Chapter Summaries

Fang Yang woke from a strange experience in the Illusory Moon Grand Array with a stronger Divine Soul and realized his cultivation art might help save Ye Qinghong. Meanwhile, the gravely wounded Lian Yue prepared a candlelit encounter with her master, while a dream revealed her lonely past and the arrival of a new disciple.

• Fang Yang awoke with a splitting headache, noticed his realm and Divine Soul had improved, and practiced the Spirit-Nurturing Art after failing to understand what had happened.
• Fang Yang recalled that Ye Qinghong had been unconscious for a day with a grievous Divine Soul injury and hoped his stronger cultivation art could help her recover.
• Lian Yue, badly wounded after Fang Yang stripped away her Root Bone and Red Dust Art, struggled to reach the dim hall and collapsed beneath the withered peach tree.
• Lian Yue lit red candles and approached Fang Yang, whose presence stirred her sealed heart despite her exhaustion and suffering.
• In a dream, Lian Yue remembered her lonely life at the Blood Rain Cult and how Fang Yang brought home a frightened orphan with peach-blossom eyes, whom Ye Qinghong promised to protect.

Ye Qinghong recalled his past with Lian Yue and woke from a dream after his master used the Spirit-Nurturing Art on him. He realized someone had been with his master and hurried to Lian Yue’s residence, leaving his suspicions unresolved.

• Ye Qinghong remembered how Lian Yue had supported him and protected him throughout their years as senior sister and junior sister.
• As Ye Qinghong lay in a dream, his master used the Spirit-Nurturing Art to heal him and promised him a candlelit bridal night once he untangled his feelings.
• Ye Qinghong woke and recalled his master's recent visit, then wondered who had been with his master afterward.
• Ye Qinghong sensed a faint fragrance, suspected Lian Yue, and vanished from the Listening Sword Courtyard.
• Ye Qinghong arrived outside Lian Yue's luxurious residence and saw the withered peach tree in its courtyard.

Ye Qinghong remembered that the faint fragrance on Fang Yang came from Fourth Junior Sister Lian Yue’s Red Dust Art and hurried to her residence, fearing her Divine Soul had been injured again. He entered her courtyard and found Lian Yue waiting beneath the peach tree, apparently calm and smiling as she brewed tea.

• Ye Qinghong recalled that Lian Yue had once emitted the same fragrance while practicing the Red Dust Art.
• Worried that Lian Yue’s Red Dust Art had gone out of control, Ye Qinghong rushed through the night to her residence.
• Ye Qinghong bypassed the Formation protecting Lian Yue’s residence and opened her door.
• Ye Qinghong saw Lian Yue beneath the withered peach tree, dressed in moon-white and brewing tea with a faint smile.

Ye Qinghong confronted Lian Yue over a familiar fragrance that suggested she was injured, but found nothing wrong when he examined her. He left her a bead formed from his own divine soul and spiritual qi to protect her, and Lian Yue collapsed, vomiting blood after he departed.

• Ye Qinghong visited Lian Yue late at night and questioned her about the fragrance he had smelled on their Master.
• Lian Yue denied being injured and explained that a mishap with the Red Dust Gu had released a trace of its origin aura.
• Ye Qinghong restrained Lian Yue with his sword and examined her meridians and organs, but found no unusual injuries.
• After drinking tea with Lian Yue, Ye Qinghong formed a precious bead from his divine soul and spiritual qi, sacrificing his Dharma Form to give it to her.
• Ye Qinghong left, insisting that he would never allow anyone to hurt Lian Yue, and Lian Yue wept before collapsing and spitting blood.

Lian Yue prepared for her death, arranged for her allies to protect Fang Yang, and left after visiting the Demon Venerable Pavilion one last time. Fang Yang watched her depart and realized she was the disciple behind his lost memories and inexplicable increases in strength, but he could not understand or heal her severed fate.

• Lian Yue, gravely injured and beyond saving, thanked her Red Dust Gu and declined the sacred healing bead because it could not heal her.
• Lian Yue wrote letters to her subordinates, sent them away with a seven-colored bird, and planned to visit her second senior sister in Kyoto to dissuade her from revenge.
• Lian Yue went to the Demon Venerable Pavilion, admitted to herself that she might love Fang Yang, and said she would no longer compete with Ye Qinghong for him.
• Fang Yang revealed that he had secretly followed Lian Yue and heard her conversations, having suspected her after noticing her worsening injuries and changes linked to his lost memories and increased strength.
• Fang Yang concluded that Lian Yue's injuries and severed fate were beyond his ability to understand or resolve.

Fang Yang secretly tracked Lian Yue as he headed for the Capital City, where Mo Ke believed she had found a way to save her. Meanwhile, the Female Emperor executed a corrupt minister and Korean envoys, then learned the Empress Dowager had gone to find the Blood Rain Demon Venerable.

• Fang Yang planted a wisp of the Profound Heaven Strategy's aura on Lian Yue and set off for the Capital City, intending to meet his second disciple and watch Lian Yue's reaction when they reunited.
• At the Star-Seizing Temple, Mo Ke studied an endgame and said she might have found a way to save her Fourth Junior Sister.
• The Female Emperor condemned the minister of the Court of State Ceremonial for accepting Korean silver, sharing military information, and allowing a Tang citizen to be whipped to death.
• The Female Emperor had the Korean envoys' severed heads brought before the minister, ordered the Tang army to advance toward Korea, and beheaded the minister herself.
• After reviewing reports of forbidden grounds and other disasters, the Female Emperor reconsidered Mo Ke's suggestion that she accompany Fang Yang on an excursion.
• A maid told the Female Emperor that the Empress Dowager had gone to find the Blood Rain Demon Venerable.

The Female Emperor learned that the Empress Dowager wanted to meet Blood Rain Demon Venerable and agreed to see him herself, claiming it was for the people of the Tang Kingdom. Meanwhile, Zheng Heng asked the Yanqi Sect’s sect master about his betrothed, Guan Qinghan, who had secretly taken control of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

• The Female Emperor erupted in anger when a maid reported that the Empress Dowager intended to seek out Blood Rain Demon Venerable.
• The maid explained that the Empress Dowager had been stirred by tales and portraits of the Demon Venerable, and the Female Emperor ordered a portrait brought to her.
• After studying the portrait, the Female Emperor agreed to meet Blood Rain Demon Venerable and sent word to the imperial preceptor that she was acting for the people under heaven.
• The Empress Dowager rejected the Female Emperor’s decree and declared that she wanted Blood Rain Demon Venerable as a man, regardless of anyone’s objections.
• At Yanqi Sect, Zheng Heng asked the sect master whether Guan Qinghan had returned, saying their betrothal agreement required them to marry that year.
• The sect master reflected that Guan Qinghan had entered the Heavenly Demon Sect as its Saintess and had taken control of the sect.

The Yanqi Sect's sect master sent Zheng Heng to Kyoto to test Fang Yang and potentially rescue Guan Qinghan, while secretly weighing an alliance with the Blood Rain Cult. At the Demon Venerable Pavilion, Guan Qinghan offered to serve Fang Yang, but her behavior left him puzzled.

• The Yanqi Sect's sect master told Zheng Heng that Guan Qinghan had been captured and urged him to rescue her in Kyoto.
• Zheng Heng vowed to save Guan Qinghan and kill the Blood Rain Demon Venerable, then departed in his Flying Carriage.
• The sect master revealed that he had sent Zheng Heng to test Fang Yang and would ally with the Blood Rain Cult if Fang Yang proved powerful or Guan Qinghan had fallen for him.
• Guan Qinghan went to the Demon Venerable Pavilion and offered to attend Fang Yang in bed after awakening from suppression by a cold woman.
• After Guan Qinghan left, Fang Yang wondered why she differed from the Heavenly Demon Sect Saintess described in the fiend's diary.

Fang Yang prepared to leave the Blood Rain Cult for the Capital City to find his second disciple, while rumors about his supposed conquests spread among the cult’s followers. He ordered his subordinates to guard the cult, then departed with his reputation further misunderstood.

• Ye Qinghong attacked Guan Qinghan outside the Demon Venerable Pavilion, and the two clashed before she taunted him about her relationship with Fang Yang and flew away.
• Fang Yang sensed the fight, came outside, recognized Ye Qinghong and Guan Qinghan, and returned to the pavilion without intervening.
• Blood Rain Cult disciples spread exaggerated rumors about Fang Yang’s conquests as they gathered beside the Black Jade Flying Carriage.
• Fang Yang summoned the cult’s protectors and Hall Masters and announced that he was leaving for Kyoto to reach Star-Seizing Temple before Lian Yue.
• The protectors and Hall Masters offered flattery and promised to find women for Fang Yang, but he ordered them to guard the Blood Rain Cult while he was away.

Fang Yang’s Spirit-Nurturing Art sent his divine soul into the White Snow Lion Cat, leaving his body vacant inside the Black Jade Flying Carriage. Unable to return, he accepted the strange experience for now and struggled to resist the cat’s urge to play with the White Bone Bells.

• The Black Jade Flying Carriage left the Blood Rain Cult for the Capital City while Fang Yang cultivated inside it.
• Fang Yang’s divine soul entered the White Snow Lion Cat, while his own body became vacant.
• Fang Yang tried to understand the possession and practiced the Spirit-Nurturing Art in the cat’s body, but could not return to his own body.
• Fang Yang explored the carriage as a cat and found that he wanted to bat the White Bone Bells.
• Fang Yang resisted the urge to play with the bells, fearing that doing so would ruin his reputation.

Fang Yang stayed trapped in the White Snow Lion Cat’s body, rang the bell obsessively during the journey, and ordered Ye Qinghong and Guan Qinghan to patrol after they nearly interrupted him. At the lakeside, Ling'er carried him away and began undressing, leaving him bewildered about what she intended to do.

• Fang Yang leaped up and rang the bell repeatedly while Ye Qinghong and Guan Qinghan guarded the black jade Flying Carriage, and the Princess Consort of the Southern Pacifying King grew jealous of the cat.
• As dusk fell, Fang Yang landed the Flying Carriage in a mountain range because his injured fourth disciple could not travel quickly and he disliked traveling at night.
• Guan Qinghan offered to attend to Fang Yang, but Ye Qinghong's drawn sword silenced her before Fang Yang ordered both disciples to patrol the area.
• Fang Yang left the Flying Carriage in the White Snow Lion Cat's body, but Ling'er picked him up and carried him to the lake.
• Ling'er shyly crouched before Fang Yang beneath the moonlight and began removing her clothes.

Fang Yang, trapped as the White Snow Lion Cat, listened as Ling'er confessed her worries about becoming the Demon Venerable’s bedchamber maid, then encountered Ye Qinghong practicing swordsmanship. Ye Qinghong declared that no one could outcompete him for his master’s affection and left Fang Yang watching his sword display on the lake.

• Ling'er asked the White Snow Lion Cat for advice about serving the Demon Venerable, then shared her everyday worries and sewed clothes for the Princess Consort.
• Fang Yang realized his Divine Soul was exhausted and that he might soon return to his original body.
• Ye Qinghong found Fang Yang by the lake and said he knew the cat liked his master, but no one could outcompete him.
• Ye Qinghong carried Fang Yang onto the lake, dressed him in green cloth, and demonstrated his swordsmanship with the Azure Shadow Sword.

Ye Qinghong confessed his love and fears to Fang Yang while mistaking his cat form for an unknown companion, then revealed he had recognized his master all along. As the Black Jade Flying Carriage traveled toward Capital City, Fang Yang confronted Ye Qinghong for hiding his troubles and let him model the dresses he had bought.

• Ye Qinghong stood with the White Snow Lion Cat on a moonlit peak and described how meeting Fang Yang had changed his life and given him reasons to live.
• Ye Qinghong admitted he loved Fang Yang, feared being separated from him, and had wanted to wear beautiful clothes for him.
• After Fang Yang's Spirit-Nurturing Art ended, Ye Qinghong revealed he had recognized the cat as his master and worried that Lian Yue might die if she won.
• The next morning, Fang Yang confronted Ye Qinghong aboard the Black Jade Flying Carriage for hiding things from him and promised to protect him.
• Fang Yang asked Ye Qinghong to show him the dresses he had bought, and Ye Qinghong changed into several blue-green outfits.

Fang Yang and his disciples stopped at a mist-shrouded village where Ye Qinghong sensed the presence of his missing Fifth Junior Sister. Shadow Spear Hall’s followers revealed that their hall master had vanished, and Fang Yang crushed their leader with his aura.

• Fang Yang teased Ye Qinghong by styling his hair in twin ponytails, then continued teaching him the Red Dust Sword Technique before promising to cure his Fourth Junior Sister’s illness.
• The Flying Carriage stopped overnight at a village in Blood Rain Cult territory, where Ye Qinghong sensed his Fifth Junior Sister’s presence.
• Fang Yang led the group into the ominous, mist-covered village despite Ye Qinghong’s concern that it might be dangerous.
• Members of Shadow Spear Hall knelt before Fang Yang and said their hall master had arrived two months earlier and then disappeared.
• Fang Yang crushed the middle-aged Shadow Spear Hall follower with a terrifying aura after hearing that the hall master was missing.

Fang Yang entered a mistbound mountain village where Blood Rain Cult members had been trapped after their Hall Master vanished, and investigated its eerie White Bone Temple. As the group began a blood-tainted offering, Fang Yang remained focused on finding his Fifth Disciple.

• A Blood Rain Cult follower told Fang Yang that the village trapped everyone inside, made people vanish every seven days, and corrupted their Sound Transmission Jade.
• Fang Yang blew back the mist with astral wind, then chose to enter the village despite the watching presence and supernatural signs.
• Fang Yang and the group reached the village and found blood-stained spirit money that formed eerie eyes, along with a temple built from human bones.
• The Blood Rain Cult followers said the White Bone Temple protected them from nightly hauntings, so Fang Yang led the group inside to investigate.
• The group relaxed under the temple's incense and examined its unfamiliar bone statue while Fang Yang watched for clues about his Fifth Disciple.
• The middle-aged man and other followers cut their fingers and dripped blood onto burning sandalwood incense, prompting Fang Yang to ask whether it was part of a sacrificial ritual.

Fang Yang and Ye Qinghong’s group entered a mountain village plagued by eerie deaths, where the Blood Rain Cult disciples relied on offerings to the Blood God for protection. A bloodstained note from Fang Yang’s fifth disciple asked him to save her, and he pressed on as night approached.

• A villager explained that blood offerings to the Blood God supposedly protected people, and Fang Yang had the Blood Rain Cult disciples provide blood for Ye Qinghong and the others’ offerings.
• Fang Yang’s group entered the deserted village, where the middle-aged man recounted gruesome deaths and villagers shut themselves inside their homes.
• The group saw villagers climbing into coffins, which the middle-aged man said they did after the Blood God instructed them to sleep there in dreams.
• A chill wind delivered Fang Yang a bloodstained note from his fifth disciple that read, “Master, save me!”
• Fang Yang hid the note, said the eerie horrors would descend after dark, and continued into Little Black Village.

Xiaodie struggled to survive in Little Black Village, where inexplicable deaths and sinister forces had plagued the people for three months. After trading incense for blood, she resisted the voice pretending to be her brother—only to reveal that her real brother had been dead for days.

• Xiaodie cut the neighbor's fingers when the old woman reached through the gate, then traded three sticks of incense for half a bowl of blood.
• The old woman threatened to use her dead husband's blood to summon the Blood God against Xiaodie's brother and promised to kill Xiaodie.
• Xiaodie returned to her room and lit incense as a gentle voice claiming to be her brother urged her to bring food and open the door.
• The voice turned violent, demanded to eat Xiaodie, and battered the door while she huddled in a corner with an axe.
• Xiaodie looked beside her and saw her brother's corpse, which had been lying there for four or five days.

Fang Yang rescued Xiaodie from the dead villagers haunting her home, then demanded that she sleep with him and began tearing off her clothes when she hesitated. The chapter leaves Xiaodie frightened and exposed as Fang Yang’s followers watch.

• Xiaodie was besieged by the voices and monsters of her dead relatives and neighbors after her incense stopped keeping them away.
• Fang Yang entered the courtyard, shattered the corpses with spiritual qi, and absorbed the shadows that emerged from them.
• Xiaodie thanked Fang Yang and offered to do anything for him.
• Fang Yang demanded that Xiaodie sleep with him and used a gust of wind to tear apart her clothes.
• Ye Qinghong and the others remained expressionless while Xiaodie covered herself and backed away from Fang Yang in fear.

Fang Yang exposed Xiaodie and the old woman as dead villagers who had returned as fierce ghosts bearing the Death Forbidden Zone’s aura. After Ye Qinghong and Guan Qinghan failed to defeat them, Fang Yang shattered their Soul Lamps, but the ghosts threatened him as mist and lanterns spread through the village.

• Fang Yang snapped Xiaodie’s neck, then killed an old woman who celebrated her death.
• Xiaodie rose from the ground as a rotting corpse, and Ye Qinghong cut her in two, revealing a lantern-bearing shadow.
• A second lantern-bearing shadow emerged from the old woman, and the Blood Rain Cult followers realized both women had been dead for days.
• Ye Qinghong and Guan Qinghan attacked the fierce ghosts, but the ghosts’ lanterns overpowered their strikes.
• Fang Yang recognized the ghosts’ Death Forbidden Zone aura and shattered both of their Soul Lamps with a punch.
• The ghosts threatened Fang Yang as thick mist spread and lanterns lit throughout the village.

Mo Ke persuaded the Female Emperor to meet her master, the Demon Venerable, as the Tang Kingdom faced a spreading great calamity, and asked her to destroy the Divination Pavilion. After the Female Emperor prepared an ambush, Mo Ke set her long-planned moves in motion, while a woman in the Imperial Harem painted the Demon Venerable.

• Mo Ke told the Female Emperor that a new Grade B forbidden zone had appeared and explained that the forbidden zones heralded a great calamity.
• Mo Ke said her master was the only hope of breaking the deadlock, and the Female Emperor agreed to tour the Maple Forest with him and ordered the Divination Pavilion destroyed.
• Mo Ke agreed to accompany her master if necessary, while the Female Emperor secretly ordered a Certain-Kill Formation and Dharmakaya Realm guards placed in the Capital City's Maple Forest.
• After the Female Emperor left, Mo Ke spoke with a mysterious soul lamp and sent red lanterns out to slaughter sects and make the Heavenly Calculation Heir's name resound.
• In the Imperial Harem, a graceful woman painted a portrait of the Demon Venerable of the Blood Rain Cult.