Chapter Summaries

Ji Xuan's group planned to unite with the Buddhist Order and Shaman God Cult to obstruct Xu Qi'an, while Xu Qi'an used the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror to find and collect Dragon Qi in Jiang Prefecture. The chapter ended with Xu Yuanshuang reporting that the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions had captured a Dragon Qi host and the East Sea Dragon Palace was searching for others.

• Ji Xuan agreed with his companions to seek an alliance with the two Vajras and the Shaman God Cult, and asked Xu Yuanshuang to promise him a favor for later.
• Xu Xinnian arrived at the Great Sacrificial Hall, where civil officials approached him hoping to become his younger sister's teacher.
• Yang Qianhuan planned to donate the Directorate of Astronomy's money at the sacrifice to Heaven, while Song Qing and Zhong Li plotted to stop him.
• Xu Qi'an ordered the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror to survey Jiang Prefecture, found a flatbread vendor who carried Dragon Qi, and collected it.
• Xu Yuanshuang reported that the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions had captured a Dragon Qi host and the East Sea Dragon Palace's two palace masters were searching for Dragon Qi hosts.

Xu Qi'an searched Jiang Prefecture for Dragon Qi while rival groups gathered intelligence and prepared to compete for the remaining crucial strands. After returning to Jiang Prefecture City, he discussed the hunt with Mu Nanzhi, then received Sun Xuanji, who said he had discovered something strange.

• Miao Youfang advanced to the sixth rank, and Xu Qi'an ordered him and Li Lingsu to leave Jiang Prefecture City.
• Dongfang Wanrong and Dongfang Wanqing received Tianji Palace agent Wind, who shared Dragon Qi intelligence and proposed cooperation against their common enemies.
• Xu Yuanshuang reported that the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions had captured Yuzhou's Dragon Qi host, while Jingxin and Jingyuan reunited with Vajras Dunan and Dufan near Yunzhou.
• Xu Qi'an searched Jiang Prefecture for a crucial Dragon Qi host, returned to the city, and saw the relief efforts benefiting refugees.
• Xu Qi'an mapped the remaining Dragon Qi search areas with Mu Nanzhi, then met Sun Xuanji, who brought a compilation of intelligence and reported a strange discovery.

Xu Qi'an and Sun Xuanji discussed the missing Dragon Qi hosts and learned that the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions had abducted a host in Yuzhou, while the Shaman God Cult was searching for another. The chapter ended with Wang You secretly reporting that Cao Qingyang’s children might be Dragon Qi hosts.

• Sun Xuanji told Xu Qi'an that their allies had collected thirty scattered strands of Dragon Qi, but Sun could no longer find hosts and suspected another force was collecting them.
• Xu Qi'an considered the Gu Race and other possible collectors, while Sun Xuanji reported that the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions had abducted a Dragon Qi host in Yuzhou.
• Sun Xuanji explained that the East Sea Dragon Palace sisters were helping the Shaman God Cult search for Dragon Qi, and that he had fled after Nalan Tianlu detected him.
• Sun Xuanji told Xu Qi'an that Yang Qianhuan had tried to donate the Directorate of Astronomy’s money, but the Superintendent had stopped him and sent him away with Chu Caiwei.
• Xu Qi'an told Sun Xuanji about his deal with the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and Sun suspected she controlled some of Shenshu’s bodily remnants.
• At Mount Quanrong, Wang You questioned one-armed Old Zhou about Cao Qingyang’s children surviving a fatal palm strike, then secretly recorded that they might be Dragon Qi hosts.

Wang You, a Tianji Palace spy in the Martial Arts Alliance, was exposed while investigating Dragon Qi in Cao Qingyang’s children. Cao Qingyang sought answers from the patriarch but found him still asleep, while Xu Qi'an explained Jianzhou’s history to his companions and Xu Pingfeng promised to remove the Superintendent’s hidden pieces.

• Wang You sent a secret report about Cao Qingyang’s children and the guarded rear mountain before the chief jailer captured and interrogated him.
• The chief jailer identified Wang You as a Tianji Palace spy searching for Dragon Qi, and Cao Qingyang ordered that the matter remain secret while he sought the patriarch’s counsel.
• Cao Qingyang watched Cao Chun display unexpectedly sharp swordsmanship, then went to the rear mountain, where Quanrong’s lantern-like eyes warned him away from the sleeping patriarch.
• Xu Qi'an told Miao Youfang, Li Lingsu, Mu Nanzhi, and Baiji how Jianzhou’s founder had challenged Great Feng’s founding emperor and retained his forces under an agreement approved by the Superintendent.
• In Hidden Dragon City, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu questioned Xu Pingfeng about the Superintendent blocking Yunzhou, and Xu Pingfeng said he would remove the Superintendent’s hidden pieces one by one.

Xu Pingfeng explained how the Martial Arts Alliance could threaten his plans, while Bodhisattva Jialuoshu sent Buddhist Vajras to destroy it. Xu Qi'an and his companions traveled toward Jianzhou, and Ji Xuan learned that his group had been ordered to attack the Alliance, which possessed a host of nine strands of Dragon Qi.

• Xu Pingfeng told Bodhisattva Jialuoshu that the Martial Arts Alliance had once been prepared to overthrow a corrupt Great Feng, but its leader would instead help restore the dynasty’s Dragon Qi.
• Xu Pingfeng assessed Great Feng’s experts and concluded that the Superintendent would have to act against the ailing Martial Arts Alliance; he said the opportunity to destroy it had arrived.
• Jingxin admitted to Jingyuan that fear and anger over Xu Qi'an had become his inner demon, and he had chosen the Slayer of Thieves Fruition in hopes of killing him.
• A Tianji Palace spy delivered Jialuoshu’s orders and blood essence to the Vajras, who were told to go north to Yuzhou, meet Ji Xuan’s group, and destroy the Martial Arts Alliance.
• Xu Qi'an, Li Lingsu, Miao Youfang, and Mu Nanzhi discussed Jianzhou and the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion as they traveled, while Xu Qi'an teased Li Lingsu about a possible sweetheart.
• Ji Xuan read a secret letter ordering his group to wipe out the Martial Arts Alliance, and Xu Yuanhuai revealed that the Alliance had a host of nine strands of Dragon Qi.

The Seven Azure Dragon Mansions assessed the Martial Arts Alliance’s strength and summoned allies, while Xu Erlang tried to secure Cloud Deer Academy’s return to court. The chapter ended as the Dongfang Sisters arrived in Yuzhou to meet Ji Xuan, the Buddhist Vajras, and the Shaman God Cult.

• Liu Hongmian explained the Martial Arts Alliance’s powerful subordinate sects, its forces at Mount Quanrong, and the threat posed by Cao Qingyang and the old alliance leader, so Ji Xuan summoned the Dongfang Sisters and the two Vajras.
• Xu Xinnian agreed to submit a memorial for Zhao Shou and arrange a meeting with Wang Zhenwen, while Xu Qi'an taught Miao Youfang about Fifth Rank Transforming Force at their camp.
• Wang Simu told Xu Erlang that Wang Zhenwen was ill, and Wang Zhenwen refused to support Cloud Deer Academy’s return to court unless Zhao Shou could provide five million taels of silver.
• Xu Erlang reported that the court had ignored Zhao Shou’s memorial, and Zhao Shou said he had fulfilled his duty and kindness to Yongxing.
• The Dongfang Sisters arrived in Yuzhou, where Ji Xuan welcomed them to his meeting with the Buddhist Vajras and the Shaman God Cult.

Ji Xuan and his allies planned a swift assault on the Martial Arts Alliance to seize its Dragon Qi, while Cao Qingyang learned that foreign powers were also targeting the alliance. Sun Xuanji warned him to prepare for battle and set off to find Xu Qi'an.

• Dongfang Wanrong and Dongfang Wanqing joined Ji Xuan's gathering, where Xu Yuanshuang explained how Dragon Qi chose its hosts and the group discussed the forces defending the Martial Arts Alliance.
• Ji Xuan outlined a plan to attack Mount Quanrong quickly, while Nalan Tianlu agreed to handle the Heaven Sect's Yang Spirits if they intervened.
• Cao Qingyang sent word to the Directorate of Astronomy about the Dragon Qi and asked Xu Qi'an to mediate, while Sun Xuanji returned to the Directorate and received the sealed Nation-Guarding Sword.
• Sun Xuanji visited Cao Qingyang, explained in writing that only Xu Qi'an could extract Dragon Qi, and warned that the Shaman God Cult, Tianji Palace, and the Buddhist Order were targeting the Martial Arts Alliance.
• Cao Qingyang worried that the alliance could not withstand its enemies while its ancestor remained asleep, and Sun Xuanji left to find Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an learned that the Martial Arts Alliance held two strands of Dragon Qi and that the Superintendent had sent him the Nation-Guarding Sword as a warning and a bargaining chip. As he prepared to face Xu Pingfeng’s plans, the sects gathered at Mount Quanrong under a Red Flag Order, unaware of what enemy was coming.

• Xu Qi'an lent Miao Youfang ten taels of silver, then hid beneath Miao Youfang’s bed to satisfy the Seven Absolutes Gu’s demands.
• Sun Xuanji told Xu Qi'an that the Martial Arts Alliance held two strands of Dragon Qi, including one residing in Cao Qingyang’s children, and delivered the Nation-Guarding Sword from the Superintendent.
• Xu Qi'an considered his available allies, reasoned that Xu Pingfeng might target the Martial Arts Alliance, and decided to make his own moves against him.
• Ecstasy Hand Rongrong and the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion party arrived at Mount Quanrong after receiving the Martial Arts Alliance’s Red Flag Order.
• Xiao Yuenu told her fellow pavilion members that increased guards and scouts suggested external enemies were near, and ordered the young female disciples prepared for possible evacuation.

Ji Xuan and his allies arrived at Mount Quanrong aboard the Wind-Riding Boat as Cao Qingyang gathered the Martial Arts Alliance to prepare for the coming fight over Dragon Qi. The enemy tested the alliance by sending Vajra Jingyuan down toward the rear mountain, where the old alliance leader remained in seclusion.

• Ji Xuan asked Xu Yuanshuang whether Fate and an individual's allotted fortune were essentially the same, and she said they were alike in essence but vastly different in scale.
• Xiao Yuenu and the leaders of the Martial Arts Alliance gathered at Cao Qingyang's residence, where he explained that Dragon Qi had scattered across the Central Plains and attracted the Buddhist Order, the Shaman God Cult, and Tianji Palace.
• The alliance leaders worried about facing Vajras without their old alliance leader, but Cao Qingyang confirmed that Silver Gong Xu would help them.
• Li Lingsu predicted that Ji Xuan would target the old alliance leader on the rear mountain, and Xu Qi'an announced that the enemy had arrived.
• Ji Xuan sent the warrior monk Jingyuan from the Wind-Riding Boat to test Mount Quanrong, and the alliance leaders saw his golden figure plunge toward the rear mountain.

The Martial Arts Alliance faced an assault on Mount Quanrong by Ji Xuan’s forces, including several Fourth Rank fighters and the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions. Cao Qingyang realized the Mansions used a formation to share their power and ordered the Alliance leaders to attack them together.

• Cao Qingyang led nine sect leaders to the rear mountain, where Jingyuan fought Quanrong and then defeated You Shi in a brief exchange.
• Ji Xuan’s group descended from the Wind-Riding Boat, and Liu Hongmian confronted Xiao Yuenu while promising White Tiger she would capture her.
• Ji Xuan sent Azure Dragon and the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions to provoke the Alliance and force Xu Qi'an to appear.
• The Mansions joined their Qi into an illusory dragon, overwhelmed the Alliance leaders’ attacks, and landed near the stone door.
• Azure Dragon wounded Quanrong and tried to reach the door, while Cao Qingyang discovered the Mansions could channel their combined strength through one member.
• Cao Qingyang identified their formation as the source of their temporary Transcendent power and ordered everyone to attack all eight together.

The Martial Arts Alliance fought the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions and their allies as Cao Qingyang took a devastating saber strike to protect the stone gate. He emerged unharmed with golden skin and the pressure of a Third Rank expert, leaving the alliance members shocked to see him wielding the Vajra Divine Art.

• Cao Qingyang coordinated the Martial Arts Alliance’s defense as Jingxin, Qihuan Danxiang, White Tiger, and Liu Hongmian disrupted and attacked its fighters.
• Azure Dragon combined the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions’ strength into a saber strike, and Cao Qingyang took it head-on to shield the stone gate.
• Li Lingsu visited Dongfang Wanrong aboard the Wind-Riding Boat, warned her about Xu Qi'an, and left after she rejected him.
• Li Lingsu reported to Xu Qi'an that Nalan Tianlu’s primordial spirit was inside Dongfang Wanrong and that two Vajras were aboard the boat.
• Xu Qi'an prepared the Peace Saber and Nation-Guarding Sword while Cao Qingyang revealed golden skin and the presence of a Third Rank expert.
• Jingyuan recognized Cao Qingyang’s Vajra Divine Art, leaving the Martial Arts Alliance members wondering how he had learned it.

Cao Qingyang absorbed Xu Qi'an's blood essence and used its temporary Third Rank power to defeat the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions. A Buddhist Vajra then descended and crushed Cao Qingyang, leaving the Martial Arts Alliance facing a new Transcendent opponent.

• Cao Qingyang revealed that Xu Qi'an's blood essence had temporarily raised him to the Third Rank, and both sides withdrew to watch his fight against the Seven Azure Dragon Mansions.
• Cao Qingyang identified the cloaked figures' armor as their weakness, destroyed Azure Dragon's artifact, and killed all eight members of the formation.
• Xu Qi'an watched through the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror and warned Miao Youfang that the real battle had only begun.
• Ji Xuan sent Vajra Dufan down from the Wind-Riding Boat to fight Cao Qingyang.
• Dufan struck Cao Qingyang into the ground, leaving the alliance leader badly wounded as the Martial Arts Alliance stared in stunned silence.

The Martial Arts Alliance learned that the Shaman God Cult and Buddhist Order had attacked Mount Quanrong, and Wen Chengbi struggled to contain the panicked crowd. Asura Vajra crushed Cao Qingyang and approached the old alliance leader’s stone door, where Sun Xuanji appeared to stop him.

• Wen Chengbi arranged for the women, elderly, and children to be escorted to safety while trying to keep the alliance members away from the rear mountain.
• Wen Chengbi revealed that the attackers were from the Shaman God Cult and Buddhist Order and invoked Silver Gong Xu’s involvement to calm the crowd.
• Young Master Liu and other martial artists climbed to a southern cliff to watch the battle as Asura Vajra stamped Cao Qingyang into the ground and offered to convert him.
• Asura Vajra rejected Cao Qingyang’s refusal and walked toward the stone door, while the onlookers feared the alliance leader would be forcibly converted.
• Sun Xuanji appeared between Asura Vajra and the stone door, and Cao Qingyang told him that he understood without needing an explanation.

Sun Xuanji used a formation tied to Mount Quanrong’s earth veins to repel the Asura Vajra Dufan, but a second-rank Rain Master struck him down with lightning. As Dufan approached the dying Sun Xuanji to take him as a hostage, Great Feng’s Nation-Guarding Sword flew in and blocked his path.

• Sun Xuanji repelled Dufan with a palm strike, revealing that his formation let him wield Mount Quanrong’s power and keep the Vajra from entering.
• Cao Qingyang returned to the Martial Arts Alliance fighters and explained that Xu Qi'an’s blood essence had saved his life, while Xiao Yuenu reported that many alliance members had gathered on the southern peak.
• Dufan battered Mount Quanrong’s barrier, but Sun Xuanji reinforced it with a black iron ruler and stabilized the formation.
• A lightning bolt from the sky shattered the barrier and left Sun Xuanji severely burned, revealing the presence of a second-rank Rain Master from the Shaman God Cult.
• Dufan approached the dying Sun Xuanji to take him in exchange for Arhat Duqing, but Great Feng’s Nation-Guarding Sword flew over and embedded itself before him.

Xu Qi'an arrived at Mount Quanrong with the Nation-Guarding Sword and the Peace Saber, but the enemy force proved greater than expected. After the Rain Master and two Vajras attacked together, they overwhelmed him and buried him in the mountain.

• The Nation-Guarding Sword appeared and forced Asura Vajra to retreat; Yang Cuixue identified it, and the spectators realized Xu Qi'an had arrived.
• Xu Qi'an rescued the badly injured Sun Xuanji, gave him healing pills, and entrusted him to the Martial Arts Alliance.
• Xu Qi'an returned with the Nation-Guarding Sword and the Peace Saber, challenged Asura Vajra, and discovered that Vajra Dunan had joined the enemy.
• The Rain Master appeared, and Xu Qi'an ordered Cao Qingyang and the others to retreat from the rear mountain.
• The Rain Master struck Xu Qi'an with lightning while Dunan charged through his Pagoda Treasure Tower's barrier and punched him away.
• Asura Vajra attacked Xu Qi'an as the Rain Master used a curse; Xu Qi'an was hammered into Mount Quanrong, shaking its main peak.

Xu Qi'an held off Vajras Dunan and Dufan and Rain Master Nalan Tianlu while waiting for the old alliance leader to emerge from seclusion, surviving their attacks with help from Li Lingsu and Zhao Shou’s Confucian spells. When Nalan Tianlu drew on the power of heaven and earth and seemed to overwhelm him, Xu Qi'an recalled the crisis at Yuyang Pass and challenged the Rain Master to wager their lives.

• Cao Qingyang and the spectators gathered on the southern peak, where Xiao Yuenu reassured them that Xu Qi'an had never lost.
• Li Lingsu used the Armillary Mirror to disrupt the Vajras’ heavenly souls, giving Xu Qi'an time to wound both of them with the Nation-Guarding Sword and Peace Saber.
• Nalan Tianlu healed the Vajras, summoned a demon phantom, and helped them attack Xu Qi'an, but Zhao Shou’s paper ward blocked a blood-based Curse Killing Technique.
• Xu Qi'an fought the three Transcendents through another close-quarters battle, using the Confucian spells to withstand Nalan Tianlu’s attacks until the protection faded.
• Nalan Tianlu called up wind and rain and drew power from the surrounding land, forcing the spectators to their knees and filling Xu Qi'an with despair.
• Xu Qi'an summoned Vast Righteous Qi, recalled his resolve at Yuyang Pass, and challenged Nalan Tianlu to wager their lives.

Xu Qi'an unleashed Jade Shatters against Nalan Tianlu’s lightning spear, appearing to die after the attack destroyed his vitality. Jade Shatters then struck Dongfang Wanrong from within, and the Pagoda Treasure Tower summoned the Pharmacist Dharma Idol to revive Xu Qi'an as he fell.

• Xu Qi'an realized that his Martial Dao had been shaped by Heaven and Earth One-Saber Slash and that he had cultivated the seed of Jade Shatters since the Eighth Rank.
• The people watching Mount Quanrong understood that Xu Qi'an was risking his life to repay the Martial Arts Alliance's old ancestor for help in the capital.
• Nalan Tianlu hurled a lightning spear infused with the power of heaven and earth, and Xu Qi'an used Heaven and Earth One-Saber Slash to weaken it before letting it strike him.
• The lightning spear destroyed Xu Qi'an's vitality, and his charred body fell as Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang rushed to catch him.
• In Yunzhou, Xu Pingfeng discussed his schemes with Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, while the Vajras resolved to kill Xu Qi'an rather than convert him.
• Jade Shatters erupted inside Dongfang Wanrong, and the Pagoda Treasure Tower summoned the Pharmacist Dharma Idol, which sent healing light into Xu Qi'an's body.

Xu Qi'an survived Nalan Tianlu's lightning spear through the Pharmacist Dharma Idol, leaving Nalan Tianlu gravely weakened and the Martial Arts Alliance's fate uncertain. As Asura Vajra moved to attack, the Alliance's ancestor emerged from seclusion, having used the Nine-Colored Lotus Root to break through to Second Rank.

• Xu Qi'an revived after Jade Shatters returned much of Nalan Tianlu's lightning spear damage, while Dongfang Wanrong was left badly injured.
• Li Lingsu sent healing pills to Dongfang Wanqing, who used them to stabilize Dongfang Wanrong as Nalan Tianlu admitted he could no longer fight.
• The Martial Arts Alliance celebrated Xu Qi'an's victory, but Asura Vajra advanced on him while the other Vajras held back their Bodhisattva-given blood essence.
• Xu Qi'an told Asura Vajra that a quarter of an hour had passed, and the Alliance's ancestor burst from the cavern and wounded Asura Vajra with his saber intent.
• Cao Qingyang's ancestor revealed that the Nine-Colored Lotus Root had helped him break through to Second Rank.

The Martial Arts Alliance ancestor emerged as a second-rank martial artist and overwhelmed the two Buddhist Vajras, but a Vajra Dharma Idol appeared to shield the Asura Vajra from his killing strike. Xu Yuanshuang then recognized her father standing behind her, leaving the battle’s next move unresolved.

• The Martial Arts Alliance members realized their ancestor had advanced to the second rank, while Ji Xuan and Xu Yuanshuang suspected that he had been stalling for the breakthrough.
• The ancestor attacked the Vajras, brutally beating Dunan and Dufan and leaving them bloodied and unable to fight back.
• The ancestor gathered his Saber Intent for a finishing strike as Xu Qi'an moved closer, hoping to devour a Vajra’s blood essence.
• A twelve-armed golden Dharma Idol manifested and protected the Asura Vajra with a golden bell, stopping the ancestor’s saber from killing him.
• Xu Yuanshuang heard a familiar voice, turned around, and saw her father standing behind her.

Xu Pingfeng’s avatar appeared before Xu Qi'an during the battle at Mount Quanrong, where the Vajra Dharma Idol overwhelmed the old bastard. Xu Pingfeng offered Xu Qi'an a place in Hidden Dragon City, but Xu Qi'an refused, and Xu Pingfeng mocked him for fearing him.

• Xu Pingfeng arrived aboard the Wind-Riding Boat as a puppet avatar, laid a formation to gather Fate, and asked Ji Xuan if he was ready.
• The Vajra Dharma Idol battered the old bastard, shattered the summit of Mount Quanrong, and left him badly injured as the Martial Arts Alliance watched in fear.
• Xu Pingfeng appeared near Xu Qi'an and explained the Vajra Dharma Idol’s power while Xu Qi'an remained wary of the avatar.
• Xu Pingfeng offered to remove Xu Qi'an’s Demon-Sealing Nails and urged him to join Hidden Dragon City, promising reconciliation with his mother and siblings and a future inheritance in Yunzhou.
• Xu Qi'an asked why Xu Pingfeng had tried to kill him before and rejected the offer; Xu Pingfeng responded that Xu Qi'an was so afraid of him he could not sleep.