Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian used the failed attack on the emperor to take control of the Imperial Bodyguards and secure an imperial edict to search the Heavenly Dragon Temple. He left Zuo Tang guarding the emperor and confronted the Staff Monks at the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, where someone inside challenged his aggressive approach.

• Hu Xiaotian overruled Liu Huchan, deployed the Imperial Bodyguards, and persuaded Long Xuan'en to authorize a search of the Western Courtyard with a written edict.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zuo Tang that Long Xuan'en was an impostor and ordered him to keep the emperor and the Heavenly Secrets Bureau warriors inside the Samantabhadra Courtyard.
• Hu Xiaotian led fifty guards to search the area and encountered Mingyuan and the Staff Monks blocking the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion.
• Mingyuan formed the Staff Formation, and Hu Xiaotian accused the monks of sheltering the assassin.
• A voice inside the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion invoked the Buddha and asked Hu Xiaotian why he was pressing the monks so aggressively.

Hu Xiaotian used an alleged assassination attempt to pressure Heavenly Dragon Temple and inspect the paths around its Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, while Mingjing calmly limited his access. Meanwhile, Chi Feixing suspected Hu had uncovered his disguise, and the Old Emperor ordered Hong Beimo to leave Hu alive for now before hearing of Princess Yongyang’s plan to reorganize the Divine Strategy Office.

• Mingjing stopped Hu Xiaotian from entering the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion without the Abbot’s approval, but allowed him to search the surrounding paths.
• Hu Xiaotian memorized the routes around the pavilion and hoped his disturbance would make the monks distrust the Old Emperor and prepare for Unenlightened’s later infiltration.
• Chi Feixing told Liu Huchan that Hu Xiaotian might have recognized his identity, while Liu admitted Hu had defeated Liang Bao and Pingchuan with ease.
• Chi Feixing and Liu Huchan discussed waiting for their master’s orders and searching Heavenly Dragon Temple for Heaven and Earth Unveiled.
• The Old Emperor told Hong Beimo that he suspected Chu Fufeng was alive and ordered him not to kill Hu Xiaotian because he still had a use for him.
• Hong Beimo told the Old Emperor that Princess Yongyang wanted to reorganize the Divine Strategy Office.

Long Xuan'en sought a way to prolong his life and asked Hong Beimo to invite a Wuji Order elder to advise him. At the Heavenly Dragon Temple, Hu Xiaotian tightened the guards around the false emperor's party, learned Yin Zheng suspected the emperor was an impostor, and agreed to enter the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion alone to search for an assassin.

• Long Xuan'en asked Hong Beimo to invite Daoist Xu Shouxin after learning Daoist Master Zhang Huaji would not leave Northern Ridge Snow Mountain.
• Hu Xiaotian reorganized the Imperial Bodyguards and sealed the Samantabhadra Courtyard, preventing the false emperor's party from leaving.
• Yin Zheng told Hu Xiaotian that Hong Beimo had forced him to take a Myriad Insects Bone-Eroding Pill and that he suspected someone was impersonating the emperor.
• Tongjing told Hu Xiaotian the Abbot permitted him to search the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion alone, but required him to leave the temple early if he found no assassin there.
• Hu Xiaotian accepted the condition and decided to enter the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion.

Hu Xiaotian toured the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion with Mingjing, learned its layout, and failed to find the monk he claimed had entered the Samantabhadra Courtyard. He left determined to stay at Heavenly Dragon Temple, while his accusations of hypocrisy angered Tongjing.

• Mingjing guided Hu Xiaotian around the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion courtyard as Hu memorized its layout and searched the monks for the supposed intruder.
• Mingjing showed Hu Xiaotian the thirty-six monks stationed in the Book Collection Tower and said he would vouch for seven others inside, but Hu demanded to see them himself.
• Mingjing recognized that Hu Xiaotian wanted more than to investigate the intruder and warned him not to return to the pavilion.
• Hu Xiaotian told Tongjing he had changed his mind about leaving and accused the monks of hypocrisy for compromising with the emperor while claiming all beings were equal.
• Tongjing grew furious at Hu Xiaotian's remarks, and the young novice privately thought Hu had a point about his master's hypocrisy.

Tongyuan met with Tongjing about Hu Xiaotian’s search and the Old Emperor’s motives, then visited the Old Emperor to apologize and offer the temple’s hunchbacked monks for inspection. When Tongyuan reported Hu Xiaotian’s search of the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, the Old Emperor denied ordering it and summoned Hu Xiaotian to confront him.

• Tongjing told Tongyuan that Hu Xiaotian had threatened to search the Heavenly Dragon Temple, and the two suspected the Old Emperor had ulterior motives there.
• Tongyuan decided to visit the Old Emperor and learn what he intended, while Tongjing urged him to avoid conflict with the Imperial Court if possible.
• Hu Xiaotian welcomed Tongyuan at Samantabhadra Courtyard after using the assassin search to explore much of the temple’s western courtyard.
• Tongyuan apologized to the Old Emperor and offered to have the temple’s hunchbacked monks inspected, then reported that Hu Xiaotian had searched the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion.
• The Old Emperor denied ordering Hu Xiaotian to search the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, summoned him, and angrily demanded to know who had authorized it.

Hu Xiaotian confronted the false emperor over his accusations and learned that the Heavenly Dragon Temple did not have Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra. After exposing the impostor’s fear of being unmasked, Hu Xiaotian warned him that he would reveal the deception if the man kept making trouble for him.

• Hu Xiaotian talked back to the false emperor, who rebuked him for searching the temple, and Tongyuan intervened to calm them.
• The false emperor asked Tongyuan to show him Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra, but Tongyuan said it had been missing for three hundred years.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Tongyuan the false emperor’s handwritten decree and implied that the emperor had ordered the search, deepening Tongyuan’s suspicions.
• The false emperor summoned Hu Xiaotian, who pointed out that the decree’s handwriting differed and challenged him to show a birthmark.
• Hu Xiaotian concluded that the man was an impostor and threatened to expose the false decree, but the false emperor warned that Hu Xiaotian would also be implicated.
• Hu Xiaotian displayed his Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Gold Plaque and warned the false emperor not to keep opposing him.

Hu Xiaotian exposed Chi Feixing as the Fake Emperor, confronted him over their past conflict, and negotiated permission to return to Cloudsplit Valley. As Hu Xiaotian went to return his map, Chi Feixing and Liu Huchan planned to make sure he never left Heavenly Dragon Temple alive.

• Hu Xiaotian beat Chi Feixing, learned that he was the emperor’s shadow, and warned him not to interfere with him again.
• Hu Xiaotian agreed to leave Samantabhadra Courtyard’s affairs alone if Chi Feixing authorized a search of Heavenly Dragon Temple, but Chi Feixing refused the order.
• Hu Xiaotian restored the previous guard arrangements and, with only three days left before leaving the temple, arranged through Chi Feixing to visit Cloudsplit Valley again.
• Chi Feixing told Liu Huchan that Hu Xiaotian might have killed Fourth and Fifth, then decided he would not let Hu Xiaotian leave the temple alive.
• A novice escorted Hu Xiaotian toward Cloudsplit Valley, where Hu Xiaotian spoke with him about women, growing up, and the possibilities beyond temple life.

Hu Xiaotian agreed to help Unenlightened stage the fake emperor’s abduction, then learned that Fu Yuhong had come to investigate the earlier intrusion. When a shadow fled the courtyard, Fu Yuhong pursued it despite Liu Huchan’s warning.

• Hu Xiaotian hid the map beneath the Long-Life Buddha and learned that Unenlightened planned to abduct the emperor that night to create an excuse to enter the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion.
• Hu Xiaotian told Unenlightened to guarantee the emperor’s safety and agreed to make as much commotion as possible.
• Hu Xiaotian urged his guards to remain alert during their final three days at the Heavenly Dragon Temple, then went to meet the emperor after Yin Zheng told him Fu Yuhong had arrived.
• Chi Feixing told Hu Xiaotian that Fu Yuhong and Liu Huchan were investigating the intruder’s escape route, and Fu Yuhong revealed they had found a hole and a bloodstained monk’s robe.
• A shadow fled from the roof of the meditation chamber, and Fu Yuhong pursued it as Liu Huchan shouted for him to stop.

Hu Xiaotian was lured into a trap by Liu Huchan, Fu Yuhong, and a Black-Clad Man, but survived their ambush and killed the attackers. He concluded that Hong Beimo had ordered the attempt on his life and vowed to oppose him.

• Hu Xiaotian followed Liu Huchan into the bamboo grove after Fu Yuhong claimed the intruder had escaped into a hole.
• Liu Huchan and Fu Yuhong revealed their ambush and fired their Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles at Hu Xiaotian, who jumped into the hole to evade them.
• Hu Xiaotian collapsed the hole with his punches, then burst through the rubble as the Black-Clad Man attacked with a spear.
• Hu Xiaotian killed the Black-Clad Man, severed both of Liu Huchan's arms, and broke his legs before killing him; Fu Yuhong fled.
• Hu Xiaotian dissolved the two corpses with Bone-Dissolving Water and resolved to make Hong Beimo his enemy.

Unenlightened abducted the Fake Emperor Chi Feixing and carried him into the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, where Hu Xiaotian and the Heavenly Dragon Temple confronted him. Unenlightened demanded that Yuanmu kowtow, and Tongyuan bowed three times in his place, but the emperor’s fate remained uncertain.

• Unenlightened seized Chi Feixing from the Zen Room and escaped through its roof with him toward the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion.
• Hu Xiaotian rallied the Imperial Bodyguards to pursue Unenlightened, while Mingzheng led the Staff Monks after them.
• At the pavilion, Hu Xiaotian accused Mingzheng of shielding the abductor and threatened to summon the Imperial Guards, but Tongyuan persuaded him to enter with the monks.
• Unenlightened threatened to kill Chi Feixing and demanded that Yuanmu come out and kowtow to him.
• When Tongyuan offered to kowtow in Yuanmu’s place, Unenlightened accepted, and Tongyuan bowed three times before asking him to release the emperor.

Unenlightened seized the Fake Emperor and forced Tongyuan and Hu Xiaotian into the Book Collection Tower, where he confronted Heavenly Dragon Temple over the theft and imprisonment that had ruined his life. As Yuanchen appeared and admitted the temple’s past mistakes, Unenlightened continued to insist that its actions had driven him to violence.

• Unenlightened abducted the Fake Emperor and entered the Book Collection Tower, ordering Tongyuan and Hu Xiaotian to follow him.
• Unenlightened killed one elderly monk, then struck Tongyuan in exchange for sparing the surviving monk.
• Unenlightened demanded answers about the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion theft and revealed that Yuanmu and Yuanchen had helped subdue him thirty years earlier.
• Yuanchen emerged from hiding, and Hu Xiaotian realized Unenlightened had used him and the Fake Emperor as leverage against the temple.
• Yuanchen admitted the monks had mistaken Unenlightened for the thief and acknowledged that he had done wrong, while Unenlightened blamed the temple’s actions for the deaths he caused.

Unenlightened killed the fake emperor, attacked Yuanchen and Tongyuan, and seized Hu Xiaotian while revealing the Heavenly Dragon Temple’s role in the stolen Void Art. Hu Xiaotian escaped Unenlightened’s grip with a hidden weapon and was saved by Mingjing as Unenlightened set the library ablaze and fled.

• Yuanchen admitted that the Great Hand Seal, the Bodhi No-Mind Zen Method, and half of the Void Art had vanished from the Buddhist Sutra Pavilion, and Unenlightened accused the temple of covering up Yuankong’s crimes.
• Unenlightened killed the fake emperor, then fought Tongyuan and struck Yuanchen aside before dragging Hu Xiaotian toward the Library Pavilion’s seventh floor.
• Unenlightened accused Hu Xiaotian of deceiving him, and Hu Xiaotian claimed Hong Beimo had taught him the Void Art.
• Hu Xiaotian fired the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles at close range and broke free, but Unenlightened wounded him and nearly killed him with a palm blade.
• Mingjing pulled Hu Xiaotian out of the palm blade’s path, while Unenlightened set the library’s scriptures on fire and escaped through a window.

Hu Xiaotian discovered that the man killed at the Heavenly Dragon Temple was an impostor and rode to the Imperial City to tell Qiqi. Qiqi learned that Hong Beimo had arranged the plot against her and Hu Xiaotian.

• Hu Xiaotian and Mingjing extinguished the fire in the Library Pavilion and found that Unenlightened had killed Chi Feixing, the Fake Emperor.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Tongyuan, Yuanchen, and Mingjing that the dead man was not the emperor, then promised to report the matter to His Majesty.
• Tongyuan ordered the monks and guards to keep the incident secret, and Hu Xiaotian and Mingjing rode through the night toward the Imperial City.
• Hu Xiaotian reached Qiqi at the Purple Orchid Palace and told her that Hong Beimo had arranged the trip to the temple to find Heaven and Earth Unveiled and kill him.
• Qiqi reacted angrily when Hu Xiaotian said that His Majesty had never gone to the Heavenly Dragon Temple.

Qiqi confronted Hong Beimo over his attempt to kill Hu Xiaotian and the emperor’s impersonation at the Heavenly Dragon Temple, then learned the emperor had approved the temple scheme. She agreed to resolve the temple crisis herself after the emperor promised to keep Hong Beimo from interfering.

• Hu Xiaotian persuaded Qiqi to seek answers from Hong Beimo instead of confronting him rashly.
• Qiqi threatened Hong Beimo at the Heavenly Secrets Bureau and demanded to know where the emperor was and why he had targeted Hu Xiaotian.
• Hong Beimo said the emperor was at the Heavenly Harmony Garden and had directed the Heavenly Dragon Temple affair, but refused to discuss Hu Xiaotian’s attempted assassination.
• Qiqi met the emperor, who took responsibility for the temple scheme, denied Hong Beimo had ordered the assassination, and told her to resolve the crisis without further interference from Hong Beimo.
• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian what the emperor had said and decided to go to the Heavenly Dragon Temple to settle the matter.

On the road to the Heavenly Dragon Temple, Hu Xiaotian and Quan Dean discussed their uneasy alliance and the danger posed by Hong Beimo, while Qiqi teased Hu Xiaotian about his ambitions and his secret meetings with Long Xiyue. The chapter ended with Qiqi telling Hu Xiaotian that he was not suited to an ordinary life.

• Qiqi traveled toward the Heavenly Dragon Temple with Hu Xiaotian, Quan Dean, and their party, and Quan Dean slowed the procession so she could sleep.
• Hu Xiaotian and Quan Dean acknowledged that protecting Qiqi’s interests tied them together, and Quan Dean warned Hu Xiaotian not to gamble with her fate by opposing Hong Beimo recklessly.
• Hu Xiaotian recited a poem by Tang Bohu, and Mingjing praised its simple language and meaning.
• Qiqi questioned Hu Xiaotian about Tang Bohu’s romantic exploits, offered to find him more wives, and remarked that he might have made a suitable prince consort for her aunt.
• Qiqi mocked Hu Xiaotian as a toad dreaming of swan flesh, prompting him to wonder whether she had inferred his secret meetings with Long Xiyue.
• Hu Xiaotian described his changing dreams of a large family and an easy life, but Qiqi told him he loved adventure and would soon be frustrated by an ordinary existence.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Heavenly Dragon Temple with Qiqi, who reassured Abbot Tongyuan that the temple would be cleared of blame and ordered the Fake Emperor’s death kept secret. After Hu Xiaotian warned the Heavenly Secrets Bureau guards to stay silent, he resolved to establish the Divine Strategy Office and confront Hong Beimo.

• Hu Xiaotian reflected on his desire to make his own mark amid the chaos of the age as Qiqi’s party reached Heavenly Dragon Temple at dusk with King Yongyang.
• Qiqi told Tongyuan that the court would handle the aftermath, then warned him to keep the Fake Emperor’s death secret and donated ten thousand taels of gold to repair the Book Collection Tower.
• Qiqi asked to speak with Tongyuan alone while Hu Xiaotian confronted Liang Bao, Fu Pingchuan, and the other Heavenly Secrets Bureau guards about the emperor and Liu Huchan.
• Hu Xiaotian told the guards to pretend that nothing had happened and threatened to implicate anyone who revealed the truth in the supposed theft and attempted arson.
• Hu Xiaotian accepted Qiqi’s refusal to kill the guards but resolved to establish the Divine Strategy Office and oppose Hong Beimo after returning to Capital City.

Long Xuan'en learned that Hu Xiaotian might have uncovered the Long-Life Buddha’s secret, but agreed to stop Hong Beimo from targeting him. After returning to the Minister's Residence, Hu Xiaotian tried to scare Huo Shengnan in disguise, but she fought back and wounded him with an arrow.

• Long Xuan'en confronted Hong Beimo over his attempt to harm Hu Xiaotian, and Hong Beimo explained his suspicions about the Long-Life Buddha and the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter.
• Long Xuan'en ordered Hong Beimo to end the matter, while Hong Beimo warned that Hu Xiaotian might have learned the Long-Life Buddha’s secret.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Minister's Residence and learned that his father was still living in Shuijing'er Alley and someone from Treasure Abundance Hall had come looking for him.
• Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as a hunchback and sneaked into the courtyard to frighten Huo Shengnan as she practiced spear techniques.
• Huo Shengnan broke her spear against Hu Xiaotian, fled to her room, and shot him in the chest and then toward the crotch.

Hu Xiaotian’s disguise led Huo Shengnan to shoot and wound him, and he played on her guilt while she treated him. The two ended the chapter embracing and sharing affection, with Huo Shengnan admitting she liked his sweet words despite knowing he lied.

• Huo Xiaotian deflected Huo Shengnan’s arrow, but it struck his thigh, and she threatened him before his disguise broke and revealed who he was.
• Huo Shengnan helped Hu Xiaotian remove the arrowhead and treat his thigh and chest wounds with his surgical instruments and medicines.
• Hu Xiaotian teased Huo Shengnan about his injuries and claimed he might be unable to have children, prompting her to promise she would make amends.
• Huo Shengnan offered to die for Hu Xiaotian, but he kissed her forehead and cheek and drew her into an embrace.
• Huo Xiaotian swore that he had thought of Huo Shengnan, and she confessed that she liked hearing his sweet words even though she knew he was lying.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Long Xiyue had disappeared after leaving a letter for him, and the shock and heartbreak left him feverish and unconscious. Huo Shengnan stayed by him as he collapsed.

• Hu Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian nearly became intimate, but Liang Dazhuang interrupted them to announce Zhan Peng’s return.
• Huo Shengnan helped the injured Hu Xiaotian back to his room, where Zhan Peng reported that Princess Anping had disappeared.
• Zhan Peng explained that Long Xiyue had vanished after she and her escorts drank together in Haizhou, leaving a letter addressed to Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian found Long Xiyue’s embroidered handkerchief and became despondent, while Zhan Peng and Gao Yuan continued searching for her.
• Huo Shengnan found Hu Xiaotian feverish and trembling; he asked whether she would lie to him, then fainted in her arms.

Hu Xiaotian collapsed from an internal injury, and Qin Yutong treated him at the Hu Residence. After he awoke, he discussed Xu Lingkong and his mother's hidden family history with Hu Buwei, leaving questions about his maternal family unresolved.

• Hu Buwei summoned help after Hu Xiaotian remained unconscious, and Qin Yutong arrived with Fang Fang to examine him.
• Qin Yutong spotted a bruise over Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Sea of Qi and treated his internal injury with gold needles and a pill.
• Hu Xiaotian woke and called out Xiyue's name, while Qin Yutong warned him not to circulate his true qi and left him Breath-Nourishing Pills.
• Qin Yutong revealed to Huo Shengnan that she recognized her disguise because she had given Hu Xiaotian the mask.
• Hu Xiaotian told Hu Buwei about Chu Fufeng and Xu Lingkong, and Hu Buwei admitted he knew little about the Xu Family or his wife's past.