Chapter Summaries

After 191’s portal failure kept her from returning home, Zhu Lianqing emerged from a Heavenly Silkworm Cave with a new body and adopted the disguise Wang Xianren. She set out to enjoy life as an unremarkable cultivator, while wondering how her former disciple Xie Lingchuan had fared since her death.

• Zhu Lianqing awoke in the reconstructed body after two years in the Heavenly Silkworm Cave and scolded 191 for its failed portal.
• She inspected her frail, forgettable new appearance, wove herself gray and white robes, and chose the identity Wang Xianren.
• Zhu Lianqing recalled her former life as a sword master and the mission that had led her to take Xie Lingchuan as her disciple.
• She worried that Xie Lingchuan had been left alone after her death, then reminded herself that he was nineteen and no longer her responsibility.
• Zhu Lianqing left the cave in disguise and descended the mountain, determined not to use her distinctive sword techniques.

Zhu Lianqing visited Flowing Light City, drank Young Master's Intoxication, and heard cultivators debating whether her disciple Xie Lingchuan deserved first place on the Youth Ranking. She bet her gold and spirit stone on him, then unexpectedly encountered Xie Lingchuan and other Luoyu Sword Sect disciples at the stairs.

• Zhu Lianqing went to Ode to the Spring Breeze and ordered three pots of Young Master's Intoxication and candied peanuts.
• Cultivators at a neighboring table debated whether Xie Lingchuan or Xiao Wenzhou deserved the top spot on the Youth Ranking, while Zhu Lianqing listened and ate.
• After waking from a nap, Zhu Lianqing placed a gold ingot and a spirit stone on Xie Lingchuan, telling the bettors to share her winnings if he won.
• Zhu Lianqing reached the stairs and came face-to-face with Luoyu Sword Sect disciples, including Xie Lingchuan.

Zhu Lianqing ran into her former disciple Xie Lingchuan while concealing her identity and left without speaking to him. Back at the restaurant, Xie Lingchuan’s companions discussed the veiled cultivator and recalled Zhu Lianqing’s death two years earlier.

• Zhu Lianqing realized the Luoyu Sword Sect disciples had overheard her praise of Xie Lingchuan, then passed him while pretending not to recognize him.
• Zhu Lianqing noticed Xie Lingchuan had grown much taller and hurried out, resolving to avoid entanglement with her former sect.
• Xie Lingchuan watched Zhu Lianqing from the restaurant window, and Jiang Tingxue, Song Wensheng, Shen Ji, and Yan Qing speculated about why she had bet on him.
• Xie Lingchuan said the woman probably supported him because of his master’s reputation, and Jiang Tingxue stopped Song Wensheng from speaking carelessly about Zhu Lianqing’s death.
• Shen Ji remembered the Luoyu Sword Sect mourning Zhu Lianqing two years earlier and recalled that Xie Lingchuan had shown no tears while carrying her sword beside her coffin.

Zhu Lianqing drifted downstream on a bamboo raft and accepted Sister-in-law Little Liu’s invitation to spend the night in Wuxia Village. After exploring the quiet village, she realized that none of its households had lit lamps after dark.

• Zhu Lianqing bought an old ferryman’s bamboo raft and let the current carry her downstream.
• She met Liu Xiuzhi, known as Sister-in-law Little Liu, washing clothes by the river and followed her to Wuxia Village for shelter.
• Sister-in-law Little Liu and Er Liu gave Zhu Lianqing a room in their old courtyard and brought her bedding, food, and an oil lamp.
• Zhu Lianqing explored the village at night and noticed that no household had lit a lamp.

Zhu Lianqing dismissed a strange dream of a veiled woman as a low-level illusion, then decided to stay another night to investigate it. While helping Sister-in-law Little Liu fetch water, she met Wei Mingchi and Qin Man, whose quarrels revealed that they had grown up together and were already married.

• Zhu Lianqing dreamed of a mysterious palace and a veiled woman, but refused to approach her and woke without learning her identity.
• Sister-in-law Little Liu explained that villagers avoided using precious lamp oil and went to bed early, and Zhu Lianqing asked to stay another day.
• Zhu Lianqing decided to remain overnight so she could investigate the strange dream if it returned.
• Zhu Lianqing and Sister-in-law Little Liu met Wei Mingchi and Qin Man, who had lost their way while traveling toward Falling Snow City and argued about their journey.
• Sister-in-law Little Liu guessed that Wei Mingchi and Qin Man were a couple, and Wei Mingchi said they had grown up together and were already married.

Zhu Lianqing investigated a deadly attack in the village and killed a corpse-eating demon, then confronted a poisonous moth demon. Xie Lingchuan arrived to slay the moth, leaving Zhu Lianqing startled that her little disciple had found her again.

• Zhu Lianqing advised Wei Mingchi to reassure Qin Man and stop delaying their marriage, while Sister-in-law Little Liu shared her own experience of love.
• After settling into the village, Zhu Lianqing heard Wei Mingchi and Qin Man arguing before falling asleep and returning to the eerie palace in her dream.
• A scream woke Zhu Lianqing, who found the wounded Qin Man outside and discovered a corpse-eating demon devouring Wei Mingchi in the next room.
• Zhu Lianqing trapped and destroyed the corpse-eating demon, then fought off an enormous poisonous moth that coiled around her neck.
• Xie Lingchuan arrived and pinned the moth with his sword, warning Zhu Lianqing not to breathe in its poison.

Zhu Lianqing secretly helped Xie Lingchuan escape the moth demon leader while he and the Luoyu Sword Sect disciples fought the demons and protected a village. After the leader escaped and the disciples raised a barrier, they discovered a dead traveler, cared for his frightened relative, and prepared his body for her decision.

• Xie Lingchuan warned the disciples that the moth demons were drawn to spell-light, then lured the largest moth outside with Zhu Lianqing’s oil lamp.
• Xie Lingchuan and the other disciples fought the moth demons with their swords, but the leader trapped him in its wings until Zhu Lianqing secretly struck it with spiritual energy.
• The moth demon leader fled, and Xie Lingchuan and Shen Ji formed a barrier over the village while Xie Lingchuan checked that the other disciples knew their lessons.
• Xie Lingchuan and the disciples found a corpse and a frightened young woman, and Zhu Lianqing claimed that a corpse-eating demon had fled when it sensed the cultivators approaching.
• Shen Ji gave the young woman medicine, while Xie Lingchuan preserved the dead man’s body and covered his eyes with white cloth.

Zhu Lianqing helped the cultivators understand the connection between the moth yaoguai and corpse-eating demon, then tried to leave before Xie Lingchuan uncovered her identity. Xie Lingchuan stopped her, warning that midnight travel was unsafe.

• Xie Lingchuan recognized Zhu Lianqing from Ode to the Spring Breeze and questioned her about her cultivation and earlier actions.
• Shen Ji treated the unconscious A Man, and the group decided to wait for the wounded moth yaoguai to return.
• Zhu Lianqing explained that the moth yaoguai and corpse-eating demon worked together near a White Bone Cavern, and that the group should let the moth lead them to its lair.
• Zhu Lianqing tried to leave, saying she did not want to hold the young cultivators back, but Xie Lingchuan pointed out that it was midnight and traveling would be unsafe.

Zhu Lianqing tried to leave the village but was persuaded to stay with Xie Lingchuan and the Luoyang Sword Sect disciples until the demon threat passed. After the others fell asleep, she found Xie Lingchuan keeping watch and briefly tried to persuade him to rest.

• Song Wensheng revealed Xie Lingchuan's identity, and Zhu Lianqing pretended to be impressed before agreeing to stay.
• Zhu Lianqing introduced herself as Wang Xianren and learned the names of Shen Ji, Jiang Tingxue, Song Wensheng, and Yan Qing.
• The disciples stayed outside to keep watch while Zhu Lianqing rested indoors beside the unconscious A Man.
• Zhu Lianqing woke and saw that the disciples had fallen asleep, while Xie Lingchuan remained awake by himself.
• Zhu Lianqing sat beside Xie Lingchuan and urged him to rest, but he said he was keeping watch, so she returned inside.

Zhu Lianqing adjusted to her new body and reunited with her grown disciple, Xie Lingchuan, as he cared for their fellow disciples. After the villagers thanked the group for saving them, Shen Ji insisted they stay in Wuxia Village because the demon might return at the full moon.

• Zhu Lianqing found her connection to the Autumn Water Sword faint and reflected that she might never wield it again.
• Zhu Lianqing watched Xie Lingchuan return from foraging and took his small, unripe fruit so he would eat one of the better ones.
• Wang Si and the villagers knelt to thank the disciples for protecting Wuxia Village from the demon.
• Wang Si urged the disciples to leave talismans and move on, but Shen Ji insisted they stay because the demon's power would rise at the full moon.

Zhu Lianqing and the others secured a courtyard in the uneasy village while investigating the demon’s threat, and Zhu Lianqing teased Xie Lingchuan about his master. The chapter ended with Xie Lingchuan firmly declaring that his master was better than anyone he had ever met.

• Shen Ji persuaded Wang Si and the villagers to let the group stay in the courtyard without taking food or water.
• Zhu Lianqing asked Liu Er about Little Liu, and Liu Er nervously claimed his wife was sick and asleep at home.
• After the villagers left, Jiang Tingxue voiced her confusion about their unwelcoming behavior, and Zhu Lianqing encouraged her to focus on her duty to slay demons.
• Shen Ji asked Zhu Lianqing about her cultivation, and she invented a story about failing to join several sects, including Luoyu Sword Sect.
• Zhu Lianqing asked Xie Lingchuan what he thought of his master, and Xie Lingchuan said she was better than anyone he had ever met.

After Wei Mingchi died protecting A Man, Zhu Lianqing stopped A Man from taking her own life and reminded her that Mingchi had cherished her and wanted to marry her. A Man chose to live and help avenge him, and the group planned to lure the moth demon back during the full moon.

• A Man woke in terror and learned from Shen Ji that Wei Mingchi had died protecting her.
• A Man blamed herself for Mingchi's death and tried to kill herself, but Zhu Lianqing caught her.
• Zhu Lianqing told A Man that Mingchi had planned to return home and ask for her hand, restoring A Man's will to live.
• A Man chose to keep Mingchi's ashes in her intricate die pendant and asked to avenge him.
• Zhu Lianqing proposed cremating Mingchi in the courtyard during the full moon to lure and kill the moth demon, and Xie Lingchuan agreed to protect his body with an array.

Zhu Lianqing talked with Xie Lingchuan about love, his master, and the Dao. After he called his master heartless, she realized he still saw her that way and spent the afternoon wondering whether she had treated him poorly.

• Xie Lingchuan approached Zhu Lianqing and asked whether she was troubled by Miss A Man and Wei Mingchi.
• Xie Lingchuan said Zhu Lianqing had reminded him of his master, then explained that he no longer thought they were alike because his master was indifferent to worldly romance.
• Zhu Lianqing asked what Xie Lingchuan thought of his master's Dao, and he admitted he did not know what his own Dao was.
• Zhu Lianqing encouraged Xie Lingchuan to travel and take his time finding his Dao, and he thanked her before walking away.
• Zhu Lianqing spent the afternoon wondering whether she had treated Xie Lingchuan badly, while he sat alone meditating.

A Man grieved over Wei Mingchi’s body, while Zhu Lianqing sheltered the Luoyu Sword Sect disciples from the rain and listened as Shen Ji played the flute. The music stirred Zhu Lianqing’s memories of her funeral, and she was stunned when Shen Ji recognized and played the SpongeBob theme song.

• A Man insisted on seeing Wei Mingchi’s body, wept until her voice was hoarse, and stopped talking about taking her own life.
• Zhu Lianqing invited the rain-soaked disciples into her room, where Shen Ji played a song the juniors said reminded them of their sect.
• Jiang Tingxue told Shen Ji that she missed their master, and Zhu Lianqing wondered whether Xie Lingchuan had thought of her during her two-year absence.
• A flash of lightning brought Zhu Lianqing back to memories of her funeral and of hearing people praise Xie Lingchuan for showing no grief as he carried her sword.
• Zhu Lianqing asked Shen Ji to play the SpongeBob theme, and he recognized the tune and performed it on his jade flute.

Zhu Lianqing grew suspicious when Shen Ji played a tune she recognized, but he could not remember who had taught it to him. As the group prepared to find White Bone Cavern before the full moon, Xie Lingchuan stopped Song Wensheng from drinking poisoned sugar water brought by the villagers.

• Shen Ji played the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song and said he could not recall learning it, while Zhu Lianqing wondered whether another task-taker was in the world.
• Zhu Lianqing asked 191 to check for other task-takers, but 191 said it needed approval to access the relevant files and then cut off contact.
• The juniors discussed how to locate White Bone Cavern, and Zhu Lianqing suggested sprinkling modified luminous phosphorus on the moth demons to track their route.
• Villagers brought bowls of sugar water to the group, and Xie Lingchuan struck Song Wensheng's wrist before he could drink, warning that it was poisoned.

After discovering that Wuxia Village’s residents had poisoned their sweet soup to help the moth demons, Xie Lingchuan and the others set a trap during Wei Mingchi’s cremation. Their plan to burn the demons went awry when Liu Er flooded the formation, and an enormous moth demon attacked Xie Lingchuan.

• Jiang Tingxue, Yan Qing, and Song Wensheng learned that the villagers had poisoned the sweet soup, and Xie Lingchuan persuaded them to hide their knowledge until the full moon.
• At night, villagers entered the courtyard expecting the cultivators to be dead, but Xie Lingchuan and the others trapped them and lured the moth demons into a fiery formation.
• Liu Er and the villagers tried to stop the cremation and scattered the flames, disrupting the formation as moth demons attacked them.
• Liu Er poured the courtyard’s water vat into the formation, forcing Shen Ji to suspend it because he could not use magic against mortals.
• Xie Lingchuan leaped down to pull Liu Er from the formation, but an enormous moth demon descended and blasted him with its heavy fragrance.

The disciples defeated the moth demons in the village courtyard and exposed the villagers’ role in luring travelers to their deaths. A Man mourned Wei Mingchi as Liu Er was left alive to face the consequences of his crimes.

• Shen Ji warned the disciples to be careful as the moth demon leader appeared, while Zhu Lianqing killed a moth demon that approached her and A Man.
• The disciples killed many moth demons but spared some survivors to lead them to White Bone Cavern.
• Liu Er clung to Xiuzhi’s wing, and Xie Lingchuan wounded his fingers to make him let go.
• Xie Lingchuan revealed that Xiuzhi had intended to kill Liu Er, and A Man accused the villagers of murdering travelers to protect themselves.
• Zhu Lianqing condemned the villagers for benefiting from Xiuzhi’s protection and reminded Liu Er that their victims had loved ones, including A Man and Wei Mingchi.
• Liu Er begged A Man’s forgiveness, but she rejected his apology, and Xie Lingchuan pulled him up to face his sins.

Shen Ji and Xie Lingchuan led the villagers to White Bone Cavern, following luminous phosphorus after the Tracking Spell failed. They broke the Soul-Seizing Formation at the entrance and entered the cavern, where a startling sight awaited them.

• Shen Ji and Xie Lingchuan followed the luminous phosphorus toward White Bone Cavern, bringing Liu Er and other villagers along despite the danger.
• At the gorge, Xie Lingchuan restrained the villagers who tried to flee, and the group split up to continue through the sinister passage.
• At dawn, the group found White Bone Cavern, where Xie Lingchuan and Shen Ji used swords and seals to break the Soul-Seizing Formation.
• Shen Ji explained that Martial Aunt Zhu had created the formation and that its advanced breaking method had been improved by her.
• Everyone entered the cavern and was stunned by what they saw.

Zhu Lianqing and the cultivators confronted Liu Er with the scale of the killings in White Bone Cavern, then split up to search for the moth demon and the Ghouls. Xie Lingchuan took Zhu Lianqing to clear the Ghoul caves, where he used her Demon-Detecting Needle to find their prey.

• Zhu Lianqing calculated that Liu Er and Xiuzhi had killed at least 1,440 people, and Liu Er begged the cultivators to spare Xiuzhi.
• Xie Lingchuan rejected Liu Er's plea and continued deeper into White Bone Cavern with the others.
• At a fork, Shen Ji and Xie Lingchuan decided to split up, with Shen Ji's group seeking the moth demon and Xie Lingchuan taking Zhu Lianqing to fight the Ghouls.
• Xie Lingchuan used Zhu Lianqing's Demon-Detecting Needle to search the Ghouls' many caves without retracing his steps.
• Xie Lingchuan killed more than ten Ghouls in the first cave while Zhu Lianqing turned away from their grotesque bodies.

Zhu Lianqing and Xie Lingchuan cleared caverns in White Bone Cavern, where Zhu accidentally upset him by speaking as though his deceased master had neglected him. Their disagreement over whether all yao and demons should be killed drove Xie away from her, while the search for the moth yao continued deeper underground.

• Zhu Lianqing noticed Xie Lingchuan carried an ordinary iron sword and asked why he had not chosen a high-grade weapon.
• Xie Lingchuan told Zhu that his master was already gone, and she hurriedly apologized for bringing her up.
• After clearing many ghoul-filled caverns, Zhu and Xie sensed dense yao qi ahead and decided to keep searching for Shen Ji and the others.
• Xie asked whether yao and demons could be good or evil, and Zhu insisted they should all be killed on sight.
• Xie showed anger and a flash of killing intent, then walked ahead alone and murmured, “So that's it. Is that how it is...”
• The group searching for the moth yao gradually reached the depths of the caverns.