Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ningyue told Li Chen how the Azure Sky Sect’s destruction had devastated the Jiang Family, and Li Chen agreed to stay at their residence while investigating the nearby sects. Meanwhile, Lin Mo advanced in the household servant selection, intending to use his position to pursue the Jiang women for his cultivation.

• Jiang Ningyue explained that the Azure Sky Sect’s massacre had killed the Jiang Family head, her husband, her son Jiang Cheng, and their sect elder, leaving the family’s women struggling to manage its holdings.
• Jiang Ningyue offered to summon her niece Jiang Mo from the Jade Void Immortal Manor, and Li Chen agreed to stay at the Jiang Residence until she arrived.
• Jiang Ningyue personally served Li Chen while concealing his identity from most of the household, and the maids grew curious about their mysterious guest.
• Lin Mo passed the first round of the Jiang Residence’s servant selection, aiming to get close to Jiang Rong and the other women for his dual cultivation.
• Lin Mo planned to hide his ulterior motives and earn the Jiang women’s trust, unaware that they were already spending time with Li Chen.

Jiang Ningyue hosted Li Chen at the Jiang Family estate and asked Dong Zhiqing to learn what he liked. Taking Wu Nanzhi’s casual remark literally, Dong Zhiqing went to Li Chen’s room and asked whether he wanted her to attend him in bed.

• Jiang Ningyue prepared the estate’s finest room for Li Chen and told Dong Zhiqing that the guest was the emperor.
• Li Chen discussed the Previous Emperor’s investigation into the Former Dynasty Remnants with Wu Nanzhi before joining Jiang Ningyue and Dong Zhiqing for dinner.
• Jiang Ningyue apologized that Xie Minjun and Jiang Rong were absent from the banquet, while Dong Zhiqing nervously attended Li Chen.
• After Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi retired to their room, Jiang Ningyue left to look for Jiang Rong and told Dong Zhiqing to learn Li Chen’s preferences from the Imperial Consort.
• Wu Nanzhi casually told Dong Zhiqing that Li Chen liked beautiful women, and Dong Zhiqing took her remark literally.
• Dong Zhiqing went to Li Chen’s room and asked whether he had wanted her to attend him in bed.

Li Chen stayed at the Jiang Residence and received attention from Dong Zhiqing and Jiang Ningyue while Wu Nanzhi discovered who was in his room. Jiang Ningyue oversaw the first two rounds of the servant selection, where Lin Mo advanced, as Jiang Rong returned after being investigated for alleged ties to the Demon Race.

• Li Chen asked Dong Zhiqing to attend him, and Jiang Ningyue later arrived at the residence and found Wu Nanzhi outside his room.
• Jiang Ningyue praised the Jiang Family's two young misses to Li Chen and told him when they were expected to return.
• Jiang Ningyue tested a hundred servant candidates for patience and writing ability; Lin Mo passed both rounds and advanced to the final ten.
• Lin Mo approached Jiang Ningyue after the tests and tried to remind her of their meeting at a poetry gathering, but she gave him a brief reply and left.
• Lin Yue'e investigated Jiang Rong for allegedly colluding with the Demon Race, found no evidence, and allowed her to return home.
• Jiang Rong entered the Jiang Residence and wondered why her aunt and younger brother's wife were missing.

Jiang Rong returned to the Jiang Residence and missed the chance to meet Li Chen, while Jiang Ningyue and Dong Zhiqing kept him occupied. Lin Mo encountered Jiang Rong before the final servant recruitment test, then chose a shop assignment he believed would let him excel.

• Jiang Rong learned that Jiang Ningyue and Dong Zhiqing were resting with guests from the Imperial Capital, then went to her room and slept after worrying over the family businesses and her health.
• Jiang Ningyue planned to introduce Jiang Rong to Li Chen, but Dong Zhiqing asked her to wait, so the two returned to Li Chen and left Jiang Rong asleep.
• Li Chen spent the evening with Jiang Ningyue and Dong Zhiqing, while Jiang Rong woke the next morning and left to oversee the shops without meeting him.
• Lin Mo approached Jiang Rong outside the residence, introduced himself as a recruitment candidate, and received her encouragement before she departed.
• Jiang Ningyue began the final servant test, assigning Lin Mo and the other candidates to increase sales at separate Jiang Family shops for a day.
• Lin Mo reasoned that wedding goods would be a promising choice during the Auspicious Wedding Days and selected a shop, confident he could outperform the other candidates.

Jiang Rong faced a coordinated attempt by Shanghe City's merchant families to seize the Jiang Family's western-district textile businesses, but City Lord Ding Tianming intervened and upheld the chamber's rules. He then revealed that Jiang Rong's mother had been accused of secretly contacting the Demon Race, leaving Jiang Rong shocked and uncertain whether the accusation was true.

• Jiang Rong challenged the Sun Family head's decision to cut off textile supplies despite a two-year agreement, but Chairman Zhang Wanshan dismissed her appeal and threatened to expel her from the chamber.
• As Zhang Wanshan ordered attendants to throw Jiang Rong out, Ding Tianming arrived and heard her account of the dispute.
• Ding Tianming ruled that the Sun Family must pay double compensation if its losses were genuine, or tenfold compensation and submit to an investigation if it had deliberately targeted the Jiang Family.
• After the gathering ended, Ding Tianming told Jiang Rong that her mother might be in serious trouble and brought her to the Ding Residence.
• Ding Tianming revealed that Jiang Rong's mother had been accused of secretly contacting the Demon Race, and Jiang Rong protested while privately suspecting the accusation might be true.

Ding Tianming and Zhang Wanshan conspired to ruin the Jiang Family so Xie Minjun and Jiang Rong would have to seek Ding’s help, while Jiang Rong sent Lin Mo to investigate the Sun Family’s supply scheme. Xie Minjun remained in hiding as Ding warned her that the City Inspector was investigating, and Jiang Rong unknowingly missed a chance to ask her Imperial Capital guests for help.

• Ding Tianming showed Jiang Rong half of her mother Xie Minjun’s jade bracelet and suggested it linked Xie Minjun to the Demon Race, while concealing his plan to exploit the family.
• Zhang Wanshan met Ding Tianming and sought payment for helping him target the Jiang Family; Ding revealed his scheme to pressure the family from all sides and force Xie Minjun and Jiang Rong to beg him for help.
• Jiang Rong returned to the shop and recruited Lin Mo to investigate the Sun Family’s refusal to supply raw materials, promising him a possible promotion to steward.
• Jiang Rong considered seeking help from her Imperial Capital guests, but Dong Zhiqing distracted her and kept her from meeting them.
• Ding Tianming found Xie Minjun outside Shanghe City and warned her that the City Inspector was investigating her alleged collusion with the Demon Race, while pretending to protect the Jiang Family.

Xie Minjun returned to find the Jiang Family in danger and learned that Li Chen, the emperor, was staying with them. Hoping to secure his protection, she offered herself to him, while Ding Tianming waited in vain for her to seek his help; by the end, Jiang Rong met Li Chen for the first time.

• Ding Tianming revealed his knowledge of Xie Minjun's past and pressured her to seek his help, prompting her to return to the Jiang Residence.
• Xie Minjun told Jiang Rong about her former sect's ties to demons and learned how the City Inspector and merchants' association had targeted the Jiang Family.
• Jiang Ningyue told Xie Minjun that Li Chen was the emperor and urged her to win his favor in exchange for help protecting the family.
• Xie Minjun went to Li Chen's room and stayed there until just before dinner, while Ding Tianming waited for her to come to him.
• Jiang Rong returned to the residence and discovered that the guest staying with the Jiang Family was the emperor.

Jiang Rong uncovered evidence that the Sun and Zhang Families had hidden the Jiang Family’s raw materials, but the City Lord’s response made Lin Mo suspect a trap. Meanwhile, Jiang Rong met Emperor Li Chen and grew attracted to him as Xie Minjun urged her to become his Imperial Consort.

• Jiang Rong struggled to find replacement suppliers, while Lin Mo located the Sun Family’s raw materials in a Zhang Family warehouse and brought her proof.
• Jiang Rong reported the apparent collusion to City Lord Ding Tianming, who promised to announce an investigation at the chamber’s assembly the next day.
• Lin Mo watched the warehouse and saw the raw materials secretly moved that night, so he suspected Ding Tianming planned to help the major families pressure Jiang Rong; he decided to seek City Inspector Lin Yue'e’s aid.
• Xie Minjun told Jiang Rong that Emperor Li Chen was visiting their residence, and Jiang Rong changed clothes before meeting him.
• Li Chen spoke privately with Jiang Rong about her interests, and she left the meeting admiring him and wanting to stay with him longer.
• Xie Minjun urged Jiang Rong to seize her chance to become Li Chen’s Imperial Consort, and Jiang Rong struggled to answer.

Jiang Rong sought Li Chen’s backing against the merchants suppressing her family, and Li Chen’s arrival let Lin Yue'e expose the scheme and punish its perpetrators. Just as the dispute ended and merchants began currying favor with Jiang Rong, Prefect Zhang Zhishan arrived to pay his respects to Li Chen.

• Jiang Rong agreed to her mother Xie Minjun’s suggestion that she seek Li Chen’s favor, then went to her shop while Lin Mo waited to make himself look like her rescuer.
• Lin Yue'e arrived at the Jiang Residence to investigate Xie Minjun and the accusations against Ding Tianming and Zhang Wanshan, then recognized Li Chen as the emperor and knelt before him.
• Li Chen heard Lin Yue'e’s report and accompanied her to the Chamber of Commerce, where Jiang Rong was confronting Ding Tianming and Zhang Wanshan over the missing raw silk.
• Lin Yue'e presented witnesses and the recovered silk, and Li Chen let her handle the case; Ding Tianming was stripped of his office and faced imprisonment, while Zhang Wanshan and the head of the Sun Family agreed to investigation and apologized.
• The merchants proposed Jiang Rong as the new Chamber of Commerce president, returned businesses and profits to her, and offered new partnerships, while Lin Mo lamented that Li Chen had stolen his chance to impress her.
• Prefect Zhang Zhishan rushed into the Chamber of Commerce and knelt before Li Chen, greeting him as the emperor.

Li Chen met Prefect Zhang Zhishan, learned about the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake, and planned to seize its resources while bringing nearby sects under imperial control. Meanwhile, Lin Mo entered the Jiang Residence as a live-in servant, pursued his ambitions around its women, and was startled when Li Chen appeared there.

• Zhang Zhishan reported on Shanghe City's defenses and explained that the Sunken Sand Dao Sect and Jade Void Immortal Manor claimed most of the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake's bounty.
• Li Chen said he would accompany Zhang Zhishan to the lake and planned to use its resources to pressure the sects into hunting the Former Dynasty Remnants.
• Li Chen inspected the city's defenses while Jiang Rong handled merchant contracts and credited Lin Mo with uncovering Ding Tianming's scheme.
• Lin Mo refused promotion to steward and accepted a place as Jiang Rong's personal attendant, earning permission to stay overnight at the Jiang Residence.
• Lin Mo met Jiang Ningyue, Dong Zhiqing, and Xie Minjun, privately fantasizing about winning them over.
• Lin Mo heard the maids greet His Majesty and recognized Li Chen entering the Jiang Residence.

Lin Mo secretly watched Li Chen enter the Jiang Residence and was devastated as several Jiang women visited the emperor’s room. The next day, Li Chen went with Xie Minjun to meet the Demon Race expert she had befriended, and the chapter ended with the woman introducing herself as Amei, a Soft-Boned Charm Rabbit.

• Lin Mo hid and watched Dong Zhiqing, Jiang Ningyue, Xie Minjun, and finally Jiang Rong enter Li Chen’s room, leaving him heartbroken and envious.
• The next morning, Xie Minjun told Li Chen that her Demon Race ally had taken human form to protect her daughter and had harmed no one.
• Li Chen agreed to meet the Demon Race expert, and Xie Minjun led him to a secluded temple north of Shanghe City.
• Xie Minjun found the expert’s mark and used a jade flute to summon her to the temple.
• The Demon Race expert arrived, became alarmed when Xie Minjun revealed Li Chen’s identity, and was pinned in place by his power.
• After Xie Minjun explained Li Chen’s intentions, the expert approached him and introduced herself as Amei, a Soft-Boned Charm Rabbit.

Li Chen took Amei in and learned from her about the Yuan remnants and the Sunken Sand Dao Sect. At the auction house, Amei’s daughter Xiao Rou arrived with Tang Shan, whose selfish intentions toward her and Ning Xiaoxiao were revealed.

• Amei explained that she and her daughter had entered human society to cultivate, and Li Chen agreed to keep her by his side.
• Li Chen completed a master-servant contract with Amei, who later told him that the Yuan remnants were hiding near Shanghe City and that her daughter belonged to the Sunken Sand Dao Sect.
• Amei offered to bring her daughter to Li Chen, and he agreed to accompany her to the auction house.
• At the auction, Tang Shan condemned the sale of demon beasts despite having hunted them himself, while Xiao Rou admired him and hoped he would buy her Enchanted Spirit Fungus.
• Ning Xiaoxiao approached Tang Shan and Xiao Rou, and Tang Shan greeted her while keeping her affection in reserve for her powerful connections.

Tang Shan tried to secure an enchanted spirit fungus and then went to the Jiang Residence to steal it, while Zhu Zhuying led Li Chen, Amei, Xiao Rou, and Ning Xiaoxiao into an Ancient Supreme’s tomb. When a Supreme Demon Corpse emerged, Li Chen revealed overwhelming power, causing it to retreat into its coffin.

• Tang Shan lost the enchanted spirit fungus to a bidder from the Jiang Family and left to investigate the family’s residence and steal it.
• Amei reunited with Xiao Rou, and Zhu Zhuying invited Li Chen and the others to explore an Ancient Supreme’s tomb.
• Zhu Zhuying and Ning Xiaoxiao opened a hidden gateway, and the group entered an ancient battlefield before finding and opening the tomb’s stone door.
• The group crossed the tomb’s black fog and entered a chamber with six passages and a coffin bound by golden chains.
• A restriction broke the chains, releasing a red-haired Supreme Demon Corpse that terrified Zhu Zhuying, Ning Xiaoxiao, and Xiao Rou.
• Li Chen unleashed overwhelming power, and the Supreme Demon Corpse jumped back into its coffin and shut the lid.

Li Chen led Zhu Zhuying and the others through an ancient tomb, displayed overwhelming strength, and learned more about the Sunken Sand Dao Sect before sharing its treasures with the women. Meanwhile, Tang Shan’s attempt to steal an Enchanted Spirit Fungus failed and sparked a citywide search, while Xiao Rou agreed to go with Amei to sign a contract with Li Chen.

• Li Chen revealed that he was a Saint Realm great-perfection emperor, defeated the Supreme Demon Corpse, and allowed Zhu Zhuying and the others to continue exploring with him.
• Li Chen effortlessly cleared the tomb’s dangers, heard Zhu Zhuying explain the Sunken Sand Dao Sect’s principles, and gave the Supreme Dragon Bone and dragon blood to the women.
• Tang Shan broke into the Jiang Residence to steal the Enchanted Spirit Fungus, but Lin Mo intercepted him and chased him away before he could find it.
• Lin Yue'e and the city’s officials organized a search for the escaped thief, prompting Tang Shan to hide back at his sect.
• After the tomb expedition, Xiao Rou agreed to leave with Amei and sign a contract with Li Chen, while Zhu Zhuying and Ning Xiaoxiao returned toward the Sunken Sand Dao Sect.
• Li Chen brought Amei and Xiao Rou back to the Jiang Residence, where Lin Mo was astonished to see him return with another beautiful woman.

After a failed theft in Shanghe City brought the authorities’ attention to Dai Xiaoyao, Zhu Zhuying sought Li Chen’s help to discover where her fiancé had spent the night. The records and witnesses revealed Dai Xiaoyao had been with a pair of sisters, and Zhu Zhuying stormed off toward the Jiang Residence.

• Li Chen summoned Lin Mo, praised his talent, and offered him a post at the Ministry of Works, which Lin Mo accepted.
• Amei prepared to secure a contract for Xiao Rou, while Tang Shan’s failed theft led to Dai Xiaoyao being arrested and questioned overnight.
• Zhu Zhuying and Ning Xiaoxiao went to the City Inspector’s Yamen to investigate Dai Xiaoyao, then asked Li Chen for authority to access his statement.
• With Li Chen’s order, Lin Mo accompanied the women to the yamen, where they learned Dai Xiaoyao had claimed to be staying at a residence.
• Zhu Zhuying questioned the Twin Sisters at that residence and learned they had been with Dai Xiaoyao, so she angrily headed back toward the Jiang Residence.

Li Chen stayed at the Jiang Family Estate while Zhu Zhuying and Ning Xiaoxiao joined the women who had pledged themselves to him. When Prefect Zhang Zhishan requested an audience, Li Chen set out with Shanghe City's garrison for the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake, as hundreds of sects gathered there.

• Zhu Zhuying returned from investigating and coaxed Li Chen into drinking with her; he carried her away when she pretended to be tired.
• Amei told Ning Xiaoxiao that she and Xiao Rou were members of the demon race who had pledged themselves to Li Chen, and Ning Xiaoxiao learned Zhu Zhuying had stayed with him too.
• Ning Xiaoxiao returned to the Sunken Sand Dao Sect, ignored Tang Shan, and found Dai Xiaoyao unconcerned that Zhu Zhuying had not come back.
• Zhu Zhuying persuaded Ning Xiaoxiao to stay with Li Chen, and Li Chen welcomed her at the Jiang Residence.
• Prefect Zhang Zhishan led Shanghe City's garrison to Li Chen, and they set out for the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake as hundreds of sects advanced there, including the Sunken Sand Dao Sect and Jade Void Immortal Manor.

Li Chen arrived at the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake and confronted True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void over control of its resources. After inviting them to attack, he effortlessly cut through their combined techniques, leaving them to decide whether to submit.

• True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void discussed claiming the spirit liquid for their sects before Li Chen arrived with Shanghe City's army and forced the gathered cultivators to make way.
• Tang Shan, Dai Xiaoyao, Lin Mo, and other cultivators observed Li Chen's overwhelming presence as the two Saint Realm sect leaders braced for a confrontation.
• Li Chen met True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void above the lake and offered them one chance to challenge him without facing consequences.
• True Person Red Kite summoned a divine bird of flame, and High Person Clear Void called forth an ice tortoise to attack Li Chen together.
• Li Chen's golden Sword Qi destroyed both attacks and threatened the two sect leaders before vanishing, leaving him to demand their submission.

Li Chen defeated True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void, then secured their submission and redirected the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake’s resources through court assignments. After visiting the Sunken Sand Dao Sect, he asked about the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace alliance leader and learned the man might be connected to the Sasanian Dynasty or the Demon Race.

• Li Chen’s overwhelming strength convinced True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void to kneel, and their sects and the surrounding cultivators followed.
• Li Chen announced that cultivators could earn the Ancient Immortal Spirit Lake’s resources through court work, and rogue cultivators, sects, and clan cultivators accepted the arrangement.
• True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void agreed to the distribution, and the cultivators returned to Shanghe City to await assignments.
• True Person Red Kite invited Li Chen and High Person Clear Void to the Sunken Sand Dao Sect, where the three shared a feast and grew more familiar.
• Li Chen asked about the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace alliance leader, and True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void described the mysterious sect master of the Supreme Hua Sword Sect.
• High Person Clear Void recalled sensing a trace of Demon Race aura from the alliance leader during the Battle of Xie Valley.

Li Chen learned that the Supreme Hua Sword Sect was conspiring with the Sasanian Dynasty and prepared to attend the alliance assembly, while Lin Yue'e reported that the Heavenly Wolf Sect was sheltering Former Dynasty Remnants. Li Chen set out with True Person Red Kite and High Person Clear Void to break the sect's protective formation.

• True Person Red Kite received the Supreme Hua Sword Sect's invitation to an alliance assembly, and Li Chen decided to attend after declaring his intent to confront the sect.
• Dai Xiaoyao mistook Lin Mo for Zhu Zhuying's lover, challenged him, and was defeated in a fight.
• Venerable Youhen negotiated with a Sasanian Dynasty Saint Realm expert to secure rewards for helping the dynasty and trapping other alliance sects.
• Lin Yue'e told Li Chen that a rogue cultivator had reported dozens of Former Dynasty Remnants inside the Heavenly Wolf Sect, whose formation opened only on the full moon.
• High Person Clear Void explained that he had studied the Heavenly Wolf Sect's formation at the request of its former sect master, who was now his Dao companion.
• Li Chen, True Person Red Kite, and High Person Clear Void arrived in the Heavenly Wolf Sect's territory to break its protective formation.

Li Chen and his allies confronted the Heavenly Wolf Sect over suspected Former Dynasty Remnants, while the sect’s members split into factions and the sect master won Li Chen’s provisional pardon. In the Imperial Capital, Xiao Ming uncovered a possible Former Dynasty hideout tied to the Wang Family, as Li Chen arrived at the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace’s Alliance Conference.

• Zhang Yang guided Li Chen, High Person Clear Void, and the soldiers to the Heavenly Wolf Sect, hoping to avenge his missing teammates and earn rewards.
• High Person Clear Void opened the sect’s protective formation, and the Sky Wolf Sect Master learned that Li Chen had come to investigate suspected Former Dynasty Remnants.
• The Sky Wolf Sect Master knelt and offered to cooperate, but an elder attacked Li Chen, triggering a battle between rival factions within the sect.
• The Sky Wolf Sect Master and his allies subdued the elder, and Li Chen spared the sect from punishment for harboring Former Dynasty Remnants while ordering it to assist the investigation.
• Xiao Ming told Pang Jin that he had followed a Wang Family disciple to a money house that appeared to shelter wanted Former Dynasty Remnants.
• Li Chen arrived near the Cloud-Net Mountains for the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace’s Alliance Conference, where hidden schemes were underway.