Chapter Summaries

At Xuanqing Monastery, Li Yan and the other suspects were confined to rooms overnight after a Taoist priest was murdered. As Li Yan investigated the courtyard and pondered the purple-robed young man's knowledge, the young man's servant suspected Li Yan while the two black-robed men plotted to break out after completing a secret job.

• Qin Chengyi warned the visitors to stay in their rooms because Xuanqing Monastery's formations could kill anyone who wandered outside, and everyone chose a room for the night.
• Li Yan noticed the black-robed men show killing intent toward the purple-robed young man, then inspected his room and watched the lotus pond without activating its restrictions.
• The purple-robed young man and Uncle Sang discussed whether the black-robed men were tracking them and whether the murdered Taoist had been killed by a rare poison; Uncle Sang warned that Li Yan seemed unusually dangerous.
• The two black-robed men decided to act that night, relying on a magic treasure to break the monastery's formations and escape before the Golden Core Realm Taoist returned.

Li Yan watched Uncle Sang secretly probe the courtyard before a scream from next door brought Xuanqing Temple’s cultivators rushing to investigate. The temple’s Martial Uncle Song had been murdered, and the two black-robed men were detained nearby as Li Yan and his companions prepared to go see what happened.

• Li Yan observed Uncle Sang withdraw his Divine Sense from his room and probe the black-robed men’s rooms instead.
• A scream came from the neighboring courtyard, and Uncle Sang returned to the purple-robed young man before they joined Li Yan outside.
• The two black-robed men hurried back toward their courtyard but stopped when Kong Nantian and his disciples confronted them.
• A disciple reported that Martial Uncle Song had been murdered, and Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji entered the courtyard while Kong Nantian’s group guarded the black-robed men.
• The purple-robed young man asked Li Yan to accompany him to investigate, and Li Yan agreed that they would likely be summoned regardless.

After Song was murdered inside the Profound Clarity Temple, Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji questioned Li Yan and the other visitors while searching for the killer and Song’s soul. Li Yan gave an alibi confirmed by Qin Chengyi, but the murderer remained unidentified as suspicion continued to fall on those nearby.

• Li Yan and his companions entered the courtyard and saw Song’s corpse, whose Dantian and Purple Palace had been destroyed by a strike from behind.
• Daoist Gong explained that Song had likely let his killer out through the gate, suggesting the murderer was someone he trusted, and said Song’s soul had been destroyed.
• Hall Master Ji returned from searching the area without finding the killer or Song’s soul, then questioned the visitors about what they had seen and heard.
• The young man in purple described the group’s movements and drew attention to the two black-robed men, while also identifying Li Yan as someone who had left his room after the scream.
• Li Yan told Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji that he had heard the scream before entering the courtyard and had seen no one pass the gate; Qin Chengyi arrived and confirmed Li Yan’s account.

After Song Bo was found murdered, Daoist Gong tightened Xuanqing Temple’s security and gathered the visiting cultivators in Jade Purity Hall while the investigation continued. He and Hall Master Ji narrowed their suspicions to someone inside the temple, and Daoist Gong noticed clues pointing toward Kong Nantai.

• Daoist Gong acknowledged that Li Yan and his companions had alibis for Song Bo’s murder but said Junior Brother Liu’s death still needed investigation.
• Daoist Gong ordered the temple’s defenses strengthened, established Blood Oath Formations around the two courtyards, and sent for the patriarch.
• Qin Chengyi escorted Li Yan’s group to Jade Purity Hall, while Kong Nantai brought the two black-robed men there under watch.
• Daoist Gong questioned Hall Master Ji about the junior brothers’ movements, and Hall Master Ji reported that Kong Nantai had been free to leave patrol alone.
• Daoist Gong examined Song Bo’s expression and asked whether Kong Nantai had patrolled nearby, then said the killer was likely still within the temple.
• Luo Sanpang arrived at Jade Purity Hall grieving Song Bo and openly glared at the two black-robed men.

During Xuanqing Temple’s morning incense ritual, Luo Sanpang died after being poisoned by Gray Song Datura Water hidden on his incense. Daoist Gong suspected the murder was connected to two nearby sects that had vanished, while Hall Master Ji found no useful clues.

• Daoist Gong presided over the Blood Drop Oath Array as Li Yan and the others waited through the night.
• Luo Sanpang died while holding incense in the main hall, and Daoist Gong ordered everyone to stay put as he investigated.
• Bai Kui described finding Luo Sanpang motionless, and Daoist Gong used the Azure Mist Pearl to identify Gray Song Datura Water on the incense.
• Daoist Gong feared the poison and the earlier disappearances of two nearby sects pointed to a powerful enemy, but he could not determine when or how the incense had been tampered with.
• Hall Master Ji returned from patrol and confirmed that the many people who had entered the hall left no clear trail; Daoist Gong suggested the murders might be linked to the missing sects.

Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji investigated the deaths and strange incidents at Xuanqing Temple, while learning that the suspects might include notorious rogue cultivators and that a Blood Leaf Sect disciple’s identity was false. Li Yan revealed his Phantom Sect identity and considered helping Xuanqing Temple investigate, hoping to learn what had prompted the sect’s orders.

• Hall Master Ji and Daoist Gong discussed the deaths, the vanished sects, and the Phantom Sect’s order to report abnormalities.
• Daoist Gong read three jade slips and learned that the black-robed men were likely the rogue cultivators He Manzi and He Manhua, while the remaining information raised questions about a Blood Leaf Sect disciple.
• Daoist Gong privately confronted Li Yan and apologized after confirming that Li Yan was a guest from a superior sect.
• Li Yan presented his authentic Phantom Sect token and ordered Daoist Gong to arrange his departure.
• Daoist Gong showed Li Yan the Phantom Sect’s order to investigate and report strange events, persuading Li Yan to reconsider leaving.
• Li Yan offered to help identify the culprit at Xuanqing Temple.

Li Yan questioned Daoist Mu about the deaths and the temple’s suspects, then they set out to resolve his remaining doubts while Xuanqing Temple tightened its security. At the Dao Scripture Hall, an intruder used two golden wind-chime halves to open the formation passage, but a concealed Quicksand Technique trapped him as he desperately tried to escape.

• Li Yan asked Daoist Mu about Fellow Daoist Luo's death, the temple’s residents, and the clues he had gathered, then learned that Daoist Mu already suspected two people.
• Daoist Mu organized patrols across Xuanqing Temple and kept watch on the main hall with Hall Master Ji while the Patriarch was expected to return by dusk.
• An unidentified man approached the Dao Scripture Hall, used two golden wind-chime halves to open a passage through its defensive formation, and rushed toward the gate.
• The man stepped into a concealed Quicksand Technique that burned his feet, poisoned his meridians, and pulled him downward.
• The trapped man sacrificed several spiritual artifacts and treasures to rise above the sandpit, with fewer than two breaths left before his ten-breath limit.

Daoist Gong and Li Yan captured the injured Qin Chengyi after he tried to escape their ambush, and Qin admitted that he had come to steal a mysterious gray bead from the Dao Scripture Hall. Qin then bargained for an explanation of how the temple discovered his plot, warning that his contact would learn of his failure at noon.

• Daoist Gong struck Qin Chengyi from the air, and Qin crashed onto the bluestone steps instead of falling into the sandpit.
• Qin recognized Daoist Gong and Li Yan, while Daoist Gong accused him of killing three people and threatened his Qin Lineage.
• Daoist Gong explained that Li Yan had advised him to let Qin enter the ambush so they could expose and capture any accomplices.
• Qin confessed that he had been sent to steal a gray bead believed to be an eyeball of a Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle, but said he did not know its purpose or who ordered the theft.
• Qin revealed that he had acted alone inside the temple and that his contact would know the mission had failed if he did not appear by noon.
• Qin offered to disclose everything he knew if Daoist Gong explained how he uncovered the plot and promised him a quick death.

Li Yan confronted Qin Chengyi and revealed that he had identified the poison used to kill Senior Brother Liu, then began explaining how Qin Chengyi had carried out his plan. Qin Chengyi listened as Li Yan connected the theft scheme to the gambling incident, while the remaining details of the murder were still to be explained.

• Daoist Gong accused Qin Chengyi of killing Senior Brother Luo, and Qin Chengyi explained how he had anticipated Daoist Gong's suspicions and limited his ability to investigate.
• Qin Chengyi realized Li Yan had broken his plan, and Li Yan admitted he had only guessed while praising Qin Chengyi's careful calculations.
• Li Yan identified 'Tears That Strike' as the poison that killed Fellow Daoist Liu and explained its properties and how it could be activated without killing its user.
• Li Yan said that Fellow Daoist Gui's observation about the spiritual-power traces led him to identify the poison, though he had initially lacked enough information to identify the killer.
• Li Yan reasoned that Qin Chengyi had waited for his master's departure to steal the Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle's eyeball and had used the gambling game with Fellow Daoist Luo, Fellow Daoist Liu, and Fellow Daoist Song to prepare the poison's activation method.

Li Yan explained how Qin Chengyi used a poisoned spirit stone to kill Fellow Daoist Liu and steal his Storage Pouch, then identified the unresolved method Qin Chengyi used to handle 'Striking Tears.' The confrontation ended with Li Yan revealing a humanoid puppet beside Qin Chengyi, connecting it to the second murder.

• Li Yan reconstructed how Qin Chengyi planted 'Striking Tears' in a depleted spirit stone, gambled it to Fellow Daoist Liu, and arranged for the poison to erupt through Liu's courtyard formation.
• Li Yan explained how Qin Chengyi took Fellow Daoist Liu's Storage Pouch while pretending to be knocked down, and Qin Chengyi admitted that he had laid the trap.
• Li Yan clarified that the first murder remained unexplained because Qin Chengyi needed a way to put the poison inside a spirit stone without letting it touch his spiritual power.
• Li Yan said he had confirmed Qin Chengyi's method and that it also explained the second murder, then pointed to a humanoid puppet lying beside Qin Chengyi.
• Qin Chengyi recognized that Li Yan's ambush had forced him to reveal the puppet, while Li Yan's Quicksand Art and controlled poison had trapped him.

Li Yan explained how Qin Chengyi used a puppet and a carefully staged alibi to kill Song, then outlined Qin Chengyi’s third murder and the suspicions it created. Daoist Gong asked how Qin Chengyi ensured Luo Sanpang would take the poisoned incense, leaving Li Yan to solve the final piece of the scheme.

• Li Yan revealed that he had preserved Qin Chengyi’s life after Daoist Gong severed Qin Chengyi’s feet to stop the poison from spreading.
• Li Yan explained that Qin Chengyi placed a puppet at his rear window as an alibi while secretly entering Song’s courtyard and killing him with a powerful inkstone.
• Li Yan deduced that Qin Chengyi made the scream himself, then used the puppet to draw attention and switched places with it after returning home.
• Li Yan described how Qin Chengyi used Gray Crooked Mandala Water on the incense to kill Luo Sanpang, making both Qin Chengyi and Kong Nantai appear suspicious.
• Daoist Gong asked how Qin Chengyi ensured Luo Sanpang would take the poisoned incense, and Qin Chengyi waited for Li Yan to answer.

Li Yan explained how Qin Chengyi had used poisoned incense, a damaged puppet, and stolen Storage Pouches to carry out the murders. Qin Chengyi refused to reveal who he had been meeting with, and Daoist Gong subjected him to a silent, agonizing spell.

• Li Yan deduced that Qin Chengyi poisoned three incense sticks, counting on Luo to choose them first, then stole Luo's Storage Pouch unnoticed.
• Li Yan explained that Qin Chengyi had used a puppet to put Assailant's Tears into a spirit stone, leaving its arm formations damaged and revealing the trick when it raised a cup.
• Li Yan and Daoist Gong had found traces of Assailant's Tears and inferred that Qin Chengyi killed Liu and Luo to obtain the two halves of the wind chime that opened the Dao Scripture Hall.
• Qin Chengyi questioned whether Li Yan was truly a Blood Leaf Sect cultivator, but Li Yan did not answer and Daoist Gong demanded to know where Qin Chengyi had been meeting someone.
• Qin Chengyi refused to speak, so Daoist Gong trapped him in a barrier and sent black light into his brow, causing him to writhe and howl in silence as Li Yan looked away.

Daoist Gong tortured Qin Chengyi for information, then sent Hall Master Ji to secure the Qin Lineage while he and Li Yan investigated the stolen Gu Luo Nine-Tailed Turtle's eyeball. The chapter ended with Daoist Gong retrieving a gray object from a protected shelf in the Hall of Daoist Scriptures and inviting Li Yan to examine it.

• Daoist Gong used pills and spells to keep Qin Chengyi conscious through excruciating pain, but Qin Chengyi admitted that his story about meeting someone was fabricated and said he had planned to steal the Gu Luo Nine-Tailed Turtle's eyeball.
• Li Yan urged Daoist Gong to secure the Qin Lineage rather than keep torturing Qin Chengyi, and Daoist Gong ordered Hall Master Ji to guard Qin Chengyi and ensure no one escaped.
• Hall Master Ji carried Qin Chengyi away and said he would place him in the Quiet Prison before going to the Qin Lineage, while Daoist Gong stayed to oversee the sect.
• Daoist Gong gave Li Yan the damaged second-tier puppet as a reward, then restored the golden wind chime from the two halves found in Qin Chengyi's Storage Pouch.
• Daoist Gong led Li Yan into a secret chamber on the third floor of the Hall of Daoist Scriptures and retrieved a gray object from a protected shelf.
• Daoist Gong examined the gray object, found its nature unclear, and called Li Yan over.

Li Yan examined Xuanqing Temple’s mysterious Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle eyeball and warned Daoist Gong that Qin Chengyi’s actions might point to a powerful hidden force. Daoist Gong decided to secure the orb and alert the Phantom Sect, while Li Yan prepared to leave.

• Daoist Gong told Li Yan how Xuanqing Temple had acquired the gray orb and how generations of cultivators had failed to identify or refine it.
• Li Yan reasoned that Qin Chengyi’s wealth and crimes, the disappearances of two sects, and the Phantom Sect’s secret decree might all be connected to a powerful hidden force seeking the orb.
• Daoist Gong considered sending the orb to Li Yan’s sect, then concluded it was safer to send messages and keep Xuanqing Temple guarded while awaiting the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan returned the orb and asked Daoist Gong to let him leave, and Daoist Gong activated the inner formations before agreeing to see him out.

Li Yan left Xuanqing Temple with four other cultivators through its northbound teleportation array, after the temple waived their transmission fees. The young man in purple robes realized too late that the two black-robed figures had been deliberately waiting to follow him, and the five were transported toward Linsui City.

• Li Yan received a detailed map and calming incense from Daoist Gong, then asked Feng Zhiran to escort him to the teleportation array without drawing attention to his identity.
• At the transmission hall, Li Yan saw the young man in purple robes, the hunchbacked old man, and two black-robed figures waiting in silence.
• A gray-haired elder offered free transmissions north or east, and Li Yan chose the northbound route to Linsui City.
• The young man in purple robes and the hunchbacked old man joined Li Yan on the northbound array, while the two black-robed figures waited before declaring that they were also going to Linsui City.
• The five cultivators activated their spiritual energy barriers as the gray-haired elder powered the array and sent them into transmission.

Li Yan arrived in Linshui City, searched for materials to refine the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, then left to travel north under a disguise. After detecting the Blood-Handed Flying Sickle, he followed him and discovered the two black-robed cultivators fighting the purple-robed youth and his companion.

• Li Yan arrived in Linshui City after Xuanqing Temple halted its teleportation array for maintenance.
• Li Yan searched the marketplace and learned that Wuku Powder had once been sold to a middle-aged woman.
• Li Yan left the city, decided to change his appearance and cultivation while traveling, and hid in the forest after sensing a fight.
• Li Yan recognized the Blood-Handed Flying Sickle as the scholar surnamed Lin and followed him toward the fighting.
• Li Yan saw the hunchbacked elder protect the purple-robed youth as they fought the two black-robed cultivators.

Zhuo protected the purple-robed youth from He Manzi and He Manhua, who were pursuing a secret assassination bounty, and refused their offer to abandon him. When Zhuo revealed Scholar Lin’s hiding place, the Blood-Handed Flying Sickle stepped forward, having learned of the bounty and recognized its target.

• He Manzi and He Manhua attacked Zhuo and the purple-robed youth with a jade abacus and an Azure Sky Wolf, while Zhuo defended them with a black-light-emitting branch.
• He Manzi offered Zhuo half the bounty and a Dustless Pill if he surrendered the youth, but Zhuo refused and denounced the brothers for targeting a Qi Condensation cultivator.
• He Manhua sent the Azure Sky Wolf after the youth, and Zhuo struck it with three flashes of cold light, leaving it less nimble.
• Zhuo detected an observer in the forest and called him out, prompting the He brothers to withdraw and turn toward the trees.
• Scholar Lin revealed himself as the Blood-Handed Flying Sickle and said that cultivators could claim a secret assassination bounty regardless of the target’s cultivation.
• The Blood-Handed Flying Sickle recalled learning from an old friend that Shadowthorn had placed a lucrative bounty on a young man suspected of heading to the Huchen Lineage, and that the order would expire after nine days.

Blood-Handed Flying Sickle tracked down the purple-robed youth and joined the He brothers in an attempt to kill him for the bounty and its rewards. Uncle Sang prepared to hold the three attackers back so the youth could escape, and the chapter ended as he invoked the might of Demon Hound Moonshadow.

• Blood-Handed Flying Sickle recognized the purple-robed youth as a likely bounty target and secretly tracked him to Lishui City.
• Blood-Handed Flying Sickle learned the youth belonged to the Huchen Lineage, but He Manzi persuaded him that the bounty’s rewards outweighed the danger.
• Blood-Handed Flying Sickle agreed to hold Uncle Sang while the He brothers attacked the youth, and the brothers accepted the plan.
• Uncle Sang told the purple-robed youth to flee toward Spirit Moon Mountain while he held off the attackers, but the youth urged him to escape instead.
• Blood-Handed Flying Sickle and the He brothers moved to surround Uncle Sang, who shouted that he would show them the might of Demon Hound Moonshadow.

The hunchbacked old man unleashed a vast field of black smoke and summoned Black-Armored Demonic Dogs to keep the attackers away from the young man in purple. The He brothers disrupted his escape plan by using the Azure Heaven Wolf to contain the smoke, and the old man ordered the young man to counter their snake-rain while he targeted the wolf.

• The hunchbacked old man spread black smoke from the Withered Wood branch and summoned Black-Armored Demonic Dogs to attack Blood-Hand Flying Sickle and his Blood Sickle Flying Mantises.
• Blood-Hand Flying Sickle used his folding fan to form a river of blood, while the He brothers moved behind the old man to reach the young man in purple.
• He Manzi sent two short spears into the smoke, but they disappeared, and He Manhua ordered the Azure Heaven Wolf to swallow the smoke and stop it from spreading toward the forest.
• He Manzi sent Green Phosphorus Snake souls toward the old man and the young man in purple as the Azure Heaven Wolf suffered backlash from consuming the black smoke.
• The demonic dogs and flying mantises fought fiercely, leaving both groups badly depleted while Blood-Hand Flying Sickle and the hunchbacked old man remained engaged.
• The hunchbacked old man told the young man in purple to use the Jade Purification Bottle against the snake-rain and hold on for two breaths while he dealt with the Azure Heaven Wolf.

He Manhua sacrificed his life-bound magic treasure to detonate the Heavenly Azure Wolf amid the battle against the purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked old man. The blast forced the fighters to flee, leaving the He brothers’ assault disrupted and He Manhua grievously exposed to the backlash.

• The hunchbacked old man secretly mixed gray smoke into the black smoke while He Manhua used his jade bottle’s five-colored vapor to protect the purple-robed youth from He Manzi’s snakes.
• The black smoke nearly destroyed the Heavenly Azure Wolf, and He Manhua discovered that it had become blackened and marked by a spreading gray decay.
• The purple-robed youth held back the snakes with a five-colored protective net, while the hunchbacked old man used Moonshadow Slash to destroy Blood-Hand Flying Sickle’s remaining mantises.
• Blood-Hand Flying Sickle urged the He brothers to finish the purple-robed youth, and He Manhua sent the damaged Heavenly Azure Wolf through the smoke above his target.
• He Manhua ordered the Heavenly Azure Wolf to explode, blasting the clearing and forcing the hunchbacked old man, Blood-Hand Flying Sickle, and He Manzi to escape.