Recaps

Xu Qi'an secured Wei Yuan and Chu Yuanzhen's protection for Xu Xinnian as the family prepared for his expedition, while Wei Yuan said farewell to the empress before leaving to pursue his own wishes. Lin'an investigated the capital's dragon vein and Earl Pingyuan's residence, where a disguised female intruder found a hidden passage beneath an artificial rock.

• Xu Qi'an reassured his aunt that Wei Yuan and Chu Yuanzhen would protect Xu Xinnian during the northern expedition.
• Xu Qi'an told Chu Yuanzhen that Emperor Yuanjing had personally ordered him to join the expedition, and Chu Yuanzhen promised to look after him.
• Xu Pingzhi and the family worried over Xu Xinnian's orders until Xu Qi'an returned with news of Wei Yuan and Chu Yuanzhen's protection.
• The Xu clan held ancestral rites for Xu Xinnian before he went to war, and an elderly clan elder mistook Xu Qi'an for the family's Star of Literature.
• Wei Yuan visited the empress, told her he had guarded her for half his life and would now do what he wanted, then left despite her protest.
• Lin'an researched the capital's dragon vein and the first Earl Pingyuan, then a female intruder entered the sealed Earl Pingyuan residence and opened a hidden passage in its rear garden.

A woman in black investigated a secret chamber beneath Earl Pingyuan's residence and deduced that its rune-covered stone disk was an Earth Escape teleportation formation. As Wei Yuan's army departed, Xu Qi'an beat the farewell drum from the city wall, leaving Wei Yuan to ask whether he had a farewell poem.

• The woman in black entered the hidden tunnel, inspected its chamber, and memorized the stone disk she believed was an Earth Escape teleportation formation.
• Wei Yuan led the army through the capital as veterans and residents recalled his leadership at the Battle of Shanhai Pass.
• The crown prince offered to beat the farewell drum, but Wang Zhenwen stopped him and said someone more qualified had arrived.
• Xu Qi'an walked to the great drum and beat it as the crowd cheered and the departing veterans looked on.
• Wei Yuan watched Xu Qi'an with approval and asked him to compose a farewell poem.

Xu Qi'an composed a lyric for Wei Yuan as the army departed, while Zhao Shou and a mysterious singer sent Wei Yuan off with their blessings. Later, Xu Qi'an visited Lin'an to have her read the late emperor's records, but found the Dragon Vein Geomancy Map on her desk.

• Xu Qi'an beat the drum and recited a lyric honoring Wei Yuan's past military service, moving the officials, soldiers, and Lin'an and Huaiqing as Wei Yuan laughed through tears.
• Zhao Shou used Words Become Law to declare that Wei Yuan would return triumphant, suffered its backlash, and was healed by the light from the Sub-Sage's Hall.
• Wei Yuan led the seventy thousand troops out of the capital, and a lone rider sang a song praising his battles and urging him to return victorious.
• At the Directorate of Astronomy, the Supervisor told Yang Qianhuan that Xu Qi'an had drawn every eye by drumming and composing a lyric, then ordered Chu Caiwei to threaten Song Qing's group with Yang's punishment to make them work.
• Xu Qi'an decided to ask Lin'an to read the late emperor's cursive records, disguised himself as Li Yuchun, and went to Lin'an Residence.
• Lin'an agreed to read the records, but Xu Qi'an froze when he saw the Dragon Vein Geomancy Map on her desk.

Xu Qi'an discovered that Lin'an had borrowed a book about dragon veins at Huaiqing’s request, leading him to conclude that Huaiqing was Number One in the Earth Book group. After returning home, he received a message from Number One asking for help investigating Hengyuan’s whereabouts.

• Xu Qi'an found the Dragon Vein Geomancy Map in Lin'an’s study, used the Qi-Observing Technique to confirm she was telling the truth about not knowing the Earth Book, and learned she had borrowed the book from Wenyuan Pavilion at Huaiqing’s request.
• Lin'an read the late emperor’s daily records aloud to Xu Qi'an, who learned about the late emperor’s discussions with the Earth and Human Sect leaders and the Prince of Huai’s strength as a boy.
• Xu Qi'an questioned Lin'an about who she discussed geomancy with, and she admitted she usually discussed it with Huaiqing.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that Huaiqing was Number One and suspected she had already figured out his identity.
• After Xu Qi'an returned to the Xu Residence, Number One messaged him that they had a lead on Hengyuan’s whereabouts and needed his help.

Xu Qi'an used the Earth Book Fragment to enter a hidden formation beneath Earl Pingyuan's estate, which led him into a dangerous darkness beneath the imperial palace. He found signs that Hengyuan was trapped near the dragon vein's core, but withdrew after his instincts warned him that going farther would kill him.

• Number One revealed that Earl Pingyuan's estate concealed an earth-escape formation connected to a secret passage, and that an Earth Book Fragment could activate it.
• Xu Qi'an volunteered to investigate the formation and received advice from Number One on concealing himself.
• Chu Yuanzhen visited Xu Erlang aboard the warship, but Xu Erlang remained baffled by his cryptic behavior and returned to studying military texts.
• Xu Qi'an activated the stone disk and appeared in a lightless underground space, where he heard immense breathing and saw a golden glow ahead.
• Xu Qi'an's danger sense showed that advancing would kill him, so he retreated and concluded Hengyuan was likely suppressed near the dragon vein's core.
• Xu Qi'an reported his preliminary findings to the Heaven and Earth Society, whose members had waited for news.

Xu Qi'an failed to rescue Hengyuan from the cavern beneath the Dragon Vein and sought help from the Superintendent and Luo Yuheng. The Superintendent refused to meet him, but Luo Yuheng offered a lead pointing toward the Earth Sect, while Xu Erlang marched toward Yang Yan's forces at the frontier.

• Xu Qi'an told the Heaven and Earth Society about the dangerous cavern and its likely connection to the palace, and the members suggested asking the Superintendent or Luo Yuheng for help.
• Xu Qi'an visited Song Qing at the Directorate of Astronomy, but the Superintendent refused to see him, and Song Qing showed him bizarre results from his alchemy experiments.
• Xu Qi'an asked Luo Yuheng to investigate the Dragon Vein and help rescue Hengyuan; she demanded solid evidence before intervening.
• Luo Yuheng pointed out that the teleportation formation beneath Earl Pingyuan's estate could have been built by high-ranking arcanists or the Earth Sect, giving Xu Qi'an a new lead.
• Xu Erlang marched with ten thousand soldiers toward Yang Yan's forces, thinking about the army's weapons, scouts, and the realities of warfare.

Xu Xinnian proposed a plan to bypass Tuoba Ji’s army and reinforce the northern battlefield, while Xu Qi'an investigated the human-trafficking organization and uncovered a connection to the Earth Sect’s Daoist leader. The discovery that the trafficking began in the twenty-sixth year of Zhende left Xu Qi'an convinced that the Daoist leader was tied to the emperor’s hidden schemes.

• Xu Xinnian persuaded the commanders to leave twenty thousand troops to hold Tuoba Ji while sending thirty thousand north to reinforce the yao and barbarians.
• Luo Yuheng advised Xu Qi'an on his Heart Sword practice, then visited Mu Nanzhi and asked whether she would leave the capital with him.
• Xu Qi'an reviewed the human-trafficking confessions and noticed that Master Lu’s organization had existed for at least thirty years.
• Xu Qi'an and Li Yuchun questioned Master Lu’s family, and Master Lu’s first wife said the organization began in the twenty-sixth year of Zhende.
• Xu Qi'an connected the organization’s founding year to the late emperor’s meeting with the Earth Sect’s Daoist leader and concluded that the Daoist leader was the key lead.

Xu Qi'an connected the clues from the twenty-sixth year of Zhende to Southern Park and asked Huaiqing to investigate its history and the late emperor’s illness. Meanwhile, Great Feng’s army approached Dingguan City, and the chapter ended with Huaiqing contacting Xu Qi'an in the middle of the night.

• Xu Qi'an concluded that Southern Park was his next investigative target and checked the late emperor’s records for the twenty-sixth year of Zhende.
• Xu Qi'an asked Number One about Southern Park and the late emperor’s health, and Huaiqing agreed to seek further records.
• Tuwohei prepared Dingguan City for Great Feng’s approaching army and sent Wei Yuan a letter full of insults and a challenge.
• Lin'an persuaded the crown prince to arrange a trip to Southern Park for the autumn hunt, while Huaiqing visited the Eastern Palace.
• Huaiqing requested a private conversation with Xu Qi'an late at night, and he asked why she was messaging him.

Xu Qi'an investigated the late emperor’s mysterious Southern Park incident and confronted Luo Yuheng with his suspicion about Daoist Jinlian. Meanwhile, Xu Erlang survived a Dream Shaman’s attack as Jing forces struck the camp, and Wei Yuan captured Dingguan City and ordered its slaughter.

• Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an that animals had vanished from Southern Park in the twenty-sixth year of Zhende and described the Prince of Huai’s supposed bear attack; Xu Qi'an suspected the prince and Emperor Yuanjing had concealed what really happened.
• Xu Erlang rejected Peiman Xilou’s offer of a demon woman, then survived a Dream Shaman’s attempt to kill him in a dream thanks to the jade pendant Layman Ziyang had given him.
• Jing forces launched a retaliatory attack on the camp, with cannon fire and an advancing army shaking the ground.
• Wei Yuan captured Dingguan City, killed its commander Tuwohei, and ordered his troops to slaughter the city.
• Xu Qi'an told Luo Yuheng about the Southern Park clues and asked how long Daoist Jinlian had been possessed; Luo Yuheng was surprised that he knew Jinlian was the Earth Sect’s Daoist Leader.

Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng pieced together that the Earth Sect leader may have corrupted Emperor Yuanjing and Prince of Huai, with another incarnation hidden beneath the dragon vein. After planning to investigate it, Xu Qi'an called Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen together and revealed that he knew Huaiqing was Number One.

• Xu Qi'an explained how he had identified Daoist Jinlian as the Earth Sect leader, and Luo Yuheng recounted Jinlian’s fall to the demonic path six years earlier.
• Xu Qi'an proposed that Jinlian had encountered and corrupted Yuanjing and Prince of Huai in Southern Park, and Luo Yuheng suggested a third incarnation might be hidden beneath the dragon vein.
• Luo Yuheng agreed to explore the dragon vein with Xu Qi'an after her Karmic Fire episode in half a month, and Xu Qi'an decided to share his suspicions with Huaiqing and the others.
• In the Western Regions, a white-robed arcanist asked Bodhisattva Prajna to lend him a Buddhist divine artifact in exchange for information about the object sealed beneath Mulberry Lake.
• Huaiqing came to the Xu Residence, where Xu Qi'an met her with Li Miaozhen present and revealed that he knew she was Number One.

Xu Qi'an revealed the Earth Sect’s corruption and its connection to Daoist Jinlian to Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen, while Wei Yuan’s army faced the Yan Capital without supplies and under orders to advance. Xu Xinnian gathered scattered soldiers, but their commander Zhao Panyi accused his father, Xu Pingzhi, of abandoning a fallen comrade’s family.

• Xu Qi'an told Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen that Daoist Jinlian was the Earth Sect’s Dao Chief, whose corruption had influenced Emperor Yuanjing and the Prince of Huai.
• Huaiqing agreed to review the clues, and Xu Qi'an planned to investigate the dragon vein again in half a month.
• At Xu City, Wei Yuan ordered his divided commanders to advance toward the Yan Capital despite their dwindling troops and supplies.
• Wei Yuan told Nangong Qianrou that Great Feng would send no more provisions, then gave him two brocade pouches and ordered him to leave with ten thousand cavalry after three days.
• Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen welcomed thirty scattered soldiers led by Zhao Panyi, who refused their food and accused Xu Pingzhi of abandoning Zhou Biao’s family after the Battle of Shanhai Pass.

Xu Qi'an confirmed that Zhao Panyi’s accusations against Second Uncle Xu were true, while Xu Xinnian offered to answer for his father and helped Zhao Panyi’s wounded soldiers. The chapter ended with Chu Yuanzhen realizing Xu Xinnian was not Number Three after he failed to recognize the Earth Book Fragment.

• Xu Xinnian detained Zhao Panyi after he accused Second Uncle Xu of breaking a promise to Zhou Biao, and asked Chu Yuanzhen to contact Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an questioned Second Uncle Xu, who said Zhou Biao had died in battle but denied that Zhou had taken a blade for him; Auntie recalled a letter saying Second Uncle Xu had survived thanks to Zhou.
• Xu Qi'an told Chu Yuanzhen that Zhou Biao had existed and Second Uncle Xu had let him down, then sat alone with the revelation.
• After Chu Yuanzhen relayed the truth, Xu Xinnian freed Zhao Panyi, apologized on his father’s behalf, and persuaded him to let his wounded men eat and receive treatment.
• Xu Xinnian asked about Chu Yuanzhen’s Earth Book Fragment but did not recognize it, and Chu Yuanzhen realized he was not Number Three.

Xu Qi'an learned Chu Yuanzhen had discovered his identity as Number Three, then accompanied Luo Yuheng to investigate the hidden tunnel and its Earth Book mechanism. Meanwhile, Huaiqing’s investigation into the Soul Pill led her to suspect it could repair incomplete souls, and she reacted sharply to that possibility.

• Xu Xinnian warmed the sleeping soldiers with spells while Chu Yuanzhen confessed his embarrassment over having mistaken Xu Qi'an’s identity and recalled how Xu Erlang had revealed the truth.
• Xu Qi'an admitted to Chu Yuanzhen that he was Number Three, learned that Chu Yuanzhen had questioned Xu Erlang about their second uncle’s comrades, and shared information about Xu Xinnian to ease their awkwardness.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that the Heaven and Earth Society members’ efforts to conceal his identity meant he had avoided social death, then met Luo Yuheng and led her to the hidden tunnel beneath Earl Pingyuan's residence.
• Luo Yuheng examined the stone disc and recognized its Earth Escape Technique as likely the work of Senior Brother Jinlian, while Xu Qi'an placed his Earth Book Fragment on it.
• Huaiqing reviewed evidence linking the Earth Sect Daoist leader to the Chu Prefecture City Massacre and the Soul Pill, then asked Chu Caiwei about Soul Pills.
• Chu Caiwei explained that Soul Pills could repair incomplete souls, and Huaiqing’s breathing quickened as she knocked over her teacup.

Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng found Hengyuan alive in a hidden chamber, where he revealed that an evil creature had held him captive. They discovered a vast underground mass of bones and found the Earth Sect's Daoist Leader had fled; after Luo Yuheng returned from investigating the teleportation formation, Huaiqing summoned Xu Qi'an to the Xu Residence over concerns about the case.

• Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng followed the passage to a secret chamber, where they found Hengyuan in suspended death and revived him with the Sarira.
• Hengyuan told Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng that an evil creature had tried to consume him, and that the Sarira had helped him resist.
• Xu Qi'an and Hengyuan descended into an abyss and found countless bones belonging to commoners abducted and killed over nearly forty years.
• Luo Yuheng used the teleportation formation to investigate its other end, then reported that it led to an unoccupied residence in the inner city.
• Xu Qi'an told Hengyuan about the Earth Sect's Daoist Leader and Daoist Jinlian, then decided to seek the Director's help with the bones.
• Huaiqing contacted Xu Qi'an through the Earth Book Fragment and summoned him to the Xu Residence, saying there was something wrong with the case.

Huaiqing exposed flaws in Xu Qi'an’s theory that the being beneath the Dragon Vein was the Earth Sect’s Daoist Leader, and Hengyuan identified the figure as the late emperor. Xu Qi'an pieced together how the late emperor, Yuanjing, and the Prince of Huai might be linked, but the chapter left the case only partly solved.

• Huaiqing challenged Xu Qi'an’s assumptions about One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, the Soul Pill, and Earl Pingyuan’s long-standing lack of advancement.
• Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen described the being beneath the Dragon Vein so Huaiqing could draw portraits for Hengyuan to identify.
• Hengyuan prepared to leave the Nourishing Life Hall and stay at the Xu Residence, while the elderly residents and children saw him off.
• Xu Qi'an showed Hengyuan portraits of Heilian and another man; Hengyuan rejected Heilian and identified the second portrait as the being he had seen underground.
• Xu Qi'an recognized the second portrait as the late emperor and reasoned that the emperor, Yuanjing, and the Prince of Huai could be manifestations of one person, while the abducted people supplied pills to repair the emperor’s damaged Primordial Spirit.

Xu Qi'an and his companions investigated the late emperor’s tomb, confirmed that the buried skeleton was a eunuch’s and not the emperor’s, and concluded that Emperor Yuanjing was behind the being beneath the Dragon Vein. The chapter ended with Nangong Qianrou facing the sixth-day deadline outside Yan Capital.

• Xu Qi'an brought Hengyuan to stay at the Xu Residence, where Xu Lingyin asked him to take the blame for knocking over her mother’s flower and tried to reclaim a pastry she had hidden in her shoe for three days.
• Xu Qi'an told Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen that the being beneath the Dragon Vein was the late emperor, and Li Miaozhen warned that the Prince Who Guards the North might have survived through the technique One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Emperor Yuanjing declared before the founding emperor’s statue that he would become Great Feng’s first immortal emperor.
• Xu Qi'an, Huaiqing, Li Miaozhen, and Zhong Li infiltrated the late emperor’s tomb and reached its main burial chamber by avoiding its traps and formations.
• Huaiqing identified the skeleton in the coffin as a eunuch rather than the late emperor, strengthening their conclusion that Emperor Yuanjing was the mastermind.
• Outside Yan Capital, Nangong Qianrou recalled Wei Yuan’s order to retreat by the sixth day as the battlefield lay strewn with corpses.

Great Feng’s army endured a costly stalemate outside Yan Capital, while Wei Yuan sent Nangong Qianrou and ten thousand heavy cavalry to meet the Overseer’s second disciple. The chapter ended with twenty warships approaching Jing Mountain as a blue-robed figure stood at the lead ship’s bow.

• Nangong Qianrou led Great Feng’s heavy cavalry through the Kang army’s modao troops, while shamans raised the dead and Yan forces attacked from the capital; Chen Ying led the defense until both enemy armies withdrew.
• Chen Ying told the generals that their supplies were nearly gone and that they had to hold for four more days; Nangong Qianrou departed with ten thousand heavy cavalry on Wei Yuan’s orders.
• In Yan Capital, Nurhejia and his ministers celebrated the severed supply line, but Yierbu received a summons from the Shaman God and rushed out after hearing Wei Yuan’s name.
• Nangong Qianrou reached the valley Wei Yuan had designated and met the Overseer’s second disciple, who said he did not know Wei Yuan’s arrangements before making the cavalry disappear.
• At Jing Mountain, sentries spotted twenty warships approaching, with a blue-robed figure standing at the bow of the leading ship, and sounded the alarm.

Wei Yuan led Great Feng’s fleet to attack Jingshan City, where Salun Agu summoned a storm to destroy the warships. The Flood Dragon Tribe intervened, and after the fleet began bombarding the shore, Yierbu charged Wei Yuan, who seized him by the throat and shattered the phantom above his head.

• Nalan Yan led Jingshan City’s shamans and garrison to the coast as Wei Yuan’s twenty warships approached.
• Salun Agu unleashed a storm and towering waves against Great Feng’s fleet, but a hundred Flood Dragons arrived and brought the waters under control.
• Nalan Yan ordered the troops to withdraw and intercept Great Feng’s landing force as cannons and siege crossbows bombarded the shore.
• Yierbu arrived, ordered the Shaman God Cult’s forces to regroup inland, and transformed into a giant before charging Wei Yuan.
• Wei Yuan seized Yierbu by the throat and shattered the phantom above his head, declaring, “Commendable courage!”

Wei Yuan led Great Feng’s army against Jingshan City and fought Salun Agu, revealing his Dao Integration realm and Formation Breaking intent. Salun Agu grievously wounded him, but Wei Yuan stabbed the Great Shaman with an ancient carving knife, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Yierbu used a blood-price Curse Killing Technique to stall Wei Yuan long enough to escape, while Great Feng’s soldiers learned that Wei Yuan had regained his martial power.
• Wei Yuan ordered the army to slaughter Jingshan City, and Great Feng’s troops landed under attack from archers in the mountain forest.
• Salun Agu sent Yierbu and Wuda Baota to test Wei Yuan, but Wei Yuan knocked both shamans back and explained that he had concealed his cultivation from Yuanjing.
• Wei Yuan tried to reach the altar to seal the Shaman God, but Salun Agu used the power of heaven and earth to stop him; Wei Yuan broke free of the confinement with his Formation Breaking intent.
• Salun Agu summoned the heroic soul of a Great Zhou imperial prince and badly wounded Wei Yuan, while he and the two shamans attacked him with Curse Killing Techniques.
• As Salun Agu prepared to kill Wei Yuan, his power abruptly drained away, and Wei Yuan revealed an ancient carving knife embedded in the Great Shaman’s chest.

Wei Yuan confronted Emperor Zhende after discovering that Zhende had corrupted Yuanjing and manipulated events for decades. As Zhende and the shamans unleashed a devastating five-element sword strike, Wei Yuan invoked the Confucian Sage with the academy’s treasures and a heroic-soul summoning spell.

• Wei Yuan ambushed Salun Agu with the Confucian Sage's Carving Knife, but Emperor Zhende emerged from Salun Agu and severed Wei Yuan’s arm before corrupting the knife.
• Emperor Zhende confessed that the Earth Sect's Daoist Leader had corrupted him, that he had assimilated the Prince of Huai and later replaced Yuanjing, and that Noble Consort Chen had exposed Wei Yuan’s relationship with the empress.
• Emperor Zhende and Wei Yuan fought across the mountains and sea while Yierbu, Wuda Baota, and Salun Agu supported Zhende with curses and spiritual power.
• Salun Agu lent Emperor Zhende the power of the surrounding land, plants, ocean, and flames, enabling him to forge a five-element sword strike aimed at Wei Yuan.
• Wei Yuan put on the Sub-Sage's Confucian Crown, summoned the Confucian Sage's Carving Knife and Zhao Shou’s blessing, then invoked the Confucian Sage.

Wei Yuan summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul, defeated the Shaman God Cult’s strongest fighters, and reached the altar despite the Shaman God’s barrier. After the shamans sacrificed themselves to empower their god, Wei Yuan joined the Confucian Sage in striking the Shaman God and sealing it again, but died in the process.

• Wei Yuan summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul, whose single step shattered the combined attack of Emperor Zhende, Salun Agu, Yierbu, and Wuda Baota.
• Nangong Qianrou led Great Feng cavalry into Jingshan City to attack the Shaman God Cult, weakening the Shaman God’s Fate as its people died.
• Wei Yuan broke through the Shaman God’s barrier and climbed all ninety-nine altar steps, enduring the pressure with his own strength rather than relying on the Confucian Sage to carry him.
• Salun Agu, Yierbu, Wuda Baota, and hundreds of shamans performed the Great Blood Sacrifice Technique, causing the Shaman God to emerge from its statue and attack Wei Yuan.
• Wei Yuan stood against the Shaman God’s wrath and thrust the Confucian Sage’s Carving Knife forward with the Sage’s phantom, destroying the god’s manifestation and sealing it once more.
• Wei Yuan died on the altar after giving his reason for fighting, and Jingshan City was left in ruins as his name entered the annals of history.

Wei Yuan died sealing the Shaman God, devastating the northeastern army and leaving Great Feng without its god of war. As word of his death reached the capital, Xu Qi'an learned the grievous news from an envoy sent by Grand Secretary Wang.

• Salun Agu surveyed the ruined Jingshan City as Emperor Zhende demanded that the Shaman God Cult honor its promise, while Yierbu raged over Wei Yuan's victory.
• Nangong Qianrou mourned Wei Yuan and vowed to finish his foster father's campaign against the Shaman God Cult; Sun Xuanji erased the heavy cavalry's existence from memory.
• The Confucian cap and carving knife returned to Zhao Shou, Emperor Yuanjing celebrated his arrival to power, and Xu Qi'an felt an unexplained pain in his chest.
• Xu Xinnian learned from Chu Yuanzhen that the Jing Kingdom had withdrawn its troops, while Xu Qi'an and the Earth Book group discussed the former emperor's disappearance and search for immortality.
• An urgent military dispatch informed Grand Secretary Wang that Wei Yuan had fallen and only a little over sixteen thousand of his hundred-thousand-strong army had withdrawn.
• Grand Secretary Wang sent an official to tell Xu Qi'an that Duke Wei had fallen in the northeast.

After learning that Wei Yuan had died at Jingshan City, Xu Qi'an remained in shock as the court debated the campaign's aftermath. Unable to accept the news, he asked Li Miaozhen to take him to the northeastern border so he could see Wei Yuan off if he was truly dead.

• A middle-aged official told Xu Qi'an that Wei Yuan had died in battle at Jingshan City and that only a fraction of his hundred thousand troops had returned.
• At court, Grand Secretary Wang urged Emperor Yuanjing to continue the war against the weakened Shaman God Cult, but the emperor rejected the proposal and turned to border defenses and peace negotiations.
• The ministers hesitated over compensation for the fallen soldiers because the payments depended on whether the campaign was classified as a victory or defeat; Grand Secretary Wang called it a resounding victory, and Emperor Yuanjing postponed the decision.
• Xu Qi'an told Second Uncle Xu to seek shelter at Cloud Deer Academy, then told Li Miaozhen that he wanted to go to the northeastern border.
• Xu Qi'an said he did not believe Wei Yuan was dead, but that if he was, he had to go because Wei Yuan had no children to see him off; Li Miaozhen agreed to take him.

Lin'an and the Crown Prince learned that Wei Yuan had died, while Huaiqing delivered his final letter to the Empress and heard her break down in grief. Xu Qi'an reached the demoralized survivors at Yuyang Pass, became their rallying point, learned how Wei Yuan’s campaign ended, and concluded that Zhende had helped kill him.

• The Crown Prince told Consort Chen and Lin'an that Wei Yuan had died in battle, and Consort Chen celebrated his death while Lin'an felt estranged from her family.
• Huaiqing learned of Wei Yuan’s death, brought his letter to the Empress, and heard her sob after she read it.
• Zhao Shou gave Xu Qi'an a letter from Wei Yuan, and Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen flew to Yuyang Pass.
• Xu Qi'an’s arrival sparked cheers among the sixteen thousand surviving soldiers, who looked to him for leadership.
• Zhang Kaitai told Xu Qi'an that the army had marched without provisions and recounted Wei Yuan’s campaign and death.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that Zhende was the mysterious expert who had joined the Shaman God Cult in killing Wei Yuan.

Xu Qi'an learned that Wei Yuan had hidden his Martial Dao cultivation and died fighting the Shaman God, then joined Zhang Kaitai and the surviving generals as Yan and Kang assembled an army to besiege Yuyang Pass. As the defenders fought to hold the walls, Xu Qi'an destroyed a siege tower with the Peace Saber, drawing Nurhejia's attention.

• Xu Qi'an questioned Zhang Kaitai about Wei Yuan's hidden cultivation and learned that Wei Yuan had crippled his own cultivation after the Battle of Shanhai Pass before secretly cultivating the Martial Dao anew.
• A deputy general reported that eighty thousand troops from Yan and Kang, led by Nurhejia, were approaching Yuyang Pass, and Zhang Kaitai ordered the defenders to prepare.
• Zhang Kaitai and the generals discussed their shortages of troops and provisions and learned that Nurhejia was a peak fourth-rank expert in both the Martial Dao and the Shaman System.
• Nurhejia rallied the Yan and Kang armies by invoking their blood feud with Great Feng and ordering them to storm Yuyang Pass.
• Xu Qi'an used the Peace Saber to cut down an approaching siege tower, and Nurhejia asked who he was.