Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian welcomed the Tang Family Siblings to his restored residence, where they congratulated him and offered gifts before leaving. Qin Yutong then visited to ask about Princess Anping’s death and Hu Xiaotian’s recent victories, recognizing how much his martial arts had improved.

• The Tang Family Siblings arrived to congratulate Hu Xiaotian, and he asked Huo Shengnan to remain out of sight because Great Yong had issued a warrant for her arrest.
• Tang Tiehan presented Hu Xiaotian with twenty horses and six carriages, while Tang Tiecheng asked him for help obtaining a position as an Imperial Bodyguard.
• Tang Qingxuan showed embarrassment and affection toward Hu Xiaotian, and she became tearful when she asked about Princess Anping’s ashes.
• After the Tang Family Siblings left, Qin Yutong arrived at the Hu Residence and asked Hu Xiaotian about Princess Anping’s death and the three disciples of Old Monster Beize he had killed.
• Qin Yutong concluded that Hu Xiaotian’s martial arts had advanced greatly during his time in Great Yong.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Qin Yutong, who warned him that Old Monster Beize would seek revenge and gave him two Human-Skin Masks. Back at Boxuan Tower, Hu Xiaotian persuaded Huo Shengnan to delay her departure by mentioning the Mottled Sect, then provoked her by asking whether she secretly loved Xue Daoming.

• Hu Xiaotian thanked Qin Yutong for connecting him with Mr. Liu and asked her to teach him disguise techniques.
• Qin Yutong warned Hu Xiaotian that Old Monster Beize would avenge his three disciples and urged him to avoid Great Kang's political struggles.
• Hu Xiaotian argued with Qin Yutong about her detachment from the realm's troubles, angering her, and she left him two Human-Skin Masks.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Huo Shengnan one Human-Skin Mask and asked her to stay because Old Monster Beize might come seeking revenge.
• Huo Shengnan said she wanted to confront Old Monster Beize about the assassination of Princess Anping, and Hu Xiaotian asked whether she secretly loved Xue Daoming.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Xu Zhengying over the Hu Family property that went missing during the confiscation and pressured him to pay for it. Xu Zhengying struggled to resist Hu Xiaotian’s demands as the chapter ended with a veiled threat involving his family.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Huo Shengnan about the rumors linking her to Xue Daoming, then received an inventory showing that many Hu Family possessions were missing.
• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan visited Xu Zhengying, who grew anxious after hearing that Hu Xiaotian had arrived.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Xu Zhengying the conflicting inventories, and Xu blamed the missing property on the late Third Prince Long Tingzhen.
• Hu Xiaotian rejected Xu Zhengying’s apology and demanded one hundred thousand taels of gold as repayment.
• Hu Xiaotian asked about Xu Zhengying’s daughters and grandchildren, frightening Xu with an implied threat that Huo Shengnan recognized.

Hu Xiaotian extorted Xu Zhengying and other officials who had taken part in confiscating the Hu Family’s property, then met King Yongyang at the Divine Strategy Office. He presented Qiqi with fifty thousand taels of silver while concealing the much larger fortune he had collected, and the chapter left their conversation ongoing.

• Xu Zhengying gave Hu Xiaotian fifty thousand taels of gold and a list of the officials involved in confiscating the Hu Family’s property.
• Hu Xiaotian sent Liang Dazhuang and Huo Shengnan to collect from the listed officials, bringing in thirty thousand taels of gold, a hundred thousand taels of silver, and antiques and treasures.
• King Yongyang summoned Hu Xiaotian to the Divine Strategy Office, where he updated her on restoring the Hu residence and asked her to help bring his father back from Shuijing'er Alley.
• Hu Xiaotian presented Qiqi with banknotes totaling fifty thousand taels of silver, while keeping his larger haul secret.

Qiqi tasked Hu Xiaotian with recruiting talent and investigating the Third Prince’s hidden fortune while also ordering him to guard the Old Emperor at the Heavenly Dragon Temple. Hu Xiaotian returned to the Hu Residence drenched by the rain Qiqi had predicted.

• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi how he obtained the silver, and she warned him that she would deal with corrupt officials later rather than disrupt stability.
• Qiqi put Hu Xiaotian in charge of recruiting talent and rebuilding the Divine Strategy Office discreetly, and he advised choosing a different location and securing ample funds.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that the Third Prince might have hidden up to five hundred thousand taels of gold through estate confiscations, and Qiqi assigned him to search the prince’s residence and the former office.
• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian that the Old Emperor had asked him to provide security at the Heavenly Dragon Temple and instructed him to watch whom the emperor met.
• Qiqi predicted rain, and Hu Xiaotian and Little Gray were soaked before Hu Xiaotian returned to the Hu Residence, where he found Huo Shengnan and Liang Dazhuang drenched too.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan uncovered the Sun-Shooting Scripture hidden in the heat-reactive Thin Silk and translated its archery techniques. Their discovery was interrupted when Hu Xiaotian sensed an intruder on the roof and confronted him in the rain.

• Hu Xiaotian invited Huo Shengnan to share food and wine, and she found the Thin Silk he had accidentally dropped.
• Huo Shengnan tried to burn the Thin Silk, but candle heat revealed hidden Black Hu Script that she identified as an archery manual.
• Huo Shengnan translated the Thin Silk, and Hu Xiaotian recognized the text as the Sun-Shooting Scripture, which described Qi-Driven Arrow Control.
• Hu Xiaotian detected someone on the roof and told Huo Shengnan to investigate from the back while he drew the intruder's attention.
• Hu Xiaotian leapt onto the roof and clashed swords with the Gray-Clad Man, who attacked him with a Scimitar.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan fought a mysterious gray-clad man who used the rare Phantom Shift technique, but he escaped after accusing Hu Xiaotian of betraying Ji Feihua. Afterward, Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan he would accompany the Emperor to Heavenly Dragon Temple and asked her to stay behind to protect his father, leaving their relationship shyly unresolved.

• Hu Xiaotian drew the gray-clad man's attack away from Huo Shengnan, but her first arrow missed and grazed Hu Xiaotian's chest.
• The gray-clad man repeatedly vanished with Phantom Shift, evaded their attacks, and escaped after promising to kill Hu Xiaotian for betraying the Governor.
• Huo Shengnan treated Hu Xiaotian's wound, and he explained that Ji Feihua's followers were targeting him because the Imperial Court credited him with Ji Feihua's downfall.
• Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan that he would accompany the Emperor to Heavenly Dragon Temple for a month and asked her to remain behind to protect his father.
• Huo Shengnan offered to stay, and after Hu Xiaotian flirted with her, she covered his mouth and hurried out, promising not to leave.

Wu Jingshan returned to the Kang Capital and sought reassurance from Hu Xiaotian about the emperor and his own political future. Hu Xiaotian warned him about Wen Chenghuan and hinted that they should align themselves with King Yongyang, before revealing that he would accompany the Old Emperor to the Heavenly Dragon Temple for a month.

• Wu Jingshan arrived at the Hu Residence, where Hu Xiaotian welcomed him and arranged for Yan Fei, Zhao Chongwu, and the other returning warriors to rest.
• Wu Jingshan asked about Hu Buwei and Princess Anping, and Hu Xiaotian assured him that the emperor would not blame them for the princess's murder.
• Wu Jingshan considered retiring, but Hu Xiaotian warned that the emperor might view his request as reluctance to serve and reminded him that Wen Chenghuan could hold them responsible for Wen Boyuan's death.
• Hu Xiaotian told Wu Jingshan that Zhao Dengyun had tried to kill him on Wen Chenghuan's orders, warning Wu to guard against the Grand Tutor.
• Wu Jingshan understood Hu Xiaotian's hint about supporting King Yongyang and asked to meet her, but Hu Xiaotian said he would first accompany the Old Emperor to the Heavenly Dragon Temple for a month.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Long Xuan'en had secretly buried Princess Anping’s ashes and ordered him to accompany the emperor to Heavenly Dragon Temple that night. He discovered the Imperial Guards had arranged the journey without informing him, then gathered them to explain their assignment.

• Hu Xiaotian arrived at the palace and found Murong Zhan and the Imperial Guards already assembled, but Murong Zhan ignored him.
• Wang Qian escorted Hu Xiaotian into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where Long Xuan'en told him the emperor would leave for Heavenly Dragon Temple that night.
• Long Xuan'en revealed that he had buried Xiyue’s ashes the previous day and asked Hu Xiaotian whether she had suffered before her death.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Murong Zhan had already made the travel arrangements and that the journey had to remain secret.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qi Danai to line up the guards, then explained their assignment to protect Long Xuan'en on the journey.

Hu Xiaotian escorted the Old Emperor’s discreet procession toward the Heavenly Dragon Temple and realized the Imperial Bodyguards knew the itinerary while he had been kept uninformed. The procession reached the temple, where Abbot Tongyuan and the senior monks awaited the emperor’s arrival.

• Hu Xiaotian warned the bodyguards that they would be held responsible if anything happened to the Old Emperor.
• The emperor’s procession left the Imperial Palace under heavy security, with Hu Xiaotian leading the bodyguards.
• Qi Danai described the layout of the Heavenly Dragon Temple, then accidentally revealed that the emperor planned to arrive after the Zi Hour began.
• Hu Xiaotian suspected the bodyguards had been assigned to watch him and rode ahead after questioning Qi Danai about Murong Zhan’s instructions.
• The procession reached the Heavenly Dragon Temple, where Abbot Tongyuan and more than twenty monks waited outside the gate.

Emperor Long Xuan'en arrived at the Heavenly Dragon Temple to spend a month fasting and reciting sutras, bringing Hu Xiaotian, Qi Danai, and one hundred Imperial Bodyguards. After the bodyguards shaved their heads and changed into monastic robes, Yin Zheng assigned them to guard the emperor and the temple, leaving Hu Xiaotian in charge of the Five Contemplations Hall.

• Tongyuan welcomed Long Xuan'en at the temple and confirmed that the Western Mountain Puxian Court was prepared for his secluded cultivation.
• Long Xuan'en said the Imperial Guards would stay below the mountain and ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to shave their heads, wear monastic robes, and fast with him.
• Hu Xiaotian frightened Qi Danai and the bodyguards by claiming they had to become monks, then had his own head shaved and changed into monastic robes.
• Yin Zheng told Hu Xiaotian to divide the bodyguards among the Five Contemplations Hall, the roads to the western mountain, and the Puxian Court.
• Yin Zheng said Long Xuan'en had specifically named Qi Danai to accompany him and assigned Hu Xiaotian to oversee the Five Contemplations Hall.

Hu Xiaotian supervised preparations for the emperor’s meals at Heavenly Dragon Temple and used the temple’s chores to discipline guards who resented him. He left with Mingsheng and the guards to fetch water, having threatened to treat anyone who refused as defying an imperial decree.

• Hu Xiaotian assigned the guards to shifts overseeing the emperor’s meals and claimed the best meditation room for himself.
• Hu Xiaotian practiced the Formless Divine Skill, then went out and made the tired guards split firewood while insisting they call him Senior Brother.
• Mingsheng visited Five Contemplations Hall and explained that its monks usually fetched water from the back courtyard.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered the guards to fetch water with him and threatened them with a charge of defying an imperial decree if they refused.
• Hu Xiaotian, Mingsheng, and the guards picked up the pointed wooden buckets and set off to carry water.

Hu Xiaotian enforced the temple’s water-carrying rules on the bodyguards, then sampled much of the emperor’s breakfast under the pretext of testing it for poison. After delivering the food to Long Xuan'en’s quarters, he was invited inside and began an audience with the emperor.

• Zuo Tang spilled his water, so Hu Xiaotian ordered him and the other bodyguards to repeat any failed trips and complete three trips each.
• Hu Xiaotian sent more bodyguards to fetch water, then ate much of the emperor’s breakfast while claiming he had to test it for poison.
• Hu Xiaotian replaced the eaten dishes with coarse-grain buns and took the food boxes toward the emperor’s quarters.
• Qi Danai tried to take the food boxes, but Yin Zheng collected them and invited Hu Xiaotian into the Samantabhadra Courtyard.
• Hu Xiaotian entered Long Xuan'en’s meditation room, where the emperor told him there was no need to kneel before the Buddha.

Hu Xiaotian followed Long Xuan'en’s orders to simplify meals and secretly searched for the Buddha statue sponsored by Chu Fufeng. After the merit registers yielded no record, he learned that Long-Life Buddhas were kept in Cloudsplit Valley and tried to persuade Mingsheng to take him there without asking the abbot.

• Long Xuan'en praised Hu Xiaotian’s cornmeal bun, ordered simpler meals, and asked him to locate a Buddha statue sponsored by Chu Fufeng more than forty years earlier.
• Hu Xiaotian rebuffed Qi Danai’s attempt to pressure him into being lenient with the other men, then told the imperial cooks that he would share their meals.
• Hu Xiaotian enlisted Mingsheng’s help and searched nine years of merit registers, but found no statue or sponsor named Chu Fufeng.
• An old monk explained that Long-Life Buddhas were not listed in the registers and had been moved to Cloudsplit Valley.
• Hu Xiaotian told Mingsheng that Chu Fufeng was his grandfather and begged him to take him to Cloudsplit Valley without seeking the abbot’s permission.

Hu Xiaotian accompanied Mingsheng to Cloudsplit Valley to search for a Long-Life Buddha sponsored by Chu Fufeng, but an unseen monk caught him and forced him to clean the statues. After Hu Xiaotian washed the statues he had touched, the mysterious voice ordered him to clean all 116 Long-Life Buddhas.

• Mingsheng agreed to take Hu Xiaotian to Cloudsplit Valley and brought him there after they ate steamed buns.
• Hu Xiaotian crossed the river and searched the Long-Life Buddha grottoes while Mingsheng waited on the opposite bank.
• An invisible presence frightened Hu Xiaotian, imitated his words, and made him fall into the river before stopping its flow around him.
• The unseen monk accused Hu Xiaotian of touching the Buddha statues and punished him by hurling him toward the cliff, then ordered him to wash the statues he had touched.
• Hu Xiaotian spent four hours cleaning the statues he had visited, but the mysterious voice then ordered him to wash all 116 Long-Life Buddha statues.

Hu Xiaotian discovered that the Long-Life Buddha he had been searching for was in Cloudsplit Valley, but a hideous old monk caught him and decided to punish him for invoking Master Yuanmu. The monk sealed Hu Xiaotian’s acupoints and carried him away into the rainy night.

• The mysterious monk forced Hu Xiaotian to keep cleaning statues after accusing him of desecrating them with his thoughts.
• Hu Xiaotian found the faded inscription for Fufeng on a statue and realized it was the Long-Life Buddha he had sought.
• The mysterious monk summoned Hu Xiaotian to a cave, where he met a long-haired monk with a grotesquely disfigured face.
• The old monk questioned Hu Xiaotian about his search and confessed that he had been confined at Heavenly Dragon Temple for eating human flesh.
• Hu Xiaotian mentioned Master Yuanmu, but the old monk revealed that Yuanmu’s advice had kept him imprisoned for thirty years.
• The old monk sealed Hu Xiaotian’s acupoints and carried him away from the cave.

Hu Xiaotian was captured by Unenlightened and brought beneath the Rebirth Stele, where he discovered Ji Feihua in hiding. Ji Feihua freed him and explained Chu Fufeng’s connection to Long Xuan'en, leaving Hu Xiaotian with more to learn about the emperor’s past.

• Unenlightened threatened Hu Xiaotian before Yuankong, then threw Hu Xiaotian into a well and jumped in after him when Yuankong refused to follow.
• Unenlightened carried Hu Xiaotian through underground passages to Ji Feihua, who taught Unenlightened the second section of the Avici Art.
• Ji Feihua recognized Hu Xiaotian, released his sealed acupoints, and assured him he did not blame him for what had happened.
• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua that Long Xuan'en had sent him to find the Long-Life Buddha, and Ji Feihua explained that Chu Fufeng was Long Xuan'en’s eldest sworn brother, alongside Xu Lingkong.

Ji Feihua explained how Chu Fufeng’s murder and Chu Yuanhai’s execution connected to Hu Xiaotian’s family, and revealed the history behind his feud with the Long clan. He also recounted Hong Beimo’s betrayal and the attack that left him injured, while Hu Xiaotian began to doubt whether the emperor at Heavenly Dragon Temple was truly Long Xuan'en.

• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian that Long Xuan'en had conspired with Hong Beimo to murder Chu Fufeng, founder of the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, and explained how Chu Yuanhai later learned the truth and was executed after a corruption case.
• Ji Feihua connected Xu Lingkong, Chu Yuanhai’s protector, to Hu Xiaotian’s maternal family, leading Hu Xiaotian to suspect that Xu Lingkong was his missing maternal grandfather and that Ji Feihua descended from the Chu family.
• Ji Feihua revealed that Hong Beimo had been Chu Fufeng’s disciple and betrayer, and that he had preserved the Heavenly Secrets Sect’s strength while Ji Feihua staged a coup with Long Yelin.
• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian that Lin Wan had been Hong Beimo’s pawn and admitted he had seen through Hu Xiaotian’s earlier pretense of betraying Quan Dean.
• Ji Feihua explained that Murong Zhan’s betrayal had enabled Long Xuan'en, Hong Beimo, and Li Yuncong to attack him together, leaving him injured and at Heavenly Dragon Temple.
• Hu Xiaotian wondered whether the emperor at Heavenly Dragon Temple was really Long Xuan'en or Hong Beimo, since the guards attending him belonged to the Heavenly Secrets Bureau.

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua discussed Long Xuan'en’s plans for the Jinling Xu Family and the danger facing Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian then revealed how he had helped Li Yuncong investigate the Old Emperor, leading Ji Feihua to suspect Princess Anping had secretly aided Long Xuan'en.

• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua he suspected Long Xuan'en had brought him to Heavenly Dragon Temple to signal the Jinling Xu Family.
• Ji Feihua explained that Long Xuan'en and Long Yelin wanted the Xu Family’s wealth and overseas trade routes, and that he had sent Madam Hu to Jinling with a letter for Old Madam Xu.
• Ji Feihua warned Hu Xiaotian that Long Xuan'en and Hong Beimo would use him as a bargaining chip if he stayed in Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian confessed that Li Yuncong had recruited him to investigate the Old Emperor after discovering a secret passage beneath the Palace Gardens Bureau.
• Ji Feihua concluded that Long Xuan'en had used Princess Anping’s visit to Spirit Firmament Palace to pass information outside and turn Murong Zhan against him.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Li Yuncong had taught him the dangerous Void Art rather than the Formless Divine Skill, and Ji Feihua warned that his conflicting inner powers could eventually cause fatal qi deviation. Hu Xiaotian resolved to seek help from Master Yuanmu by obtaining Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra, while Ji Feihua urged him to leave and deal with the Xu Family of Jinling.

• Ji Feihua tested Hu Xiaotian’s inner power and identified his cultivation method as the Void Art, explaining its history and deadly risks.
• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua that he had absorbed Black Corpse’s internal power, and Ji Feihua explained that this power, combined with mutant true qi, threatened his life.
• Ji Feihua said the Avici Art could resolve the danger but required its practitioner to be a eunuch, which Hu Xiaotian refused to become.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Ji Feihua about Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra and revealed that Master Yuanmu had asked him to recover it for the Heavenly Dragon Temple.
• Ji Feihua suggested that Master Yuanmu might help Hu Xiaotian and said Monk Kongjian was probably the temple’s Innate Realm expert.
• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian to leave, keep his whereabouts secret, and focus on the Xu Family of Jinling; he declined Hu Xiaotian’s offer of Origin-Returning Pills.