Recaps

Lu Changfeng identified the hidden chamber’s medical texts as possibly linked to the Pill Sage Xuanyangzi and Corpse Sage Tulingzi, while Taiping suspected a connection to Zhang Changzong. When the Sun-Burning Temple caught fire, Taiping decided to investigate for clues before the evidence was destroyed.

• Taiping organized the Inner Guard to secure the mountain and rescue the children and apes, while Zhao Lanjun cared for Mu Qinghong and Jinghong and Fu Rong prepared to cut the Blood Tai Sui’s roots.
• Lu Changfeng studied the chamber’s sinister medical books and concluded their teachings likely descended from Xuanyangzi or Tulingzi.
• Taiping recalled Zhang Changzong’s claim that Xuanyangzi had taught him medicine and suspected he might be connected to the man in black, but she kept the name from Lu Changfeng.
• Jinghong reported that the Sun-Burning Temple was engulfed in a fire, and Lu Changfeng and Taiping recognized it as an attempt to destroy evidence.
• After learning Mu Qinghong could move, Taiping decided to visit the temple with Lu Changfeng to search for surviving pills or medicinal ingredients.

Princess Taiping destroyed the burning Sun-Burning Temple and led Lu Changfeng and Zhao Lanjun to a hidden chamber beneath its ruins. There, the real True Person Mingyang, transformed into a murderous Soldier, ambushed Lu Changfeng, and the three Great Grandmasters began fighting him.

• Princess Taiping extinguished the temple fire and flattened the Sun-Burning Temple with a single palm strike before ordering the Inner Guards to search the ruins.
• Lu Changfeng followed the scent of the man in black's medicinal pills to a concealed chamber beneath a ruined side hall.
• Princess Taiping and Zhao Lanjun opened the chamber and found the man in black's clothes, empty jade bottles, and pill-refining residue.
• The Wind-Raising Sword warned Lu Changfeng of an attack, and he struck at a clawed hand breaking through the wall, injuring his hand in the clash.
• The real True Person Mingyang emerged as a savage Soldier and charged Lu Changfeng, while Princess Taiping and Zhao Lanjun moved to protect him.
• Princess Taiping and Zhao Lanjun confronted Mingyang in the cramped chamber, and battle erupted among the three Great Grandmasters.

Lu Changfeng killed the Soldier Mingyang with the Peacock Plume, but Mingyang’s corpse exploded through a Sacrificial Gu and left Princess Taiping infected with a hidden poison. After returning with Lu Changfeng to Jade Pillar Peak, Taiping learned that he identified the affliction as Golden Silkworm Gu Poison.

• Lu Changfeng used the Peacock Plume to kill Mingyang during his battle with Princess Taiping and Zhao Lanjun.
• Lu Changfeng warned the others that Mingyang’s corpse was about to explode, and Taiping, Zhao Lanjun, and Mu Qinghong defended themselves against the Sacrificial Gu’s blood arrows and poisonous mist.
• Princess Taiping ordered the ruins searched, dissolved the Sun-Burning Temple, and concealed the foreign blood qi that had entered her body.
• Princess Taiping returned to Jade Pillar Peak with Lu Changfeng, who examined her pulse and diagnosed Golden Silkworm Gu Poison.

Lu Changfeng diagnosed Princess Taiping with Golden Silkworm Gu Poison and outlined four difficult ways to cure or suppress it. He began testing whether his Shennong Qi could restrain the poison, which suddenly stirred in her meridians.

• Lu Changfeng explained how the Golden Silkworm Gu Poison had entered Princess Taiping and warned that it would consume her cultivation if left unchecked.
• Princess Taiping realized the enemy’s plan could have caused far greater destruction and asked whether the poison could be cured.
• Lu Changfeng described four possible remedies: the Myriad Poisons Insect-Repelling Pill, fighting poison with poison, the Red-Eyed Jade Toad, and the Golden-Thread Pusi Snake.
• Princess Taiping told Lu Changfeng to recommend what to do, and he proposed using Shennong Qi to stabilize her condition and suppress the poison.
• Princess Taiping relaxed and let Lu Changfeng channel Shennong Qi into her wrist, causing the Golden Silkworm Gu Poison to stir violently.

Lu Changfeng temporarily sealed Princess Taiping’s Gu Poison and gained the Threefold Origin-Returning Qi, then stayed to witness the Heavenly Spider Envoy confront the Ten Thousand Gu Devouring Spirit Array. Lan Die’er arrived, learned where the Five Immortals Cult’s sacred relic was held, and sent her Bloodweaving Spider into the formation.

• Lu Changfeng used Shennong Qi and Huayang Needles to restrict Princess Taiping’s Gu Poison to her left arm, though he warned that continued treatment would be necessary.
• Princess Taiping gave Lu Changfeng a Spirit Radiance Pill, and they rested until Jinghong announced that the Heavenly Spider Envoy had arrived.
• Lan Die’er introduced herself and agreed to break the Ten Thousand Gu Devouring Spirit Array after Princess Taiping revealed that the Hundred-Resonance Spirit Altar was held by the Golden Chi Palace.
• Lan Die’er summoned the sacred Bloodweaving Spider from her crimson bamboo basket and guided it into the green miasma.

Lan Die'er destroyed the Withered Gu and broke the Ten Thousand Gu Devouring Spirit Array, revealing the Zhang brothers’ treasure hoard and the Blood Tai Sui. Princess Taiping rewarded her and offered Lu Changfeng three items from the trove, while he discovered the Pill Sage Xuanyangzi’s lost manual.

• The Withered Gu countered the Bloodweaving Spider with its poison of Withering, so Lan Die'er sacrificed her essence blood to empower the spider for a decisive strike.
• The Bloodweaving Spider pierced and destroyed the Withered Gu, then returned to Lan Die'er's Crimson Bamboo Basket as she collapsed from exhaustion.
• With the array destroyed, Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng found the Zhang brothers’ treasures and the Blood Tai Sui's true body in the cave.
• Princess Taiping arranged for Fu Rong to give Lan Die'er a Sacred Heart Pill and restore her vitality.
• Lu Changfeng found the Secrets of the Jade Satchel, recognized it as Xuanyangzi's pill-making legacy, and Princess Taiping offered him any three items except the Blood Tai Sui.

Lu Changfeng accepted the Secrets of the Jade Satchel, a Great Restoration Pill, and a jade pendant from Princess Taiping before returning safely to Chang'an. Determined to grow stronger and avoid the invitations arriving after his fame spread, he went to the Hundred Herbs Garden to collect a five-hundred-year-old fleeceflower root.

• Lu Changfeng chose three treasures from Princess Taiping, including the Great Restoration Pill, and Taiping ordered Jinghong to secure the remaining treasures and Blood Tai Sui.
• Jinghong led the men back to Chang'an with the haul, while Taiping organized the rescued children, the Blood Tai Sui, her Gu Poison treatment, and an investigation into the attackers.
• Lu Changfeng resolved to improve his cultivation and told Qing Dai to decline his invitations by claiming he was in seclusion.
• Lu Changfeng entered the Hundred Herbs Garden and headed for a fleeceflower plant whose root was more than five hundred years old.

Lu Changfeng’s performance and beauty at the Nine-Shao Music Bureau made him the talk of Chang’an, while Shangguan Wan’er’s favor toward him alarmed Wu Sansi. Wu Sansi considered having Lu killed, but Cui Shi entered before he could give the order.

• Lu Changfeng dug up a five-hundred-year-old fleeceflower root and began secluded cultivation in Snow Listening Tower.
• Word spread through Chang’an about Lu Changfeng’s zither performance, poetry, and beauty, bringing him invitations and the attention of noble youths.
• Zhang Shu praised Lu Changfeng to aristocratic youths at the Drunken Immortal Tower and hinted that Shangguan Wan’er had favored him.
• Wu Sansi received a report that Shangguan Wan’er had invited Lu Changfeng to her private residence and worried that she might shift her political allegiance.
• Zhou Xuechao offered to kill Lu Changfeng, but Cui Shi entered Wu Sansi’s study before Wu Sansi could give the order.

Wu Sansi plotted to use the Great Vehicle Sect and Jiang Li against Lu Changfeng while seeking powerful treasures. Meanwhile, Lu Changfeng refined a five-hundred-year-old fleeceflower root and broke through to the middle stage of the Xiantian Realm.

• Cui Shi told Wu Sansi that Taiping had obtained the Blood Tai Sui with Lu Changfeng’s help and that they had found no clear weakness in him.
• Wu Sansi ordered Zhou Xuechao to monitor Lu Changfeng and leak his whereabouts to the Great Vehicle Sect so it would attack him.
• Cui Shi reported that Jiang Li had begun moving against Lu Changfeng over the Shennong Glazed Glass Art, and Wu Sansi ordered his men to watch them and search for Destined Treasures.
• Lu Changfeng refined the five-hundred-year-old fleeceflower root and stored its medicinal essence in his gushing spring acupoints.
• Lu Changfeng broke through to the middle stage of the Xiantian Realm, gaining stronger true qi and Divine Sense.

Lu Changfeng treated the rescued children and accepted a piece of flatbread from Long Arms, promising to cure them. He then went to Yao Light Hall to treat Princess Taiping, who had summoned him to her private chambers.

• Lu Changfeng treated four children with acupuncture and medicinal broth, and Long Arms offered him a piece of saved Hu Flatbread in gratitude.
• Lu Changfeng accepted and ate the flatbread, then promised the children he would cure them.
• Outside the secret prison, Lu Changfeng asked Qing Dai whether they had found anything about the villains, and she said Princess Taiping had a suspect but still needed proof.
• Lu Changfeng set aside his questions and went with Qing Dai to Yao Light Hall to ask about the investigation and treat Princess Taiping’s poison.
• Princess Taiping received Lu Changfeng in her bedchamber and told him to come closer so she could undergo treatment there.

Lu Changfeng treated Princess Taiping’s gu poison and deduced that three Li Tang princes were behind the plot. He and Taiping realized the poison might be a diversion targeting Wu Sansi, just as an imperial edict arrived.

• Lu Changfeng purged more of Taiping’s gu poison and estimated that another half month of treatment would remove the rest.
• Lu Changfeng identified Li Jingheng, Li Xiaoyi, and Li Qianli as the likeliest suspects behind the plot.
• Taiping explained the three men’s influence and noted that the Miao Borderlands investigation had produced no definitive lead.
• Lu Changfeng proposed that the poison was meant to restrain Taiping and the Plum Blossom Guards while the conspirators pursued another target.
• Lu Changfeng and Taiping concluded that the Li Tang imperial family’s likely target was Wu Sansi, then a eunuch announced an imperial edict.

Princess Taiping received an imperial order to oversee the Buddha-Bathing Festival and suspected it would be used to target her and Wu Sansi. Meanwhile, Lu Changfeng sought Lan Die'er's help restoring the speech of the silenced children, and agreed to accompany her into Li Mountain to gather poisonous insects for her weakened Bloodweaving Spider.

• Princess Taiping received the imperial decree appointing her to oversee the welcoming and enshrinement of the Buddha's bones at the Buddha-Bathing Festival.
• Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng privately concluded that their enemies planned to strike during the festival, and she considered turning the scheme against Wu Sansi and the hidden masterminds.
• Lu Changfeng went to the guest courtyard to ask Lan Die'er for twelve Voice-Transmitting Gu to help the children regain their voices.
• Lan Die'er agreed to refine the gu in exchange for Lu Changfeng accompanying her into Li Mountain to find poisonous insects that could restore her Bloodweaving Spider.
• Lan Die'er explained that Lu Changfeng's medicinal aura could attract rare spiritual venomous creatures if she used a Miao Borderlands technique to draw it out.

Lu Changfeng, Qing Dai, and Lan Die'er secretly traveled to Li Mountain, where Lan Die'er used Lu Changfeng’s blood to lure venomous creatures and restore her Bloodweaving Spider. After making Voice-Transmitting Gu for the ape-transformed children, they encountered a Crimson Flame Wyrm that fixed its hungry gaze on Lu Changfeng.

• Lu Changfeng and Qing Dai joined Lan Die'er in disguises and slipped out of the Princess's Residence to visit a secluded valley on Li Mountain.
• Lan Die'er used a Gu-Refining Spirit Altar and Lu Changfeng’s blood to attract venomous creatures, which the Bloodweaving Spider devoured to regain its vitality.
• Lu Changfeng helped Lan Die'er capture rare venomous creatures, including a Nether-Eyed Snake and a Hidden-Wing Centipede.
• Lan Die'er refined twelve Voice-Transmitting Gu for the children and invited Lu Changfeng to visit the Five Immortals Cult, but he politely declined.
• As the three prepared to return, a Crimson Flame Wyrm emerged from the woods and fixed its attention on Lu Changfeng’s medicinal aura.

Lu Changfeng fought and subdued a deadly Crimson Flame Wyrm, sharpening his swordsmanship under pressure. Lan Die'er sealed the creature and revealed that it could be used to refine a Blazing Wind Gu.

• The Crimson Flame Wyrm attacked Lu Changfeng, whose Huayang Needles could not pierce its scales, while Qing Dai and Lan Die'er were unable to help.
• Lu Changfeng revealed the Wind-Raising Sword and used A-Fei's Swift Sword to counter the wyrm and land a powerful thrust.
• Lu Changfeng pinned the wyrm's tail to the ground, allowing Lan Die'er's Bloodweaving Spider to poison and subdue it.
• Qing Dai helped Lu Changfeng recover, and he told her the fight had improved his understanding of swordsmanship.
• Lan Die'er sealed the wyrm in a bamboo basket and told Lu Changfeng it could be used to refine a Blazing Wind Gu.

Lu Changfeng and his companions left Li Mountain with a blazing wind gu, but Wu Lingyun pursued them, furious that they had taken the crimson flame wyrm. After discovering her victims at Zhaoying Post Station and recognizing her plague-poison true qi, Lu Changfeng prepared for her attack as she arrived with the Dragon Gate Seven Swords.

• Lan Die'er explained the blazing wind gu's power, and Lu Changfeng accepted it before the group descended from Li Mountain.
• Wu Lingyun found traces of the battle at the crimson flame wyrm's valley and ordered the Dragon Gate Seven Swords to track down its captors.
• At Zhaoying Post Station, Lu Changfeng treated Zhang Five and Old Cripple Li, who said Wu Lingyun had blinded one and shattered the other's knee.
• Lu Changfeng recognized the poison in Old Cripple Li's wound as a sign of Wu Lingyun's Hundred Calamities Plague Emperor Curse, and he urged Qing Dai and Lan Die'er to leave.
• Wu Lingyun and the Dragon Gate Seven Swords caught up with them and ordered them seized, so Lu Changfeng lit a stick of purple incense.

Lu Changfeng faced Wu Lingyun and the Dragon Gate Seven Swords after she demanded the Crimson Flame Wyrm and ordered him killed. He used his heightened battle comprehension to break their sword formation and slay all seven swordsmen, leaving Wu Lingyun confronting him.

• Lu Changfeng warned Lan Die'er and Qing Dai to hold their breath as the Dragon Gate Seven Swords surrounded them with poisoned blades.
• Wu Lingyun demanded the Crimson Flame Wyrm, rejected Lu Changfeng's threat to destroy it, and ordered the Seven Swords to kill him.
• Lu Changfeng drew the attackers' attention while Lan Die'er and Qing Dai escorted the woodcutters and proprietor to safety.
• Lu Changfeng evaded the Poison Dragon Sword Formation and used his Dao body's heightened perception to identify its weaknesses.
• Lu Changfeng drew the Wind-Raising Sword, snapped all seven poisoned longswords, and beheaded the Seven Swords in a single strike.

Lu Changfeng killed the Dragon Gate Seven Swords, but Wu Lingyun exposed him and Shang Poyue attacked. Lan Die'er’s Bloodweaving Spider interrupted the strike, while Wu Lingyun secretly stabbed Shang Poyue with a poisoned shortsword.

• Lu Changfeng swiftly beheaded all seven members of the Dragon Gate Seven Swords as Wu Lingyun watched in shock.
• Shang Poyue emerged from the woods, and Wu Lingyun recognized the Wind-Raising Sword and suspected Lu Changfeng’s identity.
• Lu Changfeng tried to delay Shang Poyue, but Wu Lingyun warned the elder about his poison techniques and provoked him to attack.
• Shang Poyue launched a lethal finger-sword strike at Lu Changfeng, and Lan Die’er summoned the Bloodweaving Spider to block him.
• Wu Lingyun silently stabbed Shang Poyue in the lower back and flooded him with the poison from her Hundred Calamities Plague Emperor Curse.

Lu Changfeng used Wu Lingyun’s hypnotic state and Shang Poyue’s fear of harming her to escape with Lan Die’er and Qing Dai. After Wu Lingyun recovered and vowed revenge, Lu Changfeng returned to the Princess’s Residence, where Jinghong told him Taiping was waiting in Yao Light Hall.

• Lu Changfeng revealed that Dream-Sinking Heart-Locking Incense had enabled him to control Wu Lingyun, forcing Shang Poyue to hold still while he and his companions escaped on horseback.
• After Lu Changfeng and his companions left, Shang Poyue suppressed the poison, and Wu Lingyun recovered, discovered the incense, and swore to kill Lu Changfeng.
• Lu Changfeng, Lan Die’er, and Qing Dai returned safely to the Princess’s Residence, where Lu Changfeng explained how the incense worked.
• Jinghong told Lu Changfeng that Taiping was waiting for him in Yao Light Hall, and he asked Jinghong to lead him there.

Lu Changfeng reported his encounter with Wu Lingyun and Shang Poyue to Princess Taiping, then proposed a way to protect the Buddha-Bone Relic during its public journey to Chang’an while letting the plot against Wu Sansi proceed. The chapter ended with Taiping considering Lu’s plan to turn a staged theft into a public miracle.

• Lu Changfeng told Princess Taiping how he defeated the Dragon Gate Seven Swords and escaped Wu Lingyun and Shang Poyue at Li Mountain.
• Princess Taiping worried about Lu Changfeng’s recklessness and asked whether they had anything to discuss beyond martial cultivation and politics, but he stayed silent.
• Princess Taiping explained that she and Wu Sansi would oversee the Buddha-Bone Relic’s reception and that enemies might target Wu Sansi during the ceremony.
• Lu Changfeng proposed using convincing replicas to draw attackers away while Master Sengjia secretly carried the genuine relic to Chang’an.
• When Princess Taiping objected that even a replica being stolen would damage the imperial family’s prestige, Lu Changfeng suggested revealing the true relic afterward with staged signs of a miracle.

Princess Taiping considered Lu Changfeng’s plan to turn the Buddha-Bone Relic crisis into a miracle, then asked him to treat Crown Prince Li Chongjun. Lu Changfeng readily agreed and learned that Li Chongjun was waiting at the residence.

• Princess Taiping admired Lu Changfeng’s plan but privately regretted that her past reputation had made him difficult to win over.
• Lu Changfeng proposed staging a public miracle around the Buddha-Bone Relic to restore the imperial family’s authority.
• Princess Taiping told Lu Changfeng that Crown Prince Li Chongjun suffered from anxiety and palpitations amid threats from Princess Anle and other political rivals.
• Lu Changfeng declared that he would treat Li Chongjun despite the danger of angering Princess Anle.
• Princess Taiping told Lu Changfeng that Li Chongjun was waiting in the Quiet Chamber of the Spirit Pivot Institute.

Lu Changfeng accepted Taiping’s Plum Blossom Guards token and went to the Spirit Pivot Institute to examine Crown Prince Li Chongjun. After sending his companions away, Li Chongjun confided that he had not expected Lu Changfeng to come, since everyone was avoiding him.

• Taiping warned Lu Changfeng that Wu Lingyun, Princess Anle, and other forces might target him, but he stood by his decision to treat Li Chongjun.
• Taiping gave Lu Changfeng a token granting authority over Plum Blossom Guards below the fourth rank, then secretly ordered Jinghong to assign the Three Baleful Skeletons to protect him.
• Lu Changfeng arrived at the Spirit Pivot Institute, where Shen Jingwan and Chen Jing'an waited outside the Quiet Chamber.
• Lu Changfeng met Li Chongjun, Xue Chongyin, and Li Xi as they emerged from the Quiet Chamber, and exchanged formal greetings with them.
• Li Chongjun sent Xue Chongyin and Li Xi away and entered the Quiet Chamber with Lu Changfeng for a private consultation.
• Li Chongjun admitted that he was surprised Lu Changfeng had come, and Lu Changfeng asked him to extend his hand for an examination.

Lu Changfeng treated Li Chongjun’s illness and received the Nine Dragon Stone, but he rushed away when Jinghong reported that Princess Taiping was gravely ill. Left alone with Li Xi, Li Chongjun suspected that Lu Changfeng’s abilities could weaken their leverage over Taiping and erupted in anger.

• Lu Changfeng diagnosed Li Chongjun with stagnant fire tormenting the liver and fright qi invading the heart, then used acupuncture to ease his symptoms.
• Li Chongjun offered Lu Changfeng a post in the Eastern Palace, but Lu Changfeng declined and prescribed medicine for him.
• The Medical Canon rewarded Lu Changfeng with the Nine Dragon Stone after he successfully treated Li Chongjun.
• Jinghong summoned Lu Changfeng to Yao Light Hall, reporting that Princess Taiping’s old illness had flared up, and Xue Chongyin followed him there.
• Li Xi revealed that the Golden Silkworm Mother Gu had reacted, confirming that Taiping had been afflicted with Golden Silkworm Gu.
• Li Chongjun suspected Lu Changfeng could suppress the gu poison and angrily declared that he was ruining his grand design.

Lu Changfeng used his Shennong qi and Huayang Needles to suppress Princess Taiping’s erupting Golden Silkworm Gu, then brought out the Nine Dragon Stone to drive the poison back. With the stone strengthening his treatment, he began expelling the gu poison and hoped to eradicate it completely.

• Lu Changfeng and Xue Chongyin returned to Yao Light Hall, where they found Princess Taiping suffering a violent Golden Silkworm Gu backlash.
• Lu Changfeng warned Xue Chongyin to stay back, then used his Shennong qi and Huayang Needles to protect Princess Taiping and restrain the poison.
• Wu Youji arrived demanding to see the princess, but Zhao Lanjun went outside and quieted him.
• Lu Changfeng remembered the Nine Dragon Stone, activated it with Shennong qi, and used its warm energy to drive the gu poison out of Princess Taiping’s meridians.

Lu Changfeng purged the Gu Poison from Princess Taiping and received the Threefold Origin-Returning Qi reward. After he left, Taiping dismissed Wu Youji, while Xue Chongyin remained suspicious of the closeness he had witnessed.

• Lu Changfeng used the Nine Dragon Stone and Shennong Qi to remove the Gu Poison from Princess Taiping as Jinghong, Fu Rong, and Xue Chongyin watched.
• Princess Taiping briefly leaned against Lu Changfeng, and Xue Chongyin was unsettled by their intimate-looking position.
• Lu Changfeng received the Threefold Origin-Returning Qi reward, confirmed the poison was gone, and advised that Taiping rest and avoid strain.
• Princess Taiping and Xue Chongyin thanked Lu Changfeng, who left to prepare a recovery prescription.
• Wu Youji rushed in to see Taiping, but she ordered him to withdraw and then told him to get out.

After Taiping recovered from the Gu Poison, she ordered an investigation and reflected on her lonely marriages and Lu Changfeng’s protection. Lu Changfeng then accepted his reward, mastered Threefold Origin-Returning Qi, and broke through to the Xiantian peak with a far greater range of divine sense than others at his realm.

• Taiping told Xue Chongyin to conceal her recovery, explain the situation to the emperor, and deliver medicinal herbs to Lu Changfeng as thanks.
• Taiping ordered Zhao Lanjun, Mu Qinghong, Jinghong, and Fu Rong to investigate the Gu Poison plot and watch everyone who knew about her recovery, including the Crown Prince and Li Xi.
• Taiping thought of Lu Changfeng’s protection and lamented that their bond had come too late.
• Lu Changfeng sent Qing Dai to the Ten Directions Secret Prison with twelve Voice-Transmitting Gu, then began receiving his max-level Threefold Origin-Returning Qi reward.
• Threefold Origin-Returning Qi broke Lu Changfeng’s cultivation barrier, raised him to the Xiantian peak, and expanded his divine sense to four hundred feet.