Recaps

Xiang Yuan guided Jiang Yingjun through a painting contest with Chen Suhe, using her osmanthus painting and a poem to expose the flaws in Chen Suhe’s work and secure a draw. Jiang Yingjun recognized Xiang Yuan’s literary talent and approached him with new admiration, while Xiang Yuan regretted getting involved in the contest.

• Chen Suhe opened the Myriad Forms Scroll, which assigned him chrysanthemums and Jiang Yingjun osmanthus as the subjects for the painting contest.
• Xiang Yuan controlled Jiang Yingjun’s hand to paint a solitary osmanthus branch, then waited as Chen Suhe completed a Hundred Chrysanthemums Painting.
• Xiao Feng mocked Jiang Yingjun’s painting and praised Chen Suhe’s, giving Xiang Yuan the opening he wanted.
• Jiang Yingjun criticized the Hundred Chrysanthemums Painting and inscribed a poem beside her osmanthus, revealing its pride and turning the contest into a draw.
• Jiang Yingjun realized Xiang Yuan’s literary ability surpassed her own, treasured the painting, and sought him out to offer to frame it.
• Xiang Yuan returned to the carriage and regretted being drawn into the contest, while noticing Jiang Yingjun’s newfound interest in him.

Xiang Yuan escorted Jiang Yingjun into Western Chu, where he tried to convince her that Liu Che had arranged a honey trap while she coaxed him into sharing poetry. In Shendu, he explained his tangled ties to Northern Qi to the Xiao brothers, then learned Carefree Valley’s route had changed to Zhendian Prefecture, putting Jiang Yingjun’s journey near the Southern Border.

• Jiang Yingjun sat beside Xiang Yuan, admired his talent, and dismissed his warnings that Liu Che had plotted to use her as a honey trap.
• Xiang Yuan told Jiang Yingjun he was betrothed to a Xiao Clan princess and recited romantic poems, leaving her eager for another verse.
• At Overlord Tower, Xiang Yuan told Xiao Feng, Xiao Qiushui, and Xiao Ling how he had become connected to the Li Clan and Liu Clan through his exploits in Southern Jin and Northern Qi.
• Xiang Yuan insisted that he remained devoted to Xiao Lingyue and warned the Xiao brothers not to use underhanded methods against Jiang Yingjun.
• Xiao Qiushui told Xiang Yuan that Carefree Valley had been invited to Zhendian Prefecture, and Xiang Yuan worried that the route would take Jiang Yingjun near the Southern Border.

Xiang Yuan agreed to escort Jiang Yingjun to Zhendian Prefecture as part of a plan to draw out Western Chu’s hidden plotters, then traveled south with Xiao Feng and the convoy. In Wild Goose Peak City, he thwarted an impostor posing as Xiao Feng and exposed three concealed figures, leaving their identities unknown.

• Xiang Yuan accepted the Xiao Clan’s plan for the convoy to travel to Zhendian Prefecture, secured spatial travel and a grandmaster escort, and again urged the three Xiao brothers to cooperate with the other kingdoms against the threat to the fortune golden dragons.
• Three days later, the southbound convoy left Shendu with Jiang Yingjun, Xiang Yuan, and Xiao Feng, stopping in Wild Goose Peak City, where Xiao Feng broke Feng Wenyu’s and Feng Wenyuan’s legs after they challenged Jiang Yingjun.
• Xiang Yuan refused Jiang Yingjun’s offer to publish his poems, and she grew jealous of his devotion to Xiao Lingyue while trying to imitate romantic lines she had heard.
• A disguised man posing as Xiao Feng approached Xiang Yuan, but Xiang Yuan recognized that he was an impostor; the real Xiao Feng pursued the man after he escaped through space.
• Xiang Yuan sensed three hidden figures nearby and struck them out of concealment with Yunhua leaves, while Jiang Yingjun watched.

Xiang Yuan stopped an attack on Jiang Yingjun, uncovered a plot to destabilize Western Chu, and revealed his identity as Yellow Springs Dao’s Left Envoy to Xiao Feng. In Zhendian Prefecture, he discovered that Cheng Yuling had disguised herself as a maid to help Xiao Lingyue catch him with another woman.

• Xiang Yuan subdued two black-clad grandmasters with his gaze and seized their Black Tortoise cauldron, while their leader escaped using a technique Xiang Yuan associated with the Five Poisons Cult.
• A hidden restriction killed the two captured attackers; Xiang Yuan suspected the mastermind behind Other Shore Gate was trying to throw Western Chu into chaos by framing Heavenly Sword Pavilion.
• Xiang Yuan told Jiang Yingjun that he was Xiang Wentian, Left Envoy of Yellow Springs Dao, and urged Xiao Feng to warn Shendu and seek talks with Northern Qi and Southern Jin.
• Xiao Feng returned pretending to have fought five hundred rounds, then gave Xiang Yuan a vague update after consulting Shendu.
• Daoist Purple Duckweed and Qin Zhaorong watched Jiang Yingjun’s procession arrive in Zhendian Prefecture, and Qin proposed sneaking into the posthouse to steal the princess’s poems.
• Xiang Yuan followed a disguised maid into his courtyard and discovered she was Cheng Yuling, who had come to help Xiao Lingyue catch him with another woman.

Xiang Yuan cleared up Cheng Yuling’s suspicions about his journey with Jiang Yingjun and revealed that he had become a grandmaster. Cheng Yuling prepared to take him to King Zhao Residence, but hid in a wardrobe when Xiao Yan arrived.

• Cheng Yuling confronted Xiang Yuan over a letter claiming he had become entangled with the Northern Qi princess, and he insisted the accusation was false.
• Cheng Yuling accompanied Xiang Yuan to meet Jiang Yingjun, who gave him a collection of poems and deliberately scratched his hand, worsening Cheng Yuling’s suspicions before she realized Xiang Yuan had been wronged.
• Xiang Yuan explained his engagement to Xiao Lingyan as part of an alliance between the Xiao Clan and the Heavenly Martial Sect, and asked Cheng Yuling to keep the matter quiet.
• Xiang Yuan told Cheng Yuling that he was already a grandmaster, and she urged him to return with her to King Zhao Residence and help her confront her rivals.
• When Xiao Yan arrived at the courtyard, Cheng Yuling hid in the wardrobe because she did not want to see him.

Xiang Yuan hosted Xiao Yan and Xiao Feng at the posthouse while Cheng Yuling hid in a wardrobe, leading Xiao Yan into an embarrassing confrontation when he tried to expose her. After Xiang Yuan left for a banquet, Daoist Purple Duckweed and Qin Zhaorong prepared to sneak into the posthouse and steal the Northern Qi princess’s poetry collection.

• Xiang Yuan showed Xiao Yan the reforged Storm Mist Blade, and Xiao Yan learned that Xiang Yuan had turned it into a grandmaster-grade weapon.
• Xiang Yuan disciplined Xiao Feng for barging in loudly, then introduced him to Xiao Yan as a senior clan elder, prompting Xiao Yan to bow in alarm.
• Xiao Yan opened the wardrobe to expose the woman he thought was Xiang Yuan’s lover and discovered Cheng Yuling inside; she took him back to King Zhao Residence to settle matters.
• Xiang Yuan explained to Xiao Feng why Cheng Yuling had hidden in the wardrobe, beat him after he kept asking questions, and left with him for a banquet.
• Daoist Purple Duckweed and Qin Zhaorong learned that Xiang Yuan had left the posthouse and planned to sneak in to steal the Northern Qi princess’s poetry collection.

Xiang Yuan met Xiao Feng and Xiao Yin at Literary Canal Academy, where they discussed his ties to the Heavenly Sects and plans to target the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. After reuniting with Wang Wenxu, Xiang Yuan sensed intruders at the posthouse and went to intercept them, while Ziping and Qin Zhaorong discovered they had walked into a trap.

• Xiang Yuan met Xiao Yin at Literary Canal Academy and reassured Xiao Feng that Ji Boli would not move against the Xiao Clan unless it struck first.
• Xiang Yuan said he would stay out of the Xiao Clan’s plans against the Heavenly Sects but would help them target the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.
• Xiao Yin showed Xiang Yuan a poetry collection and sent a paper crane to summon Wang Wenxu, whom Xiang Yuan greeted as his former teacher.
• Xiang Yuan wrote a poem about plum blossoms, then joked that Wang Wenxu knew he had become a Nether Passage Realm grandmaster.
• Xiang Yuan sensed intruders at the posthouse and left to meet them, telling Xiao Feng to stay and pour tea.
• Ziping and Qin Zhaorong climbed into the inn courtyard, where Ziping realized a spatial restriction had trapped them against a much stronger Grandmaster.

Ziping and Qin Zhaorong were trapped in a spatial restriction with two Grandmasters from Unrivaled Palace, while Xiang Yuan watched from a deeper layer. When the women’s duel broke the restriction, Xiang Yuan intervened and prepared to punish them, leaving his first target unclear.

• Ziping tried to break the spatial restriction with her Heaven-Viewing Pattern Disk and Azure Star Sword, but she and Qin Zhaorong remained trapped.
• Two Unrivaled Palace Grandmasters, Yinshuang and Daoxue, entered the courtyard, broke through the restriction, and confronted Ziping and Qin Zhaorong.
• Xiang Yuan watched from the restriction’s third layer and decided to wait and learn why the women had come before choosing a side.
• Daoxue attacked Ziping, who used her magic treasures to resist, while Qin Zhaorong taunted Daoxue and increased her pressure.
• Yinshuang joined Daoxue, and the two Grandmasters’ combined attack shattered the spatial restriction and revealed Xiang Yuan.
• Xiang Yuan accused the four women of plotting against Princess Wenying, overwhelmed Yinshuang and Daoxue with his aura, and struck at Daoxue with his fist.

Xiang Yuan defeated Yinshuang and Daoxue, then learned that Unrivaled Palace had sent them to test his strength for a possible journey through Jambu Gate. After altering their memories and sending them away, he turned to Ziping and Qin Zhaorong, whose hopes of rescue rested on Shang Qingmeng.

• Xiang Yuan overwhelmed Daoxue with Yin-Yang First Divide, then defeated Yinshuang after she and Ziping combined their powers against him.
• Xiang Yuan knocked Ziping and Qin Zhaorong unconscious, questioned Yinshuang and Daoxue, and learned they had come on Bai Wuyan's orders to test his cultivation.
• Yinshuang and Daoxue explained their tangled status as Bai Wuyan's nominal disciples and said they did not know why she wanted Xiang Yuan tested.
• Xiang Yuan altered Yinshuang and Daoxue's memories so they believed they had fought him to a standstill, then sent them away with hidden hypnosis triggers.
• Ziping and Qin Zhaorong argued over whether Shang Qingmeng could save them as a figure approached inside the spatial restriction.

Xiang Yuan disguised himself as a Liu Clan grandmaster and cornered Ziping and Qin Zhaorong, but Shang Qingmeng appeared after Qin Zhaorong went to find her. Shang Qingmeng confronted Xiang Yuan about his journey and other women, then returned to Sword Heart Studio with Ziping and Qin Zhaorong while Xiang Yuan stayed at the relay station.

• Xiang Yuan found Qin Zhaorong and Ziping together, then pretended to be a lecherous Liu Clan grandmaster and demanded that one of them stay behind.
• Qin Zhaorong left to find Shang Qingmeng, while Ziping stayed and was pinned against the wall by Xiang Yuan, who revealed his identity.
• Shang Qingmeng arrived carrying Qin Zhaorong, caught Xiang Yuan with Ziping, and later explained that she had used Ziping to lure him out.
• Shang Qingmeng questioned Xiang Yuan about Jiang Yingjun and the Unrivaled Palace grandmasters, then agreed to return to Sword Heart Studio after he promised to visit her later.
• Shang Qingmeng left with Ziping and Qin Zhaorong, and Xiang Yuan later denied to Cheng Yuling that a woman had visited him overnight.

Xiang Yuan learned that Unrivaled Palace’s sword match with Sword Heart Studio would take place later that year, then accompanied Jiang Yingjun to a concert at Literary Canal Academy. There, he encountered his betrothed Xiao Lingyan and learned that Shendu had granted princess titles to both her and Xiao Lingyue before a Grandmaster confronted them.

• Cheng Yuling told Xiang Yuan that Sword Heart Studio had challenged Unrivaled Palace to another sword match and that Shang Qingmeng might face Xiao Lingyue at the tournament.
• Three days later, Xiang Yuan escorted Jiang Yingjun to Literary Canal Academy while Cheng Yuling disguised herself as a maid and provoked Xiao Yan’s consorts.
• Jiang Yingjun recognized Cheng Yuling’s disguise, then led Xiang Yuan to Xiao Lingyan, who told him that Shendu had made them both princesses and confirmed their marriage arrangements.
• A Grandmaster dressed as a scholar confronted Xiang Yuan and offered to demonstrate why Shendu had bestowed the princess titles.

Xiang Yuan defeated the Formless Sword Master, who had attacked him alone, and interrogated him with Xiao Feng. The interrogation revealed that an Upper Three Realms expert had used the prisoner to deliver a sword strike, and Xiang Yuan recognized the figure as Bai Wuyan before countering her attack.

• Xiang Yuan fought the Formless Sword Master, then knocked him down with a single punch when he confirmed no ambush was coming.
• Xiao Feng identified the prisoner as the Formless Sword Master of the Ding Clan and took him away to interrogate him.
• Jiang Yingjun coached Xiao Lingyan on how to grow closer to Xiang Yuan, but Xiao Lingyan stayed by him until the concert ended and then left alone.
• Xiang Yuan joined Xiao Feng in questioning the Formless Sword Master, and used Killing Intent Like a Blade to draw out his Primordial Spirit.
• The Formless Sword Master's body unleashed a powerful sword strike from an Upper Three Realms expert, whom Xiang Yuan recognized as Bai Wuyan before meeting her attack with his own sword light.

Xiang Yuan defeated Bai Wuyan’s hypnosis attempt, learned he would join her on a mission in three days, and returned to King Zhao Residence after completing his escort mission. The chapter left him trapped between Cheng Yuling and Chen Qiaofeng while Xiao Yan pretended not to notice.

• Bai Wuyan failed to control Xiang Yuan, then told him to prepare to enter a new world with her in three days.
• Xiang Yuan explained Bai Wuyan’s visit to Xiao Feng, who planned to exploit the captured Formless Sword Master for political leverage.
• Xiang Yuan left Jiang Yingjun before she could confess her feelings and returned to King Zhao Residence.
• He Yuanzhi brought Xiang Yuan to Xiao Yan, who toured the residence with him and questioned him about his relationships with Xiao Lingyue and Xiao Lingyan.
• Xiao Yan struggled to decide where Xiang Yuan should stay, then went quiet as Cheng Yuling and Chen Qiaofeng arrived from opposite directions.

Xiang Yuan visited King Zhao Residence, where he was caught between his mothers-in-law and Xiao Yan’s schemes before spending three days being shuffled between Xiao Lingyan’s and Xiao Lingyue’s courtyards. Back at the posthouse, he received Senior Sister White Phoenix, whose appearance revealed that Xiao Lingyue’s bindings had come from Cheng Yuling rather than Unrivaled Palace.

• Xiao Yan redirected Cheng Yuling and Chen Qiaofeng’s attention toward Xiang Yuan, but Xiang Yuan produced separate tea gifts for both women and exposed Xiao Yan’s attempt to keep him lodging outside King Zhao Residence.
• Cheng Yuling and Chen Qiaofeng learned that Xiao Lingyan had also received a princess title, then took Xiao Yan away to deal with his failure to tell them.
• Xiao Lingyan guided Xiang Yuan through King Zhao Residence, explained how Xiao Qian managed its affairs, and introduced him to Xiao Qian and Xiao Dong.
• Xiao Lingyan offered Xiang Yuan an empty room in her courtyard, but Cheng Yuling and Chen Qiaofeng repeatedly moved him between the women’s courtyards for three days while Xiao Yan stayed away.
• At the posthouse, Xiang Yuan concluded that Cheng Yuling had passed Xiao Lingyue’s bindings down to her, and Bai Wuyan emerged from the void to meet him.

Xiang Yuan entered the Ancient Wilderness Realm with Bai Wuyan, where she explained that the Heavenly Emperor had fallen there and revealed her plan to undergo tribulation in Thunder Marsh. As Bai Wuyan faced the lightning tribulation, a great demon who recognized her arrived and increased the power of the pending fifth bolt.

• Xiang Yuan opened Jambu Gate and followed Bai Wuyan into the Ancient Wilderness Realm, where the Heavenly Emperor’s corpse had shaped the land.
• Bai Wuyan told Xiang Yuan that the realm held a Dao Seed and two higher realms, then led him toward Thunder Marsh to claim an opportunity.
• Bai Wuyan entered Thunder Marsh and began using its lightning to undergo tribulation, while Xiang Yuan watched from a safe distance.
• Bai Wuyan blocked the first four lightning bolts with her protective robe and Buddhist cultivation art as she prepared for the remaining strikes.
• A great demon arrived, recognized Bai Wuyan from their previous encounter, and increased the power of the fifth bolt to attack her during the tribulation.

Bai Wuyan fought the Wheel Prison Great Demon while enduring an escalating lightning tribulation, and Xiang Yuan joined the battle with her treasures and his immense merit. After Bai Wuyan survived the ninth bolt at terrible cost, Xiang Yuan sealed the demon temporarily and escaped underground carrying her and her scattered treasures.

• The Wheel Prison Great Demon intensified Bai Wuyan's lightning tribulation and attacked her, but her Moonlight Veil duplicate repeatedly cut down its avatar.
• Bai Wuyan summoned Xiang Yuan and lent him the Moonlight Veil and Merit Golden Wheel, which he empowered with his own merit before attacking the demon.
• Xiang Yuan fought the Wheel Prison Great Demon while Bai Wuyan endured the fifth and sixth bolts, then transformed into a White Phoenix to shatter the seventh bolt and split the eighth with No Calamity.
• A Dao-Devouring Tribulation struck Bai Wuyan with the ninth bolt, shattering her forms and leaving her as a charred, withered remnant after she cut through the lightning with No Calamity.
• Xiang Yuan pinned and sealed the Wheel Prison Great Demon, then carried Bai Wuyan's remnant and gathered treasures underground as the demon broke free and vowed to pursue him.

Xiang Yuan rescued Bai Wuyan from the aftermath of her lightning tribulation by rebuilding her body and awakening her Primordial Spirit. Still badly injured and dependent on his blood medicine, Bai Wuyan reluctantly accepted his help, and the two began dual cultivation while underground in the Ancient Wilderness Realm.

• Xiang Yuan used his Five Elements Escape Art to hide underground with Bai Wuyan's charred remains and damaged treasures.
• Xiang Yuan entered Bai Wuyan's sea of consciousness and used his vitality and Unrivaled Palace's body-tempering method to rebuild her body and revive her Primordial Spirit.
• Xiang Yuan comprehended the Ancient Wilderness Realm's laws enough to ease their pressure, then finally awakened Bai Wuyan after many failed attempts.
• Bai Wuyan woke, discovered her weakened condition, and reluctantly asked Xiang Yuan to help her take life-extending pills and provide blood medicine.
• Bai Wuyan accepted Xiang Yuan's blood medicine and asked him to help her cultivate, so Xiang Yuan began dual cultivation with her while sitting behind her on the Enlightenment Cushion.

Xiang Yuan and Bai Wuyan recovered and cultivated together before entering the Ancient Wilderness Realm to seek the Reincarnation Relic. After Bai Wuyan sent Xiang Yuan to fight the Wheel Prison Great Demon, Xiang Yuan killed the demon’s manifested body, but the demon descended and drove him into the Profound Yellow Blood Sea.

• Xiang Yuan helped Bai Wuyan recover through dual cultivation, copied her techniques and treasures, and took control of the Silver Moon Gauze after she admitted she planned to kill him.
• After more than half a month, Xiang Yuan and Bai Wuyan emerged far from Thunder Marsh and traveled to the place where Jambu Gate would open to search for the Reincarnation Relic.
• The Wheel Prison Great Demon appeared, and Bai Wuyan gave Xiang Yuan the Merit Golden Wheel before vanishing to search for the relic herself.
• Xiang Yuan fought the Wheel Prison Great Demon and destroyed his manifested body with a powerful sword technique.
• The Wheel Prison Great Demon descended into the Ancient Wilderness Realm, struck Xiang Yuan into the Profound Yellow Blood Sea, and was expelled by the realm’s laws.

Xiang Yuan refined the Profound Yellow Blood Sea’s imperial blood, survived its deadly pressure, and underwent his sixth blood replacement and marrow cleansing. Half a month later, Bai Wuyan, unable to find the Reincarnation Relic and nearing death, entered the sea to find him and began drawing blood medicine from him.

• Xiang Yuan put away his treasures and let the Profound Yellow Blood Sea swallow him, then used the Formless Seal Method to refine its imperial blood and strengthen himself.
• Xiang Yuan’s body and Primordial Spirit grew, and he completed his sixth blood replacement and marrow cleansing while connecting his survival to the Heavenly Emperor’s influence.
• Bai Wuyan discovered that Xiang Yuan was still alive inside the blood sea and speculated that he had obtained the Heavenly Emperor’s Dao Seed.
• After searching for the Reincarnation Relic for half a month, Bai Wuyan ran out of restorative pills and entered the blood sea, layering herself in protective robes and treasures.
• The blood sea destroyed Bai Wuyan’s magical treasures and eroded her robes until she found Xiang Yuan sitting cross-legged and carried him into her lap.
• Bai Wuyan bit Xiang Yuan to draw blood medicine, and Xiang Yuan allowed her to refine it while he continued cultivating.

Xiang Yuan returned from the Ancient Wilderness Realm with the Reincarnation Relic and was taken by Bai Wuyan to Unrivaled Palace, where she used his blood medicine to stabilize her realm. Xiao Lingyue found him there and, alarmed by the scent of her master's fragrance on him, demanded to know what had happened.

• Bai Wuyan recovered her Primordial Spirit and rebuilt her fleshly body through cultivating with Xiang Yuan, then warned him that the Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed could make him a sacrificial object for the Emperor's tribulations.
• Bai Wuyan sent Xiang Yuan to retrieve the Reincarnation Relic beneath the Profound Yellow Blood Sea and told him to open Jambu Gate there, but he found the relic and opened the gate above the sea instead.
• Back in the Dry Abyss Realm, Bai Wuyan detained Xiang Yuan and took him to Unrivaled Palace, saying she needed to borrow his blood medicine.
• Bai Wuyan brought Xiang Yuan to her secluded minor realm and used his blood medicine for three days before sending him out to the stone-step platform.
• Xiao Lingyue emerged from seclusion, found Xiang Yuan at Unrivaled Palace, and asked whether he had done anything to Master.

Xiang Yuan told Xiao Lingyue how he had saved Bai Wuyan in the Ancient Wilderness Realm and why he had been brought back to Unrivaled Palace. Xiao Lingyue struggled with her jealousy and decided to get him out before her master could claim him again, but the two reunited in her room and began cultivating together.

• Xiang Yuan recounted his travels through Southern Jin and Northern Qi, explaining how his master’s schemes led him to injure Emperor Liu Che and escort Jiang Yingjun to Zhendian Prefecture.
• Xiao Lingyue confronted Xiang Yuan about the women he had encountered, and he explained that Bai Wuyan had sent Senior Sisters Yinshuang and Daoxue to test him before entering the Ancient Wilderness Realm with him.
• Xiang Yuan said he had used medicinal blood and dual cultivation to save Bai Wuyan after her tribulation failed, then survived the Profound Yellow Blood Sea and was taken to Unrivaled Palace.
• Xiao Lingyue decided she would eventually send Xiang Yuan away before Bai Wuyan could use him again, but brought him to her courtyard and hid him in her room.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue reunited intimately and cultivated together, with Xiang Yuan helping her refine the medicinal power and practice dual cultivation of their Primordial Spirits.

Xiang Yuan advanced Xiao Lingyue’s cultivation, resisted Bai Wuyan’s attempt to take him, then secretly returned to Unrivaled Palace to meet her. After leaving for Bishui County to collect payment and send a letter to Shang Qingmeng, he found Daoist Purple Duckweed waiting in his courtyard.

• Xiang Yuan shared laws of heaven and earth with Xiao Lingyue during their cultivation, helping her make major progress while she worried about his fate as the Heavenly Emperor’s pawn.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue discussed his Dao Seed, the lust poison, and the upcoming swordsmanship match between Unrivaled Palace and Sword Heart Studio, set for the fifteenth of next month.
• Bai Wuyan suddenly took Xiang Yuan to her cold-pool minor grotto-heaven, but he refused her advances and told her he would not hurt Xiao Lingyue; Bai Wuyan let him leave and summoned him back that night.
• Xiao Lingyue reunited with Xiang Yuan, then gave him a token and urged him to leave Unrivaled Palace; he later returned and met Bai Wuyan in secret, and she threw him out after their encounter.
• Xiang Yuan traveled to Bishui County to collect the remaining payment from a courtyard Daoist Purple Duckweed had bought and planned to send a letter to her to summon Shang Qingmeng.
• Xiang Yuan entered the courtyard and found Daoist Purple Duckweed already there, realizing she had apparently been driven out of Sword Heart Studio.

Xiang Yuan helped Ziping improve her cultivation before Shang Qingmeng caught them together, then made up with Shang Qingmeng and invited her to travel through Qingzhou. The chapter left Xiang Yuan and Shang Qingmeng setting off with Ziping and Qin Zhaorong unexpectedly accompanying them.

• Ziping explained that she needed Xiang Yuan's help to strengthen her cultivation before Sword Heart Studio's sword competition with Unrivaled Palace, and they dual cultivated through the night.
• Shang Qingmeng arrived and caught Xiang Yuan and Ziping together, while Qin Zhaorong watched from outside and Ziping teased her.
• Shang Qingmeng accused Xiang Yuan of protecting Ziping, and he explained that he had arrived while Shang was busy handling Sword Heart Studio's affairs.
• Xiang Yuan helped Shang Qingmeng absorb the great medicine, apologized for arriving late, and invited her to travel through Qingzhou.
• Shang Qingmeng accepted the invitation, and Xiang Yuan set off with her, Ziping, and Qin Zhaorong.

Xiang Yuan spent five days with Shang Qingmeng and her scheming fellow disciples before returning to the Heavenly God Realm, where he learned that the Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed had drawn him into a larger chain of consequences. After visiting Guanyin Bodhisattva, he went to find Ji Muqing to settle the awkward relationship created in the Baohua Realm.

• Xiang Yuan gained further insight into the Dao Sword Realm while Shang Qingmeng, Ziping, and Qin Zhaorong played out their jealous schemes around him in Qingzhou.
• Baize complained that Xiang Yuan neglected the Thirty-Six Palace Golden Towers, and he authorized her to punish officials spreading rumors about her and Guan Yan.
• Xiang Yuan asked Jingyun about the Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed, and she explained that it began as a coincidence in the Dry Abyss Realm but had placed him within the Heavenly Emperor's calculations.
• Xiang Yuan realized he could not identify which of his many Dry Abyss Realm opportunities had given him the Dao Seed and resolved to keep accepting future opportunities.
• At the South Sea's Purple Bamboo Grove, Xiang Yuan and Lay Practitioner Bai Yue discussed Ji Muqing's lingering attachment to their Baohua Realm roles, and Xiang Yuan left to find Ji Muqing.

Xiang Yuan reunited with Ji Muqing and Bai Yue in an illusory recreation of Yishui City, then returned to the Dry Abyss Realm and visited Yellow Springs Dao. He reached Chan'er in her underground palace, where she demanded his attention and ended the chapter with him kneeling at her feet.

• Xiang Yuan kissed Ji Muqing and took her to an illusory Yishui City, where Bai Yue joined them as Bai Suzhen and Ji Muqing called her Elder Sister.
• After spending two months in the Heavenly God Realm, Xiang Yuan returned to the Dry Abyss Realm and found that he could use True Warrior Great Emperor's small black cauldron only slightly.
• Xiang Yuan visited Yellow Springs Dao headquarters and deliberately frightened the female disciples, setting off the sect's highest-level defenses.
• Baoqin led Xiang Yuan to Chan'er's underground palace, where he found Chan'er attended by Jinse and her six reincarnated bodies.
• Chan'er had Xiang Yuan seized, but he broke free, veiled her with the Silver Moon Veil, kissed her hand, and knelt before her.