Chapter Summaries

Luo Qingge fled through Carefree Cave while the Illusory Desire Immortal-Ensnaring Gu clouded her mind and Wu Zhaoyun pursued her. Just as she tried to take her own life rather than fall into his hands, Lu Changfeng’s voice broke through the illusion and reached her.

• Luo Qingge used Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens to flee through the Ghost Tower while fighting the gu poison’s effects.
• Wu Zhaoyun tracked Luo Qingge to the Ghost Maple Forest and threatened to drain her essence.
• Luo Qingge summoned the Nine Heavens Ringed Pendant and attacked Wu Zhaoyun with sound blades, but her illusions made her mistake him for Lu Changfeng.
• Luo Qingge’s attack faltered, and she gathered her remaining true qi to slash her own throat.
• Lu Changfeng shouted for Luo Qingge to stop, and his voice restored a fragment of clarity to her mind.

Lu Changfeng rescued Luo Qingge from Wu Zhaoyun, crippling and tormenting the Gu user before purging the poison from her body. The chapter ended with him scolding Luo Qingge for entering the Carefree Cave despite the danger.

• Luo Qingge recognized Lu Changfeng and showed her trust and relief as he arrived.
• Lu Changfeng cut through Wu Zhaoyun's Gu insects and defenses with One Sword Across the Ages, severing his right arm.
• Lu Changfeng severed Wu Zhaoyun's remaining limbs, destroyed his dantian, and sent the Blazing Wind Gu into his body to torment him.
• Lu Changfeng used Shennong Qi to purge the desire immortal-ensnaring Gu poison from Luo Qingge.
• Lu Changfeng scolded Luo Qingge for entering the Carefree Cave with Yan Mingxiao despite the danger.

Luo Qingge explained that she had risked entering the Carefree Cave to obtain an Earthcore Fire Jade Ganoderma for Lu Changfeng, who carried her out after defeating Wu Zhaoyun. When she asked him not to return to the Moon-Gathering Tower, Lu Changfeng agreed to take her to her secluded courtyard on Zhongnan Mountain.

• Luo Qingge gave Lu Changfeng the Earthcore Fire Jade Ganoderma and explained that she had sought it to help advance his Shennong Glazed Glass Art.
• Yan Mingxiao and Shen Qingshu found Luo Qingge safe with Lu Changfeng, while Shen Qingshu sensed the overwhelming sword intent and questioned Lu Changfeng's origins.
• Lu Changfeng carried Luo Qingge away, killed the wounded Wu Zhaoyun, and told Yan Mingxiao that Luo Qingge needed quiet rest.
• Shen Qingshu ordered his subordinates to clear the scene, verify Lu Changfeng's identity, and consolidate the cases against Wu Zhaoyun.
• Luo Qingge persuaded Lu Changfeng to take her to her private courtyard on Zhongnan Mountain, and he changed direction and hurried there with her.

At Clear Spring Retreat, Lu Changfeng treated Luo Qingge’s weakness after removing her Gu Poison. Luo Qingge confessed her feelings through a coy request for him to cure her supposed lingering symptoms, and Lu Changfeng kissed her as their intimacy deepened.

• Lu Changfeng brought Luo Qingge to Clear Spring Retreat, found calming herbs in its garden, and brewed medicine for her.
• Luo Qingge asked whether Qing Dai had followed them, then praised Lu Changfeng’s newfound swordsmanship.
• After drinking the medicine, Luo Qingge caught Lu Changfeng’s sleeve and pleaded with him not to leave.
• Luo Qingge suggested her chest tightness meant the Gu Poison remained, and Lu Changfeng recognized her hidden affection.
• Lu Changfeng drew Luo Qingge into his arms and kissed her, and they became intimate beneath the quilt.

Princess Taiping’s allies blocked an accusation of treason against her and Prince Xiang at court, but she remained consumed by worry after Lu Changfeng and Luo Qingge disappeared. As Taiping’s search intensified and her volatile cultivation threatened to turn against her, a report arrived that Luo Qingge was safe and would return to Chang’an.

• Cen Xi and Xiao Zhizhong rallied ministers to oppose Ran Zuyong’s memorial accusing Prince Xiang and Princess Taiping of treason, and Li Xian dismissed the accusation with a minor punishment for Ran Zuyong.
• Princess Taiping ordered an extensive search after Lu Changfeng and Luo Qingge vanished, with the last confirmed sighting showing Lu carrying Luo away from the Ghost Market.
• Taiping pressed her commanders to search Chang’an for Lu, while Jinghong feared that Taiping’s anxiety and the approaching full moon would destabilize her cultivation.
• Taiping punished an Inner Guard commander for an unclear report, heightening the fear throughout Chenghui Hall.
• An agent delivered word from Master Luo that Luo Qingge was safe and would return to Chang’an in the coming days.

Princess Taiping learned that Lu Changfeng was safe and had spent five days with Luo Qingge, and her rage triggered a violent loss of control over her True Qi. Meanwhile, Lu Changfeng and Luo Qingge enjoyed their last night at Clear Spring Retreat before planning to return to their duties and future journey.

• Princess Taiping received Lu Changfeng's belated letter, delivered by Young Master Zhang Shu, and realized he had been with Luo Qingge rather than handling urgent business.
• Princess Taiping erupted in anger, lost control of her True Qi, and ordered everyone out after Jinghong tried to calm her.
• At Clear Spring Retreat, Lu Changfeng prepared Beggar's Chicken while Luo Qingge spoke about returning tomorrow and seeking the Bird-Speech Art at Mount Yangluo.
• Luo Qingge asked whether Princess Taiping had truly let Lu Changfeng go, and he said her recent calm suggested she had.
• Lu Changfeng kissed Luo Qingge and carried her inside at her request.

Lu Changfeng returned to the Princess's Residence and found that Li Lingyue had suffered cultivation deviation after her emotions disrupted the Purple Tenuity Heavenly Heart Formula. He subdued her rampaging qi and helped stabilize her, but she woke and coldly remarked on his days away at Zhongnan Mountain.

• Lu Changfeng returned Luo Qingge to the Moon-Gathering Tower, endured the members' complaints, and headed to the Princess's Residence.
• Qing Dai and Jinghong told Lu Changfeng that Li Lingyue's cultivation method had backfired and that she was near cultivation deviation.
• Lu Changfeng rushed to the Yao Light Hall, where Li Lingyue blasted open the chamber doors and attacked him with uncontrolled purple-gold qi.
• Lu Changfeng redirected Li Lingyue's first strike, then struck three acupoints to halt her rampaging qi and caught her as she collapsed.
• Lu Changfeng used his Shennong Qi to guide Li Lingyue's true qi back into its proper course until her condition stabilized.
• Li Lingyue woke and asked Lu Changfeng whether Zhongnan Mountain had been so lovely that he had lingered there for several days.

Princess Taiping asked Lu Changfeng why he pursued Luo Qingge but kept his distance from her, and he explained that he feared becoming a possession under her power rather than being judged for her past. She accepted his answer and proposed a lighter arrangement between them, ending by asking him to stay.

• Lu Changfeng warned Princess Taiping that her damaged heart meridians required complete rest and that stirring her emotions could trigger another backlash.
• Princess Taiping compared herself with Luo Qingge in beauty, power, wealth, and resources, then asked why Lu Changfeng preferred Qingge.
• Lu Changfeng said he feared Princess Taiping's power and the way her past relationships suggested she might treat him as a possession or pawn.
• Princess Taiping realized that her status and control over others were what made Lu Changfeng wary, not simply her romantic past.
• Princess Taiping proposed that they set aside their titles and keep only their shared interests and a casual arrangement between Li Lingyue and Lu Changfeng.
• Princess Taiping asked Lu Changfeng whether her offer was light enough for him to stay a little longer.

Li Lingyue offered Lu Changfeng a relationship without obligations, and he accepted through a quiet gesture. After treating her injuries, he agreed to stay beside her through the night and used his Shennong Qi to soothe a flare of her unstable true qi.

• Li Lingyue proposed an alliance and a temporary affair, and Lu Changfeng took her clenched fist and silently nodded his acceptance.
• Lu Changfeng assessed Li Lingyue’s damaged heart meridians, prescribed treatment, and instructed her to rest for seven days without circulating her true qi.
• Lu Changfeng gave the prescription to Jinghong, then agreed to stay in the waterside study after Li Lingyue said she did not want to be alone.
• Li Lingyue fell asleep while Lu Changfeng meditated nearby, keeping watch over her condition.
• When the Purple Tenuity Heavenly Heart Formula caused Li Lingyue pain, Lu Changfeng used his Shennong Qi to guide her true qi back into order.

Lu Changfeng finished tending to Li Lingyue overnight and left her study at dawn, where Xue Chongyin caught sight of him and struggled with the awkward implications. Li Lingyue confirmed her recovery and told Xue Chongyin that someone would leave for Lu Prefecture in three days.

• Lu Changfeng withdrew his arm as Li Lingyue woke, and he told her that her condition had stabilized and she should take her medicine on schedule.
• Lu Changfeng stepped out of Li Lingyue's study at dawn and unexpectedly encountered Xue Chongyin, who was shocked to see him leaving the private room.
• Li Lingyue called to Xue Chongyin, then reassured him that she was out of danger thanks to Lu Changfeng's care.
• Xue Chongyin reported that Sanlang had asked about the Lu Prefecture personnel selection and the new development in the Lu Prefecture Secret Realm.
• Li Lingyue upheld her promise to send someone to assist Sanlang, telling Xue Chongyin that the person would set out in three days.

Lu Changfeng received the Black Tortoise Crystal and investigated Primordial Spirit techniques while preparing to travel to the Secret Realm in Lu Prefecture. After treating Li Lingyue that night, he faced her pointed question about why he still insisted on keeping their relationship strictly transactional.

• Li Lingyue told Lu Changfeng about unusual activity in the Secret Realm in Lu Prefecture and said Sanlang wanted him to depart in three days.
• Lu Changfeng read Luo Qingge’s letter saying she had gone to Mount Yangluo to retrieve the Mystic Bone, then reassured Su Bonian and the Twelve Children and confirmed their Blood Guide poison was gone.
• Lu Changfeng studied the Black Tortoise Crystal and learned from Snow Robe about four Primordial Spirit methods, then went to the Pivot of Heaven Pavilion to research their uses and risks.
• Lu Changfeng treated Li Lingyue with Golden-Needle Acupoint Puncture, and she asked why they still had to insist on accepting no reward without merit.

Li Lingyue demanded that Lu Changfeng prove he had not pitied her, then boldly initiated an intimate encounter. They spent two days and nights together in seclusion, and Lu Changfeng emerged exhausted, thinking he needed to leave for Lu Prefecture to catch his breath.

• Li Lingyue asked Lu Changfeng to prove he had not pitied her.
• Li Lingyue pulled Lu Changfeng toward her and kissed him, taking the initiative despite her recent injuries.
• Li Lingyue and Lu Changfeng shut themselves away in the Waterside Study for two days and nights while Jinghong turned away visitors and passed in food and medicine.
• Li Lingyue fell asleep after reaching her limit, and Lu Changfeng emerged exhausted on the evening of the third day.
• Lu Changfeng decided he needed to put his trip to Lu Prefecture on the agenda and get away to catch his breath.

Lu Changfeng departed Chang'an for the dangerous Secret Realm in Lu Prefecture after Li Lingyue saw him off. Xue Chongyin warned his brother to assist Lu, while Xue Chongjian and Li Longji anticipated his arrival and questioned what he could do.

• Li Lingyue gave Lu Changfeng farewell wine and cautioned him to put safety first before he left for Lu Prefecture.
• Xue Chongyin watched the farewell, decided to preserve goodwill with Lu, and sent Xue Chongjian a stern letter ordering him to assist Lu and avoid conflict.
• Xue Chongjian read his brother’s letter at the Vice Prefect’s Residence and discussed Lu’s reputation with Li Longji.
• Li Longji said he wanted to see Lu’s abilities, especially because the Secret Realm was said to have been created by Marquis Wu’s descendants.

Lu Changfeng questioned the circumstances surrounding Li Longji’s discovery of the Secret Realm in Lu Prefecture and learned that the news had spread through rival factions. Adele intercepted his carriage seeking treatment for her brother and offered a mysterious gift as she warned him that many powers were converging on Lu Prefecture.

• Lu Changfeng reviewed the sparse report about the Secret Realm and suspected that Li Longji’s discovery and the local powers’ silence concealed something unusual.
• Lu Changfeng’s carriage was stopped by Adele and Ling Jiuxiao, who were disguised as traveling merchants and had the Three Baleful Skeletons hidden nearby.
• Lu Changfeng refused Adele’s request for help, wary of becoming entangled with foreign powers and political rivals.
• Adele revealed that the Secret Realm news had spread through the Ghost Market after leaking from Prince Xiang’s residence and being circulated by Crescent Moon Hall and the Golden Scale Guards.
• Adele warned Lu Changfeng that factions were converging on Lu Prefecture, then presented a jade box whose contents released an ancient, soul-piercing cold.

Lu Changfeng agreed to examine Adele’s elder brother after she offered the Northern Sea Flood Shark fin bone and promised to restrain him if he was healed. Adele also revealed that Shan Zheng had searched the Ghost Market for Marquis Wu’s Wind-Raising Sword, leaving Lu Changfeng intrigued by the unexpected connection.

• Adele presented Lu Changfeng with a Northern Sea Flood Shark fin bone and asked him to treat her elder brother.
• Lu Changfeng used the Mind-Control Art to assess Adele and judged her sincere, but refused to heal her murderous elder brother at first.
• Adele knelt and promised to have her brother’s cultivation abolished, bind him with a blood-soul oath, and serve as a hostage if Lu Changfeng treated him.
• Lu Changfeng accepted the offer and told Adele to lead him to her brother.
• Adele said Shan Zheng had secretly sought information about Marquis Wu’s Wind-Raising Sword in the Ghost Market, and Lu Changfeng recognized the significance of the rumor.

Lu Changfeng diagnosed Mital’s cultivation deviation and prescribed medicine and meditation to treat him. He then recognized that Adele’s conflict with the Fire-Worshipping Cult’s doctrine was endangering her too, and began to offer her a different way to understand it.

• Lu Changfeng explained that Mital’s damaged meridians and the bestial nature of Mengji’s grafted limb had caused his murderous episodes.
• Lu Changfeng prescribed Clear-Heart Jade-Soul Powder and gave Adele the Ice-Pot Autumn-Moon Art for Mital’s recovery.
• Lu Changfeng warned Adele that her doubts about the Fire-Worshipping Cult’s doctrine could lead her to suffer the same cultivation deviation as Mital.
• Adele confided that she felt trapped between betraying the cult and losing herself to its doctrine.
• Lu Changfeng connected the Fire-Worshipping Cult to the Bright Cult and told Adele that changing her perspective might free her from what trapped her.

Lu Changfeng helped Adele reinterpret the Fire-Worshipping Cult’s sacred flame as a force for light and compassion, inspiring her to establish the Way of Light. He departed for Lu Prefecture unaware that his teachings had planted the seed of the Bright Cult, while Li Longji and Xue Chongjian waited at the city’s eastern gate.

• Lu Changfeng told Adele that fire could represent light, warmth, hope, and civilization rather than destruction, helping her resolve her conflict with her cultivation.
• Adele asked Lu Changfeng to name the new path, and he called it the Way of Light, founded on dispelling ignorance, doing good, and showing compassion.
• Adele pledged to uphold and spread the Way of Light, while Lu Changfeng gave her the pill formula, took the Flood Shark Wing Bone, and left for Lu Prefecture.
• Adele recited a compassionate new prayer as Ling Jiuxiao listened in shock, then told him that it was the path to salvation.
• Lu Changfeng traveled toward Lu Prefecture, unaware that Adele’s transformation had planted the seed of the Bright Cult.
• Li Longji and Xue Chongjian waited with their retainers at Lu Prefecture’s eastern gate.

Lu Changfeng arrived in Lu Prefecture, where Li Longji and Xue Chongjian welcomed him and prepared to discuss the Secret Realm. As they entered the city, Snow Robe identified Li Longji’s jade pendant as a priceless Soul-Nurturing Jade that could contain a powerful soul and help Lu Changfeng advance.

• Li Longji and Xue Chongjian waited for Lu Changfeng and recognized the Three Baleful Skeletons among his escorts.
• Lu Changfeng arrived and exchanged courteous greetings with Li Longji and Xue Chongjian, who escorted him toward Lu Prefecture.
• As the carriage passed through the city gate, Lu Changfeng considered Li Longji’s role in the historical Xiantian coup.
• Snow Robe spotted Li Longji’s jade pendant and identified it as Water Cang Jade, also called Soul-Nurturing Jade.
• Snow Robe urged Lu Changfeng to seize the pendant, claiming it could nourish the primordial spirit and help him break through to the fifth realm.

Lu Changfeng attended a welcoming banquet at Li Longji’s residence and learned more about the prince’s formidable attendants. When Wang Maozhong identified Lu Changfeng’s hidden sword, Lu revealed the Wind-Raising Sword, stunning Li Longji and Xue Chongjian.

• Lu Changfeng grew wary of the Soul-Nurturing Jade accompanying Li Longji and decided to proceed cautiously in Lu Prefecture.
• At the banquet, Li Longji introduced his attendants Gao Lishi and Wang Maozhong, whose cultivation impressed Lu Changfeng.
• Lu Changfeng recognized Wang Maozhong’s sword as Purple Lightning, and Wang confirmed that he had obtained it at the Mount Shu Sword Pool.
• Wang Maozhong sensed a powerful sword hidden on Lu Changfeng and asked to see it, so Lu summoned the weapon from his pouch.
• Li Longji and Xue Chongjian reacted with shock when Lu Changfeng revealed Marquis Wu’s Magic Sword, the Wind-Raising Sword.

Lu Changfeng led Li Longji and Xue Chongjian to Hu Pass, where Marquis Wu’s Wind-Raising Sword resonated with a sealed passage in the Secret Realm. When the Suan Yu attacked with mind-bewitching cries, Lu Changfeng used the Lovesick Zither to play the Prince of Qin’s Battle-Formation Music, countering their sound and stirring Li Longji’s admiration.

• Li Longji and Xue Chongjian recognized that the Wind-Raising Sword might open the barrier at Hu Pass, and Lu Changfeng proposed going there immediately.
• Li Longji, Xue Chongjian, Lu Changfeng, Qing Dai, Wang Maozhong, Gao Lishi, and their escort rode to a hidden cave near Hu Pass.
• The Wind-Raising Sword trembled at the cave entrance, and Li Longji warned that Suan Yu cries and formations had stopped earlier expeditions.
• When the Suan Yu’s cries disrupted the group, Lu Changfeng played the Lovesick Zither and drove back their sonic attack with the Prince of Qin’s Battle-Formation Music.
• Li Longji recalled his hopes of restoring the Great Tang and felt admiration for Lu Changfeng, while the Water Cang Jade at his waist faintly warmed.