Chapter Summaries

Cao Jinxing disguised himself as Ji Shaoqin to rescue Bai Yunxiu and escape Wansong Manor, then joined Song Chengxi as they prepared to pursue the Wandering Immortal Coin. Song Chengxi tested Murong Hua’s defenses before leaving, and Cao Jinxing learned that Heaven and Earth Great Shift could complement Xiantian Astral Qi.

• Murong Qing and Bai Yunxiu fought while Ji Wenfeng battled the White Dragon Gu, and Ji Shaoqin arrived to take charge of the wounded Spirit Snake Envoy.
• Disguised as Ji Shaoqin, Cao Jinxing ambushed Ji Wenfeng with Bai Yunxiu’s help, poisoned him, and restored the White Dragon Gu with a Heavenly King Pill.
• Cao Jinxing carried Bai Yunxiu onto the White Dragon Gu, defeated the manor guards, and escaped before the real Ji Shaoqin and Yuan Yiren arrived.
• Song Chengxi and Murong Hua watched the escape from the rear mountain, and Cao Jinxing introduced himself as Xia Xueyi.
• Song Chengxi struck Murong Hua with the Cold Toad Art, then left with Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu on the White Dragon Gu.
• Song Chengxi explained how Heaven and Earth Great Shift could work with Xiantian Astral Qi and planned to investigate the Wandering Immortal Coin before meeting Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu in Jiangnan.

Bai Yunxiu used the Immortal Roaming Coins to locate Ma Boyi in Shaoxing, where the Faxiang experts planned to gather to enter Qilin Cave. As the families and sects prepared for the dangerous expedition, Wang Daozong left Wudang for Jiangnan, followed secretly by Li Chonglou.

• Song Chengxi warned Cao Jinxing that Ma Boyi's Iron-Refining Hand countered his Cold Toad art, while Zhang Mingyan's thunder and rain could disrupt Cao Jinxing's archery.
• Cao Jinxing and Song Chengxi lent Bai Yunxiu their true qi until the Immortal Roaming Coins settled, and Bai Yunxiu divined that Ma Boyi was in Shaoxing Prefecture.
• Murong Hua told the people at Wansong Manor that Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five had invited him to enter Heavenly Maiden Mountain's secret realm and seek the Qilin and the Great Dao Stele.
• Murong Hua warned Ji Wenfeng and Ji Shaoqin that he knew about the Ji Family's background and Tiger Tally, then urged them to cooperate; he also refused Yuan Mingyuan's request to join the expedition.
• At Wudang, Wang Daozong told Li Xuanzong he would go south for the expedition, and Li Xuanzong made him promise to return alive.
• Wang Daozong flew south on a yellow crane, but Li Chonglou followed him on his own white crane after Wang ordered him to stay behind.

Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu headed toward Shaoxing while Song Chengxi went to retrieve the Arrow God's ancestral bow and manual. In Shaoxing, Cao Jinxing rescued Lu Kunlun and Yue Yang from the Five Element Ninja, then asked Yue Yang to help him with something.

• Song Chengxi arranged to meet Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu in five days, then flew off on the White Dragon Gu to retrieve the Eight Desolations Sun-Shooting Bow and Four Symbols Sun-Shooting Arrow Manual.
• Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu disguised themselves and flew to Shaoxing to scout ahead of the enemy's move.
• Lu Kunlun and Yue Yang fled five Five Element Ninja after discovering a Thousand-Year Wood Guì, and Lu Kunlun stayed behind to fight while Yue Yang escaped with the treasure.
• Cao Jinxing arrived in time to kill the Earth, Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water Ninja and save Yue Yang and the badly wounded Lu Kunlun.
• Lu Kunlun recognized Cao Jinxing by their secret phrase, then fainted; Cao Jinxing told Yue Yang to treat him and help find a place to rest.

Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu helped Yue Yang and Lu Kunlun after they were ambushed by Japanese ninjas, then asked the Beggar Gang to find swordsmith Ma Boyi. After Lu Kunlun exposed and executed the traitorous Wu Qingming, he ordered his disciples to search for Ma Boyi and investigate recent Jianghu events, sensing trouble brewing in Shaoxing.

• Yue Yang told Cao Jinxing that ninjas had ambushed him and Lu Kunlun after they found a Mu Gui, and suspected an insider had betrayed them.
• Cao Jinxing asked Yue Yang and Lu Kunlun to search Shaoxing for Ma Boyi, and Lu Kunlun agreed before giving Cao half of the Mu Gui.
• Cao Jinxing cooked the Mu Gui with ginseng and deer antler velvet, and he, Bai Yunxiu, and Xuan Yuan Fourteen shared the soup.
• Lu Kunlun confronted Wu Qingming, exposed his collusion with the Wokou, and killed him after the Beggar Gang disciples recited their rule against betraying the gang and colluding with foreigners.
• Lu Kunlun ordered You Feng to report the betrayal, circulate Ma Boyi's portrait, and gather news of Jianghu events, then told Yue Yang that Shaoxing had too many people and a storm was coming.

Cao Jinxing learned that the Demon Cult had placed a massive bounty on him, while Lu Kunlun warned him of the danger. As Japanese warrior Kitahara Ryusei approached the ruined temple seeking the owner of a powerful weapon, Cao Jinxing’s flying sword killed his men and chipped the divine blade [Futsu-no-Mitama].

• Lu Kunlun told Cao Jinxing that He Qianqiu had killed Mad Maitreya and Spirit Child despite being poisoned, then fought the Demon Cult’s three deputy leaders until reinforcements arrived.
• Lu Kunlun revealed that Cao Jinxing was on the Demon Path Pursuit Order with a reward of fifty thousand taels of gold and ten Wenyu fruits, and warned that the Western Regions Three Fiends had accepted the bounty.
• Cao Jinxing reassured Lu Kunlun that the Four Public Masks would help him evade pursuers, and Lu offered to help with his plans.
• Kitahara Ryusei arrived near the ruined temple with fifteen masked men, seeking the person whose weapon had stirred the fighting spirit of his divine sword, [Futsu-no-Mitama].
• Cao Jinxing’s Heavenly Dao Sword killed all fifteen men and pierced the old man Golden Monk’s arm before clashing with Kitahara Ryusei’s [Futsu-no-Mitama], leaving a chip in its edge.

Cao Jinxing and his companions hid at Mi Nantian’s inn in Shaoxing while searching for Ma Boyi, whom they located at the Flowing Goblet Pavilion among several Faxiang experts. As they ate a meal prepared by the mute servant, White-Browed Daoist arrived at the inn, revealing himself as one of Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s invited Faxiang experts.

• Cao Jinxing, Bai Yunxiu, Lu Kunlun, and Yue Yang entered Shaoxing and stayed at the secluded inn run by Mi Nantian, a former Beggar Gang chief.
• Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu met the mute servant, whose fishing and hunting brought them excellent meals, while Lu Kunlun and Yue Yang searched for Ma Boyi.
• Lu Kunlun and Yue Yang found Ma Boyi at the Flowing Goblet Pavilion, where Wang Daozong and Master Kuxing were among several Faxiang experts.
• Bai Yunxiu gave Yue Yang a Wind-Listening Gu to place near the pavilion, and the mute servant returned with three rare Azure Jie and prepared them as porridge.
• White-Browed Daoist arrived at the inn asking for a bowl, and Cao Jinxing recognized him as one of the Faxiang experts invited by Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five.

White-Browed Daoist healed the mute servant at the inn, then met with the other masters plotting to capture the Qilin and revealed a formation that could contain Song Chengxi. Afterward, he secretly sent a letter, hoping the events at Tongyou Peak would help someone advance further.

• White-Browed Daoist drank Cao Jinxing's Azure Jie congee and used his true qi to cure the mute servant's hunched back, while Mi Nantian stopped Lu Kunlun from attacking him.
• White-Browed Daoist left the inn without harming Cao Jinxing or the others, and Cao Jinxing questioned whether the visit had been staged for him to witness.
• White-Browed Daoist joined Wang Daozong, Master Kuxing, and Ma Boyi to discuss locating Qilin Cave and the threat posed by Song Chengxi.
• White-Browed Daoist revealed the Earth-Bearing Formation and offered to combine it with his Kun Yuan Skill to hold off Song Chengxi.
• White-Browed Daoist called his former disciples discarded pawns and secretly sent a letter, hoping three people at Tongyou Peak would help someone advance another step.

After three days in hiding, Cao Jinxing went to Queting Mountain and uncovered an ambush by the Three Fiends and Xie Yunli. When they refused to reveal how they had tracked him, Cao Jinxing attacked them with his Pure Yang Palm.

• Xuan Yuan Fourteen returned to the inn with a haul of rare creatures and spiritual plants gathered while following the mute servant.
• Cao Jinxing climbed Queting Mountain, took shelter from a sudden storm, and recognized the herb-gathering family in the pavilion as the disguised Three Fiends.
• Cao Jinxing identified the fourth ambusher as Xie Yunli, the White-Browed Daoist's expelled disciple, and learned that he had poisoned the pavilion.
• The Three Fiends revealed their weapons and formed a Three Powers Formation around Cao Jinxing.
• Cao Jinxing demanded to know how they had found him, then unleashed his Pure Yang Palm when Earthly Deficient ordered the others to kill him.

Cao Jinxing defeated the Three Fiends of the Western Regions, discovered that Xie Yunli had lured them to him on White-Browed's orders, and advanced to the Tongyou Ninth Layer. At Dragon Pool, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five and Zhang Mingyan prepared to enter Qilin Cave, while Li Chonglou and Ji Shaoqin discussed the gathered experts and missing Wandering Immortal Coin.

• Cao Jinxing used his Pure Yang Palm to break Human Calamity's arms, then defeated Earthly Deficient and Heavenly Disabled with Xiantian Astral Qi and counterattacks.
• Cao Jinxing exposed Xie Yunli hiding inside a tree and learned that White-Browed had revealed his location, but Xie Yunli escaped using the Earth Qilin's divine power.
• Cao Jinxing drained the three defeated fiends with Distance-Absorbing Power, reached the Tongyou Ninth Layer, and buried their bodies.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five told Zhang Mingyan that he had broken Dragon Pool's water-curtain barrier, but warned that they should wait for the others before entering Qilin Cave.
• Ji Shaoqin told Li Chonglou that the Wandering Immortal Coin was missing and had fallen into Song Chengxi's hands, then discussed the Star Sect's young Beauty Ranking prodigy.

Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu traced the likely entrance to Heavenly Maiden Mountain to Dragon Pool and discussed the uncertain presence of another force there. Song Chengxi returned with the Eight Desolations Sun-Shooting Bow after freezing the Arrow God's Descendants and Divine Arrow Mountain, and Cao Jinxing began studying the bow and its techniques as the group prepared for what lay ahead.

• Xuan Yuan Fourteen returned to the inn with food, and Cao Jinxing gave it seven Jade Flowers that he had bought.
• Bai Yunxiu told Cao Jinxing that she had overheard Flowing Goblet Pavilion youths mention Heavenly Maiden Mountain's Dragon Pool as a likely entrance to a hidden realm.
• Cao Jinxing and Bai Yunxiu considered whether the mountain's supposed immortals were real and discussed the threat posed by Xie Yunli and White Brows as a possible third force.
• Song Chengxi arrived early and revealed that he had frozen the Arrow God's Descendants and Divine Arrow Mountain after they refused to cooperate.
• Song Chengxi gave Cao Jinxing the Eight Desolations Sun-Shooting Bow, its thirteen arrows, and an archery manual, and Cao Jinxing began studying its techniques.

As powerful sect heirs arrived in the city, Lu Kunlun protected Cao Jinxing’s identity while confronting Li Chonglou, Ji Shaoqin, and Jiang Yuebai. Jiang Yuebai deduced that the disguised Xia Xueyi was Cao Jinxing, leaving the trio aware that he was connected to the Beggar Gang’s surveillance.

• Lu Kunlun and Yue Yang worried that the growing number of Faxiang experts and sect heirs endangered Cao Jinxing.
• Li Chonglou, Ji Shaoqin, and Jiang Yuebai entered the Beggar Gang courtyard with You Feng, whom Ji Shaoqin had injured for keeping watch on them.
• Lu Kunlun rebuked the visitors by invoking the Beggar Gang’s fight against the Wokou, prompting Li Chonglou and Ji Shaoqin to apologize and offer healing pills.
• Ji Shaoqin showed Lu Kunlun a portrait of Xia Xueyi, the suspected thief of the Wandering Immortal Coin, and asked him to help locate the man.
• Lu Kunlun recognized Xia Xueyi as Cao Jinxing’s new face but concealed his reaction and agreed to help.
• Jiang Yuebai reasoned that Cao Jinxing was Xia Xueyi and that Lu Kunlun’s hidden lookouts showed the Beggar Gang was helping him.

Jiang Yuebai exposed a suspicious message meant to send Ji Shaoqin away, but Ji Shaoqin was ambushed and captured by Cao Jinxing and Song Chengxi. Cao Jinxing learned the Ji Family’s secrets, assumed Ji Shaoqin’s identity, and arrived at Jian Lake just as Ji Runcheng’s carriage appeared.

• Jiang Yuebai used her mind-reading art on the waiter and confirmed that Ji Shaoqin’s grandfather had sent for him at Jian Lake.
• Cao Jinxing shot Ji Shaoqin with a pebble, and Song Chengxi forced him to reveal the [Tomb Tiger Talisman] and demonstrate the Formation-Breaking Overlord Spear.
• Cao Jinxing disguised himself as Ji Shaoqin and told Ji Wenfeng that Xia Xueyi was Cao Jinxing.
• Ji Wenfeng reassured Cao Jinxing that he should join the expedition and seek opportunities to strengthen himself in Qilin Cave.
• Ji Runcheng’s carriage arrived at Jian Lake, and Cao Jinxing greeted him while still disguised as Ji Shaoqin.

Cao Jinxing infiltrated the group of nine Faxiang experts preparing to enter the immortal mountain beneath Heavenly Maiden Dragon Pool, carrying the [Wind-Listening Gu] so Song Chengxi and Bai Yunxiu could follow. After Xie Yunli secretly gave him five green stones and cryptic instructions, Cao Jinxing entered the pool, leaving their purpose uncertain.

• Cao Jinxing joined Ji Runcheng and Ji Wenfeng in the carriage, passed Ji Runcheng's test, and learned the details of Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five's plan to enter the immortal mountain and kill the Qilin.
• The nine Faxiang experts gathered at the Flowing Goblet Pavilion and decided to enter Heavenly Maiden Dragon Pool that afternoon, ahead of the starry night needed to use the Star Sect's treasure at full strength.
• Cao Jinxing collected the [Wind-Listening Gu] and set out with the group, while Song Chengxi and Bai Yunxiu followed behind and the real Ji Shaoqin remained imprisoned in a farmhouse courtyard.
• At Dragon Pool Pit, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five led the experts into the water toward the submerged entrance, and Xie Yunli gave Cao Jinxing five green stones with instructions to wear them and injure himself in the darkness.
• Cao Jinxing passed Xie Yunli's message to the [Wind-Listening Gu], hid four stones among the rocks, and plunged into the icy pool.

Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five opened the hidden entrance beneath Dragon Pool, and the group entered the cavern in search of the Qilin and the [Great Dao Stele]. After the White-Browed Daoist blocked the passage against Song Chengxi, an ambush in the corridor killed Murong Bai, leaving the group facing unseen Faxiang attackers.

• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five used the [Heaven-Covering Formation] to open the Nine-Palace Lock and led the group through the underwater passage into a limestone cavern.
• The group entered a lamp-lit corridor, where Murong Bai identified the fragrant fuel as [Merfolk Oil].
• At Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five's request, the White-Browed Daoist used the [Earth-Carrying Formation] to raise a mountain that concealed and blocked the passage beneath the pool.
• The corridor's lamps went out, and hidden Faxiang experts launched a sword attack from the walls.
• Wang Daozong and Ma Boyi fought back and relit the lamps, revealing that Murong Bai had been killed with a cut to his throat.

An unseen attacker killed Murong Bai with a powerful Earth-Traveling Technique, but Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five reassured the Faxiang practitioners and led them onward. The group entered a dense forest toward Qilin Cave and the Great Dao Stele, bracing for battle.

• An attacker emerged from the earth, beheaded Murong Bai, and vanished without leaving damage to the passage.
• Zhao Xizhen and the White-Browed Daoist concluded that the attacker’s Earth-Traveling Technique was a divine power, possibly linked to the Qilin.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five argued that few mountain refugees could master Immortal-Grade Manuals and persuaded the group that their nine Faxiang practitioners could prevail.
• Murong Hua took Dragon Abyss and led the group forward to avenge Murong Bai, while Cao Jinxing criticized the failed ambush plan.
• At the end of the corridor, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five pointed the group east toward the Qilin’s dwelling, and they entered the forest under the night sky.

The group encountered a trap near Qilin Cave, where four mountain elders used the Earth Marsh Scripture and a beast attack to restrain them. Zhao Xizhen’s powerful counterattack broke the formation, but a hidden attacker pierced his chest as he tried to save Jiang Yuebai, leaving his Faxiang shattered.

• Jiang Yuebai spotted a five-hundred-year-old Fire Ganoderma and the group found many other ancient medicinal herbs as they approached Qilin Cave.
• Li Chonglou discovered a marker for Kangle Village, and the group discussed whether its inhabitants were descendants of Xie Lingyun who had inherited the Earth Marsh Scripture.
• Four Tongyou Peak elders emerged from underground, summoned Shennong Faxiang, and used the Earth Marsh Scripture to trap the group while beasts attacked from all sides.
• Cao Jinxing climbed a tree to avoid the underground restraint and watched as Jiang Yuebai and Li Chonglou were dragged down while the others fought off the beasts.
• Zhao Xizhen struck the elder due north with Vast Star Returning Flow, breaking the formation, but a hidden attacker pierced his Faxiang and chest when he tried to rescue Jiang Yuebai.

White-Browed Daoist revealed that he was Xie Tianjing, the Xie Clan’s Sun Elder, and turned against Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s group during the battle on Heavenly Maiden Mountain. After the beasts withdrew, Song Chengxi approached from behind, leaving the group facing another threat.

• Li Taibai’s Green Lotus Sword emerged from the ground, and Wang Daozong helped Zhang Mingyan capture its gray-robed wielder, Xie Tianxing.
• White-Browed Daoist ambushed Wang Daozong with Withered Glory Hand, shattered his Faxiang, and revealed himself as Xie Tianjing, the Sun Elder of the Xie Clan.
• Xie Tianjing explained that he had faked his death as Old Man Bianjiang and had joined Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s group to monitor them.
• Xie Tianqing used a whistle to call off the beasts, while Master Kuxing rescued the people trapped underground and Jiang Yuebai treated Zhao Xizhen.
• Xie Tianxing and Xie Tianqing revealed their identities and demanded that the Central Plains group leave Heavenly Maiden Mountain.
• Xie Tianjing warned that more of his allies were coming, and Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five saw Song Chengxi approaching from behind.

Song Chengxi arrived as the battle for the Qilin scales intensified, forcing Ma Boyi to intercept him while the others fought the Xie clan’s elders. As Cao Jinxing watched the clashes and kept his cover intact, Song Chengxi struck Ma Boyi with overwhelming Cold Toad True Qi, leaving the fight’s outcome uncertain.

• Ma Boyi volunteered to hold off Song Chengxi while Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five ordered the others to defeat the Xie clan quickly.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five revealed the Chengying and Xiaolian swords, Master Kuxing and Murong Hua engaged Elder Star and Elder Moon, and Ji Runcheng used the Tomb Tiger Talisman to trap and attack the Four Great Elders.
• Cao Jinxing noticed Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five was concealing another weapon and answered Ji Wenfeng’s test about his father’s birth date without exposing himself.
• Ji Wenfeng threw four knives at the Four Great Elders while Cao Jinxing stayed back to observe the battle and protect his cover.
• Song Chengxi refused Ma Boyi’s offer to cooperate, then unleashed his Cold Toad True Qi and struck Ma Boyi’s Faxiang with a powerful palm.

The Ji father and son killed three of the Four Great Elders while Cao Jinxing watched the battle, and the Xie Clan’s defenders faced mounting danger. At the cave, Xie Yunli prayed for the Qilin to escape, then saw it emerge as his scale grew warm.

• The Ji father and son used the terracotta battle formation and flying sabers to kill Elders Huangxing, Xuanxing, Tianxing, and Dixing, while Cao Jinxing reflected on the cost of fighting over treasures.
• Ji Runcheng joined Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five against White-Browed Daoist, worsening the defenders’ predicament as Zhao Xizhen recovered and Zhang Mingyan neared freedom.
• Xie Yunli heard Elder Tianxing’s dying roar and rushed underground to the cave where the Xie Clan honored the Qilin.
• Xie Yunli prayed for the Qilin to flee and offered his own life in gratitude, but the scale on his chest gave no response at first.
• As Xie Yunli left the cave, his scale grew warm and the Qilin emerged amid flourishing life and blooming flowers.

White-Browed Daoist and the Star and Moon Elders fought desperately against Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s group, but Zhang Mingyan and Ji Runcheng overwhelmed them. As their enemies moved in to finish them, the Qilin emerged from beneath the earth and attacked Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five.

• White-Browed Daoist used Riding the Wind Through Emptiness and Dragon Thorn seeds to destroy Ji Runcheng’s soldier figurines, but Ji Runcheng and Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five forced him onto the defensive.
• Zhang Mingyan joined the battle with the Five Thunder Celestial Master Token, and Ji Runcheng and Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five worked with him to grievously injure White-Browed Daoist and wound the Star and Moon Elders.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five ordered his allies to finish off the three elders, while the Star and Moon Elders accepted that they might die protecting the Qilin.
• The Qilin raised five stone walls to shield the elders, then charged from the forest as Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s sword case trembled.
• The Qilin fixed its gaze on Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five’s sword case, roared, and turned the ground beneath him into a mire filled with rising stone spikes and earthen spears.