Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yang visited the Tai clan and was welcomed by Tai Pei'er with elaborate honors. She explained that the clan's gratitude came from the longevity peach he had shared, then told him how the other fruits had been used.

• Jiang Yang waited at the Tai market ward until Tai Pei'er found him and invited him to meet the clan's ancestor.
• Tai Pei'er closed the market ward and had Jiang Yang carried in a sedan, insisting he was an honored guest of the Tai.
• Tai Pei'er explained that the Tai honored Jiang Yang because his peach had given their ancestor sixty more years of life.
• Tai Pei'er told Jiang Yang that members of the Yi Sword Gate had eaten their peach raw after fighting over it.
• Tai Pei'er said Alchemist Qing Si had refined Shang Qingzheng's fruit into nine Pills that extended Purple Mansion cultivators' lives by eight to ten years each.

Jiang Yang visited the Tai Lineage and reassured Tai Pei'er about her rare Taiyin cultivation path. He met the clan members and was brought to the rear hall, where he greeted True Person Tai.

• Jiang Yang reassured Tai Pei'er that giving away the fruit had been worthwhile and praised the Tai lands' grandeur.
• Tai Pei'er described the Tai Lineage's precarious dependence on its ancestor and worried that her Taiyin cultivation path was rare and uncertain.
• Jiang Yang encouraged Tai Pei'er not to let doubts hinder her pursuit of Divine Powers, and she felt reassured.
• Tai Pei'er introduced Jiang Yang to the gathered direct-line members, and Clan Head Tai Zhengxiao welcomed him.
• Tai Pei'er took Jiang Yang to the rear hall at True Person Tai's summons, and Jiang Yang paid his respects to the True Person.

Jiang Yang visited the Tai and spoke with Tai Fuwei, who thanked him for the peach and discussed the Tai's coming deployment to war. Tai Fuwei reprimanded Tai Pei'er for focusing on the lineage's internal disputes and urged her to prioritize attaining divine powers.

• Tai Fuwei welcomed Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er into his quarters, reminisced about their meeting eight years earlier, and praised Jiang Yang's progress.
• Tai Fuwei thanked Jiang Yang for the peach, and Jiang Yang dismissed the need for further thanks.
• Tai Fuwei explained that the High Sect had ordered the Tai to send three Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than thirty Qi Refining cultivators to war.
• Tai Pei'er complained that the Tai branches had argued over the deployment and sought to avoid sending their own children, prompting Tai Fuwei to condemn their reluctance.
• Tai Fuwei told Tai Pei'er that managing the lineage was secondary to cultivating divine powers and warned that she still had a long way to go.

Tai Fuwei asked Jiang Yang to protect Tai clan members in the border war and explained the hidden powers shaping the conflict. He revealed that the Tai claimed a distant connection to True Lord Tai Pingyin and Long Breath Mystic Palace, though their lineage could not be verified.

• Tai Fuwei urged Tai Pei'er to secure the Tai's succession and asked Jiang Yang to protect any Tai clan members assigned under the High Sect's command.
• Jiang Yang said he would do his best, then asked Tai Fuwei about the Northern Di and the reasons the war continued.
• Tai Fuwei explained that the Northern Di could be defeated if Zheng committed its full strength, but High Sects and other powers had plans tied to the conflict.
• Jiang Yang asked about the Tai's origins, and Tai Fuwei said their ancestor Tai Pingyin had entered Long Breath Mystic Palace and become True Lord Xi Yin.
• Tai Fuwei admitted the Tai could not prove their descent from Tai Pingyin, but said the Dusty Earth Mountain-Evolving Scripture had helped the clan survive.

Tai Pei'er showed Jiang Yang her secluded cultivation peak and urged him to join the coming war. He agreed, and she suggested they might serve under the same True Person.

• Tai Fuwei told Tai Pei'er that her elder brother would inherit the Tai clan's legacy and asked her to help the clan if she gained Divine Powers.
• Tai Pei'er led Jiang Yang to her spirit-vein peak and explained that the land gradually pressed mountains down.
• Tai Pei'er served Jiang Yang barley tea and asked whether he would go to the frontier when the fighting began.
• Tai Pei'er admitted she wanted Jiang Yang to go, and he agreed to take part in the war.
• Tai Pei'er said they might serve under Senior Xuan Yi or the newly advanced True Person Zhi Qiu.

Tai Pei'er showed Jiang Yang around her mountain and revealed that her ancestor was trying to grow a peach tree from the fruit pit. They later wandered through the city as mortals, where they encountered a young man from the Tai clan causing trouble, and Tai Pei'er hurried Jiang Yang away before the patrol recognized her.

• Tai Pei'er worried that True Person Zhi Qiu's appearance could change who was sent to the frontier war and disrupt the chain of events she remembered.
• Tai Pei'er led Jiang Yang around the mountain and showed him the peach pit her ancestor had planted, which had not sprouted despite years of care.
• Tai Pei'er and Jiang Yang concealed their auras and strolled through the city, where Jiang Yang sampled malt candy and remembered the family that had once helped him.
• A street fight broke out between young gentlemen, and Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er discovered that one of them belonged to a collateral branch of the Tai clan.
• Tai Pei'er said the clan rules would handle the young man and urged Jiang Yang to leave before the patrol recognized her.

Jiang Yang told Tai Pei'er that he had attained sword intent, and she connected it to the Autumn's Arrival sword intent and the fighting on the frontier. He shared a profound lunar canon with her, which she recognized as a valuable inheritance and began explaining.

• Tai Pei'er asked about Jiang Yang's Sword Dao progress, and he said he had attained sword intent through luck.
• Tai Pei'er recalled the Autumn's Arrival sword intent and felt reassured that Jiang Yang might be ready for the frontier fighting.
• Tai Pei'er demonstrated her Taiyin true essence, and Jiang Yang tested its strength against his own.
• Jiang Yang gave Tai Pei'er the jade slip containing the Hanging Pearl Manifesting Darkness, True Response Canon.
• Tai Pei'er identified the canon as a Middle Yin Dao lineage from the Moonlit Cave Terrace and recited its principles and incantation.

Jiang Yang gave Tai Pei'er a spell art and promised to visit her before going to war. He then returned to Weiyang Prefecture, quietly repaid the household that had once helped him, and departed without revealing himself.

• Tai Pei'er praised the Guiding Incantation Jiang Yang had given her and asked him to visit before joining the coming war; he agreed.
• Jiang Yang and Tai Pei'er talked late into the night, then he left the city as she watched him go.
• After leaving the Tai clan, Jiang Yang changed course toward Weiyang Prefecture, feeling he might not have another chance to return.
• Jiang Yang found the household that had helped him years earlier and observed how its members had aged and changed.
• Jiang Yang silently sent spiritual light into the residence before departing without showing himself.

Jiang Yang returned to Rain Xiang Mountain after visiting Dragonkind, bringing spiritual thunder and a congratulatory gift for Chu Qingjian. He learned that the sect was preparing an expedition to the frontier, while Xuan Guang favored sending Jiang Yang’s senior brother.

• Jiang Yang quietly nourished the residence where his former benefactors lived, searched for the little beggar who had once accompanied him, and left without finding her.
• Jiang Yang returned to Rain Xiang Mountain and reported to Xuan Guang that he had obtained spiritual thunder for his senior sister from Dragonkind.
• Jiang Yang presented the [Golden Mystic Heavenly Pivot Token] and White Thunder; Xuan Guang told him to deliver both gifts to Chu Qingjian himself.
• Jiang Yang asked about the forces gathering for war, and Xuan Guang explained the imperial edict and the sect’s planned deployment to the frontier.
• Xuan Guang said the sect had not chosen its Purple Mansion True Person yet and favored sending Jiang Yang’s lazy senior brother from their peak.

Jiang Yang volunteered to travel in place of Bi Xingjian, and Xuan Guang agreed to leave the matter to the sect’s arrangements. At Dawn Rain Peak, Xuan Xi announced that Song Yunshu had died after years of hardship in seclusion.

• Jiang Yang defended Bi Xingjian’s quiet approach to cultivation and volunteered to undertake the journey to see the foreign dao lineage.
• Xuan Guang praised Jiang Yang’s growing understanding of the Dao and told him to await the sect’s arrangements.
• Shang Qingzheng and Lian Fei met in the hall at Dawn Rain Peak, where Xuan Xi emerged from seclusion and praised their work.
• Xuan Xi announced that Song Yunshu had died in seclusion after enduring successive assaults for seven or eight years.
• Xuan Xi ordered Lian Fei and Shang Qingzheng to gather Song Yunshu’s belongings and announce her death.

After returning to his Courtyard, Jiang Yang practiced with Spirit Oak and considered how to reconcile his Sword Intent with his existing Sword Dao. Chu Qingjian visited that night, and Jiang Yang gave her two spirit thunders from Dragonkind, leaving her wondering what he had promised in return.

• Jiang Yang mourned the silence in his Courtyard and practiced the Four Seasons Cloud's End Sword Canon with Spirit Oak, realizing Bai Tang's Sword Intent had pulled his Sword Dao slightly off course.
• Jiang Yang switched to Autumn Response Sword Essence and found the familiar forms flowed smoothly, then pondered how to accommodate both paths.
• Chu Qingjian visited Jiang Yang late at night, and he presented her with a Jun Thunder and an Armor-Piercing White Thunder from Dragonkind.
• Chu Qingjian questioned why Dragonkind had given her such valuable gifts and suspected Jiang Yang had made a promise or offered something on her behalf.

Jiang Yang gave Chu Qingjian two spirit thunders from Dragonkind, and she prepared to enter seclusion to master the remaining Purple Mansion secret arts. She told Jiang Yang that she still needed his help before beginning.

• Jiang Yang explained that Dragonkind’s gift might be a wager on Chu Qingjian’s future breakthrough, and she accepted the spirit thunders.
• Chu Qingjian considered whether to use the Mystic Pivot Token or White Thunder to break through and decided to prepare for the Purple Mansion.
• Chu Qingjian said she would enter seclusion and would not attempt the breakthrough until she mastered the two remaining secret arts.
• Chu Qingjian told Jiang Yang that her cultivation had advanced unusually smoothly since practicing the secret arts, then asked for his help as the final east wind.

Chu Qingjian told Jiang Yang that she had to resolve her feelings for him before attempting the dangerous Purple Mansion Breakthrough, then confessed that she liked him. Jiang Yang was deeply affected by the possibility that she might die in seclusion, and the chapter left her breakthrough still ahead.

• Jiang Yang explained to Chu Qingjian how the thought of ignorance and its illusions made the Purple Mansion Breakthrough perilous.
• Chu Qingjian said cultivators needed to resolve their attachments before breaking through and that Jiang Yang was the only one who could untie her heart's knot.
• Chu Qingjian confessed that she liked Jiang Yang and recounted how meeting him had changed her feelings and her desire to travel.
• Chu Qingjian said she could accept dying now that she had confessed, and told Jiang Yang to forget her if her breakthrough went wrong.
• Jiang Yang urged Chu Qingjian not to speak of death and realized how much he feared losing her.

Jiang Yang told Chu Qingjian that he had already pledged himself to Shang Qingzheng, but Chu Qingjian accepted the situation and said she still wanted to become his Dao companion. Later, Cong Huaijin noticed Chu Qingjian returning in disheveled clothes and acting strangely.

• Jiang Yang praised Chu Qingjian and admitted that he liked her, then explained that he had already promised himself to Shang Qingzheng.
• Chu Qingjian recognized Shang Qingzheng as a disciple of Dawn Rain Peak and said she did not mind sharing Jiang Yang as a Dao companion.
• Jiang Yang worried that the women might become jealous and hurt one another, but Chu Qingjian insisted she would not compete with Shang Qingzheng.
• Cong Huaijin completed her morning lessons and cultivation before Chu Qingjian returned to the meditation room, flushed and distracted.
• Cong Huaijin asked why Chu Qingjian's clothes were disheveled, and Chu Qingjian told her to ask fewer questions about adults' affairs.

Jiang Yang learned that his path through the Purple Mansion would rely on perfecting his fate divine power, "Conjoined Branch," and sensing the remaining methods himself. He refined his autumn sword essence through practice, then encountered Bi Xingjian, who revealed he had watched him for eighteen days.

• Jiang Yang reviewed the requirements for reaching the Purple Mansion and learned that "Conjoined Branch" would guide him toward his remaining divine powers.
• Jiang Yang decided to focus on the [Autumn's Arrival] section of the Four Seasons Cloud's End Sword Canon and refine its sword essence into sword intent.
• Jiang Yang practiced until his sword intent affected the surrounding weather and brought all sound to silence.
• Jiang Yang met Bi Xingjian, who said he had been waiting for eighteen days without daring to interrupt his sword practice.

Jiang Yang visited the Crimson Mansion Cloud Whirlpool Lotus with Bi Xingjian and learned that four Foundation Establishment-level blossoms had matured, while the central Twin Lotus was still growing. Jiang Yang offered Bi Xingjian the harvest, but became more interested in saving his one chance to refine a mysterious mansion for the central lotus when it matured.

• Bi Xingjian told Jiang Yang that the Crimson Mansion Cloud Whirlpool Lotus was nearing maturity after he had tended it at White Elm Peak.
• Bi Xingjian showed Jiang Yang four mature Foundation Establishment-level lotuses and explained that they had to be harvested before they withered.
• Jiang Yang offered Bi Xingjian any of the four blossoms in recognition of his work caring for them.
• Bi Xingjian explained that a lotus platform could be refined into a mysterious mansion inside a cultivator's qi sea, but each person could refine only one.
• Jiang Yang considered the storage benefits of a mysterious mansion and fixed his attention on the central Twin Lotus, which could reach the Purple Mansion level.

Jiang Yang and Bi Xingjian divided four mature Violet Lotuses, and Bi Xingjian gave Jiang Yang the Secret Art for refining a Mysterious Mansion. Jiang Yang tested his wood nine-angle Horn Wind on the Twin Lotus, accelerating its growth so it could mature in a few years instead of a century.

• Jiang Yang proposed splitting the four mature Violet Lotuses equally, and Bi Xingjian accepted two for each of them.
• Bi Xingjian harvested the flowers and promised to copy the Secret Art Jiang Yang would need for a Ritual Refinement of a Mysterious Mansion.
• Jiang Yang released the wood nine-angle wind from his Cicada Slough, and the Twin Lotus responded by absorbing Spirit Vigor and growing rapidly.
• Bi Xingjian examined the Cicada Slough and estimated that the Twin Lotus could mature in three to ten years under the mystic wind.
• Jiang Yang accepted the shortened wait and said that a few years would be enough.

Jiang Yang gave Bi Xingjian the Cicada Slough to tend and sent a lotus and sealed secret art to his senior sister. He then visited Shang Qingzheng amid the sect’s preparations for war and learned that True Person Xuan Xi had emerged from seclusion, leaving him wondering why so many people were seeking her help.

• Jiang Yang returned the Cicada Slough to Bi Xingjian and let him keep the mystic wind so he could study and tend it.
• Jiang Yang sent Wei Rui to deliver a lotus and a Jade Slip containing a sealed secret art to his senior sister.
• Jiang Yang watched Craft Peak disciples build spirit ships and Flying Boats as the sect prepared for war.
• Jiang Yang met Shang Qingzheng on Dawn Rain Peak and learned that True Person Xuan Xi had come out of seclusion.
• Shang Qingzheng told Jiang Yang that people had crowded Dawn Rain Peak to seek Xuan Xi’s decisions, and Jiang Yang suspected they had learned something about the coming war.

Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng a lotus and a secret art to strengthen her before the sect’s coming border battle, while they discussed who might be sent to fight. At the Greenleaf Sunward Palace, Hong Tong reported to the Greenleaf Dao Lord that a divine tree dormant for seven thousand years had sprouted again.

• Chi Yu prayed two sets of tables and chairs into existence, and Shang Qingzheng discussed her abilities with Jiang Yang.
• Jiang Yang and Shang Qingzheng discussed the coming battle and their possible assignments, and Jiang Yang offered to look after her if she was sent to the front.
• Jiang Yang gave Shang Qingzheng a lotus and a secret art, urging her to refine the mysterious mansion soon.
• Hong Tong went to the Greenleaf Sunward Palace and requested an audience with the Greenleaf Dao Lord.
• Hong Tong reported that the divine tree in the Immortal Garden had sprouted new shoots after seven thousand years.

Hong Tong reported the Immortal Tree’s new buds to the Dao Master and requested the Withered Branch Abandonment divine power as his reward. Six months later, Jiang Yang watched the first expedition contingent depart for the Northern Di and took in Cong Huaijin while Chu Qingjian remained in seclusion.

• Hong Tong reported the Immortal Tree’s new buds to the Dao Master, who offered him a choice of rewards.
• Hong Tong asked the Dao Master to grant him the Withered Branch Abandonment divine power.
• Jiang Yang watched True Person Xuan Yi lead the first contingent from Rain Xiang Mountain toward the Northern Di.
• Jiang Yang recalled that he would travel with the later contingent under True Person Xuan Xi, following Shang Qingzheng’s advice.
• Cong Huaijin visited Jiang Yang because Chu Qingjian had entered seclusion again and passed along her thanks for the lotus.