Chapter Summaries

Jiang Lingzhou took Gu Yi and Xie Wenyun sightseeing on their way to the Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference. Meanwhile, Lin Yuan failed another attempt to reach Nascent Soul because he refused to destroy the inner demon tied to Gu Yi, and Lin Ning told him his grandfather wanted him to attend a matchmaking event.

• Jiang Lingzhou objected to Xie Wenyun joining the journey, but Gu Yi and Xie Wenyun traveled with him anyway.
• Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng worried that Lin Yuan's third attempt to reach Nascent Soul might fail, while Lin Yuan confronted an inner demon appearing as Gu Yi in the Wind and Snow Illusion Realm.
• Lin Yuan failed his breakthrough, fell from peak Golden Core to early Golden Core, and drew the inner demon back into his Golden Core because it connected him to Gu Yi.
• Lin Yuan left the illusion realm after recalling his three years of searching for Gu Yi, including dangerous journeys to the far north and the Overseas Immortal Island.
• Lin Ning comforted Lin Yuan and told him that Lin Hai wanted him to attend a matchmaking event, offering to speak to their grandfather if he refused.

Lin Yuan agreed to attend the Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference, though his family hoped he would find a new Dao Companion. After spotting a portrait that resembled Gu Yi in the Cultivation Realm Beauty Rankings, Lin Yuan insisted they leave for the Illusory Demon Sect that day.

• Lin Yuan agreed to go to the conference, while Lin Ning joked about finding a Dao Companion and Xiao Cheng silently resolved to vet anyone who might court her.
• Lin Ning showed Lin Yuan and Xiao Cheng the Cultivation Realm Beauty Rankings, where Gu Yi still held tenth place despite everyone believing he was gone.
• Lin Yuan recognized a resemblance to Gu Yi in the portrait of Ye Yiyi, a Tianmu Sect disciple ranked second among the beauties.
• Lin Yuan asked Xiao Cheng and Lin Ning to set out for the Illusory Demon Sect that day.

Gu Yi traveled to Nansi City with Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou, enjoying a rare leisurely trip while worrying that his true identity might be exposed. In the city, he unexpectedly encountered Yezi and Lin Yuan, leaving him shaken and eager to retreat to the restaurant.

• Jiang Lingzhou brought Gu Yi and Xie Wenyun to Nansi City after eight days of sightseeing and arranged rooms at a large restaurant.
• Gu Yi reflected on his past as the Demon Venerable and worried that Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou might discover he was not really a woman.
• Gu Yi spotted Yezi and Lin Yuan approaching and tried to turn away before either could recognize him.
• Yezi greeted Lin Yuan instead of Gu Yi, while Jiang Lingzhou warned Gu Yi that Lin Yuan was the Qingling Sword Sect’s young master.
• Gu Yi hurried back to the restaurant, shut himself in his room, and leaned against the door with his back soaked in sweat.

Lin Yuan reunited with Yezi and Mu Yang at a crowded inn, while Yezi found Gu Yi and forced her way into his room. As Gu Yi tried to avoid Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan recognized him as Miss Ye Yiyi and confronted him.

• Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng welcomed Yezi and Mu Yang, and the group went to an inn that had no rooms available.
• Lin Yuan went to Yezi and Mu Yang's room to speak with Yezi, but Mu Yang said she had gone to find a place to stay with an older sister.
• Yezi visited Gu Yi, teased him about his life at the Tianmu Sect, and insisted on sleeping in his room.
• Gu Yi left his room to avoid Yezi and came face-to-face with Lin Yuan in the corridor.
• Lin Yuan stopped Gu Yi and asked whether he was Miss Ye Yiyi.

Lin Yuan mistook Ye Yiyi for Gu Yi and grabbed her wrist to confirm her identity, nearly exposing Gu Yi’s disguise. After the confrontation, Gu Yi retreated with his companions while Lin Yuan stayed behind to question Yezi.

• Lin Yuan grabbed Ye Yiyi’s wrist and searched her spiritual energy, but Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou intervened when she struggled and shouted.
• Xie Wenyun stopped attacking Lin Yuan after Gu Yi asked him to, and Xiao Cheng apologized for his junior brother’s behavior.
• Lin Yuan apologized and offered Ye Yiyi a wooden box, which Gu Yi accepted before asking everyone to keep the incident secret.
• Jiang Lingzhou followed Gu Yi into Xie Wenyun’s room, while Lin Yuan asked Yezi to speak with him privately.
• Lin Ning proposed matching Lin Yuan with Ye Yiyi, then said she would pursue Ye Yiyi herself, but Xiao Cheng insisted Ye Yiyi was more suited to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan suspected that Ye Yiyi might be Gu Yi, while Gu Yi hid his identity and struggled with the shock of meeting Lin Yuan again. Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou argued over their feelings for Ye Yiyi as they watched over him, and Gu Yi finally fell into uneasy sleep.

• Lin Yuan told Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng that Ye Yiyi might be Gu Yi, and said he would not pursue Ye Yiyi if he was not Gu Yi.
• Gu Yi recalled how he had avoided Lin Yuan discovering him by using the Tianmu Sect cultivation technique and Jiang Lingzhou's jade pendant.
• Jiang Lingzhou complained about Lin Yuan and argued with Xie Wenyun over taking Ye Yiyi to the market and pursuing him.
• Xie Wenyun told Jiang Lingzhou that Ye Yiyi did not like him and explained that caring for Ye Yiyi meant understanding his poor health.
• Gu Yi asked to sleep in the room, while Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou kept watch; Gu Yi eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep thinking of Lin Yuan.

Gu Yi went to the night market with Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou, but a crowd separated them, leaving him alone. When a cultivator cornered Gu Yi, Lin Yuan rescued him and said he had been searching for someone for three years.

• Gu Yi, Xie Wenyun, and Jiang Lingzhou visited a talisman stall, where Jiang Lingzhou bought all the talismans.
• A sudden crowd surge separated Gu Yi from Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou, and Gu Yi wandered the streets alone.
• An unfamiliar cultivator trapped Gu Yi and threatened him.
• Lin Yuan attacked the cultivator, killed him, and asked Gu Yi if he was all right.
• Lin Yuan took Gu Yi to the top of Nansi City's gate tower and said Gu Yi reminded him of someone he had searched for over three years.

Gu Yi tried to conceal his identity from Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan’s questions and Gu Yi’s realization that Yezi and Mu Yang were the leads from the novel left him fearing Lin Yuan would kill him. Both men planned to use Gu Yi’s Life Lamp at the Illusory Demon Sect: Lin Yuan wanted to confirm Gu Yi’s identity, while Gu Yi intended to steal it and hide that he was alive.

• Gu Yi claimed he was an ordinary Tianmu Sect disciple, but Lin Yuan questioned how he knew Lin Yuan was searching for the Demon Venerable.
• Fireworks dazzled Gu Yi’s light-sensitive eyes, and Lin Yuan caught him before suggesting they head back.
• Lin Yuan said Yezi had saved his life, and Gu Yi realized Yezi was the female lead and Mu Yang was the male lead.
• Gu Yi grew afraid that Lin Yuan might kill him to conceal their past intimacy, while Lin Yuan remained suspicious of his identity.
• Lin Yuan resolved to seek Gu Yi’s Life Lamp at the Illusory Demon Sect, and Gu Yi planned to steal it so no one could prove he was alive.

After Gu Yi returned safely to the restaurant, Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou discovered they had both mistakenly thought the other was with Gu Yi, who was now missing. Fireworks launched before Jiang Lingzhou could give his surprise, prompting Xie Wenyun to rush off to find Gu Yi while Jiang Lingzhou joined the search.

• Xie Wenyun escorted Gu Yi back to the restaurant, then learned from his earlier voice transmissions that Jiang Lingzhou had prepared a surprise on a pleasure boat.
• Xie Wenyun found Jiang Lingzhou on the boat, and they realized Gu Yi was missing because each had assumed the other was with him.
• Fireworks burst overhead, and Xie Wenyun warned Jiang Lingzhou that Gu Yi's eyes were sensitive to light.
• Xie Wenyun struck Jiang Lingzhou into the river and hurried away to find Gu Yi.
• Jiang Lingzhou learned his disciples had mistaken him grabbing Xie Wenyun's wrist for the signal to launch fireworks, then set off to search for Gu Yi himself.

Lin Yuan discussed his suspicions about Ye Yiyi and sought a way to confirm whether she was Gu Yi, the Dao Companion he had been searching for. After receiving a Chaos Spirit Herb from Yezi, he decided to test Ye Yiyi again and promised to leave her alone if it did not bloom.

• Lin Yuan returned to the tavern and found Lin Ning suffering from a stomachache while Xiao Cheng rubbed her belly.
• Lin Yuan told Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng that he had tested Ye Yiyi but could not confirm whether she was Gu Yi.
• Yezi questioned Lin Yuan about the person he was searching for, and he revealed that the person was his male Dao Companion and that they had practiced dual cultivation.
• Yezi gave Lin Yuan a Chaos Spirit Herb, explaining that it would bloom when supplied with blood from both Dao Companions who had practiced dual cultivation.
• Lin Yuan asked Yezi how to hide spiritual power's aura and learned that special treasures could mask it but not conceal it completely.
• Lin Yuan considered Ye Yiyi's differences from Gu Yi and decided to use the Chaos Spirit Herb to test her again, resolving to stop pursuing her if the test failed.

Lin Yuan tested Ye Yiyi with the Chaos Immortal Grass to determine whether she was Gu Yi, but Gu Yi secretly used Lin Yuan’s blood to make the test fail. Lin Yuan left convinced she was not Gu Yi, while Xie Wenyun returned and explained that Jiang Lingzhou had gone ahead to the Illusory Demon Sect.

• Lin Yuan asked Ye Yiyi for a drop of blood and demonstrated that his own blood vanished into the Chaos Immortal Grass.
• Gu Yi recognized the test from the original novel and feared the plant would expose his identity.
• Xie Wenyun returned and interrupted Gu Yi just as he was about to give the plant blood.
• Gu Yi secretly used blood he had taken from Lin Yuan, so the Chaos Immortal Grass did not bloom.
• Lin Yuan accepted the result, apologized, and left; Xie Wenyun told Gu Yi that Jiang Lingzhou had gone ahead to the Illusory Demon Sect.

At the Orthodox-Demonic Friendship Conference, He Yan proposed a dangerous demonic-beast hunt and offered a magical artifact as a prize, while Gu Yi suspected he had ulterior motives. As Gu Yi searched the Illusory Demon Sect for his Life Lamp, Lin Yuan pursued the same goal and heard a rumor that Gu Yi had loved Jing Yuan.

• Gu Yi trembled while watching He Yan, and Xie Wenyun steadied him as He Yan noticed a hostile gaze and identified Lin Yuan.
• He Yan proposed a demonic-beast hunting contest where the winner could choose a favored person first and receive a magical artifact, and Jing Yuan reluctantly agreed with rules against harming other participants.
• Gu Yi received gifts and love letters while Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun turned away visitors, and Lin Yuan continued avoiding him in public.
• Gu Yi overheard Illusory Demon Sect disciples claim that he had loved Jing Yuan, while Lin Yuan arrived and asked whom Gu Yi had liked.
• An Illusory Demon Sect disciple told Lin Yuan that Gu Yi had loved Jing Yuan, leaving Lin Yuan confused by the revelation.

Gu Yi heard Illusory Demon Sect disciples spread a false rumor that he had risen to power through a relationship with Jing Yuan, and Lin Yuan threatened one of them for repeating it. On the day of the beast hunt, Gu Yi entered the Illusory Beast Purgatory with Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun, and the three stopped to rest after finding no beasts.

• An Illusory Demon Sect disciple claimed Gu Yi had become sect leader because Jing Yuan favored his looks and gave him cultivation resources.
• Lin Yuan cut off the disciple’s topknot and warned him not to discuss Gu Yi again; Gu Yi then told the disciples to stop spreading rumors that could harm Jing Yuan’s reputation.
• Gu Yi wondered why Lin Yuan had reacted so angrily and remained irritated with Jing Yuan for failing to control his sect’s disciples.
• Jing Yuan opened the Illusory Beast Purgatory for the beast hunt after warning participants not to kill one another.
• Gu Yi entered the secret realm with Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun, and they rested in a clearing after finding no demonic beasts.

Gu Yi overheard orthodox disciples slandering him and confronted A Ke when she came over to insult him. He left A Ke bloodied and furious, while Zhao Chen hesitated to defend her.

• Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou left Gu Yi by the fire, where Zhao Chen and other disciples discussed rumors about him.
• A Ke approached Gu Yi and mocked him, so he tripped her and slapped her.
• When A Ke tried to hit him back, Gu Yi caught her wrist, slapped her again, and tripped her as she charged at him.
• Zhao Chen helped the injured A Ke up, but Gu Yi complained that his hand hurt, and Zhao Chen suggested they let the matter go.

Gu Yi’s campsite was interrupted by A Ke, who returned mortally wounded after an ambush. As she died, she warned that someone was trying to kill them, leaving Gu Yi and his companions facing a new threat.

• Lin Ning arrived with Lin Yuan and drove Zhao Chen and the other disciples away from Gu Yi’s campsite.
• Gu Yi teased Lin Ning, provoking dark looks from Lin Yuan and Xiao Cheng before the group left to hunt demonic beasts.
• Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou returned and competed to care for Gu Yi’s irritated eyes, then spent the night beside him.
• At dawn, Gu Yi heard A Ke calling for help and found her badly wounded in the woods.
• A Ke told Gu Yi that someone had ambushed them and wanted to kill them, then died despite his efforts to help her.

Gu Yi, Xie Wenyun, and Jiang Lingzhou discovered that black-clad cultivators were hunting the disciples trapped in the secret realm and hid to survive. After hearing that the Qingling Sword Sect disciples were being targeted, Gu Yi worried that Lin Yuan and the others were in danger.

• Gu Yi identified sword wounds among the dead disciples and concluded that someone was hunting them, so the three decided to hide and seek other survivors.
• Gu Yi stopped Jiang Lingzhou from attacking a dozen peak Golden Core pursuers, then watched Mu Yang defeat them while Yezi escaped with him.
• Gu Yi refused to join Mu Yang and Yezi, and the three hid in a concealed tree hollow for two days as black-clad men searched for survivors.
• The three overheard that Mu Yang had gathered around thirty disciples and that most of the others had been killed.
• Gu Yi heard the black-clad men say Brother Chu was targeting three Qingling Sword Sect disciples, and learned that two had escaped while the remaining one's power had surged.

Gu Yi saved Lin Yuan from Chu Jing and escaped with him after discovering that He Yan had orchestrated a massacre targeting both righteous and demonic disciples. The two took shelter in a cave, while Gu Yi realized He Yan intended to spark a war between the righteous path and the Demonic Cult.

• Chu Jing attacked Lin Yuan after his inner demon surged and the spell One Leaf Obscures the Eyes blinded him, while Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng escaped the fight.
• Xiao Cheng was wounded while protecting Lin Ning, and Lin Yuan fought Chu Jing as the people in black surrounded them.
• Gu Yi recognized that He Yan had arranged the slaughter of disciples from both sides and urged the others to stop it.
• Gu Yi appeared in time to knock Chu Jing unconscious, but Chu Jing's sword cut the jade pendant that concealed Gu Yi's aura.
• Lin Yuan recognized Gu Yi and embraced and kissed him before Gu Yi led him to a cave, where they hid behind a barrier.

Gu Yi rescued Lin Yuan from Chu Jing and entered his sea of consciousness to investigate the inner demon that Lin Yuan refused to eliminate. The inner demon revealed it had formed when Lin Yuan advanced to Golden Core, after Gu Yi left him behind, and claimed Lin Yuan kept it because it let him see Gu Yi.

• Gu Yi and his companions found Lin Ning carrying the unconscious Xiao Cheng, and Lin Ning told Gu Yi that Lin Yuan had succumbed to demonic corruption.
• Gu Yi left Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun to handle the men in black and hurried to Lin Yuan, shielding him from Chu Jing’s attack before knocking Chu Jing away.
• Lin Yuan held Gu Yi and asked why he had left him behind, then said he could see Gu Yi only while his inner demon remained.
• Gu Yi entered Lin Yuan’s sea of consciousness and found the inner demon taking the form of Gu Yi as the Demon Venerable.
• The inner demon told Gu Yi it had formed when Lin Yuan advanced to Golden Core and claimed Lin Yuan had spared it because it let him see the Gu Yi he missed.
• Gu Yi rejected the inner demon’s explanation and reached out to seize it.

Gu Yi escaped from Lin Yuan after clearing his inner demon, then found Mu Yang and the others, who reported that Lin Ning, Xie Wenyun, and Jiang Lingzhou had been missing for three days. The chapter recounted how the three had searched for Gu Yi and Lin Yuan, and left them waiting at Mu Yang’s camp with Gu Yi still unaccounted for.

• Gu Yi cleared Lin Yuan’s inner demon, but Lin Yuan’s divine sense chased and entangled him, and Gu Yi fled while Lin Yuan slept.
• Gu Yi reached Mu Yang’s group and learned that Yezi had stabilized Xiao Cheng, while Lin Ning, Xie Wenyun, and Jiang Lingzhou had been missing for three days.
• Gu Yi realized he and Lin Yuan had spent seven days in the lair, then recalled how Lin Ning, Xie Wenyun, and Jiang Lingzhou had searched for them.
• Jiang Lingzhou found Gu Yi’s jade-pendant tassel among the black-clad corpses, and Xie Wenyun led the group to find Yezi and Mu Yang so Xiao Cheng could receive treatment.
• Mu Yang told them that Gu Yi and Lin Yuan had never reached the camp, and Xie Wenyun stopped Jiang Lingzhou from rushing out to search for Gu Yi.

After Gu Yi returned alone, Jiang Lingzhou refused to stop searching for Senior Sister Ye, and Xie Wenyun and Lin Ning pursued him. Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou fell from a dangerous cliff together, with Jiang Lingzhou pushing something cold into Xie Wenyun’s hand before darkness engulfed them.

• Gu Yi returned to Yezi and lied that he had not found Lin Yuan, then discovered his cultivation showed signs of advancing.
• Gu Yi decided to wait for the others and try to cultivate, but he could not break through to Golden Core.
• Xie Wenyun and Lin Ning found Jiang Lingzhou, who refused to return and continued searching for Senior Sister Ye.
• At a cliff where their spiritual energy failed, Xie Wenyun caught Jiang Lingzhou as he slipped, but a mysterious force dragged them toward the edge.
• The vine holding them snapped, and Jiang Lingzhou pushed something cold into Xie Wenyun’s hand as they fell into the abyss.