Recaps

Bai Qianqian learned that the Qingqiu Fox Clan had fled to Southern Mo and received unexpected support from the Ji Clan, while Lu Changfeng accompanied her to Jade Splendor Mount Hua to attempt the Four Passions Trial. After Jiang Xu and Meng Yang passed Qin Pass, Lu Changfeng registered to take the trial, and word of his arrival reached Ji Xian.

• Bai Qianqian reunited with Lao Mi at the Qingqiu Guesthouse and learned that her father had led the clan south to seek refuge with the Ji Clan in Brocade Screen Valley.
• Lao Mi reported that the Ji Clan had assigned the Qingqiu clan a valley and that High Priest’s Star Divination had foretold an auspicious outcome; a messenger then announced that Zhu Xiang had arrived to oversee the new settlement.
• Bai Qianqian and Lu Changfeng went to Jade Splendor Mount Hua, where Jiang Xu and Meng Yang passed Qin Pass with their music.
• Lu Changfeng registered for Qin Pass while informants noticed him and Bai Qianqian, and one carried a portrait of him toward Jade Splendor Hall.
• A female official reported to Ji Xian that Lu Changfeng had arrived.

Lu Changfeng played “White Colt” at Qin Pass, openly seeking a kindred spirit rather than courting Madam Ji Xian. When an unknown musician attacked with “Battle Formation Breaking Music,” Lu Changfeng answered with “Ambush from Ten Sides,” and their melodies clashed above the stone steps.

• Lu Changfeng tested his zither and began playing “White Colt,” surprising the spectators with a melody of friendship rather than love.
• Bai Qianqian watched Lu Changfeng, moved by his choice to reveal his honest feelings instead of playing a love song.
• The Blind Zither Master prepared to approve Lu Changfeng’s performance, but another musician interrupted with “Battle Formation Breaking Music.”
• The Blind Zither Master recognized the attacking melody as the music of Her Majesty and silently lowered the Jade Mallet.
• Lu Changfeng mistook the attack for a challenge and switched to “Ambush from Ten Sides,” colliding with the other musician’s music.

Lu Changfeng defeated the hidden zither player and entered a peach-grove game trial overseen by Ji Lan, where a strange fragrance tested his composure. Outside the mist, Ji Lan abruptly closed the trials and expelled everyone from the mountain path.

• Lu Changfeng's 'Ambush from Ten Sides' overwhelmed the hidden player's 'Battle Formation Breaking Music,' earning praise from the blind zither player.
• Lu Changfeng entered the second trial and found a peach grove where a cloying fragrance stirred his senses.
• Ji Lan introduced herself as deputy governor and began a game of go against Lu Changfeng, explaining that he had to remain composed and win to proceed.
• A formation change expelled the challengers and spectators from the mountain path, interrupting Jiang Xu and Meng Yang's contest.
• The blind zither player silenced the angry crowd with his imposing aura, and Ji Lan announced that the trials were closed for the day.

Bai Qianqian was forced to leave the mountain while Lu Changfeng remained inside Ji Xian’s trials. After conceding the Go game, Lu Changfeng refused Ji Xian’s marriage proposal, only to discover she had trapped him in a sealing formation that he would have to break to escape.

• Ji Lan warned Bai Qianqian that the Qingqiu Fox Clan depended on Ji Xian’s goodwill, and Bai Qianqian left to check on her father and clanspeople.
• Lu Changfeng conceded the Go game, and Ji Xian praised him before revealing her true appearance.
• Lu Changfeng explained that he would take Bai Qianqian away, and Ji Xian challenged him to choose what to do next.
• Ji Xian left Lu Changfeng trapped in a sealing formation, forcing him to break it and pass the formation trial or remain imprisoned.
• Lu Changfeng realized Yun Lou had betrayed him and shouted his name in anger.

Bai Qianqian returned to Brocade Screen Valley heartbroken that Lu Changfeng remained trapped with Ji Xian, while Yan Xiu learned that Lu had cured Bai Qianqian’s poison and ordered Zang Tu to capture him. Inside Ji Xian’s formation, Lu Changfeng continued cultivating and refusing to pursue her, which only deepened her interest as the Red Sickle Guard approached Southern Mo.

• Bai Qianqian returned to Brocade Screen Valley and broke down in tears, and Bai Gong and High Priest Bo Rong realized that Lu Changfeng was the man connected to both Bai Qianqian’s and Ji Xian’s omens.
• Yan Xiu learned that Lu Changfeng had cured Bai Qianqian’s Lovesickness Gu and remained alone with Ji Xian, so he ordered Zang Tu to bring Lu back alive and planned to use the conflict to pressure Ji Xian.
• Lu Changfeng ate the food delivered inside the Eight Trigrams Dragon-Locking Formation and continued cultivating instead of trying to escape or court Ji Xian.
• Ji Xian watched Lu Changfeng through a water mirror and found his indifference intriguing, while Ji Lan reported that Zang Tu and the Red Sickle Guard would reach Jade Splendor Mount Hua within three days.
• Ji Xian asked whether Lu Changfeng would break the formation, then continued watching him eat pastries and resolved to keep their game going.

Lu Changfeng absorbed the Ice Chi Dragon Essence and advanced to the late sixth realm while Ji Xian watched over his breakthrough. After revealing that her power was bound to Jade Splendor Mount Hua and trapping him in its earth, Ji Xian declared she intended to take him by force, but Zang Tu and the Red Sickle Guard arrived at the mountain.

• Lu Changfeng swallowed the Ice Chi Dragon Essence, froze inside the Eight Trigrams Dragon-Locking Formation, and spent three days assimilating its power as Ji Xian restrained herself from interfering.
• Lu Changfeng emerged from the ice having advanced from the mid-sixth realm to the late sixth realm, and restored the frozen peach grove with Shennong qi.
• Ji Xian shared Peach Blossom Wine with Lu Changfeng and demonstrated that she could move Jade Splendor Mount Hua because her Dharma Form was the mountain itself.
• Ji Xian used the mountain's earth qi to bind Lu Changfeng and said she wanted to try taking him by force.
• Zang Tu led dozens of dark-red-qi figures toward Jade Splendor Mount Hua, and Ji Xian opened the barrier to confront them.

Zang Tu and the Red Sickle Guard prepared to seize Lu Changfeng with the Sweetwood lineage’s Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade, a weapon that drove its victims into madness. Ji Xian recognized the danger and ordered her people away from the battlefield, while Lu Changfeng remained inside the Peach Blossom Grove as the threat approached.

• Zang Tu led more than thirty Red Sickle Guards into hiding near Jade Splendor Mount Hua and explained why they could not wait for Lu Changfeng to leave on his own.
• Zang Tu drew the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade, and the deputy and guards recognized the infamous weapon and its power to inflame inner demons.
• The chapter recounted how Yan Wugou’s madness and slaughter led to the creation of the demon blade and Hongfang’s ominous prophecy about it.
• Lu Changfeng sensed the blade’s sinister aura from inside the Peach Blossom Grove, while his shennong qi resisted its influence.
• Ji Xian identified the weapon, ordered Ji Lan to pull everyone below the Sixth Realm back three li, and told Lu Changfeng that staying put would help her most.

Ji Xian defended Lu Changfeng from Zang Tu and the Red Sickle Guards by merging with Jade Splendor Mount Hua and overwhelming them with the mountain’s power. Zang Tu was badly wounded and trapped by three swords, while demonic energy clouded Ji Xian’s mind.

• Lu Changfeng stayed inside Ji Xian’s barrier as Zang Tu demanded that she hand him over in exchange for a hundred green leaves from the Deathless Tree.
• Ji Xian attacked Zang Tu and the Red Sickle Guards, killing several guards with earth spears before Zang Tu struck at her with the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade.
• Ji Xian merged with Jade Splendor Mount Hua and trapped Zang Tu among enormous earthen hands and a descending palm.
• Zang Tu transformed himself and the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade into a towering blade, but Ji Xian shattered his attack and hurled him into a mountainside.
• Demonic energy filled Ji Xian’s mind with illusions as Zang Tu tore free and tried to flee.
• The Wind-Raising Sword, the Gan Jiang Sword, and the Mo Xie Sword struck from three directions and blocked Zang Tu’s escape.

Lu Changfeng killed Zang Tu, but his strike also broke Ji Xian’s formation trial, making him her husband under the rules she had set. Ji Xian confessed her love and kissed him, while Lu Changfeng warned that he would eventually return home; she chose to treasure the present without regret.

• Lu Changfeng split Zang Tu in two with the Phoenix Sovereign Axe and took the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade.
• Lu Changfeng’s strike shattered the Life Gate and collapsed the Eight Trigrams Dragon-Locking Formation, revealing that Ji Xian had staged her apparent defeat to make him break it.
• Ji Xian told Lu Changfeng he had passed three trials and therefore had become her husband, then admitted she had arranged events to keep him there.
• Ji Xian confessed that Lu Changfeng was her first friend and only love, and kissed him.
• Lu Changfeng warned Ji Xian that he was from the Central Plains and would not stay, but Ji Xian said she wanted only the present and would have no regrets.

Yan Xiu learned that Lu Changfeng had killed Zang Tu and taken the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade, while Yan Ling devised a plan to attack Ji Xian and poison Jade Splendor Mount Hua. After reuniting with Bai Qianqian, Lu Changfeng discovered an enormous flock of frenzied birds heading toward the mountain and suspected someone had tampered with them.

• A Red Sickle Guard reported that Lu Changfeng had killed Zang Tu, seized the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade, and wiped out the Red Sickle Guard.
• Yan Ling stopped Yan Xiu from attacking Southern Mo immediately and proposed waiting for Ji Xian to attend the Kingdom's audience in three months, then exploiting her lack of heirs.
• Yan Ling gave Yan Xiu an unnamed poison that could turn flocks of birds into carriers of deadly fumes, and said she had come out of seclusion to see the man who had bewitched Ji Xian.
• Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng became intimate at Jade Splendor Hall, and she expressed contentment with their closeness.
• Lu Changfeng reunited with Bai Qianqian in Brocade Screen Valley and told her how he had passed Ji Xian's trials and become the Ji Clan's husband.
• A vast flock of excited birds flew toward Jade Splendor Mount Hua; Lu Changfeng found no obvious signs of poison or tampering and grew suspicious.

Lu Changfeng returned to Jade Splendor Mount Hua, discovered a latent blood-and-qi poison affecting Ji Lan and the female officials, and received access to Ji Xian’s medicine vault. After refining the nine hells mystic lotus, he strengthened his Shennong Qi and neutralized the poison in Ji Xian, triggering a new reward from the Noble Physician’s Canon.

• Lu Changfeng spent two more days with Bai Qianqian in Brocade Screen Valley, then returned to Jade Splendor Mount Hua as promised.
• Lu Changfeng examined Ji Lan and the female officials who had cleaned up the bird carcasses and found signs of a dormant poison that slowly damaged blood and qi.
• Ji Xian gave Lu Changfeng the key to the Southern Mo medicine vault and asked him to take her, after he explained how he could use medicinal properties to counter the poison.
• Lu Changfeng selected six Hongfang medicines from the vault, including the nine hells mystic lotus, and refined the lotus to advance his Shennong Qi and glazed glass body.
• Lu Changfeng examined Ji Xian the next morning and confirmed that the poison had been neutralized; the Noble Physician’s Canon then identified her condition as latent filthy blood syndrome and awarded him Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Destroying Seven Limits.

Lu Changfeng cured the poisoned officials of Southern Mo, identified Yan Ling as the source of the attack, and prepared a spreading poison miasma to retaliate against the Yan family. The miasma overwhelmed Yan Xiu’s retreat, and Yan Ling recognized Lu Changfeng’s work as it continued to spread.

• Lu Changfeng cured Ji Lan and the other poisoned female officials, earning martial arts rewards and confirming the poison had not spread to the mountain sentries.
• Ji Xian gave Lu Changfeng an intelligence report linking Yan Ling and Yan Xiu to the poisoned birds, and Lu Changfeng decided Southern Mo should retaliate.
• Lu Changfeng made Ten Thousand Ants Soul-Eroding Miasma and told Ji Xian to have an insider release it near Yan Xiu’s retreat.
• Yan Xiu learned that Ji Xian had recovered and was intimate with Lu Changfeng, then erupted in anger at the report.
• The poison miasma spread through the Lakeside Retreat, making Yan Xiu and his guards itch uncontrollably; Yan Ling’s rain briefly eased their suffering.
• Yan Ling discovered the miasma was absorbing insects and resisted wind and fire, then realized Lu Changfeng had created it as a counterattack.

Ji Xian offered Lu Changfeng the Deathless Elixir if he stayed in Hongfang, and they agreed he would visit her once a year after he returned to the Central Lands. Their reunion was interrupted when Yun Lou fled a swarm of Qinyuan to Jade Splendor Hall, where Lu Changfeng rescued him after making him apologize.

• Ji Lan reported that the Ten Thousand Ants Soul-Eroding Miasma had poisoned much of the Yan family, and Ji Xian relished Yan Xiu's suffering.
• Ji Xian showed Lu Changfeng the Deathless Trees and offered him the Deathless Elixir if he stayed in Hongfang, but he said he needed to return to Luo Qingge and Li Lingyue.
• Ji Xian asked Lu Changfeng to accompany her to Jade Pendant City in three months, and they agreed he would visit once a year.
• Yun Lou arrived at Jade Splendor Hall pursued by a swarm of unusually large Qinyuan, and Lu Changfeng delayed helping until Yun Lou called him uncle and promised to make amends.
• Ji Xian raised a stone barrier while Lu Changfeng killed most of the Qinyuan with his Flame Dance Whirlwind Sword Art, and Ji Xian finished off the stragglers.
• Yun Lou recognized that Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian had become lovers and congratulated Lu Changfeng, joking that he had played matchmaker.

Lu Changfeng healed Yun Lou and learned that the Sun-Eater Alliance had ambushed him, while Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng’s growing intimacy astonished Southern Mo’s officials. After months of preparation and a campaign against the Alliance’s hideouts, Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng left for Jade Pendant City to report on her duties.

• Lu Changfeng cured Yun Lou of Qinyuan venom, and Yun Lou explained that the Sun-Eater Alliance had ambushed him; Ji Xian vowed to deal with the attackers.
• She Yuan and the Sun-Eater Alliance’s companions watched Jade Splendor Hall, discussed Yan Xiu’s bounty on Lu Changfeng, and planned to target him in Jade Pendant City.
• At Yun Lou’s welcome banquet, Lu Changfeng avoided discussing Southern Mo’s government, while Ji Xian kissed him and he carried her away before the officials.
• Yun Lou summoned Crane Clan troops and joined Ji Lan’s Embroidered Guard in attacking Alliance hideouts; Lu Changfeng warned that the Alliance’s lack of resistance suggested a scheme.
• Lu Changfeng spent more than two months refining his cultivation, while Ji Xian arranged Southern Mo’s affairs and entrusted Zhu Xiang, Ji Lan, and Bai Sheng with governing during her absence.
• Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng departed Jade Splendor Mount Hua for Jade Pendant City, leaving Zhu Xiang and the officials to oversee Southern Mo.

Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng were ambushed on the road to Jade Pendant City by Fu Junyi and other Sun-Eater Alliance elders. They defeated the attackers and resumed their journey together.

• Ji Xian ordered Yan Huan to increase the escort’s vigilance after the convoy entered the Deathless Kingdom’s central region.
• Fu Junyi blocked the road and threatened Ji Xian, forcing Lu Changfeng to accept a wager game inside his Go Formation.
• As Fu Junyi completed his deadly formation, Sun-Eater Alliance elders attacked Ji Xian’s carriage, but Lu Changfeng split the formation’s black dragon with the Heaven-Splitting axe strike.
• Ji Xian used breath soil to kill or incapacitate the attacking elders, while Lu Changfeng defeated Fu Junyi and killed him.
• Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng boarded the carriage together and continued toward Jade Pendant City.

Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng arrived at the Jade Splendor Lodge, where they met Wei Qiang and learned that he had come to seek a divination from Xu Yan. Lu Changfeng divined that Wei Qiang’s father, the Northern Lord, faced a deadly trap that day, and Wei Qiang raced to find him as Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian followed.

• Ji Xian showed Lu Changfeng around the Jade Splendor Lodge and explained that its formations could contain a fight between the Four Lords.
• Wei Qiang arrived, praised Lu Changfeng’s role in curing Eastern Yu’s epidemic, and warned that Yan Xiu remained furious.
• Wei Qiang told Ji Xian that he had come early for the Wine God’s Brew and planned to seek a divination from Xu Yan.
• Lu Changfeng used magnolia leaves to divine that Wei Shuo faced a hidden, man-made bloody calamity near water that day.
• Wei Qiang rushed toward the Wine God’s cellar, and Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian followed him.

Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian rescued Wei Qiang and the poisoned Wei Shuo from an assassination at the Wine God Residence, uncovering the Sun-Eater Alliance’s use of a disguise artifact. After Lu Changfeng cured Wei Shuo, Ji Xian suspected a powerful insider was involved, and the chapter left the group preparing to investigate as Yan Xiu and Yan Ling arrived.

• Wei Qiang reached the Wine God Residence and found assassins attacking him and the poisoned Wei Shuo, while Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian shattered the barriers and joined the fight.
• Ji Xian killed three attackers with earth spears, and Lu Changfeng struck down three fleeing men with heavenly thunder; Wei Qiang captured Xu Zhong, but a sigil burned him to ashes before he could reveal who ordered the attack.
• Ji Xian found a Thousand Faces mask and explained that the Sun-Eater Alliance had used it to impersonate Kang Bozong and poison Wei Shuo, while she warned Wei Qiang that someone higher up might be involved.
• Lu Changfeng used the Supreme Unity Divine Needle and Shennong Qi to purge Wei Shuo’s poison, and Wei Qiang pledged a brotherly alliance between the Northern Lands and Southern Mo.
• Ji Xian and Wei Qiang ordered investigations into the Wine God Residence and its missing occupants, while Yan Huan mobilized the Embroidered Guard’s informants.
• Yan Xiu and Yan Ling entered the guest residence with Eastern Yu’s guard contingent as Lu Changfeng remarked that the reporting would not be dull.

Yan Xiu and Ji Xian traded threats at Qionghua Lodge while Yan Ling urged her brother to seek protection from the Royal Clan. After Wei Shuo recounted the Wine God’s replacement and the attack at the Wine God Residence, the clues pointed toward Jiang Heng, and Yan Huan reported that Yan Xiu was going to meet him.

• Yan Xiu confronted Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng at Qionghua Lodge, but they drove off his party with their pressure and warnings.
• Yan Ling advised Yan Xiu to ask Jiang Heng to restrain Lu Changfeng, and Yan Xiu left Sweetwood Estate to seek his help.
• Wei Shuo woke and thanked Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng before recounting how an impostor posing as the Wine God poisoned and attacked him.
• Wei Shuo revealed that the Wine God had visited Jiang Heng on the day he was replaced, and Lu Changfeng said the prince was a lead but not necessarily the culprit.
• Yan Huan reported that Yan Xiu had gone to Jiang Heng’s residence, and Lu Changfeng warned that he might be walking into danger.

Yan Xiu visited Jiang Heng to seek protection from Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng, but Jiang Heng exposed Yan Xiu’s role in provoking the conflict before warning Ji Xian to restrain her consort. After Jiang Heng secretly planted a dark mark on Yan Xiu, Yan Xiu’s desire for Yan Ling began to intensify, while Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng concluded that the Great King was probably not the hand behind the schemes.

• Yan Xiu brought gifts to Jiang Heng and asked him to intimidate Ji Xian, claiming Lu Changfeng’s poison had caused Eastern Yu’s epidemic.
• Jiang Heng revealed that Yan Xiu had attacked the Qingqiu Fox Clan and repeatedly targeted Lu Changfeng, then sent Uncle Cen to warn Ji Xian to keep her consort in check.
• Jiang Heng returned to Yan Xiu and, while pretending to request more beauties, secretly placed a dark mark on Yan Xiu’s shoulder.
• As Yan Xiu descended the mountain, his suppressed desire for his younger sister Yan Ling began to grow without his awareness.
• Lu Changfeng warned Ji Xian that the Great King might seek an excuse to eliminate her, and they agreed to wait rather than act rashly.
• After hearing the Second Prince’s warning, Ji Xian and Lu Changfeng decided the Great King was likely not behind the schemes, and Ji Xian proposed having an heir to secure Southern Mo.

Yan Xiu attacked Yan Ling under the influence of a Lovesickness Gu, and she killed him while defending herself. A crimson seal then burned his body to ashes, leading Qi Ye to suspect Jiang Heng and swear revenge.

• Yan Xiu sealed the hall and planted a Lovesickness Gu in Yan Ling, who fought back with her Bright Moon Dharma Form and the Soul-Seizing Bell.
• Qi Ye hesitated to break through the barrier, while Ji Xian, Lu Changfeng, Wei Qiang, and the Western Lord gathered outside and ordered him to move aside.
• As the gu overwhelmed Yan Ling and Yan Xiu lunged at her, she unleashed a deadly storm of moonlight swords; Yan Xiu briefly regained his senses but was struck down.
• Qi Ye and the others entered the hall, but a crimson seal ignited Yan Xiu and reduced him to ashes before he could be saved.
• Qi Ye linked the strange events of the day to Jiang Heng and vowed revenge against him.

After Yan Xiu died under the Six Desires Heart-Bewildering Seal, Yan Ling brought his case before King Jiang Yan, and Lu Changfeng offered to use a Heart-Questioning Melody to expose the killer. When the music ended, Third Prince Jiang Yu involuntarily stepped forward.

• Qi Ye described Jiang Heng's suspicious private meeting with Yan Xiu, and Wei Qiang and Baili Ce identified the seal that had driven Yan Xiu mad.
• Yan Ling and Qi Ye struck the Heaven-Pounding Alligator Drum, prompting Jiang Yan to convene the grand court assembly early.
• Yan Ling accused Jiang Heng of murdering Yan Xiu, while Qi Ye linked him to the attack on Wei Shuo; Jiang Heng denied the charges.
• Lu Changfeng proposed a Heart-Questioning Melody, and Jiang Yan ordered the court to let him play while the Imperial Guards prevented anyone from resisting.
• Lu Changfeng played the Heavenly Demon Zither and asked Yan Xiu's killer to step forward; Third Prince Jiang Yu involuntarily took a step out of line.

Lu Changfeng exposed Jiang Yu’s role in the Sun-Eater Alliance’s plot to destabilize Hongfang, then warned him that the alliance’s leader would discard him after victory. As the guards moved to arrest him, Jiang Yu released a deadly poisonous mist and tried to fight his way out.

• Jiang Yu revealed his resentment toward Jiang Yan and Hongfang, arguing that the kingdom’s stagnation left it vulnerable to the rising Central Lands.
• Lu Changfeng rebutted Jiang Yu’s warnings about the Central Lands and detailed how Jiang Yu had planned to provoke wars among the regional rulers for the Sun-Eater Alliance’s benefit.
• Lu Changfeng argued that the alliance’s single leader would purge Jiang Yu after taking power, leaving Jiang Yu shaken and the court wary.
• Jiang Yan ordered the guards to take Jiang Yu away, but Jiang Yu crushed a purple talisman and released poisonous mist to escape.

Lu Changfeng stopped Jiang Yu from escaping and defeated him in a fierce saber duel, after which Jiang Yan ordered the traitorous prince seized. Though Jiang Yan praised Lu Changfeng for averting a crisis, the king began considering how an outsider’s influence might stir the stagnant Deathless Kingdom.

• Lu Changfeng dispelled Jiang Yu’s poisonous mist, allowing Jiang Xu, Jiang Heng, and the others to surround the fleeing prince.
• Jiang Yu used an Ancient Bronze Bell to stagger his attackers and break toward the hall’s exit, but Lu Changfeng pursued him with the Delusion-Sundering Demon Blade.
• Lu Changfeng overwhelmed Jiang Yu with Mountain Collapse, Hail, Storm, and finally Sea-Breaking, shattering his saber and leaving him helpless.
• Jiang Yan ordered the imperial guards to shackle Jiang Yu, while Lu Changfeng returned to Ji Xian’s side.
• Jiang Yan thanked Lu Changfeng for exposing the treasonous plot and reflected that the Deathless Kingdom might need outside influence to stir it.

After the court assembly and banquet, Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian returned safely to Southern Mo, where an assassin disguised as Bai Sheng attacked Ji Xian. Lu Changfeng intercepted the strike but was stabbed through the chest by the assassin's revealed Seventh Realm sword attack.

• Jiang Yan doubled the rewards for the territorial rulers and awarded Lu Changfeng a Deathless Elixir for exposing and defeating the traitors.
• Ji Xian offered Lu Changfeng her two Deathless Elixirs, and he promised to stay with her until March before returning to the Central Lands.
• The banquet ended, Jiang Yu was imprisoned, and Wei Shuo reunited with the rescued Wine God.
• The territorial rulers departed, and Lu Changfeng and Ji Xian traveled peacefully back to Southern Mo after Baili Ce warned them about the Sun-Eater Alliance.
• At Jade Splendor Mount Hua, Lu Changfeng sensed that Bai Sheng's scent was wrong and recognized an assassin disguised as him.
• The assassin revealed her Seventh Realm cultivation and stabbed Lu Changfeng in the chest after he stepped in front of Ji Xian.

Ji Xian avenged Lu Changfeng by crushing the Moon Demon with Breath Soil, then discovered that Lu Changfeng’s Shennong qi was dispelling the poison. At Guixu, Ji Wuji learned of the failed assassination, judged Lu Changfeng a dangerous prodigy, and ordered an attack on the Featherfolk Kingdom.

• The Moon Demon, disguised as Bai Sheng, stabbed Lu Changfeng, and Ji Xian answered with a furious assault that revealed her Breath Soil.
• Ji Xian crushed Xiao Chaochen and the Moonshadow Gauze beneath the Breath Soil mountain, while Ji Ming fled from the advancing Southern Mo courtiers.
• Ji Xian raised Lu Changfeng from underground and feared the Bone-Eroding Soul-Consuming Gu had poisoned him, but his Mysterious Crane released Shennong qi that began to dispel the poison.
• Ji Ming reported the failed assassination to Ji Wuji at Guixu, and Ji Wuji inferred that Ji Xian had concealed the Breath Soil for a century.
• Ji Wuji told Ji Ming that Lu Changfeng had reached the Sixth Realm in less than a year and ordered him to summon Demon Slayer and prepare to strike the Featherfolk Kingdom.