Chapter Summaries

Princess Changling led the fleeing Jiang Kingdom survivors toward Black Cloud Ridge, where she believed her father had arranged hidden support, despite Granny Ji's objections. Tongzhu Kingdom's pursuers drove them into the swamp, and their commanders questioned whether the ridge's demons were the Jiang family's hidden hand.

• Granny Ji urged Princess Changling to flee toward the Gaza Kingdom, but the Princess insisted that she had chosen Black Cloud Ridge herself.
• Princess Changling revealed that her father had made arrangements inside Black Cloud Ridge and sent a jade crane into its clouds to seek them.
• When no help appeared, the Princess warned that the plan might have failed, while the Tongzhu Kingdom pursuers spread out to block the fugitives' escape routes.
• The Jiang Kingdom survivors entered the swamp, where a soldier's horse sank into the mire and the old cultivator followed the Princess into danger.
• General Xu Kun asked Master Pan why they had waited to attack, and Master Pan explained that the pursuers were abandoning their original plan and asked whether Black Cloud Ridge's demons were the Jiang family's hidden hand.

Princess Changling chose to face Tongzhu Kingdom’s pursuing army with the loyal Jiang soldiers and palace women after freeing the Daoist soldiers from their duty. As Martial Uncle Qin’s group fled Black Cloud Ridge, Tongzhu Kingdom deployed Flying Luan Soldiers armed with Immortal Slaying Crossbows against them.

• Master Pan revealed that Jiang Kingdom had ordered him to kill Princess Changling if she entered Black Cloud Ridge, while General Xu Kun commanded his troops to attack without mercy.
• Princess Changling said her father’s summons had gone unanswered and urged her soldiers to surrender, but Commanders Qian Li and Kang Li swore to remain loyal and fight beside her.
• After Qin Ping argued that the Daoist soldiers should leave, Princess Changling severed the Imperial Preceptor’s line’s ties to the Jiang family and allowed Martial Uncle Qin to lead the disciples away.
• Princess Changling’s soldiers and palace women formed ranks to face Tongzhu Kingdom’s forces as Martial Uncle Qin’s group hurried toward a gap in the encirclement.
• Flying Luan Soldiers appeared on colorful luans carrying Immortal Slaying Crossbows, and Martial Uncle Qin’s fleeing disciples panicked and raced to escape.

Qin Ping and most of the Daoist soldiers were killed by Tongzhu Kingdom’s Immortal Slaying Crossbows, leaving Princess Changling and her companions trapped. The Black Bear Spirit arrived with his demons but hesitated to fight until Yuan Ya recognized Butterfly Dance and charged to save her.

• Qin Ping and most of the Daoist soldiers died under the Immortal Slaying Crossbows, while Martial Uncle Qin and four others survived and fled back toward Princess Changling.
• Princess Changling and the Jiang Kingdom soldiers prepared to face Tongzhu Kingdom’s advancing forces, but the Black Bear Spirit and hundreds of demons suddenly appeared.
• The Black Bear Spirit hesitated after Pan Jian identified himself and explained that Tongzhu Kingdom was pursuing Jiang Kingdom’s remnants.
• Yuan Ya recognized Princess Changling as Butterfly Dance and urged the Black Bear Spirit to attack the Tongzhu Kingdom soldiers.
• The Black Bear Spirit’s companion hurled Yuan Ya toward the enemy, and the Black Bear Spirit threw him two demon hammers as he charged the front line.

Yuan Ya and the Black Bear Spirit led an assault against Tongzhu Kingdom’s forces, while Princess Changling’s party joined the fight. The battle left Yuan Ya and General Xu Kun battered as the demons and soldiers clashed.

• Master Pan and General Xu Kun tried to make the Black Bear Spirit withdraw, but Yuan Ya charged the heavily armored soldiers and killed two with his twin hammers.
• The Black Bear Spirit believed Yuan Ya’s claim and ordered the Black Wind Ridge demons to attack; Master Pan sent the Flying Eagle Soldiers to fire armor-piercing arrows at them.
• Yuan Ya smashed through the heavily armored formation, and General Xu Kun charged him; Princess Changling recognized Yuan Ya and ordered her soldiers to join the battle.
• Yuan Ya and General Xu Kun exchanged a powerful blow that left Xu Kun’s arms numb, while Yuan Ya landed among the soldiers and kept fighting.
• The Black Wind Ridge demons rushed the Flying Eagle Soldiers before they could reload and began tearing into them.

Xiao Hua rescued Princess Changling and her pursuers from the demons, then confronted Jiang Tianheng, who revealed that Tongzhu Kingdom had used the princess as bait to lure him out. The two prepared to face off as Jiang Tianheng’s Vast Righteous Qi broke through Xiao Hua’s defenses.

• An Immortal Slaying Crossbow bolt killed a bear demon, causing the Black Bear Spirit to flee and the other demons to panic.
• Xiao Hua appeared, used his pressure to subdue the Flying Eagle Soldiers and Master Pan’s group, and accepted the Black Bear Spirit’s surrender.
• Xiao Hua sensed a hidden observer and summoned Little Yellow and Xiaohei to draw the Confucian cultivator out of hiding.
• Jiang Tianheng appeared, recognized Xiao Hua, and used Vast Righteous Qi to break Xiao Hua’s protective True Qi and tear his robe.
• Martial Uncle Qin identified Jiang Tianheng as one of the literary masters responsible for his grandmaster’s death, and Xiao Hua learned that Jiang Tianheng was Jiang Wenhao’s granduncle.
• Jiang Tianheng revealed that Tongzhu Kingdom had used Princess Changling as bait, hoping to lure out survivors and unexpectedly attracting Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua killed Jiang Tianheng and helped Black Wind Ridge’s forces defeat the Tongzhu Kingdom and Jiang Kingdom armies. He ordered the battlefield cleared and Princess Changling brought to his cave abode, while Yuan Ya and Princess Changling were left together.

• Jiang Tianheng tried to flee, but Xiao Hua overwhelmed him with lightning and the As-You-Wish Staff while Little Yellow’s poison finished him off.
• Xiao Hua collected Jiang Tianheng’s Small Qiankun Bag, and the surviving onlookers feared and revered him as the armies and demons completed their victory.
• At Xiao Jian’s urging, Xiao Hua ordered him to kill Master Pan and General Xu Kun rather than leave them to be eaten by demons.
• The Black Bear Spirit asked Xiao Hua to teach him cultivation techniques, but Xiao Hua told him to render merit first.
• Xiao Hua rode the leopard back toward Black Wind Ridge and ordered the Black Bear Spirit to clear the battlefield and bring Princess Changling and the others to his cave abode.
• After Xiao Jian followed Xiao Hua, Princess Changling asked Yuan Ya whether their master’s name was Xiao Hua.

Princess Changling and her surviving followers traveled to Xiao Hua’s cave abode on Black Wind Ridge after the Black Bear Spirit led them there. She believed Xiao Hua might be her father’s ally, while a feathered creature secretly flew away from the battlefield.

• Princess Changling chose to visit Xiao Hua despite Granny Ji’s warning that Tongzhu Kingdom might retaliate, and the Black Bear Spirit led the survivors toward Black Wind Ridge.
• A feathered creature emerged from the clouds after the group departed and flew in a different direction.
• During the journey, the Black Bear Spirit leered at Princess Changling, while Yuan Ya watched her with a protective, intense gaze.
• At Xiao Hua’s cave abode, the Black Bear Spirit ordered the lesser demons to bury the human corpses and bring the remaining belongings to Xiao Hua.
• The Black Bear Spirit mocked Granny Ji, then Xiao Hua’s young attendant appeared and ordered the demons to deliver everything except the horses and birds to the cave.

Xiao Hua revealed that Jiang Kingdom’s message had been intercepted and that Princess Changling’s escape to Black Cloud Ridge was part of a larger scheme. He explained that he saved her because of Yuan Ya, then had Yuan Ya present a xun to the Princess, leaving her to recognize it.

• Liu Yi ushered Princess Changling and her party into Xiao Hua’s cave abode, while Martial Uncle Qin and his disciples followed despite not being invited.
• Xiao Hua told Princess Changling that her message to Black Cloud Ridge had never reached its intended recipient and exposed the hidden forces using the ridge as a smokescreen.
• Princess Changling bowed to thank Xiao Hua, and he said he would even help her restore her kingdom because she was connected to Yuan Ya.
• Xiao Hua asked everyone except Granny Ji to leave, then told Yuan Ya to speak with Princess Changling.
• Yuan Ya presented a xun to Princess Changling and asked whether she recognized it.

Yuan Ya tried to prove that Princess Changling was the girl he had raised as Butterfly Dance, but she refused to acknowledge the connection despite a hidden scar matching his memory. After questioning his reasons for searching, Princess Changling heard Yuan Ya renounce his pursuit.

• Yuan Ya played the xun melody, and Princess Changling said it felt familiar even though she did not recognize it.
• Yuan Ya recounted how he and Butterfly Dance survived together in Xuan Yao Dark Forest, but Granny Ji denied that Princess Changling had ever left the Royal Palace.
• Yuan Ya identified a wolf-poison scar beneath Princess Changling's left armpit, and her reaction revealed that the scar existed.
• Princess Changling denied being Butterfly Dance and argued that no one could prove Yuan Ya's story; Xiao Jian challenged the reliability of royal records.
• Princess Changling asked what Yuan Ya would do if he found Butterfly Dance, and Yuan Ya concluded his search was selfish and vowed to stop pursuing her.

Princess Changling asked Xiao Hua to help avenge the Jiang Kingdom and possibly restore it, while Yuan Ya pledged himself to her cause, believing she might be Butterfly Dance. Xiao Hua agreed to consider helping, and the chapter ended with Xiao Jian explaining that Changling had to weigh who could be useful to her.

• Yuan Ya told Princess Changling that he would help her restore the Jiang Kingdom, and she asked Xiao Hua to support her.
• Princess Changling, Granny Ji, and Yuan Ya knelt and begged Xiao Hua to help avenge the Jiang family; Xiao Hua agreed to consider revenge but would not promise to restore the kingdom.
• Princess Changling asked to treat Yuan Ya as a sibling, and he accepted, promising to rack his brains to help restore her kingdom.
• Xiao Hua asked Xiao Jian to consider what they should do, then told Changling to tend to her arrow wound while he formed a plan.
• After Changling left, Liu Yi argued that she was Butterfly Dance, while Yuan Ya defended her hesitation as a response to her loss.
• Xiao Jian said Changling had to consider who could help her and how useful they would be, noting that Xiao Hua had the greatest power but seemed disinclined to help her establish a kingdom.

Xiao Jian explained why helping Princess Changling restore Jiang Kingdom would advance Xiao Hua’s plans, and Yuanya pleaded for Xiao Hua’s help. Xiao Hua rewarded the Black Bear Spirit with Huangxing Pills and learned from Qin Xiaoyao how Jiang Kingdom’s National Teacher, Qin Haoyue, had founded the kingdom alongside its first monarch.

• Xiao Jian gave four reasons to help Princess Changling restore Jiang Kingdom, including recruiting Daoist cultivators, gaining the kingdom’s resources, supporting Xiao Hua’s cultivation, and helping Yuanya.
• Yuanya begged Xiao Hua to help Butterfly Dance avenge her grievances, and Xiao Hua gave him the leopard to aid his travels.
• Xiao Hua asked the Black Bear Spirit about suitable pills, then obtained the Huangxing Pill formula from Martial Uncle Qin and rewarded the Black Bear Spirit with fourth-grade pills.
• Qin Xiaoyao introduced himself and described how Qin Haoyue had helped a scholar establish Jiang Kingdom before becoming its National Teacher.

Xiao Hua learned how Jiang Kingdom’s Daoist Sect operated and why Qin Haoyue’s position as State Teacher had been constrained by the nation’s affairs and Tongzhu Kingdom’s hostility. Qin Xiaoyao urged him to restore Jiang Kingdom, but Xiao Hua refused, unwilling to take on governing or delay his cultivation and his effort to awaken Jiang Liuer.

• Qin Xiaoyao recounted Jiang Kingdom’s history, including Tongzhu Kingdom’s invasion, Qin Haoyue’s death, and the royal family’s destruction except for Princess Changling.
• Qin Xiaoyao explained that Jiang Kingdom’s State Teacher led its Daoist Sect, whose forces consisted mostly of Daoist soldiers and were limited by the nation’s resources and the ruler’s authority.
• Xiao Hua concluded that the State Teacher’s responsibilities and Tongzhu Kingdom’s attacks had restricted the Daoist Sect’s growth and contributed to Qin Haoyue’s inability to break through his bottleneck.
• Qin Xiaoyao knelt and begged Xiao Hua to gather Jiang Kingdom’s surviving Daoist forces, restore the nation, and protect its people from Tongzhu Kingdom.
• Xiao Hua refused to become State Teacher, citing the danger and burden of rebuilding Jiang Kingdom and his need to focus on cultivation and awaken Jiang Liuer.

Xiao Hua considered becoming Jiang Kingdom’s National Teacher, then agreed to help Princess Changling restore the kingdom as the first step in establishing a Daoist sect. He left Princess Changling, Xiao Jian, and Qin Xiaoyao to plan their next moves together.

• Qin Xiaoyao explained that Xiao Hua could serve as Jiang Kingdom’s National Teacher while Xiao Jian handled administrative affairs, but warned that the missing Second National Teacher and an unknown trial could complicate the appointment.
• Xiao Hua dismissed Qin Xiaoyao and Xiao Jian to consider the proposal, then gave Xiao Jian spirit pills and instructed him to cultivate and make plans.
• Three days later, Xiao Hua gathered everyone, heard that Princess Changling’s injuries had improved, and announced that he would help her restore Jiang Kingdom.
• Princess Changling forgave Qin Xiaoyao for abandoning her during their escape, and Xiao Hua arranged for her, Qin Xiaoyao, and Xiao Jian to coordinate the restoration effort.
• Princess Changling proposed that Yuan Ya serve as Jiang Kingdom’s vanguard general, and Xiao Jian agreed that his disciple was suited to lead attacks and seize territory.

Xiao Hua left Black Wind Ridge after giving its leaders an array to hide from Tongzhu Kingdom’s pursuers, then traveled with the Heavenly Horse to meet the Light Beast. Riding through the heavenly fire, wind, and thunder, he felt his grief begin to ease and sensed a change in his cultivation as he approached the meeting place.

• Xiao Hua gave Xiao Jian a jade pupil explaining how to use the mountain array, which could conceal hundreds of lesser demons from Tongzhu Kingdom’s investigators.
• Xiao Hua departed on the Heavenly Horse and told the group he would return to lead them in sweeping through Tongzhu Kingdom; Xiao Jian and the others began planning the restoration of Jiang Kingdom.
• Xiao Jian told Yuan Ya and the others that Xiao Hua had not recovered his cultivation and might become powerful enough to defeat Tongzhu Kingdom once he removed his restraints.
• Xiao Hua released Xiaohei to guide the Heavenly Horse toward the place Nine Suns had visited, and the horse led him into the heavenly fire, wind, and thunder.
• The Heavenly Horse shielded Xiao Hua as it flew through the perilous skies, and its freedom helped ease his grief over Xue Xue and Wu Nai while stirring his Nascent Soul bottleneck.

Xiao Hua crossed the heavenly fire, wind, and thunder to prove himself worthy of entering the Light Clan’s trial ground. The Light Beasts opened a passage into the void, and Xiao Hua prepared to enter with the Light Cub.

• Xiao Hua used fire to shield himself and endured the heavenly fire, wind, and thunder until he reached the Light Beast.
• The Light Beast confirmed Xiao Hua could enter the trial ground but warned that its dangers exceeded the storm and that it could not protect him or the Light Cub.
• The Light Cub carried Xiao Hua as the Light Beasts flew higher through the storm toward the trial ground.
• The Light Beasts used their vital blood and radiant power to break open a passage through the darkness, revealing an entrance into the void.

Xiao Hua entered the Light Trial Ground, a dangerous void labyrinth where he had three days to find a way to refine the earth essence in his body. Elsewhere in the labyrinth, a Golden-Armored man entered through a spatial crack seeking a Void Piercing Beast, but his treasure mirror revealed a maze of shifting passages.

• The Light Beast warned Xiao Hua that he had three days to return from the trial ground and taught him a Light Clan secret art to help him handle the earth essence in his body.
• After the Light Beast and its companions vanished, Xiao Hua weighed the risks, then entered the black hole and found that his flames went out in the void.
• A Golden-Armored man tore open a crack in the void and entered the labyrinth, hoping to find a Void Piercing Beast and cultivate the Heavenly Eye.
• The man used a treasure mirror and an Ink Cloud Pupil to investigate the area, but the mirror showed numerous unstable passages instead of a clear route to his target.

Xiao Hua discovered that he could instinctively sense direction in the void and used that ability to return to the Light Beast’s void gate. As he continued onward, a torrent of strange, molten crimson fire attacked him, leaving him badly burned as he tried to escape.

• Xiao Hua opened the Eye of Delusion Breaking but saw only gray-white emptiness, then marked his position and flew through the void.
• Xiao Hua sensed the direction of his divine-sense mark and found the void gate, realizing he could navigate the void by instinct.
• Xiao Hua wondered whether his missing Phoenix Dharma Body had given him this ability, but he could not find it.
• Xiao Hua flew onward and sensed danger just before a vortex released a torrent of liquid crimson flames.
• Xiao Hua threw fire talismans to drive himself away from the torrent, discovered his back was badly charred, and veered left with Misty Steps to escape.

Xiao Hua struggled to escape a torrent of scorching water in the void, but discovered that the passage was part of a spatial labyrinth and that the flood was steadily overpowering his defenses. With a dim green glow ahead, he deployed his fire blanket as his lightning barriers failed.

• Xiao Hua used spiritual energy formed from the Earth Crystal Yao Ru to resist the strange water, but his clogged meridians kept most of it from entering his dantian.
• Xiao Hua’s Innate True Water burst into bubbles under the torrent, so he used lightning nets and a Flight Talisman to rush toward the edge of the water’s range.
• Xiao Hua struck an invisible boundary and realized he was trapped in a void labyrinth, with the torrent racing through the passage behind him.
• Xiao Hua opened the Eye of Delusion Breaking, saw the twisting passage and distant spatial veins, and watched his lightning barriers grow weaker with each attempt.
• Xiao Hua spotted a faint green glow ahead and, as his lightning failed to stop the flood, expanded his fire blanket to block the passage behind him.

Xiao Hua escaped the fire-colored torrent in the Void Passage by forcing his way through a collapse, only to discover he remained in the void’s labyrinth. Afterward, he contained a dangerous droplet from the torrent in his space using Thunder Water.

• Xiao Hua used his damaged fire blanket and fire bottle to slow the torrent, then threw broken magical artifacts at a water curtain blocking the collapse and escaped through the opening they made.
• The collapse bound Xiao Hua with gray threads and transported him into another passage of the void, where he recovered and realized he was still in the void’s labyrinth.
• Xiao Hua noticed black flames spreading through his space and found that a droplet of the torrent had bored more than three hundred feet into the ground.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua trapped the droplet in a box formed from Thunder Water and returned the scorched ground to its former state.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua objected to storing the dangerous droplet in their space, but Jade Slip Xiao Hua defended keeping it as a possible benefit.

Xiao Hua treated his injuries after escaping the water-like torrent, then continued searching the void for a storm that might transform his remaining Earth Crystal Yao Ru. When mysterious explosions began destroying his body from within, he summoned Jade Slip Xiao Hua for help, but the danger remained unresolved.

• Xiao Hua used the medicinal pills from green-robed Xiao Hua to treat his wounds and discovered that much of his flesh had rotted beneath the surface.
• Xiao Hua flew through the quiet void for two hours, searching for a passage with a void storm before his three-day limit ran out.
• Small pieces of Xiao Hua's flesh began exploding, and the damage spread until his body and Primordial Spirits were in danger.
• Xiao Hua tried to shield himself with Innate True Water, but the explosions grew more violent, so he withdrew it.
• Xiao Hua stopped flying and called Jade Slip Xiao Hua into his body, where the demon phoenix Xiao Hua appeared badly damaged and its five-colored spots were beginning to dissolve.