Chapter Summaries

Duan Xuanhuai delayed the expedition to Firecloud Mountain so he could meet Zhang Xingyan and present him with a banner, a horse, and a sword sheath. When Xing Yan’s Nameless Sword flew on its own and cut the prefect’s sword in two, Duan Xuanhuai happily gave Xing Yan the sheath, then sent Bao Chuxiong’s troops to march against the bandits.

• Duan An told Bao Chuxiong that Duan Xuanhuai would arrive the next morning and asked the army to wait for him and treat Zhang Xingyan well.
• Bao Chuxiong explained that Golden-Haired Tiger Jiao Wang’s bandits had fortified Great Wind Stronghold on Firecloud Mountain and used a sorcerer’s fire magic to repel the soldiers.
• Duan Xuanhuai arrived, praised Xing Yan, and presented him with a Vermilion Bird banner and the white horse Flying Snow.
• Duan Xuanhuai offered Xing Yan his sword, but Xing Yan’s Nameless Sword flew out and cut the offered blade in two before returning to its sheath.
• Duan Xuanhuai gave Xing Yan the sword sheath, then ordered Bao Chuxiong to lead the army against the bandits.

Xing Yan marched with Bao Chuxiong’s soldiers toward Firecloud Mountain, where the Celestial Master Order planned to confront the Great Wind Stronghold and its sorcerer. Lin Xu persuaded Bao Chuxiong to lure the bandits down from the mountain, and as the army prepared its trap, dense scarlet clouds gathered overhead.

• Xing Yan walked beside the marching soldiers while Qiong Rong rode Flying Snow, and she told Sheng Hengtang that Xing Yan was best at playing the flute.
• Near Firecloud Mountain, Xing Yan and Sheng Hengtang drew Fire-Avoidance Talismans on the soldiers, while Sheng Hengtang read the strange clouds as signs of victory and raised the troops’ morale.
• Lin Xu warned Bao Chuxiong that a direct assault risked a prolonged fight and proposed luring the bandits onto level ground with a small force acting as bait.
• Bao Chuxiong praised Lin Xu’s strategy, promised to intercede for imprisoned Celestial Master Order followers, and arranged the decoy attack.
• Xing Yan admired Lin Xu’s command of military strategy and resolved to follow the Celestial Master Order’s lead as scarlet clouds gathered over Firecloud Mountain.

Bao Chuxiong’s ambush of Great Wind Stronghold turned into a deadly battle when Jiao Wang lured the government troops into a fire trap and unleashed beasts and a powerful sorcerer. As the Nanhai Commandery soldiers were overwhelmed, Xing Yan discovered the beasts were driven by magical flames and rode away with Qiong Rong, leaving Lin Xu to curse him.

• Bao Chuxiong hid his soldiers in the woods, then charged when Officer Sun lured Jiao Wang and his bandits toward them.
• Jiao Wang led the pursuers into a mountain hollow, where bandits ambushed them with arrows and a sorcerer’s fire engulfed the grass.
• The Celestial Master Order disciples and Qiong Rong suppressed much of the blaze, but Jiao Wang unleashed a hundred mountain beasts against the soldiers.
• A giant sorcerer riding an iron-furred mastiff-wolf released Brightflame Locusts, while Bao Chuxiong fought the beasts and bandits and the disciples engaged the sorcerer.
• Xing Yan discovered uncanny flames on the beasts’ backs, then mounted Flying Snow with Qiong Rong and rode away from the battlefield.
• Lin Xu saw Xing Yan leave and called him a coward, nearly losing his sword when the sorcerer attacked.

Xing Yan played Divine Snow, summoning rain that extinguished the fire and a dragonlike cry that subdued the beasts on Firecloud Mountain. The beasts fled, scattering the bandits, while the government troops gained the advantage and the giant lost his wolf mount and Crimson Flame Gourd.

• Xing Yan left the battlefield with Qiong Rong, told her to drive off any black-headscarved attackers, and asked her to seek him at Horseshoe Mountain if they became separated.
• Lin Xu and the Celestial Master Order disciples struggled against the giant as the government soldiers faced burning flames and the threat of defeat.
• Xing Yan played Divine Snow, and the music brought dark clouds and torrential rain that extinguished the fires and revived the soldiers’ spirits.
• The flute’s music stopped, but the beasts cowered as a thunderous, dragonlike cry rang across the mountain, convincing Xing Yan’s companions that he was playing it.
• The beasts fled when the cry ended, scattering the bandits and throwing the giant from his wolf; without his Crimson Flame Gourd, he faced the commandery troops at a disadvantage.

The Commandery Soldiers nearly defeated Great Wind Stronghold, but Li Yangya and Mo Chian arrived and turned the battle around. After Li Yangya broke the Celestial Master Order’s formation and routed the troops, a golden, flame-wreathed rider appeared to block Jiao Wang’s pursuit.

• Bao Chuxiong’s soldiers pressed the Great Wind Stronghold bandits, while Sheng Hengtang and the other Celestial Master Order disciples waited for a safe chance to use their talismans.
• The heat over Firecloud Mountain vanished, restoring strength to the indigo-faced giant and Jiao Wang, and Li Yangya rode down the mountain on a flaming leopard.
• Li Yangya deflected Lin Xu’s Explosive Flame Flying Sword and charged through the Commandery Soldiers, allowing him and Mo Chian to reunite as the bandits rallied.
• Lin Xu, Sheng Hengtang, and Zhang Yuner trapped Li Yangya in the Iceflame Heavenly Prison Demon-Binding Formation, but a crimson pillar burst from his chest and shattered it, leaving the mages injured.
• Li Yangya and Mo Chian drove the Commandery Soldiers into retreat, and Jiao Wang led the surviving bandits in pursuit while the two leaders followed cautiously behind.
• Jiao Wang suddenly fell beneath a white horse as a golden, flame-wreathed rider appeared before the regrouping soldiers and stopped the bandits’ advance.

Xing Yan rallied the routed Nanhai Commandery troops, then confronted Li Yangya after recovering from the dangerous exhaustion caused by Water Dragon's Chant. He launched an attack with the Ancient Sword as lightning struck, leaving Li Yangya's leopard mount destroyed and the clash unresolved.

• Li Yangya routed the Nanhai Commandery troops with his flames, and the soldiers regrouped behind Xing Yan when his Radiant Glory Art made him appear powerful.
• Xing Yan played Water Dragon's Chant, exhausted his Great Splendor Dao Power, and nearly succumbed to a consuming darkness before the Divine Sword restored him.
• Xing Yan rode back toward the battlefield as Li Yangya continued driving the troops into retreat, and his radiant spell helped rally the fleeing soldiers while he froze Jiao Wang with Iceheart Knot.
• Xing Yan confronted Li Yangya and challenged him to fight, then his Ancient Sword flew into his hand as his strength returned.
• Qiong Rong stabbed the exhausted horse to spur it forward, and Xing Yan launched himself at Li Yangya, whose flaming sword he cut in two.
• Li Yangya leaped away from Xing Yan's descending sword as lightning struck, destroying his leopard mount and sending strange black rain through the air.

Xing Yan and Qiong Rong fought Li Yangya and Mo Chian in the wilderness beneath Firecloud Mountain. Xing Yan defeated Li Yangya but collapsed from exhaustion, and Li Yangya’s thrown blades flew toward him as the chapter ended.

• Xing Yan pursued Li Yangya after destroying his mount with a thunderstrike and overwhelmed him with sword attacks that his flames could not penetrate.
• Mo Chian charged to help Li Yangya, but Qiong Rong intercepted him and fought him with her short knives.
• Qiong Rong’s nimble attacks kept Mo Chian from reaching Xing Yan, while Bao Chuxiong and the others watched anxiously.
• Xing Yan struck Li Yangya in the ribs with his palm, sending him flying and leaving him badly wounded.
• Xing Yan’s golden aura faded as he weakened, and Li Yangya hurled his two blades toward him; Xing Yan thought that his sacrifice had been worth it.

Xing Yan helped the Commandery Soldiers defeat the Great Wind Stronghold bandits, then heard what seemed to be the Ancient Sword answering him. As Li Yangya tried to ambush him while pretending to be dead, Xing Yan approached with his drawn sword and asked whether a corpse or a sword was colder.

• Qiong Rong revealed that she had caught Li Yangya’s two flying daggers, while Bao Chuxiong’s troops killed or captured the remaining bandits and executed Jiao Wang.
• Xing Yan realized the Ancient Sword had lent him Dao Power during his performance of Water Dragon's Chant, and he heard a voice answer him when he spoke to the sword.
• Bao Chuxiong went to stop soldiers from fighting over the dead sorcerer’s Blazing Fire Cloak, but Xing Yan headed toward the corpse himself after his sheathed sword trembled.
• Li Yangya, who had feigned death to lure Xing Yan into an ambush, sensed something was wrong when the battlefield fell silent.
• Xing Yan reached Li Yangya and touched the back of his neck with his sword, asking whether a corpse or a sword was colder.

Xing Yan survived his confrontation with Li Yangya, who explained that he had sought the Vermilion Bird Divine Blades and accepted that they had chosen Qiong Rong as their master. Li Yangya and Mo Chian departed after Qiong Rong refused to join the Zhurong Gate, while the exhausted Xing Yan remained with the soldiers as Firecloud Mountain burned.

• Li Yangya revealed that he had come to Firecloud Mountain seeking the Vermilion Bird Divine Blades, which Qiong Rong had captured and which now recognized her as their master.
• Li Yangya asked Qiong Rong to join the Zhurong Gate and become its gate master, but she refused, and Xing Yan ordered him to leave.
• Li Yangya revived Mo Chian, repaired his broken sword, and learned that Xing Yan was the Four Seas Hall Master of the Shangqing Palace of Mount Luofu.
• Li Yangya and Mo Chian flew away, and Xing Yan admitted that he was too exhausted to stand while Lin Xu reflected on the failed battle plan.
• The Commandery Soldiers' funeral song sounded as the authorities' fire consumed the Gale bandits' stronghold on Firecloud Mountain.

After surviving the bandit campaign, Xing Yan treated the wounded, learned more about his and Qiong Rong’s techniques, and accepted a reward from Governor Duan. He left Jieyang with Qiong Rong, eager to return to Thousand Birds Cliff.

• Xing Yan woke beside Qiong Rong and realized she had saved his life by holding off Protector Mo and blocking two deadly knives.
• Xing Yan used the Jade Pendant Miss Ju Ying had given him to draw fire poison from more than a dozen wounded soldiers.
• Sheng Hengtang told Xing Yan that his Radiant Sun Glory Art was known as the Great Light Shield and that Qiong Rong’s sword dance resembled the Flying Bird Slash.
• The remaining Celestial Master Order disciples departed, and Xing Yan felt a deep longing for the quiet life on Thousand Birds Cliff.
• Governor Duan gave Xing Yan travel money, agreed to release the imprisoned Celestial Master Order followers after Xing Yan interceded, and let him depart.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong rode away from Jieyang together on a thin donkey, intent on returning home.

Xing Yan returned to Mount Luofu with Qiong Rong, reported his bandit-suppression mission, and received instruction in the Moonlit Flowing-Light Slash. Ling Xu confirmed Qiong Rong could keep the Vermilion Bird Divine Blades, and Xing Yan and Qiong Rong headed back to Thousand Birds Cliff, where distant clamor awaited them.

• Xing Yan sold the exhausted donkey, settled Qiong Rong’s weapons-shop credit, and traveled back to Mount Luofu with her and their spoils.
• At Clearheart Hall, Ling Xu praised Xing Yan’s work and gave him a booklet on the Moonlit Flowing-Light Slash, explaining that the Heaven-Earth Rebirth Tribulation required mastering it and comprehending the Tao Te Ching.
• Qingming examined Xing Yan’s unusual sword, briefly recoiled from its sinister aura, and accepted Xing Yan’s claim that the sword used illusion tricks.
• Xing Yan reported his encounter with Li Yangya and presented the Vermilion Bird Divine Blades; Ling Xu and Ling Ting reassured him that Shangqing Palace would stand by his decision to keep them.
• Ling Xu transformed the blades into bird-shaped hairpins for Qiong Rong and taught her how to conceal their true forms.
• Xing Yan and Qiong Rong left for Thousand Birds Cliff, where they heard a distant clamor as they approached the Four Seas Hall.

Xing Yan returned to Thousand Birds Cliff and learned that Zhao Wuchen had repeatedly harassed Kou Xueyi, then accused her of being a monster. After demonstrating his own magic, Xing Yan lost patience with Zhao’s demands and challenged him to settle the matter by force.

• Xing Yan arrived at Thousand Birds Cliff and found Zhao Wuchen accusing him of sheltering a monster while Kou Xueyi wept inside Four Seas Hall.
• Zhao Wuchen demanded that Kou Xueyi be handed over to him, then claimed she was a monster because she had bound him with vines.
• Kou Xueyi came out and told Xing Yan that Zhao had repeatedly harassed her and tried to force himself on her during the Double Seventh Festival.
• Zhao Wuchen admitted pursuing Kou and insisted that her vine magic proved she was a monster; Xing Yan said he had taught her Wisteria Binding.
• Xing Yan grew a flower instantly from a handful of soil to demonstrate his Great Splendor Dao Power, but Zhao still questioned whether it matched Kou’s magic.
• Remembering the bloody battle fought five days earlier, Xing Yan threw aside the soil and challenged Zhao Wuchen to fight.

Zhang Xingyan fought Zhao Wuchen after Zhao harassed Kou Xueyi, and Qiong Rong helped drive the Shangqing disciple off Thousand Birds Cliff. Zhao survived the fall, while Xingyan and Qiong Rong took the dazed Xueyi inside to rest.

• Zhang Xingyan confronted Zhao Wuchen on Thousand Birds Cliff and raised his protective Radiant Glory Art shield.
• Zhang Xingyan sent his Ancient Sword at Zhao Wuchen, but it missed and struck the rock wall.
• Zhao Wuchen unleashed Bone-Eroding Wind, but Zhang Xingyan's Great Light Shield blocked the spell.
• Qiong Rong sent her Vermilion Bird Divine Blades at Zhao Wuchen, slicing off his topknot, and Zhang Xingyan kicked him down the mountain.
• Zhang Xingyan checked that Zhao Wuchen had survived, then told Qiong Rong that Zhao had made improper advances toward Kou Xueyi.
• Zhang Xingyan and Qiong Rong helped Kou Xueyi inside to rest.

After driving Zhao Wuchen away, Xing Yan confronted Kou Xueyi with his sword and heard how she had become a plum-tree spirit and come to his hall with ulterior motives. He chose to protect her rather than punish her, asking her to maintain his cover story, but Qiong Rong interrupted their tearful reconciliation.

• Xing Yan sent Qiong Rong outside to watch for trouble and brought the distressed Kou Xueyi into the Four Seas Hall.
• Xing Yan drew his Iron Sword and demanded to know Kou Xueyi's identity and intentions.
• Kou Xueyi revealed that she was a plum-tree spirit whose tree had been destroyed by a lightning tribulation, and explained that she had sought to learn the Dao through Xing Yan.
• Kou Xueyi said she had stayed because she did not want her flight to implicate Xing Yan, and asked him to judge her.
• Xing Yan asked Kou Xueyi to keep supporting his claim that she learned the Wisteria Binding spell from him, and she broke down in tears as he comforted her.
• Qiong Rong entered and accused Xing Yan of making lewd advances toward Kou Xueyi without inviting her to watch.

Xing Yan spent the evening reflecting on Kou Xueyi’s past and preparing for an unexpected meeting with Sect Master Lingxu. At Clearheart Hall, he learned that a female lay disciple would be staying at his hall, then recognized the woman who stepped forward as someone from his past.

• Xing Yan learned that Kou Xueyi had once intended to avenge her elder brother, but abandoned that plan after hearing Xing Yan speak sincerely about the Dao.
• Xing Yan found his Instant Bloom flowers withered and wondered whether an unseen force governed living things, then Qiong Rong’s mishandling of the stove filled the kitchen with smoke.
• Xing Yan asked Kou Xueyi to explain the Wisteria Binding Technique because he feared Sect Master Lingxu had summoned him over Zhao Wuchen’s complaints.
• Xing Yan arrived at Clearheart Hall and found Ling Xu Zi, Ling Ting Zi, Ling Zhen Zi, and Qingming Zi waiting for him.
• Ling Xu Zi told Xing Yan that a female lay disciple would stay at his hall, and the woman who emerged from behind Ling Zhen Zi made Xing Yan recognize her in shock.

Xing Yan reunited with Ju Ying, who joined his hall as a disciple, and Ling Xu warned him to protect her amid reports of dangerous beasts on Mount Luofu. Xing Yan took Ju Ying to the lotus marsh, where his spell brought rain and the two enjoyed their time together.

• Ju Ying presented the bamboo cup to Xing Yan, and they recognized each other as old friends from Poyang Lake.
• Ling Xu explained that Ju Ying had become a Shangqing Palace disciple and gave Xing Yan a Toad Box to summon help if danger arose.
• Ling Ting Zi reported that Zhao Wuchen had been found badly injured after disappearing, and Ling Xu warned Xing Yan and Ju Ying to avoid secluded places and defend themselves if threatened.
• Xing Yan led Ju Ying to the lotus marsh on a bamboo raft, where they reminisced and admired the scenery.
• Xing Yan played the Divine Snow Jade Flute to shield them from the sun, but his spell brought rain over the lotus marsh, delighting Ju Ying.

Xing Yan settled into life on Thousand Birds Cliff with Ju Ying, while a dream during his sword practice showed him visions from the Ancient Sword’s past. He woke at dawn to find the words “Investiture of the Gods” revealed on its blade.

• Xing Yan warned Tian Renbao about his footing, but Tian Renbao rolled down the slope and got back up unharmed.
• Ju Ying befriended Xueyi and Qiong Rong, and their lively talk about Xing Yan distracted him from his scriptures.
• Xing Yan took Qiong Rong to Chuanluo County to buy clothes and ornaments while Ju Ying stayed behind on Thousand Birds Cliff.
• Lingyi’s mother teased her about thinking of Xing Yan and warned that humans and deities were separated by a vast gulf.
• During full-moon sword practice, Xing Yan fell asleep and dreamed of a girl, a battlefield, the Ancient Sword’s ancient history, and a catastrophic flood.
• Xing Yan woke at dawn and saw the seal-script words “Investiture of the Gods” shining on the Ancient Sword.

Xing Yan discovered that the God-Sealing Sword bore the name Yao Guang and connected it to a strange dream of becoming the Northern Dipper’s seventh star. He later found that Qiong Rong could write and read with extraordinary skill at unpredictable moments, and the chapter ended when the Stone Cranes summoned him to Flying Cloud Summit.

• Xing Yan saw the sword’s inscription change from “God-Sealing” to “Yao Guang,” and Ju Ying explained that Yao Guang was the first star at the tip of the Northern Dipper’s handle.
• Xing Yan told Ju Ying and the others about dreaming that he became the seventh star and fought the six Heavenly Gang stars, then decided to seek an astrologer’s interpretation.
• Xing Yan found Qiong Rong and Xueyi asleep over their writing and discovered pages of elegant calligraphy, including passages Qiong Rong had not been taught.
• Qiong Rong said she had somehow known how to write the characters, but her remarkable reading and writing ability later vanished as unpredictably as it had appeared.
• After more than ten days passed, the Stone Cranes sent up blue smoke to summon Xing Yan to Flying Cloud Summit.

Zhang Xingyan received the imperial title of Central Court Grand Master and celebrated with his companions, then shared an emotional moment with Ju Ying. Days later, strange red globes appeared in the wilderness and drifted toward Thousand Birds Cliff.

• Duan Xuanhuai delivered the imperial edict granting Zhang Xingyan the title of Central Court Grand Master and land for his parents.
• Xing Yan celebrated his new honor with Ju Ying, Qiong Rong, Xueyi, and visiting friends, then danced and sang beneath the moon.
• The morning after the feast, Ju Ying admitted she had praised Xing Yan to her relative, Prefect Duan, and she cried when Xing Yan remarked that she had grown thinner.
• Xing Yan comforted Ju Ying as she leaned against him, and they joined hands again.
• Several days later, a dozen transparent globes glowing dim red appeared in Mount Luofu's wilderness and drifted toward Thousand Birds Cliff.

While Xing Yan cultivated at Thousand Birds Cliff, a powerful Dao Soul invaded his body, but his Great Splendor Dao Power dissolved it and saved him. He later noticed his vision had changed and began reading the Tao Te Ching after recalling Sect Master Ling Xu’s advice.

• Qiong Rong watched the Dao Souls drift above Thousand Birds Cliff as Xing Yan continued cultivating.
• A powerful Dao Soul broke into Xing Yan’s body and tried to displace his soul while Yao Guang remained still.
• Xing Yan used his Great Splendor Dao Power to absorb and destroy the invading Dao Soul.
• Xing Yan reassured Ju Ying, and Qiong Rong praised him for defeating the lantern before he embraced her.
• That night, Xing Yan noticed his vision had sharpened, recalled Ling Xu’s advice, and read the Tao Te Ching by moonlight.