Recaps

Yin Xian retrieved an old bundle from the rubble and warned that the Four-Square Shrine would soon collapse, then left with his prize. Yang Qing and the others searched for an ancestral heirloom, but as the shrine began to shake and its doors shut, Yang Qing found and pocketed an ancient key.

• Yin Xian found old papers in the buried bundle, warned that the Four-Square Shrine would collapse within an hour, and left to pursue his own business.
• Yang Qing said Yin Xian was trying to defy heaven and rewrite his fate, but chose not to stop him and focused on searching the Ancestral Shrine.
• Yang Qing, Fen Liyou, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and the others searched the shrine for the Parchment Scroll as time ran short.
• Yang Qing heard a faint sound, found a fallen memorial tablet, and discovered an ancient key hidden in its base.
• The Four-Square Shrine began shaking and its doors closed, so Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er tried to force an exit while Yang Qing pocketed the key.

Yang Qing and Fen Liyou escaped the collapsing Four-Square Ancestral Shrine, then joined Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er in searching for Yin Xian. They reached a strangely flourishing residence and Yang Qing ordered Jiang Zhizhou to destroy a mirror, but an angry voice interrupted him.

• Yang Qing and Fen Liyou offered their blood at the ancestral shrine, and Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er carried them out when its doors opened and it collapsed.
• Yang Qing urged the group to find Yin Xian, whose attempt to defy heaven and change fate had not yet produced any visible signs.
• Jiang Zhizhou found a residence filled with unusual auras and flourishing plants, while Bu Er found nothing in the opposite direction.
• Yang Qing led the group to the residence, where a warm gust of wind greeted them as they entered.
• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou to knock down a mirror above the main building's door, but a furious voice demanded to know who dared touch it.

Yang Qing and his companions tried to stop Yin Xian from using a bronze mirror to change his fate, but Jiang Zhizhou shattered it after Yin Xian's blood touched the blade. The shattered mirror activated a Spirit-Gathering Formation, and Yin Xian became trapped as his blood continued to fall onto its fragments.

• Yin Xian revealed himself and admitted he had come to Four Directions City to defy Heaven and change his fate, explaining that his family’s crimes had left him crippled and imprisoned.
• Yang Qing ordered Jiang Zhizhou to destroy the bronze mirror, and Yin Xian leapt from his wheelchair to grab Jiang Zhizhou’s sword, cutting his hand.
• Jiang Zhizhou shattered the mirror, and Yin Xian collapsed into his wheelchair as he realized his plan had failed.
• Light emerged from the fragments as a strange wind withered the courtyard’s plants, and Yang Qing recognized the signs of an activated Spirit-Gathering Formation.
• Yang Qing urged everyone to flee and told Jiang Zhizhou to take Yin Xian away, but the wheelchair would not move as mirror fragments gathered around Yin Xian’s feet and his blood dripped onto them.

Yin Xian became trapped in a Spirit-Gathering Formation that drained his blood into a grave, and Yang Qing and the others tried to disrupt it by restoring the shattered bronze mirror and adding their own blood. Their plan appeared to work as Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er pressed their bleeding hands to the gravestone, and thunder crashed overhead.

• The bronze mirror fragments drained Yin Xian's blood, and Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er failed to free him from the formation.
• Yang Qing deduced that the mirror was channeling blood to a person or object, and Bu Er found a grave in the rear courtyard.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er pieced the shattered mirror together, which slowed the blood draining from Yin Xian.
• Fen Liyou suggested that the formation might require blood from people other than Yin Xian, so Yang Qing and the others added their own blood to the mirror.
• The trembling formation prompted Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er to rush to the grave, where they found the coffin exposed and pressed their bleeding hands to the gravestone.
• Thunder crashed overhead as Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er touched the gravestone with their bloody hands.

Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Yang Qing broke the Fate-Reversing Array in the Underground City, revealing a hidden passage to Four Directions City's Treasure Vault. They left without following Yin Xian inside and used a key from the Four-Square Shrine to activate a Nine-Star Combination Lock on the Library Pavilion, where they faced the challenge of solving its mechanisms.

• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er broke the bloodstained gravestone, causing the coffin to disintegrate and ending the thunder and lightning above the courtyard.
• Yang Qing, Fen Liyou, and Yin Xian arrived, and Yang Qing realized the Fate-Reversing Array had been intended to change the fate of the person in the coffin.
• A passage to the Treasure Vault appeared beneath the grave, and Yin Xian entered through a concealed passage in the screen wall.
• Yang Qing and the others left the desolate courtyard, and Yang Qing showed them the key he had found at the Four-Square Shrine.
• Yang Qing spotted the Library Pavilion and used the key on its lock, revealing a Nine-Star Combination Lock with nine challenges.

Yang Qing opened the Nine-Star Combination Lock, allowing the group to enter the Library Pavilion, where they found a biography describing Emperor Zetian’s plan to choose a successor. The group discovered a hidden staircase to the second floor but found an invisible barrier blocking the way up.

• Yang Qing deciphered the star-patterned protrusions, pressed a tiny button beside the keyhole, and completed the picture puzzle to open the lock.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Fen Liyou entered the Library Pavilion and found it filled with ancient books.
• Yang Qing found a biography of Emperor Zetian, which said he had sought to secure the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s future and would choose a successor through treasures and extraordinary arts.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er speculated that gathering Eastern Splendor’s tokens could make someone the chosen Son of Heaven, while Yang Qing worried Emperor Zetian still controlled events centuries after his death.
• Yang Qing noticed a narrow staircase, and Bu Er ran toward it but struck an almost invisible wall blocking the way up.

Yang Qing and his companions discovered a second, better-preserved Four Directions City beneath the courtyard and wondered if it was Emperor Zetian’s legendary Void Land. After failing to find Yin Xian, they left and returned to Urn City, where battle had erupted.

• Yang Qing and the others found the Library Pavilion’s second floor blocked, then returned to the courtyard to investigate the tunnel.
• They descended into another Four Directions City, where food, clothing, and other objects remained pristine despite centuries underground.
• Fen Liyou suggested the underground city might be the Void Land, but Yang Qing doubted the legend could explain Emperor Zetian’s fate and the memorial tablets.
• The group searched the underground city and its outskirts for Yin Xian but found no trace of him, so they left through the Merit Forest.
• After another dozen or so days, Yang Qing and his companions returned to Urn City and found smoke rising from the beacons as cries of battle shook the city.

Yang Qing and his companions learned that Yin Xian had obtained the Imperial Heirloom Seal and was leading an uprising in Urn City to restore Eastern Splendor. Yang Qing concluded that the seal, rather than Yin Xian alone, was driving the rebellion, and set out to meet the city lord while insisting the seal must be destroyed.

• Yang Qing and his companions entered Urn City and learned that Yin Xian, a man in a wheelchair, had obtained the Imperial Heirloom Seal and was challenging the city lord.
• At Plum Blossom Villa, Ouyang Lin told Yang Qing that Yin Xian had gathered an army and brought most of Urn City's forces under his control.
• Yang Qing recounted the group's experiences in the Four-Square Land to Ouyang Lin and Pei Buji, then discussed how to stop Yin Xian's uprising.
• Yang Qing proposed seeking something that could inspire greater allegiance than the Imperial Heirloom Seal and decided to meet the city lord.
• Yang Qing explained that the seal could let Emperor Zetian choose a successor and argued that it had to be destroyed; Jiang Zhizhou agreed that it was suspicious and must be eliminated.

Yin Xian surrounded the City Lord's Mansion and demanded the Wengcheng City Lord surrender, while Yang Qing and his companions entered through a hidden passage to negotiate. Yang Qing asked the city lord to speak privately about preventing war.

• Yin Xian called a one-day truce and demanded the Wengcheng City Lord surrender or face an assault on the mansion.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Fen Liyou entered an empty house near the mansion to find a hidden passage.
• Fen Liyou led the group through the underground passage, and Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er broke through walls and cleared rubble blocking their way.
• The four emerged in the mansion's council hall and were surrounded by the city lord's soldiers.
• Yang Qing explained that they wanted peace, and the Wengcheng City Lord dismissed his guards so they could speak privately.

Yang Qing and his companions arranged for the lord of Urn City to delay surrendering to Yin Xian while they sought Mo Yi’s aid. They reached the Western Regions Kingdom and learned that Mo Yi had become its new king.

• Yang Qing urged the lord of Urn City to temporarily agree to surrender, then secretly send a letter asking Mo Yi for reinforcements.
• The lord of Urn City gave Yang Qing a sealed letter and a small seal, and they agreed to set the surrender ceremony for one month later.
• Yang Qing and his three companions left Urn City in secret and hurried toward the Western Regions Kingdom to seek Mo Yi’s support.
• During the journey, Bu Er questioned whether Mo Yi would help despite his hostility toward them, and Yang Qing said Mo Yi would weigh the danger posed by Yin Xian.
• After ten days, Yang Qing and his companions reached the Imperial City and learned that Mo Yi had become the new king of the Western Regions Kingdom.

Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to consider an alliance against Yin Xian, arguing that Yin Xian possessed the Imperial Heirloom Seal and threatened to bring chaos to the realm. The chapter ended with Yang Qing offering Mo Yi the seal and dominion over the realm as the rewards for sending troops to Urn City.

• Mo Yi's guards brought Yang Qing and his companions from their inn to the Imperial Palace.
• Yang Qing told Mo Yi that the lord of Urn City had sent them to discuss a profitable deal.
• Yang Qing warned Mo Yi that Yin Xian had truly obtained the Imperial Heirloom Seal and could use it to claim dominion over the realm.
• Yang Qing argued that Mo Yi would be a better ruler than Yin Xian and urged him to act before Yin Xian could seize power.
• Mo Yi questioned what he would gain from sending troops against Yin Xian, and Yang Qing named the Imperial Heirloom Seal and dominion over the realm.

Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to send reinforcements toward Urn City, while Mo Yi suspected he was part of a plot involving Mo Ze. When Mo Yi’s army disappeared in the desert, Yang Qing blamed mirages and won permission to leave the Imperial Capital to find them.

• Mo Yi suspected Yang Qing and his companions of plotting with Mo Ze, but lowered his guard after reading the Wengcheng City Lord’s letter and seeing his seal.
• Yang Qing persuaded Mo Yi to dispatch troops toward Urn City in search of the Imperial Heirloom Seal.
• Mo Yi kept Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Bu Er, and Fen Liyou in the Imperial Capital, intending to detain them.
• After over ten thousand troops vanished on the road, Mo Yi confronted Yang Qing, who said autumn mirages could have trapped them in the desert.
• Mo Yi accepted that he had sent the reinforcements ahead without a guide and ordered Yang Qing to find the army or face punishment.

Yang Qing led his companions across the desert in search of Mo Yi’s missing army, explaining that the soldiers had likely vanished into an ancient underground river route. After Mo Yi’s guards tried to kill them when the search deadline passed, Bu Er disarmed their leader and forced the guards to drive toward Urn City, which remained on the brink of destruction.

• Yang Qing told Bu Er that his claim about mirages was a fabrication, while the guards accompanying them kept watch on the carriage.
• After a day in the desert, the group found no trace of the army, and Fen Liyou explained that the region had once been a river and the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s Military Training Grounds.
• Yang Qing said the missing troops might have entered an underground river leading near Urn City and told his companions to continue toward its exit.
• After three days without finding the army, Mo Yi’s personal guard blocked the road and threatened to enforce military law against Yang Qing and his companions.
• Bu Er severed the lead guard’s sword hand when he attacked, then forced the guards to drive the carriage toward Urn City.

Yin Xian attacked the City Lord's Mansion after learning Yang Qing and his companions had left Urn City, but the Western Regions army arrived and defeated his forces. Yin Xian leapt from a cliff rather than surrender the Imperial Heirloom Seal, leaving his fate unknown.

• Yin Xian ordered his men to besiege the City Lord's Mansion, forcing the Wengcheng City Lord's forces to defend themselves.
• A Western Regions army of more than ten thousand arrived, and Yin Xian halted his attack while he tried to learn their intentions.
• The Western Regions general told Yin Xian his master wanted Urn City and the Imperial Heirloom Seal, then led the army into battle.
• The Western Regions army defeated Yin Xian's men and pursued him to a cliff, where the general demanded the Imperial Heirloom Seal.
• Yin Xian said he did not have the seal and leapt from the cliff; the general ordered his men to take and examine Yin Xian's abandoned wheelchair.

After Urn City’s siege ended, Yang Qing and his companions thanked the Wengcheng City Lord, accepted travel money, and prepared to leave. They went to meet Ouyang Lin and Great Hero Pei at the post station, where a fire suddenly broke out.

• The Western Regions troops withdrew after Yin Xian’s fate became unknown, ending the siege of Urn City.
• Yang Qing and his companions visited the Wengcheng City Lord, who offered them a reward for helping save the city.
• Yang Qing told the City Lord they planned to leave Urn City and warned that the Western Regions Kingdom might have future dealings with him.
• The City Lord gave Yang Qing banknotes and gold ingots, and Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and their companions left the mansion.
• Yang Qing’s group went to the post station to meet Ouyang Lin and Great Hero Pei, but a fire erupted inside as they arrived.

Jiang Zhizhou, Ouyang Lin, and Pei Buji rescued the unconscious Yijiang Saintess and her guardian from a burning relay station, then fled with Yang Qing and their companions. Three days later, the saintess awoke, struck Yang Qing, and introduced herself as Mo Beixing before admitting she had acted rashly.

• Jiang Zhizhou rushed into the burning relay station and emerged with Ouyang Lin and Pei Buji, carrying two unconscious people.
• Ouyang Lin explained that he and Pei Buji had overheard a plot targeting the Yijiang Saintess and killed the attackers before escaping with her and her guardian.
• Yang Qing and the others left in a carriage with the rescued pair, uncertain what their involvement with the saintess would mean for their travels.
• Three days later, Mo Beixing awoke and slapped Yang Qing, prompting Bu Er to hold the Howling Heaven Sword to her neck.
• Mo Beixing identified herself as the Yijiang Saintess, thanked her rescuers, and apologized for acting rashly.

Yang Qing and his companions learned that Mo Beixing had been attacked after a secret Saintess trial was leaked, then Yijiang assassins surrounded their carriage to seize her and her Guardian. Jiang Zhizhou, Pei Buji, and Bu Er fought off the attackers while Yang Qing remained calm, leaving Mo Beixing intrigued by him.

• Yang Qing asked why Mo Beixing had been in Urn City, and she explained that she had been traveling for a secret trial held once every hundred years and suspected someone had leaked its purpose.
• Mo Beixing warned Yang Qing and the others that helping her had made them targets, but Jiang Zhizhou noticed that pursuers had already surrounded the carriage.
• Over a hundred black-clad Yijiang assassins demanded that the carriage surrender Mo Beixing and her Guardian, and Jiang Zhizhou and Pei Buji killed the leading attackers.
• The assassins resumed their assault, and Jiang Zhizhou and Pei Buji fought them outside while Bu Er defended the carriage from those trying to enter.
• Mo Beixing asked why Yang Qing was unafraid, and he said he cared only about staying true to himself and trusted his companions to prevail.

Yang Qing and his companions escorted Mo Beixing through the night after assassins delayed their journey, and Mo Beixing revealed how confined her life as Saintess was. The next morning, she and her guardian parted ways with the group in town, and Yang Qing ordered everyone to resupply and leave at once.

• Yang Qing reassured Mo Beixing that the attackers had been dealt with, but kept his distance and could not tell her how far they were from town.
• After the carriage was delayed by assassins, Yang Qing and his companions camped by a fire, where Mo Beixing described the isolation and burdens of serving as Saintess.
• Mo Beixing thanked the group and returned to the carriage, then privately resolved to accept her fate while wondering why assassins were targeting her descent from the mountain.
• Jiang Zhizhou asked Yang Qing why he had not questioned Mo Beixing about her mission, and Yang Qing told him to wait rather than pry.
• The group reached a town the next morning, where Mo Beixing and her awakened guardian thanked Yang Qing and departed; Yang Qing told his companions to restock food and leave immediately.

Yang Qing followed Mo Beixing toward Azure Cloud Fortress after the Remnant Book revealed new words, while reflecting on his lost Dark Alliance. In the mountains, Mo Beixing and her injured Grand Protector were ambushed, and a shadow suddenly descended behind them.

• Yang Qing showed Jiang Zhizhou new words in the Remnant Book and sent Bu Er to secretly follow Mo Beixing and her protector.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou left town for the mountains, following Bu Er’s marks toward Azure Cloud Fortress.
• Yang Qing remembered the Dark Alliance and the losses it had suffered, and wondered whether he could reconnect with those who remained.
• A burly man tried to make Mo Beixing travel with him, then attacked her when she refused.
• The man targeted the injured Grand Protector with hidden weapons, and a dark shadow descended behind Mo Beixing as she watched helplessly.

Bu Er saved Mo Beixing and the High Protector from an ambush, while Yang Qing’s party continued toward Azure Cloud Fortress. Yang Qing suspected the Holy Maiden’s journey might be connected to the fortress’s upcoming Martial Arts Tournament and prepared his companions for what awaited them.

• Bu Er interrupted a man’s attempt to abduct Mo Beixing and the High Protector, then killed him after he attacked with a dagger.
• Mo Beixing and the High Protector realized Bu Er was traveling with the young master and continued toward Azure Cloud Fortress.
• Yang Qing’s party followed Bu Er’s marks through the mountains and confirmed that Mo Beixing was heading to the same destination.
• Fen Liyou pointed out that Azure Cloud Fortress’s five-yearly Martial Arts Tournament would begin soon, and Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou considered attending.
• Yang Qing noted that Mo Beixing’s arrival might have an unusual purpose and told his companions to be cautious as they approached Azure Cloud Fortress.

Yang Qing and his companions reached Azure Cloud Fortress, where Sun Wu demonstrated the Sun Family Saber and was challenged by a Peng Family Saber inheritor. Sun Wu won their duel, but Yang Qing realized something was wrong after Sun Wu applied wound powder, and the chapter ended with him calling for Xiao Zhou to save Sun Wu.

• Yang Qing and his companions arrived at Azure Cloud Fortress and watched Sun Wu demonstrate the Sun Family Saber Technique.
• A man claiming to inherit the Peng Family Saber challenged Sun Wu and demanded that the loser abandon his family's saber art.
• Sun Wu recovered from an early disadvantage, defeated the challenger, and forced him to concede the Sun Family Saber was superior.
• Yang Qing noticed Sun Wu's wound changing color after he applied wound powder and called for Xiao Zhou to save him.

Yang Qing and his companions saved Sun Wu from a poisoned wound and found a place to stay in the crowded Azure Cloud Fortress. After learning that Mo Beixing had gone to the Mu Family ahead of the Martial Arts Tournament, Yang Qing wondered whether the prophecy about the Holy Maiden would come true.

• Jiang Zhizhou treated Sun Wu's poisoned shoulder, and Yang Qing's group carried him into the Azure Cloud Fortress.
• The group failed to find an available inn, so a waiter led them to a courtyard house and Yang Qing paid for a month's lodging and meals.
• Sun Wu awoke, accepted Yang Qing's offer to stay with them, and said he did not know why the Peng family fighter had tried to kill him.
• After the group returned from the restaurant, Bu Er told Yang Qing that Mo Beixing had gone to the Mu Family, and Yang Qing decided to wait for the Martial Arts Tournament.
• Yang Qing suspected Mo Beixing's journey was connected to the Mu Family and the tournament, and wondered whether the prophecy about the Holy Maiden would come true.

Yang Qing and his companions discovered that their restaurant food had been poisoned and tried to identify who was targeting them. Sun Wu recognized the poison as Heavenly Fragrance, which came from the Eastern Sea, leaving them baffled about why anyone from there would attack them.

• Jiang Zhizhou tested the food and found a concealed poison, while Yang Qing suspected that someone at the restaurant was behind the attack.
• Yang Qing considered whether the Mu Family had arranged the poisoning because of Mo Beixing, but Sun Wu doubted that explanation.
• Sun Wu revealed that his father had died from the same poison and identified it as Heavenly Fragrance.
• Sun Wu explained that Heavenly Fragrance came from the Eastern Sea and that the Mu Family had no usual connection to its island lords.
• Yang Qing and his companions could not recall any contact or feud with the Eastern Sea, and Yang Qing said they would watch the restaurant for the poisoner.

Sun Wu revealed that he could identify the user of Heavenly Fragrance Poison and planned to seek him at the Martial Arts Tournament. After Yang Qing suspected the poisoner intended to strike the tournament or the Mu Family, the group hurried to the Mu Family Residence to stop a possible attack.

• Sun Wu said Heavenly Fragrance Poison could be remedied and explained that he could recognize someone who had handled it for years by their scent.
• A waiter checked on Yang Qing and the others, prompting Jiang Zhizhou to suspect the poisoner was staying at their inn.
• Jiang Zhizhou explained that the Martial Arts Tournament’s main events were held at the Mu Family Residence, and Ouyang Lin produced a Hero Invitation that would let them enter.
• Yang Qing suspected the poisoner might be targeting all the gathered heroes or the Mu Family, and connected the danger to the Holy Maiden and the Remnant Book’s prophecy.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, Ouyang Lin, Sun Wu, Bu Er, Pei Buji, and Fen Liyou set out for the Mu Family Residence, fearing an attack was imminent.

Yang Qing and his companions entered the Mu Family Residence and discussed how to expose the person using Heavenly Fragrance Poison before the Martial Arts Tournament began. Unable to approach the Mu Family Head safely or rule out a culprit from one of the Three Great Schools, Yang Qing decided they still needed to meet the Holy Maiden.

• Yang Qing stopped Bu Er from contacting the Holy Maiden, warning that she might be watched and that careless action could alert their enemy.
• Yang Qing proposed that Sun Wu and Ouyang Lin search the Guest Lodge for the poisoner by identifying the unusual scent associated with Heavenly Fragrance Poison.
• Ouyang Lin warned that if the culprit was among the quarters reserved for the Three Great Schools, they would be far more powerful and dangerous.
• Yang Qing told the others to act normally and asked Ouyang Lin whether they could approach the Three Great Schools’ quarters, but Ouyang Lin said the Mu Family’s rules made it nearly impossible.
• Yang Qing concluded that meeting the Holy Maiden was their safest remaining option.