Chapter Summaries

Sect Leader Li accused Xie Gu of trying to assassinate her disciple Xie Liang and challenged the Azure Tide Sect over his alleged affiliation. When she revealed the captive, she discovered it was Lu Tianqi, leaving her exposed as the Fifth Elder pointed out that the man wore no Azure Tide Sect robes.

• Sect Leader Li presented Xie Liang, who claimed his grandson Xie Gu had tried to kill him and recounted a story portraying Xie Gu as cruel and ungrateful.
• Xie Liang's accusations stirred the crowd, while Su Jiu watched silently and some listeners questioned why he had raised the matter before the competition.
• Sect Leader Li accused the Azure Tide Sect and its Fifth Elder of harboring Xie Gu, claiming he had been caught wearing the sect's robes.
• The Fifth Elder denied that Xie Gu could have left the sect, and Sect Leader Li ordered a captive brought forward as proof.
• Sect Leader Li's disciples opened the sack and revealed Lu Tianqi instead of Xie Gu, prompting the Fifth Elder to note that the captive wore robes from another sect.
• Sect Leader Li realized Xia Jue and the Azure Tide Sect's Enforcement Hall had likely anticipated her scheme.

Sect Leader Li punished Lu Tianqi to contain the scandal over Xie Gu, while Su Jiu learned that Xia Jue’s Enforcement Hall had helped turn the scheme against the Heavenly Dawn Sect. Remembering her rescue attempt the previous night, Su Jiu began searching the Main Peak for Xie Gu and noticed a strange dark aura near the Night-Gathering Sect’s quarters.

• The Fifth Elder challenged Sect Leader Li to question Xie Gu, and Sect Leader Li punished Lu Tianqi by crippling his dantian, expelling him, and forbidding him to cultivate.
• Su Jiu recognized Yun Huanling among the Heavenly Secret Sect disciples, and Xia Jue revealed that the Enforcement Hall had arranged for Lu Tianqi to replace Xie Gu.
• Xia Jue identified Yun Huanling as the disguised person who had helped Su Jiu break the formation, and Su Jiu acknowledged him as her first friend after leaving the sect.
• Su Jiu recalled setting out the previous night to rescue Xie Gu, partly to protect the Azure Tide Sect’s reputation.
• Su Jiu used her Pupil Art near Xie Gu’s capture site, detected a dense dark aura toward the Night-Gathering Sect’s quarters, and reasoned that Xie Gu was likely confined nearby on the Main Peak.

Su Jiu searched the Heavenly Dawn Sect for a suspicious location and unexpectedly reunited with Yun Huanling, who had reached Nascent Soul and was investigating something stolen from his sect. Yun Huanling warned her that the sect would be under strict guard, then faltered when she asked why he had missed the banquet.

• Su Jiu overheard two Heavenly Dawn Sect disciples discuss increased patrols and used her otherworldly eyes to find a room steeped in resentful qi.
• Su Jiu encountered a masked intruder at the room's Teleportation Array and recognized him as Yun Huanling after he shouted her name.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling greeted each other, and she discovered he had advanced to Nascent Soul.
• Yun Huanling explained that something had gone missing from his sect and that the clues pointed toward the Heavenly Dawn Sect.
• Yun Huanling warned Su Jiu about strict patrols over the next few days, then avoided answering why he had not attended the banquet.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling entered a hidden passage as she set out to rescue Xie Gu, an Azure Tide Sect Personal Disciple detained by the Heavenly Dawn Sect. They discussed the plot that had framed Xie Gu, and Su Jiu grew troubled as Yun Huanling asked what was really going on with him.

• Yun Huanling told Su Jiu that his master’s divination had foretold he might lose his chastity, then insisted on accompanying her.
• Yun Huanling activated the Teleportation Array and dragged Su Jiu through it before she could stop him.
• Su Jiu set three rules for Yun Huanling and explained that she was rescuing a Personal Disciple of her sect.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling reasoned that someone at the Heavenly Dawn Sect had likely schemed against Xie Gu, possibly someone with a grudge against Xie Liang.
• Su Jiu explained the history between Xie Gu and Xie Liang, including Xie Liang killing his wife to affirm his Dao.
• Yun Huanling asked what was going on with Xie Gu, and Su Jiu’s hands slowed as she recalled an earlier message.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling followed two Heavenly Dawn Sect disciples into the prison and found Xie Gu, whose mind and actions were being influenced by a demon seed and an outside force. Su Jiu freed him and learned that the force had urged him to take revenge on Xie Liang.

• Su Jiu told Yun Huanling she suspected Xie Gu had a demon seed, then sensed two patrol disciples approaching.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling used masks and invisibility talismans to follow the disciples into the prison.
• Xie Gu sat imprisoned, struggling with spells of confusion and an uncontrollable urge for revenge against Xie Liang.
• Su Jiu cut through Xie Gu's chains and sensed hidden demonic qi in his dantian.
• Xie Gu told Su Jiu that strange memories had appeared after his illness and an outside force had urged him to take revenge on Xie Liang.

Su Jiu brought Xie Gu back to the sect and found an ancient mirror in his room that could draw out buried desires and worsen the demon seed’s influence. The mirror’s black energy seemed connected to the Night-Gathering Sect, but Su Jiu chose not to investigate, and Yun Huanling left after she returned to her quarters.

• Su Jiu sent Xie Gu back to the Azure Tide Sect with Clear-Mind Pills and promised to explain his condition later.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling entered Xie Gu’s empty room, where Su Jiu found an ancient mirror bearing an Evil God carving.
• Yun Huanling smashed the mirror and told Su Jiu that it had nearly killed a disciple of the Heavenly Secret Sect.
• Su Jiu recognized the mirror’s escaping black energy as energy she had encountered in the Night-Gathering Sect’s courtyard.
• Su Jiu decided not to investigate the Night-Gathering Sect and returned to her quarters as dawn approached; Yun Huanling eventually left.

At the matches’ drawing of lots, Su Jiu reunited with friends from several sects and learned they had waited for her at Red Blossom Mountain after leaving Netherworld Mountain. The gathering ended with her greeting Lin Jiaojiao and Hu Yucheng, while the little fox waiting for her left her uneasy.

• Su Jiu noticed Xia Jue and Ning Fan had skipped the drawing, and Xia Jue took her lot, number seventy-four.
• Lie Wushuang and Gu Ningyun thanked Su Jiu for helping them and told her they had waited at Red Blossom Mountain with the little fox for nearly two months.
• Qin Ming recognized Su Jiu’s rapid cultivation progress, drawing the attention of nearby cultivators.
• Lan Fang Ziyi arrived with Yun Huanling and two disciples, and Su Jiu recognized Yun Huanling from the previous night.
• Lin Jiaojiao and Hu Yucheng reunited with Su Jiu, and Lin Jiaojiao told her they had married two years earlier.

At the banquet, Su Mianmian and Lin Jiaojiao introduced themselves and bonded over their love of red. Ming Yun, jealous of the attention Su Jiu received, tried to stir up conflict between the Medicine Gate and Su Jiu, but Tang Wuchen met her with hostility and shut her down.

• Su Mianmian and Lin Jiaojiao exchanged names and discovered that they both liked red, though for different reasons.
• Ming Yun watched the crowd around Su Jiu and reminded herself that she would one day replace her.
• Ming Yun suggested that the Medicine Gate disciples go speak with Su Jiu, prompting Tang Wuchen to question her motives.
• Ming Yun tried to flatter Tang Wuchen by praising his skill in medicine and poison, but he pointed out that he was only at the Golden Core Stage.
• Ming Yun began asking about Jiang Qi, and Tang Wuchen rebuked her for prying into another sect's private affairs.

Tong Qi faced Tang Wuchen in the first Golden Core match, using his fan techniques to pressure the stronger opponent. As they fought, the Shu sisters debated whether to ignore a mirror’s prediction and pursue Tong Qi instead of Yun Huanling.

• Tong Qi drew number nine and went to arena five to compete against number ten.
• Tang Wuchen stepped onto the platform, and Su Jiu recognized him as the poison cultivator she had fought before.
• Ming Yun noticed that Tong Qi and Tang Wuchen showed no hostility despite their sects’ strained relations, making her question her master’s information.
• The Shu sisters secretly discussed whether to disregard the mirror’s advice and have the elder sister pursue Tong Qi.
• Tong Qi’s fan techniques briefly overwhelmed Tang Wuchen, who recovered and continued dodging without using talismans or formations.

Tang Wuchen defeated Tong Qi by using his Command Token to trap him in an illusion and then weakening him with Spiritual Dispersion Powder. After the match, Tong Qi accepted the loss graciously and rejoined Su Jiu and Su Mianmian.

• Tang Wuchen released hallucinogenic gas from his Command Token, and Tong Qi lost consciousness before waking back at the Azure Tide Sect a month later.
• Tong Qi recognized that the reunion with his master and senior brother was an illusion, escaped it, and was wounded by Tang Wuchen's sword.
• Su Jiu explained to Su Mianmian that Tong Qi had been trapped in a hallucination and praised how quickly he broke free.
• Tong Qi admitted defeat to Tang Wuchen, who thanked him for the lesson, and then Tong Qi left to join Su Jiu and Su Mianmian.

Su Jiu learned from Xia Jue that strange mirrors had corrupted Azure Tide Sect disciples and that the Heart-Testing Mirror was used to find them. She also learned that demon seeds could not be removed, and that the loosening seals threatened another great war unless the cultivators found innate origin qi or another solution.

• Tong Qi complained that the illusion released by Tang Wuchen's Command Token had been powerful enough to make him believe he was speaking with his senior brother.
• Yun Huanling invited Su Jiu to watch his match at arena seven, and Su Jiu sensed a familiar aura near the Golden Core Stage arenas.
• Su Jiu told Xia Jue about the strange mirror she had encountered, and he explained that mirrors had driven several Azure Tide Sect disciples toward dark and violent impulses.
• Xia Jue revealed that the Heart-Testing Mirror had helped the sect uncover affected disciples and was now used to examine those returning from outside training.
• Xia Jue told Su Jiu that Xie Gu's demon seed could not be removed and that the ancient seals were loosening, risking another great war if the Azure Realm could not find enough innate origin qi.
• Xia Jue said there was a second way to deal with the threat, but the chapter ended before he explained it.

Su Jiu and Xia Jue went to investigate the strange mirror’s aura at the Golden Core matches, where Su Jiu and Yun Huanling detected it surrounding a long-sword wielder. The match ended with the long-sword wielder severing his opponent’s hand, and the protective shield dropped.

• Xia Jue warned Su Jiu to keep her ability to sense the mirror’s aura secret, and Su Jiu told him that Yun Huanling could sense it too.
• Xia Jue led Su Jiu to the Golden Core arena while Feng Qi followed, jealous of Xia Jue’s attentiveness to his Junior Sister.
• Su Jiu watched a short-sword wielder outmatch a long-sword wielder and saw the latter surrounded by resentment and the mirror’s black mist.
• Su Jiu warned Yun Huanling to keep quiet about sensing the aura, and he was surprised that the other spectators could not detect it.
• The long-sword wielder chopped off the short-sword wielder’s hand, causing the Protective Shield to drop as a fellow sect disciple rushed to stop the bleeding.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling investigated the disciple who had tried to kill his opponent and discovered a mirror linked to his sinister aura and fading fortune. They suspected the mirror might be connected to both the Fortune-Transferring Pearl and the Heavenly Secret Sect’s sacred artifact.

• Su Jiu stopped the disciple from attacking the injured fighter after the match ended, while the victim’s sect lamented that his severed hand could not be restored.
• Yun Huanling secretly followed the attacker, and Su Jiu joined him after speaking with Xia Jue.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling used Invisibility Talismans to enter the attacker’s room and found a mirror like the one in Xie Gu’s room, with a black line connecting it to him.
• The attacker thanked the mirror for helping him win and asked it to help him win again and approach Ming Yun, while Su Jiu saw his fortune fading.
• Yun Huanling recognized an aura resembling the Heavenly Secret Sect’s sacred artifact, and Su Jiu wondered whether the mirror was also linked to the Fortune-Transferring Pearl.

Su Jiu connected the mysterious mirrors appearing across the sects to the missing Spirit Banner and the mutated Fortune-Transferring Pearl, then asked Xia Jue to investigate Zheng Qilong. As Feng Qi began tracing Zheng’s movements, Sect Leader Li confronted the disciples over Xie Gu’s abduction.

• Yun Huanling told Su Jiu that the Heavenly Secret Sect’s missing Sacred Artifact was a Spirit Banner, and Su Jiu suspected the mirrors exploited people’s desires and drained their fortune.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling left the man’s room, and Su Jiu proposed doing a good deed that night.
• Xia Jue received Su Jiu’s message about Zheng Qilong and sent Feng Qi to investigate his movements while warning him to keep Enforcement Disciples away from Zheng.
• Feng Qi learned that Zheng’s Fortune-Transferring Pearl had mutated and could drain other people’s fortune.
• Sect Leader Li pressured the disciples who had patrolled or guarded the prison, but Ming Yun urged her to delay punishment and focus on what to do next after Xie Gu’s abduction.

Ming Yun noticed Xie Liang’s desire for her, while a mirror-tainted disciple sought a crueler way to punish him. At the competition, Yun Huanling faced Fang Dagang, who recognized him and hoped to use the match to gain fame.

• Ming Yun saw Xie Liang looking at her with greed and desire, then thought that only Xia Jue was worthy of her.
• A disciple complained to a black mist in a mirror that its plan to make Xie Gu kill Xie Liang had failed, and the mirror suggested making Xie Liang wish he were dead.
• Yun Huanling sensed the mirror’s aura on his Water Moon School opponent, Fang Dagang, as Su Jiu also noticed something was wrong with him.
• Yun Huanling and Fang Dagang revealed their treasures, and Fang Dagang realized that his opponent was Yun Huanling, owner of the Nine-Bend Compass.
• Fang Dagang decided to defeat Yun Huanling for fame, announced his name loudly, and challenged him as spectators gathered.

Yun Huanling used a newly comprehended teleportation ability and the Nine-Bend Compass’s silver thread to defeat Fang Dagang, while testing whether he had encountered the mirror. After the match, Yun Huanling questioned Fang Dagang about his unusually young bone age, and Su Jiu suspected his rapid advancement was tied to Shui Rao'er’s drug.

• Fang Dagang charged Yun Huanling, who vanished as the sword fell and appeared beside him with a silver-thread cut.
• Yun Huanling anticipated Fang Dagang’s movements and controlled the fight, while Su Jiu and Lan Fang Ziyi recognized that he could have ended it sooner.
• Su Jiu told Yun Huanling to stop before the spectators noticed his one-sided torment, so he forced Fang Dagang to concede.
• Yun Huanling noted that Fang Dagang’s bone age was only fifty-five, and Fang Dagang claimed heavenly treasures had helped him advance.
• Su Jiu doubted Fang Dagang’s explanation and reflected that Shui Rao'er’s drug had left him stuck in the Nascent Soul Realm.

Su Jiu and Yun Huanling investigated a mirror emitting black miasma in the Night-Gathering Sect’s courtyard and discovered it contained an evil spirit. The spirit recognized Yun Huanling’s Nine-Bend Compass as belonging to a Heavenly Secret Sect disciple, leaving its connection to the mirrors and their origin unresolved.

• Yun Huanling told Su Jiu that his new teleportation art took time to prepare, limiting its usefulness against stronger opponents.
• Shu Man decided to withdraw from the Mirror’s mission and persuaded her senior sister to pursue Yun Huanling instead.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling sneaked out at night and headed to the Night-Gathering Sect’s courtyard after sensing black miasma.
• Su Jiu and Yun Huanling found a silver mirror in an empty room, and Yun Huanling recognized the Spirit Banner’s aura within it.
• Su Jiu drew the mirror’s evil aura out and weakened it with a golden light, then demanded to know who had bound it and spread the mirrors.
• Yun Huanling brought out his Nine-Bend Compass, and the mirror recognized him as a disciple of the Heavenly Secret Sect.

Su Jiu stopped Yun Huanling from destroying a mirror after its black-mist inhabitant accused the Heavenly Secret Sect of wrongdoing. She interrogated the trapped soul and learned it was one of many puppets connected to a mysterious master, but it refused to reveal more about that person.

• The black mist accused Yun Huanling of trying to sacrifice it and claimed the Heavenly Secret Sect was not innocent.
• Yun Huanling tried to smash the mirror, but Su Jiu blocked him so she could investigate its claims and preserve its information.
• Yun Huanling and Su Jiu argued over whether to destroy the mirror, and he eventually left the courtyard without attacking it.
• Su Jiu used the Spirit-Cleansing Technique to force the black mist to answer her questions.
• The black mist said it was one of many souls taken from a banner, sealed in mirrors, and bound to its master through a fragment of its primordial spirit.
• The black mist refused to reveal more about its master, and Su Jiu judged that its answers contained more falsehood than truth.

Su Jiu interrogated the black mist about its schemes in the Heavenly Dawn Sect, then destroyed it when it attacked her. Elsewhere, a junior disciple plotted to frame Xie Liang and approached Ming Yun under cover of night.

• Su Jiu learned that the black mist had arranged schemes within the Heavenly Dawn Sect, including targeting Xie Liang and arranging for two women to seek Yun Huanling.
• The black mist revealed that a clone had heard Ming Yun mention that the Ming Household would come to acknowledge their kin after the Array Competition.
• Su Jiu asked who stood behind the black mist, and when it attacked, she used the Spirit-Cleansing Technique to shatter its soul and dispel its clones across the mountain.
• A junior disciple smashed his unresponsive mirror, then imitated Xie Liang's handwriting to create a love poem and picture.
• The junior disciple went to Ming Yun's window, where she remarked that he no longer seemed willing to keep up appearances.

Shu Man and her senior sister drugged Yun Huanling’s room to carry out their scheme, but he recognized the trap after the drug began affecting him. The two women entered and found him still alert, leaving them uncertain whether the drug would work.

• Ming Yun received a nighttime warning from a visitor to be careful around Su Jiu and dismissed the visitor after acknowledging the message.
• Shu Man and her senior sister checked Yun Huanling’s room with a magic treasure, found it empty, and blew a drug inside before hiding with concealment talismans.
• Shu Man and her senior sister discussed the spirit stones she had borrowed from Ming Yun and whether they would repay her.
• Yun Huanling returned to his room, drank cold tea, and grew dizzy and overheated as the drug took effect.
• Shu Man and her senior sister entered Yun Huanling’s room, and he recognized that they had drugged it despite remaining alert.