Recaps

Ming Jiejin explained how the Book of the Dead’s power had built the Western Continent’s civilization while draining the vitality of the living and shortening the lives of popes. He revealed that he had spent years maneuvering in Radiance to find Cha Shiyin, then demanded Cha Shiyin’s “Undying Heart.”

• Ming Jiejin told Cha Shiyin that invading Radiance had been abandoned and that he had pursued another route to his ultimate goal.
• Ming Jiejin explained that the Necromancer Cult’s resurrected laborers had hollowed out their human controllers and drained the vitality of the Western Continent’s population.
• Ming Jiejin revealed that the souls of vanished necromancers fed Mental Power back into the Book of the Dead, killing popes young while tempting them with the promise of becoming gods.
• Ming Jiejin confessed that he had founded the National Salvation and Relief Society, allied with the Barbarians, plotted against the emperor, and interfered in the Sword Quest for Succession to reach Cha Shiyin.
• Ming Jiejin unleashed the aura of countless Resentful Spirits and asked Cha Shiyin to give him his “Undying Heart.”

Ming Jiejin warned Cha Shiyin that the Necromancer Cult would eventually wage war on Radiance to obtain the Undying Heart. He explained that the Absolute Divine Weapons trapped their wielders on a dead end, leaving Cha Shiyin visibly sorrowful.

• Ming Jiejin praised the Absolute Divine Weapons and argued that Shiyin Progenitor had been clever to pursue life in reality rather than immortality through history.
• Ming Jiejin described how the Western Continent’s navigation advances and expansion across new continents gave the Seven Nations Alliance growing resources and power.
• Ming Jiejin predicted that the Necromancer Cult would use its expanding population and resources to attack Radiance once Radiance’s civil war ended.
• Ming Jiejin said every necromancer pope would pursue the Undying Heart and that the cult would never stop fighting Radiance until it obtained it.
• Cha Shiyin threatened to kill Ming Jiejin and seize the Book of the Dead, but Ming Jiejin warned that the book would return to the pope’s designated successor.
• Ming Jiejin told Cha Shiyin that Absolute Divine Weapons forced their wielders onto a dead end, and Cha Shiyin responded with sorrow.

Ming Jiejin explained how the Undying Heart had trapped Cha Shiyin in an endless struggle to keep living, but Cha Shiyin said his goal was to cross ten thousand Tribulations. Their conversation turned into a battle, while Le Yu realized Cha Shiyin wanted him to rescue the unconscious sword sheaths.

• Ming Jiejin described Cha Shiyin’s three stages of immortality, from exploring the world to losing interest in everything beyond his reach.
• Cha Shiyin revealed that he faced 197 Tribulations and aimed to cross ten thousand of them to make one thought eternal.
• Ming Jiejin offered to take the Undying Heart, but Cha Shiyin refused and drew Holy Sword Huiyao to fight him.
• Ming Jiejin unleashed Evil Spirit Ghost Domain and attacked Cha Shiyin, who was battered but said he could outlast his opponent because he could not die.
• Cha Shiyin glanced toward Le Yu and led the fight away, and Le Yu understood the signal and carried the seven unconscious sword sheaths out of the underground hall.

Le Yu rescued Ning Xinyuan and Nieruo from the battle and left them beneath streetlamps to recover, then returned to the underground hall and discovered Sihis had killed Qian Mian and taken the diamond from his chest. He attacked her with Wuzhiqi’s power, but her crescent blades shattered his domain and wounded him, leaving him facing an opponent whose strength and weapons he could not match.

• Le Yu carried Ning Xinyuan and Nieruo away in their stone coffins and placed them beneath streetlamps so they could recover.
• Le Yu realized Wuzhiqi’s hatred of humans prevented him from carrying Ning Xinyuan in his arms and decided he needed to regain his human form.
• Le Yu returned to the underground hall and found that Sihis had slit Qian Mian’s throat, cut open his chest, and taken a brilliant diamond while his heart was missing.
• Le Yu attacked Sihis with the Blood-Drinking Eight Rice Flow Step, Water Moon Combat Arts Ring, and Divine Ability, but her crescent blades emitted light that broke his domain.
• Sihis struck Le Yu with surging ripples from her crescent blades, leaving bloody gashes across his chest as he struggled to control Wuzhiqi’s body.

Le Yu and Sihis fought over the Water of Variants after Sihis tossed it into an underground river, while she explained why the Naga wanted Smile and the humans to weaken each other. As Le Yu and Sihis remained locked in battle, the other survivors began to stir, and 'Qin Leyin' opened his eyes.

• Le Yu accused Sihis of seeking the Water of Variants rather than avenging Hanuman, and Sihis explained the value of her Hydra Arc Blades.
• Sihis tossed the Water of Variants into an underground river, then fought off Le Yu as he attacked her.
• Sihis revealed that Smile was being overwhelmed by three Martial Pillars, Cha Huan, Yu Ke, and Xie Chenyuan, and said the Naga would let the humans and Smile weaken each other.
• Le Yu and Sihis argued over the Naga's plans and fought over the Water of Variants and the scabbards containing Divine Weapons.
• As Le Yu and Sihis continued fighting, Mietangya, Cai Nü, and Feng Lü began to stir, and 'Qin Leyin' opened his eyes.

Ning Xinyuan drifted through visions of past violence while chasing a butterfly, then woke badly injured beside Ming Chaoyan and Ming Shuangli. As a crash sounded from the courtyard, she noticed blood on her gun and wondered whether it belonged to Qin Leyin, the savage, or both.

• Ning Xinyuan chased a butterfly through a river and saw visions of a train, a white-haired assassin, and brothers fighting in a mourning hall.
• Ning Xinyuan followed a red-haired figure's life and death across the lake before catching the butterfly, which spoke to her.
• Ning Xinyuan woke holding Ming Chaoyan's hand and realized her broken ribs had pierced her internal organs.
• Ming Chaoyan told Ning Xinyuan that she and Ming Shuangli had found her and Nieruo in roadside coffins while the others searched for their scabbards.
• Ning Xinyuan urged Ming Chaoyan to call the others back after hearing a crash from the courtyard, but Ming Chaoyan refused to leave her.
• Ning Xinyuan saw blood on the Overlord Butterfly Long Gun and wondered whether it came from Qin Leyin, the savage, or both.

Le Yu defeated Sihis with help from Mietangya and Fenglu, then carried the injured Qin Leyin away to confront Wuzhiqi, who was trapped inside Qin Leyin’s body. Le Yu forced Wuzhiqi to stab him with the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword, killing Wuzhiqi, and was left wondering why he could keep living when Wuzhiqi had to die.

• Sihis tried to seize Mietangya from his stone coffin, but Mietangya struck back and gave Le Yu an opening to attack.
• Fenglu pinned Sihis’s wrist with his body, allowing Le Yu to wound her; Le Yu then crushed Sihis’s throat and killed her.
• Fenglu asked Ming Qingyun to trust Wuzhiqi and explained that his bond with her was his own choice, even as he prepared to die from his injuries.
• Le Yu suddenly carried Qin Leyin away from the underground hall, leaving Ming Shuiyun and the others unable to stop him.
• In a secluded place, Le Yu forced Wuzhiqi, trapped in Qin Leyin’s body, to drive the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword through Le Yu’s throat, killing Wuzhiqi.
• After healing his injuries with the sword’s stolen life force, Le Yu watched Wuzhiqi’s corpse and admitted that he was still searching for a reason he could live while Wuzhiqi had to die.

Crane Tear defeated Sasa Jue Luo but suffered devastating internal injuries, reflecting on the ambition he had abandoned before dying with a curse for Cha Huan. Meanwhile, Cha Huan, Yu Ke, and Xie Chenyuan continued attacking the strangely passive Smile and realized they were growing tired.

• Crane Tear used his Myriad Forms Combat Arts to kill Sasa Jue Luo, taking two sword wounds in the process.
• Crane Tear treated his injuries and regretted letting fame, comfort, and wasted years wear away his ambitions.
• Crane Tear called for Sima Huo to save him, then used his final strength to curse Cha Huan.
• Cha Huan turned at the feeling that someone was calling him, while Yu Ke joked with him and Xie Chenyuan reminded them that the Demon Emperor was still alive.
• Cha Huan, Yu Ke, and Xie Chenyuan kept attacking Smile as it defended without retaliating, until they realized they were tired.

Cha Huan, Xie Chenyuan, and Yu Ke kept Smiling pinned down, but Smiling chose to save Shi Pantou rather than escape. After Shi Pantou fled with the Blood Essence Stone, Smiling gave his vitality and spiritual energy to the stone and died.

• Cha Huan paused to recover while Smiling mocked the exhausted humans and claimed they could not outlast him.
• Cui Yan arrived and reported that he had killed Mo Yu after Mo Yu attacked him, then Xie Chenyuan ordered him to find Bai Letian and kill the Grass Barbarian.
• Smiling stopped Cui Yan because he could not let him go kill Shi Pantou, and admitted that protecting his disciple meant abandoning his chance to escape.
• Smiling sent the Blood Essence Stone to Shi Pantou, who escaped Yanjing past Bai Letian and carried the stone back toward the tribe.
• Smiling returned his vitality and spiritual energy to the Blood Essence Stone, then withered into ash as Cha Huan and the others watched.

Qin Yueshi realized that Qin Leyin had changed dramatically and questioned whether Qin Yueyang knew why, but a terrifying soul army interrupted them. The Underworld Emperor Ming Jiejin continued pursuing Cha Shiyin, who faced him with the Holy Sword Huiyao and little hope of victory.

• Qin Yueshi criticized Qin Yueyang for paying the servants too much, and the siblings discussed the beast mutations, immortal blood, and Qin Leyin’s choices.
• Qin Yueshi pointed out how much Qin Leyin’s behavior had changed and asked what Qin Yueyang really was, but Qin Yueyang suddenly carried her out of the collapsing hall.
• A soul army passed through the Qin residence in pursuit of a fugitive, and Qin Yueshi identified its procession as belonging to the Underworld Emperor from the Book of the Dead.
• Ming Jiejin caught up with Cha Shiyin and warned that the Book of the Dead’s accumulated undead could overwhelm him even without the Holy Sword’s power.

Ming Jiejin trapped Cha Shiyin and tried to use a copied Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword to take the Undying Heart, but Cha Shiyin and the Huiyao Four Guards turned the imperial cannon against them. Ming Jiejin died after recognizing that Cha Shiyin had resisted the Undying Heart’s curse, leaving Cha Shiyin alone at dawn with the knowledge that the curse made life worse than death.

• Ming Jiejin trapped Cha Shiyin in an abyss of undead and prepared to drain the Undying Heart with a Divine Sub-Armament copying the Soul-Cleansing Demonic Sword.
• Ming Jiejin stabbed Cha Shiyin’s chest, but Cha Shiyin embraced him with newly regenerated arms as the Radiant Stone Concentrated Main Cannon fired at them.
• Cha Shiyin survived the blast and recovered the Holy Sword Huiyao, while Ming Jiejin lay mortally wounded in the crater on Sheyang Street.
• Ming Jiejin realized Cha Shiyin had waited for him to take the Undying Heart and had resisted its influence, then warned him that the curse made life worse than death.
• Cha Shiyin closed Ming Jiejin’s eyes and watched dawn break over Flame Capital.

After the demonic transformation ended, the girls crossed a devastated Yan Capital and learned that warlords might soon threaten the city. At the Imperial Academy, they found Le Yu badly injured and learned he was refusing medical care while others needed it more.

• Li Ying worried about her face, accepted a pistol, and agreed to learn Inner Scenery Combat Arts as Qian Yuya warned that troubled times were coming.
• Qin Yueshi drove the girls through streets filled with corpses and wounded people, and explained that Feathered Forest Commander Su Su had died amid the conflict with her family.
• Lin Xue told Kui Nianruo that outer-district warlords might plunge Yan Capital into chaos, while Qian Yuya said they could arrive within a month or sooner.
• At the Imperial Academy, Wei Weiwei said classes were suspended for a month and directed the girls to Vice Principal Qin, while hinting that Hong Le had joined their side.
• The girls found Le Yu bloodied and badly injured in the Platinum Tower; he refused to seek a physician because the wounded needed medical care more, and Qian Yuya asked whether the principal was still alive.

Le Yu told the girls that Smile had nearly defeated the Martial Pillars and that armies from the outer districts were advancing on Flame Capital. With the city likely to fall, he arranged for the group to flee downriver to Dongyang, but Shuiyun had not yet arrived.

• Le Yu explained that Smile had threatened to kill a Martial Pillar and that the outer-district armies had breached Beichen Pass and Nanming Pass.
• Le Yu named the armies advancing on Flame Capital, while Lin Xue explained that their commanders could claim they were coming to rescue the emperor and purge traitors.
• Qin Yueshi urged the group to focus on protecting themselves, and Qian Yuya concluded that they should leave.
• Qin Yueshi and the others noticed that the woman in Le Yu's painting had turned nearly toward them and found blood on its frame, exposing his attempt to alter it.
• Le Yu said Yueyang was preparing a ship and that they would take Shuiyun with them, then wondered why she had not come to meet him.

Ming Shuiyun and her six sisters attended a meeting with Cha Shiyin, the Empress Dowager, and the court ministers as rebel forces closed in on Yanjing. Cha Shiyin asked whether they had chosen the sacrifice required for the Holy Sword Huiyao, leaving the Sword-Wielding Lineage's response unresolved.

• Ming Shuiyun entered the White Box Library and found her six sisters gathered in the director's office with Cha Huan, Ling Jiangli, and the Empress Dowager of Radiance, Ning Yulian.
• Cha Shiyin sat behind the director's desk with the Holy Sword Huiyao and told the sisters they were qualified to remain seated.
• Ling Jiangli reported that Nanming Pass and Beichen Pass had fallen and that rebel forces were advancing toward Yanjing.
• Ning Yulian and the Cabinet Ministers asked the Sword-Wielding Lineage to save Yanjing from the coming rebel attack.
• Cha Shiyin said that even if he agreed to help, they first had to choose the sacrifice for the Holy Sword Huiyao.

The Empress Dowager and court officials discussed Ming Shuangli as a possible Supreme, then pleaded with Cha Shiyin to cancel the Holy Sword’s vacancy and save Flame Capital. After Cha Shiyin condemned the court and Cha Huan and Ling Jiangli argued over how Radiance’s failures could be addressed, the Empress Dowager admitted the imperial family’s guilt but renewed her desperate plea.

• The Empress Dowager proposed Twin Carp Palace as a Supreme candidate, and Ling Jiangli, Cha Huan, and the Empress Dowager praised Ming Shuangli’s qualities.
• Cha Shiyin asked how the imperial family intended to persuade him to cancel the Holy Sword’s vacancy, and revealed that doing so would cost his life.
• Cha Shiyin denounced the court for Radiance’s collapse, while Ling Jiangli defended the court and described the causes of the nation’s decline.
• Cha Huan challenged Ling Jiangli to punish powerful landlords and reform the court, and Ling Jiangli argued that harsh killing would worsen governance.
• The Empress Dowager and Ling Jiangli acknowledged the imperial family’s and court’s failures, then the Empress Dowager begged Cha Shiyin to bring out Huiyao to save Flame Capital.

Cha Shiyin refused to sacrifice himself to bring out Holy Sword Huiyao, while Cha Huan argued that his power gave him a responsibility to save people. Cha Shiyin explained the cost of wielding the sword and asked the seven Palace Masters to decide whether Radiance was still worth saving.

• Lai Ya brought dessert to the curator’s office and slipped Ming Shuiyun a note as she left.
• Cha Shiyin rejected the Empress Dowager’s pleas and challenged the idea that he owed his life to strangers.
• Cha Huan defended the Martial Pillars’ duty to protect people and urged Cha Shiyin to end the holy sword’s suspension.
• The Empress Dowager and Ling Jiangli offered their own lives, but Cha Shiyin left their fate to the next Supreme.
• Cha Shiyin told the seven Palace Masters that the emperor would lose three-quarters of his lifespan by wielding Holy Sword Huiyao twice, then asked whether Radiance was worth saving.

Cha Shiyin explained why he had withdrawn from humanity and refused to save Flame Capital, then asked the princesses to decide who would wield the Holy Sword Huiyao and rule. After the others declined or chose different duties, Ming Shuangli also refused because Nieruo depended on her, leaving Ming Shuiyun as the only candidate.

• Cha Shiyin recalled centuries of watching suffering and said he would not intervene to save Flame Capital without a reason to care about its people.
• Ming Yueyan accused Cha Shiyin of holding the Sword Quest for Succession because he found it interesting, and he admitted that was his main motive.
• Cha Shiyin asked the princesses who would become the beacon empress, then described why ruling would not suit Ming Taolang, Ming Dailan, or Ming Qingyun; Ming Yueyan agreed to retrieve Qianmian's Water of Variants, and Ming Chaoyan went to sleep.
• Ling Jiangli warned Ming Shuangli that refusing to wield the Holy Sword would lead to war, the destruction of Flame Capital, and the imperial family's massacre.
• Ming Shuangli declined to wield the Holy Sword because Nieruo needed her, and Cha Shiyin told Ming Shuiyun that she was the only candidate left.

Ming Shuiyun weighed whether to claim the Holy Sword Huiyao after learning that the capital’s fall would plunge Radiance into years of war. She decided that sacrificing much of her life was worthwhile if it let her protect the person she loved.

• Principal Cha told Ming Shuiyun that her choice was hers alone, while Ling Jiangli silenced a Cabinet Minister who tried to intervene.
• Ming Shuiyun recalled that Qin Leyin had urged her to flee Flame Capital with him, arguing that they should abandon the throne and protect their lives.
• Ming Shuiyun asked Principal Cha whether anyone could remain safe if the Holy Sword stayed vacant, and he explained that only a ruler commanding a great army could protect people during the coming wars.
• Principal Cha explained that wielding the Holy Sword Huiyao could make an emperor a powerful and wise ruler, but each swing consumed half a lifespan.
• After reading Lai Ya’s note asking her to come out, Ming Shuiyun decided that two swings and roughly ten remaining years of life were enough because she wanted to take responsibility for Qin Leyin.

Le Yu prepared his companions to flee Flame Capital for East Yang, but Cha Shiyin confronted him before he could reunite with Ming Shuiyun. Cha Shiyin revealed that he knew about Le Yu’s plan to use the Saint’s Relic and called it useless.

• Le Yu outlined the escape by cargo ship to East Yang, and Qin Yueshi said she wanted to become an industrialist there.
• Le Yu assured Kui Nianruo and the others they had to leave Flame Capital, while Qian Yuya worried about Ming Shuiyun’s choice.
• Cha Huan appeared in the girls’ room, and the group realized he seemed to have grown old.
• Le Yu found Cha Shiyin, Grand Secretary Ling Jiangli, and six warriors waiting in the principal’s office.
• Cha Shiyin warned Le Yu to wait for the mirror to shatter, then recognized the Saint’s Relic on Le Yu’s wrist and declared it useless.

Su Yulou rallied the Five Military Camps against Chen Fengbao while Bu Qi returned to Yanjing raving that the enemy was not human, and Lan Yan ordered his forces to wait for the northern allies. In the Platinum Tower, Cha Shiyin explained the Saint's Relic’s origin and revealed it was a sword sheath made exclusively for emperors.

• Su Yulou pulled himself off the deer antlers, reforged his broken sword, and rallied the Five Military Camps against his former comrade Chen Fengbao.
• The wounded Bu Qi reached Chongsheng Gate and hysterically warned the soldiers that the enemy was not human.
• Lan Yan told Yin Guyue to inform Hunter Leader Chai Xin that they would wait for the allied forces of the three northern regions.
• Cha Shiyin explained that the imperial family had little use for the Saint's Relic and described how Wen Zong sacrificed himself to create it.
• Cha Shiyin revealed that the Saint's Relic was a sword sheath that could copy the Holy Sword Radiance only when the original was absent, and that it was made for emperors.

Le Yu tried to persuade Cha Shiyin to stop Ming Shuiyun from wielding Holy Sword Huiyao, but Cha Shiyin refused and challenged Le Yu’s feelings for her. After the confrontation, Cha Shiyin had Le Yu sent to the Eightfold Blood Prison, where he would remain until Shuiyun’s accession in three days.

• Le Yu urged Cha Shiyin to use his abilities to prevent Ming Shuiyun from sacrificing herself, but Cha Shiyin said he could not overcome the foreign army and had no obligation to intervene.
• Cha Shiyin explained that Ming Shuiyun had chosen to ascend the throne and wield Holy Sword Huiyao, and that she had sent him to persuade Le Yu because she knew he would resist.
• Cha Shiyin argued that Le Yu’s feelings for Shuiyun Palace came from the Holy Sword Imprint and asked whether his devotion would remain if she were someone else.
• Le Yu hesitated to reveal his secret and asked to speak to Ming Shuiyun, but Cha Shiyin sent him to the Eightfold Blood Prison instead.
• Cha Shiyin ordered the guards to treat Le Yu gently, noting that he would become Radiance’s powerful minister in three days.

With Flame Capital threatened by rebels, the people’s prayers pressured Ming Shuiyun to sacrifice her life by wielding Holy Sword Huiyao. Qian Yuya concluded that Qin Hongle had resisted the plan because he had another solution, and the group set out to help him reach Shuiyun.

• Kui Nianruo told Li Ying how the citizens’ fervent prayers for Shuiyun’s safety and Radiance made her feel deeply uneasy.
• Qian Yuya and Qin Yueshi explained that the Upper Class had paid people to pray, hoping to strengthen Shuiyun’s resolve to defend Flame Capital.
• The friends discussed Qin Hongle’s detention and the likely cost of Shuiyun using Holy Sword Huiyao, while Qin Yueshi argued that sacrificing Shuiyun was the only way to survive.
• Qian Yuya inferred that Qin Hongle had been imprisoned for opposing Shuiyun’s decision and called on the group to help him meet her.
• Kui Nianruo, Li Ying, Lin Xue, and Qin Yueshi each offered to seek help through their contacts, while Qian Yuya left to find White Night.

Le Yu spent his second day trapped in the Silence Chamber of the Eightfold Blood Prison, where the deaf-mute prisoners and jailers left him with no apparent means of escape. Though he tried to settle in with food and books, he could not stop thinking about Shuiyun’s impending coronation and the future she would lose.

• Le Yu received a second dinner from a jailer and realized he had been imprisoned for two days.
• Le Yu reflected on the Silence Chamber’s history and how its prisoners gradually accepted life in the silent darkness.
• Le Yu concluded that the cell’s darkness, iron door, and lack of communication made escape or asking for help impossible.
• Le Yu tried to distract himself with the books in his room and imagined what he could do once he regained power.
• Le Yu remained troubled that he would reach the summit while Shuiyun would lose her future when she ascended the throne the next day.

Le Yu upgraded Ice-Blood Physique to Immortal Blood Physique, but his anger and doubts about his feelings remained. He was left stunned when Qing Lan came to visit him in the Eightfold Blood Prison.

• Le Yu spent his three available points to upgrade Ice-Blood Physique to Immortal Blood Physique and discovered that he still felt angry.
• Le Yu brooded over Ming Shuiyun’s decisions and questioned whether his feelings for her were genuine or distorted by the Holy Sword Imprint.
• Le Yu sat silently in his cell until he heard two sets of footsteps approaching.
• Qian Yuya brought Qing Lan to Le Yu’s cell, where Qing Lan handed him a flask of Honey Five-Flower Tea.
• Le Yu and Qing Lan acknowledged how absurd their reunion was.

In the Eightfold Blood Prison, Le Yu told Qing Lan that he had died and taken over several bodies, including Jing Zhengwei and Qin Leyin. Qing Lan accepted that he was still the person she loved, and they embraced, leaving Le Yu's fears about her rejection behind.

• Qing Lan teased Le Yu about their reunion and asked who he really was.
• Le Yu revealed his name and explained Rebirth Through Death, including how he had become Jing Zhengwei and then Qin Leyin.
• Qing Lan explained how she had pieced together Le Yu's secret from rumors, his writing, and his distinctive humor.
• Le Yu admitted he had feared Qing Lan would not accept his new identity and joked that he could choose handsome bodies for her sake.
• Qing Lan laughed, embraced Le Yu, and reassured him that she loved him regardless of his appearance.