Recaps

Qiaoqiao used the sword intent infused in a plum branch to destroy Liu Xiu’s gu insects, while the elders and disciples confronted him over the allegations in the booklet. The chapter left Liu Xiu badly injured after Protector Cheng attacked him, as the crowd suspected a wider conspiracy tied to Envy Fish City’s epidemic.

• Qiaoqiao caught Liu Xiu’s gu insects in a net of plum petals and destroyed them, exhausting the sword intent in the branch.
• Liu Xiu tried to escape, but Commandant Feng, Protector Cheng, and two other elders blocked his way and demanded an explanation.
• The disciples blamed Liu Xiu for the accusations in the booklet and speculated that the alleged abductions and Spirit Transformation Cauldron were connected to the epidemic.
• Protector Cheng denied knowing what Liu Xiu had done, then struck him with his short pestle and made him spit blood.
• Qiaoqiao and Xiao Tingyu watched as Liu Xiu reeled from Protector Cheng’s betrayal.

Qiaoqiao exposed Elder Bing’s connection to Liu Xiu, who killed Liu Xiu and tried to dismiss the evidence as slander. The disciples who had seen the Zhaowu Mirror began explaining the cave’s revelations to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples.

• Protector Cheng and Commandant Feng beat Liu Xiu until he was close to death, and Elder Bing killed him with a fine thread across his neck.
• Commandant Feng questioned whether Elder Bing had killed Liu Xiu to silence him, and pointed out that Elder Liu might know the truth.
• Elder Liu sprang up and fled, while Qiaoqiao read Liu Xiu’s booklet and noted that Elder Bing’s name appeared often.
• Elder Bing called the booklet slander, but Qiaoqiao challenged her for treating its contents as true when accusing Liu Xiu and false when they implicated her.
• Elder Bing threatened Qiaoqiao by invoking the Glazed Sea, but Qiaoqiao asked whether she liked looking in mirrors, prompting disciples to discuss what they had seen in the Zhaowu Mirror.
• Profound Heaven Sect disciples began recounting the cave’s events to the eager Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples.

Qiaoqiao exposed evidence linking Elder Bing to the Envy Fish City epidemic, and Elder Bing tried to silence her. Song Wuya arrived, stopped the attack, and ordered Elder Bing to answer for the calamity before asking Qiaoqiao for the booklet.

• Elder Bing dismissed the accusations and threatened to kill Qiaoqiao and destroy the evidence after leaving the courtyard.
• Protector Cheng and Commandant Feng condemned Elder Bing and demanded that she answer for Liu Xiu’s death and the epidemic.
• Elder Bing accused Qiaoqiao of tampering with the booklet and attacked her with ice threads, but Qiaoqiao remained unfazed by her pressure.
• A fire phoenix melted the ice threads, and Song Wuya arrived and announced that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion would investigate the calamity.
• Song Wuya ordered Bing Yan to come to Heavenly Secrets City and then asked Qiaoqiao to give him the booklet.

Qiaoqiao helped ensure Liu Xiu’s booklet would be preserved as evidence for a joint investigation, then joined Wen Zhi to visit Envy Fish City’s patients. On the way, a rat demon revealed that the cave’s pills were forbidden drugs that temporarily boosted cultivation while causing inner demons, and Qiaoqiao said she had blocked Elder Liu’s attack because he was too noisy.

• Qiaoqiao urged Song Wuya to let the four great immortal sects seal and investigate Liu Xiu’s booklet, and Commandant Feng and Protector Cheng supported her proposal.
• Song Wuya agreed, took Elder Bing away, and the disciples dispersed, ready to spread gossip about the scandal across the cultivation world.
• Wen Zhi headed to the medical tents with the Pure Sage Pearl, and Qiaoqiao joined her as dawn approached.
• Near the tents, Qiaoqiao noticed Liu Yu’s eyes seemed darker and wondered what pills had been in the cave’s cauldron.
• The rat demon told Qiaoqiao that the cave’s pills briefly increased cultivation but bred inner demons, and that they had been sold for enormous profits.
• When the rat demon asked why she had blocked Elder Liu’s horsetail whisk, Qiaoqiao answered that Elder Liu had been too noisy.

Qiaoqiao overheard demons claim the western Divine Pillar was about to collapse, then helped Wen Zhi deduce that contaminated pill liquid had caused the plague in Envy Fish City. The chapter left Wen Zhi praising Qiaoqiao and considering teaching her a transformation technique, while dismissing her wish to grow taller than Eldest Senior Brother.

• Qiaoqiao overheard demons say the last Divine Pillar was about to collapse and wondered whether the Demon Realm had sensed danger.
• Qiaoqiao listened as the demons traded confusing rumors about a sword searching for its master.
• Wen Zhi wondered why the people rescued from the caves had escaped the plague, and Qiaoqiao suggested the cause came after the pills were refined.
• Wen Zhi realized discarded pill liquid may have contaminated Envy Fish City's water or soil and praised Qiaoqiao for solving the mystery.
• Wen Zhi gave Qiaoqiao her Beauty Nourishing Pills and considered teaching her a transformation technique, but decided against helping her grow extremely tall.

Bai Fu killed Elder Liu as he fled Envy Fish City, but the Saint Pill revived him in black mist, and he discovered what he believed was Bai Fu’s secret. Back in Envy Fish City, disciples found Hall Master Liu’s corpse missing, leaving its disappearance unexplained.

• Elder Liu disguised himself as a fisherman and fled Envy Fish City, planning to hide in a mortal city rather than return to the Profound Heaven Sect.
• Bai Fu decapitated Elder Liu and destroyed his Nascent Soul after condemning him for refining evil pills and helping besiege Ethereal Peak.
• A black-mist figure resembling Elder Liu rose from the corpse, praised the Saint Pill, and vowed to ruin Bai Fu after calling his reputation a lie.
• The disciples cleaning the courtyard in Envy Fish City discovered that Hall Master Liu’s corpse had vanished, leaving only blood trails.

Qiaoqiao’s Fuxi stopped Liu Xiu from killing Wen Zhi and crushed his black-mist form into a paper character. Qiaoqiao recognized Liu Xiu and warned him that A-Qi could eat him, leaving him powerless and furious.

• Liu Xiu approached Wen Zhi from behind, intending to kill her and turn her into a puppet.
• Qiaoqiao entered the courtyard with a rooster, and A-Qi attacked Liu Xiu before he could reach Wen Zhi.
• A-Qi pinned Liu Xiu down and drained away his black mist, shrinking him into a sheet of paper.
• Wen Zhi asked what the strange paper figure was, and Qiaoqiao identified it as Liu Xiu, a legendary paper character.
• Qiaoqiao threatened to have A-Qi eat Liu Xiu if he upset her, while Liu Xiu trembled with anger.

Qiaoqiao captured Liu Xiu and prepared to paint on him, while Elder Liu returned to the cave to steal two nearly finished Saint Pills. Immortal Venerable Wanghan killed Elder Liu before he could take them, leaving Elder Liu to wonder why the Immortal Venerable had followed him there.

• Qiaoqiao used A-Qi, a Fuxi sent by A Xue, to subdue Liu Xiu, then ignored his offers to reveal secrets and said she wanted to write on him.
• Qiaoqiao brought out brushes and watercolors as A-Qi pinned Liu Xiu down, while Wen Zhi watched her prepare to paint.
• Elder Liu returned to the cave, hoping to take the two Saint Pills nearing completion in the Pill Furnace and use them to pursue revenge.
• Elder Liu reached for the pills, but Immortal Venerable Wanghan's Sword Qi sliced him to pieces.
• As he died, Elder Liu wondered whether Immortal Venerable Wanghan had followed him to claim the Saint Pills.

Bai Fu collected a Saint Pill after an enemy stole another and warned that Qiaoqiao was destined to die. In Envy Fish City, Qiaoqiao finished an embarrassing painting on Liu Xiu, then learned that her master would meet them in Heavenly Secrets City.

• Elder Liu dissolved into blood after realizing that immortality had been a lie.
• A skeletal hand reached through a spatial rift and stole a Saint Pill from the Heaven-Melting Cauldron, but Bai Fu struck it and recovered the pill it dropped.
• The skeletal hand's owner warned Bai Fu that Qiaoqiao was destined to die, and Bai Fu left the collapsing cave with the Saint Pill.
• Qiaoqiao completed an erotic painting on Liu Xiu's paper body, and Wen Zhi rolled him up, silenced him, and put him in a storage ring.
• Wen Zhi received a message that their master would meet them in Heavenly Secrets City, delighting Qiaoqiao and making Wen Zhi nervous.

Wen Zhi and her companions left Envy Fish City after she cured its plague, with the grateful townspeople showering them with gifts and Shen Ji enduring the fallout from a rumor Qiaoqiao had spread. They reached Heavenly Secrets City for the sect tournament, where Fu Fengyuan welcomed them at the gate.

• The people of Envy Fish City thanked Wen Zhi for developing the plague-curing Pill Formula and gave gifts to her group as they departed.
• Qiaoqiao carried a piglet and saw townspeople pity Shen Ji because a rumor falsely claimed he had endured torture while investigating the rat demon.
• Wen Zhi promised to make Qiaoqiao scrambled eggs with Chinese toon shoots, and Xiao Tingyu offered a high price for the shoots.
• The group left Envy Fish City and hurried to Heavenly Secrets City, arriving before sunset as the sect tournament began.
• Qiaoqiao said goodbye to A-Qi, then met Fu Fengyuan and the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples at the city gate.

Qiaoqiao and the others met Fu Fengyuan, then clashed with Profound Heaven Sect young master Ning Xuan after his tiger attacked them. Qiaoqiao exposed that the tiger had wiped its rear on Ning Xuan’s robes, humiliating him in front of his followers.

• Qiaoqiao told Fu Fengyuan about the events in Envy Fish City and credited Wen Zhi with helping control the epidemic.
• A white tiger lunged at the group, and Fu Fengyuan blocked its jaws with his sword, breaking its fangs.
• Ning Xuan accused Fu Fengyuan of injuring his tiger and mocked the Flowing Cloud Sect alongside his disciples.
• Qiaoqiao asked Ning Xuan whether he would mind his tiger wiping its butt on his robes, then revealed that it had done exactly that.
• Ning Xuan smelled his robe and realized the stench had made people avoid him all day.

Ning Xuan stormed off after Qiaoqiao exposed his soiled robe, and the Flowing Cloud Sect members ate together before the sect tournament began. At the tournament, the opening speeches introduced famed competitors, while Qiaoqiao’s thoughts exposed the secrets behind their public reputations.

• Ning Xuan left in anger after Xiao Tingyu mocked his robe, and Fu Fengyuan was relieved that Qiaoqiao had defused the confrontation.
• Qiaoqiao and the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples went to their inn, ate the meal Fu Fengyuan had arranged, and rested for the night.
• The sect tournament began, with the Flowing Cloud Sect facing pressure to improve its longstanding last-place ranking among the four great immortal sects.
• Ning Xuan appeared among the Profound Heaven Sect disciples wearing several sachets, whose overpowering fragrance made those near him feel ill.
• An elder delivered a lengthy opening speech before introducing Mo Changfeng, and Qiaoqiao thought he hid his social anxiety behind a specially made mask.
• The elder introduced Fairy Bihua, and Qiaoqiao thought her paintings were assembled from plagiarized pieces.

The Flowing Cloud Sect disciples learned that Shen Ji ranked first on the Azure Cloud Ranking, while two high-ranking Heavenly Secrets Pavilion commandants arrived and took the seats of honor. The chapter ended with a disciple explaining why Shen Ji’s sect still placed last in tournaments: opponents targeted him, while the rest of the sect’s disciples were weaker overall.

• The old man revealed that Shen Ji ranked first on the Azure Cloud Ranking, drawing the attention of his junior brothers and sisters.
• Commandant Nangong and Madam Rushui arrived late, and the old man escorted them to the seats of honor.
• Qiaoqiao wondered why the Flowing Cloud Sect ranked last despite Shen Ji’s top ranking, and Xiao Tingyu asked about it.
• A Flowing Cloud Sect disciple explained that opponents targeted Shen Ji in early rounds and the sect’s other disciples lacked the strength to compensate.

During the sect tournament, Shen Ji defended his record against Commandant Nangong, while Qiaoqiao’s inner thoughts revealed that Nangong was a golden toad yao and the mastermind behind the pill-refining case. The chapter ended with the others wondering whether Madam Rushui knew his secret.

• Qiaoqiao learned that Heavenly Secrets Pavilion diviners manipulated the tournament draw through divination, explaining why Shen Ji kept facing top-ranked opponents.
• Shen Ji considered that Qiaoqiao’s good fortune might help him draw a favorable lot, but she declared she would win the tournament in his stead if he was eliminated.
• Commandant Nangong disparaged Shen Ji as cowardly, and Shen Ji calmly replied that everyone present had lost to him at some point.
• Qiaoqiao’s thoughts revealed to Shen Ji that Nangong was a golden toad yao who used pills to maintain his human form and was behind the pill-refining case.
• Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister realized Nangong was the mastermind they had been searching for, and the group wondered whether Madam Rushui knew he was a yao.

Qiaoqiao recalled that Commandant Nangong planned a full-moon tryst with Elder Bing after taking pills from the Heaven-Melting Cauldron, while the Flowing Cloud Sect laughed at their opponents’ insults after learning Nangong’s real name. As the tournament began drawing lots, Qiaoqiao was told she could not compete yet because she was only a substitute.

• Qiaoqiao’s senior brothers and sisters overheard her memories of Commandant Nangong’s planned full-moon meeting with Elder Bing and his scheme to ascend with her.
• The Profound Heaven Sect’s young master and other disciples mocked Shen Ji and the Flowing Cloud Sect, but Qiaoqiao revealed that Commandant Nangong’s real name was Nangong Gua, making the Flowing Cloud disciples laugh.
• Madam Rushui calmed Commandant Nangong, who privately anticipated carrying out his plan on the full moon three days later.
• Commandant Nangong ordered the inter-sect tournament to begin drawing lots, and jade lots flew to the disciples.
• Qiaoqiao reached for a jade lot, but a Flowing Cloud Sect elder stopped her and explained that she could not compete yet because she was a substitute.

Qiaoqiao was chosen to compete for the Flowing Cloud Sect and drew Fairy Bihua, a Golden Core cultivator ranked twentieth on the Azure Cloud Ranking. As the crowd mocked Qiaoqiao’s Foundation Establishment cultivation, she stepped onto the stage and grew grave before the match began.

• Qiaoqiao mistook being named a substitute for the sect keeping her off the stage because she was too strong, and Flowing Cloud Sect disciples volunteered to give up their places.
• An elder scolded the reluctant disciples and gave Qiaoqiao a jade lot, which matched her against Fairy Bihua.
• Qiaoqiao washed her hands with spirit spring water and activated the lot, while Ethereal Peak’s disciples anticipated her meeting with the Brushstroke Immortal.
• The crowd gathered to watch Qiaoqiao and mocked her low cultivation, while Xiao Tingyu nearly confronted them and Wen Zhi said Qiaoqiao might have a plan.
• Most of the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples went to support Shen Ji in his match against the Azure Cloud Ranking’s third-ranked expert, while Ethereal Peak’s disciples stayed to watch Qiaoqiao.
• Qiaoqiao stood across from Fairy Bihua on the martial stage and turned grave as her match was about to begin.

Qiaoqiao faced Brushstroke Immortal without a weapon and exposed the hidden meaning in her rival’s swallow signature, then accused her of stealing her younger sister’s paintings. Brushstroke Immortal attacked with a lethal painted character as Xiao Tingyu cried out in alarm.

• Wen Zhi realized Qiaoqiao had no weapon, while Brushstroke Immortal asked where it was and prepared to end the match quickly.
• Qiaoqiao said Brushstroke Immortal’s swallow signature concealed the character for “rescue,” unsettling the artist and confusing the watching disciples.
• Qiaoqiao asked about Brushstroke Immortal’s sickly younger sister, and Brushstroke Immortal shouted for her to stop.
• Brushstroke Immortal painted a character for “death” and sent it toward Qiaoqiao as Qiaoqiao accused her of stealing her sister’s work.
• Xiao Tingyu cried out as the lethal character reached Qiaoqiao, whose protective treasures might not stop the attack.

Qiaoqiao turned Brushstroke Immortal’s curse against her and wounded her with Descending Flower Rain. Immortal Venerable Changyun arrived with Brushstroke Immortal’s imprisoned sister Yan'er, and Brushstroke Immortal was taken away to face punishment.

• Qiaoqiao caught Brushstroke Immortal’s death curse with her sword formation and tossed it back at her.
• Brushstroke Immortal’s curse transformed into flower petals and then Sword Qi, which wounded her.
• Immortal Venerable Changyun shattered the arena barrier and brought Yan'er to confront Brushstroke Immortal.
• Yan'er revealed her hatred and vowed that Brushstroke Immortal’s retribution had only begun.
• Immortal Venerable Changyun silenced Brushstroke Immortal and ordered the Punishment Hall elders to take her away.

After Qiaoqiao helped free Yan'er from Brushstroke Immortal, she drew Bugua Zi, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's Little Divine Diviner, as her next opponent. Bugua Zi failed to divine her fortune and accepted a spirit fruit from her, unaware of what she might have in mind.

• Yan'er thanked Qiaoqiao for saving her and accepted Immortal Venerable Changyun's offer to take her as a disciple.
• Immortal Venerable Changyun invited Qiaoqiao to eat his famous soup, but she declined to keep competing for the Flowing Cloud Sect.
• The disciples discussed Brushstroke Immortal's disgrace and learned that Qiaoqiao's third senior sister, Alchemist Wen, had brewed the Clear Void Pill for Immortal Venerable Changyun.
• Qiaoqiao drew Bugua Zi for the next round, surprising the other sects, who expected the blind diviner to defeat her.
• Before their match, Qiaoqiao asked Bugua Zi to divine her fortune; he could not read her signs, gave her a vague auspicious prediction, and accepted a spirit fruit from her.

Qiaoqiao exposed Bugua Zi’s false blindness by feeding him a pill that forced his eyes open, then used the threat of his eye sockets exploding to make him confess to extorting an elderly couple. The disciples heard Bugua Zi admit he had tormented the couple for pleasure, leaving his reputation in ruins.

• Qiaoqiao’s disguised pill made Bugua Zi’s eyes open, revealing that they were intact and that he had only pretended to be blind.
• Bugua Zi tried to claim the pill had restored his sight, but Qiaoqiao warned that his eyes would bulge and his sockets would explode.
• Qiaoqiao offered Bugua Zi the antidote if he explained what he had done to an elderly couple in a mortal city.
• Bugua Zi confessed that he had extorted thirty taels of silver from the couple because he wanted to torment them and wished they would die.
• The disciples fell silent as they heard Bugua Zi’s confession.

Qiaoqiao exposed Bugua Zi’s deception and nearly faced his attack before her master, Immortal Venerable Wanghan, arrived and stopped him. Bugua Zi conceded, and the Punishment Hall took him away to serve the elderly couple he had swindled.

• Qiaoqiao explained that the Wide-Eye Pill was not poison, and Bugua Zi grew furious and charged at her.
• Immortal Venerable Wanghan appeared, shattered Bugua Zi’s divination disk, and forced him to his knees with his overwhelming presence.
• Qiaoqiao asked her master for praise, and Bugua Zi seized the chance to concede.
• The Punishment Hall sealed Bugua Zi’s cultivation and agreed to send him to care for the elderly couple he had deceived.
• The disciples applauded as Bugua Zi was dragged away, and Qiaoqiao celebrated her victory.

Qiaoqiao learned that her next tournament opponent was Ning Xuan, the young master of the Profound Heaven Sect, and later accepted his invitation to eat with her master and companions. The chapter ended with Ning Xuan sending his notorious gray wolf toward Qiaoqiao before their match.

• Qiaoqiao drew Ning Xuan for the third round, prompting disciples to gather in anticipation of their match.
• Shen Ji returned exhausted after winning two difficult fights, while Qiaoqiao and her companions prepared to rest and eat.
• Qiaoqiao invited Immortal Venerable Wanghan to dinner, and he agreed to join her group at Heaven's Return Restaurant.
• Ning Xuan mocked Shen Ji, and Qiaoqiao insulted Ning Xuan in return.
• Ning Xuan learned Qiaoqiao was his next opponent and sent his fierce gray wolf over to greet her.

Qiaoqiao and her companions reached Heaven’s Secrets City, where Bai Fu’s presence sent Ning Xuan fleeing and the group enjoyed a meal at Returning Heaven Tower. Song Wuya invited Qiaoqiao to help interrogate Bing Yan, but Bai Fu challenged whether Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion lacked staff.

• Bai Fu appeared beside Qiaoqiao, frightening Ning Xuan and his gray wolf into retreating.
• At Returning Heaven Tower, Xiao Tingyu revealed her identity and the proprietor seated the group in a private area.
• Qiaoqiao asked Bai Fu why he had come to Heaven’s Secrets City, and he said he was meeting an old friend.
• Qiaoqiao served Bai Fu a tea-oil-braised duck leg, while he wondered about the rumor that he loved duck.
• Song Wuya arrived and invited Qiaoqiao to help interrogate Bing Yan at Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion.
• Bai Fu set down his chopsticks and asked Song Wuya whether Heaven’s Secrets Pavilion was short-handed.

Qiaoqiao declined Song Wuya’s invitation to help interrogate a prisoner so she could focus on the sect tournament, then told Bai Fu about the Demon Race’s warning that the last Divine Pillar in the west would collapse. Bai Fu urged her to prepare for the tournament, and the chapter ended when he knocked down someone sneaking toward her.

• Song Wuya invited Qiaoqiao to help with an interrogation, but she refused because she had to compete in the tournament.
• Qiaoqiao strolled through Heavenly Secrets City with Bai Fu and told him she was glad to be alive beneath the full moon.
• Qiaoqiao revealed that demons in Envy Fish City had said the last Divine Pillar in the west was about to collapse and asked Bai Fu if it was true.
• Qiaoqiao assumed Bai Fu was secretly trying to save the world, but he told her to focus on the tournament and said he believed she could win first place.
• Bai Fu swept his sleeve and knocked down a figure sneaking toward Qiaoqiao.

Qiaoqiao and Bai Fu encountered Aqi, a one-handed, one-eared cultivator selling supposedly miraculous Saint Pills. Qiaoqiao recognized him as Ning Xuan’s resentful former subordinate, who was selling fake pills to raise money for a weapon to take revenge.

• Aqi approached Qiaoqiao and Bai Fu and claimed he wanted to sell them Saint Pills.
• Aqi told them that taking two pills would make someone a saint and offered four pills for five hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Aqi called Qiaoqiao Bai Fu’s lover, making her worry that someone might misunderstand their relationship.
• Bai Fu asked whether Aqi had sold the pills to anyone else, and Aqi claimed he only sold them to discerning customers.
• Qiaoqiao remembered that Aqi had been injured by beasts at the Glazed Sea and the Profound Heaven Sect, then left Ning Xuan’s service to sell fake pills and fund his revenge.