Recaps

Xiao Qing secretly gave Bai Ruxue a sleeping pill to force her to hibernate, despite Bai Ruxue’s desperate wish to stay awake until Xiao Mo returned. As Bai Ruxue finally succumbed to sleep, Xiao Qing told her that Brother Xiao was back.

• Daoist Priest Fuchen warned Xiao Qing that Bai Ruxue needed to hibernate soon or risk her life, and Xiao Qing urged her sister to go into hibernation.
• Bai Ruxue refused to sleep because she wanted to wait for Xiao Mo, who mattered more to her than her life.
• Xiao Qing secretly dissolved Fuchen’s pill in water and gave it to Bai Ruxue.
• Bai Ruxue fought the overwhelming drowsiness, insisting that she needed to finish Xiao Mo’s shoes and keep her promise to grow old with him.
• Bai Ruxue fell asleep in Xiao Qing’s arms, and Xiao Qing said that Brother Xiao had returned.

Xiao Qing sheltered Bai Ruxue as she began hibernating, while Fuchen concealed the cave and revealed that Xiao Mo already knew the sisters were demons. A month later, Xiao Mo arrived in the Imperial Capital, where Zhang Qianzhi discussed his political ideas and Official Arts with him; the chapter ended as snow fell over the city.

• Xiao Qing carried Bai Ruxue to She Mountain, where Bai Ruxue transformed into a giant white python and began hibernating.
• Fuchen placed Sky-Shading Banners around the cave, blocked its entrance with a boulder, and told Xiao Qing that Xiao Mo already knew she and Bai Ruxue were demons.
• Fuchen's divination of Bai Ruxue's fate changed, and a new divination incorporating Xiao Mo's Birth Eight Characters left Fuchen injured and lamenting that meeting was worse than not meeting.
• Xiao Qing watched over Bai Ruxue as the year's first snow fell on She Mountain.
• Xiao Mo arrived in the Imperial Capital and visited Zhang Qianzhi, who questioned him about his Edict of Spreading Grace and tested his views on the court.
• Zhang Qianzhi explained Official Arts and gave Xiao Mo maps of Qi Kingdom; as Xiao Mo left with Zhang Shuiqing, snow began falling over the city.

Xiao Mo passed the Metropolitan Examination in first place and impressed the Lord of Qi during the Imperial Examination, leaving him poised to become Zhuangyuan. Back in Qingshan County, Magistrate Sun learned of Xiao Mo’s achievement, but discovered he had returned to his village and was unlikely to come to town soon.

• Xiao Mo completed the three-day Metropolitan Examination and felt confident he had passed.
• Xiao Mo placed first in the spring examination results and escaped the crowds seeking to recruit promising husbands.
• Zhang Shuiqing protected Xiao Mo from powerful families at his inn, and he accepted that his connection to Zhang Qianzhi would be known.
• Xiao Mo drew the last audience slot in the Imperial Examination, impressed the Lord of Qi, and won the ministers’ apparent agreement to his becoming Zhuangyuan.
• Magistrate Sun learned that Xiao Mo had taken first place in all three examinations, then heard that Xiao Mo had returned to his village and would not visit the county seat soon.

Xiao Mo returned to Shiqiao Village after passing the Metropolitan Examination and learned that Bai Ruxue had been taken away by an Immortal. Xiao Qing told him the truth: Ruxue was asleep inside a mountain cave, and Xiao Mo sat beside its sealed entrance, telling her he was back.

• Xiao Mo returned to Shiqiao Village and learned from the villagers that Bai Ruxue had been taken away by an Immortal.
• Xiao Qing told Xiao Mo that an Immortal named Elder Fuchen had taken Ruxue away to cultivate, but Xiao Mo insisted she would not leave him.
• Xiao Qing led Xiao Mo to the mountain cave and explained that Ruxue had fallen into a deep sleep that might last decades or the rest of her life.
• Xiao Mo reassured Xiao Qing that he did not blame her for what had happened and asked her to gather Green Waterfall Flowers and Purple Sun Grass.
• After Xiao Qing left, Xiao Mo sat by the boulder sealing the cave and told Ruxue she no longer had to wait because he had returned.

After Bai Ruxue left to cultivate, Xiao Mo rose through government service, governing Jianshui and Xueyang with skill and saving the commandery from a plague. He remained unmarried, and the chapter ended with him telling his maids he was waiting for a foolish girl to wake up.

• Xiao Mo agreed to the top scholar's parade, then left Stonebridge Village for his appointment as magistrate of Jianshui County while Xiao Qing stayed behind to cultivate and wait for Bai Ruxue.
• Xiao Mo investigated Jianshui County's affairs, curbed local corruption, and governed it for nearly four years before being promoted to deputy commandery administrator of Xueyang Commandery.
• When a deadly plague swept Xueyang, Xiao Mo imposed quarantine and sanitation measures, helped find effective treatment, and stayed among the patients until the outbreak ended.
• Xiao Mo became governor of Xueyang Commandery and governed it successfully, while stories spread that he had remained unmarried to wait for his childhood sweetheart.
• When Caidei and Wangyue asked why he had not taken a wife, Xiao Mo said he was waiting for a foolish girl to wake up.

After unlocking a higher time ratio in the Book of a Hundred Lives, Xiao Mo continued cultivating and learned that Elder Huang of the Myriad Sword Sect would soon visit. He met Yan Ruxue while retrieving her kite, and she recognized him as His Majesty, leaving Xiao Chun startled and revealing that she thought Xiao Mo looked best in blue robes.

• Xiao Mo learned he could increase the Book of a Hundred Lives' time ratio to 1000:1, then practiced his swordsmanship.
• Wei Xun told Xiao Mo that Elder Huang of the Myriad Sword Sect was expected to arrive in about ten days, and Xiao Mo asked him to find out what Elder Huang was like.
• Empress Dowager Yan welcomed Yan Ruxue and sent her to retrieve a kite that had drifted toward Leisure Palace, hoping she might encounter Xiao Mo.
• Xiao Mo met Yan Ruxue and her maid Xiao Chun in a garden, climbed a tree to retrieve their kite, and handed it back to them.
• Yan Ruxue told Xiao Chun that the Daoist Priest was Xiao Mo, then said she knew him well and thought he looked best in blue robes.

After earning renown for improving agriculture, Xiao Mo rose to Minister of Works and backed reforms that failed after the Ruler of Qi died. He left the Imperial Capital for Beihai Prefecture and returned to Shiqiao Village, where he stood before the graves of the old Village Chief and Aunt Chen.

• Xiao Mo improved farming in Xueyang Prefecture, wrote the Book of Northern and Southern Agriculture, and earned praise after its methods brought a bountiful harvest.
• The Ruler of Qi recalled Xiao Mo to the Imperial Capital and offered to arrange a marriage, but he refused because someone else remained in his heart.
• Xiao Mo rose to Minister of Works and joined Zhang Qianzhi and Fang Ling in carrying out government reforms.
• After the Ruler of Qi died, the new ruler yielded to the Aristocratic Clans, the reforms failed, and Xiao Mo requested a transfer to Beihai Prefecture.
• Xiao Mo returned to Shiqiao Village and stood before the graves of Wang Can and Chen Hong.

Xiao Mo visited the graves of Village Chief and Aunt Chen, then went to the cave where Bai Ruxue had been sealed and told her he was leaving to govern Beihai Prefecture. Xiao Qing urged him to stop waiting, but Xiao Mo insisted that it was now his turn to wait for Bai Ruxue.

• Wang Ying relayed Village Chief's advice that Xiao Mo should protect himself and Aunt Chen's wish that he find a wife and build a family.
• Xiao Mo left Wang Ying and her daughter and climbed She Mountain to visit the cave where Bai Ruxue remained sealed.
• Xiao Mo told Bai Ruxue that his reforms had failed and that he would soon become governor of Beihai Prefecture.
• Xiao Qing told Xiao Mo about the years of changes in Shiqiao Village and urged him to let Bai Ruxue go.
• Xiao Mo said that because Bai Ruxue had once waited for him, he would now wait for her.

Xiao Mo served Qi Kingdom through floods and political reforms while waiting for Ruxue to return. As he prepared to retire, he sensed that the white serpent had awakened and become a woman.

• Xiao Mo visited his dying teacher, Old Mr. Zhang, who urged him to serve the people and remain true to himself before passing away.
• Xiao Mo managed a devastating flood in Beihai Prefecture, then surveyed its rivers and improved irrigation and flood control.
• Xiao Mo mourned the deaths of Fang Ling and Magistrate Sun, then returned to the capital and became Prime Minister to launch reforms.
• Xiao Mo's reforms took effect and transformed Qi Kingdom, and he later secured permission to retire while retaining his title as Prime Minister.
• As Xiao Mo prepared to leave the capital, he sensed Ruxue awakening in a mountain cave, where the white serpent had become a woman.

After Bai Ruxue woke from her long slumber, she had lost her memories and struggled with the damage to her soul. Fuchen stabilized her and gave Xiao Qing the choice to restore Bai Ruxue’s memories, warning that remembering could bring pain because Xiao Mo had little time left to live.

• Xiao Qing sensed a disturbance in Bai Ruxue’s cave, and She Mountain shook as Bai Ruxue emerged from her slumber.
• Xiao Qing joyfully greeted Bai Ruxue, but Bai Ruxue did not recognize her or remember her own identity.
• Bai Ruxue’s attempts to recall her past worsened her headache and unsettled her Dao Heart, so Fuchen arrived and gave her a Calming Pill.
• Fuchen explained that Bai Ruxue had awakened early because her desire to wake had damaged her soul and caused her memory loss.
• Fuchen gave Xiao Qing a Soul Memory Pill and said she could use it after half a month, but warned that Xiao Mo had at most two years to live and that forgetting might be better than remembering.

Bai Ruxue woke with her memories erased, and Xiao Qing concealed the truth about her past. In Shiqiao Village, finding the Deer God Hairpin stirred grief and longing in Bai Ruxue, who ran from the house still unable to remember the man who gave it to her.

• Xiao Qing hid the Soul Memory Pill and told Bai Ruxue that she had only slept for many years after transforming.
• Bai Ruxue spent days gazing at flowers and herbs before asking Xiao Qing to take her down the mountain.
• Xiao Qing led Bai Ruxue to Shiqiao Village, where Bai Ruxue followed a sense of familiarity to an old farmhouse.
• Bai Ruxue found a wooden Deer God Hairpin and realized she had forgotten the person who gave it to her.
• Bai Ruxue wept and ran out of the room as Xiao Qing called after her.

Bai Ruxue wandered through Shiqiao Village and recovered memories of the scholar she had forgotten. Remembering his name, Xiao Mo, and their promise to marry, she ran down the mountain to find him.

• Bai Ruxue left the courtyard and wandered through Shiqiao Village, visiting the late Village Chief’s courtyard and the graves of Wang Can and Chen Hong.
• At a familiar stone on the mountain, Bai Ruxue recalled fragments of her past with a young scholar, including their childhood meetings and her refusal to cultivate without him.
• At the mountaintop, Bai Ruxue remembered the scholar comforting her and found a ring engraved with Purple Sun Grass and Green Waterfall Flower in a brocade box.
• Bai Ruxue recalled her promise to marry Xiao Mo and repeated his name until her memories came together.
• Bai Ruxue ran down the mountain, remembering how she had promised to wait for Xiao Mo to return.

Bai Ruxue woke after forty-eight years and learned that Xiao Mo was alive and serving in the Imperial Capital, but she could not safely travel to him. Meanwhile, retired Prime Minister Xiao returned to Qingshan County and left the welcoming officials behind to go home to his village.

• Bai Ruxue regained her memories and learned from Xiao Qing that she had slept for forty-eight years.
• Bai Ruxue wanted to find Xiao Mo, but Xiao Qing warned that the Imperial City's dragon qi and cultivators would endanger her, so she agreed to send him a letter instead.
• Xiao Qing left for the Imperial City with Bai Ruxue's letter the next morning.
• Qingshan County Magistrate Qin Xiao and local officials welcomed Prime Minister Xiao when his carriage arrived outside the city.
• Prime Minister Xiao submitted his Household Register but declined the welcome and headed toward his village.

Bai Ruxue waited in Xiao Mo’s courtyard, told village children about the scholar and the white snake, and learned that Xiao Mo had never married. As evening fell, Xiao Mo arrived in the village, and Bai Ruxue saw him at last.

• Bai Ruxue recalled Xiao Qing’s departure, the Soul Memory Pill, and how Xiao Mo had known the sisters’ secret while remaining unmarried.
• Bai Ruxue invited four children who had been peeking at her to eat osmanthus cakes, and explained that she was waiting for someone.
• Bai Ruxue began telling the children the story of a scholar who rescued a little white snake.
• Xiao Mo entered Shiqiao Village in an old blue robe and overheard villagers discussing the white-clad woman at his old home and his long wait for his childhood sweetheart.
• After the children left, Bai Ruxue turned around and saw Xiao Mo, now an old man with snow-white hair.

Bai Ruxue reunited with Xiao Mo after forty-eight years and learned that he had passed the imperial exams and come first. At Tian Xuan Sect, Fuchen explained to Li Sisi that she feared the weight of Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue’s love, then accepted their reunion as fate.

• Bai Ruxue touched Xiao Mo’s face and confirmed he was real, then asked about his meeting with Old Lord Zhang and his exam results.
• Xiao Mo told Bai Ruxue that he had passed the imperial exams in first place and had avoided being taken as a husband.
• Bai Ruxue wept over Xiao Mo’s forty-eight years of waiting, and he comforted her before she welcomed him home as her husband.
• Li Sisi told Fuchen that Xiao Mo had retired and reunited with Bai Ruxue.
• Fuchen told Li Sisi that love could be impossible to let go of and concluded that Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue’s reunion might simply be their fate.

Xiao Qing returned to Shiqiao Village and found Xiao Mo reunited with Bai Ruxue, his childhood sweetheart, though his life was fading. As Bai Ruxue searched for a way to extend his life, Xiao Mo asked Fuchen to help him with something he believed was the last thing he could do for Ruxue.

• Xiao Qing returned to Shiqiao Village and found Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue together in the courtyard.
• Xiao Qing learned that Xiao Mo had come home days earlier and saw how carefully Bai Ruxue cared for his frail body.
• Xiao Mo received visitors until he announced that he would no longer meet guests, while the village recalled the old story of Bai Ruxue leaving to cultivate.
• Bai Ruxue secretly visited Tian Xuan Sect's Scripture Library each night and brought Xiao Mo rare herbs and spiritual beast meat.
• Xiao Mo learned from Fuchen that Bai Ruxue was searching for a way to extend his life, and he thanked Fuchen for letting her enter the library.
• Xiao Mo confirmed that he had thought through his plan and asked Fuchen to help him, calling it the last thing he could do for Ruxue.

Xiao Mo gave Bai Ruxue and Xiao Qing a carefully planned River Journey Map, urging Bai Ruxue to undergo Dragon Transformation despite her fear of leaving him. After Bai Ruxue fled to Tian Xuan Sect’s Scripture Library, she discovered a reference to Dragon Thunder Liquid that could prolong a mortal’s life.

• Xiao Mo presented Bai Ruxue and Xiao Qing with a River Journey Map designed to reduce resistance, flooding, and karmic burden along Bai Ruxue’s route to the North Sea.
• Bai Ruxue refused to make her river journey because she feared Xiao Mo would die while she was away, then flew to Tian Xuan Sect.
• Xiao Mo told Xiao Qing he knew Bai Ruxue had been searching the Scripture Library for a way to prolong his life and asked Xiao Qing to look after her sister.
• Bai Ruxue searched the Scripture Library in desperation and found an old book describing Dragon Thunder Liquid as a substance that could prolong a mortal’s life.

Bai Ruxue learned that Dragon Thunder Liquid might extend Xiao Mo’s life and decided to attempt a river crossing and tribulation to obtain it. Xiao Mo warned her against tying herself to his short life, but Bai Ruxue declared that he was the one grain of sand she wanted in her vast sea.

• Bai Ruxue read that surviving the Nine Dragon Profound Thunder Tribulation could bring Dragon Thunder Liquid, which might extend an ordinary person’s life by fifty years.
• Bai Ruxue visited Li Sisi to ask about the liquid, and Li Sisi relayed Elder Fuchen’s message that it existed but its effects were uncertain.
• Elder Fuchen told Li Sisi that Dragon Thunder Liquid both did and did not exist.
• Bai Ruxue returned to Shiqiao Village and told Xiao Mo she had decided to attempt the river crossing and tribulation.
• Bai Ruxue explained that she wanted Dragon Thunder Liquid to prolong Xiao Mo’s life, while Xiao Mo urged her not to bind herself to his limited lifespan.
• Bai Ruxue told Xiao Mo that he was the one grain of sand she wanted in all the vast sea.

As Xiao Mo’s health worsened, he and Bai Ruxue prepared for her journey to brave the river on the auspicious third day of the third month. During the season’s final snowfall, Xiao Mo took Bai Ruxue for one last walk around Xueqing Lake and asked whether they had grown old together.

• Bai Ruxue prepared to brave the river for Dragon Thunder Liquid, while Xiao Mo taught her and Xiao Qing about the dangers and obstacles along the way.
• Elder Fuchen calculated that the third day of the third month would be the best date for Bai Ruxue to brave the river.
• As winter passed, Xiao Mo’s health declined, and he began coughing, worrying Bai Ruxue.
• After a heavy snowfall on the twenty-eighth day of the first month, Xiao Mo persuaded Bai Ruxue to walk with him to Xueqing Lake.
• Xiao Mo led Bai Ruxue around the lake five times, then asked whether the two of them had grown old together.

Bai Ruxue left to travel upriver and undergo Dragon Transformation, while Xiao Mo prepared for his own departure. He arranged for Fuchen to care for Xiao Qing and asked to be buried on She Mountain if his body remained there.

• Bai Ruxue said goodbye to Xiao Mo and Xiao Qing, then flew away toward Ganyue Lake for her tribulation.
• Xiao Qing took greater care of Xiao Mo after her sister left, while he quietly waited in the courtyard.
• Xiao Mo secretly put Xiao Qing into a deep sleep so she could not stop what he planned to do.
• Fuchen arrived, and Xiao Mo asked her to look after Xiao Qing before explaining that he could handle what came next himself.
• Xiao Mo told Fuchen where to bury him on She Mountain if his body was still there.

Xiao Mo said farewell to Shiqiao Village and visited his old friends and students before preparing the counties around Ruxue’s route for her river journey. He reached a village near Ganyue Lake as Ruxue transformed into a giant serpent and entered the water.

• Xiao Mo visited the graves of the Village Chief and Aunt Chen, said goodbye to Shen Lili and Hong Hui, and left Shiqiao Village.
• Xiao Mo visited Wang Ying and her family, tested Zhang Xuemo, and gave him a small gift of literary fortune.
• Xiao Mo instructed Liu Sanyue to close Siming Lake to fishing, keep people away, and relocate nearby residents for five days.
• Xiao Mo directed his students across several counties to evacuate people and prepare defenses along Ruxue’s route.
• Xiao Mo arrived near Ganyue Lake as Ruxue transformed into a white giant serpent and swam into the lake, while thunderclouds gathered overhead.

As Bai Ruxue began her perilous journey down the river toward the sea, cultivators prepared to hunt her for the treasure of her bloodline and core. Fuchen revealed that Xiao Mo had spent forty-eight years preparing for this moment, and an old man in a green robe confronted a group of Rogue Cultivators approaching Ganyue Lake.

• A storm gathered over Ganyue Lake, and the Village Chief told Huai Tree Village residents that a snake was beginning its journey down the river.
• True Man Ye and the Moon God Sect elders learned of the tribulation and planned to let Rogue Cultivators weaken the snake before claiming its transformed Dragon Core.
• Li Sisi asked whether Bai Ruxue could complete her journey safely, and Fuchen explained the dangers and Xiao Mo's forty-eight years of preparation for her.
• An old man vanished from the entrance of Huai Tree Village as cultivators converged on Ganyue Lake to hunt the snake.
• An old man in a green robe stepped in front of twenty Rogue Cultivators nearing the lake.

Xiao Mo fought off Rogue Cultivators who tried to hunt Bai Ruxue, spending much of his accumulated fortune of the land to protect her. As Bai Ruxue continued downstream toward the North Sea, she overcame her fear of the Dragon Slaying Sword and approached the bridge, where the sword attacked her.

• Guo Xiudan and the Rogue Cultivators refused Xiao Mo's request to let Bai Ruxue pass and attacked him.
• Xiao Mo used the Ink Dragon formed from the fortune of the land to defeat the Rogue Cultivators, killing Guo Xiudan last.
• Xiao Mo coughed blood after exhausting much of his fortune of the land and wondered whether he had enough left.
• Bai Ruxue swam out of Ganyue Lake toward Siming Lake, intent on reaching the North Sea and obtaining the Dragon Thunder Liquid.
• Bai Ruxue resisted the Dragon Slaying Sword's warning presence, approached the arched bridge, and the sword broke free to slash at her.

Bai Ruxue crossed the first trials of her tribulation and entered Chun Song River, where Wei Yuan and Gai Sanqiu tried to stop her. Xiao Mo intervened, knocked the two gods down, and defended his actions.

• Bai Ruxue escaped the Dragon Slaying Sword beneath the bridge, crossed Siming Lake, and began undergoing Ancestral Return.
• Wei Yuan prepared to fight Bai Ruxue, while the storm he raised caused Chun Song River to flood and worried the people of Chun Song Town.
• The Chun Song County magistrate and two thousand soldiers stood guard at Chun Song Weir as Bai Ruxue appeared in the river.
• Gai Sanqiu and Wei Yuan manifested and charged at Bai Ruxue with a Dragon Slaying Sword and Dragon Binding Lock.
• Xiao Mo appeared as an Ink-colored Long Dragon, slammed the two gods to the ground, and answered Gai Sanqiu's accusation by asking, “What's wrong with that?”

Xiao Mo protected Bai Ruxue as she crossed the Chun Song River to undergo Dragon Transformation, despite the River God and Mountain God opposing her. After learning of Xiao Mo’s actions, the Lord of Qi ordered three of Xiao Mo’s former pupils to pursue the White Snake, intending to let them see their dying mentor.

• Xiao Mo blocked Gai Sanqiu’s attacks and urged Bai Ruxue to keep swimming across the river.
• Bai Ruxue overcame the River God’s water dragons, and Gai Sanqiu eventually let her go.
• Wei Yuan sent a memorial reporting Xiao Mo’s actions to the Lord of Qi.
• The Lord of Qi ordered Wang Wei, Xu Shan Gao, and Zhuge Qing to hunt down the White Snake, intending for them to see Xiao Mo before his death.