Recaps

Fan Dazhi sought help and a way to earn money after learning Gu Qingzhou had gone to repair flood-damaged dikes, then visited the Brilliant Pavilion. Bi Yunfei treated him warmly, gave him two thousand taels, and concealed his true intention to make Fan suffer for Cui Zhixia.

• Fan Dazhi failed to break the ink bamboo, fled when the Academy Head returned, and learned Gu Qingzhou had gone to provide disaster relief after the Huai River flooded.
• Fan Dazhi worried over his dwindling savings and went to the Brilliant Pavilion, where Bi Yunfei intercepted him before Cui Zhixia's men could act.
• Bi Yunfei bought Fan Dazhi an extravagant meal, claimed he had left the institute to support his mother, and warned him that Cui Zhixia might seek revenge.
• Bi Yunfei left two thousand taels beneath Fan Dazhi's plate, moving him to tears with gratitude.
• Bi Yunfei rejoined Cui Zhixia's men outside and declared that he would make Fan Dazhi regret ever being born.

Fan Dazhi offered Linu money toward buying her freedom, and she told him how much more she expected to need. In the Ministry of Justice prison, Bi Yunfei tortured Su Qiu and used a strange divine sense to search his memories, emerging shocked by what he discovered.

• Fan Dazhi gave Linu his savings and promised to find the remaining money to buy her freedom.
• Linu estimated that another thirty or forty thousand taels would probably be enough, and she shared a tender meal with Fan Dazhi.
• Bi Yunfei ordered the jailers to take Su Qiu down from the torture rack, then tried to persuade him to confess.
• Su Qiu rejected Bi Yunfei’s questioning and endured hours of torture without yielding.
• Bi Yunfei invaded Su Qiu’s consciousness and drained his true qi while forcing his memories to surface.
• After absorbing Su Qiu’s memories, Bi Yunfei recovered from the ordeal and was left deeply shocked.

Bi Yunfei absorbed Su Qiu’s True Qi and uncovered clues implicating the emperor in the Former Emperor’s death, then prepared to leave the capital while guarding against a possible imperial trap. Meanwhile, Tong Chen traveled toward the Vertical Sword Sect’s Sword Tomb Secret Realm, where a sudden murderous aura stopped him in a bamboo gully.

• Bi Yunfei used the Origin-Devouring Great Art to absorb Su Qiu’s True Qi and learned through the Soul-Searching Art that the reigning sovereign might have caused Qin Prefecture’s fall and the Former Emperor’s death.
• Bi Yunfei examined the Great Chief Yellow Yang Art booklet sent by Zhao Delu and worried about the emperor’s intentions.
• Linu and Zhu Qiqi teased each other about Fan Dazhi, then agreed that Linu should keep close to him while they investigated the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Bi Yunfei gave Zheng Qi money and instructed him to take Bi Yunfei’s mother away and care for her, then burned a letter addressed to Wei Zhilin.
• Bi Yunfei killed a spying rat with the Three Pure Ones Sect’s Nine Lin-Bing Seals and recognized the technique’s power.
• Tong Chen traveled toward the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, dismissed Cui Zhixia’s reputation, and felt a murderous aura as the bamboo around him suddenly fell still.

A black-robed man killed Tong Chen and took his identity to infiltrate the Three Pure Ones Sect as the Vertical Sword Sect’s envoy arrived. Meanwhile, Emperor Chen issued relief and land decrees before learning that Su Qiu had died after confessing to Bi Yunfei, and he reacted with anger at Bi Yunfei’s audacity.

• The black-robed man defeated Tong Chen with the Nine Lin-Bing Seals, drained his cultivation, and burned his body to ashes.
• The black-robed man transformed into Tong Chen using his memories and Jade Pendant, then prepared to meet the Vertical Sword Sect’s reception envoy.
• Emperor Chen inspected the harvest, ordered new wheat stored for disaster relief, and decreed that land near Dragon Gate Mountain be distributed to the people.
• Emperor Chen issued further decrees granting grain and tax relief, converting surrendered weapons into farm tools, and building a tower to measure tax reductions.
• Zhao Delu reported that Su Qiu had implicated Zhantai Ming in Qin Prefecture’s fall and had died after Bi Yunfei struck him during an angry outburst.
• Emperor Chen read Bi Yunfei’s report and condemned him for letting Su Qiu die.

Su Qiu escaped the Ministry of Justice after surviving Bi Yunfei’s Soul-Searching Art, while the Vertical Sword Sect gathered martial artists for the Sword Tomb Secret Realm. Xiao Buyi announced that only the two hundred people who killed the most Unknown Island Fiends would be allowed to enter, sending the gathered cultivators toward the Eastern Sea.

• Emperor Chen dismissed Zhao Delu after hearing that Lord Bi wanted to go to the Vertical Sword Sect, then smiled coldly to himself.
• Su Qiu crawled out of the Ministry of Justice’s drainage channel and slipped away, recalling Wei Zhilin’s warning about wicked scholars.
• He An waited among the crowds at the Vertical Sword Sect and noticed Cui Zhixia watching him with a venomous gaze.
• Xiao Buyi explained that the Sword Tomb Secret Realm suppressed cultivators according to their cultivation and warned visitors to obey the Vertical Sword Sect’s rules.
• Xiao Buyi knocked several sword-flying cultivators from the sky for violating the sect’s no-flying rule.
• Xiao Buyi ordered the gathered cultivators to sail to the Eastern Sea and declared that only the top two hundred killers of Unknown Island Fiends could enter the secret realm.

He An traveled to the Vertical Sword Sect to deliver Lu Zhengqing’s letter to Qu Yong, only to learn that Qu Yong had already left for the Eastern Sea. On the way to the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, He An met Liu Chuang, a vendor of dubious goods who asked him for money to buy wine.

• Cui Zhixia plotted with Li Xiu and Guo Huai to make He An a target in the Sword Tomb Secret Realm.
• Liu Chuang tried to sell Cui Zhixia bamboo swords, pills, and portraits, but Cui Zhixia exposed the sword as broken bamboo and hurried past him.
• He An learned that Qu Yong, now the Vertical Sword Sect’s Twenty-Seventh Sword, had left for the Eastern Sea.
• Liu Chuang offered He An swords, medicines, and talismans, then admitted he had run out of wine.
• He An gave Liu Chuang a silver ingot, and Liu Chuang introduced himself before striding away.

The Vertical Sword Sect and allied cultivators attacked the Unknown Island Fiends in the Eastern Sea, winning a costly battle while Liu Chuang appeared briefly and escaped. Back at the sect, Qu Yong was visited by He An, who recognized Yun Ying as Miao Feifei.

• Xiao Buyi signaled the assault, and cultivators from many sects attacked the Unknown Island Fiends with sword formations and other techniques.
• Cui Zhixia and his companions were caught in the moving reef formation, while Li Xiu and Guo Huai were struck by poisoned darts.
• Qu Yong burned the fiends attacking a ship, Yun Ying joined the fight, and Dongfang Jian revealed and helped kill the Giant Eight-Tentacled Monster.
• Liu Chuang arrived on a reef, killed dozens of fiends, and left after saying he was in a hurry to reach the secret realm.
• The Vertical Sword Sect reported that seventy to eighty percent of the fiends had been slain, with fifty-seven sect disciples and more than a hundred allied heroes killed.
• He An came to see Qu Yong and recognized Yun Ying, exclaiming that she was Miao Feifei.

He An reunited with Yun Ying, who denied being Miao Feifei before recognizing fragments of her brutal past, and then demonstrated his swordsmanship to Qu Yong. The list of those qualified for the Sword Tomb Secret Realm was posted, with Yellow River ranked first and He An among the entrants.

• He An recognized Yun Ying as his childhood friend Miao Feifei, but she denied it and hurried away.
• He An delivered Lu Zhengqing's letter to Qu Yong, who learned of the Knowledge and Practice Institute's troubles and invited He An to spar.
• Qu Yong defeated He An in a sword exchange and praised his strength as exceptional for a Dao Integration cultivator.
• Yun Ying recalled being forced into brutal assassin training on an island and realized she could remember nothing from before it.
• The qualification list for the Sword Tomb Secret Realm was posted, naming Yellow River first, the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper tied for second, and He An among those selected.

He An entered the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, where Heaven's Way suppressed most cultivators' strength but left his qi vigorous. After Yellow River gave him an Evil-Warding Pearl, treasures rained from the sky, and the scramble for them turned deadly.

• He An entered the Sword Tomb Secret Realm with the other ranked warriors and saw that its broken swords had accumulated over the Vertical Sword Sect's long history.
• Inside the secret realm, Heaven's Way weakened the cultivators, but He An found that his qi still circulated strongly.
• Yellow River introduced himself to He An, offered to travel together, and gave him an Evil-Warding Pearl; He An declined his company and noticed Yellow River limped away.
• A burst of light scattered treasures across the secret realm, prompting the cultivators to rush after them.
• A sword cultivator found a Bodhi Minor Restoration Pill but was stabbed by a green-robed cultivator, who stole the box before a feather-crowned cultivator decapitated him with a silver thread and took his loot.

Tong Chen and He An sought treasures in the secret realm as cultivators fought over the falling prizes. After He An found two unusual items, three treasure hunters attacked him, and a wine-seeking stranger arrived while the fight continued.

• Tong Chen killed a dark-cloaked cultivator who had looted a wooden box, then watched another firework scatter treasures across the secret realm.
• He An found a damaged saber that shattered when he tested it, and Yellow River explained that treasures were harmed as they fell through the turbulent sky.
• He An avoided the fighting crowds and found a small inscribed cauldron and a heavy black short sword in a mountain hollow.
• Dugu Chong, Pang Meng, and an old sword cultivator surrounded He An and demanded that he surrender his treasures.
• He An fought off their coordinated attacks as he adapted to their techniques and fought with growing courage.
• A man wearing straw sandals entered the hollow, smelled the old man's wine, and asked the fighters to share a sip.

He An defeated Dugu Chong’s group and fought Cui Zhixia in the mountain hollow. Cui Zhixia stole He An’s Evil-Warding Pearl and framed him for stealing treasures, sending cultivators after him, before an unseen voice called him a coward.

• Liu Chuang greeted He An, watched him fight, and then left to search for treasure.
• He An killed the elderly sword cultivator and knocked Pang Meng down, while Cui Zhixia killed the fleeing Dugu Chong; Pang Meng then struck himself dead.
• He An and Cui Zhixia fought, and both were wounded before He An fled the mountain hollow.
• Cui Zhixia found He An’s Evil-Warding Pearl and accused him of stealing rare treasures, drawing the other cultivators into pursuit.
• An unseen speaker interrupted Cui Zhixia’s smug laughter and called him a rotten coward.

Liu Chuang defeated and robbed Cui Zhixia, then Ancestor Tianhe took the Evil-Warding Pearl from Cui and rushed off to find He An. At Sky-Pillar Peak, Dongfang Jian gained the upper hand against the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper while Yun Ying and the Vertical Sword Sect disciples watched.

• Liu Chuang broke Cui Zhixia's talismans, beat him into submission, and took his pills, manuals, and other treasures.
• Liu Chuang spared Cui Zhixia but warned him he would beat him whenever they met, then left the hollow.
• Ancestor Tianhe kicked Cui Zhixia aside, seized the Evil-Warding Pearl, and flew off after learning where He An was.
• The chapter revealed that Ancestor Tianhe had recovered from his near-fatal injuries, entered the secret realm in disguise, and had used the pearl to track He An.
• Yun Ying and three Vertical Sword Sect disciples watched Dongfang Jian fight the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper at Sky-Pillar Peak.
• Dongfang Jian disarmed Heavenly Pivot and Heavenly Xuan and cut the hairpins from Heavenly Authority, Heavenly Mechanism, and Jade Balance.

Dongfang Jian defeated the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper and seized the Mysterious Female Sword Scripture, while Qu Yong saved the injured Yun Ying. The secret realm’s violence intensified as the story shifted to Dongfang Shikai tempering a small sword far beyond the clouds.

• Dongfang Jian shattered the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper's formation and knocked away their attempt to ambush him.
• Yun Ying rushed to warn Dongfang Jian, was injured by the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper, and Qu Yong rescued her while Dongfang Jian seized the Mysterious Female Sword Scripture.
• Dongfang Jian demanded the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper surrender their treasures, but Qu Yong told him to prioritize caring for Yun Ying, and the elder led his wounded companions away.
• Yun Ying realized Dongfang Jian had valued the sword scripture over her safety, while the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper vowed to remember their grievance and fled.
• Fighting over treasures spread throughout the secret realm, leaving more than half of its entrants dead or wounded.
• Dongfang Shikai remained atop Sky-Pillar Peak as his will guided a small red sword through the extreme conditions beyond the clouds.

Dongfang Shikai investigated the Sword Tomb Secret Realm and glimpsed an immortal beyond the firmament, while Cui Zhixia struggled to survive and repeatedly crossed paths with Liu Chuang. Cui Zhixia ended up watching Liu Chuang bully a group of cultivators into surrendering their treasures.

• Dongfang Shikai used Ban Yudai's Supreme Substitute Talisman to strike open the firmament, glimpsed an immortal, and tempered his Heaven and Earth Furnace Sword with the currents of space and time.
• Cui Zhixia cautiously collected several treasures, but Liu Chuang found him, beat him, and took them away.
• Cui Zhixia hid while two cultivators killed each other, then searched their corpses and gathered their belongings before a mysterious young man in a moon-white Daoist robe appeared and left.
• Cui Zhixia fled into a mountain hollow and encountered Liu Chuang again, who was demanding treasures from a group of defeated cultivators.
• Liu Chuang told the cultivators to praise him and offer their treasures repeatedly so he could pretend to refuse before accepting them.

Liu Chuang collected the cultivators’ treasures and punished Cui Zhixia before a blast from Sky-Pillar Peak drew him away. At the peak, He An fought off pursuers and was cornered by a crowd of cultivators while a white-robed Daoist prepared to attack.

• Liu Chuang accepted the cultivators’ treasures, then took Cui Zhixia’s belongings and slapped him for his past wrongdoing.
• A powerful explosion shook Sky-Pillar Peak, and Liu Chuang flew toward it, leaving Cui Zhixia behind.
• He An fled his pursuers to Sky-Pillar Peak, where Fu Cong and other cultivators demanded the Dragon-Tiger Creation Pill and attacked him.
• He An used Mother-and-Child Thunderclap Bombs to scatter and injure the cultivators before climbing higher up the cliff.
• A white-robed Daoist used formation techniques against He An, who then fought off the remaining cultivators as they drove him to the cliff’s edge.

Yellow River revealed himself as Ancestor Tianhe and attacked He An, who fought back with Qu Yong at Sky-Pillar Peak. After Ancestor Tianhe unleashed his full power and wounded both men, He An struck at him from behind with the Bamboo Knife.

• Yellow River arrived to aid He An, killed Fu Cong, and then attacked He An while demanding the return of his Dao foundation.
• He An recognized Yellow River as Ancestor Tianhe and fought him until Qu Yong arrived with the Cangwu Sword.
• Qu Yong and He An combined sword techniques and Spirit-Shocking Finger to break Ancestor Tianhe's celestial-river shield and wound him.
• Ancestor Tianhe drained the nearby heaven and earth primordial energy, pinned Qu Yong's sword with Sword Qi, and drew it into his sleeve.
• He An attacked Ancestor Tianhe from behind with the Bamboo Knife while his attention was on Qu Yong's trapped sword.

Liu Chuang joined He An and Qu Yong against Ancestor Tianhe, and the three fought him on the cliff. Ancestor Tianhe’s overwhelming power trapped He An and Qu Yong, but Liu Chuang’s elusive movements kept him from landing a decisive blow.

• Liu Chuang arrived, introduced himself to He An and Qu Yong, and used Azurefall Jade-Congealing Salve to treat He An’s shoulder.
• Liu Chuang attacked Ancestor Tianhe with his Bamboo Knife, while He An struck with his Spirit-Shocking Finger and Qu Yong prepared to join the fight.
• Ancestor Tianhe blocked their attacks and broke free of the Cangwu Sword, which flew back into Qu Yong’s hand.
• Qu Yong attacked with the Cangwu Sword as He An fought alongside him, and Liu Chuang struck Ancestor Tianhe on the head with his Bamboo Knife.
• Ancestor Tianhe unleashed silver sword light and sealed the surrounding space, immobilizing He An and Qu Yong, but Liu Chuang evaded his attacks with uncanny agility.

He An, Qu Yong, and Liu Chuang fought Ancestor Tianhe until he unleashed the Heavenly River Sword and restored his half-step grandmaster strength. Heaven’s Way struck him down with successive bolts of thunder, leaving the water droplet treasure behind for He An and the others.

• Ancestor Tianhe focused his attacks on He An, but Sword Shadows erupted from underground and mangled his legs, breaking his restraint over the others.
• Qu Yong and Liu Chuang attacked Ancestor Tianhe while He An used the Immortal-Slaying Finger, piercing his defenses and burning his neck.
• Ancestor Tianhe restored his half-step grandmaster strength and summoned the Heavenly River Sword, causing Dongfang Shikai to open his eyes atop Sky-Pillar Peak.
• A golden fissure opened in the sky, and Heaven’s Way struck Ancestor Tianhe with lightning that destroyed his Dao Seed, body, and primordial spirit.
• Qu Yong sheathed his sword, while Liu Chuang found a small bottle and an exquisite sachet among the ashes and urged He An to collect the water droplet.

As the Secret Realm trial ended below, Bai Xiang Shou defeated a purple-robed immortal in a battle over the Primordial Chaos Fruit. A vast pressure descended from the sky, and a woman shielded Bai Xiang Shou with a Flying Shuttle as she urged him to retreat.

• Daylight returned over Sky-Pillar Peak, ending the Secret Realm trial with only a handful of its entrants alive.
• Bai Xiang Shou and the purple-robed elder resumed their fierce battle above the clouds, and Bai Xiang Shou killed him with his Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind Divine Ability.
• Ao Tian argued with the opposing immortals until a powerful voice declared the sixty-year battle over and ordered both sides to withdraw.
• The story revealed that Bai Xiang Shou had risen rapidly through the Immortal Realm and had won victory after victory in battles over the Primordial Chaos Fruit.
• A terrifying pressure descended on Bai Xiang Shou, and a beautiful woman threw up her Flying Shuttle to shield him and told him to get out of the way.

Bai Xiang Shou was rescued by Ji Ling'er, whose affection stirred memories of the woman and child he had left behind. In the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, Liu Chuang divided the Old Monster of the Celestial River’s spoils among himself, He An, and Qu Yong before clashing with Dongfang Jian.

• Ji Ling'er returned Bai Xiang Shou’s Red Shuttle and worried over his injury, while Ao Tian teased him about her affection.
• Bai Xiang Shou recalled a red-cloaked woman, her care for him, and their son He An, then wondered whether the woman was well.
• Liu Chuang divided the Old Monster of the Celestial River’s treasures and gave He An the precious Water Droplet, along with a Spatial Treasure.
• He An and Liu Chuang helped the injured Qu Yong descend Sky-Pillar Peak, where Yun Ying was relieved to see Qu Yong return.
• Dongfang Jian insulted Liu Chuang, who mocked him and accepted his challenge to fight.

After the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, Qu Yong collapsed from severe internal injuries following Dongfang Jian's insults, while the Vertical Sword Sect learned of deadly attacks spreading across the region. Cui Zhixia escaped with the Shark Dagger, a weapon from the North Sea Ruins that cut through solid rock without true qi.

• Liu Chuang left the Vertical Sword Sect, and Dongfang Jian insulted him before Qu Yong collapsed from his injuries.
• He An challenged Dongfang Jian, but Yun Ying drew her saber and drove Dongfang Jian away.
• Patriarch Peng diagnosed Qu Yong's injuries as nearly grandmaster-level true qi and ordered him carried away.
• Bi Yunfei offered the Bodhi Minor Restoration Pill, Medicine King Divine Wood Cauldron, and Soaring Flood Dragon Sword in exchange for the Vertical Sword Sect's Forging Art, and Sect Master Dongfang Shikai secretly ordered the elders to give it to him.
• A disciple reported assassinations, massacred villages, and heavy losses among the sect's inner disciples, while Dongfang Shikai ordered the sect gates guarded and said he would rout the barbarians himself.
• Cui Zhixia secretly left the Sword Tomb Secret Realm with the Shark Dagger and discovered that it could cleave a massive rock without true qi.

He An awakened the Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture hidden within the Water Droplet, while Qu Yong remained gravely injured under Yun Ying’s care. The chapter ended with Yun Ying keeping vigil beside the unconscious Qu Yong.

• Yun Ying sent He An away from Qu Yong’s courtyard, and Patriarch Peng told He An that Qu Yong’s qi palace and dan foundation had been invaded by Tianhe true qi.
• He An probed the Water Droplet with the Spirit-Shocking Finger, triggering brilliant lights and strange manifestations throughout the Vertical Sword Sect.
• A vast river appeared in He An’s sea of consciousness, where a golden scroll titled Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture emerged and poured its knowledge into him.
• He An realized the Water Droplet had contained a supreme secret manual and found the golden scroll resting in his sea of consciousness.
• Yun Ying fed Qu Yong medicinal broth, wiped his mouth, and held his hand as she watched over him.

As Yun Ying grieved over her identity and her feelings for Qu Yong, he encountered the sword soul of a broken sword in his sea of consciousness. The sword soul revealed its history and chose Qu Yong as its final disciple, leaving him committed to avenging his master as the sword soul went dormant.

• Yun Ying returned to her room in sorrow, torn between her identities and worried about the person she loved.
• While Qu Yong lay unconscious, a broken sword appeared in his sea of consciousness and identified itself as a sword soul that was stabilizing his damaged Dan Foundation and qi palace.
• The sword soul told Qu Yong that its master, the White-Robed Sword Immortal, had been betrayed by Yun Shang, who became the Cloud Sage, and that the sword soul had once guided Shangguan Cangqiong to found the Vertical Sword Sect.
• The sword soul chose Qu Yong as its final disciple and asked him to avenge Li Wangji; Qu Yong accepted and knelt in salute.
• The sword soul said it would sleep until Qu Yong reached the Human Immortal Realm, then dimmed as Qu Yong opened his eyes.

Qu Yong woke after five days unconscious and shared a tender moment with Yun Ying, promising to watch over her. Meanwhile, Han Zhan struggled with the burdens of ruling Great Han and went to visit Chan'er in the palace.

• Qu Yong woke and found Yun Ying watching over him, and she cared for him as he recovered.
• Qu Yong clasped Yun Ying's hand and promised to watch over her from then on.
• Wuwei City flourished as the capital of Great Han under Han Zhan's rule.
• Han Zhan endured a formal court session, then complained to Qin Kelan and Zhu Shifu about the burdens of being emperor.
• Han Zhan dismissed his attendants, changed into everyday clothes, and asked Chan'er if he could come in.

Han Chanjuan feigned anger at Han Zhan while secretly accepting food from Green Sepal and thinking of a young man. At the Vertical Sword Sect, He An offered a Heavenly River treasure in exchange for the sect’s Forging Technique, while Yun Ying imagined a future with Qu Yong before a sinister figure appeared in the stove smoke.

• Han Chanjuan rebuked Han Zhan for forcing her back to the palace, then pretended to remain upset until he and the other maids left.
• Green Sepal revealed that she had helped Han Chanjuan stage her hunger strike and secretly brought her a pear.
• Han Chanjuan ate the pear, rewarded Green Sepal, and thought wistfully of a young man as she dressed.
• He An presented the Vertical Sword Sect elders with a refined Heavenly River and asked to exchange it for their Forging Technique.
• Yun Ying prepared medicine for Qu Yong and imagined leaving the fighting behind to build a life with him.
• A human-shaped figure emerged from the stove smoke, leaving Yun Ying frozen in fear.