Chapter Summaries

Primordial Lady Bingyi captured Li Miaozhen under the Heavenly Venerable’s order and set out to find the Heaven Sect’s Holy Son, Li Lingsu. After Hengyuan warned Xu Qi'an, Xu realized the Holy Son was already traveling beside him and prepared to pass a message back to Li Miaozhen.

• Li Miaozhen reunited with her master, Primordial Lady Bingyi, who bound her and ordered her return to the Heaven Sect for further study.
• Primordial Lady Bingyi said she also had to apprehend the Holy Son, and Li Miaozhen warned Hengyuan and Chu Yuanzhen not to interfere.
• Li Miaozhen urged Hengyuan to find Xu Qi'an, while she and her master flew away and Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan followed.
• Xu Qi'an visited Zheng Xinghuai’s grave in Zhangzhou and paid his respects before receiving Hengyuan’s urgent Earth Book message.
• Hengyuan told Xu Qi'an that Primordial Lady Bingyi was pursuing the Holy Son, Li Lingsu, who was traveling with Xu Qi'an near the East Sea Dragon Palace.
• Xu Qi'an realized Li Lingsu was the Holy Son and told Hengyuan to pass a message to Li Miaozhen.

Xu Qi'an planned to keep Li Lingsu under control while he prepared to rescue Li Miaozhen, then discovered a collapsed pit and eagerly went to investigate it. Meanwhile, Ji Xuan’s group learned that Xu Qian had taken Dragon Qi from Three Flowers Temple and headed for a martial arts gathering in Yongzhou, while Yang Qianhuan left the Directorate of Astronomy determined to make a name for himself.

• Xu Qi'an told Master Hengyuan to relay his instructions to Li Miaozhen and learned that Hengyuan was studying the Vajra Divine Art while Chu Yuanzhen had yet to forge his own path of the sword.
• Li Lingsu explained the Heaven Sect’s Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotion, and Xu Qi'an resolved to keep him under control and use the Heaven Sect’s strength when the time was right.
• Xu Qi'an saw a deep pit after sending Mu Nanzhi, Li Lingsu, and the others back to the inn, then eagerly jumped into it.
• Ji Xuan’s group discussed the Dragon Qi taken from Three Flowers Temple by Sun Xuanji and Xu Qian, considered who Xu Qian might be, and decided to search for Dragon Qi at a martial arts gathering in Yongzhou.
• Yang Qianhuan told Zhong Li that the Superintendent had let him leave and declared he would use Xu Qi'an’s absence to become famous in the capital.

Yang Qianhuan resolved to win the capital's affection by helping its people, while Xu Qi'an and his companions traveled through Xiangzhou and took shelter from a storm in a ruined temple. There, they met three travelers who were heading to the Chai Clan's Devil-Slaying Assembly.

• Yang Qianhuan told Zhong Li that he would open free shops in the capital to surpass Xu Qi'an as a hero in the people's eyes.
• Xu Qi'an, Mu Nanzhi, Baiji, and Li Lingsu discussed Xiangzhou's water ghosts and corpse-driving traditions, including the Chai Clan's history.
• The group took shelter in a ruined mountain god temple and made a fire and stew while rain battered the mountains.
• Feng Xiu, Wang Jun, and Lü Wei arrived at the temple; Feng Xiu introduced them and said they were traveling to the Chai Clan's Devil-Slaying Assembly.

Xu Qi'an and Li Lingsu learned that Chai Xian had been blamed for a wave of killings in Zhangzhou, and Li Lingsu asked to investigate the Chai family. After they defeated a corpse-raising schemer on the road, they reached Xiangzhou and Li Lingsu requested an audience with Chai Xing'er.

• Feng Xiu told Xu Qi'an and Li Lingsu that Chai Xian had allegedly murdered his adoptive father and others, prompting Chai Xing'er to summon a Devil-Slaying Assembly.
• Li Lingsu recalled meeting Chai Xian and said the man had seemed too kind to commit the crimes, then persuaded Xu Qi'an to let him visit the Chai family.
• A blood corpse attacked the travelers at a ruined temple, but Li Lingsu killed it and Xu Qi'an killed its master, Lü Wei, who had poisoned Feng Xiu and Wang Jun.
• Xu Qi'an and his companions set out for Xiangzhou the next morning, and Feng Xiu and Wang Jun parted ways with them after they reached the city.
• Li Lingsu brought Xu Qi'an to the Chai Residence and asked the gatekeeper to announce him to Chai Xing'er as an old acquaintance.

Xu Qi'an investigated the Chai Residence's clan-head murder and Xiaolan's abduction, suspecting that someone had impersonated Chai Xian. In the capital, Yang Qianhuan struggled with the absurd demands of the public, while the chapter ended with Li Lingsu reporting that monks led by Jingxin had arrived at the Chai Residence.

• Li Lingsu reunited with Chai Xing'er, who explained that Chai Xian had supposedly killed Chai Jianyuan and fled after Xiaolan disappeared.
• Xu Qi'an questioned Chai Xing'er about Chai Xian's character and proposed that a powerful Corpse Gu master might have impersonated him and controlled his iron corpses.
• Yang Qianhuan heard a series of unreasonable requests from people gathered outside the Directorate of Astronomy and gave up on his charitable undertaking.
• Xu Qi'an consumed poisonous herbs and fruits in the Chai Residence's garden while Hengyin's corpse kept Li Lingsu from interrupting him.
• Li Lingsu hurried into the pavilion and warned Xu Qi'an that monks led by Jingxin had arrived.

Xu Qi'an left the Chai Residence to avoid the Buddhist monks and sent Li Lingsu back to watch Chai Xing'er while he investigated Chai Xian’s case. He later possessed an orange cat and sneaked into the residence, leaving the truth about the case unresolved.

• Li Lingsu told Xu Qi'an that Jingxin and the other Buddhist monks had come to Xiangzhou to intervene in Chai Xian's case, so Xu Qi'an decided they should leave the Chai Residence.
• Xu Qi'an asked Li Lingsu to stay behind and keep watch on Chai Xing'er, arguing that she might have framed Chai Xian to remove a rival.
• Li Lingsu returned to the main hall, concealed his identity from Jingxin, and agreed to stay and help Chai Xing'er.
• Jingxin and Jingyuan discussed Chai Xian's upcoming Devil-Slaying Assembly and noted that the evidence against him seemed suspicious despite its strength.
• Xu Qi'an predicted an unusually harsh winter, then rested at an inn while Mu Nanzhi read.
• After nightfall, Xu Qi'an used Heart Gu to control the innkeeper's orange cat and sent it into the Chai Residence to investigate Chai Xing'er and eavesdrop on the Buddhist monks.

Xu Qi'an used an orange cat to spy on Chai Xing'er and Li Lingsu, then followed a corpse into a vast underground cellar beneath the Chai residence. The chapter ended with Mu Nanzhi discovering Xu Qi'an breathing heavily in his sleep after what he had witnessed.

• Xu Qi'an overheard Chai Xing'er offer Li Lingsu a place beside her as head of the Chai Clan, then watched her poison him and threaten him with scissors unless he answered her questions.
• Chai Xing'er revealed that she had given Li Lingsu Love Gu, and he appeased her with declarations of love until she dropped the scissors and embraced him.
• Xu Qi'an overheard Buddhist monks say that an Arhat and two Vajras were coming for a man whose identity they had uncovered, and suspected that they meant him.
• Xu Qi'an followed a wandering corpse into a secluded courtyard, entered its underground passage, and discovered a labyrinth filled with corpses.
• Mu Nanzhi found Xu Qi'an breathing heavily in his sleep, and he murmured, "Heaven on earth."

Xu Qi'an followed a walking corpse from the Chai estate to a village and discovered that it was Chai Xian, a Dragon Qi host. Chai Xian denied killing his adoptive father or abducting Xiaolan and said he had stayed in Xiangzhou to find the person framing him.

• Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox playfully struck Xu Qi'an while he lay unconscious.
• Xu Qi'an used Orange Cat An to follow a walking corpse from the Chai estate through a river and out of the city.
• The walking corpse reached a village and was welcomed into a house by a girl who called him Uncle Xian and asked whether he had found Sister Xiaolan.
• Four corpses discovered Orange Cat An, and Chai Xian came out to speak with him.
• Xu Qi'an recognized the Dragon Qi around Chai Xian and questioned him about the apparent murder and abduction.
• Chai Xian denied the accusations and said he was searching for whoever had framed him.

Chai Xian told Xu Qi'an that he had been framed for his adoptive father’s murder and suspected Chai Xing'er, while his missing beloved Chai Lan might hold the key to the case. Xu Qi'an planned to investigate the Chai residence and find Chai Xian before the Buddhist monks discovered his Dragon Qi, as the Devil-Slaying Assembly approached.

• Chai Xian recounted how he found his adoptive father murdered, was accused by his aunt and the clansmen, and fought his way out of the Chai residence.
• Chai Xian denied abducting Chai Lan and said someone was impersonating him to commit murders and keep him from leaving; he suspected Chai Xing'er of framing him.
• Chai Xian agreed to use Erya as a contact but knocked Orange Cat An unconscious before Xu Qi'an arrived and found the alley empty.
• The next morning, Li Lingsu told Xu Qi'an that Chai Xing'er had afflicted him with Love Gu, and Xu Qi'an warned him that Chai Xing'er was a suspect.
• Xu Qi'an told Li Lingsu to investigate the Chai residence and search for Chai Lan, while he focused on finding Chai Xian and recovering the Dragon Qi before the Devil-Slaying Assembly at the Xiang River.

Primordial Lady Bingyi and Daoist Master Xuancheng discussed Li Lingsu’s relations with the East Sea Dragon Palace and considered bringing him back to the sect for punishment. Meanwhile, Xu Qi'an learned two incantations that could remove Shenshu’s Demon-Sealing Nails, and Li Lingsu questioned a maid about Chai Xian’s family.

• Primordial Lady Bingyi and Li Miaozhen met Daoist Master Xuancheng, who confirmed Li Miaozhen had reached the fourth rank and reported that Li Lingsu had spent months with the East Sea Dragon Palace’s two palace mistresses.
• After learning the Celestial Venerable’s information about Li Lingsu was accurate, Primordial Lady Bingyi proposed castrating him, but Daoist Master Xuancheng said they should take him to the sect first.
• Xu Qi'an confronted Shenshu’s severed arm with a seal-breaking sword, and Shenshu revealed the incantations for the Demon-Sealing Nails at the Sea of Qi and Hundred Convergences.
• Li Lingsu reviewed conflicting accounts of Chai Xian’s flight and suspected the missing Chai Lan might have framed him.
• Li Lingsu asked the maid Du Juan about her years in the Chai household, then asked what the eldest young lady’s relationship with the clan head had been.

Li Lingsu questioned Du Juan about Chai Lan’s resistance to marriage and the suspicious death of Chai Xing’er’s former husband, then learned that someone had broken into the Chai residence’s corpse cellar. He entered the guarded cellar and reached a hidden room where Chai Xing’er allowed him inside.

• Li Lingsu persuaded Du Juan to reveal that Chai Lan had resisted marrying into the Huangfu Household and that Chai Xing’er had argued with Chai Jianyuan after her former husband died in an accident.
• Li Lingsu considered how the deaths and Chai Lan’s marriage might connect, then set out to report his findings to Xu Qian.
• At the Xu Residence, Auntie prepared Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin for a visit to the Wang residence and learned that the Superintendent had rejected Xu Lingyin as a disciple.
• Xu Pingzhi arrived and saw Xu Lingyin wearing the family heirloom bangles; her boast that she looked like his mother led him to chase her with his scabbard.
• Li Lingsu learned that a criminal had broken into the Chai residence’s cellar, where Chai Xian had searched for Chai Lan’s corpse, and decided to investigate the cellar himself.
• Li Lingsu pushed past the guards and entered the cellar; after reaching a guarded inner room, he identified himself to Chai Xing’er, who let him in.

Li Lingsu learned that Chai Xing'er’s former husband had been refined into an Iron Corpse, while Xu Qi'an prioritized finding Chai Xian before the Devil-Slaying Assembly. The chapter ended with Xu Qi'an reaching the village where Chai Xian had hidden and questioning a young woman and her daughter.

• Chai Xing'er explained to Li Lingsu that her brother Chai Jianyuan had refined her gravely wounded former husband into an Iron Corpse, and Li Lingsu said he believed her.
• Xu Qi'an told Li Lingsu to investigate Chai Xing'er's former husband, while Li Lingsu vowed to protect her if she was accused.
• Xu Qi'an decided that finding Chai Xian and securing the Dragon Qi mattered more urgently than solving the case, and he discussed the Nine-Colored Lotus Root with Mu Nanzhi.
• Chai Xing'er asked Jingxin to lead the righteous factions against Chai Xian at the Devil-Slaying Assembly, while Jingxin warned his monks not to act before seeing Chai Xian.
• Xu Qi'an went to the village where Chai Xian had hidden and spoke to the young woman and girl living there.

Xu Qi'an investigated Chai Xian’s whereabouts while the Devil-Slaying Assembly organized a search for him, but Chai Xian never appeared. Xu Qi'an returned to the village and found the family he had visited murdered.

• Xu Qi'an used Heart Gu to question a little girl about Chai Xian, gave her a note and silver, and learned that Chai Xian rarely stayed there, suffered nightmares, and had six toes.
• Jingxin told Jingyuan that Chai Xing'er’s former husband's death was connected to clan head Chai Jianyuan, while Chai Xing'er confronted Li Lingsu about investigating her and Xu Qian’s hostility toward the Buddhist Order.
• Xu Qi'an attended the Devil-Slaying Assembly, where the prefect and Chai Xing'er announced a joint hunt for Chai Xian and Jingyuan demonstrated the Buddhist Order’s Vajra Divine Art.
• Xu Qi'an searched the surrounding area from the Pagoda Treasure Tower but found no golden dragon shadow, then learned that Chai Xian had not attended the assembly.
• When Chai Xian still did not appear, Xu Qi'an rode to the village and found the father, mother, and little girl dead in their home.

Xu Qi'an investigated the murder of a family connected to Chai Xian and concluded that someone was manipulating events around the Devil-Slaying Assembly. As he set out to find the hidden culprit, Jingxin suspected the killer was refining a Flying Corpse, and Mu Nanzhi warned that someone was watching them.

• Xu Qi'an examined the murdered family and realized that someone might have followed him and Chai Xian to their village refuge.
• Xu Qi'an brought Li Lingsu to the village, where Li Lingsu found that the victims' souls had been dispersed and villagers reported a stranger around noon.
• Xu Qi'an and Li Lingsu deduced that the killer had known Chai Xian would visit and had killed the family to frighten him away from the Devil-Slaying Assembly.
• Xu Qi'an told Li Lingsu to stay away while he secretly investigated and planned to kill the real culprit.
• Jingxin learned that two impostors had investigated the murders and suspected the killer was collecting blood essence to refine a Flying Corpse.
• Mu Nanzhi told Xu Qi'an that someone was watching them, while the little white fox said she had been frightened.

Xu Qi'an set aside his search for Dragon Qi to investigate the contradictions in the Chai Clan murders, then infiltrated the Chai estate to examine Chai Jianyuan's corpse. His autopsy uncovered an unusual clue: Chai Jianyuan had six toes on his left foot.

• After the little white fox warned that someone was watching them, Xu Qi'an hid Mu Nanzhi and the fox in the Pagoda Treasure Tower and reviewed the Chai Clan case.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that the case's motives and events were contradictory, so he decided to restart the investigation with the Chai Clan.
• Jingxin visited the inn seeking a man and woman with a warhorse, but the innkeeper told him the guests had already left.
• Xu Qi'an sneaked into the Chai estate, poisoned three guards unconscious, and entered the cellar to examine the corpses.
• Xu Qi'an identified Chai Jianyuan's body and discovered that its left foot had six toes.

Xu Qi'an found evidence that Chai Jianyuan had been poisoned and suspected Chai Xian was his illegitimate son, while identifying Chai Xing'er as a possible conspirator. Elsewhere, the Heaven Sect searched for Li Lingsu, and Chai Xing'er learned that someone had dissected Chai Jianyuan's corpse as Xu Qi'an's orange cat arrived at Li Lingsu's room.

• Xu Qi'an recognized Chai Jianyuan's six toes, dissected his corpse with the Peace Saber, and found traces of a sophisticated poison that could cause hallucinations and numbness.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that Chai Xian might be Chai Jianyuan's hidden illegitimate son and that Chai Xing'er was among the possible poisoners, but decided not to confront her directly.
• Xu Qi'an's Corpse Gu offspring tried to reproduce on the corpses, and he used his authority as their mother Gu to stop them.
• Daoist Master Xuancheng and Primordial Lady Bingyi questioned Wenren Qianrou in her dream about Li Lingsu and Xu Qian, then decided to follow Xu Qian's trail to find Li Lingsu.
• Chai Ping told Chai Xing'er that someone had dissected Chai Jianyuan's corpse; Chai Xing'er went to investigate after Li Lingsu promised to stay by her side.
• Li Lingsu wondered whether Xu Qian had uncovered anything about the case, and Xu Qian's orange cat slipped into his room.

Xu Qi'an investigated Chai Jianyuan’s death with Li Lingsu, suspecting Chai Xing'er and uncovering questions about Chai Xian’s origins. Meanwhile, Jingyuan patrolled Three Waters Town as bait for the corpse-refiner, and he sensed something swimming toward the riverside tavern.

• Xu Qi'an visited Li Lingsu in an orange cat’s body, confirmed that Chai Xian and Chai Jianyuan shared six toes, and said Chai Xian was likely Jianyuan’s illegitimate son.
• Xu Qi'an suspected Chai Xing'er had poisoned Chai Jianyuan and asked Li Lingsu to use a dream-entering spell to question one of Jianyuan’s sons about Chai Xian.
• Li Lingsu told Xu Qi'an that Chai Xing'er had gone into the southern courtyard around midnight, and Xu Qi'an planned to search the Chai residence using its small creatures.
• Jingyuan joined the night patrol in Three Waters Town to lure out the person refining corpses, while Chen Er and the other patrolmen rested at a riverside tavern.
• Jingyuan heard an unusual rushing sound in the river and realized that multiple things were swimming toward the tavern.

Jingyuan fought off an ambush by walking corpses and Iron Corpses, then discovered the attacker was a puppet controlled by someone cautious about his strength. Meanwhile, Li Lingsu questioned Chai Zhong and Chai Kai in their dreams, and Jingxin confronted Chai Xian, identifying him as a Dragon Qi host.

• Jingyuan killed the walking corpses attacking the tavern, but four Iron Corpses pinned him while a black-clad figure tried to strike his head.
• Jingyuan unleashed his full strength, destroyed the Iron Corpses, and learned the black-clad attacker was a pulse-less puppet stronger than an Iron Corpse.
• Li Lingsu entered Chai Zhong's dream and learned he did not know Chai Xian was Chai Jianyuan's illegitimate son.
• Li Lingsu questioned Chai Kai in his dream, but Chai Kai revealed no knowledge of Chai Xian's six toes or Chai Jianyuan's own six toes.
• Jingxin confronted a black-clad man in the mountain forest and used a golden alms bowl to identify him as a Dragon Qi host.
• The black-clad man revealed his name was Chai Xian.

Jingxin captured Chai Xian and used Precepts to confirm that he had not killed Chai Jianyuan or controlled the walking corpses, then planned to use him to draw Xu Qi'an out. At the Chai residence, Xu Qi'an searched the southern courtyard with his Heart Gu as Li Lingsu learned of Chai Xian’s capture and hurried to warn him.

• Chai Xian told Jingxin that he had been framed and that he suspected Chai Xing'er and her hidden accomplice were behind the crimes.
• Jingxin used Precepts to question Chai Xian, who truthfully denied killing Chai Jianyuan or attacking Three Waters Town and named Chai Xing'er as his suspect.
• Jingxin and Jingyuan realized Chai Xian was a host of one of the nine crucial strands of Dragon Qi and decided to take him to the Chai residence as bait for Xu Qi'an.
• Li Lingsu reported his conversations with Chai Zhong and Chai Kai to Xu Qi'an, who sent animals throughout the southern courtyard to search for clues.
• A maid told Chai Xing'er that Jingxin and Jingyuan had returned with Chai Xian, and Li Lingsu left to alert Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an directed the animals toward the ancestral hall, but Li Lingsu's Yin Spirit arrived and told him that Jingxin and Jingyuan had captured Chai Xian.

Xu Qi'an watched Jingxin and Jingyuan question Chai Xing'er, whose answers exposed the mystery surrounding Chai Jianyuan's murder and the Xiangzhou killings. Chai Xian confessed that his other personality committed the crimes, while Xu Qi'an's search uncovered a chained woman in a secret chamber who identified herself as Chai Lan.

• Xu Qi'an learned that Jingxin and Jingyuan had captured Chai Xian and sent Li Lingsu to watch Chai Xing'er while he secretly listened in as an orange cat.
• Jingxin used the Precepts to question Chai Xing'er, who denied killing Chai Jianyuan or committing the Xiangzhou murders, and said Chai Xian had done them.
• Chai Xing'er revealed that Chai Xian was Chai Jianyuan's illegitimate son and presented Chai Jianyuan's Walking Corpse as proof that they shared six toes.
• Jingxin asked Chai Xian how he had known to pursue the killer at Three Waters Town, prompting Chai Xian's other personality to confess to killing Chai Jianyuan and the victims across Xiangzhou.
• Xu Qi'an discovered a secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall, where a chained woman woke and wrote that her name was Chai Lan.