Recaps

Xiaoxiao Dragon explained that the Divine Cauldron could extract and reshape physique origins from corpses, allowing Chu Yunfei to integrate them into his myriad poison tyrant body, but each transformation remained dangerous. She revealed that the cauldron could also extract heavenly mandate origins and that its second seal required one.

• Xiaoxiao Dragon explained that the Divine Cauldron could refine corpses with special physiques into origins that Chu Yunfei could integrate into his myriad poison tyrant body.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that overly powerful origins could overwhelm Chu Yunfei and that he had to endure the bodily and soul tempering himself.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon said the cauldron could extract heavenly mandate origins from the dead, but refining living people would provoke resistance and risk backlash.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon revealed that her clan had guarded the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate and passed down incomplete knowledge of it through bloodline inheritance.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon told Chu Yunfei that unlocking the second seal required a heavenly mandate origin, obtained by taking another Daughter of Heavenly Mandate's primordial yin or killing a Son of Heavenly Mandate.

Chu Yunfei began extracting the soul-devouring nether poison from Ling Zhantian while concealing the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate. After removing much of the poison from Ling Zhantian’s organs and meridians, Chu Yunfei recovered his strength and prepared to treat the poison threads in his soul.

• Chu Yunfei concealed the Divine Cauldron’s refining power and began forcing the poison out of Ling Zhantian’s five internal organs.
• The poison retreated toward Ling Zhantian’s heart meridians, but Chu Yunfei sealed the exits and sent the extracted poison into the Divine Cauldron.
• As Ling Zhantian’s organs weakened, Chu Yunfei gave him a third-grade Heart Protection Pill to preserve his heart meridians.
• Chu Yunfei spent another hour extracting poison threads from Ling Zhantian’s meridians, leaving his own face pale from the strain.
• Outside the palace, Ling Xueyao and Shen Qianyue watched the poisonous mist thin and waited without disturbing the treatment.
• After recovering his spiritual power to seventy percent, Chu Yunfei returned to Ling Zhantian’s bedside and prepared to treat the poison in his sea of consciousness.

Chu Yunfei removed the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison from Ling Zhantian and cleared the poisonous mist from the palace hall, but Ling Zhantian remained unconscious and needed two rare pills to recover. Ling Xueyao helped the exhausted Chu Yunfei back through the palace, where their teasing left her flustered.

• Chu Yunfei spent six hours extracting all the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison from Ling Zhantian’s body and divine soul, then cleared the hall of poisonous mist.
• Chu Yunfei told Ling Xueyao and Shen Qianyue that the poison was gone, but Ling Zhantian needed a fifth-grade pill for his body and a sixth-grade pill to nourish his divine soul before he could awaken.
• Shen Qianyue said the imperial capital’s Pill Pavilion might have the fifth-grade pill, while Ling Xueyao vowed to seek both pills and also find one to repair Shen Qianyue’s foundation.
• Ling Xueyao opened the formation and went to check on Ling Zhantian, while Shen Qianyue arranged for Chu Yunfei to rest after his exertion.
• Ling Xueyao supported Chu Yunfei along the palace path, and Chu Yunfei teased her about her natural scent until she turned flustered and told him to be quiet.

Ling Xueyao escorted Chu Yunfei to her residence after he cured her father’s Soul-Devouring Nether Poison, and she offered him a reward for saving the imperial family. Their conversation ended in embarrassment when Chu Yunfei accidentally said he was thinking about how to ride the princess.

• Ling Xueyao supported the exhausted Chu Yunfei through the palace while guards watched and wondered whether he would become her prince consort.
• Ling Xueyao told Chu Yunfei how previous alchemists had failed to save her father and admitted that his cure had given her hope.
• Ling Xueyao offered Chu Yunfei a reward for his help, and he asked to leave the favor on account until he decided what he wanted.
• Ling Xueyao offered him an Azure-Feathered Cloud Crane and suggested taking him for a ride, while Xiaoxiao Dragon urged Chu Yunfei to flirt with her.
• Chu Yunfei accidentally said he was thinking about how to ride the princess, prompting Ling Xueyao to call him a lecherous, shameless scoundrel.

After removing the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison from the emperor, Chu Yunfei followed Ling Xueyao to her chambers, where she sheltered him from threats in the palace. He settled in a side courtyard and prepared to study Lu Shaoyuan’s Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword as danger gathered around the imperial family.

• Ling Xueyao grew furious at Chu Yunfei’s suggestive remarks, but still escorted him to her chambers because he was weakened and her second imperial brother might attack him again.
• Ling Xueyao ordered the maids to prepare a side courtyard for Chu Yunfei and keep his presence and the day’s events secret.
• Ling Xueyao warned Chu Yunfei not to confront her second imperial brother, whose seventh-level Heavenly Origin Realm cultivation surpassed his own, and told him to contact her if trouble arose.
• Chu Yunfei declined to rest and said he would cultivate the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword, while Ling Xueyao left to check on her father and investigate the pills.
• After checking the courtyard’s arrays and nearby guards, Chu Yunfei took out Lu Shaoyuan’s jade slip and resolved to master the sword technique because the Heaven-Severing Slash was no longer enough.

Chu Yunfei spent five days in the Divine Cauldron Space practicing the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword and mastered its fourth strike, strengthening his combat ability. As dawn arrived, Ling Xueyao invited him to accompany her to an auction featuring a sixth-grade soul-repairing pill.

• Chu Yunfei activated the tenfold time space with three thousand spirit crystals and began studying the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword.
• Chu Yunfei repeatedly practiced the first three strikes, adjusting how he stored sword momentum in his meridians.
• Chu Yunfei failed thirteen times while attempting the fourth strike, injuring his meridians before successfully combining the first three strikes into a powerful fourth.
• Chu Yunfei exhausted the spirit crystals and returned from the Divine Cauldron Space having mastered four strikes, enough to contend with a Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer martial artist.
• Ling Xueyao told Chu Yunfei to accompany her to the Pill Pavilion auction, where a sixth-grade pill capable of repairing the soul would be sold.

Chu Yunfei recovered from his injuries while Ling Xueyao invited him to accompany her to the Pill Pavilion auction for a sixth-grade Soul-Nurturing Pill needed to awaken Ling Zhantian. At dusk, they and Shen Qianyue reached the Pill Pavilion Headquarters, where Chu Yunfei learned about its alchemists and rumored ties to the Jade Firmament Sect.

• Ling Xueyao told Chu Yunfei that the Pill Pavilion auction would offer a sixth-grade pill that could repair the divine soul, and asked him to attend with her.
• Chu Yunfei rested and used the Boundless Creation Scripture to heal his injured meridians instead of attempting the fifth form of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword.
• At dusk, Ling Xueyao and Shen Qianyue joined Chu Yunfei on the walk to the auction, and Shen Qianyue explained that he was accompanying them in case trouble arose.
• Chu Yunfei, Ling Xueyao, and Shen Qianyue arrived at the Pill Pavilion Headquarters and examined its defenses and grand entrance.
• Ling Xueyao explained that the headquarters had no sixth-grade alchemist and described the Jade Firmament Sect’s influence and rumored connection to the Pill Pavilion.

Ling Xueyao tried to buy the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill before the auction, but the Pill Pavilion refused to break its contract, so she and Chu Yunfei entered the auction under concealed identities. The bidding began with numerous powerful factions present and Divine Sea Realm experts guarding the venue.

• Ling Xueyao met Vice Pavilion Master Liu, who said Pavilion Master Wen had instructed the Pill Pavilion to assist Chu Yunfei if he needed help.
• Ling Xueyao bought two fifth-grade pills and offered twice the market price for the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, but Vice Pavilion Master Liu refused because it was bound for public auction by contract.
• Chu Yunfei persuaded Ling Xueyao to follow the auction rules, and Vice Pavilion Master Liu arranged a private box to conceal their identities.
• On the way to the auction, Chu Yunfei asked about Wen Jiao, but Ling Xueyao said Wen Jiao should explain her own identity if she chose to.
• Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao entered a private box, where Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that powerful cultivators and Pill Pavilion experts were guarding the venue.
• Su Mei opened the auction and declared it officially underway.

At the auction, Chu Yunfei bid against Puppet Sect elder Han Kui for a purple lightning heart-devouring vine that Little Purple could use to grow stronger. Han Kui invoked his status to pressure the anonymous bidder, but Chu Yunfei refused to yield, leaving their contest unresolved.

• Su Mei opened the auction, and the first three items sold without attracting bids from the private rooms on the third floor.
• Little Purple reacted strongly to the purple lightning heart-devouring vine, and Chu Yunfei explained that refining it could advance the spirit beast’s cultivation.
• Ling Xueyao offered to provide the spirit stones, and Chu Yunfei bid eight hundred thousand before raising his offer to one million two hundred thousand.
• Han Kui of the Puppet Sect bid one million four hundred thousand, but Chu Yunfei countered with one million six hundred thousand.
• Han Kui identified himself and asked Chu Yunfei to give way, but Chu Yunfei insisted that the highest bidder should win, prompting Han Kui to warn him about the consequences.

Chu Yunfei won the Purple Lightning Heart-Devouring Vine for Little Purple despite Han Kui’s threats, while Ling Xueyao paid for it as a gift. The auction then revealed its main attraction, a sixth-grade Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill.

• Han Kui threatened Chu Yunfei’s private room after Chu Yunfei mocked his bidding, but the Pill Pavilion’s formation and a Divine Sea Realm presence stopped him from attacking.
• Chu Yunfei outbid Han Kui with two million low-grade spirit stones and won the Purple Lightning Heart-Devouring Vine; Han Kui vowed to investigate him and confront him if his backing was weak.
• Ling Xueyao gave Chu Yunfei five million low-grade spirit stones, saying the herb was a gift for Little Purple, and Chu Yunfei accepted.
• Chu Yunfei inspected the delivered herb and learned from Xiaoxiao Dragon that it could help Little Purple advance to the fourth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm and strengthen its poison lightning.
• Su Mei unveiled the ninth auction item, the sixth-grade Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill.

At the auction, Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei bid on a sixth-grade Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill needed to awaken Ling Zhantian, while Han Kui competed for it to heal his soul injury. The bidding passed eight hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones when a previously silent third-floor bidder joined the contest.

• Su Mei revealed the sixth-grade Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill and started the bidding at three hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
• Bidders drove the price to five hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones as several first- and second-floor contenders dropped out.
• Chu Yunfei confirmed the pill was genuine and potent enough to awaken Ling Zhantian, and Ling Xueyao bid seven hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
• Han Kui bid seven hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, insisting that he needed the pill to repair his soul injury.
• A previously silent third-floor bidder offered eight hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

Ling Xueyao and the Cangyun Sect's Holy Son, Qin Hao, competed fiercely for the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, driving its price to 1.8 million mid-grade spirit stones. Han Kui stopped bidding and tried to probe Ling Xueyao's private room, while Chen Xuanhai did the same, provoking Shen Qianyue to unleash his Divine Sea Realm pressure.

• Chu Yunfei sensed that the neighboring private room held multiple people, including a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, but Xiaoxiao Dragon identified the young man's unusual cultivation art without Chu Yunfei probing further.
• Qin Hao ordered Chen Xuanhai to bid for the pill, explaining that it was crucial to his cultivation and the upcoming sect competition.
• Ling Xueyao and Han Kui raised the bid in turn until Ling Xueyao offered 1.8 million mid-grade spirit stones, while Han Kui threatened the bidders and then fell silent.
• Ling Xueyao told Shen Qianyue not to reveal their identities or break the auction rules, and Han Kui released his divine sense toward her private room.
• Qin Hao ordered Chen Xuanhai to identify the rival bidder, and both Chen Xuanhai and Han Kui sent divine sense toward the room, triggering its warning array.
• Shen Qianyue sensed the probing, released Divine Sea Realm sixth-layer pressure, and shouted at the intruders.

At the Pill Pavilion auction, Shen Qianyue repelled Han Kui and Chen Xuanhai after they probed the third-floor private rooms, and Han Kui deduced that the bidder was Princess Ling Xueyao. Qin Hao recognized Ling Xueyao and introduced himself, while Chu Yunfei teased her about Qin Hao and his own place at her side.

• Shen Qianyue repelled Han Kui and Chen Xuanhai's probing divine sense, and Su Mei warned the bidders that further violations would end the auction.
• Han Kui withdrew from bidding on the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill and suspected the private-room guest was Ling Xueyao, whose purchase might indicate that Ling Zhantian was ill.
• Qin Hao recognized Ling Xueyao from the Seven Sects Grand Competition and publicly introduced himself as the Holy Son of the Cangyun Sect.
• Ling Xueyao confirmed her identity with a brief reply, while Han Kui concluded that Ling Zhantian's condition was likely serious and that the information could benefit the Puppet Sect.
• Chu Yunfei teased Ling Xueyao about Qin Hao's former marriage proposal and joked that Qin Hao might misunderstand their relationship.

Ling Xueyao fought a mysterious black-robed bidder for the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, which her imperial father needed to recover. She committed the three million mid-grade spirit stones she could access, leaving the bidding unresolved.

• Qin Hao withdrew from bidding and presented his concession as a favor to Ling Xueyao, but she did not accept it.
• A black-robed man mocked the imperial family and bid two million mid-grade spirit stones for the pill.
• Chu Yunfei and Shen Qianyue sensed that the stranger was exceptionally powerful and impossible to read, while Ling Xueyao refused to abandon the pill.
• Ling Xueyao raised her bid to 2.2 million, and the black-robed man answered with 2.5 million.
• Chu Yunfei explained that delaying the pill for a month could endanger Ling Zhantian, so Ling Xueyao bid three million mid-grade spirit stones.

Ling Xueyao secured the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill for three million mid-grade spirit stones after a mysterious black-robed man pushed up the price and left. The auction then revealed a seemingly ordinary stone stele, which Xiaoxiao Dragon urgently insisted Chu Yunfei must obtain.

• Ling Xueyao bid three million mid-grade spirit stones for the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, and the black-robed man left without making another offer.
• Chu Yunfei and Shen Qianyue concluded that the black-robed man had been probing Ling Xueyao's reasons for wanting the pill, and Chu Yunfei warned Shen Qianyue not to pursue him.
• Su Mei declared the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill sold to Ling Xueyao and announced a secret tenth auction item from the same consignor.
• The Pill Pavilion unveiled a plain grayish-white stone stele, and Xiaoxiao Dragon urgently told Chu Yunfei that they had to obtain it.

Chu Yunfei bid on and won the nameless stone stele after the Pill Pavilion revealed its extraordinary weight and durability, though its secrets remained unknown. As Ling Xueyao led Chu Yunfei and the others away with the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, Qin Hao called out to stop them.

• Chu Yunfei and Xiaoxiao Dragon sensed hidden seals within the stele, while the other bidders failed to uncover anything unusual.
• Su Mei explained that the stele weighed thirty-two thousand jin and had resisted attacks from spiritual artifacts, including a heaven rank low grade artifact, before setting its starting price at one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
• After the hall showed no interest, Chu Yunfei bid one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones and won the stele, with Ling Xueyao offering to pay for it.
• Qin Hao grew suspicious of Chu Yunfei's closeness with Ling Xueyao and decided to approach them after the auction.
• Chu Yunfei put the stele into his storage ring and sensed a faint, cold fluctuation from inside it before it fell dormant again.
• Ling Xueyao paid for the auction items and led Chu Yunfei and the others out, but Qin Hao called for her to wait.

Ling Xueyao rejected Qin Hao’s attempts to court her, and Chu Yunfei ignored his questions while focusing on the mysterious stone stele. Qin Hao insulted Chu Yunfei, who answered with a public challenge that left the Cangyun Sect Holy Son seething and the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Qin Hao caught up with Ling Xueyao and invited her to reminisce, but she bluntly refused and said they were barely acquainted.
• Qin Hao questioned Chu Yunfei about his identity, but Chu Yunfei ignored him, and Ling Xueyao told Qin Hao that Chu Yunfei was none of his concern.
• Ling Xueyao left with Chu Yunfei and Shen Qianyue, but Qin Hao stopped them and accused Chu Yunfei of hiding behind a woman.
• Chu Yunfei asked Qin Hao who he thought he was and told him to seek treatment for his ears, provoking Qin Hao to release his spiritual power and crack the paving stones.

Ling Xueyao declared Chu Yunfei her future prince consort, provoking Qin Hao, who was restrained from attacking him. After Chu Yunfei left hand in hand with Ling Xueyao, Qin Hao ordered an investigation and vowed to kill him, while a mysterious figure in the shadows revealed she had noticed Chu Yunfei's interest in the stone stele anomaly.

• Qin Hao threatened Chu Yunfei, but Shen Qianyue and Chen Xuanhai’s opposing pressure kept the confrontation from erupting.
• Ling Xueyao named Chu Yunfei her future prince consort and warned Qin Hao against harming him, stunning the onlookers.
• Qin Hao insulted Chu Yunfei and threatened him, but Chen Xuanhai persuaded Qin Hao not to act in the imperial capital.
• Chu Yunfei took Ling Xueyao’s hand and led her away; she did not pull free, and Shen Qianyue followed them.
• Qin Hao ordered Chen Xuanhai to investigate Chu Yunfei and vowed to make him die miserably.
• A slender figure emerged from the shadows, noted Chu Yunfei’s interest in the stone stele anomaly, and disappeared into the night.

After securing the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill, Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao headed to the palace to awaken Ling Zhantian. Meanwhile, the Blood Baleful Intent Tower suspected Chu Yunfei had cured Ling Zhantian’s poison and prepared a nighttime probe of the imperial palace.

• Chu Yunfei led Ling Xueyao through the night market holding her hand, then let go at the palace gates after she told him not to do it again.
• Ling Xueyao warned Chu Yunfei that Qin Hao would seek revenge and told him to notify her if Qin Hao came after him; they went into the palace with the pill to awaken Ling Zhantian.
• A black-robed informant told the Young Tower Master that Ling Xueyao had spent three million mid-grade spirit stones on the pill, prompting suspicion that Chu Yunfei had purged Ling Zhantian’s Soul-Devouring Nether Poison.
• The Young Tower Master ordered three gold-masked assassins to investigate Ling Zhantian and the imperial family that night, and sent word for Chu Yunfei’s background to be investigated again.
• A Dao Mysterious Realm figure agreed to join the palace mission, and the Young Tower Master anticipated a battle over the imperial family’s remaining defenses.

Chu Yunfei used two powerful pills to repair Ling Zhantian’s body and revive his damaged soul, leaving him expected to wake within three days. Just as Ling Xueyao began to express her gratitude, three powerful intruders breached the inner palace and Shen Qianyue confronted them.

• Ling Xueyao brought Chu Yunfei to Ling Zhantian’s bedside, and Chu Yunfei explained that he needed to repair Ling Zhantian’s body before restoring his soul.
• Chu Yunfei used the fifth-grade Meridian-Generating Origin-Restoring Pill, guided by Xiaoxiao Dragon, to rebuild Ling Zhantian’s viscera and meridians.
• After confirming that Ling Zhantian’s body was stable, Chu Yunfei gave him the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill and guided its medicinal power into his sea of consciousness.
• Ling Zhantian’s soul began absorbing the pill’s power on its own, and Chu Yunfei predicted that he would wake within one to three days.
• Three chilling presences broke through the inner palace formations as Chu Yunfei noticed their arrival and Shen Qianyue shouted at the trespassers.

Three gold-masked assassins from the Blood Baleful Intent Tower attacked Shen Qianyue outside the poison hall, while Chu Yunfei realized they were testing whether Ling Zhantian had recovered. Ling Xueyao prepared to intervene but Chu Yunfei stopped her, and an unknown attacker arrived to strike one of the assassins.

• Three Divine Sea Realm experts attacked the palace, and Shen Qianyue was driven back and wounded while defending the formation.
• Chu Yunfei left the poison hall to observe the battle and identified the attackers as gold-masked assassins of the Blood Baleful Intent Tower.
• Chu Yunfei and Xiaoxiao Dragon inferred that the assassins were probing the imperial family to learn whether Ling Zhantian had awakened.
• When Ling Xueyao tried to leave the formation to help Shen Qianyue, Chu Yunfei stopped her and pointed out that the assassins were avoiding lethal blows.
• An azure streak entered the battlefield and blasted the sword-wielding assassin back with a fist imprint.

Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao tried to convince the Blood Baleful Intent Tower that Ling Zhantian was still poisoned, while the imperial Attendants fought off its gold-masked assassins. A deputy tower master appeared and unleashed a Dao Mysterious Realm attack on the palace hall, leaving Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao fleeing as a cold voice rang out from the imperial palace.

• Zhou Xuancheng arrived and helped Shen Qianyue confront the three gold-masked assassins while Chu Yunfei and Ling Xueyao returned to Ling Zhantian.
• Chu Yunfei explained that the assassins were testing whether Ling Zhantian had recovered, then restored the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison around the hall while shielding him from it.
• The remaining imperial Attendants arrived, but the gold-masked assassins stalled even after losing their chance to break through.
• A purple-masked deputy tower master appeared above the palace hall and gathered the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into a massive palm imprint.
• Xiaoxiao Dragon warned that the attacker was in the Dao Mysterious Realm, and Chu Yunfei carried Ling Xueyao away from the palace hall.
• As the palm imprint neared the hall, a cold voice from deep within the imperial palace shouted, "Insolence!"

Ling Changkong emerged from the imperial palace’s rear mountain and stopped the Blood Baleful Intent Tower deputy master from striking Ling Zhantian’s hall. After the attackers withdrew, Ling Changkong drove away the Divine Sea Realm observers probing the palace, then ordered everyone to withdraw.

• Ling Changkong appeared and shattered the deputy master’s palm imprint with a single punch, while Chu Yunfei shielded Ling Xueyao from the shock waves.
• Ling Xueyao identified the elder as her grandfather clan elder, Ling Changkong, and Chu Yunfei assessed his strength as Dao Mysterious Realm Second Stage.
• The deputy master confirmed the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison remained and Ling Zhantian had not awakened, then ordered the three gold-masked assassins to retreat.
• Ling Changkong stopped Zhou Xuancheng from pursuing the assassins, and the deputy master vanished after warning that they would meet again.
• Ling Changkong forced the Divine Sea Realm observers outside the palace to withdraw, then landed by the damaged hall and ordered everyone to withdraw.

After Chu Yunfei cured Ling Zhantian’s Soul-Devouring Nether Poison, Ling Changkong thanked him and vowed to guard the emperor while he recovered. Ling Changkong then revealed his past encounter with the Blood Baleful Intent Tower, leaving the extent of its power a pressing concern.

• Ling Xueyao gave Shen Qianyue a fifth-grade pill and introduced Chu Yunfei to Ling Changkong, explaining how he had protected her.
• Chu Yunfei removed the remaining Soul-Devouring Nether Poison from Ling Zhantian, and Ling Changkong confirmed the emperor’s body and divine soul were recovering.
• Ling Changkong thanked Chu Yunfei on behalf of the imperial family and promised to guard Ling Zhantian for the next three days.
• Shen Qianyue warned that the Blood Baleful Intent Tower’s assassins were highly organized, and Ling Changkong recalled fighting two of its deputy tower masters twenty years earlier.
• Ling Changkong said that one of the two deputy tower masters had died and the other had been wounded.

Ling Changkong, Ling Xueyao, Shen Qianyue, and Chu Yunfei linked the Blood Baleful Intent Tower to the emperor’s poisoning, Lu Shaoyuan’s death, and possible danger surrounding the Seven Sects Grand Competition. Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei left the palace hall, where she asked him how it felt to hold her, and he began an ill-timed reply.

• Ling Changkong revealed that he had fought the Blood Baleful Intent Tower’s deputy tower master twenty years earlier and spent three years in seclusion recovering from his injuries.
• Chu Yunfei argued that the Tower’s palace intrusion showed concern about whether Ling Zhantian had awakened, and Ling Xueyao connected that possibility to her father’s poisoning.
• Ling Xueyao told Ling Changkong about Lu Shaoyuan’s final message, and the group concluded the Tower had infiltrated the seven sects and was building a wider scheme across the Eastern Continent.
• Chu Yunfei warned that the Seven Sects Grand Competition in the imperial capital might be part of the Tower’s plans, while Ling Xueyao decided she and Chu Yunfei would remain in the palace for three days.
• Ling Changkong stayed to guard Ling Zhantian as Ling Xueyao and Chu Yunfei departed, and Ling Xueyao asked Chu Yunfei how it had felt to hold her.