Chapter Summaries

Cao Jinxing escaped Ehuang after their negotiations collapsed, while Ehuang found a new way to pursue her plans through Bai Liuli and the Inquisition. Cao Jinxing and his companions left Cangming Island, but he decided to follow the coming struggle from a safe distance as rival forces raced toward Guixu.

• Ehuang read Bai Liuli’s memories and decided to enlist the Inquisition, while Cao Jinxing left the underwater chamber.
• Cao Jinxing reunited with Qin Xuanji, Gyuki, and the three island lords, then explained Ehuang’s plans as Gyuki carried them away from Cangming Island.
• Cao Jinxing and his companions realized the imperial court could not arrive before high tide, but the Inquisition and the Fang and Huang families might intervene.
• Cao Jinxing agreed that muddy waters would make it easier to observe the conflict, though Qin Xuanji and the island lords suspected he was planning to get involved.
• Ehuang told Bai Liuli that she needed her to arrange a meeting with the four Angels of Judgment and the two Cardinal Archbishops on Luzon Island.

The Huang Family decided to seize a share of Yuzhang's treasures, while the Fang Family followed repeated divinations and stayed out of the affair. Beneath Cangming Island, Ehuang prepared Bai Liuli to seek help from Luzon and revealed twelve hidden Iron Mad Butcher Yan Armor.

• Huang Baiyuan and the Huang Family elders debated the conflicting letters from Qin Xuanque and Shi Yi, then ordered their ancestor to join the effort to claim Yuzhang's treasures.
• The Fang Family considered whether to intervene, but Fang Zhizhong cast the same Heng Hexagram twice and ordered the family to seal the island for ten days.
• Bai Liuli gave Xia'er a Latin letter and a pauldron to deliver to her teacher, and Xia'er sped across the sea toward Luzon Island.
• Ehuang explained that Bai Liuli's letter could persuade the church's leaders and Judgment Angels on Luzon to help them.
• Ehuang opened a hidden space beneath Yuzhang's auxiliary cabin and activated twelve Iron Mad Butcher Yan Armor armed with poisoned sabers.

Cao Jinxing and Qin Zhaonan hid near Cangming Island as the Huang Family and the Inquisition gathered aboard the Yuzhang Tower Ship to enter Guixu. When the Netherwater Vortex appeared at midnight, the tower ship was pulled into the abyss, creating their chance to follow it down.

• Cao Jinxing concealed himself on an uninhabited island and met Qin Zhaonan, who had secretly stayed behind to help him enter Guixu.
• Qin Zhaonan warned Cao Jinxing about the Inquisition's Faxiang experts and their divine artifacts, including Michael's Arondight, Franco's Blazing Sun, and Alexander's Blood Tears.
• Cao Jinxing used Bifang to watch the Huang Family's Bolan and the Inquisition's Leviathan Carriage arrive at Cangming Island.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Zhaonan waited until midnight, then swam toward the Yuzhang Tower Ship as the experts aboard prepared for the Netherwater Vortex.
• The Netherwater Vortex formed and dragged Yuzhang into the trench, while Ehuang controlled the helm and the others clung to the pillars.

Yuzhang was dragged into a hidden underwater realm, where Ehuang and the others confronted a white-haired old man who warned them against entering Guixu. When Ehuang ordered an attack, the old man revealed overwhelming power and crushed the attackers with a single blow, leaving Cao Jinxing stunned.

• Yuzhang was seized by an unknown force and carried through an underwater barrier into a hidden cavern, where its passengers found a strange lake and cottages.
• Ehuang led her group into the realm, and Cao Jinxing, Qin Zhaonan, and Xiangjun emerged from the ship to join them.
• Ehuang attacked the white-haired fisherman, but he blocked her strike with Autumn Waters of Ten Thousand Rivers and revealed that he had known Emperor Wu of Han.
• The old man warned Ehuang that breaking into Guixu would drive Black Tortoise to join the other Divine Beasts and bring disaster to the world, but Ehuang urged the others to attack him.
• The old man manifested a vast Laozi Faxiang and struck the attackers into the lake, severing the puppet strings controlling them and leaving Cao Jinxing shocked.

The old man overwhelmed Ehuang’s allies, shattered her Li Pearl, and sent the wounded away from the hidden lake. He kept Cao Jinxing behind and asked where he had obtained the Nine-Dragon Pendant.

• The old man’s nine-zhang Faxiang blasted the attackers into the lake, but Ehuang used her puppet technique to force them to attack again while she escaped into the water.
• Ehuang’s Iron Mad Butchers and the eight controlled fighters surrounded the old man, who repelled their attacks and then shattered their bones with his Faxiang.
• The old man drew the lake into the air, captured Ehuang, and broke the Li Pearl in her chest, destroying the power she had hoped to use against the Black Tortoise.
• The old man threw Ehuang and the other wounded onto the Yuzhang Tower Ship, then sent the ship and its passengers back beyond the barrier.
• Cao Jinxing reflexively raised a defensive sword move, and the old man left him behind before asking about the Nine-Dragon Pendant from Li Shaojun’s cave abode.

Cao Jinxing learned that the old man was An Qisheng, who explained that the Nine-Dragon Pendants were keys to the Qin Mausoleum and revealed that the First Emperor had used the Divine Land’s ancestral vein and Nine Provinces Cauldrons to seal the Four Fiends. With the seal at risk and the court likely to seize the cauldrons for its own purposes, An Qisheng warned that great chaos was approaching, leaving Cao Jinxing trapped in a mission he did not want.

• Cao Jinxing showed the Nine-Dragon Pendant to the old man, who identified it as the Suanni Pendant he had given Li Shaojun and revealed himself as An Qisheng, also known as North Pole Real Person, Zheng Anqi.
• An Qisheng explained that the Nine-Dragon Pendants were protective charms carved from He Shi Bi fragments and keys to the Qin Mausoleum, where the First Emperor had left great treasures for his descendants.
• An Qisheng revealed that the First Emperor had drawn upon the Divine Land’s ancestral vein and used the Nine Provinces Cauldrons to create the Lost Array and suppress the Four Fiends, though Qiongqi had escaped.
• An Qisheng warned Cao Jinxing that the Divine Beasts were likely to move against the Qin Mausoleum soon, and that breaking the pendants or asking the emperor to guard the site would not prevent the danger.
• Cao Jinxing realized the reigning emperor might seize the Nine Provinces Cauldrons for political power, and reluctantly accepted that he could not avoid being involved.

Cao Jinxing consumed An Qisheng’s Pure Yang Golden Elixir and broke through to the Faxiang Realm, then learned that An Qisheng was bound to the Black Tortoise while fighting a lethal poison. An Qisheng sent Cao Jinxing back to the surface with two Mount Zhong Plums, where the factions aboard Yuzhang began fighting over Ehuang and moved to seize Qin Zhaonan.

• An Qisheng gave Cao Jinxing a Pure Yang Golden Elixir, and Cao Jinxing refined it to break through into the Faxiang Realm.
• An Qisheng revealed that Dongfang Shuo’s Withering Art had poisoned him and that the Black Tortoise’s scales kept him alive but bound him to Guixu.
• Cao Jinxing promised to look for the Withering Art in the Imperial Mausoleum, and An Qisheng gave him two Mount Zhong Plums to show the emperor that An Qisheng had helped him advance.
• An Qisheng sent Cao Jinxing through the Netherwater toward the surface while Yuzhang emerged from the vortex with its factions recovering and watching one another.
• Huang Daohui and the Huang Family attacked Ehuang, whose Iron Mad Butchers fought them off, while Franco also advanced against her and Michael knocked Bai Liuli unconscious.
• Alexander and the other angels turned on Qin Zhaonan, demanding that he go with them to Luzon Island, and attacked when he refused.

Cao Jinxing rescued Qin Zhaonan from the Netherwater Vortex and helped him defeat the foreign attackers on the Yuzhang. After Cao Jinxing killed most of the enemies and Ehuang sacrificed herself, he left with Qin Zhaonan and the Yin-Yang School’s books, returning to Xuanji.

• Cao Jinxing emerged from the Netherwater Vortex and found Qin Zhaonan fighting Milenda, Sariel, and the Angel of the Prison aboard the Yuzhang.
• Qin Zhaonan used the Great Sage's Legacy Zither to defeat the three angels, but Alexander attacked him; Cao Jinxing struck Alexander with lightning and killed him, then killed the Angel of the Moon and the Angel of the Prison.
• Cao Jinxing summoned the Five Thunder Celestial Master Token and struck Franco and Michael with massive thunderbolts, killing Michael and forcing the wounded Franco to flee underwater.
• Ehuang gave Bai Liuli half of her Li Pearl fragment and released her into the sea, then gave Cao Jinxing two books before sacrificing herself with the Giant Clam and Gongshu Jian in an explosion.
• Cao Jinxing and Qin Zhaonan left with the Yin-Yang School's legacy, and Qin Zhaonan said that Xuanji was waiting at home.

Cao Jinxing returned to Mist-Flow Island with Qin Zhaonan, shared the treasures he had recovered, and learned that several major Central Plains martial artists had vanished while the Gold-Touching Finger Li Family had been destroyed. He promised to return to investigate and discuss marriage with Qin Xuanji’s family, then departed the next afternoon with the Chaofeng Jade Pendant and the Parchment Scroll.

• Qin Xuanji welcomed Cao Jinxing back and discovered that Qin Zhaonan had come out of seclusion with him.
• Cao Jinxing gave the recovered treasures to the Qin Family after Qin Zhaonan settled their dispute over accepting them.
• Mao Jiahe delivered a letter from Pacification Commissioner Liu, and Cao Jinxing learned that several renowned experts had vanished and the Li Family of Kaifeng had been wiped out.
• Cao Jinxing decided to return to the Central Plains the next day, promised to ask his Big Brother to propose marriage, and told Qin Xuanji to remain on Mist-Flow Island.
• Qin Xuanji gave Cao Jinxing the Chaofeng Jade Pendant and the Parchment Scroll, and he departed on Yinghuo’s back.

Cao Jinxing returned to the capital, reunited with his Northern Pacification Office brothers, and prepared for an imperial audience after recounting his East Sea exploits. Jiajing then assigned him to investigate the massacre of the Kaifeng Li Family, which had been killed over the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror.

• Cao Jinxing returned to the Northern Pacification Office, where his brothers welcomed him and Liu Zhenyuan told him to prepare for an imperial audience.
• Cao Jinxing read Huang Fangling’s letters, sent her a reply and precious gifts, and Huang Huaijiang decided to deliver them himself.
• Cao Jinxing met Jiajing in the West Garden, where the emperor praised his achievements and declined the Mount Zhong Plums he offered.
• Jiajing assigned Cao Jinxing to assist with the Kaifeng Li Family massacre investigation after Liu Zhenyuan became occupied and Second Grand Protector needed help.
• Lü Fu revealed that the Li Family had been killed over the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror, a divine treasure.

Cao Jinxing investigated the massacre of the Kaifeng Li Family and the search for the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror, then realized Qiongqi might be controlling missing Jianghu experts. He entered Kaifeng in disguise, identified Gu Cheng'en as one of the controlled men, and headed to Great Xiangguo Temple to find Li Jinsheng.

• Lü Fu told Cao Jinxing that Li Jinsheng survived the Li Family massacre and claimed to know where the Bone-Illuminating Mirror was hidden and why it was sought.
• Cao Jinxing learned that a Faxiang expert using Vast Star Returning Flow was watching Liu Zhenyuan in Kaifeng, and suspected the apparently dead Zhao Xizhen might be involved.
• Liu Zhenyuan gave Cao Jinxing a Fangxiang Mask for his mission, while Cao Jinxing offered him the Five Thunder Celestial Master Token, which Liu told him to keep.
• The old Daoist suggested that a blood enemy might spare someone because they were no longer enemies, leading Cao Jinxing to suspect Qiongqi had used Dao Heart Sowing Demons to control Zhao Xizhen and other missing experts.
• Cao Jinxing entered Kaifeng disguised as a Demon Cult cultivator, caught his watcher Gu Cheng'en, and found the black mark and red eyes that confirmed Qiongqi's control.
• Cao Jinxing sealed Gu Cheng'en's acupoints and went to Great Xiangguo Temple, where Li Jinsheng was hiding.

Cao Jinxing found Li Jinsheng hiding with Master Ciguang in Guangze Cave and learned the history of the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror and the massacre of Li Jinsheng’s family. He left to retrieve the mirror from the Li residence, despite Li Jinsheng’s warning that it was guarded by blood-eyed killers.

• Cao Jinxing entered Guangze Cave and identified himself to Master Ciguang as a Qianhu of the Northern Pacification Office, sent to collect Li Jinsheng.
• Cao Jinxing asked Li Jinsheng about the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror, and Li Jinsheng explained how it revealed a hidden map of the Qin Mausoleum’s mechanisms.
• Li Jinsheng told Cao Jinxing that his family had guarded the mirror for generations and that attackers had slaughtered his relatives while searching for it.
• Cao Jinxing promised to protect Li Jinsheng but said he needed the mirror immediately and believed it was hidden at the Li residence.
• Li Jinsheng warned Cao Jinxing that blood-eyed, puppet-like killers guarded the residence, but Cao Jinxing left to retrieve the mirror while Master Ciguang stayed with Li Jinsheng.

Cao Jinxing infiltrated the Li estate, found the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror, and memorized the Qin Mausoleum map before being ambushed by Zhao Xizhen, White-Browed Daoist, and three captured martial leaders. He revealed that he understood their search for the Nine-Dragon Pendants, then unleashed Dense Mist to escape as White-Browed Daoist ordered the formation activated.

• Cao Jinxing used the Earthwalking Technique to enter the Li estate and traced the Qin King Bone-Illuminating Mirror to a chamber beneath an artificial hill.
• Cao Jinxing used the mirror to reveal and memorize the Qin Mausoleum map, took the mirror, and emerged from the hidden entrance.
• Zhao Xizhen and three mind-controlled martial leaders ambushed Cao Jinxing, while White-Browed Daoist revealed himself as the fifth attacker.
• Cao Jinxing identified the attackers and accused White-Browed Daoist of seeking the Nine-Dragon Pendants, including the pendant Cao Jinxing carried.
• Cao Jinxing unleashed Dense Mist and vanished, prompting White-Browed Daoist to order the formation activated.

Cao Jinxing escaped the Li residence with Li Jinsheng’s pursuers in pursuit, defeated their ambush with He Qianqiu’s help, and uncovered the divine beasts’ threat to the Qin Mausoleum. He and He Qianqiu resolved to alert the court, and He revealed that the Imperial Palace possessed the dragon-bone weapon [Nation-Quelling], which could kill divine beasts.

• He Qianqiu intercepted Wang Daozong, discovered he was controlled and empowered by [Undying Fire], and fought him near the Li residence.
• Cao Jinxing evaded the Three Enclosures Great Formation, killed Ji Wenfeng and the Tang Sect supreme elder, took the [Tomb Tiger Talisman], and broke through White-Browed Daoist and Zhao Xizhen’s attack with Xiangjun’s help.
• Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu defeated Wang Daozong together, forcing White-Browed Daoist and the other pursuers to retreat.
• Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu met Li Jinsheng at Guangze Cave and discussed the jade pendants, the Qin Mausoleum, and the divine beasts’ involvement.
• Cao Jinxing persuaded He Qianqiu that Qiongqi, the Qilin, and the Fire Phoenix were moving against the Qin Mausoleum, and He Qianqiu agreed to inform the emperor.
• He Qianqiu revealed that the Imperial Palace held [Nation-Quelling], a dragon-bone divine axe capable of killing divine beasts.

Jiajing ordered Lu Bing to take the [Nation-Suppressing Axe] and slay Qiongqi after deciding the Qin Mausoleum threat demanded action. Meanwhile, Yan Shifan gathered the Yan Faction after learning of the axe’s departure and received a mysterious message bearing the words [Nine Provinces Cauldrons].

• Liu Zhenyuan and Lu Bing presented Jiajing with a report about Qiongqi’s likely plans for the Qin Mausoleum and its treasures.
• Lü Fu and Liu Zhenyuan warned that Qiongqi could seize the mausoleum’s powerful artifacts and bring calamity upon the world.
• Jiajing entrusted Lu Bing with the [Nation-Suppressing Axe] and ordered him to slay Qiongqi.
• Yan Shifan told the Yan Faction that Lu Bing and Lü Fu had taken the [Nation-Suppressing Axe] from Qianqing Palace and that the Qin Mausoleum had been mentioned.
• Yan Shifan revealed that an undetected intruder had left information in his study, and Yan Maoqing unrolled the silk to reveal the words [Nine Provinces Cauldrons].

Yan Shifan realized an antique message suggested the Nine Provinces Cauldrons might be hidden in the Qin Mausoleum, and the Yan family prepared to investigate Mount Li. Meanwhile, Li Shengtian summoned the Demon Cult and ordered its forces to march to the Qin Mausoleum, where a mysterious roar answered his question about the Nine Sons.

• Yan Maoqing identified the silk message as an ancient Qin artifact, and Yan Shifan concluded Ying Zheng himself had written its three characters about the Nine Provinces Cauldrons.
• Yan Shifan warned that the message might be a trap, then ordered assassins to gather at Mount Li while Yan Song called for the Music Official and Performer Official.
• Li Shengtian emerged from seclusion and told the Demon Cult's leaders that the Qin Mausoleum would soon open and its treasures would emerge.
• Li Shengtian ordered the Demon Cult to assemble at the Heavenly Demon Platform the next morning and follow him to Mount Li to seize the treasures.
• After the others left, Li Shengtian asked whether the Six Nine Sons present were enough, and a distant roar answered him.

Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu hurried to Mount Li to watch over the Qin Mausoleum and stayed at the Deer Horse Platform inn. The innkeeper, Gao Yi, recounted how Wu Mengshan had disfigured him, but after the pair went upstairs, Gao Yi revealed a powerful presence and hinted that his real attachment was to the mausoleum.

• Cao Jinxing sent Li Jinsheng back toward the Pacification Commission while he and He Qianqiu flew to Mount Li on Yinghuo.
• Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu reached the Qin Mausoleum and checked that no Divine Beasts had yet forced their way inside.
• At the Deer Horse Platform inn, Cao Jinxing recognized that innkeeper Gao Yi wore a Rooted Face to conceal severe disfigurement.
• Gao Yi explained that Wu Mengshan had used Face Gu on him after chasing Meng Fantao, who had been hunting poisonous insects on Mount Li to feed his giant scorpion.
• Cao Jinxing left Gao Yi a gold ingot, and Gao Yi accepted it before revealing a formidable presence and gazing toward the Qin Mausoleum.

Cao Jinxing, He Qianqiu, and Lu Bing waited with the gathered factions for the Qin Mausoleum to open while the Opera House prepared to retrieve its own treasures. The mausoleum finally erupted in golden flames, revealing three divine beasts and a host of powerful puppets.

• Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu reached Deer Horse Platform first, while Opera House members gathered nearby under the watch of Performer Official and Music Official.
• Caidan reported that the Opera House’s Chiefs were on their way and that Li Shengtian had emerged from seclusion; Performer Official ordered the assassins to hide and prepare to enter the mausoleum.
• Performer Official and Music Official agreed to seek the Great Dao Stele and the Zhuxian Sword rather than the Nine Provinces Cauldrons.
• Lu Bing arrived with eighteen imperial Shadow Guards and joined Cao Jinxing and He Qianqiu at the inn, where he detected that the innkeeper’s damaged meridians concealed a secret.
• The ground shook and the Qin Mausoleum erupted in golden flames, revealing three divine beasts and more than a dozen puppets of peerless experts.

The imperial forces, the Opera House, and the Demon Gate entered the Qin Mausoleum while the old innkeeper confronted Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five and agreed to take him inside. Fire Phoenix’s group opened the mausoleum’s gate with six Nine-Dragon Pendants and three improvised keys, then charged into the outer city.

• Fire Phoenix carried Qilin, Qiongqi, and their allies into the Underground Palace and sealed its entrance with Undying Fire.
• Lu Bing led He Qianqiu, Cao Jinxing, and the Shadow Guards through the flames, while the Drama Official and Li Shengtian opened separate paths for their groups to enter.
• Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five visited the old innkeeper, discussed the Heavenly Book Steles and a secret of immortality, and proposed that they cooperate in the mausoleum.
• When Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five said “Sever Heaven from Earth,” the old innkeeper agreed to take him into the Underground Palace.
• The White-Browed Daoist placed six Nine-Dragon Pendants in the World-Separating Stone gate and carved three substitutes from the Earth-Carrying Formation diagram.
• The gate opened, and Qilin led Fire Phoenix’s group inside to destroy the mechanisms as the White-Browed Daoist and the others followed.

White-Browed Daoist, Zhao Xizhen, and their companions fought through the Qin Mausoleum’s traps as the Qilin opened a path to the inner city. There, three golden puppets armed with immortal artifacts drove the Qilin back, and Qiongqi ordered the group to attack.

• The Qilin led White-Browed Daoist, Zhao Xizhen, and their companions through the outer city while the Fire Phoenix and Qiongqi searched for the sealed Three Fiends.
• The [Nine Provinces Cauldrons] awakened the twelve golden figures guarding Ying Zheng’s tomb and sent six of them toward the tomb gates.
• White-Browed Daoist worried that the Pacification Commission might have found a safe route or the First Emperor’s hidden contingency, so the Qilin charged through the trap-filled passage.
• The Qilin smashed through the bronze gate to the inner city, but a beam of light struck it and sent it flying back.
• Three golden figures emerged bearing the [Immortal-Slaying Sword], the [Shangjun Mirror], and the [Cloud-Splitting Axe], and Qiongqi ordered the puppets killed.