Chapter Summaries

The emperor ordered Lu Haixian’s recovery and summoned Sima Xiao to learn about the Old Celestial Master, hoping to find a way to contact him. Sima Xiao proposed issuing a nationwide Imperial Proclamation, and the emperor agreed that it might reach the immortal.

• The emperor learned that Lu Haixian was gravely ill and ordered the Imperial Medical Bureau to treat him, then summoned Sima Xiao.
• Thunder and memories of Chu Hang frightened the emperor until a eunuch lit Tranquility Incense.
• Sima Xiao recounted the Old Celestial Master’s history and his past service to the dynasty.
• The emperor insisted the Old Celestial Master was alive and asked Sima Xiao how to find him.
• Sima Xiao recommended issuing an Imperial Proclamation far and wide, and the emperor accepted the suggestion.

The Great Yong Emperor posted notices seeking the Old Celestial Master and recruiting practitioners who could prolong his life, sparking alarm at court and excitement among people across the realm. As the notices drew eager responses, Chu Hang saw one in Dengzhou and dismissed it as preposterous before vanishing into the river.

• Yu Ziye lamented that the emperor's plan to seek immortals had broken the balance at court, then drank himself to sleep.
• The emperor's notices reached Mingzhou, where Tan Yuanshang and the Mo Household criticized the emperor's ambitions and predicted that many would answer the call.
• People across the realm reacted to the notices, including practitioners drawn by the promise of wealth, honor, and imperial investiture.
• A disciple told his master at a dilapidated monastery about the notice, and the excited old Daoist led his followers toward the city gate to take it down.
• Chu Hang saw a notice near Dengzhou City, called it preposterous, and disappeared as the Datong River surged.

Sima Xiao reported that people across the realm were answering the Imperial Proclamation, and the emperor ordered him to organize their arrival and vet them. As the Capital City filled with self-proclaimed masters ahead of the Magic Appraisal Assembly, Xiao Yuzhi patrolled the harbor, where a burning Alchemy Furnace and an unseen presence hinted that genuine experts had arrived.

• Sima Xiao told the emperor that more than a dozen people had taken down the Imperial Proclamation, and warned that the influx of masters required careful screening; the emperor promised support from the Ministry of Rites, the Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office, and the Imperial Guards.
• Zhou Xiande and other ministers confronted the emperor over the proclamation, while Yu Ziye entered the Imperial Study to ease the conflict and later defused the ministers’ anger by pointing out the risks of their group remonstrance.
• Respondents and other onlookers streamed into the Capital City as rumors spread about the assembly, and the Directorate of Celestial Observations exposed fraudulent masters; three were beheaded for deceiving the sovereign.
• Xiao Yuzhi led four renowned constables on patrol and heard that most visiting masters were unremarkable, though a few had abilities the officers could not explain.
• At Heaven-Bearing Harbor, Xiao Yuzhi spotted a great Alchemy Furnace that seemed to still be burning and sensed something flash near another pier; someone aboard a nearby ship felt unnerved by the old constable’s gaze.

Xiao Yuzhi attacked a suspicious mage aboard a ship, but stopped when the man produced an imperial proclamation and ordered him to register. As mages continued arriving in Heaven-Bearing Prefecture for the Magic Appraisal Assembly, Qi Zhongbin told a popular tale in a teahouse.

• Xiao Yuzhi sensed someone watching him and rushed aboard a ship, where he attacked a man hiding in its cabin.
• The man showed Xiao Yuzhi an imperial proclamation identifying him as a summoned mage, and Xiao Yuzhi warned him to register at the Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office.
• The Old Daoist arrived at Heaven-Bearing Harbor with his disciples and an enormous Alchemy Furnace, drawing a welcoming party and crowds of onlookers.
• Three Daoists from Southern Reach entered the Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office under the Son of Heaven's summons.
• Qi Zhongbin entertained teahouse patrons by telling a tale about the White Lord and the Sea-Calming Divine Needle.

Qi Zhongbin performed brilliantly at a teahouse while an alchemy procession passed through the Capital City, and he and Hui Mian recognized the Daoist’s connection to an old elixir art. The court gave Daoist Priest Gao Hongqing and his disciples a fine residence, and the emperor became eager to meet the elixir-refining Daoist.

• Qi Zhongbin won the teahouse patrons’ praise with his storytelling and agreed to return regularly for tea and refreshments.
• Qi Zhongbin and Hui Mian watched Daoist Priest Gao Hongqing’s group escort a bronze alchemy furnace through the city, and Qi Zhongbin recognized the Daoist’s link to the Peerless Elixir Art.
• Sima Xiao and the Directorate of Celestial Observations registered hundreds of visiting masters and arranged a residence for Gao Hongqing and his disciples.
• The Deputy Director told Gao Hongqing that the emperor might grant an early audience, exciting the Daoist and his disciples.
• Sima Xiao reported the registered masters to the emperor, who focused on Gao Hongqing’s furnace and demanded to know where the Daoist was.

The emperor ordered Sima Xiao to bring selected masters to the palace the next morning and personally decide how they would take part in the Magic Appraisal Assembly. After seeking Yu Ziye’s counsel, Sima Xiao learned that the emperor’s summons had reached the Daoists and other masters housed around the capital.

• Sima Xiao told the emperor that the masters had been accommodated and advised against meeting them too soon, but the emperor insisted on seeing them the next morning.
• The emperor approved a plan for the Magic Appraisal Assembly and decreed that masters’ requests to opt out of magical contests would require his personal approval.
• Sima Xiao left the Imperial Study and went to the Ministry of Personnel to tell Yu Ziye about the emperor’s decisions.
• Yu Ziye listened to Sima Xiao’s troubles over food and wine, then stopped him from drinking more and escorted him out.
• A special envoy from the Directorate of Celestial Observations informed the old Daoist and his disciples, along with other masters, that the emperor wished to see them.

Gao Hongqing and his disciples attended an imperial audience alongside other masters of the arts, who demonstrated their abilities to the emperor. Their displays ended abruptly when the Emperor’s Sword rang out in the Imperial Study, forcing a ghost back into its bottle and stopping the snowfall.

• Gao Hongqing took Zhuang Shengyi and Bo Min to the palace for an audience with the emperor.
• The emperor asked Gao Hongqing about his alchemical lineage and the furnace he had brought to the Capital City.
• The Three Sages of Xiaoshan, Wang Yi, Xu Zhi, and Ke Fu, made snow fall over the Imperial Garden.
• The gathered masters demonstrated magic, including an illusion and a ghost that transformed into a dancing woman.
• The Emperor’s Sword rang in the Imperial Study, causing the ghost to retreat into its bottle, stopping the snow, and silencing five of the masters.

At the emperor’s audience, Gao Hongqing impressed the court with a Yang-Supplementing Pill, and the emperor ordered officials to find ingredients for him. Back in his estate, Gao Hongqing celebrated his newfound prospects, while Xiang Yi heard a familiar sword note from the mortal world and cursed his descendant.

• The emperor asked the mages why the snow had stopped, and the Three Sages of Xiaoshan admitted they felt unwell and could not cast spells for long.
• Sima Xiao explained that the Magic Appraisal Assembly would include magical contests, and Gao Hongqing said he specialized in pill refinement rather than combat.
• Gao Hongqing presented the emperor with a Yang-Supplementing Pill, whose fragrance astonished the court, but Zhou Xiande and Yu Ziye urged the emperor to have the Imperial Medical Bureau examine it first.
• The emperor ordered Sima Xiao and Yu Ziye to find ingredients for Gao Hongqing, who said he had only three pills remaining and did not wish to compete at the assembly.
• After leaving the palace, Gao Hongqing celebrated in private and resolved to refine an Immortal Elixir with the court’s support.
• In the Heavenly Realm, Xiang Yi heard a familiar sword note from the mortal world and called its source an unworthy descendant.

Qi Zhongbin followed officers to a residence where eight mages and many others had been murdered, and he noticed two unseen Wandering Spirits watching from the entrance. The spirits spotted the wandering mage selling couplets, who sensed their gaze.

• At a teahouse, Qi Zhongbin heard patrons complain about fortune-telling mages and saw officers led by Fu Xinbo hurry past.
• A middle-aged mage selling New Year decorations warned the crowd not to follow the officers, but Qi Zhongbin and several patrons went after them.
• At a residence used by mages who had taken down the Imperial Proclamation, Fu Xinbo and an Imperial Guard Commandant discovered that thirty-four people had died overnight.
• Qi Zhongbin noticed traces of blood and foul energy at the residence and moved closer as officers carried out the bodies.
• Qi Zhongbin saw two Wandering Spirits on the entrance canopy, and the spirits noticed the mage selling couplets, who then sensed and glimpsed them.

Yan Shouyun mistook his ability to see the Day Patrol Gods for awakening his Dharma Eye, then fled from them in terror and was pickpocketed while distracted. After Qi Zhongbin treated him to tea, Yan Shouyun learned his name and hurried away to pursue the thieves.

• Yan Shouyun saw the two Day Patrol Gods near the bodies and excitedly believed he had awakened his Dharma Eye.
• The Day Patrol Gods questioned Yan Shouyun, but he pretended not to see or hear them until they finally left.
• Hui Mian watched Yan Shouyun’s frightened escape and later told Qi Zhongbin about it as Yan Shouyun arrived at the teahouse.
• Yan Shouyun praised Qi Zhongbin’s storytelling and said he could not clearly discern Qi Zhongbin’s face.
• Qi Zhongbin pointed out that Yan Shouyun’s robe had been cut, and Yan Shouyun discovered that both his money pouches were missing.
• Qi Zhongbin paid for Yan Shouyun’s tea and refreshments, and Yan Shouyun returned to ask his name before rushing off.

Yan Shouyun was attacked by a powerful evil spirit while sleeping in an alley, but two Night Patrol Spirits rescued him. He returned to find his wooden box smashed, while Qi Zhongbin watched a mage who had taken down the Imperial Proclamation awaken inside a guarded residence.

• Yan Shouyun found his stolen purse empty and, unable to secure lodging, slept in a straw pile in an alley.
• A fog-shrouded evil spirit attacked Yan Shouyun, crushed his wooden box, and chased him across the rooftops.
• Yan Shouyun's talismans failed to stop the spirit, but two Night Patrol Spirits cut off its hand and bound it until it dissolved into fog.
• The Night Patrol Spirits warned Yan Shouyun that cultivators were in greater danger than ordinary people, and he returned to the alley to find his box wrecked.
• A mage in a guarded residence awoke after a violent fit, while Qi Zhongbin watched from outside and suspected the mage had taken down the Imperial Proclamation.

Qi Zhongbin infiltrated a mansion and killed a summoned mage who had fallen into demonic practices. Meanwhile, Yan Shouyun was arrested while investigating an evil spirit and ended the chapter locked in the Heaven-Bearing Prefecture Prison as Hui Mian laughed at his misfortune.

• Qi Zhongbin entered the mansion unseen and confronted the mage after he recovered from a Primordial Spirit excursion.
• Hui Mian dodged the mage’s Soul-Pinning Dart as Qi Zhongbin appeared and killed the mage with a Flame Tornado.
• Yan Shouyun encountered four Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office officers, who suspected him of involvement in a string of deaths and took him in for questioning.
• The officers placed Yan Shouyun in the Heaven-Bearing Prefecture Prison despite his protest that he had only agreed to cooperate.
• A constable watched Yan Shouyun from the shadows and wondered whether he was innocent, while Hui Mian laughed at the arrest.

After another mage was found mysteriously burned to death, Xiao Yuzhi returned to the Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office to investigate the recent killings. He later released Yan Shouyun, recognizing him as a principled mage who had avoided the court’s Magic Appraisal Assembly, and reflected that true masters would not be lured by the emperor’s proclamation.

• Fu Xinbo and the Imperial Guards investigated a mage found burned to death, while Sima Xiao asked the Ministry of Justice to intensify its efforts.
• Xiao Yuzhi returned to the Heaven-Bearing Prefectural Office and examined the bodies, sensing that the charred victim had been killed by someone following an upright path.
• Xiao Yuzhi led nightly patrols for several days, and the Capital City saw no further major cases involving dead mages.
• Xiao Yuzhi went to the prefectural jail, observed Yan Shouyun’s Dharma Eye, and ordered the jailer to release him.
• Xiao Yuzhi gave Yan Shouyun silver for food and lodging, then reflected that true masters would not answer the emperor’s proclamation for promised glory and riches.

On New Year’s Eve, Yan Shouyun had nowhere to stay and spent the night on a rooftop, where Long Simiao’s words about protecting ordinary families made him reflect on his own purpose. After a dream revealed a change in his destiny, he shared his roast chicken with Hui Mian, while Qi Zhongbin watched approvingly.

• Yan Shouyun failed to find an inn and climbed onto a rooftop to eat his New Year’s Eve dinner.
• Long Simiao met Yan Shouyun while patrolling and explained that protecting the city’s households was his duty and ambition.
• Watching the fireworks and city lights, Yan Shouyun reconsidered his own motives and briefly perceived the lights merging into a crimson glow.
• Yan Shouyun dreamed that Hui Mian spoke to him, then woke to find the marten beside his food.
• Yan Shouyun offered Hui Mian a whole chicken leg, and Qi Zhongbin watched from the street, pleased by Yan Shouyun’s disposition and aptitude.

At Great Yong’s New Year banquet, Emperor Xiang Yi pressed the Mages about immortality, while Gao Hongqing promised progress toward an elixir and the Three Sages of Xiaoshan encouraged the emperor’s ambitions. The Three Sages noticed that several Mages already knew of the Taiyin Immortal, revealing that formidable rivals were hiding among the assembly’s guests.

• Emperor Xiang Yi hosted officials and Mages at a lavish New Year banquet beneath the fireworks and praised Great Yong’s prosperity.
• Emperor Xiang Yi asked Gao Hongqing about his pill refining, and Gao Hongqing promised that a true Immortal Elixir was within reach.
• Emperor Xiang Yi asked whether an emperor could become an Immortal, and Wang Yi claimed that a life-extending medicine could make him no different from one.
• Wang Yi described the Taiyin Immortal who dwelled on the moon, and Emperor Xiang Yi imagined her beauty.
• The Three Sages of Xiaoshan noticed that some Mages recognized the Taiyin Immortal and realized that hidden powers among the guests could be dangerous rivals at the Magic Appraisal Assembly.

At the New Year's Eve banquet, Xiang Yi's lewd thoughts toward Du Xiaolin reached her on Taiyin Mountain, and she shattered the trace of qi connecting them. A lama's attempt to clear the clouds ended in a mental collapse, while Xiang Yi became weak and cold before leaving for his bedchamber.

• Xiang Yi imagined Du Xiaolin as a moon immortal and voiced his desire for her, and Du Xiaolin heard him and shattered the distant trace of qi.
• Xiang Yi's tipsy elation vanished, and he demanded that a mage clear the clouds obscuring the moon.
• A great lama cast a spell to disperse the clouds, but Du Xiaolin's glare shattered his mental state and he collapsed.
• Xiang Yi began shivering and appeared weak; an Imperial Physician said he was in no serious danger, while Gao Hongqing and other mages argued over the pills.
• Xiang Yi ended the banquet and returned to his bedchamber, where he summoned a consort despite his weakness.

Yan Shouyun followed a clever marten to the Capital City's City God Temple and fell asleep in its main hall, unaware that the temple had become Great Yong's Ancestral Temple. Before dawn, Emperor Xiang Yi and the court gathered for Heaven worship, and the ceremony's horns jolted Yan Shouyun awake, leaving him confused about the noise.

• Yan Shouyun followed the marten across rooftops to the City God Temple, where it disappeared.
• Yan Shouyun settled in the main hall and fell asleep as the temple silently transformed into the Ancestral Temple.
• Before dawn, Emperor Xiang Yi, court officials, mages, and Imperial Guards assembled for the Heaven-worship ceremony.
• Sima Xiao announced the appointed hour, and the Imperial Guards sounded their horns.
• Yan Shouyun woke inside the Ancestral Temple and wondered why the City God Temple was so noisy.

Yan Shouyun was trapped inside the Ancestral Temple during the emperor’s ceremony, where a supernatural outburst exposed many supposed mages as monsters and demons. Mistaken for a fearsome mage, he confronted the emperor and walked into the crowd, discovering that everyone was too afraid to stop him.

• Yan Shouyun awoke inside the Ancestral Temple and realized the emperor was arriving to honor his ancestors.
• As the temple doors opened, Yan Shouyun sensed vast auras, began floating, and was swept out toward the entrance by a radiant force.
• The radiance frightened the crowd and shattered many mages’ disguises, revealing spirits and demons; the emperor fell, and Yan Shouyun appeared before him.
• The emperor asked Yan Shouyun who he was, but Yan Shouyun instead accused the court of attracting monsters and pointed out the abandoned clothes in the plaza.
• Yan Shouyun mocked the disguised creatures and walked among the officials and mages, while the Imperial Guards and others moved aside in fear.

Yan Shouyun accidentally mastered Divine Movement while fleeing the Imperial Guards, outmaneuvered them, and escaped the Heaven-Worship Altar. The emperor continued the rites without entering the Ancestral Temple, while those present wondered whether Demons and Evil Spirits still hid among the remaining Mages.

• Hui Mian watched Yan Shouyun try to flee and reflected on the resolve and ambition beneath his fear.
• When the emperor ordered the guards to stop him, Yan Shouyun instinctively used Divine Movement and reached the edge of the square.
• Yan Shouyun used the spell clumsily but effectively, causing more than a hundred Imperial Guards and Palace Guards to collide and fall as he escaped.
• The emperor asked Sima Xiao whether Yan Shouyun was registered with the Directorate of Celestial Observations, but Sima Xiao could not confirm it.
• After noticing the empty clothes left by the missing Mages, the emperor ordered the offerings to Heaven and Earth to proceed without entering the Ancestral Temple.
• The remaining Mages and officials wondered whether Demons and Evil Spirits were still among them.

Yan Shouyun tried to leave Heaven-Bearing Prefecture but met Xiao Yuzhi, who asked him to identify the demons at the Magic Appraisal Assembly. After Yan Shouyun revealed their number and locations, Qi Zhongbin’s advice about cultivating truth convinced him to turn back toward the city, while Qi Zhongbin revealed himself to be the Violet Star Spirit Lord.

• Yan Shouyun reached Heaven-Bearing Harbor to seek passage out of the city, where Xiao Yuzhi confronted him and said he understood why he wanted to leave.
• Xiao Yuzhi asked Yan Shouyun whether demons remained among the mages, and Yan Shouyun identified thirteen sources of demonic aura, including a dangerous cluster of three.
• Xiao Yuzhi thanked Yan Shouyun and departed after blessing his cultivation, leaving Yan Shouyun wondering what it meant to cultivate truth.
• Qi Zhongbin explained cultivating truth to Yan Shouyun and said he was going to finish the story he had begun telling the previous night.
• Yan Shouyun abandoned his escape by boat and jogged back toward the city, while Qi Zhongbin watched him from the harbor.
• Hui Mian accused Qi Zhongbin of meddling, and Qi Zhongbin shed his disguise to reveal himself as the Violet Star Spirit Lord.