Chapter Summaries

Fan Dazhi realized Linu’s kidnapping was part of a trap but prepared to rescue her anyway, while a powerful prisoner remained confined by Li Xingzhi’s sword intent. At the Rear Mountain, Fan Dazhi called into the underground passage and received an offer from the imprisoned old man to help him escape in exchange for a heaven-defying opportunity.

• The old man battered his prison walls but retreated from the boundary guarded by Li Xingzhi’s lingering sword intent.
• Fan Dazhi recalled the Black-Clothed Man who had tried to kill him and realized Linu’s kidnapping was likely part of a calculated trap.
• Fan Dazhi gathered supplies and left for the Rear Mountain, while the Little Black Cat eagerly sniffed the soil and traces of a magic array on his clothes.
• Fan Dazhi widened the hole in the mound, dropped a fire taper into it, and called out to the person trapped below.
• The old man answered Fan Dazhi through Sound Condensation Thread and offered him a heaven-defying opportunity if he helped him escape.

Fan Dazhi accidentally awakened the Bixi spirit guarding the mountain array, and Little Black Cat drove it away, allowing the array’s captive to break free after twenty years. The chapter then shifted to the Lower Yuan Night festivities in Wuwei City, where Li Bie led a squad of warriors through the crowded streets.

• Fan Dazhi tried and failed to topple the wordless stele, but his blood seeped into it and awakened its golden seal-script character.
• The earth shook as a giant Bixi spirit emerged from beneath the stele and threatened Fan Dazhi.
• Little Black Cat confronted Bixi, which fled in fear, and the cat pursued it into the mountain forest.
• The unsupported stele fell, triggering a violent earthquake that sent a ragged, shackled man bursting from the earth and proclaiming his freedom and revenge.
• During Lower Yuan Night in Wuwei City, Li Bie led eight halberd-bearing warriors along the crowded, lantern-lit avenue.

During Wuwei City's Lower Yuan Festival, Li Bie watched the festivities and spotted Grand Tutor Qin Kelan and Grand Preceptor Zhu Shifu enjoying the street performances. At the palace celebration, an assassin struck Han Zhan with a sword, and Tong Shanxiong and other fighters moved to stop him.

• Li Bie patrolled Wuwei City and saw Qin Kelan and Zhu Shifu watching a street performance.
• Han Zhan celebrated with the Northern Qi and Tuyuhun envoys while asking whether the princess still refused to attend.
• A bamboo-hatted assassin launched a sword attack at Han Zhan during the palace festivities.
• Han Zhan caught the blade but could not stop it from piercing his left shoulder.
• Tong Shanxiong drew his saber and charged the assassin as other fighters closed in.

He An’s disguise was exposed after he wounded Han Zhan and fought off the emperor’s four generals. Surrounded by their coordinated attacks, he shattered the flagpole to escape into Lower Origin’s crowded streets, with Han Zhan and the others in pursuit.

• Guan Dian, Guan Pingchao, Qu Guangling, Tong Shanxiong, and Han Zhan attacked He An, who parried Tong Shanxiong’s saber and blunted Han Zhan’s fist before sending Tong Shanxiong crashing into a wall.
• He An’s hat and disguise were destroyed, revealing his identity; Han Zhan recognized him and vowed to kill him.
• Qu Guangling used two enchanted copper coins to bind He An, while Guan Pingchao restricted his movements and the others closed in with coordinated attacks.
• He An drove the Azure Cloud Sword into the flagpole, disrupting the bindings and battlefield control, then used the explosion’s recoil to escape toward the streets beyond the wall.
• Han Zhan, Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and the others leaped from the gate tower and pursued He An into Lower Origin.

He An was hunted through Wuwei City after attacking Han Zhan, while the court officials mobilized to protect the emperor. Surrounded by Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and Qu Guangling, He An unleashed the power of his Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture to break free of their restraints.

• Guan Pingchao treated Han Zhan’s shoulder wound and assured him that Wuwei City’s gates were shut and Master Qu was tracking He An.
• Zhu Shifu and Qin Kelan spotted a disturbance near Jiying Tower and rushed toward the palace to protect Han Zhan.
• Li Bie raced past Zhu Shifu and Qin Kelan, drawing his saber and pursuing He An.
• Tong Shanxiong attacked He An in the street, while Guan Dian wounded him with copper coins and daggers and Qu Guangling bound him with primordial energy.
• He An forced open the restraints with an explosive surge of true qi from his dan foundation, and his speed suddenly increased.

He An fought through Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and Qu Guangling before Li Bie covertly revealed an escape route through the Imperial Palace. He An reached the palace wall, where Han Zhan trapped him in an ice dome, but He An used an Army-Cleaving Talisman as Han Zhan attacked.

• He An knocked Tong Shanxiong into a wall and struck at Qu Guangling with his Spirit-Shocking Finger, while Guan Dian dodged the attack.
• He An pursued the wounded Qu Guangling, but Li Bie intervened and secretly told him the palace’s rear exit was his only escape route.
• Li Bie pretended to fight He An as He An broke through the Imperial Guards on the palace wall and headed toward the gate tower.
• Han Zhan intercepted He An and trapped him inside a dome of mystic ice before bringing down a killing palm.
• He An revealed an Army-Cleaving Talisman, and Han Zhan raised an ice wall, but the talisman’s sword intent shattered it in a tremendous explosion.

He An attacked Han Zhan at the imperial banquet and escaped, prompting Han Zhan to order his death. Wei Zhilin suspected He An had learned the truth of his birth, then battled a masked attacker and trapped him above the Luo River.

• He An’s Sword Qi devastated the banquet, wounded Han Zhan, and let him escape into the palace; Han Zhan ordered his trusted generals to kill him before he could leave Wuwei City.
• Wei Zhilin told Cheng Zi Ya that He An might seek revenge after learning the truth of his birth, and Cheng Zi Ya promised to bring him back safely.
• A beast’s roar drew Wei Zhilin to the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s Rear Mountain, where a masked attacker ambushed him with poisoned weapons and a curved saber.
• Wei Zhilin countered the masked man’s attacks with the Disciplinary Ruler, dispelled his blood-red blade shadows, and pursued him to the Luo River.
• The masked man used Shadow Clone to split into three fleeing shadows, but Wei Zhilin froze them in midair and revealed his true body.

Wei Zhilin exposed Zhu Jin as a fiend from Unknown Island, but Zhu Jin escaped after warning that the Venerable One would soon break free. On Rear Mountain, Lin Qiu Chi’s formation failed to contain the freed prisoner, so she called upon her master’s sword and awakened the ancient stele.

• Wei Zhilin captured Zhu Jin and learned that he was a fiend from Unknown Island.
• Zhu Jin escaped across the Luo River, saying he only needed to delay Wei Zhilin until the Venerable One broke free.
• Fan Dazhi witnessed the prisoner escape as Lin Qiu Chi raised the Rear Mountain and bound him with Primordial Energy chains.
• The prisoner destroyed Lin Qiu Chi’s formation and reduced the mountain’s spectacle to an ordinary mound.
• Lin Qiu Chi gathered Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy and asked to borrow her master’s sword.
• A streak of sword light entered the ancient stone stele, which rose into the air and expanded like a divine sword.

Fan Dazhi learned that Linu had used him to help free the Venerable One, and she left despite his confession of love. As Wei Zhilin condemned Fan Dazhi for bringing disaster upon them, He An fled across the palace roofs while Imperial Guards closed in.

• Lin Qiu Chi's stele formation failed because it lacked the Baxia Talisman Core, and the Venerable One defeated her.
• The Black-Robed Youth, Jin Caiyun, Zhu Qiqi, and Linu joined the Venerable One as he escaped.
• Linu admitted that she had used Fan Dazhi, then departed after he confessed that he loved her.
• Feng Shaotang, Zou Zheng, Xu Kangnian, Chen Sangyu, and Wei Zhilin arrived, and Fan Dazhi recounted what had happened.
• Wei Zhilin blamed Fan Dazhi for bringing disaster upon them.
• He An fled across palace rooftops while Imperial Guards and expert pursuers searched for him.

He An fled the Imperial Palace guards and broke into Han Chanjuan’s chambers, where the two old friends reunited. Their reunion was interrupted by Han Zhan’s arrival, and Han Chanjuan hid He An behind a screen.

• He An realized the Imperial Palace prevented him from flying away and sought shelter in a secluded residence.
• Han Chanjuan reminisced about He An while Green Sepal taught her a Fated Wish Knot and wished she would see him soon.
• He An entered Han Chanjuan’s chambers with his sword drawn, then recognized her and lowered his weapon.
• Han Chanjuan embraced He An and discovered he was wounded, while he explained that he had been surrounded and attacked.
• Han Zhan’s guards surrounded the residence, and Han Chanjuan hid He An behind a Rosewood Screen.

Han Zongwang explained to Mo Qianshan why he had rebelled and declared that he would defy Heaven’s Way. He then watched He An wound Han Zhan in an assassination attempt and chose not to intervene, while hinting that Heaven’s balance restrained his power.

• Han Zongwang freed Mo Qianshan from his ten-year obligation to the Han Household, and Mo Qianshan thanked him for keeping his promise.
• Han Zongwang said he had taken up arms after the Great Liang Kingdom fell and Western Liang persecuted him and his clansmen.
• Han Zongwang declared that he refused to accept fate and would contend against Heaven’s Way, demonstrating his power by conjuring a vision of Wuwei City.
• Han Zongwang’s vision showed He An striking Han Zhan at a banquet and fleeing wounded, and Mo Qianshan recognized the assassin.
• Han Zongwang dismissed the attack as a test of Han Zhan’s fitness to rule and said Heaven’s Way maintained the balance, as an oppressive force descended upon the chamber.

Han Zongwang gave Mo Qianshan his cultivation insights and watched He An reunite with Han Chanjuan, warning that the young man's fate had long been decided. When Han Zhan searched the Quiet Chamber, he discovered signs that He An was hiding inside and struck the Rosewood Screen, forcing He An to confront him despite the revelation that Han Chanjuan was the daughter of his parents' killer.

• Han Zongwang explained that powerful cultivators could not freely interfere in worldly affairs and gave Mo Qianshan a booklet of cultivation insights.
• Han Zongwang watched He An and Han Chanjuan embrace in the painting, praised He An's courage, and said his fate had been decided long ago.
• Han Chanjuan hid her broken hairpin and told Han Zhan she had seen no assassin, while worrying over the blood on his robe.
• Han Zhan noticed blood drops leading behind the Rosewood Screen, but let Han Chanjuan remain in the Quiet Chamber.
• Han Zhan suddenly shattered the Rosewood Screen with a palm strike, revealing He An, who struggled with his love for Han Chanjuan and hatred for her father before raising his sword.

He An confronted Han Zhan over the massacre of his family and used a talisman and the Immortal-Slaying Finger to attack him. Han Chanjuan stepped between them and was struck by He An’s attack, leaving her fate uncertain.

• Han Zhan overpowered He An, but Han Chanjuan pleaded with her father to spare the man she loved.
• He An revealed that Han Zhan had led the raid that killed his parents and more than a hundred people in his family residence.
• Han Zhan admitted his role in the massacre and attacked He An, who trapped him briefly with a Golden Shackles and Jade Locks Talisman.
• He An launched the Immortal-Slaying Finger at Han Zhan as Han Chanjuan realized their families were bound by bloodshed.
• Han Chanjuan threw herself in front of Han Zhan and was pierced by He An’s attack.

He An accidentally struck Han Chanjuan with his Immortal-Slaying Finger while trying to kill Han Zhan, and she died in his arms after asking her father to spare him. Han Zhan then desperately tried to summon an imperial physician and the old patriarch, though Chanjuan was already gone.

• He An realized his attack had pierced Han Chanjuan’s chest instead of Han Zhan and frantically tried to stop her bleeding.
• Han Chanjuan told He An not to blame her father, recalled their time together, and returned the broken butterfly hairpin to him.
• Han Chanjuan asked Han Zhan to let He An go, then sang the north wind song before dying in He An’s arms.
• He An wailed over Chanjuan’s body, and Han Zhan shoved him aside and tried to revive his daughter with true qi.
• Han Zhan lashed out at his guards and ordered them to hurry the imperial physician and summon the old patriarch.

After Han Chanjuan died, Han Zhan and the others attacked He An, who fought back despite his grief and severe injuries. He An’s true qi recovered after Han Zhan’s Ice Spike struck him, and he charged into the encircling fighters, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Han Zhan told Green Sepal to carry Han Chanjuan away, then demanded He An leave a hand behind; He An used the Spirit-Shocking Finger to make Han Zhan retreat and burst through the roof.
• The Divine Crossbow Battalion shot at He An as he fled across the palace roof, where he deflected arrows and narrowly avoided a Triangular Armor-Piercing Arrow and Tong Shanxiong’s attacks.
• Guan Pingchao, Qu Guangling, Guan Dian, Li Bie, and Tong Shanxiong joined the assault, while Qu Guangling trapped He An within a Killing Trap Formation.
• Han Zhan struck He An with an Ice Spike, sending him crashing into a Chiwen beast head; He An’s Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture then dispersed the cold and restored his strength.
• He An charged back into the attackers, fighting recklessly and forcing Qu Guangling to retreat while Han Zhan resolved that He An must not be allowed to live.

Cheng Zi Ya arrived in time to save He An from Han Zhan and sent him away with a Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape talisman, staying behind to face the surrounding experts. In the Imperial City, Han Chanjuan took He An’s fatal strike meant for Han Zhan, but a mysterious golden phoenix appeared over her as Han Zongwang watched.

• Cheng Zi Ya intervened between He An and Han Zhan, then knocked Tong Shanxiong and Guan Dian aside with single punches.
• Han Zhan donned Qilin Armor as Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, Guan Pingchao, and Qu Guangling prepared to fight Cheng Zi Ya amid the Imperial Guards’ encirclement.
• Cheng Zi Ya drank from He An’s wine gourd, used the Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape talisman to send He An toward the Northwest Camp, and challenged the remaining enemies.
• In a secret chamber, Han Zongwang and Mo Qianshan watched a scroll show He An fighting Han Zhan and discussed the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Han Chanjuan plunged into He An’s Immortal-Slaying Finger strike to save Han Zhan, prompting Mo Qianshan to rush to her and Han Zongwang to watch in fury.
• A golden phoenix phantom appeared above Han Chanjuan’s fallen body and vanished, jolting Han Zongwang.

Han Zongwang recognized Han Chan’s Heavenly Phoenix bloodline in the scroll and sent his saber qi to challenge Cheng Zi Ya in the Imperial Palace. Cheng Zi Ya survived the Great Grandmaster’s strike and charged back into the palace to fight again.

• Han Zongwang realized Han Chan possessed the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline and reacted with pride and affection.
• Han Zongwang recognized Cheng Zi Ya as Li Xingzhi’s disciple and sent his saber flying toward him.
• Cheng Zi Ya smashed through the Imperial Guards, defeated Han Zhan’s attack, and left Han Zhan and his companions injured.
• Han Zongwang’s saber qi struck Cheng Zi Ya, who challenged the hidden Great Grandmaster and rushed into the palace to confront him.
• Cheng Zi Ya was blasted through three palace walls, climbed free, and charged back toward the fight, while Zhu Shifu watched in terror.

After Linu's betrayal and the escape of Jiu Shan, Fan Dazhi drove himself through punishing cultivation to make up for his mistakes. His heartbreak and exhaustion triggered a dangerous cultivation deviation, but Little Black Cat's cultivation art emerged in his sea of consciousness and calmed his true qi.

• Fan Dazhi regretted helping Linu free Jiu Shan and vowed to capture him and bring him back.
• Wei Zhilin explained that Jiu Shan was a powerful Unknown Island Fiend who had been imprisoned for more than a decade to protect a great secret.
• Fan Dazhi spent the day pushing himself through relentless cultivation and exhausting his body and divine sense.
• Fan Dazhi remembered Linu, spat blood, and suffered a sudden surge of pain and uncontrolled true qi that threatened to destroy his meridians.
• Little Black Cat's growl jolted Fan Dazhi awake, revealing a glowing acupoint diagram that calmed and guided his true qi into his dan foundation.

Fan Dazhi broke through three realms at the Knowledge and Practice Institute while the Great Chen Empire searched for the escaped Unknown Island Fiends. Lost and grieving on Mount Taibai, He An healed his injuries, gained a new understanding of heaven and earth, and successfully broke through.

• Fan Dazhi advanced from the Qi Transformation Realm to the Dao Integration Realm, drawing the attention of powerful figures at the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• The Five-City Military Command, the Ministry of Justice, and the Six Fan Gate searched Luoyang City for the escaped Unknown Island Fiends but found no clues.
• He An's Thousand-Li Cloud-Riding Escape carried him off course to Mount Taibai, where he mourned the woman he had lost and sought shelter from the snow.
• He An circulated the Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture in a cave, healing the cold damage in his body as opposing currents of yin and yang strengthened his meridians.
• He An sensed the snow, wind, animals, and mountain as part of a wider natural order, then successfully broke through.

He An’s pursuers cornered him on Mount Taibai, but they discovered that he had reached the Dao Integration Realm and could overwhelm their attacks. After He An killed one attacker with a finger, the surviving predators lost their nerve and dared not approach.

• Boss Feng led Zhao Tu, Lu Shifang, Sun Hu, Ma Laosuan, Daoist Qingxuan, and other martial experts to hunt He An on Mount Taibai.
• He An sensed the approaching group as his injuries healed and his power surged, then left his cave to face them.
• Zhao Tu demanded He An’s treasures, and the group launched a coordinated attack when He An refused.
• He An used his Divine Sense and Azure Cloud Sword to deflect every attack, revealing power at the Dao Integration Realm.
• He An killed a charging attacker with a pinpoint strike, leaving the survivors too frightened to draw their weapons.