Chapter Summaries

Sang Ying captured Zhao San and negotiated for safe passage, but Liu Wu demanded an Ice Lotus before helping him. Sang Ying revealed that she already had one, leaving Zhao San stunned as his claim that Ice Lotuses were scarce was disproved.

• Sang Ying used her spirit sword to capture Zhao San and force his guards to stop fighting.
• Sang Ying demanded that the group be allowed to leave with Su Fuyun, but Zhao San ordered his guards to attack anyway.
• Zhao San asked Liu Wu to rescue him by offering him an Ice Lotus, and Liu Wu demanded a Heart Demon Oath before agreeing.
• Sang Ying said Ice Lotuses were not rare and opened a jade box containing one.

Sang Ying traded a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Lotus for Liu Wu’s protection, then secured Su Fuyun after forcing Zhao San’s followers to withdraw. She took Su Fuyun into the forest and swung her sword at her despite the threat of Gu Huaiwei’s retaliation.

• Sang Ying gave Liu Wu a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Lotus, and he swore to protect her until she left Gleaming Gold Island and grant her three conditions.
• Sang Ying made Zhao San’s subordinates withdraw and hand over Su Fuyun, then Fang Chi knocked Zhao San unconscious.
• Sang Ying, Fang Chi, and Hai Tingzhou tied Zhao San up in a trapping formation and planned to have the Hai Household and their sects deal with him in Haizhou City.
• Sang Ying took Su Fuyun into the forest, ignored her pleas and threats invoking Gu Huaiwei, and brought her sword down toward Su Fuyun’s head.

Sang Ying confirmed that the black fog that helped Su Fuyun escape was likely Demonic Qi, then returned from Gleaming Gold Island and helped beat Zhao San. At the city lord’s residence, Hai Tingzhou described his brother’s death and the woman who escaped in black fog, while the Hai Household head’s wife demanded justice for her son.

• Su Fuyun escaped Sang Ying when black fog burst from her chest, and Gu Shu and Liu Wu both identified it as likely Demonic Qi.
• The barrier around Gleaming Gold Island dispersed, and Sang Ying’s group returned to shore with just over a hundred survivors.
• Sang Ying, Hai Tingzhou, and Liu Wu arranged to lure Zhao San’s guards away, then beat Zhao San unconscious in an alley.
• Zhao San went to the city lord’s residence, believing City Lord Hai had summoned him to apologize, but found Hai Tingzhou and the grieving Hai Household head’s wife there.
• Hai Tingzhou said he had parted from his brother Pingge on the island and that Pingge’s companion had escaped in black fog; the woman accused her of killing Pingge and demanded justice.

Zhao San accused Sang Ying of stealing treasure from Gleaming Gold Island, but she turned the complaint aside by swearing she had taken nothing from him and offering a treasure to City Lord Hai. After Hai Tingzhou returned the Hai Household's ancestral harpoon, City Lord Hai ordered Zhao San detained and said he would confront the Zhao family head.

• City Lord Hai questioned Zhao San about his conflict with Hai Tingzhou, and Zhao San accused Sang Ying of stealing from him.
• Sang Ying denied the theft and swore an oath, then admitted she had received a reward from the underground palace along with the other trial participants.
• Sang Ying offered City Lord Hai a treasure in gratitude to the Hai Household, while Hai Tingzhou presented the family's golden harpoon and earned his father's approval.
• Zhao San claimed the underground palace's treasure was a divine artifact, but Sang Ying swore it did not belong to her and dispelled the suspicion.
• City Lord Hai ordered the guards to detain Zhao San and said he would question the Zhao family head about his son's conduct.

After Sang Ying stopped Zhao San from seeking revenge and prepared to leave Haizhou City, she intervened when Meng Luosheng attacked his family. She discovered that his scales came from a Dragon Race bloodline and suspected that Madam Meng was not his biological mother.

• Zhao San apologized to Hai Tingzhou and the others, then his father took him away and punished him.
• Sang Ying told Hai Tingzhou and Fang Chi that she planned to leave Haizhou City to seek an opportunity to form a Golden Core.
• At Xiao Liu's home, Sang Ying found Meng Luosheng attacking Madam Meng and Xiao Liu, and knocked him unconscious.
• Xiao Liu showed Sang Ying the scales covering Meng Luosheng's arm and asked her to help cure him.
• Gu Shu recognized the scales as belonging to a black dragon and explained that Meng Luosheng's human and Dragon Race bloodlines were struggling to become dominant.
• Sang Ying privately asked Madam Meng whether Meng Luosheng was her biological son.

Sang Ying told Madam Meng that Meng Luosheng carried dragon blood, then explained his origins and choices to him. Meng Luosheng chose to become a dragon, and Sang Ying placed Bai Qinglong's Essence Blood between his brows to begin his transformation.

• Madam Meng revealed that she had found Meng Luosheng in a river and kept his dragon-like tail secret after discovering it when he was three.
• Meng Luosheng woke and learned from Xiao Liu that Sang Ying believed his episodes were not an illness and could help him.
• Sang Ying sent Madam Meng and Xiao Liu away, then revealed Meng Luosheng's dragon origins and explained that she could help him become a dragon but not fully human.
• Meng Luosheng chose to become a dragon rather than risk his life trying to merge his bloodlines.
• Sang Ying condensed Essence Blood from Bai Qinglong's dragon bone and placed it between Meng Luosheng's brows, sending fierce heat through his body.

Sang Ying healed Meng Luosheng, received a rare Sarira, and said farewell to her friends in Haizhou City before leaving. Ten years later, she arrived at the Flowing Light Sword Sect as a famous young Golden Core cultivator.

• Sang Ying helped Meng Luosheng absorb dragon blood and recover, reuniting him with Madam Meng and Xiao Liu.
• Xiao Liu offered Sang Ying his life in gratitude, while Meng Luosheng gave her a small box containing a Sarira that could protect against demonic Qi.
• Sang Ying learned that Hai Tingzhou had been confirmed as heir, then accepted a jade talisman from Liu Wu before bidding farewell to him, Fang Chi, and Hai Tingzhou.
• Ten years later, people at a teahouse near the Flowing Light Sword Sect praised Sang Ying as its youngest Golden Core cultivator and a wandering swordswoman who helped the weak.
• Sang Ying listened in disguise as the spirit sword at her side teased her about the praise.

Sang Ying returned to the Flowing Light Sword Sect and learned that Su Fuyun had come back injured. She declared that they were mortal enemies and went to Crimson Snow Peak to confront her, while Mu Xuan feared their conflict would disrupt the sect’s fragile peace.

• At a teahouse, Sang Ying overheard that Su Fuyun had returned to the sect injured and decided to find her.
• A young disciple recognized Sang Ying at the sect gates and announced her return, drawing a crowd of admirers.
• The sect master welcomed Sang Ying and explained that Su Fuyun had blamed her injuries on a Devil Cultivator and called their conflict a misunderstanding.
• Sang Ying rejected the idea of a misunderstanding, called Su Fuyun her mortal enemy, and left to confront her at Crimson Snow Peak.
• After Sang Ying departed, Mu Xuan asked whether they should intervene, but the sect master told him to let Crimson Snow Peak handle the matter.

Sang Ying returned to Crimson Snow Peak and attacked Su Fuyun, overcoming the mist in her jade pendant with a śarīra before Gu Huaiwei arrived and healed her. Sang Ying invoked her authority as a Golden Core True Person and left, telling Gu Huaiwei that she had never considered them to have a master-disciple relationship.

• Zhou Heng'an asked Sang Ying to forgive Su Fuyun for now, but Sang Ying pushed past him and knocked him aside when he tried to stop her.
• Sang Ying broke into Su Fuyun's house and wounded her, then used a prepared śarīra to drive back the black mist from Su Fuyun's jade pendant.
• Sang Ying repeatedly attacked Su Fuyun until her sword pierced Su Fuyun's heart, despite the mist's attempts to deflect it.
• Gu Huaiwei arrived, healed Su Fuyun, and condemned Sang Ying, while Zhou Heng'an reproached her for attacking a fellow disciple.
• Sang Ying said the Discipline Hall should deal with Su Fuyun and left Crimson Snow Peak, telling Gu Huaiwei that she had never considered them to have a master-disciple relationship.

Sang Ying sought to reclaim Settled Frost Peak and confronted the sect master over the Flowing Light Sword Sect’s failure to punish Su Fuyun. Su Fuyun remained injured and resentful, until a man in black robes arrived to find her.

• Jiang Yan stopped inner disciples from gossiping about Sang Ying and told Chen Xiu that Sang Ying had asked to take over Settled Frost Peak.
• Sang Ying demanded that the sect master return Settled Frost Peak, citing Su Fuyun’s past framing of her and the sect’s failure to deliver justice.
• The sect master agreed to give Sang Ying Settled Frost Peak but asked her to stop targeting Su Fuyun and report to the Discipline Hall for injuring her senior sister.
• Sang Ying left the sect master’s hall, convinced that the Flowing Light Sword Sect was no longer a place where she could stay.
• Su Fuyun argued with the jade pendant about its failure to warn or protect her, then a handsome man in black robes appeared and told her he had come to find her.

Fan Nanjun secretly visited Su Fuyun, who persuaded him to help expel Sang Ying from the Flowing Light Sword Sect. A few days later, Discipline Hall disciples summoned Sang Ying for questioning, and she left Settled Frost Peak with Bai Qinglong's Storage Bag after sensing something was wrong.

• Fan Nanjun visited Su Fuyun on Crimson Snow Peak and said he had punished He Lianyi and come to take her back.
• Su Fuyun described Sang Ying's alleged attacks, and Fan Nanjun promised to settle the grudge against her.
• Su Fuyun stopped Fan Nanjun from seeking immediate revenge and asked him to arrange Sang Ying's expulsion instead.
• Sang Ying tidied Settled Frost Peak with help from Gu Shu and his spirit sword while waiting for the sect's decision.
• Discipline Hall disciples arrived on the sect master's orders and summoned Sang Ying for questioning about Su Fuyun.
• Sang Ying took Bai Qinglong's Storage Bag before leaving, while the sensing stone in her wooden house lit up.

Su Fuyun accused Sang Ying of colluding with the Devil Race and produced evidence that appeared to link Sang Ying to the Devil Venerable, Fan Nanjun. Elder Jingsu ordered Sang Ying confined in the water prison while the Discipline Hall investigated further.

• Elder Jingsu summoned Su Fuyun and Sang Ying to the Discipline Hall, where Su Fuyun accused Sang Ying of colluding with the Devil Race and framing her.
• Sang Ying denied the accusation and claimed Su Fuyun's jade pendant was tied to the Devil Race, but Elder Jingsu found it free of Demonic Qi.
• Sang Ying offered witnesses and her communication talisman, while Su Fuyun presented Jade Slips and an Image-Retaining Stone as evidence against her.
• Elder Jingsu viewed footage of a black-robed figure leaving Settled Frost Peak, and Sang Ying recognized him as the Devil Venerable, Fan Nanjun.
• Sang Ying denied writing the Jade Slips and offered to swear a Heart Demon Oath, but Elder Jingsu ordered her confined in the water prison pending investigation.

Sang Ying was imprisoned after Su Fuyun framed her, but she exposed a staged rescue attempt involving Fan Nanjun. When Gu Huaiwei tried to take her back as his disciple, Sang Ying severed their master-disciple bond and declared she had nothing more to do with him.

• Sang Ying considered how to disprove Su Fuyun’s fabricated evidence while imprisoned in the Flowing Light Sword Sect’s water dungeon.
• A man shrouded in black mist broke into the dungeon and tried to abduct Sang Ying, while the snake yao next door tried to stop him.
• Sang Ying called Gu Shu, who attacked the black-mist figure with the Dragon Abyss Sword and helped her escape his grasp.
• The black mist dispersed to reveal Fan Nanjun, and Su Fuyun claimed his arrival proved Sang Ying had colluded with the Devil Race.
• Gu Huaiwei accepted the accusation but offered to take Sang Ying back to Crimson Snow Peak, prompting Su Fuyun and Sang Ying to object.
• Sang Ying declared that she was expelling herself from Gu Huaiwei’s tutelage, severed her bond with him, and cut off the hem of her skirt.

Sang Ying rejected Gu Huaiwei’s attempt to claim her as his disciple and accused Su Fuyun of colluding with Fan Nanjun. The sect master sided with Su Fuyun, condemned Sang Ying, and ordered her punishment and expulsion from the Flowing Light Sword Sect.

• Sang Ying tricked Fan Nanjun into revealing that he was protecting Su Fuyun, and Fan Nanjun fled after Elder Yanhua pursued him.
• Gu Huaiwei tried to seize Sang Ying and punish her himself, but she declared that she had expelled herself from his tutelage and challenged Su Fuyun’s connection to the Devil Race.
• Su Fuyun urged the sect master to decide Sang Ying’s fate, and he declared her guilty of colluding with the Devil Race and ordered her Golden Core shattered and her cultivation crippled.
• Elder Jingsu objected that the Discipline Hall should investigate, but the sect master ordered Sang Ying to be punished publicly and driven out of the Flowing Light Sword Sect.
• The Third Elder mocked Gu Huaiwei, while Golden Core disciples surrounded Sang Ying and forced her to surrender; Gu Huaiwei questioned his neglect but chose to accept her sacrifice.

Sang Ying was held for execution after being framed, while Su Fuyun blackmailed the sect master with evidence of his role in Sang Zheng and his wife's deaths. Sang Ying escaped the execution platform and fled toward the forbidden ground's rift, hoping to survive.

• Sang Ying reflected in her cell and decided she could rely only on herself and would reclaim what she and her parents had lost.
• The Dragon Abyss Sword damaged treasured swords in the burial ground, and the Discipline Hall brought it to the sect master.
• Su Fuyun threatened the sect master with a sound-recording stone and demanded more than their original agreement.
• The Discipline Hall brought Sang Ying to the execution platform, where she protested her innocence and accused the sect master and Su Fuyun of framing her.
• Sang Ying called out to Gu Shu, who freed her from the executioner's sword and broke her Spiritual Qi-suppressing bracelet.
• Sang Ying recovered the Dragon Abyss Sword, escaped her chains, and ran toward the forbidden ground's rift to seek a chance of survival.

Sang Ying was cornered in the Flowing Light Sword Sect's forbidden grounds, where Gu Huaiwei shattered her Golden Core as she tried to reach the rift. She stabbed him in the Dantian and leaped into the rift, while a clay figure of her shattered elsewhere and the newly appointed Demon Emperor learned she had returned to the sect.

• Sang Ying fled into the forbidden grounds, but Gu Huaiwei and the others caught up and blocked her path to the rift.
• Su Fuyun urged Gu Huaiwei to shatter Sang Ying's Golden Core himself, and Sang Ying unleashed a powerful sword move to escape.
• Gu Huaiwei struck Sang Ying in the Dantian, shattering her Golden Core, and she pretended to plead for his help.
• Sang Ying stabbed Gu Huaiwei in the Dantian, then leaped into the rift as Su Fuyun screamed and the sect master roared.
• A woman traveling with her dao companion dropped and shattered a clay figure resembling their daughter.
• The newly appointed Demon Emperor learned that Sang Ying had returned to the Flowing Light Sword Sect and resolved to visit her and apologize.

Sang Ying woke at the bottom of the rift with her Dantian leaking Spiritual Qi and, aided by Gu Shu, searched for shelter among the Devil Beasts. After she chose a cave and activated a defensive wooden-house artifact, she fainted again; meanwhile, Su Fuyun learned that Gu Huaiwei’s Dantian wound would not heal and demanded that the sect master save him.

• Gu Shu told Sang Ying he had lowered her safely into the rift and fought off Devil Beasts while she was unconscious.
• Sang Ying realized Gu Huaiwei had damaged her Dantian so she could no longer retain Spiritual Qi, then used a bone as a walking stick while she and Gu Shu searched for safety.
• As the Devil Beasts grew scarce, Sang Ying and Gu Shu found plants growing near a cave and chose to risk sheltering there rather than remain among the beasts.
• Sang Ying used her remaining Spiritual Qi to activate a defensive wooden-house artifact, then fainted before entering it.
• The sect master told Su Fuyun that Sang Ying’s sword had pierced Gu Huaiwei’s Dantian and left an unhealing wound.
• Su Fuyun threatened to expose the sect master’s actions against the Sang Household, and he promised to take Gu Huaiwei to the Plain Robe Pavilion if the sect could not save him.

Sang Ying recovered enough to explore the wooden house, where she and Gu Shu used a Sarira to ward off Demonic Qi, while a chained, blind man in a nearby cave learned of her arrival. Meanwhile, Sang Ying’s parents returned to the Twin Orchid Realm and heard a false story branding their daughter a traitor and claiming her Golden Core had been crippled.

• Sang Ying used two spirit herbs to ease her Dantian pain and explored the wooden house while Gu Shu scouted the valley.
• Sang Ying buried the Sarira in the courtyard, creating a barrier of Buddha’s light that protected the house from Demonic Qi.
• The smell of Sang Ying’s spirit chicken drew a vine from a cave, but it recoiled after striking the Buddhist barrier.
• The vine complained to its blind, chained master, who wondered how long the newcomer could survive in the valley.
• Sang Zheng and Wen Miaoshu returned to the Flowing Light Sword Sect and heard people accuse Sang Ying of colluding with the Devil Race, betraying the sect, and having her Golden Core crippled.

Sang Ying and Gu Shu caught the food thief, a vine that dragged Sang Ying into a cave, where she met a chained, beautiful man. At Settled Frost Peak, the Third Elder insulted the Sang Household portrait and was confronted by an angry newcomer.

• Sang Ying practiced swordsmanship and agreed to help Gu Shu catch the thief by using roast meat as bait.
• A vine stole the roast meat, wrapped around Sang Ying, and carried her into a dark cave despite Gu Shu's attempt to stop it.
• The vine brought Sang Ying to a chained man, who remarked that it seemed to like her.
• The Third Elder claimed Settled Frost Peak, ordered the Sang Household's belongings removed, and threw their portrait outside.
• An enraged newcomer burst into the hall and challenged the Third Elder over his claim to the peak and his insult to the portrait.

Sang Zheng returned to the Flowing Light Sword Sect and learned that his daughter, Sang Ying, had been expelled and badly mistreated after the sect master and others accepted accusations against her. He dragged the Third Elder before the sect master and beat them both, ending with a public warning that everyone involved would pay if anything happened to Sang Ying.

• The Third Elder claimed Settled Frost Peak was rightfully his because the sect had declared it ownerless, but Sang Zheng challenged that claim and demanded to know what had happened to Sang Ying.
• The Third Elder explained that Sang Ying had been made Gu Huaiwei's disciple and recounted how the sect had judged her on hearsay and shattered her Golden Core.
• Sang Zheng wrapped spiritual power around the Third Elder's neck and dragged him to the main peak, where Wen Miaoshu was waiting for the sect master.
• Sang Zheng threw the Third Elder into the hall, then kicked the sect master and dragged him to the disciples' sparring platform.
• Sang Zheng beat the sect master in public and accused him of conspiring with others to frame Sang Ying; the sect master regretted acting against her after Su Fuyun's blackmail.
• Sang Zheng warned that no one involved would escape if anything happened to his daughter.