Chapter Summaries

The Flowing Cloud Sect disciples met Liu Yu, Liu Xiu, and Elder Bing near the city, where Qiaoqiao’s thoughts revealed scandalous suspicions about the adults’ relationships and Elder Bing’s interest in Wen Zhi. The group entered the city to investigate the epidemic after Liu Xiu said a demon was likely behind it and Wen Zhi could help refine a cure.

• Liu Yu greeted Shen Ji by his embarrassing title, and Qiaoqiao’s teasing thoughts made him ask her to call him by name.
• Shen Ji introduced his junior sisters, while Elder Bing studied Wen Zhi and wondered about her resemblance to someone.
• Elder Bing questioned why Liu Xiu was meeting the Flowing Cloud Sect, and Liu Xiu said Wen Zhi was an old acquaintance from his hometown.
• Qiaoqiao urged the group to enter the city and mentioned Wen Zhi’s skill as an Alchemist, and Liu Yu agreed.
• Liu Xiu said they had found evidence that a demon was behind the epidemic and that Wen Zhi could help refine pills to cure it.

Wen Zhi and her companions reached Envy Fish City, where an unexplained epidemic had left the streets deserted and infected residents suffering in sealed medical shelters. After Liu Xiu and the Glazed Sea leaders blocked Wen Zhi from treating the patients without a Water-Avoiding Pearl, the group went to the only open inn to rest.

• Shen Ji asked why the cultivators had not established a Spirit Purification Formation, and Liu Xiu said the source of the epidemic was unknown.
• Qiaoqiao questioned why the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion was absent, and Liu Xiu and the Holy Maiden explained how the Profound Heaven Sect and Glazed Sea had come to help.
• Wen Zhi saw townspeople covered in painful sores and learned from Liu Yu that the epidemic could infect cultivators without a Water-Avoiding Pearl.
• Wen Zhi asked to borrow a Water-Avoiding Pearl to examine the patients, but Elder Bing refused and Liu Xiu sent her group to rest.
• The group arrived at the only open inn, where the waiter expressed confidence that the cultivators would cure Envy Fish City's epidemic.

Wen Zhi reconsidered her trust in Liu Xiu after Qiaoqiao warned that he would exploit her work and eventually lead her to a tragic end. She refused his Water-Avoiding Pearl, while Xiao Tingyu challenged him to find another way for Wen Zhi to reach the patients.

• Liu Xiu told Wen Zhi that a rat demon was connected to the epidemic and offered her his Water-Avoiding Pearl so she could visit the patients.
• Qiaoqiao warned that Liu Xiu would take credit for Wen Zhi’s cure and that their future relationship would end in tragedy.
• Wen Zhi recalled her childhood admiration for Liu Xiu, then resolved not to risk her life for a man and refused the pearl.
• Qiaoqiao mocked Liu Xiu, and Xiao Tingyu backed Wen Zhi’s refusal and challenged Liu Xiu’s claim that the pearl was necessary.
• Liu Xiu argued that the Water-Avoiding Pearl was an exceptionally rare treasure and questioned whether Xiao Tingyu could provide anything rarer.

Qiaoqiao told Shen Ji that the rat demon had been framed and that Liu Xiu and Elder Bing planned something important that night. Shen Ji assigned his junior sisters to investigate Liu Xiu while he watched the rat demon, but Qiaoqiao’s cryptic claim left him flustered.

• After Liu Xiu left, Shen Ji curbed his curiosity about Liu Xiu and Elder Bing and decided to watch the rat demon while his junior sisters investigated Liu Xiu.
• Qiaoqiao told Shen Ji that Master had visited her in a dream and that the rat demon was innocent.
• Qiaoqiao said Liu Xiu and Elder Bing were going to do something big that night, and Shen Ji blushed as he misunderstood her meaning.

Liu Xiu sneaked into Elder Bing’s courtyard, while Qiaoqiao and Wen Zhi followed under an invisibility cloak to spy on them. They discovered that Liu Xiu had cultivated a secret dual-cultivation technique to trade pleasure for rare Pill Formulas, and the chapter ended as his relationship with Elder Bing was exposed.

• Shen Ji told his juniors to watch Hall Master Liu while he went to investigate the rat demon, and Xiao Tingyu gave him a protective artifact.
• Liu Xiu slipped into Elder Bing’s courtyard after knocking out the guards with sleeping incense.
• Qiaoqiao and Wen Zhi followed Liu Xiu under Xiao Tingyu’s invisibility cloak, and Wen Zhi realized she no longer felt attached to her old idealized image of him.
• Elder Bing welcomed Liu Xiu through a half-open window, and he claimed he was tending to her because her dao companion neglected her.
• Elder Bing asked about Liu Xiu’s progress with a technique and delayed giving him the Pill Formula he had been promised.
• Qiaoqiao’s thoughts revealed that Liu Xiu had become a Cauldron Physique through a secret dual-cultivation manual and used it to obtain rare formulas from influential lovers.

Qiaoqiao learned that Liu Xiu and Elder Bing planned to frame and kill the rat demon, then hurried to warn Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu. At a well in Envy Fish City, Elder Liu lured the rat demon into a trap and attacked him, intending to blame him for the epidemic.

• Liu Xiu told Elder Bing that their trap for the rat demon was ready and that Liu Yu would witness the planned killing.
• Wen Zhi messaged Qiaoqiao that she feared Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu were in danger, so Qiaoqiao left to save them.
• Elder Liu and his people waited by a well, where they had secretly added moon essence to lure the rat demon.
• The rat demon arrived, and Elder Liu activated the formation and drove him into the net with attacks.
• Elder Liu accused the rat demon of poisoning Envy Fish City, but the rat demon realized he was being framed and was struck by a rain of arrows.

The rat demon escaped Elder Liu’s net with a Demon Devouring Orb and fled into a secret passage beneath Envy Fish City. Liu Yu, Qiaoqiao, Wen Zhi, and Elder Liu pursued him while Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu secretly followed him ahead.

• The rat demon detonated a Demon Devouring Orb, blasting a hole through Elder Liu’s net and disappearing into a pit.
• Liu Yu saw Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu fall into the pit during the explosion and decided to investigate with Elder Liu.
• Qiaoqiao and Wen Zhi joined Liu Yu, and Qiaoqiao claimed her senior brother had been captured to persuade the group to hurry.
• The group found a secret passage in the pit and followed the Yao Qi deeper underground, while Qiaoqiao amused Liu Yu with her explanations.
• Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu, hidden beneath an invisibility cloak, secretly followed the rat demon through the passage as he cursed the human cultivators.

Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu followed the rat demon to a hidden cavern where humans and demons were being used to cultivate Spirit Plants and refine pills. As the rat demon prepared to destroy the cavern and everyone inside, Shen Ji offered to save the captives.

• The rat demon nearly discovered Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu in the tunnel but continued after an ordinary rat distracted him.
• Three barriers vanished mysteriously, and the rat demon entered the cavern with Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu close behind.
• Shen Ji and Xiao Tingyu found injured humans and demons being used to grow Spirit Plants for pill refining.
• The rat demon rejected the captives’ pleas for help and took out a Demon Devouring Orb to destroy the cavern.
• Shen Ji told the rat demon to wait and said he could save the captives.

Shen Ji tried to stop the rat demon from detonating the demon devouring, but Liu Yu and the others arrived and subdued him. Qiaoqiao persuaded the rat demon to reveal who ran the pill-refining business, but Elder Liu tried to kill him before he could name anyone.

• Shen Ji prepared to shield the others from the demon devouring’s explosion, but Liu Yu sealed it off with the Glazed Heart Method.
• Liu Yu, Qiaoqiao, Wen Zhi, and the Glazed Sea disciples restrained the rat demon, and Qiaoqiao recognized Shen Ji beneath his invisibility cloak.
• Qiaoqiao believed the rat demon’s claim that he had not helped refine mortals and demons into pills, then offered to let him go if he identified those responsible.
• The rat demon began explaining that the secret pill business served powerful cultivators, but Elder Liu attacked him to silence him.
• Qiaoqiao blocked Elder Liu’s strike and accused him of rushing to admit his involvement.

Qiaoqiao showed Elder Liu and the gathered disciples a Zhaowu Mirror recording of Liu Xiu and Elder Bing in a secret rendezvous, exposing their scheme to frame the rat demon. Elder Liu recognized them and erupted in anger over Liu Xiu’s betrayal, while their role in the plot to refine pills using Envy Fish City’s people and the Demon Race remained to be confronted.

• Qiaoqiao used the Zhaowu Mirror to show the gathered disciples footage of Liu Xiu and Elder Bing meeting secretly.
• The mirror recording revealed Liu Xiu and Elder Bing discussing a plan to blame the incident on the rat demon.
• The witnesses realized that Elder Liu, Liu Xiu, and Elder Bing were implicated in the scheme involving Envy Fish City’s people and the Demon Race.
• Elder Liu recognized the pair in the recording and grew furious as he recalled how Liu Xiu had deceived him.

Qiaoqiao exposed Elder Bing and Liu Xiu’s schemes, and Elder Liu realized Liu Xiu had been using him. Elder Liu rushed to confront Liu Xiu at the inn, where powerful cultivators arrived as the disciples followed to watch.

• Elder Liu tried to leave, but Liu Yu blocked him with a barrier.
• Qiaoqiao blamed Liu Xiu for using Elder Liu and exposing their secret, and Elder Liu agreed.
• Elder Liu shattered Liu Yu’s barrier and flew toward the inn to confront Liu Xiu.
• Shen Ji and the disciples followed Elder Liu, while Liu Yu stayed behind to investigate the pill furnace and arrange care for the civilians and demons.
• Commandant Feng and Protector Cheng arrived at the inn with Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples.

Liu Xiu was exposed with Elder Bing in bed before his former lovers and a large crowd, sparking a furious confrontation. The chapter ended with Protector Cheng and Commandant Feng challenging each other as Qiaoqiao and the others watched eagerly.

• Elder Liu stormed into Liu Xiu's room and attacked him after finding him with Elder Bing.
• Elder Liu's Sword Qi destroyed the bedclothes, and Elder Bing kicked Liu Xiu out of the room and into the courtyard.
• Over a hundred disciples saw Liu Xiu exposed, while the crowd mocked his size.
• Protector Cheng questioned Liu Xiu about Elder Bing, and Commandant Feng accused Protector Cheng of being unable to accept their relationship.
• Protector Cheng challenged Commandant Feng to exchange blows, and Commandant Feng said he was no match for him.

Liu Xiu was caught in a compromising situation with Elder Bing, and several of his romantic rivals confronted him while the gathered disciples watched and laughed. He tried to explain himself, but the chapter ended with Protector Cheng demanding to know whether Liu Xiu cared about him.

• Elder Bing knocked Elder Liu unconscious after he tried to attack Liu Xiu, then calmly dressed and walked out.
• Protector Cheng demanded to know Liu Xiu's relationship with Elder Bing, and Liu Xiu claimed they were only friends.
• Liu Xiu said he had suffered Qi Deviation and that Elder Bing had helped him cultivate, while Qiaoqiao joked that his marks came from cupping.
• Commandant Feng questioned whether Liu Xiu was satisfied with Elder Bing, and Liu Xiu awkwardly nodded as both women exerted pressure on him.
• Protector Cheng accused Liu Xiu of caring only about the other two, while Qiaoqiao shared melon seeds and watermelon with Shen Ji and her senior sister.

Liu Xiu tried to flee after being exposed, but Qiaoqiao recovered his booklet and revealed his secret meetings and a plan to abduct people for the Spirit Transformation Cauldron. He unleashed gu insects at Qiaoqiao, while the story also shifted to the sealed cave, where the Glazed Sea disciples treated civilians and the Holy Maiden ordered them to shelter the demons in Envy Fish City.

• Qiaoqiao urged Elder Bing to let Liu Xiu get dressed, and Liu Xiu covered himself and tried to leave.
• Liu Xiu slipped on a watermelon rind and fell, dropping a booklet that Qiaoqiao picked up.
• Qiaoqiao read the booklet’s entries, exposing Liu Xiu’s scheduled trysts and his plan to abduct three people from Envy Fish City.
• Liu Xiu attacked Qiaoqiao with gu insects, and Shen Ji warned everyone to watch out.
• In the sealed cave, the Holy Maiden ordered the Glazed Sea disciples to treat the demons and settle them in Envy Fish City.
• Liu Yu asked the Holy Maiden whether she intended to kill him.

Liu Yu and the disciples discovered a giant Pill Furnace beneath Envy Fish City that appeared to be brewing a legendary Saint Pill from human-grown herbs and demon flesh. Liu Yu concealed what she saw, sealed the furnace, and left as the disciples recalled rumors of the Ear-Eating Beast and its Nightmare Bell.

• Liu Yu ordered the disciples to take the restrained rat demon away, and he wondered why Qiaoqiao had saved him from Elder Liu’s attack.
• Liu Yu inspected the enormous Pill Furnace and saw golden liquid that suggested someone was refining a Saint Pill.
• Liu Yu prepared to destroy the furnace but stopped when her eyes turned black, then ordered the disciples to seal and guard it without approaching.
• A disciple watched Liu Yu leave and remembered rumors that the Nightmare Bell heralded the Ear-Eating Beast, which had taken her senior sister’s ear and hearing.

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.