Recaps

Cao Jinxing chose a space-holding pouch from the Divine Weapons Pavilion and learned a lightness skill before settling back into his Imperial Prison routine. News of the Bright Sect's search for the Holy Duke's Treasure drew his attention to Hangzhou, but an urgent summons from the Pacification Commissioner interrupted the meal.

• Cao Jinxing entered the Divine Weapons Pavilion with Shen Xiang and chose the Universe-in-One Breath Bag, while Shen Xiang selected Emerald Blood Reflecting the Verdant.
• Cao Jinxing chose the Fifth Grade lightness skill Demonic Shadow Doppelganger and used the pouch to store his weapons and pills.
• Cao Jinxing ate hot pot with Lu Jiaming, Gu Yanzhu, Sun Lang, and Su Yunsheng, who discussed unrest in Mongolia and warned him that Qiu Luan might send death sworn after him.
• Lu Jiaming told Cao Jinxing that the Bright Sect was seeking the Sacred Fire Tokens and the Holy Duke's Treasure in Hangzhou, based on information from Langya Pavilion.
• An Embroidered Uniform Guard officer summoned Cao Jinxing to the Pacification Commission for an important matter.

Cao Jinxing was ordered to travel to Hangzhou and search for Fang La's Treasure, with Liu Zhenyuan briefing him on likely hiding places and helping him adopt a disguise. He left for Jiangnan as Xia Yiming, posing as a martial artist with a fabricated lineage.

• Liu Zhenyuan told Cao Jinxing that the court had assigned him to search for Fang La's Treasure in Hangzhou after several divinations confirmed its location.
• Liu Zhenyuan named Bangyuan Cave, Longxiang Palace, and Fang La's ancestral home in Yan Village as likely places to investigate.
• Liu Zhenyuan warned Cao Jinxing to watch for the Bright Sect and other opportunists, and gave him a Four Public Masks to conceal his identity.
• Cao Jinxing chose the name Xia Yiming and planned to claim he had studied the Demonic Shadow Doppelganger under the Shadowless Elder and the Eight Desolations Punishment Sword Palm from a distant relative of the Huang Family.
• Cao Jinxing left instructions at the Imperial Prison, changed into Xia Yiming, and rode toward Jiangnan.

Cao Jinxing encountered Zhuo Yue fleeing Qingcheng Sect pursuers and secretly took the treasure map from him. He later examined the map at an inn near Longxiang Palace, uncertain that obtaining it had been so easy.

• Cao Jinxing saw Zhuo Yue fleeing eight Qingcheng Sect Daoists and threw him back toward them when the boy tried to make him a decoy.
• Zhu Qidan interrogated Zhuo Yue in a cave, identified him as the Little Master Thief, and demanded the map he had stolen from Longxiang Palace.
• Zhuo Yue revealed that he had hidden the map in a pocket in his clothing, but the pocket was empty after Cao Jinxing had handled him.
• Zhu Qidan ordered Liang and the other Daoists to strip and search Zhuo Yue while Zhuo Yue insisted the map had been taken by Cao Jinxing.
• Cao Jinxing checked into an inn near Longxiang Palace and examined the treasure map he had taken from Zhuo Yue.

Cao Jinxing deciphered a diagram pointing to a dangerous mechanism-filled site in Fang La's lacquer-tree plantation near Yan Village and rode toward Chun'an. The Eight Heroes of Qingcheng ambushed him on the road, and he challenged all eight to fight him together under the false name Xia Yiming.

• Cao Jinxing studied the diagram, matched its landmarks to maps of Hangzhou and Chun'an, and located the site in Fang La's lacquer-tree plantation near Yan Village.
• Cao Jinxing left the inn and rode toward Chun'an, while Zhu Qidan questioned the waiter and learned his destination.
• Zhu Qidan took Zhuo Yue with him, and the Eight Heroes of Qingcheng followed Cao Jinxing toward Chun'an.
• Zhu Qidan and the other seven Qingcheng fighters surrounded Cao Jinxing on the road and demanded the treasure map.
• Cao Jinxing introduced himself as Xia Yiming and challenged all eight to attack him together.

Cao Jinxing reached Chun'an and searched the Lacquer Garden for the entrance shown on his mechanism map. You Qingyun accidentally opened the hidden passage first, drawing the surrounding treasure seekers toward it.

• Cao Jinxing killed the Eight Elites of Qingcheng and Zhuo Yue after they ambushed him, then continued toward Chun'an.
• Liu Cangyan and the God of Wealth Gang's deputy hall masters found the Qingcheng disciples' bodies and rode toward Chun'an to seek Fang La's treasure and martial arts manuals.
• Cao Jinxing rested in Yan Village, left Xuan Yuan Fourteen at the inn, and visited the Lacquer Garden disguised as Xia Yiming.
• At a tea stall, Cao Jinxing spoke with the two-bag beggar Yue Yang, who explained that factions were waiting for specialists to locate the treasure.
• Cao Jinxing reached the mechanism entrance but found You Qingyun and Mountains and Rivers Manor searching the rocks there.
• You Qingyun struck a concealed mechanism in a bluestone, opening an underground passage and drawing the treasure seekers' attention.

Cao Jinxing crossed a deadly trapped corridor, took the Bai Ze carving, and defeated the sects and escorts who tried to stop him. He learned that Fang La had given the Three Auspicious Beasts to Fang Tianding, Fang Qifo, and Fang Xing, then vanished from the passage.

• After the treasure passage appeared, Yue Yang sent word to Bangyuan Cave while the gathered martial artists rushed inside and found three carvings at the end of a corridor.
• You Qingyun identified the carvings as the Three Auspicious Beasts, and a Kongtong disciple triggered lethal traps that killed him with poison.
• Cao Jinxing used Demonic Shadow Doppelganger to cross the corridor without triggering its mechanisms and took the Bai Ze carving.
• You Qingyun's forces and the other sects attacked Cao Jinxing, but he broke their combined techniques with Eight Desolations Punishment Sword Palm and overwhelmed them.
• Cao Jinxing asked You Qingyun who Fang La had given the Three Auspicious Beasts to, learned the names, and disappeared.

Cao Jinxing learned the history of the Divinely Bestowed Meritorious Stone and tested the Bai Ze carving, while the gathered martial artists discovered the other carvings were traps. The carving responded to a powerful pull from the southeast, leaving Cao Jinxing facing an unexplained summons.

• You Jun and other martial artists arrived at the Lacquer Garden and heard that Xia Yiming had taken one carving without triggering the passage's mechanisms.
• You Qingyun suggested the remaining carvings might be traps, and Li Chonglou struck them with pebbles, setting off explosives and poison gas that destroyed both carvings.
• Lu Kunlun learned from Yue Yang that Xia Yiming might be an alias and decided to seek him out, while Li Chonglou ordered Wudang disciples to find him.
• Cao Jinxing disguised himself, returned to the inn, and paid a waiter to explain the history of the Divinely Bestowed Meritorious Stone.
• Cao Jinxing infused the Bai Ze carving with true qi, and it began glowing before a powerful pull from the southeast made it strain to leave his hand.

Cao Jinxing learned that the three Divine Fortune Stone carvings could open Fang La’s treasury and agreed to seek the Pixiu carving from a giant ape with Wang Yefeng. After discovering Wang’s hidden schemes, Cao Jinxing recruited Lu Kunlun and the Beggar Gang to help secure the carvings and treasure.

• Cao Jinxing met Wang Yefeng, who explained the three carvings’ origins and claimed his family had inherited the lead to the Qilin carving and Fang Xing’s missing Pixiu.
• Wang Yefeng revealed that Fang Xing’s square-bladed halberd, Marquis Wen’s Silver Halberd, was held by a giant Long-Armed Ape on Monkey Mountain, and asked Cao Jinxing to steal it.
• Cao Jinxing agreed to retrieve the halberd, while Wang Yefeng privately ordered his men to prepare a poison and ambush, revealing that he intended to use Cao Jinxing against the ape.
• Cao Jinxing secretly contacted Lu Kunlun, then met him at Chunhua Inn and asked him to gather Beggar Gang experts to cooperate.
• Cao Jinxing told Lu Kunlun that he could mobilize government troops and that they might obtain the second and possibly third carvings that night.

Cao Jinxing retrieved the silver halberd from the White Ape and exposed Wang Yefeng’s plot, then killed him after learning he served General Qiu Luan. He recovered the map hidden inside the halberd, returned the weapon to the White Ape, and headed toward the fighting in the distance with his bow ready.

• Cao Jinxing and Wang Yefeng reached Sleeping Monkey Flat, where Cao spotted weapons left by recent attackers and deduced that Wang was working with them.
• Cao Jinxing stole the silver halberd from the sleeping White Ape, then pretended to be overwhelmed by its attacks until Wang came down to help.
• Wang Yefeng tried to stab Cao Jinxing, but Cao blocked him and fought back with the Overlord Soul-Chasing Spear while the White Ape joined the attack against Wang.
• Cao Jinxing defeated Wang, severed his right hand, and killed him after Wang revealed his connection to General Qiu Luan.
• Cao Jinxing split open the silver halberd to retrieve its hidden map, returned the halberd to the White Ape, and went toward the distant fighting with his Ten-Thousand-Dan Bow.

Cao Jinxing used hidden arrows to help the Beggar Gang defeat Wang Yefeng’s northwest allies, then handed Lu Kunlun the Qilin Stone Carving and shared the third treasure map. Yue Yang identified its Flower-and-Bird Ravine as Flower-Bird Cove, where the Pei Family was standing guard.

• The Beggar Gang’s fighters blocked Duo Xingzi and the northwest experts while Cao Jinxing fought in the valley.
• Cao Jinxing killed Ironback Camel Dragon and Duo Xingzi with hidden arrows, then helped the Beggar Gang defeat the remaining northwest experts.
• Cao Jinxing emerged from the woods and gave Lu Kunlun the Qilin Stone Carving to keep.
• Cao Jinxing showed the group the third map, marked Flower-and-Bird Ravine, and asked them to identify the location.
• Yue Yang recognized the place as Flower-Bird Cove at Bangyuan Cave’s northern exit and said the Pei Family was guarding it.

Cao Jinxing and the Beggar Gang weighed the dangers of reaching the Pixiu Stone Sculpture at Bangyuan Cave, where several powerful factions were gathered. Cao Jinxing proposed openly giving copies of the map to Wudang, the Tang Sect, and the God of Wealth Gang so they would compete for the treasure and create an opening for the Beggar Gang.

• Cao Jinxing studied the map and realized that reaching the Pixiu Stone Sculpture would alert the nearby factions, including Wudang, the Tang Sect, and the God of Wealth Gang.
• Branch Master Xu, Chai Maolin, and Yu Qingshan described the factions' leaders and experts, while Cao Jinxing worried about the God of Wealth Gang's ambitious leader, Wan Heqing.
• Cao Jinxing considered calling in government troops but decided they first needed all three stone sculptures and proof that the treasure remained.
• Cao Jinxing proposed giving the map to someone else, then attacking that person once the other factions had surrounded him.
• Cao Jinxing refined the plan by suggesting that they make three copies and give one each to Wudang, the Tang Sect, and the God of Wealth Gang, forcing the factions to compete for the treasure.

Li Chonglou and the other factions raced to seize the Pixiu carving after a mysterious map triggered a battle at Flower-Bird Cove. Cao Jinxing escaped with the real carving after striking down Li Chonglou, and Tang Wuyou warned that the treasure was close to emerging.

• Li Chonglou realized the map was designed to provoke the factions into fighting, but ordered Wudang to join the clash when the Tang Sect and God of Wealth Gang opened the passage.
• Wei Shaohua took the Pixiu carving while Tang Wuyou, Liu Cangyan, Li Chonglou, and others fought over it, then discovered the carving was fake and the real one was still with Wei Shaohua.
• The Beggar Gang ambushed the God of Wealth Gang as Cao Jinxing stole the real Pixiu from Wei Shaohua.
• Liu Cangyan attacked Cao Jinxing, who fought off Liu Cangyan's axes and struck Li Chonglou down before escaping with the Pixiu.
• Tang Wuyou said Xia Yiming had allied with the Beggar Gang and warned his people that the treasure was about to emerge.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun combined the three stone carvings into a key, then entered Bangyuan Cave and opened the entrance to Fang La's Treasure. Jiang Lvxia and the Bright Sect had been waiting nearby, and Elder Rat sent a swarm of Gold-Swallowing Rats after them as the treasure chamber opened.

• Cao Jinxing and the Beggar Gang escaped the battle, and Cao Jinxing treated his broken ribs while the group assembled the three carvings into a stone sword that pointed toward Bangyuan Cave.
• Cao Jinxing sent a letter to Hangzhou for reinforcements, then entered Bangyuan Cave with Lu Kunlun and Fourteen while the Beggar Gang's elders stayed behind.
• Elder Rat, Jiang Lvxia, Yue Xiong, and Xiao Han prepared to claim the treasure, and Jiang Lvxia deduced that the disguised Xia Yiming was Cao Jinxing.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun reached the vault door, and Cao Jinxing inserted the stone sword into its keyhole to open the entrance.
• Jiang Lvxia ordered the others to pursue Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun, and Elder Rat unleashed hundreds of Gold-Swallowing Rats into the treasure cavern.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun raced through Fang La’s maze of chambers, escaped the pursuing rats, and reached the treasury. They found weapons, martial arts manuals, and the Sacred Fire Token with Heaven and Earth Great Shift, while Jiang Lvxia and the Opera House searched behind them.

• Cao Jinxing led Lu Kunlun through the correct trigram doors until they lost the Gold-Swallowing Rats pursuing them.
• Jiang Lvxia enlisted Elder Rat and Bai Qichang’s assassins to search the chambers, while Bai Qichang ordered defenses against the arriving sects.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun reached the large mechanism room and opened doors revealing corpses, treasure, weapons, and martial arts manuals.
• Cao Jinxing took concealed weapons and the swords Primordial Unity and Fish Intestine, while Lu Kunlun found the Sacred Fire Canon among the manuals.
• Cao Jinxing opened the silver door and found three Sacred Fire Tokens inscribed with Heaven and Earth Great Shift.

Cao Jinxing began learning Heaven and Earth Great Shift while Lu Kunlun prepared the underground palace’s defenses and sects gathered outside. The Bright Sect and Opera House found the way down, but their attempt to break through the traps ended when a terrifying lion-like roar killed Elder Rat’s Gold-Swallowing Rats and left the intruders reeling.

• Cao Jinxing asked Fourteen to guard him while he studied Heaven and Earth Great Shift, and Lu Kunlun prepared the poison-filled passage for the Bright Sect’s arrival.
• Liu Cangyan and Tang Wuyou discussed the poison blocking the treasure-vault entrance and suspected that Xia Yiming was Cao Jinxing in disguise.
• Huadan and Elder Rat found the route to the underground palace, but Bai Qichang triggered hidden needles and poison when he tried to descend.
• Elder Rat sent a tide of Gold-Swallowing Rats down the stairs to clear the traps, and the gathered fighters heard someone below struggling against them.
• A mighty lion-like roar surged from the underground palace, killing the rats and injuring weaker Bright Sect disciples and Opera House assassins; Elder Rat grieved over their loss.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun fought their way out of the underground palace as the Bright Sect and Opera House forces attacked, with Cao mastering the Heaven and Earth Great Shift under pressure. He left Shi Songqing, Da Qingyi, and Daomadan frozen in a wave of ice and made his escape.

• Xuan Yuan Fourteen killed the attacking Gold-Swallowing Rats with the Vajra Lion's Roar while Lu Kunlun guarded the passage with poisons.
• Jiang Lvxia used Soul-Seizing Zither Music to let Shi Songqing lead the assault, and Cao Jinxing emerged from the silver door to protect Lu Kunlun and Fourteen.
• Cao Jinxing used Storm Pear Blossom Needles to cover Lu Kunlun and Fourteen as they fought past the rear line, while Jiang Lvxia struck him with Myriad Wonderful Sounds.
• Cao Jinxing redirected Yue Xiong and Xiao Han's attacks with the Heaven and Earth Great Shift, causing them to grievously injure each other.
• Cao Jinxing stored the force of Shi Songqing, Da Qingyi, and Daomadan's attacks, combined it with the reservoir water, and froze the three before escaping.

Cao Jinxing escaped the Underground Palace after killing Jiang Lvxia, then hid with Lu Kunlun and Xuan Yuan Fourteen while the Bright Sect, the Opera House, and other factions fought over Fang La's Treasure. Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five recognized Cao Jinxing's potential and ordered Langya Pavilion to stop taking business concerning him, as two riders raced toward Chun'an to join the unfolding events.

• Cao Jinxing used Heaven and Earth Great Shift and underground water to escape the Tongyou experts, then killed Jiang Lvxia with a saber strike.
• Bai Qichang ordered the Opera House to take the treasure and flee, while Shi Songqing and Elder Rat led the Bright Sect in pursuit of Cao Jinxing.
• Cao Jinxing reunited with Lu Kunlun and Xuan Yuan Fourteen, escaped through the corridors, and began healing his injuries.
• The Tang Sect neutralized the Hundred-Flower Seven-Color Miasma, and disciples from the various sects entered the Underground Palace and began fighting over the treasure.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five deduced that Cao Jinxing had mastered Heaven and Earth Great Shift and told Langya Pavilion to accept no business concerning him.
• Two riders hurried from Hangzhou toward Chun'an after learning that Thirteen had found Fang La's Treasure.

After recovering from his injuries, Cao Jinxing left the underground palace and faced six Tongyou experts who tried to stop him. Zhao Yeting arrived as reinforcements, forcing the Jianghu factions to withdraw while the army approached.

• The Bright Sect and the Opera House fled the underground palace, and fighting broke out as other Jianghu fighters attacked the Opera House members carrying treasure.
• Cao Jinxing finished healing, then used "Heaven and Earth Great Shift" to deflect attacks as he and Lu Kunlun made their way toward the entrance.
• Six masked Tongyou experts launched a huge stalactite at Cao Jinxing, but he redirected it and revealed himself as the Embroidered Uniform Guard's thirteenth Guardian.
• The six experts attacked Cao Jinxing, but Zhao Yeting arrived and warned that the army was coming, prompting the Jianghu factions to retreat.
• Zhao Yeting greeted Cao Jinxing as Thirteen, and Cao Jinxing returned the greeting by calling him Tenth Brother.

Cao Jinxing secured the treasury, shared its martial arts manuals with the Beggar Gang, and helped the army take custody of the treasure. As the factions withdrew, Liu Cangyan secretly planned to use an unconventional tactic to take Heaven and Earth Great Shift from Cao Jinxing.

• Cao Jinxing gave the Beggar Gang manuals from the treasury and copied Heaven and Earth Great Shift for them, while accepting Phoenix-Tail Archery in return.
• Wang Yingyang arrived with Elder Rat’s severed head, and Mao Kun’s army secured more than twenty chests containing roughly three hundred thousand taels of treasure.
• Cao Jinxing rested beside the treasury as the Opera House and Bright Sect withdrew, frustrated that they had gained little or lost their chance at the treasure.
• Baishi, Qingyun, and Hongye worried that Li Chonglou might take a dangerous shortcut after Cao Jinxing defeated him, while Li Chonglou began brooding on his defeat.
• Tang Wuyou and the Tang Sect hall masters left for Tang Family Castle, and Liu Cangyan ordered Wei Shaohua and Chu Jingtao to bring their people and recover Heaven and Earth Great Shift by unconventional means.

After returning to Hangzhou with the treasure, Cao Jinxing received an imperial promotion and reward, then failed repeatedly to find rare treasures with Xuan Yuan Fourteen. On his way back from a night of drinking, Huang Fangling used a strange red-eyed technique to seize his and Fourteen’s minds.

• Jiajing promoted Thirteen to Qianhu, awarded him three thousand taels, and bestowed a Limitless Elixir; Cao Jinxing learned he could remain in Hangzhou while court factions clashed.
• Cao Jinxing reached Hangzhou with the treasure, completed his mission, and began searching scenic sites for natural treasures with Xuan Yuan Fourteen, but other people and animals repeatedly took or destroyed his finds.
• Zhao Yeting and Wang Yingyang told Cao Jinxing that Shen Mingqiu had helped convert the treasure into 320,000 taels of silver and described his rivalry with the God of Wealth Gang.
• After drinking with Zhao Yeting and Wang Yingyang, Cao Jinxing headed toward the Post Station and encountered Huang Fangling in a dark, deserted street.
• Huang Fangling’s red-eyed technique overcame Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen, and she approached him while revealing that she was interested in his appearance.

Cao Jinxing turned Yao Hongli’s attempt to steal his Qiankun Bag against her, killed Liu Cangyan, and planted her as a mole inside the God of Wealth Gang. After resting at the Post Station, he received an unexpected visit from Lei Zongliang, who brought him a newly developed firearm called the Peacock Plume.

• Yao Hongli used the Fire Charm Technique to weaken Cao Jinxing’s defenses while Liu Cangyan demanded the Qiankun Bag, but Cao Jinxing secretly regained control of the situation.
• Cao Jinxing used Yao Hongli to lure Liu Cangyan close, then killed him with Fish Intestine and the Sleeve Sword.
• Cao Jinxing made Yao Hongli reveal that Liu Cangyan had acted without Wan Heqing’s knowledge and ordered her to kill Wei Shaohua and Chu Jingtao before returning to the God of Wealth Gang as his mole.
• Cao Jinxing stayed at the Post Station for two days to comfort Xuan Yuan Fourteen, while Beggar Gang disciples confirmed that two more bodies had appeared at Guanyin Temple.
• Lei Zongliang visited Cao Jinxing and presented the Peacock Plume, a firearm he had made using Yanling Eagle feathers.

Cao Jinxing went to West Lake to fish for Golden Babies and met a disguised young woman who had caught several. After revealing his identity as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, he agreed to leave with her, and she introduced herself as Qin Xuanji of Mist-Flow Island.

• Lei Zongliang gave Cao Jinxing the Peacock Plume and told him about Golden Babies in West Lake.
• Cao Jinxing went fishing with Fourteen and found Xiao Shitou drawing a crowd after catching three Golden Babies.
• Han Tang and Du Wei argued over the fish, while Cao Jinxing suspected Xiao Shitou was disguising her appearance.
• Xiao Shitou caught a fourth Golden Baby and chose Cao Jinxing to help her leave, recognizing him as an Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Cao Jinxing gave his name, prompting Du Wei and Han Tang to depart, then learned the beggar was Qin Xuanji of Mist-Flow Island.

Cao Jinxing met Qin Xuanji of Mist-Flow Island at West Lake, where her effortless fishing and interest in a possible lakebed treasure led them to plan a nighttime search. Meanwhile, Li Yuchen of the Chess and Sword Music House watched them from shore, angered that Qin’s family had sent a young visitor to a contest over the Nine Heavens Circlet-Pendant Qin.

• Qin Xuanji identified Cao Jinxing as an Embroidered Uniform Guard from his Bashé Bag, then revealed her true face and helped prepare their fish.
• Qin Xuanji caught fish on bare hooks in seconds, while Cao Jinxing failed to catch anything; they ate Golden Baby and discussed legends of dragons and divine beasts.
• Cao Jinxing wondered whether a treasure lay beneath West Lake, and Qin Xuanji proposed using the Sea-Gathering Secret Art to search for it.
• Li Yuchen learned that a young visitor from Mist-Flow Island had used the Sea-Gathering Secret Art to catch four Golden Babies, and ordered his disciple to keep watch rather than attack.
• Cao Jinxing agreed to search the lake with Qin Xuanji that night, and warned her to be wary of people who might exploit her generosity.
• Qin Xuanji teased Cao Jinxing for still having caught no fish, then laughed at his frustration.

After failing to catch any fish, Cao Jinxing followed Qin Xuanji into West Lake, where she led a school of Golden Dollfish to a hidden cavern. They found the lost [Wine God Stone], and Qin Xuanji offered to sell it to Cao Jinxing, leaving him stunned by its value.

• Cao Jinxing gave up fishing after six hours without a catch, and Qin Xuanji used the Sea-Gathering Secret Art to draw Golden Dollfish with her golden blood.
• Qin Xuanji commanded the Golden Dollfish to lead them through an underwater passage, and Cao Jinxing followed her into a hidden cavern beneath West Lake.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji found a glowing spring and the scattered skeleton of a turtle in the cavern.
• Qin Xuanji identified a blue stone as the lost [Wine God Stone], which could gather spiritual substances and refine them into spirit elixir.
• Qin Xuanji offered to sell the [Wine God Stone] to Cao Jinxing, who realized he could not afford it.

Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji discovered a hidden cave beneath West Lake containing the Wine God Stone and the Demon Cult’s Absorbing Power Great Method. A powerful prisoner captured them and offered Cao Jinxing a deal, leaving their fate uncertain.

• Qin Xuanji gave Cao Jinxing her share of the Wine God Stone in exchange for him helping cover her expenses during her travels through the Central Plains.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji found the Absorbing Power Great Method carved behind vines in a concealed cave, and Cao Jinxing tried to leave before trouble began.
• An old man hidden in the cave attacked them with chains and vines; Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji fought back but were wounded and dragged inside.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji saw that the old man had lost his forearms and lower legs and was chained to a huge iron ball.
• The old man noticed Cao Jinxing’s Embroidered Spring Saber and offered him wealth and honor in exchange for a deal.