Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian retrieved the jar of Daughter Red that Jian Rongxin’s late father had buried, but the jar contained preserved human skin and a wax pill instead of wine. The skin reminded Hu Xiaotian of the skin missing from Emperor Jingde and Empress Dowager Jiang in the Imperial Mausoleum, leaving him to investigate what the jar concealed.

• Hu Xiaotian reassured Jian Rongxin about her drunken behavior and told her she had not revealed any secrets.
• Jian Rongxin remembered her father’s dying wish that she dig up the Daughter Red buried beneath the oriental arborvitae at the East Grove Academy.
• Hu Xiaotian secretly entered the academy, dug up the jar, and returned it to Jian Rongxin.
• Hu Xiaotian opened the jar with Jian Rongxin’s permission and found preserved human skin and a wax pill inside.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized the skin as resembling the pieces missing from Emperor Jingde and Empress Dowager Jiang in the Imperial Mausoleum.

Hu Xiaotian and Jian Rongxin uncovered a moving tattoo and released strange blue wisps that affected them both. After the wisps vanished, Jian Rongxin found her father’s letter revealing the tattoo’s purpose, the existence of her elder brother, and a hidden mission tied to Daoist Tian Can.

• Hu Xiaotian and Jian Rongxin watched the tattoo on the human skin move, then Hu Xiaotian crushed the wax pill and released a glowing blue object that multiplied into drifting wisps.
• The blue wisps covered Hu Xiaotian and Jian Rongxin, then vanished, leaving them shaken and affected by an unfamiliar heat.
• Jian Rongxin picked up a dagger but could not bring herself to stab Hu Xiaotian, then smashed the Daughter Red jar and found a concealed letter.
• Jian Rongxin read that her father had stolen half of a map tattooed on Emperor Jingde, while the other half was on Empress Dowager Jiang.
• Jian Rongxin learned her father had an elder son who might still be alive and that the maps could lead to Daoist Tian Can, whose help might bring her elder brother back.
• Jian Rongxin read that a brush containing her elder brother’s birth details was in their home and that the wax pill held a spirit elixir intended for her and Chenzhou.

After Jian Rongxin left following their night together, Hu Xiaotian woke to discover what had happened and grew worried about her whereabouts. He asked Xia Changming to help find her, and Xia Changming suggested using a Black-beaked Sparrow to track her scent.

• Jian Rongxin packed her belongings and left while Hu Xiaotian slept, reluctant to part despite her resolve.
• Xia Changming found Hu Xiaotian asleep in Jian Rongxin's bed and brought Qin Yutong to examine him.
• Hu Xiaotian woke while Xia Changming was checking him, then found blood on the bedding and realized he had slept with Jian Rongxin.
• Qin Yutong asked where Jian Rongxin was and left to find someone after Hu Xiaotian claimed he remembered nothing.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xia Changming to help locate Jian Rongxin, and Xia Changming suggested using a Black-beaked Sparrow to follow the scent of something she had worn close to her body.
• Hu Xiaotian whispered an idea to Xia Changming, making Xia Changming's face turn red.

Hu Xiaotian uncovered more about the Visitors from Beyond and the Time-Space Leap Team, then resolved to protect this world from them. He met Xue Shengjing at the Red Mountain Guildhall and probed him about the hidden secrets and the attempted assassination of Yuchi Chong.

• Xia Changming found Jian Rongxin hiding at an inn on East Qian Street, and Hu Xiaotian ordered An Zhai to protect her from the shadows.
• Hu Xiaotian considered the Visitors from Beyond, the Half-Bloods, and the Time-Space Leap Team, then vowed to oppose anyone who threatened this world.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Xue Shengjing at Northview Pavilion in the Red Mountain Guildhall and asked about unusual news.
• Xue Shengjing told Hu Xiaotian that Li Chenzhou had released Liu Yucheng after Yuchi Chong intervened.
• Hu Xiaotian said he had witnessed the attempt on Yuchi Chong and identified Shangguan Yunchong as the attacker, while concealing Feng Xingyun’s involvement.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Xue Shengjing about Empress Dowager Jiang’s tattoo and pretended to be an Immortal Envoy to pressure him. After Xue Shengjing and Ma Qingyun discussed the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram, Hu Xiaotian returned to the inn and learned Jian Rongxin had surveyed the Grand Academician’s residence, then asked for news of Qin Yutong.

• Hu Xiaotian accused Xue Shengjing of taking Empress Dowager Jiang’s tattoo and showed him a sketch of Emperor Jingde’s tattoo.
• Hu Xiaotian posed as an Immortal Envoy, gave Xue Shengjing three days to weigh his choices, and left after warning him with the Lightsaber hilt.
• Xue Shengjing destroyed the Northwatch Pavilion in anger, then showed Hu Xiaotian’s sketch to Ma Qingyun, who identified it as the true Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram.
• Ma Qingyun warned Xue Shengjing that Hu Xiaotian might be trying to provoke him into acting and suggested he leave.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the South Wind Inn, where Xia Changming reported Beggar Gang reinforcements and Jian Rongxin’s visit to the Grand Academician’s residence.
• Hu Xiaotian worried that Jian Rongxin might try to enter the residence and asked Xia Changming for news of Qin Yutong.

Hu Xiaotian rescued Jian Rongxin from the Golden Scale Guards after she broke into her seized home to retrieve her father’s brush. On the Nation-Guarding Pagoda, he urged her to let him take responsibility for what had happened between them, leaving her unable to dismiss the possibility that she might be carrying his child.

• Hu Xiaotian told Xia Changming he had not seen Qin Yutong, then agreed to visit the Beggar Gang’s mourning hall for Elder Xue and the others the next morning.
• Jian Rongxin disguised herself, entered her seized home, and took every brush from her father’s study while searching for the one made from her elder brother’s infant hair.
• Golden Scale Guards surrounded the study, and Jian Rongxin prepared to kill herself rather than be captured.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped Jian Rongxin, carried her through the roof, and fought off the guards’ arrows as he escaped with her.
• Hu Xiaotian took Jian Rongxin to the Nation-Guarding Pagoda, where he told her he would take responsibility and raised the possibility that she might be pregnant.

Hu Xiaotian discussed Jian Rongxin’s possible pregnancy with her while Li Chenzhou investigated the break-in at the Scholar’s Residence. At Righteousness Manor, Hu Xiaotian helped Beggar Gang leaders consider how Shangguan Tianhuo and Shangguan Yunchong’s alleged collusion with the Black Hu people could help them reclaim the North of the River Branch.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Jian Rongxin about possibly carrying his child, and she resisted him as he kissed her.
• Li Chenzhou learned that only brushes were missing from the Scholar’s Residence and ordered his men to stop expanding the investigation.
• Mu Shusheng and Meng Guangxiong gathered with Beggar Gang disciples to mourn Xue Zhenhai and discuss revenge and reclaiming the North of the River Branch.
• Hu Xiaotian told Mu Shusheng and Meng Guangxiong that Shangguan Yunchong had secretly met with the Black Hu people and may have engineered the attack that killed Xue Zhenhai and the other elders.
• Hu Xiaotian and Meng Guangxiong proposed using the Shangguan father and son’s alleged collusion to turn the North of the River Branch against them, and Hu Xiaotian left Righteousness Manor with Xia Changming.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Ji Feihua at the Li River Ferry, where they joined and activated their two Lightsabers. After Hu Xiaotian shared what he had learned about the Fated Ones, Ji Feihua revealed how Liu Yuzhang had rescued the sole surviving child of the Chu Family—and why he had done so.

• Ji Feihua disguised himself as a beggar to summon Hu Xiaotian to the Li River Ferry.
• Hu Xiaotian met Ji Feihua and offered him the Lightsaber he had found in Emperor Jingde's Imperial Mausoleum Underground Palace.
• Ji Feihua joined the two Lightsabers, activated them, and explained how they drew and stored energy; Hu Xiaotian kept the male sword and let Ji Feihua keep the other.
• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua about the mausoleum letter and the Fated Ones, and Ji Feihua asked whether Hu believed he might descend from the Visitors from Beyond.
• Ji Feihua said Liu Yuzhang had helped the six-year-old survivor of the Chu Family massacre enter the palace, but only because he needed the child's blood to treat his illness.

Ji Feihua explained how Ling Jiazi rescued him from Liu Yuzhang and discussed the secrets of the Blue Skull with Hu Xiaotian. Their conversation was interrupted when Hu Xiaotian learned that Qin Yutong had been abducted and taken to the Sword Palace.

• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian that Liu Yuzhang had kept the child alive to drain her blood, until Ling Jiazi brought her to the Crown Princess and gave her a martial arts manual.
• Ji Feihua revealed that Liu Yuzhang had faked his death and escaped his grave, while explaining why he had spared Hu Xiaotian and his father.
• Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua discussed the Blue Skull and Ji Feihua's belief that he carried a Fated One's bloodline rather than being the Fated One himself.
• Xia Changming reported that a Black-beaked Sparrow had followed Qin Yutong to the Sword Palace after she was abducted on her way back from visiting Fan Mingyu and Fan Ling'er.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Xia Changming to investigate the Sword Palace, and Ji Feihua questioned why it would dare abduct Ren Tianqing's prized disciple.

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua went to the Sword Palace disguised as Meng Zizai and his disciple to demand Qin Yutong’s release. Qiu Xianguang denied abducting her, and the confrontation escalated when Hu Xiaotian demanded to search the Sword Palace.

• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua that Qin Yutong had been abducted, and Ji Feihua agreed to accompany him to confront the Sword Palace openly.
• Ji Feihua proposed that Hu Xiaotian impersonate Meng Zizai, and warned him not to use their Lightsabers unless absolutely necessary.
• Qiu Xianguang received word that Meng Zizai had arrived while worrying about his missing son, Qiu Mubai.
• After Xia Changming discovered Qin Yutong had been taken to Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain, Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua entered the Sword Palace disguised as Meng Zizai and his disciple.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Qiu Xianguang of abducting Qin Yutong, but Qiu Xianguang denied knowing her and ordered his disciples to lower their drawn swords.
• Hu Xiaotian demanded permission to search the Sword Palace, prompting Lin Muqing to angrily protest.

Hu Xiaotian followed Qiu Xianguang to the Sword-Grinding Platform, where Ren Tianqing revealed Hu’s disguise and demanded the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram in exchange for Qin Yutong. After learning Qin’s real identity and refusing the demand, Hu attacked Ren while Ji Feihua confronted a sword-wielding elder in Wisdom Sword Hall.

• Qiu Xianguang separated Hu Xiaotian from Ji Feihua and led Hu to the Sword-Grinding Platform.
• Ren Tianqing revealed that he knew Hu was impersonating Meng Zizai and demanded the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram for Qin Yutong’s release.
• Ren Tianqing told Hu that Qin Yutong was actually Zhou Ruiyuan’s daughter and had once been betrothed to him.
• Hu denied having the diagram, said Ren trusted Xue Shengjing too much and overestimated Qin’s importance to him, then attacked Ren with God-Demon World-Ending Fist.
• An old man attacked Ji Feihua with a sword hidden in a broom, but Ji broke off its tip and killed Lin Muqing and three Sword Palace disciples with it.

Ji Feihua killed Xie Changliu and fought through the Sword Palace’s defenses as Qiu Xianguang deployed the Heavenly Sword Net Formation. Hu Xiaotian pursued Ren Tianqing while Ji Feihua faced the formation’s overwhelming sword-light attack.

• Xie Changliu attacked Ji Feihua with the Sunken Water Sword, but Ji Feihua seized the weapon, struck him down, and killed him.
• Ji Feihua attacked the Sword Palace disciples with Formless Sword Energy, then redirected their Feather Swords into the assembled formation and killed more disciples.
• Qiu Xianguang formed the five-hundred-and-forty-person Heavenly Sword Net Formation and challenged Ji Feihua to face it.
• Ren Tianqing evaded Hu Xiaotian’s powerful punches with his body-protecting astral force, then glided south as Hu Xiaotian pursued him using the Aerial Gliding Art.
• Qiu Xianguang ordered the formation to unleash Star Shift, and Ji Feihua watched as a towering wave of sword light crashed toward him.

Ji Feihua shattered the Heavenly Sword Net Formation and demanded that Qiu Xianguang hand over Qin Yutong. Hu Xiaotian entered Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain to find Qin Yutong, where he was confronted by Qi Changguang and then ambushed by He Changsheng.

• Ji Feihua broke through the Sword Palace disciples’ Star Shift formation, killing many of them and forcing Qiu Xianguang to recognize his strength.
• Ji Feihua demanded that Qiu Xianguang hand over Qin Yutong in exchange for his life.
• Ren Tianqing lured Hu Xiaotian into Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain, and Hu Xiaotian entered after hearing Qin Yutong cry out.
• Qi Changguang recognized Hu Xiaotian and attacked him among the iron peaks, but Hu Xiaotian dodged his strikes with Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps.
• He Changsheng launched a sneak attack on Hu Xiaotian, who evaded the sword energy and found himself facing both Sword Palace elders.

Hu Xiaotian searched Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain for Qin Yutong while evading He Changsheng and Qi Changguang, but an elusive woman used familiar faces and painful memories to confuse him. After the woman vanished and filled the mountain with smoke, Hu Xiaotian was left unable to see more than a few feet ahead.

• Hu Xiaotian dodged He Changsheng and Qi Changguang as he searched Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain for Qin Yutong.
• Hu Xiaotian found a woman who first looked like Qin Yutong, then changed her appearance to Xi Yan and demanded the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram before disappearing.
• Hu Xiaotian followed a familiar voice and saw a woman who looked like his mother, Xu Fengyi, but suspected she was Xu Fengmei in disguise.
• The woman provoked Hu Xiaotian with accusations about his birth, and he struck her with a powerful punch.
• The wounded woman changed into Qin Yutong’s face, released black smoke, and vanished as the mist concealed Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain.

Ji Feihua fought Ren Tianqing on the Overpass as Hu Xiaotian entered Swordheart Cave to find Qin Yutong. Hu Xiaotian discovered that the masked woman had used Qin Yutong as bait to lure him into the cave.

• Ji Feihua confronted Ren Tianqing, who revealed that he had recognized him and claimed Hu Xiaotian might be dead.
• Ji Feihua and Ren Tianqing exchanged attacks, and Ren Tianqing deflected Ji Feihua’s sword energy.
• Ji Feihua formed a blade of ice and used its icy mist to obscure Ren Tianqing’s vision as he tried to rush toward Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain.
• Hu Xiaotian entered Swordheart Cave and found a woman pretending to be Qin Yutong, then cut through a swarm of bats to go deeper inside.
• Hu Xiaotian saw the real Qin Yutong bound in a spiderweb and realized the masked woman had trapped her to lure him there.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong confronted the Master of Mei Manor in Swordheart Cave, where they learned she was the leader of the Five Immortals Cult and faced her poisonous insects and Thousand Illusions Bewitching Sound. As they tried to leave, the Master of Mei Manor revealed that Qin Yutong’s mother had not died by suicide and hinted that she knew who had killed her.

• Qin Yutong identified the silver-masked woman as the Master of Mei Manor, who admitted she was the leader of the Five Immortals Cult and demanded the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram in exchange for Qin Yutong’s life.
• Hu Xiaotian insulted the Master of Mei Manor and accused her of conspiring with Ren Tianqing to betray Qin Yutong, while the Master sent venomous spiders toward them.
• Qin Yutong invoked the Creation Heart Sutra, escaped the web in flames, and froze the Master of Mei Manor’s Bloodshadow Golden Beetles and emerald spiders with a cold pellet.
• The Master of Mei Manor used Thousand Illusions Bewitching Sound as Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong turned toward the cave exit, and Qin Yutong refused to abandon her mission.
• The Master of Mei Manor revealed that Qin Yutong’s mother had not killed herself and asked whether Qin Yutong knew who had killed her, while Hu Xiaotian grasped Qin Yutong’s wrist to steady her.

Ji Feihua defeated Ren Tianqing by exploiting the snow and claimed the Lone Moon Slash, while the Master of Mei Manor revealed her version of Qin Yutong’s and Hu Xiaotian’s family histories. Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong remained trapped in Swordheart Cave as slow footsteps approached.

• Ji Feihua overwhelmed Ren Tianqing, wounded him with a surprise punch, and took the Lone Moon Slash before Ren Tianqing could reclaim it.
• The Master of Mei Manor claimed Qin Se had been sent to spy on Zhou Ruiyuan, fell in love with him, and died after giving birth to Qin Yutong.
• The Master of Mei Manor told Hu Xiaotian that his father had killed his mother after secretly defying her, and Hu Xiaotian angrily threatened to destroy the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram.
• Hu Xiaotian bluffed about possessing the diagram, while the Master of Mei Manor said she wanted the Creation Heart Sutra and had changed her mind about killing Qin Yutong.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong failed to find an exit from Swordheart Cave, then heard someone in wooden clogs approaching.

Hu Xiaotian fought Sword Slave, whose techniques suggested he might be the long-missing Sword Demon, Dongfang Wuwu, while Qin Yutong disappeared to confront the Master of Mei Manor. The Master of Mei Manor demanded the Creation Heart Sutra, but Qin Yutong struck back with a mysterious ability that dropped her to the ground.

• The Master of Mei Manor introduced Sword Slave and threatened to turn Hu Xiaotian into a sword-obsessed living corpse if Qin Yutong refused to obey.
• Sword Slave challenged Hu Xiaotian to a sword fight, and Hu Xiaotian took the black iron sword Sword Slave threw him.
• Sword Slave overpowered Hu Xiaotian's opening attack and shattered his Formless Sword Energy with a technique Hu Xiaotian recognized from the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords.
• Hu Xiaotian suspected Sword Slave was Dongfang Wuwu, then discovered Qin Yutong had vanished and fled Sword Slave's renewed attacks.
• Qin Yutong confronted the Master of Mei Manor, who demanded the Creation Heart Sutra and summoned green flames around herself.
• Qin Yutong puffed out her cheeks after silencing the zither, and the Master of Mei Manor shrieked, fell, and clutched her head.

Qin Yutong escaped Lady Mei Manor’s fire trap as Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain collapsed during Hu Xiaotian and Sword Slave’s clash. Hu Xiaotian survived the fall into an underground pool, but something seized his ankle before he could follow the Lightsaber’s signal toward an exit.

• Lady Mei Manor trapped Qin Yutong in an iron cage and attacked her with Phosphorus Fire Bombs, but Qin Yutong cut her way free unharmed by the flames.
• Hu Xiaotian and Sword Slave used Heaven-Destroying Earth-Annihilating against each other, and their clash caused the mountain to collapse as both fell into an abyss.
• The Master of Mei Manor told Ren Tianqing that Qin Yutong had the Soul-Chasing Flute, while Ji Feihua threatened the Sword Palace until the Lightsaber’s signal convinced him Hu Xiaotian might still be alive.
• Qiu Xianguang told Ji Feihua the rumor that Thousand-Foot Pool lay beneath Ten-Thousand-Blade Mountain, and Ji Feihua hurried toward it.
• Hu Xiaotian surfaced in an underground pool with the Lightsaber and followed its flickering signal, but something grabbed his ankle and dragged him underwater.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong survived their underwater fight with Sword Slave, escaped to shore, and treated their wounds. After Qin Yutong revealed her true face and cared for Hu Xiaotian, a sound from the water interrupted them.

• Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong battled Sword Slave underwater, and Hu Xiaotian drained much of his internal power with the Void Art.
• Sword Slave burst the tumors on his face, breaking Hu Xiaotian's grip and allowing him to escape.
• Hu Xiaotian found Qin Yutong, carried her ashore, and watched her recover after coughing up water.
• Hu Xiaotian discovered that Qin Yutong had removed her mask and teased her while she treated his chest wound.
• As Qin Yutong tended Hu Xiaotian's injury, they heard water behind them.