Chapter Summaries

Ding Songyan questioned He Luo's ghost and learned more about Qin Guanchan's devil seeds, his visits to Prefecture City, and the Accumulated Evil Path's plans. He Luo revealed that the Three Fiends of Xiao City served the Sage Lord and were headed for New Talisman City, while Ding Songyan began to suspect Master Yan had anticipated the trail leading to Qin Guanchan.

• Ding Songyan confirmed that the Sage Lord was Qin Guanchan and learned that He Luo's immortal seed could not spread to others unless He Luo actively used its power.
• He Luo said Qin Guanchan had given him an immortal seed in Prefecture City three years earlier and had visited the city each winter, most recently in early tenth month last year.
• Ding Songyan connected Master Yan's numerological predictions and false trails to Dangkang Temple and Wangtianmen Island, suspecting the island was why Qin Guanchan returned to Prefecture City.
• He Luo revealed that he had tried to steal Temple Host Zhu's Ten-Thousand-Year Golden-Rain Tree blossom and Rejuvenation Pill formula to offer them to Qin Guanchan.
• He Luo told Ding Songyan that the Three Fiends of Xiao City were at Sunset Glow Ridge on Crouching Lion Mountain and should already be heading to New Talisman City to meet an Evil Envoy.
• Ding Songyan asked He Luo when he had delivered the stolen item to Sunset Glow Ridge as the ghost began to dissipate.

Ding Songyan and his companions pursued the Three Fiends of Xiao City to recover the Flower of the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden-Rain Tree before they could deliver it to the Devil Lord. They reached the Great River ferry after the fiends had crossed and decided to continue the chase north.

• Ding Songyan questioned He Luo's Yin Soul about the fiends' departure, but the soul vanished before he could learn the exact time.
• Xie Fengchao, Xing Chang, Zheng Zhuxi, and Ding Songyan agreed to pursue the Three Fiends of Xiao City, and Pan Yunzhou joined them at the County Yamen.
• Zheng Zhuxi obtained horses and waist tokens, and the group rode from Lingjiang County to the ferry crossing in less than two hours.
• Soldiers told Xing Chang that Cao Yue, Lu Guangqing, and Shen Wanli had attacked the crossing, seized a boat, and crossed the Great River less than half an hour earlier.
• Xie Fengchao and Xing Chang declared they would continue north, and Zheng Zhuxi agreed after Ding Songyan nodded.

Zheng Zhuxi led the group across the Great River to pursue the Three Fiends of Xiao City into the northern lands, setting limits on the risky search and arranging supplies. As their boat sailed north at sunset, the companions shared their hopes and recited lines from “The Swordsman's Journey.”

• Pan Yunzhou hesitated to enter the mountains but agreed to join the pursuit after Zheng Zhuxi made arrangements and offered him a graceful way to withdraw.
• Zheng Zhuxi set a two-day limit for catching the Three Fiends or confirming they had entered New Talisman City, and sent Xie Fengchao and Xing Chang to gather a boat and provisions.
• Ding Songyan revealed that he had recently begun opening orifices and asked Pan Yunzhou to keep his early Dayan Realm status secret.
• Pan Yunzhou and Xing Chang secured a boat, and the group crossed the Great River toward the northern lands.
• Xing Chang, Pan Yunzhou, Zheng Zhuxi, Ding Songyan, and Xie Fengchao shared their hopes for future journeys north and recited verses from “The Swordsman's Journey.”

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi led their companions across the river and into the mountains to pursue the Three Fiends of Xiao City. They found a concealed lookout near a ruined temple and prepared to identify the people inside.

• Xie Fengchao ferried the group across the river, and Xing Chang guided them toward the mountains using his knowledge of the terrain.
• Zheng Zhuxi spotted recent tracks, and Ding Songyan urged the group to study the Three Fiends of Xiao City and pursue them cautiously.
• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi described the fiends’ appearances and abilities as the group followed their trail through the mountains.
• The group ignored cries for help they suspected came from a mountain spirit or other dangerous creature, then found a fire burning in a ruined temple.
• Zheng Zhuxi and Ding Songyan used Candle Eyes and Star Pupils to spot a concealed figure standing among the branches near the temple.

Zheng Zhuxi silently killed Shen Wanli, and the group prepared to attack Cao Yue and Lu Guangqing in the mountain god temple. Their approach was exposed when a powerful Xiaoyang ambushed Pan Yunzhou, leaving the fight underway with the creature threatening the group.

• Ding Songyan identified Shen Wanli and warned Zheng Zhuxi about the plants he could control, while Pan Yunzhou created a distraction for her ambush.
• Zheng Zhuxi used her footwork to evade Shen Wanli’s plant incarnations and killed him with Autumn Water without alerting the temple.
• Zheng Zhuxi confirmed that Cao Yue and Lu Guangqing were inside, and Xie Fengchao assigned the group roles for their attack.
• A Xiaoyang suddenly attacked Pan Yunzhou with a wooden club, alerting Cao Yue and Lu Guangqing and disrupting the ambush.
• Xing Chang broke through the temple doors as Cao Yue shattered them, while Zheng Zhuxi engaged Lu Guangqing and his Six Plague Auras.
• The Xiaoyang swept its club through a tree, and Pan Yunzhou narrowly dodged its attack.

Ding Songyan and his companions defeated their attackers and recovered the flower of the ten-thousand-year golden-rain tree, but opening its peachwood box drew a terrifying presence toward the Mountain God Temple. With Zheng Zhuxi weakened, Ding Songyan prepared to carry her out of the mountains as another fight threatened.

• Ding Songyan distracted the Xiaoyang with a smile, allowing Pan Yunzhou to slash its neck and make it flee to its death.
• Cao Yue overwhelmed Xing Chang's weapons while Xie Fengchao used Shattered Star to make Cao Yue explode and reveal the flower of the ten-thousand-year golden-rain tree.
• Ding Songyan tripped Lu Guangqing with a pebble, and Zheng Zhuxi killed him with her Autumn Water Sword before succumbing to plague toxins.
• Ding Songyan used his being-and-nonbeing myriad forms qi to clear the toxins from Zheng Zhuxi and offered to carry her out of the mountains.
• A terrifying presence surged from the forest toward the Mountain God Temple after the flower was exposed, and Ding Songyan and the others turned toward the peachwood box.

Ding Songyan carried the feverish Zheng Zhuxi through a storm while she killed the beasts attacking them, and the group escaped the mountain presence into an abandoned village. There, they met Li Rui of the Lizhu Sect, who warned them that a hidden flood dragon lurked in the nearby mountains.

• Xing Chang retrieved the flower of the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden-Rain Tree, and Ding Songyan led the group fleeing as a terrifying presence approached.
• Ding Songyan called out star positions as Zheng Zhuxi struck down attacking beasts from his back, while Xing Chang fought off others.
• The group escaped the mountains, and the pursuing presence retreated; they chose not to enter the nearby city and instead sheltered in an abandoned village.
• Ding Songyan helped the exhausted Xie Fengchao with food and water, and the two discussed Xie Fengchao's Shattered Star hidden weapon.
• Pan Yunzhou spotted an approaching expert, and Li Rui arrived at the village, identified himself as a Yu Kingdom native, and warned them about a hidden flood dragon in the nearby mountains.

Ding Songyan and his companions escaped the Hidden Flood Dragon, received Li Rui’s warning about New Talisman City, and returned across the river with the ten-thousand-year golden-rain tree flower. Li Rui later found the mountain path devastated and realized the young travelers might have fought their way past the dragon.

• Li Rui warned Ding Songyan and the others about the Hidden Flood Dragon, the dangers of New Talisman City, and the need to turn back.
• Ding Songyan thanked Li Rui, and the group rested until before dawn.
• Ding Songyan carried the recovering Zheng Zhuxi as the group returned to their hidden boat and crossed the river toward Great Zhao.
• Li Rui entered the mountains and found flood marks, dead beasts, and sword wounds along the route.
• Li Rui discovered the ruined temple and corpses, then recognized a throwing dart as belonging to “Shattered Star” and suspected Ding Songyan’s group had survived the dragon’s pursuit.

Ding Songyan and his companions delivered the recovered item to Temple Host Zhu, who refined a Rejuvenation Pill and rewarded them with five companion pills. After agreeing to conceal the Xiaoming Sect’s role in capturing the Three Fiends, they learned about Headless People and the pills’ effects.

• Zheng Zhuxi gave Temple Host Zhu the peachwood box, and he confirmed it held the item he needed to refine the Rejuvenation Pill.
• Temple Host Zhu offered the group any companion pills from the batch, and they agreed to accept them before he began refining.
• Ding Songyan asked Xie Fengchao and Xing Chang to keep his, Zheng Zhuxi’s, and Pan Yunzhou’s involvement in the capture of the Three Fiends secret, and they agreed.
• Xing Chang explained how Headless People cultivated and answered Ding Songyan’s questions about their women and children.
• Temple Host Zhu returned looking younger and presented five companion pills, explaining that they extended lifespan, preserved beauty, replenished vital origin, or reduced age while erasing previous lifespan gains.

After the Three Fiends of Xiao City were defeated, Ding Songyan and his companions divided their medicinal rewards, and Ding sought He Luo’s martial arts manual. He and Zheng Zhuxi obtained the available chapters of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming, then learned that the Two-Faced Clan had escaped confinement and was still hidden among the people.

• Zheng Zhuxi chose the Xun Grass Pill, Ding Songyan took an Herbal Longevity Pill, Pan Yunzhou chose the Lesser Rejuvenation, Xing Chang took the other Herbal Longevity Pill, and Xie Fengchao kept the Origin-Replenishing Pill.
• Ding Songyan asked about He Luo’s belongings and learned they had been taken to the County Yamen; Zheng Zhuxi then took the Xun Grass Pill, and Ding swallowed his Herbal Longevity Pill.
• At the County Yamen, Yi Qincang trusted Zheng Zhuxi’s account that they had killed the Three Fiends of Xiao City and explained that He Luo had possessed the Great Expansion Chapters of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming.
• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi borrowed the available earlier chapters of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming from the Prefectural Yamen.
• Zheng Zhuxi told Ding Songyan that the Two-Faced Clan had escaped confinement during the Dynasty’s Southern Crossing and remained hidden among the populace, prompting him to resolve to use Candle Eyes and Star Pupils on people he met.

Ding Songyan mastered the Dayan Realm of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming, explored its dream and defensive abilities, and developed a way to combine nightmare influence with Winter Sword Intent. After the practice cost him several years of lifespan, Liang Gan visited and asked him to keep his Mind Reading-like ability secret, and Ding Songyan agreed.

• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi returned to the Ding Family residence, and Ding Songyan agreed to meet Liang Gan that evening after Xu Chang'an asked permission to tell him they were back.
• Ding Songyan reviewed their recent decisions with Zheng Zhuxi, explaining how she could consider the same factors while acting in her own way.
• Ding Songyan mastered the qi cultivation, Mortal Realm, and Dayan Realm sections of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming, gaining Ran-Yi Fish features and the ability to enter nearby dreams.
• Ding Songyan tested his dream powers and wards, then incorporated Transforming the Self into a Nightmare into Winter Sword Intent, at the cost of roughly four years of lifespan.
• Ding Songyan met Liang Gan, who asked him and Zheng Zhuxi not to reveal his Mind Reading-like ability, and Ding Songyan agreed to keep it secret.

Ding Songyan agreed to keep Liang Gan’s secret and revealed to Zheng Zhuxi that he could reproduce cultivation arts, including Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming, at the cost of his lifespan. He tested dream-based sword techniques against her and learned that the Yellow Millet Sect might offer a way to improve them.

• Ding Songyan promised Liang Gan future help for a price and agreed not to expose his secret.
• Zheng Zhuxi teased Ding Songyan about wanting the Mirror Lake Divine Mirror, and he told her he could reproduce other people’s cultivation arts.
• Ding Songyan explained that mastering Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming had cost him four or five years of lifespan, and Zheng Zhuxi urged him to protect his longevity.
• Ding Songyan tested Nightmare Sword and Dream Sword on Zheng Zhuxi, who resisted the first with Candlelight Sword Intent and blocked the second after experiencing a fabricated past-life dream.
• Zheng Zhuxi suggested Ding Songyan spar with a Yellow Millet Sect grandmaster to develop Dream Sword, since their Law Realm arts included a dream technique similar to experiencing past lives.

Ding Songyan gave Yang Shiduo a chance to study the movement techniques in Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming, then investigated Qu Zhongheng’s mother’s fatal flight to Wangtianmen Island. He and Zheng Zhuxi connected several sites associated with sightings of the Heavenly Realm to Qin Guanchan and the Two-Faced Clan, but had yet to uncover the full secret.

• Ding Songyan agreed to travel with Zheng Zhuxi to Qisong Prefecture after she recovered and created her tenth unusual aperture.
• Xu Chang'an celebrated entering the Mortal Realm with Ding Songyan and Yang Shiduo, and Yang Shiduo spoke about his orphaned childhood and plans to sell his house.
• Ding Songyan asked Yang Shiduo to copy three volumes of Three Thousand Years of Great Dreaming and encouraged him to learn only the movements that complemented his Iron Injury Fist.
• Ding Songyan questioned Qu Zhongheng about his mother’s death and learned that her Wooden Kite Flyer had frozen during a high-altitude search for the vanished heavenly gate above Wangtianmen Island.
• Ding Songyan told Zheng Zhuxi about the island and Qin Guanchan, and they realized that Imperial Palace Mountain had once confined the Two-Faced Clan, which Qin Guanchan could artificially create.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi reported their discoveries about Qin Guanchan and the Two-Faced Clan, then spent time training and sharing a large bounty with their companions. They ended the day at Cuiliu Tower, where they looked across the autumn rain toward Wangtianmen Island, their next possible source of clues.

• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi discussed Qin Guanchan's possible connection to the Two-Faced Clan and agreed to report their findings to the Imperial Court.
• Ding Songyan bought poetry books to help him answer Miss Xiaoqing's letters, and he and Zheng Zhuxi spent the next day discussing and practicing martial arts.
• Xie Fengchao arrived with Xing Chang and Pan Yunzhou to report that the Three Fiends of Xiao City were dead and divided eighteen thousand taels of bounty money equally among five people.
• Ding Songyan invited Xu Chang'an and Yang Shiduo to join the group at a bathhouse, where they joked together while relaxing.
• After Zheng Zhuxi joined them, Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi went with the group to Cuiliu Tower and spotted Wangtianmen Island through the autumn rain.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi searched Wangtianmen Island for clues while attending a lively riverside banquet with Xie Fengchao, Xing Chang, Xu Chang'an, and Yang Shiduo. When Ding Songyan used his Yin Eye in a grotto, he saw the Netherworld and a huge shadow plunging down from above.

• Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi found no clues while examining Wangtianmen Island, then joined the others for a banquet as rain fell.
• Xie Fengchao told Yang Shiduo that his Iron Injury Fist descended from the Golden Fortress Divine Art, which the Imperial Court held, and Xing Chang invited Yang to enlist.
• Xie Fengchao proposed exploring Wangtianmen Island and dramatically crossed the river using flying pieces of wood as footholds.
• Zheng Zhuxi, Ding Songyan, Xu Chang'an, and Yang Shiduo reached the island by boat and searched it with Xie Fengchao and the others.
• Ding Songyan used his Yin Eye in a grotto and saw a huge shadow plunge through the Netherworld darkness.

Ding Songyan nearly lost his soul to Nine-Phoenix’s remnant soul while exploring Wangtianmen Island, then learned that a Di woman had appeared nearby, deepening the mystery of the island and its ties to the Heavenly Realm. The next morning, he discovered that the poems he remembered from the Immortal Poet had all been written by Li Bai in this world.

• Ding Songyan saw Nine-Phoenix’s remnant soul through his Yin Eye, but Zheng Zhuxi’s Candlelight Sword Intent gave him time to close it with the Heavenly Mind Formula.
• Zheng Zhuxi explained that Nine-Phoenix had died thousands of years earlier, and she and Ding Songyan suspected its remnant soul lingered near Wangtianmen Island because it could see the gate to heaven.
• Ding Songyan repeatedly checked the Netherworld Grounds and confirmed that Nine-Phoenix’s remnant soul appeared only occasionally; he and Zheng Zhuxi agreed to return in winter to investigate the island.
• Xu Chang’an and Pan Yunzhou encountered a Di woman in the river, and Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi suspected the Di People’s ability to travel between heaven and earth connected them to Wangtianmen Island.
• The group drank together and returned to shore, and the next morning Ding Songyan realized that Li Bai had written every Immortal Poet poem he remembered.

After learning that Ji Hanyi’s idea of severing worldly ties meant leaving someone without family, Ding Songyan told Tao Wenshu what he knew and accepted her warning about the demoness. He revealed that he could speak with ghosts, and the chapter ended as he opened his Yin Eye to question Yan Changqing’s wandering soul about Kunlun.

• Ding Songyan recounted his experiences with Ji Hanyi and asked Tao Wenshu what severing worldly ties meant; she explained the Heterodox Path’s meaning and warned him not to trust Ji Hanyi.
• Su Qingli arrived, relieved to find Ding Songyan alive, and learned that he had killed Yan Changqing; she said Ren Youyang had gone to help at Riverwave Hall.
• Tao Wenshu explained that Yan Changqing had found Kunlun and entered the Celestial Emperor’s Palace, while Su Qingli realized why Ding Songyan had asked about the complete Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas.
• Ding Songyan revealed his Yin Eye and ability to speak with ghosts, then explained that Tao Wenshu had accepted him as her disciple.
• Tao Wenshu set conditions for Su Qingli to hear what Yan Changqing’s soul revealed, and explained why the Xiaoming Sect would share any discoveries about Kunlun with trusted parties.
• Ding Songyan activated Qingmengmeng’s seed at his brow and saw Yan Changqing’s bewildered yin soul wandering nearby.

Ding Songyan questioned Yan Changqing’s remnant soul about the hidden Kunlun, but netherworld lightning destroyed it before he could reveal the location. Tao Wenshu sent Ding Songyan home with Su Qingli, leaving him to conceal the Hundun Remains as they began their journey.

• Ding Songyan learned that entering Kunlun required sensing heaven and responding to earth, a Kunlun relic or Celestial Emperor relic, and the Kunlun Secret Compendium, which Yan Changqing had lost.
• Yan Changqing began to reveal that a man surnamed Jiang had guided him toward Kunlun’s location, but dark green lightning annihilated his remnant soul before he finished.
• Su Qingli and Tao Wenshu discussed who might have caused the lightning and which powerful sects could wield similar abilities, but neither identified the culprit or Jiang.
• Tao Wenshu praised Ding Songyan’s contribution, gave Su Qingli a token to pass the cordon, and left to assist fellow practitioners while promising to answer questions on his behalf.
• Ding Songyan tried to eat the Hundun Remains while Su Qingli went to find Yu Yao, but Yu Yao returned before he could, so he hid it in his hand.
• Su Qingli escorted Ding Songyan and Yu Yao out of North Water Street, then offered to shield him from listeners while he explained what had happened.

Ding Songyan completed his twentieth unusual aperture and prepared to travel south with Zheng Zhuxi to test his Dream Sword. After hearing Zheng Zhuxi’s account of their recent adventure, Tao Wenshu approved the journey and gave Ding Songyan a few words of caution.

• Yi Qincang shared a report connecting Qin Guanchan’s early associates to the Two-Faced Clan, and Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi agreed to focus on strengthening themselves.
• Hu Chengzong implanted the unusual aperture Fleeting in Ding Songyan’s left arm, bringing his total to twenty and warning that losing an important aperture could ruin his path to the Law Realm.
• Zheng Zhuxi told Ding Songyan she could create her eleventh unusual aperture in seven or eight days, and they decided to leave for Qisong Prefecture the next day.
• Zheng Zhuxi recounted her recent adventure and her concerns about Qin Guanchan to Tao Wenshu, who agreed that the young disciples should focus on improving themselves.
• Tao Wenshu approved Zheng Zhuxi’s trip with Ding Songyan, asked him to gather pine longevity stone in Qisong Prefecture, and heard him praise Zheng Zhuxi.
• Zheng Zhuxi told Ding Songyan they would leave the next day.

Lü Huaijin and Lü Woyu sheltered with the Chen Family Caravan, where Captain Yu faced the bandit Yan Peng after miasma poisoned the group. A young swordsman subdued Yan Peng and made him cure everyone, leaving the caravan baffled and Yan Peng unsure what had happened.

• Lü Huaijin and Lü Woyu traveled with the Chen Family Caravan toward Qisong Prefecture to retrieve their deceased father's body and belongings.
• A young woman and her junior brother arrived at the ruined temple and settled apart from the caravan.
• Yan Peng spread bewildering miasma through the temple and demanded that Captain Yu hand over an item in exchange for an antidote.
• The young swordsman struck Yan Peng with his crystalline longsword, leaving him under control and making him feed medicinal pills to the poisoned travelers.
• After the caravan recovered, Yan Peng regained awareness, realized something was wrong, and quietly prepared to flee.