Chapter Summaries

Yin Ning retaliated against the Western Emperor and his allies for harming Qingqiu Fox Clan members, then learned Yin Xu had claimed to be the Green Mound Ancestor’s maid because Shi Chun said he was the Ancestor’s friend. After Yin Ning decided to capture Shi Chun and verify his connection to the Ancestor, she ordered Yin Xu to avenge the dead clansman, leaving the Western Emperor, Ying Gang, and Xi Quan facing execution.

• Yin Ning had the Western Emperor, Ying Gang, and Xi Quan restrained, then injured the Western Emperor in retaliation for the harm done to Yin Xu and Tian Shen.
• Yin Ning took Yin Xu, Tian Shen, and the captives back to the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, where Yin Xu identified the dead clansman as Yin Gongxian and named the Western Emperor as his killer.
• The Western Emperor and Ying Gang accused Yin Xu of impersonating the Green Mound Ancestor’s maid, and Yin Ning questioned Yin Xu about the claim.
• Yin Xu explained that Shi Chun had told her he was the Ancestor’s friend and that she recognized the Ancestor’s aura on him; Yin Ning said the Ancestor had denied knowing Shi Chun and decided they would capture him to investigate.
• Yin Xu gave Yin Ning the Mother-Child Talisman, and Yin Ning ordered her to kill the Western Emperor, Ying Gang, and Xi Quan while promising to seek the Extreme Fire Sect’s Martial Hall Master as well.

Yin Ning killed the Western Emperor and Ying Gang, then pursued Shi Chun, who escaped her ambush and tested the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation with Yu Xuanbing and Wu Jinliang. After Yin Ning failed to catch him, she demanded that the Phoenix Clan hand over Qiu Ben, and Feng Xi decided to release him to the Extreme Fire Sect instead of getting involved.

• Yin Xu stabbed the Western Emperor to death, and Tian Shen killed Ying Gang and Xi Quan as Yin Ning ordered.
• Yin Xu helped Yin Ning lure Shi Chun to a meeting, but Yu Xuanbing discovered the ambush, so Shi Chun went to the Nether Realm instead.
• Shi Chun deployed and tested the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation, confirming that its barriers and mechanisms worked before retrieving the umbrella.
• When Shi Chun failed to appear, Yin Ning gave up the ambush and demanded that the Phoenix Clan hand over Qiu Ben.
• Feng Xi learned that Yin Ning had killed the Western Emperor and Ying Gang, then ordered Qiu Ben released to the Extreme Fire Sect rather than sent to the East Victory Royal Court.

Shi Chun learned that his false claim of friendship with the Green Mound Ancestor had drawn the Qingqiu Fox Clan into the pursuit, but the Red-Clad Woman reassured him and urged him to surrender to Eastern Victory. After arranging to turn himself in, he traveled alone and sent Young Master Nan a message agreeing to surrender while staking his life on Nan keeping his word.

• Feng Qingping reported that the Golden-Haired Rat Clan had reached Green Mound, and Feng Xi refused to pursue them while suspecting an intruder remained on Divine Mountain.
• A-Lan told the Red-Clad Woman that the Northern Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation had been shut down and that Shi Chun might be connected to the recent events.
• Shi Chun explained to the Red-Clad Woman how his lies to Yin Xu had led the Golden-Haired Rat Clan to seek refuge with the Qingqiu Fox Clan, and she assured him her mother's cousin could help smooth things over.
• The Red-Clad Woman persuaded Shi Chun to postpone his surrender for one night, and they left separately the next morning.
• Shi Chun met Wu Jinliang at the Barrier Slope, handed over his bracelet and valuable gear, and traveled through the Nether Realm before sending Young Master Nan a message agreeing to surrender.

Shi Chun agreed to surrender to the East Victory Royal Court after its agents used his friends’ safety to pressure him, though Young Master Nan struggled with the promise he was asked to make. After saying farewell to Lan Qiaoyan, Miao Yilan, and Mulan Qingqing, Shi Chun met the Royal Court at the arranged location and surrendered without resistance.

• Big Stone received Shi Chun’s message, in which Shi Chun said he would stake his life on Young Master Nan keeping his word.
• Wei Mo urged Young Master Nan to reassure Shi Chun, then sent a promise that Shi Chun could surrender without worry.
• Shi Chun met Lan Qiaoyan and Miao Yilan, explained that he was surrendering partly because the Royal Court had threatened them, and apologized before leaving.
• Shi Chun met Mulan Qingqing, told her he would surrender because she had been threatened, and said he acted willingly for her.
• Shi Chun confirmed his surrender to Wei Mo and arrived at the agreed location, where the Royal Court surrounded him and Wei Mo ordered his people to seize him.

Shi Chun was interrogated by Jia Huan about two Soul-Capturing Bags connected to a Royal Court theft, and he recounted how he had stolen them while pursuing Death-Defying Incense on Gathering Grotto Continent. He revealed that he had mailed the bags to Shen Moming and Young Master Nan, while the interrogation left the Royal Court’s investigation focused on the goods and the people pursuing him.

• Wei Mo took Shi Chun into custody, searched him, and returned with him to the East Victory Royal Court while releasing Lan Qiaoyan, Mulan Qingqing, Gu Liani, the Mount Wukang group, and the Land of Exile group.
• Jia Huan and two attendants of Eastern Victory's Queen began interrogating Shi Chun about the two Soul-Capturing Bags he had mailed to Shen Moming and Young Master Nan.
• Shi Chun admitted that he had stolen the bags in a raid and began explaining his search with Wu Jinliang for Death-Defying Incense to repair Magical Treasures damaged by lightning.
• Shi Chun recounted how he and Wu Jinliang investigated Dazhi City, uncovered Fan Wuzhe's affair, and later followed Lou Xiu and Jiang You'er to intercept a shipment containing Death-Defying Incense and the Soul-Capturing Bags.
• Shi Chun described escaping Jiang You'er's forces with the Magical Treasures and surviving a heavenly immortal's attack after Sword Saint Fu Que intervened.
• Shi Chun said he had sent the Soul-Capturing Bags to separate recipients for safekeeping, believing they were important, and had not expected them to implicate him in a Royal Court theft.

Shi Chun’s interrogation turned attention toward Huang Ye, while Wang Ping’s instructions and a coordinated Eastern Victory operation led to the capture of Huang Ye and Lou Xiu. Both prisoners were murdered in Divine Mountain Prison before they could be taken away, and investigators found sealed Soul-Capturing Bags among Huang Ye’s belongings.

• Jia Huan questioned Shi Chun, who lied about escaping with Li Hongjiu and was sent to prison after the interrogation.
• A masked messenger delivered Wang Ping’s instructions to Jin Fu, who passed them to Huang Yingying concerning his account of Lord A-Xun’s murder.
• Feng Xi brought disguised visitors to Divine Mountain and sent Feng Jue to Distant Mountain City, where Lou Xiu was secretly captured.
• Huang Ye received a warning that he was exposed, tried to flee Divine Mountain, and was captured after attacking Feng Qingping and revealing his demonic arts.
• Feng Xi refused to release Huang Ye and Lou Xiu to the Eastern Victory operatives, but both prisoners and several guards were soon killed inside Divine Mountain Prison.
• Feng Xi and the operatives searched Huang Ye’s belongings and discovered several sealed Soul-Capturing Bags in metal containers.

After Yu Xuanbing confirmed that he had killed Huang Ye and Lou Xiu and planted evidence in Huang Ye’s Heaven-and-Earth Bag, Shi Chun remained imprisoned while the investigation triggered turmoil across the Phoenix Clan and Eastern Victory. Jia Huan told Young Master Nan that Shi Chun would be publicly executed in three days, though the other members of the Bright Mountain Sect would be released.

• Jia Huan and the Queen’s attendants concluded that a high-ranking Phoenix Clan member might have silenced Huang Ye and Lou Xiu, while Jia Huan said Shi Chun’s guilt mattered less than the Demonic Path’s aims.
• The Red-Clad Woman learned that Huang Ye and Lou Xiu were dead and scolded A-Lan for failing to prevent the losses.
• Yu Xuanbing visited Shi Chun in prison, admitted he had killed Huang Ye and Lou Xiu, and said he had planted the requested evidence in Huang Ye’s Heaven-and-Earth Bag.
• Feng Xi handed the Bai Clan members who had been on Divine Mountain and the detained members of the Extreme Fire Sect over to the East Victory Royal Court, while Granny Qi pleaded and spared the rest of her clan.
• Young Master Nan repeatedly sought help for Shi Chun, and Jia Huan finally received him and revealed that Shi Chun and hundreds of Royal Court Guards would be beheaded in three days.
• Jia Huan told Young Master Nan that the other members of the Bright Mountain Sect had been cleared and could be collected from prison.

The Red-Clad Woman arranged a banquet in Western Ox that trapped its high-status guests, while news spread that Shi Chun would be executed and his allies struggled to help him. Miao Yilan and Mulan Qingqing both failed to secure help, and Wu Jinliang remained hidden, convinced he was only safe once Shi Chun was freed.

• The Red-Clad Woman learned Shi Chun had been sentenced to death and decided to return to the Royal Capital to host a banquet, sending invitations to influential cultivators.
• Sect Master Luo Yan attended the banquet, broke the Demon Empress’s treasure, and was detained with the other guests until they could repair it; Situ Gu then traveled to Western Ox to help.
• The Bright Mountain Sect members heard Shi Chun’s execution was imminent, while Xiang Lan’er’s Demonic Path backers refused to rescue him and ordered her to watch for Wu Jinliang.
• Wu Jinliang stayed hidden, ignored messages from Young Master Nan and the Bright Mountain Sect, and resolved not to show himself until Shi Chun was free.
• Miao Yilan sought help from Gong Shaoci for Shi Chun, but Gong Shaoci’s grandfather refused to intervene.
• Mulan Qingqing sought help from her father at the Stargazing Pavilion, only to learn he and her grandfather were trapped in Western Ox, leaving her feeling lost.

As Shi Chun’s public execution approached, his allies and the Golden-Haired Rat Clan rushed to the Royal Capital while the Demon Empress decided to attend in person. At the execution ground, Bai Qiru learned the Bai Clan Leader had risked herself to protect the clan, and the Demon Empress arrived at the Royal Court Grounds.

• Wu Jinliang disguised himself and searched for news because Shi Chun had not contacted him.
• Yin Ning told the Golden-Haired Rat Clan that Shi Chun was about to be executed, and Jin Fu led the clan toward the Royal Capital; Yin Luo also left Green Mound with Yin Xu.
• Daozhen reported Yin Luo’s departure to the Demon Empress, who decided to travel to Eastern Victory and watch the execution.
• Tong Mingshan, An Wuzhi, Zhu Xiangxin, Shen Moming, Xiang Lan'er, and Young Master Nan gathered at the execution ground, where Young Master Nan had prepared a coffin.
• Bai Qiru learned that the Bai Clan Leader had pleaded to spare the clan and entrusted the Bai Clan’s hopes to her; Wu Jinliang also arrived at the grounds in disguise.
• The Demon Empress stepped through a spatial rift onto the Royal Court Grounds’ white jade altar.

Yin Luo brought Yin Xu to confirm that Shi Chun was the man who had deceived and ruined her, while Queen Xin agreed to verify his identity in the Prison. Shi Chun remained convinced he would be freed and cheerfully ate what he mistook for an ordinary meal, leaving Yin Luo’s party stunned when he called it his last meal.

• The Demon Empress visited Queen Xin and said she would release her confined Eastern Victory prisoners after a few days.
• Yin Luo arrived with Yin Xu and declared that she had come to make sure Shi Chun, also known as Wang Ping, died.
• Yin Xu explained how Shi Chun had deceived her by pretending to be a friend of the Green Mound Ancestor.
• Queen Xin sent Yin Luo and Yin Xu to the Prison to verify Shi Chun’s identity, and the Demon Empress sent Daozhen along to observe.
• Royal Court jailers delivered Shi Chun an elaborate meal and wine, calling it his final meal, but Shi Chun ate confidently, believing his allies would secure his release.
• When Yin Luo’s party arrived, Shi Chun called his food his last meal, leaving them and Yin Xu stunned.

Yin Luo confirmed Shi Chun’s identity and insisted that he be executed, while Wei Mo offered him a final chance to reveal information in exchange for his life. Shi Chun refused, and Royal Court officials restrained him and dragged him from the prison toward the execution ground, though he still believed they were bluffing.

• Yin Xu identified Shi Chun as the man who had deceived her, and Shi Chun denied ever claiming to know the Green Mound Ancestor.
• Yin Luo seized Shi Chun through the cage and threw him against the wall before leaving with Yin Xu and Daozhen.
• Yin Luo told Queen Xin that Shi Chun was Wang Ping and declared that she would stay to oversee his execution.
• Wei Mo visited Shi Chun and offered him a final chance to trade useful information for a reprieve, but Shi Chun insisted he had nothing to reveal.
• Wei Mo ordered officials to bind and silence Shi Chun, then watched as they dragged him out of the prison toward the execution ground.

Shi Chun was brought to the Execution Ground among hundreds of condemned prisoners, but his calm composure astonished the crowd and those who cared about him. Queen Xin briefly wondered whether his spirit made his execution a pity, but the Demon Empress refused to intervene, leaving Shi Chun's fate uncertain as the blade awaited its use.

• Bian Weiying, Mulan Qingqing, Miao Yilan, Li Hongjiu, and others gathered at the Execution Ground, burdened by guilt or gratitude as they awaited Shi Chun's execution.
• Wu Jinliang watched Shi Chun appear among the condemned and decided he would call for the execution to stop if things went wrong.
• Shi Chun knelt calmly while the other prisoners struggled, impressing An Wuzhi, the Bright Mountain Sect, and spectators across the grounds.
• Queen Xin praised Shi Chun's composure and wondered aloud whether it was a pity to kill him, but she gave no order to spare him.
• Yin Luo insisted that Shi Chun must die, and the Demon Empress told Daozhen she would not intervene unless Shi Chun proved his worth.

The Demon Empress’s watchers identified Wu Jinliang among the crowd as Shi Chun’s execution began. Shi Chun mistook the guards’ warning for a bluff and was bound for execution, while Wu Jinliang’s attempted rescue was stopped at the last moment.

• The Demon Empress explained that the execution announcement was meant to draw out Wu Jinliang, and Daozhen continued searching the crowd.
• The Royal Court executed successive groups of ninety-nine prisoners as Shi Chun searched the crowd and failed to spot Wu Jinliang.
• Daozhen found Wu Jinliang disguised as an old man, while guards tried to persuade Shi Chun to confess by mentioning Situ Gu; Shi Chun concluded they were bluffing and refused.
• Shi Chun was bound over the execution trough, and, realizing he could not signal anyone, he began struggling as the execution order was given.
• Wu Jinliang moved to stop the blade, but Master Qing immobilized him with a Double Finger Strike before he could act.

A golden brush pierced the execution blade and spared Shi Chun from beheading, revealing that the Life Prison Judge had intervened. Qieshan arrived to take Shi Chun into custody, while the execution supervisor challenged his authority.

• As the Giant Execution Blade fell, a streak of golden light pierced its edge above Shi Chun’s neck, leaving him alive while the ninety-eight other prisoners were beheaded.
• Miao Yilan recognized the golden object as the Judge’s Brush, and Gong Shaoci connected it to Du Huoguan, the Life Prison Judge.
• Queen Xin identified Du Huoguan as the apparent force behind the intervention, while Wu Jinliang realized Shi Chun’s fallback had arrived.
• Qieshan, an Envoy of the Prison of Life, took the Judge’s Brush and ordered an attendant to verify Shi Chun’s identity.
• After the execution supervisor raised the blade and held a sword to Shi Chun’s neck, Qieshan said he had come under orders to take Shi Chun into custody.

Qieshan stopped Shi Chun’s execution and claimed the Prison of Life needed him for an investigation filed years earlier. Queen Xin questioned why the case had been hidden and ordered an investigation while Shi Chun remained in custody.

• Qieshan used the Judge’s Brush to persuade the execution supervisor to hand Shi Chun over, while the executions of Granny Qi and the Extreme Fire Sect disciples continued.
• Queen Xin summoned Qieshan and Shi Chun to the palace, while the Demon Empress withdrew to avoid meeting Shi Chun and Daozhen reported that Wu Jinliang had been restrained by unknown people.
• Qieshan told Queen Xin that Shi Chun was implicated in a Prison of Life case filed years earlier and warned that executing him could amount to silencing a witness.
• Queen Xin questioned whether the case had been fabricated or concealed, and the Palace-Dressed Woman denied knowing of it.
• Queen Xin ordered the Palace-Dressed Woman to investigate the case.

Yu Xuanbing rescued Wu Jinliang from an ambush with the Void-Piercing Divine Arrow and left him the Divine Bow, while Queen Xin examined the record that had led the Prison of Life to pursue Shi Chun. The record also implicated Wu Jinliang, and Qieshan asked Queen Xin to hand him over if Eastern Victory had captured him.

• At the Execution Ground, Shi Chun's companions waited to learn why the Prison of Life had delayed his execution, while Wu Jinliang and Master Qing slipped away from the crowd.
• Four Black-Clad Masked Men cornered Master Qing and Wu Jinliang in the woods, and one killed Master Qing with the Void-Piercing Divine Arrow before the group took Wu captive.
• Yu Xuanbing ambushed the Masked Men, killed them with the Divine Bow, freed Wu Jinliang, and warned him that Xiang Lan'er had worked with Master Qing against him.
• Yu Xuanbing gave Wu Jinliang the bow and quiver, ended their debt, and vanished; Wu chose to keep the treasure despite the danger of being tracked.
• The Palace-Dressed Woman brought Queen Xin an old Prison of Life record, and Queen Xin learned that it referred to Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang as bandit leaders of the Eastern Nine Plains.
• Qieshan asked Queen Xin to hand Wu Jinliang over for interrogation if Eastern Victory had arrested him.

Qieshan invoked the Prison of Life’s warrant to stop Shi Chun’s execution and take him into custody, while Queen Xin ordered an investigation into the Qi Household. In the Western Ox Royal Court, the Demon Empress realized that the Prison of Life’s intervention revealed the powerful figure behind Shi Chun.

• Shi Chun feared that the Prison of Life intended to arrest Wu Jinliang after Queen Xin learned Wu was the Eastern Nine Plains’ second-in-command.
• Qieshan explained that the Prison of Life had reopened an old case after another Qi Household member infiltrated it ten days earlier, and said he had orders to take Shi Chun once his death seemed unavoidable.
• Yin Luo accused Shi Chun of deceiving the Qingqiu Fox Clan, but withdrew with Yin Xu when Qieshan insisted he could not defy the Prison of Life’s orders.
• Queen Xin released Shi Chun to Qieshan, then ordered the Palace-Dressed Woman to investigate the Qi Household’s renewed activity.
• The Demon Empress returned to the Western Ox Royal Court and concluded that the Prison of Life’s intervention had exposed the powerful figure connected to Shi Chun.

After the Prison of Life took Shi Chun to Zhixu City, the Demon Empress learned that her agents had vanished while trying to capture Wu Jinliang. Shi Chun was returned to his old cell after denying that he knew the corpse he was asked to identify.

• Daozhen told the Demon Empress that the team sent after Wu Jinliang had disappeared, and she ordered him to find the witness and investigate the scene.
• Young Master Nan reported that the Prison of Life had taken Shi Chun and was searching for Wu Jinliang, while the Bright Mountain Sect arranged to help the displaced Golden-Haired Rat Clan.
• Jin Fu refused the Bai Clan's offer of a home and chose to wait with Shi Chun's friends, while Wu Jinliang secretly planned to contact Miao Yilan near the Xun Gate.
• Prison guards escorted Shi Chun through Zhixu City, where former acquaintances recognized him, including the Wangbo Tower bookkeeper Sugar Sand.
• An armored guard questioned Shi Chun about a corpse; Shi Chun denied knowing the dead man and was locked in his former cell.

Ba Yingshan feared that the Qi Household’s renewed activity would expose his past collusion, while a poisoning attempt and factional scrutiny kept Shi Chun’s arrest in the spotlight. After more than a year in prison, Shi Chun was told he could earn his release by questioning a badly injured prisoner, whose demonic essence caught his attention.

• Ba Yingshan questioned Xu Yong about Shi Chun’s arrest and learned the Qi Household had sent Qi Feng to search for evidence connected to Qi Ziru and a traitor inside the Prison.
• A guard involved in delivering water to Shi Chun was found poisoned after an attempt to poison Shi Chun’s drinking water failed, prompting a citywide search.
• Qi Zhun confronted senior Qi Household members about renewed contact with the Prison, while Lan Qiaoyan visited Shi Chun and secretly relayed that Wu Jinliang had asked after him.
• Shi Chun spent over a year imprisoned, repeatedly denying any involvement in the deaths of Qi Ziru and Shen Youkun, until Prison Master Nie ordered that he remain locked up for another twenty years.
• Xu Yong put a badly injured prisoner in Shi Chun’s cell and offered his release if he could obtain the man’s confession; Shi Chun noticed the prisoner possessed demonic essence.

Shi Chun killed a gravely wounded prisoner after secretly absorbing his demonic essence, then remained imprisoned and refined his cultivation for years. Lan Qiaoyan smuggled him an Immortal Spirit Pill so he could attempt a breakthrough, while ten years later the Red-Clad Woman left Dazhi City believing Shi Chun would never be released.

• Shi Chun pretended to treat the wounded prisoner, absorbed his demonic essence, and killed him before calling the guards.
• Xu Yong dismissed Shi Chun’s claim that the prisoner had died before confessing and left him imprisoned without sealing his cultivation.
• Shi Chun refined the absorbed demonic essence for two years, reached the threshold of the human immortal realm, and asked Lan Qiaoyan for help obtaining an Immortal Spirit Pill.
• Lan Qiaoyan brought Shi Chun food and wine containing a crushed Immortal Spirit Pill and told him Wu Jinliang was still safe.
• Shi Chun began his breakthrough as his body shed its old skin, while ten years passed.
• The Red-Clad Woman left Dazhi City with A-Lan, believing Shi Chun would remain imprisoned for life.