Chapter Summaries

Lu Changfeng confronted Golden Scale Guards deputy commander Zhang Xuange, exposed the injustice done to Zhang’s father, and provoked him into attacking. Zhang’s lightning spear could not harm Lu, who effortlessly subdued and hurled him into a wall, leaving the gathered guards stunned.

• Lu Changfeng stopped the women of the Twenty-Four Floral Periods from responding to Zhang Xuange’s insults.
• Lu Changfeng recounted how Zong Chuke had framed Zhang Xuange’s father and condemned Zhang for serving the man responsible.
• Enraged, Zhang Xuange unleashed his lightning spear at Lu Changfeng, but Lu’s Indestructible Golden Body repelled the strike.
• Lu Changfeng seized Zhang Xuange by the throat, suppressed his power, and declared that a Fourth Realm expert was unworthy of challenging him.
• Lu Changfeng hurled Zhang Xuange through an old willow and into a lookout wall, stunning the Golden Scale Guards.

Lu Changfeng subdued Zhang Xuange, then used the Eight Formations to locate a powerful source of spiritual energy beneath Kunming Pool. As Princess Anle and Fifth Ying'er prepared a possible trap on shore, Lu Changfeng discovered an ancient Water-Curtain Barrier and suspected it concealed the Dragon's Lair.

• Lu Changfeng declared Zhang Xuange guilty of obstructing the investigation and attempted murder, then led the Plum Blossom Guards toward Kunming Pool without further resistance.
• Lu Changfeng deployed the Eight Formations to sense the pool and found an unusually active source of spiritual energy beneath the water.
• Lu Changfeng told the Twenty-Four Floral Periods and Qing Dai to guard the shore, then descended into Kunming Pool.
• Princess Anle discussed Lu Changfeng with Fifth Ying'er, who hinted at a deadly trap, and ordered Crimson Shadow House operatives to stand by to seize him if an opening appeared.
• Lu Changfeng found an ancient Water-Curtain Barrier on a rock deep beneath the pool and wondered if it marked the Dragon's Lair.

Lu Changfeng fought the young flood dragon at Kunming Pool, wounded it, and pursued it beneath the ice as the dragon’s appearance sent shockwaves through Chang’an. Empress Wei ordered Lu Changfeng seized and the dragon protected, but Princess Taiping challenged her account, leaving the two women in open confrontation.

• The young flood dragon ambushed Lu Changfeng underwater, struck him with lightning and its tail, and sent him flying out of Kunming Pool.
• Lu Changfeng counterattacked with a Buddha palm, then unleashed the Eight Formations Diagram and forced the flood dragon into retreat.
• Lu Changfeng froze part of the lake and slashed the flood dragon’s reverse scale before diving after it as witnesses sent news of the dragon to Chang’an.
• Zong Chuke and Empress Wei arrived, and Empress Wei declared the flood dragon auspicious and ordered the Golden Scale Guards to seize Lu Changfeng, killing him if he resisted.
• Princess Anle, Li Guo'er, tried to intervene, but Empress Wei silenced her.
• Princess Taiping, Li Lingyue, arrived and accused Empress Wei of misrepresenting Lu Changfeng’s actions, bringing the two powerful women into open conflict.

Lu Changfeng learned that Li Chongfu had framed him with Dragon-Falling Dust, then allied with the young Flood Dragon and discovered a Primordial True Dragon’s remains in its lair. After the Flood Dragon attacked Empress Wei’s guards and escaped, Li Lingyue took the apparently injured Lu Changfeng away, while Empress Wei and Zong Chuke resolved to eliminate him; in her carriage, Li Lingyue declared that he belonged to her.

• Lu Changfeng trapped the young Flood Dragon with Six Forces Lock, learned Dragon-Slaying City’s history from its memories, and realized Li Chongfu had exposed him to Dragon-Falling Dust.
• Lu Changfeng convinced the young Flood Dragon that they had both been framed, persuaded it to join him against their enemy, and followed it into its lair, where they found a piece of a Primordial True Dragon’s remains.
• The young Flood Dragon burst through the ice, blasted the shore near Empress Wei and the Golden Scale Guards with lightning, and flew away toward the southwestern sky.
• Lu Changfeng emerged from the pool pretending to be gravely wounded, and Li Lingyue rushed to support him and took him back to her residence.
• Empress Wei and Zong Chuke decided Lu Changfeng had to be uprooted, while Princess Anle and Fifth Ying'er anticipated an opportunity to act.
• In the carriage, Lu Changfeng admitted his injury was an act, and Li Lingyue told him she wanted everyone to know he belonged to her.

Lu Changfeng used the ancient true dragon bone to cultivate and challenge the fifth realm while Li Lingyue prepared the Princess's Residence for an expected attack. When a coalition of martial-world experts launched a midnight assault, Li Lingyue revealed her hidden allies, and Lu Changfeng emerged to confront Mo Xuanji at the chapter's end.

• Lu Changfeng absorbed the ancient true dragon bone's spiritual energy and began his all-out assault on the fifth realm.
• At midnight, the Three Sages of Penglai and numerous martial-world experts led an attack on the Princess's Residence.
• Li Lingyue identified the attackers and revealed her hidden allies, then ordered them to kill every intruder.
• The Three Sages of Penglai engaged Li Lingyue, Zhao Lanjun, and Mu Qinghong while the forces of the residence fought the other assassins.
• Mo Xuanji slipped through the battle, broke the cultivation chamber's stone door, and tried to enter.
• Lu Changfeng emerged from the chamber and trapped Mo Xuanji in a formation.

Lu Changfeng confronted Mo Xuanji after emerging from the secret chamber, revealing his fifth-realm cultivation and attacking with the Wind-Raising Sword and Mo Xie. Their coordinated assault overwhelmed Mo Xuanji, and Mo Xie’s strike pierced his defenses and left him numb and mentally impaired.

• Lu Changfeng emerged from the secret chamber and taunted Mo Xuanji, who struggled to divine the outcome of their confrontation.
• Mo Xuanji attacked Lu Changfeng with the Star-Rayed Loose-Hand Technique, but Lu Changfeng controlled the Wind-Raising Sword to hold him at a distance.
• Mo Xie joined the fight and attacked Mo Xuanji from behind, working in coordination with Lu Changfeng.
• Mo Xuanji divided his defenses between the two swords, but Mo Xie found an opening and thrust at his left ribs.
• Mo Xuanji struck Mo Xie’s blade with his palm, but her baleful aura pierced his protective astral qi, numbed his body, and disrupted his mind and true qi.

Lu Changfeng defeated and pinned Mo Xuanji, one of the Ten Absolutes, then used the Jade Rinsing zither to freeze and disrupt the attacking assassins. The Princess's Residence forces seized the opening to counterattack, leaving the battle in a rout.

• Lu Changfeng formed a Three Powers Sword Formation with Gan Jiang, Mo Xie, and Wind-Raising, wounding Mo Xuanji and blocking his escape.
• Lu Changfeng struck Mo Xuanji with a Buddhist palm and pinned him to the ground through his dantian with the Wind-Raising Sword.
• The battlefield's fighters saw Mo Xuanji's defeat, and the black-clad assassins and Three Sages of Penglai lost their confidence.
• Lu Changfeng summoned the Jade Rinsing zither and used its music to freeze the assassins' true qi and disrupt their senses.
• Li Lingyue, Mu Qinghong, and Zhao Lanjun launched a counterattack, and the Princess's Residence forces routed the weaker assassins.

Li Lingyue’s forces defeated the assassins attacking the Princess’s Residence, with Li Longji and Yue Zhenyuan arriving to help capture Fang Xingzhou. Lu Changfeng urged Li Lingyue to seize the moment and strike at Zong Chuke’s residence before the enemy learned what had happened.

• The remaining assassins fled after Mo Xuanji fell, while Baili Ce and Wei Lingxiao remained trapped by Zhao Lanjun and Mu Qinghong.
• Fang Xingzhou used his secret art to create two doubles and raced toward the western wall, but Li Lingyue destroyed the doubles and pursued him.
• Li Longji arrived with troops from the Prince Xiang’s Residence, and Yue Zhenyuan intercepted Fang Xingzhou with his Five Peaks Demon-Subduing Mace.
• Li Lingyue and Yue Zhenyuan subdued Fang Xingzhou, whose martial power was crippled before guards dragged him to the Ten Directions Secret Prison.
• Li Longji thanked Lu Changfeng and praised his role in turning the battle around.
• Lu Changfeng urged Li Lingyue to raid Zong Chuke’s residence that night, and she realized it was a chance to strike Empress Wei’s faction while it was still confused.

After helping Li Lingyue move against Zong Chuke, Lu Changfeng set out alone to confront Prince Qiao, Li Chongfu, in Junzhou. He stunned the gathered court forces by arriving on a living Flood Dragon, which bowed to him and carried him southwest.

• Li Longji approved of Lu Changfeng’s plan to deal with Zong Chuke, while Li Lingyue organized the Plum Blossom Guards to act.
• Lu Changfeng told Li Lingyue he would go alone to Junzhou because Li Chongfu was her nephew and involving her could put her in a difficult position.
• A living Flood Dragon descended from the sky and meekly lowered its head before Lu Changfeng.
• Lu Changfeng mounted the Flood Dragon, promised Li Lingyue he would return soon, and flew toward Junzhou.
• Li Lingyue, Li Longji, Yue Zhenyuan, and the gathered guards watched in shock as Lu Changfeng disappeared into the night.

Zhang Lingjun divined an ill omen at Prince Qiao's residence, but before he could explain, Lu Changfeng launched a sudden attack on Li Chongfu and Zhang Lingjun. Lu Changfeng overwhelmed Zhang Lingjun's defenses and Yellow Turbans Warriors, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Zhang Lingjun cast a hexagram that warned of a vicious threat at Prince Qiao's residence.
• Li Chongfu dismissed Empress Wei's spies and reassured Zhang Lingjun that their plan to use a Flood Dragon against Lu Changfeng would succeed.
• Lu Changfeng arrived and smashed the main hall with a golden Buddhist palm, then attacked Zhang Lingjun with a Three Powers Sword Formation and Opening-and-Closing Hands.
• Zhang Lingjun summoned eight Yellow Turbans Warriors, including two at the Fifth Realm, to defend him.
• Lu Changfeng evaded the warriors and identified the flaws in controlling the puppets.

Lu Changfeng exploited the Yellow Turbans Warriors’ lack of intelligence and fought Zhang Lingjun despite the Dragon-Binding Formation. He crippled Zhang Lingjun and pinned him to the ground, leaving him alive for questioning.

• Lu Changfeng used precise attacks to shatter the Yellow Turbans Warriors’ knees and exploit their puppet-like instincts.
• Zhang Lingjun activated the Dragon-Binding Formation, sealing away much of the Origin Qi in the battlefield.
• The Flood Dragon seized Li Chongfu from the shadows, distracting Zhang Lingjun as Lu Changfeng struck him with the Wind-Raising Sword.
• Lu Changfeng damaged the formation with a powerful stomp, then pierced Zhang Lingjun’s shoulder with the Mo Xie Sword during a three-sword assault.
• Lu Changfeng slammed Zhang Lingjun into the ground and destroyed his Dantian and major meridians, crippling his cultivation.
• Lu Changfeng pinned Zhang Lingjun to the ground with the Wind-Raising and Gan Jiang swords and said they could talk.

Lu Changfeng forced Zhang Lingjun to reveal his origins and plot, then healed him to obtain a reward before killing him and Li Chongfu. With Snow Robe’s help, he searched Prince Qiao’s Residence for treasure and prepared to return to Chang'an.

• Lu Changfeng threatened Zhang Lingjun through Li Chongfu until Zhang Lingjun confessed that he came from Dragon-Slaying City and planned to refine Lu Changfeng into a Human Origin Great Pill to help Li Chongfu claim the throne.
• Lu Changfeng treated Zhang Lingjun, gained Consciousness-Only Sword Intent from the Noble Physician's Canon, and then killed him with Sword Qi.
• Lu Changfeng killed Li Chongfu after explaining that Zhang Lingjun’s confession had only been meant to save Li Chongfu’s life.
• Snow Robe reunited with Lu Changfeng and used its searching ability to locate hidden treasures and Zhang Lingjun’s talismans in Prince Qiao’s Residence.
• Lu Changfeng collected the treasures and talismans, then left with the Flood Dragon to return to Chang'an.

After Li Lingyue slaughtered Zong Chuke’s household and imprisoned him, Empress Wei poisoned Li Dan to hold him as leverage. Lu Changfeng cured the poison and helped Li Xian break from Empress Wei’s control, leaving Li Xian to depose her and abdicate in favor of Li Dan.

• Li Lingyue had Zong Chuke’s household killed and sent him, stripped of his martial cultivation, to the Ten Directions Secret Prison.
• Fifth Ying’er proposed using Li Dan as leverage, and Empress Wei summoned him to the palace with a forged imperial decree and the Fate-Locking Seal.
• Li Lingyue and Li Longji confronted Empress Wei at the palace, where they found Li Dan poisoned and surrounded by Golden Scale Guards.
• Li Dan urged Li Lingyue not to yield to Empress Wei, while Li Xian stayed silent as Empress Wei accused his siblings of rebellion.
• Lu Changfeng declared Li Dan’s poison curable and used Consciousness-Only Sword Intent to help Li Xian regain his resolve.
• Li Xian stripped Empress Wei and Princess Anle of their titles, ordered them confined, and abdicated in favor of Li Dan.

Lu Changfeng used the Nine-Sectioned Li Staff and Nine Dragon Stone to break the Fate-Locking Seal threatening Li Dan, then left with Li Lingyue to recover. Alone with Li Longji, Li Dan reflected on their strained family ties and said there was no kinship in the imperial house.

• Lu Changfeng treated Li Dan with the Li Staff and Nine Dragon Stone while Li Lingyue and Li Longji watched anxiously.
• Lu Changfeng broke the Fate-Locking Seal, saving Li Dan, but the Nine Dragon Stone lost its power and Lu Changfeng was left exhausted.
• Li Dan and Li Longji thanked Lu Changfeng, and Li Lingyue took him back to her residence to rest.
• After they were alone, Li Dan spoke with Li Longji and concluded that there was no kinship in the imperial house.

After the palace coup, Li Dan told Li Longji to respect Princess Taiping as long as she remained cautious and blameless. At the Princess’s Residence, Lu Changfeng recovered, learned the coup’s outcome, and found treasures that might help him reach the fourth layer of the Shennong Glazed Glass Art; he then asked Li Lingyue to take him to the prison to examine its captured Grandmasters.

• Li Dan explained that Li Longji owed Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng for saving him and the throne, and ordered Li Longji to respect his aunt if she continued to act with restraint.
• Li Longji accepted his father’s decision and left the Quiet Chamber as dawn approached.
• At the Princess’s Residence, Li Lingyue told Lu Changfeng that Fifth Ying’er was dead and Empress Wei and Anle had been imprisoned; she revealed that she had poisoned Empress Wei with Mind-Loss Powder.
• Lu Changfeng summoned Lingbo, which produced eight chests of treasures taken from Junzhou, including Seven-Colored Bodhi and rare medicinal substances.
• Lu Changfeng realized the treasures might help him reach the human golden elixir realm, the fourth layer of the Shennong Glazed Glass Art.
• When Li Lingyue asked what he wanted, Lu Changfeng asked to visit the prison and examine the captured Grandmasters, and she agreed to take him.

Lu Changfeng advanced his Shennong Glazed Glass Art to the human-body great medicine realm, then learned that Li Lingyue’s enthronement plans were settled and spent the night with her. The next morning, he used his newly mastered heaven circulation energy to divine the locations of the remaining formations, and the result pointed to Daming Palace.

• Lu Changfeng told Luo Qingge he would enter seclusion, then used medicinal ingredients to open and elevate the heart and spleen meridians.
• After four days, Lu Changfeng absorbed the medicinal power throughout his body, attained human-body great medicine, and confirmed that his wound healed rapidly.
• Li Lingyue told Lu Changfeng that Fourth Brother would take the throne in three days, Sanlang would become crown prince, and she had received a fief of ten thousand households.
• Li Lingyue was drawn to Lu Changfeng’s medicinal fragrance and took him to the Quiet Chamber, where they spent the night together.
• The next morning, Lu Changfeng used heaven circulation energy with the Eight Formations Diagram to divine the remaining formations’ locations and saw Daming Palace.

Lu Changfeng obtained the Bird Soaring Formation in Daming Palace, where he and Li Lingyue discovered that the trembling Imperial Seal was pointing southeast. Li Dan revealed that the court’s seal was a counterfeit and sent Li Longji south to find the genuine one, while Sima Cheng approached its hiding place at Dongting Mountain.

• Lu Changfeng attended Li Dan’s enthronement ceremony with Li Lingyue and suspected the Imperial Seal was not an ancient treasure.
• Lu Changfeng found the Bird Soaring Formation beneath Taiye Pool, leaving only the Earth-Bearing Formation and Tiger Wing Formation to complete the Eight Formations.
• Lu Changfeng and Li Lingyue sensed a surge of spiritual qi from Zichen Hall and found the Imperial Seal trembling toward the southeast.
• Li Dan revealed that the court’s seal was a counterfeit, explained that the genuine seal was lost during the southward exodus of the gentry, and ordered Li Longji to search for it.
• The genuine Imperial Seal illuminated Linwu Cave on Dongting Mountain as Sima Cheng arrived with the Tiger Wing and Earth-Bearing formations and declared that he would claim it.

Luo Qingge broke through to the Grandmaster realm and joined Lu Changfeng in seeking Xu Yuanzhi, who revealed how Guo Pu stole the Imperial Seal during the fall of Luoyang. Xu Yuanzhi identified Duke Hidden Edge, Guo Shouzhuo, as Guo Pu’s descendant, leaving Lu Changfeng with a new lead on the seal’s history.

• Luo Qingge comprehended the fusion of her cultivation arts, formed Fu Xi’s Qin as her Dharma Form, and reached the Grandmaster realm.
• Luo Qingge used her Bird-Speech Art to locate Hundred-Knowledge Hall in the Ghost Market, and she and Lu Changfeng met Xu Yuanzhi underground.
• Xu Yuanzhi confirmed that the Imperial Seal was the core of the Great Array of the Celestial Stars and held the Divine Land’s dragon-vein power.
• Xu Yuanzhi explained that Guo Pu stole the seal before Luoyang fell to keep it from the northern tribes.
• Xu Yuanzhi revealed that Guo Pu’s descendants guarded the seal and named Duke Hidden Edge, Guo Shouzhuo, as one of them.

Lu Changfeng received Xu Yuanzhi’s intelligence about Jiangnan’s powers and set out to seek the final two formations, while reassuring Luo Qingge that he would not risk everything for the Imperial Seal. He departed for Jiangnan atop Lingbo with Qing Dai, leaving Luo Qingge behind until the danger had passed.

• Xu Yuanzhi told Lu Changfeng that the Guo Family had split from the Swordplay Pavilion and warned him that Guo Shouzhuo possessed the Purple Cloud Whisk.
• Xu Yuanzhi gave Lu Changfeng a detailed map of the powers in Jiangnan, and Lu Changfeng and Luo Qingge studied its many clans and sects.
• Lu Changfeng explained to Luo Qingge that he sought the final two formations for his martial way, promised to act within his limits, and said he would bring her along next time.
• At dawn, Lu Changfeng departed for Jiangnan with Qing Dai, Snow Robe, and Mo Li on Lingbo, after Li Lingyue saw him off.

Lu Changfeng and Qing Dai reached Dongting and encountered a mermaid being hunted by a brocade-clad young master. After Lu Changfeng restrained the hunters, the mermaid pleaded with him to save her and explained how she had transformed.

• Lu Changfeng and Qing Dai flew from Chang'an to Dongting on Lingbo and landed in a secluded forest clearing.
• They heard a chase on the river and saw boats pursuing a weakened white shape with nets.
• The hunters hauled a mermaid ashore, and the brocade-clad young master threatened Lu Changfeng and Qing Dai when they did not help.
• Lu Changfeng sent a sword hovering before the young master's brow and immobilized his guards.
• The mermaid begged Lu Changfeng for help, saying she was a fisherman's daughter who had changed after discovering a light beneath the lake.