Chapter Summaries

Fang Yang confronted his second disciple, Mo Ke, after she entered his room without permission, while Guan Qinghan hid beneath the quilt. Their exchange became a test of each other's intentions, and Fang Yang remained convinced Mo Ke was concealing a major secret.

• Fang Yang sensed Guan Qinghan hiding beneath the quilt and turned his attention to Mo Ke, questioning her for entering without permission.
• Mo Ke calmly invited Fang Yang to punish her, and he tested her by unleashing his killing intent, which she endured without reacting.
• Fang Yang drew Mo Ke close and examined her with the Profound Heaven Strategy, finding no spiritual power or cultivation while suspecting her apparent normality concealed something.
• Fang Yang dismissed Mo Ke with a warning, and she bowed to thank him for sparing her.
• Guan Qinghan listened from beneath the quilt, took pride in believing she had conquered Fang Yang, and imagined making him her slave after becoming leader of the Righteous Path.

Mo Ke visited Fang Yang at night, tested whether he was still the master she knew, and played him a flute melody before leaving. Fang Yang pondered her cryptic questions and their game-board symbolism, while Guan Qinghan emerged from hiding and insisted that she had granted him a favor before giving him a vial.

• Mo Ke approached Fang Yang’s bed, but he refused her offer and warned her not to deceive him.
• Mo Ke asked whether Fang Yang would save the world from an approaching calamity, and whether he was still the master she had known.
• Fang Yang said Nirvana Rebirth had changed him but that he remained their master, and Mo Ke played him a flute melody before departing.
• Fang Yang studied the Female Emperor’s game board and wondered whether its revived black dragon hinted at his changed identity.
• Guan Qinghan emerged from beneath the covers, declared that she had bestowed her favor on Fang Yang, and tossed him a porcelain vial.

After Guan Qinghan left Fang Yang’s room, he used his newly awakened Divine Sense to watch over his household and sensed ghosts lurking beneath Capital City. Mo Ke and Ye Qinghong kept watch together, discussing Ye Qinghong’s feelings for Fang Yang and sharing a persimmon as a wedding gift.

• Guan Qinghan left Fang Yang with a bottle of pills, and he reflected on her unexpected visit before sweeping the estate with his Divine Sense.
• Fang Yang spotted Ye Qinghong guarding his courtyard and resolved to cut down anyone who threatened the people he cared about.
• Mo Ke joined Ye Qinghong in the jujube tree, and they spoke about how Fang Yang and Ye Qinghong had changed.
• Ye Qinghong joked that Mo Ke owed him a wedding gift for his marriage to Fang Yang, then listened as she warned him that loving their Master could lead nowhere.
• Ye Qinghong said he would pursue his feelings without regret, and Mo Ke gave him a ripe persimmon from the garden at Star-Seizing Temple as a wedding gift.

After Mo Ke warned Ye Qinghong that Kyoto was unsettled, Guan Qinghan left the Demon Venerable and resolved to return to the Righteous Path. Realizing her plans for the Yanqi Sect might require her to bear the demon’s child, she contacted her father and flew away, while a pale-faced man overheard her confession.

• Mo Ke gave Ye Qinghong a persimmon, warned him of approaching calamity and unrest in Kyoto, and left for Star-Seizing Temple.
• Ye Qinghong worried that Mo Ke might be plotting against him, then devoured the persimmon and decided to repay her with stir-fried greens.
• Guan Qinghan restored her appearance as the Yanqi Sect’s Young Sect Master and vowed to sever her affection for the Demon Venerable and kill him when they next met.
• Guan Qinghan realized her loss of virginity might prevent her from mastering the Yanqi Sect’s secret method, so she asked her father to hold the sect for eighteen years until her child could take over.
• Guan Qinghan flew away to escape her growing affection, while a pale-faced man emerged from the shadows and realized she had given herself to the Demon Venerable.

Zheng Heng reeled from the news that Guan Qinghan had become involved with the Blood Rain Demon Venerable, while Guan Yuanshan learned of the Demon Venerable’s growing power and decided to align the Yanqi Sect with him. The story then shifted to Zhang Yuan’s suspicious encounter with a woman in the imperial residence and Fang Yang examining a fragrant undergarment.

• Zheng Heng mourned Guan Qinghan’s relationship with the Blood Rain Demon Venerable but felt too intimidated by the Demon Venerable’s strength to oppose him.
• Guan Yuanshan learned that the Blood Rain Demon Venerable had crushed a three-leaf dharma body expert and considered marrying Guan Qinghan to him.
• Guan Yuanshan received a message, struck a disciple who called the Demon Venerable a demon, and ordered the sect to call him the Blood Rain Demon Venerable and the Demon Cult the Holy Cult.
• Zhang Yuan encountered a mysterious woman while searching for a cuju ball in the imperial residence, though he sensed something was suspicious about the situation.
• Fang Yang opened his eyes in the Chancellor’s Residence and examined the fragrant undergarment the Empress Dowager had given him.

In Kyoto, Fang Yang prepared to enter the palace and investigate the Empress Dowager and the secrets surrounding his second disciple, while Zhang Yuan encountered a sobbing woman at the Chancellor's Residence and was killed by a supernatural force. The chapter left the city under a growing supernatural threat, with corpselike figures rising and staring toward Star-Seizing Temple.

• Fang Yang decided to visit the Empress Dowager's palace and verify what his diary said about her secret meetings with the Demon Venerable.
• Fang Yang watched Ye Qinghong from the shadows, then left the courtyard without taking her into the palace.
• Zhang Yuan followed the sound of sobbing in the Chancellor's Residence and offered to help a young woman find her lost football.
• Zhang Yuan discovered that the woman's head had been severed, and the head rolled away as he fell dead in a pool of blood.
• Figures with pale faces and hollow eyes rose in the darkness and stared toward Star-Seizing Temple.

The Empress Dowager lured a ghost disguised as a lost girl to her hot spring and swallowed it, then lamented that ghosts had grown unruly as the Great Calamity approached. Elsewhere, Zhang Yuan mistook a severed head for a cuju ball while under a woman’s spell, and a woman in a Kyoto pear garden watched a blossom vanish into the night.

• Zhang Yuan picked up what he believed was a cuju ball and realized it was a bloody human head, but lust kept him moving toward a woman with a red lantern.
• The Empress Dowager waited in her hot spring, confident that the Blood Rain Demon Venerable would come to her.
• A girl carrying a red lantern asked the Empress Dowager for help finding her way home.
• The Empress Dowager recognized the girl as a ghost, swallowed her after she turned into blue smoke, and complained that ghosts were growing unruly before the Great Calamity.
• A woman in a pink skirt stood beneath a blooming pear tree in Kyoto and watched a pear blossom drift away and disappear.

A vengeful ghost in Pear Garden planned to torment the Blood Rain Demon Venerable’s Fifth Disciple, while the Female Emperor resolved to retrieve the Demon Venerable from the Empress Dowager’s Palace to secure his help against the spreading calamity. Fang Yang headed into the Imperial Harem as a green-clad swordswoman followed, killing the fierce ghosts in his path.

• The woman in Pear Garden relived her encounter with the Blood Rain Demon Venerable and decided to make his Fifth Disciple suffer the same torment, blaming the Demon Venerable for it.
• After pear blossoms brought her news about the Imperial Palace, the woman suspected the Empress Dowager was unusual and accused the Demon Venerable of becoming entangled with her.
• The Female Emperor read reports of forbidden zones and ghost attacks across the Tang Kingdom and considered appeasing the Demon Venerable to save the people.
• The Female Emperor decided to go to the Empress Dowager’s Palace that night and take the Demon Venerable back, whatever the cost.
• Fang Yang traveled toward the Imperial Harem, burning fierce ghosts with the Life Lamp’s flame while wondering whether the Heaven and Earth Great Calamity was approaching.
• A green-clad swordswoman followed Fang Yang and destroyed the ghosts behind him with her sword before stopping at the Imperial Harem.

Ye Qinghong followed Fang Yang into the Imperial Palace to protect him, where Fang Yang killed a hidden attacker whose eerie Life Lamp raised questions about the palace and the Female Emperor. After confronting Ye Qinghong for following him, Fang Yang was surprised when his eldest disciple kissed him and quickly stepped away.

• Ye Qinghong followed Fang Yang into the Imperial Palace, wary of hidden dangers and the palace guards.
• A pale figure beneath the eaves tried to seize Ye Qinghong, but Fang Yang appeared and crushed him with a command and two stomps.
• Fang Yang caught the attacker’s eerie green Life Lamp, wondered how such beings had entered the palace, and sensed an unseen presence watching him.
• Fang Yang turned to confront Ye Qinghong for following him, and Ye Qinghong suddenly kissed him before retreating with his Clear Shadow Sword.

Ye Qinghong confessed that he wanted to marry Fang Yang, but his apparent devotion concealed a plan to knock his master unconscious and force a wedding night. Fang Yang prepared to enter the imperial palace for his appointment with the Empress Dowager, while Ye Qinghong followed with another hidden scheme.

• Ye Qinghong told Fang Yang he wanted to marry him and stay by his side for life, then admitted he would keep waiting for Fang Yang to love him.
• Fang Yang embraced Ye Qinghong, combed his hair, and gave him a jade comb and bamboo hairpin.
• Fang Yang told Ye Qinghong to disguise himself as a man before they went to the imperial palace to meet the Empress Dowager.
• Fang Yang exposed Ye Qinghong's hidden wooden stick, rope, candles, wedding decoration, and virility medicine, revealing his plan to force a wedding night.
• Ye Qinghong finished his disguise and followed Fang Yang, secretly carrying stir-fried greens as his true plan.

Fang Yang confronted the Empress Dowager in Xingqing Palace and resisted her seductive advances after sensing danger from the Profound Heaven Strategy. As he drew her into his arms, the palace filled with mist, and Ye Qinghong attacked it with his sword.

• Fang Yang entered Xingqing Palace and found the Empress Dowager waiting beside the hot spring.
• The Empress Dowager pretended to feel faint and tried to draw Fang Yang into her arms, but he pushed her away and questioned her intentions.
• Fang Yang sensed a warning from the Profound Heaven Strategy and unleashed astral wind at the Empress Dowager.
• The Empress Dowager offered Fang Yang power and the throne, then asked him to help her put on her undergarment.
• Fang Yang embraced the Empress Dowager, while Ye Qinghong noticed thick mist engulfing him and struck at it with his God-Shocking Sword.

The Empress Dowager lured Fang Yang into Xingqing Palace’s formation, intending to drain his breath and kill him, but he resisted her enchantment and turned her scheme against her. Under his Pupil of Desire, she began to surrender to her desires.

• The Empress Dowager trapped Ye Qinghong in mist, while he repeatedly tried and failed to cut his way out.
• The Empress Dowager brought Fang Yang into the hot spring and absorbed his breath, believing her formation and seduction had subdued him.
• Fang Yang revealed that he had never been enchanted and explained how Xingqing Palace, the mist, and the undergarment had formed part of her plan.
• Fang Yang seized the Empress Dowager and used the Pupil of Desire to intensify her desires.
• The Empress Dowager became entranced by Fang Yang and began removing her gauze dress.

Fang Yang confronted the Empress Dowager after she begged to practice dual cultivation, then discovered she was a fox demon and demanded that she become his slave or leave him alone. She refused to submit, and Fang Yang let her go after warning her not to oppose him again.

• The Empress Dowager begged Fang Yang to practice dual cultivation with her, and he agreed after making her plead.
• After their encounter in Xingqing Palace, Fang Yang discovered that the Empress Dowager was a fox demon and a descendant of the Heavenly Fox Clan.
• Fang Yang gave the Empress Dowager a choice between becoming his slave and walking away without further conflict.
• The Empress Dowager refused to become Fang Yang's slave and insisted that she would never submit to him.
• Fang Yang warned the Empress Dowager not to oppose him again and dispersed the mist surrounding Ye Qinghong.

The Female Emperor arrived at Xingqing Palace and confronted Xiao Hongyu, suspecting the Empress Dowager of plotting around the Blood Rain Demon Venerable. Xiao Hongyu claimed she had fallen for him, while the Female Emperor warned her not to scheme and revealed her own conflicted interest in the Demon Venerable.

• Ye Qinghong saw Xiao Hongyu with his master and resolved to make Fang Yang eat food he had cooked before forcibly consummating their marriage.
• The Female Emperor questioned the palace maids outside Xingqing Palace and learned Xiao Hongyu had sent them away and stayed inside alone.
• The Female Emperor entered Xingqing Palace and found Xiao Hongyu and Ye Qinghong drenched in sweat, then assumed the Demon Venerable had been indulging in lust.
• The Female Emperor demanded to know Xiao Hongyu's aim, but Xiao Hongyu insisted she had fallen for the Demon Venerable and teased the Female Emperor about wanting him too.
• The Female Emperor erupted with killing intent and warned Xiao Hongyu that she would kill her if she plotted against the Tang Kingdom.

Xiao Hongyu’s sister arrived at Xingqing Palace expecting her to have killed and consumed the Demon Venerable, but learned that Fang Yang had left with the Female Emperor instead. Xiao Hongyu admitted she had taken only his body and nearly lost herself to his pure soul power, leaving her sister furious about her neglect of the Heavenly Fox Clan’s mission.

• Xiao Hongyu dressed in Xingqing Palace and gazed at a portrait of Fang Yang, recalling their intimate encounter.
• A Black-Clothed Woman appeared at Xiao Hongyu’s window and asked whether she had taken down the Demon Venerable.
• The Black-Clothed Woman urged Xiao Hongyu to devour Fang Yang’s soul power and prepare for the coming calamity.
• Xiao Hongyu revealed that Fang Yang had left with the Female Emperor and clarified that she had taken only his body.
• The Black-Clothed Woman rebuked Xiao Hongyu for risking the Heavenly Fox Clan’s mission and her decade-long cover in Kyoto for a man.

Xiao Hongyu's sister discovered that Xiao Hongyu had willingly dual cultivated with Blood Rain Demon Venerable and vowed to kill him, leaving Xiao Hongyu torn between them. Meanwhile, the Female Emperor brought Fang Yang to her sleeping quarters, where his teasing left her regretting the invitation.

• Xiao Hongyu told the Black-Clothed Woman that she had willingly begged Blood Rain Demon Venerable to dual cultivate with her, and her sister ordered her to stop contacting him.
• Xiao Hongyu realized her sister would likely attack Blood Rain Demon Venerable and struggled to choose between protecting him and obeying her sister.
• The Black-Clothed Woman killed a man with an eerie green flame near Xingqing Palace, then set off to kill Blood Rain Demon Venerable.
• The Female Emperor led Fang Yang to Ganlu Hall and dismissed the guards, who assumed she had brought him to her sleeping quarters for an affair.
• The Female Emperor regretted inviting Fang Yang onto her Jade Bed, and he teased her by offering to change her clothes.

Fang Yang pressured the Female Emperor into agreeing to wear revealing clothes, while she secretly planned to trap him in the Maple Forest. Their confrontation in Ganlu Hall escalated as she summoned the Imperial Palace’s hidden power, but Fang Yang remained confident in his own strength.

• Fang Yang turned to leave Ganlu Hall, and the Female Emperor called him back and agreed to change clothes because she needed something from him.
• The Female Emperor planned to lure Fang Yang into a formation in the Maple Forest and force him to obey her.
• Fang Yang produced a black high-slit skirt and black silk ice stockings, enraging the Female Emperor.
• The Female Emperor summoned a Golden Flood Dragon and warned Fang Yang that he could not leave the Imperial Palace without her consent.
• An ancient aura began awakening within the Imperial City, but Fang Yang stayed calm and considered using his Peak Demon Venerable Card to advance to the Five-Leaf Dharma Body Realm.

The Female Emperor confronted Fang Yang in Ganlu Hall, then changed into the clothes he had chosen and collapsed into his arms when her Golden Dragon roared. She awoke immobilized and accused him of drugging her, while Fang Yang teased her and continued to touch her despite her threats and pleas; the chapter ended with him rejecting her offer to grant his wishes.

• The Female Emperor threatened to kill Fang Yang, but ultimately held back and went inside to change.
• Fang Yang considered the mysteries surrounding the Imperial City and worried that a great calamity might be approaching.
• The Female Emperor returned wearing the black High-Slit Skirt and Black Silk Ice Stockings, then collapsed into Fang Yang's arms after her Golden Dragon roared.
• The Female Emperor awoke in Fang Yang's arms, believed he had drugged her, and threatened him as he touched her.
• The Female Emperor offered to fulfill Fang Yang's demands if he released her, but he said he wanted her and continued touching her.

Xiao Hongyu’s elder sister, Xiao Yingxue, entered the Imperial Palace intending to kill Fang Yang, but found Ye Qinghong guarding Ganlu Hall and mistook him for another of Fang Yang’s victims. Ye Qinghong agreed to join forces with her to kill Fang Yang.

• Fang Yang touched the Female Emperor in Ganlu Hall, leaving her overwhelmed and convinced that she was falling into his grasp.
• Xiao Yingxue slipped past the palace guards and killed a man whose brow bore a burning flame before approaching Ganlu Hall.
• Xiao Yingxue spotted Ye Qinghong on the roof and recognized his Glazed Sword Heart, then hid while he watched over his master.
• Hearing the Female Emperor’s moans, Xiao Yingxue concluded that Fang Yang had bewitched her and that Ye Qinghong had also been victimized.
• Xiao Yingxue offered to help Ye Qinghong kill Fang Yang, and Ye Qinghong nodded in agreement.

Xiao Yingxue mistook Ye Qinghong’s poisoned greens for a gesture of affection and collapsed after eating them. In Ganlu Hall, Fang Yang taunted the restrained Female Emperor, then revealed that he possessed dragon qi, leaving her demanding to know who he was.

• Xiao Yingxue admired Ye Qinghong’s glazed sword heart and assumed his offer of greens was an expression of affection.
• Xiao Yingxue ate the greens, suffered an overwhelming reaction, and fell onto the glazed tiles, furious that her clan’s instincts had failed.
• Fang Yang teased the restrained Female Emperor about how she had reacted to him, and she resolved to save her strength and kill him once free.
• Fang Yang questioned whether the Female Emperor had actually been poisoned, and she discovered her dragon qi was surging rather than detecting any poison.
• Fang Yang summoned a five-clawed golden dragon around his finger, and the Female Emperor demanded to know how he had dragon qi and who he was.