Chapter Summaries

Lu Changfeng fought Li Nantian to a stalemate with the formation’s aid, but Li Nantian’s Sacred Flame Dharma Form overwhelmed him. Jiang Li stepped in, revealed his Fifth Realm strength and the Soul-Sapping Bone-Eroding Hand, and killed Li Nantian.

• Lu Changfeng used the formation’s water and frost to attack Li Nantian, then deflected his saber strike and held his ground with his movement and Origin-Returning Qi Barrier.
• Li Nantian manifested his Sacred Flame Dharma Form, and Lu Changfeng summoned the Mysterious Crane Dharma Form but began losing their clash of spiritual intent.
• Lu Changfeng admitted he had no more tricks, while Jiang Li questioned why he had learned only martial arts from other schools and medicine.
• Li Nantian ordered the Blazing Flame Hall elites to attack, but they collapsed from poison as Jiang Li advanced with the Seven-Leaf Towering Herb Dharma Form.
• Jiang Li blocked Li Nantian’s attacks, explained the Medicine King Valley’s killing hand, and used the Soul-Sapping Bone-Eroding Hand to dissolve him.

Lu Changfeng saw through Jiang Li’s staged trial and was accepted as Medicine King Valley’s final disciple. After the rites at Sun Simiao’s hidden tomb, Jiang Li entrusted him with the valley’s teachings and the Shennong Tastes the Hundred Herbs Visualization Diagram.

• Lu Changfeng explained how Jiang Li’s behavior, the Inner Guard’s silence, and the untouched grave revealed the setup.
• Jiang Li admitted the encounter was a trial and accepted Lu Changfeng as Medicine King Valley’s fourth true disciple and final disciple.
• Jiang Li led Lu Changfeng, Qing Dai, and Snow Robe to Sun Simiao’s hidden tomb, where they completed the disciple-acceptance rites.
• Jiang Li gave Lu Changfeng a Jade Casket containing Sun Simiao’s martial and medical arts.
• Jiang Li unveiled the Shennong Tastes the Hundred Herbs Visualization Diagram for Lu Changfeng.

Lu Changfeng received the Visualization Diagram Master’s scroll and learned why Jiang Li had intervened against the Fire-Worshipping Cult. Jiang Li offered him a place in Medicine King Valley, but Lu Changfeng chose to remain allied with Princess Taiping for now, and Jiang Li left him with a warning about her intentions and an assurance of the valley’s support.

• Jiang Li let Lu Changfeng keep the visualization diagram, explaining that he could add another origin to his Three Origins spiritual intent and that the Shennong qi would benefit from studying it.
• Jiang Li explained that Princess Taiping had invited him to study the Blood Tai Sui, and that he had diverted Li Nantian’s threat from Medicine King Valley before testing Lu Changfeng.
• Lu Changfeng deduced that the Fire-Worshipping Cult would attack for the Buddha-Bone Relic that night, while Jiang Li warned that the master of Blazing Flame Hall was a Fifth Realm expert.
• Jiang Li invited Lu Changfeng to return to Medicine King Valley and promised the sect would protect him from the Great Vehicle Sect and the Prince of Liang’s Residence, but Lu Changfeng said he would remain with Princess Taiping for now.
• Jiang Li cautiously asked how Lu Changfeng would react if someone schemed to have their way with him, and Lu Changfeng said his response would depend on the person; Jiang Li then assured him that Medicine King Valley would always stand behind him.

After Wu Sansi’s attempt to study the Buddha Bone was disrupted by a mysterious intruder, Princess Taiping summoned Lu Changfeng to identify the attacker. Lu Changfeng traced the intruder’s strange tiger-like limb to Corpse Sage Tulingzi’s grafting art and concluded that the demonic cult’s method carried deadly risks.

• Jiang Li went to the Princess’s Residence secret chamber to study the Blood Tai Sui’s poison, while Lu Changfeng returned to Snow Listening Tower to study the Medicine King Valley medical cultivation method.
• Princess Taiping received reports that the Fire-Worshipping Cult and Great Vehicle Sect failed to seize the Buddha Bone, but an unknown intruder had interrupted Wu Sansi’s cultivation and nearly caused qi deviation.
• Jinghong reported that the intruder was a young grandmaster whose right hand looked like a blue-gray, striped tiger’s claw, and Princess Taiping urgently summoned Lu Changfeng.
• Lu Changfeng ruled out Li Qianli and identified the intruder’s ability as Corpse Sage Tulingzi’s grafting art, likely using a limb from the stealthy beast Mengji.
• Lu Changfeng warned Princess Taiping that grafted beast limbs carried savage instincts that could worsen demonic practitioners’ inner demons and destroy them.

Lu Changfeng explained why Wu Sansi would still attend the Buddha-Bathing Festival, while Adele learned that her brother Mital might need help from the newly appointed Director of Medicine. The chapter ended with Adele deciding to seek Lu Changfeng’s aid.

• Lu Changfeng told Princess Taiping that Wu Sansi would attend the festival despite the assassination attempt, and they agreed to proceed with their plan.
• Adele and Ling Jiuxiao watched Mital suffer inside a reinforced stone house after his grafted Mengji limb and inner demons overwhelmed him.
• Adele accepted responsibility for the failed mission and asked Ling Jiuxiao to name physicians who might treat Mital.
• Ling Jiuxiao explained that leading physicians Jiang Li and Shen Huaishan would likely refuse Mital, then recommended Lu Changfeng as an exception.
• Adele’s hope returned when Ling Jiuxiao named Lu Changfeng, and she resolved to seek his help.

During the Buddha-Bathing Festival, attackers stormed Jianfu Temple as part of a plot to seize the Buddha Bone and assassinate Wu Sansi. When a potent desire-inducing poison plunged the pagoda into chaos, Princess Taiping feigned being affected and clung to Lu Changfeng.

• Sengjia delivered the Buddha Bone to Jianfu Temple, where Wu Sansi enshrined it with Princess Taiping and Lu Changfeng present.
• Foreign merchants affiliated with the Fire-Worshipping Cult and Great Vehicle Sect attacked the pagoda, prompting Li Qianli’s guards and Wu Sansi’s Seven Moon-Chasers to respond.
• Pink smoke released throughout the pagoda poisoned many people, causing guards, monks, and attackers to lose control amid the chaos.
• Lu Changfeng realized the attack was a diversion and suspected Li Qianli and Li Chongjun had arranged the poison to target Wu Sansi.
• Princess Taiping appeared to succumb to the poison, embraced Lu Changfeng, and resisted his attempts to pull away despite remaining clear-minded.

Lu Changfeng and Princess Taiping watched as gu-poisoned guards launched a coordinated attack on Wu Sansi, only for Xiao Changchun to appear and unleash a deadly poison. The assassination attempt remained underway as Xiao Changchun’s arrival transformed the battlefield into a lethal poison domain.

• Princess Taiping restrained Lu Changfeng while secretly warning him that the attackers were about to move.
• Golden Crow Guards and Feathered Forest Guard soldiers, driven by the Soldier Blood Tonic, attacked Wu Sansi while Li Qianli’s commands secretly guided their assault.
• Wu Sansi and the Seven Moon-Chasers fought off the relentless attackers, who ignored injuries and even attempted to self-detonate.
• Xiao Changchun appeared beside Wu Sansi and killed the charging soldiers with black poison that also dispersed the pink gu poison mist.

Li Qianli’s ambush failed to kill Wu Sansi, who survived the attacks with the Mountain-Bearing Armor bestowed by Empress Wu. The Cloud-Splitting Sword appeared in the pagoda, and Taiping urged Li Qianli to use it against Wu Sansi.

• Hidden weapons and a Repeating Crossbow Divine Arrow attacked Wu Sansi and Xiao Changchun, and Xiao Changchun intercepted the arrow at great cost.
• Li Duozuo and Li Sichong struck Wu Sansi with their spears, but his Mountain-Bearing Armor stopped them from penetrating his body.
• Wu Sansi revealed that Empress Wu had given him the Mountain-Bearing Armor and boasted that no one could kill him.
• Li Qianli prepared to attack Wu Sansi with his concealed Great Grandmaster strength, but the Cloud-Splitting Sword descended through the pagoda ceiling.
• Taiping looked toward Li Qianli and urged him to take the sword and kill Wu Sansi.

Li Qianli realized that Li Qianli had been used to help eliminate Wu Sansi, but he embraced the chance to kill him and attacked with the Cloud-Splitting Sword. After wounding Xiao Changchun, Li Qianli unleashed his ultimate sword technique against Wu Sansi, leaving the battle on the brink of a decisive strike.

• Li Qianli recognized that the Cloud-Splitting Sword could break Wu Sansi’s armor and resolved to kill Wu Sansi despite realizing he had been used.
• Wu Sansi raised his earth-energy shield while Xiao Changchun gathered plague poison to support him against Li Qianli.
• Li Qianli used the first two forms of the Sun-Moon Cosmos Sword to damage Wu Sansi’s defenses, though Wu Sansi’s armor helped him withstand the blows.
• Xiao Changchun sent poison phantoms after Li Qianli, who exposed a flaw in Xiao Changchun’s cultivation and wounded him in the left ribs.
• Li Qianli gathered his power into the Sun-Moon Cosmos Sword’s ultimate move, Heaven and Earth in One Throw, as Wu Sansi faced an imminent killing strike.

Li Qianli killed Wu Sansi with the Cloud-Splitting Sword, ending the battle in Jianfu Temple. Master Sengjia used the Buddha Bone to dispel the poison, and Emperor Zhongzong arrived to find the pagoda strewn with corpses and the fighting subdued.

• Li Qianli pierced Wu Sansi’s defenses and destroyed him with the Cloud-Splitting Sword, while Wu Lingyun collapsed in horror.
• Li Qianli succumbed to his wounds and Xiao Changchun’s plague poison after confirming Wu Sansi was dead.
• Master Sengjia invoked the Buddha Bone’s power to cleanse the gu poison and plague poison, calming the affected people and ending the disorder.
• Princess Taiping assessed the battle’s outcome and let go of Lu Changfeng as she resumed her composure.
• Emperor Zhongzong arrived with the imperial guards, who secured the pagoda as Li Xian entered with Empress Wei and Shangguan Wan'er.

After Wu Sansi died and the pagoda filled with Buddha light, Empress Wei pressed Taiping to explain the disaster. Lu Changfeng spoke in her place, presenting an account that blamed the attack on conspirators and Li Qianli while shielding Taiping and her allies.

• Li Xian, Empress Wei, and the ministers entered the wrecked pagoda and saw Wu Sansi dead, Li Duozuo and Li Sichong gravely wounded, and Li Qianli barely standing.
• Zong Chuke secretly instructed Empress Wei, who demanded that Taiping explain the chaos and the Prince of Liang's death.
• Taiping feigned a severe flare-up of her gu poison, and Lu Changfeng stepped in to report on her behalf.
• Lu Changfeng said disguised attackers had released an illusory gu, and that Li Qianli had controlled Li Duozuo and Li Sichong before joining the assault on the Prince of Liang.
• Lu Changfeng claimed Li Qianli had killed the Prince of Liang with a divine weapon, then said Sengjia and the Buddha Bone had dispelled the poison and ended the chaos.

After Wu Sansi died, Empress Wei accepted Lu Changfeng’s account and blamed Li Qianli, while Zong Chuke helped direct the response. As Taiping and Lu Changfeng withdrew, they considered the danger of false accusations and realized that Crown Prince Li Chongjun had been absent from the Buddha-Bathing Festival.

• Princess Anle accused Taiping of escaping the attack unharmed, but Empress Wei silenced her and Zong Chuke urged the empress to blame Li Qianli.
• Empress Wei denounced Li Qianli, ordered his accomplices seized, and praised the Buddha Bone’s manifestation as protection for the emperor.
• Li Xian agreed to move to a side hall and ordered a thorough investigation as officials cleared the pagoda and reassured the crowd.
• Taiping told Lu Changfeng that Zong Chuke was a dangerous schemer, and Lu warned that Li Qianli could be used to frame the Crown Prince and endanger Taiping and Prince Xiang.
• Lu Changfeng noticed that Li Chongjun had not appeared at the Buddha-Bathing Festival, and Taiping realized he was missing.

After the Crown Prince and Li Qianli’s family vanished from Chang’an, Taiping and Lu Changfeng suspected that hidden forces in Lingnan had orchestrated their escape. They concluded that the Crown Prince’s flight gave those forces a legitimate figurehead, though he himself was unlikely to pose a serious threat.

• Empress Wei learned that the Crown Prince, Li Qianli’s children, and his trusted advisers had disappeared, and she ordered an investigation while claiming the Crown Prince was ill.
• Taiping and Lu Changfeng discussed how Li Qianli could have arranged the escape despite the Golden Scale Guards’ scrutiny.
• Lu Changfeng identified Lingnan as the likely source of support, and Taiping explained how exiled Li clansmen and former enemies of Wu Zetian had gathered strength there.
• Taiping and Lu Changfeng considered whether Lingnan’s hidden network had helped move the Crown Prince and might have secret routes and resources in Chang’an.
• Lu Changfeng judged that the Crown Prince’s disappearance gave Lingnan’s forces a legitimate claim, but that the Crown Prince himself was not a serious threat.

Princess Taiping discussed the political danger posed by Zong Chuke with Lu Changfeng over tribute wine, then confided her personal trust in him as their closeness nearly turned intimate. An imperial decree summoned Lu Changfeng to treat Li Qianli and investigate the Crown Prince’s accomplices.

• Taiping and Lu Changfeng discussed how the Crown Prince’s flight weakened his legitimacy and how Zong Chuke might target her and Prince Xiang.
• Jinghong brought Taiping a jar of Jade-Ice Shao, which Taiping and Lu Changfeng drank as they talked about court politics.
• Taiping told Lu Changfeng that he was the first person she had welcomed into her private waterside study and that she valued their time together beyond their official roles.
• Lu Changfeng felt a powerful, unexplained heat after drinking the wine, and he and Taiping drew close before Jinghong announced an urgent imperial decree.
• A eunuch delivered the decree ordering Lu Changfeng to treat Li Qianli in the imperial prison and uncover the whereabouts of his accomplices and the Crown Prince; Lu Changfeng accepted.

Lu Changfeng arrived at the Blackwater Mystic Prison under imperial orders to examine and question Li Qianli, while the Wu siblings pressed for torture and Vice Minister Shen Qingshu refused to oversee their methods. Lu Changfeng entered the prison and saw the light-swallowing Blackwater Pool at its center.

• Lu Changfeng traveled to the Court of Judicial Review with the Three Baleful Skeletons guarding him and reflected on the mysterious wine and his plans to leave Chang'an.
• At the prison gate, Wu Lingyun demanded that Lu Changfeng use the Blazing Wind Gu to keep Li Qianli alive and force him to talk.
• Wu Chongxun threatened to use the Wu Family's ancestral prescriptions, and Lu Changfeng asked Shen Qingshu to clarify the rules for interrogating the prisoner.
• Shen Qingshu said he was responsible only for keeping Li Qianli alive and reporting the outcome, leaving the interrogation methods to Lu Changfeng, the Golden Scale Guards, and Chancellor Zong.
• Lu Changfeng entered the Blackwater Mystic Prison and saw the dark pool at its center.

Lu Changfeng treated the imprisoned Li Qianli, whose body was ravaged by plague and gu poisons, using Medicine King Valley techniques. He stabilized Li Qianli enough to keep him alive, leaving him lucid and still full of hatred.

• Lu Changfeng visited the chained Li Qianli and heard him regret not killing Lu sooner.
• Lu Changfeng had Shen Qingshu record Li Qianli's words as evidence that he had wanted Lu dead.
• Lu Changfeng examined Li Qianli and identified the plague poison, gu poison, internal damage, and infected wounds afflicting him.
• Lu Changfeng used the Three Immortal Life-Restoring Hands to gather and draw the toxins toward Li Qianli's wounds.
• Lu Changfeng treated Li Qianli with Huayang Needles, easing his breathing and restoring some of his awareness.

Lu Changfeng treated Li Qianli, Li Duozuo, and Li Sichong in the Blackwater Mystic Prison, then interrogated Prince Cheng about the Buddha-Bathing Festival assassination and the Crown Prince’s whereabouts. Li Qianli admitted masterminding the attack and hinted that powerful anti-Wu forces were involved, while Lu Changfeng left the remaining interrogation to the court.

• Lu Changfeng stabilized Li Qianli’s poison and wounds, dictated a prescription, and received the complete version of "One Sword Across the Ages."
• Lu Changfeng questioned Li Qianli, who admitted ordering Wu Sansi’s assassination but concealed his accomplices and the Crown Prince’s location.
• Li Qianli warned that a hidden faction would come to rescue him, and Lu Changfeng and the others inferred that anti-Wu forces in Lingnan were behind the scheme.
• Shen Qingshu confirmed that Li Duozuo and Li Sichong should be kept alive for interrogation, and Lu Changfeng treated their injuries and poison.
• Lu Changfeng advised Shen Qingshu that extracting more from Li Qianli would require another expert, then left the Blackwater Mystic Prison.

Lu Changfeng mastered the supreme sword art “One Sword Across the Ages” and returned to Snow Listening Tower, where Qing Dai worried about the danger surrounding him. Snow Robe told Qing Dai that Lu Changfeng might leave for Lu Prefecture, and she resolved to follow him before the bird teased her about how to be useful to him.

• Lu Changfeng claimed the reward for “One Sword Across the Ages” and demonstrated its power by splitting a tree with a finger-sword.
• Lu Changfeng returned to Snow Listening Tower at midnight and overheard Qing Dai and Snow Robe discussing the threats facing him.
• Snow Robe reassured Qing Dai that Lu Changfeng could protect himself, then asked if she liked him, and Qing Dai blushed silently.
• Snow Robe hinted that Lu Changfeng planned to leave for Lu Prefecture, leaving Qing Dai shaken.
• Qing Dai said she wanted to follow Lu Changfeng but feared her weak martial arts would make her a burden.
• Snow Robe advised Qing Dai that warming the bed and folding the quilts could be useful skills.

Lu Changfeng learned that Yuan Keshi had taught Snow Robe its speech and its crude jokes, then prepared to cultivate after confirming they might soon leave Chang'an for Lu Prefecture. The chapter ended with Lu Changfeng wondering what other extraordinary people remained hidden and resolving to train.

• Snow Robe teased Qing Dai until Lu Changfeng entered and told her to rest because they might leave the capital soon.
• Lu Changfeng used his qi to keep Snow Robe from flying away and demanded to know who had taught it those remarks.
• Snow Robe explained that Yuan Keshi, Yuan Tiangang's son, had spoken with it and taught it the official tongue of the Central Plains, along with the jokes.
• Lu Changfeng forgave Snow Robe but warned it not to embarrass Qing Dai with crude remarks again.
• Lu Changfeng set the Eight Extremes Dew-Bearing Plate beneath the moonlight and began cultivating while thinking about hidden extraordinary people.

Lu Changfeng strengthened his glazed glass body and transformed his Shennong qi with two rare medicinal treasures, then learned that poison masters and members of the Ultimate Bliss Cave were gathering in the Ghost Market. When Ink Jade warned that Luo Qingge was being captured at Carefree Cave, Lu Changfeng rushed there at terrifying speed.

• Lu Changfeng absorbed the Seven-Colored Purple Vine and Nine-Springs Jade-Leaf Bloodflower, bringing his glazed glass body near full mastery and transforming his Shennong qi.
• Lan Die'er brought poisonous creatures for the Crimson Flame Wyrm and told Lu Changfeng that poison masters had crowded the Ghost Market since the Prince of Liang's Residence fell.
• Lan Die'er sensed the Ultimate Bliss Cave's illusory desire immortal-ensnaring gu near the Ghost Market and suspected Wu Zhaoyun and his followers were there.
• Ink Jade burst into the Spirit Pivot Institute and warned Lu Changfeng that someone was trying to capture Luo Qingge at Carefree Cave in the Ghost Market.
• Lu Changfeng unleashed his speed and killing intent, leaving the institute at once as Lan Die'er and Qing Dai watched in shock.