Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yifan acted as a double agent, serving Yuan Zhen’s Tingfeng Pavilion while secretly working for Phoenix’s Tingyu Terrace. As he traveled west with two Yuan Zhen agents to prepare an ambush for Chu Zhiyuan, Chu appeared and challenged their plan.

• Two middle-aged agents from Yuan Zhen’s Tingfeng Pavilion urged Zhou Yifan to leave the Imperial City and join their preparations against Chu Zhiyuan.
• Zhou Yifan met Lord Meng and Lord Qi, who warned him not to betray Tingyu Terrace and discussed the planned assassination of the Twelfth Imperial Son-in-Law.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized Zhou Yifan was a double agent and watched him leave the Imperial City with the two Yuan Zhen agents.
• Zhou Yifan spoke with the agents about returning home, while they insisted their plan to take down Chu Zhiyuan would succeed.
• Chu Zhiyuan’s voice suddenly rang beside the travelers, asking what bait they meant.

Chu Zhiyuan confronted Zhou Yifan and two men who claimed to be from Tingyu Terrace, exposing their connection to Yuanzhen and forcing Zhou Yifan to reveal his allegiance. The two men fled, but Zhou Yifan pursued them with a sword technique that reminded Fu Zheng of Chu Zhiyuan’s.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Fu Zheng blocked Zhou Yifan and two middle-aged men, and Chu Zhiyuan suspected the men were Yuanzhen agents from Tingfeng Pavilion.
• The tall middle-aged man presented Tingyu Terrace waist tokens and insisted that they had urgent business, but Chu Zhiyuan dismissed the tokens as fake.
• When Chu Zhiyuan challenged Zhou Yifan to swear he had never joined Tingyu Terrace, Zhou Yifan fell silent, and the two men abandoned hope and fled.
• Chu Zhiyuan urged Zhou Yifan to stop the fugitives, and Zhou Yifan pursued the tall man with a sword technique that made him move in streaking afterimages.
• Fu Zheng noticed that Zhou Yifan’s movement resembled Chu Zhiyuan’s sword technique, and Chu Zhiyuan remarked that combining their methods could make them stronger.

Zhou Yifan stopped two men who had tried to assassinate Chu Zhiyuan, and Tingyu Terrace’s Prince Cheng came to negotiate after the agency’s failure to warn him. Chu Zhiyuan secured access to Thousand Mechanisms Tower and learned that a Nine Star Vine in Qiyun Valley could trap its victims in an illusion.

• Zhou Yifan paralyzed the two middle-aged men with his Thunderclap Sword Art, and Fu Zheng sealed their acupoints.
• Chu Zhiyuan sent Zhou Yifan to take the men to Tingyu Terrace for questioning and concluded that the agency had infiltrated Thousand Mechanisms Tower.
• Prince Cheng visited Chu Zhiyuan, apologized for Tingyu Terrace’s failure, and agreed that Thousand Mechanisms Tower would cooperate with him.
• Prince Cheng told Chu Zhiyuan that the Nine Star Vine in Qiyun Valley could draw people into an illusion.

Chu Zhiyuan learned that Yuanzhen might have used a Nine Star Vine illusion against him and set out to intercept Cheng Yunzheng, who had spread rumors about his wife. After searching the wrong diplomatic missions, Chu Zhiyuan found the real one and saw Cheng Yunzheng detect that something was amiss.

• Prince Cheng told Chu Zhiyuan that Yuanzhen's Nine Star Vine had been destroyed and discussed the possibility of uniting the three dynasties.
• Fu Zheng reported that Yuanzhen's diplomatic mission was nearing the capital and that Thousand Mechanisms Tower had identified its route and decoys.
• Chu Zhiyuan decided to go alone to find Cheng Yunzheng, while Fu Zheng stayed behind to watch Thousand Mechanisms Tower.
• Chu Zhiyuan searched two false missions before locating the real one, which included Cheng Yunzheng, a princess, and three high-rank Venerables.
• Cheng Yunzheng sensed something amiss and signaled the real mission to stop, while Chu Zhiyuan suspected a treasure was protecting him.

Chu Zhiyuan ambushed the Yuan Zhen envoy group and confronted Cheng Yunzheng over the rumor that eating his wife’s flesh and blood would grant Phoenix Bloodline abilities. Their fight began, revealing that Cheng Yunzheng’s spirit treasure absorbed Chu Zhiyuan’s fist imprints.

• Cheng Yunzheng and Cheng Ruoxi argued over whether to pursue the spies watching the envoy group, and she persuaded him to continue onward without confronting them.
• Chu Zhiyuan used a howl empowered by the Heavenly Dragon Incantation to panic the envoy group’s horses, then revealed himself to Cheng Yunzheng.
• Chu Zhiyuan accused Cheng Yunzheng of spreading the rumor about eating his wife’s flesh and blood, while Cheng Ruoxi learned of it for the first time.
• Chu Zhiyuan attacked Cheng Yunzheng with the Great Brightness Fist, and Cheng Yunzheng countered with his sword.
• Chu Zhiyuan’s remaining fist imprints struck Cheng Yunzheng but vanished as his spirit treasure absorbed them and appeared to grow stronger.

Chu Zhiyuan fought Cheng Yunzheng and discovered that the Nine Dragons Barrier protected him by consuming his lifespan. Cheng Yunzheng fled toward Phoenix Imperial City, and Chu Zhiyuan left after briefly greeting the Thirteenth Princess.

• Chu Zhiyuan tested Cheng Yunzheng's defense with his palm and Flying Daggers, but the Nine Dragons Barrier absorbed and redirected the attacks.
• Chu Zhiyuan deduced that the spiritual treasure consumed Cheng Yunzheng's lifespan, and Cheng Yunzheng realized his secret had been exposed.
• Cheng Yunzheng charged at Chu Zhiyuan but could neither break through his attacks nor land a blow.
• The Thirteenth Princess told Cheng Yunzheng to leave, and he ran toward Phoenix Imperial City with the Flying Daggers pursuing him.
• The Thirteenth Princess stepped out of her carriage and praised Chu Zhiyuan, who briefly returned her greeting before departing.

Chu Zhiyuan pursued Cheng Yunzheng but could not break through his spirit treasure’s defenses. By using his main body to transfer the Heavenly Concealment Pearl and refining the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record, he found a way to touch the treasure’s spiritual resonance.

• Cheng Ruoxi heeded Aunt Xu’s warning and stayed behind rather than pursue Chu Zhiyuan.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried to attack Cheng Yunzheng with the Great Demon Subduing Seal and punches, but Cheng Yunzheng’s spirit treasure blocked every strike.
• Chu Zhiyuan contacted his main body, which transferred the Heavenly Concealment Pearl into the avatar’s Yongquan acupoint.
• Chu Zhiyuan practiced the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record, caught up with Cheng Yunzheng, and repeatedly kicked at his defenses.
• On his eighteenth kick, Chu Zhiyuan sensed the spirit treasure’s resonance and discovered that it had entered the Yongquan point on the right side.

Chu Zhiyuan seized Cheng Yunzheng’s Dragon Soaring Bell and drove him off when Phoenix internal guards arrived, then studied the spiritual treasure and began planning to refine his own. Cheng Yunzheng later warned Cheng Ruoxi that Chu Zhiyuan would attack again on the return journey, and doubted that more experts could stop him.

• Chu Zhiyuan used the Great Brightness Fist to batter Cheng Yunzheng after secretly seizing the Dragon Soaring Bell, while pretending the treasure had simply reached its limit.
• Phoenix internal guards led by Lord Zhou and Lord Meng arrived, and Chu Zhiyuan left to meet Cheng Ruoxi’s group with them.
• Chu Zhiyuan cultivated the Spiritual Abyss Body Cleansing Record, considered why the Dragon Soaring Bell had been seized, and resolved to refine all four of his spiritual treasures.
• Cheng Ruoxi met Cheng Yunzheng, who warned that Chu Zhiyuan would return to attack and said that even more experts might not be enough to stop him.

After Cheng Yunzheng remained in the imperial city to avoid Chu Liezhao, Chu Zhiyuan learned how the Dragon Soaring Bell could recover and began refining it. He agreed to escort Li Cunren to Yuan Zhen, where Li Cunren planned to confront its emperor over Cheng Yunzheng, and they set out with twelve Venerables.

• Cheng Ruoxi urged Cheng Yunzheng to stay in the imperial city, and he insisted his attack on Li Miaotan had still achieved its purpose.
• Chu Zhiyuan realized the Dragon Soaring Bell could absorb Heavenly Dragon power to recover and grow stronger.
• Li Cunren told Chu Zhiyuan he would travel to Yuan Zhen to confront its emperor and meet the First Prince about Cheng Yunzheng.
• Chu Zhiyuan offered to escort Li Cunren, warning that Demon Race and Devil Race experts might attack him on the way.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren departed from the south gate with twelve Venerables, keeping their journey secret.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren used the Beast Severing Token to conceal their journey, and Chu Zhiyuan wiped out another group of Demon Race experts along the way. The chapter ended with him arriving as Zhou Yifan and four companions prepared to die fighting a Demon Race siege.

• Li Cunren showed Chu Zhiyuan the Beast Severing Token, which could conceal his aura even from Fengtian Palace.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed that more than two hundred Demon Race experts had gathered nearby, and Li Cunren urged him to eliminate them rather than risk harm to the city guards.
• Chu Zhiyuan swiftly killed the Demon Race experts, while Li Cunren cursed Cheng Yunzheng and hoped Li Miaotan would cripple him after emerging from seclusion.
• Two high-ranking Venerables praised Chu Zhiyuan after witnessing his fighting skills.
• Zhou Yifan and four men, wounded and surrounded by Demon Race experts, prepared to use a mutual-destruction technique before Chu Zhiyuan arrived and Zhou recognized him.

Chu Zhiyuan rescued Zhou Yifan and four other Venerables from Demon Race experts, then learned that a cave mansion said to belong to an ancient Celestial Being might be nearby. After sharing the news with Li Cunren and the others, they considered investigating, though the Imperial Court had apparently heard nothing of it.

• Chu Zhiyuan used a golden net to stop Huang Qiao’s self-destructive technique and saved Zhou Yifan and the other Venerables from their wounds.
• Zhou Yifan told Chu Zhiyuan that the Thousand Mechanisms Tower had reported a cave mansion that might have belonged to a Celestial Being from a hundred thousand years ago.
• Chu Zhiyuan questioned the Thousand Mechanisms Tower’s reliability, then left Zhou Yifan’s group to search for clues.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned to Li Cunren and described the Demon Race attack and the rumored cave mansion.
• Li Cunren and the Venerables grew interested in investigating the cave mansion, but Li Cunren said he had heard nothing about it from the Imperial Court.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren discussed a rumored Celestial Being inheritance before entering Yujing Imperial City, where Chu Zhiyuan discovered the Bixie Beasts guarding the gates and surveyed the city with Super Sensation. The chapter left him watching the Sixth Prince train while a man urged him to break with the Fifth Prince.

• Chu Zhiyuan learned that a Celestial Being's Cave Mansion inheritance could provoke a fierce struggle among sects, and heard how the Mountain Moving Scripture had raised Huang Yuan Sect to prominence.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren arrived at Yujing Imperial City and learned that its Bixie Beasts could identify and attack nonhuman beings.
• A city guard captain secretly ordered a guard to watch Chu Zhiyuan's group after they entered the city.
• Chu Zhiyuan used Super Sensation to survey Yujing Imperial City, but eight areas remained hidden from his sight.
• Chu Zhiyuan saw the Sixth Prince practicing swordsmanship as a handsome middle-aged man urged him to sever ties with the Fifth Prince.

Cheng Yunqi agreed to distance himself from Cheng Yunzheng after being warned that the Phoenix Dynasty would retaliate for Cheng Yunzheng’s actions. At Cai Ni Tower, Chu Zhiyuan told Cheng Yunqi that he had rendered Cheng Yunzheng’s spirit treasure dormant and threatened to expose his vulnerability.

• A handsome middle-aged man warned Cheng Yunqi that Cheng Yunzheng had crossed a dangerous line by involving the Demon Race and Devil Race, and that the Phoenix Dynasty would pursue him.
• Cheng Yunqi agreed to expel six of Cheng Yunzheng’s relatives from his residence to make clear that he was distancing himself from his brother.
• Cheng Yunqi received an invitation from Chu Liezhao and went to Cai Ni Tower, where he found Chu Zhiyuan waiting for him.
• After they met alone, Chu Zhiyuan claimed he had struck Cheng Yunzheng’s spirit treasure into dormancy.
• Chu Zhiyuan threatened to reveal that Cheng Yunzheng’s spirit treasure no longer worked and that whoever killed Cheng Yunzheng could claim it, alarming Cheng Yunqi.

Chu Zhiyuan persuaded Cheng Yunqi to help cripple Cheng Yunzheng by triggering Qi Deviation rather than attacking him directly. Cheng Yunqi revealed the treasures and protections they would need to overcome, including an unknown Divine Talisman that could greatly increase Cheng Yunzheng’s speed.

• Chu Zhiyuan argued that Cheng Yunzheng had plotted against his wife and deserved to be stopped, while Cheng Yunqi defended his Fifth Brother’s intentions.
• Chu Zhiyuan said Cheng Yunzheng should be kept in Phoenix Imperial City and proposed making him suffer Qi Deviation to avoid provoking the Yuan Zhen Dynasty.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Cheng Yunqi to help identify Cheng Yunzheng’s weaknesses, and Cheng Yunqi disclosed his spiritual materials and Tiger Tear pendant.
• Cheng Yunqi revealed that Cheng Yunzheng also carried a Detoxification Pearl, making poison difficult to use.
• Cheng Yunqi mentioned that Cheng Yunzheng might possess a Divine Talisman that could multiply his speed several times.

Chu Zhiyuan learned about Cheng Yunzheng’s Divine Talisman and tried to find out more about the Fifth Prince through Cheng Yunqi. After discovering that Sun Qiying had disappeared, Chu Zhiyuan used Super Sensation to locate him.

• Cheng Yunqi told Chu Zhiyuan that Cheng Yunzheng possessed an incomplete Divine Talisman and named Sun Qiying as the person who knew more about the Fifth Prince’s secrets.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Cheng Yunqi about the Thirteenth Princess, and Cheng Yunqi praised her intelligence and virtue.
• Cheng Yunqi told Chu Zhiyuan that Sun Qiying had been missing for two days and suspected he had vanished voluntarily.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Cheng Yunqi for Sun Qiying’s belongings so he could try to track him down.
• After sensing a brush and scroll, Chu Zhiyuan identified a residence where Sun Qiying was hiding.

Chu Zhiyuan persuaded Cheng Yunqi to let Sun Qiying leave Yuanzhen Imperial City for the safety of the Prince Consort's Mansion in Phoenix Imperial City. Cheng Yunqi agreed, and Sun Qiying prepared to go with Chu Zhiyuan.

• Cheng Yunqi questioned Chu Zhiyuan's ability to locate Sun Qiying, and Chu Zhiyuan described it as a powerful instinct.
• Wei Qun brought Sun Qiying to Cheng Yunqi, who learned that many people were hunting him to uncover the source of Cheng Yunzheng's treasures and extraordinary arts.
• Cheng Yunqi offered to shelter Sun Qiying in his Prince's Mansion, but Sun Qiying warned that even the princes might be unable to protect him.
• Chu Zhiyuan offered to take Sun Qiying to Phoenix Imperial City, promising that he would be safe in the Prince Consort's Mansion.
• Cheng Yunqi agreed to let Sun Qiying leave with Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan recruited Sun Qiying and uncovered the likely motive behind Cheng Yunzheng’s attack on Li Miaotan: he had gambled his life to prevent her rise and protect Yuan Zhen. Chu Zhiyuan suspected Cheng Yunzheng had a hidden escape plan involving a double and asked Sun whether he still meant to serve him.

• Chu Zhiyuan welcomed Sun Qiying into the Prince Consort's Mansion, and Sun admitted he had been seeking a way out of serving the princes.
• As they walked, Chu Zhiyuan questioned why Cheng Yunzheng had used the Demon Race and Devil Race, and Sun confirmed that Cheng Yunzheng had sacrificed himself to seize a chance to kill Li Miaotan.
• Chu Zhiyuan reasoned that Cheng Yunzheng might have a concealed trump card and could fake his death using a double who had gone to Phoenix Imperial City.
• Chu Zhiyuan considered that Cheng Yunzheng might take another identity and hide in Phoenix Imperial City, then asked Sun whether he still intended to serve him.

Chu Zhiyuan learned more about Cheng Yunzheng from Sun Qiying and prepared to return to Phoenix Imperial City before Cheng Yunzheng could escape. At Sifang Pavilion, he met Li Baocheng of Tianya Sword Sect and faced his unusual swordsmanship, evading two volleys of sword light.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Sun Qiying to watch Cheng Yunzheng and judge whether he truly intended to sacrifice himself to save Yuanzhen.
• Chu Zhiyuan introduced Sun Qiying, Cheng Yunzheng’s former Records Officer, to Li Cunren and explained Cheng Yunzheng’s situation.
• Li Cunren planned to confront the Yuanzhen Emperor at the banquet, but Chu Zhiyuan declined to join him and urged a swift return to Phoenix Imperial City.
• An expert from Tianya Sword Sect arrived to challenge Chu Zhiyuan, and Chu Zhiyuan agreed to meet him.
• Li Baocheng introduced himself and attacked with his greatsword, but Chu Zhiyuan evaded both volleys of nine sword-light arcs.

Chu Zhiyuan defeated Li Baocheng, then discussed the Love Sword with him and quickly grasped its hidden principles. Their renewed exchange deepened Chu Zhiyuan’s understanding and brought him close to the next transformation.

• Li Baocheng attacked Chu Zhiyuan with the Horizon Sword Art’s concealed net of light, but Chu Zhiyuan dodged behind him and wounded him with a palm strike.
• Li Baocheng conceded defeat, and Chu Zhiyuan invited him to share tea and discuss martial arts rather than leave.
• Li Baocheng explained that he had created the Love Sword by turning tangled emotions into sword intent, and Chu Zhiyuan began imitating its techniques.
• Chu Zhiyuan rapidly developed the Love Sword, then used the shifting boundary between love and hatred to strengthen its light into a blazing violet net.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Baocheng exchanged sword nets, and Chu Zhiyuan’s understanding advanced until he sensed the threshold of his next transformation.

Chu Zhiyuan advanced the Emotion Sword into the Heartless Sword while experiencing life throughout Yuanzhen Imperial City. After learning that the Yuanzhen Emperor would not interfere with Cheng Yunzheng, he and Li Cunren suspected Cheng Yunzheng had used a stand-in to escape and prepared to return at once.

• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Baocheng sparred, and Li Baocheng transformed the Emotion Sword into an emotion net.
• Chu Zhiyuan wandered through Yuanzhen Imperial City, sensed its many emotions, and comprehended the Heartless Sword.
• Chu Zhiyuan tested the traceless sword light, which reduced an ancient tree to powder and brought him close to the Fourth Turn.
• Li Cunren returned from the imperial palace and reported that the Yuanzhen Emperor would not interfere with Cheng Yunzheng.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Cunren suspected Cheng Yunzheng had escaped using a stand-in, so they decided to return immediately and find him.