Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian blocked Murong Zhan from taking Xi Yan, and Princess Yongyang intervened to stop their confrontation and question Xi Yan herself. After Hu Xiaotian admitted he had promised to let Xi Yan go, Qiqi ordered Eunuch Quan to kill her.

• Murong Zhan demanded that Hu Xiaotian hand Xi Yan over, but Hu Xiaotian refused and prepared to fight him.
• Qiqi arrived and halted the confrontation, then ordered Murong Zhan to leave the investigation to her.
• Qiqi questioned Xi Yan, who denied plotting against her and argued that saving Qiqi had put her own life at risk.
• Qiqi provoked Xi Yan by showing affection toward Hu Xiaotian, while Hu Xiaotian urged her to rest.
• Hu Xiaotian confessed that Xi Yan had saved Qiqi in exchange for his promise to let her leave, and Qiqi ordered Eunuch Quan to kill Xi Yan.

Hu Xiaotian tried to persuade Qiqi to release Xi Yan, explaining how she had offered an antidote in exchange for the Seven-Star Chain and suggesting that Murong Zhan and Meng Zizai had sinister motives. After Qiqi warned that she had poisoned his tea, Hu Xiaotian drank it, then suddenly felt a freezing chill spread through his body as Qiqi moved away and watched him coldly.

• Hu Xiaotian calmed Qiqi and escorted her back to her bedchamber, where she dismissed the attendants and questioned him about Xi Yan.
• Hu Xiaotian admitted he had met Xi Yan in Western Sichuan and recounted his ambush, Qiqi’s poisoning, and Xi Yan’s offer to cure her in exchange for the Seven-Star Chain.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Murong Zhan, Meng Zizai, and Hong Beimo had tried to capture Xi Yan, and he argued that their actions suggested a plot against them.
• Qiqi warned Hu Xiaotian that she had poisoned his tea, but he drank it, believing his immunity to poison would protect him.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Qiqi to release Xi Yan, then suddenly felt an icy chill surge through his body as Qiqi stood at a distance and stared at him.

Qiqi poisoned Hu Xiaotian, seized the Seven-Star Chain, and ordered him imprisoned with the enchantress as Long Tingzhen launched a violent coup against Long Xuan'en. Hong Beimo learned that Qiqi remembered more than he realized and that the Seven-Star Chain was a key.

• Qiqi had Quan Dean search Hu Xiaotian, took the Seven-Star Chain, and ordered Hu Xiaotian and the enchantress locked up together to die.
• Long Tingzhen presented Long Xuan'en with an abdication edict, but Long Xuan'en tore it up and ordered his guards to seize him.
• Long Tingzhen's guards turned on Long Xuan'en's entourage, and Long Tingzhen killed Wang Qian as the emperor fled toward the Palace of Gathered Elegance.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that Long Tingzhen had long been mad, while Qiqi revealed she knew the Seven-Star Chain was a key.
• Hong Beimo bowed to Qiqi and pledged his loyalty after recognizing the Seven-Star Chain.

Hu Xiaotian realized Qiqi had poisoned and imprisoned him while the palace descended into a coup led by Long Tingzhen. Qiqi directed the response from the Cloud-Viewing Pavilion and weighed whether to have Hu Xiaotian killed, leaving him trapped and Xi Yan's fate unresolved.

• Quan Dean told Hu Xiaotian that Xi Yan was Li Tianheng's daughter and the fiancée pledged to him before birth, leaving Hu Xiaotian to realize she was Li Wuyou.
• Hu Xiaotian connected Qiqi's poisoning to her discovery of his possession of the Seven-Star Chain and suspected that she and Meng Zizai had plotted against him.
• Long Tingzhen's Imperial Guards attacked the palace, and Hu Xiaotian heard them searching for Qiqi while he remained locked in his cell.
• At the Cloud-Viewing Pavilion, Qiqi joined Hong Beimo, Quan Dean, and Murong Zhan as they prepared to respond to Long Tingzhen's rebellion.
• Qiqi gave Hong Beimo a list of court officials to blame on Long Tingzhen, while Quan Dean reported that Hu Xiaotian was incapacitated and his followers were being hunted.
• Qiqi ordered the enchantress taken to the Spirit Firmament Palace and said to leave her alive because she was still useful.

Hu Xiaotian was captured by the transformed Long Tingzhen and his guards, but the guards’ attempt to tear him apart awakened his Dantian and let him unleash the Void Art. After breaking free, Hu Xiaotian pursued Long Tingzhen, who was fleeing with Long Xuan'en, and fought his way through the Imperial Guards.

• Long Tingzhen demanded that Hu Xiaotian reveal Princess Yongyang’s location, then threw him through a window when Hu Xiaotian tried to bargain.
• The guards brought Long Xuan'en before Long Tingzhen, who kicked him aside and demanded that he issue an edict transferring the throne.
• Long Xuan'en blamed Hu Xiaotian for delaying his decision, and Long Tingzhen ordered the guards to pull Hu Xiaotian apart unless he revealed where Qiqi was.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Long Tingzhen a false location, then awakened his Dantian under the strain and used the Void Art to drain the guards’ inner power.
• Long Tingzhen fled with Long Xuan'en as Hu Xiaotian broke free, pursued them, and killed two Imperial Guards who tried to stop him.

Hu Xiaotian escaped the Imperial Guards with Long Xuan'en and hid with him in the Purple Orchid Palace, while Qiqi’s forces captured Long Tingzhen and his rebels. Hu Xiaotian told Long Xuan'en that Qiqi had plotted against him and questioned him about Hong Beimo, Ling Jiazi, the imperial mausoleum, and the Seven-Star Chain.

• Long Tingzhen threw Long Xuan'en at Hu Xiaotian, who caught him as Murong Zhan arrived with Imperial Guards and accused Hu Xiaotian of treason.
• Hu Xiaotian carried Long Xuan'en away from the arrows and escaped the encirclement, while Long Tingzhen entered the Hall of Heavenly Harmony and collapsed beneath deep blue light.
• Qiqi learned that Hu Xiaotian had abducted Long Xuan'en and discussed the rebellion and the threat posed by Hu Xiaotian’s forces with Hong Beimo.
• Hu Xiaotian hid Long Xuan'en in the Purple Orchid Palace and told him that Qiqi, not Long Tingzhen, sought the throne.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Long Xuan'en to cooperate and questioned him about Hong Beimo, Ling Jiazi, the imperial mausoleum, and the Seven-Star Chain, leaving Long Xuan'en stunned by what he knew.

Qiqi took control of Great Kang’s court after Long Tingzhen’s coup, claiming the throne and ordering his execution. Meanwhile, Hu Xiaotian escaped the palace search with Long Xuan'en through a hidden passage in the Directorate of Imperial Cuisine.

• Hu Xiaotian reminded Long Xuan'en that Hong Beimo had used him, and Long Xuan'en agreed to escape through a hiding place in the Directorate of Imperial Cuisine.
• Murong Zhan led fifty thousand Imperial Guards in a search for Hu Xiaotian and Long Xuan'en while Qiqi prepared to stabilize the court.
• Qiqi entered the Hall of Heavenly Harmony with Murong Zhan and Hong Beimo, and ordered Li Yuanji beheaded after he objected to a woman taking the throne.
• Qiqi sat on the dragon throne and accused Long Tingzhen of murdering the sovereign and causing bloodshed, while the ministers examined evidence of his rebellion.
• Hu Xiaotian found a secret passage in the Cattle and Sheep Office and helped Long Xuan'en enter it.

Hu Xiaotian followed Long Xuan'en's final instructions to find a hidden chamber beneath Grace Palace, where he discovered the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter and Long Xuan'en's abdication edict. He decided to contact Liang Yinghao and Li Yuncong through the passage's Jade Pool exit before trying to rescue Xi Yan from Qiqi.

• Long Xuan'en revealed that Hong Beimo had built a Reincarnation Tower and told Hu Xiaotian that a secret lay beneath Grace Palace, then died before finishing his instructions.
• Hu Xiaotian removed Long Xuan'en's unusual upper teeth and used them to open a hidden door in the passage beneath Grace Palace.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the secret chamber beneath Grace Palace and found the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter hidden inside a portrait scroll.
• Hu Xiaotian found Long Xuan'en's prepared abdication edict, which named Qiqi as his successor.
• Hu Xiaotian decided to use the passage's Jade Pool exit to contact Liang Yinghao and Li Yuncong, since Xi Yan remained in Qiqi's hands.

Qiqi tightened her search for Hu Xiaotian, using prisoners and the draining Jade Pool to flush him out. Hu Xiaotian escaped into the Library Pavilion, where Hong Beimo began searching while he hid beneath the stairs.

• Qiqi ordered the enchantress executed at noon the next day and declined to claim the throne despite receiving the Imperial Jade Seal.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that Long Xuan'en was near death, that Hu Xiaotian's men had been captured at Fengyi Manor, and that the Jade Pool was being drained to expose hidden passages.
• Murong Zhan brought Shi Xuedong and several eunuchs before Qiqi; she had Shi Xuedong beaten and threatened to execute them if Hu Xiaotian did not appear by noon.
• Hu Xiaotian escaped the draining Jade Pool, disguised himself in a slain guard's clothes, and slipped into the Library Pavilion.
• Hong Beimo told Li Yuncong that Hu Xiaotian had joined Long Tingzhen in a rebellion and abducted the emperor, while Hu Xiaotian listened from beneath the staircase.
• Li Yuncong agreed to let Hong Beimo search the Seven-Story Book Pavilion, and Hong Beimo entered its secret area without finding Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian sought Li Yuncong’s help to contact Hong Beimo and bargain for the release of his captured allies. He left Hong Beimo with two pages of the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter of Heaven and Earth Unveiled as a deposit, and Hong Beimo considered whether he could secure their release.

• Hu Xiaotian told Li Yuncong that Long Xuan'en was dead and learned that Princess Yongyang had threatened to execute his captured allies and Xi Yan if he did not appear by noon.
• Hu Xiaotian persuaded Li Yuncong to summon Hong Beimo by giving him a page of the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter and threatening to reveal Li Yuncong’s secret origins.
• Hong Beimo entered Li Yuncong’s room and met Hu Xiaotian, who had restored his original appearance.
• Hu Xiaotian offered Hong Beimo two pages of the chapter as a deposit and promised the remaining pages in exchange for releasing everyone.
• Hong Beimo said he might find a way to arrange their release if Hu Xiaotian gave him two more pages.

Hu Xiaotian bargained with Hong Beimo for Xi Yan’s rescue and uncovered the truth behind the ancient catastrophe at Qixia Lake. As Qiqi and her companions entered the hidden chamber beneath Misty Peak, they opened a pit under the sacrificial cauldron.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Long Xuan'en was dead and traded pages of the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter for Hong Beimo’s help rescuing Xi Yan and releasing his subordinates.
• Hu Xiaotian told Hong Beimo that the Qixia Lake catastrophe had been caused by a spaceship’s emergency landing and warned that survivors might have descendants among them.
• Hong Beimo arranged for Hu Xiaotian to join Qiqi’s party and climb Misty Peak to rescue Xi Yan while Monk Unenlightened was in seclusion.
• Qiqi led Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing into the hidden chamber beneath the dragon statue and read the inscription describing the Qixia Lake disaster.
• Ren Tianqing suspected the square cauldron was hollow underneath, and Qiqi and Hong Beimo moved it aside to reveal a pit.

Qiqi received golden characters from the Blue Skull while Hu Xiaotian’s attempt to rescue Xi Yan ended with them trapped by Unenlightened and Hong Beimo. Facing Qiqi and the others, Hu Xiaotian publicly broke off their engagement, and Xi Yan revealed that she had hidden the sword hilt from Dragon Spirit Wonderland against her thigh.

• Qiqi sent Ren Tianqing and Hong Beimo away, then bowed to the Blue Skull and received golden characters in her mind.
• Hu Xiaotian entered Spirit Firmament Palace and freed Xi Yan, but a spiked iron cage trapped them before they could escape.
• Unenlightened and the others arrived, and Hu Xiaotian assured Xi Yan he would protect her.
• Qiqi accused Hu Xiaotian of treason, and he publicly ended their engagement and denounced her.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Hong Beimo of betraying him and Ren Tianqing of being Meng Zizai, stirring suspicion among the gathered men.
• Xi Yan told Hu Xiaotian that she had hidden the sword hilt from Dragon Spirit Wonderland against her left thigh.

Hu Xiaotian escaped the iron cage with Xi Yan using the lightsaber, but Unenlightened and the other experts surrounded them as its power waned. He discovered that the hilt might have a self-destruct setting and prepared to use it against his pursuers.

• Hu Xiaotian revealed the Old Emperor’s secret edict to Qiqi, then activated the hilt into a lightsaber and cut through the cage and palace wall with Xi Yan on his back.
• Hu Xiaotian killed two guards while escaping, but Unenlightened blocked his way and his invisible fist force weakened the lightsaber.
• Hu Xiaotian attacked Murong Zhan to break through, but Murong Zhan’s sword techniques delayed him until Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, and Unenlightened surrounded him.
• Qiqi ordered Hu Xiaotian to kill Xi Yan, but Hu Xiaotian declared Xi Yan was his wife and promised they would face death together.
• Hu Xiaotian twisted the lightsaber hilt again, and Hong Beimo recognized the setting and cried for him to stop as Hu Xiaotian suspected it could make the weapon self-destruct.

Hu Xiaotian escaped Misty Peak with Xi Yan after threatening to detonate the Lightsaber, then left Qiqi a succession edict that legitimized her claim to the throne. Qiqi released his captured men and questioned Hong Beimo about Hu Xiaotian’s origins, while Hu Xiaotian and his allies regrouped north of the Kang Capital.

• Hu Xiaotian used the Lightsaber’s self-destruct threat to force Qiqi and Hong Beimo’s people to let him go, then escaped Misty Peak with Xi Yan on the Flying Owl.
• Hu Xiaotian dropped a Secret Edict as he flew away, and Qiqi discovered it was Long Xuan'en’s handwritten succession edict.
• Qiqi ordered Murong Zhan to release Hu Xiaotian’s captured men and questioned Hong Beimo about his loyalty and Hu Xiaotian’s possible connection to their past.
• Qiqi told Hong Beimo that she had spared Hu Xiaotian because she hoped to find one of four survivors who had disappeared.
• Xia Changming told Hu Xiaotian that the brothers at Fengyi Manor had been captured and explained how Liang Yinghao had helped him locate Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian, Xi Yan, Xia Changming, and the Snow Eagles reached a mountain hollow north of the Kang Capital, where Xi Yan confirmed they had escaped.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Qiqi had released his followers and prepared to leave for Cloud Marsh, but Xi Yan suddenly collapsed after saying Ren Tianqing had done something to her. A huge black eagle appeared overhead before she could explain what was wrong.

• Xia Changming warned Hu Xiaotian that a spy might have exposed their hideouts, and Hu decided to wait for Liang Yinghao rather than leave before learning whether his followers were safe.
• Qiqi rebuked Yang Lingqi for questioning her decision to spare Hu Xiaotian's followers, then explained that stability mattered more than provoking Hu into war.
• Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao arrived with news that the Imperial Court had released Hu Xiaotian's followers and publicly blamed Long Tingzhen for attempting to seize the throne.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao to gather news and shelter their people while he and Xia Changming prepared to return to Cloud Marsh.
• Xi Yan collapsed in pain and told Hu Xiaotian that Ren Tianqing had done something to her, but an eagle's cry interrupted her as a huge black eagle appeared overhead.

After Xi Yan left with her senior brother to seek treatment for a poison needle, Hu Xiaotian returned to Cloud Marsh and prevented a military clash. In Eastern Liang Commandery, he met with his commanders to discuss the accusations of treason and rebellion against him, but rejected their calls to seize the throne.

• The Man in Blue arrived on a giant black eagle and took the injured Xi Yan away, while she and Hu Xiaotian exchanged farewells.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming returned to Cloud Marsh, where Hu Xiaotian stopped Zhao Wusheng's planned attack on Yuyang City and redeployed the navy and garrisons.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived in Eastern Liang Commandery as rumors accused him of poisoning Princess Yongyang and plotting to usurp the throne.
• Visa welcomed Hu Xiaotian home, and he decided to visit Zhuge Guanqi after the commanders gathered for a council.
• Xiong Tianba and Zhao Wusheng urged Hu Xiaotian to overthrow the emperor, but Hu Xiaotian rejected rebellion and said he only wanted to defend Great Kang's northern region.

Hu Xiaotian and his advisors agreed to halt expansion and strengthen their defenses rather than march on the Kang Capital. He later told Zhuge Guanqi that the Old Emperor was dead and asked about the records behind Misty Mountain’s construction, ending as he sketched its three dragons.

• Gao Yuan and Zu Dacheng urged Hu Xiaotian to march on the Kang Capital, while Yu Tianxing advised consolidating their defenses and avoiding unnecessary war.
• Hu Xiaotian agreed to suspend expansion, strengthen his borders, and build his forces while Great Kang faced a transfer of power.
• At Zhuge Guanqi’s home, Hu Xiaotian learned that Hong Lingxue was pregnant and discussed his decision to hold back with Zhuge Guanqi.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed that the Old Emperor was dead and explained how Qiqi and Hong Beimo had joined forces in the palace coup.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Zhuge Guanqi about his ancestor’s records on Misty Mountain, then sketched the arrangement of its three long dragons.

Hu Xiaotian told Zhuge Guanqi that the murals in Dragon Spirit Wonderland depicted an ancient battle with outsiders and revealed his Lightsaber as proof. He warned that Hong Beimo had uncovered the outsiders’ weapons and might cause a new catastrophe after completing the Imperial Mausoleum.

• Hu Xiaotian and Zhuge Guanqi discussed the Zhuge ancestors and the hidden Dragon Spirit Wonderland, where Hu Xiaotian had found murals of a battle from Mingzong’s reign.
• Zhuge Guanqi revealed his family’s oral account of the War Between Heaven and Man, in which General Zong Huaji’s army fought a Heavenly Demon at Qixia Lake.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Zhuge Guanqi his Lightsaber and explained that the supposed immortals and demons had been people from other worlds.
• Hu Xiaotian said Hong Beimo possessed Killing Weapons from the ancient battle and might be focused on completing the Imperial Mausoleum, which could bring catastrophe.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Zhuge Guanqi the missing Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter and warned that Heaven-Shaking Thunder might be ineffective against Hong Beimo.

Qiqi pressed Hong Beimo about the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter and the Imperial Mausoleum, then received Yang Longyue, Prince Fu of the Fragrant Kingdom, and questioned him about the missing fleet and Hu Buwei. Yang Longyue left with a travel permit to tour Great Kang and revealed to Hong Beimo that he planned to visit his master in Great Yong.

• Qiqi told Hong Beimo that the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter was a deception and insisted on learning about his work in the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Qiqi questioned Hong Beimo about the mural showing two giants and the single skull in the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, but Yang Longyue’s arrival interrupted their conversation.
• Qiqi welcomed Yang Longyue, explained that the wedding ceremony had been canceled, and gave him a travel permit to tour Great Kang.
• Qiqi asked Yang Longyue about the Great Kang fleet that vanished in Fragrant Kingdom waters and whether Hu Buwei had been seen in the royal capital.
• Yang Longyue denied knowing about Hu Buwei and left the palace with Hong Beimo, telling him he planned to visit his master in Great Yong.

Qiqi and Hong Beimo discussed the Fragrant Kingdom’s plot against Yang Longyue and the growing threats facing Great Kang. Months later, Yang Longyue visited Hu Xiaotian in Eastern Liang Commandery and delivered him a letter from Hu Buwei through a man named Mr. Lan.

• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that the Fragrant Kingdom’s Empress Dowager had planned to kill Yang Longyue and frame Great Kang, and that Hu Buwei was under her protection.
• Qiqi and Hong Beimo agreed that Great Kang needed to stabilize its domestic affairs before confronting foreign threats, including Great Yong’s sharp increase in grain prices.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Qin Yutong had left for Great Yong, while he strengthened his forces and watched the promising harvest return to the Yong River basin.
• Yang Longyue arrived in Eastern Liang Commandery to visit Hu Xiaotian and explained that he was traveling to Shaoyuan to see his master.
• Yang Longyue gave Hu Xiaotian a letter from Hu Buwei, which expressed remorse, confirmed Murong Feiyan was safe, and included a marked map of the Minister’s Residence.
• Hu Xiaotian asked who had sent the letter, and Yang Longyue named Mr. Lan, whom Hu Xiaotian said he had never met.