Chapter Summaries

Wu Jinliang used the Myriad Forms Art to imitate Shi Chun’s Demon-Undoing Hand and kill a Divine Mountain searcher before escaping underground with Huang Yingying. Lord Po Yuan discovered their Earth-Diving Technique trail and split up with his aides to pursue them.

• Wu Jinliang attacked the stronger Divine Mountain lackey with his iron chain, then struck him with the Demon-Undoing Hand and fled underground with Huang Yingying.
• Wu Jinliang explained that the Myriad Forms Art let him learn and imitate techniques from other cultivation arts, including Shi Chun’s Demon-Undoing Hand.
• The Divine Mountain lackey died and reverted to his original form, a gray-furred Bear Demon, as searchers gathered at the scene.
• Lord Po Yuan examined the corpse, identified the unusual damage on its back, and sensed Wu Jinliang’s Earth-Diving Technique beneath the soil.
• Lord Po Yuan ordered his two aides to pursue one disturbed tunnel while he pursued the other.

Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying escaped underground after Wu Jinliang killed Po Yuan’s lieutenants and forced Huang Yingying to help. Po Yuan and Li Xianghong discovered the bodies and suspected the missing Huang Yingying, while Wu Jinliang reported his safety to Shi Chun and resumed searching for the Death-Defying Incense.

• Po Yuan ordered his lieutenants to pursue Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying underground, while Wu Jinliang pushed the injured Huang Yingying to keep digging as their pursuers closed in.
• Wu Jinliang pretended to surrender, then immobilized Po Yuan’s two lieutenants and forced Huang Yingying to hack them with a saber before they continued their escape.
• Po Yuan found the lieutenants’ bodies and returned to investigate, while Li Xianghong examined Mei You’s death and Lou Xiu remained under guard.
• Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying left Dazhi City, and Wu Jinliang used the Mother-Child Talisman to report their safety and tell Shi Chun about the unexpected developments.
• Shi Chun asked Wu Jinliang to identify the Death-Defying Incense among A-Xun’s belongings, then reflected that he would soon leave the people at the library behind.
• Po Yuan and Li Xianghong examined the dead lieutenants and concluded that Huang Yingying might be the killer, prompting Po Yuan to insist that they find him.

Shi Chun learned that A-Xun’s belongings contained no Death-Defying Incense and hurried to recover Wu Jinliang before the investigation reached them. Meanwhile, Li Xianghong and Po Yuan discovered that Fan Wuzhe’s Mother-Child Talisman had been switched, pointing suspicion toward whoever had approached him the night before.

• Wu Jinliang found no Death-Defying Incense among A-Xun’s belongings, spared Huang Yingying, and messaged Shi Chun about the failure.
• Shi Chun ordered Wu Jinliang to return with Huang Yingying, then secretly sent Wu through the earth from Fan Wuzhe’s room and told him when to have Huang Yingying turn himself in.
• Li Xianghong learned from Fan Wuzhe’s confession that Mei You had coerced him into helping target Dong Wenshu’s family, but the Mother-Child Talisman found on Fan Wuzhe was not the one Mei You had given him.
• Po Yuan and Li Xianghong concluded that someone had switched Fan Wuzhe’s talisman, likely the previous night, and Po Yuan ordered them to investigate Morning Moon Hall and detain everyone in the Book Hall if necessary.

Li Xianghong and Po Yuan brought the mutilated Fan Wuzhe to Morning Moon Hall, where Dong Wenshu learned of his nephew’s crimes and Po Yuan investigated signs of an underground escape. Huang Yingying was returned to the City Lord’s Manor and forced to claim he had surrendered, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Po Yuan ordered Fan Wuzhe returned to Dong Wenshu, and Li Xianghong’s agents escorted them to Morning Moon Hall.
• Dong Wenshu and his family saw Fan Wuzhe’s injuries, while Shi Chun concealed his reaction to Po Yuan’s scrutiny.
• After hearing the accusations against Fan Wuzhe, Dong Wenshu grieved, and Po Yuan inspected his room and found disturbed floor tiles where Wu Jinliang had escaped underground.
• Li Xianghong and Po Yuan left the Dong residence to question Huang Yingying, while Shi Chun stayed behind to care for Fan Wuzhe.
• Huang Yingying arrived at the City Lord’s Manor with rotting wounds and admitted to himself that he had been forced to pose as a surrendering fugitive.

Huang Yingying recounted his abduction to Li Xianghong and Po Yuan, raising suspicions because he was connected to several parts of the case. Po Yuan decided he should be returned to the Divine Mountain, while Li Xianghong faced the possibility that Lou Xiu would also be transferred there unless she could produce evidence against him.

• Huang Yingying told Li Xianghong and Po Yuan that masked captors had forced him to use his Earth-Diving Technique and had taken him into Morning Moon Hall and underground beyond the city.
• Huang Yingying admitted he had seen Fan Wuzhe at the Tax Inspectorate a month earlier, matching Fan Wuzhe's account, and Li Xianghong wounded him while questioning him.
• Li Xianghong and Po Yuan had Huang Yingying confined in the Prison after questioning him about his captors and their motives.
• Po Yuan argued that Huang Yingying's many connections to the affair justified returning him to the Divine Mountain and holding him as a slave.
• Li Xianghong suspected Lou Xiu had killed Mei You to silence him, but Po Yuan said Lou Xiu would be transferred back to the Divine Mountain unless she had concrete evidence.

Li Xianghong and Bai Qiru could not stop Huang Yingying from being sent back to the Divine Mountain after the investigation was shut down, while Shi Chun saw the pressure on Morning Moon Hall ease. As Huang Yingying was carried away, Bai Qiru began to reconsider his plea to contact Gao He.

• Li Xianghong told Bai Qiru that Huang Yingying would be returned to the Divine Mountain as a slave because Po Yuan treated suspicion as guilt and the Divine Mountain had approved.
• Bai Qiru visited Huang Yingying in prison, explained his fate, and heard him ask her to seek help from Gao He at the horse ranch.
• Shi Chun saw the forces withdraw from Morning Moon Hall and found Dong Liangyu searching the Library Pavilion for ways to strengthen her constitution.
• Li Xianghong saw Po Yuan's party off as Lou Xiu returned to the Divine Mountain, while Bai Qiru came to see Huang Yingying depart.
• Huang Yingying repeatedly urged Bai Qiru to tell Gao He what had happened, and she began to suspect there was more behind his desperation.

Bai Qiru sought Wu Jinliang to ask for help rescuing her husband, Huang Yingying, who had been sentenced to slavery on the Divine Mountain. Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun decided to leave the Book Hall and join the Bai Family Rice Shop, while Shi Chun left the Dong household on blunt terms.

• Bai Qiru found Wu Jinliang at the horse ranch and told him Huang Yingying had been sent to the Divine Mountain, asking him to save her husband.
• Wu Jinliang reported Huang Yingying’s arrest to Shi Chun, who decided they should leave the Book Hall and use the Bai Family Rice Shop as cover while pursuing their plans.
• Wu Jinliang agreed to help Bai Qiru and secured work for himself and Shi Chun at her shop.
• Wu Jinliang quit his grazing job and left the ranch, while Shi Chun packed his belongings and announced his departure to the Dong family.
• Shi Chun declined his wages, criticized Dong Liangyi’s cooking, and left the Dong household.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang joined Bai Qiru’s rice shop and obtained maps and intelligence about the Divine Mountain, where Huang Yingying was being held. They traveled to the city beneath the mountain, while Dong Liangyi arrived at the shop too late to return Shi Chun’s hairpin, and Shi Chun examined a familiar golden command arrow.

• Shi Chun recognized Bai Qiru as a powerful White Tiger Demon and persuaded her to obtain information about the Divine Mountain and Huang Yingying’s whereabouts.
• Bai Qiru returned three days later with maps and intelligence, along with three new workers whose cultivation was at least as strong as hers.
• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang to investigate Bai Qiru’s background through Young Master Nan, then the two left for the Divine Mountain without telling her their real plan.
• Dong Liangyi visited the rice shop to buy spirit rice and ask for Wang Ping, but he and Gao He had already left; she kept the hairpin she had intended to return to Shi Chun.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang checked into the best inn in the city beneath the Divine Mountain, where Wu Jinliang recognized the patterns on a golden command arrow Shi Chun was holding.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang suspected that Jin Zhan’s Command Arrow could be a key to the Divine Mountain’s protective formation, and they discussed how to test it while preparing for possible conflict with the force behind the tigress. They also questioned why the tigress married Huang Yingying and whether someone was pursuing him for a hidden reason, leaving the decision to pass on the book unresolved.

• Shi Chun activated Jin Zhan’s Command Arrow and suggested it might be connected to the Divine Mountain’s ancient protective formation.
• Wu Jinliang agreed they should test whether the Command Arrow could let them pass through the formation, and Shi Chun listed the dangers and reconnaissance they needed to address first.
• Shi Chun warned Wu Jinliang that the tigress’s powerful backers might eventually investigate or confront them, and that they should prepare for a falling-out.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang speculated that the tigress’s marriage to Huang Yingying might be tied to his ancestors or something valuable about him.
• Shi Chun said they should investigate how Huang Yingying had once left the Divine Mountain and would decide who deserved the book based on their bond of fate.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang explored Distant Mountain City and learned that Lou Xiu had become its new Inner Court Supervisor. At the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, Xi Quan recognized Shi Chun and secretly alerted the Extreme Fire Sect, while Yin Xu began investigating the trio.

• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang overheard that Lou Xiu had replaced Commissioner Fang and was attending a welcome banquet at the Vermilion Jade Pavilion.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang befriended Hua Chong, then dined at the pavilion to observe the banquet guests and learn about the city.
• Yin Xu escorted Xi Quan upstairs, noticed his reaction to Shi Chun's group, and watched him study them from the stairs.
• Xi Quan confirmed Shi Chun's identity, sent two sect members to report it to the Extreme Fire Sect, arranged covert surveillance, and went to meet Lou Xiu.
• Shi Chun received Chu Jingtang's message and told him where to wait, while Yin Xu asked an attendant to question Hua Chong about the other two men.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang learned about Bai Qiru’s background while being watched in Distant Mountain City, and Yin Xu suspected Shi Chun carried the ancestor’s scent. Lou Xiu was ordered to track the two men after the Extreme Fire Sect sent people to deal with them.

• Yin Xu treated Shi Chun, Wu Jinliang, and Hua Chong to a meal, then smelled what she believed was the ancestor’s scent on Shi Chun.
• Yin Xu told her steward she wanted another chance to confirm the scent, while Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang realized two people had been following them.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang returned to the Yuelai Inn and learned that Bai Qiru was Granny Qi’s exiled granddaughter, married to the rat demon Huang Yingying.
• Shi Chun told Chu Jingtang to leave after he and Wu Jinliang lured away the watchers staying across from their room.
• A cloaked figure confronted Lou Xiu over his failure in Dazhi City and ordered him to follow the Extreme Fire Sect’s trail to find Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang discovered that the Extreme Fire Sect had arrived in Distant Mountain City and learned more about Vermilion Jade Pavilion’s proprietress, Yin Xu. As several factions watched them, they planned to move to the pavilion, while the Extreme Fire Sect began investigating their guide Hua Chong.

• A cloaked figure ordered Lou Xiu to befriend Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, warning him that the Extreme Fire Sect planned to capture them and uncover their secrets.
• Shi Chun received information that Yin Xu was a powerful fox demon connected to a Regional Lord and that Vermilion Jade Pavilion offered escape services for people in trouble.
• Shi Chun spotted Yin Tianlu and other Extreme Fire Sect members at the Joyful Arrival Inn, and he and Wu Jinliang decided to move to Vermilion Jade Pavilion after daybreak.
• Two Bai Clan men met with Hua Chong, who revealed that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were staying at the inn and that Vermilion Jade Pavilion had questioned him about them.
• Xi Quan received word that Hua Chong might be more than an ordinary loafer and warned the Extreme Fire Sect’s hall master that something was happening around him.

Qiu Ben confirmed that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were in Distant Mountain City and ordered his people to follow them. At the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, Yin Xu tested Shi Chun to confirm her suspicion about him, then abruptly dismissed their flirtation as a joke.

• Qiu Ben ordered Xi Quan to watch the people who had entered Hua Chong's house, while Yin Tianlu identified Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang and was sent back to the sect.
• After Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang checked out of the inn, Qiu Ben's people followed them, but the two went to the Vermilion Jade Pavilion instead.
• Two Extreme Fire Sect men tried to learn which room Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had booked, but the pavilion attendant refused to reveal their room number.
• Tian Shen told Yin Xu that Wang Ping and Gao He had checked into the pavilion, and Yin Xu brought them fruit to investigate Shi Chun's aura.
• Yin Xu flirted with Shi Chun to test him, then pushed him away and said she had only been joking; Wu Jinliang replied that Shi Chun had been joking too.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang attended a rooftop banquet hosted by Yin Xu, who confirmed that Shi Chun carried the aura and Daoist Imprint of her ancestor. As Yin Xu revealed that several factions were watching the brothers, Lou Xiu arrived seeking them, leaving Shi Chun wondering why Yin Xu was helping them and whether she was attracted to him.

• Yin Xu told Tian Shen that Shi Chun carried her ancestor’s scent and Daoist Imprint, then asked him to investigate Shi Chun and Gao He.
• Yin Xu hosted Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang at a rooftop banquet while Lou Xiu learned their room number and decided to visit the Vermilion Jade Pavilion.
• Shi Chun asked Yin Xu about the pavilion’s discreet escort services, and she flirted with him while discussing its rules.
• Tian Shen reported that Lou Xiu had arrived to invite Yin Xu to dinner, and Shi Chun encouraged her to accept.
• Yin Xu revealed that the City Guard, two other groups, and the Extreme Fire Sect were watching the brothers, prompting Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to realize they had been exposed.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang realized Commissioner Lou Xiu had come to meet them and concealed their true relationship by pretending Wu was Shi’s leader. After Lou offered his friendship, Wu asked him to help them gain access to Divine Mountain.

• Yin Xu warned Tian Shen that Lou Xiu’s visit suggested someone had leaked news of her guests, and Tian Shen said they were investigating.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang discussed whether Lou knew their identities and concluded he likely wanted what they carried.
• Lou Xiu insisted on meeting Yin Xu’s honored guests, so she brought him upstairs, where Shi Chun and Wu pretended Wu was his big brother and leader.
• Lou joined the meal and offered Wu his friendship, while Yin Xu helped conceal that another guest had already been dining with them.
• Shi Chun used a Mother-Child Talisman to signal Wu, who then asked Lou to help them visit Divine Mountain.

Wu Jinliang asked Lou Xiu to arrange a visit to Divine Mountain, while Shi Chun and his companions faced scrutiny from the Extreme Fire Sect and the Bai Clan. The Western Emperor ordered Yin Xu to suspend all business, leaving her and the others unaware of what danger or plan prompted the command.

• Wu Jinliang asked Lou Xiu to seek permission for him and Shi Chun to visit Divine Mountain, and Lou Xiu agreed to submit an application.
• Shi Chun spotted followers from the Extreme Fire Sect and the Bai Clan, while Yin Xu questioned why he was keeping his purpose vague.
• Zhu Xin reported Shi Chun's location to Qiu Ben, who said Yin Xu would be forced to suspend her illicit work and warned Zhu Xin to focus on his task.
• Lou Xiu told the cloaked man that Shi Chun wanted to see Divine Mountain, and the man approved the application and ordered Lou Xiu to escort the visitors.
• The Western Emperor visited Yin Xu, reviewed her business records, and ordered her to refuse all work until he gave permission.

Yin Xu learned that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had gone to the Divine Mountain with Lou Xiu, while others tried to follow them. At the Mountain Gate, Shi Chun investigated the Divine Mountain’s formation and its Demonic Path connections, and Qiu Ben decided to visit as well.

• Yin Xu told Tian Shen to stop receiving guests on the Vermilion Jade Pavilion’s fifty-ninth floor temporarily after learning Lou Xiu had arranged for Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to visit the Divine Mountain.
• Tu Bicheng flew Lou Xiu, Shi Chun, and Wu Jinliang to the Divine Mountain, leaving those who wanted to tail them scrambling to find their destination.
• Jiang You'er greeted the visitors at the Mountain Gate, and Shi Chun suspected that both Jiang You'er and Lou Xiu belonged to the Demonic Path.
• Jiang You'er explained that the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation surrounded the Mountain Gate and stopped intelligent beings while allowing wind, water, and mindless things to pass.
• Zhu Xin reported to Qiu Ben that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had entered the Divine Mountain, and Qiu Ben decided to visit it as a guest.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang explored Divine Mountain while seeking a Soul-Returning Tree, but Jiang You'er could not take them into the Central District. That night, Shi Chun spotted a stream of golden light breaking through Divine Mountain’s protective formation and striking its highest mountain range.

• Shi Chun found no trace of a Soul-Returning Tree in the Northern District and asked Jiang You'er to find a way into the Central District.
• A Golden-Haired Rat appeared at the district border, and Jiang You'er explained that its clan had been enslaved and its demon bone locked.
• Jiang You'er reported the guests’ interest in the Central District to Huang Ye, who told him to delay them and warned that Granny Qi and Qiu Ben would arrive the next day.
• At midnight, Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun sensed a faint fragrance, and Shi Chun used his right-eye ability to look into the sky.
• Shi Chun saw golden mist strike Divine Mountain’s protective dome, with a few streaks passing through and hitting the highest mountain range.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang investigated the Divine Mountain’s midnight fragrance and planned how to reach the Main Peak, while visitors arrived to meet Feng Qingping. The next day, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang used a staged errand to separate from Jiang You'er and begin a covert escape.

• Shi Chun saw golden streams of light appear as the mountain fragrance intensified, and Jiang You'er explained that the fragrance grew stronger every midnight.
• Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang discussed checking Jin Zhan's belongings and using the Divine Mountain map to find a way toward the Main Peak.
• Qiu Ben entered the Divine Mountain with Extreme Fire Sect members, while Feng Jue and Huang Ye welcomed Granny Qi and escorted her to meet Feng Qingping.
• Feng Qingping offered to summon Xiao Ru's husband, but Granny Qi refused to see him and said she had come because she missed Feng Qingping.
• Shi Chun asked Wu Jinliang whether he wanted water and went to fetch it, while Jiang You'er left to find fruit and Wu Jinliang used the Earth-Diving Technique to disappear.

Wu Jinliang confirmed that Shi Chun’s command arrow let him cross the Divine Mountain’s protective formation, and the brothers arranged to leave while keeping Jiang You'er occupied. As they reached the mountain gate, Qiu Ben sent disciples after them, while Lou Xiu was already waiting to escort them out.

• Wu Jinliang tested Shi Chun’s command arrow underground and confirmed it let him pass through the grand formation’s barrier.
• Shi Chun signaled Wu Jinliang with the mother-child talisman while Jiang You'er watched him, and Wu Jinliang used their diversion to confirm Jiang You'er knew their identities.
• Wu Jinliang claimed homesickness and an urgent summons from home, then exchanged a mother-child talisman with Jiang You'er, who insisted on contacting Lou Xiu.
• Qiu Ben heard that the Northern District guests were leaving and ordered his disciples to watch for a chance to capture Shi Chun and his companion.
• Jiang You'er sent Lou Xiu to meet Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun, and Lou Xiu arrived at the mountain gate before them.