Chapter Summaries

Zhao Cheng announced that he had devised a plan to damage Fang Yang’s reputation, while Guan Qinghan worried that the scheme might put him in danger. Zheng Heng privately reassured her of Fang Yang’s strength and called her the Demon Venerable’s wife, leaving her secretly pleased as Zhao Cheng prepared to reveal his plan.

• Guan Qinghan saw her feelings for Fang Yang reflected in the Heart-Questioning Realm, while Zheng Heng decided he would serve the Demon Venerable and wait for the right moment to prove his loyalty.
• Zhao Cheng silenced the gathered Young Sect Masters and declared that his plan would ruin the demon’s reputation that day.
• Guan Qinghan became alarmed when Zhao Cheng spoke against Fang Yang and could no longer maintain the Heart-Questioning Mirror.
• Zheng Heng secretly told Guan Qinghan that Fang Yang was beyond Zhao Cheng’s reach and referred to her as the Demon Venerable’s wife.
• Guan Qinghan felt a flicker of happiness at Zheng Heng’s words, then turned her attention back to Zhao Cheng’s scheme.

Zhao Cheng gathered the young masters at the Spring Breeze Pavilion and revealed a scheme to disgrace Fang Yang by using Chu Lian'er, a courtesan he had secretly made his puppet. Guan Qinghan was disgusted by the plan, but her jealousy and hurt over Fang Yang's distance left her hesitating to intervene.

• Zhao Cheng introduced Chu Lian'er to the young masters and explained that he planned to accuse Fang Yang of forcing himself on her during the Female Emperor's public outing.
• Zhao Cheng revealed that a hidden Heavenly Sword Sect technique let him control Chu Lian'er and that he would arrange a private meeting to provoke Fang Yang before the performance.
• The young masters praised Zhao Cheng's scheme and dismissed their concerns about Chu Lian'er as the price of exposing Fang Yang.
• Guan Qinghan felt disgusted by the men's hypocrisy and recognized that her distress over Chu Lian'er came from jealousy, though she tried to deny it.
• Guan Qinghan began to speak against the scheme, then remembered Fang Yang's indifference and his relationship with the Female Emperor and hesitated.

The Female Emperor prepared to tour the Maple Forest with Fang Yang while the Empress Dowager provoked her by boasting about her intimacy with the Demon Venerable. The chapter ended with the Female Emperor accusing the Empress Dowager of being a member of the Demon Race.

• Guan Qinghan decided to secretly watch Chu Lian'er with the Blood Rain Demon Venerable and intervene if Fang Yang tried to harm her.
• Zhao Cheng announced that the Female Emperor would tour the Maple Forest with the Demon Venerable, stirring Chang'an and its factions.
• Zhang Jushan watched the Imperial Palace and vowed that he could bring down the Female Emperor after raising her to power.
• The Female Emperor confronted the Empress Dowager inside the flying carriage and warned her not to interfere in Tang Kingdom affairs.
• The Empress Dowager taunted the Female Emperor about her virginity and promised to display her pleasure with the Demon Venerable during the tour.
• The Female Emperor accused the Empress Dowager of being a demon after declaring that she had sensed something amiss when the Empress Dowager entered the palace.

The Empress Dowager revealed her Heavenly Fox identity to the Female Emperor and declared that she and her clan intended to rise, with the Demon Venerable central to their plans and her romantic rival. The Female Emperor insisted her encounters with the Demon Venerable were only cultivation, but when he arrived, the Red Thread and bells beneath her Imperial Robe began to react, exposing her bound body and undermining her claim.

• The Empress Dowager revealed her Fox Ears and told the Female Emperor that the Demon Venerable knew her identity and accepted it.
• The Empress Dowager admitted that the Heavenly Fox Clan was preparing to rise and that she genuinely liked the Demon Venerable, then boasted of her mastery of Charm Art.
• The Empress Dowager showed the Female Emperor a Recording Stone depicting her cultivating with the Demon Venerable in Daming Palace.
• The Female Emperor claimed she had cultivated with the Demon Venerable only to increase her strength and swore she would never be swayed by romantic attachments.
• Half-Year announced the Demon Venerable's arrival, and the Female Emperor lost control of the Red Thread and bells, which rang and exposed her bound body beneath her Imperial Robe.

Fang Yang approached the Imperial Palace as its dragon qi awakened and attacked him, while the Female Emperor sensed danger inside the Flying Carriage. The officials welcomed the attack, unaware that black-clothed assassins had also begun moving through the rain.

• The Empress Dowager exposed the bells and Red Threads beneath the Female Emperor's robe, mocked her feelings for the Demon Venerable, and declared she would compete fairly for him.
• Fang Yang walked through the rain toward the Flying Carriage as the officials watched with resentment and helplessness.
• The Imperial Palace's dragon qi formed a blue-green dragon from the rain and lunged at Fang Yang.
• The officials believed the dragon qi would kill Fang Yang, while the Chancellor stood among them with a calm expression and subtly shifted his umbrella.
• Black-clothed men with icy Life Flames emerged from the palace shadows and rushed into the rain.
• The Female Emperor sensed danger and touched the Flying Carriage's Formation.

Fang Yang destroyed the Imperial Palace’s rain-and-dragon assault with one finger, then burned the black-clad attackers who rushed him. As he continued toward the Female Emperor, Ye Qinghong killed another hidden assailant and took his Storage Bag.

• Fang Yang used One Finger Breaks Ten Thousand Laws to shatter the storm and the Azure Dragons, frightening the Imperial Palace into suppressing its radiance.
• The Female Emperor watched Fang Yang in awe, while the Empress Dowager openly admired him from the carriage behind her.
• Fang Yang sensed black-clad figures approaching and burned them to ashes with wind from his life flame; Chancellor Zhang Jushan silently judged him a threat who had to be slain.
• Ye Qinghong killed a hidden black-clad man who had been forming a formation to probe Fang Yang’s secrets, then took the man’s Storage Bag.

Ye Qinghong looted strange blood-written talismans from a fallen attacker while Fang Yang publicly asserted his dominance over the Female Emperor and carried her into the Flying Carriage. Inside, he continued to hold and tease her as she struggled to free herself.

• Ye Qinghong found only sinister blood-written talismans in the black-clothed man's Storage Bag and decided to ask Second Junior Sister about them.
• The Female Emperor watched Fang Yang destroy the black-clothed attackers and recognized that his Dharma Body was nearing the Five-Leaf Realm.
• Fang Yang rebuked a young official who admired the Female Emperor, declared himself the Tang Kingdom's Son of Heaven, and pulled the Female Emperor against him.
• Fang Yang kissed the flustered Female Emperor, carried her into the Flying Carriage, and ordered everyone to keep away.
• The ministers watched the carriage depart and believed the Female Emperor had been bewitched, while the young official mourned his unspoken love for her.
• Inside the Flying Carriage, Fang Yang held and stroked the awakened Female Emperor as she shuddered and tried to escape his arms.

Fang Yang held the Female Emperor in the Flying Carriage and pressured her to massage him by tying her cooperation to his promise to restore her dragon qi. She reluctantly agreed, and the chapter ended with her slipping her hands beneath his robes to continue the massage.

• Fang Yang teased the Female Emperor as she sat on his lap and insisted he only wanted a massage.
• Fang Yang used the crisis threatening the Tang Kingdom and his offer to restore her dragon qi to pressure the Female Emperor into cooperating.
• Fang Yang discovered the Female Emperor wore a red thread and bell beneath her Imperial Robe, embarrassing her further.
• The Female Emperor agreed to massage Fang Yang once, provided he did not refuse her conditions.
• The Female Emperor began massaging Fang Yang and, at his urging, slipped her hands beneath his black robes.

The Female Emperor accompanied Fang Yang in the Flying Carriage after he exposed her plan to ambush him in the Maple Forest, then gave in to his demand for an intimate massage. When the carriage reached Chang'an Street, she came to her senses and realized how much of her Imperial Robe she had let fall.

• The officials escorting the Flying Carriage heard a moan from inside, and the young official and others were devastated as they guarded the carriage and blocked its sounds from the commoners.
• The Female Emperor finished massaging Fang Yang, but he demanded she continue in a more intimate way and revealed that he knew about her planned ambush in the Maple Forest.
• The Female Emperor attacked Fang Yang in anger, but he caught her wrist and argued that she should honor his wishes as he had honored hers.
• The Female Emperor removed her Emperor's Crown and pressed herself against Fang Yang, giving him the intimate massage as her dragon qi and desire overwhelmed her.
• After the carriage reached Chang'an Street, the Female Emperor came to her senses and found most of her Imperial Robe lowered, while Fang Yang praised her massage.

The Female Emperor reluctantly agreed to Fang Yang’s suggestion that they stroll through Chang'an in disguise, despite her confusion over the affection she felt toward him. The officials watched in dismay as the pair left the Flying Carriage together, while she insisted their outing was only to inspect the people’s circumstances.

• The Female Emperor remembered that she had pressed close to the Demon Venerable and grew alarmed by her reaction to him.
• Fang Yang suggested that he and the Female Emperor take a walk along Chang'an Street, and she unexpectedly agreed.
• Fang Yang stepped out with his arm around the Female Emperor and told the officials to proceed outside the city without them.
• The officials pleaded with the Female Emperor to reconsider, but she insisted the outing was an inspection and that her relationship with Fang Yang was innocent.
• The Female Emperor changed into everyday clothes and a veiled cloak, then walked into the rain beside Fang Yang as the officials watched.

The Female Emperor toured Chang'an with Fang Yang, resolved to protect its people from the cultivators bringing disaster to the city. Hearing the crowd speculate that she and Fang Yang would marry and have an heir embarrassed her, while Guan Qinghan followed them in the rain, jealous and trying to convince herself she had no feelings for him.

• The Female Emperor walked Chang'an with Fang Yang and saw the grief and hardship caused by the strange deaths and the forces gathering in the city.
• The Female Emperor resolved to destroy the cultivators who endangered her people, and Fang Yang admired her determination.
• Chang'an's people praised the Female Emperor and speculated that she would marry Fang Yang and give birth to an imperial son, leaving her flustered and furious.
• Guan Qinghan followed Fang Yang and the Female Emperor, felt jealous of their closeness, and tried to convince herself that Fang Yang was merely a tool and that she should sever her affection for him.

Guan Qinghan tested whether Fang Yang would recognize her when she passed him as herself, hoping his reaction would reveal whether he still cared for her. Fang Yang did not notice her, and she left the street resolved to sever her ties to him.

• Guan Qinghan suppressed her feelings with her cultivation technique and decided to give Fang Yang one last chance to recognize her.
• Guan Qinghan approached Fang Yang and the Female Emperor on Chang'an Street, passing them without speaking or meeting their eyes.
• The Female Emperor noticed Guan Qinghan, but Fang Yang continued walking without looking at her.
• Guan Qinghan stopped in an alley, felt hurt by Fang Yang's indifference, and pressed another acupoint to regain her emotional clarity.
• Guan Qinghan declared that she would have no further ties to Fang Yang and walked deeper into the alley.

Guan Qinghan left to seek Chu Lian'er and remove her seal, while Fang Yang went to White Jade Tower after inviting the Female Emperor, who refused and grew angrier with him. At the brothel, Fang Yang unknowingly entered the Young Sect Masters’ trap involving Chu Lian'er, and the madam became infatuated with him as he waited by the window.

• Guan Qinghan walked away in the rain, determined to find Chu Lian'er and remove her seal.
• Fang Yang invited the Female Emperor to visit White Jade Tower with him, but she refused and vowed to control him as a slave.
• Fang Yang entered White Jade Tower, where Zhao Cheng and the other Young Sect Masters hid and decided to use Chu Lian'er's performance to lure him into their scheme.
• The madam became overwhelmed by Fang Yang's charm and offered to show him around, but he asked only for a seat and wine.
• Fang Yang sat by a window and gazed out at Chang'an while the madam watched him wistfully.

Fang Yang met Chu Lian'er at the White Jade Tower, where the famed courtesan greeted him as the Demon Venerable and played her pipa for him. Her performance enchanted the guests and drew birds to the tower, leaving everyone applauding as she finished.

• Chu Lian'er emerged from her boudoir and approached Fang Yang, greeting him as the Demon Venerable.
• Chu Lian'er told Fang Yang she admired him and was delighted to meet him, while Madam Zhang and the other guests watched in dismay.
• Chu Lian'er took Fang Yang's wine cup, drank from it, and offered to play the pipa for him.
• Chu Lian'er performed on the White Jade Tower's stage, captivating Fang Yang, the guests, and birds that gathered at the windows.
• Chu Lian'er finished playing, the birds flew away, and applause roused the entranced guests.

Fang Yang escorted Chu Lian'er into her boudoir, leading the onlookers to believe he had fallen into Zhao Cheng's trap, while Guan Qinghan watched in anger and jealousy. Inside, Chu Lian'er was revealed to be under Zhao Cheng's restriction and forced to seduce Fang Yang, who pulled her into his arms as she trembled.

• Fang Yang took Chu Lian'er into her boudoir, and the crowd assumed he intended to defile her.
• Zhao Cheng told the gathered sect scions that Fang Yang had fallen into their trap and vowed to destroy him when the Great Calamity came.
• Guan Qinghan watched the boudoir with killing intent, then reconsidered and secretly returned to see what Fang Yang would do.
• Chu Lian'er sat anxiously in her room, having been forced by Zhao Cheng's restriction to seduce Fang Yang or face death.
• Fang Yang dismissed Chu Lian'er's maid, stepped before her, and pulled her into his arms as she trembled.

Fang Yang examined Chu Lian'er with black flames after sensing something wrong with her body, and she realized he might be trying to save her rather than harm her. The chapter left them still undergoing the intimate examination in the White Jade Tower.

• Fang Yang undressed Chu Lian'er and arranged her before a water mirror, frightening her into believing he meant to violate her.
• Fang Yang sent black flames over Chu Lian'er's body, but their gentle warmth caused her no pain.
• Fang Yang told Chu Lian'er not to speak while he examined her thoroughly for something abnormal.
• Chu Lian'er realized Fang Yang might be trying to save her, then allowed him to continue examining her as his touch grew bolder.

Guan Qinghan watched Fang Yang discover a hidden demonic marking on Chu Lian'er and realized he had been healing her rather than acting out of lust. Fang Yang pulled Guan Qinghan into the room and began examining and healing her, ending by recognizing her as the Heavenly Demon Sect Saintess.

• Guan Qinghan saw a blood-red marking appear in Fang Yang's mirror on Chu Lian'er and realized he had uncovered it while treating her.
• Fang Yang noticed Guan Qinghan peeping through the window, pulled her into the room, and teased her about it.
• Fang Yang tore Guan Qinghan's dress with astral wind and used his black flames to examine her and heal her injured meridians.
• Guan Qinghan believed Fang Yang had not recognized her and grew bitter as he carried her to the bed.
• Fang Yang greeted Guan Qinghan as the Heavenly Demon Sect Saintess.

Guan Qinghan feared Fang Yang had forgotten her, but he revealed that he had been tracking and protecting her, then the two fought passionately in his room. She ended exhausted afterward, shaken by his strength and surprised that her stamina and power had improved.

• Guan Qinghan denied being the Heavenly Demon Sect Saintess and insisted she was the Yanqi Sect's Young Sect Master, so Fang Yang told her to leave.
• Guan Qinghan headed for the window in hurt and anger, but Fang Yang stopped her and revealed the tracking mark he had placed on her.
• Fang Yang showed Guan Qinghan that the mark had let him watch her actions, and she realized he had cared about her after all.
• Fang Yang activated the Formless Demon Body, and Guan Qinghan fought him throughout the room until she was exhausted.
• Guan Qinghan reflected that the white medicinal broth had helped her stamina recover and her strength improve, then lay on the bed shaken by the contest.

Fang Yang removed Chu Lian'er's restriction, and she grew grateful and enamored of him despite fearing his strength and desire. He restrained himself and dressed her, leaving Chu Lian'er to face her feelings for the Blood Rain Demon Venerable.

• Black flames burned away the blood-colored restriction on Chu Lian'er as Guan Qinghan lay exhausted on the bed.
• Chu Lian'er reflected on how Fang Yang had saved her and began to depend on him and fall for him.
• Fang Yang approached Chu Lian'er while struggling to suppress his desire after defeating Guan Qinghan.
• Fang Yang gently covered Chu Lian'er with her clothes instead of acting on his urges.
• Chu Lian'er asked Fang Yang whether he liked her, and he replied that he liked beautiful women and wanted to conquer them.

Fang Yang accepted Chu Lian'er’s offer to give herself to him, but reassured her that he would treat her gently. He carried her to the pipa and asked her to play “Phoenix Imprisoned by the Phoenix” as their encounter began.

• Fang Yang removed the red restrictions on Chu Lian'er and said he would deal with those who had placed them on her.
• Chu Lian'er told Fang Yang she was willing to follow him, and he drew her into his arms.
• Chu Lian'er worried she could not withstand Fang Yang’s advances, so he reassured her that he would not torment her.
• Fang Yang carried Chu Lian'er to the pipa and asked her to play “Phoenix Imprisoned by the Phoenix.”
• Chu Lian'er overcame her nervousness and began to play the pipa.