Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian questioned Liu Yuzhang about Ghost Physician Fu Wan, the Fated Ones, and the hidden domains beneath the palace. Liu revealed that the Skulls were keys to the Underground Palace of the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda, where a deeper secret remained undiscovered.

• Hu Xiaotian claimed Ghost Physician Fu Wan had taught him medicine, and Liu Yuzhang challenged him before Hu explained that Fu Wan was alive and had sought the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram.
• Hu Xiaotian tested Liu Yuzhang’s knowledge of the Fated Ones and learned that Liu blamed Ling Jiazi for her own downfall while indirectly admitting that she had been plotted against.
• Liu Yuzhang said Ji Feihua had forced him to abandon his long pursuit of the Skull in the Dragon Spirit Wonderland because Ji had grown too powerful.
• Liu told Hu that Zhuge Yunchun had likely been manipulated by two Fated Ones into building the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda and Dragon Spirit Wonderland, and that he died seven days after completing the pagoda.
• Liu revealed that the two Skulls were not repositories of secrets but keys that opened the Underground Palace of the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda.

Hu Xiaotian questioned Liu Yuzhang about the Time-Space Leap Project, and Liu revealed how the five travelers became stranded in this world and clashed over the Seeds of Fire. Liu’s account left Hu suspecting he was the team leader who sacrificed himself to save his companions, but survived capture and torture by the Fated Ones.

• Hu Xiaotian deduced that Liu Yuzhang was one of the Time-Space Leap Project participants and tested him with claims about Ghost Physician Fu Wan and the Seeds of Fire.
• Liu Yuzhang described how the five travelers arrived in a world they could not leave and argued over whether they should use the Seeds of Fire to establish a new human world.
• Liu Yuzhang said one teammate tried to destroy the Seeds of Fire because he believed the world belonged to its inhabitants, and a companion accidentally killed him during the struggle.
• Liu Yuzhang explained that the travelers’ conflict drew the Fated Ones’ attention, leading to a battle in which their team leader sacrificed himself to protect the others.
• Liu Yuzhang revealed that the Fated Ones captured and tortured the team leader, who eventually found a chance to escape.

Liu Yuzhang revealed his desire for revenge and proposed that Hu Xiaotian help Ji Feihua and Qiqi open the underground palace beneath the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda in exchange for help finding its two skull keys. Hu Xiaotian questioned Liu Yuzhang about his motives and ended by asking whether Old Madam Xu had betrayed him.

• Hu Xiaotian reasoned through the identities of the Time-Space Leap Team members as Liu Yuzhang refused to reveal who had betrayed him.
• Liu Yuzhang identified Hu Xiaotian as a Seed of Fire and said he wanted revenge on everyone who had wronged him.
• Liu Yuzhang explained that the two skulls were keys to the underground palace and said opening it might require Ji Feihua and Qiqi.
• Liu Yuzhang revealed that he had followed the skulls to a lead involving Wuji Monastery and offered to help Hu Xiaotian find them.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Liu Yuzhang's interest in supporting Hu Buwei and asked whether Old Madam Xu had betrayed him.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Long Xiyue in Kang Capital and learned she planned to stay there to support his fragile alliance with Qiqi. After visiting Fengyi Manor to pay respects to his mother, he inspected the restoration work with Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao.

• Hu Xiaotian found Shi Xuedong asleep outside the Medicine Storehouse, warned him never to return there, and left with him.
• Long Xiyue arrived in Kang Capital with her master, Qiao Fangzheng, and reunited with Hu Xiaotian.
• Long Xiyue explained that she had come to help settle matters between Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi, and Hu Xiaotian agreed she could stay in Kang Capital at the Prince's Residence.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue paid respects at Fengyi Manor, then Hu Xiaotian inspected its restoration with Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to leave Kang Capital, assigning Liang Yinghao and Zong Tang to protect Long Xiyue while investigating Liang Dazhuang and Xiangqin. He set a trap to test Liang Dazhuang, but remained determined to expose him before departing.

• Hu Xiaotian told Liang Yinghao and Xia Changming that he planned to travel, and asked Liang Yinghao and Zong Tang to protect Long Xiyue.
• Xia Changming showed Hu Xiaotian a portrait of the Crimson Pavilion's proprietor, whom Hu recognized as Xiangqin, a woman he suspected was a concealed expert connected to Liang Dazhuang.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to find Long Xiyue chatting with Liang Dazhuang, then sent Liang Dazhuang to deliver a pouch to Zong Tang and buy medicine at Azure Ox Hall.
• Hu Xiaotian told Long Xiyue that he had deliberately let slip part of his itinerary to test Liang Dazhuang, but said he still intended to make him reveal his true nature.

Liang Dazhuang met Xiangqin at the Crimson Pavilion and accused her and the Old Madam of plotting to kill Hu Xiaotian. When a gray-cloaked guardian elder exposed him and Xia Changming’s birds attacked, the three fled separately, leaving Xiangqin cornered by Xiong Tianba.

• Liang Dazhuang told Xiangqin that Hu Xiaotian suspected him and that Long Xiyue’s arrival might signal an alliance with Princess Yongyang and Hong Beimo.
• Liang Dazhuang demanded to know whether Xiangqin or the Old Madam had arranged the Heavenly Profound Thunder attack, then threatened to tell Hu Xiaotian everything if Xiangqin did not explain within three days.
• A gray-cloaked guardian elder emerged from behind the curtain and revealed that a black-beaked sparrow had followed Liang Dazhuang.
• Tens of thousands of birds stormed the Crimson Pavilion, and Liang Dazhuang, Xiangqin, and the guardian elder escaped through the roof in separate directions.
• Xiangqin fled through an alley, where Xiong Tianba intercepted her with his great iron hammer.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Liang Dazhuang and let him go after learning he had served the Old Madam, while Xiong Tianba attacked Xiangqin and Hu Xiaotian intervened. The woman in gray escaped the birds, revealed herself as Su Yujin, and faced Ji Feihua in battle.

• Liang Dazhuang admitted the Old Madam had sent him to watch Hu Buwei, and Hu Xiaotian released him.
• Xiong Tianba charged Xiangqin with his hammer, and Hu Xiaotian ordered him to stop as Xiangqin stood trapped.
• The woman in gray escaped the bird attack and encountered Ji Feihua, who recognized her as Su Yujin, Imperial Preceptor of the Fragrant Kingdom.
• Su Yujin attacked Ji Feihua with throwing knives, but he shattered and turned them back before she blocked them with the Black Disc Shield.
• Ji Feihua struck Su Yujin's Light Shield twice, drove her backward, and drew his Lightsaber.

Ji Feihua nearly defeated Su Yujin before Murong Zhan intervened, and the confrontation exposed the truth behind their marriage and Su Yujin’s ties to the Xu Family. As Hu Xiaotian offered to trade Su Yujin’s freedom for Murong Feiyan’s safe return, a red beam pierced Su Yujin through the heart.

• Ji Feihua overwhelmed Su Yujin, but Murong Zhan arrived and blocked his sword while Hu Xiaotian confronted them.
• Su Yujin threatened Hu Xiaotian with Murong Feiyan’s life, and Hu Xiaotian refused to let her go until Feiyan returned safely.
• Murong Zhan explained that he had not abandoned Su Yujin and learned that she had married him as part of a mission to help the Xu Family control him.
• Murong Zhan lowered his sword and gave up trying to rescue Su Yujin, while she revealed a Mysterious Light Thunder and Hu Xiaotian offered to restore her freedom in exchange for Feiyan’s safe return.
• A red beam struck Su Yujin from behind and pierced her heart before Hu Xiaotian, Ji Feihua, or Murong Zhan could react.

Hu Xiaotian investigated the forces behind the Xu Family while waiting for Liu Yuzhang, then received a mysterious hairpin from Zhou Ruiyuan to deliver to Yutong. The chapter left Hu Xiaotian with a possible clue to the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram and Zhou Ruiyuan still afraid to reconcile with his daughter.

• An assassin killed Su Yujin with a powerful beam weapon, and Ji Feihua and Hu Xiaotian failed to catch the attacker.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Xiangqin, who denied knowing Old Madam Xu and revealed little about her assignment to monitor the Five Immortals Cult.
• Hu Xiaotian waited seven days for Liu Yuzhang and considered how Liu Yuzhang, Hong Beimo, Xue Shengjing, Ren Tianqing, and Ghost Physician Fu Wan might relate to the Xu Family's schemes.
• Zhou Ruiyuan gave Hu Xiaotian an inscribed hairpin hidden among his late wife's belongings and asked him to deliver it to Yutong.
• Zhou Ruiyuan admitted that he was afraid to face Yutong despite hoping she would forgive him.

Hu Xiaotian questioned Zhou Ruiyuan about Chu Yuanhai and Ling Jiazi while keeping the truth about their past from him. Back at the Prince of Suppressing the Sea's Residence, Hu Xiaotian learned that Liu Yuzhang had summoned him to Stillwater Teahouse, giving him a reason to leave the Kang Capital soon.

• Hu Xiaotian asked Zhou Ruiyuan about Chu Yuanhai, who recalled that the emperor had secretly orchestrated Chu Yuanhai's execution after accusing him of corruption.
• Hu Xiaotian asked whether Chu Yuanhai had known Ling Jiazi and learned that Chu Yuanhai had been executed in secret under Long Xuan'en's supervision.
• Hu Xiaotian left Zhou Ruiyuan with the hairpin and returned to the Prince of Suppressing the Sea's Residence, where he learned Qiqi and Long Xiyue had gone to offer incense.
• Xiong Tianba told Hu Xiaotian he was eager to return home, and Hu Xiaotian agreed that Xiong Tianba and Changming could leave the next day.
• Hu Fo brought Hu Xiaotian an unsigned letter summoning him to Stillwater Teahouse, marked with a drawing of a seven-story pagoda, and Hu Xiaotian realized Liu Yuzhang had finally contacted him.

Hu Xiaotian met Liu Yuzhang, who revealed that the Skull was likely headed to Brahma Sound Temple and arranged to meet him at Lone Eagle Fortress in three months. Before leaving Kang Capital, Hu Xiaotian said goodbye to Qiqi and learned Ji Feihua would join the mission to recover the Skull.

• Hu Xiaotian met Liu Yuzhang at Stillwater Teahouse, where Liu explained that Hu Buwei and Xue Shengjing had allied and warned of the dangers posed by the Time-Space Leap Project.
• Liu Yuzhang told Hu Xiaotian to meet him at Lone Eagle Fortress in Black Hu in three months, then travel together to Brahma Sound Temple to recover the Skull.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi he planned to retrieve the Skull and warned her not to return to the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower until he came back.
• Hu Xiaotian saw Long Xiyue and Baobao together, then followed Ji Feihua to Baoping Tower.
• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua about the plan to recover the Skull, and Ji Feihua agreed to go with him and Liu Yuzhang.

Ji Feihua accepted Hu Xiaotian’s Winged Armor and agreed to meet him in Black Hu in three months to attack Brahma Sound Temple, while Hu Xiaotian reunited with Long Xiyue. Meanwhile, Xue Lingjun reflected on Great Yong’s worsening political and military troubles as she returned home with Li Chenzhou.

• Hu Xiaotian told Ji Feihua that Liu Yuzhang wanted their help opening the underground palace beneath the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and that Liu sought revenge.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Ji Feihua his Winged Armor, and Ji agreed to meet him in Black Hu in three months and try to recruit Master Yuanmu for the assault on Brahma Sound Temple.
• Ji Feihua warned Hu Xiaotian to marry Princess Yongyang to secure their reconciliation, then urged him to return to Long Xiyue.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue reunited in their bedroom, where they discussed his departure, Long Qiqi, and their hopes of having a child.
• Xue Lingjun considered how Li Chenzhou’s possessiveness and Great Yong’s internal divisions, foreign threats, and disasters had worsened the country’s situation.

Xue Lingjun returned from the Kang Capital and confronted Li Chenzhou over his jealousy and accusations about Hu Xiaotian. Their argument ended with Li Chenzhou assaulting her and his rage subsiding when he realized he was impotent.

• Xue Lingjun arrived at the Miyang Naval Stockade and found Li Chenzhou there inspecting the Navy.
• Li Chenzhou accused Xue Lingjun of rekindling her relationship with Hu Xiaotian, and she denied betraying him.
• Li Chenzhou called Xue Lingjun a whore and slapped her, causing her forehead to strike the dressing table and bleed.
• Li Chenzhou tried to comfort Xue Lingjun, but she admitted that she liked Hu Xiaotian and taunted Li Chenzhou about his sexual ability.
• Li Chenzhou tore at Xue Lingjun's dress, then staggered away when he realized he was impotent, while Xue Lingjun looked at him with contempt.

Hu Xiaotian visited the still-unconscious Xi Yan and reunited Qin Yutong with Zhou Ruiyuan’s hairpin, then learned Qin Yutong might be pregnant with his child. He later met Rong Shi after his reunion with Jian Rongxin and discussed their father’s death and the men responsible.

• Hu Xiaotian learned from Qin Yutong that Xi Yan’s body had recovered, but she seemed to be resisting waking up.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Qin Yutong Zhou Ruiyuan’s hairpin, and she said she needed time before facing Zhou Ruiyuan despite their misunderstandings being cleared up.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong discussed his connection to the skull from the Five Immortals Cult before Qin Yutong told him she might be pregnant.
• Hu Xiaotian upset Qin Yutong with his foolish reaction to the news, then went with Tang Qingxuan to see Jian Rongxin and Rong Shi.
• Rong Shi thanked Hu Xiaotian for helping the Jian family, and Hu Xiaotian explained how he discovered their father’s last words and how Li Chenzhou and Xue Shengjing had harmed the family.
• Rong Shi vowed to avenge his father, while Hu Xiaotian urged him not to rush and reminded him that he had been taken away as a baby.

Hu Xiaotian learned more about Rong Shi’s family and Xi Yan’s mysterious cultivation, then reunited Rong Shi with Jian Rongxin and shared a private moment with her. He reconciled with pregnant Qin Yutong, who agreed to go to Eastern Liang Commandery but worried about telling Long Xiyue.

• Hu Xiaotian told Rong Shi that Li Chenzhou had murdered their father and that the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram had motivated the plot, and Rong Shi vowed to take revenge.
• Rong Shi told Hu Xiaotian that Xi Yan’s condition came from the Fetal Breathing Great Art and could only end if she awakened on her own.
• Hu Xiaotian and Jian Rongxin embraced and confessed their love, and she declined to attend Tang Wenzheng’s welcome banquet.
• Hu Xiaotian found Qin Yutong beneath the moon, apologized for his earlier reaction to her pregnancy, and promised to take responsibility for their child.
• Qin Yutong chose to stay at Eastern Liang Commandery during her pregnancy and worried about how to tell her close friend Long Xiyue.

Hu Xiaotian met Zhuge Guanqi and discussed Great Kang’s political future, their neighbors, and the importance of securing Princess Yongyang’s support. After learning more about the War Sage’s creations, Hu Xiaotian prepared to return to the Kang Capital to investigate two skulls stolen by Black Hu.

• Hu Xiaotian met Zhuge Guanqi and his companions on Sandbar, where Zhao Wusheng reported that tensions with Great Kang and Great Yong had eased.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhuge Guanqi discussed the grain shipment, holding their position, and Hu Xiaotian’s renewed relationship with Princess Yongyang.
• Zhuge Guanqi advised Hu Xiaotian to consolidate his influence in Great Kang and wait for Great Yong’s internal conflict to weaken it further.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zhuge Guanqi that the War Sage had designed the Dragon Tomb Scenic Realm and Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and Zhuge Guanqi asked to see them.
• Hu Xiaotian said he would return to the Kang Capital because Black Hu had stolen two skulls connected to the Fated Ones.

Qin Yutong learned from her hairpin that Ling Jiazi had killed her mother, Qin Se, and feared the same fate might befall her and her unborn child. Later, Dong Tianjiang arrived in Eastern Liang Commandery with a gift from Great Yong’s emperor, setting up a political discussion with Hu Xiaotian.

• Qin Yutong told Hu Xiaotian that the hairpin had revealed her mother’s memories and that Ling Jiazi had killed Qin Se.
• Qin Yutong explained that Qin Se had sought the remains of captured Fated Ones and had approached Ling Jiazi to learn her origins.
• Hu Xiaotian tried to sense the hairpin’s information but could not, then comforted Qin Yutong and promised to protect her.
• Hu Xiaotian left Sandbar Pasture for Eastern Liang Commandery after three days.
• Dong Tianjiang arrived from Great Yong and told Hu Xiaotian that Xue Daoming had sent him with a gift.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Great Yong suspected Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan was Li Mingzuo, a spy who had infiltrated Great Kang, and agreed to investigate the claim. Qiqi confirmed Wen Chenghuan’s handwriting matched Li Mingzuo’s and ordered Yang Lingqi to publicly destroy him without revealing his identity.

• Dong Tianjiang offered Hu Xiaotian territory in exchange for helping Xue Daoming eliminate someone, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to act if the target’s identity was confirmed.
• Dong Tianjiang revealed that Xue Daoming believed Wen Chenghuan was Li Mingzuo, a Great Yong agent who had entered Great Kang under another identity.
• Qiqi asked Yang Lingqi to compare several unsigned samples, and he confirmed they were all written by Wen Chenghuan.
• Qiqi confronted Yang Lingqi about serving Hu Xiaotian while working at her side, and he maintained that his loyalty to Great Kang had not changed.
• Qiqi ordered Yang Lingqi to make Wen Chenghuan’s downfall a public spectacle, and Yang Lingqi proposed charging him with corruption rather than exposing him as a spy.

Hu Xiaotian agreed to prepare a surprise attack on the Yulan Kingdom while Great Yong was occupied, then discussed Western Sichuan’s divisions with Meng Guangxiong. The chapter ended with Xia Changming gravely wounded and Hu Xiaotian preparing to operate on him.

• Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing discussed Great Yong’s internal crisis and agreed to prepare an attack on the Yulan Kingdom.
• Hu Xiaotian told Visa he would soon leave for the Northern Frontier and promised to visit Huo Shengnan.
• Meng Guangxiong reported that Yang Haoran’s purges had brought him into conflict with Li Honghan, and said he had sworn brotherhood with Yan Hucheng.
• Hu Xiaotian told Meng Guangxiong to wait until Li Honghan was discarded before acting in Western Sichuan.
• Visa reported that Xia Changming had been attacked and badly wounded, and Hu Xiaotian rushed to Tong Ren Tang.
• Qin Yutong told Hu Xiaotian that Xia Changming’s injuries might be beyond anyone else’s ability to treat, and Hu Xiaotian prepared to operate with her and Fang Fang.

Visa freed Zeng Xiaorou from the Soul-Seizing Art, while Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong saved Xia Changming. After Xia Changming woke and reunited with Zeng Xiaorou, he told Hu Xiaotian that a black-beaked sparrow could lead him to the people who attacked him.

• Visa recognized that Zeng Xiaorou was under the Soul-Seizing Art and woke her by using a hairpin to prick her acupoint.
• Zeng Xiaorou learned that Xia Changming had been gravely injured, and Visa explained that Xu Fengwu had controlled her mind to lure him into an ambush.
• After four hours of surgery, Qin Yutong announced that Hu Xiaotian had saved Xia Changming's life.
• Hu Xiaotian treated a poisoned snow eagle and learned from Zeng Xiaorou that Xu Fengwu was behind the attack, working with Feather Demon Li Chang'an and Beast Demon Yan Huxiao.
• Xia Changming awoke at dusk, reassured Zeng Xiaorou, and asked her to stay by his side.
• Xia Changming told Hu Xiaotian that a black-beaked sparrow could lead him to the attackers, and Hu Xiaotian promised to settle the debt.