Chapter Summaries

After the flying boat crashed, Jiang Zhuoxue and the others searched in vain for Sang Ying until her jade pendant’s spirit revealed that the Devil Race had taken her. Meanwhile, Fusheng visited a hidden ice chamber and found Sang Ying unconscious on an ice bed.

• Jiang Zhuoxue and Fang Chi rescued the survivors from the wreckage, but Sang Ying was missing.
• Sang Zheng and Jiulian joined the search, yet they found no sign of Sang Ying among the people or recovered belongings.
• Jiang Zhuoxue used the Shared Fate Gu to follow Sang Ying’s scent to her jade pendant in the grass.
• The pendant’s spirit told Jiang Zhuoxue that the Devil Race had taken Sang Ying.
• Fusheng went to a hidden cave outside the city and found Sang Ying lying unconscious on an ice bed.

Demon Lord Fusheng captured Sang Ying after destroying her flying boat, sealed her cultivation, and forced her to accompany him. He transformed her appearance and voice, renaming her Xiao Yao, while the Flowing Light Sword Sect remained under siege.

• Sang Ying woke in an ice chamber without her sword, belongings, or spiritual power, and Fusheng ordered her to change clothes and follow him.
• Sang Ying learned that her captor was Demon Lord Fusheng, who insisted on keeping her alive and by his side.
• Sang Ying followed Fusheng out of the mountain after he told her that demons and fiends still surrounded the Flowing Light Sword Sect and the flying boat's passengers were gravely injured.
• Fusheng used an Instruction to alter Sang Ying's appearance, seal away her former voice and cultivation, and name her Xiao Yao.

Fusheng declared Xiao Yao his only disciple, despite the devil generals’ objections and Qi Yaoji’s warning that he was a puppet serving their master’s plans. He promised to protect and teach Xiao Yao, but she rejected him and asked to leave, provoking his anger.

• Fusheng confirmed to the six devil generals that he had taken Xiao Yao as his disciple, then kicked a general who challenged the decision and decreed that she would be his only disciple.
• Qi Yaoji warned Fusheng not to forget that he was a puppet and to avoid interfering with their master’s plans, and Fusheng ordered her to leave.
• Fusheng found Xiao Yao practicing with a branch in the secluded rear courtyard and told her he had decided to take her as his disciple.
• Fusheng promised to protect Xiao Yao, teach her, and even help her become the new Devil Lord, but she wrote that she wanted to leave.
• Xiao Yao told Fusheng she already had a master, and he angrily challenged her to see whether that master could bring her back.

Sang Ying struggled to restore her cultivation while trapped in the city lord’s residence, as the Flowing Light Sword Sect prepared to resist Fusheng’s forces and rescue her. Jiang Zhuoxue proposed using his uncompleted coming-of-age lightning tribulation to destroy the Demon and Devil army.

• Fusheng ordered guards to surround the main courtyard, while Sang Ying tried unsuccessfully to restore her blocked meridians and considered how to escape.
• Wen Miaoshu and Hai Tingzhou strengthened the Flowing Light Sword Sect’s protective array before joining the elders’ meeting.
• Elder Yanhua and Jiulian discussed uniting with the Myriad Phenomena Sect and agreed to exchange the captive Fan Nanjun for Sang Ying.
• Jiang Zhuoxue suggested exploiting the Demon and Devil army’s weakness to heavenly lightning.
• Jiang Zhuoxue revealed that he had not yet undergone his coming-of-age lightning tribulation and proposed using it against the enemy forces.

Jiang Zhuoxue prepared to undergo his adulthood tribulation after rescuing Sang Ying, but the exchange failed when the Devil Race denied capturing her. Fusheng confronted Sang Ying in the city lord’s residence, furious that she had sought help, but recoiled when he tried to choke her.

• Jiang Zhuoxue announced he would undergo his tribulation after the group rescued Sang Ying and retrieved his two clones.
• Elder Yanhua informed the Myriad Phenomena Sect of the plan, and two days later Fan Nanjun was brought out of the water prison for the exchange.
• Elder Yanhua and the other negotiators returned, reporting that the Devil Race denied capturing Sang Ying.
• Jiulian suspected Fusheng had used Fan Nanjun to lure him away while the flying boat was attacked, and Jiang Zhuoxue beat Fan Nanjun for his role.
• Fusheng accused Sang Ying of contacting the Flowing Light Sword Sect, then grabbed her wrist and dragged her into a room.
• Fusheng tried to choke Sang Ying but abruptly released her, and she retreated from him as he left without explaining himself.

Sang Ying planned to escape while Fusheng struggled with his feelings for her and accepted Qi Yaoji’s plan to impersonate Sang Ying and spy on the sects. After arranging Qi Yaoji’s fake capture, Fusheng took a cage of red foxes, hoping they might cheer Sang Ying up.

• Sang Ying realized the sect might be searching for her, but decided she had to focus on clearing her meridians and escaping herself.
• Fusheng regretted frightening Sang Ying and spoke with Qi Yaoji, who offered to coax her and proposed impersonating Sang Ying to spy on the Flowing Light Sword Sect and the Myriad Phenomena Sect.
• Fusheng agreed to Qi Yaoji’s plan, and the next day she disguised herself as Sang Ying and let him pretend to capture her.
• Fusheng ordered a female devil general to guard Qi Yaoji, then encountered a patrol returning with four red foxes.
• Fusheng took the cage of foxes, wondering whether giving them to Sang Ying would cheer her up.

Fusheng tried to win over Sang Ying with four red foxes, then allowed her to walk around the city lord’s residence. There, Sang Ying learned that someone posing as her had been brought to the dungeon for an exchange, and Fusheng introduced her to the devils as his disciple, Xiao Yao.

• Fusheng brought Sang Ying four red foxes, and she pretended to show interest when he threatened to kill them.
• Fusheng left the foxes in the courtyard and removed the restriction that had kept Sang Ying inside her room, allowing her to move around the residence.
• Sang Ying overheard devils say that Fusheng had taken a woman called Sang Ying to the dungeon to exchange for Deputy General Fan.
• Sang Ying wondered if the Devil Race had found someone to impersonate her.
• A bull-horned devil challenged Sang Ying, and Fusheng arrived and introduced her as his disciple, Xiao Yao.

Elder Yanhua agreed to Fusheng’s sudden proposal to exchange hostages, and the exchange at the Flowing Light Sword Sect’s mountain gate proceeded smoothly. Sang Zheng and Wen Miaoshu welcomed the returned “Sang Ying,” but Jiang Zhuoxue sensed that something was wrong with her.

• Fusheng sent Elder Yanhua a letter proposing a hostage exchange, and the sect leaders agreed to meet the next morning.
• Wen Miaoshu prepared Sang Ying’s room while Dong Fuzhu, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin waited at the mountain gate with spirit fruits.
• Fusheng arrived with the bound “Sang Ying,” while Elder Yanhua brought Fan Nanjun to the exchange.
• Both sides released their captives, and Elder Yanhua’s group left with “Sang Ying” without incident.
• Wen Miaoshu comforted “Sang Ying” about her abraded wrists, while Fusheng and “Sang Ying” exchanged a subtle glance.
• Jiang Zhuoxue sensed that the returned “Sang Ying” was not right.

Qi Yaoji returned to the Flowing Light Sword Sect disguised as Sang Ying and planted suspicion that the Devil Race had an accomplice within the sect. As she settled in with Sang Ying’s parents, Wen Miaoshu began to doubt whether the woman was truly her daughter.

• Dong Fuzhu and the others welcomed Qi Yaoji, who dodged Dong Fuzhu’s attempted hug before claiming the Devil Race had captured her to use against Jiang Zhuoxue.
• Qi Yaoji suggested the Devil Race might have an accomplice in the sect, and Song Jiaojiao and the others agreed to investigate quietly.
• Elder Yanhua and Jiulian told Qi Yaoji to rest, while Jiang Zhuoxue declined Wen Miaoshu’s invitation and left.
• Qi Yaoji reassured Wen Miaoshu that her room was unchanged, but Wen Miaoshu realized she had replaced and added several things and wondered whether this was really her daughter.

Sang Ying learned that Fusheng had exchanged her for Fan Nanjun and concealed her plan to use Fusheng to escape. Fusheng brought her to a council of devil generals, where he defended her right to attend and brutally struck down Fan Nanjun.

• Sang Ying learned from two guards that Fusheng had returned her in exchange for Fan Nanjun, and worried that an impostor might take her place among her friends.
• Fusheng urged Sang Ying to stay with him as Xiao Yao, and she pretended to agree while privately planning to use him to escape.
• Fusheng announced that his mute disciple could speak, surprising the devils and confusing the newly returned Fan Nanjun.
• Fusheng brought Sang Ying to a council of devil generals and seated her beside him.
• Fan Nanjun objected to Sang Ying attending the council, so Fusheng blasted him to the floor and declared that she could go anywhere she wished.

Fusheng defended Sang Ying's place among the devil generals, while she learned that the Devil Race was in a weaker position than the righteous path believed. Later, Sang Ying offered a deal to the intelligent foxes, promising to help them survive and regain human forms if they helped her.

• Fusheng silenced the devil generals' objections to Sang Ying and made them accept her presence at the council.
• Sang Ying learned that the Devil Race had few troops remaining and was avoiding another battle with the Flowing Light Sword Sect.
• Fusheng gave Sang Ying a carefully carved wooden sword and continued keeping her company while her spiritual power remained restricted.
• Sang Ying declined Fusheng's company so he could speak privately with Fan Nanjun about her.
• Sang Ying offered the largest fox a deal: help her accomplish something, and she would secure the four foxes' survival and give them a chance to cultivate human forms again.

Sang Ying persuaded the red fox to help her by promising to restore her demonic form and arranged to send a message to the Flowing Light Sword Sect. When Fusheng took Sang Ying out of the city, the fox slipped away toward the sect but was stopped by its protective formation and found by Jiang Zhuoxue.

• Sang Ying guessed that the red fox wanted to regain her demon form and offered to help if the fox delivered a message for her.
• Fusheng invited Sang Ying on an outing, and she persuaded him to let her bring the red fox.
• Sang Ying and Fusheng left the city lord's residence with the fox while the Devil Race discussed Fusheng's unusual attention to his disciple.
• That night, the red fox followed a hidden path to the Flowing Light Sword Sect but was blocked by its protective formation.
• Jiang Zhuoxue appeared, asked whether Sang Ying had sent the fox, and picked her up by the scruff.

Jiang Zhuoxue learned from a red fox that Sang Ying was imprisoned in the Devil Lord's manor and brought the fox inside, while Wen Miaoshu confirmed that Qi Yaoji was an impostor. Wen Miaoshu received a message from Jiang Zhuoxue and made a decision.

• Jiang Zhuoxue recognized Sang Ying's spiritual energy in a bottle around the red fox's neck and learned that Sang Ying was being held in the Devil Lord's manor.
• Jiang Zhuoxue told the red fox he would hide her until he dealt with the impostor, then carried her inside.
• Wen Miaoshu sorted formation notes for Hai Tingzhou while Qi Yaoji tried to get close to her and learn the sect's secrets.
• Wen Miaoshu offered Qi Yaoji's old formation booklet to Hai Tingzhou, and Qi Yaoji claimed she could not find it.
• Wen Miaoshu concluded that Qi Yaoji was not her daughter, then received a message from Jiang Zhuoxue and made her decision.

Wen Miaoshu learned from Jiang Zhuoxue and a red fox that the real Sang Ying remained captive under Devil Venerable Fusheng while an impostor had returned to the sect. She told Sang Zheng she had a plan to bring their daughter back.

• Elder Yanhua secretly hosted Wen Miaoshu and Jiang Zhuoxue at his residence.
• Jiang Zhuoxue brought out a red fox, who told Wen Miaoshu that Sang Ying was still with Fusheng and had been renamed and disguised as his disciple.
• Wen Miaoshu promised to deal with the impostor and asked Elder Yanhua to keep Sang Ying away from sect affairs.
• Elder Yanhua suspected that something had happened to the real Sang Ying and passed on Wen Miaoshu's instructions.
• Wen Miaoshu confronted Sang Zheng, who admitted he knew the returned girl was not their daughter and feared exposing the impostor would endanger Sang Ying.
• Wen Miaoshu told Sang Zheng she had a solution and would bring their daughter back.

Fusheng agreed to help Fan Nanjun find the Blood-Robed Devil Dragon and gave in to Qi Yaoji’s demand for Sang Ying’s Storage Bag. Meanwhile, Sang Ying strengthened her cultivation and began considering an escape.

• Fusheng ended his outing with Sang Ying early after Fan Nanjun summoned him to discuss destroying the Flowing Light Sword Sect.
• Fan Nanjun told Fusheng that the Blood-Robed Devil Dragon was sealed beneath the Flowing Light Sword Sect, and Fusheng ordered him to find a way to locate it.
• Qi Yaoji demanded Sang Ying’s Storage Bag because Sang Ying’s mother and junior sister were becoming suspicious of her disguise, and Fusheng agreed to hand it over that night.
• Sang Ying practiced the Flowing Light Sword Sect’s basic swordsmanship and, after clearing some of her meridians, began considering escape.

Qi Yaoji obtained Sang Ying's Storage Bag from Fusheng, while Jiang Zhuoxue and Sang Zheng watched her movements and planned to use her to learn the Devil Race's intentions. Fusheng's feelings for Sang Ying were exposed, and Qi Yaoji headed back toward the sect unaware that three people were waiting to trap her.

• Qi Yaoji left the Flowing Light Sword Sect to meet Fusheng and obtain Sang Ying's Storage Bag, while a sealed Sword Qi spirit in her jade pendant knew she was not Sang Ying.
• After Qi Yaoji left, Sang Zheng asked whether they should catch her, but Jiang Zhuoxue said they could use her to learn the Devil Race's plans.
• Fusheng offered Sang Ying's Storage Bag only after demanding Qi Yaoji return everything inside it unchanged.
• Qi Yaoji accused Fusheng of caring for Sang Ying and guessed that Sang Ying was the female demon Xiao Yao; Fusheng grabbed her by the throat but released her after Master's punishment caused him pain.
• Fusheng admitted to himself that his feelings for Sang Ying were not pure, then resolved that she would never escape him.
• Qi Yaoji took the Storage Bag and started back to the sect, unaware that three people were waiting to ambush her on the mountain path.

Qi Yaoji was ambushed by a mysterious cultivator, who took Sang Ying's Storage Bag and revealed intelligence about the Flowing Light Sword Sect's defenses. Meanwhile, the red fox returned Sang Ying's Storage Bag to her at the city lord's residence, leaving the next move against the sect uncertain.

• Qi Yaoji fell into an illusion on her way to the Flowing Light Sword Sect and handed over Sang Ying's Storage Bag when the mysterious cultivator attacked her with blue flame.
• The mysterious cultivator questioned Qi Yaoji about the Devil Race and her impersonation of Sang Ying, then shared news that the sect's outside allies planned to leave and its remaining members would retreat to the Myriad Phenomena Sect.
• Qi Yaoji accepted the information and continued toward the sect after the illusion dissolved.
• The red fox slipped into the city lord's residence and dropped an object for Sang Ying before fleeing as the Devil Race guards arrived.
• Sang Ying told the guards the red fox had briefly returned, then retrieved her Storage Bag after they left.

Jiang Zhuoxue learned that Sang Ying had begun recovering her spiritual power, while Wen Miaoshu and Sang Zheng used Qi Yaoji’s suspicions to lure the Devil Race into acting. After the Devil Race shifted its forces toward the Flowing Light Sword Sect, a barrier rose over Elder Yanhua’s mountain peak as the conflict moved toward its final stage.

• The red fox told Jiang Zhuoxue that Sang Ying had been practicing swordplay with spiritual power flowing through her branch.
• Wen Miaoshu told Qi Yaoji that the Ten Thousand Daos Born disciples had to leave, and Qi Yaoji pretended she would stay with her family.
• After Wen Miaoshu left, she and Sang Zheng agreed that Qi Yaoji’s response would help draw the Devil Race into a trap.
• The Devil Race moved large numbers of troops from around the Myriad Phenomena Sect to the Flowing Light Sword Sect, while Qi Yaoji smiled smugly in private.
• A transparent barrier rose over Elder Yanhua’s mountain peak.

Sang Zheng and Jiang Zhuoxue convinced the Flowing Light Sword Sect elders that the Sang Ying at Settled Frost Peak was a Devil Race impostor and proposed using her false intelligence to lure the devils into a trap. Elder Yanhua approved sacrificing the sect’s grounds to save its people and destroy the invading force.

• Sang Zheng told the elders that the Sang Ying at Settled Frost Peak was a Devil Race spy, and Jiulian confirmed that her Qi, behavior, and missing jade pendant had seemed suspicious.
• The elders accepted that the impostor had deceived them and turned their attention to using the false information she had sent to lure Fusheng and the devils into an attack.
• Sang Zheng proposed that Jiulian lead the Ten Thousand Daos Born disciples into hiding while the sect weakened its barrier to let the devils enter.
• Sang Zheng explained that Wen Miaoshu could adjust the sect-protecting formation to trap the devils inside, where Jiang Zhuoxue could use his tribulation lightning against them.
• Elder Yanhua approved the plan, accepting that the Flowing Light Sword Sect might be destroyed so its people and the Twin Orchid Realm could survive.

Sang Ying prepared to escape as the Devil Race moved against the Flowing Light Sword Sect, while Ten Thousand Daos Born withdrew its disciples. The battle began, and the awakening sect master revealed that Devil Lord Fusheng was Gu Huaiwei.

• Sang Ying noticed Fusheng acting strangely and continued cultivating in secret, reaching Qi Refinement Great Perfection.
• Fusheng told Sang Ying that the Flowing Light Sword Sect would soon fall and that he would keep her from suffering, then left without confronting her.
• Jiulian ordered Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciples to withdraw, and he forced them onto the flying boat despite their reluctance.
• Fusheng ordered his devil generals to destroy the Flowing Light Sword Sect and leave no one alive, while the sect activated its protective formation and evacuated its weaker disciples.
• Wen Miaoshu caught Qi Yaoji trying to escape and had her locked up, as a tremendous rumble marked the start of the battle.
• The sect master awoke during his evacuation and shouted that Devil Lord Fusheng was Gu Huaiwei, urging those nearby to inform Elder Yanhua.