Chapter Summaries

Ren Ye’s prison convoy was stopped by Princess Jun’an’s procession before Big Fat Dragon arrived with an imperial proclamation appointing Ren Ye and Prince Ren to investigate the Borderland Turmoil case. As they prepared to leave for Zhangzhou, Ren Ye asked Big Fat Dragon which prince could still inherit the throne.

• Ren Ye and the others endured a public send-off as they were escorted from the Capital toward exile in the Nether River Realm.
• Princess Jun’an’s procession passed the convoy, and Ren Ye briefly met her gaze through the carriage curtain.
• Big Fat Dragon arrived and announced that the emperor had entrusted Ren Ye with investigating the Borderland Turmoil case and appointed Prince Ren to assist him.
• Ren Ye complained that Big Fat Dragon had failed to protect him, but agreed to leave for Zhangzhou after hearing that Yin Guang had uncovered Guan Feng and the others’ movements.
• Big Fat Dragon said they would disguise people as Ren Ye to misdirect the convoy, and Ren Ye asked which prince remained a possible heir to the throne.

Ren Ye and Big Fat Dragon arrived in Huang Jushi County to investigate Monk Peng, while Yin Guang went ahead to Anfeng Township to track him. As Ren Ye heard the county’s founding story, he learned that Consort Jing was buried nearby and reacted with surprise.

• Ren Ye’s party and Big Fat Dragon’s guards traveled to Huang Jushi County, where Yin Guang’s scout reported that Monk Peng had gone to Anfeng Township and two of his subordinates were staying nearby.
• Big Fat Dragon agreed to wait for Yin Guang’s Spirit Pigeon message before arresting Monk Peng’s subordinates and moving to Anfeng Township.
• Ren Ye described his brutal revenge plan for Guan Feng, and Big Fat Dragon recoiled at the details.
• A waiter told Ren Ye how Huang Jushi had invented the Little Bright King and frightened Liu Batian into fleeing, allowing starving refugees to seize the hoarded grain.
• The waiter revealed that Consort Jing had been buried on nearby Feng Mountain, and Ren Ye asked in surprise whether she was buried there.

Ren Ye split his forces between pursuing Monk Peng and tracking Monk Peng’s two subordinates, then followed the latter to Feng Mountain. He arrived as the grave robbers opened Consort Jing’s coffin and discovered something shocking inside.

• Ren Ye learned that Consort Jing was buried on Feng Mountain, then agreed to stay behind and watch Monk Peng’s two subordinates while Big Fat Dragon went to Anfeng Township to reinforce Yin Guang.
• Ren Ye persuaded Li Yan to accompany Big Fat Dragon by promising him a chance to inspect the Nether River Treasure Vase and Nine-Curve Azure Cloud Bamboo.
• Ren Ye and his companions secretly left the inn and learned that He Lao Si and A-Da had taken six Supernatural Ability Users to Phoenix-Perching Mountain.
• Ren Ye recognized Feng Mountain as Consort Jing’s burial place and led his group up the mountain to investigate.
• He Lao Si and the other grave robbers opened Consort Jing’s coffin, and He Lao Si was stunned by what he saw inside.

Ren Ye and his companions investigated the tomb robbers searching around Consort Jing Tomb and captured A-Da. Fenglin discovered and broke a concealed formation on Heaven-Reaching Peak, revealing a tunnel that the group prepared to explore.

• He Laosi found Consort Jing’s coffin empty and sent his men to search Phoenix-Perching Mountain for hidden chambers or passages.
• Ren Ye’s group observed the tomb robbers, decided to capture them, and split up to watch for an opportunity.
• Ren Ye and Ai Fei lured A-Da with a vision of Consort Jing, then defeated and captured him.
• A burst of rainbow light alerted Ren Ye and Ai Fei that Fenglin had broken a formation on Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Fenglin revealed a concealed tunnel, and Ren Ye told Ding Jun to gather the others before they went inside.

Ren Ye, Fenglin, and Ai Fei entered a hidden cave on Heaven-Reaching Peak and found evidence that Consort Jing had cultivated there. A mural about “Three Origins Returning to One” led Ren Ye to suspect Consort Jing tried to use Big Fat Dragon as a Dao Body, though he questioned whether the method could work on a man.

• Fenglin used Ai Fei’s Formation Flags and copper coins to get himself, Ren Ye, and Ai Fei through the formation, while the others waited outside.
• Inside the cave, Ren Ye and Ai Fei found women’s belongings and concluded that the retreat had belonged to Consort Jing before she entered the palace.
• Ai Fei discovered two stone carvings: one showed a crowned ruler surrounded by auspicious beasts, and the other depicted a woman becoming three, with the inscription “Three Origins Returning to One grants entry into Divine Prohibition” and the name Wanqing.
• Ren Ye connected the cultivation method to Big Fat Dragon’s unexplained year-long illness and proposed that Consort Jing had tried to refine him into her Dao Body.
• Ren Ye then wondered whether the method could create a male Dao Body and let a woman become self-sufficient.

Ren Ye and Ai Fei examined the murals and discussed whether Big Fat Dragon had been involved in a dangerous Dharma Body technique. After Fenglin pointed out that the first mural depicted destiny, Ren Ye pieced together a theory about Consort Jing’s plans and left the others confronting a disturbing possibility about the Eldest Princess.

• Ai Fei explained the difference between temporary spell bodies and enduring Dharma Bodies, and said a Dharma Body could not cross between male and female.
• Ren Ye and Ai Fei considered whether someone had tried to refine Big Fat Dragon into a Dharma Body, but concluded that his age made the process unlikely and dangerous.
• Fenglin drew attention to the beasts bowing to the emperor in the first mural, prompting Ren Ye to recognize the image as a sign of destiny.
• Ren Ye theorized that Consort Jing entered Emperor Wanwu’s palace to obtain destiny through a secret cultivation method, then turned her attention to the Second Prince when she could not act against the emperor.
• Ren Ye suggested that Emperor Wanwu discovered Consort Jing’s scheme and confined her, and wondered whether her pregnancy with the Eldest Princess had been part of an attempt to steal destiny.

Ren Ye and Ai Fei concluded that Consort Jing may have survived after fleeing the palace and could be plotting to steal the Wuyao Kingdom's destiny. After investigating her tomb and questioning He Lao Si, Ren Ye headed to Anfeng Township, while Monk Peng escaped pursuit and continued north alone.

• Ren Ye, Ai Fei, and Fenglin reasoned that Consort Jing may have tried to turn her unborn daughter into a Dao Body using Big Fat Dragon's destiny, but that Emperor Wanwu saved the children and Consort Jing escaped.
• Ren Ye and his companions recorded the cave abode's clues, looted its belongings, erased its murals, and searched Consort Jing's tomb before setting out for Anfeng Township.
• Ding Jun and Ren Ye questioned He Lao Si, who said Monk Peng had ordered them to search Consort Jing's tomb for burial goods and hidden passages while investigating her past.
• At Anfeng Township, Big Fat Dragon told Ren Ye that Monk Peng had escaped, though they had captured others.
• On the road back to Lingnan, Monk Peng admitted to his companion that He Lao Si and A-Da had gone to Consort Jing's tomb on their private business, then emerged from a forest alone and headed north.

Ren Ye learned that Consort Jing had likely tried to seize Big Fat Dragon’s destiny, then received news that the Qingliang Prefecture plague was over and sent Wu Pangzi to investigate Monk Peng’s network. At a hidden temple, Guan Feng and Han Chan learned from a court letter that the Second Prince had entered the martial world to seize the dragon’s destiny.

• Ren Ye told Big Fat Dragon that Monk Peng’s men had opened Consort Jing’s tomb and searched a hidden chamber, while Big Fat Dragon confirmed rumors that Consort Jing had tried to seize his destiny.
• Ren Ye received Old Liu’s letter reporting the plague’s resolution, and Wu Pangzi offered to search the Three Lands of Lingnan with Old Liu and Er Leng.
• Ren Ye agreed to Wu Pangzi’s plan and gave him jewelry for his wives before Wu Pangzi left Anfeng Township.
• Monk Peng returned to Guan Feng and Han Chan with the materials for a Soul Banner and reported that Yin Guang and likely Prince Ren had pursued him.
• Guan Feng read a secret letter from their court contact and told Han Chan that the Second Prince had entered the martial world to slay the dragon and seize its destiny.

Han Chan told Guan Feng how his martial uncle had revealed the Witch God Altar's secrets and helped inspire their scheme, then showed him the stolen Destiny-Sealing Stone Slab. Later, Ren Ye and Big Fat Dragon received a new lead on Guan Feng's recruitment, while an injured old man left a prison in the Wuyao Kingdom's capital.

• Han Chan and Guan Feng agreed to pursue their plans, with Han Chan arranging the Soul Banner at Sunset Town and Guan Feng preparing to seize the dragons' destiny.
• Han Chan recounted how his martial uncle had guided him toward Qingliang Prefecture and disclosed the Heavenly Dao debt and the Destiny-Sealing Stone Slab's purpose.
• Han Chan revealed that he had stolen the Destiny-Sealing Stone Slab from Immortality Peak, opening part of the underground tomb chamber where the stone embryo evil sui was suppressed.
• Ren Ye learned from Big Fat Dragon that their prisoners knew nothing about Guan Feng, and the two joked about digging up Wu Shuai's grave before deciding against it.
• Yin Guang reported that an informant had been invited to join a major scheme, possibly Guan Feng's recruitment effort, and Big Fat Dragon ordered him to monitor the lead.
• An injured old man with a vacant gaze rode away from a prison in the capital of the Wuyao Kingdom.

Ba Wu left the Capital stripped of office but grateful to Jin Guoting for helping him avoid a worse punishment. Meanwhile, the First Prince secretly ordered troops and supplies mobilized, and Zou Qing confronted Ba Wu at an inn with the severed head of Wangcai.

• Jin Guoting escorted Ba Wu out of the Capital and urged him to keep in touch with his clan, and Ba Wu thanked him for saving his life before riding toward Lingnan Prefecture.
• The First Prince arrived at Tianxiong Pass and issued secret orders to gather fifty thousand troops, prepare provisions for two hundred thousand soldiers, and keep Hezhou’s officers at their posts.
• The First Prince told Zhang Hong that the military preparations might target Qingliang Prefecture because Emperor Wanwu was furious over the theft of the Destiny-Sealing Stone Slab.
• Ba Wu stopped at an inn and began writing to his family about the difficulties caused by his dismissal.
• Zou Qing appeared at Ba Wu’s window and accused him of wanting to kill him, then revealed the severed head of Wangcai, whom Ba Wu had sent to find him.

Zou Qing revealed that Ba Wu had been kept alive as a pawn and used evidence of corruption to force him into a business discussion. Meanwhile, Ren Ye’s party pursued a lead to Sunset Town, while Wu Pangzi returned to Lingnan Prefecture and saw urgent military riders storm through the city.

• Zou Qing showed Ba Wu account books and secret memorials documenting his corruption, and Ba Wu realized Jin Guoting had spared him to use him as a disposable pawn.
• Ren Ye studied the Earth Dragon Six Jia and considered using its troop-training secrets as leverage in dealings with the Southern Border.
• Big Fat Dragon told Ren Ye that Yin Guang had found a lead involving a gathering of Supernatural Ability Users near Sunset Town, and the party set out for Lingnan Prefecture.
• Yin Guang reported that the group had grown to more than forty people and included two peak third-grade experts, while Big Fat Dragon arranged for a Haizhou guard unit to stand by.
• Wu Pangzi returned to Lingnan Prefecture, sent Owl to seek information about Guan Feng’s associates, and watched cavalry injure civilians as they raced through the city with urgent military intelligence.

Wu Pangzi learned that Ba Wu had been dismissed and heard rumors of unrest before government troops sealed Lingnan Prefecture. Outside the city, Old Liu and Er Leng found the roads blocked, while Monk Peng met two children in Sunset Town as Big Fat Dragon led troops there.

• Wu Pangzi met A San, who revealed that Ba Wu had been dismissed and that Ba Wu’s nephew was secretly gathering provisions and weapons.
• A San reported rumors that Ba Wu’s guards had stormed a county yamen, and Wu Pangzi saw government troops impose a curfew and seal Lingnan Prefecture.
• Old Liu and Er Leng found government troops blocking the road outside the city and withdrew to check other routes.
• A widow sent her daughter and son to gather firewood and Cinnabar Flowers near Sunset Town.
• Monk Peng appeared beside the children, gave the girl a Cinnabar Flower, and introduced himself as Monk Peng.
• Big Fat Dragon ordered his troops to ride quietly toward Sunset Town, with Ren Ye, Xu Bangzi, and Li Yan joining the march.

Big Fat Dragon and Ren Ye reached Sunset Town to find its people missing, then discovered tens of thousands of drained corpses in a dried-up lake. Han Chan revealed that he had used Big Fat Dragon’s subjects to refine his Soul Banner and Blood Pill, and prepared to attack as Supernatural Ability Users emerged from the mountains.

• Big Fat Dragon ordered his cavalry to seal off Sunset Town and search it for Guan Feng’s gathered followers.
• The soldiers found Sunset Town abandoned, with meals left unfinished and fires still burning in some houses.
• A Signal Arrow led Big Fat Dragon’s force to a dried-up lake, where they found the people of Sunset Town piled as shriveled corpses.
• Yin Guang fell to his knees and begged forgiveness for arriving too late to save the townspeople.
• Han Chan appeared on a cliff and claimed he had used Big Fat Dragon’s subjects to refine his Soul Banner and Blood Pill.
• Han Chan summoned a force of Supernatural Ability Users, and Big Fat Dragon swore to destroy Great Qian as purple energy erupted from his body.

Big Fat Dragon faced a rebel charge at Sunset Town while Wu Pangzi and his adopted sons escaped Lingnan Prefecture to warn Prince Huai. Wu Pangzi’s group broke through the pursuing soldiers, but Owl was lost in the forest as the survivors rode toward the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion’s Main Headquarters.

• Big Fat Dragon lost control as an old general led Southern Border troops toward Sunset Town and vowed revenge on the imperial clan.
• Wu Pangzi recognized signs of Ba Wu’s rebellion and decided to leave Lingnan Prefecture to warn Prince Huai and the Second Prince.
• Owl incapacitated the grain transport officer and two soldiers, and Crested Dog killed them before Wu Pangzi took their pass and armor.
• L an Asan returned to join Wu Pangzi and his seven adopted sons as they rode out of the city using the stolen pass.
• After soldiers pursued and surrounded them, Wu Pangzi led the group into a bloody fight, and six survivors escaped toward the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion’s Main Headquarters.
• Crested Dog told Wu Pangzi that Owl had flown away in the forest.

Ba Wu’s rebellion sparked a battle at Sunset Town, where Ren Ye and Big Fat Dragon faced Ba Wu’s troops and Han Chan’s experts. At the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion headquarters, the Dragon Head defied the Emperor’s secret decree and mobilized his forces to rescue Ren Ye and Prince Huai.

• Ba Wu rejected Zheng Ningshan and Big Fat Dragon’s accusations, rallied ten thousand soldiers to rebel, and declared his grievances against the Southern Border Court.
• Han Chan called on the Yulin Faction’s fourth-grade experts, while Li Baishou, Madam Chishui, and other fighters joined the forces arrayed against Ren Ye and Big Fat Dragon.
• The Heavenly Rhino Cave Master refused Han Chan’s invitation to join the attack, choosing to stay out of the slaughter and preserve virtue for his son.
• Li Yan charged Madam Chishui, and the Prince Huai Party and Second Prince Faction began fighting above Sunset Town’s lake and burial pit.
• At the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion headquarters, the Dragon Head rejected the Imperial Commissioner’s order to keep his forces inactive and ordered the Eight Transmitters to summon their masters.
• The Dragon Head ordered Yan Bo to mobilize fifty thousand bandit troops across Lingnan and lead them to rescue Ren Ye and Prince Huai.

Ren Ye and Big Fat Dragon’s forces were trapped at Sunset Town while Han Chan and Monk Peng prepared to seize the two princes’ destiny. Emperor Wanwu sent Rat Lord with thirty thousand troops toward the town, while the First Prince stayed put without an imperial order; meanwhile, the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion broke through Lingnan West Pass and rode toward Sunset Town.

• At Sunset Town, Big Fat Dragon and Ren Ye fought Ba Wu’s forces and their allies, while Han Chan left Monk Peng in charge and revealed that the Soul Banner and Blood Pill were complete.
• Big Fat Dragon promised Ren Ye that reinforcements would arrive soon, and Ren Ye agreed to wait three more minutes rather than attempt a breakout.
• Emperor Wanwu learned of Ba Wu’s rebellion and dispatched Rat Lord with thirty thousand soldiers toward Sunset Town, but did not order the First Prince or the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion to move.
• The First Prince declined to send troops from Hezhou Prefecture, reasoning that his father’s lack of an order meant they were not needed.
• Tao Ziliang refused Yan Bo’s demand to open Lingnan West Pass, so the Eight Old Ministers destroyed the fortress gate and killed him.
• The Dragon Head ordered the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion to ride through the pass, kill the commanders, and spare the people and soldiers.

The Thousand-Mile Green Battalion swept through Lingnan while Han Chan brought the Soul Banner and Blood Pill back to Guan Feng, and Xu Ersan volunteered to carry them on a near-certain-death mission. At Sunset Town, Ren Ye and the others faced defeat until Big Fat Dragon asked Little Prince Huai for the Human Emperor Seal.

• The Thousand-Mile Green Battalion occupied Lingnan's western pass, executed the rebel generals, and advanced east while reassuring the locals.
• Han Chan showed Guan Feng the Soul Banner and Blood Pill made from Sunset Town's victims and asked for volunteers to deliver them.
• Xu Ersan volunteered to carry the objects with ten men, criticized Guan Feng's decision to slaughter Sunset Town, and left after a final farewell.
• At Sunset Town, Li Yan and the defenders were overwhelmed, while Ai Fei's divination showed certain death and shattered her copper coins.
• Ren Ye demanded to know if Big Fat Dragon had any remaining cards, and Big Fat Dragon asked Little Prince Huai to lend him the Human Emperor Seal.

Big Fat Dragon sacrificed all his Destiny to awaken the Human Emperor Seal, which rose to Third Grade and invoked the Human Emperor’s authority to lower the Heavenly Dao in Sunset Town by one rank. With Third Grade abilities suppressed and the seal’s power still looming over the battlefield, Ren Ye realized that he could be invincible at Second Rank.

• Ren Ye summoned the Human Emperor Seal, but Big Fat Dragon failed to connect with it and learned only Ren Ye could activate it.
• Big Fat Dragon revealed he would break apart his Destiny to nourish the seal, while Li Yan and the others fought to protect them from the attackers.
• Big Fat Dragon poured his Destiny into the Human Emperor Seal, restoring its power as the seal advanced through the ranks and its Sword Spirit announced it had awakened.
• Huang Shan’s forces overwhelmed Li Yan, but the seal’s burst of purple Rosy Clouds swept across the battlefield and saved him.
• A phantom emerged from the Human Emperor Seal and forced the Heavenly Dao in Sunset Town to lower itself by one rank, cutting off the Third Grade abilities of those present.
• Big Fat Dragon explained that the seal had drawn on Wuyao Kingdom’s national Destiny, and Ren Ye declared that he might be invincible at Second Rank.

Ren Ye used the Human Emperor Seal’s borrowed destiny to fight back after Sunset Town was suppressed to second grade, slaughtering Huang Shan and his allies while capturing Monk Peng and Madam Chishui. As reinforcements arrived, Ba Wu ordered a retreat, and the battle’s outcome remained uncertain.

• A storm over the Capital threatened a lightning punishment, but Emperor Wanwu dispersed the clouds with his purple destiny.
• Ren Ye learned from Big Fat Dragon that the town’s downgrade was temporary and rallied the surviving fighters against their enemies.
• Ren Ye cut through dozens of second-grade Supernatural Ability Users with the Human Emperor Sword, then killed Huang Shan with a punch.
• Two Night Walkers subdued Monk Peng, and Ren Ye severed one of his arms before ordering Li Yan to imprison him in the Primordial Golden Dipper.
• Li Yan captured Madam Chishui, while Ba Wu called for reinforcements; after a cheerful-looking old man and Dragon Head arrived, Ba Wu ordered the troops to retreat.

Ren Ye joined the battle at Sunset Town as the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion turned the tide, then pursued Ba Wu as his rebel army collapsed. Ba Wu was cornered by Haizhou Prefecture’s forces and chose death, but Ren Ye killed him before he could take his own life, leaving the effort to uncover the rebellion’s mastermind unresolved.

• The Dragon Head and Yao Chi led the Thousand-Mile Green Battalion into battle, routing the enemy while Ren Ye sent the wounded away and went after Ba Wu with Ai Fei.
• The Human Emperor Seal returned the Southern Border’s Destiny to Big Fat Dragon, who collapsed unconscious; Yin Guang confirmed that he was still alive and ordered him taken to Haizhou Prefecture.
• Ba Wu fled with his remaining troops, but Lin Rao, Rat Lord, and Haizhou Prefecture’s forces pursued them and trapped them beside a river.
• Ba Wu prepared to kill himself, explaining that his officers’ families had been moved to safety and that defeat would leave them all doomed.
• Ren Ye appeared from the sky and killed Ba Wu with a powerful sword strike, then ordered his local retinue-soul into Qingliang Prefecture.