Recaps

Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji met a chained man claiming to be Shangguan Tong, who blamed Li Yuzhou for his imprisonment and asked them to retrieve a key. Cao Jinxing saw through the man’s attempt to hypnotize them and use a Soul-Seducing Needle, then stopped Qin Xuanji before she could approach.

• Shangguan Tong claimed Li Yuzhou had poisoned him, severed his limbs, and imprisoned him to obtain the Absorbing Power Great Method.
• Qin Xuanji believed Shangguan Tong’s account, while Cao Jinxing stayed suspicious and prepared poisons.
• Shangguan Tong offered them the Absorbing Power Great Method and asked Cao Jinxing to retrieve the key to his Dragon-Binding Rope from a secret chamber.
• Shangguan Tong used the Mind-Seizing Technique and aimed a Soul-Seducing Needle at Cao Jinxing, revealing that he was not the real Shangguan Tong.
• Cao Jinxing shouted to interrupt the attack and jolt the dazed Qin Xuanji back to her senses.

Cao Jinxing exposed Shangguan Sheng as a murderous Maitreya Sect master imprisoned by Li Yuzhou and fought him alongside Qin Xuanji. After forcing Shangguan Sheng to reveal the Absorbing Power Great Method, they escaped, leaving Li Yuzhou to find the prisoner dead.

• Cao Jinxing recognized Shangguan Sheng’s disguise and deduced that Li Yuzhou had secretly kept him alive to exploit the Mahayana Rebirth Sutra.
• Cao Jinxing exposed Shangguan Sheng’s crimes and poisoned him, while Qin Xuanji joined the fight against the vines he controlled.
• Shangguan Sheng used the Absorbing Power Great Method against Qin Xuanji, but Cao Jinxing blinded him with the Peacock Plume and struck him with the Eight Desolations Punishment Sword Palm.
• Cao Jinxing persuaded Shangguan Sheng to recite the Absorbing Power Great Method, and Qin Xuanji killed him with a stone to the throat.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji escaped the cave, and Li Yuzhou arrived to find Shangguan Sheng dead.

Cao Jinxing tested the Wine God Stone, helped Qin Xuanji settle in, and devised a way to combine the Absorbing Power Great Method with his Cold Toad Art. Meanwhile, a woman from the Murong Family identified Cao Jinxing as one of Shangguan Sheng’s killers and warned Li Yuzhou not to pursue him, then sent a Jade-Clawed Sea-Eagle to report his location.

• Cao Jinxing drove off Chess and Sword Music House disciples who had been watching him and Qin Xuanji, then arranged for Qin Xuanji to stay at the Post Station on Bluestone Street.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji used the Wine God Stone to turn ordinary herbs into fragrant Spirit Liquid that boosted their true qi, and Qin Xuanji examined the guardian qin she had brought to Hangzhou.
• Qin Xuanji recalled how her father, Qin Zhaonan, had won Nine Skies Ringing Jade from the Chess and Sword Music House and worried that returning it to Li Yuzhou would aid a hypocrite.
• Cao Jinxing studied the Absorbing Power Great Method and spent six hours adapting it to refine absorbed true qi through the Cold Toad Art.
• A veiled woman from the Murong Family examined Shangguan Sheng’s body and told Li Yuzhou that Cao Jinxing was one of the killers, warning him that pursuing Cao could destroy the Chess and Sword Music House.
• The Murong woman advised Li Yuzhou to conceal Shangguan Sheng’s death and prepare for the Famous Qin Gathering, then sent a Jade-Clawed Sea-Eagle to tell someone that Cao Jinxing was staying at the Bluestone Street Post Station.

Cao Jinxing traded the Primordial Chaos Sword for rare spiritual materials and used them with the Wine God Stone to prepare for a breakthrough into Tongyou. Outside Hangzhou, Qin Xuanji confronted Aiyixiamu, the former Bright Sect Holy Maiden, who attacked her with the Holy Flame Heaven-Burning Palm.

• Cao Jinxing visited Thousand Autumn House, solved a mechanism puzzle, and revealed the Mohists' Ink Classic inside it.
• Han Tang rewarded Cao Jinxing with a Jade Marrow Ganoderma and traded him a nine-hundred-year-old Ice Chi Grass and one hundred Ice Spirit Fruits for the Primordial Chaos Sword.
• Cao Jinxing noticed pursuers following him, combined his new spiritual materials with the Wine God Stone, and headed out of Hangzhou to attempt a Tongyou breakthrough.
• At Feilai Peak, Qin Xuanji found Aiyixiamu standing among the bodies of men she had killed.
• Qin Xuanji recognized Aiyixiamu as the former Bright Sect Holy Maiden, and Aiyixiamu attacked her with the Holy Flame Heaven-Burning Palm.

Cao Jinxing broke through to Tongyou while the Bright Sect’s pursuers attacked, killed or drained most of them, and rescued Qin Xuanji from Aiyixiamu. After learning the Bright Sect had come to Hangzhou and Li Yuzhou might be tied to disappearances, Cao Jinxing agreed to attend the Famous Qin Gathering in disguise while Zhao Yeting investigated.

• Cao Jinxing reached Tongyou during the Three Friends of Winter and six Bright Sect experts’ ambush, then used Heaven and Earth Great Shift to turn their attacks against them.
• Cao Jinxing killed Green Pine and the six blade-wielding Xiantian experts, then drained Frost Plum and Green Bamboo, advancing to Tongyou Second Layer.
• Aiyixiamu nearly killed Qin Xuanji, but an unseen rescuer shot five arrows and carried her away; Cao Jinxing found her, treated her wounds, and took her back to the Post Station.
• Qin Xuanji told Cao Jinxing she had intervened to save people and intended to attend the Famous Qin Gathering rather than return the qin.
• Zhao Yeting warned Cao Jinxing that Bright Sect forces had reached Hangzhou, and Cao Jinxing revealed that Li Yuzhou might be responsible for disappearances and for sustaining Shangguan Sheng.
• Zhao Yeting asked Cao Jinxing to investigate Li Yuzhou’s allies at the Famous Qin Gathering, gave him a Zither Invitation, and Cao Jinxing agreed to attend in disguise.

Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji attended the Chess and Sword Music House gathering, where Qin prepared to compete on behalf of Mist-Flow Island. As they explored the manor, they learned that Young Master Ouyang had solved Zhang Ruoxu’s famous treasure riddle and hurried to see what he had found.

• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji left the Right Guard garrison and traveled to the Chess and Sword Music House at Thousand Island Lake.
• Qin Xuanji presented her invitation as Mist-Flow Island’s representative, introducing Cao Jinxing as her elder brother, Qin Xuan Shu.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji entered the manor and discussed its gathering, prizes, and hidden riddles while exploring the gardens.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji reached Moon Embracing Tower, where other guests stared at them and Qin Xuanji grew uncomfortable.
• A messenger announced that Young Master Ouyang had solved Zhang Ruoxu’s treasure riddle, and Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji went to investigate.

Cao Jinxing deciphered the hidden mechanism in Zhang Ruoxu’s painting and found a broken blue stone, then left Bright Moon Residence with Qin Xuanji after she defeated Ouyang Chuan. Heavenly Sound Pavilion’s leaders learned that Mist-Flow Island had found another stone and set out for Deer Gate Residence.

• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji reached Bright Moon Residence, where Ouyang Chuan had discovered Zhang Ruoxu’s Moonlit Spring River painting.
• Cao Jinxing recognized the stars in the painting as an acupuncture-point diagram, learned the Profound Moon Mental Method, and found a concealed compartment in a roof beam.
• Cao Jinxing retrieved a broken blue stone marked with the seal-script character “Qian,” prompting Ouyang Chuan to demand it and attack him.
• Qin Xuanji kicked Ouyang Chuan into a wall, breaking his ribs, and then left Bright Moon Residence with Cao Jinxing and the stone.
• A disciple told Li Yuzhou and the others at Heavenly Sound Pavilion that Mist-Flow Island had solved Zhang Ruoxu’s puzzle and obtained a stone.
• Li Yuzhou, Daoist Master Qianhe, Master Mingchan, Zhang Chong, and Pei Sheng headed to Deer Gate Residence.

Cao Jinxing comprehended Meng Haoran’s Vast Righteousness Sword at Deer Gate Residence and uncovered another mysterious stone. As he and Qin Xuanji left for Luo Binwang’s former home, Wan Heqing took an interest in Cao Jinxing and offered the Chess and Sword Music House a condition.

• Cao Jinxing arrived at Deer Gate Residence with Qin Xuanji and studied Meng Haoran’s sword riddle while Han Tang and Du Wei traded insults nearby.
• Cao Jinxing swiftly comprehended the Vast Righteousness Sword, stunning the crowd with its immense righteous sword intent.
• Li Yuzhou and four others watched Cao Jinxing practice, recognized Qin Xuanji as a Mist-Flow Island expert, and met Wan Heqing, who offered to improve their chances of reclaiming the [Nine Skies Ringing Jade Qin] in exchange for a condition.
• Cao Jinxing followed the sword’s final stroke to a hidden mechanism beneath the eaves and found another strange stone that fit the piece from Zhang Ruoxu’s room.
• Cao Jinxing silenced the crowd by burying a dead branch in stone, then left with Qin Xuanji for Mayfly Residence; Du Wei considered seizing the stone for his society head.

Cao Jinxing comprehended Luo Binwang’s Binwang Force, claimed the jade fragment hidden in the great bell, and left Mayfly Residence with Qin Xuanji. Wan Heqing watched him and planned to handle him herself, while Li Yufeng’s attempt to stop the siblings ended when Li Yuzhou ordered him to stand down.

• Cao Jinxing studied the symbols on Luo Binwang’s bell and used Qin Xuanji’s Nine Heavens Ringing Pendants to strike it with Binwang Force.
• The bell’s mechanism opened, and Cao Jinxing took another jade fragment, which joined the pieces he had already collected.
• Wan Heqing rejected Du Wei’s suggestion to kill Cao Jinxing and told him she would deal with Cao Jinxing herself.
• Cao Jinxing reminded Li Yuzhou that the riddles’ treasures belonged to their solvers and warned the onlookers not to pry into his belongings.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji left, ignoring Li Yufeng when he challenged their manners.
• Li Yufeng drew his sword to attack, but Li Yuzhou stopped him, and the siblings continued on their way.

Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji discovered that the jade fragment was the Heaven-Covering Formation, which led them to the Fire Phoenix at Changbai Heavenly Lake. At the Famous Qin Gathering, Qin Xuanji challenged the Chess and Sword Music House, while Shan Qingcheng used Self-Sacrifice Needles to face her and Wan Heqing approached Cao Jinxing to ask about three stones.

• Qin Xuanji identified Cao Jinxing’s jade fragment as the Heaven-Covering Formation, part of the Eight Formation Diagram, and explained its link to the He Shi Bi and the eight forces of nature.
• Cao Jinxing activated the formation and received a vision pointing to the Fire Phoenix at Changbai Heavenly Lake, though the effort drained his internal energy and Qin Xuanji had to replenish it.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji attended the Famous Qin Gathering, where Li Yuchen introduced the Nian Nu Jiao zither as the prize for the contest.
• Qin Xuanji took the platform to challenge the Chess and Sword Music House, and Shan Qingcheng used five Self-Sacrifice Needles to raise his cultivation before facing her.
• Wan Heqing approached Cao Jinxing and asked him what the three stones were.

Cao Jinxing resisted Wan Heqing’s Fire Charm Technique as Qin Xuanji defeated Shan Qingcheng in the qin contest and exposed the Chess and Sword Music House’s deception with Heart-Replenishing Needles. The gathering collapsed in disgrace, Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji departed with the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendants, and Li Yuzhou realized the broken wine gourd might have contained the Wine God Stone.

• Cao Jinxing rebuffed Wan Heqing’s seduction and insulted her while Qin Xuanji and Shan Qingcheng began their musical duel.
• Qin Xuanji overpowered Shan Qingcheng’s Ambush from Ten Sides with Dragon Soaring Melody, severely injuring him and damaging the platform.
• Qin Xuanji revealed that Shan Qingcheng had used Heart-Replenishing Needles, then exposed his feigned collapse by stamping on his arm.
• Cao Jinxing mocked the Chess and Sword Music House, and Li Yufeng attacked him before Song Xian and the Sword-Wielding Elder intervened.
• The guests condemned and abandoned the Chess and Sword Music House as Cao Jinxing and Qin Xuanji left with the Nine Heavens Ringing Pendants.
• Li Yuzhou noticed the distinctive aroma from a broken wine gourd and suspected it had held the Wine God Stone.

After the Chess and Sword Music House exposed its own scandal, Li Yuzhou’s group discovered a fragment of the Wine God Stone and decided to seize it from Qin Xuan Shu. They ambushed his room at the Apricot Blossom Tower, where Cao Jinxing and the Embroidered Uniform Guards had prepared a trap.

• Li Yuzhou rebuked the other leaders for their part in the scandal and urged them to prioritize the Chess and Sword Music House’s power.
• Li Yuzhou recognized the fragrance from a gourd fragment as Wine God Stone Spirit Liquid and suspected Qin Xuan Shu had the missing treasure.
• Li Yuzhou wondered whether Qin Xuan Shu might be Cao Jinxing, but the group dismissed the possibility and agreed to attack the Qin siblings.
• Li Yuchen, Li Yufeng, Pei Sheng, and Zhang Chong tracked the siblings to the Apricot Blossom Tower and chose to target Qin Xuan Shu.
• The four leaders entered Heaven Room One and attacked the figure on the bed, but Zhao Yeting, Wang Yingyang, Han Tang, and Shen’s fighters surrounded them.
• Cao Jinxing revealed himself in the room and confronted the trapped attackers.

Cao Jinxing exposed Li Yuzhou’s crimes and arrested Li Yuchen and Li Yufeng, but Li Yuzhou sent a vast flock of birds to disrupt the capture. As the birds overwhelmed the defenders and Qin Xuanji was wounded, Cao Jinxing prepared to counter them with his bone flute.

• Cao Jinxing revealed that Li Yuzhou had imprisoned Shangguan Sheng and fed him refugees’ vital essence, then ordered Li Yuchen, Li Yufeng, Pei Sheng, and Zhang Chong to surrender.
• Li Yuchen and Li Yufeng attacked Wang Yingyang and Zhao Yeting, while Pei Sheng and Zhang Chong stayed out of the fight.
• Smiling Buddha and Shan Maozi guarded Apricot Blossom Tower as a huge flock led by the Jade-Clawed Sea-Eagle descended on them.
• Qin Xuanji used her zither to kill attacking birds, but a returning throwing knife cut her shoulder and interrupted her music.
• Cao Jinxing and his allies subdued Li Yuchen and Li Yufeng, pierced their shoulder blades with hooks, and forced them to swallow poison as birds flooded Heaven Room One.
• Cao Jinxing took out his bone flute and prepared to counter Li Yuzhou’s bird-taming attack.

Cao Jinxing and his allies repelled the bird assault at Apricot Blossom Tower and exposed Li Yuzhou and Murong Yan’s attack. With Wu Xuan’s help, Cao Jinxing killed the Jade-Clawed Sea-Eagle and defeated the attackers, leaving Li Yuzhou and Murong Yan dying on the ground.

• Cao Jinxing played the Snowbound Siege Song, slowing the birds while Han Tang and the others fought them off.
• A servant warned Shan Maozi and Smiling Buddha that Shen Mingqiu was under attack at Huating Garden, so they withdrew with their men.
• Two masked attackers stormed Heaven Room One, drove its defenders outside, and moved to seize Cao Jinxing.
• Wu Xuan emerged from the wardrobe and struck Li Yuzhou with Bone-Melting Cotton Palm, allowing Cao Jinxing to sever Li Yuzhou’s arm.
• Murong Yan carried Li Yuzhou toward the Jade-Clawed Sea-Eagle, but Xuan Yuan Fourteen’s roar and Cao Jinxing’s arrows killed the bird.
• Wu Xuan blocked Murong Yan’s escape, and Cao Jinxing’s arrow and Wu Xuan’s palms left Murong Yan and Li Yuzhou collapsing with ruptured meridians and organs.

Cao Jinxing’s plan brought down Li Yuzhou and Murong Yan, while the Bright Sect’s rescue effort failed and its leaders prepared to flee. In the dungeon, Murong Yan’s confession confirmed Li Yuzhou had raised a demon, and Cao Jinxing examined a mysterious maple-leaf jade pendant found on him.

• Wu Xuan helped Cao Jinxing capture Li Yuzhou, Murong Yan, and the other Chess and Sword Music House conspirators, and Cao thanked Han Tang by giving him the Mystic Moon Heart Art.
• Cao Jinxing gave Qin Xuanji a metal flask, then discussed interrogating Li Yuzhou to uncover the Demon Cult’s hiding place.
• Wan Heqing watched the capture from afar and put her plan involving Cao Jinxing on hold, while the attackers at Shen Mingqiu’s residence withdrew after learning their mission had failed.
• Xu Shicheng learned that Wu Xuan had defeated Li Yuzhou and Murong Yan, and Aiyixiamu ordered the Bright Sect to evacuate and contact the Murong Family.
• A dungeon officer reported that Murong Yan had confessed to knowing Li Yuzhou raised a demon beneath West Lake, and Cao Jinxing began examining the maple-leaf jade pendant found on Li Yuzhou.

Cao Jinxing learned that the Maple Leaf Jade Pendant opened the Chess and Sword Music House’s Medicine Garden, though Li Yuzhou had depleted most of its herbs. As Cao Jinxing questioned Li Yuzhou about the Demon Cult, Li Yuzhou secretly hoped the pendant would lead him to his death.

• Cao Jinxing released Pei Sheng and Zhang Chong from their shackles and agreed that the Pacification Commission would punish only the chief culprits in the Chess and Sword Music House case.
• Pei Sheng told Cao Jinxing that the Maple Leaf Jade Pendant was the key to the Medicine Garden, the Chess and Sword Music House’s Secret Realm.
• Pei Sheng and Zhang Chong revealed that Li Yuzhou had used up most of the Medicine Garden’s spiritual plants, leaving mainly young seedlings.
• Cao Jinxing joined Wang Yingyang and Zhao Yeting as they questioned Li Yuzhou about Murong Yan and the Demon Cult, but Li Yuzhou remained silent.
• Li Yuzhou recognized the Maple Leaf Jade Pendant and secretly hoped Cao Jinxing would go to the Medicine Garden and fall into danger.

Cao Jinxing provoked Li Yuzhou into revealing that the hidden medicinal garden could be used against the Demon Cult Bright Lineage, while officials exposed Li’s crimes and the Chess and Sword Music House collapsed. After questioning Murong Bai’s account of Murong Yan’s expulsion, Cao Jinxing went alone to the medicinal garden to lure the Bright Sect pursuers into a trap.

• Cao Jinxing proposed using Li Yuzhou’s secret realm to trap the Bright Sect, and his taunts drove Li to spit blood and faint.
• The authorities published evidence of Li Yuzhou’s crimes, the Chess and Sword Music House was abandoned, and victims’ relatives burned its buildings.
• Murong Bai presented the family genealogy and claimed Murong Yan had been expelled as a child, while Cao Jinxing doubted the family had revealed everything.
• Cao Jinxing refused Qin Xuanji’s offer to accompany him and headed alone to the medicinal garden on Dragon Mountain Island.
• As unfamiliar presences arrived on the island, Cao Jinxing moved toward the concealed entrance mechanism, preparing to spring his trap.

Cao Jinxing lured the Bright Sect’s leaders into ambushing him at the hidden medicinal garden, then killed Yue Xiong and turned the fight against the others. He escaped their coordinated attacks long enough to seize Xiao Han and drain his true qi, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Cao Jinxing pretended to discover the medicinal garden entrance, but Shi Songqing and six other Bright Sect experts arrived and surrounded him with the Flame Might Demon-Breaking Formation.
• Cao Jinxing appeared to flee, but Aiyixiamu and Xu Shicheng caught him in the Green Ivy Net while the group launched attacks.
• Cao Jinxing used the net as a spinning blade and concealed a poisoned Phoenix-Tail Needle behind it, killing Yue Xiong.
• Cao Jinxing tried to escape again, but Aiyixiamu and Xu Shicheng struck him in midair, and he coughed up blood before redirecting the other pursuers’ attacks with Heaven and Earth Great Shift.
• Cao Jinxing caught Xiao Han’s sword and used Absorbing Power Great Method to drain Xiao Han’s true qi, then said Xiao Han would die.

Cao Jinxing killed the three Bright Sect Banner Envoys and lured Xu Shicheng, Aiyixiamu, Shi Songqing, and Nie Yang into the Medicine Garden before trapping them inside. As he treated his injuries outside, a furious Heavenly Flood Dragon descended on the trapped fighters.

• Cao Jinxing redirected Xu Shicheng’s Sea-Calming Divine Needle to kill Yang Yanting, leaving all three Banner Envoys dead.
• Cao Jinxing entered the Medicine Garden through its mechanism, escaped back outside, and blocked the Dragon-Breaking Stone doors with artificial hills.
• Xu Shicheng, Aiyixiamu, Shi Songqing, and Nie Yang failed to break out and discovered a scarlet Heavenly Flood Dragon in the garden.
• Cao Jinxing shot a Phoenix-Tail Needle through the door to enrage the Heavenly Flood Dragon, then taunted the four trapped fighters while he treated his wounds.

Cao Jinxing watched the Bright Sect’s wounded fighters battle Li Yuzhou’s Heavenly Flood Dragon, then led government reinforcements into the herb garden after the beast fell. He killed Xu Shicheng and helped overwhelm the survivors, but Aiyixiamu emerged in a blood-fueled rage and charged him.

• Cao Jinxing recognized Nie Yang’s Six Frost-Ao Techniques and sent Xuan Yuan Fourteen to summon reinforcements while the four Bright Sect fighters battled the Heavenly Flood Dragon.
• Wang Yingyang, Zhao Yeting, Zheng Shaohu, and five hundred soldiers arrived as the Heavenly Flood Dragon died, and Cao Jinxing led them into the garden.
• Cao Jinxing harassed Xu Shicheng, Shi Songqing, and Nie Yang with arrows, then coordinated a barrage and combined attacks that killed Xu Shicheng.
• Wang Yingyang, Zhao Yeting, and Zheng Shaohu pressed their attacks against the wounded Shi Songqing and Nie Yang, but Aiyixiamu burst from the serpent’s belly and drove them back.
• Aiyixiamu saw Xu Shicheng’s corpse, charged Cao Jinxing through the soldiers’ arrows, and reached the boulder to strike him with a powerful palm.

Cao Jinxing defeated Aiyixiamu with the Fire Charm Technique, though she went mad and unleashed a devastating scream before Qin Xuanji killed her and saved Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen. News of Cao Jinxing’s victories reached the capital, where Jiajing rewarded him with training at Xuandu Temple and ordered him recalled because the north was unstable.

• Cao Jinxing used Xuan Yuan Fourteen’s roar and the Fire Charm Technique to distract Aiyixiamu, then stabbed her through the chest.
• Aiyixiamu awakened from the illusion, knocked out the government soldiers with her scream, and charged Cao Jinxing while mistaking him for Zhang Dajing.
• Qin Xuanji wounded Aiyixiamu with sound blades and killed her with a palm strike, then treated Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen.
• Wang Yingyang, Zhao Yeting, and Zheng Shaohu arrived as news spread that Cao Jinxing had killed the Bright Sect’s Holy Maiden and Dharma King Protector.
• Liu Zhenyuan and Lu Bing reported Cao Jinxing’s deeds to Jiajing, who granted him fifteen days at Xuandu Temple’s Flying Tiger Pool and ordered him back to the capital.
• Jiajing told Lu Bing to keep a close eye on Qiu Luan.

Cao Jinxing recovered at the guard station, received the spoils from the battle, and learned that the court had publicized his achievements against the Bright Sect. As he shared Heavenly Flood Dragon soup with Qin Xuanji and Zhao Yeting, Wang Yingyang arrived with orders for him to travel to the capital for his rewards.

• Cao Jinxing woke from his injuries beside a healed Xuan Yuan Fourteen, and Qin Xuanji brought him the weapons and medicines taken from their enemies.
• Qin Xuanji identified the medicines and gave Cao Jinxing the Bright Light Pills; he shared half with her because she had killed Aiyixiamu.
• Qin Xuanji told Cao Jinxing that the government had taken control of Dragon Mountain Island and restored the medicinal garden.
• Zhao Yeting said the court had made Cao Jinxing's achievements public, turning him into a celebrity across the Southeast.
• Cao Jinxing, Qin Xuanji, and Zhao Yeting began eating Heavenly Flood Dragon soup, but Wang Yingyang arrived with orders for Cao Jinxing to set out for the capital within three days to receive his rewards.

Cao Jinxing left Hangzhou for the capital, where he hoped to explore the Limitless Elixir and Flying Tiger Pool, and exchanged the Heaven-Covering Formation for the Wind-Raising Formation after meeting Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five. Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five and Zhang Celestial Master then prepared to use the Heaven Formation to pursue their plans as turmoil approached.

• Wang Yingyang told Cao Jinxing that Jiajing had ordered him to return to the capital within three days because the northern frontier was growing unstable, and Cao agreed to leave.
• Cao Jinxing visited Yang Luoshi at the Weaving Bureau, received wine, provisions, and a fine horse, then accompanied Qin Xuanji to Lingyin Temple to return the Green Ivy Net.
• Qin Xuanji gave Cao Jinxing a bodhi-seed bracelet when he left Hangzhou, and she said she would find him again in the capital.
• On the road to Yangzhou, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five confronted Cao Jinxing and demanded the Heaven-Covering Formation in exchange for the Wind-Raising Formation and help reaching Pengxuan Grotto-Heaven.
• Cao Jinxing handed over the Heaven-Covering Formation and accepted the Wind-Raising Formation, then rode on without asking the old man about his plans.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five revealed to Zhang Celestial Master that he intended to use the Heaven Formation to divine the future, while they prepared for the coming upheaval and the emergence of the Divine Beasts.

Cao Jinxing returned to the capital, received rewards for his victory over the Bright Sect, and visited the Central Secret Vault to ask about the Heavenly Book Steles. He learned that three steles remained in the world, with one and a half hidden in the Imperial Palace.

• Cao Jinxing returned to the capital and met Liu Zhenyuan, bringing him wine, meat, and spoils from Hangzhou.
• Cao Jinxing handed over the Sacred Fire Tokens and Heaven and Earth Great Shift for the Secret Vault, while keeping the Four Public Masks.
• Liu Zhenyuan gave Cao Jinxing his Qianhu uniform, silver, a Limitless Elixir, permission to cultivate in Xuandu Temple's Flying Tiger Pool, and a token to choose two items from the Secret Vault's fifth floors.
• Cao Jinxing learned that Sun Lang and Su Yunsheng had advanced to Xiantian and that Lu Jiaming and Gu Yanzhu had improved their cultivation.
• Cao Jinxing asked the old Daoist about the Heavenly Book Steles and heard how ancient masters had gained insights from them.
• The old Daoist told Cao Jinxing that half a stele was in Black Dragon Pool, one was on Mount Tai, and one and a half were in the Imperial Palace.

Cao Jinxing mastered the Six Army Mirror in the Secret Vault, gaining control of eight types of true qi, and took a concealed weapon before returning to the Imperial Prison. He learned that Yan Shaoting had been released from confinement, leaving him wary of what might come next.

• The old Taoist advised Cao Jinxing to study the Nameless Manual, whose Military Formation Diagram appeared to contain Li Jing’s Six Army Mirror, and warned him about its danger.
• Cao Jinxing saw through the diagram’s deceptive battlefield and used it to transform his Cold Toad True Qi into eight types of true qi, mastering the Six Army Mirror.
• Cao Jinxing demonstrated his Holy Flame Heaven-Burning Palm to the old Taoist, then used his second chance to take a concealed-weapon tube of needles from the Secret Vault.
• Cao Jinxing returned to the Imperial Prison, where Lu Jiaming, Gu Yanzhu, Su Yunsheng, and Sun Lang greeted him and repeated exaggerated rumors about his fight with the Bright Sect.
• Lu Jiaming told Cao Jinxing that Qiu Luan had left for Xuanfu and that Yan Shaoting had been released from confinement after the Longevity Palace was completed.