Recaps

Ning Ke hid his identity as Lou Yunxiao brought home a captured wolf demon, and he persuaded his senior brother and the villagers to spare the wolf until they learned whether it had killed anyone. Left alone with the wolf pup, Ning Ke warned him not to expose his identity and demanded to know if he had ever killed anyone.

• Ning Ke apologized after teasing Lou Yunxiao about matters of the heart, and Lou Yunxiao warned him to take such things seriously.
• Ning Ke woke to firecrackers and joined the villagers as Lou Yunxiao returned carrying a frozen wolf demon who had stolen sheep and injured people.
• Lou Yunxiao drew his sword and asked Ning Ke whether he should kill the wolf, while the wolf pup recognized Ning Ke as the Demon Venerable.
• Ning Ke suggested sparing the wolf if he had not killed anyone, and the villagers agreed that he should be punished rather than killed.
• Ning Ke took the wolf pup aside, ordered him to keep Ning Ke's identity secret, and asked whether he had ever killed anyone; the wolf pup denied it.

Ning Ke comforted Lou Yunxiao after the city crowd triggered painful memories, then joined Ning Xiaoxiao at a talisman stall, where Zhuang Yusheng asked him to become his dao companion.

• Ning Ke compensated the villagers and made the wolf cub guard Ning Family Village for a year before taking Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao to Nantong City.
• Lou Yunxiao became overwhelmed by memories and darkness in the crowded city, and Ning Ke pulled him into an embrace until he calmed down.
• Lou Yunxiao asked Ning Ke to hold his hand, and Ning Ke led him toward Ning Xiaoxiao.
• Ning Ke found Ning Xiaoxiao competing with Zhuang Yusheng in drawing talismans and praised her efforts after she lost.
• Zhuang Yusheng blushed and asked Ning Ke whether he had a dao companion and would be willing to be with him.

Zhuang Yusheng confessed to Ning Ke, who rejected him by claiming he already liked someone, then spent the evening exploring Nantong City with Zhuang, Lou Yunxiao, and Ning Xiaoxiao. Lou Yunxiao grew troubled wondering who Ning Ke liked, but Ning Ke later revealed the confession was only an excuse, leaving Lou relieved and smiling.

• Zhuang Yusheng fell for Ning Ke at first sight and asked him to give them a chance, but Ning Ke said he already liked someone.
• Zhuang Yusheng refused to give up and showed Ning Ke, Lou Yunxiao, and Ning Xiaoxiao around Nantong City.
• Ning Ke and Zhuang Yusheng played music together on a Flower Boat while Lou Yunxiao wondered whether Ning Ke might like a man.
• Ning Ke gave Lou Yunxiao a sword tassel as a souvenir, and Zhuang Yusheng said goodbye after inviting him to meet again at the Sect Tournament.
• Lou Yunxiao tried to hide his curiosity about Ning Ke's love interest, but Ning Ke admitted that he had only claimed to like someone to reject Zhuang Yusheng.

Ning Ke promised the blind Lou Yunxiao that he would be the first person he saw if his sight ever returned, while continuing to conceal his identity. After months of training, the two prepared to attend the Sect Tournament in Zhongdu City, where Ning Ke had a surprise of his own in store.

• Ning Ke promised Lou Yunxiao he would stand before him when his sight returned, and Lou Yunxiao relaxed into his embrace.
• Ning Ke, Lou Yunxiao, and their companions left Ning Family Village for the Sword Sect, and Ning Ke entrusted Silver Gray with protecting the villagers while keeping his identity secret.
• Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao trained for the Sect Tournament, reaching the peak mid Golden Core stage and late Golden Core stage respectively.
• Ning Ke defeated Lou Yunxiao in a training match and teased him about saving his sword intent for the tournament.
• The Sword Sect disciples traveled by Flying Ship to Zhongdu City, where Lou Yunxiao agreed to go wherever Ning Ke wanted.

Ning Ke took Lou Yunxiao around Zhongdu City, had their portrait painted, and brought him to a pleasure district. Lou Yunxiao grew jealous as Ning Ke enjoyed the attention of the women and pulled him into his arms.

• Ning Ke held Lou Yunxiao's hand as they explored Zhongdu City and sampled street food.
• Ning Ke persuaded Lou Yunxiao to pose for a portrait, then gave the painting to him to keep.
• Ning Ke took Lou Yunxiao to a pleasure district, where Lou Yunxiao reluctantly followed him inside.
• Ning Ke drank and chatted with the women while Lou Yunxiao refused their attention.
• When a woman tried to feed Ning Ke a grape, Lou Yunxiao pulled him into his arms and angrily demanded that he stop his nonsense.

Ning Ke woke after a drunken night at a brothel and learned from Xiao Yuan that he had kissed and confessed affection for Lou Yunxiao. Lou Yunxiao concealed what happened, and the chapter ended with him asking Ning Ke to tie his ribbon back on.

• Lou Yunxiao drove the women away after becoming jealous of Ning Ke’s closeness with them.
• Ning Ke removed Lou Yunxiao’s ribbon, kissed the corner of his eye, and drunkenly said he wanted to marry him before falling asleep in his arms.
• Lou Yunxiao held Ning Ke close and realized his feelings for his junior brother were more selfish and intense than his affection for the lady he admired.
• Ning Ke woke to sounds from the next room and asked Lou Yunxiao whether he had done anything embarrassing the night before.
• Xiao Yuan told Ning Ke that he had kissed Lou Yunxiao and asked whether Lou valued him or the lady more.
• Lou Yunxiao denied that Ning Ke had done anything bad, then asked him to tie his ribbon back on.

Ning Ke returned to the inn with Lou Yunxiao, where Zhuang Yusheng and a crowd of Music Sect disciples eagerly greeted him. Lou Yunxiao repeatedly kept Zhuang Yusheng at a distance, leaving Ning Xiaoxiao to wonder whether he had realized Ning Ke’s feelings and accepted them.

• Ning Ke tied Lou Yunxiao’s ribbon, and Lou Yunxiao drew him close before carefully straightening Ning Ke’s sash.
• Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao returned to the inn, where Zhuang Yusheng and the Music Sect disciples rushed over to meet Ning Ke.
• Lou Yunxiao warned the disciples to show restraint and emphasized that he and Ning Ke had spent the previous night together.
• When Zhuang Yusheng took Ning Ke’s hand, Lou Yunxiao pulled it away and held it behind his back, claiming Ning Ke needed to guide him because he was blind.
• Lou Yunxiao arranged for Ning Xiaoxiao to sit beside Ning Ke, and Ning Xiaoxiao suspected that Lou Yunxiao had recognized and returned Ning Ke’s feelings.

Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao grew closer after Lou Yunxiao asked about love between men and accepted a book about intimacy, then gave Ning Ke a sachet. Two days later, the Sect Tournament began, with the disciples assembled by sect in the Arena.

• Hong Yao and Gao Ze discussed the weakening seal on the Great Demon and decided the disciples should still enter the Secret Realms to gain experience.
• Zhuang Yusheng told Lou Yunxiao they would compete fairly for Ning Ke, then accused him of being a coward for not admitting his feelings.
• Lou Yunxiao asked Ning Ke how men become cultivation partners, and Ning Ke explained love before handing him My Days and Nights with the Daoist Supreme.
• Lou Yunxiao kept the book and gave Ning Ke an ordinary sachet, which Ning Ke happily hung at his waist.
• The Sect Tournament began, and Ning Ke stood with the Sword Sect while the Buddhist Order's disciples glared at him for his remarks about their shaved heads.

At the tournament, Wugou told Ning Ke that he did not belong in this world, prompting Xiao Yuan to explain the world’s independent consciousness and Ning Ke’s role in helping it reach a stable conclusion. Ning Ke, Ning Xiaoxiao, and Lou Yunxiao advanced to the top ten, and Ning Ke faced Wugou in a match centered on formations.

• Wugou privately told Ning Ke that he was not of this world, and Xiao Yuan explained that Ning Ke’s missions helped the world form a complete whole around Lou Yunxiao.
• Ning Xiaoxiao defeated a body cultivator with sword techniques and talismans, then sought praise from Ning Ke.
• Lou Yunxiao won his match and repeatedly came to Ning Ke for a head pat and praise.
• Ning Ke observed Wugou trapping opponents with formations, and he and the others advanced to the tournament’s top ten.
• Ning Ke met Wugou in the ranking matches and proposed that they compare their formation skills.

Ning Ke defeated Wugou in the tournament, and Wugou sensed that Ning Ke was destined for a miserable death connected to Lou Yunxiao. Lou Yunxiao then defeated Zhuang Yusheng, who warned him that he was still a coward when it came to love.

• Ning Ke used formations and spiritual energy threads to defeat Wugou, then asked him to keep his unusual fate secret.
• Wugou sensed that Ning Ke came from another world and was destined to die miserably, with his death tied to Lou Yunxiao.
• Lou Yunxiao faced Zhuang Yusheng after Ning Ke and Ning Xiaoxiao cheered him on, and Zhuang Yusheng attacked with music formed into weapons.
• Lou Yunxiao revealed his sword intent and split the arena with a powerful strike, surprising the watching cultivators.
• Zhuang Yusheng used Blood Melody to overwhelm Lou Yunxiao with runes and visions, but Ning Ke's call restored Lou Yunxiao's awareness.
• Lou Yunxiao shattered Zhuang Yusheng's attack and held his sword to Zhuang Yusheng's throat; Zhuang Yusheng conceded and called him a coward in love.

After comforting both Zhuang Yusheng and Lou Yunxiao, Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao privately grappled with their desire to kiss each other. Ning Ke then faced Zhuang Yusheng in a talisman-drawing match and won, advancing the tournament as the rankings narrowed to the top three.

• Zhuang Yusheng sought Ning Ke's comfort after losing to Lou Yunxiao, and Ning Ke patted his head and gave him pills.
• Lou Yunxiao turned away from Ning Ke, but their faces met when he suddenly turned back; both felt an urge to kiss, then Ning Ke gave him pills for his wounds.
• Ning Xiaoxiao defeated Wugou to take fourth place, while Lou Yunxiao advanced to the top three with a bye.
• Ning Ke proposed a talisman-drawing contest against the tired Zhuang Yusheng, and they each drew a hundred talismans in midair.
• Ning Ke's combined talismans broke through Zhuang Yusheng's talisman chain, giving Ning Ke the victory.

Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao fought to a draw in the final match after their divine swords clashed and their battle destroyed the platform. Lou Yunxiao agreed to buy Ning Ke a new hairpin after his sword intent broke the one in Ning Ke’s hair.

• Ning Ke took second place and Zhuang Yusheng took third, leaving Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao to compete in the final match.
• Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao summoned their divine swords and fought fiercely, with Ning Ke using formations and talismans to disrupt Lou Yunxiao’s movements.
• Lou Yunxiao’s sword intent severed Ning Ke’s hairpin, and Ning Ke unleashed hidden formations and talismans that blasted the platform apart.
• After another hundred exchanges, Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao ended the match in a draw with their swords at each other’s throats.
• Ning Ke pointed out that Lou Yunxiao had broken his hairpin, and Lou Yunxiao promised to replace it when they went shopping.

Ning Ke found a pill in the Heavenly Profound Pavilion that could let Lou Yunxiao use his eyes, then entered the Qianyuan Secret Realm and was separated from him and Ning Xiaoxiao. As Ning Ke worried about dying and Lou Yunxiao growing close to Ning Xiaoxiao, Lou Yunxiao encountered her in the desert.

• Ning Ke chose an Osmanthus Jade Hairpin, and Lou Yunxiao pinned it in his hair before they went to the Heavenly Profound Pavilion.
• After Xiao Yuan told him about a pill on the fifth floor, Ning Ke found it and put it in his Storage Ring while telling Lou Yunxiao he might someday leave to return home.
• The top ten emerged from the pavilion, and the Qianyuan Secret Realm opened, teleporting its entrants to random locations.
• Alone in a forest, Ning Ke remembered that he was fated to die in six months and stored a wisp of his divine soul in the Red Cloud Sword so he could watch Lou Yunxiao.
• Lou Yunxiao wandered alone through a desert until Ning Xiaoxiao emerged from the sand with a sand rat and greeted him.

Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao learned that a powerful demon hunted in the desert and took shelter from the night with a Sand Rat. Meanwhile, Ning Ke discovered they were in the demon’s territory and learned it was likely a Great Demon sealed in the Secret Realm.

• Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao questioned the Sand Rat, who explained that the demon devoured creatures and cultivators, gaining their abilities and forms.
• When night fell, the Sand Rat warned them to light a fire and shelter behind a rock from the demon and possible dust storms.
• The Sand Rat sensed demonic beast aura in Lou Yunxiao’s flame, prompting Lou Yunxiao to wonder whether the older sister who gave it to him was a demon beast.
• Ning Xiaoxiao mistakenly concluded that her brother loved Lou Yunxiao but stayed silent because Lou Yunxiao already loved someone else.
• Ning Ke sent demonic beasts to search for Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao, and a sparrow reported that they were in the desert.
• A python told Ning Ke that a Great Demon sealed in the desert had partly escaped a hundred years earlier, leaving his friends in danger.

Ning Ke learned where the Great Demon was sealed and set out with Snakey to investigate the buried palace. Meanwhile, Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao found the palace and encountered the demon within, leaving Lou Yunxiao trapped and Ning Xiaoxiao buried in the sandstorm.

• Xiao Yuan gave Ning Ke a quest to investigate the stone monument sealing the Great Demon, and Snakey agreed to guide him to the buried palace.
• Lou Yunxiao used his ice powers to help Ning Xiaoxiao and the little sand rat cross the desert.
• Mutated Carnivorous Red Willows attacked Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao, who escaped underground during a sandstorm and destroyed the statues anchoring the willows.
• The palace doors opened, and its terrifying pressure wounded Lou Yunxiao and knocked Ning Xiaoxiao down.
• Lou Yunxiao sent Ning Xiaoxiao to the surface, then stayed behind to fight the dark figure as she was swept away and buried by the sandstorm.

After learning that Lou Yunxiao had been captured by the Demon while rescuing Ning Xiaoxiao, Ning Ke found Xiaoxiao and promised to save him. He sent Xiaoxiao to warn the other disciples while he went to the Demon’s underground palace, and she reluctantly agreed despite fearing she would never see him again.

• After the sandstorm ended, Xiao Yuan told Ning Ke that Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao had entered the Demon’s underground palace, where Lou had been captured; Ning Ke headed south to find Xiaoxiao.
• Two days later, Ning Ke found Ning Xiaoxiao and the little sand rat, healed Xiaoxiao, and learned that she blamed herself for Lou’s capture.
• Ning Ke reassured Xiaoxiao that Lou was alive and promised to bring him back safe and sound.
• Ning Ke told Xiaoxiao to find the other disciples and warn them about the Demon, while She-She took python form to protect her.
• Though Xiaoxiao begged to accompany Ning Ke, he insisted she go warn the others, and she reluctantly accepted after he promised they would meet again.

Lou Yunxiao discovered that the Demon had possessed him and chose to kill himself rather than let it use him to harm others. The Demon tried to turn his corpse into a living dead, while Ning Ke sensed Lou Yunxiao’s suffering on the surface.

• Lou Yunxiao escaped the underground palace with a captured disciple, but the Demon seized control of his body and made him stab the boy.
• Lou Yunxiao used Ning Ke’s origin foxfire to resist the Demon, then sent the dying disciple away on the Pale Silver Sword.
• Lou Yunxiao drove an ice sword through his own heart to prevent the Demon from controlling him and harming others.
• The Demon broke out of Lou Yunxiao’s body but remained trapped by the underground palace’s golden runes, so he flooded Lou Yunxiao’s corpse with demonic energy to make him a living dead.
• On the surface, Ning Ke clutched the Red Cloud Sword and felt Lou Yunxiao’s agony as he resisted.

Ning Ke found Lou Yunxiao in the underground palace, only to discover that the Demon had turned him into a living corpse who obeyed orders to capture him. Ning Ke reassured Lou Yunxiao that he had saved the disciple, and Lou Yunxiao responded by kissing him.

• Ning Ke gave the injured disciple medicine, asked Ning Xiaoxiao to take him back, and followed the Pale Silver Sword east.
• Ning Xiaoxiao resolved to become strong enough to protect everyone as Ning Ke entered the underground palace and recognized its sealing array.
• The Demon, weakened after turning Lou Yunxiao into a living corpse, ordered him to catch the rat and went to sleep.
• Lou Yunxiao captured Ning Ke and dragged him into the side hall, where Xiao Yuan explained that Lou Yunxiao's memories were confused and he now followed the Demon's orders.
• After learning Lou Yunxiao had chosen suicide to avoid hurting others, Ning Ke comforted him and apologized for failing to protect him.
• Lou Yunxiao rested his forehead against Ning Ke's and suddenly kissed him.

Lou Yunxiao’s demonic energy overwhelmed his spiritual energy, making him act on his desires and kiss Ning Ke. Ning Ke discovered the Sealing Array now treated Lou Yunxiao as a demon, trapping him in the Underground Palace until his energies could be balanced.

• Lou Yunxiao pinned Ning Ke against a wall and kissed and bit him, stopping only when Ning Ke invoked the Demon’s orders to keep him for his master.
• Ning Ke persuaded Lou Yunxiao to let him leave the Side Hall for a walk by agreeing to kiss him again first.
• Lou Yunxiao told Ning Ke that touching and talking with him made him happy, while Xiao Yuan explained that the excess demonic energy was amplifying Lou Yunxiao’s desires.
• Ning Ke asked Lou Yunxiao to take him to the Underground Palace entrance and tested the barrier himself.
• Ning Ke confirmed that the Sealing Array recognized Lou Yunxiao as a demon and would not let him leave until his spiritual and demonic energies were balanced.

Ning Ke examined Lou Yunxiao and realized he would have to give up his cultivation and eventually sacrifice himself to save him. While exploring the underground palace, they found the stele sealing the Great Demon, and Ning Ke persuaded Lou Yunxiao to stay near it before giving in to Lou Yunxiao’s affectionate advances.

• Ning Ke found Lou Yunxiao’s heart badly injured and learned he would need to transfer his demonic power to Lou Yunxiao before sacrificing himself.
• Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao searched the underground palace and filled Lou Yunxiao’s Heaven and Earth Bag with its remaining treasures.
• Ning Ke discovered that a stone stele in the palace bore the same talisman as the one inside Ning Xiaoxiao’s Golden Silk Wooden Token, and Xiao Yuan confirmed it sealed the Great Demon.
• Lou Yunxiao felt sick near the stele and asked to leave, but Ning Ke persuaded him to stay because the stele offered protection.
• Lou Yunxiao kissed Ning Ke and acted cute until Ning Ke agreed to let him continue.

Ning Ke studied the seal runes and resolved to help Lou Yunxiao recover by cultivating with him. He began teaching Lou Yunxiao a cultivation method and prepared to sacrifice his own heart's blood to heal him.

• While Lou Yunxiao slept, Ning Ke studied the dim runes and entered a vision where an unfamiliar voice entrusted them to him.
• Lou Yunxiao woke Ning Ke and asked him to play, but Ning Ke instead promised him a wish if he reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage.
• Ning Ke gave Lou Yunxiao the Remnant Scroll and reassured him that reaching that stage would restore his sight and warm his heart.
• Lou Yunxiao began cultivating as Ning Ke read the scroll aloud.
• Ning Ke admitted to Xiao Yuan that he planned to give Lou Yunxiao his heart's blood despite the harm it would cause his real body, and learned the system had no way to block the pain.

Ning Ke kept helping Lou Yunxiao cultivate while secretly becoming engrossed in a romance novel. Lou Yunxiao formed his nascent soul, discovered the book, and asked Ning Ke to perform what was written on page 86 as his reward.

• Ning Ke continued converting demonic power into spiritual energy for Lou Yunxiao, despite the pain of repeatedly drawing blood from his heart.
• While waiting for Lou Yunxiao to cultivate, Ning Ke read My Days and Nights with the Daoist Supreme and became hooked on its story.
• Lou Yunxiao formed his nascent soul after three days, then noticed Ning Ke's weak heartbeat and found the novel beside him.
• When Ning Ke woke, Lou Yunxiao hugged him and asked for a reward for forming his nascent soul.
• Lou Yunxiao pinned Ning Ke's hand to the book and asked him to do what was written on page 86.

Ning Ke told Lou Yunxiao he liked him too and promised they would escape together once Lou reached the peak of the nascent soul stage. In the Secret Realm Forest, disciples accused Lou Yunxiao of becoming a demon, and Zhuang Yusheng ordered anyone who doubted Ning Xiaoxiao to leave the spirit beasts’ protection.

• Lou Yunxiao asked Ning Ke to say he liked him, and Ning Ke kissed his forehead and said he liked him too.
• Lou Yunxiao declared that he would keep Ning Ke for himself, and Ning Ke promised they would escape together once Lou reached the peak of the nascent soul stage.
• An injured disciple accused Lou Yunxiao of attacking him and swore his claim was true, prompting the gathered disciples to suspect Lou Yunxiao had harmed others.
• Ning Xiaoxiao defended Lou Yunxiao and insisted that a Great Demon was sealed beneath the desert, while the python and sand rat backed her up.
• Zhuang Yusheng sided with Ning Xiaoxiao and told anyone who doubted her to leave the spirit beasts’ territory and investigate the desert themselves.

Ning Ke restored Lou Yunxiao’s eyes and heart, then watched him collapse as his memories returned. Ning Ke said goodbye, intending to leave Lou Yunxiao behind before the Underground Palace exploded.

• Zhuang Yusheng and the Sword Sect disciples backed Ning Xiaoxiao when other disciples accused their senior brothers of being demons, and Wugou said Lou Yunxiao would return in a few months with answers.
• Ning Xiaoxiao practiced swordsmanship by the river, thanked Zhuang Yusheng for his support, and asked him to guide her in talisman arts.
• Three months later, Ning Ke prepared to restore Lou Yunxiao’s eyes and heart, planning to knock him unconscious and have the Pale Silver Sword carry him out of the Underground Palace.
• Lou Yunxiao closed his eyes and trusted Ning Ke, who kissed his eyelids before refining his own eyes and heart blood to repair Lou Yunxiao’s body.
• Lou Yunxiao’s heart began beating, his memories returned, and he collapsed into Ning Ke’s arms as Ning Ke said goodbye to him.

Ning Ke sent Lou Yunxiao out of the Underground Palace, then tried to reinforce the seal while blind and under attack. He completed the final rune before the Demon killed him, and the Demon was sealed beneath the stele as Ning Ke lost consciousness.

• Ning Ke placed Lou Yunxiao on Pale Silver and sent the sword to carry him out of the Underground Palace.
• Ning Ke used his blood and remaining demonic power to begin restoring the seal on the stone stele.
• The awakened Demon attacked Ning Ke, while a Nine-Tailed Fox phantom shielded him as he continued drawing the runes.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox phantom shattered, and the Demon pierced Ning Ke's chest and crushed his heart.
• Ning Ke completed the final rune before dying, and the stele dragged the Demon beneath it and sealed him away.