Recaps

Daoist Black Shoes reported Lord Yin Shan’s recovery, discussed the prefectural court’s compensation and warned Hemu Dao, while Kang Dabao received a storage bag of spoils. At the Double Brightness Trade Market, Yuan Jin ran into Fire Dragon Daoist, who invited him to visit an interesting place.

• Daoist Black Shoes told Kang Dabao that Lord Yin Shan had survived his injuries and that the prefectural court had awarded Foundation Establishment Pills to the Book and Sword Gate and Zi Maple Valley.
• Daoist Black Shoes refused to meet the cultivator surnamed Han and warned Hemu Dao to bear its own karma; Han left without entering the quiet room.
• Daoist Black Shoes gave Kang Dabao a gold-threaded Storage Bag containing spoils from a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Yuan Jin tested Ye Pingshui’s lessons, then went to inspect Han Yundao and Pei Que’s guard posts and planned to caution them about relying too much on pills.
• Yuan Jin met Fire Dragon Daoist, who invited him to visit an interesting place he had heard about.

Yuan Jin refused Fire Dragon Daoist’s request for help hunting a Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad, then warned the Chongming Sect about the rumor. Daoist Black Shoes and Kang Dabao reached Zither Leaf Forest, where Fei Shuhe’s group drew out the Second-Tier Middle-Grade Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad, and Nanny Sun prepared to fight it.

• Fire Dragon Daoist asked Yuan Jin to lend him men to hunt a rumored Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad, but Yuan Jin used their duties and the risk of attracting Fei Shuhe’s attention to dissuade him.
• Yuan Jin sent a message to Kang Da, who learned from Daoist Black Shoes that Fei Shuhe’s group had secretly surrounded a deep pool in Zither Leaf Forest.
• Daoist Black Shoes took Kang Dabao to the pool, where they met Xue Hu and Fei Shuhe; Xue Hu tried to enter the formation but Nanny Sun frightened him into leaving.
• Nanny Sun revealed that a Second-Tier Middle-Grade Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad was in the pool and asked Daoist Black Shoes for help, while Fei Shuhe’s guards used Law Artifact drums to draw it out.
• The toad snatched a guard with its tongue before emerging from the pool, and Fei Shuhe ordered Nanny Sun to act as it leaped toward them.

Nanny Sun and Fei Shuhe’s guards fought the Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad, but it escaped into the pool before Daoist Black Shoes pursued it and drove it back out, badly wounded. As the beast threatened Fei Shuhe, Sect Leader Kang Da returned to help her until Daoist Black Shoes killed it, leaving Fei Shuhe seeing Kang Dabao differently.

• The Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad swallowed guards and fought Nanny Sun’s artifact while the remaining guards attacked it from a distance.
• The toad broke through the guards’ formations and escaped into the pool, and Daoist Black Shoes went in after it.
• Daoist Black Shoes drove the toad back out after cutting off its tongue, and the enraged beast charged toward Fei Shuhe.
• Nanny Sun tried to protect Fei Shuhe but was struck into a mountain wall, while Sect Leader Kang Da returned to help and Fei Shuhe used sword talismans against the beast.
• Daoist Black Shoes killed the Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad with his flying sword, and Fei Shuhe looked at Kang Dabao as though he seemed different to her.

Kang Dabao left Fei Shuhe the Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad’s heart before joining Daoist Black Shoes to search the pool, where Little Qi uncovered Spirit-Absorbing Pearls and revealed a second-tier Spirit Vein. Daoist Black Shoes claimed the vein as his cultivation retreat and told Kang Dabao to handle matters outside, including moving the nearby Xue Household.

• Daoist Black Shoes praised Kang Dabao for playing the hero, while Fei Shuhe stopped Nanny Sun from pleading for the toad’s heart.
• Kang Dabao processed the Green-Skinned Vermilion Toad, gave its heart to Fei Shuhe, and followed Daoist Black Shoes into the pool to investigate what had attracted the beast.
• Daoist Black Shoes and Kang Dabao searched the pool but found nothing until Little Qi uncovered Spirit-Absorbing Pearls hidden inside stone balls.
• Daoist Black Shoes identified a second-tier lower-grade Spirit Vein beneath the pool, carved out an underwater cave abode, and decided to cultivate there.
• Daoist Black Shoes gave Kang Dabao the toad’s remains and instructed him to leave Essence Blood at his elder brother’s grave, while Kang Dabao understood that he would need to arrange for the Xue Household to move.

The Xue Household relocated to the Iron Sword Sect's former grounds while many of its mortals settled near Chongming City. Seeing the Chongming Sect's growing power, Lu Xun offered Fangshi Mountain to Kang Dabao and accepted a replacement spiritual land, leaving the sect in control of its neighboring territories.

• Xue Hu agreed to move the Xue Household to Pine Forest Ravine, and the Luo Household gave up the spiritual land there after Jiang Qing visited Black Forest Fort.
• During the migration, many Xue mortals fled to towns near Chongming City, and Zhou Yixiu welcomed the population increase for the sect.
• Lu Yunniang urged Lu Xun to give Fangshi Mountain to the Chongming Sect in exchange for resources or another spiritual land, silencing the elders who objected with her spiritual pressure.
• Lu Xun visited Kang Dabao and offered Fangshi Mountain to the Chongming Sect, explaining that he wanted to hand over the land.
• Kang Dabao accepted Lu Xun's offer and proposed that the Lu Household move to the Caishi Wang Household's spiritual land, which had a first-tier middle-grade Spirit Vein.
• Lu Xun accepted the replacement land and concluded that offering Fangshi Mountain had been the right decision.

Duan Anle and Kang Rongquan visited the White Ram Monastery for He Muxian’s funeral, where Kang Rongquan found an old jade tablet linked to Sect Leader Kang Da. Meanwhile, Kang Dabao traveled to Xuanwei City to deliver Tie Xishui’s letter to Buse, but after meeting several officials and visiting Tie Liuyun, he learned Buse had already left.

• Duan Anle and Kang Rongquan attended He Muxian’s funeral and found no new Spirit Plants near the great locust tree.
• Kang Rongquan spotted a jade tablet at the monastery and bought it from the new master, recognizing it as identical to the one Sect Leader Kang Da wore.
• Kang Dabao went to Xuanwei City, where Deputy Pass Commandant Gun Qiushou welcomed him and urged him to cooperate in the prefectural government’s coming campaign.
• Kang Dabao visited Tie Liuyun after learning Buse was away, and Tie Liuyun warned him against becoming too closely involved with the Gun Household.
• Kang Dabao left Tie Liuyun’s residence after hearing the Spirit Stone mine matter had been settled, and a middle-aged cultivator greeted him outside.

Kang Dabao visited Buse with Tie Xishui’s letter, then met Qi Duoluo, who tried to draw him into a lucrative pleasure-house business using an intoxicating scheme. After resisting the offer, Kang Dabao witnessed a beauty’s death and began to see the danger and injustice behind the so-called immortal paradise.

• Qi Duoluo persuaded Kang Dabao to visit Buse, who read Tie Xishui’s letter and directed Kang Dabao to contact him at the prefectural court’s Sima Office.
• Qi Duoluo gave Kang Dabao Meilu Pills and asked him to pass the message “Mountain-Viewing Cave, Jianshui Bridge” to Daoist Black Shoes.
• Qi Duoluo urged Kang Dabao to help Hua Yuanyang enter the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion’s business and used the pills’ fragrance and the scene beyond the curtain to weaken his resolve.
• Little Qi bit Kang Dabao’s finger, and Kang Dabao used his mind-clearing jade pendant to recover and refuse the business.
• After Qi Duoluo left, Kang Dabao watched a cultivator kill a beauty and, shaken by the sight, closed the curtain and felt indignation rise in him.

Kang Dabao avenged the abuse at the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion, then injured his eyes while investigating the mysterious black bone. Fei Shuhe visited her family, where Fei Nanying arranged guards for her return and warned Kang Dabao that the prefectural court was preparing a major move.

• Kang Dabao killed three rogue cultivators who had been involved in the Wondrous Cloud Pavilion incident, and the black bone flew from his Storage Bag toward Wu’s corpse.
• Kang Dabao examined the bone with his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes until his eyes were badly injured, then spent more than half a month recovering before returning to the Chongming Sect.
• After learning that replacement guards had not arrived, Fei Shuhe collected Love-Befitting Incense from Gun Yuyao and traveled to visit Fei Nanying and his wife.
• Fei Nanying heard Nanny Sun’s account of Kang Dabao’s recent activities, promised her son a future post in the Ying Mountain Army, and told her to send word that Kang Dabao must not disgrace the Earl during the prefectural court’s coming move.
• Fei Shuhe learned that the guards were ready, but her family visit left her feeling overlooked and resentful; she decided to return to her courtyard after supper.

Two years after taking charge of the Chongming Sect caravan, Duan Anle brought it to the Double Brightness Trade Market and learned that something had happened to Yuan Jin. Meanwhile, Kang Dabao mastered the Long Breath Art, Little Qi advanced, and a message talisman brought troubling news.

• Duan Anle declined the Mi Household chief’s invitation and led the caravan onward to the Double Brightness Trade Market.
• Duan Anle greeted Chu Huer, then visited Chongming Small Pavilion, where Zhou Xinran began to tell him about Yuan Jin.
• Duan Anle reported rumors of sects destroyed by the provincial court and clans attacked while fleeing the Capital Circuit.
• Kang Dabao used the paired jade tablets to master the Long Breath Art and examined the black bone’s nearly completed golden seal-script character.
• Little Qi advanced to first-tier middle-grade, but Kang Dabao stopped him from attacking the now-numerous, stronger Lion Insects.
• Kang Dabao read a message talisman and lamented that more people were going to die.

After learning that the Earl of Nan'an defeated Golden Core cultivator Xie Yi, Kang Dabao prepared Chongming Sect for the approaching war and urged Yuan Jin to take over if he fell. Fei Shuhe also learned that the Earl planned to attack Ding Prefecture's Hongyi Sect, and she was told to ready her forces and equipment for battle.

• Kang Dabao met Yuan Jin, questioned whether his cultivation had caused Qi Deviation, and read the scripture annotations Yuan Jin had written while abstaining from cultivation.
• Kang Dabao told Chongming Sect's gathered leaders that the Earl of Nan'an had narrowly defeated Xie Yi, Hongyi Sect's Golden Core supreme elder.
• Kang Dabao ordered the sect to recall its disciples, secure its crops, train its patrol soldiers, stock supplies, repair formation nodes, and prepare disciples to fight.
• Kang Dabao told Yuan Jin to lead the sect if he died, and Yuan Jin accepted the charge.
• Fei Shuhe told Nanny Sun that the Earl planned to retake Cloud Horn Prefecture and strike Hongyi Sect, and that she was to prepare her forces and weapons for the coming fighting.

Song Hui and the Chongming Sect prepared to move their families to safety, but the prefecture court conscripted the sect and Pingrong County after its forces suffered a disastrous defeat at Little Wu Mountain. Kang Dabao assembled the troops and marched toward the prefecture court, fearing the battle would cost the sect most of its hard-won strength.

• Ye Zhengwen assigned Song Hui and Ji Wuwu to discreetly move the disciples’ immediate relatives into the sect’s spiritual grounds, but Yuan Jin arrived with news that the situation had changed.
• Deng Baichuan told Kang Dabao that the prefecture court had selected his household as an example of a loyal and righteous family, and Kang secured permission to leave one Late Qi Refinement cultivator behind.
• Deng Baichuan killed two conscripts who fled and seized their families, while Kang Dabao bought talismans and returned to drill the sect’s disciples.
• Sima Fei approved Kang Dabao’s request to leave Yuan Jin behind to protect the home and the two unfinished immortal seedlings, Song Cheng and Liu Ya.
• Ye Zhengwen explained that the prefecture court’s campaign at Little Wu Mountain had ended in a rout after a powerful talisman killed Gun Shide and gravely wounded Qin Sufu.
• Kang Dabao conscripted Pingrong County’s forces, counted the Chongming Sect’s fifty-two Qi Refinement cultivators among them, and hurried to the drill grounds as the prefecture court pressed for their departure.

Ye Pingshui and Song Hui survived another attack on the prefecture court’s garrison at Jia-Xu hill, but the campaign’s mounting casualties reached them when Dong Liu’er arrived mortally drained by Evil Cultivators. Song Hui marked her burial cloth with a little red flower as the survivors prepared to return to camp.

• Ye Pingshui killed a young Clear Cloud Alliance cultivator after Ye Zhengwen and Han Yundao’s forces drove the attackers from Jia-Xu hill.
• The chapter recounted how the prefecture court’s besieging army lost momentum as its forces suffered casualties, defections, and setbacks, while the Clear Cloud Alliance grew bolder.
• Song Hui asked Pei Yi to examine his weakened arm, and an Alchemist dismissed the injury as superficial.
• He Yuanbing and Zhang Le brought Dong Liu’er to Pei Yi after Evil Cultivators attacked their group, but the Alchemist declared that she could not be saved.
• Song Hui wrapped Dong Liu’er in white silk and drew a little red flower on it, promising to ask Sister Mo’er to draw a bird for her.

Two hidden Foundation Establishment cultivators helped the Clear Cloud Alliance overrun Jia-Xu Hill’s outer positions and besiege the provincial court’s main formation. Kang Dabao used the Star-Shooting Crossbows to destroy the alliance’s crossbow and wound one enemy commander, but the siege continued until reinforcements broke through and entered the formation.

• Two Clear Cloud Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked Jia-Xu Hill’s outer positions, killing Ji Wuwu and Song Hui among the provincial court’s losses.
• Kang Dabao learned that Gun Qiushou’s retreat had left the provincial troops exposed, and he prepared the battered defenders to hold the main formation.
• When the Clear Cloud Alliance besieged the formation at sunrise, Kang Dabao ordered repeated crossbow volleys, eventually breaking the enemy’s defense, destroying its Star-Shooting Crossbow, and wounding the red-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Kang Dabao fired the provincial court’s crossbow himself to kill and scatter enemy cultivators, but the brocade-clad commander rallied the alliance with promises of rewards.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator and several Late Qi Refinement cultivators fought through the Clear Cloud Alliance ranks and entered the provincial court’s formation, where Kang Dabao recognized the newcomer.

Sect Leader Kang Da and Fire Dragon Daoist defended Jiazi Xu hill as the Clear Cloud Alliance pressed their attack, while news of rebellions and setbacks threatened the prefectural court’s campaign. The Ingenious Craftsman Fort’s surprise strike damaged the Primordial Eight-Pillar Formation, and the formation ultimately collapsed.

• Fire Dragon Daoist arrived with a small group of cultivators and told Sect Leader Kang Da that Sima Gun had been diverted to suppress the Mo Household rebellion in Hong County.
• Sect Leader Kang Da used the Star-Shooting Crossbow against the Clear Cloud Alliance, but the enemy’s morale remained strong and its attack continued.
• Ingenious Craftsman Fort disciples assembled a spiritual catapult and blasted a supporting pillar of the Primordial Eight-Pillar Formation, creating a long crack in it.
• Luo Heng struggled to guard the damaged pillar, and the brocade-clad Foundation Establishment cultivator led a fierce assault that damaged three more pillars and gravely wounded Luo Heng.
• Fire Dragon Daoist replaced Luo Heng and another fallen cultivator at the formation point, then heard the formation crack as four of its eight pillars collapsed.

The Clear Cloud Alliance overwhelmed the prefectural court’s forces after breaking the grand formation, forcing Kang Dabao and the surviving troops to retreat. Fire Dragon Daoist’s battle with the Lin Household’s brocade-clad Foundation Establishment cultivator ended with the crimson dragon destroyed, while disputes over credit sparked a clash among the victors.

• Fire Dragon Daoist sent a crimson dragon into the Lin Household’s formation, burning several cultivators, while Kang Da’s Star-Shooting Crossbow disrupted the True Spirit Gate’s Iron Scale Cavalry.
• The Ingenious Craftsman Fort’s mechanical puppets drove back the Pingrong militia, whose fighting spirit collapsed as the Star-Shooting Crossbow ran low on ammunition.
• Kang Dabao ordered a retreat, and Zhou Yixiu and Ye Zhengwen withdrew with the Chongming Sect disciples while Kang Dabao fled toward the flying boat with Jiang Qing and Chu Huer.
• The brocade-clad Foundation Establishment cultivator attacked Fire Dragon Daoist, but the Lin cultivators used their command flag and sacrificed several elders to wound and finally destroy the crimson dragon.
• Fire Dragon Daoist fled after spitting blood, and the brocade-clad cultivator tried to claim the pursuit’s credit, prompting True Spirit Gate cultivators to attack him before both sides resumed pursuing the fleeing enemy.

Chongming Sect’s fighters fought off Ingenious Craftsman Fort and True Spirit Gate pursuers, but Fire Dragon Daoist revealed that he was badly injured and could not stop the Lin Household pursuer. He secretly demanded that Kang Dabao give Mo'er to him for dual cultivation to restore his vitality.

• Pei Que spotted Jiang Qing and Kang Dabao catching up as Ye Zhengwen slowed the flying boat, but Ingenious Craftsman Fort cultivators intercepted the three men before they could board.
• Jiang Qing destroyed a tiger puppet and Kang Dabao killed one opponent while crippling others, but Chu Huer was injured and more pursuers arrived.
• Ye Zhengwen, Pei Yi, Jiang Qing, Kang Dabao, and Chu Huer killed or drove off the remaining enemies and escaped aboard the spirit boat as a figure warned that the Lin Household pursuer was close.
• Fire Dragon Daoist told Kang Dabao to return to Hong County, then privately demanded that he offer Mo'er for dual cultivation because his injuries left him unable to defeat their pursuer.

The Chongming Sect fled the Lin Household aboard a damaged spirit boat, and Jiang Qing, Kang Dabao, and their allies killed the Lin Household Foundation Establishment cultivator after the younger disciples escaped. As the Lin Household retreated, Fire Dragon Daoist saw through Kang Dabao’s attempt to kill him and struck him down.

• Fire Dragon Daoist tried to persuade Kang Dabao to surrender a disciple for dual cultivation, but Kang Dabao refused and warned the Chongming Sect to prepare.
• The Lin Household caught up and attacked the Chongming Sect’s spirit boat, killing several disciples as the boat was damaged and the battle spread across its deck.
• Jiang Qing revealed his strength and helped drive the escape; Pei Yi fled with some disciples aboard the Kui Star Flying Shuttle, while Jiang Qing sent Han Yundao, Duan Anle, and Wei Gu toward the Zither Leaf Forest.
• Fire Dragon Daoist trapped the Lin Household Foundation Establishment cultivator with a talisman, allowing Jiang Qing, Kang Dabao, and Ye Zhengwen to kill him and force the remaining Lin Household cultivators to retreat.
• Kang Dabao tried to stab Fire Dragon Daoist while offering him spirit wine, but Fire Dragon Daoist recognized him and sent him crashing into a rocky mountain with the blade embedded in his chest.

Acting Sima Gun received orders to reinforce Little Wu Mountain while Lang Yi pressed He Dezong for more Spirit Stones and learned that the Tanggu Huo Household would be destroyed. At Double Brightness Trade Market, Fei Shuhe rescued Huo Ying from an elder of the Illusory Sword Alliance, while Kang Dabao and his companions remained missing.

• Acting Sima Gun promised to report Lang Yi’s service, and Lang Yi demanded that He Dezong raise another five thousand Spirit Stones within three days.
• Lang Yi learned that Huo Bing had surrendered and that the Earl of Nan'an had ordered the Tanggu Huo Household destroyed; He Dezong later heard that Kang Da and his companions had killed Lin Yuanfeng.
• Acting Sima Gun rushed to reinforce Little Wu Mountain, while Qin Sufu overran the Huo Household’s array and implanted Enlisted Army Talismans in its captured cultivators.
• An elder of the Illusory Sword Alliance tried to force Huo Ying to join the army, but Pei Yi and Jin Shilun intervened as Kang Dabao’s fate remained unknown.
• Fei Shuhe arrived at Double Brightness Trade Market, ordered Nanny Sun to kill the elder, and took Huo Ying back to the Green Lotus Courtyard.

Kang Dabao and his companions fought Fire Dragon Daoist, exposed his fire-dragon illusion, and drove him to flee, but they soon discovered another danger approaching. Meanwhile, Han Yundao, Duan Anle, and Wei Gu were ambushed by Lin Household cultivators, leaving Han to face them alone as the chapter ended.

• Fire Dragon Daoist burned Ye Zhengwen and attacked Kang Dabao and the others, taunting them about their past and the deaths of their loved ones.
• Kang Dabao used his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes to see through Fire Dragon Daoist's fire dragon, and Jiang Qing injured him in a clash of sword and shield.
• Fire Dragon Daoist tried to escape by flying boat, while Kang Dabao stopped Jiang Qing from pursuing and revealed that his chest wound was less severe than he had pretended.
• Kang Dabao spotted an injured Foundation Establishment cultivator approaching on a spirit boat and warned his companions to flee.
• Han Yundao, Duan Anle, and Wei Gu paused to recover while Lin Household cultivators pursued them, seeking revenge for Lin Yuanfeng's death.
• A Lin Household archer attacked Han Yundao, but his Fire Spirit Pendant blocked the arrow; when the Lin cultivators revealed themselves, Han ordered Duan Anle to escape with Wei Gu and stepped forward to fight.

Han Yundao fought the Lin Household to let Duan Anle and Wei Gu escape, then fled for two days while Ninth Uncle pursued him. After Han Yundao killed Ninth Uncle and began to recover, an old swordsman recognized his Three Yang Sword Instruction and Chongming Sect identity and killed him.

• Han Yundao held off the Lin Household while Duan Anle and Wei Gu escaped, killing a thick-browed cultivator as his swordsmanship suddenly improved.
• The Lin Household archer wounded Han Yundao with a poisoned halberd and arrows, but Han Yundao broke through and fled as Ninth Uncle pursued him.
• Han Yundao evaded Ninth Uncle for two days, removed the arrow from his shoulder, and fell asleep in a cavern while dreaming about his swordsmanship.
• Han Yundao fought Ninth Uncle again and used a Flame Sword Net to kill him, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• An old man with two swords recognized Han Yundao's technique and sect, then cut his throat with a flying sword.

Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing joined forces with Fire Dragon Daoist to fight the red-faced True Spirit Gate cultivator, but Fire Dragon Daoist was killed by the cultivator’s giant bear. Jiang Qing defeated the cultivator, who detonated Geng Metal Divine Thunder; Kang Dabao then found Jiang Qing buried in the scorched earth and called out to him in despair.

• Fire Dragon Daoist proposed that he and Kang Dabao cooperate against the red-faced cultivator, and Kang Dabao eventually turned back with Jiang Qing to help him.
• The red-faced cultivator sent his giant bear against Fire Dragon Daoist, while Jiang Qing fought the cultivator and Kang Dabao attacked the bear.
• The giant bear bit through Fire Dragon Daoist’s head, and Kang Dabao killed the bear with his Spirit-Striking Chain.
• Jiang Qing used the White Dew Sword to wound the red-faced cultivator, who answered with a Geng Metal Divine Thunder pellet.
• The explosion blew the red-faced cultivator apart and buried Jiang Qing in scorched earth; Kang Dabao dug him out and cried out to him.

Li Yun negotiated Xie Yi’s release with Kuang Liuting, agreeing that the Two Instruments Sect would stop interfering in Cloud Horn Prefecture and accept restrictions on the Hongyi Sect. Sima Fei then captured Little Wu Mountain, while Kang Dabao mourned Han Yundao and faced the dangers Jiang Qing’s injuries posed to his Foundation Establishment.

• Li Yun asked Kuang Liuting to release Xie Yi, and Kuang Liuting demanded that the Hongyi Sect accept several conditions in exchange.
• Li Yun agreed that the Two Instruments Sect would withdraw from Cloud Horn Prefecture, and Xie Yi returned to the Hongyi Sect the next day.
• Sima Fei escaped his captor, wounded the False Core cultivator, and captured the Jiazi Xu-numbered mountain peak with the surviving cultivators.
• Sima Fei led the prefecture court’s slave army into Little Wu Mountain after infighting weakened the Auspicious Brocade Gate’s formation, then captured its main formation.
• An Alchemist told Daoist Black Shoes that Jiang Qing’s severed arm could not be restored and that Foundation Establishment would be unlikely.
• Kang Dabao grieved over Han Yundao’s extinguished soul lamp and admitted he feared for his disciples, while Daoist Black Shoes urged him to carry on as sect leader.

Kang Dabao was summoned to the prefectural court alongside Gun Qiushou and Luo Heng after their defeat, but Nanny Sun intervened to protect him and the Fei Household offered support. At the criminal office, Luo Heng confessed and died, while Gun Qiushou was unexpectedly beheaded in court, leaving Kang Dabao facing an uncertain fate.

• Xie Liusheng announced Kang Dabao’s suspension and escorted him toward the Double Brightness Trade Market, but Nanny Sun removed his spirit cangue and warned Xie to treat him well.
• Nanny Sun told Kang Dabao that Fei Shuhe would seek her family’s help, and Daoist Black Shoes declared that he accepted her as his daughter-in-law.
• Deng Baichuan welcomed Kang Dabao and Gun Qiushou at the trade market, where Gun Qiushou said his family connections would likely shield him from serious punishment.
• Kang Dabao, Gun Qiushou, and Luo Heng traveled to Xuanwei City; Luo Heng was questioned, confessed responsibility for the defeat at Mount Jia-Xu, and died from his injuries.
• The criminal officer invited Gun Qiushou to appear before the court first, but a clerk soon reported that Gun Qiushou had been beheaded.

The Earl of Nan'an took over Kang Dabao’s case, punished officials who had manipulated the earlier trial, and heard Kang Dabao’s account of the battle and retreat. He recognized the Chongming Sect’s sacrifices as merit, ordered medical aid sent to the sect, and kept Kang Dabao in Xuanwei City until he could decide on a reward.

• Acting Sima Gun told Judicial Officer Meng Xuan and Kang Dabao that the earl had executed Gun Qiushou and exiled Judge Wen, then escorted them into court.
• Kuang Liuting questioned Meng Xuan about his corrupt handling of cases, but Sima Fei cited Meng Xuan’s military service, and Kuang Liuting stripped him of his offices while keeping him temporarily in charge of criminal affairs.
• A medical officer examined Kang Dabao and found serious injuries, prompting Kuang Liuting to ask him to recount the battle and retreat from Little Wu Mountain.
• Kang Dabao described the Chongming Sect’s losses and its role in killing two Clear Cloud Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Kuang Liuting rebuked officials for sending children into battle and failing to support Jia-Xu.
• Kuang Liuting judged that Kang Dabao’s merit outweighed his fault, ordered medical officers and supplies sent to the Chongming Sect, and told Kang Dabao to remain in Xuanwei City pending a reward.

Kang Dabao received Kuang Liuting's rewards and his appointment as magistrate of Pingrong County, then selected treasures from the prefecture court treasury. After collecting his rewards and an escort, he set off for the Chongming Sect.

• Sima Fei delivered Kuang Liuting's decree, which awarded Kang Dabao cultivation treasures, artifacts, methods, spirit stones, a spirit mine, and the magistrate post in Pingrong County.
• Tie Xishui brought Kang Dabao to the prefecture court treasury, where Kang Dabao selected Law Artifacts and discovered another jade jue he could not claim.
• Kang Dabao chose the Ink Abyss Flag as his Spirit Artifact and took all ten cultivation methods Kuang Liuting had selected for him.
• Kang Dabao greeted Xu Yingshi at the treasury, and Tie Xishui warned him that Xu might soon return to the prefecture court with a Foundation Establishment spirit item.
• A prefecture court guard squad escorted Kang Dabao and his rewards aboard a spirit boat toward the Chongming Sect.