Chapter Summaries

Bu Yuehua accompanied Xie Jinhuan to Baihua County, where evidence of a chain-type Dharma Artifact revived her search for the killer of her father, Bu Qingya. As they headed toward Sword River to investigate, a message reached Li Huaichuan at Li Mountain Sword Lodge, leaving the nature of the news unclear.

• Lü Yan learned that Xie Jinhuan might be near Lizhou and flew from Five-Spirit Mountain to seek him.
• Bu Yuehua remembered her father’s murder by an unknown attacker using the Soul-Seizing Lock and recognized Xie Jinhuan’s trail as a possible lead.
• Criminal Constable Shen Cang examined three victims in Baihua County while Jiang Xian urged the investigators to pursue the bandits immediately.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua watched the investigation from a rooftop, and Ye Hongshang confirmed that a chain-type artifact had extracted the victims’ souls.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua descended from the roof to investigate Sword River for clues about the Soul-Seizing Lock.
• Li Huaichuan received a message at Li Mountain Sword Lodge and looked toward the storm beyond the manor.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua found evidence in an abandoned mine that linked the Red Witch Cult to a plot involving vital souls, the Young Emperor, and Bu Yuehua’s parents’ deaths. Xie Jinhuan realized the clues might be a trap and hurried Bu Yuehua out, while the cult’s scouts had already sent word of their arrival.

• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua followed fresh tracks into an abandoned mine in Sword River.
• Chu Xing confirmed Xie Jinhuan’s identity while He Can and Zhang Chu warned that the Red Witch Cult could not defeat him; Chu Xing sent a carrier pigeon to the Li Mountain Sword Lodge.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua found a Red Witch Cult shrine and deciphered its inscriptions about Zhu Man and a Blood Sacrifice.
• Xie Jinhuan discovered burned correspondence ordering the gathering of vital souls and mentioning the distinguished person’s early return to the capital; Bu Yuehua suspected Empress Dowager Guo had killed her father.
• Xie Jinhuan suspected the clues had been planted to lure him into a scheme and rushed Bu Yuehua out of the mine.

Li Huaichuan ambushed Xie Jinhuan near Sword River, hoping to kill him and seize the Lingguang Divine Gift, but Xie and Bu Yuehua struck first and fought back through a poisonous fog. The clash escalated as Xie rushed Li with his spear and reached for the Heavenly Gang Mace, while a streak of silver lightning appeared amid the mist.

• Li Huaichuan followed fresh tracks to an abandoned mine and waited outside for Xie Jinhuan, intending to kill him and take his chance at the Fifth Realm.
• Ye Hongshang spotted Li outside, and Xie Jinhuan warned Bu Yuehua before they confronted the swordsman.
• Li pretended to greet Xie warmly, but Xie attacked through the mine wall with his Ming Dragon Spear as Bu Yuehua released poisonous mist.
• Xie and Bu Yuehua moved through the mist to attack Li, who blocked Xie's spear with his Protective Gang Qi and countered with a storm of sword strikes.
• As Li's sword strikes closed in, Xie reached for the Heavenly Gang Mace, and a streak of silver lightning flashed through the mist.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua killed Li Huaichuan after a coordinated ambush, but Li Huaichuan’s death gave their enemies grounds to send Lü Yan after them. Injured and unable to escape on foot, Xie Jinhuan hid with Bu Yuehua in a hollow tree as Lü Yan approached.

• Bu Yuehua’s illusion and Xie Jinhuan’s mace let them overwhelm Li Huaichuan, though he pierced Bu Yuehua’s chest before Xie Jinhuan smashed him into a cliff and Bu Yuehua finished him with throwing knives.
• He Can, Zhang Chu, and Chu Xing watched from concealment and revealed that they expected Lü Yan to pursue Xie Jinhuan after Li Huaichuan’s death.
• Lü Yan approached using the Ten-Thousand-Mile Divine Movement Spell, and Coal Ball warned Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua of his arrival.
• Xie Jinhuan carried the injured Bu Yuehua through the mountains and chose to hide with her inside a hollow locust tree.
• A wind-splitting roar sounded overhead as Lü Yan drew near.

Lü Yan hunted for Xie Jinhuan after finding Li Huaichuan mortally wounded and accusing Xie Jinhuan of ambushing him. Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua hid in a hollow tree and treated her injury, but Lü Yan began burning the mountains to smoke them out, while Chu Xing and his companions faced the spreading fire nearby.

• Lü Yan found the dying Li Huaichuan, who claimed Xie Jinhuan had ambushed him with a Transcendent Grade poison shaman, and then died.
• Lü Yan declared that he could lawfully kill Xie Jinhuan and searched the surrounding mountains with the Divination Sect's Qi-Seeking Art.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua hid in a hollow tree, where Ye Hongshang warned them not to circulate their Qi as Xie Jinhuan helped dress Bu Yuehua's sword wound.
• Lü Yan set the mountains ablaze with Blazing True Fire when his search failed to reveal Xie Jinhuan's hiding place.
• Chu Xing and six others watched the fire approach from a ridge and worried that Lü Yan would find them if he burned farther in their direction.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua used Ye Hongshang’s Possession to prepare to fight Lü Yan instead of fleeing. Bu Yuehua unleashed an unfamiliar spell that disrupted the surrounding fire, snow, and power of heaven and earth, leaving Lü Yan astonished.

• Xie Jinhuan rejected Bu Yuehua’s offer to draw Lü Yan away and agreed to let Ye Hongshang possess her so they could fight together.
• Ye Hongshang’s possession gave Bu Yuehua heightened perception and inspired her with a strategy, while she blurted out that she would let Xie Jinhuan kiss her if they survived.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua emerged from the forest and confronted Lü Yan, who questioned their claims about Li Huaichuan and the Demon Path.
• Lü Yan attacked with the Bingding Yinghuo Fire Technique, and Bu Yuehua answered with the Hongshang Edict.
• Bu Yuehua’s spell threw the wildfire, blizzard, and surrounding power of heaven and earth into chaos, forcing Lü Yan to land and ask what kind of spell she had used.

Bu Yuehua disrupted Lü Yan’s magic while she and Xie Jinhuan attacked, then helped steal the Fire-Command Edict as they escaped the blast. Lü Yan pursued Xie Jinhuan south, while distant onlookers debated the failed ambush and Jiang Xian recklessly set off after the fugitives.

• Bu Yuehua disrupted Lü Yan’s fire spells, allowing Xie Jinhuan to charge, but Lü Yan trapped them behind the Eight-Gate Burning Array.
• Bu Yuehua distracted Lü Yan by naming his father and struck him with the Disrupting-Soul Illusion Technique, letting Xie Jinhuan close in and attack.
• Lü Yan unleashed Heaven-and-Earth Same-Lifespan, blasting the fighters apart, and discovered that the Fire-Command Edict had vanished.
• Lü Yan fled south after Xie Jinhuan, while He Can and Chu Xing discussed the failed ambush and the danger awaiting Xie Jinhuan at Mountain and River Pass.
• Shen Cang and Old Wang watched from afar as Jiang Xian ran after the fugitives, forcing them to chase after her.

After escaping the destruction at Sword River with the stolen Fire-Command Edict, Xie Jinhuan carried the injured Bu Yuehua toward Yanjing, while Jiang Xian tracked them in hopes of capturing the pair. They reached an empty house in northeastern Lizhou to rest, where Bu Yuehua wrestled with whether to honor her earlier promise to let Xie Jinhuan kiss her.

• Xie Jinhuan escaped the Sword River battle with Bu Yuehua and learned that Ye Hongshang had stolen Five-Spirit Mountain's Fire-Command Edict.
• Bu Yuehua warned that Northern Zhou would hunt them for killing Li Huaichuan and wounding Lü Yan, but Xie Jinhuan chose to travel toward Yanjing rather than flee south.
• Jiang Xian followed the fugitives' tracks using her Qi Gazing Divine Ability and ran ahead despite Shen Cang's warning to wait for reinforcements.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua took shelter in an empty house, where he found replacement clothes and they tended to their wounds.
• While changing, Bu Yuehua recalled promising Xie Jinhuan a kiss and debated whether she should bring it up again.

After Bu Yuehua kissed Xie Jinhuan to honor her promise, Jiang Xian and two Criminal Constables Bureau officers arrived and offered to escort them to Capital City. Xie Jinhuan accepted, and he learned that Jiang Xian came from the Jiang Family Fort and hoped to become Empress Dowager Guo’s right-hand woman.

• Bu Yuehua kissed Xie Jinhuan, then meditated while both tried to put the awkward moment behind them.
• Jiang Xian, Shen Cang, and Old Wang confronted Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua over the deaths at Li Mountain Sword Lodge.
• After recognizing Xie Jinhuan as the Southern Dynasty envoy’s famed young officer, Shen Cang offered to escort him and Bu Yuehua to Capital City, and Xie Jinhuan agreed.
• On the carriage ride, Jiang Xian explained that she had tracked Xie Jinhuan by following his footprints and introduced herself as a descendant of Jiang Hehai of the Jiang Family Fort.
• Xie Jinhuan learned that Jiang Xian admired Empress Dowager Guo and had come to Capital City hoping to become her right-hand woman.

The uproar over Xie Jinhuan’s alleged murder of Li Huaichuan forced Northern Zhou’s court and cultivation leaders to balance public anger against the risk of war with Great Qian. Xie Jinhuan voluntarily returned to the Xing Constabulary, where his father Xie Wen hurried to meet him, leaving their reunion just beyond the cell door.

• Northern Zhou’s martial and Daoist leaders issued orders to find Xie Jinhuan, while Chen Chi secretly searched for him and publicly called for evidence as Empress Dowager Guo urged him to avoid provoking war.
• Zhao Ling, Duoduo, and the Southern Dynasty delegation’s students protested Xie Jinhuan’s treatment, while Linghu Qingmo and Lin Wanyi worried about him and Xie Wen fretted over the scandal.
• Xie Wen learned that Jiang Xian had captured Xie Jinhuan and that Shen Cang had brought him to the Xing Constabulary’s dungeon.
• Xie Jinhuan reassured Bu Yuehua that they would soon be released, and she tidied his hair as they waited in the cell.
• Xie Wen arrived at the dungeon with Jiang Xian, and Xie Jinhuan recognized his father’s voice and went to the cell door.

Xie Jinhuan told Xie Wen that Li Huaichuan’s death had been part of a coordinated plot, then met Empress Dowager Guo, who revealed her true appearance and recounted her history. She left him with the knowledge that she was the former Goddess of War, secretly sustaining Northern Zhou while concealing that she had returned from death.

• Xie Jinhuan explained to Xie Wen how he had been lured to Sword River and forced to kill Li Huaichuan, and argued that powerful forces had framed him.
• Xie Wen warned Xie Jinhuan that Northern Zhou would not accept his account and said they would seek the Empress Dowager’s help.
• Empress Dowager Guo summoned Xie Jinhuan, revealed her red-haired appearance, and began explaining her origins.
• Empress Dowager Guo recounted how she had been trapped in the Phoenix Mausoleum, become a leading fighter in the Witch Cult Rebellion, and later awakened there after undergoing corpse liberation.
• Empress Dowager Guo told Xie Jinhuan that she had returned to guide the Guo Clan and rule Northern Zhou from behind the curtain while concealing her identity from political and demonic enemies.

Empress Dowager Guo revealed her history to Xie Jinhuan, and they agreed on a plan for him to expose the plot against him without revealing his identity. After she promoted Jiang Xian, Xie Jinhuan returned to the Eldest Princess's Residence, where Linghu Qingmo welcomed him safely back.

• Empress Dowager Guo told Xie Jinhuan about her past and discussed the Li Mountain Sword Lodge case, and Xie Jinhuan proposed catching the Demon Path culprits within a month to prove his innocence.
• Empress Dowager Guo agreed to arrange an impartial hearing and assign Xie Jinhuan an assistant, then appointed Jiang Xian Phoenix Ceremonial Envoy and promised her a greater command if she succeeded at her next task.
• Xie Jinhuan left the Criminal Constables Bureau with Senior Bu and found Bu Yuehua a courtyard house near Parrot Alley before heading to the Eldest Princess's Residence.
• Linghu Qingmo waited anxiously for news of Xie Jinhuan, who surprised him by returning safely and kissed him before Linghu Qingmo took him inside to wash and rest.

Xie Jinhuan learned that the Goddess of War’s apparent death had left Qixia True Person with a dangerous grievance over stolen treasures. After Zhao Ling and the others arrived, he reunited with Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo in the bathing pool and recounted his journey while they tended to him.

• Ye Hongshang showed Xie Jinhuan memories of Qixia True Person and the Goddess of War, revealing their rivalry, reconciliation, and exchange of treasures.
• Xie Jinhuan realized the Goddess of War was alive and feared Qixia True Person would retaliate when she learned she had been deceived.
• Zhao Ling visited Xie Jinhuan, said she would handle Northern Zhou affairs, and sent Linghu Qingmo to check on him.
• Lin Wanyi entered the pool to examine Xie Jinhuan, and Linghu Qingmo joined them after changing into a nightdress.
• Xie Jinhuan held Lin Wanyi, Linghu Qingmo, and later Ye Hongshang as he recounted his journey and the demon-path ambush.

Xie Jinhuan went to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with Zhao Ling to answer for killing Li Huaichuan and fighting Lü Yan. He accused both men of having ties to the Demon Path, provoking Lü Yan's furious denial.

• Xie Jinhuan woke to find Lin Wanyi still recovering from the previous night's intimacy, then joined Linghu Qingmo for breakfast.
• Liu Qingzhi told Linghu Qingmo that the Northern Zhou court had summoned Xie Jinhuan to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for questioning.
• Linghu Qingmo electrocuted Xie Jinhuan after he teased him about his size.
• Chen Chi convened officials and witnesses at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to examine why Xie Jinhuan had killed Li Huaichuan and clashed with Lü Yan.
• Xie Jinhuan told the assembly that he had killed Li Huaichuan and fought Lü Yan because both men had ties to the Demon Path.
• Lü Yan angrily accused Xie Jinhuan of slandering him and suggested Xie Jinhuan himself was conspiring with the Demon Path.

Xie Jinhuan argued that Lü Yan had been lured into a Demon Path plot and proposed a joint investigation, which the Southern and Northern Dynasties accepted. He left the hearing holding Lü Yan’s Fire-Command Edict as evidence and was barred from leaving Great Zhou until it was returned.

• Xie Jinhuan recounted how the Soul-Seizing Lock rumors led him to Sword River, where Li Huaichuan and Lü Yan ambushed him, and challenged Lü Yan to explain his suspicious arrival.
• Lü Yan struggled to explain why he had been near Lizhou and denied any connection to the Demon Path, while Xie Jinhuan proposed investigating whom he had questioned about Xie’s whereabouts.
• Xie Jinhuan offered to find the mastermind within a month, and Chen Chi assigned Shen Cang and Jiang Xian to investigate with Xie serving as an adviser.
• Xie Jinhuan called the Listening Snow Sword and Fire-Command Edict evidence and refused to hand them to Lü Yan, demanding an explanation from him and the Southern Dynasty.
• Lü Yan warned that Xie Jinhuan could not leave Great Zhou until the Fire-Command Edict was returned.

Xie Jinhuan joined Jiang Xian and Shen Cang to investigate the Red Witch Cult and the forces behind the Li Mountain affair. Meanwhile, Bu Yuehua visited Lin Wanyi, who mistakenly read significance into her time traveling with Xie Jinhuan, and the chapter ended with Lin Wanyi preparing to get up.

• Zhao Ling warned Xie Jinhuan not to risk himself investigating Northern Zhou's demon path, and invited him to observe the next day's ceremony with foreign envoys.
• Jiang Xian and Shen Cang asked Xie Jinhuan how to investigate the suspected plot behind the Li Mountain conflict, and he directed them to examine the Red Witch Cult.
• Xie Jinhuan went with Jiang Xian and Shen Cang to the Criminal Constables Bureau to review the Red Witch Cult's case files.
• Bu Yuehua visited Lin Wanyi, who asked how Xie Jinhuan had described her and suggested that traveling together might have crossed boundaries.
• Bu Yuehua ended the conversation and left, while Lin Wanyi got ready for the day.

Bu Yuehua reunited with Empress Dowager Guo, who asked her to find out when Qixia True Person would emerge from seclusion and encouraged her to pursue Xie Jinhuan. Meanwhile, Tuoba Zhe learned that Xie Jinhuan’s investigation threatened his plans, and he joined Chu Xing at a hidden base where conspirators discussed their setbacks.

• Bu Yuehua returned to her rented courtyard and was delighted to find Empress Dowager Guo waiting for her.
• Empress Dowager Guo asked Bu Yuehua about Qixia True Person, then requested that she learn when the secluded martial artist would emerge.
• Empress Dowager Guo suggested Bu Yuehua seize her chance with Xie Jinhuan, but Bu Yuehua insisted they were only friends.
• Tuoba Zhe worried that Xie Jinhuan’s investigation would expose the Shajie Kingdom’s plans, while Chu Xing said their allies intended to redirect him toward Empress Dowager Guo and the Guo Clan.
• Tuoba Zhe and Chu Xing entered a hidden base, where they found a conspirator and two imprisoned Nether God Sect deserters who claimed to have survived Xie Jinhuan’s attacks.

Xie Jinhuan investigated the Red Witch Cult, then taught Bu Yuehua the Martial Dao Divine Canon through an illusion that shrank him to miniature size. Elsewhere, Lü Yan returned home and was knocked unconscious by a hidden attacker.

• Xie Jinhuan and Jiang Xian searched hundreds of case files and concluded that the Red Witch Cult targeted Empress Dowager Guo and the Guo Clan, but its origins remained unknown.
• Xie Jinhuan visited Bu Yuehua, who was recovering in Parrot Alley, and offered to continue teaching her the Martial Dao Divine Canon through an illusion.
• Bu Yuehua entered an illusion on an overseas beach and found that Xie Jinhuan had shrunk to a tiny figure standing on her shoulder.
• Xie Jinhuan studied the cultivation technique from Bu Yuehua's shoulder, then was swept into her bosom by an unseen gust before she carefully pulled him out.
• Lü Yan returned to his residence worried that Xie Jinhuan might frame him, but a hidden attacker struck him unconscious and covered his head with black cloth.

An unknown captor questioned Lü Yan about his search for Xie Jinhuan, the Red Witch Cult, Empress Dowager Guo, and the Heavenly Pavilion before abandoning him in a sack. The next morning, Xie Jinhuan joined the delegation preparing to visit the Altar of Heaven and Earth, while Fei Ji reported suspicious activity around Lü Yan’s residence.

• An unknown captor sealed Lü Yan’s qi and demanded to know why he had gone to Lizhou, and Lü Yan explained that he was looking for Xie Jinhuan on the Sect Master’s orders.
• The captor questioned Lü Yan about the Red Witch Cult, Empress Dowager Guo, and the treasures in the Heavenly Pavilion, then left him alone in the sack.
• Lin Wanyi helped Xie Jinhuan dress and urged him to join the delegation visiting the Altar of Heaven and Earth.
• Xie Jinhuan saw snowmen representing himself, Momo, Coal Ball, and a large-chested neighbor in the courtyard.
• Fei Ji told Linghu Qingmo and Yang Dabiao that Daoists were gathering around Lü Yan’s residence and suspected Lü Yan was planning something aimed at Xie Jinhuan.
• Xie Jinhuan dismissed the warning and secretly held Momo’s hand while the delegation prepared to leave.

At a Northern Zhou sacrifice ceremony, an illusion portraying Empress Dowager Guo as a demoness sparked panic among the envoys and soldiers. Xie Jinhuan identified the spectacle as deliberate sabotage and pursued the culprit, but court officers tried to keep him and Zhao Ling safe as the suspect fled.

• Xie Jinhuan attended the Altar of Heaven and Earth ceremony with Zhao Ling, while Linghu Qingmo kept watch nearby.
• A grand illusion of the Northern Darkness Immortal Palace appeared above the altar, then transformed into a blood-red vision of Empress Dowager Guo as a demoness.
• The envoys and crowds panicked, and Xie Jinhuan recognized that someone was trying to smear Empress Dowager Guo.
• Ye Hongshang traced the illusion to a watchtower, and Xie Jinhuan took Zhao Ling with him to pursue the people hiding there.
• A figure escaped from the watchtower as Fang Anguo finally organized a response, while Northern Zhou officers crowded around Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling to protect them.