Chapter Summaries

Zhu Zhuying persuaded Zhu Zhujing and the Starfall Kingdom’s consorts and concubines to serve Li Chen, the Human Emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, for their protection. She then summoned six prominent beauties and offered them the same opportunity, leaving them to prepare to meet the emperor.

• Zhu Zhuying warned Zhu Zhujing that she could not protect the Starfall Kingdom’s consorts and concubines alone, then urged her to lead them in serving Li Chen.
• Zhu Zhujing agreed to Zhu Zhuying’s plan, and the consorts and concubines accepted the chance to serve the Human Emperor.
• Zhu Zhuying ordered the imperial harem guard commander to summon eight young ladies from prominent families; six arrived.
• Zhu Zhuying told the six beauties they could stay for the opportunity to serve Li Chen or leave, then showed them sheer gauze to wear.
• After Zhu Zhuying dismissed the guards, she told the beauties that serving Li Chen well might earn them places as imperial consorts of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

Li Chen entered the palace and was eagerly attended by its consorts, while Dai Xiaoyao secured Zhu Yingxiong’s apparent retirement and then tried to enter the Imperial Palace. When the guards blocked him, Dai Xiaoyao ordered them and their families executed, but the guard commander warned him that Li Chen was inside.

• Zhu Zhuying calmed the consorts competing to serve Li Chen and led him away from Zhu Yingxiong’s banquet hall.
• Zhu Yingxiong suggested retiring, and Dai Xiaoyao pretended to dissuade him while privately welcoming the chance to weaken the old general’s influence.
• Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying arrived at the Imperial Palace, where Zhu Zhujing and the consorts began attending to Li Chen in the bath.
• After finishing his coronation discussion with Zhu Yingxiong, Dai Xiaoyao rode to the palace and ordered his men to kill the guards who barred his way.
• Dai Xiaoyao demanded that the guard commander execute the guards and their kin, but the commander revealed that Li Chen was inside.

Dai Xiaoyao retreated from the palace when he learned Li Chen was inside, then spent the night catering to Li Chen’s needs as Zhu Zhuying summoned the capital’s beauties. News of Li Chen’s appetite spread across the Southern Kingdoms, whose rulers sent princesses and harems to the Starfall Empire, leaving Dai Xiaoyao worried about how to please him; a striking woman then entered.

• Dai Xiaoyao ordered his soldiers away from the palace after learning Li Chen was inside, and waited outside to apologize.
• Dai Xiaoyao arranged breakfast and restorative ingredients for Li Chen while Zhu Zhuying summoned the Starfall Empire’s renowned beauties to the palace.
• The Tasha Kingdom’s king and rulers of other kingdoms sent princesses to the Starfall Empire after hearing that Li Chen favored women.
• Kings began sending their harems after hearing rumors about Li Chen’s preferences and the attention their women received.
• Dai Xiaoyao worried that he had no beauties of his own to offer Li Chen, then a striking woman walked in.

Dai Xiaoyao persuaded the Empress Dowager to become an offering to Li Chen, claiming it was necessary to protect the Starfall Empire. The Empress Dowager agreed, and Dai Xiaoyao left her believing he had reluctantly accepted the sacrifice.

• The Empress Dowager returned and asked Dai Xiaoyao to spare his brother Dai Wuchang if he captured him.
• Dai Xiaoyao assured the Empress Dowager he would keep Dai Wuchang confined and provided for, and she said she would return to the temple.
• Dai Xiaoyao realized he could offer the Empress Dowager to Li Chen and use the connection to strengthen his position among the Southern Kingdoms.
• Dai Xiaoyao told the Empress Dowager that Starfall needed to send a mature woman to Li Chen, but claimed Zhu Zhuying had taken all the other beauties.
• Dai Xiaoyao pretended to prepare for war, and the Empress Dowager agreed to go to Li Chen for the empire's sake.

Zhu Zhuying welcomed the Starfall Empire’s Empress Dowager and taught her how to serve Li Chen, while privately hoping to make Dai Xiaoyao suffer. Meanwhile, Charles Stan remained unable to find his fugitive brother and faced an approaching trial by the Pope.

• Zhu Zhuying selected a woman to be trained for Li Chen, then welcomed the Empress Dowager and urged her to call her sister.
• Zhu Zhuying explained Li Chen’s preferences to the Empress Dowager, who soon began serving him and grew eager for their encounters.
• Zhu Zhuying watched the Empress Dowager become increasingly attached to Li Chen and thought of it as revenge against Dai Xiaoyao.
• Charles Stan berated his generals for failing to find his younger brother despite mobilizing thirty thousand Imperial Guards.
• A minister warned Charles Stan that the Pope would put him on trial soon and that the evidence needed to clear his name was incomplete.

Charles Stan faced mounting political and disaster-relief crises while Prince Chet found refuge with Li Xian. Meanwhile, Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying reached Snowfall City just as an adult Lizard Dragon attacked, and Li Chen showed no fear of it.

• Charles Stan ordered the Imperial Guards to find his younger brother within three days while preparing to handle the Pope's demands and urgent national affairs.
• Prince Chet arrived at Li Xian's refuge, and the two fugitives promised to help each other claim their respective thrones.
• After leaving the Starfall Empire, Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying traveled toward the Witch Gu Holy Land and reached Snowfall City.
• A merchant and bounty hunters argued over a captured young Lizard Dragon as an adult Lizard Dragon approached the city.
• The guards activated Snowfall City's defense formation and urged Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying to seek shelter, but Li Chen calmly watched the approaching beast.

Yangci Daoist mistook Li Chen for a young prodigy and offered to train him, but Li Chen revealed his overwhelming strength and recruited him instead. Meanwhile, Li Xian and Chet plotted to spread rumors against Charles Stan, each hoping to exploit the other for power.

• Yangci Daoist killed the rampaging Lizard Dragon and offered to take Li Chen as his disciple.
• Li Chen demonstrated his power with a snap of his fingers, frightening Yangci Daoist into apologizing.
• Li Chen offered Yangci Daoist an official post, and Yangci Daoist immediately accepted.
• Li Xian toasted Chet while both men secretly planned to use their alliance for their own ambitions.
• Chet asked Li Xian to spread rumors and fabricate evidence that his elder brother was colluding with the Emperor of Heavenly Strategy, promising the Holy See's support.

Li Yu reflected on Li Chen’s success in transforming Anxin City and acknowledged his exceptional ability, while Li Xian tried to keep Li Yu committed to their bid for the throne. After Li Xian returned to his sect, Li Chen arrived at the Witch Gu Holy Land in the Southern Borderlands.

• Li Yu observed Anxin City’s prosperity and recalled how Li Chen had improved life for its people.
• Li Yu admitted that Li Chen was better suited to rule, though he still intended to pursue the throne.
• Li Xian told Li Yu that Chet’s plan to have a Saint Realm expert assassinate the Eternal Day Empire’s emperor had failed because Li Chen blocked the attack.
• Li Xian urged Li Yu not to give up their ambitions, and Li Yu agreed they could not turn back.
• Li Xian returned to the Guixu Boundless Sect, unaware that the Jade-Washing Fairy’s beloved was Li Chen.
• Li Chen returned to the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty and arrived at the Witch Gu Holy Land in the Southern Borderlands.

Li Chen, Yangci Daoist, and Zhu Zhuying arrived at the Witch Gu Holy Land during the Li Tribe’s Hundred-Insect Feast and learned that the Holy Maiden might know about the Yin-Yang Gu. They headed toward the feast, where she was attending, while the Holy Lord remained unavailable.

• Li Chen and his companions arrived at the Witch Gu Holy Land and saw villagers eating a wide variety of insects at long communal tables.
• A woman explained that the feast honored the ancestors who had secured the Li Tribe’s survival through Gu arts and invited the visitors to the evening Bonfire Festival.
• The woman told Li Chen that the Holy Maiden would attend the Hundred-Insect Feast, though the Holy Lord could not be seen that day.
• Li Chen asked the woman about the Yin-Yang Gu, but she said she was an ordinary person and suggested he ask the Holy Maiden.
• The woman explained that the Holy Maiden handled merchant relations and had appeared at the feast.

Li Chen met Holy Maiden Li Meng at the Witch Gu Holy Land and sampled her Insect Feast, then discussed bringing its distinctive dishes to the Imperial Capital. He left the conversation considering how the business could support the people of Southland.

• Li Chen sat with Li Meng after she praised his looks and offered him fried centipedes.
• Li Chen and Yangci Daoist tasted the insect dishes, and Yangci Daoist found the feast delicious and gained a glimmer of cultivation insight.
• Li Meng asked about Li Chen’s background, and he said his lineage’s businesses spanned the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• Li Chen proposed selling suitable insects through his lineage’s hotpot restaurant chains to enrich the dynasty’s food culture and support Southland’s insect-raising people.

Li Chen learned that the Yin-Yang Gu was a sacred insect guarded by Li Meng’s second senior brother, Ma Bu, and agreed to help Li Meng sell the Insect Feast in exchange for an introduction. Meanwhile, Yun Xu granted Xu Zifeng and Ma Hei three days to visit home as the Southern Expeditionary Army returned without fighting, leaving Ma Hei unknowingly headed toward a surprise.

• Li Chen asked Li Meng about the Yin-Yang Gu, and she explained its history, dangers, and guard, Ma Bu.
• Li Meng offered to take Li Chen to meet Ma Bu, and Li Chen agreed to help her sell the Insect Feast.
• The Southern Expeditionary Army returned after mountain bandits fled without engaging its troops.
• Yun Xu gave Xu Zifeng three days of leave to visit home, citing Li Chen’s permission.
• Xu Zifeng and Ma Hei agreed to visit their homes and meet again in three days.

Xu Zifeng returned to Yueyang City and reunited with his father, Prince Xu Su, after leaving the Southern Expeditionary Army. Xu Su learned that Emperor Li Chen had permitted the visit, while Yun Xu kept his distance from the prince to avoid accusations of collusion.

• Xu Zifeng arrived in Yueyang City, where the guards and residents welcomed him as he made his way to the Prince of the South's Residence.
• Xu Zifeng learned that Xu Su was away and decided to wait at the residence rather than summon him.
• Xu Su visited Yun Xu at the army camp and thanked him for letting Xu Zifeng return home, but Yun Xu coldly rejected the favor.
• Xu Su returned to the residence and pretended to be surprised when Xu Zifeng greeted him with a formal obeisance.
• Xu Zifeng assured Xu Su that he had been treated well in the Imperial Capital and army, easing his father's worries.
• Xu Su realized that Li Chen had authorized the visit and understood why Yun Xu had sent Xu Zifeng home before Xu Su could ask.

Xu Su suspended the Xu family's rebellion plans and sent Xu Zifeng back to the Military Camp to advance his career at court. Meanwhile, Ma Hei returned to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains as a Heavenly Strategy Commandant, eager to tell the Holy Lord that his imperial post had brought him new influence.

• Xu Zifeng warned Xu Su that Li Chen's success made rebellion unlikely to gain support, and Xu Su suspended the Xu family's plans unless the emperor forced their hand.
• Xu Su told Xu Zifeng to return to the Military Camp, stop hiding his abilities, and rely on Li Ji if he encountered trouble.
• Xu Zifeng discussed his relationships with the Imperial Capital's younger officials and returned to the Military Camp that night.
• Ma Hei returned to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in a Heavenly Strategy uniform, where local officials welcomed him and asked for his help.
• Ma Hei rode into the mountains to tell the Holy Lord about his new influence as an imperial Commandant.

Li Chen and his companions traveled into the Witch Gu Holy Land, where Li Meng showed him the region’s gu-based medicine and cultivation techniques. After Li Chen suggested a way to sell and maintain gu insects, their flirtatious visit was interrupted by the arrival of Chi Chuan, who eyed Li Chen with hostility.

• Li Meng explained that the Witch Gu Holy Land had gained official recognition through its Gu Medicine Halls and described how different gu insects could heal people or enhance their abilities.
• Li Chen suggested opening a Gu Insect Shop where buyers could choose to care for their insects themselves or pay specialists, and Li Meng enthusiastically approved the idea.
• As they traveled through the Holy Land, Li Meng held Li Chen’s arm, chased away female cultivators who approached him, and blushed when he asked why she would not give him a bracelet.
• Chi Chuan arrived with a powerful white-haired guardian, prompting Li Meng to release Li Chen’s arm, and asked who Li Chen was while staring at him with hostility.

Li Chen entered the Witch Gu Holy Land with Li Meng, but Chi Chuan tried to bar his way and challenged him to a duel. Li Chen slapped Chi Chuan aside with ease, and the chapter ended as Chi Chuan's Heaven-High Fortune Gu surged with power.

• Li Chen introduced himself to Chi Chuan, who cited the rules and refused to let him enter the central area.
• Li Meng defended Li Chen, but Chi Chuan insisted the Holy Lord was absent and ordered him to wait.
• When Chi Chuan tried to shove Li Chen, Yangci Daoist drove him back and defeated his white-haired Guardian.
• Chi Chuan challenged Li Chen to a public duel, and Li Chen accepted as thousands of tribespeople gathered to watch.
• Chi Chuan activated the Heaven-High Fortune Gu and charged, but Li Chen struck him with a single slap.
• Chi Chuan rose amid the crowd's scrutiny as the Heaven-High Fortune Gu flooded him with power.

Li Chen defeated Chi Chuan, including his forbidden fortune-devouring technique, and entered the Witch Gu Holy Land with Li Meng. News of the fight reached Ma Bu, who demanded to know where Li Chen was.

• Chi Chuan broke through to the Heaven-Viewing Realm and attacked Li Chen with Golden Silkworm Silk Rain, but Li Chen shattered it with a slap.
• Chi Chuan unleashed the White Miao Tribe's forbidden art, Heavenly Fortune Devours Gods, and Li Chen destroyed its domain with a purple-gold-glowing slap.
• Li Chen asked to enter, and Chi Chuan nodded before passing out; the White Miao Elders treated him as the tribespeople cleared a path for Li Chen.
• Li Meng led Li Chen deeper into the Witch Gu Holy Land and praised his strength as news of his victory spread.
• Ma Bu heard about Li Chen's victory, shattered the low table before him, and demanded to know where Li Chen was.

Ma Hei returned to the Witch Gu Holy Land and sought out the outsider who had injured Chi Chuan, hoping to negotiate with him. Li Chen reached the Holy Lord’s residence with Li Meng, but learned that Ma Bu might keep him from seeing the Yin-Yang Gu; the chapter ended as approaching armor and boots caught his attention.

• Ma Bu refused to intervene against Li Chen and told the White Miao disciples to leave him alone as long as he followed tribal rules.
• Ma Hei returned in his Heavenly Strategy Army uniform and encouraged young Gu Cultivators to enlist, then learned that Ma Bu was in charge because the Holy Lord had left.
• Ma Hei found the injured Chi Chuan and learned that an outsider had beaten him after Li Meng took an interest in the man.
• Ma Hei learned the outsider was an Imperial Capital merchant and headed to meet him, expecting to negotiate a deal that would benefit the holy land and raise his own standing.
• Li Chen followed Li Meng to the Holy Lord’s residence, where she told him her father was absent and Ma Bu might refuse to let him see the Yin-Yang Gu.
• Li Chen considered forcing his way in, but heard the clatter of armor and the tread of combat boots approaching.

Li Chen asked to see the Yin-Yang Gu, and Ma Hei recognized the emperor beneath his merchant disguise and agreed to take him to the White Miao Tribe. At the Heavenly Mandate Pavilion, Ma Bu challenged their visit, and a White Miao Elder arrived with a whispered message.

• Ma Hei recognized Li Chen as the emperor, but Li Chen claimed to be a merchant, so Ma Hei played along and welcomed him.
• Li Chen asked Ma Hei to arrange a visit to the Yin-Yang Gu, and Ma Hei promised to secure access despite the tribal rules.
• Ma Hei led Li Chen and Li Meng through Black Miao territory and described its gu before bringing them to the White Miao settlement.
• White Miao guards blocked the group from entering their forbidden grounds, but Ma Bu arrived and questioned Ma Hei about bringing an outsider.
• Ma Hei said Li Chen wanted to view the Yin-Yang Gu, and a White Miao Elder hurried over to whisper to Ma Bu.

Ma Hei challenged Ma Bu to a duel after Ma Bu refused to let Li Chen see the Yin-Yang Gu, and the two fought at the Offering God Platform. Their evenly matched battle was interrupted when a powerful presence descended on the Holy Land.

• Ma Bu refused Ma Hei's request to show Li Chen the Yin-Yang Gu, so Ma Hei challenged him under the Holy Land's rules.
• Ma Hei and Ma Bu summoned their secret techniques at the Offering God Platform as crowds from both tribes gathered to watch.
• Li Chen asked the masked Chi Chuan to assess the fighters, and Chi Chuan judged their chances evenly while favoring Ma Bu.
• Ma Hei used the Ten Thousand Gu Heart-Eating Formation, while Ma Bu activated the Heavenly Silkworm Nine Transformations, and their battle remained deadlocked.
• An immense pressure silenced the platform, and Li Chen, Yangci Daoist, Chi Chuan, Ma Hei, and Ma Bu sensed the approaching presence.

The Holy Lord returned to the Offering God Platform and learned that Young Master Li was the reigning emperor, who wanted to see the Yin-Yang Gu. He granted the request and led Li Chen’s party into the White Miao Tribe’s cavern of rare Gu insects, where his deference toward the emperor became clear.

• The Holy Lord stopped Ma Hei and Ma Bu’s dispute, but Ma Hei asked him to consider Young Master Li’s request to see the Yin-Yang Gu.
• After the Holy Lord demanded an explanation, Ma Hei privately revealed that Young Master Li was the reigning emperor traveling incognito.
• The Holy Lord returned to the platform and declared Li Chen an honored guest whose visit could benefit the Holy Land, persuading Ma Bu to lead the way.
• Ma Bu brought the group through guarded stone gates into a cavern filled with rare Gu cocoons.
• The Holy Lord described the Heart-Burning Gu and Heavenly Net Gu, while Ma Bu noticed that the Holy Lord was treating Li Chen with exceptional courtesy.