Chapter Summaries

After celebrating the Ice Chi’s defeat with the Longbo Tribe, Lu Changfeng returned to Bai Qianqian and told her they would travel to the Deathless Kingdom in ten days. He reassured her that he was not pursuing Ji Xian and affirmed his affection for her.

• The Longbo Tribe held a feast where Lu Changfeng and the Land of the Great People’s warriors shared dragon meat, wine, and songs with their hosts.
• A Nian gave Lu Changfeng roasted dragon meat and honey-preserved fruits to take home, and he hurried back to the cottage.
• Lu Changfeng found Bai Qianqian tending the stove and shared the feast food with her as they ate together.
• Lu Changfeng told Bai Qianqian that he had arranged to travel to the Deathless Kingdom with General Bai in ten days, and that he planned to take her home to Mount Daiyu.
• Bai Qianqian cried with guilt over Lu Changfeng’s journey and the prospect of his courting Ji Xian, but Lu Changfeng comforted her and said he was going for the Deathless Elixir and had no interest in Ji Xian.
• Lu Changfeng told Bai Qianqian that he preferred warm, expressive people like her to long-lived beings who treated others as ants.

Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian left the Longbo Tribe and boarded an Immortal Craft bound for the Laomin Kingdom, beginning their journey toward the Deathless Kingdom. The craft sailed into a sea of clouds as Mount Yuanjiao disappeared behind them.

• Bai Qianqian told Lu Changfeng that the Qingqiu Fox Clan lived on Greenveil Ridge and explained Yan Xiu's political motives for targeting her clan.
• Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian spent several days together in the mountain house before packing to leave.
• A Nian gave Lu Changfeng food for the journey, while Qi Zhong and Huai Li offered their support and advice.
• Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian said farewell to the Longbo Tribe and traveled to Green Qilin Isle.
• Bai Yu welcomed Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian aboard the Immortal Craft, which departed toward the Laomin Kingdom.

As the Immortal Craft carried Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian toward Mount Daiyu, a Sea-Crossing Whale Salamander attacked the ship. Lu Changfeng killed it with three axe strikes, but a Featherfolk arrived and praised his technique.

• Bai Qianqian happily showed Lu Changfeng the sights of Guixu as they sailed toward Mount Daiyu.
• A Sea-Crossing Whale Salamander rose from the depths and charged at the Immortal Craft.
• Lu Changfeng wielded the Phoenix Sovereign Axe and killed the beast with three strikes from the Six Heaven-Opening Forms.
• A white-winged Featherfolk flew up to the ship and praised Lu Changfeng's axe technique.

Lu Changfeng met the Featherfolk hunter Yun Lou aboard the Immortal Craft and learned about Ji Xian’s four trials for choosing a husband. In Southern Mo, Ji Xian turned away the Qingqiu Fox Clan’s plea for refuge but became intrigued by a prophecy that her destined match was approaching.

• Yun Lou introduced himself to Lu Changfeng, paid Bai Yu generously for passage, and discussed Lu Changfeng’s plan to seek Ji Xian’s help.
• Yun Lou warned Lu Changfeng that Ji Xian required suitors to face four trials involving the zither, board games, incense, and formations, then wagered a branch of the Jade-Pattern Tree against Lu Changfeng’s axe in a game of board games.
• At Jade Splendor Mount Hua, Ji Xian’s official reported that Bai Gong and the Qingqiu Fox Clan had arrived seeking refuge from Yan Xiu, but Ji Xian ordered them to leave rather than risk provoking the Sweetwood lineage.
• Ji Xian heard the Fox Clan’s prophecy that a benefactor and destined match was traveling toward her from the southwest, then chose to wait and see what sort of man would arrive.

Lu Changfeng beat Yun Lou at Go and learned more about Ji Xian’s loneliness, then parted from Yun Lou at the Laomin Kingdom’s shore and continued toward Jade Splendor Mount Hua with Bai Qianqian. After they left, Yun Lou secretly sent Ji Xian a letter reporting what he had seen and heard.

• Lu Changfeng defeated Yun Lou by one and a half points, and Yun Lou praised his skill and explained that Ji Xian sought someone who could be her confidant.
• Yun Lou revealed that Ji Xian was his aunt through his mother and described how power and isolation had left her unable to lower her guard.
• Lu Changfeng said he only needed to pass the second trial so he could meet Ji Xian, while Bai Qianqian clung to him and made her jealousy clear.
• During three days aboard the Immortal Craft, Lu Changfeng and Yun Lou played seventeen Go games and talked until they reached the Laomin Kingdom.
• Yun Lou parted from Lu Changfeng, who set off for Jade Splendor Mount Hua with Bai Qianqian.
• Yun Lou returned to the wharf, wrote Ji Xian a report about Lu Changfeng, and sent it to the Orchid Bathing Palace with a Red-Eyed Falcon.

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.