Chapter Summaries

Li Mo entered the Lanke Mountain Range with the Demon Summoning Cult to break its ancient chess game, relying on Ice Block’s confidence and skill. At the giant Chessboard, the long-dead chess masters rose as harmless skeletons, waiting to witness the game’s end.

• Ice Block explained that the Chessboard gathered the mountains’ spiritual baleful qi and that past chess masters had died trying to break it.
• Luo Yexian told Li Mo how the Demon Summoning Cult and a famed Chess Saint had failed to escape the game’s deadly challenge.
• Li Mo promised to try to win by as many points as possible and secured the cult’s promise of a favor in return for breaking the game.
• Tan Zhuyin led the group into the misty Lanke Mountain Range, where they emerged before an enormous Chessboard surrounded by ancient skeletons.
• The skeletons rose with emerald flames in their eye sockets, and Li Mo explained that their lingering obsessions only wanted to see the game broken.

Li Mo faced a mysterious chess spirit at the giant board while Ying Bing directed his moves from Qinghe County. Their match stirred a spectacular black-and-white fish-dragon dance in the sky, and Ying Bing estimated they would win in about fifteen minutes.

• Li Mo accidentally sang a Go song, and Luo Yexian praised him as if the song had already defeated the dangers of the game.
• A mysterious old man appeared as Li Mo’s opponent, and the two took up the black and white stones.
• Ying Bing studied the board through her Taiyin Divine Intent and instructed Li Mo to abandon the seemingly salvageable white stones in the lower left.
• Li Mo followed Ying Bing’s unconventional moves, leaving the gathered chess masters’ bones rising in confusion as the board’s starlight filled the sky.
• A white fish-dragon and a black fish-dragon emerged and fought overhead as the match stirred a response from heaven and earth.
• Li Mo asked Ying Bing how long remained, and she estimated that they would win in about fifteen minutes.

Li Mo helped solve the ancient chess puzzle at Lanke Mountain, then decided to publicize the inheritance and delay its opening to protect Ying Bing and draw powerful observers. He returned to Qinghe County and began bombarding Lanke Mountain with daily supernatural spectacles.

• Li Mo and Ying Bing agreed to make the Lanke Mountain inheritance a public matter rather than let the Demon Summoning Cult claim it quietly.
• Li Mo solved the chess arrangement, causing the spiritual remnants of the dead experts to salute him before dissipating.
• Tan Zhuyin gave Li Mo an Eight-Armed Bodhisattva Statue, and Li Mo warned him not to enter the inheritance ground until after the New Year.
• Li Mo told Tan Zhuyin that the released spiritual Killing Intent would keep the inheritance inaccessible, then departed with the Somersault Cloud.
• Li Mo returned to Qinghe County, gave the statue to the Empty-Bright Myriad-Color Pagoda to refine, and began creating a new spectacle at Lanke Mountain each morning with Ying Bing's help.

The Clear Abyss Sect learned that Crown prince Jiang Yu would visit after New Year to commend Li Mo and Ying Bing, while Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin began hoping their children would settle down and have grandchildren. On a snowy New Year outing, Ying Bing wondered what birthday gift to prepare for Li Mo.

• Rumors about the inheritance at Lanke Mountain spread from Xi Yangyang Hotpot Restaurant and drew powerful sects and factions toward the Eastern Wasteland Domain.
• Elder Qian told the Clear Abyss Sect elders that Crown prince Jiang Yu planned to visit after New Year to commend Li Mo and Ying Bing for protecting the nation.
• Old Tian showed Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin his twin grandchildren and joked that he would ask their children to teach them to open their meridians.
• Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin privately wished for grandchildren but decided not to interfere with Li Mo and Ying Bing's plans.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing walked through snowy Qinghe County, and Ying Bing wondered what birthday gift to give him.

Li Mo met the Three Heroes of Cloud-Crossing while shopping for a New Year hat with Ying Bing, and they mistook his ordinary preparations for the Lanke Mountain opportunity as secret training. After Li Mo haggled down the price of a cat hat, Ying Bing decided she wanted to learn how to bargain too.

• Li Mo encountered Wu Chushu, Cao Mu, and Bai Jinghong, who asked whether he planned to investigate the opportunity at Lanke Mountain.
• Ying Bing returned wearing a red dress and asked Li Mo whether a tiger-head hat looked good, then put it on his head.
• The Three Heroes followed Li Mo and Ying Bing through the market, assuming their casual shopping concealed preparations for Lanke Mountain.
• Li Mo haggled a stall owner down from ten taels of silver to one tael and four mace for the tiger-head hat.
• Ying Bing counted the silver with delight, watched Li Mo bargain for a white cat-fur hat, and said she wanted to learn from him.

Li Mo and Ying Bing spent New Year's Eve shopping and haggling before joining Li Mo's parents for dinner. His parents tried to nudge the pair toward each other with symbolic dishes, but the chapter ended with Li Mo returning to his room and his father reminding him to come out in the morning.

• Li Mo taught Ying Bing his mother's bargaining tricks, and the two haggled their way through the New Year market, earning a reputation in Qinghe County.
• Ying Bing returned to the market to retrieve the Big-Headed Doll and hung it at her waist before she and Li Mo went home.
• At the Li Mansion, Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin served dishes with names about marriage and explained their meanings to Li Mo and Ying Bing.
• Li Mo finished dinner and headed to his room, while Li Dalong told him to make sure he came out the next morning.

On New Year's Eve, Li Mo received birthday gifts from Jiang Chulong and Ying Bing while reflecting on his progress and watching Jiang Chulong train. The chapter ended with Ying Bing delivering seventeen gifts to celebrate his seventeenth birthday.

• Jiang Chulong gave Li Mo homemade dumplings and an embroidered belt for his birthday, and Li Mo gave her a red envelope for New Year.
• Jiang Chulong challenged the Golden Crow Projection three times and nearly defeated it after finding its flaw.
• Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin brought noodles to Li Mo's room but found Ying Bing there with a box of gifts.
• Ying Bing gave Li Mo birthday wishes and revealed seventeen gifts, including a newly made wooden sword.

On his seventeenth birthday, Li Mo received gifts from Ying Bing and indulged his gentlemanly excuse to massage her feet, but they postponed dual cultivation because his parents were nearby. The next morning, Li Mo and Ying Bing set out with his family to offer incense at the Ying Family Old Residence, still wondering why the black Year Beast had targeted the Ying Family and how it was connected to Ying Bing.

• Ying Bing gave Li Mo the gifts she had gathered, including a jade pendant he had admired, and Li Mo happily wore it.
• Li Mo praised the gifts and, calling himself a true gentleman who loved jade and bamboo, persuaded Ying Bing to let him massage her feet and calves.
• Ying Bing found her money jar empty because she had paid the sellers without bargaining, and she realized Li Mo had grown more brazen with age.
• Li Mo suggested they begin dual cultivation, but Ying Bing left after mentioning that his parents were outside his room.
• The next morning, Li Dalong told Li Mo to join the family in offering incense at the Ying Family Old Residence, and Ying Bing agreed to go with him.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing wondered why the black Year Beast had appeared at the Ying Family and whether the mystery would lead them to Lanke Mountain.

Li Mo and his companions left the Ying family ruins and headed back to Purple Sun Prefecture to receive the crown prince’s commendation. Elder Xue revealed that the Clear Abyss Sect planned to send Li Mo and Ying Bing to investigate Lanke Mountain, with the crown prince accompanying them for protection.

• Li Mo paid respects at the Ying family memorial tablets and sensed a fleeting fluctuation from the family’s Ancestor Statue.
• Elder Xue and Shang Wu arrived and announced that the crown prince would soon reach Purple Sun Prefecture to commend Li Mo and Ying Bing.
• Li Mo and Shang Wu joked about killing the crown prince, while Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin reacted with alarm and Elder Xue urged everyone to observe proper courtesies.
• Li Mo summoned the Somersault Cloud, and the group flew from Qinghe County toward Purple Sun Prefecture.
• Elder Xue explained that powerful factions were gathering at Lanke Mountain and asked Li Mo and Ying Bing to investigate on the Clear Abyss Sect’s behalf.
• Elder Xue proposed having the crown prince take Li Mo and Ying Bing to Lanke Mountain to help ensure their safety.

Li Mo returned to Clear Abyss Sect, where the elders arranged for Jiang Yu to join the expedition to Lanke Mountain. At Pleasant Goat Hot Pot Restaurant, Jiang Yu confronted Jiang Chulong and ordered his Pink-robed Sword Servant to beat her until she fought back.

• The Clear Abyss Sect elders decided Jiang Yu should accompany Li Mo and Ying Bing to Lanke Mountain to help protect them.
• Li Mo and the others arrived at Clear Abyss Sect, where banners welcomed Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Jiang Yu.
• Li Mo left for Pleasant Goat Hot Pot Restaurant to visit Chulong, while Ying Bing went back to check on Autumn Water Pavilion.
• Jiang Yu arrived at the restaurant with two sword-bearing women, and his killing intent drove the customers to flee.
• Jiang Yu questioned Jiang Chulong about her martial arts, then ordered the Pink-robed Sword Servant to strike her until she fought back.

Li Mo found Jiang Chulong being beaten by Jiang Yu’s attendants and urged her to fight back, revealing her newly emerging sword talent. Jiang Yu unleashed his Divine Intent against Li Mo, while the Clear Abyss Sect elders heard the dragon’s roar and feared the crown prince had been provoked.

• Li Mo arrived at the deserted hot pot restaurant and saw the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye identify Jiang Yu and reveal his plan to test Jiang Chulong.
• Li Mo told Jiang Chulong to fight back, and she used the Peach Blossom Branch to defeat the Pink-robed Sword Servant in a swordsmanship duel.
• Jiang Yu ordered the fight to stop, but Li Mo stood his ground and challenged him over the restaurant’s rules.
• Jiang Yu released a powerful Divine Intent depicting a golden dragon and an imperial city, pressing people within fifty miles to their knees.
• At a Clear Abyss Sect meeting, Shangguan Wencang discussed preparations for the crown prince’s arrival before the elders heard the dragon’s roar and wondered what had happened.

Li Mo defended Jiang Chulong from Jiang Yu at Pleasant Goat Hot Pot Restaurant, while a mysterious figure from the restaurant’s courtyard drove off Jiang Yu’s guardian. The confrontation stunned the elders of Clear Abyss Sect, and Li Mo casually told them he had slapped Jiang Yu in the face.

• Jiang Chulong refused Jiang Yu’s order to return, and Li Mo stood between them, saying she was his employee.
• Jiang Yu’s guardian exerted his power against Li Mo, but Li Mo’s External Incarnation revealed a Green Lotus figure that made the guardian withdraw.
• Li Mo told Jiang Yu that Jiang Chulong owed her family nothing, and Jiang Yu promised they would meet again.
• The confrontation’s power shook Purple Sun Prefecture, leaving Clear Abyss Sect’s elders stunned as they speculated about the mysterious figure.
• Xue Jing and Shangguan Wencang questioned Li Mo about what happened, and he said he had slapped Jiang Yu in the face.

After Li Mo explained that he had intervened when Jiang Yu’s sword attendant bullied Jiang Chulong, Clear Abyss Sect’s elders worried about the Crown Prince’s retaliation. Jiang Yu then decided to give Li Mo an official post, while others might still target him before he reached Lanke Mountain.

• Li Mo told Shangguan Wencang and the elders that he had stepped in to protect Chulong, who was also surnamed Jiang, and the elders realized she belonged to the imperial family.
• The elders discussed whether Li Mo should flee and decided to wait for Jiang Yu’s response, while Li Mo offered to use his Small World to carry Clear Abyss Sect away if necessary.
• At the prefect’s residence, Jiang Yu’s sword cut his hand as he reflected on the mysterious expert who had protected Li Mo.
• Jiang Yu rebuked his pink-clad sword attendant for suggesting that Li Mo be killed and said he would give Li Mo an official post.
• The thin old man noted that others might try to eliminate Li Mo before he reached Lanke Mountain to curry favor with Jiang Yu.

After Li Mo’s confrontation involving the Crown Prince, Xiao Qin gave him a booklet titled Thousand Forms Art and a route west as a possible escape. Back at Autumn Water Pavilion, Shang Wu joked about raising a rebellion, while Ying Bing quietly considered how to confront Jiang Yu’s sword attendants.

• Li Mo met Xiao Qin, who teased him about his nicknames and warned him about the trouble he had caused by standing up to the Crown Prince.
• Xiao Qin gave Li Mo a booklet titled Thousand Forms Art and information about traveling west beyond Great Yu’s reach.
• Li Mo returned to Autumn Water Pavilion and told Shang Wu and Ying Bing what had happened.
• Shang Wu praised Li Mo and proposed ambushing Jiang Yu and raising a rebellion, while Li Mo gave her Immortal Drunk to quiet her.
• Ying Bing noted that Jiang Yu’s sword attendants Qingque and Danzhi were ranked on the Human Ranking, then practiced with Heavenly Frost and Moon-in-Mid-Autumn under the moonlight.

Ying Bing and Li Mo left Autumn Water Pavilion to meet the crown prince’s envoys at the Clear Abyss Sect. When Danhong attacked Li Mo at the mountain gate, Ying Bing stepped forward and challenged both maidservants to fight her.

• Ying Bing refined her Divine Intents and decided to wait until Lanke Mountain before reopening the ranking.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing left together in matching cultivation robes, and Li Mo took Ying Bing’s cold hand.
• Danhong and Qingque arrived at the sect as Jiang Yu’s envoys, and Danhong confronted Li Mo over his order not to gallop through the mountain gate.
• Danhong whipped at Li Mo, but her strike missed and smashed the stone steps; Ying Bing drew Heavenly Frost as Danhong prepared to attack again.
• Qingque said she and Danhong had come to instruct the Hidden Dragon prodigies in martial arts, and Ying Bing told them to come at her together.

Ying Bing stepped in to protect Li Mo and defeated Danhong and Qingque despite facing them alone. Qingque delivered the Crown Prince’s warning, and Clear Abyss Sect learned that Danhong’s sword heart might have been shattered.

• Ying Bing moved in front of Li Mo when Danhong and Qingque confronted him.
• Danhong attacked Ying Bing with her Inner Scene domain, but Ying Bing exposed a flaw in her defense and struck her down with a sword that left a cut on her brow.
• Qingque accused Ying Bing of crippling Danhong, but Ying Bing said Danhong had gotten off cheaply.
• Qingque passed on the Crown Prince’s order that Li Mo stop teaching the little princess martial arts, then added her own advice before leaving with Danhong and her people.
• Li Mo told the Clear Abyss Sect elders that Ying Bing had fought two opponents alone and may have shattered Danhong’s sword heart.

Jiang Yu learned that Ying Bing had defeated Danhong, while Elder Qian told Li Mo and Ying Bing that Lanke Mountain might conceal a powerful expert’s tomb and supplied them with protective treasures. That night, Jiang Chulong told Li Mo she was ready to break through after believing she could defeat Senior Golden Crow.

• Qingque told Jiang Yu that Ying Bing had broken through their combined attack and that Danhong’s sword heart had developed a heart demon.
• Jiang Yu sent Danhong back to Heavenly Mountain Sword Villa to compile the Sword Canon, while Danhong vowed to remove her heart demon.
• Elder Qian visited Autumn Water Pavilion and told Li Mo and Ying Bing that Lanke Mountain’s strange phenomena had revealed a city, suggesting a powerful expert’s tomb lay beneath it.
• Elder Qian gave Li Mo a collection of tomb-protection items, including a Black Donkey Hoof, corpse-suppressing talismans, and an exorcism bell.
• Li Mo observed the Taiyin Divine Intent, then entered the Small World, where Jiang Chulong said she thought she could defeat Senior Golden Crow and was about to break through.

Jiang Chulong defeated the Golden Crow Projection, awakened the embryonic form of the Wild Grass Sword Bone, and broke through to Divine Observation, earning Li Mo powerful rewards. The next morning, Ying Bing and Shang Wu realized Jiang Chulong’s breakthrough had put her cultivation level alongside Li Mo’s.

• After Li Mo reminded Jiang Chulong of the promised gift, she fought harder and pierced the Golden Crow Projection with her sword.
• Li Mo helped Jiang Chulong prepare for a breakthrough, and his investment awakened the embryonic form of her Wild Grass Sword Bone and returned a Red Dragon Divine Fire Observation Diagram.
• Jiang Chulong broke through to Divine Observation, and Li Mo received the Phoenix-Wing Purple-Gold Crown, a piece of the Great Sage Armor.
• Li Mo summoned the red dragon from the observation diagram as the next opponent for himself and Jiang Chulong.
• The next morning, Ying Bing sensed a breakthrough upstairs and realized Li Mo had caught up to her cultivation, while Shang Wu misunderstood her remark about him not letting her rest.

Danhong plotted to have Li Mo and Ying Bing attacked after spreading stories that they had offended the Crown Prince. Meanwhile, Li Mo and Ying Bing headed to Lanke Mountain to investigate a vanished anomaly that resembled the Heavenly Phoenix Domain.

• Danhong hired a storyteller to exaggerate her defeat and arranged for an assassin from the Drizzle Pavilion to target Li Mo and Ying Bing at Lanke Mountain.
• A storyteller beneath a bridge praised the Cold Fairy and recounted her battle, while Li Mo and Ying Bing heard the tale from their passing carriage.
• Ying Bing studied a strange city-like anomaly above Lanke Mountain and wondered how it related to the Heavenly Phoenix Domain she had obtained in her previous life.
• The anomaly vanished into images of divine birds, prompting people to rush toward Lanke Mountain as its spiritual Baleful Intent seemed to fade.
• Li Mo took Ying Bing by the hand and flew with her toward Lanke Mountain to investigate the anomaly, while the cross-eyed storyteller watched them and removed his robe.

With Lanke Mountain’s entrance revealed, the Demon Summoning Cult and the Great Yu Dynasty confronted one another before Li Mo and Ying Bing arrived. The gathered factions turned their attention to Li Mo, while he held both of Ying Bing’s hands and insisted it was for safety.

• The Demon Summoning Cult prepared to enter the tomb, and Luo Yexian claimed an Exalted Immortal would protect them if trouble arose.
• Jiang Yu and the Heaven Patrol Guards confronted Tan Zhuyin’s group, and both sides stood ready for battle.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing arrived together, drawing hostile attention from Jiang Yu, Tan Zhuyin, and the other gathered factions.
• Tan Zhuyin recognized Li Mo and Ying Bing as enemies, while Luo Yexian asked a former Drizzle Pavilion cultivator to kill them inside the tomb.
• Li Mo took Ying Bing’s other hand and said they should hold on tightly in case the tomb separated them; Ying Bing agreed, calling it safety first.