Chapter Summaries

At the Heroes' Gathering in Misty-Wave City, Xie Jinhuan weighed the risks of pursuing a Fire-Controlling Immortal Artifact and watched the auction and blind boxes. He learned that Empress Dowager Guo had recognized him and wanted to meet, while he discreetly drew Hongdou’s attention to the overlooked box.

• Xie Jinhuan decided he could not safely claim the Fire-Controlling Immortal Artifact and considered other ways to gain an advantage.
• Ye Yunchi bid a Jiazi lotus for Sage Xu’s River-Moon Edict after the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden opened with underworld river grass.
• Ye Yunchi secured the calligraphy, and Xie Jinhuan reassured her about the costly purchase.
• While Xie Jinhuan examined the blind boxes, Hongdou approached and told him that Empress Dowager Guo wanted him to slip into her room that night.
• Xie Jinhuan realized the Holy Maiden was connected to Empress Dowager Guo and discreetly indicated the overlooked box to Hongdou.

Lü Yan interpreted the Northern Darkness Sect’s divination as pointing to the Number Fifty Black Box, but a warning of great calamity kept him from opening it himself. The Holy Maiden opened it instead, revealing a radiant Mask whose appearance left Lü Yan on his knees in despair.

• After the auction, Lü Yan noticed the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden receive nine Sacred Divination Blocks and deciphered the signs as pointing toward the northeastern racks.
• Lü Yan calculated that the Number Fifty Black Box was linked to a Great Ominous Hexagram and wondered whether opening it would bring disaster.
• Shang Mingzhen invited Lü Yan to tea, while the Holy Maiden noticed Lü Yan’s interest in the box and decided to open it herself.
• The box released a golden-red glow, and the Holy Maiden revealed a dark red Mask marked with a Third Eye and the phantom of a Bird Head.
• Lü Yan cried out and fell to his knees, pounding his forehead as the assembled cultivators stared at the Mask.

The Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden claimed the Vermilion Bird Immortal Artifact, while Misty-Wave City suspected Xie Jinhuan had engineered the discovery and began planning to track him. After Ye Yunchi called Xie Jinhuan a brat and condemned his supposed master, he headed to the Northern Darkness Sect’s quarters to investigate her grudge.

• The Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden opened the box containing the Vermilion Bird mask, and Shang Mingzhen publicly honored Misty-Wave City’s promise to let her keep it.
• Shang Mingzhen and Long Boyuan suspected Xie Jinhuan had guided the Holy Maiden to the artifact, so Shang Mingzhen ordered Lü Yan and the Northern Darkness Sect watched.
• Xie Jinhuan walked through the rain with Ye Yunchi, who explained that she had left her Jade Pendant as collateral and carried away the painting she had bought.
• Ye Yunchi called Xie Jinhuan a brat and said his supposed master’s crooked ways meant he could not be any good, leaving Xie Jinhuan puzzled about her hostility.
• Xie Jinhuan and Ye Hongshang guessed Ye Yunchi’s grudge concerned Qixia Immortal, and Xie Jinhuan hurried toward the Northern Darkness Sect’s quarters to learn more.

Lu Wuzhen gave Xie Jinhuan the Jianbing Divine Gift and warned him about the dangers surrounding the Azure Dragon Divine Gift at Dragonbone Shoal, which Xie planned to investigate in disguise. After taking over Blood Rain Tower under the identity Wei Kun, Xie ordered it to gather intelligence for his trip.

• Lu Wuzhen explained how divine gifts shaped cultivation, revealed that opportunities for Earth of the Five Elements had been cut off, and handed Xie Jinhuan the Jianbing Divine Gift.
• Lu Wuzhen told Xie Jinhuan that an Azure Dragon Divine Gift might emerge at Dragonbone Shoal and advised him to reach Misty-Wave City before Qingming to investigate the Gu Poison Sect.
• Xie Jinhuan decided to visit Dragonbone Shoal in disguise and agreed to help disprove old Sikong's suspected involvement in the former crown prince's soul exchange.
• On the carriage ride, Xie Jinhuan teased Zhao Ling and Nai Duo while Yang Dabiao recounted a mistaken story about Xie and a widow.
• In Carefree Cave, Xie Jinhuan adopted the identity Wei Kun, declared himself Blood Rain Tower's sect leader, and ended the sect's underworld business in favor of selling intelligence.
• Xie Jinhuan ordered Fan Hainie to identify the cultivators attending Dragonbone Shoal and gather information about their cultivation and companions.

Bu Yuehua visited Lin Zisu at the Gu Poison Sect branch and learned about her dangerous Invisibility Pill, then Xie Jinhuan arrived and accidentally startled Zisu while she was hidden by its effects. The chapter ended with Xie Jinhuan slipping away after Zisu realized her clothes were missing.

• Bu Yuehua found Lin Zisu reading gossip about her and Xie Jinhuan, then asked her for pills suitable for martial artists.
• Lin Zisu demonstrated an Invisibility Pill that concealed her qi but prevented her from using moves or divine abilities.
• Xie Jinhuan arrived at the branch and went to the living quarters while Coal Ball searched for Wanyi.
• Xie Jinhuan found Wanyi's lace clothes on a couch and examined them before Lin Zisu opened the adjoining bedroom door.
• Lin Zisu revealed that she had taken an Invisibility Pill while changing, and Xie Jinhuan hurried out without telling Bu Yuehua.
• Lin Zisu searched for her missing clothes, then hurried back into the bedroom.

Xie Jinhuan prepared to travel to Dragonbone Shoal, while Lin Zisu returned his undergarment and Bu Yuehua agreed to accompany him. As he packed and said farewell to Linghu Qingmo, A Piao devised a way to use the Thousand Threads Soul-Tethering Curse to let them possess one another from afar, then began casting the Deity-Summoning Immortal Art.

• Lin Wanyi asked who would accompany Xie Jinhuan to Dragonbone Shoal, and Bu Yuehua warned him about the dangers before offering to go with him.
• Lin Wanyi sent Lin Zisu and Coal Ball out for food, but Lin Zisu first took Xie Jinhuan aside and reclaimed her undergarment.
• Xie Jinhuan prepared his Fire Feather Fan and chest armor while Linghu Qingmo worried about his journey and urged him not to take risks.
• Linghu Qingmo gave Xie Jinhuan intimate encouragement before his departure.
• A Piao appeared and proposed strengthening the Thousand Threads Soul-Tethering Curse to let them possess one another from afar, then began using the Deity-Summoning Immortal Art.

Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye unexpectedly switched bodies during an intimate encounter between Qingmo and Xie Jinhuan, leaving Nangong Ye to awaken in the middle of it. After switching back, Qingmo panicked and feared his master would punish him, but Nangong Ye concealed his own embarrassment and forgave him.

• Nangong Ye tried to cultivate at the Princess's Residence while worrying about Xie Jinhuan's departure and his failure to meet his cultivation target.
• Nangong Ye suddenly found himself in Linghu Qingmo's body at Xie Jinhuan's residence, where Qingmo had been intimate with Xie Jinhuan.
• Linghu Qingmo switched back into his own body in the garden and, horrified by what his master might have discovered, rushed to the Danyang Marquis Household.
• Nangong Ye emerged from Xie Jinhuan's room in disarray, then hid inside when he saw Qingmo approaching.
• Xie Jinhuan accepted blame, while Nangong Ye told Qingmo he did not mind and urged him to stop blaming himself.
• Zhao Ling and Duoduo witnessed the commotion, and Zhao Ling quietly led Duoduo away without asking further questions.

Nangong Ye and Linghu Qingmo returned to their own bodies, while Xie Jinhuan explained a long-distance spirit-possession technique that Ye Hongshang had devised. At Dragon-Tethering Harbor, He Can and Zhang Chu learned that Misty-Wave City had summoned He Can after inspecting his tax payments, and Zhang Chu decided to go with him.

• Ye Hongshang told Xie Jinhuan that Nangong Ye and Linghu Qingmo had switched back, and explained how her method could let them possess one another over long distances.
• Xie Jinhuan told Nangong Ye, Linghu Qingmo, and Bu Yuehua about the secret technique, and Nangong Ye agreed to maintain a connection with Qingmo while Bu Yuehua planned to contact Wanyi and Zisu.
• At Dragon-Tethering Harbor, He Can and Zhang Chu complained about the discrimination they faced as practitioners of the Demon Path and Ghost Witchcraft while working at their restaurant.
• Zhang Chu spotted the Northern Darkness Sect's Holy Maiden passing by on a ship, and he and He Can speculated about the opportunity drawing powerful figures to Dragonbone Shoal.
• Lord Liu told He Can that Misty-Wave City had identified his exceptional bones through his tax payments and ordered him to report there.
• Zhang Chu insisted on accompanying He Can, and Lord Liu allowed them both to go.

Xie Jinhuan planned a discreet journey to Dragonbone Shoal while Zhao Ling devised a cover for his absence, and their teasing with Duoduo nearly exposed what had happened between him and Nangong Ye. As Nangong Ye left for the south, she promised herself she would confess the truth to Linghu Qingmo when they met again.

• Xie Jinhuan and Duoduo discussed how to conceal his trip, and Zhao Ling proposed having Qingmo impersonate him while the Scarlet Qilin Guard circulated reports of his demon-slaying.
• Zhao Ling and Duoduo tried to make Xie Jinhuan reveal what he had done with Nangong Ye, but he dodged their guesses and muddled past the questioning.
• Several days later, Linghu Qingmo visited Nangong Ye as she prepared to leave for Dragonbone Shoal and asked whether their past physical contact had left a lasting hurt.
• Nangong Ye reassured Linghu Qingmo and promised they would talk after she returned, while inwardly resolving to confess everything to him.
• Nangong Ye said goodbye to Linghu Qingmo and set off south.

Xie Jinhuan arrived at Dragoncloud Harbor under the alias Wei Kun to investigate the Jiazi Opportunity, but learned that powerful figures from across the Jianghu had gathered to compete for it. After disguising himself and entering the harbor, he continued toward his ferry while resisting Ye Hongshang’s teasing.

• Fan Hainie arranged an extravagant welcome for the new Blood Rain Tower Lord, but Xie Jinhuan summoned him privately and criticized the showy reception.
• Fan Hainie told Xie Jinhuan that many renowned experts, including figures from the Hidden Immortal Sect and Ascetic Sect, had arrived or were on their way to Dragonbone Shoal.
• Xie Jinhuan learned that some competitors also hoped to intercept him over the Three Opportunities he had claimed at the Phoenix Mausoleum, and he instructed Fan Hainie to keep gathering intelligence.
• Fan Hainie reported Elder Bu Hanying’s suggestion to rename Blood Rain Tower as Fallen Blossoms, which Xie Jinhuan dismissed without comment.
• Xie Jinhuan changed his disguise and explored Dragoncloud Harbor, where Ye Hongshang teased him about the local cultivators who used seduction to absorb vital essence.
• Xie Jinhuan refused to pursue the cultivators and continued through the rain toward his ferry.

Bu Yuehua used her Divine Soul Mark to let Lin Zisu possess her body, and Lin Zisu explored Misty-Wave City with Coal Ball. When Xie Jinhuan approached and kissed her, Lin Zisu struck him away before revealing who she was, leaving him bewildered.

• Bu Yuehua reached the grilled-fish stall with Coal Ball and contacted Wanyi through her Divine Soul Mark.
• Lin Zisu took control of Bu Yuehua's body and discovered clues that her grandmaster had recently been intimate with a man.
• Lin Zisu watched the giant fish roast with Coal Ball until Xie Jinhuan pinched her from behind and leaned in to kiss her.
• Lin Zisu instinctively struck Xie Jinhuan several zhang away, then hurried to check that he was unharmed.
• Xie Jinhuan pulled Lin Zisu into an alley, where she told him, "It's me, Zisu!"

Xie Jinhuan took Lin Zisu, piloting Grandmaster’s body, around Dragoncloud Harbor, where she met a blue-robed woman seeking medicine against lust poison. The woman identified herself as Ye Yunchi of Azure Nether Sword Manor and invited them to Moon-Tasting Tower in Misty-Wave City, leaving Xie Jinhuan wondering about her connection to the other Azure Nether Sword Manor heroines he had met.

• Lin Zisu caught Xie Jinhuan pretending he had known she was online and threatened to tell her aunt about his earlier behavior.
• Xie Jinhuan took Lin Zisu and Coal Ball to the harbor market, where Lin Zisu sampled grilled Silverfish Chunks and searched for medicinal herbs.
• A Piao urged Xie Jinhuan to approach a mature-looking woman in blue, but Lin Zisu went over first and introduced herself as the Poison-Hand Dan Saint.
• The blue-robed woman asked Lin Zisu for a remedy against the lust poison of hundred-year Lust Locust Snakes, and Lin Zisu offered to send a formula to Moon-Tasting Tower.
• The woman revealed she was Ye Yunchi of Azure Nether Sword Manor and invited them to visit her in Misty-Wave City.
• After Ye Yunchi left, Lin Zisu asked whether heroines had to use Azure Nether Sword Manor as an alias, and Xie Jinhuan suggested she call herself Hua Manlou.

Xie Jinhuan’s reunion with Bu Yuehua and Nangong Ye turned into an embarrassing bedroom farce that exposed Lin Wanyi’s secret to Zisu. In Misty-Wave City, Lü Yan and Chen Yishan discussed the coming contest for the Azure Dragon Divine Gift and the dangers facing the Gu Poison Sect.

• Xie Jinhuan told Bu Yuehua and Nangong Ye that he had encountered Ye Yunchi of the Azure Nether Sword Manor, whose identity threatened to expose their borrowed sect affiliations.
• Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua drew Nangong Ye into the bath, where Bu Yuehua recognized Lin Wanyi under the Spirit Possession technique and teased him.
• Lin Wanyi asked Xie Jinhuan whether he had revealed her relationship with her master to Zisu, and he admitted that Zisu had figured it out herself.
• In Misty-Wave City, Lü Yan showed Chen Yishan the restored Yellow Qilin Seal and warned him that competing for the Azure Dragon Divine Gift would be risky.
• Chen Yishan asked Lü Yan about unrest at the Academy, and Lü Yan cautioned him that the Gu Poison Sect could face annihilation if it sided with the Demon Path.

Xie Jinhuan, Nangong Ye, and Bu Yuehua arrived in Misty-Wave City as Xie Jinhuan investigated the coming Dragonbone Shoal opportunity and the city’s unusual treasure games. Nangong Ye and Bu Yuehua noticed a Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden watching them, and they left to warn Xie Jinhuan.

• Xie Jinhuan and his companions reached Misty-Wave City after a three-day voyage, and Xie Jinhuan split off to find Blood Rain Tower while Bu Yuehua and Nangong Ye headed toward Moon-Tasting Tower.
• Fan Hainie told Xie Jinhuan that Shang Mingzhen ran Misty-Wave City and described the city’s upcoming auctions and sealed-box treasure game.
• Xie Jinhuan received an invitation to Mountains and Seas Tower and decided to attend the event that evening.
• Nangong Ye and Bu Yuehua watched Witch Cult members near a residence and traded barbs while Coal Ball ate their food.
• A masked Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden looked directly toward Nangong Ye and Bu Yuehua, who decided to leave and discuss her with Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan collected a kiss from Ye Hongshang, who tricked him into kissing the rain, while Lin Zisu prepared medicine and Nangong Ye discovered the chaos at Zhao Ling’s gathering. Linghu Qingmo arrived in Misty-Wave City and reunited with Xie Jinhuan, leaving them alone together in the corridor.

• Xie Jinhuan asked Ye Hongshang to honor their bet, and she let him kiss her after teasing him with her enormous true form and an empty skirt.
• Lin Zisu studied the lust locust snake venom and prepared medicine while Nangong Ye concealed what she knew about the past three days.
• Nangong Ye sensed Qingmo and witnessed Zhao Ling leading a rowdy party with Wang He and other guests.
• Linghu Qingmo woke in the inn and went to the corridor, where he found Xie Jinhuan kissing the rain after Ye Hongshang had vanished.
• Xie Jinhuan admitted he had missed Linghu Qingmo, and the two embraced while Lin Zisu and Coal Ball watched from the doorway.

Xie Jinhuan used Ye Yunchi’s invitation to enter Mountains and Seas Tower, where he learned she was the manor lord of Azure Nether Sword Manor. After discussing a rare painting, he promised to introduce her to someone in Misty-Wave City who had mastered the Painting Sage’s style, and she led him upstairs.

• Xie Jinhuan watched guests arrive at Mountains and Seas Tower and decided to follow Ye Yunchi inside rather than risk entering under his own identity.
• Ye Yunchi revealed that she was the manor lord of Azure Nether Sword Manor and explained that Bu Yuehua and Muyun Hong had impersonated its members.
• Xie Jinhuan entered Mountains and Seas Tower as Ye Yunchi’s attendant and followed her through the hall as she searched for someone.
• Ye Yunchi stopped to admire a painting attributed to the previous dynasty’s Painting Sage and offered thirty thousand taels to buy it.
• Xie Jinhuan claimed to know someone in Misty-Wave City who had captured much of the Painting Sage’s artistic spirit, and Ye Yunchi led him to the second floor.

Xie Jinhuan accompanied Ye Yunchi to the Mountains and Seas Tower’s elite auction, where the city lord’s sealed treasure boxes drew his curiosity. A Piao discovered that one inconspicuous box contained a Fire-Controlling Immortal Artifact, but warned that Xie Jinhuan might not dare claim it.

• Lü Yan sat out the bidding after spending a fortune buying back the Yellow Qilin Seal, while Long Boyuan helped drive up prices at the auction.
• Shang Mingzhen learned that Ye Yunchi had arrived and ordered Sage Xu’s original River-Moon Edict brought out to test her wealth.
• Ye Yunchi entered with Xie Jinhuan, then chose to stay and observe the auction rather than immediately meet the Painting and Calligraphy Master.
• Ye Yunchi warned Xie Jinhuan not to buy one of Shang Lianbi’s sealed boxes, which were designed to trap clever buyers.
• A Piao examined the boxes and identified a hidden Fire-Controlling Immortal Artifact, though she doubted Xie Jinhuan would dare take it.

Xie Jinhuan weighed the risk of pursuing a Fire-Controlling Immortal Artifact hidden in a mystery box, then watched the auction and discovered that Hongdou had come to the gathering with a message from Empress Dowager Guo. The chapter left him with a possible ally who might help him investigate the tempting box.

• Xie Jinhuan decided Shang Lianbi’s Immortal Artifact might be bait and abandoned his plan to claim it for the moment.
• The auction offered Sage Xu’s River-Moon Edict, and Ye Yunchi traded a Jiazi Lotus for it after the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden bid underworld river grass.
• Xie Jinhuan comforted Ye Yunchi about her costly purchase, then returned to studying the mystery boxes as Lü Yan searched them too.
• Hongdou quietly told Xie Jinhuan that Empress Dowager Guo wanted to meet him in her room that night to discuss important matters.
• Xie Jinhuan indicated the overlooked mystery box to Hongdou, who returned to the tea table without drawing attention.

Lü Yan used divination to identify a neglected treasure box, but the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden opened it first and revealed a mask radiating Blazing True Fire. The discovery left Lü Yan on his knees in anguish, as he realized the omen of great misfortune had likely concerned the consequences of opening the box.

• After seeing the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden receive nine auspicious divination lots, Lü Yan interpreted them as pointing to the Number Fifty Black Box in the northeastern corner.
• Lü Yan calculated a great-misfortune hexagram for the box, then spoke with Shang Mingzhen, who invited him to tea and mentioned Huang of Yellow Qilin Temple.
• Lü Yan suspected the omen warned of what would happen after opening the box, and realized the box might contain a priceless treasure.
• The Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden picked up the box and opened it before Lü Yan could act, revealing a dark-red mask glowing with golden-red Blazing True Fire.
• The assembled patriarchs and cultivators stared at the mask, while Lü Yan roared and fell to his knees, pounding his forehead in despair.

The Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden won the Immortal Artifact Vermilion Bird at Misty-Wave City’s public event, prompting Shang Mingzhen and Long Boyuan to suspect Xie Jinhuan had secretly arranged the outcome. After leaving the tower, Xie Jinhuan gave Ye Yunchi the alias Wei Kun and learned she held a grudge against him because she believed he was Qixia Immortal’s disciple.

• The Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden opened a box containing the Immortal Artifact Vermilion Bird, and Shang Mingzhen publicly let her keep it despite the other cultivators’ unease.
• Shang Mingzhen and Long Boyuan concluded that Xie Jinhuan was likely in the tower and planned to watch Lü Yan and the Northern Darkness Sect Holy Maiden for signs of contact.
• Xie Jinhuan left with Ye Yunchi, who explained that she had left her Jade Pendant as collateral while protecting the painting she had acquired.
• At the Moon-Tasting Tower, Xie Jinhuan introduced himself to Ye Yunchi as Wei Kun, and she mistook him for the New Sect Leader of Blood Rain Tower.
• Ye Yunchi disparaged Xie Jinhuan and blamed Qixia Immortal for his supposed flaws, so Xie Jinhuan and Ye Hongshang wondered what grievance she held before he headed for the Northern Darkness Sect’s lodgings.