Recaps

The Divine Martial Nation evacuated the lands around Divine Relic Ridge as Blood Demons repeatedly broke through their seal, leaving Bai Xiaoxiao to reinforce the ridge while accepting the risk of a Great Wu Dynasty invasion. In Lingnan, Lin Bai learned that Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had no escape talisman capable of carrying someone tens of millions of miles, with only one month left to find a solution.

• The Skyguard Legion closed the road to Divine Relic Ridge and ordered martial artists and nearby settlements to evacuate.
• A scout reported that tens of thousands of Blood Demons had escaped through the seventy-fifth breach, and Bai Xiaoxiao ordered Chu Jiangliu to contain them.
• Bai Xiaoxiao sent marquises to defend the borders against the Great Wu Dynasty and approved Chu Jiangliu's prepared death warriors.
• Lin Bai asked Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for an escape talisman that could carry someone tens of millions of miles, but its maid said none existed and the available million-mile talisman would take two months to arrive.
• Lin Bai rejected the slower escape talismans and demanded another solution, saying only one month remained.

Lin Bai learned that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion held Million-Li Blood Teleportation Talismans and bought all eleven. On Divine Relic Ridge, Yin Jiuling used Giant God Bone powder to prepare a calamity, while Hu Qi explained the ancient Calamity Dao.

• The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion maid told Lin Bai that Million-Li Blood Teleportation Talismans could transport someone a million li at the cost of vital blood.
• Lin Bai bought all eleven Million-Li Blood Teleportation Talismans held by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion in the Myriad Kingdoms Domain.
• On Divine Relic Ridge, Yin Jiuling used powder from the Giant God Bone to prepare a calamity that could target blood demons.
• Hu Qi explained that the ancient Calamity Dao involved taking a spirit, fixing a calamity, and making those marked by it suffer its punishment.
• Yin Jiuling said that the Talismaster Dao, Calamity Dao, Formation Dao, and Blade Dao had declined as martial artists came to revere only the Martial Dao.

A Ning, Yin Jiuling, and Hu Qi reaffirmed their loyalty to Lin Bai despite knowing he belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race, and A Ning predicted Lin Bai would have to become the Barren Ancient Continent’s public enemy to survive. Lin Bai returned and gathered the Divine Martial Nation’s forces to plan an assault on the Blood Demon’s defenses beneath Divine Relic Ridge.

• Hu Qi raised concerns about Lin Bai’s Heaven Swallowing Race identity, but Yin Jiuling, A Ning, and Hu Qi vowed they would not betray him.
• A Ning revealed that he had met Lin Bai more than ten years earlier and said Lin Bai would have to become the enemy of every martial artist on the Barren Ancient Continent to survive.
• Nie Xiong summoned everyone to the main hall, where Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao met with Yin Jiuling, Hu Qi, A Ning, and the Divine Martial Nation’s Army Marquises.
• Bai Xiaoxiao placed the Dragon Legion, Skyguard Legion, Dragon Tattoo Imperial Guards, Chu Family Army, and Divine Martial Sword God Battalion under Lin Bai’s command.
• Lin Bai explained that the human martial artists could enter the underground world beneath Divine Relic Ridge and would need to break through five lines of Blood Demon defenses to reach the Giant God’s bones.

Lin Bai assigned the armies to breach the first four lines of defense at Divine Relic Ridge, with strict withdrawal deadlines, while he planned to enter the fifth line alone. After Lin Bai revealed that he would escape using Million-Li Blood Escape Talismans, Bai Xiaoxiao reluctantly approved the plan and the armies began preparing for an operation three days later.

• Lin Bai assigned the Chu Family Army, the Skyguard Legion, and the Dragon Legion to break through the first three lines of defense and withdraw within set time limits, using the Skyguard Legion’s Heaven Defense Warships.
• Yin Jiuling volunteered to break through the fourth line of defense, and Lin Bai said Hu Qi, A Ning, and he would help before Yin Jiuling withdrew.
• Bai Xiaoxiao challenged Lin Bai over how he would escape the fifth line, and Lin Bai showed her his Million-Li Blood Escape Talismans.
• Lin Bai ordered the Divine Martial Nation’s army to prepare for the operation three days later, and Bai Xiaoxiao directed Chu Jiangliu to mobilize the forces.

Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao shared a farewell beneath the moon before the Divine Martial Nation’s army prepared to attack the blood demons. Lin Bai led the advance into the fissure at Divine Relic Ridge, where the Chu Family Army launched the first assault to open a path through the enemy’s defenses.

• Bai Xiaoxiao recalled her earlier days with Lin Bai and begged him to leave the Barren Ancient Continent with her, but Lin Bai promised this would be his last dangerous mission.
• Three days later, tens of millions of Divine Martial Nation soldiers gathered at the fissure in Divine Relic Ridge under Lin Bai’s command.
• Lin Bai learned that Chu Jiangliu had secretly sent Bai Xiaoxiao far away after Lin Bai drugged her wine so she would not stay behind.
• Lin Bai, Yin Jiuling, Hu Qi, A Ning, and the army entered the fissure and reached the first defensive line in the underground world.
• Chu Jiangliu ordered the Chu Family Army to charge, and the soldiers clashed with the blood demons in a fierce battle.

Lin Bai and the armies broke through the first four lines of defense, with Yin Jiuling’s formation causing lightning to devastate the Blood Demons. Lin Bai entered the fifth line alone and faced the Blood Demon King, claiming he had brought the Divine Creation Palace token as he stood above the giant god’s corpse.

• Chu Jiangliu led the Chu Family Army in opening a path through the Blood Demons so the Skyguard Legion and Dragon Legion could advance.
• Lin Bai passed through the second and third lines of defense while the armies fought the Blood Demons and then began withdrawing.
• At the fourth line, Yin Jiuling scattered bone powder and broke the formation, unleashing lightning that slaughtered the Blood Demons.
• Lin Bai told Yin Jiuling, Hu Qi, and A Ning to retreat within fifteen minutes, then rode his flying sword through the fourth line into the fifth.
• The Blood Demon King questioned Lin Bai about the Divine Creation Palace and demanded it from him.
• Lin Bai moved above the giant god’s corpse, said he would hand over the Divine Creation Palace, and pulled a ball of light from his Storage Bag.

Lin Bai revealed that he had delayed the Blood Demon King so Chu Jiangliu, the armies, Yin Jiuling, and the others could escape Divine Relic Ridge. He fought to keep the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent from the Blood Demon King, summoning a false god and a Quasi-Dao Realm Gold Soul to help him.

• The Blood Demon King revealed that he had deliberately allowed Lin Bai to reach him, hoping to take the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent and no longer needing the Divine Creation Palace.
• Lin Bai said he had kept the Blood Demon King talking to buy Chu Jiangliu, the Chu Family Army, the Dragon Legion, the Skyguard Legion, Yin Jiuling, and the others time to withdraw.
• The Blood Demon King attacked Lin Bai, who fought off the charging Blood Demons with the Heaven Measuring Ruler and the Demon Sword.
• The Giant God Avatar appeared and struck the Blood Demon King, who recognized it as a false god cultivated through the Ancient God Scripture.
• Lin Bai sent a Gold Soul from the Soul Refining Banner to join the Giant God Avatar against the Blood Demon King.

Lin Bai used himself and his summoned forces as bait while his Demonic Body carried the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent to the Giant God's bones. The serpent awakened the Giant God's will and unleashed a devouring power that destroyed the Demonic Body, the Blood Demon King, and the surrounding blood demons, while Lin Bai fled using Blood Teleportation Talismans.

• The Blood Demon King summoned more than fifty Dao Realm blood demons, who destroyed the Quasi-Dao Realm Gold Soul and battered the Giant God Avatar as they surrounded Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai pretended to hand the Blood Demon King an empty ball of light, revealing that the Demonic Body had secretly taken the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent to the Giant God's bones.
• The Demonic Body drove the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent into the Giant God's bones as Lin Bai crushed a Million-Li Blood Escape Talisman.
• The awakened Giant God's will and the serpent's devouring power shattered the bones and destroyed the Demonic Body, the Sword of Impermanence, the Blood Demon King, and the Dao Realm blood demons.
• Lin Bai escaped the spreading devouring power with successive Blood Teleportation Talismans, becoming increasingly weakened as it pursued him.

Lin Bai escaped the destruction of Divine Relic Ridge and was caught by Bai Xiaoxiao, though he was gravely weakened. After seven days of unconsciousness, he woke in the royal tent and saw Bai Xiaoxiao beside him.

• Bai Xiaoxiao waited at camp as Chu Jiangliu, the legions, Yin Jiuling, and the others returned, and she asked where Lin Bai was.
• A force erupted from Divine Relic Ridge and consumed everything within tens of millions of li before stopping near the Divine Martial Nation's camp.
• Lin Bai appeared above the camp in a blood-red light and fell, and Bai Xiaoxiao caught him before he hit the ground.
• Bai Xiaoxiao carried Lin Bai into the royal tent, ordered Chu Jiangliu to lead the Dragon Legion and Skyguard Legion to search Divine Relic Ridge for escaped Blood Demons, and tended to Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai remained unconscious for seven days as his body recovered, then woke on the eighth day and told Bai Xiaoxiao he wished he could see her whenever he opened his eyes.

After Lin Bai recovered, he confirmed that the Heaven Swallowing Dragon Serpent had destroyed Divine Relic Ridge and apparently wiped out the Blood Demons, then organized the armies’ return from the Myriad Kingdoms Domain. Years later, the devastated land became the Sword God Sea, while the Great Wu Dynasty invaded the Divine Martial Nation and advanced toward its imperial capital.

• Lin Bai woke to Bai Xiaoxiao’s relief, learned he had nearly died from blood loss, and insisted on inspecting Divine Relic Ridge.
• Lin Bai and his companions found a vast bottomless pit where Divine Relic Ridge had stood, and Chu Jiangliu reported that searches had uncovered no Blood Demons or surviving life.
• Lin Bai urged Bai Xiaoxiao to return the Skyguard Legion and Dragon Legion to the Divine Martial Nation’s borders, while Chu Jiangliu’s troops continued searching the pit.
• Over five years, rain and rivers filled the pit and formed the Sword God Sea, which later became home to islands, demonic beasts, Primordial Behemoths, and outlaws.
• Lin Bai ordered most of the Chu Family Army back to the imperial capital and left the Myriad Kingdoms Domain with Bai Xiaoxiao, Yin Jiuling, Hu Qi, and the others.
• Wu He led the Heavenly Witch Army across the East Sacred River, seized several domains, and advanced toward the Divine Martial Nation’s imperial capital.

After recovering in the Divine Martial Nation, Lin Bai let A Ning, Hu Qi, and Yin Jiuling depart for the Central Sacred Nation while he stayed behind to heal. He later found Bai Xiaoxiao and her ministers debating how to deal with Wu He, whose presence in the nation threatened its stability.

• Lin Bai, Yin Jiuling, Hu Qi, and A Ning drank together, and A Ning, Hu Qi, and Yin Jiuling decided to travel to the Central Sacred Nation.
• At dawn on the third day, A Ning, Hu Qi, and Yin Jiuling left while Bai Xiaoxiao kept Lin Bai in the Divine Martial Nation to recover.
• Lin Bai lamented losing his demonic body, the Sword of Impermanence, and the Soul Refining Banner's Quasi-Dao Realm Gold Soul.
• After healing more than eighty percent, Lin Bai went to the Listening Wind Pavilion and saw Bai Xiaoxiao, Chu Jiangliu, Shang Lang, and the Sect Leader Sword Reverent debating Wu He.
• Chu Jiangliu offered to lead the Chu Family Army to exterminate Wu He, but Shang Lang warned that a public search could spread panic and destabilize the Divine Martial Nation.

Lin Bai learned that Wu He and a small elite force were terrorizing the Divine Martial Nation, while the court debated how to stop them without provoking panic or the Eastern Continent Academy. He volunteered to confront Wu He himself.

• Chu Jiangliu urged Bai Xiaoxiao to let him lead the Chu Family Army against Wu He, but Shang Lang warned that a large deployment would alarm the nation and threaten its stability.
• Lin Bai arrived at the court and asked Chu Jiangliu to explain the dispute.
• Chu Jiangliu revealed that Wu He had stayed behind with twenty to thirty thousand elite fighters and was hunting frontier officials and their families.
• Shang Lang argued that a large force would cause panic, a small force could not defeat Wu He, and capturing him would risk a conflict with the Eastern Continent Academy.
• Lin Bai agreed that sending tens of millions of troops was unwise, then offered to go after Wu He himself.

Lin Bai insisted on going after Wu He, despite Bai Xiaoxiao’s reluctance, and agreed to take elite Chu Family Army soldiers with him. As Lin Bai prepared to leave the imperial capital, he remained determined to depart for the Central Sacred Nation after resolving the crisis.

• Lin Bai volunteered to subdue Wu He, explaining that his strength and the shortage of Son of Heaven Palace geniuses made his intervention necessary.
• Bai Xiaoxiao revealed to Imperial Advisor Shang Lang that Lin Bai had helped build the Divine Martial Nation and insisted that she could handle Wu He herself.
• Lin Bai told Bai Xiaoxiao he planned to leave the Eastern Continent for the Central Sacred Nation after dealing with Wu He, and persuaded her to let him go with Chu Jiangliu’s elite soldiers.
• Bai Xiaoxiao agreed on the condition that Chu Jiangliu accompany Lin Bai, and Lin Bai ordered him to assemble elite troops for the next day.
• Chu Jiangliu waited with his soldiers and a warship outside the imperial capital, and Lin Bai boarded after learning it was not a Heavenly Defense Warship.

Lin Bai and Chu Jiangliu led the Chu Family Army to the Central River Domain after learning that Wu He was likely targeting the Marquis of the Central River. They arrived at the estate and learned that Wu He’s forces had been sighted nearby, though his intentions remained unclear.

• Chu Jiangliu told Lin Bai that he had brought one hundred thousand elite soldiers from the eighty-million-strong Chu Family Army, and reassured him that the army remained loyal to Emperor Xiao.
• Chu Jiangliu explained that Wu He was heading toward the Central River Domain, a key military supply region, so Lin Bai ordered the Chu Family Army to go there.
• Chu Jiangliu said he had ordered the Marquis of the Central River to strengthen his defenses while the ten warships traveled to the domain.
• Lin Bai and Chu Jiangliu arrived at the Estate of the Marquis of the Central River, where the Marquis greeted them and learned Lin Bai was the Iron-Blooded Sword King.
• The Marquis of the Central River told Lin Bai that Wu He had entered the domain and that scouts had spotted a likely enemy army near the estate, but he did not know what Wu He intended to do.

Lin Bai questioned the Marquis of the Central River about Wu He’s plans, then discovered the Marquis had sent his son Zhao Xing and other Son of Heaven Palace disciples away on a military spirit boat. Lin Bai escorted them toward the domain’s border and revealed his identity, leaving them stunned that he was the former Holy Son of East Continent.

• Lin Bai asked the Marquis of the Central River whether the Divine Martial Nation had sent provisions to the domain, but the Marquis said none were expected.
• A military spirit boat arrived carrying Zhao Xing, the Marquis’s son, and his Son of Heaven Palace friends; the Marquis admitted he had lent them the boat for their safety.
• Lin Bai learned that Zhao Xing and his friends had been back in the Central River Domain for more than half a month and offered to escort them toward the Son of Heaven Palace.
• Lin Bai told Chu Jiangliu to wait at the Marquis’s estate, then traveled with Zhao Xing and the others toward the Central River Domain’s border.
• Zhao Xing and his friends asked Lin Bai’s name, and he introduced himself as Lin Bai, shocking them with the revelation that he was the former Holy Son of East Continent.

Chu Jiangliu realized Wu He’s forces were targeting Zhao Xing and raced to pursue them, while Marquis of the Central River mobilized his army. Lin Bai’s spirit vessel was intercepted by the Heavenly Witch Army, led by Wu He and Eastern Continent Academy’s young elites.

• Chu Jiangliu recognized that Wu He was after Zhao Xing, ordered the Chu Family Army to pursue them, and Marquis of the Central River mobilized the Central River Army.
• Zhao Xing and his companions recognized Lin Bai, and Lu Song argued that Wu He was Eastern Continent’s greatest prodigy.
• Lin Bai said his goal was to kill those who claimed to be the strongest under heaven, then warned that uninvited guests were approaching.
• The Heavenly Witch Army surrounded Lin Bai’s spirit vessel, and Zhao Xing identified the force as belonging to the Great Wu Dynasty.
• Wu He and several Eastern Continent Academy elites appeared, and Lu Song rushed to greet Wu He, who spared him because he praised him.

Lin Bai returned to the Eastern Continent and confronted Wu He, who had come to kill Zhao Xing. After Wu He ordered the Heavenly Witch Army and the Eastern Continent Academy’s Quasi-Holy Sons to attack, Lin Bai effortlessly defeated four of them with one sword.

• Wu He demanded that Zhao Xing and his companions kneel for mercy, but Zhao Xing refused and criticized Wu He for bullying the weak.
• Wu He struck Zhao Xing with overwhelming force, and Lin Bai emerged to catch him and dispel the attack.
• Lin Bai challenged Wu He and offered to take him to the imperial capital, prompting Wu He to order the Heavenly Witch Army to kill him.
• Shi Zhongxian, Jian Kong, Lin Yibing, and Leng Yun attacked Lin Bai together, but he repelled their attacks and sent all four flying with one sword.

Lin Bai overwhelmed Wu He and the Eastern Continent Academy’s experts after they attacked him in the Divine Martial Nation. He refused to kill Wu He but defeated him and intended to take the group to the Divine Martial Nation’s imperial capital.

• Lin Bai defeated Shi Zhongxian, Jian Kong, Lin Yibing, and Leng Yun with a single sword strike, then ordered Wu He to accompany him to the imperial capital.
• Wu He and the others attacked Lin Bai together, but Lin Bai wounded Jian Kong, Leng Yun, Tu Ziyun, Lin Yibing, and Huo Fentian, while his flying swords restrained Shi Zhongxian.
• Wu He warned Lin Bai that killing him would provoke the Eastern Continent Academy, so Lin Bai said he would spare him but still take the group to the imperial capital.
• Wu He refused to go and attacked Lin Bai, but Lin Bai shattered his technique and struck him down.

Lin Bai defeated Wu He and the Heavenly Witch Army, then ordered their surviving leaders taken to the Divine Martial Nation’s imperial capital. Zhang Xifeng arrived to demand their release, but Lin Bai refused and challenged the Eastern Continent Academy to send Gu Daozhi if it wanted Wu He back.

• Lin Bai defeated Wu He, leaving Lu Song and Zhao Xing stunned by his strength.
• Chu Jiangliu arrived with the Chu Family Army, captured the surviving Heavenly Witch Army, and agreed to take Wu He and the Quasi-Holy Sons to the imperial capital for judgment.
• The Marquis of the Central River thanked Lin Bai for saving Zhao Xing, and Lin Bai explained that he had used Zhao Xing to draw out Wu He and his allies.
• Zhang Xifeng appeared and asked Lin Bai to hand over Wu He and the Quasi-Holy Sons, warning that their deaths could force the Eastern Continent Academy into the dynastic struggle.
• Lin Bai refused to release the prisoners and told Zhang Xifeng that Gu Daozhi could come for them; Zhang Xifeng left after warning Lin Bai of the consequences.

After returning victorious to the Divine Martial Nation, Lin Bai helped Bai Xiaoxiao navigate the political risks of holding Wu He and the other Heavenly Witch Army captives. With the prisoners exchanged for territory and resources, Lin Bai prepared to travel to the Central Sacred Nation to investigate his parents’ whereabouts and learn what happened more than twenty years earlier.

• Lin Bai returned to the imperial capital with Chu Jiangliu and warned Bai Xiaoxiao to keep Wu He and several key Eastern Continent Academy figures alive.
• Lin Bai explained that the Seventeenth Prince might target the captives to distract the Eastern Continent Academy, and Bai Xiaoxiao began discussing how to use them.
• The Divine Martial Nation negotiated with the Great Wu Dynasty and exchanged Wu He and the Heavenly Witch Army for thirty territories, divine ores, and cultivation resources.
• Lin Bai decided to visit Uncle Lan Ling and then go to the Central Sacred Nation, where he planned to investigate his parents’ whereabouts and the events of more than twenty years ago.
• Bai Xiaoxiao offered to send the Divine Martial Nation’s army with Lin Bai, but he declined, saying he would first investigate and plan how to rescue his parents.

After Lin Bai left the Divine Martial Nation for the Eastern Continent Academy, Bai Xiaoxiao received an offer of support from the Central Sacred Nation’s Seventeenth Prince to unify the Eastern Continent. Lin Bai returned to the Academy and met Lan Ling, who discussed his recent victories and the complacency of the Academy’s Quasi-Holy Sons.

• Lin Bai reassured Bai Xiaoxiao that he would avoid directly clashing with the Central Sacred Nation unless forced, and the two spent three days together at the Sword King Manor.
• Lin Bai left for the Eastern Continent Academy, while Bai Xiaoxiao resolved to unify the Eastern Continent so she could help him challenge the Central Sacred Nation.
• Imperial Advisor Shang Lang introduced Zhang Jinwu, who told Bai Xiaoxiao that the Seventeenth Prince intended to support her unification campaign.
• Bai Xiaoxiao realized the Seventeenth Prince was backing her to counter the Eastern Continent Academy in the struggle for the throne.
• Lin Bai returned to the Eastern Continent Academy and went to the Lan Clan, where Lan Yuxin welcomed him and brought him to Lan Ling.
• Lan Ling spoke with Lin Bai about his defeat of Wu He, Shi Zhongxian, and the other Quasi-Holy Sons, and said his victories might spur them to cultivate harder.

Lin Bai left for the Central Sacred Nation after Lan Ling warned him about its dangers and arranged for Su Xianmei to receive him. There, Fang Yiyun and his companions were cornered by officials pursuing Shu Xiang, but a mysterious swordsman from Prince Rong's residence appeared to save them.

• Lin Bai told Lan Ling he was heading to the Central Sacred Nation, and Lan Ling warned him not to provoke beggars, Buddhist monks, or officials there.
• After Lin Bai departed, Lan Ling told figures gathered over the lake that the plan was beginning and asked Su Yanhua to have Su Xianmei receive Lin Bai.
• Li Zhengyi crushed a Voice Transmission Token and murmured that the sword had been drawn.
• In Taicang Prefecture, the prefect's men surrounded Fang Yiyun and his companions because the prefect wanted Shu Xiang as a concubine.
• Fang Yiyun attacked the soldiers so his companions could escape, but the old man and his forces beat them and prepared to kill Wen Jia.
• A black-clad swordsman named Mo Wenshen appeared and severed the old man's arm with a streak of sword light.

Mo Wenshen used his standing as Prince Rong’s trusted subordinate to drive off Taicang Prefecture’s men, then claimed Wen Jia as the son of his sworn brother, Wen Cheng. He persuaded Wen Jia to go with him by promising answers about his parents’ deaths and a chance for revenge, leaving Fang Yiyun worried about Mo Wenshen’s motives.

• Mo Wenshen showed Prince Rong’s token and forced the old man and his men to leave Fang Yiyun’s group alone.
• Mo Wenshen greeted Fang Yiyun, then explained that he had come for Wen Jia, Wen Cheng’s surviving son.
• Mo Wenshen urged Wen Jia to seek the truth about his parents’ deaths and promised to train him to avenge them.
• Wen Jia chose to leave with Mo Wenshen despite Fang Yiyun’s objections, promising to return after learning the truth and taking revenge.
• After Mo Wenshen and Wen Jia flew away, Fang Yiyun warned Changsun Yun that Mo Wenshen likely had another motive.

Lin Bai traveled by spirit boat into Central Sacred Nation and learned about its governors and three bureaus. As he arrived in Dragon River Prefecture, a prophecy appeared in the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau, and a Daoist-robed old man warned that a great calamity was near.

• A Slovenly Old Man explained Central Sacred Nation's vast territory and the power held by its prefectural governors.
• The Slovenly Old Man described the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau, Hanging Sword Bureau, and Dragon Slaying Bureau, and Lin Bai concluded that they monitored powerful figures and forces.
• The spirit boat neared Qing Yun City, and Lin Bai looked out over Central Sacred Nation with a gloomy expression.
• At the moment Lin Bai entered Central Sacred Nation, a book in the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau revealed a prophecy about calamity, resentment, and the Boundless Marquis.
• A Daoist-robed old man read the prophecy and declared that the great calamity was nigh.

Lin Bai arrived in Qing Yun City and followed the Slovenly Old Man, hoping to learn where he could investigate secrets about the Central Sacred Nation. After Lin Bai paid an enormous bill for the old man's feast, the Slovenly Old Man led him to a secluded estate, promising to explain things while they bathed in hot springs.

• The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's steward landed outside Qing Yun City and warned the travelers about the Central Sacred Nation's rules and dangers.
• Lin Bai followed the Slovenly Old Man through the city and asked where he could find records of secret matters; the old man pointed him toward the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau but demanded wine before giving directions.
• The Slovenly Old Man led Lin Bai to a luxurious restaurant, where he ate and drank while Lin Bai watched.
• The waiter charged three hundred million drops of spirit liquid for the meal, and Lin Bai paid the bill.
• The Slovenly Old Man took a jug of wine and led Lin Bai to a secluded estate, saying he would explain more while they soaked in its hot springs.