Chapter Summaries

After being sealed for centuries, Wen Qiushui severed her root of emotion and cultivated the first two levels of the Heavenly Devil Instruction. Unable to advance without external power, she lost consciousness when a gray bead drained her True Qi and woke in a woman's private chamber.

• Wen Qiushui recalled how the Kunlun Sect turned against her after discovering her Devil Bone and sealed her inside a coffin at Kunlun Summit.
• Wen Qiushui discovered that severing her root of emotion would let her cultivate the Heavenly Devil Instruction, and she cut the glowing red thread before her.
• Wen Qiushui cultivated the first level, restoring her Dantian and refining her body, then mastered the second level.
• Wen Qiushui failed to advance to the third level because Kunlun Summit lacked external spiritual, devil, or baleful power.
• A dull gray bead in Wen Qiushui's sea of consciousness drained her True Qi, and she lost consciousness before waking in a woman's private chamber.

Wen Qiushui bonded with the Chaos Pearl and possessed Yi Wenjun’s body, discovering that she was destined to marry Prince Jingyu, Xiao Ruojin. She began cultivating the Heavenly Devil Instruction and planned to delay the wedding while pursuing a scheme involving Xiao Ruofeng.

• Wen Qiushui recognized the pearl as the Chaos Pearl, learned it had carried her soul into Yi Wenjun’s body, and began merging with her new body.
• Yi Wenjun recalled that her father, Yi Bu, had beaten her and sealed her martial arts to stop her from fleeing her arranged marriage to Xiao Ruojin.
• Yi Wenjun decided to remain in Heavenly Revelations, cultivate the Heavenly Devil Instruction, and postpone the wedding, considering marriage to Xiao Ruofeng as a way to torment both brothers.
• Yi Wenjun asked Luo Qingyang to let her return to the Shadow Sect, and he obtained permission from Yi Bu and Prince Jingyu after she pretended to accept her fate.
• Yi Wenjun wandered through the Shadow Sect while appearing to bid farewell, secretly searching for medicinal herbs.

Yi Wenjun used her father’s death and three years of mourning to strengthen her position and evade marriage to Xiao Ruojin. She then drugged Xiao Ruofeng and arranged for them to be discovered together, leaving him trapped by the scandal and a possible pregnancy.

• Yi Wenjun poisoned Yi Bu, whose death left the Shadow Sect without a leader, and Luo Qingyang took command.
• Yi Wenjun petitioned to mourn for three years, postponing her marriage to Xiao Ruojin while secretly cultivating and gathering poisons.
• Yi Wenjun asked Xiao Ruofeng to meet and help end her marriage, while recalling how she had sent Ye Dingzhi away and severed their ties.
• Yi Wenjun arranged for Xiao Ruofeng to be drugged, then had a secret letter bring Xiao Ruojin, Luo Qingyang, Prince Qing, and others to discover them together.
• Xiao Ruofeng accused Yi Wenjun of drugging him, and she revealed that she might be carrying his child, forcing him to accept responsibility for the scandal.

Yi Wenjun refused to leave Heavenly Revelations and chose to marry Xiao Ruofeng as his secondary consort, using her pregnancy to secure her place and pursue revenge. After she gave birth to Xiao Lingchen, Xiao Ruofeng established the Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations, which began to supplant the Shadow Sect.

• Xiao Ruojin and Xiao Ruofeng spent more than a month reassuring their followers after rumors of their affair with Yi Wenjun threatened to undermine their alliance.
• Xiao Ruofeng brought Baili Dongjun to the Shadow Sect and offered to let Yi Wenjun leave Heavenly Revelations to reunite with Ye Dingzhi.
• Yi Wenjun mocked Xiao Ruofeng for offering her freedom only after she had become a source of conflict, then gave Baili Dongjun a letter for Ye Dingzhi and refused to leave.
• Yi Wenjun announced that she was carrying Xiao Ruofeng's child and told her maid to report the news to the palace.
• The imperial decree made Yi Wenjun Xiao Ruofeng's secondary consort, and Luo Qingyang arranged her dowry and protection.
• Yi Wenjun gave birth to Xiao Lingchen, and Xiao Ruofeng established the Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations, which gradually supplanted the Shadow Sect.

Yi Wenjun protected the Shadow Sect, advanced her cultivation, and waited as the Rebellion of the Eight Princes ended with Xiao Ruojin becoming Emperor Mingde. After learning that the Dragon Seal Scrolls had vanished, she suspected Zhuoqing of taking one.

• Yi Wenjun warned Luo Qingyang that the Dark River might betray the Shadow Sect and returned with him to protect its secret archive.
• Yi Wenjun placed a protective formation laced with deadly poison around the little building, then resumed cultivating the Heavenly Devil Instruction.
• During her postpartum confinement, Yi Wenjun reached the middle phase of the instruction’s third layer and decided to remain at the Prince of Langya's Residence.
• After Emperor Tai'an died, six princes marched against the imperial city, and Prince Qing killed himself before Xiao Ruojin ascended the throne as Emperor Mingde.
• Yi Wenjun learned that both copies of the Dragon Seal Scroll were missing and wondered whether Zhuoqing had taken one.

Yi Wenjun used her growing devil-path strength to ambush Dark River assassins and forced Su Changhe and Su Muyu to submit to her. She took them to the Prince of Langya's Residence, revealing that Xiao Ruofeng had arranged the attack that destroyed her family.

• Yi Wenjun arranged for her subordinates to bribe informants at the imperial mausoleum and monitor Zhuoqing while she continued cultivating.
• After learning that Puppet and Funeral Ghost had entered Heavenly Revelations, Yi Wenjun went to the Shadow Sect, where Luo Qingyang was fighting Su Changhe and Su Muyu.
• Yi Wenjun severed Su Muyu's hand and wounded Su Changhe, then offered to spare them and restore Su Muyu's arm if Su Changhe submitted to her.
• Su Changhe accepted, and he and Su Muyu swallowed Yi Wenjun's poison pills before leaving with her.
• Yi Wenjun told Luo Qingyang that she had chosen the devil's path, and Luo Qingyang attributed her changed temperament to Qi Deviation.
• At the Prince of Langya's Residence, Yi Wenjun told Su Changhe that Xiao Ruofeng had arranged the spectacle and would have to face the consequences of destroying her family.

Yi Wenjun repaired Su Muyu’s arm, took command of the Shadow Sect, and prepared to seize the Dragon Seal Scroll from Zhuoqing. The chapter ended when Jinwei left the imperial palace, giving Su Muyu and Su Changhe a chance to search Zhuoqing’s bedroom.

• Yi Wenjun reattached Su Muyu’s arm and refused Xiao Ruofeng’s request to send the Dark River assassins away.
• Xiao Ruofeng left after Yi Wenjun reminded him that the Shadow Sect was her family, and he strengthened the residence’s guards.
• Over the following year, Luo Qingyang traded the Shadow Sect’s right to guard Heavenly Revelations for Muliang City, leaving Yi Wenjun in command of the sect.
• Yi Wenjun learned that Zhuoqing left the imperial mausoleum each year to meet someone and suspected that a chief eunuch accompanied him.
• Yi Wenjun sent Ye Dingzhi a letter urging him not to act rashly, ordered her informants to watch the chief eunuchs, and assigned Su Muyu and Su Changhe to search Zhuoqing’s bedroom for the Dragon Seal Scroll.
• Jinwei left the imperial palace at his usual time, and Su Changhe resolved to help Yi Wenjun find the scroll.

Yi Wenjun killed Zhuoqing and Jinwei, seized the Dragon Seal Scroll, and built the Shadow Sect into a powerful trading faction while Heavenly Revelations drifted toward a conflict over the throne. As Xiao Ruofeng’s downfall neared, Yi Wenjun secretly entered Emperor Mingde’s bedchamber and told Xiao Ruojin that no one would discover his secret.

• Yi Wenjun poisoned Jinwei and fought Zhuoqing, then absorbed his inner power and found the Dragon Seal Scroll naming Xiao Ruofeng as the next ruler.
• Yi Wenjun dissolved Jinwei’s and Zhuoqing’s bodies, reassigned Su Changhe and Su Muyu to the Shadow Sect, and expanded its businesses and caravans.
• Yi Wenjun’s relationship with her son Xiao Lingchen grew colder, while Xiao Ruofeng gained support and his relations with Xiao Ruojin deteriorated.
• In the sixteenth year of Emperor Mingde’s reign, Yi Wenjun learned that factions were forming against Xiao Ruofeng and believed his downfall was near.
• Yi Wenjun appeared beside Xiao Ruojin at night, evaded Jinxuan’s notice, and used incense and a touch to conceal the emperor’s secret.

Yi Wenjun revealed that the late emperor had named Xiao Ruofeng heir and negotiated with Xiao Ruojin to stay out of the struggle in exchange for her freedom and the Shadow Sect’s safety. A month later, when Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen begged her to save the imprisoned Xiao Ruofeng, she refused and made clear she felt no familial obligation to either of them.

• Yi Wenjun showed Xiao Ruojin the Dragon Seal Scroll naming Xiao Ruofeng as the late emperor’s chosen successor and demanded protection for herself and the Shadow Sect, freedom to travel in Northern Li, and promotion to principal consort after Xiao Ruofeng’s death.
• Xiao Ruojin accepted Yi Wenjun’s demands, and she vanished from his room after extinguishing the incense.
• A month later, Xiao Ruofeng was imprisoned for treason, while Xiao Ruojin decreed that his secondary consort would retain her status and that his residence must not be harassed.
• Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen visited Yi Wenjun and pleaded with her to save Xiao Ruofeng, but she refused and reminded them of the Xiao family’s past treatment of her and the Shadow Sect.
• Yi Wenjun revealed her Divine Wandering Realm cultivation and forced Xiao Chuhe to his knees with her presence.
• Yi Wenjun told Xiao Lingchen she did not consider herself responsible for his life, and Xiao Chuhe took him away before they could provoke her further.

After Xiao Ruofeng died, Yi Wenjun gained power and reached the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm while Xiao Chuhe was exiled and then attacked. She later visited Baili Dongjun in Snow Moon City, where they argued about her refusal to save Xiao Ruofeng and she reflected on Baili Dongjun’s troubles with Ye Dingzhi.

• Xiao Ruofeng slit his throat at the execution ground, and Emperor Mingde issued an edict protecting his associates while Xiao Ruojin granted Yi Wenjun the Prince Langya Residence and made her principal consort.
• Xiao Chuhe continued trying to clear Xiao Ruofeng’s name until Emperor Mingde exiled him to Qingzhou, where he was attacked and disappeared.
• Yi Wenjun sensed that the Wrathful Sword Immortal and chief eunuch Jinxuan were pursuing Xiao Chuhe, and she later broke through to the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm.
• After Heavenly Revelations’ turmoil subsided, Yi Wenjun visited Baili Dongjun in Snow Moon City, where he criticized her for not helping Xiao Ruofeng.
• Yi Wenjun defended her choice to Baili Dongjun and considered his dejection over Ye Dingzhi and the events at Beyond the Heavens.

Yi Wenjun reflected on the tragedies involving Yueqing and Baili Dongjun, then traveled among her old companions and helped Ye Anshi begin training under Master Wangyou. Four years later, after Master Wangyou’s death stirred the martial world, Xiao Yu approached Yi Wenjun to propose an alliance to seize the throne.

• Yi Wenjun learned how Yueqing’s schemes ended with Yue Yao’s death, Yueqing imprisoned, and Baili Dongjun consumed by guilt.
• Yi Wenjun visited Luo Qingyang in Muliang City, sparred with him, and reassured him about her feelings for Ye Dingzhi.
• Yi Wenjun visited Ye Dingzhi at Beyond the Heavens, recognized Ye Anshi’s Devil Heart, and agreed to take him to Master Wangyou.
• At Hanshan Temple, Yi Wenjun shattered Master Wangyou’s Body-Protecting Vajra Shield in their three-move exchange, and he accepted Ye Anshi as an outer disciple.
• Four years after Master Wangyou died, Xiao Yu sought Yi Wenjun’s support in his bid for the throne.

Yi Wenjun rejected Xiao Yu’s offer and uncovered his plans to exploit her, while Xiao Chuhe returned to Heavenly Revelations amid a struggle for the throne. Xiao Yu was found dead, and Xiao Se’s companions learned that Yi Wenjun was the feared Princess Langya; she then turned back to cultivating and enjoying her quiet life.

• Yi Wenjun rejected Xiao Yu, ordered informants placed among his followers, and followed reports about Wuxin and Xiao Se’s group as the martial world stirred.
• Yi Wenjun investigated Xiao Yu and learned that he had allied with Jinxuan, Dark River, horse bandits, Yeya, and Nanjue, while plotting to turn her into a medicine person and use her to control Luo Qingyang and Ye Dingzhi.
• After Xiao Chuhe returned to Heavenly Revelations, he learned that Xiao Yu had been killed with a single palm strike and that his residence held refined medicine people and Yeya’s corpse.
• Xiao Chuhe’s steward reported that Xiao Yu had visited Princess Langya and left in a rage, and Wuxin and Xiao Se identified her as Yi Wenjun, a dangerous person who was even feared by the emperor.
• Yi Wenjun dealt with Xiao Yu and warned those seeking advantage in the turmoil, then resumed cultivating and enjoying her leisure.

After awakening as Yueqing, Wen Qiushui cultivated in her dungeon until she could escape and seize control of Beyond the Heavens. When Ye Dingzhi died and the survivors returned, Yueqing waited on the sect master's throne, ready to take over the sect's forces.

• Wen Qiushui awakened in Yueqing's chained body, learned of Yueqing's past schemes, and began cultivating the Heavenly Devil Instruction.
• Yueqing spent two years cultivating in secret, broke through to the Unfettered Heaven Realm, and prepared to leave the dungeon.
• Yueqing poisoned those who tried to stop her, seized the sect master's throne, and claimed Langyue Blessed Land as her residence.
• Yueqing advanced to Half-Step Divine Wandering as Ye Dingzhi led most of the experts away to fight Northern Li.
• Yueqing learned that Ye Dingzhi had died, Beyond the Heavens and Northern Li had agreed to a twelve-year border pact, and Ye Anshi had remained as a hostage.
• The White-Haired Immortal and the Purple-Robed Marquis returned with the survivors and found Yueqing waiting on the throne to take control of Beyond the Heavens.

Yueqing seized control of Beyond the Heavens, united the Outer Realm as the Demonic Sect, and built its power through trade and force while delegating its affairs to Su Changhe and Su Muyu. The chapter ended with Yue Yao and Baili Dongjun visiting her, after which Yueqing released Ye Anshi from his ties to Beyond the Heavens and returned to her leisurely cultivation.

• Yueqing crippled Mo Qixuan and Zi Yuji when they refused to support her, then forced the people of Beyond the Heavens to submit and poisoned them to ensure their obedience.
• Over the next two years, Yueqing united the Outer Realm under the Demonic Sect, then cultivated for three more years until she reached the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm.
• Yueqing took the Dragon Seal Scroll from the imperial mausoleum and used it to secure trade agreements with Emperor Mingde, Nanjue, and the Northern Barbarians.
• Yueqing found Dark River, killed the disobedient elders, and brought Su Changhe and Su Muyu into the Demonic Sect as its left and right protectors.
• After Yue Yao and Baili Dongjun visited, Yueqing told Baili Dongjun to release Ye Anshi from Beyond the Heavens when his twelve-year term ended, then asked Su Changhe to find new storytellers.

After taking over Qiao Wanmian’s body, Wen Qiushui broke up with Li Xiangyi and watched as he plunged into war with the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance. When she discovered Yun Biqiu had sent Li Xiangyi’s followers into a trap, Qiao Wanmian incapacitated them instead, despite the original body’s resistance.

• Qiao Wanmian warned Li Xiangyi that Shan Gudao, Xiao Zijin, and Yun Biqiu were not trustworthy, but Li Xiangyi dismissed her concerns, so she handed him her unsent breakup letter and left.
• A Rou told Qiao Wanmian that Shan Gudao had been killed and Li Xiangyi was preparing to wage war against the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance.
• After Shan Gudao’s corpse vanished, Li Xiangyi arranged a duel with Di Feisheng as the Sigu Sect and the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance went to war.
• Qiao Wanmian learned from Jiang Wuya that Yun Biqiu had ordered Li Xiangyi’s followers to attack the alliance headquarters while Li Xiangyi was away.
• When Qiao Wanmian tried to let the followers go, the original Qiao Wanmian’s consciousness resisted and caused her severe pain.
• Qiao Wanmian claimed Li Xiangyi had left a secret order, gathered the fifty-eight followers, and knocked them unconscious with knockout powder.

Qiao Wanmian discovered that her rushed transmigration and failure to cultivate had left her soul and body dangerously out of sync, so she began using the Heavenly Devil Instruction to strengthen her body. When Xiao Zijin tried to blame Li Xiangyi and disband the Sigu Sect, she killed him, gave Li Xiangyi a detoxification pill, and left the sect.

• Qiao Wanmian realized that the Chaos Pearl’s depleted power and her weak new body had allowed the Heavenly Devil Instruction’s dangers to disrupt her emotions and soul.
• Qiao Wanmian spent the night cultivating, but found that her poor physical foundation would make advancing through the first two levels difficult.
• Xiao Zijin called for the Sigu Sect’s disbandment and blamed its losses on Li Xiangyi while the others offered little resistance.
• Qiao Wanmian snapped Xiao Zijin’s neck when he asked her to support him, then drew her sword against the sect members who had betrayed their loyalties.
• Li Xiangyi stepped forward to stop Qiao Wanmian, who gave him a detoxification pill and declared that she was leaving the Sigu Sect.
• Li Xiangyi began organizing the sect as Qiao Wanmian left, and the pill rapidly neutralized most of the poison in his body.

Li Xiangyi investigated the conspiracy against the Sigu Sect while Qiao Wanmian traced the conflict to Shan Gudao. After killing Shan Gudao and saving Qi Mushan, Qiao Wanmian withdrew to Mount Yun Yin to cultivate the Heavenly Devil Instruction.

• Li Xiangyi learned that Yun Biqiu had sent Jiang Wuya and others to attack the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, but Qiao Wanmian had stopped them, and he ordered Jiang Wuya to search Yun Biqiu's rooms for evidence.
• Li Xiangyi suspected his senior brother's death might have been part of a plot and left for Pudu Temple to heal his injuries.
• Qiao Wanmian told A Rou to spread the claim that she had expelled Xiao Zijin as a traitor, then asked Liuxue about new martial-world factions.
• Qiao Wanmian learned about Wansheng Dao and traveled to Mount Yun Yin to question Li Xiangyi's master about Shan Gudao.
• Qiao Wanmian encountered Shan Gudao plotting against his master, killed him, and treated Qi Mushan after he lost his inner power.
• Qiao Wanmian began secluded cultivation of the Heavenly Devil Instruction on Mount Yun Yin.

After returning to Mount Yun Yin, Li Xiangyi learned that Qiao Wanmian had killed Shan Gudao and discovered that the woman before him was not the original Qiao Wanmian. He learned the original had vanished after writing him a breakup letter, which he had never read.

• Li Xiangyi returned to Mount Yun Yin gravely injured and learned that Qiao Wanmian had rescued Qi Mushan and found his senior brother's corpse.
• Qi Mushan told Li Xiangyi that Qiao Wanmian had killed Shan Gudao and was in seclusion on the mountain.
• Li Xiangyi went to Qiao Wanmian's room and confronted her, realizing she was not the original Qiao Wanmian.
• Qiao Wanmian said the original Qiao Wanmian had disappeared after writing Li Xiangyi a breakup letter and revealed that he had ignored the letter she had sent him.
• Li Xiangyi accepted that Qiao Wanmian was telling the truth and recognized that he had missed the warning and the original woman's departure.

While Li Xiangyi recovered and advanced his martial arts, Qiao Wanmian cultivated the Heavenly Devil Instruction and created the Ice Heart Instruction. After they emerged from seclusion, Qiao Wanmian roamed the jianghu with her companions, and Li Xiangyi eventually entrusted the Sigu Sect to Fang Duobing before shattering the void.

• Li Xiangyi and Qiao Wanmian discussed martial arts on Mount Yun Yin, and Li Xiangyi entered seclusion to break through the limits of his Yangzhou Man.
• Qiao Wanmian helped Qin Po treat Li Xiangyi's injuries, created the Ice Heart Instruction, and entered meditation to cultivate the Heavenly Devil Instruction.
• After half a year, Li Xiangyi broke through, healed his injuries, and cleared the Bicha poison before accepting challenges on a fighting platform and investigating Wansheng Dao.
• Qiao Wanmian emerged from seclusion, left Qi Mushan and his wife, and traveled the jianghu with A Rou and Liuxue, killing Yu Lou Chun's men and Jiao Liqiao.
• Ten years later, Li Xiangyi arrived in time to stop Di Feisheng from dying beneath Qiao Wanmian's sword.
• Li Xiangyi entrusted the Sigu Sect to Fang Duobing and shattered the void during a lightning tribulation.

Wen Qiushui began a new life as a poor fisherman's daughter in Wang Family Village, intending to cultivate her State of Mind by living as an ordinary person. She recognized the village’s traveling physician as Li Xiangyi, though she focused on learning pearl diving and adjusting to her new life.

• Wen Qiushui reviewed Daya’s memories and learned that her parents had died after fleeing to Wang Family Village, leaving her alone.
• Wen Qiushui chose to use her original name and decided to live peacefully as a pearl diver rather than roam the jianghu.
• Chuncai called Wen Qiushui to gather pearls, and Wen Qiushui went with her to learn how to dive.
• Wen Qiushui recognized the traveling physician across the road as Li Xiangyi by his soul, despite his changed appearance.
• Wen Qiushui practiced diving alongside Chuncai but found no pearls, instead collecting discarded swords and sabers to sell at the smithy.