Chapter Summaries

Ji Feihua fought Long Xuan'en, Li Yuncong, and Murong Zhan through the destruction of the Spirit Firmament Palace, and the battle escalated when a black-armored giant emerged from the ruins. The chapter ended with Ji Feihua attacking the giant’s eyes as Li Yuncong escaped underground.

• Ji Feihua hurled a dragon-carved pillar at Long Xuan'en, then destroyed the palace’s supporting pillars while retreating under Wang Qian’s palm attacks.
• Murong Zhan ambushed Ji Feihua in the rain, and Wang Qian joined him as the Spirit Firmament Palace collapsed.
• Ji Feihua blinded Wang Qian, who was revealed to be Li Yuncong, and wounded Murong Zhan before knocking him into a bronze lion.
• A black-armored giant rose from the palace ruins, and Ji Feihua tried to kill the wounded Li Yuncong before the giant could attack.
• Li Yuncong escaped through a hole in the ground, while Ji Feihua dodged the giant’s pillar strike and leaped toward him with two gleaming projectiles aimed at his eyes.

Ji Feihua fought Hong Beimo, Murong Zhan, and Li Yuncong at the Spirit Firmament Palace, where their traps and hidden weapons left him badly wounded. After taking Hong Beimo’s punch, Ji Feihua used its force to hurtle toward Li Yuncong, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Ji Feihua identified the black-armored giant as Hong Beimo, and they broke the Coiling Dragon Pillar during their exchange.
• Li Yuncong struck Ji Feihua from underground, while Murong Zhan recovered and confronted him from atop a bronze lion.
• Ji Feihua evaded Hong Beimo’s mechanical weapons and damaged his armor, but Hong Beimo shed it and drew him into a powerful close-range attack.
• Hong Beimo’s Blood-Transforming Prajnaparamita Art enhanced his punch, reopening Ji Feihua’s wound as Li Yuncong drained blood from him with an invisible force.
• Ji Feihua let Hong Beimo’s punch send him flying through Li Yuncong’s transparent palm and toward Li Yuncong himself.

Ji Feihua was struck down while fleeing Hong Beimo and Murong Zhan, who vowed to search the Jade Pool for his body. Lost and injured in Gray Bear Valley, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan buried Little Black and camped for the night, where Hu Xiaotian saw a shooting star as he worried about the dangers awaiting him.

• Ji Feihua transferred much of Hong Beimo's punch into Li Yuncong, then fled toward the waterfall on Misty Peak's southern slopes.
• Murong Zhan stabbed Ji Feihua before he could escape, and Ji Feihua fell into the Jade Pool; Hong Beimo insisted they search for his corpse.
• Hong Beimo recovered his true appearance and offered to heal Murong Zhan after using the life-shortening Blood-Transforming Prajnaparamita Art.
• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan lost their way in Gray Bear Valley, and Hu Xiaotian buried Little Black while Little Gray stayed beside him.
• After the rain stopped, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan camped, shared food, and discussed the danger of further assassins.
• Hu Xiaotian kept watch beneath the stars and saw a shooting star as he worried about his future and the Imperial Court.

Hu Xiaotian tried to heal his injuries by circulating his inner breath, but a mistake during cultivation left him unable to speak or move the right side of his body. Huo Shengnan realized his condition was serious and prepared to take him to a doctor.

• After Huo Shengnan wished on a shooting star, Hu Xiaotian cultivated on a rock to heal his wounds with the Formless Divine Skill.
• Hu Xiaotian let his inner breath flow freely, causing a sharp pain, a break in its connection to his Dantian Sea of Qi, and numbness on his right side before he fell unconscious.
• Huo Shengnan woke Hu Xiaotian and at first suspected he was pretending when he could not speak.
• Hu Xiaotian wrote on Huo Shengnan's palm that he could not feel or move the right side of his body, and she believed him after slapping his right cheek without him reacting.
• Huo Shengnan supported Hu Xiaotian when he could not stand and said they needed to find a doctor immediately.

Hu Xiaotian remained paralyzed on his right side as Huo Shengnan struggled to carry him through Gray Bear Valley toward a temple. They reached several monks from Spirit Sound Temple, but Hu Xiaotian warned Huo Shengnan to stay alert.

• Huo Shengnan packed their camp and carried Hu Xiaotian on Little Gray while he tried to understand how his inner breath had become trapped.
• Huo Xiaotian regained his speech after nearly falling into the puddle he had just made, but his right limbs remained paralyzed.
• Huo Shengnan comforted the dispirited Hu Xiaotian and continued toward Shaoyuan City, hoping to find him a doctor.
• Huo Shengnan met Juezheng and five other monks from Spirit Sound Temple, who offered them a place to stay for the night.
• Hu Xiaotian recalled being deceived by wicked monks at Orchid Temple and quietly warned Huo Shengnan to stay on her guard.

Huo Shengnan refused to abandon the paralyzed Hu Xiaotian, even after he urged her to leave and confessed that he felt stripped of his dignity. At Spirit Sound Temple, a blue-robed old man confronted her and demanded that she hand Hu Xiaotian over, leaving her poised to defend him.

• Juezheng led Huo Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian to cottages outside Spirit Sound Temple and helped carry Hu Xiaotian inside.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Huo Shengnan to leave him at the temple, but she refused and confessed that he had become the only man in her heart.
• Hu Xiaotian insisted that he did not want to burden her and told her to go, while Huo Shengnan stayed beside him and prayed for his recovery.
• After Huo Shengnan went outside in tears, a blue-robed old man recognized her as a wanted fugitive and offered to let her leave if she handed Hu Xiaotian over.
• Huo Shengnan drew her sword and vowed that no one would touch Hu Xiaotian while she was still alive.

Huo Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian faced a powerful old man at Spirit Sound Temple, where Juezheng and Jueming tried to protect them. After Hu Xiaotian unexpectedly unleashed sword qi with Hidden Edge, the old man challenged him to use the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords, leaving Hu Xiaotian to bluff despite his power having vanished again.

• The old man defeated Huo Shengnan with a bamboo stalk, striking her Great Abyss Acupoint and disarming her before Juezheng and Jueming intervened.
• The old man attacked Juezheng by surprise, but Juezheng blocked his bamboo strike and fought to hold him back while Jueming helped Huo Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian escape.
• The old man broke away from Juezheng and pursued Hu Xiaotian, caught Huo Shengnan's arrow, and hurled it back into her left leg.
• Hu Xiaotian drew Hidden Edge from the luggage and struck the old man with a burst of sword qi, forcing him to retreat and destroying much of the bamboo grove.
• Hu Xiaotian's sword qi vanished, but the old man mistook his display for the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords and raised Huo Shengnan's Greensteel Sword to challenge him.

Master Yuanmu defeated the blue-robed elder and forced him to spend a year at the Spirit Sound Temple, then turned his attention to Hu Xiaotian. The chapter ended with Yuanmu examining Hu Xiaotian as Hu Xiaotian feared he had recognized his Formless Divine Skill.

• The old monk confronted the blue-robed elder, who attacked him with the Greensteel Sword and broke his own leg kicking him.
• The blue-robed elder recognized the old monk as Master Yuanmu and agreed to spend a year chanting sutras at the Spirit Sound Temple after Yuanmu sealed his internal power.
• Yuanmu had Juezheng take the blue-robed elder into the temple, then declined Hu Xiaotian's offer to give him Little Gray.
• Huo Shengnan knelt and pleaded with Yuanmu to show mercy, but she fainted under the pressure of his presence.
• Yuanmu used an invisible force to raise Hu Xiaotian's right arm, and Hu Xiaotian feared that Yuanmu had discovered his Formless Divine Skill.

Hu Xiaotian sought Master Yuanmu’s help after his cultivation went awry and left his body partly paralyzed. By forgetting his self-consciousness, he restored the flow of his inner breath and regained control of his body, then rushed outside to relieve himself.

• Hu Xiaotian told Master Yuanmu that Ji Feihua had taught him the Avici Art, and learned that his sword strike had driven back Qi Changguang of the Sword Palace.
• Master Yuanmu asked Hu Xiaotian to request Emperor Taizong’s copy of the Heart Sutra from the Imperial Palace’s Library Pavilion and return it to the Heavenly Dragon Temple.
• Master Yuanmu said he could not cure Hu Xiaotian but explained that Hu Xiaotian had to reopen the blocked passage between his dantian and meridians by forgetting the self.
• When Hu Xiaotian struggled to urinate, he realized that his own shame and self-consciousness were keeping him trapped.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped sensing his Dantian Sea of Qi, felt inner breath surge through his meridians, and regained movement in his right side.
• Hu Xiaotian scrambled outside and finally urinated.

Hu Xiaotian recovered from his cultivation crisis and cared for Huo Shengnan’s injuries after she protected him from Qi Changguang and Cao Juexin. The next morning, they prepared to leave the cottage, while Hu Xiaotian began practicing the natural circulation of his inner breath and encouraged Juezheng to travel beyond the valley.

• Huo Shengnan’s scream brought Hu Xiaotian out of the forget-self realm, and he realized he had recovered enough to move again.
• Hu Xiaotian helped Huo Shengnan into the cottage and removed the arrowhead from her leg, then cleaned the bite wounds Cao Juexin had inflicted and tended her feet.
• Hu Xiaotian found Master Yuanmu’s message, “A promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold,” tied to Little Gray’s tail and spent the night meditating.
• Huo Shengnan found Hu Xiaotian practicing swordplay with bamboo the next morning, and Juezheng brought them breakfast before their journey.
• Hu Xiaotian thanked Juezheng for helping them and advised him that traveling could offer more enlightenment than remaining in the valley.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan left Great Yong aboard a merchant ship bound for Great Kang, discussing Emperor Xue Shengkang’s cession of Eastern Liang Commandery. On the river, Hu Xiaotian heard a ragged man claim that Ji Feihua had died after attempting to assassinate the emperor, leaving him stunned and uncertain what to believe.

• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan traveled east to Xiasha Port after avoiding Shaoyuan and recovering from their injuries.
• Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan that Emperor Xue Shengkang had given Eastern Liang Commandery to Great Kang, and they discussed his hidden political motive.
• Hu Xiaotian noticed a wealthy couple boarding the ship, then overheard passengers discussing Great Kang’s court and Empress Jian’s rule behind the curtain.
• A ragged man claimed Ji Feihua had tried to murder the emperor, killed himself, and had his corpse displayed at the Meridian Gate, shocking Hu Xiaotian.
• The ragged man mistook Hu Xiaotian for someone who had abducted Huo Shengnan, then left for the lower hold as Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan returned to their cabin ahead of approaching rain.

During a stormy voyage to Wuxing Commandery, Huo Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian discussed their uncertain future and their impending separation. After overhearing a couple next door, they suspected the pair had been murdered, but Hu Xiaotian urged Huo Shengnan to stay quiet and wait until they reached port.

• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan shared wine aboard the storm-tossed ship, and she admitted she could not swim.
• Huo Shengnan said they would part ways at Wuxing Commandery, while Hu Xiaotian avoided discussing his feelings and his return to Kang Capital.
• As they lay in bed separated by Hu Xiaotian's greatsword, Hidden Edge, Huo Shengnan overheard a couple in the neighboring cabin.
• When the woman screamed and the cabin went quiet, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan heard someone rummaging around and footsteps before the neighboring door closed.
• Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan through Secret Voice Transmission to avoid trouble and wait until they reached Wuxing Commandery, though they both suspected the couple had been murdered.

After two passengers were murdered aboard the merchant ship, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan reached Yangjiao Port and were detained during the investigation. When an officer tried to strike the urn holding the princess’s ashes, Hu Xiaotian hit him and revealed an imperious persona, only to come face-to-face with Zhao Wusheng.

• At dawn, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan learned that the neighboring cabin’s two occupants had been murdered, and the shipowner discovered the ragged red-haired passenger was missing.
• The ship reached Yangjiao Port at dusk, where passengers protested being held for questioning until the shipowner promised to refund their fares.
• Great Kang soldiers searched the passengers’ belongings, and an officer demanded that Hu Xiaotian open the urn containing the princess’s ashes.
• Hu Xiaotian punched the officer when he tried to slash the urn, while Huo Shengnan caught the officer’s flying sword before it could hit anyone.
• Hu Xiaotian claimed the soldiers had offended the princess’s departed spirit and demanded that Wuxing Commandery’s leader come to him.
• Zhao Wusheng arrived with armored riders and recognized Hu Xiaotian, who realized Zhao had helped arrange the disaster on the Yong River.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Great Kang with Princess Anping’s ashes and reached Wuxing Commandery, where Zhao Wusheng and Naval Governor Zhao Dengyun received him. He kept the return quiet for the ashes’ safety, then joined Zhao Dengyun for a private dinner, intending to ask about the situation in the Kang Capital.

• Zhao Wusheng welcomed Hu Xiaotian, and Hu revealed that the urn held Princess Anping’s ashes after an officer nearly struck it; Zhao Wusheng ordered the officer arrested and punished.
• Zhao Wusheng told Hu Xiaotian that rebels had occupied Wuxing Commandery before fleeing, and that Zhao Dengyun’s navy had restored order under military administration.
• Zhao Dengyun and his officers greeted Hu Xiaotian in mourning clothes and began arranging a public memorial, but Hu persuaded Zhao Dengyun to keep the princess’s return secret for her safety.
• Zhao Wusheng settled Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan at the naval governor’s residence, then invited Hu to dine with Zhao Dengyun.
• At dinner, Zhao Dengyun praised Hu Xiaotian’s courage, while Hu planned to question him about the situation in the Kang Capital.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Ji Feihua had been executed and discovered Zhao Dengyun planned to kill him while taking Princess Anping’s ashes. Zhao Wusheng secretly warned him and urged him to seize Zhao Dengyun at the Spirit Hall as their only chance to escape Wuxing Commandery.

• Hu Xiaotian discussed Princess Anping’s death with Zhao Dengyun and Zhao Wusheng, who told him that Ji Feihua had been executed for plotting a rebellion.
• Zhao Dengyun ordered Zhao Wusheng to prevent Hu Xiaotian from leaving Wuxing alive and planned to use the princess’s ashes to lure him into an ambush.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Huo Shengnan and told her they needed to leave immediately, but they realized Zhao Dengyun’s men had surrounded their lodging.
• Zhao Wusheng asked Hu Xiaotian to bring Princess Anping’s ashes to the Spirit Hall, then secretly warned him that Zhao Dengyun intended to kill him on Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan’s orders.
• Zhao Wusheng revealed that the city gates were shut and advised Hu Xiaotian to take Zhao Dengyun hostage; Hu Xiaotian agreed to go to the Spirit Hall.

Hu Xiaotian captured Zhao Dengyun and forced his way toward Wuxing Commandery’s South Gate with Huo Shengnan, but the gate remained shut. Zhao Wusheng urged the defenders not to risk Zhao Dengyun’s life as the standoff continued.

• Hu Xiaotian decided to trust Zhao Wusheng and went with him to the Temporary Spirit Hall while Huo Shengnan waited behind.
• Hu Xiaotian tricked Zhao Dengyun into dropping the urn, then seized him at knifepoint and revealed that it held coal ash.
• Hu Xiaotian wounded Zhao Dengyun and forced Zhao Wusheng’s soldiers to clear a path through the Governor’s residence.
• Huo Shengnan joined Hu Xiaotian, incapacitated Zhao Dengyun, and carried him as they rode toward the South Gate.
• Hu Xiaotian demanded that the South Gate be opened, while Zhao Dengyun urged the archers to stop him and Zhao Wusheng warned the soldiers not to act rashly.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan escaped Wuxing Commandery after Zhao Dengyun tried to capture Hu Xiaotian, then hid from the pursuing soldiers and headed west. In the Kang Capital, Qiqi confronted her father Long Yelin about her mother's death and poisoned him after learning he had handed her mother over to his own father.

• Hu Xiaotian forced Zhao Dengyun to open Wuxing Commandery's gates and took him outside the city with Huo Shengnan.
• Hu Xiaotian left Zhao Dengyun by the road, and he and Huo Shengnan hid in reeds to evade the soldiers sent after them.
• Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan that Ji Feihua was rumored dead, and they changed course to travel west while they investigated events in the Kang Capital.
• Qiqi entered the Xuanwei Palace with food and wine and told Long Yelin that Ji Feihua was dead.
• Qiqi accused Long Yelin of killing her mother and revealed that he had handed her over to his own father.
• Long Yelin collapsed after eating Qiqi's poisoned meal, and Qiqi told him to go in peace.

Qiqi confronted Empress Jian and Long Tingsheng over the poisoning and death of Long Yelin, using violence to force a confession. She left Empress Jian terrified and Long Tingsheng unconscious after ordering his leg broken.

• Empress Jian and Long Tingsheng worried about their confinement in Xinning Palace and blamed Qiqi for their downfall.
• Qiqi arrived with Li Yan and questioned Empress Jian, then ordered Li Yan to slap and beat her.
• Qiqi accused Empress Jian of poisoning Long Yelin and revealed that he had died, while Empress Jian grieved and denied the accusation.
• Long Tingsheng accused Qiqi of plotting against him, and Qiqi ordered eunuchs to break his left leg.
• Qiqi told Empress Jian she had investigated the past and threatened to make her watch Long Tingsheng suffer until she confessed.

Qiqi forced Empress Jian to confess to poisoning the emperor and ordered that she and Long Tingsheng be punished according to the law. She then presented the restored Long Xuan'en to Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan, who learned that he planned to blame the coup on Ji Feihua and Empress Jian while seeking a ruler for Great Kang.

• Qiqi had the eunuchs break Long Tingsheng’s other leg, and Empress Jian confessed to poisoning the emperor while claiming Ji Feihua had put her up to it.
• Qiqi ordered Li Yan to make their crimes public and deal with them according to Great Kang’s laws.
• Qiqi summoned Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan to the Diligent Governance Hall, where Quan Dean brought chairs for them.
• Qiqi emerged with Long Xuan'en, and the two ministers knelt and addressed him as emperor.
• Long Xuan'en blamed Ji Feihua and Empress Jian for the deaths and coup, presenting Long Yelin’s accession as legitimate and signaling that he would avoid broader reprisals.
• Long Xuan'en asked Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan who should rule next, leaving them to consider the surviving Long princes and the possibility that he should resume the throne.

Long Xuan'en accepted the ministers’ service and named Qiqi King Yongyang for helping defeat Ji Feihua and Jian Yuening. After he left, Qiqi confronted Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan about their past failures and urged them to put Great Kang and its people before any ruler.

• Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan urged Long Xuan'en to resume governing, and he agreed to rely on them while setting aside past grievances for Great Kang’s sake.
• Long Xuan'en announced that Qiqi would become King Yongyang, and both ministers accepted his decision.
• After Long Xuan'en retired to rest, Qiqi told the ministers that he had once intended to execute them and their families, but she had persuaded him otherwise.
• Qiqi explained that loyalty to Great Kang and its people should come before loyalty to a ruler, and criticized the ministers for interfering in succession and failing to guide Long Yelin.
• Qiqi told Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan that she had accepted her new responsibility for Great Kang, then challenged them to examine whether they had served the country and its people well.