Recaps

Xu Taiping arranged for Monk Chongde to protect the siblings at Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall and received a Relic-Seeking Token, then walked into Qi Yu's ambush at an abandoned manor. As Qi Yu's men attacked, Xu Taiping activated a superior-grade Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing Talisman.

• Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde to look after the siblings at Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall while he was in Blood Rain Forest, and promised to credit Chongde with Ancient Buddha Kasyapa.
• The head shopkeeper gave Xu Taiping a Relic-Seeking Token and warned him that the Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing and Mountain-Shaking Talismans could harm allies as well as enemies.
• Qi Yu and his uncles entered an abandoned manor with their Black-Robed Guards and surrounded the Xu Taiping they believed was trapped by Mind-Confusing Art.
• Qi Second Uncle released the Mind-Confusing Art, and Qi Yu ordered the Black-Robed Guards to attack Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping smiled as the attackers lunged and triggered a superior-grade Heaven Rank Bone-Freezing Talisman, releasing a bone-chilling surge of aura.

Xu Taiping’s Bone-Freezing Talisman killed Qi Yu and his men, and Bai Yu finished off Qi Second Uncle and cleaned up. Back at the Relic-Seeking Studio, Xu Taiping met Young Master Zhu and recognized the cross-shaped scar on his hand from the visions of his second tribulation.

• Xu Taiping’s Bone-Freezing Talisman froze and shattered Qi Yu, his Fourth Uncle, his Fifth Uncle, and the nearby Black-Robed Guards, while Qi Second Uncle survived briefly before collapsing.
• Bai Yu crushed Qi Second Uncle’s head, then received Xu Taiping’s order to clean up and watch for anyone from the Qi Household.
• Xu Taiping reflected that the Lotus Eye’s visions had helped him pass his first tribulation and went to look for Monk Chongde.
• Chu Xiaoxiao introduced Xu Taiping to Young Master Zhu, a former member of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s imperial clan, and asked him to help assess Zhu’s treasures.
• Xu Taiping recognized the cross-shaped scar on Young Master Zhu’s hand from his vision of the second tribulation.

Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde to identify a strange design and learned it was the mark of Ghost Pagoda, a murderous organization tied to Fire Cloud Temple. When the mark appeared across the Relic-Seeking Studio’s walls, Chongde revealed that Ghost Pagoda had secretly taken control of the entire studio.

• Xu Taiping agreed to meet Chu Xiaoxiao and Young Master Zhu later, then summoned Monk Chongde to Earth-Character Room Number One.
• Xu Taiping suspected Young Master Zhu had hidden intentions and considered that the tribulation might target Chu Xiaoxiao and the Relic-Seeking Studio.
• Xu Taiping drew the strange design for Monk Chongde, who identified it as Ghost Pagoda’s mark and described the organization’s history of massacres.
• After Xu Taiping revealed he had seen the mark inside the Relic-Seeking Studio, Monk Chongde chanted Buddhist scriptures and illuminated the room with golden light.
• Ghost Pagoda marks emerged on the walls, and Monk Chongde warned Xu Taiping that the organization had taken control of the entire Relic-Seeking Studio.

Xu Taiping learned that the Ghost Pagodas were preparing to open the Wangchuan Great Prison beneath Southern Chu’s Imperial City. The chapter left him and Monk Chongde heading toward the sixth floor, with Chu Xiaoxiao’s life and the prison’s seal in danger.

• Xu Taiping asked Monk Chongde how to identify the Ghost King and learned about the Ghost Pagoda mark and the Ghost King’s inability to look at himself in a mirror.
• Monk Chongde offered to help Xu Taiping escape, but Xu Taiping said identifying the Ghost King might let them break out of the death trap.
• Monk Chongde explained that the Ghost Pagoda Domain could turn cultivators into evil ghosts, and that restraining the weakened Ghost King while it unfolded would collapse it.
• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde that a suspected Ghost King had posed as a member of the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s imperial clan to approach Chu Xiaoxiao.
• Monk Chongde realized the Ghost Pagodas intended to use the lives of the cultivators in the Relic-Seeking Studio and Chu Xiaoxiao to open the Wangchuan Great Prison.
• Monk Chongde explained that the prison sealed demonic monk Zhenwu and that the Southern Chu Imperial Clan’s bloodline could help break its seal.

Xu Taiping deduced that Young Master Zhu was the Ghost King and devised a plan to expose him before the Ghost Pagoda’s domain fully unfolded. The chapter ended as Xu Taiping’s golden Buddha Hand struck the transformed ghost.

• Xu Taiping concluded that Young Master Zhu was the Ghost King because the Pagoda Mark had not affected him, and Monk Chongde agreed.
• Xu Taiping learned from Monk Chongde how to resist the Pagoda Mark briefly and planned to use that time to confront the Ghost King.
• Xu Taiping joined Chu Xiaoxiao and Young Master Zhu in Heaven-Character Room Number One, where they were examining treasures.
• Xu Taiping offered Young Master Zhu a silver mirror in exchange for the Yellow Bell Sword.
• Young Master Zhu saw his reflection, transformed into an evil ghost, and triggered the room’s Pagoda Marks.
• Xu Taiping struck Young Master Zhu with a golden Buddha Hand just before the Pagoda Marks appeared.

Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde sealed one Ghost King, but a second Ghost King disguised as Qing'er attacked and captured Chu Xiaoxiao. As Chu Xiaoxiao was knocked unconscious, a piercing cicada cry suddenly sounded beside her.

• Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde used True Words and a blood-drawn curse inscription to seal the Ghost King inside a mirror.
• Monk Chongde and the old gentleman from the Relic-Seeking Studio realized the Ghost Pagoda marks were still spreading as the lights went out again.
• Qing'er transformed into a second Ghost King, cut Xu Taiping in two, and struck Monk Chongde into a wall.
• The second Ghost King grabbed Chu Xiaoxiao, but she cut off her hair to escape his grasp and tried to flee through a window.
• The Ghost King blocked Chu Xiaoxiao's escape, captured the old gentleman, swallowed her talismans, and struck her with a punch.
• As Chu Xiaoxiao's consciousness faded, a piercing cicada cry sounded beside her ear.

Xu Taiping struggled to seal a powerful Ghost King while evil ghosts attacked Heaven-Character Room Number One. After calling on Venerable Jiaye to repay what he owed, Xu Taiping received a surge of Buddha power and a strand of prayer beads bearing the Demon-Subduing Seal.

• Xu Taiping revealed that the person he had killed was only his clone and struck the Ghost King with the Demon-Slaying Blade.
• Monk Chongde summoned a Buddha Hand to pin down the Ghost King, while Xu Taiping used a Spirit Mirror and Buddhist true words to try to seal him.
• Chu Xiaoxiao shut and locked the room door after blue-faced evil ghosts charged down the corridor, but their pounding began to crack it.
• The Ghost King broke free of Xu Taiping's rings of Buddha light, leaving Xu Taiping to choose between waking Fairy Lingyue, fleeing, or seeking another way.
• Xu Taiping shouted at Venerable Jiaye to repay his debt, and a golden pillar of light descended as prayer beads bearing the Demon-Subduing Seal appeared around his wrist.

Xu Taiping fought the second Ghost King as its strength rose toward the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm, relying on his ultimate-realm Azure Ox Great Sage Fist. When Xu Taiping exhausted his qi and blood, the Demon-Subduing Seal activated and formed a golden dharma aspect that shattered two of the Ghost King's arms.

• The second Ghost King broke free and attacked Xu Taiping, who met its punch with an ultimate-realm fist and was driven back.
• Monk Chongde warned Xu Taiping that the Pagoda Ghost Domain would open if the Ghost King's aura surpassed the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm.
• Xu Taiping used the furious flood dragon state and the Heaven-Rending Stance to trade blows with the Ghost King as its strength surged.
• The Ghost King's four fists overwhelmed Xu Taiping's protective gang qi, but Xu Taiping kept fighting by spending his remaining qi, blood, and true essence.
• Xu Taiping stepped forward with the Mountain-Shaking Form, and a Demon-Subduing Seal bead shattered, releasing a golden dharma aspect that broke two of the Ghost King's arms.

Xu Taiping killed the Ghost King with the Demon-Subduing Seal and helped Monk Chongde credit the victory to Ancient Buddha Kasyapa. His third tribulation began with scarlet lightning, while news of escaped prisoners and attacks across the Imperial Capital made him decide to flee at once.

• Xu Taiping struck down the Ghost King, causing the ghost pagodas to collapse and their victims to return to human form.
• Monk Chongde explained how the ghost pagodas drew out wicked thoughts, and Xu Taiping used pills and Dragon Gall Wine to recover.
• Xu Taiping asked Chu Xiaoxiao not to publicize his role, and Monk Chongde took credit for the victory on behalf of the Chan School.
• Scarlet lightning struck the Imperial City, signaling the start of Xu Taiping's third tribulation and the coming blood rain.
• Chu Xiaoxiao reported that Wangchuan Great Prison had been breached and Demonic Monk Zhenwu and the Martial God of the Former Dynasty had escaped, while ghost pagodas had attacked Prince Yi's Mansion.
• Xu Taiping feared the escaped demonic monk might kill him in his third tribulation and decided to leave the Imperial Capital immediately.

Xu Taiping interpreted his calamity visions as a warning that the Imperial Capital faced a threat beyond the forces gathering to contain its current unrest. He urged Chu Xiaoxiao and others to flee, then instructed Monk Chongde to evacuate Lu Yun and his elder sister from the city.

• Xu Taiping realized the scarlet lightning might mark a countdown and that the figure entering Mysterious Cloud Hall could kill anyone who looked at it.
• Chu Xiaoxiao reported that the Golden Guards, the Imperial City's Grand Formation, the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion's Divine Generals, and powerful clan and sect elders were mobilizing against the demonic monk and the Former Dynasty's Martial God.
• Xu Taiping rejected Chu Xiaoxiao's offer of shelter and told her, Monk Chongde, and Mister Da to take their families and leave the Imperial Capital within an hour.
• Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde left the Relic-Seeking Studio and passed through crowds watching the scarlet lightning.
• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde to gather Lu Yun, his elder sister, and anyone willing to go, then leave the city immediately.

Xu Taiping warned Monk Chongde to keep Lu Yun and his sister safe, asked him to search for Duan Xiaoyu, and encountered the Demonic Daoist who marked the fourth level calamity. He saved Chongde from being killed and faced the fortune-teller’s deadly question alone.

• Xu Taiping told Monk Chongde to avoid Southern Chu, look after Lu Yun and his sister, and help find Duan Xiaoyu.
• An old Daoist fortune-teller blocked Xu Taiping and Monk Chongde, and Xu Taiping recognized him as the Demonic Daoist from his vision of the fourth level calamity.
• Xu Taiping interrupted Chongde before the old Daoist could kill him and sent him back to the Mysterious Cloud Martial Hall.
• Xu Taiping agreed to have his fortune told, then realized the old Daoist’s question could determine whether he lived or died.

Xu Taiping faced the old Daoist’s deadly question about which of two porcelain dolls was uglier. He refused to condemn either mother or daughter and named the person who abandoned them instead, leaving the old Daoist laughing in agreement.

• Xu Taiping recognized the old Daoist’s question from the visions through his left eye and agreed to answer.
• He examined the porcelain dolls, which depicted a mother and daughter saying farewell, and told the old Daoist he could not choose between them.
• When pressed to name the uglier doll, Xu Taiping said the ugliest was the person who had left the mother and daughter without saying goodbye.
• Xu Taiping readied his hand to activate the Azure Luan Ring, while the old Daoist fell silent and then laughed, agreeing with his answer.

Xu Taiping asked the Old Daoist to divine whether he would survive the Golden Scale Assembly seven years later, and the reading revealed no path to survival. The Old Daoist offered to protect him, but Xu Taiping insisted on going to the Blood Rain Forest, leaving the Old Daoist to call after him again.

• The Old Daoist reassured Xu Taiping that the mother and daughter from the porcelain figures had been reunited, then offered him a free fortune reading.
• Xu Taiping asked whether he would return alive to the Imperial Capital of Southern Chu after the Golden Scale Assembly, and the Old Daoist sensed that he had crossed a dangerous enemy.
• The Old Daoist cast a second divination, spat blood, and declared that Xu Taiping had no path to survival.
• The Old Daoist offered to let Xu Taiping stay with him so he could protect him, but Xu Taiping thanked him and set off for the Blood Rain Forest.
• After Xu Taiping had walked more than a hundred zhang, the Old Daoist called out for him to stop.

Xu Taiping learned from Old Daoist Huang that his fifth tribulation would occur at Fengze Pavilion and hurried there with a porcelain figurine meant to help him face it. Old Daoist Huang remained in the Imperial Capital, where a brocade-clad young man approached him.

• Old Daoist Huang gave Xu Taiping a porcelain figurine and told him to crush it when he reached Fengze Pavilion, the site of his fifth tribulation.
• Xu Taiping thanked Old Daoist Huang, learned his name, and told Bai Yu to wait near Fengze Pavilion without approaching it.
• Xu Taiping left the Imperial Capital and flew toward Fengze Pavilion, determined to face the tribulation rather than evade it.
• After Xu Taiping departed, Old Daoist Huang complained to his porcelain figurines and warned the street crowd that rain was coming.
• A brocade-clad young man approached Old Daoist Huang, who mocked the Chu Kingdom Imperial Clan’s good fortune.

Old Daoist Huang warned Chu Yinan that Great Chu’s gamble against the Blood Demon Ancestor and the Abbot of Fire Cloud Temple could not guarantee victory, while Chu Yinan trusted in the nation’s fortune. Outside the Imperial Capital, Chu Xiaoxiao tried to flee with the Prince’s Mansion’s valuables, claiming disaster was coming, and Chu Che stopped her to hear her out.

• Old Daoist Huang told Chu Yinan that his chances of becoming emperor were slim and warned him that Great Chu’s wager against the Blood Demon Ancestor and the Abbot of Fire Cloud Temple was dangerous.
• Chu Yinan said Great Chu had never lost when wagering the nation’s fortune.
• Chu Xiaoxiao rode away from the Imperial Capital with the Prince’s Mansion’s valuables and True Fire Talismans in her hair, while Chu Jing and Princess Consort Qi chased her.
• Chu Che arrived on his flying sword and used a Silver Rope to pull Chu Xiaoxiao from her horse.
• Chu Xiaoxiao told Chu Che that a calamity would befall the Imperial City that day and that the Prince’s Mansion had to leave to escape it.

Chu Xiaoxiao’s family questioned her about the mysterious Young Master Xu and learned how he had defeated the Ghost Pagoda’s dangers at the Relic-Seeking Studio. They agreed to wait outside the Imperial Capital as the crimson lightning continued, and Chu Che concluded Xu was likely a powerful Buddhist master from the Cloud Emergence Kingdom.

• Chu Xiaoxiao persuaded Prince Zhong to wait outside the city, but Princess Consort Qi insisted they return to the Imperial Capital.
• Chu Che asked Chu Xiaoxiao who Young Master Xu was, and he used a Moonshadow Stone to reveal that she had mentioned him.
• Princess Consort Qi threatened to take herself and Prince Zhong back to the city unless Chu Xiaoxiao told them the truth.
• Chu Xiaoxiao described how Xu Taiping saw through the Ghost Pagoda’s trap, killed two Ghost Kings, and brought forth an Ancient Buddha manifestation at the Relic-Seeking Studio.
• Chu Che identified Xu as a likely Buddhist master from the Cloud Emergence Kingdom, and Chu Xiaoxiao confirmed that Monk Chongde had called him Lord Heavenly Dharma Protector.

The Blood Demon Ancestor and Fire Cloud Temple joined forces to attack the Imperial Capital, overcoming its defenses as Old Daoist Huang confronted the attackers. The Demon Fox and the black Buddha Statue launched another assault on the city.

• A blood cloud and black lotuses advanced toward the Imperial Capital, and Chu Che shielded his family from Fire Cloud Temple's demonic chanting.
• Prince Zhong learned that the attackers were targeting the emperor, but Chu Che's Message Talisman could not reach the city's generals.
• The North Wind Grand Formation repelled the blood rain, but Fire Cloud Temple's Yama Palm shattered it.
• Great Chu's Southern Bright Li Fire Spear destroyed the black palm, but a blood-colored sword then cleaved the spear apart.
• Chu Che recognized that the Blood Demon Ancestor had attacked in person, and Old Daoist Huang watched a nine-tailed Demon Fox emerge from the blood cloud.
• The Demon Fox breathed flames toward the Imperial City as the black lotuses formed a gigantic black Buddha Statue that struck at the city.

The Fire Cloud Temple Chief Seat and the Blood Demon Ancestor attacked the Imperial City, but Great Chu’s defenses initially drove them back. After the Chief Seat destroyed the twelve Divine Generals, Old Daoist Huang and Chu Yinan discussed Zhu Huai and revealed that the emperor’s plan depended on him.

• The twelve Divine Generals used the Southern Bright Li Fire Formation to strike the black Buddha statue, while Great Xia’s eight Golden Men repelled the Blood Demon Ancestor’s attack on the Imperial City.
• Prince Zhong cheered as the capital’s defenders appeared to hold, but Old Daoist Huang criticized the Divine Generals’ spearwork and lack of true intent.
• The Fire Cloud Temple Chief Seat summoned a Fire Cloud Lotus Throne, transformed the statue into a six-headed, twelve-armed form, shattered the Divine Generals’ spears, and defeated them with a Lion’s Roar.
• Old Daoist Huang told Chu Yinan that Zhu Huai, the Martial God of the Former Dynasty imprisoned in Wangchuan Great Prison, could defeat the Chief Seat and even the temple’s Abbot.
• Chu Yinan confirmed Old Daoist Huang’s guess about the emperor’s wager, and Huang realized the emperor had staked Great Chu’s fortune and his own life on Zhu Huai.

Old Daoist Huang confronted the Blood Demon Ancestor, but Jingkong intervened and pinned Huang down while his disciples and the Blood Demon attacked Great Chu’s Imperial City. With the city’s defenses failing, the Third Prince looked toward the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion and the exit from Wangchuan Great Prison.

• The Blood Demon Ancestor’s Nine-Tailed Blood Fox form attacked the Imperial City as Old Daoist Huang appeared and challenged him.
• The Blood Demon Ancestor tried to flee, but Old Daoist Huang kicked him down, tore off a tail, shattered his Blood-Dropping Sword, and wounded him.
• Jingkong trapped Old Daoist Huang beneath the Golden Alms Bowl’s light, then struck him into the ground with a Buddha Hand.
• Jingkong revealed that he had arranged for the Third Seat of the Ageless Pavilion to delay the Great Emperor and ordered Zhenyu, Zhenwu, and the Blood Demon Ancestor to break into the Imperial City for the Fortune Pearl.
• Zhenye, Zhenwu, and the Blood Demon Ancestor shattered one of the Imperial City’s Eight Gates Spirit-Shocking gates, and the Third Prince turned toward the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion.

Old Daoist Huang struggled to hold off Jingkong as the demons destroyed the Eight-Gate Spirit-Shocking Formation protecting the Imperial City. With only one gate left, Chu Zhaoyuan stood by his daughter Die'er and reaffirmed his faith in the wager.

• Old Daoist Huang severed six of Zhenye's arms and three of his heads, but Jingkong pinned him down and prevented him from defending the Imperial City.
• Zhenwu and the weakened Zhenye shattered the second gate while the Blood Demon Ancestor broke three more, leaving only three gates standing.
• Jingkong expected Fire Cloud Temple to claim the Chu Kingdom's fortune once the formation fell.
• On the Star-Plucking Terrace, Chu Zhaoyuan continued reading memorials despite the formation's collapse and welcomed Die'er and Dharma Master Chongyang.
• Die'er asked whether the person Chu Zhaoyuan had wagered on was worth it, and Chu Zhaoyuan firmly said yes as another gate broke.

As the Fire Cloud Temple and the Blood Demon Ancestor attacked Chu Zhaoyuan to seize Great Chu’s fortune, Princess Die’er tried to protect him with Confucian true words. Just as she fell and Chu Zhaoyuan faced death, Old General Zhu Huai appeared and sent the Blood Demon Ancestor flying with a punch.

• Zhenye broke the final gate of the Eight-Gate Spirit-Shocking Formation, but he and the others shattered the arrows fired from the Imperial City.
• The Blood Demon Ancestor tried to devour Chu Zhaoyuan’s fortune, while Monk Chongyang intervened and Zhenwu shattered his golden body.
• Princess Die’er used “Solid as a Golden Fortress” to repel Zhenwu and the Blood Demon Ancestor, but their attacks and the backlash overwhelmed her.
• Chu Zhaoyuan shielded Princess Die’er and faced the Blood Demon Ancestor’s bite without regret.
• Old General Zhu Huai appeared before Chu Zhaoyuan and punched the Blood Demon Ancestor’s fox head away.

Zhu Huai agreed to fight for the common people after King Zhao reminded him of the lives at stake and showed him the lights of the Imperial Capital. As the Blood Demon Ancestor and Fire Cloud Temple’s Chief Seats prepared to kill him, Zhu Huai crushed the Li Fire Token and summoned his spear.

• Zhu Huai recognized King Zhao from their childhood meeting and effortlessly repelled a combined attack from the Blood Demon Ancestor, Zhenwu, and Zhenye with his physique.
• King Zhao admitted he had summoned Zhu Huai to protect the common people, and Zhu Huai refused to serve the Chu royal clan but agreed to intervene once.
• King Zhao asked Zhu Huai to become the common people’s Martial God and fight to end the war in Youyun Heaven and drive out the Nine Abysses demonic beasts.
• Zhu Huai accepted the Li Fire Token after seeing the Imperial Capital’s lights and recalling his promise to fight for the people of Great Xia.
• Jingkong urged the Blood Demon Ancestor and his disciples to strike Zhu Huai, but Zhu Huai crushed the token and called for his spear.

Zhu Huai summoned the Southern Bright Li Fire Spear and unleashed his Thousand-Army Battle Intent against the Blood Demon Ancestor, Zhenwu, and Zhenye. His attack shattered the demon monks’ Dharma Aspects and pierced the Blood Demon Ancestor as the battle left the Yaomo facing the spirits of fallen soldiers.

• Zhu Huai summoned the Southern Bright Li Fire Spear from the Heavenly Pool and challenged the Yaomo invading Great Xia’s ancestral lands.
• Zhenwu and Zhenye attacked Zhu Huai with their Dharma Aspects’ lion’s roar, but he shattered the sound waves by striking the Star-Plucking Terrace with his spear.
• Abbot Jingkong warned the demon monks that Zhu Huai’s Thousand-Army Battle Intent had to be broken before it grew stronger.
• The Blood Demon Ancestor joined Zhenwu and Zhenye in a combined attack, but Zhu Huai rallied his officers and unleashed his battle intent.
• Zhu Huai’s spear thrust shattered Zhenwu’s and Zhenye’s Dharma Aspects and pierced the Blood Demon Ancestor as spectral soldiers charged the Yaomo.

Zhu Huai defeated the Demonic Beasts and drove Jingkong to agree that Fire Cloud Temple would stay out of Chu Kingdom for ten years. He reduced Old Daoist Huang’s payment from sixteen years of fortune to six, and the Third Prince declared that he would win it back at the Golden Scale Assembly.

• Zhu Huai killed three Demonic Beasts and shattered Jingkong’s Dharma Aspect, but Jingkong escaped as a black lotus.
• Jingkong agreed that Fire Cloud Temple’s monks would not enter Chu Kingdom for ten years after Zhu Huai threatened to visit the temple.
• King Zhao explained that he had promised Old Daoist Huang sixteen years of Chu Kingdom fortune, and Zhu Huai negotiated the payment down to six years.
• Old Daoist Huang accepted the Fortune Pearl and said he would use its fortune after the Golden Scale Assembly.
• The Third Prince announced that he would take the Chief’s title at the Golden Scale Assembly and win back the six years of fortune.

Zhu Huai agreed to take Chu Yinan into the army after Old Daoist Huang explained how cultivators could win Youyun Heaven’s martial fortune. Meanwhile, Xu Taiping reached Fengze Pavilion and sent in a clone, which vanished before the porcelain figurine summoned an angry, unseen presence.

• Old Daoist Huang told Chu Yinan that he needed to face adversity and serve with Zhu Huai to contend for martial fortune, and Chu Yinan accepted.
• Zhu Huai sensed Demon Monk Zhenwu fleeing near the Imperial Capital’s South Gate and decided they could not catch him.
• Old Daoist Huang calculated Chu Yinan’s fate, spat blood, and laughed that fate had intervened.
• Xu Taiping reached Fengze Pavilion, worried about the Imperial Capital, and sent a clone inside to scout.
• The clone vanished from sight but remained connected to Xu Taiping, who made it crush Old Daoist Huang’s porcelain figurine.
• An unseen presence appeared to have been summoned by the figurine and angrily demanded to know who had called it.