Chapter Summaries

Xu Qi'an faced Xu Pingfeng and the empowered Vajra Dharma Idol while Kou Yangzhou fought to protect him. After Kou Yangzhou was captured and Xu Pingfeng prepared to claim victory, Xu Qi'an absorbed Dragon Qi and summoned the founding-emperor.

• Xu Pingfeng strengthened the Vajra Dharma Idol with formations and a Heaven Gu artifact, then sent it after Xu Qi'an.
• The Pagoda Treasure Tower shielded Xu Qi'an while Kou Yangzhou fought the Vajra Dharma Idol, and Xu Qi'an used Shift Stars and Swap Constellations to conceal Kou Yangzhou's presence.
• Ji Xuan killed the Dragon Qi hosts aboard the Wind-Riding Boat and revealed Xu Pingfeng's plan to help him advance to the Transcendent Realm.
• The Asura Vajra concealed his presence and restrained Kou Yangzhou, allowing the Vajra Dharma Idol to decapitate him and seal his head and body.
• Xu Qi'an left the Pagoda Treasure Tower's protection, confronted Xu Pingfeng, absorbed the Dragon Qi, and summoned the founding-emperor.

Xu Qi'an summoned Emperor Gaozu’s heroic soul, which took control of him and destroyed Vajra Dunan and the Vajra Dharma Idol at Mount Quanrong. After the soul departed, Xu Qi'an surveyed the battlefield and moved to claim Asura Vajra’s corpse so he could advance his Vajra Divine Art.

• Xu Qi'an summoned Emperor Gaozu’s heroic soul, alarming Xu Pingfeng and causing disturbances at the imperial ancestral temple, the Directorate of Astronomy, and the imperial court.
• Emperor Gaozu’s soul took control of Xu Qi'an and struck down the Vajra Dharma Idol, killing Vajra Dunan in the clash.
• The Emperor Dharma Idol pinned and killed the fleeing Asura Vajra Dufan, while Xu Pingfeng escaped aboard the Wind-Riding Boat and Nalan Tianlu withdrew.
• Kou Yangzhou remembered his first meeting with Emperor Gaozu during the rebellion and recalled their friendship across six centuries.
• Xu Qi'an dismissed Emperor Gaozu’s heroic soul by raising and draining an invisible cup of wine.
• Xu Qi'an searched the battlefield for Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang, then steered the Pagoda Treasure Tower toward Asura Vajra’s corpse to improve his Vajra Divine Art.

Xu Qi'an advanced his Vajra Divine Art by absorbing Asura Vajra’s blood, while the surviving factions regrouped after the battle. Li Lingsu caught up with White Tiger’s group alongside Li Miaozhen, Chu Yuanzhen, and a monk, as Huaiqing arrived at the palace amid alarm over the imperial ancestors’ broken tablets.

• Xu Qi'an absorbed Asura Vajra’s divine blood, reached the strength of a Third-Rank Vajra, and took the Heaven Gu bracelet and the Vajra’s corpse.
• Cao Qingyang confirmed the battle was over and began handling the aftermath, while the Martial Arts Alliance members asked about Xu Qi'an.
• Nalan Tianlu told Dongfang Wanrong that he fled because Ji Xuan carried the presence of a Blood Pill and Xu Pingfeng might use Dragon Qi to help him advance.
• Xu Pingfeng told Ji Xuan that the group had seven days to return to Yunzhou and that he had other methods to secure their plans.
• Li Lingsu intercepted White Tiger and his companions, then was joined by Li Miaozhen, Chu Yuanzhen, and a monk.
• Huaiqing reached the palace and learned that the imperial ancestral tablets had fallen and broken; Lin'an said the imperial uncles wanted the matter investigated.

Huaiqing and the imperial clan investigated the fall of the ancestral tablets and the disappearance of the Nation-Guarding Sword, while Emperor Yongxing was pressured to issue an edict of self-reproach. In the forest, Li Lingsu and his companions fought White Tiger and Liu Hongmian, ending with White Tiger captured in the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror.

• Huaiqing learned from Lin'an that Emperor Gaozu's statue had cracked and the Nation-Guarding Sword was missing, then tried to ask the Earth Book group for details.
• Prince Yu linked the temple disaster to the Yunzhou branch, and the Prince of Li demanded that Emperor Yongxing conceal the incident, issue an edict of self-reproach, and reflect in the ancestral temple.
• Emperor Yongxing agreed to comply after the imperial princes warned that the ancestors' displeasure could affect the nation's fortune.
• Jingxin and White Tiger attacked Li Lingsu, but Li Miaozhen disrupted White Tiger's assault while Li Lingsu used his Nascent Soul to expose White Tiger's Primordial Spirit.
• Hengyuan stopped Liu Hongmian from killing Li Lingsu, and the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror captured White Tiger's Primordial Spirit.
• Dongfang Wanqing held Jingyuan back from joining the fight, and White Tiger collapsed unconscious.

Chu Yuanzhen and his allies captured Liu Hongmian, Jingyuan, and the unconscious experts, then learned from Huaiqing that Xu Qi'an held the Nation-Guarding Sword and had defended Mount Quanrong. Lin'an learned Xu Qi'an was safe and entered the imperial study, where she challenged the princes for blaming Emperor Yongxing for the disturbance.

• Liu Hongmian, Jingxin, and Jingyuan fled after the Heaven-Encompassing Treasure Mirror incapacitated White Tiger and Qihuan Danxiang; Chu Yuanzhen split up his allies to pursue them.
• Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan captured Liu Hongmian, while Li Lingsu and Dongfang Wanqing captured Jingyuan; Li Miaozhen failed to catch Jingxin.
• Chu Yuanzhen informed the Earth Book Fragment group that Xu Qi'an held the Nation-Guarding Sword and had driven off the Shaman God Cult, the Buddhist Order, and Hidden Dragon City at Mount Quanrong.
• Huaiqing told Lin'an that Xu Qi'an had fought the enemy forces, and Lin'an felt reassured before deciding to tell Emperor Yongxing.
• Lin'an entered the imperial study despite the princes' objections and demanded to know why they blamed Emperor Yongxing for the disturbance.

Lin'an revealed that Xu Qi'an had protected the Dragon Qi at Mount Quanrong, ending the imperial court’s debate over the ancestral temple disturbance. Xu Qi'an returned to the Martial Arts Alliance, where the old fellow discussed his agreement with the Superintendent and the possibility of Great Feng’s collapse.

• Lin'an told Emperor Yongxing and the imperial princes that Xu Qi'an held the Nation-Guarding Sword and had protected the Dragon Qi at Mount Quanrong, prompting them to investigate the battle before deciding how to address the temple disturbance.
• Prince Yu advised Emperor Yongxing to establish the facts and use Xu Qi'an’s achievement to strengthen his reputation, while Huaiqing warned the fourth prince against trying to seize the throne.
• Xu Qi'an brought Mu Nanzhi, Baiji, and Chai Xing'er back to Mount Quanrong and told Baiji that Dunan and Dufan had died, leaving the Buddhist Order without Dharma-Protecting Vajras.
• Cao Qingyang and the Martial Arts Alliance leaders assessed the deaths and destruction caused by the battle, then discussed how to recover their buried silver and rebuild their headquarters.
• The old fellow told Xu Qi'an that he had once agreed with Emperor Gaozu to end Great Feng himself if it followed Great Zhou’s path, and revealed that he also had an agreement with the Superintendent.

Xu Qi'an learned how the old bastard had joined Emperor Wuzong’s rebellion and gained Dao Integration, then helped the Martial Arts Alliance resolve a funding and disaster-relief problem. After hearing more about the Nine-Colored Lotus Root and the path to Second Rank, Xu Qi'an returned to town, where Baiji slipped into the mountains alone.

• The old bastard told Xu Qi'an that the Superintendent had promised to help him reach Second Rank in exchange for supporting Emperor Wuzong’s rebellion five hundred years earlier.
• Xu Qi'an considered several explanations for how the Superintendent could have fulfilled that promise and wondered whether the Superintendent or the First Chief Astrologer had foreseen the future.
• Wen Chengbi asked the old bastard how the Martial Arts Alliance should fund its headquarters and disaster relief, and Xu Qi'an suggested feeding disaster victims in exchange for their labor.
• The old bastard explained that Dao Integration meant perfecting one’s Martial Dao, and that the Nine-Colored Lotus Root had unified the many versions of himself during his breakthrough.
• Xu Qi'an returned to the garrison town with Mu Nanzhi and Chai Xing'er, while Baiji ran off into the mountains on her own.

Baiji reported the defeat of the Buddhist Order’s Vajras to the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, who explained the cost of summoning higher powers and said the chance to reclaim the Hundred Thousand Mountains was approaching. The Martial Arts Alliance adopted Xu Qi'an’s work-relief idea to rebuild its headquarters, while Li Lingsu’s reunion with Xu Qi'an ended with Xu calling Chai Xing'er out and freezing Li Lingsu.

• Baiji told the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox that Xu Qi'an had defeated the Buddhist Order and that Dufan and Dunan had fallen; the fox discussed the battle’s consequences and the Superintendent’s sacrifice.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox said she had found a descendant of Gods and Devils overseas and took Baiji to see Xu Qi'an.
• Wen Chengbi told the Martial Arts Alliance leaders to recruit refugees to rebuild headquarters in exchange for relief, crediting the idea to Xu Qi'an.
• Rongrong noticed that her master was troubled and suggested she might admire Xu Qi'an, prompting her master to deny it before sword-flying visitors arrived.
• Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Li Lingsu met Xu Qi'an and Dongfang Wanqing; Xu Qi'an said he would not make things difficult for her, then called Chai Xing'er out and left Li Lingsu stunned.

Xu Qi'an questioned captured members of Hidden Dragon City, learned about its forces and Xu Pingfeng’s wife, and turned Qihuan Danxiang and White Tiger into puppets after killing them. Xiao Yuenu arrived and asked him to hand Liu Hongmian over to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, leaving Xu Qi'an to ask how they would deal with her.

• Chai Xing'er and Dongfang Wanqing confronted each other over Li Lingsu, while Xu Qi'an and the others watched; Xu Qi'an later sealed both women in the Pagoda Treasure Tower.
• Li Miaozhen brought back Liu Hongmian, Qihuan Danxiang, White Tiger, and Jingyuan, and Xu Qi'an questioned them about Hidden Dragon City.
• White Tiger and Qihuan Danxiang described Hidden Dragon City's population, troops, and allies in Yunzhou, including regional commander Yang Chuannan.
• Miss Rongrong visited Xu Qi'an with medicinal herbs, recognized Liu Hongmian, and recalled meeting Li Lingsu at the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion.
• White Tiger revealed that Xu Pingfeng's wife was the younger sister of Hidden Dragon City's lord and had been kept under house arrest for twenty years.
• Xu Qi'an killed Qihuan Danxiang and White Tiger and used Corpse Gu to turn them into puppets; Xiao Yuenu then asked him to hand Liu Hongmian over to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion.

Xiao Yuenu admitted how she had framed Liu Hongmian and explained why their master had judged Liu unfit to lead the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, then took her into custody. The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox recruited Xu Qi'an to help recover Shenshu's sealed limbs in the Southern Frontier, while in Yunzhou Bodhisattva Jialuoshu declared that the time to act had come.

• Xiao Yuenu confessed to framing Liu Hongmian, who was stunned by her explanation, and Xu Qi'an agreed to let Xiao imprison her at the Martial Arts Alliance.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox told Xu Qi'an that Yeji had prepared a plan in the former lands of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons to unseal Shenshu's severed limbs.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox asked Xu Qi'an to help recover the limbs and test whether the Buddhist Order had hidden experts, offering the Demon-Sealing Nail method and a chance to see Yeji.
• Xu Qi'an agreed to help and asked whether the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox had found her kin overseas; she said she had not and planned to return to the continent.
• In Yunzhou, Xu Pingfeng told Bodhisattva Jialuoshu that Dunan and Dufan had fallen, and Jialuoshu said the time to rise had come.

At the Martial Arts Alliance banquet, Xu Qi'an and his companions discover Li Lingsu’s secret affair with Rongrong’s master and tease him about it. Meanwhile, Yang Gong prepares Qingzhou for the refugee crisis, and Ji Xuan returns to Hidden Dragon City, where his father announces that Yunzhou will declare itself an empire in three days.

• At the banquet, Mu Nanzhi pretends to be Xu Qi'an’s mother to deflect a matchmaking proposal, and Li Lingsu later slips away from the group.
• Xu Qi'an uses the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror to spy on Li Lingsu and discovers him meeting Rongrong’s master, Ji Jinmei, with whom he shares a secret romance.
• When Li Lingsu returns, Xu Qi'an, Li Miaozhen, and the others mock him by reenacting his romantic declarations, leaving him mortified.
• In Qingzhou, Yang Gong orders officials to block roads into Yunzhou and suppress reports that Yunzhou is taking in refugees, aiming to limit the southward flow without provoking revolt.
• Ji Xuan returns to Hidden Dragon City and discusses strategies for taking Qingzhou with his father, who tells him Yunzhou will declare itself an empire in three days.
• Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai reunite with their mother, who asks whether they met Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an’s group encountered a large band of river bandits on the Wei River Canal, and Xu Qi'an subdued their leader before setting Miao Youfang a trial. The chapter ended with Grand Secretary Wang testing Xu Xinnian about how to deal with worsening banditry and hinting that he might inherit the Wang Faction.

• Steward Zhu warned Miao Youfang that river bandits were blocking the ship at Golden Water Shoal, but more than a hundred bandits approached and demanded silver and women.
• Sun Tai, who had killed the former bandit leader, boarded the merchant ship and ordered his men to loot it; Xu Qi'an seized him and forced the bandits to withdraw.
• Xu Qi'an learned that Sun Tai had gathered refugees and martial wanderers amid the worsening winter disasters, then ordered Miao Youfang to kill him as a trial.
• Xu Qi'an kicked Sun Tai and Miao Youfang ashore and watched with Mu Nanzhi while the merchant ship waited at anchor.
• Grand Secretary Wang showed Xu Xinnian memorials about rising banditry and asked how he would handle the crisis, then gave him three days to answer as he considered who would inherit the Wang Faction.

Xu Xinnian and Xu Qi'an devised strategies to curb the spreading banditry and refugee crisis, including secretly supporting refugee forces that would target wealthy local gentry. Xu Xinnian submitted his proposals to Emperor Yongxing, leaving the court’s response unknown.

• Grand Secretary Wang warned Xu Xinnian that Xu Qi'an’s prominence could hinder his own political ambitions and urged the brothers to coordinate.
• Xu Xinnian studied the bandit crisis and, inspired by Xu Lingyin’s suggestion to make friends, drafted a plan combining amnesty, military suppression, and organizing displaced people.
• Xu Qi'an discussed Xu Xinnian’s strategies with the Heaven and Earth Society, then proposed secretly directing refugee bandits to seize resources from wealthy landlords and gentry rather than ordinary people.
• Li Miaozhen, Li Lingsu, and Chu Yuanzhen agreed to help with the dangerous plan, while Huaiqing accepted Xu Qi'an’s proposal.
• Emperor Yongxing received Xu Xinnian’s secret memorial and silently examined it.

Emperor Yongxing rejected Xu Erlang’s plan to seize resources from the gentry to support refugees, while Xu Qi'an considered other ways the Heaven and Earth Society could help. Huaiqing began pursuing Xu Qi'an’s insight about martial cultivation, and the chapter ended with Yang Chuannan visiting imprisoned official Xie Lu in Yunzhou.

• Emperor Yongxing burned Xu Erlang’s secret memorial and refused to use its strategy because the risk of exposure threatened his throne.
• Xu Qi'an learned from Huaiqing that Emperor Yongxing had rejected the plan, then proposed that the Heaven and Earth Society gather refugees and occupy a mountain, with Miao Youfang joining the effort.
• Xu Qi'an explained that tempering the Primordial Spirit could improve bodily control and speed advancement to Transforming Force, prompting Huaiqing to summon people from a list that began with Chen Ying.
• Huaiqing returned to her residence and ordered her guards to bring the listed people to meet her.
• Xie Lu recalled how Yang Chuannan had invited him to join Hidden Dragon City, then imprisoned him after discovering he had tried to report the offer to the court.
• Yang Chuannan arrived at Xie Lu’s prison cell.

Yang Chuannan killed Xie Lu after he refused to serve Hidden Dragon City, while Ji Xuan’s father claimed the throne in Yunzhou and named the new state Revival. With Xu Pingfeng’s aid, Ji Xuan survived refining the Blood Pill and reached the Transcendent Realm, as the chapter left Xu Qi'an at the Southern Frontier border, unaware of Yunzhou’s secession.

• Yang Chuannan urged Xie Lu to submit to Hidden Dragon City, then killed him when he refused.
• Ji Xuan stayed away from his father’s enthronement ceremony as the ruler declared the state Revival and appointed Ji Xuan crown prince.
• Xu Pingfeng gathered Dragon Qi and the Fate of Dunan and Dufan to help Ji Xuan attempt to refine the Blood Pill.
• Ji Xuan endured the Blood Pill’s destructive effects and successfully entered the Transcendent Realm.
• Heaven Gu Granny sensed that the struggle for legitimacy had begun, while Salun Agu ordered Yierbu to deliver the Mystic Ringing Gold Stone to Xu Qi'an and gather displaced people for the northern provinces.
• Yunzhou formally broke away from Great Feng, and Xu Qi'an remained unaware as he reached the Southern Frontier border.

Xu Qi'an anticipated that Yunzhou’s rebellion would bring upheaval this winter and planned to unseal Shenshu, while Emperor Yongxing’s court prepared to defend Qingzhou and publicized Xu Qi'an’s victories over the Buddhist Order. The chapter ended in the Southern Frontier, where Hongying found Elder Yeji still unconscious and asked who had injured her.

• Xu Qi'an studied a map and concluded that the coming conflict between the court and Yunzhou rebels would converge on Qingzhou.
• Emperor Yongxing told his ministers that Xu Qi'an had slain two Buddhist Vajras in Jianzhou, easing their fears about the Buddhist Order’s support for the rebels.
• The court chose to reinforce Qingzhou rather than launch a southern campaign, and Emperor Yongxing ordered Xu Xinnian included among the reinforcements.
• Prince Yan reflected on the struggle among the princes and resolved to be more patient.
• Hongying arrived at a grotto in the Hundred Thousand Mountains and learned that Elder Yeji had not awakened; he asked who had injured her.

Protector Qingmu discovered that Slayer of Thieves Fruition was killing the wounded Elder Yeji, who revealed that Asuro had attacked her at the Southern Dharma Temple. The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox said a helper would arrive soon, while Xu Qi'an reached the Hundred Thousand Mountains and asked Baiji where Yeji was.

• Protector Qingmu examined Yeji, was blasted back by the power inside her, and said she had only two days to live unless the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox intervened.
• Yeji told the protectors that Asuro had wounded her, and Protector Qingmu explained that Asuro was the Asura King's son, a powerful Arhat believed to have died centuries earlier.
• Hongying reported that the Bear King refused to leave his mountain, while Yeji contacted the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, who said she could not save Yeji but had found a helper for their plan to unseal Shenshu.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox said the weakened Buddhist Kingdom in the Southern Frontier offered an opportunity to break the seal, and Yeji told the protectors to wait for the promised helper.
• Xu Qi'an arrived at the outer region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the Pagoda Treasure Tower and asked Baiji where her big sister Yeji was.

Xu Erlang’s family argued over Lina taking Xu Lingyin to the Southern Frontier, and Auntie discovered the Earth Book group had mocked her. Meanwhile, Xu Qi'an entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains with Baiji and Mu Nanzhi, learned how the Buddhist Order controlled the region, and neared Yeji’s location.

• Xu Erlang reassured Auntie that his Seventh-Rank Benevolent status would keep him safe, while Lina explained that Xu Ningyan had asked her to guide him through the Southern Frontier.
• Lina asked to take Xu Lingyin back to the Strength Gu Tribe, and Xu Erlang and Second Uncle Xu worried about the journey until she revealed she was fourth rank and could contact Xu Ningyan.
• Lina posted the family’s objections in the Earth Book group, where Xu Qi'an and others discussed Xu Lingyin and Auntie; Xu Erlang translated their messages, and Auntie angrily confronted her family.
• Xu Qi'an entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains with Baiji and Mu Nanzhi, avoided using the Pagoda Treasure Tower, and learned about the Buddhist Order’s cities and the demon settlements along the region’s fringes.
• Xu Qi'an considered whether the Buddhist Order had destroyed the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons to seize its Fate, then followed Baiji’s directions toward a distant valley.

Xu Qi'an reached the Southern Frontier, used the Pagoda Treasure Tower to cure Yeji, and reunited with her before learning about Shenshu's seal and the powerful Asuro. Protector Qingmu then revealed that the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox had not been a Half-Step Martial God, leaving Xu Qi'an stunned.

• Hongying and Protector Yuan met Baiji and Xu Qi'an, and learned that Xu Qi'an had come to help Yeji.
• Xu Qi'an entered the cave and used the Pagoda Treasure Tower's Pharmacist Dharma Idol to remove the Slayer of Thieves power from Yeji.
• Yeji awoke, reunited joyfully with Xu Qi'an, and told him that Shenshu's limbs were sealed in a tower at the Southern Dharma Temple guarded by sixty-eight Chan masters.
• Yeji explained that Asuro was both an Arhat who had attained the Slayer of Thieves Fruition and a Third Rank martial artist with a Vajra physique, while the Bear King was asleep and difficult to summon.
• Xu Qi'an used the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror to view Asuro atop the tower, and the mirror collapsed after Asuro looked toward it.
• Protector Qingmu recalled the Buddhist-Demon War and told Xu Qi'an that the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox had not been a Half-Step Martial God.

Xu Qi'an learned that the ruler of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons had been First Rank and that Shenshu was the Half-Step Martial God the demons intended to rescue. He and Yeji considered the mysteries surrounding the ancient war, while Xu Lingyin, Lina, and Xu Erlang departed by warship for Qingzhou, where an Imperial Guard centurion recognized Xu Lingyin as Xu Qi'an's sister.

• Xu Qi'an traced the mistaken claim that the demon ruler was a Half-Step Martial God to Lina and learned from Protector Qingmu that Shenshu had held that rank.
• Protector Yuan revealed Protector Qingmu's suspicion that the ruler and Shenshu had been lovers, prompting Qingmu to chase Yuan out of the grotto.
• Xu Qi'an told Yeji that the Confucian Sage had sealed Buddha, and they discussed who might have acted during the Sixty-Year Demon-Sweeping Campaign.
• Xu Qi'an asked Baiji to contact the Nine-Tailed Fox while Miao Youfang received lavish hospitality from Hongying and two demon women.
• Xu Lingyin, Lina, and Xu Erlang boarded a warship bound for Qingzhou, and Xu Erlang warned them to stay out of trouble.
• On the ship's deck, Chen Xiao introduced himself to Lina and asked whether Xu Lingyin was Xu Qi'an's younger sister.