Chapter Summaries

Xing Yan and Boyu discovered that Meng Zhang had escaped his prison, and Xing Yan identified the wounded general Dou Hou as the likely rescuer. As pursuers closed in on Meng Zhang and Dou Hou, Meng Zhang sent Dou Hou toward God's Field and disappeared into the storm, leaving his loyal general behind.

• Xing Yan asked Boyu about Xueyi, and Boyu reassured him that guards had been watching her remains in the Ice Crystal Cave.
• Dragon Scale Guards reported that the prison holding Meng Zhang was full of dead soldiers and that the prisoner had escaped; Xing Yan and Boyu found the guards' wounds had been seared by heat.
• Boyu suspected Dou Hou had rescued Meng Zhang, and Xing Yan urged the party to pursue them.
• Dou Hou told Meng Zhang that he had killed the guards and broken his chains, then carried his wounded lord south through the storm to a small islet.
• Meng Zhang recovered enough to travel and told Dou Hou that he had a plan to destroy the rebels and that they must reach God's Field.
• When their pursuers illuminated the sea, Meng Zhang bowed to Dou Hou, told him to go ahead, and vanished into the storm while Dou Hou stayed to face the enemy.

Meng Zhang reached the heart of the Ghost Spirit Abyss, learned that he had passed the Divine Lord’s trial, and emerged transformed and determined to destroy heaven and earth. Meanwhile, Xing Yan led an army to search for him, saw Lingyi and Qiong Rong off, and rode into an increasingly ominous dawn.

• Meng Zhang escaped into the Ghost Spirit Abyss with Dou Hou’s help, and pursuers later killed Dou Hou after a desperate fight.
• At the abyss’s heart, the Divine Lord told Meng Zhang that he had already passed his trial and urged him to destroy heaven and earth.
• Meng Zhang accepted the Divine Lord’s teaching that good and evil were relative, then was transformed after hearing that the Divine Lord and he were one.
• Boyu and the Four Rivers Dragon Lord sent Xing Yan and an army to search around the Ghost Spirit Abyss for Meng Zhang.
• Lingyi and Qiong Rong caught up with Xing Yan to see him off; he held Lingyi’s hands, kissed Qiong Rong’s forehead, and rode away.
• Lingyi turned the boat home after forbidding Qiong Rong from secretly following Xing Yan, but her unease grew as they traveled.

Ling Yier returned to Four Rivers Camp with Qiong Rong as ominous signs and Dragon Lord divinations warned of calamity. After the Dragon Lord called the command to prepare for upheaval, Qiong Rong encountered Xing Yan and his troops while rushing after him.

• Ling Yier spotted panicked gulls gathering over the sea and hurried with Qiong Rong to Four Rivers Camp.
• The Dragon Lord showed his ministers a string of ill-omened divinations, while Qiong Rong encouraged him to try one final tortoiseshell reading.
• Qiong Rong identified the final shell’s cracks as a skewer of candied hawthorns, and the Dragon Lord chose to take it as a possible auspicious sign.
• The Dragon Lord ordered the command convened and began preparing his forces for the coming upheaval.
• Qiong Rong hurried through the southern waters and ran into Xing Yan, then accused him of bringing troops to catch her.

Xing Yan and the South Sea forces faced Chaos’s assault as fiery meteors devastated the Dragon Clan’s palace and threatened the armies. Zhang Xingyan’s Radiant Glory Art shielded the survivors, but Chaos summoned hundreds of evil dragons that flew toward him.

• Xing Yan met Qiong Rong and hurried back to the Four Rivers Encampment as Chaos’s return transformed the sky and sea.
• Chaos’s demonic fire destroyed the Calamity Hound Fire Tribe and turned the ocean into a vast inferno.
• The rulers and warriors raised defenses, but Chaos’s first meteor shower shattered the South Sea Dragon Clan’s palace and killed its occupants.
• A second meteor assault struck the armies, and the Lord of the Clouds and others discovered that Zhang Xingyan’s Radiant Protective Veil could dissolve the falling stones.
• Zhang Xingyan expanded his veil across dozens of li, shielding the surviving forces from a third meteor shower.
• A voice praised Zhang Xingyan as its sole heroic counterpart, then hundreds of magma-eyed evil dragons emerged from the sky and flew toward him.

Xing Yan defended the sea from Meng Zhang’s demonic dragons, then used Yao Guang to sever the hidden God King Chaos from Meng Zhang and reverse the attack. After Meng Zhang died, a goddess emerged from the sea with the rescued Qiong Rong, and she was stunned to learn Qiong Rong was Xing Yan’s little sister.

• The Three Thousand Rain Masters, Huimang’s forces, and Xing Yan fought off Meng Zhang’s demonic dragons, with Xing Yan’s ice attacks and Yao Guang destroying the survivors who reached him.
• Meng Zhang hurled a purple lightning ball at Xing Yan, but the Dragon Lady took the blow and collapsed in Xing Yan’s arms; Qiong Rong also fell from the clouds into the fiery sea.
• Xing Yan reversed time and space with Yao Guang, struck the God King Chaos hiding in Meng Zhang’s shoulder, and caused Chaos to flee while Meng Zhang lost his power.
• Xing Yan pursued Meng Zhang, but a radiant goddess rose from the sea carrying the rescued Qiong Rong and asked him not to take a life.
• Xing Yan thanked the goddess, then whispered something to Meng Zhang that made the former Water Marquis vomit blood and die; the goddess was startled to hear Qiong Rong called his little sister.

After Xi He restored Lingyi and calmed the devastated South Sea, Xing Yan asked her to revive Xueyi. Xi He revealed that only the Elder Princess of Western Kunlun could retrieve Xueyi’s scattered soul, but warned that the princess despised mortals and might kill him; Qiong Rong insisted Xing Yan could change the princess, making Xi He burst into laughter.

• Xing Yan confirmed Meng Zhang was dead and tried to save Lingyi, while the survivors gathered amid the ruined South Sea and mourned the casualties.
• Xi He used her power to clear the bloody sea, then revived Lingyi with the Sun Pearl, and the old dragon lord embraced his recovered granddaughter.
• Xing Yan thanked Xi He and recounted how Xueyi had died for him, then begged Xi He to bring her back.
• Xi He explained that Xueyi’s scattered soul could be restored only by the Elder Princess of Western Kunlun, and warned Xing Yan that the princess despised mortals and might kill him.
• Qiong Rong comforted Xing Yan and declared that he could make the Elder Princess behave better by meeting her, prompting Xi He to laugh uncontrollably.

Xing Yan returned to Luofu to lay Xueyi’s body beneath the Ice Cliff Cold Peak, then visited his parents on Horseshoe Mountain with Lingyi and Qiong Rong. As they bathed in a moonlit hot spring during a snowfall, Xing Yan experienced a mysterious revelation that seemed to bring him close to enlightenment.

• Xi He told Xing Yan to return in three days for help reaching Kunlun and warned that Lingyi needed to recover at the East Sea Dragon Palace.
• Xing Yan helped bury the South Sea dead, retrieved Xueyi’s body from the Cold Chill Grotto, and wept over her before carrying her toward Luofu.
• Xing Yan laid Xueyi beneath the Ice Cliff Cold Peak, protected her resting place with barriers and formations, and then traveled with Lingyi and Qiong Rong to Horseshoe Mountain.
• Xing Yan reunited with his parents, and the family shared a meal with Lingyi and Qiong Rong before Old Zhang suggested they visit a newly formed hot spring.
• Xing Yan, Lingyi, and Qiong Rong bathed together in the hot spring as snow fell, and Xing Yan felt a mysterious revelation amid the snow, moonlight, and stars.

Xing Yan celebrated the Dragon Head Raising Festival with his parents and bid farewell to Lingyi, who left for the East Sea with the Dragon Clans. That night, he dreamed of returning to Horseshoe Mountain, where a mysterious woman on the White Stone recognized him as Young Master Zhang.

• Old Zhang and his wife held a belated Dragon Head Raising Festival celebration for Xing Yan, and he eased Lingyi's discomfort with the food customs.
• A fierce storm concealed the arrival of the four Dragon Clans' divine carriage, which took Lingyi to the East Sea to tend her divine body.
• Before departing, Lingyi entrusted Xing Yan with a letter for Xueyi, to be delivered if Xueyi's spirit was restored.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Tong watched the moon and stars over Poyang Lake before returning home for the night.
• Unable to sleep, Xing Yan dreamed he had returned to Horseshoe Mountain and found an intact White Stone and a woman seated upon it.
• The woman turned toward Xing Yan and accused him of taking liberties with her before denying their old acquaintance.

Xing Yan learned that Yao Guang, the spirit of the God-Sealing Sword, was departing to rest after helping him defeat the evil god, then traveled with Qiong Rong to the South Sea. He permitted Moon Lady to bury Meng Zhang, and she died beside his body after imagining they could be together again in another life.

• Yao Guang told Xing Yan she was the God-Sealing Sword’s spirit, explained her ancient origins, and sang farewell before he fell into dreamless sleep.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong left Horseshoe Mountain for the South Sea and found Moon Lady weeping among the waves.
• Moon Lady asked Xing Yan for permission to retrieve Meng Zhang’s body, and he gave her a written order allowing her to bury him.
• Xing Yan explained to Qiong Rong that Meng Zhang had died from remorse after learning what he had done to his own clan.
• Moon Lady carried Meng Zhang’s body to a sandbar, spoke of her wish to reunite with him in another life, and died there.

After the South Sea war, Xing Yan and Qiong Rong followed Xi He's summons through the Kunlun Gate and survived Kunlun's deadly Flame Mountain and Abyss of Weak Water. They rested in a mist-shrouded place, where Qiong Rong brought back Jade Peaches and revealed an unexpected familiarity with them.

• The Mystic Spirit Race gained three Cloud-Rising Swords, and the five races swore an alliance after the South Sea war.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong searched the South Sea for Xi He, then entered the Kunlun Gate when Xi He called to them.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong crossed Flame Mountain, and Xing Yan cut his hand to resist the flames' deadly temptation.
• Xing Yan fell toward the Abyss of Weak Water under its enchanting influence, but Qiong Rong caught him and carried him to safety.
• Qiong Rong returned with Jade Peaches and said she would wash them in Stone Marrow Jade Nectar, prompting Xing Yan to ask how she knew how to eat them.

Xing Yan and Qiong Rong wandered through Kunlun’s shifting landscapes, where immortals, beasts, and even a flock of sheep fled from the little girl. Xing Yan left Qiong Rong waiting at a secluded garden while he searched for answers, and she entered the Jade-Gathering Court and began to cry.

• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong crossed Kunlun’s flower-filled woods and landscapes where seasons and weather changed with only a few steps.
• Xing Yan noticed that immortals and sacred creatures fled whenever he and Qiong Rong approached, so he asked his sister to seek directions from the next immortal they met.
• Qiong Rong approached a shepherdess tending white sheep, but the flock scattered and the shepherdess galloped away in terror.
• Xing Yan hurried Qiong Rong to a garden, reassured her, and left her by its gate while he went to make inquiries.
• Qiong Rong grew bored waiting, wandered into the Jade-Gathering Court, and began weeping beside its pond.

In the Jade-Gathering Court, Qiong Tong mourned that she had no parents and feared she could not compare with Xing Yan’s other companions. A Speech-Understanding Grass offered to reveal where her mother was after Qiong Tong helped it transform, then flew away and left her wondering if she could truly find her mother.

• In the Azure Luan Wonderland, Muyun crashed into the stream and warned the gathered immortals that “she” had returned, sending them fleeing.
• Alone in the Jade-Gathering Court, Qiong Tong cried to the grass about Xing Yan leaving her behind and her lack of parents.
• A Speech-Understanding Grass revealed itself and offered to tell Qiong Tong where her mother was if she shed more tears onto it.
• Qiong Tong cried over the grass until it glowed with emerald light and prepared to transform.
• The newly transformed Speech-Understanding Immortal whispered directions to Qiong Tong, then flew away, leaving her wondering whether she could find her mother.

Qiong Tong left the courtyard to find her mother at the Queen Mother of the West’s palace in Kunlun, guided first by the Speech-Understanding Immortal Grass and then by Phoenix Xuan. She met a woman who claimed to be her mother, but grew suspicious when the woman already knew her name.

• Qiong Tong drew a chalk map for her brother and hurried through Kunlun’s fruit groves toward the palace where she believed her mother lived.
• Qiong Tong became lost among the paths near the Jade Pool and Jeweled Grove, where Phoenix Xuan found her and offered to guide her.
• Phoenix Xuan summoned a divine carriage that carried Qiong Tong toward the Snow Mountain Divine Hall before stopping at the Kunlun Forbidden Grounds.
• Qiong Tong thanked the carriage’s Vermilion Bird with two copper coins, then ran barefoot across the Ice Crystal Plaza and through crimson clouds.
• Qiong Tong met a beautiful woman holding a jade hoe, asked whether her mother lived nearby, and was embraced by the woman, who called her Qiong Tong and claimed to be her mother.
• Qiong Tong pulled away and questioned how the woman knew her name, but the woman replied that Qiong Tong had always been her name.

The Queen Mother of the West revealed that Qiong Tong was her daughter and showed her the memories of her mortal life with Zhang Xingyan. Qiong Tong denied caring for him and agreed to her mother’s plan to test whether he had truly been sincere.

• The Queen Mother of the West told Qiong Tong that she was her mother, and the revelation overwhelmed Qiong Tong until the Queen Mother restored her true form.
• The Queen Mother reminded Qiong Tong of their wager and revealed that Qiong Tong had grown attached to a mortal, Zhang Xingyan.
• The Queen Mother used Mirror Mountain to show Qiong Tong scenes from her mortal life with Zhang Xingyan, including his kindness and the time he kissed her forehead.
• Qiong Tong destroyed Mirror Mountain in anger and threatened to kill Zhang Xingyan, then insisted that he had taken her in for selfish reasons.
• The Queen Mother challenged Qiong Tong to test Zhang Xingyan’s sincerity, and Qiong Tong eagerly agreed.

Xing Yan investigated the Rebirth Jade Platform, then rushed to the Hanging Garden after sensing trouble and finding Qiong Tong gone. The Queen Mother invested him as the Divine Lord of Great Splendor, but the celebration ended when she revealed the captured demon beast was the familiar snow-white creature he called the Little Fox Immortal.

• Xing Yan approached the Rebirth Jade Platform in southern Kunlun, but a tremor from the northwest disturbed him and exposed his presence to the divine guards.
• Xing Yan returned to the Jade-Gathering Court, found Qiong Tong gone, and followed her chalk drawing toward the Hanging Garden.
• Xing Yan reached the Hanging Garden, where the Queen Mother invested him as the Divine Lord of Great Splendor and granted him dominion over Kunlun's Eastern Heaven.
• Xing Yan asked the Queen Mother about Qiong Tong, but her expression changed when he described his younger sister.
• The Queen Mother dismissed the celebration and showed Xing Yan a captured demon beast in an iron cage; he recognized the listless creature as the Little Fox Immortal.

Xing Yan begged the Queen Mother of the West to spare Qiong Tong, then faced her apparent challenge after witnessing her destroy the Great Roc Wisdom King. He attacked and vanished in her flames, and the story shifted to a solitary visitor approaching the deserted Four Seas Hall on Mount Luofu.

• Xing Yan offered to surrender his immortal rank and divine station to save Qiong Tong, but the Queen Mother proposed a contest of magic instead.
• The Great Roc Wisdom King appeared amid an avalanche and challenged the Queen Mother of the West, who destroyed his attack with a single step.
• The Queen Mother asked whether Xing Yan still wished to challenge her, and he drew his sword and charged.
• The Queen Mother’s magic tore apart and burned Xing Yan until he vanished into blue smoke, leaving someone in tears.
• The narration returned to Mount Luofu, where a lone figure approached the deserted Highest Clarity Four Seas Hall.

After returning from Kunlun, Xing Yan used the Returning Soul Elixir to restore Xueyi to a plum tree and devoted himself to caring for her as she slowly recovered. His quiet life on Thousand Birds Cliff was interrupted when the Stone Cranes sent a summons from Flying Cloud Summit.

• Xing Yan returned to Mount Luofu with the Returning Soul Elixir after Qiong Tong, Ding Jia, Yi Cang, and Lan Cheng remained in Kunlun to cultivate.
• Xing Yan brought Xueyi from the Ice Cliff to Four Seas Hall and poured the elixir over her, restoring her as a plum tree that would need months or years to regain human form.
• Xing Yan tended Xueyi and planted bamboo around Thousand Birds Cliff while he waited for her recovery.
• Xing Yan completed his Capping Ceremony in Raozhou City, took the courtesy name Fengxian, and mourned Lady Rui at her grave.
• Xing Yan spent his nights playing the Jade Flute and drinking before Xueyi’s plum blossoms until the Stone Cranes summoned him from Flying Cloud Summit.

Xing Yan received an urgent message from Ju Ying as Princess Yongchang and her loyal soldiers were cornered by Li Keding’s cavalry on Muliang Plain. Just as Qingcheng prepared to hang herself rather than be captured, a familiar flute sounded, and she saw a figure on a white horse playing on a nearby rise.

• Qinghe handed Xing Yan a dirty silk handkerchief bearing a hurried message from Ju Ying, and he turned deathly pale after reading it.
• Li Keding cornered Princess Yongchang and her surviving Feathered Forest soldiers, then decided to take the princess alive for his own purposes.
• Princess Qingcheng ordered Yan Chuyi to plant a halberd, thanked her loyal soldiers, and prepared to hang herself rather than be captured.
• Li Keding’s horsemen charged as the soldiers fought to give Qingcheng time, but a clear flute melody suddenly carried across the battlefield.
• Qingcheng recognized the familiar music, dropped the white silk, and saw someone playing a flute while seated on a white horse atop a grassy rise.

Xing Yan rescued Ju Ying from execution and used his supernatural power to destroy the rebel cavalry pursuing her. He proposed restoring her throne, then transported the exhausted loyal soldiers to Frost City to recover.

• Xing Yan stopped the battlefield with Divine Snow’s music and embraced Ju Ying after reaching her in time to save her.
• Xing Yan’s warning failed to frighten Marquis Changyi’s soldiers, and their general ordered them to charge.
• Xing Yan bowed and unleashed a hurricane that swept away the attacking cavalry and destroyed a distant mountain peak.
• Xing Yan proposed a counterattack to restore Ju Ying’s throne after the survivors recovered from the battle.
• Xing Yan sent the soldiers to Frost City, where attendants bathed and dressed them and served them food, wine, and entertainment.

Zhang Xingyan rescued Ju Ying and took her to Mount Song, where he cared for her as she rested and learned the full extent of Marquis Changyi’s rebellion. At dawn, he read an omen of rightful rule’s restoration and warned Ju Ying that a bloody battle awaited.

• Zhang Xingyan carried the exhausted Ju Ying on the Susuang Wind God Horse toward the northern lands and settled with her on Mount Song instead of hurrying to Luoyang.
• Zhang Xingyan prepared a place for Ju Ying to bathe and sleep, then restrained himself from disturbing her as she fell asleep beneath a blanket.
• Zhang Xingyan recalled how Marquis Changyi had murdered the emperor, imprisoned the imperial children, and used Bai Shijun and the Pure World Sect to consolidate power.
• Ju Ying had escaped captivity with the help of Yan Chuyi and his former troops before meeting Zhang Xingyan after a desperate flight.
• At dawn, Zhang Xingyan interpreted the purple eastern mist as an omen of rightful rule’s restoration and the scale-like clouds as a sign of terrible slaughter, then warned Ju Ying that his sword would soon draw blood.