Recaps

Yang Qing questioned Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan about the tokens and Sacred Relics, suspecting they were connected to Emperor Zetian and the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom. Lin Zhong recalled a legend about a Heaven-Fallen Strange Stone that recorded secrets of immortality, leading Yang Qing to suspect the Heavenly Stones were behind the Holy Envoys and Sacred Relics.

• Yang Qing said the Ultimate Land was Emperor Zetian’s resting place and suggested they had been unable to enter it before but might soon be able to.
• Two men tried to kill Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan, but Jiang Zhizhou and Mu Feng intervened; the men escaped by leaving their robes behind.
• Yang Qing told Lin Zhong that the snuff bottle the men had brought was likely a token passed down through the Lin Family.
• Lin Zhong recalled a legend that the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s Primordial Ancestor had obtained a Heaven-Fallen Strange Stone bearing unknown records, possibly about ascension to immortality.
• Yang Qing recalled that Emperor Zetian had taken a Heavenly Stone into the Imperial Palace and suspected the stones were connected to the Holy Envoys and Sacred Relics.

Yang Qing learned that Heavenly Stones were linked to Emperor Zetian’s unexplained death and might be cursed, then asked Qin Yue for what he knew. Qin Yue claimed the stones were buried in the Sacred Emperor’s Mausoleum, and Yang Qing pressed him to reveal where one had been placed.

• Lin Zhong recounted the Heavenly Stones’ history, including Emperor Zetian’s death soon after obtaining one, and Du Yongquan suggested Yang Qing could use the Rootless Wood to find them.
• Lin Zhong and Du Yongquan warned Yang Qing that the Heavenly Stones were said to be cursed before leaving the courtyard.
• Yang Qing told Ouyang Lin that they might need the Heavenly Stones to uncover why people were pushing them to collect the Holy Envoy Tokens.
• Yang Qing asked Qin Yue about the Heavenly Stones, and Qin Yue said they had all been buried in the Mausoleum with the Sacred Emperor.
• Yang Qing challenged Qin Yue’s claim by raising the curse legend and asked where the Heavenly Stone had been placed.

Yang Qing pressed Qin Yue for the Heavenly Stone’s whereabouts, and Qin Yue revealed that the Primordial Emperor’s stone was at Fated Mountain. The group learned little else about the place, leaving them to investigate its significance themselves.

• Yang Qing challenged Qin Yue’s claim that the Heavenly Stone was only a legend and asked him to reveal its whereabouts.
• Qin Yue warned Yang Qing and his companions that his master would not allow them to investigate and urged them to abandon the idea.
• Yang Qing asked Qin Yue to tell them where the stone was, while insisting they would handle the danger themselves.
• Qin Yue explained that he had learned about the Heavenly Stone from the Secret Archives, which recorded two notable stones: the Primordial Emperor’s and the one that created the Skyfall Pit.
• Qin Yue said the Sacred Emperor’s stone was buried with him, but the Primordial Emperor’s stone was at Fated Mountain.
• Mu Feng questioned how the stone could be at Fated Mountain, and Qin Yue refused to explain what kind of place it was.

Yang Qing and his companions followed Mu Feng through Xiangyang City to find the hidden Fated Mountain and its Heavenly Stone. After carefully following Mu Feng’s steps, they reached a stone stele marking the mountain’s entrance.

• Mu Feng told Yang Qing that Fated Mountain was in Xiangyang City and that they had to wait until dusk to enter it.
• Qin Yue left the group, worried that Yang Qing and his companions might be the anomalies recorded in secret histories and unsure how to respond.
• At dusk, Yang Qing and the others walked north through the city, while Mu Feng forbade them from using a carriage, horses, or internal power to travel.
• Mu Feng led the group through an empty crossroads by a precise sequence of fast steps and warned them not to stray from his footsteps.
• Bu Er saw a stone stele appear before them and exclaimed that Fated Mountain was there.

Yang Qing and his companions found the first Heavenly Stone at Fated Mountain, where Mu Feng explained the place’s connection to the Primordial Emperor. With only four hours before they had to leave, Yang Qing decided to inspect the stone’s cavities for the secret hidden within it.

• Yang Qing recognized the black stone on the White Jade Platform as a Heavenly Stone and wondered why another had appeared in the Skyfall Pit.
• Mu Feng explained that Fated Mountain was the name of the place where the Primordial Emperor had stored the stone, not an actual mountain.
• Yang Qing circled the Heavenly Stone and sensed a powerful pressure from it, though he could find no visible clue to its secret.
• Mu Feng warned that the group had four hours left before the danger of remaining at Fated Mountain became too great.
• Yang Qing concluded the answer might be hidden in the stone’s cavities and ordered Bu Er to send him onto the jade platform.

Yang Qing’s search around the Heavenly Stone revealed the Eastern Splendor Primordial Ancestor’s coffin and a smaller stone covered in unreadable writing. As he wished he could decipher it, his soul was drawn inside the Heavenly Stone while his body remained beside Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.

• Yang Qing searched the Heavenly Stone for two hours, then struck it with his elbow and triggered a tremor that split it apart.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou pulled Yang Qing off the platform as a black, symbol-covered coffin appeared between the halves of the Heavenly Stone.
• Mu Feng recognized the Yin-Yang Symbols and identified the coffin as the Primordial Emperor’s final resting place.
• Jiang Zhizhou showed Yang Qing a smaller, smooth Heavenly Stone behind the coffin, whose moving characters Mu Feng said were not any known Eastern Splendor script.
• Yang Qing suddenly felt pain in his head and found his soul inside the Heavenly Stone, surrounded by golden lights and unreadable characters, while his body remained motionless beside Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.

Yang Qing survived being overwhelmed by the Heavenly Stone’s golden characters and escaped with Bu Er and the others just before their time ran out. After waking the next afternoon, he told them the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s monarchs had pursued a forbidden supreme realm by practicing the Immortality Art.

• Yang Qing calmed himself inside the Heavenly Stone, absorbed its golden characters, and stopped them when their flood of knowledge nearly overwhelmed him.
• Yang Qing’s Divine Soul returned safely to his body, and he hurried Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others out of the crossroads before the allotted hour ended.
• Yang Qing returned to his lodging, collapsed from exhaustion, and slept until the following afternoon.
• Yang Qing gathered Bu Er and the others and said he had understood the Heavenly Stone’s records.
• Yang Qing warned that the secret had nearly trapped him, then revealed that the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom’s successive monarchs practiced the Immortality Art in pursuit of a supreme realm.

Yang Qing explained that the Heavenly Stone described the Immortality Art and suggested Eastern Splendor’s emperors had planned to overturn heaven and earth and return to life. The group suspected their search for the Twelve Holy Envoys’ tokens was part of a scheme tied to Emperor Zetian, and Yang Qing revealed that the next Golden Armor Year was only two years away.

• Yang Qing told Ouyang Lin, Jiang Zhizhou, Mu Feng, Bu Er, and the others that the Heavenly Stone recorded the Immortality Art and its method of practice.
• Jiang Zhizhou pointed out that the Primordial Ancestor Emperor’s coffin and Eastern Splendor’s secrecy about the Heavenly Stone raised questions about whether the emperors had abandoned the art.
• Mu Feng proposed that the Twelve Star Mansions referred to the Twelve Holy Envoys’ tokens, and Yang Qing said Eastern Splendor’s rulers sought to overturn heaven and earth and preserve their bodies from decay.
• Ouyang Lin asked what role the group played in the scheme, and Yang Qing suggested Emperor Zetian might have prepared the tokens for his own return.
• Ouyang Lin wondered whether time was running short, and Yang Qing said the Golden Armor Year would arrive in two years, exactly a century after the last celestial alignment.

Yang Qing and his companions concluded that Emperor Zetian might be seeking resurrection and decided to keep gathering the Holy Envoy Tokens while investigating their purpose. Yang Qing then suspected the tokens mattered because his group found and came into contact with them, and feared they would be sacrificed with them before the Sacred Emperor.

• Yang Qing argued that they should oppose Emperor Zetian if he was defying heaven, and Ouyang Lin and Mu Feng agreed to face their fate on their own terms.
• Bu Er proposed gathering the tokens and entering Emperor Zetian's Mausoleum early to verify their suspicions and seek a chance to survive.
• Yang Qing questioned why Lin Zhong's and Du Yongquan's tokens had not been kept, and wondered whether the tokens themselves were necessary.
• Yang Qing noticed the Rootless Wood emerging from the back of his hand and suspected that finding and touching the tokens mattered more than keeping them intact.
• Yang Qing realized that the tokens still missing corresponded to Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Ouyang Lin, and feared that the five companions would be sacrificed before the Sacred Emperor with the tokens.

Yang Qing and his companions decided to keep their discovery about the tokens secret and search for them, but the Eastern Splendor Envoy confronted Qin Yue over revealing the Ancestral Resting Place. The Envoy struck Qin Yue with a painful attack and vanished, leaving Yang Qing and the others to rush him inside for treatment.

• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou agreed to keep their discovery under wraps and focus on finding all the tokens.
• Qin Yue visited Yang Qing's courtyard to share a lead on the tokens and was shocked to find the Eastern Splendor Envoy there.
• The Envoy accused Qin Yue of letting others reveal the Ancestral Resting Place and reminded him of Eastern Splendor's Ancestral Admonition.
• The Envoy struck Qin Yue at several acupoints and left him convulsing on the ground.
• Qin Yue warned Yang Qing and the others to be careful, then fainted, and Yang Qing ordered them to carry him inside for Xiao Zhou to examine.

After the Envoy injured Qin Yue and left him with sealed acupoints, Qin Yue decided to join Yang Qing and his companions despite fearing he would be a burden. Yang Qing healed him with the Rootless Wood, but another visitor appeared in the courtyard.

• Jiang Zhizhou examined Qin Yue and warned that the dark qi had caused serious, lasting injury.
• Yang Qing recognized the Envoy as the man who had lured them into the Desert and followed them to Immortal Island.
• Qin Yue learned why the Envoy had come and chose to join Yang Qing's group.
• Yang Qing used the Rootless Wood to restore Qin Yue's body and unseal his acupoints.
• Qin Yue sensed trouble, walked to the center of the courtyard, and someone leapt over the wall.

Shen Yun confronted Qin Yue and Yang Qing, demanding the Rootless Wood and catching it with a soul-locking glove. The Rootless Wood sprang to life and wrapped around Shen Yun’s arm, where his glove unleashed black flames, leaving the struggle unresolved.

• Shen Yun arrived and revealed that he and Qin Yue were rival Eastern Splendor Special Guards, then demanded Yang Qing surrender the Rootless Wood.
• Yang Qing asked Shen Yun why he had come and sent the Rootless Wood flying toward him.
• Shen Yun caught the Rootless Wood with a pitch-black glove capable of locking souls.
• The Rootless Wood sprouted leaves and flowers that wrapped around Shen Yun’s arm.
• Shen Yun’s glove released black flames around the Rootless Wood as Bu Er and Ouyang Lin moved to intervene, but Mu Feng stopped them.

Shen Yun attacked Yang Qing and Qin Yue for the Rootless Wood, but it overcame his Soul-Devouring Hand and forced him to sever his arm to escape. He returned with over a hundred Shen Family members and ordered them to seize the group, leaving a confrontation about to begin.

• The Rootless Wood's branches and flowers overwhelmed Shen Yun's Netherworld Ghostfire, so he cut off his own arm and fled.
• The Rootless Wood returned to Yang Qing, while Mu Feng and Bu Er burned Shen Yun's severed limb and the blood around it.
• Qin Yue warned that Shen Yun would retaliate, and the group gathered supplies rather than trying to leave Xiangyang City.
• Shen Yun returned with over a hundred Shen Family members and found Yang Qing and the others eating in the courtyard.
• Qin Yue urged Shen Yun to retreat, but Shen Yun demanded that he hand something over and ordered his followers to seize them.

Shen Yun tried to take Yang Qing and his companions to the Shen Family, claiming the Rootless Wood belonged to Eastern Splendor, while Qin Yue refused to back down. Yang Qing agreed to visit the Shen residence to investigate its secrets, where a cold gleam flashed from the plaque above the gate.

• Shen Yun confronted Qin Yue for abandoning their task, but Qin Yue said he was clearheaded and would follow Yang Qing.
• Shen Yun invoked the Envoy's wishes and ordered Yang Qing, Bu Er, and the others to come to the Shen Family over the Rootless Wood.
• Yang Qing agreed to go, and Mu Feng understood that they would confront Eastern Splendor's hidden figures wherever they went.
• Shen Yun led the group by carriage to the understated Shen Family residence while Yang Qing signaled Mu Feng and Qin Yue that they should use the visit to investigate.
• Yang Qing entered the Shen Family gates and saw a cold gleam flash across the plaque above the lintel.

Yang Qing and his companions discovered that the Shen Family residence held an aura resembling the legendary Separation Star Sea, which Qin Yue believed might be used to conceal the family. Shen Yun kept them confined in a courtyard for several days, and Yang Qing remained wary as trouble finally arrived.

• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou sensed a formation aura above the Shen Family residence and identified its resemblance to the Spirit-Gathering Formation.
• Qin Yue explained that the aura was not a Spirit-Gathering Formation but might belong to the Separation Star Sea, an ancient formation capable of transporting people to another void.
• Yang Qing wondered whether the Separation Star Sea could lead to the Eastern Splendor Imperial Mausoleum, then set the thought aside to focus on Shen Yun's intentions.
• Shen Yun stayed away for several days while people watched Yang Qing and his companions from around their courtyard.
• Yang Qing and the others remained inside the courtyard, but he sensed unseen currents beneath the calm before trouble came.

Yang Qing realized the Shen residence held a Spirit-Gathering Formation and was confronted in a strange dream by an armored man who warned him to follow a laid-out path. After waking, Yang Qing challenged Shen Yun’s demand for the Rootless Wood and questioned whether he could handle it.

• Yang Qing told Bu Er and Ouyang Lin that he sensed a trace of a Spirit-Gathering Formation at the Shen residence.
• Yang Qing dreamed of his memories after leaving Northern Liang and met an armored man dressed like the figure in a familiar painting.
• The armored man called Yang Qing a son chosen by Heaven, warned him not to stray from a laid-out path, and threatened that cleverness would bring an unpleasant end.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou gathered around Yang Qing’s bed, relieved when he woke.
• Shen Yun demanded the Rootless Wood, and Yang Qing warned him that he had already lost an arm.
• Shen Yun said he would have to take Yang Qing and the others along.

Shen Yun revealed that he possessed the three remaining Holy Envoy Tokens and demanded Yang Qing’s Rootless Wood and other tokens. Qin Yue refused to cooperate, and Shen Yun began to make his move, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Shen Yun led Yang Qing and the others into a secret chamber and revealed three tokens marked with the sun, moon, and star.
• Shen Yun offered the tokens as a gift, then demanded Yang Qing’s Rootless Wood and all the other tokens in exchange for their freedom.
• Yang Qing questioned Shen Yun’s intentions, while Qin Yue accused him of scheming to gather the tokens and warned of the Envoy’s punishment.
• Shen Yun revealed that gathering the tokens could grant entry to the Imperial Mausoleum and invited Qin Yue to join him.
• Qin Yue positioned himself between Yang Qing and Shen Yun, warning Yang Qing not to use the Rootless Wood unless necessary.
• Shen Yun threatened to end the deadlock, and something began moving inside the empty sleeve of his missing arm.

Shen Yun revealed that he could regenerate lost limbs and tried to force Yang Qing and the others to surrender their tokens. When Qin Yue seized the three seals, they flew into his body, and Shen Yun announced that everyone had finally gathered before attacking.

• Shen Yun grew back his severed arm and offered to give Yang Qing and the others the same ability if they obeyed him.
• Yang Qing suspected Shen Yun’s plans were tied to Eastern Splendor’s Imperial Mausoleum and challenged him to explore it with them.
• Yang Qing signaled Qin Yue, Bu Er, and Mu Feng to attack Shen Yun and seize the three seals.
• Qin Yue grabbed the seals, which transformed into streaks of light and sank into his body.
• Shen Yun laughed and declared that everyone had gathered before saying, “Down you all go!”

Shen Yun used the three Eastern Splendor Holy Envoy Tokens to transform Qin Yue and bring Yang Qing and his companions to a formidable mountain. After they resisted Shen Yun’s command to kneel, he led them to a stone gate and said they were not qualified to visit the Eastern Splendor Imperial Mausoleum.

• Shen Yun sent the three seals into Qin Yue, and a white mist transported Yang Qing and the others to the foot of a towering mountain.
• Shen Yun ordered Yang Qing, Bu Er, and the others to kneel under crushing pressure, but none of them yielded.
• Shen Yun lifted the pressure after they passed the test and led Qin Yue and the others up the mountain.
• Bu Er asked whether the mountain was the Eastern Splendor Imperial Mausoleum, and Yang Qing’s group suspected that it was.
• Shen Yun stopped at a stone gate and said they were not qualified to visit the Imperial Mausoleum before striking Yang Qing’s shoulder.

Shen Yun used Yang Qing’s blood to open the Stone Gate and activate the tokens, revealing that Shen Yun and Qin Yue were being used as tokens themselves. Yang Qing tried to stop Qin Yue from entering the whirlwind, but Qin Yue accepted his fate and disappeared as blood mist surged toward the Rootless Wood.

• Shen Yun sealed Yang Qing’s acupoints and used his blood to open the Stone Gate while a Binding Formation trapped Bu Er and the others.
• Yang Qing, Shen Yun, Qin Yue, and the others sat on meditation cushions as the Rootless Wood, Bone Jade Thumb Ring, and Jade Bead appeared, and Shen Yun and Qin Yue rose into the air.
• Shen Yun drew blood from Yang Qing and transferred it to himself and Qin Yue, then the Bone Jade Thumb Ring and Jade Bead entered their bodies.
• Whirlwinds enclosed Shen Yun and Qin Yue, and Yang Qing asked Bu Er to help him hold Qin Yue back.
• Qin Yue told Yang Qing that he could not escape his fate, warned him to be careful, and vanished into the whirlwind as red blood mist rushed toward the Rootless Wood.

Qin Yue sacrificed himself to protect Shen Yun, and the Rootless Wood absorbed his soul essence. The Rootless Wood then formed a flower path into the darkness, and Yang Qing and Shen Yun set off along it.

• Qin Yue's blood mist flowed into the Rootless Wood, while a smaller stream reached Yang Qing and carried Qin Yue's warning to be careful.
• Yang Qing and the others found Qin Yue's clothes and realized the Rootless Wood had absorbed him, while Shen Yun remained unharmed.
• Shen Yun stabbed himself and offered his heart's blood to the Rootless Wood, but it did not move toward him.
• The Rootless Wood bloomed with gold-edged flowers, then its falling petals and floating lamps formed a path into the darkness.
• Yang Qing invited Shen Yun to lead the way, and they stepped onto the flower path.

Yang Qing and his companions entered a dream realm that recreated the Yang Family’s old residence and forced him to watch scenes from his childhood, including the massacre that destroyed his family. As he relived the fire, Yang Qing spotted a faint figure behind his younger self and asked Bu Er to identify what the man was doing.

• Yang Qing recognized the courtyard as the Yang Family’s old residence in Little Willow Lane, while Shen Yun disappeared and the path behind the group vanished.
• Yang Qing and the others watched his family appear in the courtyard, then saw his younger self grow from four or five to ten years old.
• The dream realm replayed the fire and massacre of the Yang Family, leaving Yang Qing shaken as Bu Er tried to reassure him.
• Yang Qing noticed a faint figure standing behind his younger self in the flames and called Bu Er over to examine him.

Yang Qing and the others learned that a mysterious man had secretly saved Yang Qing during the fire at his family residence, changing many lives. The masked man revealed that they had walked the Soul-Guiding Path and hinted that he had summoned them to guide a soul, but had not yet named it.

• A figure in the vision parted the flames around Yang Qing, allowing Bu Er to rescue him from the burning residence.
• Jiang Zhizhou suggested that the hidden intervention was what their summoner wanted them to see, and Ouyang Lin guessed that the man wanted Yang Qing to understand his debt.
• A masked man approached Yang Qing and the others and asked whether they now understood why he had summoned them.
• Yang Qing asked what the man wanted, and the man explained that they had entered the Yin-Yang Gate and walked the Soul-Guiding Path.
• Yang Qing inferred that they had been brought to guide a soul and asked whose soul they were meant to guide.

Yang Qing met the man who had saved his life, but refused to repay the favor in the way the man expected and lost the chance for guidance. After passing through a water gate, Yang Qing and his companions faced the man on the Golden Throne, whose pressure overwhelmed them and drew Yang Qing toward him.

• The man asked Yang Qing to fill his cup, and Yang Qing used the Rootless Wood to fill it with clear water instead of blood.
• The man rejected Yang Qing’s answer, threw down the cup, and created a water gate before leaving.
• Shen Yun led Yang Qing, Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, Jiang Zhizhou, and the others through the gate to the man seated on the Golden Throne.
• The man’s pressure made the group struggle to breathe, while Yang Qing resisted it by stepping forward.
• After Yang Qing met the man’s gaze, he walked toward the throne as though compelled, ignoring Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou when they tried to stop him.
• Shen Yun watched coldly and expected Yang Qing to suffer for his arrogance.

Yang Qing resisted the mysterious man’s attempt to draw him closer and concluded that the Eastern Splendor People were pursuing a major scheme involving him and his companions. The man sent Yang Qing and the others back into the desert, where they set off together to face whatever came next.

• Bu Er tried to stop Yang Qing as the man’s influence pulled him forward.
• Yang Qing recognized the man from the portraits and halted one step before reaching him, breaking free of the influence.
• The man questioned how Yang Qing had seen through the situation and warned that he might not be able to leave without help.
• Yang Qing reasoned that the Eastern Splendor People were plotting something significant that involved him and his companions, and said he would rather die understanding the truth than live in confusion.
• The man transported Yang Qing and the others into the desert, disappearing along with Shen Yun.
• Yang Qing found Bu Er and the others beside him and led them onward together.