Recaps

After becoming the Azure Cloud Holy Son, Chen Changsheng returned to Little Mountain Peak and declined the chance to pursue the Sect Master position. Ling Feng arrived transformed and asked Chen Changsheng to take him to contemplate the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure, offering to support him as future Sect Master.

• Chen Changsheng left a puppet on Azure Cloud Peak and returned to Little Mountain Peak to cook while his fellow disciples resumed their usual routines.
• Ouyang told Chen Changsheng that the old Sect Master had invited him to contemplate the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure, but Chen Changsheng said he did not want to become Sect Master.
• Ling Feng arrived in extravagant robes, and Ouyang discovered that Ling Feng's panel showed Out-of-Body cultivation, Divine Soul aptitude above 10, and a new exclusive skill.
• Ling Feng said that recent events had changed his outlook and explained that he had broken through to Soul Departure and would soon have to leave the mountain.
• Ling Feng asked Chen Changsheng to take him to contemplate the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure and promised to follow Chen Changsheng's lead in the future Sect Master succession.

Chen Changsheng and Ling Feng went to Azure Cloud Peak to contemplate the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure together, while Ouyang later learned that Dongxu Zi considered him, Bai Feiyu, and Chen Changsheng “Those Who Know from Birth.” Dongxu Zi warned that Little Mountain Peak and the Azure Cloud Sect were too small for the younger disciples, whose own paths lay in the wider world.

• Chen Changsheng agreed to contemplate the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure with Ling Feng, and the two went to Azure Cloud Peak to meet the Sect Master.
• Bai Feiyu told Ouyang that Ling Feng felt different and unsettling, but Ouyang said people changed.
• Dongxu Zi visited Ouyang at night for drinks and asked whether he had known Zu Yuan was a devil; Ouyang said only Chen Changsheng had noticed.
• Dongxu Zi called Ouyang, Bai Feiyu, and Chen Changsheng “Those Who Know from Birth,” citing their unusual knowledge and abilities.
• Dongxu Zi warned Ouyang that he could not choose the paths of his junior brothers and sisters, who needed to seek their own destinies beyond Little Mountain Peak and the Azure Cloud Sect.

Dongxu Zi told Ouyang about the ancient catastrophe and demonstrated his Sword Dao by cleaving the moon, revealing its hidden resonance to the Azure Cloud Sect. He plucked a star and gave it to Ouyang before falling asleep, leaving the sect’s sword cultivators with a rare opportunity to cultivate.

• Dongxu Zi told Ouyang that the current generation might face a catastrophe and recalled the Conflict Between the Demonic and Daoist Paths a thousand years earlier.
• Dongxu Zi declared that the Dao could not be spoken and swung his Fly-whisk, sending Sword Qi toward the moon.
• The moon appeared to split as hidden Dao Resonance and sword insights spread throughout the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Bai Feiyu and Leng Qingsong sensed Dongxu Zi’s Sword Dao, bowed to him, and resolved to grow stronger.
• Dongxu Zi plucked a star from the sky and tossed it to Ouyang before lying down on his meditation cushion.

On the first snow of the year, Ouyang and Leng Qingsong prepared to travel down the mountain to the town where they once lived. Hu Tutu persuaded Leng Qingsong to let her join them, and the group set off for the mortal world.

• Hu Tutu excitedly played in the first snow while Ouyang reminded her to dress warmly and not lick the iron post.
• Leng Qingsong reminded Ouyang that the first snow was their time to visit the town where they had once lived.
• Hu Tutu got her tongue stuck to the iron post, and Ouyang warmed it until she could pull free.
• Ouyang refused to take Hu Tutu on the trip, but she packed her things and convinced Leng Qingsong to agree.
• Ouyang accepted Hu Tutu's company, and the three prepared to journey to the mortal world.

Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu traveled toward Maple Leaf City, where Ouyang and Leng Qingsong had spent their childhood, but Human Race Destiny and the thin Heaven and Earth Essence suppressed their cultivation. They left their flying treasures behind and continued on foot toward the city.

• Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu disguised themselves as wandering heroes and flew east from the Azure Cloud Sect toward their old home.
• Ouyang worried that Leng Qingsong’s feelings for Xuan'er, an ordinary woman, could bring him pain as she aged and died.
• As the trio entered the Mortal World, Hu Tutu and Leng Qingsong found their True Essence suppressed and struggled to replenish it.
• Ouyang used a Recording Stone to determine that Maple Leaf City was two days away on foot and told the others to walk.
• Leng Qingsong accepted Ouyang’s plan, and the three set off along the official road.

Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu encountered bandits attacking a group of guards, and Leng Qingsong drove the bandits away. They reunited with Wang Ming, who revealed that Sister Xuan'er and the others had been arrested and taken to the Imperial City, prompting Ouyang to demand directions there.

• Leng Qingsong charged into the battle between the bandits and the guards, killing their chief and forcing the bandits to flee.
• A guard from the Xie Household offered Leng Qingsong a reward, but Leng Qingsong told him to move aside.
• Wang Ming recognized Leng Qingsong and Ouyang, then told them that the authorities had arrested everyone in Maple Leaf City except him and taken Sister Xuan'er and the others to the Imperial City.
• Leng Qingsong erupted with killing intent, and Ouyang knocked out the middle-aged guard who tried to explain what had happened.
• Ouyang demanded that the remaining guards tell him which way the Imperial City was.

Ouyang learned that Leng Qingsong was the surviving son of Prince Su, whose name had been cleared after the emperor ordered his family executed. Xie Chongyang urged Leng Qingsong to return to the Imperial City as the emperor’s heir, but Leng Qingsong rejected mortal affairs.

• Ouyang confronted Xie Chongyang and learned that Maple Leaf City had promised to protect the immortals in exchange for favorable weather.
• Xie Chongyang revealed that Leng Qingsong possessed a piece of White Half-Jade and that the Imperial City had been searching for him since he disappeared as a child.
• Leng Qingsong asked whether the search was meant to eliminate him, and Xie Chongyang explained that the emperor wanted to see him before he died.
• Xie Chongyang recounted how Prince Su had been executed after a rebellion accusation and later cleared, leaving Leng Qingsong visibly conflicted.
• Xie Chongyang urged Leng Qingsong, the emperor’s only bloodline, to return and help restore order, but Leng Qingsong refused to involve himself in mortal affairs.

Ouyang rejected Leng Qingsong’s imperial inheritance and urged the Xie Household to seize the throne instead. He demonstrated that his pills could create Innate Grandmasters and gave Xie Chongyang a bottle, leaving him to consider Ouyang’s call to rebel.

• Leng Qingsong gave Xie Chongyang the other half of the white jade and declared he would kill the emperor if the emperor did not die first.
• Leng Qingsong told Ouyang he had no interest in becoming emperor and wanted only to pursue his Dao.
• Ouyang proposed that Xie Chongyang’s young companion take the throne, but Xinzhi denounced the idea as treason.
• Ouyang summoned Wang Ming, gave him a Spirit-Gathering Pill, and watched him break through to become an Innate Grandmaster.
• Ouyang gave Xie Chongyang a bottle of pills and urged the Xie Household to rebel and claim the throne.

Ouyang persuaded Xie Chongyang and Xie Xinzhi to use a hundred Innate Grandmasters to rebel against the emperor, while arranging for the emperor to be captured alive. After Leng Qingsong vented his frustration and learned how Ouyang planned to avoid mortal karma, the two set off for the imperial city to rescue Leng’s former love.

• Xie Chongyang accepted Ouyang’s offer of a hundred Innate Grandmasters after Ouyang said he wanted revenge on his junior brother’s behalf, not mortal power.
• Xie Xinzhi revealed that he had married Xuan'er and urged his father to seize the throne, declaring plans to ally with the twenty-one cities and march on the imperial city.
• Ouyang told Xie Xinzhi to keep the emperor alive, and Xie Xinzhi and Xie Chongyang agreed to return to Maple Leaf City and gather their descendants to cultivate the hundred Grandmasters.
• Leng Qingsong flew to a waterfall and cut it apart with his sword while Ouyang explained that letting the Xie Household depose the emperor would spare Leng from mortal karma.
• Ouyang told Leng Qingsong that his old flame was still suffering, and the two headed for the imperial city.

Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu explored the imperial capital before Ouyang recognized the powerful cultivator who had summoned them to the Yihong Brothel: their senior sister Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue stopped Leng Qingsong from fleeing and teased him about their past intimacy.

• Hu Tutu enjoyed the eastern market while Ouyang explained the shops and tried to steer her away from the brothel.
• Leng Qingsong sensed a very powerful cultivator nearby, and Ouyang recognized Xiaoyue by the fragrance on a crimson silk ribbon.
• Ouyang led Leng Qingsong and Hu Tutu into the Yihong Brothel after Xiaoyue told him to bring Leng Qingsong upstairs.
• Leng Qingsong tried to leave when the madam asked whether he knew Miss Xiaoyue, but Xiaoyue froze everyone in the building and appeared on the stairs.
• Xiaoyue greeted Leng Qingsong, surrounded him and Ouyang with crimson gauze, and reminded him that they had once bathed together.

Ouyang and Leng Qingsong encountered Chang Xiaoyue, a snake demon who had come to help them sever their mortal karmic ties, and Ouyang realized their master had arranged the trip. He revealed that they had returned to the Imperial City to rescue Leng Qingsong’s beloved, who had been captured.

• Ouyang fled the Yihong Brothel with Hu Tutu, leaving Leng Qingsong with Chang Xiaoyue.
• Chang Xiaoyue teased Leng Qingsong, then spoke with Ouyang and learned about Hu Tutu’s bond with him.
• Ouyang recognized Chang Xiaoyue as a powerful snake demon and recalled how she had once examined Leng Qingsong as a potential cultivation cauldron.
• Chang Xiaoyue explained that Hu Yun had sent her to look after Ouyang and Leng Qingsong while they severed their mortal karmic ties.
• Ouyang concluded that Hu Yun had orchestrated their trip and told Chang Xiaoyue they had come to rescue Leng Qingsong’s captured beloved.

Ouyang realized his master had arranged for him and Leng Qingsong to sever their ties to the mortal world, and he decided to help Chang Xiaoyue become Leng Qingsong’s ideal partner. After divining the location of Leng Qingsong’s former white moonlight, Chang Xiaoyue set off to follow Ouyang’s plan.

• Ouyang inferred that his master had orchestrated the events to help him and Leng Qingsong sever their worldly karmic ties.
• Ouyang decided to encourage Chang Xiaoyue to bind Leng Qingsong to her, and Chang Xiaoyue’s aura flared at the mention of his white moonlight.
• Chang Xiaoyue used copper coins and Leng Qingsong’s hair to divine that the white moonlight was in the imperial palace.
• Chang Xiaoyue prepared to confront the woman, but Ouyang warned that killing her would make her an even more powerful presence in Leng Qingsong’s memories.
• Ouyang explained his plan to Chang Xiaoyue, who left enthusiastically, while he wondered whether his master meant to use a Dao companion to sever worldly ties.

Ouyang watched over the Imperial City as he helped Chang Xiaoyue bring Leng Qingsong toward the palace, where they intended to confront Xuan'er. He suspected Xuan'er had betrayed the orphans to the old emperor, and the chapter ended with him telling Hu Tutu that human hearts, not the air, stank.

• Ouyang used the Five-Element Escape Arts to summon heavy snow over the Imperial City.
• Chang Xiaoyue brought Leng Qingsong, disguised in women's clothing and sealed at his Golden Core, through the East Market on a flower boat.
• Chang Xiaoyue told Leng Qingsong she wanted to see the woman who had pursued him, while he said that woman was already married.
• Ouyang watched the flower boat and suspected Xuan'er had struck a deal with the old emperor and betrayed the orphans.
• Ouyang picked up Hu Tutu and told her that what stank was the human heart.

As the pleasure boat bound for the emperor reached the Imperial City, Noble Consort Xuan'er plotted to secure power by waiting for Ouyang and Qingsong to arrive. She left the ailing emperor and embraced the commander of the Imperial Guard, who promised not to betray her.

• The pleasure boat built by Yihong Brothel drew crowds as it sailed from the East Market, while the Buliangren kept the route clear because it was a gift for the emperor.
• The emperor, desperate for immortality, demanded to know whether his son Qingsong would return and promised Xuan'er that they could rule Great Tang forever if he obtained the Secret Changsheng Method.
• After leaving the emperor, Xuan'er fought nausea and reflected that she had climbed from an orphan's life to the position of Noble Consort by relying on two Immortals.
• When snow began to fall, Xuan'er saw the beautiful pleasure boat and hoped that Ouyang and Qingsong were coming, while planning to claim the position beneath one person and above ten thousand.
• The commander of the Imperial Guard embraced Xuan'er, and she asked him not to betray her; he promised he would not as long as she stayed loyal to him.

Leng Qingsong entered the palace aboard Chang Xiaoyue’s pleasure boat and saw Xuan'er with the old emperor, the grandfather who had killed his parents. When the emperor ordered the boat burned, Leng Qingsong broke through Chang Xiaoyue’s seals and faced the hall.

• The emperor permitted Chang Xiaoyue’s pleasure boat to enter the palace, and Leng Qingsong felt his sealed sword intent stir as he recognized the place where his parents had died.
• Chang Xiaoyue reinforced her seal on Leng Qingsong while Ouyang secretly recorded him in his cross-dressed appearance.
• The old emperor emerged from the main hall, and Leng Qingsong recognized him as his grandfather and his parents’ killer.
• Leng Qingsong saw Xuan'er acting intimately with the old emperor and stared at them in disgust.
• Xuan'er urged the old emperor to destroy the pleasure boat, and Leng Qingsong stood despite Chang Xiaoyue’s seals and called the order laughable.

Leng Qingsong broke through Chang Xiaoyue’s seal, severed a tremendous gate in his enlightenment, and began to shed his ties to the Tang State’s fortune. As he stood unguarded, the old emperor turned on Xuan’er and seized her body, leaving a sovereign’s presence in control.

• Leng Qingsong shattered Chang Xiaoyue’s seal with his Sword Intent, scattering snow and knocking out those near the Main Hall.
• Leng Qingsong entered enlightenment, cleaved the enormous gate before him, and absorbed the Dark-Yellow Qi as his karma with the Tang State was severed.
• Chang Xiaoyue guarded Leng Qingsong while Xuan’er panicked at the prospect of being exposed and ordered the old emperor to kill them as assassins.
• Xuan’er stabbed the old emperor, but he revealed he had never trusted her and intended to take her body.
• The old emperor covered Xuan’er’s mouth as she lost consciousness, and her eyes reopened with a fierce gaze and the pressure of a sovereign.

The Old Emperor possessed Xuan'er, but Ouyang exposed him and demanded to know who had aided the possession. Meanwhile, Leng Qingsong broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, shattered his life-bound sword, and faced the Three-Three Lightning Tribulation.

• The Old Emperor took over Xuan'er's body and hoped Leng Qingsong would teach him cultivation so he could rule forever.
• Ouyang confronted the Old Emperor, revealed that he knew about the possession, and threatened him while asking who had helped him.
• Leng Qingsong completed his Nascent Soul transformation, and his new Nascent Soul formed a sword resembling Xuan'er's childhood gift.
• The sword in Leng Qingsong's Nascent Soul snapped, destabilizing his cultivation until Chang Xiaoyue's presence helped him regain clarity.
• A Three-Three Lightning Tribulation gathered above Leng Qingsong, and he told it to scram.

Leng Qingsong spared the old emperor but separated his soul from Xuan'er’s only partway, then clarified his Sword Dao and triggered the appearance of an Immortal Secret Realm. Cultivators across the world noticed the sword palace in the sky, and Bai Feiyu sensed that something was amiss.

• Leng Qingsong’s command made the lightning tribulation vanish, and he landed beside Chang Xiaoyue on the Flower Boat.
• Leng Qingsong confronted the old emperor over his parents’ deaths but chose not to kill him, instead partially separating his soul from Xuan’er’s.
• Leng Qingsong declared that he was the sword and pierced the sky with his sword light, drawing three ancient bell chimes from the Heavenly Dao.
• A sword-shaped palace appeared in the sky, and cultivators across the Cultivation World recognized it as an Immortal Secret Realm.
• Bai Feiyu sneezed on Little Mountain Peak, nearly fell from a tree, and wondered why his right eyelid was twitching.

Ouyang questioned Hu Yun about the schemes that led Leng Qingsong to awaken an immaculate sword heart and reveal an Immortal Secret Realm. Hu Yun explained his motives, while Lin Feng urged the old emperor to reclaim the throne and begin a blood sacrifice.

• Leng Qingsong spared the old emperor but left him suffering, then joined Ouyang and the others as the Flower Boat rose toward the newly revealed Immortal Secret Realm.
• Chang Xiaoyue told Ouyang she felt Hu Yun had used her and Leng Qingsong, but said she still trusted him.
• Ouyang contacted Hu Yun, who said he had guided Leng Qingsong toward an immaculate sword heart to prevent him from turning into a blood-soaked sword cultivator and to open the secret realm.
• Hu Yun explained that mortal attachments could cloud Leng Qingsong's sword heart, and Ouyang learned Hu Yun had foreseen a great opportunity in the secret realm.
• A woman asked a handsome middle-aged man whether Leng Qingsong could help Chang Xiaoyue survive her calamity, and the man admitted that events might have changed since his divination.
• Lin Feng gave the old emperor a pill and urged him to secure the throne within seven days and perform the Blood Sacrifice Ascension Art, promising him immortality.

Lin Feng, inhabiting Zu Yuan’s body, prepared a blood sacrifice in Tang State while deceiving the Old Emperor with promises of immortality. Ouyang arrived, recognized him as Lin Feng, and began looking for a way to kill him.

• Lin Feng burned the Old Emperor’s original body and assured him that the succession was arranged and the formation would activate in seven days.
• The Old Emperor agreed to share Tang State with Lin Feng, then left while secretly planning to kill him after gaining eternal life.
• Ouyang arrived on Hu Tutu’s Paper Crane and examined Lin Feng’s strange status panel, which the system could not fully identify.
• When Ouyang asked why he looked like Zu Yuan, Lin Feng claimed to be Zu Ming, the Devil Race’s eldest prince.
• Ouyang rejected Lin Feng’s disguise, called him by name, and searched the Complete Basics of Five Elements Spell Arts for a way to kill him.

Ouyang defeated Lin Feng, who had been suppressed to the Qi Refining Stage, and began investigating whether Lin Feng’s appearance meant Ling Feng had also been possessed. Lin Feng died trapped between Ouyang’s earthen walls, leaving Ouyang determined to uncover the truth.

• Lin Feng attacked Ouyang with needles and a devil-marked claw, but Ouyang knocked him into the palace steps with one kick.
• Ouyang connected Lin Feng’s name and resemblance to Zu Yuan with his suspicions that Old Ling had been possessed, and worried that Chen Changsheng might be in danger.
• Lin Feng forcibly raised his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining and formed a blood-red devil saber for a fatal strike.
• Ouyang used the Earth Wall Spell to crush Lin Feng between two massive earthen walls.

Ouyang crushed Lin Feng’s body but failed to stop his Divine Soul from escaping, leaving him furious that Lin Feng might return. Meanwhile, the Old Emperor resolved to reclaim the throne in his new body, but his trusted general’s advances left him in immediate danger.

• Ouyang discovered that Lin Feng’s Divine Soul had escaped after his body was flattened, and cursed the Children of Heaven’s Chosen for being so difficult to kill.
• Ouyang suspected Lin Feng was connected to Ling Feng and Zu Yuan, then sent an infatuation pill into an unconscious general while the palace watched.
• Ouyang called Hu Tutu through his Communication Stone so the Paper Crane could carry him back.
• The Old Emperor realized the imperial preceptor’s death had ended the Blood Sacrifice Method, but decided to use his young body to reclaim the throne as empress.
• The Old Emperor’s beloved general found him on the Dragon Throne, and the Old Emperor concealed his disgust while planning to kill him once he regained control.
• The general lunged at the Old Emperor and began tearing his clothes despite the Old Emperor’s protests.

After Ouyang destroyed Lin Feng’s body, Lin Feng seized Xie Xinzhi’s body and redirected his forces back to Maple Leaf City. At the Azure Cloud Sect, Chen Changsheng secretly prepared a paper puppet linked to Ling Feng, adding him to the many disciples he could control.

• Lin Feng’s divine soul possessed Xie Xinzhi, ordered the force bound for the Imperial City to return, and vowed revenge on Ouyang.
• Lin Feng realized Ouyang could foresee the future and began searching Xie Xinzhi’s memories while hiding his identity.
• Ling Feng sensed that Lin Feng’s body had been destroyed, dismissed his incarnation as useless, and resumed contemplating the Azure Cloud Sect Secret Treasure.
• Chen Changsheng noticed Ling Feng’s killing intent, used Paper-Cut Figures to take a strand of Ling Feng’s hair, and made two External Paper Figures.
• Chen Changsheng stored the figures with his collection of puppets, revealing that he could use the Possession Puppetry Technique against Azure Cloud Sect disciples below the Soul Departure realm.

Ouyang and Leng Qingsong returned to the Azure Cloud Sect after resolving Leng Qingsong’s mortal-world karma, while Ouyang kept his suspicions about Ling Feng to himself. At the sect’s border, Chang Xiaoyue bid them farewell and reflected on her choice of Leng Qingsong as a husband.

• Leng Qingsong told Ouyang that the palace summoned by his sword seemed to call to him, and Ouyang said they would ask the old Sect Master about it after returning to the sect.
• Leng Qingsong said his sword heart was spotless and planned to stabilize his cultivation in seclusion, while Ouyang questioned the reliability of his system’s status panels.
• Ouyang and Leng Qingsong returned to the Azure Cloud Sect aboard the Flower Boat, and Hu Tutu celebrated by riding the Paper Crane around the boat.
• Chang Xiaoyue gave Ouyang two bottles of Hundred Flowers Fragrance for herself and her Mistress, then said she trusted her Master’s advice to choose the more honest Leng Qingsong as her husband.

Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu returned to the Azure Cloud Sect, where Bai Feiyu reacted violently after learning Ouyang had caused the commotion around the palace in the sky. Ouyang suspected the palace was connected to Bai Feiyu’s past life, perhaps even his grave.

• Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Hu Tutu reached the Azure Cloud Sect, where Ma Xingye recognized Ouyang and let them pass.
• Ma Xingye reflected on how the Inner Sect’s competition had left him feeling ordinary and unhappy despite his success.
• The three returned to Little Mountain Peak, but no one came out to welcome them, and they found Bai Feiyu staring blankly at the palace in the sky.
• Ouyang woke Bai Feiyu and boasted that he had caused the palace’s appearance, prompting Bai Feiyu to tackle and shake him.
• Bai Feiyu demanded to know what Ouyang had done, and Ouyang recalled that the Immortal Secret Realm suited Leng Qingsong before wondering if the palace was Bai Feiyu’s past-life grave.