Chapter Summaries

Yang Qing and his companions captured Mo Beixing in the poisonous mist and forced her to accompany them into the stony shore. They searched the barren landscape for the Rootless Wood but found only a pit, while Mo Beixing hinted that unknown people had chosen Yang Qing.

• Bu Er told Mo Beixing they had spared her before, but she had attacked them again, and she accused them of hypocrisy.
• Yang Qing's group revealed that their pills had protected them from the mist, restrained Mo Beixing, and questioned her about the Rootless Wood.
• Mo Beixing refused to tell them what she knew, so Yang Qing ordered Ouyang Lin to bring her along as they entered the stony shore.
• Yang Qing searched the barren shore for the Rootless Wood and insisted it could still be connected to the place.
• Mo Beixing called Yang Qing foolish and asked why those people had chosen him, then fell silent when he asked who they were.
• Yang Qing's group continued across the stony shore and came upon a bare pit in the stone.

Yang Qing and the others discovered that Rootless Wood was hidden inside the Skyfall Pit, so Yang Qing had Mo Beixing lowered into it to trigger its response. When her feet touched the bottom, the pit began to shake and something started growing through cracks in its walls.

• Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou examined the enormous pit, and Mo Beixing identified it as the Skyfall Pit formed by a Heavenly Stone.
• Mo Beixing said Emperor Zetian had taken the Heavenly Stone and revealed that Rootless Wood lay inside the pit.
• Yang Qing had Bu Er bind Mo Beixing with Mu Feng's strong threads and lower her into the Skyfall Pit as bait.
• Mo Beixing's feet touched the bottom, the ground shook, and something began growing rapidly through cracks in the pit walls.

Plants and red flowers filled the Skyfall Pit, and Mo Beixing vanished before reappearing unconscious. Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, and Jiang Zhizhou descended into the pit and returned awake, telling Yang Qing that the sights below were wondrous and asking him to join them.

• Green vines and red flowers rapidly filled the Skyfall Pit, and Bu Er discovered that Mo Beixing had vanished from the threads he held.
• Jiangli pressed Yang Qing's arm against a red flower, which pricked him with a tiny thorn; Mo Beixing then reappeared unharmed but unconscious.
• Green Branches lifted Mo Beixing out of the pit, and Bu Er wondered whether the plants were the Rootless Wood.
• Bu Er and Ouyang Lin descended into the pit, followed by Jiang Zhizhou, while Yang Qing waited with Mu Feng.
• Bu Er, Ouyang Lin, and Jiang Zhizhou emerged awake, and Bu Er invited Yang Qing to see the wondrous sights below.

Yang Qing followed Jiang Zhizhou and Mu Feng beneath the stone pit, where they discovered a vast space that let them stand and descend through the air. They found strange moths and silk-covered stone spheres linked to a mural, the Skyfall Pit, and Emperor Zetian.

• Bu Er confirmed that the space beneath the stone pit was hollow, and Jiang Zhizhou took Yang Qing and Mu Feng down to see it.
• Yang Qing and his companions discovered they could walk and descend through the empty space as if it were solid ground.
• Jiang Zhizhou warned Mu Feng not to touch the silver-headed moths, explaining that their secretions had left Mo Beixing unconscious.
• Jiang Zhizhou led Yang Qing and Mu Feng around moth-covered stone spheres, where Yang Qing recognized the scene from a mural in the Spirit Mountain Ruins.
• Yang Qing connected the strange silk-covered spheres not only to the Skyfall Pit and its Meteorite, but also to Emperor Zetian.

Yang Qing and the others explored the underground world beneath the stone pit and speculated that Emperor Zetian had taken the Heavenly Stone because of a secret tied to the Twelve Holy Envoys. After silver moths bit Yang Qing and knocked him unconscious, the group returned to the surface, where they found Mo Beixing still unconscious and the pit's vegetation replaced by a single bare branch.

• Yang Qing said Emperor Zetian had taken the Heavenly Stone from Immortal Island and guessed it was connected to the Twelve Holy Envoys.
• Yang Qing urged the others to forget what they had seen and started back toward the fissure.
• Silver moths swarmed Yang Qing, bit his wrist, and caused him to lose consciousness.
• Yang Qing woke on the surface as Jiang Zhizhou and Mu Feng explained that the moths had briefly covered him before scattering.
• Bu Er pointed out that Mo Beixing had still not woken, despite Yang Qing recovering from the moth bite.
• Ouyang Lin called the others to the stone pit, where they saw that the green branches and red flowers had vanished, leaving one bare branch.

Mo Beixing seized the Rootless Wood and tried to escape, but Mu Feng captured her and returned the treasure to Yang Qing. Yang Qing revealed that he had known about both Mo Beixing and Mu Feng’s motives and had trusted Mu Feng; Mo Beixing warned that they still would not be able to take the Rootless Wood away.

• Mo Beixing pretended to be unconscious, grabbed the Rootless Wood, and tried to cross the stone pit, but Mu Feng blocked her escape.
• Mo Beixing attacked Mu Feng and tried to persuade him to release her, but he bound her and carried her back to Yang Qing and the others.
• Mu Feng removed the Rootless Wood from Mo Beixing’s robe and handed it to Yang Qing.
• Mo Beixing accused Mu Feng of betrayal, but Yang Qing said he already knew the truth and trusted Mu Feng.
• Yang Qing thanked Mo Beixing for finding the Rootless Wood, and Mo Beixing warned that they still could not take it away.

Mo Beixing tried to turn Yang Qing’s allies against Mu Feng, but Yang Qing revealed that he had known Mu Feng’s mission and bound Mo Beixing after exposing her insincerity. As Yang Qing prepared to leave with the Rootless Wood, the Eastern Radiance Remnants confronted him and hinted that the treasure held secrets he did not know.

• Mo Beixing warned Yang Qing’s group that Mu Feng intended to harm them, but Yang Qing said Mu Feng had already confessed his identity and mission to obtain the Rootless Wood.
• Yang Qing showed Mo Beixing his Signet Ring, accused her of pretending to be sincere, and ordered Mu Feng to bind her more tightly.
• Bu Er urged the group to leave, but Yang Qing expected trouble and said they should meet the Eastern Radiance Remnants, who arrived before they could go.
• The Remnants demanded the Rootless Wood, and Yang Qing argued it was not theirs, then tossed it into the air to show that it returned to his hand.
• Yang Qing said he would take the Rootless Wood to deal with the Fierce Beasts and return it when peace came, but one Remnant warned that he did not understand its true secrets.

Yang Qing confronted the men who coveted the Rootless Wood and the Bone Jade Thumb Ring, while his sudden pain raised questions about the wood’s power. Lin Yi took both objects, but the thumb ring emitted eerie light and made him disappear, leaving the objects behind.

• Yang Qing pressed the men about the Twelve Holy Envoys and refused to surrender the Rootless Wood despite a sudden pain in his chest.
• The men attacked Yang Qing and his companions, admitting they wanted both the Rootless Wood and the Bone Jade Thumb Ring.
• Lin Yi claimed the thumb ring belonged to the Lin Family and said a prophecy had led him to believe Yang Qing offered hope for his Lineage’s revival.
• Yang Qing placed the Rootless Wood and thumb ring on the ground, and Lin Yi ignored a companion’s warning and picked them up.
• The Bone Jade Thumb Ring enveloped Lin Yi in eerie light, and he vanished as the ring and Rootless Wood remained on the ground.

Yang Qing questioned Du Yongquan about Lin Zhong’s disappearance and the history of Immortal Island, learning that Emperor Zetian established the Twelve Holy Envoys to guard the island and his path to ascension. The chapter ended with Yang Qing asking whether the holy envoy positions still existed.

• Lin Zhong vanished after touching the Rootless Wood and Signet Ring, and Du Yongquan accused Yang Qing of taking him.
• Yang Qing challenged Du Yongquan about the Twelve Holy Envoys and threatened that Lin Zhong might never return unless he answered honestly.
• Du Yongquan revealed that Emperor Zetian had sent his ancestors to guard the island after the Heavenly Stone fell there.
• Du Yongquan explained that Emperor Zetian later created the Twelve Holy Envoys, whose tokens chose their own masters and whose positions could not be inherited.
• Yang Qing asked Du Yongquan whether the Twelve Holy Envoys still existed.

Yang Qing questioned Du Yongquan about the Twelve Holy Envoys, their tokens, and Lin Zhong’s attack. Du Yongquan explained the envoys’ legacy and revealed that anyone who tried to seize a token by force was taken to Punishment Valley, though its location on Sea Island remained unclear.

• Yang Qing pressed Du Yongquan to explain the purpose of the Bone Jade Signet Ring and the Rootless Wood, and Du Yongquan eventually chose to talk in hopes of finding Lin Zhong.
• Du Yongquan said the Twelve Holy Envoys’ descendants believed their tokens would restore their status and eventually let them attain eternal life alongside Emperor Zetian.
• Du Yongquan explained that Lin Zhong had attacked Yang Qing to reclaim his position as a Holy Envoy, since descendants who failed to inherit the role would die in their prime.
• Du Yongquan said Holy Envoy Tokens and the Rootless Wood chose their own masters, and he recognized Jiangli as the Divine Beast once kept by the Sacred Emperor.
• Du Yongquan revealed that anyone who tried to seize a Holy Envoy Token by force was taken to Punishment Valley, leaving Bu Er to question how such a place could be on Sea Island.

Yang Qing and the others learned that Mo Beixing was Immortal Island’s Law-Enforcement Holy Maiden and that she sought the Rootless Wood to save Punishment Valley and its people. Mo Beixing warned them that the Sacred Emperor’s light would soon descend, then led them into the hidden valley.

• Du Yongquan revealed that the token recognized neither Mo Beixing, himself, nor Lin Zhong, and identified Mo Beixing as the Law-Enforcement Holy Maiden.
• Mo Beixing explained that Punishment Valley had declined since the Sacred Emperor fell and Eastern Splendor perished, leaving its Holy Envoys near destruction.
• Mo Beixing said she had pursued the Rootless Wood in hopes of saving Immortal Island and the Eastern Radiance Remnants who still lived there.
• Mo Beixing admitted she did not know the true purpose of the Holy Envoys, but warned Yang Qing and the others that they might become the Sacred Emperor’s Servants.
• Mo Beixing made Punishment Valley appear and led Yang Qing, Bu Er, and the others inside, after which the valley vanished.

Yang Qing and his companions followed Mo Beixing to the Law-Enforcement Hall, where she revealed that the Holy Duke had to acknowledge Yang Qing as a legitimate Holy Envoy. The chapter ended with Yang Qing dismissing the need for that recognition, frustrating Mo Beixing’s apparent plan.

• Mo Beixing led Yang Qing, Mu Feng, Bu Er, and Jiang Zhizhou through a misty valley to the bluestone Law-Enforcement Hall.
• Inside the hall, the group saw a towering stone statue of the Holy Duke, whom Mo Beixing said once commanded the Twelve Holy Envoys.
• Mo Beixing told Yang Qing that the Holy Duke had to recognize him before he could become a legitimate Holy Envoy.
• Yang Qing replied that he already possessed the Holy Envoy’s token and did not care whether anyone acknowledged him.

Yang Qing rejected Mo Beixing’s demand to seek the Holy Lord’s blessing, and Mo Beixing used Lin Zhong’s captivity to threaten him and his companions. After Mo Beixing vanished, Mu Feng warned that she was trying to force Yang Qing to attack the Holy Lord’s statue and incur a severe punishment; Yang Qing then pointed out that danger had already appeared behind them.

• Yang Qing mocked the Holy Lord, while Mo Beixing rebuked him and Bu Er defended him.
• Mo Beixing struck the statue’s pedestal and made the sleeping Lin Zhong appear; Du Yongquan confronted her for punishing Lin Zhong without authority.
• Mo Beixing urged Yang Qing to place the Rootless Wood and bone jade Signet Ring before the statue for the Holy Lord’s blessing, but Yang Qing refused.
• Mo Beixing disappeared, and Mu Feng warned that she meant to force Yang Qing, an envoy’s successor, to attack the statue and face punishment.
• Yang Qing reassured Mu Feng that they would proceed cautiously, then pointed behind them and said they could no longer claim they had avoided striking first.

Yang Qing and the others were trapped inside the Law-Enforcement Hall with a threatening statue identified as the head of the Twelve Holy Envoys. When Yang Qing threw the Rootless Wood at it, the branches and flowers ensnared the statue, which spoke and demanded his Bone Jade Signet Ring; Yang Qing refused.

• Yang Qing told Bu Er and the others they could not retreat and needed to break one of the statue’s arms before it drew its stone sword.
• Mu Feng shielded Yang Qing, while Ouyang Lin proposed destroying the sword and Yang Qing warned them to target the arm instead.
• Yang Qing threw the Rootless Wood at the statue to test whether it could harm it, and it fell harmlessly at the statue’s feet.
• The Rootless Wood spread into green branches and red flowers that climbed up and wrapped around the statue.
• The statue’s voice berated Yang Qing and demanded the Bone Jade Signet Ring, but Yang Qing challenged it to take the ring itself.

Yang Qing confronted Wuming, the head of the Holy Envoys, and realized Wuming had survived for centuries by leaving his consciousness in the stone statue. Yang Qing accused him of using Mo Beixing to obtain the Bone Jade Signet Ring and Rootless Wood, leaving Wuming's true motives exposed.

• A man wearing the Cloud-Piercing Armor emerged from behind the stone statue, and Mu Feng recognized the armor once worn by Emperor Zetian.
• The man introduced himself as Wuming, head of the Holy Envoys, and demanded that Yang Qing hand over the Bone Jade Signet Ring and Rootless Wood.
• Yang Qing rejected Wuming's authority, insisting that the Holy Envoys served only the Sacred Emperor and protected the common people.
• Wuming seized Yang Qing by the throat, but Yang Qing stopped Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou from intervening and pointed to the stone statue.
• Yang Qing deduced that Wuming had left his consciousness in the statue and had used Mo Beixing to seek the Rootless Wood as a chance for rebirth.

Yang Qing forced Wuming to bargain for the Rootless Wood, and Wuming opened a hidden passage to a vast treasure vault where Lin Zhong was supposed to be. Du Yongquan rushed inside to find Lin Zhong, while the group followed Wuming deeper into the mysterious chambers.

• Wuming threatened Yang Qing for the Rootless Wood, but Yang Qing held his ground until Wuming released him.
• Yang Qing demanded something of equal value in exchange for the Rootless Wood, and Wuming agreed to lead the group to a hidden chamber containing the person they sought and his offer.
• Du Yongquan rushed through the stone gate to search for Lin Zhong, and Wuming watched him with nostalgia before warning the others about the dangers ahead.
• Wuming led Yang Qing and the others through a winding passage lined with secret chambers overflowing with treasure.
• Du Yongquan marveled at the treasure vault and wondered why it existed, while Yang Qing began to question whether they had been mistaken.

Yang Qing refused Wuming’s offer to trade the Rootless Wood for treasures and help, insisting that his group had to take it with them. The Rootless Wood chose Yang Qing as its master, freeing the group from Wuming’s sealed chamber, and Wuming gave Yang Qing a black box before leaving.

• Du Yongquan found Lin Zhong unconscious in a secluded stone chamber, and Wuming said Lin Zhong had been punished for breaking the island’s rules.
• Wuming offered Yang Qing treasures and help in exchange for the Rootless Wood, but Yang Qing refused to surrender it.
• Wuming trapped Yang Qing and his group in a secret chamber, while the Rootless Wood remained on the stone statue outside.
• Yang Qing recalled that the Rootless Wood chose its own master, and it opened a passage through the wall.
• Wuming recognized that the Rootless Wood had chosen Yang Qing and gave him a small black box before leaving.

Yang Qing discovered that Wuming had given him the legendary transforming creature Formless, but he remained suspicious of Wuming’s intentions. Du Yongquan explained that the Sacred Emperor’s prohibitions trapped people on Immortal Island, and that many who tried to escape on Full Moon Night had died.

• Yang Qing opened Wuming’s box and found a black stone that his touch pierced like foam.
• Mu Feng suggested the object was Formless, and it transformed into a wriggling fish when Yang Qing imagined it.
• Yang Qing kept Formless and questioned why Wuming had given them such a precious creature.
• Du Yongquan told Yang Qing and the others that the Sacred Emperor’s prohibitions could only be bypassed on Full Moon Night.
• Du Yongquan revealed that islanders had repeatedly tried to escape on Full Moon Night, but none had succeeded.

Du Yongquan told Yang Qing and his companions that over two thousand people had tried to leave Immortal Island on Full Moon Night, but every one of them had died. He revealed that Emperor Zetian had personally chosen Immortal Island for an unknown purpose and urged Yang Qing to explore its hidden places.

• Du Yongquan explained that Immortal Island’s residents had gradually discovered ways past the Sacred Emperor’s prohibitions, spreading rumors of the island beyond it.
• Yang Qing connected Du Yongquan’s account to Luo Dahai’s ancestors and the fishermen who had found the island, then learned that outsiders could not keep Eastern Splendor treasures unless they had been chosen by the Sacred Emperor.
• Du Yongquan said that over two thousand people had tried to leave on Full Moon Night, and their ships had returned the next morning covered with corpses.
• Jiang Zhizhou questioned why Emperor Zetian would kill his own subjects, and Du Yongquan said the island’s true purpose had enraged the Sacred Emperor.
• Lin Zhong interrupted Du Yongquan, who defended his decision to speak and reminded Lin Zhong that he had tried to steal Yang Qing’s Rootless Wood to escape.
• Du Yongquan revealed that Emperor Zetian had personally selected Immortal Island, said only the Holy Duke might know its greatest secret, and encouraged Yang Qing to explore its hidden places.

Yang Qing agreed to help Du Yongquan and Lin Zhong investigate the strange secrets of Immortal Island while they waited for the next Full Moon Night. They headed to Mo Beixing’s residence to look for the mysterious light, leaving Yang Qing increasingly wary of Wuming and the island’s hidden history.

• Du Yongquan told Yang Qing and the others that Immortal Island held secrets its inhabitants had noticed but never investigated, and Yang Qing agreed to join the search.
• Yang Qing speculated that Wuming and Emperor Zetian might be far more powerful than people believed, then stopped himself when Bu Er called out to him.
• Du Yongquan and Lin Zhong revealed that they had seen strange light coming from Mo Beixing’s room on Full Moon Nights and had been unable to approach her residence.
• Yang Qing agreed to investigate Mo Beixing’s residence but insisted they leave everything in her room untouched.
• Du Yongquan led Yang Qing and the others toward Mo Beixing’s residence to search for the strange light.