Recaps

Li Mubai and Yang Gong assessed the stalled campaign in Qingzhou, while Emperor Yongxing expected the coming spring sacrifice to mark the end of the cold disaster and the rebels’ decline. Huaiqing reflected on her marriage and exchanged messages through the Earth Book Fragment before Daoist Jinlian returned to the Heaven and Earth Society and raised a warning about the war.

• Li Mubai and Yang Gong concluded that Xu Ningyan’s actions had repeatedly disrupted the Yunzhou rebels’ plans, and Li Mubai asked Brother Lingzhan to write Xu Cijiu about taking extraordinary measures without using Yang Gong’s name.
• Emperor Yongxing ordered the spring sacrifice to be made a grand affair and summoned the ministers to discuss Qingzhou, believing the court had weathered its hardest period.
• The empress dowager asked Huaiqing whether she favored anyone, and Huaiqing later read a discussion on her Earth Book Fragment about the war and Yang Qianhuan’s ambitions.
• Daoist Jinlian returned from seclusion, heard Chu Yuanzhen’s account of recent events, and blamed Heilian for corrupting Zhende.
• After evading Lina’s questions about his past mistake, Daoist Jinlian warned the Heaven and Earth Society to be wary of something concerning the war in Qingzhou.

The Heaven and Earth Society discussed Heilian’s unexplained absence, the Buddha and Shenshu’s connection, and Xu Qi'an’s revelations about the Gods and Devils. Xu Qi'an urged the group to join him in Qingzhou, while Lina was left wondering why everyone had stopped replying.

• Daoist Jinlian warned that Heilian might ally with Xu Pingfeng and the Yunzhou rebels, and the members considered why he had not appeared.
• Xu Qi'an revealed that Xu Pingfeng was his father, and Chu Yuanzhen explained the history of Xu Pingfeng’s attempt to reclaim the Fate and Yunzhou’s rebellion.
• Xu Qi'an told Daoist Jinlian about the Buddha and Shenshu’s connection and shared his theories about the demon-sweeping war five hundred years earlier.
• Xu Qi'an reported that a descendant of the Gods and Devils had witnessed them go mad and slaughter one another, and said the Dao Venerable might know why.
• Daoist Jinlian mentioned visiting Number Eight, and Xu Qi'an called on the members to join him in Qingzhou to fight Xu Pingfeng and Heilian.
• Lina received no replies after teasing Daoist Jinlian, then took Xu Lingyin and the Strength Gu Tribe children hunting.

Song Qing delivered the Fate-Disordering Hammer to Zhong Li, while the White Emperor retrieved a spear from beneath the sea. Qi Guangbo ordered Yunzhou forces to reinforce the front and advance on Wan County, as Xu Cijiu discovered Miao Youfang had learned a version of Go from Mu Nanzhi.

• Song Qing gave Zhong Li the Fate-Disordering Hammer, which she alone could wield without suffering its fate-changing side effects.
• The White Emperor plunged into a sea whirlpool and emerged carrying a curved spear.
• Qi Guangbo sent Zhuo Haoran and other officers with reinforcements and orders to cut Songshan County's supply lines, then announced that the army would break camp and take Wan County.
• At Songshan County, Xu Cijiu found Miao Youfang and Mosang playing a simplified game they called Go.
• Miao Youfang said Mu Nanzhi had taught him the game, and Xu Cijiu silently resolved to tell her that Miao had called her ugly.

Xu Xinnian and his allies faced worsening supply shortages as enemy forces converged on Songshan County, while the fighting around Guo County and Wan Commandery intensified. Above Dongling City, Xu Pingfeng invited the Superintendent to play chess again after twenty years apart.

• Xu Xinnian worried that Songshan County's provisions would run out within ten days as Mosang and Miao Youfang discussed the future and Mosang boasted that Lina was known as the Flying Swallow Heroine.
• A Heart Gu Master warned Mosang that enemy reinforcements had joined the rebels and were advancing toward Songshan County.
• Sun Xuanji signaled an enemy attack at Guo County after the Qingzhou army withdrew there to regroup against Ji Xuan's forces.
• Zhang Shen learned that a large enemy column led by a commander named Qi was approaching Wan Commandery and declared that the generals would finally face each other.
• Xu Pingfeng met Bodhisattva Jialuoshu above the clouds and asked his former teacher, the Superintendent, to play chess with him again.

The Superintendent and Xu Pingfeng traded revelations over a game of stones before a mysterious beast questioned the Superintendent’s identity. As the war spread across several fronts, Xu Qi'an received Ringing Gold Stone from Yierbu and learned that the First Chief Astrologer had been named Chai Xinjue.

• Xu Pingfeng accused the Superintendent of being the Gatekeeper, and the Superintendent revealed that Noble Consort Chen had helped Xu Pingfeng gather information and that he had helped eliminate Zhende.
• A massive white-scaled beast appeared behind the Superintendent and asked what the first Superintendent had been if the Superintendent was the Gatekeeper.
• At Songshan County, Xu Erlang directed the defense against the rebels, Miao Youfang saved him from Zhuo Haoran’s attack, and a flock of crimson giant birds approached the city.
• At Guo County, Ji Xuan revealed that he had refined Dongling’s civilians into a Blood Pill, consumed it, and declared that Qingzhou would fall within three days.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox told Xu Qi'an that a Spirit Wisdom Master had come looking for him, and they discussed the possibility that Great Desolation had devoured the descendants of the gods and devils.
• Yierbu delivered genuine Ringing Gold Stone to Xu Qi'an and identified the First Chief Astrologer as a Central Plains man named Chai Xinjue.

Xu Qi'an connected the Chai Clan’s great tomb to the First Chief Astrologer, while the White Emperor challenged the Superintendent’s identity as the Gatekeeper. The chapter ended with the White Emperor, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and Xu Pingfeng joining forces to attack the Superintendent.

• Xu Qi'an told Mu Nanzhi and Baiji that the great tomb belonged to the First Chief Astrologer, Chai Xinjue, and suspected Xu Pingfeng knew the Chai Clan’s ancestry.
• Salun Agu consulted the Shaman God and concluded that there was only one Great Desolation.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian and Bodhisattva Liuli used the snake’s blood and a golden droplet to raise a blazing sun inside Aranda.
• The White Emperor theorized that the First Chief Astrologer founded the Warlock System as the Gatekeeper’s mission, then asked the Superintendent to reveal his true identity.
• The Superintendent turned the White Emperor’s water-spirit attack into a sword and struck it, after which Bodhisattva Jialuoshu summoned two Dharma Idols and Xu Pingfeng activated a formation to join the White Emperor in attacking him.

The Superintendent, Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor fought above the sea of clouds as the Superintendent revealed the God-Striking Whip and Xu Pingfeng’s ally Heilian joined the battle. The Superintendent appeared to summon the Confucian Sage, and merciless eyes opened above the battlefield.

• Xu Pingfeng and the Superintendent exchanged sword strikes, but the Superintendent pursued him through teleportation and shattered his protective artifacts.
• Bodhisattva Jialuoshu and the White Emperor pinned the Superintendent with a punch and lightning while Xu Pingfeng’s formations disrupted him.
• The Superintendent crushed the lightning and used the God-Striking Whip to lash Xu Pingfeng, the White Emperor, and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu.
• Heilian emerged from the corrupting liquid that had protected Xu Pingfeng’s Primordial Spirit, and Xu Pingfeng taunted the Superintendent about his Heavenly Secrets Disc.
• The Superintendent put on a Confucian cap and took up a carving knife, then cried that he summoned the Confucian Sage as merciless eyes opened above the battlefield.

The Superintendent summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul and fought Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, Heilian, and White Emperor. After killing Jialuoshu and surviving White Emperor’s attack, he pinned White Emperor with the Confucian Crown and drove the carving knife toward its skull, just as a blazing sun rose in the west.

• The Superintendent summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul and used the carving knife to break through Bodhisattva Jialuoshu’s defenses, killing him with a strike to the forehead.
• Xu Pingfeng fired a formation-powered cannon at the Superintendent, who redirected the blast between them and eventually sent it toward Heilian.
• White Emperor attacked the Superintendent from behind, took his heart, and swallowed it, but the Superintendent regenerated it with a pill.
• Heilian summoned the Daoist Order’s four great Dharma Idols, then held back as the Superintendent faced White Emperor.
• The Superintendent used the Confucian Crown to freeze White Emperor and thrust the carving knife through its defenses; as White Emperor neared death, a blazing sun rose in the west.

The Superintendent defeated the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol with the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul, though the clash left him severely weakened. He gathered the Power of All Living Beings and faced Xu Pingfeng, Heilian, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor, challenging them to attack.

• Xu Pingfeng retreated from the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol’s light while the Superintendent killed the White Emperor and confronted the Buddha with the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul.
• The Superintendent and the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul pierced the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol with the Carving Knife, destroying it and shaking Aranda.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian, Bodhisattva Liuli, Arhat Du'e, and Asuro sensed the upheaval at Aranda, while Asuro and Du'e suspected the Superintendent had outmaneuvered them.
• Shenshu heard a call for help and discussed the battle with the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, then agreed to attack Aranda the next day before she ordered him back into the pagoda.
• The Superintendent recovered from the golden blast and faced Xu Pingfeng, Heilian, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor, then drew on the Power of All Living Beings and challenged them to attack.

The Superintendent fought Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, Daoist Priest Heilian, Xu Pingfeng, and the White Emperor, weakening each with his mastery of the Power of All Living Beings and the God-Striking Whip. After revealing that he had planned against his teacher from the beginning, Xu Pingfeng hinted that he had a way to defy the Superintendent’s foresight.

• Daoist Priest Heilian attacked the Superintendent with four Dharma Idols, but the Superintendent dismantled them and forced Heilian to expose his Power of Corruption.
• The Superintendent used public outrage to overwhelm Heilian, but Bodhisattva Jialuoshu and Xu Pingfeng rescued him and restrained the Superintendent.
• The Superintendent broke the spatial seal with Salun Agu's shepherding whip, then forced the White Emperor’s lightning to explode inside its mouth, leaving it unable to fight.
• Xu Pingfeng trapped the Superintendent in destructive formations, but public resentment shattered Xu Pingfeng’s consciousness; the Superintendent then struck him with the God-Striking Whip.
• Bodhisattva Jialuoshu engaged the Superintendent in close combat while the other fighters remained badly injured, and Xu Pingfeng explained that killing his teacher had been central to his plans.
• Xu Pingfeng asked why the Superintendent had chosen to support the lineage in Hidden Dragon City and challenged him to calculate how a mere disciple could dare oppose a Heavenly Mandate Master.

Xu Pingfeng revealed the First Chief Astrologer's centuries-old plan and used a bronze artifact to trap the Superintendent, but White Emperor pierced and apparently absorbed him. The Superintendent’s fate remained uncertain as Great Feng’s Fate collapsed and Xu Qi'an felt his disappearance; Zhong Li and Song Qing then suffered sudden chest pains.

• Xu Pingfeng explained how the First Chief Astrologer’s artifact and a plan to steal Great Feng’s Fate had enabled his alliance with the lineage from five hundred years ago.
• Xu Pingfeng, Daoist Priest Heilian, and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu trapped the Superintendent inside the bronze artifact, where the Superintendent fought back and disrupted the artifact with the Heavenly Secrets Disc.
• White Emperor pierced the Superintendent with a horn and absorbed his body, but Xu Pingfeng and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu said the Superintendent could not die while Great Feng survived.
• Yang Gong, Sun Xuanji, Emperor Yongxing, and people across the realm felt the heavens change as Great Feng’s Fate collapsed.
• Xu Qi'an felt the Superintendent’s disappearance while flying toward Qingzhou, and Zhong Li found the Fate-Disordering Hammer entry in the Superintendent’s manuscript before she and Song Qing felt chest pain.

After the Superintendent’s death, Xu Qi'an and the other powers learned of the disaster as Qingzhou’s defenses collapsed. Xu Pingfeng and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu prepared to recover before advancing, while Yang Gong led Qingzhou’s remaining forces toward Yongzhou.

• Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, White Emperor, and Daoist Priest Heilian withdrew to recover after defeating the Superintendent, and Xu Pingfeng planned to refine Qingzhou’s Fate.
• Protector Yuan told Xu Qi'an that Sun Xuanji believed the Superintendent was dead and that Qingzhou would likely be abandoned for Yongzhou.
• Heaven Gu Granny foresaw that Great Feng had lost its Superintendent, and Salun Agu recognized that the Gatekeeper was gone and Great Desolation had returned.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian told Bodhisattva Jialuoshu to have Xu Pingfeng visit Aranda before they marched north, and Jialuoshu agreed to wait until they recovered.
• Emperor Yongxing learned that the Superintendent was missing as the imperial princes and commandery princes requested an audience.
• Yang Gong received reports of Qingzhou’s defeats and ordered a retreat to Yongzhou, where the remnants of the army would face the Yunzhou army.

Sun Xuanji returned gravely wounded with evidence of the Superintendent's apparent death, while Qingzhou's fall plunged Emperor Yongxing and his ministers into fear and talk of peace. As Huaiqing rejected surrender, Qi Guangbo prepared to consolidate Qingzhou and proposed exploiting the court's panic through peace negotiations.

• Sun Xuanji returned to the Directorate of Astronomy with fatal injuries after investigating the Superintendent's apparent death, and Song Qing informed Zhong Li.
• Emperor Yongxing received Yang Gong's report of Qingzhou's fall and the defenders' retreat to Yongzhou, then heard Song Qing confirm that the Superintendent had likely fallen.
• Emperor Yongxing fell ill from fright, dismissed reliance on Silver Gong Xu, and considered a minister's proposal to sue for peace.
• Liu Hong consulted Huaiqing, who warned that peace would only delay defeat and declared her preference for resistance over submission.
• Qi Guangbo ordered his generals to consolidate Qingzhou, approved Ge Wenxuan's proposal to spread news of the Superintendent's death, and discussed Ji Xuan's plan to recruit martial artists.
• Qi Guangbo proposed offering peace negotiations to exploit the Great Feng court's fear.

Qi Guangbo planned peace talks to weaken Great Feng and divide Xu Qi'an from Emperor Yongxing, while Xu Qi'an learned the Superintendent had likely been sealed and sought Zhao Shou's advice on saving the dynasty. Zhao Shou outlined four priorities, and the chapter ended with Li Miaozhen asking whether rumors of Qingzhou's fall and the Superintendent's death were true.

• Qi Guangbo proposed peace talks to extract money, grain, and possibly territory from Great Feng, while using the negotiations to drive a wedge between Xu Qi'an and Emperor Yongxing.
• Xu Qi'an met Zhao Shou, who said the Superintendent was likely sealed and learned from Xu Qi'an that White Emperor had targeted the Superintendent as the Gatekeeper.
• Zhao Shou warned that a Transcendent Rank had intervened and advised Xu Qi'an to make up for Great Feng's combat deficit, become a player, solve its food shortage, and resurrect Wei Yuan.
• Xu Qi'an left Clear Cloud Mountain considering the four challenges and the final missing item needed for Wei Yuan's resurrection.
• Li Miaozhen messaged the Earth Book group, asking whether reports that Qingzhou had fallen and the Superintendent had been killed were true.

After Qingzhou fell and Xu Qi'an was sealed, the Heaven and Earth Society members accepted that Great Feng faced likely defeat and vowed to stand by him. Meanwhile, Yunzhou prepared a peace delegation that included Xu Qi'an's siblings, and Emperor Yongxing welcomed news of negotiations as the court debated the offer.

• Huaiqing told the Heaven and Earth Society that Qingzhou had fallen and Xu Qi'an was likely sealed after fighting Xu Pingfeng, Jialuoshu, White Emperor, and Heilian; Xu Qi'an explained the First Chief Astrologer's role and the secret of the Gatekeeper.
• Hengyuan, Li Lingsu, Chu Yuanzhen, and Lina each committed themselves to helping Xu Qi'an or fighting for Great Feng, while Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen remained resolute.
• Li Lingsu told Yang Qianhuan that Qingzhou had fallen and the Superintendent was sealed, and Yang asked him not to tell Caiwei.
• Ji Xuan confronted Ge Wenxuan about choosing Ji Yuan as Yunzhou's peace envoy, then learned that Yuanshuang and Yuanhuai would accompany the delegation to make Xu Qi'an hesitate.
• Emperor Yongxing told the court that Yunzhou had requested peace negotiations, after Yao Hong accused Yang Gong of opposing the talks.

The court agreed to peace talks with the Yunzhou rebels as Qian Qingshu and Wang Zhenwen recognized the crisis facing Great Feng, while Xu Qi'an began preparing to summon Wei Yuan's soul. The Yunzhou delegation reached the capital, where Ji Yuan refused to meet the Minister of State Ceremonial, saying his rank was too low.

• At court, the war and peace factions argued over negotiations until Emperor Yongxing approved peace talks.
• Qian Qingshu visited the gravely ill Wang Zhenwen, who said the rebels had sent a delegation because they expected Great Feng to accept peace and asked for Xu Qi'an to visit him.
• At the Directorate of Astronomy, Xu Qi'an gave Song Qing the materials for the Soul-Summoning Banner and learned that the spring sacrifice was the earliest time to summon Wei Yuan's soul.
• Ji Yuan arrived near the capital with Xu Yuanhuai, Xu Yuanshuang, guards, and a negotiating team, intending to secure benefits, earn merit, and assess Great Feng's strength.
• The Minister of State Ceremonial went to receive the delegation, but Ji Yuan's guard told him that his standing was too low and sent him away.

Ji Yuan forced the Great Feng court to make a grand show of welcoming the Yunzhou delegation, while Emperor Yongxing rejected Xu Qi'an’s plea to fight on. Huaiqing revealed her plan to force Yongxing to abdicate, and Xu Qi'an left to meet the newly arrived Number Eight.

• Ji Yuan refused to let the Yunzhou delegation enter the capital until Prince Yan, Grand Secretary Qian, and the full ceremonial music welcomed them, using the delay to probe Emperor Yongxing’s resolve.
• Xu Qi'an urged Emperor Yongxing to reject peace negotiations, but Yongxing insisted that negotiation was Great Feng’s only hope, and Lin'an angrily confronted him.
• Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an that she had built a powerful faction and held three strands of Dragon Qi, then proposed forcing Yongxing to abdicate in favor of Prince Yan.
• Xu Qi'an returned to Mu Nanzhi, who confessed she would willingly give him her spiritual essence, but their moment was interrupted by a private message from Number Eight.
• After Daoist Jinlian advised him to meet Number Eight, Xu Qi'an traveled beyond the western gate and found a towering man in a kasaya waiting with a jade mirror.

Xu Qi'an learned that Asuro was Earth Book holder Number Eight and had secretly opposed the Buddhist Order, then Asuro removed Xu Qi'an's final Demon-Sealing Nail. Xu Qi'an's suppressed power returned, bringing him to Third Rank Great Perfection.

• At the post station, Xu Yuanshuang and Ji Yuan spoke with Ge Wenxuan through a Sound-Transmission Conch, and Ge instructed them to exploit the rift between Xu Qi'an and the young emperor while probing Xu Qi'an's strength.
• Fifteen li outside the western city gate, Asuro revealed to Xu Qi'an that he was Number Eight and had held back during their earlier encounter.
• Asuro explained that he had returned to the Buddhist Order using an incarnation created through One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, and that he had come to remove Xu Qi'an's last Demon-Sealing Nail.
• Asuro told Xu Qi'an that the Buddha had appeared in Aranda on the day the Superintendent was sealed and shared clues about the Buddha, Shenshu, and the missing Bodhisattva Faji.
• Inside the Pagoda Treasure Tower, Asuro extracted the Demon-Sealing Nail from Xu Qi'an's Juque acupoint, restoring the power suppressed within him.
• Xu Qi'an's power surged through his Conception and Governing Vessels, shaking the tower as he reached Third Rank Great Perfection.

Xu Qi'an and Asuro assessed Great Feng’s chances against Yunzhou and agreed to reveal Asuro’s identity to the Heaven and Earth Society at a meeting. Huaiqing prepared to enlist Xu Qi'an in her dangerous plan, while Xu Qi'an returned to the capital and hurried to advance to Second Rank.

• Xu Qi'an removed Asuro’s Demon-Sealing Nails, gave him pills, and outlined Great Feng’s allies and his plan to advance to Second Rank.
• Asuro suggested recruiting Arhat Du'e, but Xu Qi'an judged the time was not right and said the Superintendent had left another, still-unclear trump card.
• Xu Qi'an and Asuro agreed to reveal Asuro’s identity at a Heaven and Earth Society meeting, then parted after discussing how Huaiqing had collected Dragon Qi.
• Huaiqing learned that Yang Yan had secretly returned to the capital with elite troops and told her guard captain she expected Xu Qi'an to support her.
• Number Eight contacted the Heaven and Earth Society, whose members eagerly chatted with him without realizing he was Asuro.
• Xu Qi'an returned to the Directorate of Astronomy, bathed, sedated Baiji, and slipped into bed beside Mu Nanzhi as he prepared to advance to Second Rank.

Xu Qi'an told Mu Nanzhi the truth about his original motives and confessed his feelings before they began dual cultivation. As her Flower God essence flowed into him, his body and strength surged, but he still needed to understand how to sublimate his martial intent to reach the Second Rank.

• Xu Qi'an told Mu Nanzhi that the Demon-Sealing Nails were gone, but she resisted his advances and reminded him that she was his elder.
• Xu Qi'an admitted that he had once sought Mu Nanzhi for her spiritual essence, then explained that he had come to love her and did not want her to regret giving it to him.
• Mu Nanzhi accepted Xu Qi'an's apology and willingly allowed him to take her spiritual essence as they began dual cultivation.
• Xu Qi'an used the ancient Daoist Order's secret technique, awakening Mu Nanzhi's dormant Flower God power and drawing it into his body.
• Xu Qi'an's physique and strength rapidly improved, but he realized that reaching the Second Rank also required the sublimation of his martial intent.

Xu Qi'an comprehended the true meaning of Jade Shatters and advanced to the Second Rank, causing an extraordinary phenomenon at the Directorate of Astronomy. As Huaiqing and the Heaven and Earth Society discussed the event, Ji Yuan prepared for the court assembly and provoked Song Tingfeng.

• Xu Qi'an realized that Jade Shatters required both the courage to break and the will to survive, and his vision of an Undying Tree led him into the Dao Integration realm.
• Starlight descended on the Star Observation Tower, while Luo Yuheng and Huaiqing noticed the phenomenon and Huaiqing asked the Heaven and Earth Society what had happened.
• Number Eight declared that Xu Qi'an had advanced to the Second Rank, but the others doubted it because he still had a Demon-Sealing Nail in his body.
• Baiji woke in the Pagoda Treasure Tower, learned from the tower spirit monk that Xu Qi'an and Mu Nanzhi had not come inside, and fell asleep again after receiving healing light.
• Ji Yuan left for the court assembly with Xu Yuanshuang, Xu Yuanhuai, and four elders, then mocked Song Tingfeng for calling him an enemy.

Ji Yuan delayed the Yunzhou delegation’s audience, blamed Song Tingfeng for the delay, and began peace talks by demanding tribute from Great Feng. The court recognized Song’s connection to Xu Qi'an and let the accusation go, but the Minister of Revenue challenged Ji Yuan’s first demand.

• Song Tingfeng confronted Ji Yuan at the relay station, refused to back down, and later told the Copper Gongs that Xu Ningyan’s friendship made him unafraid of trouble.
• Ji Yuan arrived late to the throne hall and accused Song Tingfeng of obstructing and insulting him.
• Liu Hong defended Song by citing his service alongside Xu Qi'an, and Emperor Yongxing promised to investigate without punishing him.
• Ji Yuan announced that Yunzhou would negotiate peace only if Great Feng accepted four conditions, beginning with annual payments of silver and silk.
• The Minister of Revenue protested the tribute demand, and Ji Yuan challenged whether Great Feng could afford even the silver payment.

Ji Yuan forced Emperor Yongxing to accept Yunzhou’s demands in the peace talks, including recognizing Yunzhou’s legitimacy and ceding territory, while unrest spread through the capital. Xu Qi'an remained at the Directorate of Astronomy, reassured the Heaven and Earth Society that he would handle the talks, and asked Huaiqing whether everything was ready.

• Ji Yuan negotiated a reduced tribute, demanded recognition of Yunzhou as a legitimate ruling line, and secured Emperor Yongxing’s agreement despite protests from the imperial relatives.
• Ji Yuan demanded Yongzhou, Yuzhou, and Zhangzhou, then used Great Feng’s military losses and Yunzhou’s Transcendent allies to pressure the court; Emperor Yongxing agreed to discuss ceding territory and heard Ji Yuan’s demand for the Superintendent’s artifact-refining notes.
• Hanlin scholars protested the negotiations, students of the Directorate of Education went on strike, and rumors about ceding territory and recognizing Yunzhou spread through the capital.
• Ji Yuan told Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai that the state preceptor wanted him to test Xu Qi'an, and he predicted Xu Qi'an would be unable to stop the peace talks.
• Lin'an worried that ceding territory would doom Great Feng, while Qian Qingshu told Wang Zhenwen that Yongxing’s bottom line was ceding Yuzhou and that he had sent word to Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an told the Heaven and Earth Society he would handle the peace talks, then privately asked Huaiqing whether everything was ready.

As Huaiqing and Xu Qi'an prepared to remove Emperor Yongxing and stabilize the court, Xu Qi'an revealed he had reached the Second Rank and won Wang Zhenwen's support for enthroning Prince Yan. Three days after the negotiations ended, the peace agreement seemed certain to everyone in the capital.

• Huaiqing arranged the Wei Faction's support for a rebellion and asked Xu Qi'an to secure Wang Zhenwen and help stabilize the court.
• Xu Qi'an told Huaiqing that Asuro had removed his Demon-Sealing Nails and helped him advance to the Second Rank.
• Xu Qi'an visited the ill Wang Zhenwen, announced his advancement, and proposed replacing Yongxing with Prince Yan; Wang Zhenwen approved and summoned members of his faction.
• Prince Li and the imperial clan condemned Yongxing's concessions but agreed to wait until spring and preserve their position.
• Three days after negotiations ended, Yunzhou and the court entered the final stage of peace talks, and the capital expected the agreement to be sealed.

Emperor Yongxing concluded a humiliating peace agreement with the Yunzhou delegation while secretly expecting Xu Qi'an to secure reinforcements. As the delegation prepared to leave, Huaiqing and Yang Yan launched a coup, and Xu Qi'an appeared to force Yongxing to abdicate.

• Emperor Yongxing reviewed the tribute and territorial terms, and told Prince Li he planned to ask Xu Qi'an to bring Southern Frontier reinforcements.
• Yang Yan entered the capital and ordered his subordinates to gather their hidden allies, while Song Tingfeng persuaded four Gold Gongs to side with Xu Qi'an.
• Ji Yuan and Ge Wenxuan discussed Great Feng's weakness, and the Yunzhou delegation exchanged documents with Emperor Yongxing at court.
• Cannon fire and drums announced a rebellion at the palace, and Yang Yan led Nightwatchers and allied guards into the Golden Throne Hall.
• Huaiqing demanded that Emperor Yongxing abdicate, and nearly half the officials joined her call while Yang Yan moved to seize the emperor.
• Xu Qi'an appeared after subduing the imperial guard battalions and ordered Yongxing to abdicate, threatening him with Yuanjing's fate.