Chapter Summaries

Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian set aside some of their mistrust and arranged to retrieve the Blue Skull and enter the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, while Qiqi stayed behind to keep Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing occupied. The chapter ended as Qiqi hosted a banquet and told Ren Tianqing that Eunuch Quan had taken the item he sent into her custody.

• Hu Xiaotian comforted Qiqi, and she kissed him before biting his lip; the two admitted they still had feelings for each other.
• Qiqi gave Hu Xiaotian a key and the Seven-Star Chain, showed him her portrait of him, and revealed that she had spared Shi Xuedong and the others because she still cared for him.
• Qiqi warned Hu Xiaotian that Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing might have prepared an ambush, then arranged for Quan Dean to meet him at the Dragon Spirit Wonderland entrance at the Xu Hour.
• Qiqi planned to distract Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing with a banquet while Quan Dean brought the Blue Skull, and told Hu Xiaotian that Quan Dean carried another key.
• Qiqi hosted Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, Zhou Ruiyuan, and Wen Chenghuan at the Cloud Jade Terrace, then told Ren Tianqing that Quan Dean had taken his item into her custody.

At a court gathering, Qiqi defused Wen Chenghuan’s accusations about Qin Yutong, while Hu Xiaotian and Quan Dean entered the Dragon Spirit Wonderland. Hu Xiaotian warned Quan Dean that Hong Beimo’s plans for the Imperial Mausoleum threatened Qiqi, but Quan Dean dismissed his claims.

• Qiqi asked her guests how Great Kang should respond to the rising Fragrant Kingdom, and Zhou Ruiyuan, Wen Chenghuan, and Hong Beimo argued over internal threats and the Prince of Suppressing the Sea.
• Wen Chenghuan accused Qin Yutong of helping Great Yong contain its epidemic, but Qiqi refused to punish either Zhou Ruiyuan or Ren Tianqing and redirected the gathering back to drinking.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the Jade Pool with Qin Yutong hidden nearby, then met Quan Dean and used their keys to enter the Dragon Spirit Wonderland.
• Hu Xiaotian tried to send Quan Dean away so Qin Yutong could retrieve a skull, but Quan Dean refused to trust him and continued deeper into the passage.
• Hu Xiaotian invoked Ling Jiazi and warned Quan Dean that Hong Beimo’s plan inside the Imperial Mausoleum would doom Qiqi and the world, but Quan Dean called him a liar.

Hu Xiaotian tried to persuade Quan Dean to reveal the Skulls’ secrets, but Qin Yutong’s arrival sparked a fight. After Qin Yutong attacked Quan Dean, she ambushed Hu Xiaotian, revealing herself as Meizhuang and leaving Quan Dean to consider joining forces with Hu Xiaotian against her.

• Hu Xiaotian told Quan Dean that Ren Tianqing was Meng Zizai, Qiqi carried Ling Jiazi’s blood, and the Skulls contained hidden secrets.
• Quan Dean grew suspicious when Qin Yutong approached, while Hu Xiaotian tried to persuade him to lend them Ren Tianqing’s Skull.
• Qin Yutong attacked Quan Dean with a swarm of insects, and Hu Xiaotian intervened to protect her from Quan Dean’s counterattack.
• Qin Yutong fired Ice Needles at Hu Xiaotian from behind, and he recognized her as Meizhuang after she revealed her true face.
• Quan Dean realized Meizhuang was not allied with Hu Xiaotian and considered joining forces with him against her.

Madam Meizhuang tried to force Hu Xiaotian to kill Quan Dean in exchange for Qin Yutong's life, but Hu Xiaotian attacked her instead. Ren Tianqing ambushed Quan Dean, stole the two skull pouches, and left Quan Dean gravely wounded; before collapsing, Quan Dean revealed that another skull was hidden beneath the Giant Cauldron.

• Madam Meizhuang threatened Qin Yutong's life and demanded that Hu Xiaotian kill Quan Dean and give her the skulls.
• Hu Xiaotian attacked Meizhuang, but her Phoenix Armor absorbed much of his sword strike, and she fled as Quan Dean tried to stop her.
• Ren Tianqing appeared and fought Quan Dean, using the Lone Moon Slash to disable him and sever his legs.
• Quan Dean threw the skull pouches away, and Ren Tianqing caught them before Hu Xiaotian could intervene.
• Ren Tianqing escaped with the pouches, while Quan Dean told Hu Xiaotian they held fakes and revealed that a skull was hidden beneath the Giant Cauldron.

After Quan Dean died, Hu Xiaotian faced Ren Tianqing and Madam Meizhuang over the counterfeit skulls and Qin Yutong. He struck a bargain to separate them, then attacked Ren Tianqing, while Quan Dean revealed he had faked his death to ambush him.

• Quan Dean told Hu Xiaotian that Qiqi had been carried for seven years, that her father was unknown, and that Hu was the only person who could help her before apparently dying.
• Ren Tianqing returned with the counterfeit skulls, and he and Madam Meizhuang threatened Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong.
• Hu Xiaotian argued that Qin Yutong might be the only person able to decipher the skulls and offered to trade them for her, showing Ren Tianqing the key to the Dragon Spirit Wonderland.
• After Madam Meizhuang left, Hu Xiaotian attacked Ren Tianqing with a counterfeit skull and reached for the Lone Moon Slash, cutting off Ren Tianqing's control of it.
• Quan Dean suddenly rose and seized Ren Tianqing's leg, stabbing into his thigh before Ren Tianqing struck him down.
• Hu Xiaotian sent the Lone Moon Slash into a stone wall, drew his Lightsaber, and brought it down toward Ren Tianqing.

Hu Xiaotian traded the Blue Skull for Qin Yutong and pursued Meizhuang after Ren Tianqing’s mechanism sealed the exits. Trapped together underground, Hu Xiaotian warned Meizhuang that Ren Tianqing intended to let them all die, but Ren Tianqing claimed he would rescue her.

• Hu Xiaotian severed Ren Tianqing’s right arm, and Ren Tianqing fled while Meizhuang threatened Qin Yutong.
• Hu Xiaotian retrieved the Blue Skull from beneath the altar and exchanged it for Qin Yutong as Meizhuang escaped with the skull.
• A mechanism shook the chamber and sealed the exits, trapping Hu Xiaotian, Meizhuang, and Qin Yutong inside.
• Hu Xiaotian realized Ren Tianqing had taken back his severed arm and activated the mechanism to trap them.
• Ren Tianqing spoke from the darkness, and Hu Xiaotian accused him of planning to let the others die before rescuing Meizhuang.

Hu Xiaotian and Meizhuang considered an alliance to escape the stone chamber and save Qin Yutong, while Qiqi backed cooperation with Hu Xiaotian at court. Hong Beimo began to suspect that the Ren Tianqing beside him was not the person he knew.

• Hu Xiaotian provoked Ren Tianqing, who vowed to kill him, while Meizhuang illuminated the stone chamber with green fire.
• Hu Xiaotian warmed the unconscious Qin Yutong and urged Meizhuang to join forces; she warned that Qin Yutong would die first.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed that Meizhuang revive Qin Yutong so she could use the Skull to find a way out, and Meizhuang considered the plan.
• Qiqi told the ministers that Great Kang should support Hu Xiaotian and the refugees in Western Sichuan, despite Wen Chenghuan's objections.
• Hong Beimo questioned Ren Tianqing and noticed signs that the man before him was not the Ren Tianqing he had known.

Hu Xiaotian and Meizhuang worked together in the sealed chamber, waking Qin Yutong so she could investigate the Skull. When Qin Yutong grew dangerously ill, Ren Tianqing demanded Hu Xiaotian surrender the Key, revealing his connection to her condition.

• Meizhuang revived Qin Yutong with luminous mist, and Qin woke to find Hu Xiaotian beside her and Meizhuang wearing her Phoenix Armor.
• Hu Xiaotian explained the situation and persuaded Meizhuang to hand Qin the Skull, which released blue mist in her hands before she collapsed from exhaustion.
• Qin began shivering with a high fever, but Meizhuang refused to help her, suspecting she was pretending.
• Ren Tianqing demanded that Hu Xiaotian surrender the Key to save Qin, and Hu threatened to withhold the Skull's secret if she died.

Trapped in the stone chamber with poisonous smoke closing in, Hu Xiaotian used Quan Dean’s Key to uncover a passage beneath the Square Cauldron. Qin Yutong spotted another hidden exit, and Hu escaped with her, leaving Meizhuang stranded behind a closing door.

• Ren Tianqing threatened Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong from outside the chamber, then filled it with poisonous smoke after Meizhuang threw an explosive through the ventilation hole.
• Hu Xiaotian found a keyhole beneath the Square Cauldron and used Quan Dean’s Key to lower the Sacrificial Altar, revealing a passage.
• Meizhuang took the Key and descended a deep shaft to scout, leaving the Skull with Hu Xiaotian.
• The Heavenly Myriad Forms Diagram and the Skull began glowing as Qin Yutong identified a Coiled Dragon Relief and directed Hu Xiaotian to turn five floor holes counterclockwise.
• Hu Xiaotian opened a hidden door and carried Qin Yutong through it, while Meizhuang rushed back too late and was shut out.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong explored the Heavenly Myriad Forms Diagram in a hidden chamber, where Qin discovered that it could remedy defects in the descendants of the Fated Ones. While Meizhuang waited alone outside, Hong Beimo noticed that Quan Dean was missing after the banquet at Cloud Jade Terrace.

• Hu Xiaotian helped Qin Yutong use the Heavenly Myriad Forms Diagram, but she failed to comprehend the Skull's secrets and collapsed after spitting blood.
• Qin Yutong told Hu Xiaotian that the diagram could remedy bloodline defects and that conceiving a child could reshape her meridians.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong embraced and kissed as they discussed trying to remedy her defect.
• Meizhuang searched the underground hollow for an exit, then waited alone and decided Quan Dean's disappearance might bring Princess Yongyang's attention.
• After the Cloud Jade Terrace banquet ended, Hong Beimo stayed behind and asked Qiqi about the missing Quan Dean.

Qiqi learned that Ren Tianqing had been impersonated and told Hong Beimo that Ren Tianqing had betrayed Great Kang, while the real Ren Tianqing was ambushed by the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s Dragon Group. Trapped in the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong escaped after awakening Qin Yutong’s latent power, and they emerged before Meizhuang.

• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that the man at her banquet was not Ren Tianqing, and Qiqi accused Ren Tianqing of colluding with Xue Shengjing against Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian encouraged Qin Yutong to try awakening the power of the Heavenly Myriad Forms Diagram, and they became intimate in their sealed chamber.
• Ren Tianqing tried to break through an ambush but was surrounded by ten black-armored riders from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s Dragon Group.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that the Dragon-Severing Lock had sealed the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, and Qiqi ordered him to rescue Quan Dean at any cost.
• Meizhuang despaired inside the Dragon Spirit Wonderland until the stone door opened and Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong emerged, with Qin Yutong restored to health.

Trapped with Hu Xiaotian and Meizhuang in the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, Qin Yutong reclaimed the Phoenix Armor while she and Hu Xiaotian planned a risky escape using the Lightsaber’s self-destruct function. Meizhuang then revealed that their master’s scheme to investigate the Wonderland had set Qin Se on the path to her death, and that Qin Se had defied her master to have Qin Yutong.

• Qin Yutong used her bond with the Phoenix Armor to force Meizhuang to return it, then put it on while she and Hu Xiaotian investigated the hole.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed detonating the Lightsaber at the bottom of the hole to blast an escape route, and Qin Yutong agreed despite the danger of collapsing the Wonderland.
• Qin Yutong asked Meizhuang who had harmed her mother, and Meizhuang said Ren Tianqing had loved only Qin Se and would not have killed her.
• Meizhuang revealed that their master had sent Qin Se to the Kang Capital to investigate the Dragon Spirit Wonderland and ordered Meizhuang to seduce Zhou Ruiyuan.
• Meizhuang said Qin Se had never doubted Zhou Ruiyuan and defied their master by risking her life to give birth to Qin Yutong.

Hu Xiaotian detonated the Lightsaber in an attempt to blast a way out of the sealed chamber, while Qiqi anxiously waited above at the Jade Pool. The blast shattered the stone wall and sent Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong falling through the rubble, leaving their fate uncertain.

• Meizhuang told Qin Yutong that her mother’s death remained a mystery, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Ling Jiazi might have been involved.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed using the Lightsaber’s explosion to break through the chamber, and Meizhuang warned that the blast might kill them or bury them alive.
• Meizhuang moved away from Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong, while the two prepared to face the explosion together.
• Hu Xiaotian threw the Lightsaber down the hole and shielded Qin Yutong as it detonated, shaking Dragon Spirit Wonderland and the Great Kang Imperial Palace.
• At the Jade Pool, Qiqi watched the dragon’s tail fall from Misty Mountain and worried about Hu Xiaotian and Quan Dean.
• The blast wave hurled Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong toward the wall, shattered it, and sent them plunging downward with the flying rocks.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong survived the explosion and explored a vast cavern beneath the sacrificial chamber, where they found an alien spacecraft and two Crystal Coffins. They discovered water seeping through a crack in the wall, suggesting a possible route to the Jade Pool outside.

• Hu Xiaotian used his Alloy Wings to slow their fall and dodge the Square Cauldron, then checked on Qin Yutong after she regained consciousness.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong explored the cavern, found a damaged spacecraft and two Crystal Coffins containing headless skeletons, and failed to find an escape passage.
• Qin Yutong confessed that she could have removed Xi Yan's heart-loss gu but had not, and she regretted blaming Xi Yan for her grandmother's death.
• Qin Yutong read alien characters on the spacecraft's ceiling, and she and Hu Xiaotian realized Meizhuang might have escaped the explosion.
• Hu Xiaotian found water dripping through a fissure near where the Square Cauldron had struck and cut into the wall, opening a passage where water flowed in from the Jade Pool.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong escaped Dragon Spirit Wonderland, and Qin Yutong prepared to leave the Kang Capital to save Xi Yan while Hu Xiaotian stayed behind to help Qiqi and find Ji Feihua. Hu Xiaotian then appeared openly in the capital and was summoned by Qiqi, who was eager to question him.

• Hu Xiaotian cut an opening in the mountain, and he and Qin Yutong escaped through the rain by flying from Misty Peak with the Winged Dragon Armor.
• Qiqi refused to leave the Jade Pool while the search continued, ordered Ren Tianqing captured, and learned that an opening had been found in the mountainside.
• After escaping, Qin Yutong told Hu Xiaotian she wanted to leave the next morning to wake Xi Yan, and Hu Xiaotian said he had to stay in the Kang Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian decided to stop hiding his identity and appeared openly in the capital under the pretext of attending an imperial audience.
• Qiqi summoned Hu Xiaotian to the Diligent Governance Hall and arranged for Zhou Ruiyuan, Wen Chenghuan, and Hong Beimo to attend.

Hu Xiaotian entered the Imperial Palace and faced accusations over his failed mission to Western Sichuan, while Qiqi defended him and their old feelings resurfaced. After the other ministers withdrew, Hu Xiaotian arranged to visit Hong Beimo that evening, leaving his private purpose undisclosed.

• Hu Xiaotian used Qiqi’s Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Gold Plaque to enter the palace and met with Qiqi, Hong Beimo, Zhou Ruiyuan, and Wen Chenghuan.
• Wen Chenghuan accused Hu Xiaotian of failing his Western Sichuan mission, and Hu Xiaotian retorted that Wen had not volunteered to face the crisis himself.
• Qiqi ruled that Hu Xiaotian would not be blamed for Western Sichuan, then questioned why he had come to the capital.
• Hu Xiaotian flirted with Qiqi and asked to speak with her privately, prompting Zhou Ruiyuan, Hong Beimo, and Wen Chenghuan to prepare to leave.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped Hong Beimo and arranged to visit his residence for advice over a welcoming feast.

Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Quan Dean had died in Dragon Spirit Wonderland and revealed that Hong Beimo had hidden the abandoned spaceship and two Crystal Coffins from her. After confronting each other over their strained relationship, they discussed Ren Tianqing’s escape and the Skull, leaving Hu Xiaotian asking Qiqi what secret it held.

• Hu Xiaotian returned to Qiqi and told her through Secret Voice Transmission that Ren Tianqing had killed Quan Dean during an ambush.
• Hu Xiaotian recounted his experiences in Dragon Spirit Wonderland, including the abandoned Spaceship and two Crystal Coffins that Qiqi had never heard of.
• Qiqi grieved for Quan Dean and confronted Hu Xiaotian about his past promises and his failure to rescue her, while Hu Xiaotian explained why he had left her in Kang Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Ren Tianqing might have escaped, that he had severed Ren Tianqing’s arm, and that the Skull had been lost.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed using Ren Tianqing’s collusion with Xue Shengjing to investigate the Heavenly Mystery Hall, then asked Qiqi what secret the Skull held.

Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi his theories about Ling Jiazi, the Imperial Mausoleum, and the spaceship, but Qiqi angrily defended her mother. After Qiqi struck him in the groin, Hu Xiaotian pretended to be badly injured, and she began helping him.

• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Hong Beimo was rebuilding the spaceship from Qixia Lake and believed Qiqi held the key to repairing it.
• Hu Xiaotian theorized that Ling Jiazi had controlled powerful men and that her death disrupted her plans, but Qiqi rejected his claims and warned him not to slander her mother.
• Hu Xiaotian wondered aloud who Qiqi's father was and teased that he had once been engaged to her.
• Hu Xiaotian embraced Qiqi, and she bit his Inner Armor before striking him in the groin.
• Hu Xiaotian pretended that Qiqi had crushed his manhood, and Qiqi worriedly helped him up and offered to summon physicians.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi to help undo his belt so he could treat himself.

Hu Xiaotian tried to convince Qiqi that Hong Beimo had hidden motives and that they should work together, while Qiqi weighed his claims against her own suspicions. Qiqi offered Hu Xiaotian the Skull, leaving him to decide whether to accept the dangerous responsibility.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Qiqi, then urged her to join forces with him to face the crisis.
• Hu Xiaotian said Hong Beimo became Chu Fufeng’s disciple because of the Jinling Xu Family and questioned whether Hong Beimo truly wanted only to repair the Spaceship and go home.
• Qiqi admitted that she had told Hong Beimo the secrets inside the Skull because she believed he wanted to go home, and she wondered whether Hu Xiaotian was trying to turn her against him.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Qiqi that others could read the Skull’s information and that the Skull Ren Tianqing brought might attract dangerous forces.
• Qiqi offered to hand the Skull to Hu Xiaotian and said she would spread the news so anyone who coveted it would have to approach him.

Qiqi brought the Skull to the Heavenly Secrets Bureau to store it in her secretly built Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower, where it briefly reacted to Hu Xiaotian. While Qiqi secured the Skull, Hu Xiaotian met Hong Beimo and discussed his need for aid after Western Sichuan fell to the Fragrant Kingdom, then unsettled Hong Beimo by mentioning his maternal grandmother.

• Qiqi explained that she had secretly designed the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower inside the Heavenly Secrets Bureau and brought the Skull there for safekeeping.
• The Skull flashed blue when Hu Xiaotian first caught it, showing him a monstrous vision before falling silent; Qiqi suspected he shared her Fated One bloodline, and he let her believe it.
• Hong Beimo hosted Hu Xiaotian in the Sky-Observing Tower, where Hu Xiaotian reunited warmly with Baobao and hinted that they had once been lovers.
• Hu Xiaotian told Hong Beimo that refugees from the Western Sichuan earthquake had overwhelmed his territory and that Western Sichuan had fallen under the Fragrant Kingdom's control.
• Hu Xiaotian and Hong Beimo exchanged pointed remarks about family ties and political loyalty, then Hu Xiaotian mentioned that his maternal grandmother had spoken of Hong Beimo, leaving Hong Beimo expressionless.