Chapter Summaries

He An fought a group of attackers on the snowy mountain, but their combined techniques and his mounting injuries left him close to defeat. A plain-clothed middle-aged man arrived and killed Zhao Tu, killed Lu Shifang, and wounded Boss Feng, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Daoist Qingxuan, Sun Hu, Boss Feng, Zhao Tu, Lu Shifang, and Ma Laosuan attacked He An together, using swordplay, a whip, snowmen, saber strikes, divine sense attacks, and a sound technique.
• He An severed Sun Hu’s whip, wounded Zhao Tu, destroyed a snowman, and fought back while suffering repeated injuries.
• Lu Shifang’s divine sense attack disrupted He An, allowing Daoist Qingxuan to stab him in the back and Boss Feng to drive him to one knee.
• He An used the Spirit-Shocking Finger to strike Zhao Tu’s shoulder, then continued fighting as the attackers wore down his strength.
• Ma Laosuan disrupted He An with his pipe’s tapping and lunged at his throat as a fast-moving figure approached across the sky.
• A plain-clothed middle-aged man swept into the attackers, killed Zhao Tu and Lu Shifang, and slashed Boss Feng across the face.

Feng Qiwu rescued He An from Boss Feng, Daoist Qingxuan, and Ma Laosuan, then spoke to him about his father before secretly attacking and throwing him from a cliff into the Wei River. The chapter ended with Ding Feiyong returning to Luoyang after three years of mourning.

• Feng Qiwu defeated the attackers, killing their followers and forcing Boss Feng, Daoist Qingxuan, and Ma Laosuan to flee.
• Feng Qiwu told He An that they had been close friends with He An's father, the Eldest Prince, and described him as a benevolent and capable man.
• Feng Qiwu struck He An between the brows, punched him in the chest, and sent him plunging from a cliff into the Wei River.
• Feng Qiwu watched He An disappear beneath the river and concluded that he was dead.
• Ding Feiyong returned to his former residence in Luoyang after completing three years of mourning for Ding Fengyuan.

Ding Feiyong returned to the abandoned Chancellor's Residence with Ding Wenruo and investigated the room where his father had been treated. He discovered that someone had secretly poisoned Ding Fengyuan through the stove, confirming that his father's death had been deliberate.

• Ding Feiyong and Ding Wenruo returned to the Chancellor's Residence after three years away.
• Ding Feiyong visited his father Ding Fengyuan's untouched bedroom and recalled caring for him before his death.
• Ding Feiyong examined Imperial Physician Hua Zhong's old quarters and found no suspicious herbs in the medicine cabinet.
• Ding Feiyong noticed a greasy stain above the kitchen stove and scraped away the wall covering to reveal a small hole sealed with grease.
• Ding Feiyong compared the white powder in the hole with the poison Cheng Zi Ya had discovered and realized it had entered Ding Fengyuan's medicine through the rising steam.

Ding Feiyong realized Emperor Chen had murdered his father to silence a witness and vowed to avenge him. As Luoyang was searched for the escaped Unknown Island fiend, Fan Dazhi identified a suspicious household, while Bi Yunfei watched him and recalled the mysterious man who had opened his meridians.

• Ding Feiyong concluded that Emperor Chen had arranged his father’s death and sworn to kill the emperor in revenge.
• The Five-City Military Command and Ministry of Justice searched Luoyang for the escaped fiend and other Unknown Island operatives.
• Fan Dazhi noticed that Old Zhou’s purchase of three sacks of rice was suspicious because he lived in poverty and had only one other person in his household.
• Bi Yunfei ordered his men to raid Old Zhou’s home and capture its occupants if possible.
• Bi Yunfei regarded Fan Dazhi’s sharp deductions with wariness and recalled how his master had opened every meridian in his body.

Bi Yunfei was forced by his mysterious benefactor to abandon his plot against Fan Dazhi and instead protect him. Fan Dazhi deduced that the escaped Unknown Island Fiends were hiding in Lotus Seed Alley and led troops to surround it, where Jiu Shan and the remaining fugitives were concealed.

• A mysterious man empowered Bi Yunfei, ordered him to investigate the Immortal Map fragments and Unknown Island, and threatened to take back his gifts if he disobeyed.
• When Bi Yunfei plotted against Fan Dazhi, the man tortured him through his Sea of Consciousness and ordered him to protect Fan Dazhi as if he were his father.
• After a clerk reported that the court had nearly captured the Unknown Island Fiends, Fan Dazhi studied a map and deduced that the last escapee was hiding in Lotus Seed Alley.
• Bi Yunfei urged Fan Dazhi to stay behind, but Fan Dazhi insisted on joining the operation to recapture the escapee himself.
• In an abandoned Underground Bank beneath Lotus Seed Alley, Jiu Shan drained the life from two guards while Dongren and the remaining Unknown Island members hid nearby.
• Armored soldiers converged on Lotus Seed Alley and surrounded it in layered ranks.

Fan Dazhi and the Imperial Guards surrounded the Underground Bank, where Jiu Shan replenished his strength and prepared to break out. Jiu Shan burst through the ground, devastating the troops, and hovered over the collapsing ruins as the surviving soldiers fled.

• Bi Yunfei positioned the Imperial Guards and two Divine Mechanism Crossbows around the abandoned shacks while Fan Dazhi sensed Jiu Shan and the others underground.
• Jiu Shan replenished his vitality by absorbing the blood of two cultivators and learned from Dongren that Li Xingzhi had died.
• Jiu Shan sensed the encirclement, broke through the chamber ceiling, and ordered his followers to fight their way out.
• Fan Dazhi urged the troops to retreat as the ground collapsed and the blast killed or buried dozens of Imperial Guards.
• Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu tried to protect the retreating soldiers, but Jiu Shan emerged from the dust and looked down at the fleeing troops.

Jiu Shan overwhelmed the Imperial Guards and defeated Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu, then tried to absorb their vital essence. Fan Dazhi stepped in to stop him with a powerful Five Elements Separation Technique, leaving Jiu Shan struggling against its restraint.

• Jiu Shan shattered the Imperial Guards' ballista bolts and slaughtered soldiers with a Blood Baleful Giant Palm.
• Jiu Shan crushed Zou Zheng beneath the palm and knocked Chen Sangyu unconscious with a flick of his finger.
• Jiu Shan seized Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu and began drawing in blood baleful qi to restore himself.
• Fan Dazhi rushed between Jiu Shan and the wounded cultivators, refusing to move aside.
• Fan Dazhi used an advanced Five Elements Separation Technique to disrupt Jiu Shan's control of the blood baleful qi.
• Jiu Shan tried to break through the restraint with gang qi as the earth shook.

Fan Dazhi used the Black Tortoise Scripture to withstand Jiu Shan’s attacks and hold him in place while Bi Yunfei prepared a crossbow volley. The chapter ended with dozens of rune-lit bolts flying toward Jiu Shan.

• Jiu Shan smashed the two Vajra Warriors, while wood-attribute energy pulled Zou Zheng and Chen Sangyu to safety.
• Jiu Shan pursued the fleeing Fan Dazhi, and Bi Yunfei used weapons and formations to delay him.
• Fan Dazhi rammed Jiu Shan and clung to his waist as the Black Tortoise Scripture formed a protective phantom shell around him.
• Jiu Shan repeatedly struck Fan Dazhi, but Fan Dazhi refused to let go and urged Bi Yunfei to fire the crossbows.
• Bi Yunfei ordered the crossbows to fire, sending dozens of rune-lit bolts toward Jiu Shan.

Jiu Shan overwhelmed Fan Dazhi and Bi Yunfei, but a blind old monk intervened and effortlessly stopped his attacks. The monk’s Buddhist chant immobilized Jiu Shan as he prepared to take him back to the temple.

• Jiu Shan blasted Fan Dazhi away, shattered the crossbow bolts, and struck Bi Yunfei with blade qi.
• Jiu Shan raised his palm to kill Fan Dazhi, but an old blind monk appeared and dissolved the attack with an invocation.
• Jiu Shan attacked the monk with the Sun-Swallowing Collapse Fist and struck at Fan Dazhi, but the monk stood unharmed and dispelled the palm force.
• The monk warned Jiu Shan of the karmic punishment awaiting him and called on Buddhist power to take him back to the temple.
• Buddhist chants rose around them, and Jiu Shan lost control of his body and true qi.

Faxian saved Fan Dazhi and gave him Buddhist counsel and prayer beads before departing. In the palace, Emperor Chen learned that Ding Feiyong had returned to Luoyang and noted that most of his late father’s former associates had not visited the residence.

• Jiu Shan burst into blood mist and sent phantom images fleeing, while Faxian’s Buddhist light destroyed most of them and failed to stop a few from escaping.
• Fan Dazhi and the others thanked Faxian, but he declined their requests for help and let Fan Dazhi escort him back to his lodging.
• Faxian recognized Fan Dazhi’s Buddhist potential, warned him that the ancient art in his sea of consciousness was a Saint Clan legacy, and offered him refuge in Buddhism; Fan Dazhi declined.
• Faxian gave Fan Dazhi his prayer beads and left for the farmhouses as dawn broke.
• Zhao Delu reported that Ding Feiyong, his daughter, and a servant had returned to Luoyang, and Emperor Chen remarked that few former associates had visited the Dingding Chancellor’s Residence.

Emperor Chen rejected proposals to relocate the capital, ordered a secret investigation of the Cui Family, and celebrated the completion of armor for one hundred thousand cavalrymen as he declared his ambition to unite all under Heaven. The chapter ended with him reading Ding Feiyong’s memorial, “Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Realm.”

• Zhao Delu told Emperor Chen that Cheng Zi Ya had returned injured from Wuwei City and entered life-or-death seclusion.
• Emperor Chen condemned officials’ proposals to move the capital to Bianliang or Chang'an as serving their clans’ interests.
• Emperor Chen ordered Bi Yunfei to secretly investigate the Cui Family for corruption and possible rebellion, then reduced imperial kitchen expenses by thirty percent.
• Zhao Delu reported that one hundred thousand cavalrymen at Jinping Mountain had received Black Iron and Dark Gold Armor and outmatched the Imperial Guards in exercises.
• Emperor Chen vowed that the Great Chen Cavalry would expand the empire and unite all under Heaven.
• Zhao Qin brought Ding Feiyong’s memorial, and Emperor Chen began reading its Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Realm.

Emperor Chen praised Ding Feiyong’s memorial and promoted him to Deputy Privy Councilor. Ding Feiyong left his daughter at the Chancellor’s Residence and arrived at court with a concealed blade as the grand assembly began.

• Emperor Chen read Ding Feiyong’s memorial, admired its analysis, and promoted him to Deputy Privy Councilor while retaining his post as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.
• Ding Feiyong bid farewell to Ding Wenruo, urged her to care for herself and return to the Knowledge and Practice Institute, then left for court.
• Ding Feiyong rode through Luoyang and secretly touched a concealed blade inside his sleeve.
• Ding Feiyong arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate, where officials congratulated him on his promotion, and entered the palace for the grand court assembly.
• Emperor Chen sat on the throne as the young eunuch invited officials to present matters for deliberation.

At court, Wang Daolun and Cui Yingtai argued for moving Great Chen’s capital to Bianliang or Chang’an, while Emperor Chen asked Ding Feiyong for his judgment. Ding Feiyong defended Luoyang as the realm’s central pivot, and Emperor Chen declared that Luoyang would remain the place from which he commanded the realm.

• Yang Yi, Liao Zhennan, Du Chongwei, Yan Bin, and Liang Congkuan reported on the treasury, farming, waterworks, weapons, sacrifices, and frontier affairs to Emperor Chen.
• Wang Daolun urged Emperor Chen to move the capital to Bianliang, citing its central position and waterways.
• Cui Yingtai opposed Bianliang and called for the capital to move to Chang’an because of its defensible terrain.
• Tong Huan avoided choosing a location, and Cui Yizhong urged Emperor Chen to deliberate further.
• Ding Feiyong argued that Luoyang’s position and connection to the Grand Canal made it the pivot of the realm.
• Emperor Chen praised Ding Feiyong’s insight and declared that Luoyang was more than a capital: it was the pivot through which he commanded the realm.

Ding Feiyong presented Emperor Chen with a strategic map, then used a concealed poisoned blade to attack him. The story shifted to a Qiang tribe, where Mu Shu checked on the badly wounded Han youth she had rescued, who remained unconscious after seven days.

• Ding Feiyong offered Emperor Chen a map showing routes and strategic positions for campaigns against the Eastern Yang and Han Kingdoms.
• Emperor Chen eagerly summoned Ding Feiyong to explain the map and reached for its sandalwood scroll.
• Ding Feiyong revealed a concealed poisoned blade and stabbed toward Emperor Chen's heart, accusing him of being a tyrant and demanding payment for his father's life.
• The story moved to a Qiang tribe by the Wei River, where the rescued Han youth had lain unconscious for seven days.
• Mu Shu entered the tent and asked her father whether the Han youth would wake.

Mu Shu and her father Mu Tuo cared for the gravely wounded He An after Mu Shu rescued him from the Wei River. When He An woke in the Clear Cliff Tribe, he had lost all memory of who he was, the result of Feng Qiwu’s strike shattering his spiritual platform.

• Mu Shu persuaded Mu Tuo to look for medicine for the unconscious Han man, and Mu Tuo teased her about her concern for him.
• Mu Shu examined He An’s Jade Pendant, promised to help him recover, and saw him begin to wake.
• Mu Shu ran to tell Mu Tuo that He An had awakened.
• He An woke with a splitting headache and found that he could remember nothing about himself.
• Mu Tuo introduced himself and Mu Shu, but He An asked, “Who am I?”
• The narration explained that Feng Qiwu’s strike had shattered He An’s spiritual platform, while the Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture had kept him alive.

Han Zhan anxiously watched over the comatose Han Chanjuan while Han Zongwang spoke about cultivation, freedom, and Li Xingzhi. The Earth Vein Fire engulfed Han Chanjuan, awakened her Undying Heavenly Phoenix bloodline, and left her alive with a reforged Dao foundation.

• Han Zhan worried that Han Chanjuan had not awakened after seven days, while Han Zongwang urged him to steady himself and reflect on the purpose of cultivation.
• Han Zongwang told Han Zhan that Li Xingzhi had not died but was undergoing Dao Union after shedding his fleshly shell.
• The Earth Vein Fire erupted and surged toward Han Chanjuan, forcing Han Zongwang to hold Han Zhan back from rushing to her.
• A phoenix appeared in the flames, which then condensed into a streak of crimson-gold light and entered Han Chanjuan's brow.
• Han Chanjuan opened her eyes, and Han Zongwang declared that her Undying Heavenly Phoenix bloodline had awakened and her Dao foundation had been reforged.
• Han Zongwang warned Han Zhan not to constrain Han Chanjuan with mortal customs, and Han Zhan vowed he would give up the throne and realm for her.

Yun Ying escaped Unknown Island, while Qu Yong returned to the Knowledge and Practice Institute, Faxian freed Yushu from the Dragon Horse Bearing the Chart Temple, and Gu Qingzhou arrived back at the Capital City. The chapter left Gu Qingzhou facing a capital city under gathering storm clouds.

• Yun Ying killed two guards, fled Unknown Island, and escaped across the sea on a bamboo raft.
• Qu Yong returned to the Knowledge and Practice Institute after ten years away and knelt before Lu Zhengqing’s quarters.
• Faxian freed Yushu from his chains in the Dragon Horse Bearing the Chart Temple and took him away.
• Gu Qingzhou rode back to the Capital City with his attendants and looked up at the dark clouds above its gates.

Ding Feiyong attempted to assassinate Emperor Chen in the Purple Dawn Hall, but an unseen old man stopped him and broke his wrist. Emperor Chen ordered Ding Feiyong taken to the Heavenly Prison to reveal who was behind the attack, then knocked him unconscious.

• Ding Feiyong attacked Emperor Chen with a poisoned blade hidden in a scroll shaft, but Emperor Chen dodged the fatal strike.
• Ding Feiyong accused Emperor Chen of poisoning loyal ministers and murdering his father and brother, then attacked again.
• An old man emerged from the shadows, burned away Ding Feiyong's true qi, and broke his knife-wielding wrist.
• Emperor Chen ordered the Golden Melon Guards to take Ding Feiyong to the Heavenly Prison and find out who was behind him.
• Emperor Chen struck Ding Feiyong in the abdomen with Fist Gang, knocking him unconscious as the guards dragged him away.

Emperor Chen weighed whether to execute Ding Feiyong for attempting to assassinate him, considering the political consequences and the possibility of uncovering the plot behind the attack. He spared Ding Feiyong from immediate death and ordered him held in the Heavenly Prison under strict guard.

• Tong Huan, Cui Yizhong, and other officials urged Emperor Chen to punish Ding Feiyong severely, while Cui Yingtai demanded his execution and the extermination of his three clans.
• Huang Jiulang pleaded for Ding Feiyong's life, arguing that he had been misled and that killing him would waste his talent and alienate officials tied to his late father, Ding Fengyuan.
• Emperor Chen considered Ding Feiyong's strategic value, the hidden forces behind the assassination, and the danger of provoking the court by destroying the Ding family.
• Huang Jiulang repeated his plea, claiming that treacherous men had used the assassination attempt to make Emperor Chen kill a pillar of the state.
• Emperor Chen ordered Ding Feiyong committed to the Heavenly Prison under strict guard and forbade anyone from visiting him without imperial permission.

After a blind old monk rescued the demon monk from the Dragon Horse Bearing the Chart Temple, Emperor Chen learned that the rescuer was the legendary Faxian and ordered stronger defenses at the Heavenly Prison. Alone in Funing Hall, he admitted his regrets over targeting Ding Fengyuan and fell asleep after confessing a dream about the Imperial Preceptor trying to kill him.

• Emperor Chen learned from Zhao Qin that a blind old monk had rescued the demon monk, and he ordered punishment for the temple monks and the revocation of its designation and lands.
• Xue identified the rescuer as the divine monk Faxian and warned Emperor Chen that even a vast military force could not kill him.
• Emperor Chen invited Xue to share wine, but Xue declined and left the palace.
• Emperor Chen ordered three thousand Kirin Guards armed with Divine Mechanism Crossbows to reinforce the Heavenly Prison and kill suspicious intruders.
• Emperor Chen learned that the prisoner still refused to admit fault, then told Zhao Delu that he regretted targeting Ding Fengyuan and questioned whether he was a benighted ruler.
• Emperor Chen described his dream of the Imperial Preceptor returning with a sword to kill him, then fell asleep in Funing Hall.