Recaps

After Juebi City’s destruction, Yu Ci spoke with He Qing about his role and the meaning of true longevity as Master Ming Lan ascended to Li Huan Heaven. Yu Ci missed the ascension’s key moment while monitoring Monk Zhengyan’s strange consciousness, and he prepared to leave for the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat dock after one final visit.

• He Qing praised Yu Ci’s part in exposing Blood Monk Tu Ling and advised him to avoid arrogance as the Juebi City matter ended.
• Yu Ci noticed Monk Zhengyan’s restrained soul contained an unusual current of consciousness and wondered whether the monk had awakened.
• Shan Jiao and Incense Slave prostrated themselves as Master Ming Lan gathered power to ascend to Li Huan Heaven.
• He Qing explained that Ming Lan’s divinely granted longevity differed from the self-fashioned longevity sought through orthodox cultivation.
• Yu Ci focused on Monk Zhengyan and missed Master Ming Lan’s ascension amid the illusions filling the sky.
• He Qing and Gan Shizhen returned to their sect, while Yu Ci prepared to return to the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat dock after visiting someone.

Monk Zhengyan left Juebi City and traveled toward Sky Cleft Valley, where he discovered a remnant soul inside him and prepared to destroy it. Yu Ci interrupted his soul-seizing ritual, then reminded Zhengyan of a promise he had made during the cold wave.

• Yu Ci released Monk Zhengyan from Dan Cliff, and Zhengyan left Juebi City for the wilderness.
• After traveling more than ten thousand li, Zhengyan sensed a secondary soul inside him and decided to eradicate it.
• Zhengyan set up an array and began a soul-seizing ritual to destroy the vessel's remaining consciousness and inspect his body.
• Yu Ci arrived at Zhengyan's concealed ritual site, and Zhengyan questioned his suspicious appearance in the wilderness.
• Yu Ci asked whether Zhengyan was heading to Sky Cleft Valley and reminded him of a promise from the day the cold wave struck.

Yu Ci confronted Monk Zhengyan in the forest, revealed that he knew of Zhengyan’s hidden identity and past, and rejected his offer of cultivation guidance. As Zhengyan prepared to silence him, a sudden pain struck inside his brain palace.

• Yu Ci surprised Monk Zhengyan with a sword strike, but Zhengyan’s skull turned the blade aside.
• Yu Ci reminded Zhengyan that he had saved him in Sky Rift Valley, prompting Zhengyan to recall the incident and offer repayment.
• Monk Zhengyan weighed the danger of killing Yu Ci and tried to persuade him with promises of a path to immortality.
• Yu Ci rejected Zhengyan’s offer and accused him of belonging to a sect behind demonic chaos, body theft, and killings.
• As Monk Zhengyan watched Yu Ci and prepared a fatal blow, a violent pain erupted in his brain palace.

Yu Ci fought the monk, whose spiritual seed and searching techniques eventually exposed the remnant soul of Zhengyan in his mind. The monk revealed himself as Blood Monk Tu Ling and began using powerful Buddhist artifacts, while Yu Ci remained concealed in the forest.

• The monk endured Yu Ci's soul attack, defended against his sword, and activated a formation, but Yu Ci escaped its boundary and concealed his aura.
• The monk located a faint remnant soul in his mind and realized Zhengyan's soul was using strange starlight to erode his Primordial Spirit.
• The monk deduced that Yu Ci had allied with Zhengyan and revealed that he was Blood Monk Tu Ling, who had controlled Zhengyan through a spiritual seed and planned to escape under a new identity.
• Tu Ling attacked the hidden Yu Ci with the Jade Suppression Staff, but the strike missed and served as a prelude to activating the artifact's healing and soul-illuminating power.
• Yu Ci recognized the monk's technique as the Golden Bone Jade Disc as its radiance gathered into a luminous pearl above Tu Ling's head.

Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror and Zhengyan’s residual soul to connect with the newly formed Sarira Dan Pearl and challenge Tu Ling. As Tu Ling attacked with the Jade Suppression Staff, Yu Ci recalled how the mirror’s cyan light had once killed a powerful Core Formation cultivator and unleashed it.

• Yu Ci recognized that the monk had formed a Sarira Dan Pearl and accused Tu Ling of taking the Golden Bone Jade Disc and the Profound Truth Condensing Void Pill.
• Yu Ci summoned the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror as Zhengyan’s residual soul struck at the Sarira Dan Pearl, allowing the mirror to connect with Tu Ling’s soul source.
• Yu Ci endured the pressure of the connection and used the Soul-Observing Dharma Eye to examine Tu Ling’s soul source and find a lingering trace of Zhengyan.
• Tu Ling attacked Yu Ci with the Sarira Dan Pearl’s power and the Jade Suppression Staff, forcing their soul sources into a direct collision.
• Yu Ci recalled the mirror’s past feat against a Core Formation cultivator and sent its cyan radiance through the golden light toward Tu Ling.

Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror to disrupt Tu Ling’s control of the Yuan Suppressing Staff and attack Zhengyan’s lingering soul. After Yu Ci struck Tu Ling with Rakshasa Illusionary Sound, Tu Ling fell, and a sword-bearing figure raced toward the scene.

• Yu Ci endured the Yuan Suppressing Staff’s assault and linked his Yin spirit with the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, gaining temporary control of its power.
• Yu Ci’s mirror disrupted Zhengyan’s lingering soul inside the Sarira Dan Pearl, throwing Tu Ling’s control of the Yuan Suppressing Staff into chaos and injuring him.
• Tu Ling burned Zhengyan’s lingering soul with demonic fire, nearly extinguishing the starlight connected to Yu Ci’s power.
• Yu Ci sent a gray-green whip across two miles and struck Tu Ling with Rakshasa Illusionary Sound, leaving him dazed as the mirror swallowed the Sarira Dan Pearl.
• Yu Ci stood as Tu Ling’s body fell silent, and a sword light flew toward them through the night sky.

Yu Ci saved Zhengyan’s remnant soul by sending it back into his body, then faced a scavenger who tried to claim the fallen treasures. The intruder fled injured when Uncle-Master Gan arrived, leaving Yu Ci and Zhengyan’s fate unresolved.

• Yu Ci discovered Zhengyan’s remnant soul surviving within the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror and sent it into Zhengyan’s body, giving him a chance to live.
• A tall, thin stranger emerged from the forest, took the Yuan Suppressing Staff, and turned his attention to Yu Ci’s mirror.
• The stranger’s Eight-Brocade Poison Dragon attacked Yu Ci, who killed it with the Xiguang Sword and guarded himself against the stranger.
• Zhengyan sat up and used the Yuan Suppressing Staff’s gravity to pin the stranger down after he tried to attack Yu Ci.
• Yu Ci signaled the approaching sword light and called for Uncle-Master Gan, prompting the stranger to flee as the Four-Dimensional Heavenly Sword descended.

After surviving Zuo Yan’s ambush, Yu Ci helped Monk Zhengyan recover and sent him away with the Yuan Suppressing Staff. Yu Ci then traveled to Feiyun Crossing, where Daoist Li welcomed him and offered to escort him to the Li Chen Sect’s mountain gate.

• Zhengyan regained his senses, bowed to Yu Ci in gratitude, and left with the Yuan Suppressing Staff.
• Gan Shizhen returned and identified the attacker as Zuo Yan of the Sect of Injustice, warning Yu Ci to be cautious.
• Yu Ci thanked Gan Shizhen for coming to his aid and learned that He Qing understood why he had sought help through her instead.
• Yu Ci arrived at Feiyun Crossing and asked a plump Daoist where the Tongtian River was.
• Daoist Li recognized Yu Ci as Junior Brother Yu of Zhixin Temple and said he had come to escort him back to the mountain gate.

Yu Ci traveled with Senior Brother Li from Feiyun Crossing toward the Li Chen Sect, learning that the Tongtian River was a current of clouds and mist in the mountains. When Yu Ci spotted a hidden route and sensed hostile presences, he struck at them and revealed two yin spirits disguised within the clouds.

• Yu Ci met Senior Brother Li at Feiyun Crossing and asked about the Tongtian River.
• Senior Brother Li carried Yu Ci aloft on his Yan Ze Sword and explained that the river appeared when cloud currents gathered among the mountains.
• Yu Ci noticed that Senior Brother Li’s flight was circling at low altitude and spotted a stele marked Jiyun Pass.
• Senior Brother Li sped into the cloud current, where a Mist Flow Beast charged at them and he dodged it.
• Yu Ci asked about the difference between entering through Feiyun Crossing and Jiyun Pass, then attacked two hidden figures with his Xiguang Sword.
• Two identical cloud figures appeared, and Yu Ci recognized the pure yin spirits at their cores and asked Senior Brother Li who they were.

Yu Ci encountered the Tu brothers, who resented his role in Bai Ri Mansion’s destruction, while Daoist Li revealed he had helped arrange a test for him. As they traveled through Li Chen Sect’s vast guardian array, Senior Brother Li You appeared and confronted Zhan over targeting Yu Ci.

• Daoist Li introduced Yu Ci to Tu Rilun and Tu Rifei, whose objections to Bai Ri Mansion’s destruction centered on Kuang Yanqi.
• Yu Ci told the Tu brothers that Bai Ri Mansion had brought about its own downfall and noted Kuang Yanqi had been missing when it fell.
• Daoist Li carried Yu Ci above the clouds and explained that the Tongtian River formed the Sky-Piercing Nine Bends, Li Chen Sect’s guardian array.
• Yu Ci and the others saw two sword cultivators battling in the distance, and the Tu brothers recognized Senior Brother Zhan and Senior Brother Li You.
• Li You shouted at Zhan for pursuing Yu Ci, while Daoist Li revealed that Zhan had secretly posted the Good Deeds message that drew him into the scheme.

Yu Ci traveled with Li You, Daoist Li, and the Tu family brothers toward the mountain gates, where he saw the sect’s spectacular cloud sea and Luoxue Waterfall. They encountered Senior Sister Meng singing on a small boat, and she asked whether Yu Ci was there.

• Li You welcomed Yu Ci back to the mountain sect and defended him against Zhan Chuanyi’s earlier attempt to make trouble over Good Deeds.
• Zhan Chuanyi departed stiffly to attend his lesson, while Yu Ci and the others continued toward the mountain gates.
• Yu Ci marveled at Luoxue Waterfall and the vast, life-filled landscape around the Tongtian River.
• The group spotted Zhan Chuanyi on a floating mountain and heard Senior Sister Meng singing as she drifted toward them in a boat.
• Senior Sister Meng stood and asked whether Junior Brother Yu was there, leaving Yu Ci at the center of everyone’s gaze.

Yu Ci traveled toward the Li Chen Sect with Meng Wei, who advised him to avoid conflicts within the Empirical Branch. He gave her a crimson gauze artifact that could help with her lingering injury, and the group arrived at the sect’s mountain gate.

• Meng Wei arrived by floating cloud boat to escort Yu Ci, and he chose to ride with her instead of Daoist Li.
• As they traveled, Meng Wei warned Yu Ci that Zhou Yu and other Empirical Branch disciples resented his actions in Juebi City and urged him to keep the peace.
• Yu Ci noticed Meng Wei’s injury had not healed, and she confirmed that she still needed time to recuperate.
• Yu Ci presented Meng Wei with a crimson gauze artifact whose unusual patterns caught her attention, and she accepted it temporarily so she could copy them.
• The group reached the Li Chen Sect’s mountain gate, leaving Daoist Li, the Tu brothers, and Zhan Chuanyi wondering about Yu Ci’s relationship with Meng Wei.

Yu Ci dealt with rumors that he could influence Meng Wei’s disciplinary decisions when Ge Hui and Nie Zong asked him to help free their sword-array partner, Dong Ji, from punishment. At Qi Ping Peak, Yu Ci struggled to follow a debate on Yin and Yang before he recognized Senior Brother Zhou Yu watching him.

• Yu Ci struggled to navigate the Li Chen Sect’s shifting mountain paths on his way to Qi Ping Peak.
• Ge Hui and Nie Zong asked Yu Ci to put in a good word with Meng Wei so Dong Ji could leave Wangyu Peak before the Sword Garden gathering, but Yu Ci refused.
• Yu Ci recalled that Li You’s earlier request for help with Meng Wei had spread rumors about their relationship, prompting several disciples to seek his influence.
• Yu Ci arrived at Qi Ping Peak and found the debate on Yin and Yang too profound to follow easily.
• As Yu Ci prepared to leave, he saw Senior Brother Zhou Yu watching him.

Yu Ci was summoned to the Lingxiao Pavilion after drawing attention at the debate assembly, where Meng Wei and Old Mr. Zhu revealed that the technique recorded on his red gauze had been entered into the sect archives. Old Mr. Zhu planned to lock it away on the twenty-seventh floor because its dangerous shortcuts could tempt young cultivators.

• Yu Ci noticed Senior Brother Zhou Yu’s wary glance at him at the debate assembly and left Qi Ping Peak.
• Zhao Fu of the Scholarly Branch invited Yu Ci to the Lingxiao Pavilion, mentioning that Meng Wei was there.
• Yu Ci met Old Mr. Zhu, who was managing the pavilion’s books, while Meng Wei returned the red gauze she had borrowed.
• Meng Wei thanked Yu Ci, and Old Mr. Zhu revealed that the technique from the gauze had been recorded and would be stored on the twenty-seventh floor.
• Yu Ci agreed that the technique’s shortcuts were dangerous, recalling that the gauze described a God Slaying Thorn that could be cultivated into a lethal hidden weapon.

Yu Ci agreed to let the God Slaying Thorn technique be placed on Lingxiao Pavilion’s restricted twenty-seventh floor, and Old Mr. Zhu gave him a medallion granting mountain-gate access to libraries and academies. After recognizing Yu Ci’s earlier contribution of a talisman scripture, Old Mr. Zhu told him to prepare for this year’s Hanzhang Dharma Assembly.

• Yu Ci accepted Old Mr. Zhu’s offer to place the God Slaying Thorn technique on the twenty-seventh floor, and Old Mr. Zhu gave him a medallion granting mountain-gate disciple privileges at libraries and academies.
• Meng Wei explained that the medallion would make it easier for Yu Ci to access resources despite the discrimination outer disciples faced, and that she had introduced him to Old Mr. Zhu to help him establish himself.
• Old Mr. Zhu praised Yu Ci for keeping his judgment while studying the red gauze techniques, and Yu Ci offered to lend him the gauze for research, but Old Mr. Zhu declined.
• Old Mr. Zhu found a record of Yu Ci’s earlier donation of a talisman scripture and recognized him, then sent Yu Ci and Meng Wei away while he thought over the matter.
• As Yu Ci and Meng Wei left, Old Mr. Zhu told Yu Ci to prepare to participate in this year’s Hanzhang Dharma Assembly.

Yu Ci learned that Old Mr. Zhu could recommend him for the Minor Hanzhang Dharma Assembly, but he needed greater fame and credentials, which the upcoming Sword Garden Grand Event might provide. At Wanfa Jing She, Li You sent Yu Ci toward a brawny fighter while he went to confront Wang Jiu over a Sword Offering Token.

• Meng Wei explained the Hanzhang Dharma Assembly and said Old Mr. Zhu could recommend Yu Ci, though Yu Ci still lacked fame and credentials.
• Li You suggested that the Sword Garden Grand Event could help Yu Ci qualify, and Meng Wei invited them to discuss preparations that evening.
• Meng Wei said Ge Hui and Nie Zong would likely have their restrictions lifted temporarily so they could attend the Sword Garden Grand Event.
• Li You brought Yu Ci to Chutian Peak, where he pointed out the sparring grounds as a place to build his credentials and fame.
• Old Hong arrived looking for a fight, and Li You tossed Yu Ci toward him before leaving to take Wang Jiu's Sword Offering Token.

Yu Ci was swept into a Sword Offering Token challenge on Chutian Peak, where his elusive swordsmanship nearly killed the Daoist who attacked him. Hong Qianqiu stopped their clash just in time, then demanded to know why Yu Ci had struck with lethal intent.

• Yu Ci watched Li You fight Wang Jiu while Hong Qianqiu explained the strength of the Empirical Branch's leading disciples.
• Hong Qianqiu mistook Yu Ci's question about the Sword Offering Token for a request to join the contest and shoved him toward Chutian Peak.
• Yu Ci caught a Sword Offering Token that flew toward him as another contestant tumbled past.
• A gray-bearded Daoist attacked Yu Ci, who evaded his sword strikes with mist-like movement while keeping the token out of his Storage Ring.
• Yu Ci's sword nearly cut the Daoist's throat, but Hong Qianqiu intervened and broke apart their clash.
• Hong Qianqiu scolded Yu Ci for using a potentially fatal strike in a sparring match.

Yu Ci fought his way down Chutian Peak while holding the Sword Offering Token, impressing Hong Qianqiu and Li You with his ruthless swordsmanship. After Yu Ci secured the token, Hong Qianqiu and Li You explained that it admitted him to the Sword Garden and began recounting its ancient origins.

• Yu Ci defeated a gray-bearded Daoist with precise swordsmanship, and Hong Qianqiu told him he had to keep the Sword Offering Token in hand until he reached the foot of the mountain.
• Yu Ci admitted he did not know what the token was, and Hong Qianqiu postponed the explanation until Yu Ci had made it safely down the mountain.
• Hong Qianqiu watched Yu Ci win five perilous fights and praised his wild, lethal sword style, while Li You suggested that Chutian Peak could not provide opponents strong enough for him.
• Li You and Hong Qianqiu agreed Yu Ci needed a more challenging place and began discussing a plan to move him on.
• That night, Hong Qianqiu and Li You explained that the Sword Offering Token was connected to the vast Sword Garden, a graveyard for swords, and Li You began telling Yu Ci how eight thousand sword cultivators had marched west eighteen thousand years earlier.

Yu Ci learned that Sword Garden held the remains and legacies of powerful sword cultivators and that the coming Sword Garden Grand Event offered a rare chance to test himself. As disciples competed for its limited tokens, Yu Ci prepared for a sword match against Senior Brother Zhang Yan.

• Hong Qianqiu and Li You argued over the ancient western expedition and explained that Sword Garden was a cemetery for the fallen sword cultivators.
• Hong Qianqiu and Li You began fighting, so Yu Ci left the peak and headed toward Meng Wei’s place.
• A disciple challenged Yu Ci for his Sword Offering Token, but a passerby stopped him because Yu Ci was expected to duel Zhang Yan that night.
• Yu Ci learned that Zhang Yan planned to wager Sword Offering Tokens on their sword match, despite being a Core Formation senior brother.
• Meng Wei explained that the Sword Garden Grand Event had become a major opportunity to find sword arts, encounter lingering masters’ intent, and test one’s cultivation.

Yu Ci arrived early at Chutian Peak to prepare for his wagered duel with Zhang Yan, whose ruined cultivation and gambling addiction made him seem an unlikely opponent. After questioning Zhang Yan about why he wanted the duel, Yu Ci revealed that he enjoyed gambling too, leaving his plan unclear.

• Yu Ci surveyed Chutian Peak and weighed his slim chances against Zhang Yan’s experience and Core Restoration cultivation.
• Yu Ci encountered Zhang Yan resting in the cliff’s shadow before their appointed duel and suggested they begin early, but Zhang Yan insisted they follow the agreement.
• Yu Ci sat beside Zhang Yan and asked why he sought the wagered duel, given his gambling addiction and lack of money.
• Yu Ci recalled that the sect had cut off Zhang Yan’s supplies to curb his gambling, but Zhang Yan had continued wagering and squandering his earnings.
• Yu Ci realized how to approach the duel and told Zhang Yan that he enjoyed gambling too.

Yu Ci explained that his gambling nature was bound to his life, then demonstrated it by attacking Zhang Yan with a relentless sword assault. Zhang Yan recognized that Yu Ci wagered his life on striking first and conceded that he had lost their bet.

• Zhang Yan suspected Yu Ci was using talk of gambling as a psychological tactic, but Yu Ci said he could not separate gambling from his life.
• Yu Ci suddenly attacked Zhang Yan with a sword strike aimed at his head, forcing Zhang Yan to counter.
• Yu Ci pressed Zhang Yan with an uninterrupted assault, ignoring opportunities to defend as they fought across Chutian Peak.
• Zhang Yan realized Yu Ci was gambling his life on his sword being faster than his opponent's, then tested him with a lethal counterattack.
• After Zhang Yan's protective force sent Yu Ci crashing into the cliff, Zhang Yan asked about his gambling method and admitted he had lost.

After Yu Ci defeated Zhang Yan, Meng Wei and the Empirical Branch’s senior disciples agreed to limit his matches and nominate him for a place in the Fa Tian Secret Realm. Yu Ci spent half a month cultivating and studying there before two challengers arrived to confront him.

• Li You and Hong Qianqiu regretted arranging Zhang Yan’s fight with Yu Ci after Zhang Yan admitted defeat, fearing the result would attract more challenges.
• Meng Wei warned that Yu Ci’s lethal sword style made sparring dangerous, and Daoist Li admitted he had helped arrange the match.
• Meng Wei and the Empirical Branch’s senior disciples agreed to take care with Yu Ci’s future matches and nominate him for the Fa Tian Secret Realm.
• Yu Ci cultivated and studied sword theory in the secret realm for half a month, strengthening his cultivation while reading the Introduction to Sword Scripture Theory.
• Two brothers confronted Yu Ci, vowing to make him accept defeat completely.

Yu Ci sparred with the Tu family brothers in spirit roaming and yin-spirit artifact control, then observed their advanced Respond to Opportunity technique. The contest ended when Senior Brother Zhang Yan arrived outside Yu Ci’s room, and Tu Rilun asked Yu Ci to return his missing flying sword.

• Yu Ci accepted the Tu family brothers’ challenge to compete in yin-spirit artifact control after they had previously raced their spirits.
• Tu Rilun and Tu Rifei demonstrated their skill with a flying sword and whisk, and Yu Ci conceded the contest.
• Tu Rilun explained soul attachment, intent guidance, and Respond to Opportunity, then tried to use the last technique to send his flying sword toward Yu Ci’s room.
• Yu Ci used the Soul Illumination Eye to study the technique as Tu Rilun’s flying sword vanished, and the brothers realized Senior Brother Zhang Yan was waiting outside Yu Ci’s room.
• Tu Rilun asked Yu Ci to tell Senior Brother Zhang that he wanted his flying sword returned.

Zhang Yan challenged Yu Ci to another sword duel in the Fa Tian Secret Realm, then praised Yu Ci’s daring judgment and asked him to teach him his gambling skill. Yu Ci agreed, sensing that Zhang Yan was preparing for a major change.

• Zhang Yan waited outside Yu Ci’s stone chamber and asked him to gamble in combat again.
• Yu Ci accepted despite knowing he had little chance of defeating a Core Formation cultivator at full strength.
• Yu Ci and Zhang Yan fought fiercely in the cramped chamber, exchanging dangerous sword strikes until Zhang Yan’s true Baleful Intent slammed Yu Ci into the wall.
• Zhang Yan helped Yu Ci up, praised his grasp of qi flow and courage, and asked him to instruct him in gambling skill.
• Tu Rilun opened the door and saw Zhang Yan bowing to Yu Ci, then retrieved his flying sword and shut the door again.
• Zhang Yan insisted he needed Yu Ci’s guidance, and Yu Ci nodded while sensing that Zhang Yan was preparing for a drastic turn.

Yu Ci visited Lingxiao Pavilion to apologize for destroying a borrowed book, where Old Mr. Zhu urged him to pursue a reserved place at the Hanzhang Dharma Assembly rather than rely on the Sword Garden. Zhang Yan revealed that he had turned to a Demonic Cultivation Method, and Old Mr. Zhu showed Yu Ci a Talisman Disk.

• Yu Ci apologized to Old Mr. Zhu for destroying a copy of Introduction to Sword Scripture Theory, and Old Mr. Zhu told him to repay its fifteen thousand Good Deeds value.
• Old Mr. Zhu questioned Yu Ci's plan to build renown in the Sword Garden and explained that the Minor Hanzhang Dharma Assembly could nominate him for a reserved place at the high-level assembly.
• Zhang Yan explained how reserved places could lead to recognition as one of the Three Thousand Heroes and a path to becoming a core disciple.
• Old Mr. Zhu confronted Zhang Yan about his gambling habit and heart demon, while Zhang Yan credited Yu Ci with helping him find a way forward.
• Meng Wei said Zhang Yan had adopted a Demonic Cultivation Method and reported himself to the Discipline Court; Zhang Yan then left for the Myriad Laws Secret Realm.
• Old Mr. Zhu showed Yu Ci an object, and Yu Ci recognized it as a Talisman Disk.