Recaps

Jiang Yantian bought a genuine highest-rank Sound-Listening Token from Ji Yu and used it to enter the Heavenly Sound Pavilion. After choosing a seat in the main hall to listen for clues about the String Sound, he drew the attention of everyone there with his natural imperial presence.

• Ji Yu introduced himself as the Know-It-All and promised to help Jiang Yantian, who gave him five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones for the Sound-Listening Token.
• Ji Yu decided to call his trade scalping and proclaimed that he would become the greatest scalper.
• The Silver Scale Guards confirmed that Jiang Yantian's token was genuine and of the highest rank, then respectfully let him into the Heavenly Sound Pavilion.
• Jiang Yantian declined a private room and asked the maid to find him a quieter seat in the main hall.
• As Jiang Yantian settled into his seat, his unrestrained imperial presence drew countless gazes from the Pavilion's guests.

Jiang Yantian questioned a maid at the Heavenly Sound Pavilion about a shabby wandering knight who had once befriended Fairy Worry-Free. He learned that Yan Miaoxi, the eldest young lady of the Yan Clan, had driven the knight away, leaving him with a new lead in his search for his wife's remnant soul.

• Jiang Yantian asked the maid whether Fairy Worry-Free had ever favored a shabby, mocked visitor.
• The maid recalled a wandering knight who had helped Fairy Worry-Free and was invited to hear her play at the Heavenly Sound Pavilion.
• When guests mocked the knight and a young master tried to throw him out, Fairy Worry-Free publicly defended him as her guest.
• The maid explained that Fairy Worry-Free's close friend later drove the wandering knight away and warned him not to return.
• The maid identified that friend as Yan Miaoxi, the eldest young lady of the Yan Clan, the royal clan of the War Ruins.

Jiang Yantian learned that Fairy Worry-Free was close to Yan Miaoxi and suspected that the two women were connected to his search for the lost string note. As Fairy Worry-Free performed a mournful piece about separation, Jiang Yantian criticized its message and caught the attention of a disguised woman.

• Jiang Yantian questioned a maid about Yan Miaoxi, learning of her formidable lineage and close friendship with Fairy Worry-Free.
• The maid could not say whether Yan Miaoxi or a wandering swordsman would rescue Fairy Worry-Free if she faced mortal danger.
• A maid announced Fairy Worry-Free’s new piece, “The Star River Goes to Meet Longing,” and its sorrowful music depicted two kindred souls being torn apart.
• Jiang Yantian guessed that Fairy Worry-Free was lovesick because her friend had driven away her beloved.
• Jiang Yantian complained that the separation was avoidable and criticized the lovers for giving up so easily.
• A fine-featured young gentleman approached Jiang Yantian, who recognized her as a woman disguised as a man, and she praised his argument.

At the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, Jiang Yantian bluntly dismissed a famous song about longing, impressing the disguised Yan Qing with his irreverent views. After they introduced themselves, she asked what he thought of the wandering swordsman, and Jiang Yantian called him a roadside dog.

• Jiang Yantian told the disguised young master that the lovers in “The Star River Goes to Meet Longing” were manufacturing tragic longing instead of acting on their desire.
• Yan Qing was shocked and impressed by Jiang Yantian’s blunt remarks, then asked to share drinks and hear more of his views.
• Yan Qing introduced herself under a false name, and Jiang Yantian gave his own name while privately recognizing her disguise.
• Yan Qing asked Jiang Yantian what he thought of the wandering swordsman, and he called the man a roadside stray and a dog.
• Yan Miaoxi realized Jiang Yantian shared her opinion of the wandering swordsman.

Jiang Yantian denounced the wandering swordsman as a vain, affected man who saved his abilities for a dramatic reveal, winning Yan Miaoxi’s admiration. After revealing their shared belief in ruthless power, Yan Miaoxi proposed that they join forces to establish the Demon Domain.

• Jiang Yantian criticized the wandering swordsman for enduring humiliation, dressing in rags, and seeking admiration through a calculated display of power.
• Yan Miaoxi asked Jiang Yantian how he compared with the swordsman, and Jiang Yantian declared that he acted openly and would use force to get what he wanted.
• Jiang Yantian explained that power should be used for pleasure and control, and that helping the poor was a way to secure their loyalty.
• Yan Miaoxi recognized Jiang Yantian as a like-minded demonic cultivator and proposed that they establish the Demon Domain together.

Jiang Yantian recognized Yan Miaoxi as the future founder of the Demon Domain and agreed to build the faction with her. After they chose grand titles and divided their duties, his brotherly embrace left Yan Miaoxi flustered and struggling to hide her identity.

• Jiang Yantian realized that Yan Miaoxi's proposed Demon Domain was the faction he would build in the future.
• Yan Miaoxi named Jiang Yantian the Imperishable Devil Emperor and herself the Devil Master of Myriad Tribulations.
• Yan Miaoxi said she trusted Jiang Yantian and assigned him conquest while she would organize and consolidate the new Demon Domain.
• Jiang Yantian agreed to found the Demon Domain and embraced Yan Miaoxi, who stiffened and blushed at the unexpected contact.
• Jiang Yantian teased Yan Miaoxi about smelling nice and blushing, while she held back from striking him because he still thought she was a man.

Jiang Yantian teased Yan Miaoxi by inviting her to bathe with him, but Fairy Worry-Free’s arrival changed the subject. Yan Miaoxi recalled how she had met and protected Fairy Worry-Free, despite finding her naive and frustrating.

• Jiang Yantian put his arm around Yan Miaoxi and urged her to go with him to a lakeside to bathe, fish, and discuss their cooperation.
• A discordant zither note cut off Fairy Worry-Free’s music, and she appeared on the pavilion’s staircase.
• Yan Miaoxi used Fairy Worry-Free’s arrival to divert Jiang Yantian, who dismissed the woman and criticized her as a meddlesome people-pleaser.
• Yan Miaoxi recalled rescuing Fairy Worry-Free from Rogue Cultivators and arranging the Heavenly Sound Pavilion as a safe place for her.
• Yan Miaoxi remembered that Fairy Worry-Free had pleaded for mercy for Rogue Cultivators who had captured her, yet Yan Miaoxi had never killed her.

Yan Miaoxi recalled how Fairy Worry-Free repeatedly survived disasters with help from a wandering hero, whom Yan Miaoxi had driven away. At the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, Jiang Yantian teased Yan Miaoxi about bathing together before predicting that the hero might return that day.

• Yan Miaoxi recounted how Fairy Worry-Free attracted repeated dangers on the road back to the Heavenly Sound Pavilion and was rescued each time by a wandering hero.
• Yan Miaoxi had the wandering hero driven away and left Fairy Worry-Free at the pavilion without giving her access to its resources.
• Jiang Yantian urged Yan Miaoxi to bathe with him at a lake, then teased her about being embarrassed to reveal her body.
• Yan Miaoxi lost her temper at Jiang Yantian, who stopped teasing her and suggested that Fairy Worry-Free's wandering hero might arrive that day.

Jiang Yantian mocked Fairy Worry-Free for breaking her zither strings over an absent lover, and his insults drove Wang Jiaorou to collapse. He predicted that her wandering knight would rush in, and the chapter ended as someone called her “Rou'er” from the entrance.

• Jiang Yantian told Yan Miaoxi that Fairy Worry-Free would give up playing the zither after that day’s performance.
• Fairy Worry-Free snapped her zither strings, spat blood, and waited silently for the person she longed for.
• Jiang Yantian ridiculed Fairy Worry-Free’s public display of heartbreak and accused her of putting on a show.
• Fairy Worry-Free argued back, then collapsed after Jiang Yantian continued berating her, and her maids caught her.
• Jiang Yantian predicted that her wandering knight would charge in, and someone rushed into the pavilion calling, “Rou'er.”

Chen Zheng burst into the Heavenly Sound Pavilion and reunited with Wang Jiaorou, whose grief turned to joy when she recognized him. Jiang Yantian and Yan Miaoxi felt an intense urge to kill Chen Zheng, and Yan Miaoxi challenged the pavilion and publicly attacked Wang Jiaorou’s reputation.

• Chen Zheng forced his way into the pavilion, but the guardian experts repelled him before he could reach Wang Jiaorou.
• Wang Jiaorou recognized Chen Zheng, and the two tearfully celebrated his return.
• Jiang Yantian and Yan Miaoxi privately agreed that they wanted to kill Chen Zheng, and Yan Miaoxi offered to provoke a fight.
• Yan Miaoxi accused the Heavenly Sound Pavilion of letting Chen Zheng trespass and condemned Wang Jiaorou for turning her performance into a melodramatic spectacle.

Yan Miaoxi publicly attacked Wang Jiaorou and Chen Zheng, and Jiang Yantian followed with crude insults before turning his attention to Fairy Worry-Free. The chapter ended with Jiang Yantian asking the fairy to share his bed, as Chen Zheng erupted in rage.

• Yan Miaoxi questioned Wang Jiaorou and Chen Zheng, prompting the Heavenly Sound Pavilion crowd to jeer at them.
• Chen Zheng defended himself with a speech about equality, but Yan Miaoxi argued that his convictions masked resentment over his low status.
• Yan Miaoxi invited Jiang Yantian to take his turn attacking Chen Zheng, and Jiang Yantian cursed him instead of debating him.
• Jiang Yantian approached Fairy Worry-Free, mocked Chen Zheng for leaving her lonely, and asked the fairy to share his bed.

Jiang Yantian publicly propositioned Wang Jiaorou, then privately explained that he needed her help to make his dying beloved give up on him. Wang Jiaorou believed his tragic story and agreed to play along, leaving Chen Zheng devastated as she let Jiang Yantian hold her hand.

• Jiang Yantian shocked the gathered guests by asking Wang Jiaorou to sleep with him, provoking Chen Zheng's fury.
• Jiang Yantian seized Wang Jiaorou's wrist and whispered that he wanted her to help him pretend they were lovers so his beloved would abandon him.
• Jiang Yantian said he was dying and wanted to spare his beloved the pain of watching him die or following him in death.
• Wang Jiaorou was moved by Jiang Yantian's apparent sacrifice and decided that helping him was the right thing to do.
• Wang Jiaorou stopped resisting, rose while Jiang Yantian held her hand, and left Chen Zheng staring in despair.

Jiang Yantian manipulated Wang Jiaorou into entering a private room with him while Chen Zheng watched, believing she had betrayed him. Chen Zheng was restrained and gagged as Wang Jiaorou ignored his cries and followed Jiang inside.

• Wang Jiaorou convinced herself that helping Jiang Yantian was a compassionate act and that Chen Zheng would understand later.
• Chen Zheng saw Jiang Yantian holding Wang Jiaorou by the wrist and waited for her to explain, but she said nothing.
• Yan Miaoxi recognized Jiang Yantian's story as a lie and condemned Wang Jiaorou for hurting Chen Zheng through misplaced kindness.
• Jiang Yantian pulled Wang Jiaorou toward a private room, warning her that hesitating would ruin their act.
• Chen Zheng erupted in fury and attacked, but Heavenly Sound Pavilion's guards subdued him as Wang Jiaorou entered the private room with Jiang Yantian.

Jiang Yantian kept Wang Jiaorou in a private room while Chen Zheng listened outside and imagined the worst. As Wang Jiaorou defended her self-sacrificing behavior and dismissed Chen Zheng’s feelings, Jiang Yantian confronted the depth of her assumptions.

• Chen Zheng struggled against the Heavenly Sound Pavilion experts outside the private room as Wang Jiaorou was led inside.
• Jiang Yantian pinched Wang Jiaorou’s arm, then told her to sit and drink tea rather than leave.
• Jiang Yantian sarcastically praised Wang Jiaorou’s righteousness, but she accepted the praise and said helping him was her duty.
• Jiang Yantian asked whether she feared Chen Zheng would misunderstand their being alone together, and Wang Jiaorou insisted he should understand her good intentions.
• Wang Jiaorou said Chen Zheng would be petty and inconsiderate if he felt hurt, leaving Jiang Yantian stunned by her reasoning.

Jiang Yantian questioned Wang Jiaorou about her friendship with Yan Miaoxi, prompting Wang Jiaorou to condemn Yan’s use of lethal force and defend compassion and reform. She insisted that kindness could prevent violence, while Jiang Yantian mocked her idealistic reasoning.

• Wang Jiaorou claimed that her actions were kind and that anyone who doubted her was being unfair and distrustful.
• Jiang Yantian asked Wang Jiaorou what she thought of Yan Miaoxi, framing honest criticism as a duty between friends.
• Wang Jiaorou praised Yan Miaoxi’s beauty and power but accused her of being cruel for killing her enemies.
• Wang Jiaorou argued that Yan should reform wrongdoers with patience and love instead of slaughtering them.
• Jiang Yantian asked how Yan could survive without ruthless force, but Wang Jiaorou insisted that kindness and tolerance could disarm hostility.

Jiang Yantian exposed Wang Jiaorou’s double standard by nearly strangling her, then mocked her for attacking him while claiming she had only acted in self-defense. Outside the private room, Chen Zheng despaired over what he believed was happening, while Yan Miaoxi recognized Jiang Yantian’s actions as a performance meant to torment him.

• Wang Jiaorou urged people to preserve their compassion even in desperate circumstances, and Jiang Yantian praised her before suddenly grabbing her by the neck.
• Wang Jiaorou tried to stab Jiang Yantian with a hidden dagger, but he broke her wrist and dropped her to the floor.
• Jiang Yantian mocked Wang Jiaorou’s hypocrisy, and she insisted that attacking him had been self-defense; he then ignored her.
• Wang Jiaorou convinced herself that Jiang Yantian had acted on an uncontrollable impulse and replaced her anger with pity.
• Chen Zheng waited outside the private room, tormented by the thought that Wang Jiaorou had willingly gone inside with Jiang Yantian.
• Yan Miaoxi concluded that Jiang Yantian was using Wang Jiaorou to make his act more convincing and wound Chen Zheng, not pursuing her for real.

Jiang Yantian’s misleading remarks and Wang Jiaorou’s disheveled appearance convinced Chen Zheng that she had been intimate with another man. Wang Jiaorou reunited with him expecting affection, but Chen Zheng rejected her and confronted her about entering the private room with Jiang Yantian.

• Jiang Yantian left the private room and told Chen Zheng that nothing improper had happened with Wang Jiaorou, urging him to trust her.
• Wang Jiaorou emerged with disheveled hair and a creased lapel, then happily approached Chen Zheng.
• Chen Zheng stepped away from Wang Jiaorou and looked at her with contempt, believing she had betrayed him.
• Jiang Yantian joined Yan Miaoxi, joked about the tea she had drunk from, and settled in to watch the confrontation.
• Wang Jiaorou asked Chen Zheng why he was acting cold, and Chen Zheng accused her of entering the private room with Jiang Yantian.
• Wang Jiaorou acknowledged that she had gone into the room with Jiang Yantian and asked what was wrong with that.

Chen Zheng confronted Wang Jiaorou over secretly spending time alone with Jiang Yantian, while she concealed that the encounter had been staged to help him. Their argument ended with Chen Zheng accusing her of crossing boundaries and Wang Jiaorou blaming him for distrusting her.

• Chen Zheng angrily questioned Wang Jiaorou about entering a private room with Jiang Yantian and making suggestive sounds.
• Wang Jiaorou began to explain, but she noticed Jiang Yantian watching and, after he signaled her, insisted that nothing had happened between them.
• Wang Jiaorou admitted she had gone into the room and agreed to help Jiang Yantian, saying she would honor her promise despite others judging her.
• Chen Zheng called Wang Jiaorou shameless and ended their relationship, telling her to go with Jiang Yantian.
• Wang Jiaorou accused Chen Zheng of being suspicious and narrow-minded, while Chen Zheng argued that spending time alone in a closed room crossed a boundary.

Chen Zheng confronted Wang Jiaorou over her manipulative behavior, while Jiang Yantian joined in by humiliating her and rejecting her invitation. Wang Jiaorou invoked the backing of the War Ruins Royal Clan, but Jiang Yantian claimed she had insulted Yan Miaoxi in private.

• Chen Zheng accused Wang Jiaorou of using false kindness to trample on their relationship, and she threatened to leave him for Jiang Yantian.
• Wang Jiaorou approached Jiang Yantian to provoke Chen Zheng, and Jiang Yantian pretended to accept her invitation, driving Chen Zheng into a fury.
• Jiang Yantian said he had no interest in Wang Jiaorou and dismissed her, then mocked her when she complained about his rudeness.
• Wang Jiaorou tried to slap Jiang Yantian, but he taunted her into stopping and ordered her to shine his boot; Yan Miaoxi joined him.
• Wang Jiaorou warned that Yan Miaoxi would punish them, and Jiang Yantian claimed Wang Jiaorou had badmouthed Yan Miaoxi in private.

Jiang Yantian publicly humiliated Wang Jiaorou with accusations and fabricated rumors, turning the crowd and Chen Zheng against her. Wang Jiaorou finally spat blood as Yan Miaoxi rebuked Jiang Yantian, and the crowd condemned Fairy Worry-Free.

• Jiang Yantian challenged Wang Jiaorou to swear she had not criticized Yan Miaoxi, and she admitted saying similar things but insisted it was for Yan Miaoxi’s good.
• Jiang Yantian accused Wang Jiaorou of using her zither music to lead listeners into depravity, then claimed she had insulted Chen Zheng behind his back.
• Chen Zheng’s expression hardened as Jiang Yantian’s claims left him feeling betrayed and publicly humiliated.
• Jiang Yantian made lewd jokes about Wang Jiaorou and offered her to Yan Miaoxi, prompting Yan Miaoxi to snap at him to get lost.
• Wang Jiaorou spat blood and accused Jiang Yantian of ingratitude, but the crowd disputed her claim and continued condemning her.

Jiang Yantian left the Heavenly Sound Pavilion with Yan Miaoxi after humiliating Wang Jiaorou, while Chen Zheng ended his relationship with her and walked away. Wang Jiaorou threatened to strip to stop Chen Zheng, but when he kept leaving, she turned to the guests and offered to show them what she wore underneath her clothes.

• Jiang Yantian declared the dispute over, mocked Wang Jiaorou, and invited Yan Miaoxi to leave with him.
• Wang Jiaorou tried to stop Jiang Yantian with accusations, but he left the Heavenly Sound Pavilion with Yan Miaoxi.
• Wang Jiaorou pleaded with Chen Zheng to believe her, but he said he no longer cared about her and walked away.
• Wang Jiaorou threatened to strip if Chen Zheng left, but he continued toward the exit without looking back.
• Wang Jiaorou turned to the guests and asked who wanted to see what she wore underneath her clothes.

Wang Jiaorou threatened to strip in the Heavenly Sound Pavilion to force Chen Zheng to admit he still cared for her, and he finally stopped her and confessed that he trusted her. As they reconciled, Jiang Yantian secretly placed an Emotion-Locking Curse on Wang Jiaorou to intensify her self-sacrifice and dependence on Chen Zheng.

• Jiang Yantian turned back with Yan Miaoxi to watch as Wang Jiaorou removed her outer robe and threatened to strip further.
• Chen Zheng lost his composure as the guests urged Wang Jiaorou to continue, and she began tearing at her inner garment.
• Chen Zheng rushed onto the platform, wrapped Wang Jiaorou in her robe, and told her he trusted her and could not bear to let her go.
• Wang Jiaorou stopped resisting and sobbed in Chen Zheng's arms as they reconciled.
• Jiang Yantian secretly cast the Emotion-Locking Curse on Wang Jiaorou, amplifying her self-sacrifice and obsessive dependence on Chen Zheng.

Jiang Yantian sabotaged Wang Jiaorou with a curse that gave her foul breath, then encouraged the crowd to demand a kiss between her and Chen Zheng. Their kiss ended in Chen Zheng vomiting on Wang Jiaorou, leaving both of them horrified and the Heavenly Sound Pavilion stunned.

• Jiang Yantian sealed Wang Jiaorou's ability to produce and cursed her with a breath that smelled like fermented herring.
• Jiang Yantian and Yan Miaoxi praised Wang Jiaorou and Chen Zheng's reunion, then led the crowd in chanting for them to kiss.
• Chen Zheng kissed Wang Jiaorou, but her foul breath made him retch and vomit all over her face.
• Chen Zheng kept vomiting as Wang Jiaorou cried, while shocked onlookers reacted to the scene.

Chen Zheng repeatedly vomited on Wang Jiaorou after her breath triggered his nausea, while the gathered onlookers blamed him for humiliating her. Wang Jiaorou’s furious roar spread the stench through the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, leaving the whole hall retching as Jiang Yantian protected Yan Miaoxi.

• Chen Zheng vomited over Wang Jiaorou again, and a passing Heavenly Sound Pavilion maid was struck by the falling filth.
• Wang Jiaorou accused Chen Zheng of deliberately humiliating her, while he insisted that her breath was making him vomit.
• Onlookers condemned Chen Zheng, who shouted at them to come smell Wang Jiaorou’s breath themselves.
• Wang Jiaorou screamed at Chen Zheng and unleashed her Qi, spreading her foul breath throughout the Heavenly Sound Pavilion.
• Jiang Yantian covered Yan Miaoxi’s mouth and nose as everyone else in the hall began retching and vomiting.

Wang Jiaorou’s uncontrolled bad breath overwhelmed the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, leaving Chen Zheng and the guests collapsing and fleeing. After Chen Zheng passed out while praising her as a future Bad Breath Great Emperor, Jiang Yantian told Wang Jiaorou to revive him with mouth-to-mouth breathing, and Chen Zheng suddenly opened his eyes in terror.

• Wang Jiaorou’s grief and anger triggered another blast of bad breath that felled the guests and even the pavilion’s powerful guardians.
• Wang Jiaorou clung to Chen Zheng and demanded an explanation, exposing him to another direct assault until he collapsed.
• Chen Zheng called Wang Jiaorou a future Bad Breath Great Emperor and urged her to prove the Dao with her breath before passing out.
• Jiang Yantian told Wang Jiaorou to give Chen Zheng mouth-to-mouth, and she began blowing breath into him.
• Chen Zheng abruptly opened his eyes in horror as Wang Jiaorou breathed into his mouth.