

• The Ruler of Eastern Lin realized his Empress Dowager had given him a final chance and blamed himself for her fate.
• Duke Yan set the Imperial Study on fire and condemned the Ruler for the deaths he had caused.
• Duke Yan struck Yan Xiurong outside the burning study and chose to die with the Ruler, leaving her behind.
• Great Xia soldiers and palace residents bowed toward the fire as Duke Yan perished inside.
• The Ruler of Eastern Lin escaped through a hidden passage and boasted that he would take revenge on Great Xia.
• A black-clad youth confronted the Ruler of Eastern Lin and greeted him as the Mortal Emperor.

Shen Chuanlian killed the Ruler of Eastern Lin to force the Heavenly Dao, Yue Xuanji, to appear, then confronted her in the sky. Yue Xuanji summoned Daoist Qianyun and five children with Five Elements Swords to fight him as evil spirits surged across the Mortal World.

• Shen Chuanlian crushed the Ruler of Eastern Lin’s head and destroyed his soul, provoking the Heavenly Dao to appear.
• Yue Xuanji appeared and attacked Shen Chuanlian with heavenly lightning, but he flew up to confront her and unleashed black energy across the sky.
• Yue Xuanji called for Daoist Qianyun, who brought five children to surround Shen Chuanlian with their Five Elements Swords.
• The children briefly refused to fight until Daoist Qianyun gave them candy, then took their positions and attacked Shen Chuanlian with five-element power.
• Evil spirits were suppressed across East Lin and the Great Xia Dynasty, and Liu Wan realized the upheaval was part of her daughter’s plan.

Xia Wanwan and her allies carried out their plan during the battle between Yue Xuanji and Shen Chuanlian, while Yue Xuanji urged Xia to destroy the restrained Demon God. The chapter left Xia on the clouds, facing the choice without knowing the suffering Yue Xuanji planned to inflict on her.

• Consort Ling and the court officials saw black mist and ominous changes in the sky as the Director of Astrology warned that the world was about to change.
• Xia Wanwan, Yuanbao, Gu Ming, and the others watched the battle and prepared to follow their plan, with Xia holding the phoenix-powered weapon Phoenix Tail.
• The Patriarch of the Mystic Sect kicked Xia Wanwan into the sky after declaring that the time had come.
• Yue Xuanji and the Patriarch restrained Shen Chuanlian with five-elements power while the Five Swords circled overhead.
• Xia Wanwan joined the five people casting spells in the clouds, and Yue Xuanji told her to devour the restrained Demon God.
• Yue Xuanji hid her plan to make Xia suffer through countless calamities until she became a monster and was destroyed.

Xia Wanwan and her allies exposed Yue Xuanji’s greed and betrayal, then turned against her instead of the Demon God. The five children trapped Yue Xuanji with the Five Elements Swords as the confrontation with the Heavenly Dao began.

• Shen Chuanlian accused Yue Xuanji of greed and of causing the calamities, and thunder rumbled as his claims drew heaven and earth’s attention.
• Xia Wanwan attacked Yue Xuanji with the Phoenix Tail and accused her of murdering her mother to force her into fighting the Demon God.
• The Patriarch of the Mystic Sect struck Yue Xuanji and revealed that she had altered Shen Chuanlian’s mother’s destiny and manipulated him and the Patriarch for a thousand years.
• Yue Xuanji tried to dissolve into nothingness, but Xia Wanwan called for help and the five children redirected the Five Elements Swords to attack her.
• The five children used the Five Elements Swords to imprison Yue Xuanji, leaving Daoist Qianyun shocked and protesting that he had known nothing.

Xia Wanwan and her allies fought Yue Xuanji while Shen Chuanlian sacrificed himself to return the Heavenly Dao’s desires to her. The heavenly punishment stripped Yue Xuanji of her power, and Xia Wanwan struck her down.

• Xia Wanwan, Xia Qianlin, Li Shuqi, Liu Zi Xing, Liuli, and Liu Qingqing attacked Yue Xuanji together, while Shen Chuanlian decided to return the desires she had cast off.
• Shen Chuanlian charged into the five elements formation, stabbed himself with a blade formed from five elements power, and detonated his body and divine soul to return Yue Xuanji’s desires.
• Purple lightning struck Yue Xuanji and stripped away her divine power, leaving her an injured, decrepit old woman.
• Xia Wanwan’s companions gathered around her in relief after the lightning stopped, and Xia Wanwan vowed to kill Yue Xuanji.
• When Yue Xuanji tried to boast about her cultivation, Xia Wanwan pierced her with the Phoenix Tail.