Chapter Summaries

Bu Yuehua watched a mysterious figure disrupt the ceremony at the Altar of Heaven and Earth, then followed Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling as they pursued the fleeing figure toward Cangyan Mountain. Meanwhile, officials and Demon Path leaders reacted to Lü Yan’s unexplained disappearance, and the Imperial Court threatened to use the Yin Lun Drum if the culprit remained unidentified.

• Bu Yuehua learned that Lü Yan had vanished from his lodgings and watched the Blessing and Sacrifice Faction’s ceremony from the treetops.
• A cloaked figure interfered with the ceremony, and Xie Jinhuan pursued them with Zhao Ling while Bu Yuehua followed behind.
• Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling raced across the countryside toward Cangyan Mountain but could not close the distance to the fleeing figure.
• In Chengze County, Chu Xing and other Demon Path leaders denied kidnapping Lü Yan as their Altar Master warned that the Imperial Court suspected them.
• Empress Dowager Guo ordered Chen Chi to investigate Lü Yan’s disappearance and threatened to activate the Yin Lun Drum, while the Young Emperor was moved to the Safe House.

After Ji Yansheng fled the Altar of Heaven and Earth, Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling pursued him into Cangyan Mountain and searched for his hiding place. As they closed in, mist spread across the mountain hollow, leaving Ji Yansheng’s fate uncertain.

• The Immortal Transformation Sect leaders learned that Xie Jinhuan had driven Martial Uncle Yansheng into Cangyan Mountain and hurried to respond.
• Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling searched Cangyan Mountain after Ji Yansheng disappeared from sight.
• Zhao Ling and Xie Jinhuan discussed Yanjing’s defenses while continuing their search.
• Xie Jinhuan’s Ghost Wife located Ji Yansheng hiding beneath a boulder, and Xie Jinhuan crept toward him.
• Mist spread across the mountain hollow as Ji Yansheng waited for reinforcements and Xie Jinhuan approached.

Bu Yuehua ambushed the Blessing and Sacrifice Faction expert rescuing Ji Yansheng, but his soul-disrupting curse threw Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling into powerful hallucinations. The chapter left Zhao Ling struggling against Xie Jinhuan, whom she mistook for an attacker threatening her mother.

• Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling retreated from the unnatural fog as Ji Yansheng escaped through it to meet his senior brother.
• Bu Yuehua ambushed Ji Yansheng and the cloaked expert, cutting Ji Yansheng and wounding the expert before he drove her back with a soul-disrupting curse.
• The cloaked expert seized the injured Ji Yansheng and fled, while Bu Yuehua withdrew from the fight.
• Xie Jinhuan charged through the fog to assist Bu Yuehua, but the curse made him hallucinate a menacing young scholar and lose sight of Zhao Ling.
• Zhao Ling hallucinated that the cloaked expert was attacking her mother and fought Xie Jinhuan until he pinned her down and told her to wake up.

After Bu Yuehua tracked two wounded Demon Bandits to Guo Clan Manor, Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling investigated the estate but found no sign of them. Xie Jinhuan suspected the bandits had outside help, while Chu Xing watched the search from the county wall and left once the group departed.

• Xie Jinhuan freed Zhao Ling from a soul-disrupting illusion, and Bu Yuehua joined them after driving off two Demon Bandits and wounding them with her poisoned blade.
• Bu Yuehua followed the poison trail to Guo Clan Manor, where Xie Jinhuan learned the estate belonged to Empress Dowager Guo's family.
• Xie Jinhuan told Lin Wen that they were pursuing Demon Bandits, and Zhao Ling suggested they might have hidden in a carriage entering the manor.
• Lin Wen searched the returning carriages and reported that the Guo family's young masters and young ladies were safe and that he had found no suspicious traces.
• Bu Yuehua judged that the wounded bandits could not have erased their trail without help, and Xie Jinhuan considered whether a nearby lair had assisted them.
• Chu Xing watched the manor through a Thousand-Li Telescope and hurried into town after Xie Jinhuan and the women left.

Xie Jinhuan and Zhao Ling uncovered a possible memory of an attempt on Empress Xu’s life, while Jiang Xian proposed that Lü Yan had vanished to avoid being silenced over his Divination Sect informant. Empress Dowager Guo authorized Jiang Xian to report directly to her, then privately considered whether Huang Songjia might be helping her political enemies.

• Xie Jinhuan used Ye Hongshang’s crystal ball to examine Zhao Ling’s vision of a black-cloaked attacker and two accomplices targeting Empress Xu, and Zhao Ling decided to alert Luojing.
• Empress Dowager Guo learned that Xie Jinhuan had pursued the Demon Bandits to Guo Clan Manor and returned safely to Duanli Street.
• Jiang Xian told Empress Dowager Guo that Lü Yan had likely gone into hiding after realizing his Divination Sect source might expose the person behind the plot against Xie Jinhuan.
• Empress Dowager Guo gave Jiang Xian a token granting access to the Heavenly Pavilion and told her to investigate the Demon Bandits with Xie Jinhuan.
• After Jiang Xian left, Empress Dowager Guo weighed the possibility that Huang Songjia and the Divination Sect were conspiring with her political enemies, but decided she could only remain wary for now.

After returning to Yanjing, Xie Jinhuan left Zhao Ling's residence to investigate suspected Demon Bandits with Jiang Xian. He went to fetch Bu Yuehua, accidentally interrupted her bath, and she agreed to accompany him to the Four Barbarians Ward after an awkward misunderstanding.

• Zhao Ling and Duoduo fussed over Xie Jinhuan and tried to treat injuries that had already healed, until a maid reported that Jiang Xian was waiting outside.
• Jiang Xian told Xie Jinhuan that she suspected Demon Bandits were hiding in the Four Barbarians Ward and that the palace was searching around Chengze County.
• Xie Jinhuan went to Parrot Alley to ask Bu Yuehua to join the investigation, and Ye Hongshang warned him that something seemed wrong inside her lodging.
• Xie Jinhuan entered Bu Yuehua's room while she was asleep in a bathing tub, and she startled awake and knocked him down before realizing who he was.
• Bu Yuehua dressed and told Xie Jinhuan not to misinterpret what had happened; after he explained why he had come, she began preparing to accompany him.

Nangong Ye watched Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua grow closer, then left without revealing himself. Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan went with Bu Yuehua and Jiang Xian to investigate the Four Barbarians Ward, where their enemies discussed how to divert him before an unseen disturbance sent He Can fleeing.

• Nangong Ye watched Xie Jinhuan enter Bu Yuehua’s room, weighed whether to confront her, and silently left the rooftop.
• Xie Jinhuan, Bu Yuehua, and Jiang Xian headed toward the Four Barbarians Ward after Jiang Xian pointed out the Heavenly Pavilion.
• Fang Anguo treated the wounded old Altar Master while Tuoba Zhe and Chu Xing discussed Xie Jinhuan and their plans against Empress Dowager Guo and Chen Chi.
• He Can suggested luring Xie Jinhuan away, and Chu Xing proposed sending him to investigate a false lead near the Eastern Sea.
• After a crash sounded above the hideout, He Can vanished down the secret passage, and the old man ordered everyone to relocate.

Xie Jinhuan tracked suspected Demon Bandits to a fur workshop and discovered their hidden underground base. As he pursued the fleeing group, Tuoba Zhe stayed behind to delay him and protect the others.

• Xie Jinhuan, Jiang Xian, and Bu Yuehua searched the Four Barbarians Ward after Jiang Xian reported signs of blood baleful intent.
• Xie Jinhuan approached a fur workshop, but a sentry recognized him and ran inside to warn the people there.
• Xie Jinhuan struck down the sentry, and Ye Hongshang detected a formation hiding an underground passage beneath the warehouse.
• Xie Jinhuan, Jiang Xian, and Bu Yuehua entered the passage and pursued the escaping group, while Xie Jinhuan broke through their attempts to collapse the tunnel.
• He Can advised the fugitives to leave someone behind, and Tuoba Zhe covered his face and slowed down to hold off the pursuers.

Chu Yi's illusion and the alliance fought in a chaotic battle, with both sides using sudden attacks to break through and capture their opponents. The chapter ended with the alliance still pressing its advantage as the fighters argued over the battle and Miss Path's approaching threat.

• Chu Yi's illusion and the alliance traded attacks, breaking defenses and sending fighters into confusion.
• The alliance struck the center of Chu Yi's illusion's forces and captured several opponents.
• Chu Yi's illusion retaliated with bursts of force, while the alliance countered and continued to drive its enemies back.
• Tuoba described the alliance's west-pair formation and challenged the opposing side's assumptions.
• The corrosive binding compassion searched for an opening as Chu Yi's illusion and the alliance continued fighting.
• A fighter asked whether Miss Path's tooth was approaching, and the opposing side answered that the hall had folded the oar's air into light.

After failing to find Xie Jinhuan, Linghu Qingmo and the others returned to the city, where Lin Wanyi teased Linghu Qingmo about their romance and Nangong Ye watched from the shadows. At the yamen, officials questioned Tuoba Zhe and Chu Xing about the Red Witch Cult’s weapons smuggling, but the identity of their powerful contact remained unknown.

• Lin Wanyi and Lin Zisu asked Linghu Qingmo about the sky illusion and Xie Jinhuan, then Lin Wanyi teased Linghu Qingmo about sharing a bed with him.
• Nangong Ye watched Linghu Qingmo flee Lin Wanyi’s teasing and privately blamed the Demoness and Xie Jinhuan for her predicament.
• At the yamen, Bu Yuehua fell asleep against Xie Jinhuan’s shoulder while Ye Hongshang showed him a Crystal Ball recording and compared Jiang Xian to him.
• Bu Yuehua woke from a dream and told Xie Jinhuan that the Red Witch Cult might know what happened to her father, and he promised to investigate.
• Guo Zhaowu arrived to oversee the case and questioned Tuoba Zhe about the Red Witch Cult’s dealings and its influential contact in Capital City.
• Jiang Xian proposed questioning Chu Xing instead of the foreign envoy, and Guo Zhaowu ordered his interrogation and a search of regional military equipment records.

Xie Jinhuan returned to the Eldest Princess's Residence and visited Linghu Qingmo, using a request to learn Thunder Magic as an excuse to cuddle and tease him. Meanwhile, the old man’s group discussed the danger posed by Chu Xing’s interrogation, and He Can chose to serve the old man’s sect rather than return to the Southern Region.

• Xie Jinhuan heard Wanyi and Zisu speculating that the Empress Dowager had summoned him, then sent Coal Ball to keep watch at Senior Sister Hua’s courtyard.
• Xie Jinhuan slipped into Linghu Qingmo’s bed and asked him to demonstrate the Five-Thunder Demon-Slaying Incantation, but their lesson turned into a tussle.
• The old man learned that Chu Xing could expose the group through Soul-Separating Image Manifestation and told Fang Anguo to contact their men and flee to Cangyan Mountain.
• The old man told He Can that his father wanted him returned to the Nether God Sect, but warned that he might be made into a vessel there.
• He Can chose to serve the old man’s sect instead of returning to the Southern Region.

An unknown visitor used Soul-Separating Image Manifestation on Tuoba Zhe, who later fell ill and was transferred for further interrogation. Xie Jinhuan received anonymous portraits suggesting possible ties among influential officials and planned to investigate, while Nangong Ye recruited Coal Ball to secretly watch Xie and Bu Yuehua.

• An unknown visitor used Soul-Separating Image Manifestation on Tuoba Zhe, searched through several days of memories, and stopped before being discovered; Tuoba later became ill and was sent with Chu Xing to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
• Xie Jinhuan received anonymous portraits of Fang Anguo, a Northern Zhou official, and Guo Zihuai, and discussed their possible significance with Yang Dabiao and Jiang Xian.
• Jiang Xian told Xie Jinhuan that Tuoba Zhe and Chu Xing had yielded no information, and Xie urged her to ask High Priest Chen to interrogate them.
• Xie Jinhuan decided to visit Guo Clan Manor and warned Yang Dabiao not to spread news of the portraits.
• Nangong Ye bribed Coal Ball with dried fish to report whether Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua kissed, embraced, or shared a room.
• Coal Ball encouraged Xie Jinhuan to feed Bu Yuehua breakfast, and Xie and Bu planned to search Guo Clan Manor for the suspects' lair.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua investigated Guo Clan Manor and discovered that Duke of An Guo Zihuai bore the same leg wound as the Gu Master they had fought. The chapter revealed that the man was actually the ghost cultivator Yao Wei, an Immortal Transformation Sect infiltrator whose plot against Empress Dowager Guo was now at risk of being exposed.

• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua entered Guo Clan Manor to investigate an anonymous tip and passed the Goddess of War's mausoleum.
• Xie Jinhuan identified Guo Zihuai, and Ye Hongshang spotted a blade wound on his left leg.
• Xie Jinhuan concluded that Guo Zihuai was the Gu Master Bu Yuehua had wounded, then followed his carriage from the manor.
• Yao Wei recalled how he had taken the Guo Clan's second master's body and worked with the Immortal Transformation Sect to undermine Empress Dowager Guo.
• Yao Wei decided to move the conspiracy forward because Xie Jinhuan had nearly discovered him, and he went out to meet an important person.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua confronted Yao Wei after he tried to spread a false claim that Empress Dowager Guo planned to seize the throne. With Ye Hongshang’s help they nearly defeated him, but Huang Songjia killed him before Xie Jinhuan could stop the attack; High Priest Chen arrived as Xie Jinhuan began explaining what happened.

• Yao Wei urged Wang Zhiyan to lead petitions for Empress Dowager Guo to depose the Young Emperor, and Wang Zhiyan agreed to consider it.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua intercepted Yao Wei in the bamboo grove and accused him of impersonating Guo Zihuai and spreading lies.
• Yao Wei attacked with ghost-cultivation curses, but Xie Jinhuan summoned Ye Hongshang, who joined him in overpowering Yao Wei.
• An unknown assailant struck the grove with Blazing True Fire, and Huang Songjia arrived and killed Yao Wei with a Five Elements Seal.
• Wang Zhiyan woke and identified the dead man as the Duke of An, while Xie Jinhuan questioned Huang Songjia’s actions.
• High Priest Chen arrived, and Xie Jinhuan recounted the confrontation to him.

After Guo Zihuai was exposed as a ghost cultivator and the Guo Clan was implicated in the Red Witch Cult’s crimes, Empress Dowager Guo suspected a larger scheme aimed at destabilizing Northern Zhou. As court pressure mounted, Ye Hongshang unknowingly revealed the Thousand Threads Soul-Tethering Curse to Nangong Ye, who left to study it.

• Xiao Jue learned that Guo Zihuai had colluded with a demonic practitioner and that evidence linked the Guo Clan to the Red Witch Cult and the Southern Dynasty.
• Officials searched Guo Clan Manor and uncovered evil implements, wealth, and correspondence, while Chen and Wang Zhiyan debated how the scandal could affect Empress Dowager Guo and the court.
• Empress Dowager Guo told Xie Jinhuan that Huang Songjia might be manipulating events to advance the Divination Sect, and she refused to let the Demon Path dictate her actions.
• Ye Hongshang wandered the manor in Bu Yuehua’s body and teased Coal Ball about Xie Jinhuan, Junior Sister Mu, and Nangong Ye.
• Nangong Ye secretly overheard Ye Hongshang explain the Thousand Threads Soul-Tethering Curse, then left to study the technique.

Jiang Xian infiltrated Empress Dowager Guo’s hidden vault, but after a lapse in memory found its treasures had vanished. Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan’s group discussed the danger facing Northern Zhou, and Nangong Ye secretly bound Bu Yuehua’s spirit before she woke and reunited with Xie.

• Jiang Xian entered Empress Dowager Guo’s secret vault and examined the Dragon Emperor and other treasures, then lost her memory and discovered everything in the chamber had disappeared.
• Xie Jinhuan and his companions considered how the Guo Clan crisis and suspected Demon Path plots could destabilize Northern Zhou, and decided they could not simply stand aside.
• Nangong Ye found Bu Yuehua unconscious with her divine sense sealed, used a gu curse to bind her spirit, and left after bribing Coal Ball to keep quiet.
• Xie Jinhuan returned to Parrot Alley and found Bu Yuehua awake, but she stumbled into him twice, leaving both of them confused and embarrassed.

After the Guo Clan was exposed for its ties to the Red Witch Cult, Xie Jinhuan followed a clue toward Cangyan Mountain but was summoned by Empress Dowager Guo to repair the Heavenly Pavilion’s secret-chamber door. While explaining the origins of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha, she opened the chamber and abruptly stopped speaking.

• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua discussed how the Guo Clan scandal had turned public opinion against Empress Dowager Guo, and Bu Yuehua recalled Guo Zihuai’s strange remark about the Gu Master fleeing toward the mountains.
• Jiang Xian summoned Xie Jinhuan to the palace on Empress Dowager Guo’s request, and he went to inspect the broken secret-chamber mechanism in the Heavenly Pavilion.
• Xie Jinhuan and Ye Hongshang located a hidden break in the formation, and Xie Jinhuan used the Zhenglun Sword to open the wall and repair it.
• Empress Dowager Guo explained that Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha were a pair of indestructible weapons, and that she had sent Xie Jinhuan south because she believed he was a Chosen One.
• Empress Dowager Guo began offering Xie Jinhuan a Baleful-Breaking Pill, but the secret-chamber door opened with a rumble and cut her off.

Empress Dowager Guo discovered that her secret chamber had been emptied and feared the thief had taken the keepsakes her parents gave her. Xie Jinhuan promised to recover them and went to investigate, while Guo was left anxiously considering who had robbed her.

• Xie Jinhuan found Empress Dowager Guo's secret chamber bare, and Guo collapsed in shock over the loss of her treasures and family keepsakes.
• Guo flew into a rage and threatened to tear down Purple Emblem Mountain, but Xie Jinhuan persuaded her that Qixia True Person was unlikely to be responsible.
• Guo and Xie Jinhuan suspected Shang Lianbi, then found an Evil God Statue carved behind the chamber's wooden racks.
• Xie Jinhuan suggested Demon Bandits might have taken the treasures and promised to track them down, especially the Jade Pendant and Bracelet.
• Xie Jinhuan hurried off to pursue the thief, while Guo watched him leave and feared her keepsakes might be damaged.

Empress Dowager Guo faced a political crisis as court ministers and powerful sect leaders moved against her, while Xie Jinhuan discovered a hidden army at Cangyan Mountain. As forces gathered outside the Imperial City, Empress Dowager Guo ordered the Black Armor Army to prepare, and Jiang Xian’s apparent change of demeanor drew her attention toward Cangyan Mountain.

• At court, a censor accused the Guo Clan of colluding with evil beings, but Xiao Yang refused to punish the clan before an investigation.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua searched Cangyan Mountain and found a vast formation of black-armored soldiers near Shenshang Gorge.
• Ministers led by Lu Ce'an marched on the Imperial City, backed by Huang Songjia, Liu Danggui, and other Righteous Volunteers; Nangong Ye recognized the threat of a coup.
• Empress Dowager Guo realized Xiao Zhen, Prince of Andong, was behind the political maneuvering and ordered the Black Armor Army to capture him if his army approached Jingzhao Prefecture.
• Jiang Xian threatened the unseen thief over the stolen possessions, then appeared to change and turned her attention toward Cangyan Mountain.

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua discovered Xiao Zhen’s army secretly marching through Shenshang Gorge and were surrounded after trying to expose his rebellion. After Bu Yuehua was gravely wounded, Xie Jinhuan used Blood Sacrifice to break through to Transcendent Grade, defeated Zhang Yanzhou, and forced the army to surrender before fleeing with her.

• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua spotted Xiao Zhen’s army in Shenshang Gorge, and Zhang Yanzhou led cultivators to surround them.
• Xie Jinhuan attacked Xiao Zhen while Bu Yuehua fought off the cultivators, but the army’s forces overwhelmed them and wounded Bu Yuehua severely.
• Xie Jinhuan carried Bu Yuehua into an underground river entrance and held off the pursuing soldiers as they tried to break through the gorge.
• Xie Jinhuan used Blood Sacrifice to heal his wounds and gain strength, then opened the bridge between heaven and earth and reached Transcendent Grade.
• Xie Jinhuan killed Zhang Yanzhou and pinned Xiao Zhen with a horse lance, forcing the surviving soldiers to surrender.
• Xie Jinhuan retrieved Bu Yuehua from the underground river and fled into the snow with her.