Recaps

Su Mo realized that several major powers had ambushed the Demon Sage and were targeting the Li Clan’s fortune to seize the world’s imperial fortune. To prevent them from claiming it, he used the Jade Seal to make the Pei Clan reappear, and a vast golden “Pei” appeared over Floating Life Pass.

• Su Mo deduced that the Demon Sage had lost half her Divine Soul in an ambush and that four Sages had conspired to trap her at Floating Life Pass.
• The Brush of All Living Beings identified the Hanging Temple’s Demon-Subduing Pagoda as the likely place holding the missing half of the Demon Sage’s Divine Soul.
• Su Mo realized the plot aimed to kill the Li Clan members and claim the world’s imperial fortune.
• Su Mo brought the sleeping Demon Sage to Peach Blossom Haven and decided to make the Pei Clan reappear to preserve the imperial fortune.
• Su Mo summoned the Jade Seal and declared its mandate, drawing half the world’s imperial fortune into Floating Life Pass as a gigantic golden “Pei” appeared in the sky.

The Emperor confronted the Ji Clan patriarch and revealed that he had anticipated the clan’s scheme and sent Li Yunbai and Wu Nian to the border passes to give them a chance to survive. He announced that four Sages were ready to face the four Saint Beasts, then hinted that the Ji Clan would soon learn why he had left the Imperial Dynasty alone.

• The Ji Clan patriarch admitted that his clan had exploited secrets about the Demon Beasts to help bring about the border-pass invasion.
• The Emperor said he had known about the scheme from the start and had pretended ignorance so Li Yunbai and Wu Nian would go to the border passes.
• The Ji Clan patriarch revealed that there were four Saint Beasts and that the Demon Sage would fall asleep after joining the battle, leaving two Sages outnumbered.
• The Emperor disclosed that the Book Sage had recovered and that the elder at Rouge Pass was also a Sage; both had reached Floating Life Pass to face the Saint Beasts.
• The Ji Clan patriarch insisted that the clan could still seize the power of Imperial Fortune, and the Emperor said the patriarch would soon understand why he had sent Li Yunbai and Wu Nian away.

The Emperor faced the Ji Clan’s patriarch and four Sages, including Revered Master Withered Leaf, who demanded that he abdicate. Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that they sought Imperial Fortune to cross the Ascension Stairway and open the Immortal Gate, but the Emperor challenged how they could share the Fortune or trust the chosen Sage to admit the others.

• The Ji Clan’s patriarch summoned four Sages, and the Emperor recognized Saddle Mountain, the Yan Household, Qingliang River, and Revered Master Withered Leaf among them.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf asked the Emperor to abdicate and promised to protect him, but the Emperor refused to surrender his throne without a fight.
• The Emperor asked why Revered Master Withered Leaf pursued Imperial Fortune, and Revered Master Withered Leaf said he acted for the world’s sake.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that the Immortal Gate had remained closed for tens of thousands of years, preventing Sages from entering the Second Heaven, and that Imperial Fortune could help someone cross the dangerous Ascension Stairway.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf admitted that he had placed half the Demon Sage’s Divine Soul in the Demon-Subduing Pagoda but had not harmed her.
• The Emperor questioned how the Sages would decide who received the world’s Fortune and why that person would open the Immortal Gate for the others.

The Emperor stalled the Ji Clan and its allies as Ji Ting declared his intent to seize the throne and Imperial Fortune. The Pei Clan returned at Floating Life Pass, binding itself to the Imperial Fortune and ruining their plan to claim it all.

• The Emperor dismissed Ji Ting as unworthy of the throne, saying only the Pei Clan deserved to rule the world.
• Ji Ting vowed to slaughter the Li Clan within the Imperial Dynasty and take the Emperor's Imperial Qi.
• The Emperor revealed that he had already sent the Li Clan out of the Imperial Dynasty and warned that a surprise awaited the conspirators.
• The Ji Clan patriarch ordered an attack, but the Emperor revealed he had been stalling for time.
• A golden Pei character appeared above Floating Life Pass as the Pei Clan returned and became bound to the Imperial Fortune.

The Emperor revealed that he had long known the Pei Clan survived and sacrificed himself to disperse his Imperial Qi toward Floating Life Pass. Ji Ting seized only half of the scattered Imperial Qi, leaving the rest flying toward the Border Pass.

• The Emperor revealed that a member of the Pei Clan had returned to the Ruins and awakened the Pei Clan inheritance at Floating Life Pass.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf withdrew from the conflict and returned to the Hanging Temple, while Ji Ting urged the Ji Clan and three allied Sages to secure the Emperor's Imperial Qi.
• The three Sages attacked the Emperor, but the Jade-Stone Great Formation trapped them and prevented them from claiming his Imperial Qi intact.
• The Emperor activated the formation, killed himself, and dispersed the Imperial Qi toward the Border Pass.
• Ji Ting tried to seize the departing Imperial Qi but managed to take only half.

Su Mo awakened the Imperial Fortune of Floating Life Pass, causing the golden character Pei to appear and stirring memories of Pei Hongyan in Yanzhi. Yanzhi returned to the ancient temple and saw Su Mo as the past returned to her, leaving her overwhelmed by grief and remembrance.

• Su Mo received the Imperial Fortune of Floating Life Pass, and his Star Sword began to develop intelligence.
• The Four Sages and four Saint Beasts saw the golden character Pei; Yanzhi collapsed to her knees, allowing the Saint Beasts to escape.
• Yanzhi flew back to the ancient temple above Jade Water Cold Pool, followed by the Book Sage, Li Yunbai, and Wu Nian.
• Yanzhi entered the open Grotto-Heaven Gate and saw Su Mo between the two mountain peaks, dressed in robes bearing the Pei Clan’s aura.
• Yanzhi remembered Pei Hongyan’s words about their love, his duty to Floating Life Pass, and his promise to find her.

Yanzhi grieved for Hongyan as Su Mo awakened the Pei Clan fortune at Floating Life Pass and met the Emperor’s phantom. The Emperor’s imperial aura merged with Su Mo, dividing the mortal world between the Imperial Dynasty and Floating Life Pass.

• Yanzhi knelt in grief as memories of Hongyan returned and she watched Su Mo awaken the Pei Clan fortune.
• The Book Sage, Li Yunbai, and Wu Nian entered Peach Blossom Haven and recognized the Emperor’s phantom before Su Mo.
• The Emperor told Su Mo that Emperor Hongyi had foretold his return and explained his doubts and the Ji Clan’s plans.
• Su Mo deduced that the Emperor had let the Ji Clan keep half the imperial aura so they could attempt to open the Immortal Gate.
• Li Yunbai and Wu Nian accepted the Emperor’s decree, and his phantom merged into Su Mo, bringing him half the world’s imperial fortune.
• Floating Life Pass flowed into Su Mo, and the mortal world split between the Imperial Dynasty and Floating Life Pass.

After Ji Ting and Su Mo each gained half the realm’s Imperial Fortune, a deranged old beggar remembered his former companions and the Pei Clan’s lost history while walking an ancient road toward the Immortal Domain. He carried one friend’s bones onward, left a message for a Pei Clan boy, and eventually fell to the road’s blue smoke, leaving two skeletons behind.

• Ji Ting became the realm’s Emperor with half its Imperial Fortune, while Su Mo gained the other half and the Pei Clan reappeared above Floating Life Pass.
• The old beggar wondered when the Immortal Domain’s gates had stopped opening and wandered to an ancient road where he found two skeletons.
• He recalled how he and his brothers had restored the realm after the Pei Clan’s line ended, and said that Huan Xu had died after entrusting the realm to a Pei Clan boy.
• The old beggar rebuilt one skeleton, bound it to his back, and left a message in a Spirit Jade for the Pei Clan boy.
• He continued along the ancient road carrying the skeleton, but blue smoke overtook him and left two sets of bones behind.

Su Mo absorbed the Emperor’s memories and understood the loneliness of the Sages before revealing that he was Pei Min'an, Pei Hongyan’s younger brother. After comforting Yanzhi with the truth of Hongyan’s love and the Parting Letter, he set plans for the Sages and their clans in Peach Blossom Haven and prepared to go to the Hanging Temple with her.

• Su Mo recognized the loneliness shared by the Divine Maiden, the Book Sage, and Yanzhi after sensing the Emperor’s soul incense.
• Su Mo told Yanzhi he was Pei Min'an and revealed that Pei Hongyan had been his elder brother and her beloved.
• Su Mo explained that Hongyan had loved Yanzhi, never blamed her or the Emperor, and had followed her into death; he gave her the Emperor’s Parting Letter.
• Li Yunbai and Wu Nian knelt to greet Su Mo as their emperor, but he said he was still Su Eternal Life to them and declined to reclaim the imperial aura for now.
• Su Mo invited Li Yunbai to retrieve his clan, Wu Nian to bring the Wu Clan to Peach Blossom Haven, and the Book Sage to relocate the Peach Mountain Disciples there.
• Su Mo announced he would go to the Hanging Temple, then called Yanzhi “Sister-in-law” and invited her to come; she agreed.

Su Mo arrived at the Hanging Temple with the Book Sage and Yanzhi to demand the Demon Sage’s half divine soul. After Revered Master Withered Leaf recognized him as Emperor Min'an, Su Mo said he would stay while the soul was released over four days.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf welcomed Su Mo, the Book Sage, and Yanzhi after an Arhat warned that the visitors included two Sages.
• Su Mo asked Revered Master Withered Leaf if he knew his identity, and the monk recognized him as the ancient mortal Emperor Min'an.
• Su Mo declared that Min'an was gone and that he was only Su Eternal Life, then confronted Revered Master Withered Leaf over his disregard for Border Pass.
• Su Mo demanded the Demon Sage’s half divine soul, and Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that releasing its four imprisoned Thoughts would take four days.
• Su Mo agreed to wait and said he wanted to stay at the Hanging Temple for a while.

Su Mo received one of the Demon Sage’s imprisoned thoughts from Revered Master Withered Leaf, then proposed staying at the Hanging Temple to discuss the Dao. As rain fell over the temple, Su Mo challenged Withered Leaf’s belief that Sages were the wind guiding the lives of all beings, concluding that fate was the true wind.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf released the Demon Sage’s Anger Thought from the Demon-Subduing Pagoda, and Su Mo drew it into his Divine Sense.
• Su Mo questioned Withered Leaf’s belief that all Sages should ascend and leave the mortal realm, arguing that suffering came from people’s hearts rather than cultivation itself.
• Su Mo proposed staying at the Hanging Temple until the Demon Sage’s remaining soul-thoughts were retrieved and discussing the Dao with Withered Leaf.
• Su Mo summoned rain over the Hanging Temple and asked Withered Leaf what the rain and Sages represented.
• Withered Leaf likened living beings to rain and Sages to wind, but Su Mo said Sages were only fortunate raindrops and identified fate as the true wind.

Su Mo challenged Revered Master Withered Leaf’s understanding of destiny and the Dharma, using the rain and wind to show how little the Sage had seen. After Withered Leaf glimpsed a power above the Immortal Domain, Su Mo returned to the Spirit Sea and reflected on Hui Kong, concluding that Withered Leaf had never been Hui Kong’s equal.

• Su Mo debated Revered Master Withered Leaf, arguing that Sages seeking the Immortal Domain could also be manipulated by destiny.
• Su Mo summoned wind and rain, then pointed out raindrops beyond the wind’s reach and challenged Withered Leaf to explain what they meant.
• Su Mo told Withered Leaf that he had seen and been manipulated by destiny, then left the hall with the Book Sage and Yanzhi.
• Withered Leaf was shaken by the debate, spat blood, and concluded that destiny might be a person standing above all living beings, perhaps even above the Immortal Domain.
• Su Mo sat beside Hui Kong’s golden body in the Spirit Sea, recalled Hui Kong’s words, and said that Withered Leaf was not his equal.

Su Mo reflected on Hui Kong, Ning Baixue, and his plans to explore the Second Heaven and use the Reincarnation Scroll to seek a way to revive her. After leaving his Spirit Sea, he told the Book Sage and Yanzhi that his goal at the Hanging Temple was to obtain a Buddhist Sect Supreme Sacred Object.

• Su Mo spoke with Hui Kong's golden body about his loneliness, questioned whether Hui Kong had faked his death, and admitted he still expected to learn the truth.
• Su Mo told Ning Baixue's coffin that he planned to search the Second Heaven for the Long River and investigate whether the Reincarnation Scroll could revive her, though he feared the unknown price.
• Su Mo left his Spirit Sea after saying he would return soon, while an indistinct shape seemed to stir within the light around Hui Kong's golden body.
• Su Mo rejoined the Book Sage and Yanzhi at the Hanging Temple and confirmed that he had debated Revered Master Withered Leaf to prove him wrong.
• Su Mo told Yanzhi and the Book Sage that he sought a Buddhist Sect Supreme Sacred Object, not something they could obtain by force.

Su Mo debated Revered Master Withered Leaf about whether Buddhist cultivation required abandoning the self, arguing that true understanding came from knowing and embracing it. He left the Buddhist Sect disciples shaken after contrasting Withered Leaf with his friend, who sought the True Self among all living beings.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf released another thought from the Demon Sage's Divine Soul, and Su Mo chose to debate the self before the assembled Buddhist Sect disciples.
• Withered Leaf explained his doctrine of no-self, saying that attachment to self caused suffering and that severing it led toward Nirvana.
• Su Mo challenged Withered Leaf to explain how he could have severed his mortal thoughts without first understanding the self, and asked whether he had attained Nirvana.
• Su Mo argued that one must contemplate oneself and guard one's original heart, leaving Withered Leaf dazed and shaking the Buddha hall.
• Su Mo thrust burning incense upside down into the burner, condemned the Buddha worshippers' pursuit of offerings, and made Withered Leaf spit blood.
• Su Mo described his friend, who remained among the living and sought the True Self, then declared that none of the Buddhist Sect disciples compared to him.

Su Mo challenged Revered Master Withered Leaf’s choice to sacrifice the Emperor for a world without Sages by telling him a story about a monk, a hawk, and a dove. He revealed that a friend had saved both predator and prey by giving his life to guide the hawk to Buddhahood, leaving Withered Leaf shaken.

• Su Mo arrived at the Buddhist hall with the Book Sage and Yanzhi, and Withered Leaf released the third strand of the Demon Sage’s divine soul thought.
• Withered Leaf asked Su Mo whether his wish for a world without Sages was right, even if it required sacrificing the Emperor and the Li Clan.
• Su Mo told a story about a monk who faced a hawk demanding the dove hiding in his sleeve, and asked Withered Leaf what he would choose.
• Withered Leaf said he would feed his own flesh to the hawk, and Su Mo argued that sparing the hawk would doom countless doves later.
• Su Mo explained that his friend had given his life and transferred his Buddha nature to the hawk, guiding it to Buddhahood so the hawk and the doves could all survive.

Su Mo received the Demon Sage’s final Divine Soul thought and asked Revered Master Withered Leaf about a monk whose body became an undecayed Golden Body. Withered Leaf answered with a legend of a monk who entered mortal life for love, learned that life itself was ultimate bliss, and died beneath a tree as a Buddha.

• Su Mo left the Buddhist hall after defeating Withered Leaf in their three days of debate on the Dao, and Withered Leaf refused to conceal his loss.
• The next day, Withered Leaf released the Demon Sage’s final strand of Divine Soul thought, completing the handover of all four strands to Su Mo.
• Su Mo declined to debate and asked Withered Leaf what could cause a monk’s body to become a Golden Body after death.
• Withered Leaf and the Buddhist disciples reacted with shock when Su Mo confirmed that he was asking about a friend.
• Withered Leaf told Su Mo the legend of a monk who became a woman’s partner, learned from her that life was ultimate bliss, and attained Buddhahood after dying beneath a tree.

Su Mo learned that the Bodhi Fruit on Mount Sumeru might awaken Hui Kong’s Divine Soul, and persuaded Withered Leaf to send him into Sumeru. Carrying Hui Kong’s Golden Body, Su Mo began climbing Mount Sumeru while Yanzhi and Withered Leaf kept watch outside.

• Withered Leaf told Su Mo that the Bodhi Tree stood on Mount Sumeru and that its fruit could sustain a Dharma Thought.
• Su Mo asked Withered Leaf to help him reach Mount Sumeru, explaining that he needed the Bodhi Fruit to revive Hui Kong.
• Withered Leaf opened a passage into Sumeru and warned Su Mo that Dao Arts would fail there and that he would have to climb on foot with Hui Kong’s Golden Body.
• Su Mo asked the Book Sage to return to Peach Blossom Haven and Yanzhi to wait at the passage; the Book Sage agreed after hearing Su Mo’s private request.
• Withered Leaf warned Su Mo that the Five Purification Platforms would reveal his Five Poisons of the Heart, but Su Mo entered Sumeru carrying Hui Kong.
• Yanzhi and Withered Leaf remained to guard the entrance as the Book Sage departed, and Su Mo started climbing Mount Sumeru’s red-leaf-covered steps.

Su Mo climbed Mount Sumeru carrying Hui Kong's Golden Body and reached the Doubt-Cleansing Platform, where his doubts took the form of a scholar who looked like his past self. The two discussed whether reality and illusion mattered, and Su Mo admitted that he was exhausted from fearing that everything before him was false.

• Su Mo climbed Mount Sumeru with Hui Kong's Golden Body on his back, unable to use cultivation but relying on his Divine Body's strength.
• The Brush of All Living Beings explained that the Doubt-Cleansing Platform revealed the doubts of anyone who stepped onto it.
• Su Mo stepped onto the platform, which manifested his doubt as a white-robed scholar with ink-black hair.
• The scholar told Su Mo that he was Su Mo's past self and questioned why Su Mo doubted reality and his own past.
• Su Mo said he had asked Gu Yu to guard a dream because he did not want another person's dream to end in regret.
• The scholar asked if Su Mo was tired, and Su Mo admitted that he was very tired.

Scholar explained that Su Mo kept helping others because his actions made him feel connected to a world that otherwise seemed unreal. Su Mo accepted that pain and consequence were part of that reality, then continued toward Mount Sumeru’s summit.

• Scholar told Su Mo that he acted to escape the loneliness of feeling like an outsider in the world.
• Su Mo recalled first feeling real after helping a starving refugee and described the painful consequences of later good deeds.
• Su Mo said he preferred suffering in this world to returning to the loneliness of being an ordinary Provincial Graduate Su.
• Scholar asked whether the world was a dream or a book, and Su Mo replied that he would write it well and make it feel real.
• Scholar praised Su Mo’s understanding, disappeared, and Su Mo continued toward the summit of Mount Sumeru.

Su Mo reached the Slow Purification Platform on Mount Sumeru, where its mirrors revealed the Brush of All Living Beings’ arrogance and the painful history of its separation from Old Codger. After the Brush faced its past, the mirrors cleared and Su Mo crossed the platform carrying Hui Kong.

• Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings reached the Slow Purification Platform, which reflected a person’s arrogance.
• The mirrors first showed no arrogance in Su Mo, then filled with countless images of the Brush of All Living Beings.
• The Brush told Su Mo that it had once looked down on all living beings and tried to stop Old Codger from risking his life to save thousands.
• The Brush explained that Old Codger severed their life bond and sealed it in a ruined temple before entering the game alone.
• After the Brush accepted that its former selves filled the mirrors, their images vanished and Su Mo crossed the Slow Purification Platform with Hui Kong on his back.

Su Mo continued climbing Mount Sumeru and learned from the Brush of All Living Beings that his Divine Maiden sister might be a true immortal in the Star-Picking Realm. At the Delusion Purification Platform, he encountered Liu Feng, who addressed him as Su Jingyan.

• Su Mo rested on the mountain path and asked why Mount Sumeru had been isolated; the Brush of All Living Beings said it might suppress a terrifying existence.
• The Brush of All Living Beings explained that Su Mo’s Divine Maiden sister might be a Star-Picking Realm immortal who had forgotten her past and power.
• Su Mo resumed climbing Mount Sumeru, and after what he believed had been three months, he reached the Delusion Purification Platform.
• Su Mo stepped onto the platform carrying Hui Kong’s Golden Body, and a vision of a young man appeared across its tea table.
• The young man greeted Su Mo as Su Jingyan, and Su Mo answered that he had been well and called him Liu Feng.

Su Mo spoke with Liu Feng on the Purification Terrace and learned that the Liu Household had been sacrificed as part of a plan to force him to enter the Dao. Liu Feng explained why he had accepted the scheme, leaving Su Mo to confront the truth behind the Liu Household’s infamy.

• Su Mo met Liu Feng on the Purification Terrace and realized Liu Feng was not merely his obsessive delusion but a dead person whose memories were unclear.
• Liu Feng recognized that Su Mo had become the Human Emperor and hinted that His Majesty had once made a plan involving the Liu Household.
• Su Mo pressed Liu Feng about the West City deaths and his mother’s Blood Pill, and Liu Feng insisted that the events had been part of a scheme to force Su Mo to enter the Dao.
• Liu Feng explained that His Majesty summoned his father and revealed a plan requiring sacrifices, with the Liu Household as the first move and Su Mo as a piece outside the game.
• Liu Feng said he had challenged Su Mo at the Riverboat Pavilion to judge whether he deserved the sacrifice, then agreed after hearing Su Mo’s lyric and later understanding his words about bringing peace to all generations.

Liu Feng revealed how the Liu Household’s plan used his mother and newborn brother as a guide to reach Su Mo, and explained that the household had not killed people indiscriminately. Su Mo realized Liu Feng was an obsession born from his fear that the family’s sacrifice had been in vain; after Su Mo told him the Liu Household’s name had been cleared and the Nine Heavens were at peace, Liu Feng’s obsession dissipated, freeing Su Mo from part of his guilt as he continued up Mount Sumeru.

• Liu Feng told Su Mo that his mother volunteered to guide him into the plan and that the swaddled infant was his newborn younger brother, whose presence was meant to stir Su Mo’s sympathy.
• Liu Feng explained that he swallowed a Blood Pill containing his mother’s and brother’s blood and insisted the Liu Household had not killed indiscriminately, since the other victims were gravely ill or near death.
• Su Mo realized Liu Feng was an obsession revealed through the Delusion Purification Platform, while Liu Feng recognized that he had feared his household’s sacrifice would be forgotten and its name condemned.
• Su Mo admitted his folly was judging the Liu Household as traitors and killing Liu Feng, and said he regretted it deeply.
• Su Mo told Liu Feng that the Nine Heavens were at peace and the Liu Household’s name had been cleared; Liu Feng’s obsession then faded after he accepted Su Mo’s apology.
• Liu Feng’s farewell loosened a shackle within Su Mo, who continued toward Mount Sumeru’s summit, still burdened by sorrow.

Su Mo faced the Aversion Purification Terrace, where accusations from people he had once saved revealed that their hatred still wounded him. Unable to cross, he heard a little girl defend him as the curses stopped.

• Su Mo reached the Aversion Purification Terrace after two months of travel, with two of the five terraces still ahead.
• The terrace showed Su Mo countless people cursing him for alleged crimes and demanding his death.
• Su Mo admitted he had been unhappy at the accusations but said the people feared him rather than resented him, and that he did not blame them.
• The Brush of All Living Beings explained that Su Mo could not leave while a knot of aversion remained in his heart.
• A little girl in a teahouse cried out that the Human Emperor was nothing like the accusations, silencing the crowd.

Su Mo heard little Huanhuan defend him in an illusion, easing the sorrow he carried out of the Aversion Purification Terrace. Exhausted, he reached the Greed Purification Terrace and collapsed at the broken end of its bridge before falling into the abyss, while the Brush of All Living Beings wondered why he had seen no illusions.

• In an illusion, Huanhuan defended Su Mo against people cursing him, recalling how he had saved her and Xixi and sacrificed for the people of the Nine Heavens.
• Su Mo realized that some people still understood and defended him, then left the Aversion Purification Terrace and thanked Huanhuan.
• After traveling for months toward the summit, Su Mo reached a stone bridge that the Brush of All Living Beings identified as the Greed Purification Terrace.
• The Brush of All Living Beings warned that Su Mo’s unrestrained mortal desires could make the terrace difficult to cross, but Su Mo saw no illusions as he walked across the bridge.
• The Brush of All Living Beings warned Su Mo that the bridge ended before the summit, but Su Mo collapsed at the broken edge before he could fall into the abyss.