Arc 8Chapters 176–200
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Chen Wei secured conclusive evidence that Wu Ji had conspired with Nine-Headed Bug, then learned from Taibai Jinxing that the case should be used as leverage rather than resolved swiftly. Taibai ordered Wu Ji held under a deliberately prolonged investigation to constrain the Martial Virtue Lineage.
Chen Wei returned from the West Sea realizing Taibai Jinxing and Yang Jian had used him as a pawn in their plan, then walked into an awkward confrontation at his Mansion. Yang Chan protected him from her furious brother, leaving Yang Jian angry and unable to act against Chen Wei.
Yang Jian let Chen Wei and Yang Chan escape after their playful standoff, while Ao Cunxin returned alone to the West Sea. At Pure Heart Temple, Sun Wukong learned Chen Wei had used his name to resolve the West Sea affair, and Zhu Bajie urged him to collect the disciples Chen Wei owed.
Sun Wukong tricked Chen Wei into taking pills as part of a childbearing scheme, while Taishang Laojun discovered that Zhu Bajie had taken the Yin-Yang Harmony Elixir. After divining where the elixir had gone, Laojun was pleased and ordered the Yin-Yang Spirit Pearl refined.
The Martial Virtue Star Lord decided to pressure Chen Wei by exploiting his relationship with Yang Chan to free Wu Ji from the Discipline Inspection Court. As Chen Wei was overwhelmed by Yang Chan’s pills, the Queen Mother of the West summoned him and Yang Niansan to Yaochi, but Yang Chan insisted that he take his medicine first.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan were summoned to Yaochi, where the Queen Mother of the West questioned their closeness and warned Chen Wei about his future. Chen Wei defended their professional relationship and accused the people spreading rumors of misleading the Queen Mother, prompting her to cry, “Insolence!”
Taibai Jinxing intervened when the Queen Mother of the West confronted Chen Wei and Yang Chan over rumors of their private affection. He invoked the Great Heavenly Venerable’s authority to argue that Tongming Hall should handle Chen Wei’s discipline, but the Queen Mother had not yet relented when the Holy Manifestation True Lord arrived.
Yang Jian and Taibai Jinxing secured Chen Wei and Yang Chan’s release from Yaochi, and Yang Chan returned to Guanjiangkou with her brother. Taibai Jinxing then assigned Chen Wei a difficult official matter involving the Great Heavenly Venerable’s dignity.
Chen Wei investigated the Demon King who forged Heavenly Court decrees and discovered a link to the White Deer serving the Antarctic Immortal Elder, so he ordered a discreet search for evidence. He then realized he had ignored Yang Chan’s messages for two years in the Mortal Realm, and tried to calm her by singing the song she requested.
Chen Wei cut short a tense conversation with Yang Chan to hear Ma Muzhi report that the Demon King planned to retire and choose a successor. He then visited the Stars of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity at White Cloud Cave and asked where their White Deer was, leaving the three immortals aware that he suspected the mount had caused trouble.
Chen Wei used a casual visit to pressure the Three Stars of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity into supporting Tongming Hall’s investigation of White Deer. The Star of Longevity agreed to cut ties with White Deer if necessary, and the three stars prepared to report to the Emperor of the Southern Pole before the case reached Penglai.
Chen Wei returned to Tongming Hall pleased with the news from Penglai, but found Yang Chan waiting in his seat and his subordinates fleeing to avoid her. Yang Chan softened after Chen Wei’s teasing, and he was left wondering whether she had revealed a gentler side.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan prepared to flee the Heavenly Court for a Mortal Realm assignment before Yang Jian could discover her escape. Meanwhile, Ma Muzhi and Xiao Yan found a way to use the Three Demons of Chechi Kingdom as fall guys in the forged Imperial Decree case, and Ma Muzhi warned Xiao Yan not to rush his advancement.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan traveled incognito to Skyreach Mountain to reclaim its divine offices from demons, and they headed toward an assembly to elect a new mountain lord. After knocking out a leopard demon and taking its command token, they prepared to infiltrate the gathering, with Yang Chan teaching Chen Wei the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts through dao fruit fusion.
At Righteous Guardian Daoist’s succession banquet, his four godsons fought over the mountain lord position until Chen Wei, disguised as a Leopard Spirit, insulted them all. He left the demons stunned after declaring that everyone there was trash.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan exposed the four demon kings of Black Wind Cave and easily withstood their attacks, while the Righteous Guardian Daoist secretly summoned Heavenly Court officials. Lü Yan and his inspection team prepared to intervene and seize the cave’s wealth under the pretense of enforcing justice.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan withdrew from Black Wind Cave before Lü Yan seized the four Demon Kings, claiming the Righteous Guardian Daoist had reported their crimes. Ma Muzhi and Pang Long then arrived to arrest Lü Yan for suspected collusion with demons.
Ma Muzhi arrested Lü Yan and the demons at Black Wind Cave, but White Deer rescued Lü Yan and the Righteous Guardian Daoist. When Chen Wei and Yang Chan confronted them, Yang Chan produced an imperial decree that left Chen Wei stunned because it appeared to be blank.
Chen Wei and Yang Chan confronted Lü Yan with a blank Imperial Decree, which White Deer recognized as genuine and backed by the Great Heavenly Venerable’s authority. White Deer and Righteous Guardian Daoist turned against Lü Yan, and White Deer captured him to take back to the Heavenly Court.
Chen Wei moved to arrest White Deer for causing the chaos in Skyreach Mountain, while White Deer tried to offer scapegoats and then bargain with the secrets he held. In private, White Deer revealed that powerful immortals shared in the region’s incense-merit dealings and warned that a deeper investigation could bring down more than Skyreach Mountain.
Chen Wei arrested the White Deer demon despite his attempt to use a secret ledger to threaten the Censorate. Yang Chan then revealed that the Great Heavenly Venerable had written White Deer's crimes onto the Imperial Decree, and the couple returned to the Heavenly Court as a mysterious figure appeared in the clouds.
Chen Wei explained why he had arrested the White Deer despite Taibai Jinxing’s warning that the move had made powerful enemies. Taibai Jinxing approved of Chen Wei’s resolve, ordered him to deal with the White Deer permanently, and revealed that Yang Chan had been listening nearby.
Yang Chan helped Chen Wei smooth over Taibai Jinxing’s interrogation, then served them tangyuan and revealed Taibai had caused Chen Wei’s fondness for them. Meanwhile, Yang Jian confronted the Great Heavenly Venerable over Yang Chan’s involvement and left with only a vague assurance that she would be safe.
Yang Jian demanded assurances about Yang Chan and Chen Wei, while the Great Heavenly Venerable tried to draw him into a wager over Chen Wei’s fate. Meanwhile, Chen Wei released White Deer by declaring him innocent, leaving the demon terrified of the powerful immortals who might kill him.
Chen Wei released White Deer and publicly declared him innocent, hoping to distance the Censorate from Skyreach Mountain’s secrets. The discovery of a jade slip containing incriminating records left Chen Wei scrambling to contain the fallout.