Recaps

Xie Jinghan studied the Seven-Star Sword Art and used his sword to teach Miao Cunyi before the latter left Heaven-Bearing Prefecture. He then persuaded Xie Huaijin and the clan elders to support a plan to train seven Xie Household disciples, beginning the clan’s effort to build its own strength.

• Xie Jinghan studied the Seven-Star Sword Art manual and considered the power of its sword formation.
• Xie Jinghan intercepted Miao Cunyi as he fled Heaven-Bearing Prefecture and repeatedly used his sword to help him comprehend its techniques.
• Miao Cunyi regained consciousness after an hour and vowed to return alive, while Xie Jinghan departed.
• Xie Jinghan told Xie Huaijin and the clan elders that the Xie Household needed its own trained force to withstand future threats.
• Xie Jinghan proposed selecting seven younger disciples for intensive training, with the Lineage providing resources and Xie Jinghan personally guiding them.
• Xie Huaijin approved the plan and promised to select the disciples and prepare their training ground and supplies the next morning.

Xie Jinghan formed the Xie Household Sword Guards by selecting eight youths and began training them while warning the clan to keep a low profile. Meanwhile, Gong Peng received a report in the Gong Clan of Shuntian Prefecture, where the atmosphere suggested the conflict with the Xie Household was not over.

• Xie Jinghan announced the Sword Guards’ duties and tested the clan’s youths in the Void Illusion Realm.
• Xie Jinghan selected eight youths, including his younger brother Xie Jingming, and assigned them regular cultivation and sword training.
• Xie Jinghan taught the eight the orthodox Postnatal Breath Circulation Art and demonstrated the Seven-Star Sword Art.
• Xie Jinghan resumed his intense cultivation and ordered Xie Huaijin and the Xie Household to avoid drawing attention or provoking others.
• A gray-robed elder knelt before Gong Peng in the Gong Clan’s study in Shuntian Prefecture.

Gong Peng ordered Wei Dong to secretly hire an assassin to kill Xie Jinghan, and Wei Dong brought the Shadow-Killing Token to Shadow Tower. Chief Steward Li accepted the assignment and chose a newly trained Earth-Class Assassin ranked eleventh to carry it out.

• Gong Peng blamed Wei Dong for failing to protect Gong Feiyu and ordered him to kill Xie Jinghan in secret.
• Gong Peng gave Wei Dong a Shadow-Killing Token to hire an Earth-Class Assassin from Shadow Tower.
• Wei Dong presented the token and a secret letter at Shadow Tower’s hidden mountain residence.
• Chief Steward Li read the order and demanded one hundred thousand taels of silver within three days.
• Chief Steward Li chose the tower’s newly trained eleventh-ranked Earth-Class Assassin for the assignment.

A Qing received Shadow Tower’s order to assassinate Xie Jinghan within half a year. At the Xie Household, Xie Jinghan continued training and teaching his descendants while considering how to advance his sword arts and manage the growing crowds drawn by his reputation.

• A Shadow Tower messenger ordered A Qing to assassinate Xie Jinghan of the Xie Household within half a year and warned him not to fail.
• Xie Jinghan’s eight descendants reached the ninth rank of the Postnatal Realm, while Xie Ku approached the eighth rank.
• Xie Jinghan advanced to the second level of the Innate Realm and considered seeking thunder and lightning to improve his sword intent, though leaving the Xie Residence could expose him to danger.
• Xie Jinghan decided to focus on perfecting the Seven-Star Sword Art and preparing more treasured swords.
• Warriors and sword cultivators continued flooding the Xie Household after Xie Jinghan defeated Gong Feiyu, and Xie Jinghan left his father, Xie Huaijin, to handle the visitors while he waited for the commotion to subside.

Wei Dong urged A Qing to strike Xie Jinghan, but A Qing insisted they wait for the right moment. Xie Jinghan visited the Xie Residence armory, claimed a rare set of swords, and let Xie Ku and the others choose weapons.

• Wei Dong asked when A Qing planned to move against Xie Jinghan, and A Qing said they should wait patiently for an opening.
• Xie Jinghan entered the sealed Armory Pavilion with Xie Ku and seven others.
• The old man on duty explained the Xie Household’s weapons and showed Xie Jinghan a set of twelve swords made with Star-Meteor Iron.
• Xie Jinghan learned that the swords were named Twelve Moonlit Nights and took them with their ancient sword case.
• Xie Jinghan let Xie Ku and the other seven choose Common Iron-grade weapons, and they left the pavilion armed.

Xie Jinghan perfected the Seven-Star Sword Art and manifested the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation, giving him confidence to travel to the Han River to comprehend Thunder Intent. An elderly man watching from the clouds sensed the formation and declared that an age of great contention was about to begin.

• Xie Jinghan told Xie Ku and the other seven youths to practice with their new swords while he prepared to test his formation.
• Xie Jinghan arranged seven swords in the Big Dipper positions and activated the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation.
• Xie Ku and the other youths stopped their practice and stared at the formation's powerful sword energy.
• Xie Jinghan decided he was ready to leave Xie Residence for the Han River, though he remained wary of a hidden presence that had been probing him.
• An elderly man atop the clouds sensed the Big Dipper's appearance and said the age of great contention was near.

Xie Jinghan left the Xie Residence and rode toward Tiger Leaping Gorge, intending to draw hostile martial wanderers away from his family. In Dutian Prefecture, Miao Cunyi returned to the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency and began his reckoning by destroying its plaque.

• Xie Jinghan chose Tiger Leaping Gorge as his destination, which lay a little over ten days away by fast horse.
• Xie Jinghan rode out of the Xie Residence at daybreak, and hostile martial wanderers followed him.
• Wei Dong and A Qing secretly followed Xie Jinghan as he drew attention away from the Xie Household.
• Xie Jinghan reflected that Xie Jinlin and Wang Tianfeng had joined True Person Yin Zi’s inner disciples and that the Wang and Xie households had formalized their alliance.
• Miao Cunyi returned to Dutian Prefecture after many days away and shattered the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency’s plaque with sword qi.

Miao Cunyi attacked the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency, killing guards and disciples as he accused its members of complicity in the deaths of his loved ones. He demanded that Peng Sihai answer for his crimes, and Peng Sihai appeared to confront him.

• Miao Cunyi killed the two gate guards and entered the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency.
• Peng Wei ordered the agency’s disciples to kill Miao Cunyi, but he cut down the attackers as he advanced.
• Cheng Bo tried to stop Miao Cunyi and reminded him that the agency had once been his home.
• Miao Cunyi accused the agency’s members of covering up his master’s death, helping Peng Sihai seize power, and failing to protect Xu Yuer.
• Miao Cunyi demanded that Peng Sihai come out and answer for murdering his master and destroying the sect.
• Peng Sihai appeared in a brocade robe and faced Miao Cunyi.

Miao Cunyi confronted Peng Sihai over his master’s death and found Xu Yuer alive but gravely ill. After Xu Yuer died in his arms, Miao Cunyi erupted in grief as Peng Sihai ordered the escort agency to kill him.

• Peng Sihai claimed Miao Cunyi’s master had died fighting the Cold-Blooded Thirteen Eagles and said he had taken charge of the Profound Heaven Escort Agency after Miao Cunyi’s mistress died.
• Peng Sihai brought out Xu Yuer and urged Miao Cunyi to put down his sword, while Xu Yuer tried to warn him to leave.
• Xu Yuer cried out for Miao Cunyi to escape, and he used One-Character Lightning Sword: Thousand Flashes to break through the encirclement and catch her.
• Xu Yuer told Miao Cunyi she had held on only to see him again, then died in his arms.
• Miao Cunyi grieved as thunder rolled above the Heavenly Wolf Escort Agency, and Peng Sihai attacked him with his Heavy Xuantie Sword while ordering the others to kill him.

Xie Jinghan stopped in Golden River Prefecture and confronted Wei Dong, who had secretly followed him after he injured Gong Feiyu. The two prepared to fight beside the river, with Wei Dong confident that his Seventh Stage cultivation would overcome Xie Jinghan’s sword techniques.

• Xie Jinghan rested at the Fortune and Prosperity Restaurant after nine days of riding and realized two powerful auras were still following him.
• Xie Jinghan went to a deserted riverbank and challenged his pursuers to reveal themselves.
• Wei Dong emerged and admitted he was following Xie Jinghan to avenge his injured master, Gong Feiyu.
• Xie Jinghan drew the Moonlit Night Sword and challenged Wei Dong, while Wei Dong asserted that his Seventh Stage cultivation made him immune to the Heart-Severing sword technique.
• Xie Jinghan gathered his momentum as both men prepared to fight.

Xie Jinghan fought Wei Dong, whose Great Netherworld Palm and Heavenly Silkworm Gloves gave him a powerful defense. After Wei Dong wounded him, Xie Jinghan summoned six bolts of lightning into his sword as Wei Dong answered with a gigantic palm print, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Xie Jinghan attacked Wei Dong with the Single-Character Lightning Sword, but Wei Dong blocked his strikes with his palms and Heavenly Silkworm Gloves.
• Wei Dong unleashed the Great Netherworld Palm: Myriad Manifestations, sending Xie Jinghan flying and making him spit blood.
• Xie Jinghan swallowed a Sword Condensation Pill and a Foundation-Stabilizing Pill, then used Thunder Draw to gather six bolts of lightning into his sword.
• Wei Dong formed the Great Netherworld Palm: Celestial Manifestation and sent its enormous scarlet palm print crashing down toward Xie Jinghan.

Xie Jinghan fought Wei Dong until both were wounded, then countered A Qing’s concealed assassination with a trap. He sealed A Qing and Wei Dong inside the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation, but they began breaking through in separate directions.

• Xie Jinghan and Wei Dong clashed with their strongest techniques and were both driven back, wounded and low on true qi.
• A Qing emerged from hiding and tried to stab Xie Jinghan in the heart with his Shadowless Short Sword.
• Xie Jinghan blocked A Qing with sword qi and activated the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation, trapping him and Wei Dong.
• Wei Dong and A Qing split up and attacked the formation, nearing a breakthrough.

Xie Jinghan divided his attention between the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation and the Thunderclap Sword, killing Wei Dong with a lightning-charged strike. A Qing escaped the formation and vanished into the shadows by the riverbank.

• Xie Jinghan changed the sword formation, driving Wei Dong and A Qing back inside and trapping them behind a dense sword-qi net.
• Xie Jinghan drew lightning into the Thunderclap Sword and gathered the formation’s seven swords into a massive star-glow blade, targeting Wei Dong and A Qing separately.
• Wei Dong swallowed a Bloodburst Pill and unleashed the Great Netherworld Palm, while A Qing burned his essence and blood, determined to survive and find his little sister.
• Xie Jinghan shattered Wei Dong’s protective barrier and severed most of his neck with the Thunderclap Sword, killing him.
• A Qing split into eighteen afterimages, escaped through a brief opening in the formation, and disappeared into the shadows by the riverbank.

Three months after killing Wei Dong and escaping the black-clad assassin, Xie Jinghan recovered at Tiger Leaping Gorge and advanced his sword intent through cultivation. He valued the Heavenly Silkworm Gloves he had taken from Wei Dong, but regretted failing to find the Great Netherworld Palm manual.

• Xie Jinghan recovered from his battle injuries while cultivating at Tiger Leaping Gorge, whose lightning spiritual qi aided his progress.
• Xie Jinghan reflected that he had slain Wei Dong but the wounded black-clad assassin had escaped.
• Xie Jinghan advanced the Lightning Intent Realm of his Sword-Drawing Technique to twenty percent, though he estimated that comprehending Sword Force would still take years.
• Xie Jinghan examined the Heavenly Silkworm Gloves he had taken from Wei Dong and recognized their protection against weapons and lightning.
• Xie Jinghan regretted that he had not found Wei Dong's Great Netherworld Palm manual.

Xie Jinghan settled into his temporary home in Zhao Village, where he enjoyed the village’s quiet warmth after staying there for three months. Zhao Xin'er brought him osmanthus cakes and asked him to continue telling the story of Tang Sanzang.

• Xie Jinghan traveled from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Zhao Village, where he had been living for three months with permission from the village chief.
• He greeted the villagers warmly and returned to the courtyard beside the stream that he rented for one hundred taels a month.
• Zhao Xin'er brought Xie Jinghan osmanthus cakes and asked to hear more of the monkey's story.
• Zhao Xin'er chose the tale of the Women's Kingdom and asked Xie Jinghan whether such a country could exist.
• Xie Jinghan began recounting the story from his memories.

Xie Jinghan witnessed Hua Liang being brought back severely injured after going to Great Black Mountain with his twelve-year-old son, Feng'er. With Feng'er missing and the mountain too dangerous to search blindly, Village Chief Zhao Zongren insisted that the villagers wait for Hua Liang to wake up.

• Zhao Xin'er listened to Xie Jinghan tell stories before a villager announced that Uncle Liang had been hurt.
• Xie Jinghan went to the village entrance, where villagers gathered around the unconscious, bloodied Hua Liang and his grieving wife.
• Zhao Zongren treated Hua Liang's wound and said his survival depended on his fate because he had lost too much blood.
• A tall villager reported finding Hua Liang alone near Great Black Mountain, and Hua Liang's wife revealed that he had gone there with Feng'er to investigate a cave rumored to contain treasure.
• When the villagers prepared to search the mountain for the missing Feng'er, Zhao Zongren stopped them and said they had to wait for Hua Liang to wake up.

After Xie Jinghan saved Zhao Hualiang, Zhao Hualiang revealed that a white tiger had taken Feng'er from a cave in Great Black Mountain. Zhao Zongren led the village men toward the mountain to search, and Xie Jinghan followed.

• Xie Jinghan gave Zhao Hualiang a Foundation-Stabilizing Pill and used Innate True Qi to help revive him.
• Zhao Hualiang recounted finding a hidden cave and seeing a white tiger seize Feng'er when they entered it.
• Zhao Zongren learned the cave was deep in the western forest and ordered the able-bodied villagers to search Great Black Mountain together.
• Xie Jinghan silently followed the villagers as they set out for the dangerous mountain.

Zhao Zongren led the villagers into Great Black Mountain to reach a hidden cave, where they encountered a Bloodsucking Vine. Zhao Song rescued a trapped villager, and the group gathered the severed vines before continuing toward the cave.

• Zhao Zongren warned the villagers to be cautious as they entered Great Black Mountain.
• Zhao Hualiang told Zhao Zongren that the hidden cave lay beyond the dense forest, and Zhao Zongren distributed Miasma-Repelling Pills before they entered it.
• A Bloodsucking Vine attacked the group and trapped a villager, but Zhao Song charged in and cut the vines apart, rescuing the villager.
• Zhao Zongren identified the Bloodsucking Vine as a medicinal herb, and the villagers gathered its severed pieces.
• The group continued through the forest, overcame several dangers without injury, and emerged from the miasma-filled woods.

The village chief’s group encountered a powerful Azure Wolf leading a pack toward the mysterious cave where Feng'er had disappeared. After the wolves left, Xie Jinghan joined three villagers to follow and investigate, leaving the group to approach the cave cautiously.

• The village chief led the group west toward the mysterious cave after Zhao Hualiang confirmed the route.
• A wolf pack surrounded the forest, and an imposing Azure Wolf appeared before leading the wolves toward the cave.
• The village chief concluded the Azure Wolf was intelligent and too dangerous for the group to confront directly.
• The village chief sent Black Boy, Zhao Wen, and Zhao Wu to follow the pack and ordered them to avoid a clash.
• Xie Jinghan volunteered to join the scouts, and the village chief asked him to protect them.
• Xie Jinghan and the three villagers headed west after agreeing to follow his arrangements.

Xie Jinghan led Zhao Wen, Black Boy, and their companion past the wolves and through the cave’s maze. They discovered an underground river where a rare Earthcore Fire Lotus was growing in the magma, but it had not yet matured.

• Xie Jinghan spotted the cave below the mist-filled gorge and found that the Azure Wolf had already entered it.
• Xie Jinghan led the group down through the wolf pack, holding the wolves back with his sword aura.
• Xie Jinghan used his Moonlit Night Sword to light the cave and his Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking Art to find a route through its branching paths.
• Xie Jinghan and the others reached an underground river where magma erupted around a twelve-petaled Earthcore Fire Lotus.
• Xie Jinghan recognized the lotus as a rare treasure, and Black Boy marveled at its beauty.

Xie Jinghan and his companions found a White Tiger and an Azure Wolf facing off beside the Earthcore Fire Lotus, with no sign of Zhao Feng. As the lotus ripened, the White Tiger lunged to claim it while Xie Jinghan stood ready to fight.

• Xie Jinghan saw the White Tiger facing the Azure Wolf beside the dead Black Python and searched the cavern for Zhao Feng without finding him.
• The White Tiger and Azure Wolf noticed Xie Jinghan and his companions, and Xie Jinghan ordered Black Boy, Zhao Wen, and Zhao Wu to retreat.
• Xie Jinghan summoned seven Moonlit Night Swords and formed the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation to face the beasts and protect his claim to the Earthcore Fire Lotus.
• The Earthcore Fire Lotus opened fully and released its crimson radiance as it ripened.
• The White Tiger raced toward the Earthcore Fire Lotus and opened its jaws to swallow it.

Xie Jinghan, the White Tiger, and the Azure Wolf fought over the Earthcore Fire Lotus until an approaching Underground Beast forced them to divide it into three shares. As the beasts fled, Xie Jinghan called after the White Tiger to ask whether the young man it had taken was safe.

• Xie Jinghan and the two beasts battled for the Earthcore Fire Lotus, but none could claim it.
• An ancient cry from the underground river warned of an approaching Underground Beast, and the White Tiger and Azure Wolf stopped fighting.
• Xie Jinghan proposed dividing the lotus into three equal shares, and both beasts agreed.
• Xie Jinghan divided the Earthcore Fire Lotus and gave four petals and four seeds to each of them.
• The White Tiger and Azure Wolf hurried to leave, and Xie Jinghan called after the White Tiger to ask about the young man it had taken.

Xie Jinghan fled with Black Boy, Zhao Wen, and Zhao Wu after escaping the cavern, but an Ink Jiao burst from the gorge and targeted him because he carried an Earthfire Lotus Seed. He drew the creature away from the others, but it shattered his sword formation and pursued him as he barely dodged its attack.

• Xie Jinghan and the others left the gorge after the wolves scattered, but a violent tremor shook the mountains.
• An Ink Jiao erupted from the gorge and fixed its gaze on Xie Jinghan, detecting the Earthfire Lotus Seed he carried.
• Xie Jinghan ordered Black Boy, Zhao Wen, and Zhao Wu to run while he led the Ink Jiao away.
• Xie Jinghan used the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation, but the Ink Jiao shattered it and sent the seven Moonlit Night Swords flying.
• The Ink Jiao spat a jet of dark green water at Xie Jinghan, who barely dodged it with Treading the Void.

Xie Jinghan failed to defeat the Ink Jiao, which absorbed his lightning attack and shattered his sword. The White Tiger and Azure Wolf returned to fight beside him, leaving all three battered as they faced the jiao together.

• Xie Jinghan offered the Ink Jiao the Earthcore Fire Lotus in exchange for escape, but it attacked him, and its tail smashed him into the gorge despite his sword strikes.
• Xie Jinghan drew lightning into his Moonlit Night Sword and struck the Ink Jiao, but it swallowed the lightning and shattered the sword.
• The White Tiger and Azure Wolf returned and attacked the Ink Jiao, but it countered their strikes and wounded both beasts.
• Xie Jinghan, the White Tiger, and the Azure Wolf regrouped, badly injured, and faced the Ink Jiao together.

Xie Jinghan and his beasts fought the Ink Jiao, but his strongest sword strike barely wounded it. As the jiao prepared to kill them, a mysterious youth appeared and pierced its skull with an arrow.

• The white tiger and Azure Wolf attacked the Ink Jiao, enduring its counterattacks to keep it occupied.
• Xie Jinghan gathered lightning and unleashed his Thunderclap Sword technique at the Ink Jiao’s vital point, but only inflicted a shallow wound.
• The exhausted Xie Jinghan faced the Ink Jiao’s towering wave as it prepared to strike him and his beasts.
• A mysterious youth on a distant mountain drew a glowing bow and fired an arrow at the Ink Jiao.
• The youth’s arrow pierced the Ink Jiao’s scales and buried itself in its skull.