Chapter Summaries

Princess Taiping arranged a covert route through Nanzhao to treat the poison while protecting Lu Changfeng from trouble over Zhang Shouzhuo. At the Pivot of Heaven Pavilion, Lu Changfeng studied gu arts before Qing Dai summoned him to treat poisoned investigators returning from Jade Pillar Peak.

• Princess Taiping ordered Jinghong to prepare for the Heavenly Spider Envoy in Nanzhao and stage a false attempt to steal the Poison-Averting Pearl.
• Princess Taiping told Jinghong to warn Shen Qingshu and the Embroidered Shadow Pavilion not to interfere over Zhang Shouzhuo’s death.
• After Fu Rong reported trouble at Jade Pillar Peak, Princess Taiping sent Zi Zhi to stabilize the injured and let Jinghong assist.
• Lu Changfeng studied the Secret Record of Southern Border Gu Arts and considered how gu might complement his abilities.
• Qing Dai told Lu Changfeng that the Three Signs of Spring Equinox had been poisoned by a monster at Jade Pillar Peak, and he hurried to help.

Lu Changfeng treated Mu Lan after a blood-red ape-like monster struck her with a strange fire poison that burned her meridians and consumed her internal power. He purged the poison with Shennong Qi and received A-Fei's Swift Sword, then told Zi Zhi to restore Mu Lan's strength while he recovered.

• Qing Dai and Lu Changfeng hurried to the Spirit Pivot Institute, where Jinghong, Fu Rong, Hai Tang, and Li Hua waited while Zi Zhi treated Mu Lan.
• Zi Zhi explained that Mu Lan's fierce fire poison resisted her Cold Plum Art, and Hai Tang described the blood-red ape-like monster that had attacked them.
• Lu Changfeng stopped Zi Zhi's attempt to suppress the poison with ice and used Shennong Qi to neutralize it over an hour.
• The Noble Physician's Canon declared Mu Lan's condition eradicated and awarded Lu Changfeng A-Fei's Swift Sword, whose sword intent and movements were imparted directly to him.
• Lu Changfeng told Zi Zhi to prescribe medicine for Mu Lan and rested after the treatment left him nearly drained.

Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping concluded that the Blood-Colored Giant Ape beneath Jade Pillar Peak might be guarding the Blood Tai Sui, which someone had approached but not yet removed. Taiping invited Lu Changfeng to investigate the site with her, and they prepared to leave despite her attendants’ concerns.

• Lu Changfeng recovered after saving Mu Lan, then heard Hai Tang and Li Hua describe how a Blood-Colored Giant Ape had attacked the Plum Blossom Guards among the traps beneath Jade Pillar Peak.
• Lu Changfeng suspected the giant ape was connected to the Blood Tai Sui, and Princess Taiping agreed that someone might be guarding the treasure because they could not yet remove it.
• Princess Taiping invited Lu Changfeng to accompany her to Jade Pillar Peak, and he agreed after considering her strength and the value of learning more.
• Taiping summoned a double to return to Yao Light Hall with the others and dismissed Jinghong’s warning that the journey was too dangerous.
• Si Jin brought Lu Changfeng Ice Silkworm Silk Armor, which Taiping offered him for protection before their expedition.

Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng investigated the hidden Gu Formation beneath Jade Pillar Peak, where they found the Ten Thousand Gu Spirit-Devouring Formation still intact. Lu Changfeng questioned how the living Blood Tai Sui could survive atop a sealed floor of inkflame stone.

• Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng left her residence through a secret passage and traveled toward Jade Pillar Peak.
• Princess Taiping teased Lu Changfeng about his visit to the Moon-Gathering Tower, but he redirected their attention to the investigation.
• The pair found signs of a fierce battle in the forest, though the blood-colored giant ape was nowhere to be seen.
• Princess Taiping opened a concealed entrance at the mountain’s foot, and she and Lu Changfeng descended into a hidden passage.
• They discovered that the Ten Thousand Gu Spirit-Devouring Formation remained intact and learned that dense inkflame stone sealed the floor beneath it.
• Lu Changfeng asked how the Blood Tai Sui could draw water and spiritual energy from the earth through the inkflame stone.

Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping discovered that the Blood Tai Sui’s water source could reveal a hidden passage, and Taiping used her Grandmaster abilities to locate its entrance by the Jade Belt River. After she destroyed the stone door trapping them, a black-clad figure and a pack of Giant Apes surrounded them outside the cave.

• Lu Changfeng deduced that the spring feeding the Blood Tai Sui connected to an underground river and that a hidden passage might lead to it.
• Princess Taiping explained how Grandmasters manifested their intent and used a Five Elements Positioning domain to find an unnatural gap in the earth qi near the flowing water.
• Lu Changfeng recognized the likely entrance as being concealed in the Jade Belt River around Jade Pillar Peak.
• As Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping tried to leave, the stone door began closing, but Taiping shattered it with a palm strike.
• A black-clad figure emerged from the woods as more than a dozen Giant Apes surrounded Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping.

Princess Taiping’s ambush was reinforced by Zhao Lanjun and Mu Qinghong, trapping the mysterious man in black. He turned the battle against them with a targeted strike that broke Mu Qinghong’s cultivation art, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Princess Taiping revealed that she had used herself as bait, and Zhao Lanjun and Mu Qinghong arrived with the Cloud-Howling Eagle to encircle the man in black.
• The man in black recognized the newcomers and implied that he had ties to enemies of Wu Zetian before ordering twelve Blood-Colored Giant Apes to attack.
• Lu Changfeng withdrew to the cave entrance as Zhao Lanjun froze the leading apes and slowed the rest with her cold technique.
• The man in black created nine Li Fire Doubles and sent all ten figures toward Princess Taiping, who gathered stellar power while Mu Qinghong moved to shield her.
• The man in black exploited a flaw in Mu Qinghong’s Great Pagoda Formula and struck her Gate of the Chapter Acupoint, breaking her cultivation art and making her spit blood.

Lu Changfeng treated Mu Qinghong during the fight, disrupting True Person Mingyang’s plan and allowing Princess Taiping and Zhao Lanjun to wound him. Mingyang fled toward the Sun-Burning Temple on Zhongnan Mountain, pursued by the Cloud-Howling Eagle.

• Lu Changfeng recognized the black-clad attacker as True Person Mingyang and realized he had deliberately exploited Mu Qinghong’s weakness to divide the defenders.
• Lu Changfeng used Huayang Needles and Shennong Qi to expel Mingyang’s fire force from Mu Qinghong, restoring her breathing at the cost of damaging her meridians and vital energy.
• Zhao Lanjun ambushed Mingyang with Bone-Piercing Ice-Soul Needles, giving Princess Taiping an opening to break his right shoulder with a palm strike.
• Mu Qinghong recovered enough to strike Mingyang’s left arm, leaving him gravely wounded and forcing him to flee using Separation by Li Fire.
• Princess Taiping sent the Cloud-Howling Eagle after Mingyang, and it pursued his true body southeast toward the Sun-Burning Temple.

Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng investigated the hidden cavern beneath Jade Belt River and discovered that the man in black had used the Blood Tai Sui to develop strength-enhancing drugs. Lu Changfeng found a concealed chamber holding mutilated apes and ape-like children, leaving him furious and regretful that they had not pursued the man.

• Princess Taiping ordered Zhao Lanjun to summon the Plum Blossom Guards, seal the routes around Jade Pillar Peak, and bring the Heavenly Spider Envoy to break the Ten Thousand Gu Devouring Spirit Array.
• Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng swam through a concealed passage into a cavern, where they found the Blood Tai Sui and a secret alchemy workshop.
• Lu Changfeng read a notebook describing experiments that turned apes and people into powerful, increasingly bestial fighters, including trials on children.
• Lu Changfeng found a hidden door and rushed into a secret chamber with Princess Taiping behind him.
• Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping discovered dozens of mutilated apes and imprisoned children whose bodies had been deformed by the experiments, and Lu Changfeng regretted not pursuing the man in black.

Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping discovered children harmed by Mingyang’s experiments, and Lu Changfeng resolved to help them and kill their tormentor. As he received the Peacock Diagram, he began considering whether he could use the Noble Physician’s Canon by deliberately creating patients and treating them to earn rewards.

• Princess Taiping vowed to grind Mingyang’s bones to dust after seeing the children imprisoned in the stone chambers.
• Lu Changfeng tried to examine a child, but it attacked him, confirming that the experiments had damaged the children’s bodies and minds.
• Lu Changfeng explained the three medicines described in Mingyang’s notes, including the Blood Apes, the enhanced Soldiers, and the medicine tested on the children.
• Princess Taiping put the apes and children to sleep, while Lu Changfeng examined the children and found that their lives and physical foundations had been gravely damaged.
• Lu Changfeng claimed his reward and received a Peacock Plume and the Peacock Diagram, then considered using the Noble Physician’s Canon to create patients and earn rewards through treating them.

Lu Changfeng resolved to use the Noble Physician's Canon against monstrous nobles, while the injured True Person Mingyang planned to abandon the Sun-Burning Temple and continue his scheme elsewhere. Mingyang also ordered his son to capture Lu Changfeng alive, leaving both men committed to exploiting each other for their own ends.

• Lu Changfeng embraced a path of fighting evil with evil and vowed to use Mingyang and other enemies as subjects for medical and poison experiments.
• True Person Mingyang entered a hidden chamber beneath the Sun-Burning Temple, where his son discovered that he had been injured by Taiping and Mu Qinghong.
• Mingyang ordered his son to make the disciples upstairs take their own lives, burn the temple, and evacuate with the remaining tai sui essence.
• Mingyang learned that Lu Changfeng had mastered the Shennong Glazed Glass Art and could counter the Rebirth in Ultimate Bliss Powder and the Immeasurable Seal.
• Mingyang ordered his son to track Lu Changfeng and seize him alive, then revealed that his new pill formula was complete and that he intended to begin the next stage of his plan.

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.