Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian agreed to return to the Kang Capital for his wedding to Princess Yongyang, despite suspecting Long Xuan'en might use the occasion against him. As he prepared for the journey and weighed love against political ambition, the Five-Colored Spider King Inner Core's poison violently flared up again.

• Hu Xiaotian told Shi Xuedong he would return to the Kang Capital before the wedding on May 16, and Zhuge Guanqi advised him to prepare for the Imperial Court's possible moves.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhuge Guanqi discussed Princess Yongyang's ambitions and whether Hu Xiaotian should approach their marriage for love or political gain.
• Visa asked to accompany Hu Xiaotian to the Kang Capital, then admitted she was worried about his safety and offered to serve him.
• Hu Xiaotian's inner-core poison suddenly caused intense itching, and Visa brought him ice while the pain gathered in his dantian.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to travel to Kang Capital and comforted Yu Tianxing over his failure at Blackwater Stronghold. Though Yu Tianxing warned that the emperor’s marriage arrangement was a trap, Hu Xiaotian remained determined to go and settle matters in person.

• Hu Xiaotian and Visa spent the night together, and Hu Xiaotian later noticed that his Dantian Sea of Qi had expanded.
• Hu Xiaotian sent Xia Changming to gather information in Kang Capital and dispatched Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao to prepare at Fengyi Manor.
• Hu Xiaotian found Yu Tianxing drunk and reassured him that the defeat at Blackwater Stronghold did not erase his past achievements.
• Yu Tianxing urged Hu Xiaotian not to travel to Kang Capital for his marriage to Princess Yongyang, warning that the emperor meant to harm him.
• Hu Xiaotian refused to change his plans, telling Yu Tianxing he would go to settle matters and return safely.

Hu Xiaotian visited Qin Yutong at Tong Ren Tang before setting out for the Kang Capital, where he planned to attend Qiqi’s wedding. Qin Yutong revealed that her master had met Long Xiyue, leaving Hu Xiaotian to face the news that Long Xiyue might learn of his marriage.

• Hu Xiaotian climbed into Tong Ren Tang’s back courtyard, spoke with Fang Zhitang about Zhan Peng and Fang Fang’s engagement, and promised to officiate at their wedding.
• Qin Yutong kept Hu Xiaotian waiting, then joined him for a meal she had prepared and removed her veil to show him her masked face.
• Qin Yutong called the meal a farewell and learned that Hu Xiaotian planned to leave in time for Qiqi’s wedding on the sixteenth day of the fifth month.
• Qin Yutong told Hu Xiaotian that Ren Tianqing had met an old acquaintance in the Fragrant Kingdom and suggested Long Xiyue would be happy to hear of his wedding.
• Hu Xiaotian realized Long Xiyue might learn of his marriage, refused to explain his thoughts to Qin Yutong, and teased her when she angrily called him unreasonable.

Hu Xiaotian left Eastern Liang Commandery for the Kang Capital while arranging for Liang Dazhuang and Chang Fanqi to escort his betrothal gifts. At Fengyi Manor, he visited his mother’s grave and explained his growing suspicions about Liang Dazhuang, hoping the journey would reveal the man’s true allegiance.

• Hu Xiaotian agreed to take Liang Dazhuang back to the Kang Capital, but assigned him and Chang Fanqi to escort the betrothal gifts instead of traveling with him.
• Hu Xiaotian left Eastern Liang Commandery at the third watch with Xia Changming, the flying owl, and the snow eagle.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming arrived at Fengyi Manor in disguise, where Zhan Peng secretly welcomed them.
• Hu Xiaotian offered incense at his mother’s grave and learned that Princess Yongyang had visited the previous day.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zhan Peng that Liang Dazhuang’s past actions seemed suspicious and that he hoped the return journey would reveal who Liang Dazhuang served.

Hu Xiaotian learned that the Imperial Mausoleum was protected by massive bronze walls and iron ramparts, then planned with Liang Yinghao to prepare for his wedding and the dangers awaiting him in Great Kang’s capital. In the Fragrant Kingdom, Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao discussed Hu Xiaotian’s wedding with Hu Buwei, who rejected her concern for the son he denied was his.

• Hu Xiaotian inspected Liang Yinghao’s tunnel plans and learned that the Imperial Mausoleum’s defenses had thwarted their excavation.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Liang Yinghao not to dig near the Prince Consort’s Residence and told him to prepare by observing its construction and seeking houses near the Imperial City.
• Hu Xiaotian planned to obtain Imperial Palace plans so Liang Yinghao could use underground drains and existing passages to reach the Palace Gardens Bureau.
• Hu Xiaotian said he would arrive in the capital seven days before his wedding and vowed to resist the emperor’s attempt to harm him.
• Long Xuanjiao told Hu Buwei that Hu Xiaotian’s wedding invitation had arrived, but Hu Buwei dismissed concern for Hu Xiaotian and insisted he was not his son.
• Long Xuanjiao apologized for doubting Hu Buwei and offered to visit him that night to make amends.

Long Xuanjiao arranged to send Prince Fu, Yang Longyue, to Great Kang for Princess Yongyang’s wedding, intending to have him killed and use his death as a pretext for war. She then visited Long Xiyue, confined at the Green Shadow Pavilion, and asked whether she had considered marriage.

• Long Xuanjiao decided that Yang Longyue would attend the wedding in her place, while Hu Buwei offered to arrange the experts needed to eliminate him.
• Long Xuanjiao and Hu Buwei discussed Great Kang’s instability and the possibility that Long Xuan'en would move against Hu Xiaotian.
• Yang Longjing asked his mother about Great Kang’s wedding invitation and about Miss Yingyue, revealing his interest in her.
• Long Xuanjiao ordered Zhou Desheng to prepare for a visit to the Green Shadow Pavilion, where Long Xiyue was being held under house arrest.
• Long Xuanjiao asked Long Xiyue whether she wished to return to Great Kang, and Long Xiyue said she had given up that hope.
• Long Xuanjiao asked Long Xiyue whether she had thought about marriage.

Long Xiyue refused Long Xuanjiao’s plans to adopt and title her, while Hu Xiaotian returned to the Kang Capital and reunited with Huo Shengnan. Huo Shengnan left to visit King Yongyang’s Residence, telling Hu Xiaotian to wait for her.

• Long Xiyue asked Long Xuanjiao to let her live peacefully as an ordinary woman, but Long Xuanjiao said she would arrange the adoption and princess title herself.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the old home in Shuijing'er Alley and recognized Huo Shengnan, who was disguised as a young gentleman.
• Huo Shengnan attacked Hu Xiaotian with a sleeve arrow, spear, and bow before he revealed his true appearance and she recognized him.
• Huo Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan reunited affectionately, and he said he had returned for her.
• Huo Shengnan prepared to visit King Yongyang’s Residence after the princess summoned her, and she told Hu Xiaotian to stay behind and wait.

Qiqi questioned Quan Dean about Hong Beimo, her mother's death, and the mysterious monk Minghui before learning that Hu Xiaotian would return to Kang Capital in early May. She sent Huo Shengnan to deliver a letter to him in Eastern Liang Commandery, but Baobao followed Huo Shengnan and confronted her in the rain.

• Qiqi asked Quan Dean about Hong Beimo's motives and her mother's death, but Quan Dean said he knew nothing of the monk Minghui or her mother's past.
• Huo Shengnan told Qiqi that Hu Xiaotian would arrive in Kang Capital in early May and warned that the court's wedding plans might be a trap.
• Qiqi told Huo Shengnan to take a letter directly to Hu Xiaotian in Eastern Liang Commandery and leave the Divine Strategy Office's future for him to decide.
• Huo Shengnan encountered Hong Beimo at King Yongyang's Residence, then rode into the rain with Qiqi's letter for Hu Xiaotian.
• Baobao followed Huo Shengnan through the streets, and Huo Shengnan stopped her horse to ask why she was following.

Huo Shengnan fought off Baobao, who mistook her for Hu Xiaotian, then returned to Hu Xiaotian with Qiqi’s blank letter. Hu Xiaotian suspected Qiqi was preparing to move against the Divine Strategy Office, and he asked Huo Shengnan to fake a departure while warning her to keep his presence in Kang Capital secret.

• Baobao attacked Huo Shengnan, believing she was Hu Xiaotian in disguise, but Huo Shengnan escaped after shooting an arrow through Baobao’s cloak and hair bun.
• Huo Shengnan returned to Hu Xiaotian and told him Baobao had recognized his scent, prompting him to worry that someone with a keen nose could expose his disguise.
• Huo Shengnan gave Hu Xiaotian Qiqi’s letter, which contained only blank paper, and he guessed Qiqi had sent her away so she could act against the Divine Strategy Office.
• Hu Xiaotian told Huo Shengnan to pretend to leave Kang Capital and return by a roundabout route without appearing as herself.
• Huo Shengnan agreed to go but expressed concern about Princess Yongyang’s strange behavior and her growing closeness with Hong Beimo.

Qiqi and Hong Beimo discussed their plan to seize Great Kang’s throne and the danger Hu Xiaotian posed to it. Meanwhile, Hu Xiaotian secretly entered the Imperial Palace with Li Yuncong’s help and told him that Monk Unenlightened was the strongest expert he had ever seen.

• Qiqi showed Hong Beimo a symbol from her dreams, and he said it meant she was beginning to remember.
• Hong Beimo explained his plan to use Long Tingzhen’s rebellion to eliminate Long Xuan'en and then seize power for Qiqi, while warning that Hu Xiaotian’s choices could decide the outcome.
• Hu Xiaotian disguised himself and met Li Yuncong at the Heavenly Water Lodge, where Li arranged to smuggle him into the palace inside a chest.
• Li Yuncong brought Hu Xiaotian to the Library Pavilion, and Hu climbed out of the chest after the eunuchs had left.
• Hu Xiaotian told Li Yuncong that Monk Unenlightened was the most powerful expert he had ever seen, alarming Li about his own strength.

Hu Xiaotian enlisted Li Yuncong’s help to investigate the Emperor’s plans and remain hidden in the Imperial Palace. After Li Yuncong killed a disguised Heavenly Secrets Bureau spy, Hu Xiaotian took the spy’s identity to infiltrate the palace.

• Hu Xiaotian explained that he had returned to the Kang Capital to prevent the Emperor from using his broken marriage contract as grounds to attack him.
• Li Yuncong revealed that the Imperial Mausoleum held elaborate defenses and might conceal secrets of eternal life, including the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter of Heaven and Earth Unveiled.
• Hu Xiaotian and Li Yuncong discussed the Emperor’s plans, Hong Beimo’s mechanisms at the Prince Consort’s Residence, and Princess Yongyang’s possible alliance with Hong Beimo.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Li Yuncong to help him stay in the Imperial Palace, and Li Yuncong arranged for him to hide behind a screen.
• Li Yuncong killed Xiao Dezi and revealed that he was a Heavenly Secrets Bureau spy disguised as a eunuch.
• Hu Xiaotian put on Xiao Dezi’s face mask and prepared to use Tendon and Bone Alteration to match his smaller build.

Hu Xiaotian entered Misty Peak to investigate and discovered Long Tingzhen alive, being trained by Unenlightened, who had regained his sight. He watched Unenlightened confront Murong Zhan, whose concealed weapons and venomous creatures failed to harm the monk.

• Hu Xiaotian entered the Cloud Temple, took Ling Jiazi’s portrait, and found a purple crystal bracelet hidden inside its hollow shaft.
• Hu Xiaotian saw Long Tingzhen kill two Imperial Guards and learned that Unenlightened was training him inside the Spirit Firmament Palace.
• Unenlightened told Long Tingzhen to take his medicinal bath after Long Tingzhen complained that Mr. Hong had not made him Crown Prince.
• Murong Zhan emerged and confronted Unenlightened, then attacked with concealed weapons and fled when they proved ineffective.
• Unenlightened blocked Murong Zhan’s escape, shattered a venomous white snake, and struck him with an invisible force.
• Murong Zhan sent golden venomous insects at Unenlightened, who swept them away with two punches.

Hu Xiaotian rescued Xi Yan from Unenlightened and hid her in the vacant Purple Orchid Palace, where she recovered from her injuries. After returning to the Library Pavilion, Hu Xiaotian told Li Yuncong that Long Tingzhen was alive and had gained martial arts skills, and Li Yuncong warned that Long Xuan'en might move against Princess Yongyang.

• Hu Xiaotian attacked Unenlightened to let the disguised Xi Yan escape, then followed her into the Jade Pool and removed her Human-Skin Mask.
• Hu Xiaotian carried the injured Xi Yan through the secret passage to the Purple Orchid Palace, where she took medicine and fell asleep as he kept watch.
• Xi Yan woke before dawn and suggested killing the palace attendants to disguise themselves, but Hu Xiaotian refused and said he was working as a eunuch in the Library Pavilion.
• Hu Xiaotian left Xi Yan in the Purple Orchid Palace, disguised himself as Xiao Dezi, and returned to the Library Pavilion.
• Hu Xiaotian told Li Yuncong that Long Tingzhen was alive and had acquired martial arts skills, and Li Yuncong suspected Long Xuan'en planned to move against Princess Yongyang.

Hu Xiaotian heard Li Yuncong’s account of the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram’s history and the theft that followed. Li Yuncong concluded that Liu Yuzhang had conspired with Hong Beimo and escaped with something Hong wanted, leaving Hu Xiaotian to reconsider Liu’s past kindness.

• Hu Xiaotian asked Li Yuncong about the missing Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram, and Li Yuncong took him to the Library Pavilion’s sealed seventh floor.
• Li Yuncong explained that Ghost Physician Fu Wan had drawn the diagram after borrowing the Heart Sutra, and that Meng Zizai later studied it under supervision.
• Li Yuncong recounted how Gong Wuxin stole the Heart Sutra and diagram, then was found dead in a secret passage with every bone shattered.
• Li Yuncong said he had suspected Liu Yuzhang of being Gong Wuxin’s accomplice and believed Liu had waited seven years before using the secret passages to take the hidden items and disappear.
• Li Yuncong told Hu Xiaotian that Liu Yuzhang had likely conspired with Hong Beimo, and that whatever Hong wanted was now in Liu’s hands.

Hu Xiaotian learned more about the tangled search for the Heart Sutra and Hong Beimo’s plans, then used his palace disguise to question Yin Zheng about the emperor. The emperor’s worsening health and growing hostility toward Hong Beimo suggested their alliance was faltering, and Hu Xiaotian unexpectedly encountered Princess Yongyang as he was leaving.

• Li Yuncong told Hu Xiaotian that Ren Tianqing had borrowed the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram while posing as Meng Zizai, and that he suspected Ren Tianqing was searching for the vanished Liu Yuzhang.
• Li Yuncong gave Hu Xiaotian two pages from Ghost Physician Fu Wan’s anatomical drawings, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Fu Wan had come from the modern world.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Hong Beimo might be backing Long Tingzhen to replace the emperor, while Li Yuncong described Hong Beimo as exceptionally powerful and quick to recover from injuries.
• Yin Zheng mistook Hu Xiaotian for a new eunuch and brought him to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where Hu Xiaotian secretly identified himself as an agent sent by Lord Hu.
• Yin Zheng told Hu Xiaotian that the emperor was weakening, shedding hair, refusing visitors, and had recently rejected Hong Beimo’s elixir in anger.
• As Hu Xiaotian left Yin Zheng’s room, Princess Yongyang arrived, and Hu Xiaotian knelt among the palace attendants.

Hu Xiaotian delivered Heaven and Earth Unveiled to the palace under the identity Xiao Dezi, where Qiqi arrived to see Long Xuan'en but was turned away. After Hong Beimo questioned Li Yuncong, Hu Xiaotian and Li Yuncong discussed their suspicions and their next moves, leaving Hu Xiaotian considering the hidden forces recorded in Ji Feihua’s ledger.

• Qiqi came to see Long Xuan'en, ordered Yin Zheng to announce her, and left after hearing that the emperor would not receive her until the next day.
• Hu Xiaotian introduced himself as Xiao Dezi and delivered Heaven and Earth Unveiled, then hid when he spotted Fu Yuhong outside the Library Pavilion.
• Hong Beimo visited Li Yuncong, gave him a Nine-Turn Heaven-Mending Pill, and questioned him about Ji Feihua and unusual activity in the palace.
• Li Yuncong told Hu Xiaotian that Hong Beimo suspected him and said he had deliberately raised the possibility that Ji Feihua was still alive.
• Hu Xiaotian recalled Ji Feihua’s ledger of hidden forces in Great Kang, while Li Yuncong decided to leave the palace temporarily and reminded Hu Xiaotian to contact Baobao of the Fox Group.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan discussed Long Xuan'en’s scheme to use Long Tingzhen and the planned marriage to trap them, then agreed to cooperate against their separate targets. Long Xuan'en learned that the Reincarnation Tower was nearly complete and heard that Ji Feihua might have discovered Long Tingzhen’s hiding place.

• Hu Xiaotian warned Xi Yan that Hong Beimo knew about their use of the secret passage, and Xi Yan admitted she had come to kill Long Tingzhen.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that he had come to the Kang Capital to thwart Long Xuan'en’s scheme and protect his own political standing.
• Hu Xiaotian offered to help Xi Yan kill Long Tingzhen if she disguised herself as Ji Feihua for him, and Xi Yan agreed to hear his request.
• Hong Beimo told Long Xuan'en that only the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl remained to complete the Reincarnation Tower and that he could retrieve it within two months.
• Hong Beimo reported that someone had infiltrated the Spirit Firmament Palace, and Long Xuan'en grew alarmed when he suspected Ji Feihua.

Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as Ji Feihua and killed Li Yan in the Imperial Palace, then escaped with Xi Yan through a secret passage to the Dragon Spirit Sanctuary. There, Xi Yan found the dragon carving that controlled access to the hidden chamber and began testing it with her Night-Luminescent Pearl.

• Hong Beimo urged Long Xuan'en to reveal the existence of his son, and Long Xuan'en said he had to consider Qiqi's feelings before naming an heir.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan hid above the palace chamber as Li Yan searched the grounds, then Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as Ji Feihua and attacked him.
• Hu Xiaotian killed Li Yan with a powerful punch while the other eunuchs fled, and he and Xi Yan escaped through the well into the secret passage.
• Hu Xiaotian collapsed the passage behind them and led Xi Yan to the Dragon Spirit Sanctuary, where they took shelter in its underwater chamber.
• Xi Yan examined the dragon carving and tried to fit her Night-Luminescent Pearl into its eye socket to open the hidden chamber.

Xi Yan and Hu Xiaotian used the Purple Crystal Bracelet to uncover a second hidden chamber in the Dragon Spirit Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Hong Beimo and Murong Zhan investigated Li Yan’s murder and debated whether Ji Feihua had returned, before Hong Beimo confronted Murong Zhan about visiting Misty Peak.

• Xi Yan placed the bracelet’s seven crystals into the dragon carving, and the crystals aligned with its eye to reveal a concealed doorway.
• Hu Xiaotian climbed into the opening and pulled Xi Yan into a second chamber above the first.
• Hong Beimo examined Li Yan’s shattered body and heard two eunuchs claim Ji Feihua had killed him.
• Hong Beimo and Murong Zhan suspected Ji Feihua’s appearance had been staged to spread news of his survival, and Hong Beimo ordered Murong Zhan to tighten palace security.
• Hong Beimo told Murong Zhan that someone had seen him at Misty Peak the previous night, then suggested the witness might have mistaken him for a disguised master.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan followed carvings that depicted a battle between humans and extraterrestrial beings, then uncovered an inscription linking the event to Emperor Mingzong’s reign and Qixia Lake. Xi Yan opened a Jade Box hidden beneath an altar and screamed at what she found inside.

• Xi Yan and Hu Xiaotian studied carvings showing a flying saucer crashing into a lake, its occupants fighting the army, and the vessel being buried beneath a hill.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that the carvings depicted extraterrestrials, and Xi Yan wondered whether they were immortals from the heavens.
• Xi Yan read an inscription by Emperor Mingzong, Long Yuan, describing a fireball that fell on Qixia Lake in the seventeenth year of Jiafeng.
• Hu Xiaotian moved the enormous cauldron and uncovered a pit containing a Jade Box.
• Xi Yan opened the Jade Box despite Hu Xiaotian’s warning and screamed at what was inside.