Chapter Summaries

Tian Heng and his deputy generals chose to remain loyal to Chen Qing as he prepared to confront Lu Ming, despite their former ties to the Duke of Qin. Meanwhile, Madam Lu punished her followers for failing to capture a mother and daughter and gave them two more days to complete the task.

• Tian Heng concluded that Chen Qing had encountered complications involving Lu Ming and asked his deputy generals where their loyalties lay.
• Lan Xiang and the other deputy generals declared that they would follow Chen Qing rather than Lu Ming.
• Tian Heng ordered his men to call Chen Qing their liege, and they agreed.
• Minister Pang, possessed by Madam Lu, questioned her followers about their failure to capture the mother and daughter alive.
• Madam Lu killed the group's leader and ordered the remaining women to complete the task within two days.

Chen Qing hosted the faction leaders at a banquet, using fine wine and conversation to probe Minister Pang while keeping the tense standoff in Nanming Prefecture from breaking. Minister Pang’s natural behavior deepened Chen Qing’s suspicion that he had been replaced by a demon, leaving Chen Qing searching for a way to expose him before acting.

• Chen Qing welcomed the faction leaders to Wangjiang Tower after the barrier over Nanming Prefecture had held for two days.
• Chen Qing served red ginseng wine from Great Azure Mountain, impressing the guests with its ability to warm their blood and qi.
• Minister Pang reacted badly to the wine, then joked about Prince Consort Fei and the Grand Princess, relaxing the banquet’s atmosphere.
• Chen Qing realized Minister Pang’s wit and natural manner made his suspected replacement difficult to expose.
• Chen Qing wondered whether a human-skin ghost or another method had allowed a demon to replace Minister Pang.

Chen Qing tried to secure a ceasefire until the Dragon Palace opened, but Minister Pang and the eldest princess pressed him to wait until its location was confirmed in ten days. The eldest princess planned to use a woman from the Lu Household to test Chen Qing, while his barrier over Nanming Prefecture had only three days left.

• Chen Qing considered what kind of demon could be impersonating Minister Pang and ruled out A Li and the monsters on Yin-Yang Road.
• The eldest princess revealed Chen Qing's connection to the Xiao Household and invited the factions to discuss his proposal to cease hostilities.
• Minister Pang questioned Chen Qing's motives and demanded proof that the Dragon Palace would open as promised, and Chen Qing said its signs would appear in ten days.
• The eldest princess and the other representatives agreed to delay finalizing the alliance until the Dragon Palace's location was confirmed, forcing Chen Qing to accept despite his barrier having only three days left.
• Prince Consort Fei questioned the eldest princess's treatment of Chen Qing, and she explained that she wanted to expose his limits and would use a woman from the Lu Household to test him.

Tian Heng raced his ship toward Liuzhou after learning that Lu Ming’s principal wife might threaten someone important, and he prepared his men to face the feared assassin. On the ship carrying Yun Yu'e and Ke'er, Ke'er sensed something dangerous outside.

• Tian Heng accelerated his ship with divine power after Chen Ying’s message revealed that Lu Ming’s principal wife might attack someone important who had already left Liuzhou.
• Tian Heng told his deputy generals about the woman’s brutal history and admitted that their families could be vulnerable to her revenge.
• Tian Heng declared that he believed their lord could reclaim the Tian Household and said the woman would no longer be a threat if she died there.
• Yun Yu'e worried that Ke'er had eaten too much, but Ke'er insisted that something outside the ship was troubling her.

Shen Yuan took the little girl's fear of a watching presence seriously and warned Yuchi Feihu to guard the ship. Yuchi Feihu sensed two trusted guards had vanished and rushed toward Yun Yu'e and her daughter, where an unseen speaker addressed him at close range.

• The little girl told Shen Yuan that something outside was watching her and meant her harm, and Shen Yuan reassured her that Huang Feihu could protect her.
• Shen Yuan found Yuchi Feihu talking with Yuchi Hong Lie and urged the general to take the possibility of danger seriously.
• Yuchi Feihu sensed that the two guards outside Yun Yu'e and her daughter's cabin had disappeared and ordered Yuchi Hong Lie to protect Shen Yuan.
• Yuchi Feihu rushed toward the cabin, then froze when a teasing voice spoke beside his ear.

Yuchi Feihu fought the mysterious woman in black to protect Yun Yu'e and her daughter, enduring severe poisoning and fatal wounds long enough to rescue the girl. Chen Ying arrived four hours later to find him unconscious with the child in his arms, while Tian Heng identified the attacker as a woman from the Lu Household.

• The woman in black captured Yun Yu'e and her daughter, and her subordinates returned with the severed heads of Yuchi Feihu's deputy commanders.
• As a massive warship approached, Yuchi Feihu seized the woman's snake tail and held on despite his wounds to delay her escape.
• Yuchi Feihu used his backward flight to attack the women holding the captives, killing one and falling into the river with the girl while Yun Yu'e remained behind.
• The woman in black escaped with her subordinates after threatening to remember Yuchi Feihu.
• Four hours later, Chen Ying found Yuchi Feihu unconscious and clutching the girl, while Tian Heng said the attacker was a vicious woman from the Lu Household.

After Yuchi Feihu was rescued from Madam Lu’s attack, Chen Qing investigated how she could have returned to Nanming Prefecture so quickly and found no clues aboard her boat until he discovered a porcelain bottle that should not have existed in this world.

• Chen Qing healed Yuchi Feihu enough to put him to sleep, promised to avenge his subordinates, and sent Night Wandering Gods to recover their souls for questioning.
• Tian Heng said Madam Lu had attacked Yuchi Feihu, but Chen Qing could not reconcile her escape with Minister Pang still appearing to be in his quarters.
• Chen Qing and Tian Heng searched the monsters’ chartered boat and found no clear evidence, while Chen Ying noticed a foul smell aboard.
• Using Old Wolf’s scent-tracking ability, Chen Qing traced the stench to a fine porcelain bottle that poured out an immense amount of filthy water.
• Chen Qing recognized the bottle as a Flying Star Bottle and realized it was only half-designed in his old drawings, so it should not have existed in this world.

The Princess Royal and the other factions received warming jade to travel through Chen Qing’s dangerous, icy array, while Lu Ming learned that Yun Yu’e had been tortured and ordered her captors to end her suffering. He remained certain that the mysterious bottle made his wife impossible to kill.

• The Princess Royal accepted warming jade from Chen Qing’s soldiers and set out through the ice crystals after learning that magical seals protected the buildings.
• Shen Laoda, the Duke of Wei, and Minister Pang’s group also received warming jade, and Minister Pang questioned whether Chen Qing could make it stop working.
• Lu Ming learned that Chen Qing was targeting a little girl with a special constitution and that Yun Yu’e had been tortured with the Ten-Needle Torture.
• Lu Ming struck a servant who defended Yun Yu’e’s captors and ordered them to tell him where she was or put her out of her misery.
• Lu Ming declared that no one could kill his wife as long as the bottle existed.

Chen Qing used a meal of hot pot and chilled fruit wine to expose Minister Pang as a snake demon, revealing that she was Madam Lu in disguise. He then explained to Tian Heng that Madam Lu could escape through replicated Flying Star Bottles, but promised that she and Lu Ming would not survive the next day.

• Chen Qing served the Duke of Wei, the eldest princess, Minister Pang, and the others hot pot with fruit wine chilled by ice.
• Chen Qing explained that Madam Lu had used a Flying Star Bottle to swallow realgar wine and could emerge from any bottle linked to her.
• Chen Qing told Tian Heng that blood sacrifices had enabled Madam Lu to replicate thousands of bottles, which she could use to spy, attack, or escape.
• Chen Qing promised Tian Heng that Lu Ming and his wife would not live past the next day.
• After drinking the wine, Minister Pang turned blue-green, retched up foul black water, and shed her human skin to reveal a snake-demon form.

Chen Qing exposed Madam Lu as a demon and led her into a trap that left her unable to use the Flying Star Bottle. Shen Yiyun killed her, but when she awakened to reincarnate, she found herself somewhere unfamiliar and learned that reincarnation was not under her control.

• Chen Qing revealed Madam Lu's demonic form and struck her out of the restaurant, while the Eldest Princess, the Duke of Wei, and Shen Laoda followed to see what he would do.
• Madam Lu fled toward Lu Ming, but the cold attacking her body drove her back into an empty, freezing room where she realized Chen Qing had laid a trap.
• Madam Lu tried to escape with the Flying Star Bottle, but Shen Yiyun used the Ghost King's Arm to seize and crush her.
• Madam Lu threatened revenge through her Reincarnation Mark, but Shen Yiyun told her that reincarnation in Jiangnan was not hers to decide and killed her.
• Madam Lu awoke in darkness expecting the Yin-Yang Road, but a sinister voice told her that reincarnating was not so easy.

Shen Yiyun confronted Madam Lu in Nanming Prefecture’s newly established Underworld and read the crimes recorded in his register. Meanwhile, Chen Qing tracked down Lu Ming through the frozen formation, then challenged the Duke of Qin to fight him alone.

• Shen Yiyun told Madam Lu that she had entered Nanming Prefecture’s Underworld rather than the Yin-Yang Road, identified her as A Luo, and prepared to punish her for her sins.
• Yun Ke’er used her Spirit Eye to locate the energy clashes caused by Lu Ming’s blood qi, and Chen Ying guided Chen Qing toward him.
• Chen Qing pursued Lu Ming across Nanming Prefecture until Lu Ming stopped among his black-clad subordinates, while the eldest princess and others caught up and watched.
• Lu Ming asked how Chen Qing had captured Madam Lu, and Chen Qing explained that he had used cold inside the Flying Star Bottle to frighten her out of hiding there.
• Lu Ming recognized Xu Hu and asked whether Chen Qing meant to rely on him, but Chen Qing said Xu Hu had other guests and challenged Lu Ming himself.

Chen Qing challenged Lu Ming to a duel, and their battle revealed that Chen Qing could summon heavenly lightning and withstand Lu Ming’s overwhelming attacks. The chapter ended with the two men locked in a direct contest of strength, neither having yielded a step.

• Lu Ming questioned Chen Qing’s decision to duel him, and Chen Qing declared that he would not lose.
• Lu Ming unleashed his dragon bloodline’s immense power and charged Chen Qing at incredible speed.
• Chen Qing summoned heavenly lightning, but Lu Ming tore through it with his bare hands and pressed forward.
• Lu Ming and Chen Qing met head-on amid a storm that shattered the ground across a thousand feet.
• Xu Hu and the other spectators saw that Chen Qing could match Lu Ming’s strength, with neither man stepping back.

Chen Qing defeated Lu Ming by drawing him into a carefully prepared close-range trap, then tore off both his arms. In the capital, the Lu Household learned that its Dragon Jade had shattered and vowed revenge, ordering Poison Dragon Valley opened.

• Chen Qing used Ghost Child's strength, lightning's pull, and falling ice to keep Lu Ming trapped until he forced him to his knees.
• The eldest princess recognized that Lu Ming's defeat was certain and left to return to the hotpot.
• Chen Qing ignored Lu Ming's demand to identify himself and tore off both his arms, driven by a deep, unexplained revulsion toward him.
• The Lu Household elders discovered that the Dragon Jade had shattered and concluded that Lu Ming, the root of their household's fortunes, was gone.
• The Lu Household's oldest elder ordered its descendants to prepare offerings and open Poison Dragon Valley, vowing retaliation against whoever had crossed them.

The Duke of Wei and Shen Laoda prepared to leave Nanming Prefecture as the eldest princess warned of trouble if Lu Ming died. Chen Qing revealed that Lu Ming was alive in an iron prison among evil spirits, and Lu Ming asked to see Yun Yu'e in exchange for answering questions.

• The eldest princess warned the Duke of Wei that the Lu Household and Poison Dragon Valley might cause trouble if Lu Ming died, and the Duke left after agreeing to attend the Dragon Palace opening.
• Shen Laoda said he would leave Nanming Prefecture after his meal, easing Xu Hu’s concern that the powerful guests might remain as the Ice Star Formation failed.
• Lu Ming awoke in an iron prison surrounded by evil spirits and learned from Chen Qing that the Underworld was real.
• Chen Qing and Lu Ming discussed Chen Qing’s unexplained hatred, the King of Qin, and the Flying Star Bottle, which Chen Qing said should not exist in the world.
• Lu Ming refused to answer Chen Qing’s questions without a show of sincerity and asked to see Yun Yu'e.

Chen Qing explained that Mu Hongqing's loved ones might only recover through the Underworld, and Mu Hongqing left to pursue that possibility. Lu Ming arrived as a yin spirit and went with Chen Qing and Yun Ke'er to see Yun Yu'e, while Chen Qing wondered whether the world was a patched version and who was changing it.

• Chen Qing warned Mu Hongqing that restoring his loved ones' human awareness would be difficult, but said the Underworld's stripping method could help if they were brought to Jiangnan intact.
• Mu Hongqing accepted that he might not see his loved ones again and departed for the capital, asking Chen Qing to negotiate with Zhou Hanyang and the others.
• Lu Ming appeared at the command tent, and Yun Ke'er recognized him as Uncle Lazybones and told him something had happened to her mother.
• Chen Qing insisted that only Yun Ke'er could decide Yun Yu'e's fate, then led her and Lu Ming to see Yun Yu'e.
• Lu Ming revealed that the Flying Star Bottle was one of the Great Snake Kingdom's four great demonic artifacts, prompting Chen Qing to wonder who was patching the world.

The warlock clan scions asked Shen Yuan to arrange an escort to the capital, and Shen Yang tried to persuade him to return home, but Shen Yuan postponed the visit until the end of the year. Elsewhere, Lu Ming brought a little girl to see Yun Yu'e, whose violent reaction made the girl finally break down crying.

• The warlock clan scions, impressed by Shen Yuan’s skill with Nanming Prefecture’s grand formation, asked him to have the Fighter Army escort them toward the capital.
• Shen Yuan agreed to seek permission for an escort as far as the relay station outside the capital.
• Shen Yang approached Shen Yuan and invited him to visit their family, saying their mother missed him.
• Shen Yuan recalled his mother’s neglect and refused to return until the end of the year, while Shen Yang accepted his answer reluctantly.
• Lu Ming brought a little girl to the courtyard where Yun Yu'e was imprisoned, and Yun Yu'e lunged at him but could not touch his yin soul.
• The little girl, who had held back her tears since the attack, began crying, and Yun Yu'e stopped howling to stare at her daughter.

Chen Qing’s attempt to help Yun Ke’er reunite with her mother succeeded, and he left with Lu Ming to discuss the Great Snake Kingdom. At Wu'an Town, aristocratic elders learned Lu Ming was dead and heard about Chen Qing’s vast barrier before discovering that Shen Yuan, its array specialist, was among their delegation.

• Yun Ke’er rushed into Yun Yu'e’s arms, and her mother regained enough clarity to comfort her and demand that Lu Ming leave.
• Chen Qing assured Lu Ming that he would treat Yun Yu'e, then asked him about the Great Snake Kingdom and Earth Dragon Cave.
• Elders from aristocratic families arrived in Wu'an Town and learned that Lu Ming had died after staking his forces against Chen Qing.
• Young sorcerers described Chen Qing’s stable barrier, which linked more than ten thousand arrays across Nanming Prefecture’s capital.
• The elders hesitated to investigate the barrier, but one young sorcerer revealed that Shen Yuan, the array’s specialist, was traveling with them.

The elders of Great Jin's sorcerer families confronted Shen Yuan, expecting to seize him, but he used the legendary Void Formation Creation Method to turn the soldiers into a flying force and surround them. The elders called for Shen Yuan to stay his hand as they realized they had underestimated Chen Qing's military strength.

• The elders learned Shen Yuan belonged to the third-rate Shen Family and went to find him outside the relay station.
• Shen Yuan admitted his identity as the soldiers rose around him, but an elder used earth magic to trap them and lift him into the air.
• Shen Yuan crushed a runestone and used Void Formation Drawing to activate the Martial Edge Formation.
• The formation freed the trapped soldiers, granted them wind-element power and flight, and helped them surround the elders.
• The elders recognized the danger and urged Shen Yuan to stay his hand.

Shen Yuan forced the elders of the great families to retreat with his mobile formation, then struggled to recover its energy on the way back. Chen Qing praised his judgment and told him he needed to travel to the capital, leaving Shen Yuan startled.

• Shen Yuan ordered General Di to withdraw his soldiers and let the elders leave after they agreed to stop fighting.
• The elders recognized Shen Yuan's formation as a powerful secret art and decided to report it, while they invited Shen Yang to return to the capital with them and answer questions.
• Shen Yuan struggled to shut down the Martial Edge Formation but successfully recovered its energy into runestones.
• Chen Qing revealed he had watched over Shen Yuan during the confrontation and praised his judgment.
• Chen Qing told Shen Yuan to make a trip to the capital, surprising him.

Chen Qing told Shen Yuan that he would be sent to the capital to obtain the spellcasting families’ guarded top-tier spells, which Chen Qing needed to prepare Jiangnan for the upheaval expected when the Dragon Palace opened. Meanwhile, the capital reacted to Lu Ming’s death and Shen Yuan’s formation ability, and Shen Yan canceled a banquet for Shen Yu after learning that the family’s plans had changed.

• Shen Yuan panicked when Chen Qing suggested returning to the capital, but Chen Qing explained that he had a mission for him tied to the academy’s energy shortage and the coming chaos.
• Chen Qing told Shen Yuan that he needed the top-tier spells guarded by the spellcasting families to protect Jiangnan when the ancient era opened and spiritual energy surged.
• The capital was shaken by Lu Ming’s death, while the imperial family suppressed the news and spellcasting families began maneuvering around the Shen Family after learning Shen Yuan could draw formations in midair.
• Shen Yan returned home and ordered Steward Zhou to recall invitations for a family banquet celebrating Shen Yu’s assessment result and qualification for an assignment.
• Shen Yan’s wife objected that the invitations had already been sent and accused him of holding back Shen Yu’s marriage prospects for Shen Yuan, but Shen Yan said something big had happened.