Chapter Summaries

During Blooming City's Wind God Chase, Yang Qing and Bu Er uncovered an attack by Western Chu fighters and found a Bone Whistle linked to a secret dossier. As they left the alley, a powerful white-haired swordsman confronted them, leaving Bu Er to face him alone.

• Yang Qing and Bu Er watched Jiang Zhizhou join the Wind God Chase while Jiang used the opportunity to explore the nearby valleys.
• Bu Er noticed danger and led Yang Qing through narrow alleys, then pushed him against a wall and fought off attackers.
• Bu Er identified the attackers as likely from Western Chu and showed Yang Qing a Bone Whistle that Yang recognized from a secret dossier.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er to secure the Bone Whistle, and the two encountered a formidable swordsman as they tried to leave the alley.
• The white-haired swordsman mocked Bu Er and attacked him, filling the alley with sword shadows.

Bu Er fought Zhao Shanming to protect Yang Qing, but was overwhelmed until Unrivaled intervened and freed him. Zhao Shanming recognized Unrivaled as the Peerless Gentleman, leaving the two sides facing off.

• Zhao Shanming's sword pressure overwhelmed Bu Er as he defended Yang Qing, and Bu Er hurled his young master down the alley to help him escape.
• Unrivaled appeared, walked through Zhao Shanming's Sword Qi formation, and challenged him for attacking a junior.
• Unrivaled tapped Bu Er with his fan, restoring his ability to move, then sent him back to Yang Qing.
• Zhao Shanming questioned Unrivaled's interference, and Yang Qing and Bu Er realized they had met the Peerless Gentleman.

The Peerless Gentleman rescued Bu Er and Yang Qing from Zhao Shanming, driving Zhao away after wounding him. He warned them to take care and left them wondering whether the attack was connected to the Northern Liang dragon vein as they awaited Jiang Zhizhou’s return.

• The Peerless Gentleman attacked Zhao Shanming when he threatened Bu Er and Yang Qing, and Zhao turned his attention to the two men during their duel.
• Bu Er blocked much of Zhao Shanming’s finger force with the Dragon-Howl Sword, but he and Yang Qing were still injured by the attack.
• The Peerless Gentleman intercepted Zhao Shanming’s next strike and wounded him, forcing him to retreat and releasing the internal energy sealing the alley’s exits.
• Yang Qing and Bu Er thanked the Peerless Gentleman, who warned that Zhao Shanming had another reason for targeting them and told them to take care.
• After the Peerless Gentleman left, Yang Qing wondered whether the attack was tied to the Northern Liang dragon vein and hoped Jiang Zhizhou would return with answers.

After being trapped in Blooming City, Yang Qing waited for Jiang Zhizhou to return from the Great Mountain, then left the city with him and Bu Er. Their journey was ambushed by armed men demanding the person inside the carriage, and Jiang Zhizhou began probing them about Chu Jinghui.

• Yang Qing told Bu Er that Zhao Shanming had once received favors from the Former Emperor of Northern Liang, while they considered whether Duan Ziqian or someone else was behind the danger.
• Jiang Zhizhou returned to Blooming City after more than ten days away, and Yang Qing welcomed him back.
• Jiang Zhizhou announced that they would leave Blooming City, and Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er set out by carriage.
• Masked attackers surrounded the carriage and fired arrows, but Jiang Zhizhou shielded Yang Qing while Bu Er prepared to fight.
• Jiang Zhizhou accused Chu Jinghui of sparing no expense and hinted that he had little time left; the attackers accidentally revealed his suspicion might be correct.
• Jiang Zhizhou offered to make a deal with the attackers.

Jiang Zhizhou bluffed the Feather Guard into abandoning its ambush on Yang Qing, then revealed their identity after they escaped. In the carriage, Yang Qing suggested that his death might bring peace, and Jiang Zhizhou firmly rejected the idea.

• Jiang Zhizhou tried to distract the man in black with talk of Northern Liang's dragon vein and treasure, but the attackers drew their weapons and prepared to strike.
• Jiang Zhizhou pointed out that they were surrounded by hidden protectors, and the man in black realized an attack could cost his men their lives.
• The man in black signaled his subordinates, then feigned an attack before retreating with them.
• Jiang Zhizhou returned to the carriage and identified the attackers as the Feather Guard, sent by Western Chu's emperor to kill Yang Qing.
• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou he had no intention of returning to Western Chu and suggested that his death might bring peace, but Jiang Zhizhou refused to accept it.

Yang Qing convinced Jiang Zhizhou that faking his death could ease the Chu dynasty’s fears, then led him to investigate the strange, deserted Spirit Mountain. They entered its dark forest while pursued, and Yang Qing glimpsed something unusual that vanished before he could identify it.

• Yang Qing told Jiang Zhizhou he planned to make others believe he was dead, and Jiang Zhizhou accepted his explanation.
• Yang Qing argued that Spirit Mountain’s strange neglect suggested a hidden formation or other secret, and he and Jiang Zhizhou decided to investigate.
• After Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou left, black-clad men emerged and pursued them toward the mountain.
• When the carriage could go no farther, Bu Er freed their luggage, sent the horse running, and followed Jiang Zhizhou as he carried Yang Qing through the forest.
• The three traveled deeper into the dark, silent forest, where Yang Qing noticed something briefly strange before it disappeared.

Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er were caught in Spirit Mountain’s shifting Tree Formation, and Yang Qing collapsed from the strain. When a tree pulled him into a hidden underground tunnel, the others followed, where Jiang Zhizhou recognized the walls as Cloudflower Stone and began explaining his family’s connection to it.

• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou carried Yang Qing through the moving trees as they tried to escape the Tree Formation.
• Jiang Zhizhou discovered Yang Qing had fainted from the strain, and Bu Er gave him medicine while Jiang helped him drink water.
• When Yang Qing leaned against a tree, it dragged him into the ground, and Jiang Zhizhou fell into a hidden hole with him.
• Bu Er jumped into the hole after them, and Jiang Zhizhou carried Yang Qing into the tunnel they found below.
• Jiang Zhizhou recognized the tunnel’s stone as Cloudflower Stone and explained that his family’s stone-identifying tradition had helped his father earn the title Marquis of Anguo.

Jiang Zhizhou explained the Cloudflower Stone’s history and discovered that the ancient tunnel had no Cloudflower Illusion Formation, while Yang Qing identified the tunnels as part of the search for Northern Liang’s Hidden Dragon Vein. The three followed a passage to an underground river, where they faced the problem of crossing it.

• Jiang Zhizhou told Bu Er that his grandfather’s Cloudflower Illusion Formation had helped Northern Liang’s Founding Emperor defeat Yijiang, and warned that the formation’s greater power could endanger the awake.
• Jiang Zhizhou examined the tunnel’s Cloudflower Stone, concluded it had existed for centuries, and determined that no formation had been laid there, though another mystery lay ahead.
• Jiang Zhizhou chose the left passage at a fork, and Yang Qing woke while Bu Er carried him.
• Yang Qing explained that tunnels in the mountains were connected to the search for Northern Liang’s Dragon Vein and said this one likely belonged to a Hidden Dragon.
• Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er reached a wide underground river, and Jiang Zhizhou wondered how they could cross it.

Yang Qing led Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou across the underground river and revealed that Spirit Mountain lay within the Cloudflower Illusion Formation. After the river vanished, Yang Qing examined its traces and began investigating how the formation blended illusion with reality.

• Yang Qing directed Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou to cross the underground river, and they crossed while pale droplets fell from the stalactites onto them.
• Yang Qing explained that he had crossed to gain a better view and pointed out stones that appeared ordinary but were part of the formation.
• Yang Qing revealed that the Cloudflower Illusion Formation could exist without Cloudflower Stone and that the forest and underground river were manifestations of its realm.
• Yang Qing identified the river as resembling the legendary Nether River, and it vanished before Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.
• Yang Qing used the changing watermarks on a boulder to infer that the river rose and receded, then asked Bu Er for a blade to examine the rock.

Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er followed the rising underground river through the cloudflower illusion realm, but Jiang Zhizhou was struck by a mysterious force and fell unconscious. Yang Qing found an old button in Jiang Zhizhou’s hand as the water continued to rise, leaving them stranded on a rock with no clear way forward.

• Yang Qing noticed water stains on the riverbed rock and inferred that the underground river followed a pattern.
• The dry riverbed suddenly flooded, and Yang Qing urged the group to follow the current downstream.
• When a rock wall blocked their path, Jiang Zhizhou left Yang Qing on a rock and searched the wall for another passage.
• A mysterious force struck Jiang Zhizhou, and he fell into the river before Bu Er could catch him.
• Bu Er and Yang Qing pulled Jiang Zhizhou from the water and found a charred wound on his chest.
• Yang Qing took an old button from Jiang Zhizhou’s hand and waited for him to wake as the water kept rising.

Yang Qing and his companions were trapped on a rock as the underground river rose, until he told Bu Er to push the boat with the current and Jiang Zhizhou carried him into the water. Jiang Zhizhou found another world beneath the river and spotted an object on the riverbed.

• Yang Qing and Bu Er realized the rising underground river might conceal their way out, just as the men in black arrived on the opposite bank.
• Yang Qing told Bu Er to push the boat along with the current, and Bu Er fought the men in black while shielding him and Jiang Zhizhou.
• Jiang Zhizhou awoke, took a sword thrust to his shoulder, grabbed Yang Qing, and plunged with him into the river.
• Bu Er fought off the attackers, let the surviving men escape, then jumped into the water to search for Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou.
• Jiang Zhizhou discovered a different world beneath the water and spotted an object on the riverbed.

Jiang Zhizhou led Yang Qing and Bu Er through an underwater escape passage, but they discovered the passage had sealed behind them and the river plunged down a sheer cliff. As they descended through the torrent, Jiang Zhizhou lost his dagger, leaving Bu Er alarmed below.

• Jiang Zhizhou carried Yang Qing through the underwater passage, where Bu Er caught up with them, wounded from fighting the black-clad men.
• Yang Qing noticed the current grew increasingly swift, and Jiang Zhizhou realized the passage behind them had closed.
• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou agreed to continue forward, and Bu Er scouted the cliff before reporting that sturdy vines began twenty zhang down.
• Jiang Zhizhou tied Yang Qing to his back and leaped after Bu Er, while Yang Qing silently endured the rushing water and tried to shield him.
• Jiang Zhizhou struck the cliff, lost his dagger, and drew Bu Er's alarm.

Jiang Zhizhou struggled to bring Yang Qing down the cliff while Bu Er tried to catch them, leaving all three injured and unable to use their internal energy. After Jiang Zhizhou nursed Yang Qing and Bu Er through high fevers, Yang Qing woke and offered Bu Er a brocade pouch, prompting Jiang Zhizhou to protest.

• Jiang Zhizhou lost his dagger and slid down the mossy vine with Yang Qing on his back, discovering that the cliff suppressed internal energy.
• Jiang Zhizhou endured thorn wounds and slowly descended, while Bu Er landed below and found he could no longer summon his energy to climb.
• Bu Er rushed to catch Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing as they fell, injuring his head, and all three lost consciousness.
• Jiang Zhizhou found medicine to staunch Bu Er's bleeding, carried him and Yang Qing to a cave, and tended to their fevers despite his own badly wounded hand.
• Yang Qing woke and offered Jiang Zhizhou a brocade pouch for Bu Er, but Jiang Zhizhou exclaimed that he could not give it to him.

Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou explored a passage lined with ancient murals and found evidence linking the underground site to the legendary Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom. They reached an ordinary stone door, wondering what lay beyond it.

• Jiang Zhizhou returned Yang Qing’s last life-saving pill and warned him to keep it safe, while Bu Er woke and urged the others to leave despite his head injury.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou followed the stone platform through a passage where Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou still could not use their internal energy.
• The three noticed repeated symbols among the elaborate murals on the cloudflower stone walls.
• Yang Qing spotted an inscription in an ancient script, and Jiang Zhizhou recognized it as a script associated with the past.
• Yang Qing and the others concluded the site was likely connected to the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom and its lost treasures.
• The three reached the end of the passage and found a stone door, but did not know how to open it.

Yang Qing led Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou through a hidden passage beneath the murals and discovered a vast underground complex linked to the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom. After learning that the others had lost access to their internal energy, Yang Qing concluded they had been trapped in the Cloudflower Illusion Formation all along.

• Yang Qing identified a sequence of mural stones that opened a concealed doorway, and Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou followed him inside.
• The three descended to a spacious command platform and found a dense formation of human figurines with empty scabbards.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou passed through an archway into a real underground sea of flowers, while Jiang Zhizhou remained unable to summon his internal energy.
• Yang Qing noticed Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou were troubled, examined them, and learned that their internal energy had inexplicably vanished.
• Yang Qing concluded that they had been inside the Cloudflower Illusion Formation without realizing it.

Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou found a cave filled with books, where a Fool-Seeking Formation trapped Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou in reading. After three days, both awakened with their internal energy restored, and Bu Er offered Yang Qing his book to read.

• Yang Qing led Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou along a narrowing path to a cave lined with bookshelves.
• Yang Qing realized the books contained a Fool-Seeking Formation, but Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou remained absorbed in their books.
• Yang Qing waited three days while illusory smoke rose from Bu Er and flames appeared around Jiang Zhizhou.
• Jiang Zhizhou awakened and told Yang Qing that his internal energy had recovered after he finished reading his book.
• Bu Er awakened, said he had also benefited from his book, and offered it to Yang Qing.

Yang Qing could not read the extraordinary book Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou found, so he declined to use it and joined them in searching the ruins. After deciding the Dragon Vein was likely on North Mountain, Jiang Zhizhou revealed that Dai Sheng had been found and asked whether Yang Qing wanted to see him; Yang Qing agreed.

• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou urged Yang Qing to try the book that had restored their internal energy, but Yang Qing said he could not read its words.
• Yang Qing, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou searched the shelves for more treasures, found nothing useful, and concluded they should leave the ruins.
• Jiang Zhizhou said the Dragon Vein was not on Spirit Mountain, and Yang Qing proposed searching North Mountain before winter made the journey difficult.
• Jiang Zhizhou recalled Dai Sheng's disappearance after he was removed as Yan Prefecture's county magistrate and revealed that he had tracked him down.
• Yang Qing agreed that he wanted to see Dai Sheng.

Yang Qing, Jiang Zhizhou, and Bu Er found a hidden route out of Spirit Mountain and began traveling to North Mountain. As they passed the mountain’s opposite side, Yang Qing learned it was known for rare cat’s-eye stones and wondered how Dai Sheng had fared since their parting.

• Yang Qing decided to visit Dai Sheng in North Mountain, and the three searched Spirit Mountain for another way out.
• Yang Qing noticed that every tenth stone figure wore slightly different armor and followed the pattern to a hidden archway.
• Jiang Zhizhou entered the archway first, and Bu Er opened a doorway in the stone wall that led outside Spirit Mountain.
• The passage vanished behind Yang Qing as the three left the mountain and descended toward the road.
• After preparing for the journey, Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou traveled toward North Mountain and heard that the nearby Nameless City was famous for rare cat’s-eye stones.

Bu Er, Yang Qing, and Jiang Zhizhou fled after Duan Hongxing’s men attacked them, while Jiang Zhizhou considered whether Jiang Zhihuai was involved. They chose to head for Qiri Town despite the danger, but a stranger stopped their carriage to ask for a chat.

• Bu Er drove the carriage at a furious pace after Duan Hongxing’s men attacked the group outside the unnamed city and were forced to flee.
• Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou discussed Duan Hongxing’s ambitions and whether Jiang Zhihuai had helped orchestrate the attack.
• Jiang Zhizhou told Yang Qing that he had spoken with the Marquis of Anguo before leaving the Imperial City and that his father accepted his decision.
• Yang Qing suspected Duan Hongxing knew Spirit Mountain could not be entered easily, and he worried that their departure would bring further pursuit.
• Jiang Zhizhou chose to take the group to Qiri Town rather than make the longer journey to Ni Family Fort.
• A sudden gust swept beside Bu Er, and an unknown voice invited the travelers to stop for a chat.

Pei Buji, a strange monk with overwhelming martial power, stopped Yang Qing and his companions on the road and nearly killed Yang Qing before his calm response changed Pei Buji’s mind. The two sat down to talk, and Pei Buji began by asking Yang Qing’s name.

• Pei Buji immobilized Bu Er and introduced himself to Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou.
• Pei Buji unleashed a painful attack on Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou, then moved to strike Yang Qing despite Jiang Zhizhou’s attempt to protect him.
• Yang Qing calmly reminded Pei Buji that he had wanted to talk, causing Pei Buji to withdraw his killing blow.
• Pei Buji invited Yang Qing to sit with him on nearby rocks, while Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er breathed a sigh of relief.
• Pei Buji studied Yang Qing and asked him his name.