Chapter Summaries

Nangong gave Bing Yan the Saint Pills, hoping to reveal that he was the golden toad she had rescued centuries earlier as her cultivation surged toward ascension. The chapter ended with Bing Yan discovering his true form and recoiling in horror and disgust.

• Nangong urged Bing Yan to take the two Saint Pills while Qiaoqiao and the others doubted whether the pills were genuine.
• Bing Yan swallowed the Saint Pills and rapidly advanced to the bottleneck of Tribulation Transcendence as Spiritual Qi gathered around the mountaintop.
• Nangong asked Bing Yan to transfer her cultivation to him, but she secretly decided to ascend rather than give up the opportunity.
• Nangong shed his human disguise and revealed that he was a giant golden toad, then told Bing Yan he was the one she had rescued centuries earlier.
• Bing Yan recoiled in horror and nausea at Nangong's revelation while Qiaoqiao laughed at her reaction.

Bing Yan discovered Nangong Gua’s true form and attacked him, then defeated him while trying to ascend using his Saint Pills. The lightning tribulation fizzled out without opening the immortal gate, and she realized a crowd of cultivators had gathered to watch.

• Bing Yan called Nangong Gua a monster and beat him in a rage after learning he was a golden toad.
• Nangong Gua fought back, and the two battled at the mountaintop as Xiao Tingyu and the others cheered from hiding.
• Bing Yan knocked Nangong Gua down, pinned him underfoot, and boasted that she would ascend while sparing his life.
• Bing Yan proclaimed that she would reach the Great Dao, but the lightning made only a faint crack before the tribulation clouds dispersed.
• A voice told Bing Yan that she could not ascend, and she saw cultivators from Heavenly Secrets City watching her from the surrounding mountains.

Qiaoqiao confronted Elder Bing after her failed ascension and warned her that she had overlooked a threat. Nangong revealed himself as a golden toad, absorbed Elder Bing’s cultivation, and ate her hair, leaving her humiliated and weakened.

• Elder Bing recognized Qiaoqiao, who claimed she knew why the ascension had failed.
• Qiaoqiao refused to reveal her secret unless Elder Bing offered something in return, and Elder Bing threatened to kill her.
• Qiaoqiao warned Elder Bing to look behind her as Nangong, disguised beneath her foot as cotton, transformed into a golden toad and attacked.
• Nangong absorbed Elder Bing’s cultivation, reducing her from Tribulation Transcendence to Nascent Soul while his own power surged.
• Qiaoqiao pointed out that Elder Bing’s head felt cold, and Elder Bing discovered the golden toad had eaten all her hair.

Nangong Gua defeated Bing Yan after activating the Reversal technique he had planted on her, draining most of her cultivation. As the golden toad prepared to kill her, Bing Yan begged Qiaoqiao to save her, but no one had answered her earlier cries for help.

• The old monk urged Bing Yan to repent, and she snapped and charged Nangong Gua with a small flame burning atop her bald head.
• Nangong Gua quickly defeated Bing Yan, and Qiaoqiao explained that he had planted the Reversal technique on her long ago to siphon away her cultivation.
• Qiaoqiao told Bing Yan she had tried to warn her, while Bing Yan realized that Nangong Gua had been plotting against her and accused Qiaoqiao of conspiring with him.
• Nangong Gua moved to kill Bing Yan, but no one came to her aid as she pleaded for someone to save her.
• Bing Yan begged Qiaoqiao to spare her life and promised to give her anything she wanted.

Qiaoqiao revealed that Madam Rushui wounded Nangong Gua with a dagger coated in its own eggs, which it had left behind before ascending. The chapter ended with the explanation that Madam Rushui had wanted to stay in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, not ascend with Nangong Gua.

• Madam Rushui stabbed Nangong Gua with an ordinary dagger coated in its eggs, causing its Demon Power to drain away as its body shrank.
• Xiao Tingyu realized the dagger had been coated with golden toad eggs, and the elders concluded Madam Rushui had used them to pierce Nangong Gua's tough hide.
• Qiaoqiao explained that the eggs were not Madam Rushui's children but ones Nangong Gua had left in an icy pool at the Demon Race's border before ascending.
• Qiaoqiao said Nangong Gua had changed sex to lay the eggs, which Madam Rushui used against it.
• Qiaoqiao explained that Madam Rushui wanted to remain in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and had asked Nangong Gua to leave her enough pills to conceal her Yao Qi.

Madam Rushui sacrificed her voice and killed Nangong Gua, but Bing Yan tried to claim his demon core. Qiaoqiao reminded Bing Yan of her promise, leaving the frightened elder to surrender the core to her.

• Qiaoqiao explained that Nangong Gua had ruined Madam Rushui’s voice through a careless mistake, prompting her to seek revenge.
• Madam Rushui’s final song exhausted her cultivation, and Bing Yan stabbed Nangong Gua in the belly, killing him.
• Nangong Gua’s corpse shriveled and his golden demon core emerged, which Bing Yan reached for to restore her strength.
• Qiaoqiao reminded Bing Yan that she had promised to give her anything in return for being saved.
• Bing Yan feared Qiaoqiao and respectfully handed her the demon core, leaving Wen Zhi, Xiao Tingyu, and Shen Ji astonished.

Qiaoqiao tricked Bing Yan into surrendering her storage rings, then seized the demon core before Liu Xiu could devour it and fed it to Fu Fengyuan. Liu Xiu was blasted into the sky and discovered that Qiaoqiao had drawn a turtle receiving cupping treatment on his body.

• Qiaoqiao refused Bing Yan's demon core and demanded all her possessions, prompting Bing Yan to hand over two storage rings.
• Liu Xiu escaped his seal and rushed toward the demon core, but Qiaoqiao snatched it first.
• Qiaoqiao called to Fu Fengyuan, who swallowed the demon core and awakened the dragon power in his bloodline.
• Liu Xiu crashed into Fu Fengyuan's dragon Qi and was flung into the air as a thin sheet of paper.
• Protector Cheng, Commandant Feng, and Elder Lin examined Liu Xiu and realized Qiaoqiao had drawn a multicolored turtle with cupping marks on him.

After Liu Xiu returned from the dead, the others realized the pills had transformed him and moved to investigate. Meanwhile, Qiaoqiao had Fu Fengyuan consume Bing Yan’s demon core, awakening his Radiant Dragon Bloodline, and the Flowing Cloud Sect formed a sword formation to protect him as his cultivation rose.

• Liu Xiu shouted that Cheng was weak, then tried to alert the others that Qiaoqiao had taken the demon core and that Ethereal Peak was dividing Bing Yan’s Law Treasures.
• Commandant Feng and the others recognized Liu Xiu and suspected the pills had transformed him, while Elder Lin explained that the cultivation world had no overarching law governing ownership of the demon core.
• Qiaoqiao had Fu Fengyuan swallow the demon core, activating his Radiant Dragon Bloodline and causing him to absorb its power as his cultivation rapidly increased.
• Shen Ji, Xiao Tingyu, and the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples formed defenses around Fu Fengyuan while he cultivated.
• The Flowing Cloud Sword Formation deterred the other sects from challenging the Flowing Cloud Sect over the demon core.

Fu Fengyuan reached Nascent Soul Early Stage after absorbing part of the demon core and thanked Qiaoqiao for sharing it with him. Meanwhile, Liu Xiu fell beside Bing Yan in the form of a talking sheet of paper, and she laughed at his transformation.

• Fu Fengyuan advanced from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul Early Stage, though he had not fully absorbed the demon core.
• Fu Fengyuan thanked Qiaoqiao, who told him that Ethereal Peak was her home and her senior brothers were her family.
• Qiaoqiao wondered why Liu Xiu was still making accusations, and a gust blew him from a branch.
• Liu Xiu landed beside Bing Yan as a talking sheet of paper bearing a drawing of a turtle receiving cupping therapy.
• Bing Yan recognized Liu Xiu and laughed at his condition, while Liu Xiu realized he had lost most of his memories.

Fu Fengyuan burned Liu Xiu to ash after Liu Xiu attacked Qiaoqiao, and Wen Zhi noticed an ominous “Darkening Value: 55” above her little junior sister. Commandant Feng then criticized the group for killing Liu Xiu before they could investigate the Immortality Pill.

• Liu Xiu’s hatred took over, and he charged at Qiaoqiao, whom he blamed for his ruin.
• Fu Fengyuan shielded Qiaoqiao with Radiant Dragon Flame and burned Liu Xiu’s body and soul to ash as Liu Xiu recovered his memories.
• Qiaoqiao gave Wen Zhi the golden toad’s skin, and Wen Zhi realized it was valuable pill-refining material.
• Wen Zhi saw “Qiaoqiao, Darkening Value: 55” above Qiaoqiao’s head, and Shen Ji appeared to see it too.
• Commandant Feng criticized the group for killing Liu Xiu before they could investigate the Immortality Pill, angering the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples.

Qiaoqiao challenged Commandant Feng and Protector Cheng over their handling of Bing Yan and the Envy Fish City investigation, while the crowd’s confidence in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion crumbled. Mu Liuyun arrived to defend the Flowing Cloud Sect and declared the three immortal sects a laughingstock.

• Qiaoqiao argued that Bing Yan had eaten advanced Immortality Pills rather than Saint Pills, and questioned whether the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion could safely interrogate her.
• Qiaoqiao asked Commandant Feng what the Pavilion had uncovered in Envy Fish City, prompting the crowd to criticize its failed investigation.
• A Flowing Cloud Sect elder denounced the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, and the crowd called for the case to be transferred to the Flowing Cloud Sect.
• Commandant Feng dismissed the Flowing Cloud Sect elder as unqualified, but Mu Liuyun arrived and asserted her authority as sect master.
• Mu Liuyun told Commandant Feng that the three immortal sects had become a joke.

Mu Liuyun praised Fu Fengyuan for reaching Nascent Soul and confronted the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion over its misconduct. After Song Wuya accepted responsibility and imposed punishments, Qiaoqiao held him accountable for his subordinates, while Rushui learned that Nangong was dead but her voice could not be restored.

• Mu Liuyun praised Fu Fengyuan for breaking through to Nascent Soul and recalled the hopes she and Qingshuang had for their child.
• Song Wuya arrived, acknowledged the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's mishandling of events, and let Mu Liuyun choose Commandant Feng's punishment.
• Mu Liuyun ordered Commandant Feng removed from his post and sent to Reflection Peak, and Song Wuya gave the same punishment to the elders involved with Liu Xiu.
• Qiaoqiao questioned Song Wuya's oversight of Commandant Nangong and Elder Bing, and he admitted fault and promised an investigation.
• The Painted Skin Demon regained consciousness and told Rushui that Nangong was dead, but Rushui realized her lost voice could not be restored.

Qiaoqiao helped expose Nangong Gua’s Immortality Pill scheme, restoring the Flowing Cloud Sect’s reputation and bringing the threat to an end. Meanwhile, Bai Fu and Changyun discussed the danger he had secretly eliminated and Qiaoqiao’s role in preventing a calamity.

• Qiaoqiao promised Madam Rushui that Wen Zhi would try to restore her voice, in exchange for Madam Rushui revealing everything she knew about Nangong Gua and his associates.
• Madam Rushui helped Mu Liuyun uncover how Nangong, Ning Xuan, and Bing Yan had used Immortality Pills to control their pawns, and Mu Liuyun learned that everyone on the list and Bing Yan had died overnight.
• Mu Liuyun ordered the sect to let the matter end after the demonic bodies were destroyed, while Qiaoqiao’s tournament victory made her and the Flowing Cloud Sect famous.
• Bai Fu and Changyun searched Nangong Gua’s sealed cave abode, and Changyun warned Bai Fu that his killing aura threatened to overwhelm his Slaughter Sword Heart.
• Changyun explained that Bai Fu had destroyed those carrying Devil Creatures to prevent a calamity, and Bai Fu praised Qiaoqiao for helping avert the danger.

Bai Fu found no trace of the skeletal hand and learned that his murderous sword intent was becoming harder to suppress, while Qiaoqiao’s senior sisters checked that she was healthy. As the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples prepared to return, Qiaoqiao remembered that her Second Senior Sister was headed into danger after meeting the Demon Realm’s fox king.

• Bai Fu suspected that someone else shared memories of a previous life, and Changyun gave him pills to suppress his growing killing intent.
• Qiaoqiao watched illusory figures demonstrate sword forms, absorbing their sword intent as Wen Zhi secretly checked her pulse and found her in good condition.
• Shen Ji considered telling Master about the strange black text above Qiaoqiao, while a white-robed figure listened unseen from the woods.
• Three days later, the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples prepared to leave; Wen Zhi explained that Second Senior Sister had rushed home to the Xiao Household.
• Qiaoqiao recalled that Second Senior Sister would rescue an injured white fox, unknowingly escort the fox king to the Demon Realm, and expose the Xiao Household’s assets to its scheme.

Qiaoqiao, Wen Zhi, and Fu Fengyuan rushed toward the Demon Realm to save Xiao Tingyu from the Fox King, while Liu Xian learned of their journey and welcomed the Devil Master’s plan to kill Qiaoqiao. The three had not yet reached Xiao Tingyu, who was not answering Fu Fengyuan’s messages.

• Qiaoqiao urged Wen Zhi and Fu Fengyuan to help rescue Xiao Tingyu before the Fox King lured her to the Demon Realm, and both agreed without demanding an explanation.
• Fu Fengyuan told an elder they were going to visit the Xiao Household, and the three set out for the Demon Realm.
• Liu Xian’s elder reported that most Glazed Sea disciples had submitted to the Demon God, while Liu Yu remained shut away in her room.
• Liu Xian said Wen Zhi’s resemblance to her might prove useful and went to check on Liu Yu.
• The Devil Master told Liu Xian that Qiaoqiao and two senior disciples were heading toward the Demon Realm and that he had sent assassins to kill her; Liu Xian welcomed the news.
• Fu Fengyuan told Wen Zhi and Qiaoqiao that Xiao Tingyu had not answered any of his messages.

Fu Fengyuan and Qiaoqiao searched a peach grove near the Demon Realm for Qiaoqiao’s second senior sister, but black mist separated them and trapped them in illusions. Qiaoqiao saw a memory-like scene of herself practicing swordplay with Bai Fu before an unseen presence whispered to her from behind.

• Fu Fengyuan warned that they could not enter the Demon Realm rashly, while Qiaoqiao said her divination placed her second senior sister nearby.
• Fu Fengyuan sensed Yao Qi beneath a peach tree, then fought black mist as it cut him off from Qiaoqiao and their third senior sister.
• A voice in the mist told Fu Fengyuan that he would die there and called him Young Master Liuyun.
• Qiaoqiao entered the thickening mist and saw an apparent memory of Bai Fu discussing the sect’s eldest senior brother before teaching her swordplay.
• As the vision faded, an unseen speaker called it an illusion in demonic mist and breathed against Qiaoqiao’s neck, leaving her frozen with fear.

Qiaoqiao fought Teng Yaogui and wounded her with the Remnant Snow Sword, but two more devil generals arrived and left her facing three enemies. Elsewhere, Fu Fengyuan battled an endless Devil Creature trap and pierced his own arm after hearing that his companions had been killed.

• Teng Yaogui attacked Qiaoqiao with her devil vines, but Qiaoqiao cut them apart with the High Antiquity sword form Descending Flower Rain.
• Qiaoqiao wounded Teng Yaogui with Remnant Snow and revealed that her sword skill had grown strong enough to challenge a devil general.
• Two more devil generals emerged from the mist, leaving Qiaoqiao badly outnumbered.
• Fu Fengyuan struggled to break through the Devil Creatures surrounding him as a voice claimed his companions had been killed.
• Fu Fengyuan rejected the claim and pierced the meridians in his arm, causing blood to surge out.

Fu Fengyuan and Bai Fu rescued Qiaoqiao from the devils in the peach grove, where she witnessed a vision of sect leaders debating the spreading Immortality Pill scourge. The leaders then pressured Bai Fu to protect Heavenly Secrets City with the Protective Sword Formation, while Mu Liuyun defended him against accusations about his disciples.

• Fu Fengyuan defeated the Devil Creature with a sword strike powered by the Radiant Dragon Bloodline and hurried to find Qiaoqiao.
• Bai Fu arrived in the peach grove and killed the vine demon ghost as she and the other devils attacked Qiaoqiao.
• Qiaoqiao saw a vision of sect leaders arguing over the Immortality Pills and the growing number of Devil Creatures.
• Song Wuya proposed that Bai Fu use the Protective Sword Formation to shield Heavenly Secrets City, and the gathered cultivators supported the plan.
• Mu Liuyun objected to the demands and defended Bai Fu when Bing Yan and other elders blamed his disciples for the crisis.
• Song Wuya and the other cultivators bowed to Bai Fu and pleaded with him to protect Heavenly Secrets City.

Qiaoqiao emerged from an illusion of a disastrous future and learned that Bai Fu would protect the world because he wished to protect her and Ethereal Peak. After reuniting with Fu Fengyuan and Wen Zhi, the group discovered Wen Zhi had found a prescription to cure Madam Rushui's throat.

• Qiaoqiao watched Bai Fu agree to save Heavenly Secrets City in the illusion before it dissolved and she fell into his arms.
• Qiaoqiao recounted how the imagined future differed from reality and asked Bai Fu whether he would save the world if it faced destruction.
• Bai Fu said his Guardian Sword Dao duty was to protect everyone, but the Protective Sword Formation also guarded those he personally wished to protect.
• Qiaoqiao found Fu Fengyuan wounded and helped him recover with a blood-replenishing pill.
• The group found Wen Zhi unconscious, woke her, and learned she had discovered a prescription for Madam Rushui's throat.

Wen Zhi, Qiaoqiao, and Fu Fengyuan prepared to enter the Demon Realm to rescue Xiao Tingyu, with Bai Fu joining them and helping them cross the barrier. After entering, Qiaoqiao felt a familiar voice near the Divine Pillar, while Bai Fu also looked back at it with a grave expression.

• Fu Fengyuan and Qiaoqiao found no trace of Xiao Tingyu and debated whether to enter the Demon Realm to search for her.
• Bai Fu agreed to go with them, and Wen Zhi provided pills that could temporarily turn Spiritual Qi into Yao Qi for disguises.
• Qiaoqiao proposed disguises for Wen Zhi and Fu Fengyuan, then persuaded Bai Fu to let her choose his disguise too.
• Bai Fu helped the group cross the demons' barrier near the Western Divine Pillar and enter the Demon Realm.
• Qiaoqiao felt a familiar heart palpitation and heard an indistinct voice near the Divine Pillar, while Bai Fu also looked back at it.