Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian searched the Black Hu Post Station for Gang Baduo, whom he suspected of helping steal the Skulls, and forced his way toward Princess Xima’s quarters. Bu Buma blocked the entrance, and Xiong Tianba challenged her to a test of strength.

• Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua discussed Gang Baduo’s involvement in Baobao’s injury and the theft, while wondering who could decipher the Skull’s secrets.
• Hu Xiaotian led a contingent to the Black Hu Post Station, where Wanyan Liexin claimed Gang Baduo had disappeared two days earlier.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the Post Station with Xiong Tianba and insisted on searching Princess Xima’s quarters despite Wanyan Liexin’s objections.
• Xiong Tianba restrained Wanyan Liexin as Hu Xiaotian approached the Small Building, prompting the Black Hu warriors to stand down.
• Bu Buma emerged from the Small Building and blocked Hu Xiaotian, while Xiong Tianba insulted her and challenged her to clasp hands.

Xiong Tianba and Hu Xiaotian overcame Bu Buma’s attempt to block them from the Small Building, where they discovered that Princess Xima had vanished through a hidden tunnel. Hu Xiaotian helped search while secretly accusing Wanyan Liexin’s men, leaving Wanyan unable to prove Hu’s suspected involvement.

• Xiong Tianba struggled to move Bu Buma, but Hu Xiaotian used the Mountain-Splitting Bull Strike to help break her grip and let them approach the Small Building.
• A frightened cry from inside the Small Building sent Bu Buma rushing in, and she soon reported that Princess Xima was missing.
• Hu Xiaotian, Xiong Tianba, and the Black Hu Envoy Group found a blade-cut hole in the hall floor and followed its underground passage to the Green Willow Forest.
• Wanyan Liexin suspected Hu Xiaotian had arranged Xima’s abduction but had no evidence, while Hu pretended to search for the princess.
• Hu Xiaotian suggested a spy among Wanyan Liexin’s men might be responsible, and Wanyan warned that harm to Xima could damage relations between their countries.

Hu Xiaotian clashed with Bu Buma after Princess Xima disappeared, then left with his party despite the Black Hu delegation’s suspicions. He later visited Xue Lingjun at the post station and began explaining the theft of the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower and Xima’s disappearance.

• Bu Buma attacked Xiong Tianba, and Hu Xiaotian intervened to stop their fight before Wanyan Liexin urged them to stand down.
• Hu Xiaotian and his party left, while Wanyan Liexin and Bu Buma concluded that Xima’s abduction was likely connected to Gang Baduo and decided to wait.
• Xue Lingjun grew angry over rumors linking her romantically to Hu Xiaotian and suspected he had spread them to unsettle Li Chenzhou.
• Shi Kuan informed Xue Lingjun that Hu Xiaotian had surrounded the post station, and she allowed him to enter alone.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xue Lingjun that Gang Baduo was suspected of robbing and burning the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower before Princess Xima vanished.

Hu Xiaotian framed the Great Yong Mission for Princess Xima’s disappearance, using her clothes to turn suspicion away from himself and pressure Wanyan Liexin into an exchange. He later met Ji Feihua, who confirmed Xima was safely hidden, while Hu Xiaotian waited for Wanyan Liexin to negotiate.

• Hu Xiaotian searched the Great Yong Post Station and found Princess Xima’s clothes in a tunnel beneath a dry well, then ordered the mission not to leave.
• Xue Lingjun suspected Hu Xiaotian had planted the evidence, while Shi Kuan reported the discovery to her.
• Wanyan Liexin reasoned that Hu Xiaotian had abducted Xima and framed Great Yong to force an exchange for Gang Baduo.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to his residence and met Ji Feihua, who revealed that Xima was hidden safely.
• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua he expected Wanyan Liexin to seek him out, and said Xima’s father’s affection made it unlikely Wanyan Liexin would sacrifice her.

Hu Xiaotian reassured Baobao that she would recover and remain by his side before meeting Wanyan Liexin to discuss Princess Xima’s disappearance. Their guarded negotiation turned toward Gang Baduo and an object he had entrusted to Bu Buma, leaving Hu Xiaotian wondering if Wanyan Liexin intended to trade the Skull for Xima.

• Ji Feihua left Hu Xiaotian and went to keep watch over Baobao herself.
• Hu Xiaotian visited the recovering Baobao, promised to stay with her for life, and comforted her as she cried.
• Wanyan Liexin arrived, and Hu Xiaotian delayed meeting him until he had spent more time with Baobao.
• Hu Xiaotian and Wanyan Liexin discussed the underground passage, Princess Xima’s disappearance, and Gang Baduo’s possible involvement.
• Wanyan Liexin revealed that Gang Baduo had entrusted something to Bu Buma, and Hu Xiaotian suspected it might be the Skull offered in exchange for Xima.

Hu Xiaotian and Wanyan Liexin discussed peace and Princess Xima before Bu Buma’s summons led Hu Xiaotian to Fengyi Manor. There, he discovered the threat to his mother’s grave was a ruse and confronted Bu Buma, who had watched him arrive with reinforcements.

• Hu Xiaotian asked Wanyan Liexin to bring Bu Buma’s object for examination, and Wanyan Liexin spoke of his opposition to war and concern for peace.
• Wanyan Liexin said Bu Buma would hand Gang Baduo over if Hu Xiaotian guaranteed Princess Xima’s safety, then invited him to meet her alone at the Aftertaste Tower.
• Hu Xiaotian waited at the Aftertaste Tower while Wanyan Liexin led the Black Hu Envoy Group away, and Xia Changming found no trace of Bu Buma.
• Zong Tang delivered a letter demanding that Hu Xiaotian bring Princess Xima to Fengyi Manor at midnight in exchange for his mother’s remains; Hu Xiaotian ordered his men to follow Wanyan Liexin without attacking and went to the manor.
• Hu Xiaotian found his mother’s grave undisturbed, then saw Bu Buma in a tree and asked whether she had written the threatening letter.
• Bu Buma admitted she had written the letter to lure Hu Xiaotian to the manor and said she would not dig up his mother’s grave.

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua met Bu Buma and Gang Baduo at Xu Fengyi’s grave for an exchange that quickly turned into a fight. As Hu Xiaotian battled Gang Baduo and Ji Feihua confronted Bu Buma, hidden attackers burst from underground and the grave, leaving both men facing sudden ambushes.

• Hu Xiaotian arranged to exchange Gang Baduo for Xima at midnight, and Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao confirmed that his mother’s tomb was undisturbed.
• Ji Feihua arrived with the sleeping Princess Xima, and he paid his respects at Xu Fengyi’s grave before Bu Buma and Gang Baduo appeared.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Gang Baduo of harming Baobao and stealing the royal treasures, then struck him with the God-Demon World-Ending Fist.
• Bu Buma attacked Ji Feihua with her scimitars, and Ji Feihua realized she had never cared whether Xima survived.
• A fighter emerged from underground to attack Ji Feihua, while two more attackers burst from Xu Fengyi’s grave and one hurled an iron alms bowl at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian fought Gang Baduo and the monks of Black Hu’s Brahma Sound Temple while Ji Feihua was surrounded by Xiang Shancong and Bu Buma. Hu Xiaotian killed Watuqi with the Black Iron Sword, but Gang Baduo seized him from behind and bit down on his Winged Armor.

• Hu Xiaotian and Watuqi redirected the iron bowl and Lone Moon Slash through the air as Hu Xiaotian fought Gang Baduo and Xiang Shancong helped surround Ji Feihua.
• Gang Baduo’s body swelled and his strength increased, but Hu Xiaotian used the iron bowl against him and drew the Black Iron Sword to attack Watuqi.
• Watuqi tried to retreat into Xu Fengyi’s tomb, while Gang Baduo crashed into Hu Xiaotian from behind to save him.
• Hu Xiaotian borrowed the force of Gang Baduo’s collision and pierced Watuqi’s heart, causing Watuqi’s body to explode.
• Gang Baduo grabbed Hu Xiaotian and bit his neck, but the Winged Armor protected him.

Ji Feihua and Hu Xiaotian turned the battle against Bu Buma’s group, killing the brown-robed Fan Monk and leaving Gang Baduo down in a crater while Xiang Shancong fled. Bu Buma threatened Xu Fengyi’s remains to stop them, and Hu Xiaotian warned her not to harm his mother.

• Xiang Shancong and the brown-robed Fan Monk bound Ji Feihua with their whips, but Ji Feihua used their combined attack to injure Bu Buma and kill the monk.
• Ji Feihua struck Bu Buma with the Lightsaber, but she blocked it with her handguard blades and dove toward Hu Xiaotian, who was trapped by Gang Baduo.
• Hu Xiaotian activated the Winged Armor and carried Gang Baduo into the air, drained his internal power, then released him as they plunged; Gang Baduo crashed into a crater.
• Xiang Shancong fled as Ji Feihua and Hu Xiaotian closed in on Bu Buma, who threatened to destroy Xu Fengyi’s remains.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Bu Buma that he would make her regret harming his mother.

Hu Xiaotian killed Gang Baduo while Ji Feihua overwhelmed Bu Buma, but the fight ended with Xu Fengyi’s remains missing and a Mysterious Light Thunder exploding inside the tomb. Ji Feihua escaped with Hu Xiaotian and Xima through the tunnel as Xia Changming and the others rushed toward the mausoleum.

• Hu Xiaotian fought Gang Baduo and killed him with a powerful Heaven-Breaking Sword strike after Gang Baduo destroyed Xu Fengyi’s gravestone.
• Ji Feihua trapped Bu Buma with heavenly Dao power and crushed her bones after she accused someone of deceiving her.
• Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua found an underground passage and discovered that Xu Fengyi’s remains had vanished from her coffin, leaving a blue sphere inside.
• Ji Feihua recognized the sphere as a Mysterious Light Thunder and fled toward the tunnel with Hu Xiaotian and Xima.
• The Mysterious Light Thunder exploded, and Xia Changming and his companions hurried toward the mausoleum.

Hu Xiaotian, Ji Feihua, and Xima survived the Mysterious Light Thunder blast and were rescued from the buried tunnel. Hu Xiaotian uncovered signs of a wider conspiracy and ordered his men to conceal the incident while returning Xima to the Black Hu Envoy Group.

• Ji Feihua protected Hu Xiaotian from the Mysterious Light Thunder by dragging him into the tomb-robber's tunnel, where Xima was also trapped.
• Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao led a search and spent five hours digging through the rubble before finding the tunnel entrance.
• Hu Xiaotian, Ji Feihua, and Xima emerged from the tunnel, and Ji Feihua left after the rescue.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao that Xiang Shancong's attack suggested an alliance between Xue Shengjing and Black Hu, and he wondered whether Ghost Physician Fu Wan had built the tunnel.
• Liang Yinghao reported that the tunnel ran more than half a kilometer through solid rock, and Hu Xiaotian ordered him to hide the news and restore the tomb.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Xia Changming to escort Xima to Wanyan Liexin's Black Hu Envoy Group and claim that bandits had abducted her and killed themselves.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Hong Beimo about the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower affair and revealed his suspicions about the forces behind it. Hong Beimo admitted that Xue Shengjing had sought his support, and Hu Xiaotian pressed him to explain why he had concealed two headless skeletons found in the Dragon Spirit Wonderland.

• Hong Beimo visited Baobao, then questioned Hu Xiaotian about Princess Xima and the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower affair.
• Hu Xiaotian claimed the Brahma Sound Temple, Bu Buma, Xue Shengjing, and Ren Tianqing were involved in the tower break-in.
• Hu Xiaotian confronted Hong Beimo over his reluctance to cooperate, and Hong Beimo admitted Xue Shengjing had approached him with an offer to work together.
• Hu Xiaotian connected Xue Shengjing and Ren Tianqing to the Wuji Monastery and the Immortal Envoys.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Hong Beimo why he had hidden two headless skeletons from the Dragon Spirit Wonderland, suggesting they belonged to Fated Ones.

Hu Xiaotian told Hong Beimo how the skulls of the Fated Ones passed through Meizhuang and Xiang Shancong’s hands, and warned that Xue Shengjing and Ren Tianqing might use their secrets against Hong Beimo. He left Hong Beimo weighing an alliance with him and wondering whether Xue Shengjing might also approach Hu Buwei.

• Hu Xiaotian explained that Meizhuang offered Xiang Shancong a Fated One’s skull in exchange for Rong Shi, but Xiang Shancong took the skull and a battle followed at Cloud Music House.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed that he had killed Gang Baduo and Bu Buma, claiming Bu Buma had helped infiltrate the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower.
• Hu Xiaotian said his attempt to trade Black Hu’s Princess Xima for the skulls had failed and that both skulls were now likely with Xiang Shancong.
• Hu Xiaotian told Hong Beimo that mixed-blood descendants of the Fated Ones might use the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram to understand the skulls’ secrets.
• Hu Xiaotian warned that Xue Shengjing and Ren Tianqing might target Hong Beimo to reclaim what lay in the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Hu Xiaotian asked whether Xue Shengjing might also seek cooperation with Hu Buwei, and Hong Beimo said anything was possible.

Hu Xiaotian and Hong Beimo agreed to cooperate as threats surrounding the Fated Ones grew, while Hu Xiaotian managed the fallout from the Black Hu Princess’s abduction. Xue Lingjun visited him to learn what had happened and press for peace, but Hu Xiaotian ended their conversation by asking who had really abducted the princess.

• Hu Xiaotian and Hong Beimo set aside their hostility and formed an offensive and defensive alliance, while Hu Xiaotian comforted the recovering Baobao.
• Xia Changming reported that he had returned Princess Xima to the Black Hu Envoy Group, and Hu Xiaotian ordered him to investigate Fengyi Manor and Liang Dazhuang.
• Hu Xiaotian prepared to report to Qiqi but received Xue Lingjun, who had come after Wen Chenghuan failed to weaken Hu Xiaotian’s position.
• Xue Lingjun questioned Hu Xiaotian about the dry well and Princess Xima’s rescue, while he insisted that Black Hu had left because it blamed Great Kang.
• Xue Lingjun argued that an alliance with Black Hu would endanger Great Kang, and Hu Xiaotian called for peace before asking who had abducted Princess Xima.

Xue Lingjun discussed the Black Hu incidents and the Prince of Yan’s suspected involvement with Hu Xiaotian, then learned that Great Kang would not make an alliance with Great Yong. Hu Xiaotian later visited the detained Rong Shi and asked whether he knew Xiang Shancong.

• Xue Lingjun considered Hu Xiaotian’s accusations and said she hoped her second brother, Xue Shengjing, was alive and well.
• Hu Xiaotian identified Xiang Shancong as Xue Shengjing’s confidant and linked him to Princess Xima’s abduction, the Heavenly Secrets Bureau infiltration, and the theft of Great Kang’s national treasure.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xue Lingjun that Great Kang would neither aid Black Hu against Great Yong nor ally with Great Yong against Black Hu.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Xue Lingjun about rumors concerning her and Li Chenzhou, and promised to help Jian Rongxin settle the debt for her father’s murder.
• Hu Xiaotian visited the house-arrested Rong Shi, asked if he knew Daoist Tian Can, and then asked about Xiang Shancong.

Hu Xiaotian revealed to Rong Shi that he was Jian Xihe’s long-lost son and Jian Rongxin’s elder brother, then promised to arrange a meeting between them. He later told Qiqi about the danger surrounding the skulls and the changing political alliances, leaving the Great Yong Mission preparing to depart.

• Hu Xiaotian showed Rong Shi a birth date and a fetal hair brush that matched the one Rong Shi had kept since childhood.
• Hu Xiaotian identified Rong Shi as Jian Xihe’s eldest son and told him that Jian Rongxin was his younger sister and Hu Xiaotian’s wife.
• Rong Shi agreed to keep his origins secret, and Hu Xiaotian promised to arrange a meeting with Jian Rongxin.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Brahma Sound Temple had likely damaged his mother’s tomb and that Xue Shengjing might have both skulls.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Hong Beimo had agreed to work with him and that the Great Yong Mission was preparing to leave.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to leave Kang Capital to search for the skull, while Qiqi pressed him to renew their betrothal and revealed that Long Xiyue was coming to visit. After learning that Fu Gui had been found dead, Hu Xiaotian investigated the palace Medicine Storehouse and discovered evidence of a murder.

• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi discussed their betrothal, and Qiqi said she would consider renewing it only if Long Xiyue came to see her.
• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian that Long Xiyue was already traveling to Kang Capital and would arrive within three days.
• Yin Zheng told Hu Xiaotian that Fu Gui and a palace maid had been found dead in the Jade Pool.
• Shi Xuedong told Hu Xiaotian that Fu Gui had sought Black Tiger Whip medicine about a month earlier, so Hu Xiaotian went with him to inspect the Medicine Storehouse.
• Hu Xiaotian found a rotted finger beneath the shelves and concluded that someone had tried to dissolve a corpse with Bone-Dissolving Water.

Hu Xiaotian discovered a hidden Pattern Lock beneath the Palace Gardens Bureau’s Medicine Storehouse and brought Qiqi to investigate it. They found the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda underground but could not open its entrance, leaving its secrets inaccessible.

• Hu Xiaotian found gemstones, Xiao Dengzi’s Jade Thumb Ring, and a hidden Pattern Lock beneath the Medicine Storehouse floor after Xiao Dengzi’s dissolved body was discovered.
• Hu Xiaotian sent Shi Xuedong to summon Qiqi, who solved the Double Dragons Emerging from the Sea Lock and opened a passage underground.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi followed the passage through another Pattern Lock to a stone bridge and a glittering pagoda.
• Qiqi recognized the pagoda as the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda and identified the underground works as likely built by Zhuge Yunchun.
• Qiqi could not open the pagoda’s unfamiliar lock, so she and Hu Xiaotian abandoned the attempt to avoid collapsing the underground structure.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi connected the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda’s stolen skull to Liu Yuzhang, Long Xuanjiao, and possibly Hu Buwei, while suspecting Liu had faked his death and returned to the palace. After Fu Gui’s murder led Hu Xiaotian back to the Medicine Storehouse, a hidden voice challenged him.

• Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian reasoned that Liu Yuzhang may have used the Palace Gardens Bureau’s secret passages to help Long Xuanjiao remove the pagoda’s skull, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Hu Buwei was involved.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi that Liu Yuzhang had faked his death, and Qiqi left the Medicine Storehouse frightened and urged Hu Xiaotian to be careful.
• Hu Xiaotian found Imperial Guards investigating Fu Gui’s murder and learned from Murong Zhan that Fu Gui’s internal organs and meridians had been shattered.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Shi Xuedong about the medicinal ingredients found in Fu Gui’s room, then took him back to the Medicine Storehouse to inspect the Deer Whips Fu Gui had obtained.
• Hu Xiaotian startled Shi Xuedong by pretending someone was hiding nearby, and a shrill voice called out, “Little Hu, trying to bluff me?”

Hu Xiaotian confronted Liu Yuzhang in the Medicine Storehouse and learned why the eunuch had returned to the palace: he wanted access to the Underground Palace beneath the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda. Liu Yuzhang began recounting how Ling Jiazi had outmaneuvered him and how her enemies may have taken advantage of her difficult childbirth, leaving her fate unresolved.

• Hu Xiaotian sent Shi Xuedong away and met Liu Yuzhang, who admitted killing Xiao Dengzi and Fu Gui.
• Liu Yuzhang told Hu Xiaotian that he had found the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda, taken its Skull, and returned because he could not enter the Underground Palace beneath it.
• Liu Yuzhang revealed that Ling Jiazi had altered the pagoda's mechanisms after learning its secret from him.
• Liu Yuzhang said Ling Jiazi had been searching for the Skulls and had used her position as Crown Princess to pursue another purpose.
• Liu Yuzhang suggested that Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, and Long Xuan'en had waited for Ling Jiazi to suffer a difficult childbirth, then said the emperor had summoned Ghost Physician Fu Wan to save her.