Chapter Summaries

Linghu Qingmo broke through to the Heavenly Pivot realm while Xie Jinhuan, Nangong Ye, and Ye Hongshang endured the aftermath of his reckless medicine-taking. Ye Yunchi prayed at the Temple of Confucius for a child, then was recognized as Aunt Ye by Emperor Zhao Xiao.

• Linghu Qingmo completed her breakthrough to the Heavenly Pivot realm as Ye Hongshang supported her and Nangong Ye watched over her.
• Xie Jinhuan left the bedroom, and Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye agreed to punish him for the previous night's chaos before beating him together.
• Ye Yunchi prayed to the Confucian sages to let her conceive, believing her failure to become pregnant might be Heaven's punishment for disregarding propriety.
• Emperor Zhao Xiao arrived at the Temple of Confucius with Empress Xu, the princess, the crown prince, and Lu Wuzhen, then saluted Ye Yunchi as Aunt Ye.

Ye Yunchi learned that Lu Wuzhen had revealed her identity to Zhao Xiao and arranged for her to be acknowledged as the royal family’s great-aunt, though she insisted the connection remain quiet. Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan returned to Carefree Cave and asked Lin Zisu to develop a pill that could incapacitate a powerful cultivator, hoping it might help deal with the Corpse Ancestor.

• Lu Wuzhen explained to Ye Yunchi that Ye Sheng had ordered him to arrange her kinship with the Zhao family and invite her to serve at the Directorate of Celestial Observation.
• Zhao Xiao, Zhao Ling, the Empress, and the Eldest Princess welcomed Ye Yunchi as their senior relative, and Ye Yunchi asked them to keep her identity secret.
• At Carefree Cave, Lin Wanyi, Bu Yuehua, and Lin Zisu counted the abundant proceeds from Lin Zisu’s pill business and teased one another.
• Xie Jinhuan returned from Danyang with scorch marks on his robe, then followed Lin Zisu to the Alchemy Room and asked about a pill that could overwhelm a Sixth Realm cultivator.
• Lin Zisu suggested an Adding Oil to the Fire Pill would not be strong enough and went to search for ingredients and formulas to develop a more potent medicine.

Jiang Xian rode to Carefree Cave with Coal Ball and found Xie Jinhuan at the Medicine Workshop, where Ye Hongshang taught him a divine ability that made clothing appear transparent. As Xie Jinhuan struggled to end the spell and avoid seeing Lin Zisu and Jiang Xian naked, the pill furnace exploded and filled the room with flames and pink mist.

• Jiang Xian heard street gossip while patrolling the Capital City and decided to visit Xie Jinhuan at Carefree Cave.
• Coal Ball pointed Jiang Xian toward Carefree Cave, where Xie Jinhuan waited as Lin Zisu prepared medicine and Ye Hongshang offered to teach him a divine ability.
• Ye Hongshang taught Xie Jinhuan an incantation that let him see through clothing, and he accidentally saw Lin Zisu naked.
• Xie Jinhuan failed to end the spell and pleaded with Ye Hongshang for help while Lin Zisu tried to blow sand from his eye.
• Jiang Xian arrived with Coal Ball, and Xie Jinhuan accidentally saw through her clothing as Lin Zisu examined Coal Ball.
• The pill furnace exploded, filling the Pill Room with flames and pink mist.

Lin Zisu’s experimental drug overwhelmed Xie Jinhuan, who lost control and attacked her and Jiang Xian before Qixia True Person intervened. Qixia took Jiang Xian away to discipline her, while Xie Jinhuan returned to the Pill Room just as Wanyi and Yuehua arrived.

• When Lin Zisu’s Medicine Furnace exploded, Xie Jinhuan shielded her, Jiang Xian, and Coal Ball but inhaled the potent Forget-Righteousness-for-Beauty Powder.
• Under the drug’s influence, Xie Jinhuan kissed Lin Zisu and Jiang Xian and dragged them back into the Pill Room; Lin Zisu refused to call her aunt because she feared being punished for making the drug.
• Jiang Xian summoned Qixia True Person, who subdued Xie Jinhuan and forced his turbulent Qi and Blood to calm.
• After seeing through Qixia True Person’s appearance and pretending to forget what he had seen, Xie Jinhuan was warned to keep his distance from Jiang Xian.
• Qixia True Person took Jiang Xian away to reflect, while Xie Jinhuan returned to find Lin Zisu shaken; Wanyi and Yuehua then called for them from nearby.

After spending the day at Nine Dragons Hall, Xie Jinhuan learned that Duan Yuechou had resigned and that he was expected to become the Southern Region’s Martial Dao Alliance Leader. Duoduo took him home in her carriage and began an intimate musical performance while A Piao recorded them.

• Lin Wanyi showed Xie Jinhuan the tiger-head hat she had embroidered, and he reminisced about the hat his mother had made for him.
• Duoduo arrived at Nine Dragons Hall with the Scarlet Qilin Guards to bring Xie Jinhuan back to the Marquis’s Residence.
• Duoduo told Xie Jinhuan that Duan Yuechou had resigned and the Directorate of Celestial Observation had approved Xie Jinhuan as the next Alliance Leader.
• Xie Jinhuan questioned whether he would need to fight for the position, and Duoduo explained that Duan Yuechou was stepping down to preserve face.
• Duoduo began an intimate performance for Xie Jinhuan in the carriage while A Piao recorded them.

Xie Jinhuan returned to the Danyang Marquis Household, where Zhao Ling and Ye Yunchi’s celebration turned into an intimate attempt to help Ye Yunchi conceive. Meanwhile, Nangong Ye and Linghu Qingmo investigated reports that Mao Chunniang’s group might be seeking the Manluo Flower Sea and set off to ask Xie Jinhuan about it.

• Xie Jinhuan returned to the Danyang Marquis Household after Ye Hongshang and Duoduo teased him on the carriage ride home.
• Zhao Ling hosted Ye Yunchi to celebrate Xie Jinhuan’s breakthrough to the Sixth Realm, and Ye Yunchi confessed that she wanted a child.
• Zhao Ling stopped the drinking and brought Ye Yunchi and Xie Jinhuan to a bedroom, where she offered to teach Ye Yunchi how to conceive.
• Nangong Ye told Linghu Qingmo that reports of Mao Chunniang’s surviving group were uncertain but included talk of the Manluo Flower Sea.
• Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye left the Directorate of Celestial Observation to ask Xie Jinhuan about the group’s destination.

Xie Jinhuan, Linghu Qingmo, Nangong Ye, and Ye Hongshang discussed reports linking Mao Chunniang and the others to the Manluo Flower Sea, a place they could reach only when the ghost gates opened on the fifteenth of the seventh month. With two months to prepare, they agreed to cultivate together, and Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye switched bodies to begin training.

• Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye arrived at Jinhuan Pavilion and discovered Ling'er and Ye Hongshang inside with Xie Jinhuan.
• Nangong Ye told Xie Jinhuan that the Fengshan Society had found possible traces of Mao Chunniang and the others and mentioned the Manluo Flower Sea.
• Ye Hongshang explained that the Manluo Flower Sea was where souls went after death and warned that the Corpse Ancestor might use its laws for a major purpose.
• Ye Hongshang said the group could reach the Manluo Flower Sea only when the ghost gates opened on the fifteenth of the seventh month, so Xie Jinhuan urged them to prepare and cultivate.
• Xie Jinhuan proposed that Linghu Qingmo and Nangong Ye train together by switching bodies, and they agreed to begin cultivating with him.

Xie Jinhuan learned that a plague had broken out in the Western Regions Protectorate and prepared to investigate the Corpse Ancestor threat. Meanwhile, Jiang Xian woke after more than ten days without food or water, found a diary ordering her to go west, and headed to the Danyang Marquis Household.

• Xie Jinhuan heard Lü Yan report that a widespread, unexplained plague had appeared in the Western Regions Protectorate, and Lü Yan set out to investigate.
• Lin Zisu offered to accompany Xie Jinhuan to examine the plague, and he agreed to discuss it with Sister Guo before deciding.
• Jiang Xian woke weak and hungry, found a diary telling her to go to the Western Regions to deal with the Corpse Ancestor, and discovered she had no injuries.
• Jiang Xian ate dried meat, drank liquor, and went to the Danyang Marquis Household, where she ignored the guards' talk and leaped over the wall.

As Xie Jinhuan’s team prepared to hunt the Corpse Ancestor, Linghu Qingmo discovered that Nangong Ye was pregnant and warned him to stay home. Xie Jinhuan then learned Jiang Xian had returned, while far away Mo Hunsheng identified a plague in the Western Regions as a likely demon-path blood plague, leaving the group braced for Xie Jinhuan’s arrival.

• Xie Jinhuan and Sister Guo planned a risky expedition against the Corpse Ancestor, leaving Nangong Ye at home while Linghu Qingmo joined the team.
• Linghu Qingmo checked Nangong Ye’s pulse, realized he was pregnant, and ordered him to rest and receive regular examinations.
• Xie Jinhuan comforted Zhao Ling about being left behind, then stopped their intimate moment when Jiang Xian appeared at the window.
• Jiang Xian told Xie Jinhuan she had returned and asked when he would leave for the Western Regions; he said the team would depart that day.
• At a desert oasis, Mo Hunsheng identified reports of a plague in the Shajie Kingdom as a likely variant blood plague caused by demon-path experimentation.
• He Can warned Mo Hunsheng that Xie Jinhuan might soon arrive, and Mao Chunniang angrily struck her wok after hearing He Can suggest Mo Hunsheng marry more wives.

Mo Hunsheng reflected on why the powerful had fled their doomed world and resolved to seek a way out for it. Meanwhile, Xie Jinhuan traveled by boat with his companions, where gambling and teasing gave way to Ye Yunchi’s renewed effort to conceive.

• He Can took over cooking from Mao Chunniang, praised her as a good girl, and nearly provoked her into attacking him before Ox-Head and Horse-Face intervened.
• Mo Hunsheng considered how the gods viewed their world as pests and decided he would try to find a way out, even if his failure produced an even stronger successor.
• Xie Jinhuan and his companions played dice on a pleasure boat, and Linghu Qingmo kissed him after losing a bet.
• Lin Zisu hurried to her room when Wanyi arrived, and Xie Jinhuan spoke with Wanyi through the bolted door before checking on Ye Yunchi.
• Ye Yunchi complained that she had not become pregnant despite repeated attempts, and Ye Hongshang promised not to interfere as Xie Jinhuan and Ye Yunchi tried again.

Lü Yan and the others investigated the plague spreading through Hekou Town, and Xie Jinhuan discovered that it came from a failed attempt to graft Gray-Ridged Wolf blood essence into human bodies. They traced the likely source to the area near Western Frost Country, while Lin Zisu planned to stabilize the patients and search for the mutating substance.

• Lü Yan and Monk Kuya discussed the plague’s spread and the need to find its cause as Lü Yan handed out talismans.
• Xie Jinhuan arrived in Hekou Town with Empress Dowager Guo and Lin Zisu, then examined a sick Hu merchant with help from A Piao.
• Xie Jinhuan determined that a leaked substance from an attempted Gray-Ridged Wolf bloodline modification was causing the mutations and spreading between people.
• Empress Dowager Guo connected the first case to Western Frost Country, and Monk Kuya offered to investigate nearby sites with his fellow disciples.
• Lin Zisu proposed preparing a Reborn Pill to stabilize the patients and finding the mutating substance to develop a cure.

As the boat neared Western Frost Country, Ye Yunchi discovered she was pregnant, then walked in on Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo in an awkward scene arranged by Ye Hongshang. Meanwhile, Mo Hunsheng examined a plague victim and traced the illness to a failed attempt to alter human bloodlines, setting out to help treat the outbreak and find its source in the Wolf Plains.

• Lin Zisu began making Reborn Pills with Qingmo and Xiao Biao while Xie Jinhuan visited Empress Dowager Guo.
• Ye Hongshang joined Xie Jinhuan and Empress Dowager Guo, pressuring Guo to take part in an intimate encounter.
• Ye Yunchi sensed a change in her Pregnancy Meridian and realized she was pregnant.
• Ye Yunchi opened Empress Dowager Guo's door, saw the compromising scene, and hurried away as Ye Hongshang made Guo continue.
• In the Gobi Desert, Mo Hunsheng examined a plague-stricken Escort and concluded that a failed bloodline transformation had caused the illness.
• Mo Hunsheng gave Mao Chunniang a prescription to treat the Escort temporarily and said they would seek the bloodline's source in the Wolf Plains.

Monk Guan Zhi realized that the epidemic might be connected to his secret experiments in the Wolf Plains and decided to investigate, while Xie Jinhuan’s group traveled through the Western Regions to treat patients. After Lin Zisu recognized the merit of a second, cheaper prescription, the group split up and Xie Jinhuan headed for the Wolf Plains with her to find the outbreak’s source.

• Monk Guan Zhi learned that Kuya suspected the epidemic had originated in the Wolf Plains and resolved to inspect the area himself.
• Xie Jinhuan delivered Lin Zisu’s medicine to Western Frost Country, where he confirmed that patients’ conditions stabilized after taking it.
• Xie Jinhuan showed Lin Zisu a prescription from an unknown physician, and she recognized its skill and potential to make treatment affordable.
• Lin Zisu concluded that the two prescriptions could contain the epidemic, and Xie Jinhuan’s group split into three search parties.
• Xie Jinhuan took Lin Zisu and hurried toward the Wolf Plains to locate the epidemic’s source.

Xie Jinhuan and Lin Zisu found a hidden underground lair containing plague-tainted liquid and research notebooks that seemed to identify Old Sha Tu as its owner. Ye Hongshang warned that someone had recently slaughtered wolves there and disguised the evidence, and an approaching party appeared as Xie Jinhuan considered the possibility of a powerful Demon Path cultivator nearby.

• Xie Jinhuan and Lin Zisu searched the Western Regions until they discovered a fresh burrow near a hill where wolves were howling.
• Xie Jinhuan uncovered a hidden cavern with bloodied rooms, and Lin Zisu suspected animals had carried the plague out of it.
• Lin Zisu identified a congealed blackish-red liquid as the likely plague source, and Xie Jinhuan collected a sample and found decades of experimental notebooks.
• Xie Jinhuan and Lin Zisu concluded the lair might have belonged to Old Sha Tu, but Ye Hongshang pointed out that wolves had been slaughtered there only about a month earlier and someone had disguised the scene.
• Coal Ball warned Xie Jinhuan, who spotted a small party approaching across the Gobi Desert.

Mo Hunsheng’s group traveled across the Gobi Desert toward the Demon Path’s lair while Xie Jinhuan hunted nearby, unaware of their identities. After Xie Jinhuan pursued a fleeing figure instead, Mo Hunsheng’s group turned back and left the plague investigation to the Righteous Path.

• Mao Chunniang used her beguiling arts to make the diseased wolf lead the group toward the Demon Path’s lair, while He Can and Zhenshan Kui worried about encountering Xie Jinhuan.
• He Can spotted a distant black hawk and suspected that Xie Jinhuan might be nearby, so he quietly moved Mao Chunniang in front of himself.
• Shang Lianbi watched the carriage and Xie Jinhuan from afar, then noticed an old monk hiding in a grove of dead poplars.
• Xie Jinhuan sensed qi from the grove, saw a concealed figure flee, and chased after him with Lin Zisu.
• He Can’s group saw Xie Jinhuan fly after the fleeing figure and realized he was not pursuing them.
• Mo Hunsheng called He Can lucky, and Mao Chunniang turned the carriage around and hurried away.

Xie Jinhuan and Lin Zisu caught up with Monk Guan Zhi, who admitted he had pursued dangerous Demon Path research but denied causing the plague. When Guan Zhi refused to return for treatment and fled, he transformed and attacked, forcing Xie Jinhuan to subdue him; Xie Jinhuan then searched the wilderness for the person who had framed him.

• Xie Jinhuan pursued Monk Guan Zhi across the Gobi Desert and recognized signs that he had delved into the Demon Path.
• Ye Hongshang confirmed Guan Zhi had not harmed people but warned that his body was nearing a full demon transformation, while Lin Zisu offered to treat him.
• Guan Zhi refused to return with Xie Jinhuan, swore he would never harm innocents, and fled again.
• Guan Zhi transformed into a wolf-like demon and used the Bowl of Returning to Truth, which suppressed movement and forcibly released Xie Jinhuan's Seven-Star Nails.
• Xie Jinhuan fought Guan Zhi inside the bowl's range, sealed his qi meridians, and knocked him unconscious.
• Xie Jinhuan concluded Guan Zhi's physique was badly damaged and searched for the person who had set him up.

Xie Jinhuan defeated and sealed Monk Guan Zhi, then returned to Western Frost Country to help contain the epidemic. As medicine production continued, Lin Zisu decided to go after Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo so she could alert her aunt and protect her place in the family.

• Xie Jinhuan sealed Monk Guan Zhi in a temporary Demon-Suppressing Coffin and left the Wolf Plains with Lin Zisu and Coal Ball.
• Xie Jinhuan returned to Western Frost Country, where cultivators prepared and distributed remedies to stop the epidemic from spreading.
• Xie Jinhuan praised the Righteous Path's response to the crisis while speaking with Linghu Qingmo, then left with her to their room.
• Empress Dowager Guo coordinated the medicine workshop while Lü Yan and other cultivators produced remedies, leaving Lin Zisu with little to do.
• Lin Zisu noticed Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo disappear together and slipped away from the workshop, intending to intervene on her aunt's behalf.

Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo bathed together aboard the pleasure boat until Lin Zisu, imitating Wanyi, interrupted them. Lin Zisu summoned Lin Wanyi through the Divine Soul Mark, leaving Xie Jinhuan and Wanyi to talk together while Ye Hongshang secretly recorded them.

• Xie Jinhuan brought Linghu Qingmo to his room and let him help wash him in the bathing tub.
• Lin Zisu entered in Wanyi's manner and accused Linghu Qingmo of stealing her man, prompting Linghu Qingmo to leave them alone.
• Lin Zisu activated the Divine Soul Mark and summoned Lin Wanyi to take her place aboard the boat.
• Lin Wanyi scolded Xie Jinhuan for appearing in a bath towel, then stayed to talk with him about the Hall and Bu Yuehua.
• Xie Jinhuan and Lin Wanyi chatted and teased each other, while Ye Hongshang secretly recorded them together.

Xie Jinhuan spent the night with Bu Yuehua possessing Lin Zisu’s body, while Empress Dowager Guo stayed at the Medicine Workshop and Jiang Xian’s dormant White-Haired Old Devil took over. When a Crystal Ball exposed Bu Yuehua kissing Xie Jinhuan, Lin Zisu fled, and Senior Qixia appeared at the doorway.

• Lin Wanyi danced with Xie Jinhuan, then summoned Bu Yuehua to take over her body.
• Bu Yuehua teased and kissed Xie Jinhuan while he tried to keep their actions within the limits of what he had done with Zisu.
• Empress Dowager Guo reviewed reports at the Medicine Workshop as Jiang Xian stood guard and grew increasingly frustrated.
• Jiang Xian lost consciousness, and the White-Haired Old Devil took over and left for the pleasure boat.
• Lin Zisu awoke and questioned Xie Jinhuan, but a Crystal Ball revealed his intimate encounter with Bu Yuehua, prompting Zisu to run away.
• Xie Jinhuan followed Lin Zisu to the doorway and found Senior Qixia waiting there angrily.

Xie Jinhuan fed Jiang Xian grilled fish after Qixia True Person found her standing guard hungry, while Linghu Qingmo, Lin Zisu, and Empress Dowager Guo watched from nearby. Far away, Mo Hunsheng explained his search for the Manluo Flower Sea and the rules governing divinity and reincarnation as his companions dug toward an ancient temple.

• Qixia True Person scolded Xie Jinhuan for neglecting Jiang Xian, brought Jiang Xian back, and ordered him to grill her a fish.
• Xie Jinhuan shared grilled fish with Jiang Xian and Coal Ball by the lake while Linghu Qingmo, Lin Zisu, and Empress Dowager Guo watched from the pleasure boat and medicine workshop.
• Ox-Head and Horse-Face dug a tunnel beneath a vast dune while He Can cooked noodles with Mo Hunsheng and the others nearby.
• Mo Hunsheng told He Can that the dune concealed an ancient temple and explained how souls returned there for reincarnation under the Heavenly Dao.
• He Can warned Mo Hunsheng that Xie Jinhuan might destroy him, then gave noodles to Mo Hunsheng and Mao Chunniang.