Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye learned that Kou Liyue’s gang had abducted Sun Qingyi and attacked his theater after Sun refused to surrender control. After declaring the theater under his protection, Pei Ye took an Ascension Pill to reach fifth growth and returned to Dragon Gate Tower, where the guards taunted him outside its closed doors.

• Pei Ye found the theater wrecked, learned Sun Qingyi had been taken to Dragon Gate Tower, and discovered Ji Yun had been badly injured defending him.
• Ji Yun explained that Kou Liyue had pressured Sun Qingyi to give him a stake in the theater and had acted once Yi Nandai and the Yi family were no longer protecting it.
• Pei Ye announced he would bring Sun Qingyi back and declared that the theater was under his protection.
• At Dragon Gate Tower, Kou Liyue rejected Sun Qingyi’s refusal to accept his terms and ordered his legs broken and the theater troupe punished after the Yi family’s wedding.
• Pei Ye swallowed his championship Ascension Pill, reached fifth growth, and approached Dragon Gate Tower as its guards mocked him outside the shut entrance.

Pei Ye stormed Dragon Gate Tower and defeated its guards and two fifth-growth fighters, then challenged Kou Liyue with his sword and spirit arts. As their duel continued, Pei Ye used the threat of fire to halt Kou Liyue’s attack, leaving the sixth-growth leader exposed to his spell.

• Pei Ye broke through Dragon Gate Tower’s gate and knocked down the guards who rushed him.
• Pei Ye defeated Deng Shuiping and the other men in the courtyard with his sheathed sword.
• Pei Ye burned Xu Er with a fire spell and disarmed and injured Di Fei.
• Pei Ye’s [Snow-Collapsing] sword technique blasted Kou Liyue back to the fifth floor.
• Pei Ye and Kou Liyue resumed their duel, and Pei Ye’s whispered spell made Kou Liyue tense and halt his attack.

Pei Ye defeated and burned Kou Liyue, then questioned him about Qi Yun and learned that its owner might be visiting Steward Changsun that night. Pei Ye left Kou bound on a flagpole and carried the unconscious Sun Qingyi back, while the theater troupe decided to hire help for him.

• Pei Ye caught Sun Qingyi as he fainted, checked his condition, and settled him in a chair.
• Pei Ye cut off Kou Liyue’s right arm and interrogated him, learning that Yi Nandai had once punished him for interfering with Qi Yun.
• Kou Liyue told Pei Ye that Qi Yun’s owner might be at Steward Changsun’s courtyard, where secret cargo had arrived and Changsun was preparing to step down.
• Pei Ye stabbed Kou Liyue, bound him to a flagpole for three days, and threatened to kill him if he came down early.
• Pei Ye carried the unconscious Sun Qingyi away, while Ji Yun and the theater troupe decided to pool their silver to hire an expert to help.

Pei Ye searched Qi Yun’s dockside warehouse and discovered a record of eighteen items retained by Qi Yun, then found the cargo at Steward Changsun’s residence under the watch of a formidable blindfolded Seventh Growth. Li Piaoqing also uncovered a ledger entry linking unusual betrothal gifts to Yinyang, leaving both investigators on the verge of confronting the shipment’s secret.

• Pei Ye returned to the theater, where the disciples cared for the unconscious Sun Qingyi, then headed to the docks to inspect the shipment records.
• Pei Ye entered the Earth-Character Warehouse through its roof and deciphered a note stating that eighteen items were retained by Qi Yun and never entered into storage.
• Pei Ye recalled that Yi Chengxin’s marriage was the major event in Yinyang and left the warehouse to investigate Steward Changsun’s residence.
• Pei Ye found two loaded freight wagons and an empty carriage in Changsun’s courtyard, guarded by a blindfolded man whom he recognized as an exceptionally powerful Seventh Growth.
• Li Piaoqing and the black cat found the open private ledger and read that Yi Chengxin’s betrothal gifts, including Shuiyang Yuke, were due to be sent from Seven-Nine City to Yinyang the next morning.

Li Piaoqing uncovered records linking Xifang Tian’s betrothal gifts to Yi Danjun and found that Yu Chaocai bought the heart amber in the old auction ledger. Pei Ye learned that the masked man was Yi Nandai, but Ji Yun’s reaction to the pendant raised doubts; meanwhile, Wu Dong and An Zang prepared for someone investigating a residence in Bowang Prefecture.

• Li Piaoqing found a twenty-year-old private ledger showing Xifang Tian’s painting was retained at the Yinyang residence and that his betrothal gifts were recorded for Yi Danjun.
• Li Piaoqing checked the matching spring auction record and discovered that Yu Chaocai, Provincial Governor of Bowang Prefecture, had bought the heart amber.
• Pei Ye told Ji Yun that the Qi Yun owner was likely the Yi family and described the masked man he had seen in Steward Changsun’s courtyard.
• Ji Yun identified the man as Yi Nandai but said he did not wear a pendant, despite Pei Ye having seen one on him.
• Wu Dong told An Zang that someone had been scouting a residence, and they discussed the risk that the intruder might be a Third Step Grandmaster.

An Zang, Shi Zanxue, and Gu Yunfu traced the Hushan Sword Gate artifact to King Mu’s legendary [Illuminating the Nether] and discussed Heavenly Mountain’s interest in obtaining it. Meanwhile, Li Piaoqing searched Azure Sky Pavilion, found a family painting and an opera mask, and was confronted by a powerful man who ordered her to open the scroll.

• An Zang told Shi Zanxue and Gu Yunfu that historical records linked the Hushan Sword Gate artifact to King Mu and [Illuminating the Nether].
• An Zang said Heavenly Mountain could handle the matter for now, while Shi Zanxue admitted she had told Pei Ye about the artifact.
• Li Piaoqing removed pages about former Provincial Governor Yu Chaocai from a ledger and found an unlisted painting of Xifang Tian’s family.
• Li Piaoqing picked up an opera mask, and Black Cat warned her that the person they had encountered was not Yi Nandai and was no longer in Seven-Nine City.
• A pale, powerful man entered the pavilion and questioned Li Piaoqing, who claimed she was there to buy the painting.
• The man told Li Piaoqing to open the scroll.

Li Piaoqing escaped suspicion in Azure Sky Pavilion when Yi Chengxin intervened, then used Black Cat’s Quail Head technique to restore the ledger pages from memory. She spoke with Yi Chengxin the next morning, who admitted she did not like the people who had threatened Li Piaoqing.

• A man and Meng Li identified Shang Huaitong’s estate as their target and planned to act the following night.
• A man confronted Li Piaoqing in Azure Sky Pavilion and questioned how she had entered the guarded rear courtyard.
• Yi Chengxin arrived, claimed the painting was being kept for her, and led Li Piaoqing away from the confrontation.
• Black Cat helped Li Piaoqing recover the burned ledger pages from a clear impression of their contents, then warned her not to tell anyone else.
• Li Piaoqing listened to Yi Chengxin sing and asked why she had helped; Yi Chengxin replied that she did not like them.

Li Piaoqing accompanied Yi Chengxin to her remote family manor, where Yi was preparing for her wedding and leaving Xiangzhou. As Li Piaoqing explored the cold, nearly empty estate, she grew more concerned about the young woman and the family around her.

• Yi Chengxin warned Li Piaoqing to stop investigating certain people, then invited her to travel with her to the Yi family home.
• A masked man reported that Li Piaoqing and Pei Ye were investigating the Qiyun Commercial Association, and his superior decided it was fortunate Li had left for the Yi family estate.
• On the journey, Yi Chengxin told Li Piaoqing that she was marrying into Xilong and said she had chosen to accept the marriage.
• Yi Chengxin and Li Piaoqing arrived at the old manor, where Yi explained that only she and her older brother lived there after their parents had died.
• Yi Chengxin left Li Piaoqing in a guest courtyard, and Li picked up her sword and cat before going out to explore.

Li Piaoqing explored the Yi family residence and discovered the family head’s notes on spear techniques, including a mysterious text about a divine Fire Lotus. She then found a sealed courtyard guarded by a sinister old man and investigated a strange spiritual material being used inside the residence, while Pei Ye learned about the Yi family’s decline.

• Li Piaoqing found the Yi family genealogy and learned that Yi Danjun was Yi Chengxin’s eldest sister, the woman connected to Xifang Tian thirty years earlier.
• Li Piaoqing read Yi Duanzhi’s spear-technique notes and found his final volume, which the black cat identified as a profound scripture concerning Mysterious Fire.
• Li Piaoqing approached a locked, decaying courtyard, but a ghostly old man warned her not to enter because it belonged to someone who had broken the clan rules.
• Pei Ye asked Ji Yun about the Yi family, learned of its former prominence and Yi Duanzhi’s retreat from public life, then left his name on a wooden sword for the opera house.
• Li Piaoqing learned that locked places and the rear courtyard were off-limits, and she secretly collected a speck of Spirit-rich material from a servant’s sleeve.
• The black cat suggested the material might be Shuiyang Yuke, tested it with dark blue flames, and cut off a strand of Li Piaoqing’s hair to place inside a grain.

Black Cat investigated the back courtyard while Li Piaoqing searched Yi Danjun’s old residence and found a hidden box of love letters. The letters revealed Yi Danjun and Xifang Tian’s romance and ended with Yi Danjun’s farewell letter, leaving the reason for her decision unclear.

• Black Cat explained how Shuiyang Yuke could be used in formations and left to investigate the back courtyard while Li Piaoqing waited before searching the residence.
• Li Piaoqing entered the empty old house and discovered a hollow section of wall concealed behind a table.
• Li Piaoqing opened a hidden box containing love letters, paintings, and other keepsakes belonging to Yi Danjun and Xifang Tian.
• The letters recounted how Yi Danjun and Xifang Tian met, fell in love, and exchanged portraits and affectionate messages.
• Li Piaoqing read that Yi Danjun’s growing uncertainty culminated in a farewell letter to Xifang Tian on the second day of the eleventh month of the Renzi year.

Li Piaoqing uncovered the Yi family’s deadly Edict Transmission ritual in Yi Danjun’s notebooks and learned that Xifang Tian had died after their final meeting. Meanwhile, Pei Ye investigated Qiyun’s transfer to the Joy-in-Death Tower and waited outside Changsun Xiao’s residence for a lead to the cult’s hidden base.

• Li Piaoqing read Yi Danjun’s letters to Xifang Tian and learned they had resumed corresponding for one final month before agreeing to meet.
• Li Piaoqing discovered that Yi Danjun’s Edict Transmission required her to be devoured by the Edict-Listening God-Child before entering a divine realm and illuminating the Heart Poison with a sword.
• Li Piaoqing read a note showing that Yi Danjun’s younger sister had hidden the letters and painting after Xifang Tian died, then recognized Yi Danjun in his portrait.
• Pei Ye reasoned that Changsun Xiao could lead him from Qiyun’s new chief steward to Mr. Zhang and the Joy-in-Death Tower’s secret pavilion.
• Pei Ye waited across from Changsun Xiao’s residence, where a neighboring diner accused Changsun of diverting a valuable shipment to his own home.

Pei Ye followed a suspicious carriage to a courtyard and confronted Changsun Xiao and three masked Theatrical Guests. He killed two attackers, but the other two remained engaged as the fight continued.

• Pei Ye learned that the Merchant Association had secretly transported an expensive chest for a burial and left the dockside stall to follow a carriage east.
• Pei Ye tracked the carriage to a courtyard and learned from a servant that the house had recently been sold to someone from out of town.
• Pei Ye entered the empty building and discovered that the doors and windows were locked; the servant revealed himself as a masked attacker.
• Changsun Xiao confronted Pei Ye, and three Theatrical Guests attacked him with blades.
• Pei Ye used True Qi Art: Immortal Fire to engulf one Theatrical Guest, then disarmed another and killed him with his bamboo hat.

Pei Ye survived an ambush by the Joy-in-Death Tower, traced its Xiangzhou cover identity to the Lin Jing Painting Pavilion, and entered the building despite a seventh-growth fighter’s attack. Zhang He found the fighter dead and Pei Ye reading upstairs, where Pei Ye asked what “Dragonkin” were.

• Pei Ye killed the silk-clad swordsman with Snowy Night Flying Goose, then killed the burned Theatrical Guest with the swordsman’s thrown blade while the remaining Theatrical Guest escaped.
• Pei Ye searched the courtyard, found Qiyun’s account books, and deduced that the Lin Jing Painting Pavilion was the Joy-in-Death Tower’s cover identity.
• Pei Ye went to the pavilion and opened its door, triggering a seventh-growth fighter’s ambush that wrecked the courtyard.
• Zhang He followed Pei Ye to the pavilion and found the seventh-growth fighter, Guo Huai, dead while Pei Ye read on the third floor.
• Pei Ye faced Zhang He and asked what “Dragonkin” were.

Pei Ye defeated Zhang He in the Joy-in-Death Tower and uncovered the Tower’s different kinds of agents and Zhang He’s hidden records. The notebook revealed Zhang He’s plans in Xiangzhou, including his efforts to infiltrate the authorities and a mysterious delivery, while Pei Ye found another entry that left him stunned.

• Pei Ye watched Zhang He’s corpse and considered how the Joy-in-Death Tower’s faceless Play Ghosts differed from its face-bearing Theatrical Guests.
• Pei Ye read Zhang He’s notes about Yi Chengxin’s marriage, which mentioned the Dragonkin, and about erasing traces of something delivered a month earlier.
• Pei Ye sensed a hollow in the copper wall but found it sealed, then realized Zhang He’s silver pendant was a magical artifact.
• Pei Ye followed Black Cat’s instructions and used Chi Flame to activate the pendant, revealing a hidden notebook.
• Pei Ye read Zhang He’s detailed records of his Xiangzhou plans and stopped at an entry that left him breathless.

Pei Ye discovered that the Joy-in-Death Tower had secretly transferred a huge quantity of Heart Amber and planned to relocate the Torchworld Cult’s dragon descendants. Li Piaoqing and Black Cat reached the Yi Family Ancestral Shrine, where they witnessed Yi Chengxin being brought before the sacrificial fire as the ritual began.

• Pei Ye found a secret order directing Zhang He to assist with the transfer of Heart Amber and the relocation of the Torchworld dragon descendants, identified as the Yi Family.
• Li Piaoqing learned that the people in the New Year's Eve Night Drinking Record were Yi Chengxin's family, then reunited with Black Cat as the immortal sacrifice ritual approached.
• Black Cat told Li Piaoqing that the Yi Family Ancestral Tomb lay behind the residence and led her there to investigate the Torchworld Cult's final ritual.
• Li Piaoqing and Black Cat watched the high officiant lead nearly twenty silent servants in a rite before a cauldron of blue fire.
• Yi Chengxin emerged between the kneeling servants with her wrists bound and a knife in hand, and the high officiant asked for her dragon-descendant blood to be verified.

Li Piaoqing followed Yi Chengxin into the underground passage beneath the ancestral hall and found her imprisoned in an iron cage. When a green-clad figure attacked, Li Piaoqing fought back, but the clash left her facing a dangerous opponent with a scaled, claw-like hand.

• After Yi Chengxin entered the dark opening, Li Piaoqing slipped through the closing stone door and followed her underground.
• Li Piaoqing descended past blue flames and tracked Yi Chengxin by a drop of blood, discovering purple bamboo shoots along the passage.
• Li Piaoqing found Yi Chengxin bound inside an iron cage, holding a blood-soaked handkerchief and wearing the bracelet Yi Nandai had given her.
• A green-clad figure in the room sensed Li Piaoqing and attacked, forcing her to fight rather than retreat.
• Li Piaoqing's sword struck the figure's scaled claw, and she twisted free of its grip to counter with a thrust toward its face.

Li Piaoqing rescued Yi Chengxin from a cage in the underground Sacrificial Realm, where Yi revealed she intended to assassinate the Edict-Listening God-Child. As they approached the God-Child through the growing purple bamboo, Li Piaoqing lost contact with Black Cat and realized the realm had cut them off from the outside.

• Li Piaoqing killed Green Shadow, freed Yi Chengxin, and learned that Yi was in the Sacrificial Realm to assassinate the Edict-Listening God-Child.
• Yi Chengxin explained that they had to pass through the Jade Ke Formation to reach the God-Child, and Li Piaoqing agreed to help her.
• Li Piaoqing told Black Cat about their plan, but the connection became distant and then stopped responding.
• Li Piaoqing and Yi Chengxin followed the growing purple bamboo deeper underground as a powerful, oppressive presence surrounded them.
• Li Piaoqing realized the purple bamboo had severed her connection to Black Cat and tightened her grip on the Lost Jade Sword.

Li Piaoqing and Yi Chengxin entered the Sacrificial Chamber to stop the Edict-Bearing Servants after the Jade Ke Formation activated. Yi Chengxin killed several servants with the Candle Sword, and she and Li Piaoqing reached the altar as she explained how the Divine Child’s influence turned the servants into puppets.

• Yi Chengxin told Li Piaoqing that she had come to kill the Edict-Bearing Servants and that her concealed weapon would not pass the mirror’s inspection.
• The Jade Ke Formation activated as the servants chanted, and Yi Chengxin explained that the stone mirror was the key to entering the Formation Site.
• The eight servants attacked, and Yi Chengxin used the Candle Sword to turn one Seventh Growth servant into a motionless shell.
• Li Piaoqing fought off a servant and cut down another as he tried to reach the altar and destroy the stone wall.
• Yi Chengxin explained that the servants had become Edict Puppets under the Divine Child’s influence, and that Edict Transmission supplied him with fresh minds when he lost awareness.

Li Piaoqing and Yi Chengxin prepared to enter the Purple Bamboo Realm, while Pei Ye learned that Yi Chengxin had written a script depicting devotion to the Immortal Lord and raced to help Li Piaoqing. Glaze reached Yinyang and found Black Chi confronting the High Priest.

• Yi Chengxin carved her name and the details of her Heart Poison into the altar, then used the stone mirror to prepare for entry into the array chamber with Li Piaoqing.
• Black Cat told Pei Ye that Li Piaoqing had gone into the ritual ahead of him, and Pei Ye hurried back to Seven-Nine City to leave for her.
• Sun Qingyi gave Pei Ye the original version of White Snake Romance and explained that Yi Chengxin had written its ending, in which the white snake chose to return to the immortal herb.
• Pei Ye recognized the script's final lines as revealing Yi Chengxin's devotion to the Immortal Lord, mounted his horse, and sent Glaze ahead to find Little Cat.
• Glaze reached the residence at Yinyang, where the High Priest confronted Black Chi and identified it as an offspring of an Immortal Lord.

Black Cat and Glaze broke into the Sacrificial Shrine and destroyed the stone slab hiding a passage, while Li Piaoqing and Yi Chengxin fought over the Edict Transmission. After their clash with the Candle Sword Heart-Burning Poison, Li Piaoqing disabled the Fire Talisman as Yi Chengxin moved toward the doorway.

• Black Cat and Glaze reached the shrine’s stone slab, exposed its hidden pattern, and shattered it to reveal a passage.
• Li Piaoqing questioned Yi Chengxin about the Heart-Transmitting Candle and learned that the doorway led to the Purple Bamboo Realm and held Heart Poison.
• Li Piaoqing revealed she had never trusted Yi Chengxin and asked why she wanted to assassinate the Edict-Listening God-Child.
• Yi Chengxin used the Heart-Transmitting Candle against Li Piaoqing, but Li Piaoqing overcame its influence by reaffirming her duty to Jade Feather.
• Both girls collapsed from the Candle Sword Heart-Burning Poison, and Yi Chengxin picked up a dagger as a collision sounded from the passage.
• Li Piaoqing hurled the Lost Jade Sword into the Fire Talisman’s origin point, cracking it and dimming the stone wall as Yi Chengxin headed for the doorway.