Chapter Summaries

Yin Yunze struggled to decide whether to confront the Tomb of Prince Jing, whose drought was preventing his Agricultural God divine office from taking shape. A cry for help then drew him to a clash between a leopard demon and a red-clad cultivator, where he saved the demon and questioned them about their dispute.

• Yin Yunze reviewed his growing shrine operation and realized the drought linked to the Tomb of Prince Jing was blocking his Agricultural God divine office.
• Yin Yunze hesitated to act against the tomb because doing so would risk making an enemy, even as worshippers prayed for the drought to end.
• Yin Yunze received a cry for help outside Qingling County and used his Avatar to stop a red-clad girl from striking a leopard demon.
• Yin Yunze healed the leopard demon and recognized it as one of the demons that had fought alongside her against the City God's Yin soldiers.
• The red-clad girl accused the leopard demon of stealing a sheep, while the demon denied wrongdoing and said she had pursued it for several li.

Yin Yunze intervened when Zhou Hongxia accused a little leopard demon of stealing sheep, then learned that the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau could use Dynastic Karmic Luck to power Law Techniques. The chapter ended with Zhou Hongxia preparing to attack Yin Yunze, who invited her to try.

• Yin Yunze questioned the little leopard demon, who insisted he had paid a farming family for sheep and explained that drought had left little prey in the mountains.
• Zhou Hongxia presented her Supernatural Pursuit Bureau token and declared the leopard demon a target, but Yin Yunze criticized the bureau for neglecting greater threats.
• Zhou Hongxia used the Supernatural-Breaking Dharma Eye, drawing Dynastic Karmic Luck into her eyes and forcing the leopard demon to flee.
• Zhou Hongxia saw a blurry foxlike form beneath Yin Yunze's disguise and called him an old fox spirit, while he challenged her to fight.
• Zhou Hongxia enhanced her sword with the Imperial Qi Battle Technique, using up some Dynastic Karmic Luck, and Yin Yunze beckoned her to attack.

Yin Yunze tested Zhou Hongxia’s Dynastic Karmic Luck techniques and discovered that his higher-ranked karmic luck suppressed them. After her Demon-Slaying Divine Blade shattered against his protection, Zhou Hongxia called for her father to save her.

• Zhou Hongxia attacked Yin Yunze with her sword, but he caught the blade and found her karmic enhancement had no effect on him.
• Zhou Hongxia accused Yin Yunze of using a demonic trick, then summoned a Demon-Slaying Divine Blade that shattered when it touched his hand.
• Yin Yunze realized his Dynastic Karmic Luck had broken the blade through rank-based suppression, and concluded the technique was of little use to him.
• Yin Yunze teased Zhou Hongxia after she ran out of attacks, and she shouted for her father to save her.

Zhou Changqing and his companions arrived to deliver Yin Yunze’s imperial enfeoffment as the County Princess of Qingping, and Yin Yunze set aside his anger over Zhao Yuanlang destroying his Avatar. When the decree transformed Yin Yunze into a phoenix-crowned figure wearing a red bridal robe, he realized the outfit looked like wedding clothes and accused the envoys of making fun of him.

• Zhou Hongxia summoned her father, Zhou Changqing, who arrived with Zhao Yuanlang and used his Supernatural-Breaking Dharma Eye to identify Yin Yunze as the Primordial Lady of the Azure Heavens.
• Zhao Yuanlang ignored Zhou Changqing’s warning and stabbed Yin Yunze’s Avatar, causing it to shatter; Yin Yunze then appeared and transformed the little leopard demon into a girl before sending him away from the battlefield.
• Zhou Changqing knelt and presented Yin Yunze with documents confirming that the emperor had granted him the title of County Princess of Qingping, a Principal Third Rank title.
• The decree’s Dynastic Karmic Luck transformed Yin Yunze’s appearance into a white-haired figure wearing a golden phoenix crown and a red ceremonial bridal robe embroidered with mandarin ducks.
• Yin Yunze realized his new outfit looked like wedding clothes, shouted at Zhou Changqing for making fun of him, and summoned seven Dark Heavenly Lightning Flags.

Yin Yunze accepted her investiture as the County Princess of Qingping and discovered that her ceremonial robes strengthened the protection granted by Dynastic Karmic Luck. She realized Liu Zhengyuan had given her authority over Anqing Prefecture partly to push her into resolving its drought, and she turned her attention to the three visitors who had offended her.

• Zhou Changqing explained that Yin Yunze's phoenix coronet and rosy robe were county-princess ceremonial dress, which common women's wedding clothes had borrowed.
• Yin Yunze examined the robes and discovered they appeared automatically when she presented herself as County Princess of Qingping and provided substantial physical and magical protection.
• Yin Yunze read her investiture document and learned that her territory covered all of Anqing Prefecture, making her responsible for major affairs there.
• Yin Yunze read Guo Jing's decree naming him the fourth-rank Earl of Manifest Blessings and Qingling County City God, and credited Liu Zhengyuan with securing both appointments.
• Yin Yunze realized Liu Zhengyuan had used her new position to pressure her into addressing the drought, though she welcomed the legitimacy and potential benefits of her rank.
• Yin Yunze accepted the investiture and considered frightening Zhou Changqing and the others while seeking information about using Dynastic Karmic Luck.

Yin Yunze spared Zhou Changqing, Zhao Yuanlang, and Zhou Hongxia after they apologized for killing his Avatar, then demanded Zhou Changqing help resolve the drought. He sent them to Qingnü Temple in Clear Creek Village, where Zhou Changqing realized Zhao Yuanlang’s family ties might help them build a relationship with the County Princess of Qingping.

• Zhou Changqing offered to sever an arm to atone, and Zhao Yuanlang offered both of his when Yin Yunze seemed displeased.
• Zhou Hongxia cut her throat to take responsibility, but Yin Yunze froze the wound and healed her.
• Yin Yunze settled the Avatar grievance after Zhou Hongxia offered her life, then asked Zhou Changqing for the method of wielding Dynastic Karmic Luck; Zhou Changqing refused because of the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau’s rules.
• Yin Yunze instead made Zhou Changqing agree to help resolve the drought and told the group to meet him at Qingnü Temple in Clear Creek Village.
• After Yin Yunze left, Zhou Changqing warned Zhou Hongxia to be more careful and asked Zhao Yuanlang whether his family connections in Clear Creek Village could help them approach the County Princess of Qingping.

Zhou Hongxia learned that her Demon-Slaying Divine Blade had failed against the Spirit Fox County Princess because the princess possessed stronger Dynastic Karmic Luck. On the way to Clear Creek Village, the group encountered the newly transformed leopard yao, who was named Shen Gongbao and taken into service under the Incense-Sharing Immortal Lady.

• Zhou Changqing explained that Zhou Hongxia's blade shattered because the Spirit Fox County Princess's appointment and status gave her stronger Dynastic Karmic Luck.
• Zhou Changqing, Zhou Hongxia, and Zhao Yuanlang found a leopard yao struggling to put on her shrine maiden clothes, and she panicked when she recognized them.
• Yin Yunze appeared after the leopard yao called for help, confirmed that the group had not harmed her, and reassured the frightened yao.
• Zhou Hongxia helped the leopard yao dress, and the two put aside their resentment over Zhou Hongxia's earlier sword strike.
• Yin Yunze named the leopard yao Shen Gongbao and ordered her to report to the Incense-Sharing Immortal Lady in Clear Creek Village.
• Shen Gongbao accepted Zhou Hongxia's friendly invitation, and the group continued toward Clear Creek Village together.

Zhao Yuanlang returned to Clear Creek Village with Zhou Changqing, Zhou Hongxia, and Shen Gongbao, where he learned his parents had died and reunited with his niece Zhao Wan and sister-in-law Sun Qin. He discovered that Sun Qin had become a prominent divine envoy serving Yin Yunze, and Zhou Changqing prepared to meet Yin Yunze at Qingnü Temple.

• Zhou Changqing and his companions entered the expanded Clear Creek Village and saw its many yaoguai, including white-haired fox girls serving Yin Yunze.
• Zhao Yuanlang reached his renovated family home and learned from Fourth Aunt Zhao that his parents had died and Zhao Wan was nearby with Sun Qin.
• Zhao Wan recognized Zhao Yuanlang and led him and his companions through the Hundred Fruit Orchard, where the Lord of Du Mountain confronted him for picking a lychee before Zhao Wan intervened.
• Zhao Yuanlang and his companions arrived at Qingnü Temple, where Zhao Wan reunited with Sun Qin and Shen Gongbao paid respects to her.
• Sun Qin greeted Zhou Changqing and his companions, explained her role as the Incense Distribution Envoy, and tearfully reunited with Zhao Yuanlang.

Yin Yunze delivered Guo Jing’s appointment document, making her the true City God of Qingling County and ordering her to summon the other county City Gods. He then met the Prefectural City God of Anqing, whose teasing about Yin Yunze’s ceremonial robes left their discussion on a comic note.

• Yin Yunze arrived at Guo Jing’s flourishing City God Temple and gave her the document appointing her City God.
• Dynastic Karmic Luck formed official robes for Guo Jing and strengthened the temple’s titled Yin generals.
• Yin Yunze ordered Guo Jing to summon the other City Gods of Anqing Prefecture to Qingnü Hall and gave her a golden hairpin as proof of his authority.
• Yin Yunze flew to Anqing City to meet the Prefectural City God, who appeared before him in the sky.
• Yin Yunze donned his phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes, but the Prefectural City God mistook them for wedding clothes and teased him about marrying young.

Yin Yunze asked the Prefectural City God to help her gather Anqing Prefecture’s County City Gods to address the drought, but he avoided openly taking responsibility. He secretly gave her a token of support disguised as a congratulatory gift, leaving Yin Yunze to decide how to use it.

• Yin Yunze formally greeted the Prefectural City God and invited him to a gathering at Qingnü Hall in three days to discuss ending the drought.
• The Prefectural City God vanished when Yin Yunze mentioned the Tomb of Prince Jing, telling her to do as she pleased and that he knew nothing.
• Yin Yunze went to the Prefectural City God’s temple and found that he had little resentment surrounding him, then learned the City God was supposedly too ill to receive her.
• The Civil Judge presented Yin Yunze with a freshly carved mandarin duck pendant as a congratulatory gift, teasing her phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes.
• Yin Yunze sensed the Prefectural City God’s presence in the pendant and understood it was covert support; she accepted it and left the temple.

Yin Yunze visited Liu Zhengyuan at the prefectural office to thank him for securing her county princess title and offered him a reward. Liu Zhengyuan brought her to a separate residence to ask her to protect his sick mistress and illegitimate daughter, whose existence he had not acknowledged before his principal wife.

• Yin Yunze arrived at the prefectural government office and told Liu Zhengyuan she had received the title of County Princess of Qingping.
• Yin Yunze insisted on rewarding Liu Zhengyuan, and he accepted while warning that his request might put her in a difficult position.
• Liu Zhengyuan changed into everyday clothes and led Yin Yunze through a separate residence bearing the plaque “Xie Residence.”
• Liu Zhengyuan asked Yin Yunze to watch over a sick woman and her daughter, who could not see her through her illusion.
• Yin Yunze realized the mother and daughter lacked Dynastic Karmic Luck and inferred that Liu Zhengyuan kept them apart from his principal wife and family.

Yin Yunze discovered that Xie Rou and Liu Qian’s recurring illness came from maggots eating their lungs, so he removed the diseased organs and used nectar to grow new ones. Liu Zhengyuan recognized the maggots as the work of a venomous woman, leaving Yin Yunze to face the threat behind the mother and daughter’s suffering.

• Xie Rou and Liu Qian coughed up blood and pieces of lung, and Liu Zhengyuan asked Yin Yunze to protect and treat them.
• Yin Yunze used Qi Observation Technique to find that Xie Rou’s lungs were diseased, then removed one and used nectar to grow a healthy replacement.
• Yin Yunze examined the lung and found it rotten, then treated Liu Qian by removing her diseased lung and sealing it in ice.
• Yin Yunze showed Liu Zhengyuan the lung crawling with white maggots, and Liu Zhengyuan recognized the work of a venomous woman.

Yin Yunze learned how Lady Yao had harmed Xie Rou, Liu Qian, and Liu Zhengyuan, then heard that Lady Yao was the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenping, a commander of the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau. The chapter ended with Yin Yunze asking Liu Zhengyuan to explain the bureau’s organization.

• Yin Yunze identified the gu worms in Xie Rou and Liu Qian as Lady Yao’s doing, and Xie Rou begged Liu Zhengyuan to protect their daughter.
• Liu Zhengyuan recounted how he had been forced to marry Lady Yao after her father threatened Xie Rou, then later reunited with Xie Rou and raised Liu Qian with her.
• Yin Yunze discovered that Liu Zhengyuan had been poisoned nearly ten years earlier, damaging his kidneys.
• Liu Zhengyuan revealed that Lady Yao was the third daughter of Yao Zhengyu, the Marquis of Zhenping and commander of the Supernatural Suppression Guard.
• Yin Yunze asked Liu Zhengyuan to explain how the Year Suppression Bureau was organized.

Yin Yunze learned about the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau and agreed to protect Xie Rou and Liu Qian in exchange for Liu Zhengyuan’s service. They settled on building a branch temple in Anqing City, and Yin Yunze arranged for Liu Zhengyuan to help with an upcoming drought-ending ceremony before leaving.

• Liu Zhengyuan explained the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau’s hierarchy and described the ranks of its guards and operatives.
• Yin Yunze agreed to protect Xie Rou and Liu Qian, and Liu Zhengyuan knelt and pledged to serve him in return.
• Yin Yunze gave Xie Rou and Liu Qian protective necklaces made from his hair, fur, and refined water.
• Yin Yunze offered to shelter the mother and daughter in Clear Creek Village or have Liu Zhengyuan build a branch temple in Anqing City; Xie Rou chose the temple, and Liu Zhengyuan agreed.
• Yin Yunze asked Liu Zhengyuan to cooperate with his upcoming drought-ending ceremony, gave him Azure Heavens Jade Dew Pills, and departed.

Yin Yunze received Zhou Changqing and Zhou Hongxia, revealed that his mortal and divine bodies were separate, and asked Zhou Changqing to help contact the Marquis of Zhenping about protecting Xie Rou and her daughter. Zhou Changqing explained that the marquis already despised his third daughter, leaving Yin Yunze to realize Liu Zhengyuan was in serious trouble.

• Yin Yunze served tea to Zhou Changqing and Zhou Hongxia and apologized for the pain his other self had caused Zhou Hongxia.
• Zhou Changqing recognized Yin Yunze's divine body as an Innate Holy Spirit, and Yin Yunze confirmed that his other half had handled the earlier encounter.
• Yin Yunze asked whether Zhou Changqing could contact Yao Zhengyu, the Marquis of Zhenping, to mediate after Yin Yunze's follower offended the marquis's third daughter.
• Zhou Changqing agreed he could pass along a message and explained that the marquis had long detested his daughter for her behavior and would likely not retaliate over a minor offense.
• Yin Yunze thought of Liu Zhengyuan as Zhou Changqing's account made the man's predicament seem dire.

Yin Yunze learned that the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau could borrow officials’ Dynastic Karmic Luck to increase its agents’ strength, and considered how Zhou Changqing might help with the drought. Zhou Changqing drank Yin Yunze’s Azure Heavens Purifying Water and revealed that it cleared Evil Qi lingering in Bureau agents’ bodies.

• Yin Yunze decided to notify the Marquis of Zhenping about Liu Zhengyuan and Xie Rou after Zhou Changqing finished his duties in Qingping.
• Yin Yunze demonstrated the Jeweled Tree Glazed Branch, and Zhou Changqing explained that the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau’s Imperial Qi World-Pacifying Canon contained related but demanding Law Techniques.
• Zhou Changqing explained that agents of Wu Five and above could use the Luck-Borrowing Method to borrow Dynastic Karmic Luck from officials and temporarily attain greater strength.
• Yin Yunze realized that Zhou Changqing could borrow the Karmic Luck of a fourth-rank official and might serve as a useful shield during the effort to resolve the drought.
• Zhou Changqing asked to see Yin Yunze’s Azure Heavens Purifying Water, drank a cup, and explained that it removed Evil Qi that had seeped into Bureau agents’ bodies.

Yin Yunze demonstrated the effects of lightning and healing purifying water to Zhou Changqing and Zhou Hongxia, then negotiated a bulk sale to the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau. The chapter ended with Zhou Changqing eagerly agreeing to Yin Yunze’s surprisingly low prices per jin.

• Yin Yunze gave Zhou Changqing lightning-infused purifying water, making him convulse as evil Qi left his body.
• Zhou Changqing drank healing purifying water and praised its effects, while Zhou Hongxia sampled a healing cup of her own.
• Zhou Changqing estimated the purifying water’s value, leading Yin Yunze to realize the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau could become a major buyer.
• Yin Yunze offered ordinary, lightning, and healing purifying water at five, ten, and twenty taels per jin, with a discount for payment in gold.
• Zhou Changqing initially misunderstood the prices, then agreed to sell by the jin and promised to inform the Bureau Chief.

Yin Yunze arranged a purified-water deal with the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau while preparing to address the drought. When sixteen City Gods arrived with large processions to challenge his authority, Yin Yunze dispersed their troops and attacked the long-bearded City God who openly insulted him.

• Yin Yunze planned to use purified-water sales to secure the Bureau's support and make Liu Zhengyuan his representative, potentially helping resolve Liu Zhengyuan and Xie Rou's dispute with the Marquis of Zhenping.
• Yin Yunze set aside the business negotiations and asked Zhou Changqing to help him deal with the drought.
• Sixteen City Gods' processions surrounded Clear Creek Village, but Qingnü used black lightning to destroy their carriages and snowflakes that made their underworld soldiers vanish.
• The City Gods gathered before Qingnü Hall, where the long-bearded City God challenged Yin Yunze's authority and refused to show him respect.
• Yin Yunze attacked the long-bearded City God with Mystic Lightning, seized him by the throat, and slammed him to the ground.

Yin Yunze beat the long-bearded City God, Old Xie, with Mystic Lightning and used his rank as the County Princess of Qingping to prevent the City Gods from escaping. After threatening the assembled gods and their temples, he left most of them reconsidering their opposition, with eleven stepping back while four remained hesitant.

• Yin Yunze battered Old Xie with Mystic Lightning, enduring the bolts himself and weakening the City God until he could barely fight back.
• When Old Xie attempted to use his final recourse, Yin Yunze invoked his authority as the County Princess of Qingping and blocked all sixteen City Gods from returning to their golden bodies.
• The other City Gods confronted Yin Yunze and asked him to spare Old Xie, but he demanded they acknowledge his official rank and condemned their refusal to do so.
• Yin Yunze threatened to destroy their temples and attack their subordinates, warning the City Gods that he could fight them one by one.
• Most of the City Gods decided that yielding some interests was safer than provoking Yin Yunze, and eleven stepped back while four, including the old City God, remained in front.

Yin Yunze used the Rebirth Golden Lotus Seal and Rebirth Sutra on City God Xie, frightening the other City Gods with the possibility that he could erase their identities through rebirth. He demanded that they recognize his superior rank, and after they invoked the Prefectural City God, he produced the Prefectural City God’s jade pendant and tossed it to an old City God for inspection.

• Yin Yunze used the Rebirth Golden Lotus Seal and Rebirth Sutra on the battered City God Xie, whose expression became serene as the ritual began to work.
• The City Gods realized rebirth could permanently replace their identities and pleaded with Yin Yunze to spare City God Xie.
• Yin Yunze demanded that the fourth-grade City Gods observe the proper etiquette toward the third-grade County Princess of Qingping.
• A black-faced City God and another City God challenged Yin Yunze’s authority by invoking the Prefectural City God.
• Yin Yunze showed the City Gods the jade pendant the Prefectural City God had given him, claimed it let him do as he pleased, and tossed it to an old City God when he asked to inspect it.