Chapter Summaries

Fan Hainie learned that Hundred Insect Dock had secretly shipped a suspicious cargo out of Phoenix Harbor and planned to alert Xie Jinhuan. Back at the Marquis's Residence, Lin Zisu worried that the fertility pill she had given Xie Lang might have caused an unintended pregnancy, then found him behaving strangely and called to him.

• Fan Hainie questioned Li Song about Phoenix Harbor's situation and learned that the sect leader of Hundred Insect Dock had secretly removed a shipload of goods.
• Fan Hainie ordered Li Song to investigate the cargo and its purpose, and said he would notify Lord Xie.
• Nangong Ye confronted Xie Jinhuan over his methods of helping Linghu Qingmo cultivate, but Xie Jinhuan soothed him and drew him into bed.
• Lin Zisu feared that the Early Birth of Noble Offspring Pill she had given Xie Lang might have caused a pregnancy, and worried she would be punished for dosing him.
• Lin Zisu found Xie Lang using a strange chair and kneading dough in the air, then called out to him.

Xie Jinhuan spent time with Lin Zisu at Jinhuan Pavilion before Bu Yuehua and Lin Wanyi arrived and were caught in an awkward situation. Meanwhile, Lu Wuzhen ordered Xie Jinhuan to investigate Sikong Tianyuan’s suspicious stillness in the Southern Border and kill him if an opening appeared.

• Lin Zisu gave Xie Jinhuan a pill, revealed she had received the Lingguang Divine Gift, and asked him to teach her how to use it.
• Bu Yuehua and Lin Wanyi arrived at Jinhuan Pavilion, where Lin Zisu teased them and left; Xie Jinhuan was then pinned down and tickled by the two women.
• Zhao Ling and Duoduo arrived and joined the teasing while Bu Yuehua and Lin Wanyi joked about Nangong.
• Lu Wuzhen reviewed reports that Sikong Tianyuan had made no move in the Southern Border and suspected he was secretly preparing a major scheme.
• Lu Wuzhen ordered Li Chimo to send Xie Jinhuan south to discover Sikong Tianyuan’s plans and kill him if possible.

Xie Jinhuan arrived at Missing Moon Manor to investigate the Southern Border’s quiet response to Ancestor Sikong’s rebellion and search for Bu Qingya’s missing soul. Meanwhile, Nangong Ye discovered that his master had moved the Goddess of War’s enormous Cave Abode from Northern Zhou to Purple Emblem Mountain, leaving him scrambling to prevent a diplomatic crisis.

• Xie Jinhuan reached Missing Moon Manor with Lin Zisu and took her to the town market to meet Blood Rain Tower informant Fan Hainie.
• Fan Hainie reported that the Southern Border remained unusually calm, though Hundred Insect Dock had secretly received an unidentified shipment from Phoenix Harbor.
• Xie Jinhuan decided to investigate Hundred Insect Dock and ordered Fan Hainie’s agents to keep searching for Ancestor Sikong’s whereabouts.
• Nangong Ye learned that his master had moved the Goddess of War’s Cave Abode from Yanjing to Purple Emblem Mountain without warning.
• Nangong Ye told Zhang Guan to keep the disciples silent and sought a way to return the enormous tower to Northern Zhou.

Sikong Tianyuan prepared a scheme to delay Xie Jinhuan while the Righteous Path pressed into the Southern Border. At Hundred Insect Dock, Xie and Lin Zisu discovered the sect was ready for them, and an ambush closed in around them.

• Sikong Tianyuan told Yang Huaxian and Daoist Kongkong that he had planned for sixty years and asked them to hold back the Righteous Path while he handled Xie Jinhuan's party.
• Xie Jinhuan and Lin Zisu entered Hundred Insect Dock to investigate suspicious ingredients used to make Cold Flame Powder and found Zhang Nanhua studying the Witchcraft Scripture.
• Zhang Nanhua revealed that Sikong Tianyuan had anticipated Xie Jinhuan's arrival and described how he had secretly manipulated Taishu Dan's loyalties.
• Gu Masters surrounded the hall as two Cloak Persons appeared and green mist rose around the dock.
• Lin Zisu eagerly offered to fight the surrounding Gu Masters, while Xie Jinhuan told her to wait and spare uninvolved disciples.

Xie Jinhuan rejected Mao Chunniang’s offer to join the Nether God Sect and fought her puppets at Hundred Insect Dock. Lin Zisu’s poison techniques incapacitated the dock’s disciples, but also affected Xie Jinhuan before Ye Hongshang gave him an antidote, and he carried Zisu away.

• Mao Chunniang, speaking through puppets, invited Xie Jinhuan to join the Nether God Sect and warned him that Sikong Tianyuan had plans for the Dragon Boat Festival.
• Xie Jinhuan refused Mao Chunniang’s offer, condemned the Corpse Ancestor’s methods, and attacked her puppets while hundreds of Hundred Insect Dock disciples used divine soul curses against him.
• Lin Zisu’s poison caused the disciples to lose control, and Xie Jinhuan realized he had been affected too when he began struggling to control himself.
• Lin Zisu emerged from hiding and told Xie Jinhuan her antidote was at her waist, but Ye Hongshang retrieved it and gave it to him.
• After the antidote restored his senses, Xie Jinhuan knocked out the frenzied disciples and carried Lin Zisu away from Hundred Insect Dock.

After leaving Hundred Insect Dock, Xie Jinhuan questioned Ye Hongshang about Sikong Tianyuan’s Dragon Boat Festival scheme while Lin Zisu reflected on her feelings for Xie Jinhuan. In Luojing, Jiang Xian woke exhausted with no memory of what she had done and learned from the Xian'er Diary that Xie Jinhuan and the others had already left.

• Xie Jinhuan asked Ye Hongshang whether Sikong Tianyuan’s plans involved her, and she dismissed the idea because a Sixth Realm cultivator could not disturb her.
• Xie Jinhuan joked with Lin Zisu about her new knockout powder as they traveled toward Missing Moon Manor.
• Lin Zisu recalled her childhood, her aunt’s romance with Xie Jinhuan, and realized her interest in Secret History of Empress Dowager Guo might reflect her own feelings for him.
• Jiang Xian woke in the Danyang Marquis Household exhausted and unable to remember what had happened after she went to sleep.
• Jiang Xian read the Xian'er Diary’s explanation, discovered Xie Jinhuan and the others had departed, and set out with her bundle and Horse-Slaying Saber.

Jiang Xian discovered that Nangong Ye was pregnant, and Nangong Ye fainted from the shock. At Missing Moon Manor, Bu Yuehua and Ye Hongshang meddled with Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo while Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo both watched for a chance to approach him.

• Jiang Xian was suddenly transported into the Eldest Princess's Residence after Steward Hou was flung away by an unseen force.
• Jiang Xian sensed that Nangong Ye was pregnant, and Nangong Ye confirmed the signs before fainting.
• Jiang Xian and Zhao Ling carried Nangong Ye back to her room while Zhao Ling failed to find anything unusual in her examination.
• Xie Jinhuan discussed the rabbit spirit and Sikong Tianyuan with Bu Yuehua and Empress Dowager Guo, while Ye Hongshang prompted Guo to reach beneath the table.
• Lin Wanyi teased Linghu Qingmo about his night with Xie Jinhuan, and both slipped out after Xie Jinhuan appeared in a corridor.

He Can received a promotion and funds from the Nether God Sect after Daoist Kongkong teased him with a false fortune-telling act. At Missing Moon Manor, Xie Jinhuan returned to Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo, whose rivalry over his attention escalated into a contest of kisses and seduction.

• Daoist Kongkong delivered He Can his funds, a protector token, and notice of his promotion in the Nether God Sect, then left after warning him not to chat with strangers.
• He Can and Zhang Chu celebrated the payment and promotion while joking about their comfortable lives and their plans for the evening.
• Xie Jinhuan left the red-haired Hu girl and the witch in glasses and found Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo arguing over who would accompany him.
• Xie Jinhuan brought Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo to the Young Mistress's Residence, where Linghu Qingmo asked him about what had happened at Hundred Insect Dock.
• Lin Wanyi prepared for bed and embraced Xie Jinhuan, prompting Linghu Qingmo to object and draw him into a kiss.
• Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo each tried to claim Xie Jinhuan's attention as their kisses and advances grew more heated.

Nangong Ye woke from a distressing dream and learned that Qixia True Person already knew she might be pregnant. She finally told Xie Jinhuan, and Ye Hongshang and Lin Wanyi also heard the news, leaving Xie Jinhuan delighted and Nangong Ye embarrassed.

• Nangong Ye woke aboard the boat and found Qixia True Person waiting with possible baby names and advice to stay out of danger.
• Qixia True Person urged Nangong Ye to tell Xie Jinhuan about the pregnancy and promised to handle the matter of Qingmo's status.
• Linghu Qingmo sensed his master approaching while he and Xie Jinhuan were with Lin Wanyi, then was transported to a dark room aboard the boat.
• Nangong Ye confronted Xie Jinhuan in the Southern Border and quietly told him she thought she was pregnant.
• Ye Hongshang appeared beneath the eaves and heard the news, while Lin Wanyi also learned of it and Xie Jinhuan celebrated becoming a father.

Nangong Ye worried about hiding his pregnancy with Xie Jinhuan, while Xie tried to reassure him and promised to bring the other women into the situation. Ye Hongshang told Ye Yunchi that someone else was pregnant, prompting Ye Yunchi to reconsider her chances of having the first child.

• Nangong Ye confronted Xie Jinhuan about his pregnancy and worried that people would gossip if he appeared in public with a swollen belly.
• Xie Jinhuan offered to confess to Linghu Qingmo, but Nangong Ye refused and said he would handle the matter himself.
• Nangong Ye demanded that Xie Jinhuan involve the Demoness and her disciple too, and Xie promised he would.
• Lin Wanyi went to tell Ye Hongshang about Nangong Ye's pregnancy while Ye Hongshang went to find Ye Yunchi.
• Ye Hongshang told Ye Yunchi that one of Xie Jinhuan's confidantes was pregnant, and Ye Yunchi realized she might lose her chance to become the mother of his first child.
• Ye Hongshang mentioned that the baby's birth could fall earlier or later, and Ye Yunchi hurried toward Xie Jinhuan before claiming she was going to rest.

Xie Jinhuan and Ye Yunchi discussed Ancestor Sikong’s plans for the Dragon Boat Festival and the possibility that Witch Ancestor Yuan Zhi could return as a powerful puppet. Their conversation turned into an interrupted attempt at seduction, and Xie Jinhuan was left preparing to go to Chi Dragon Cave with Empress Dowager Guo.

• Xie Jinhuan woke beside Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo, then went outside when Ye Yunchi called for him.
• Ye Yunchi brought Xie Jinhuan to her room and asked about Ancestor Sikong’s plans for the Dragon Boat Festival.
• Ye Yunchi connected Chi Dragon Cave’s location to Spirit Dew Valley and warned that Witch Ancestor Yuan Zhi might have become a durable puppet.
• Ye Yunchi tried to seduce Xie Jinhuan while searching for a book, but Empress Dowager Guo arrived and reminded him they were going to Chi Dragon Cave.
• Xie Jinhuan reassured Ye Yunchi that Empress Dowager Guo had not seen anything, then prepared to leave on their business.

Xie Jinhuan arrived at Chi Dragon Cave and ordered Sikong Tianyuan's sect dissolved, but Sikong Xuanyue accepted the sentence and had the Patriarch Hall burned. Xie left after noticing signs of a hidden observer, while the Nether God Sect's protectors waited underground for his expected attack.

• Xie Jinhuan came to Chi Dragon Cave, accused Sikong Tianyuan of colluding with the Demon Path, and announced the sect's dissolution and the confiscation of its holdings.
• Sikong Xuanyue accepted the sentence, asked for a few days to notify the disciples, and ordered the elders to burn the Patriarch Hall.
• Empress Dowager Guo and the others watched from outside the valley as Chi Dragon Cave's disciples witnessed the hall burn without Sikong Tianyuan appearing.
• Coal Ball and Ye Hongshang detected a puppet observing the fire, and Xie Jinhuan warned Chi Dragon Cave to settle its affairs before he vanished.
• Underground, Zou Wu and Zhenshan Kui discussed their plan with their cloaked leader and prepared to guard the proceedings, expecting Xie Jinhuan to find them.

Xie Jinhuan and the Goddess of War tracked the Rabbit Spirit to Witch Ancestor Yuan Zhi’s tomb, where they discovered Sikong Shitang’s preserved body and learned how his final wishes had helped set Sikong Tianyuan on his current path. They resolved to confront Mao Chunniang and stop Sikong Tianyuan’s final gamble.

• Xie Jinhuan and the Goddess of War followed the Rabbit Spirit underground and found an entrance to a patriarch-level ruin.
• Xie Jinhuan and the Goddess of War entered Witch Ancestor Yuan Zhi’s tomb and found a cloaked figure beside a fire in the main chamber.
• The Goddess of War recognized the figure as Sikong Shitang, and Mao Chunniang explained that he had given his body to his son before he died.
• Xie Jinhuan and the Goddess of War discussed how Sikong Shitang’s choices had encouraged Sikong Tianyuan to pursue his current plan.
• Mao Chunniang said Sikong Tianyuan had staked everything on one final gamble, and Xie Jinhuan and the Goddess of War advanced to confront her.

Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo fought their way through the tomb’s deadly formations, with Ye Hongshang guiding them until Zhenshan Kui’s erratic movements disrupted her predictions. Mao Chunniang sealed them inside a Demon-Suppressing Coffin, while Zou Wu and Mao Chunniang remained outside and worried that Qixia True Person might arrive.

• Sikong Shitang’s Great Ghost summoned ghosts and activated the tomb’s shifting formations against Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo.
• Ye Hongshang identified the formation’s layout and guided Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo through its dangers toward the Main Tomb Chamber.
• Zhenshan Kui charged at Xie Jinhuan but repeatedly triggered the formation’s mechanisms, making its attacks unpredictable and preventing Ye Hongshang from guiding Xie Jinhuan.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo struggled to navigate the increasingly chaotic formation until Mao Chunniang sealed them inside a Demon-Suppressing Coffin.
• Zou Wu and Mao Chunniang observed that Zhenshan Kui had trapped Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo, but Mao Chunniang warned that the coffin might not hold them long and that Qixia True Person could arrive.

Trapped inside the Demon-Suppressing Coffin, Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo tried to find a way to escape, then resorted to restoring their strength so they could keep chipping at the coffin. The chapter left them still trapped, with Empress Dowager Guo helping Xie Jinhuan recover while he prepared to continue.

• Xie Jinhuan discovered that the Demon-Suppressing Coffin absorbed qi and blocked divine-soul communication, so he tried to chisel through it with the Heavenly Gang Mace.
• Empress Dowager Guo struck the coffin several times, but its damage repaired itself quickly and the effort exhausted her.
• Empress Dowager Guo and Xie Jinhuan discussed Sikong Tianyuan and worried that Qixia Old Devil might be unable to stop him outside.
• After the divine oracle urged Empress Dowager Guo to put business first, she agreed to help Xie Jinhuan restore his strength.
• Empress Dowager Guo took charge, covered Xie Jinhuan's face with her veil, and told him to focus on circulating his power.

Nangong Ye, Jiang Xian, and Zhao Ling arrived at Missing Moon Manor while Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo were trapped underground and trying to restore her strength. Jiang Xian sensed an unexplained rise in temperature around the manor and summoned the Invisible Great Hand to investigate.

• Lin Wanyi told Lin Zisu that she was sewing baby clothes as a gift for Liu Qingzhi's pregnant wife.
• Nangong Ye, Jiang Xian, and Zhao Ling arrived at the manor, and Lin Wanyi persuaded Nangong Ye not to go to Chi Dragon Cave.
• Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo tried to cultivate inside the Demon-Suppressing Coffin, but Xie Jinhuan realized he had forgotten to take the Adding Oil to the Fire Pill.
• Ye Yunchi, Bu Yuehua, Linghu Qingmo, and Coal Ball searched the mountains for Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo without finding them.
• Jiang Xian went into town, noticed the unusual heat, transformed into a white-haired Daoist nun in Golden Armor, and summoned the Invisible Great Hand to contact Sister Ye.

Sikong Tianyuan used the Five Directions' Divine Gift to awaken Witch Ancestor Zhu Man, hoping to aid the Gu Poison Sect while Xie Jinhuan remained trapped in the Demon-Suppressing Coffin. When Ye Hongshang sensed a major change in the Southern Border, she joined Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo to help Guo recover her strength so they could escape.

• Sikong Tianyuan prepared to nourish Zhu Man and explained the Witch Ancestor's failed attempt to preserve himself, the Human Emperor's Cauldron, and the Corpse Ancestor's bargain with Zhu Man.
• Sikong Tianyuan revealed that he had lured Xie Jinhuan to Chi Dragon Cave and used the Demon-Suppressing Coffin to sever the unknown power's connection to the outside world.
• Ye Hongshang sensed a major unforeseen change in the Southern Border and urged Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo to leave the coffin quickly.
• Ye Hongshang manifested inside the coffin and said Qixia True Person could not pinpoint the disturbance, then offered to share her power with Guo.
• Ye Hongshang and Empress Dowager Guo worked to help Xie Jinhuan restore Guo's strength as quickly as possible.

Qixia True Person searched for the missing Xie Jinhuan and discovered a trap in Yuan’s underground palace, where a blood-baleful surge triggered her bloodthirst addiction. Xie Jinhuan and his companions broke out of the Demon-Suppressing Coffin as blood baleful intent spread above them.

• Qixia True Person found that Xie Jinhuan was underground and ordered Ye Yunchi, Bu Yuehua, and Linghu Qingmo to return to the manor and prepare the Southern Border for danger.
• Qixia True Person entered Yuan’s tomb with Coal Ball and used the bird’s yin wind to freeze the corridor beyond the sealed stone doors.
• Qixia True Person shattered the doors with her earth technique, but blood baleful intent poured out and stirred her bloodthirst addiction.
• Coal Ball tried to stop Qixia True Person from refining the blood qi as she grew excited and began losing control.
• Xie Jinhuan, Ye Hongshang, and Guo Xiaomei broke through the coffin’s stone cover, and Xie Jinhuan sensed the surging blood baleful intent above them.

Xie Jinhuan escaped the Underground Palace, rescued the unconscious Jiang Xian, and learned that Sikong Tianyuan was summoning a powerful soul along the southern coast. As Xie Jinhuan rushed to stop him, Yang Huaxian threatened the Great Qian capital and demanded the Black Tortoise Divine Gift.

• Xie Jinhuan refined the blood qi in the Underground Palace to recover, while Ye Hongshang explained that Sikong Tianyuan had used it to hold Qixia True Person back.
• Coal Ball led Xie Jinhuan to the unconscious Jiang Xian, and Xie Jinhuan handed her to Ghost Wife before setting out for the southern coast.
• Xie Jinhuan learned that Sikong Tianyuan was summoning a nearly assimilated Seventh Realm soul, then sped toward the South Sea with Ye Hongshang and Empress Dowager Guo.
• At the Directorate of Celestial Observation, Li Chimo and Lu Wuzhen detected worsening southern phenomena and a vast blood-baleful sign near Jingzhao Prefecture.
• Yang Huaxian demanded the Black Tortoise Divine Gift and threatened to slaughter the Southern Dynasty, so Lu Wuzhen ordered the capital defended and summoned reinforcements.

At Phoenix Harbor, Sikong Tianyuan summoned Witch Ancestor Zhu Man’s manifestation and claimed heaven and earth were nearing collapse because the Five Directions’ Divine Gift had been damaged. Xie Jinhuan arrived to challenge him, and the two sides prepared to test their strength while Qixia Ancestor remained away suppressing her bloodthirst.

• Nangong Ye and Bu Yuehua searched Phoenix Harbor for clues about the abnormal heat and Sikong Tianyuan’s movements.
• A fiery Heaven-Connecting Dharma Form appeared over the South Sea, and Sikong Tianyuan emerged on Phoenix Perching Mountain with Gu Poison Sect elders and Nether God Sect disciples.
• Sikong Tianyuan told the gathered crowd that the Human Emperor’s Cauldron and the Corpse Ancestor’s failed attempt to remake the world had damaged heaven and earth, declaring that Heaven was dead.
• Xie Jinhuan arrived with a silver dragon illusion and disputed Sikong Tianyuan’s account, while Nangong Ye and other cultivators challenged Sikong’s authority and motives.
• Empress Dowager Guo learned from Ye Hongshang that Sikong Tianyuan had awakened Zhu Man’s remnant soul, and Xie Jinhuan advanced toward the harbor as Qixia Ancestor stayed away to suppress her demonic nature.