Recaps

Zhao Qiansun woke after Ouyang had healed him and received a second-grade Dao Enlightenment Pill from Bai Feiyu as repayment. After Tai'a offered to take Leng Qingsong as a Registered Disciple, Ouyang tried to claim the Sword-Questioning Pool for Little Mountain Peak.

• Ouyang and Tai'a brawled beside the Sword-Questioning Pool while Chen Changsheng watched over the unconscious Leng Qingsong.
• Zhao Qiansun woke and accepted Bai Feiyu's second-grade Dao Enlightenment Pill, then followed him toward the fight.
• Tai'a and Ouyang stopped fighting to drink together, and Tai'a praised Ouyang while he pretended to sleep.
• Tai'a proposed making Leng Qingsong his Registered Disciple so the younger cultivator could temper his Green Lotus Sword Intent at the Sword-Questioning Pool.
• Ouyang agreed to the arrangement and immediately asked Tai'a to move the Sword-Questioning Pool to Little Mountain Peak.

Ouyang used Liang Zai to move the Sword-Questioning Pool into the Minor World inside the dog, intending it to strengthen Leng Qingsong’s Sword Dao. Tai'a confronted them, but after meeting Liang Zai’s gaze and hearing his words, he seemed to grasp something and broke free of unseen restraints.

• Tai'a wagered that Ouyang could not move the Sword-Questioning Pool, promising it to him if he succeeded and demanding Leng Qingsong stay for twenty years if he failed.
• Liang Zai swallowed the Sword-Questioning Pool and Leng Qingsong, while Chen Changsheng used recordings of Tai'a’s promise to stop him from taking the pool back.
• Ouyang revealed that Liang Zai held the Minor World inside his stomach and had moved the pool there so Leng Qingsong could absorb the Sword Intent and train.
• Tai'a reached for Liang Zai, but their gazes met, and Liang Zai said, "A sword has a spirit, yet is only a blade!"
• Tai'a released Ouyang, appeared to understand something, and yanked at his neck as a metallic crack rang out.

Tai'a recognized the enormous karmic debt he owed Hu Yun and agreed to lend Ouyang the Sword-Questioning Pool before returning to the Sword Sect. Ouyang and his junior brothers later invited Zhao Qiansun to join their sects, but he refused and left, while Ouyang quietly watched the Star he had plucked disappear.

• Tai'a realized the scale of his karmic debt to Hu Yun and agreed to lend Ouyang the Sword-Questioning Pool.
• Tai'a left for the Sword Sect, promising to return for the group once the Black-Clothed Lad woke up.
• Ouyang vented his frustration by wrestling Bai Feiyu, who blamed Chen Changsheng for provoking him.
• Ouyang asked Zhao Qiansun to join the Azure Cloud Sect or the Sword Sect, but Zhao Qiansun refused both offers and departed.
• Bai Feiyu called Zhao Qiansun a promising prospect, and Chen Changsheng asked whether they should eliminate him; Ouyang said their paths would cross again as fate decreed.

Ouyang discovered that Dongxu Zi’s star had chosen Zhao Qiansun as the Sect Master’s next disciple, but Zhao refused to join the Azure Cloud Sect. Ouyang then gave Bai Feiyu the bluebird he had awakened from Ou Yezi’s sword, and the bird settled on Bai Feiyu’s shoulder as Bai Feiyu recognized his old companion.

• Dongxu Zi’s star appeared in Ouyang’s hand when he invited Zhao Qiansun to join the Azure Cloud Sect, marking Zhao as Dongxu Zi’s intended disciple.
• Zhao Qiansun decisively refused to join the sect and chose to remain a rogue cultivator.
• Ouyang remembered the bluebird he had brought back and took it from inside his robe.
• Bai Feiyu recognized Ou Yezi’s familiar presence in the bluebird and struggled to ask Ouyang about it.
• Ouyang teased Bai Feiyu by proposing the name Dickfeather, and the bluebird pecked at Ouyang’s forehead.
• The bluebird flew to Bai Feiyu’s shoulder, where Bai Feiyu silently welcomed Ou Yezi back.

Ling Feng emerged from seclusion and told Chen Changsheng that he wanted to create a world where everyone was equal. After Chen Changsheng left, Ling Feng expelled a junior disciple for malicious gossip.

• Dongxu Zi asked Ling Feng and Chen Changsheng about their insights from contemplating the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure, then dismissed them to digest what they had learned.
• Ling Feng invited Chen Changsheng down the mountain and spoke of his goal to create a world where everyone was equal.
• Chen Changsheng praised Ling Feng's ambition and left, while Ling Feng watched him go without revealing his suspicions.
• A junior disciple mocked Ling Feng's clothing, and Ling Feng ordered him expelled from the sect for malicious gossip.

Chen Changsheng visited Azure Cloud Peak and found Ling Feng forcing disciples into ruthless competition to prepare them for the dangers ahead. Ling Feng defended his harsh rules as a way to help them survive, and Chen Changsheng listened while grappling with memories of the coming calamity.

• Chen Changsheng decided to accept Ling Feng’s invitation and traveled to Azure Cloud Peak.
• Chen Changsheng saw one disciple stab another to seize his waist token under Ling Feng’s new elimination rules.
• An injured disciple explained that losing the competition could get him expelled from Azure Cloud Peak or the Azure Cloud Sect, and said the Sect Master had approved the sparring system.
• Chen Changsheng questioned Ling Feng’s cruelty as Ling Feng arrived on an immortal crane to take him away.
• Ling Feng argued that the disciples needed to become stronger to survive the dangers beyond the sect, while Chen Changsheng recalled the future’s devastation.

Chen Changsheng resisted Ling Feng’s persuasive words and left Azure Cloud Sect with him to investigate whether Zu Yuan’s heart demon had possessed a man in the Mortal World. Ling Feng claimed he intended to kill the demon, but Chen Changsheng sensed danger as Ling Feng embraced his ambition to rise to the top despite everyone’s suspicions.

• Ouyang’s voice broke Ling Feng’s influence over Chen Changsheng, who acknowledged Ling Feng’s argument but refused to agree with him.
• Ling Feng and Chen Changsheng rode cranes away from Azure Cloud Sect, while Dongxu Zi watched them leave from Azure Cloud Peak.
• Ling Feng revealed that Ouyang had met a man named Lin Feng who resembled Zu Yuan and suggested that his heart demon had taken over Zu Yuan’s dead body.
• Chen Changsheng recalled Eldest Senior Brother’s encounter with a demonic cultivator who could possess others and asked whether Ling Feng meant to eliminate his heart demon.
• Ling Feng declared that he would kill the Devil Race remnant and, privately, resolved to turn his difficult circumstances into a path to power.

Ouyang, Bai Feiyu, and Chen Changsheng were escorted out of the Sword Sect after Leng Qingsong remained unconscious and the Sword-Questioning Pool lay in ruins. They returned through a teleportation gate to find a melancholy middle-aged man struggling with a White Crane.

• Bai Feiyu told Ouyang that Leng Qingsong would need a long time to absorb the Sword-Questioning Pool's swords and the Sword Immortal's legacy.
• Song Mu arrived, saw the destroyed Sword-Questioning Pool, and told the three senior brothers that he had been ordered to escort them back to the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Ouyang had repeatedly damaged the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain-protecting formation, which was also its teleportation gate.
• Song Mu challenged Bai Feiyu to surpass him, and Bai Feiyu joined Ouyang, Chen Changsheng, the dog, and the Azure Bird as they teleported away.
• The group arrived at the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain-protecting formation and saw a melancholy middle-aged man grappling with a White Crane.

Hu Yun returned to the Azure Cloud Sect, was beaten by the white crane, and reunited with Ouyang, Bai Feiyu, and Chen Changsheng. Ouyang confronted him over his secret interference in their affairs, but the disciples ended by welcoming him back as their master.

• The white crane beat Hu Yun, who had returned after reporting to the Sect Master, and left him sprawled before the watching crowd.
• Hu Yun forced the spectators to kneel and ordered each of them to deliver three hundred copies of the Azure Cloud Introductory Qi Refining Art by the next day.
• Hu Yun ran to greet Ouyang and his companions, but Liang Zai bit his hand when Ouyang held the dog up to him.
• Ouyang grabbed Hu Yun by the throat and demanded an explanation for his behind-the-scenes schemes, while Hu Yun asked him to save face in public.
• Ouyang, Bai Feiyu, and Chen Changsheng bowed to Hu Yun and welcomed him back to the mountain as their master.

Hu Yun returned to Azure Cloud Sect, alarming its senior disciples, and reunited with Ouyang and the others on Little Mountain Peak. After noticing Ouyang’s condition, he brought the group home and used his words to transform the peak into a snowy New Year scene.

• Hu Yun’s return to Azure Cloud Sect caused Peak Masters and Elders to seal their gates and warn their disciples to stay put.
• Hu Yun reunited with Ouyang, Bai Feiyu, and Liang Zai, asked about Qingsong, and noticed something was wrong with Ouyang.
• Ouyang signaled Hu Yun not to reveal the loss of his lifespan, and Hu Yun led them toward Little Mountain Peak on a cloud.
• Hu Yun told stories during the journey and declared that auspicious snow would herald a bountiful year.
• Hu Yun’s words brought autumn leaves and heavy snow to Little Mountain Peak, impressing Ouyang, Chen Changsheng, and Bai Feiyu with his Words Become Law.

Ouyang returned with Hu Yun and the others to Little Mountain Peak, where they held their annual meeting. Hu Yun learned that Xiao Feng was playing with Hu Tutu in the Forbidden Land and asked for him to come in.

• Hu Yun restored the courtyard gate’s couplets and lanterns before entering Little Mountain Peak with Ouyang and the others.
• Ouyang told Hu Yun he had found another disciple, Xiao Feng, and Hu Yun acknowledged the news.
• At the annual meeting, Ouyang and Hu Yun argued over their IOUs until Chen Changsheng began reading aloud his detailed household ledger.
• Ouyang fell asleep from exhaustion, and Hu Yun praised him for taking good care of Chen Changsheng and Bai Feiyu.
• Hu Tutu ran in, called Hu Yun “Daddy,” and told him she had gone with Xiao Feng to play with the spirit beasts in the Forbidden Land.
• Hu Yun destroyed Ouyang’s Recording Stone and asked for Xiao Feng to come in.

Xiao Feng entered Little Mountain Peak’s hall to meet Hu Yun, but the Eye of Heavenly Punishment between his brows suddenly blasted Hu Yun apart. Hu Yun reassembled and then angrily declared that Xiao Feng could never become his disciple, leaving Xiao Feng’s hopes of joining Little Mountain Peak shattered.

• Xiao Feng nervously entered the hall, knelt before Hu Yun, and asked to become his disciple.
• The Eye of Heavenly Punishment between Xiao Feng’s brows opened by itself and struck Hu Yun with Purple Empyrean World-Annihilating Lightning, scattering him into fragments.
• Ouyang forced the Eye of Heavenly Punishment back inside Xiao Feng’s forehead, and Hu Yun reassembled while Xiao Feng apologized in fear.
• Hu Yun scolded Xiao Feng for attacking him before becoming his disciple, and Ouyang, Chen Changsheng, Bai Feiyu, and Hu Tutu knelt when Hu Yun ordered them to.
• Hu Yun forbade Xiao Feng from joining Little Mountain Peak and told him never to claim he was Hu Yun’s disciple or seek him again.

Xiao Feng was devastated when Hu Yun refused to accept him as a disciple, but Ouyang reassured him and went to ask Hu Yun why. Hu Yun explained that Xiao Feng needed hardship to grow, then revealed that Ouyang’s unexpected appearance had changed Qingsong’s destined path and Hu Yun’s plans.

• Hu Yun rejected Xiao Feng, leaving him convinced that he had nowhere to belong, while Hu Tutu offered to beg her father for him.
• Ouyang told Xiao Feng not to despair and sent Chen Changsheng, Bai Feiyu, Xiao Feng, and Hu Tutu away so he could speak privately with Hu Yun.
• Ouyang saw that Hu Yun had suddenly aged and joked with him before asking why he had refused Xiao Feng.
• Hu Yun told Ouyang that Xiao Feng needed to rely on himself and endure danger to develop his strength, so Little Mountain Peak would only hold him back.
• Hu Yun revealed that Qingsong had been destined to become Tai'a’s disciple, but Ouyang’s unexpected appearance in Maple Leaf City changed his decision.

Ouyang confronted Hu Yun about arranging his disciples’ lives and learned that Hu Yun had altered fate at the cost of his own life. Hu Yun revealed that Ouyang’s namelessness marked him as an outsider to the world, then left the future in his disciples’ hands as the New Year approached.

• Ouyang asked Hu Yun whether he had arranged his disciples’ paths, and Hu Yun admitted he had hoped to guide them toward good futures.
• Hu Yun said he had arranged for Xiaoyue to go to the Mortal World, but an unexpected change involving the Old Emperor disrupted his calculations.
• Hu Yun confessed that changing heavenly fate had cost him his life, and Ouyang grabbed him by the collar and vowed not to let him die.
• Hu Yun explained that Ouyang could not keep a given name because the world did not recognize him as one of its people, and said his own fate had been set when he took Ouyang as a disciple.
• Hu Yun said Changsheng was the disciple destined to change the world, but he would leave the answer to his disciples rather than calculate again.
• Hu Yun told Ouyang that he would shoulder what he could, then lamented that he had only wanted to share a New Year’s meal of dumplings with them.

Ouyang struggled with Hu Yun’s planned death while Xiao Feng prepared to leave Little Mountain Peak after Hu Yun refused to accept him as a disciple. Hu Yun secretly acknowledged Xiao Feng as a student in his heart and made name plaques for all his disciples, including Xiao Feng.

• Ouyang left Hu Yun’s room, unable to accept that his master had planned his own death and that Ouyang could not save him.
• Ouyang told Chen Changsheng not to bring up Xiao Feng’s departure again and said Xiao Feng would leave after the New Year.
• Hu Tutu tried to persuade Hu Yun to accept Xiao Feng, then cried when Xiao Feng announced he was leaving that day.
• Chen Changsheng gave Xiao Feng dumplings, and Ouyang gave him storage bags with supplies before Xiao Feng said goodbye.
• Xiao Feng kowtowed three times to Hu Yun and left Little Mountain Peak without looking back.
• Hu Yun sighed over wooden plaques bearing his disciples’ names, including Xiao Feng’s, and called the boy foolish for bowing as though Hu Yun were his teacher.

Xiao Feng left Little Mountain Peak after developing a dragon-headed form through his Azure Dragon bloodline and resolved to seek his own path beyond the Azure Cloud Sect. Ma Xingye, burdened by his own doubts about the sect, chose to leave with him.

• Xiao Feng vented his frustration on the mountain path, displaying his new dragon-headed form and its increased strength.
• Xiao Feng treasured Senior Sister's handkerchief and the withered flower she had given him, then said he would prove himself when they met again.
• Ma Xingye encountered Xiao Feng and asked whether his training had caused the rockslide.
• Xiao Feng told Ma Xingye he intended to leave the Azure Cloud Sect and venture into the wider world.
• Ma Xingye admitted the sect made him feel suffocated and offered to leave with Xiao Feng, who agreed.

After Xiao Feng left Little Mountain Peak, Hu Yun checked Leng Qingsong, asked Ouyang to visit his prospective brides, and celebrated New Year's Eve with the others. Hu Yun gave Bai Feiyu a diary linked to Li Taibai's past life, leaving Bai Feiyu wondering whether Hu Yun knew his secret.

• Little Mountain Peak returned to its quiet routine after Xiao Feng left, while Hu Tutu rode the Paper Crane and remembered giving him her lucky handkerchief.
• Hu Yun examined Leng Qingsong in Ouyang's Minor World and said that the Ancient Sword Immortal's legacy and the Sword-Questioning Pool's sword intent might let him advance several cultivation realms when he woke.
• Hu Yun asked Ouyang to visit his old friends, then revealed he had arranged childhood betrothals for Ouyang and called himself Ouyang's father.
• On New Year's Eve, Hu Tutu received a pellet drum from Hu Yun during the New Year's greetings.
• Hu Yun gave Bai Feiyu a yellowed booklet titled "Xiao Bai's Diary," and Bai Feiyu suspected Hu Yun had divined his identity as Li Taibai.

Chen Changsheng visited Hu Yun, who restored his damaged wooden monkey puppet by giving it a fragment of Chen Changsheng’s Nascent Soul and turning it into an independent incarnation. Hu Yun hinted that he knew more than he let on about Chen Changsheng’s choices and warned him that changing causes would bring different consequences.

• Bai Feiyu accepted Hu Yun’s copy of "Xiao Bai's Diary" with deep gratitude and left his room.
• Chen Changsheng came to Hu Yun in his true body, kowtowed, and let his master retrieve the damaged wooden monkey puppet from his sleeve.
• Hu Yun restored the puppet and separated a miniature Nascent Soul from Chen Changsheng to give it an independent mind and life.
• The newly animated monkey declared itself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, then hid in Chen Changsheng’s robes after Hu Yun flicked its forehead.
• Chen Changsheng asked how much Hu Yun knew, recalling how his master had once sacrificed himself to face the invading Devil Race and save him and his Eldest Senior Brother.
• Hu Yun warned Chen Changsheng that changing causes would produce different effects, then urged him to love himself before trying to protect everyone else.

Ouyang confronted Hu Yun about the sacrifices and secret plans surrounding Leng Qingsong and Chang Xiaoyue. Hu Yun warned that information itself could reveal their plans to an unseen observer, then hinted that Chang Xiaoyue carried a great destiny and ended with a sorrowful reflection on unattained desires.

• Ouyang entered Hu Yun's room and refused to accept that Hu Yun had little time left, cursing him for risking his life.
• Ouyang kowtowed to Hu Yun on behalf of Leng Qingsong, who remained unconscious inside the dog's belly.
• Ouyang asked whether Hu Yun had arranged Leng Qingsong's marriage to Chang Xiaoyue to keep him from falling fully into Supreme Forgetfulness, but Hu Yun mocked his guess.
• Hu Yun warned Ouyang that anything communicated aloud, in writing, or by voice transmission would be detected by an unseen force, and questioned whether it had allowed Ouyang to gouge out the Eye of Heavenly Punishment.
• Hu Yun said Chang Xiaoyue had chosen her own path after receiving a jade pendant and that she carried a great destiny; he suggested that wanting her not to survive might be what allowed her to survive.

Ouyang realized the Immortals, not the Devil Race, were behind the catastrophe tied to reopening the Immortal Path, and feared the unknown system he carried. As Hu Yun vanished after granting him a Dao Contemplation, the system completed its initial mission and the world’s heavenly signs gathered around Little Mountain Peak.

• Ouyang deduced that Hu Yun believed Leng Qingsong was Li Taibai’s reincarnation and that the Immortals planned to reopen the Immortal Gate, bringing catastrophe to the world.
• Ouyang admitted his fear to Hu Yun and begged him not to leave, while Hu Yun told him that his inability to sense the Dao had been caused by Hu Yun himself.
• Hu Yun granted Ouyang a Dao Contemplation, dissolved into starlight, and left the pale-yellow jade that appeared in Ouyang’s palm.
• The jade entered Zhao Qiansun’s forehead, and he broke through from Core Formation to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• The system announced that Ouyang had completed his initial mission by forming karmic connections with five children of heavenly fate, as immense heavenly phenomena appeared over Little Mountain Peak.
• Ouyang sensed the Dao for the first time, and Hu Yun’s fading voice told him, “Signs Follow the Quadrant!”

Ouyang recognized Hu Yun as a fellow transmigrator and entered his first enlightenment as Hu Yun’s disciples guarded his room. At Azure Cloud Peak, Hu Yun revealed that his life was nearly spent and that he had left the next choices to his disciples, while Dongxu Zi and Su Xiaoqi faced the impending loss of another senior brother.

• Ouyang realized Hu Yun was a fellow countryman and experienced his first enlightenment, sensing the Dao as Little Mountain Peak filled with auspicious light.
• Chen Changsheng and Bai Feiyu guarded Hu Yun’s room, believing that Ouyang was receiving Hu Yun’s gift of enlightenment.
• Su Xiaoqi confronted Dongxu Zi about his secret recitation of the Rebirth Mantra and left after smashing the Main Hall floor with her fist.
• Hu Yun told Dongxu Zi that his vitality was nearly exhausted and that he would stop calculating outcomes, leaving his disciples to shape what happened next.
• Dongxu Zi asked to die in Hu Yun’s place, but Hu Yun refused and told him and Xiaoqi to take care of themselves.
• After Hu Yun and Su Xiaoqi left, Dongxu Zi secretly opened the Rebirth Sutra and prayed for his junior brother.

During the world’s sudden wave of Dao enlightenment, Tai'a gave up his Green Lotus Sword Intent to establish a new path for Song Mu, then watched as Hu Yun confronted a force descending on Little Mountain Peak. Hu Yun vanished after striking at the sky, while Ouyang broke through to Foundation Establishment and felt something stirring inside him.

• Tai'a asked Song Mu to start cultivating anew, then told him he would become the Sword Sect Ancestor.
• Tai'a destroyed his Green Lotus Sword Intent and placed a white Lotus Seed in Song Mu’s Dantian, transforming his disciple’s cultivation.
• Tai'a’s cultivation fell before rising again to Tribulation Transcendence Sixth Stage as he resolved to forge a new path for the Sword Sect.
• Golden chains descended toward everyone on Little Mountain Peak, and Hu Yun seized and snapped them before charging into the sky.
• Ouyang advanced from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment as the purple qi and golden lotuses vanished, then complained that his body felt as if he were about to grow a brain.

After Hu Yun sacrificed himself, Ouyang broke through to Foundation Establishment and learned that Hu Yun had disrupted the system, forcing it to upgrade. Ouyang accepted responsibility for his junior disciples and asked Su Xiaoqi to guide Hu Tutu, while holding onto hope that Hu Yun would return.

• Ouyang completed his breakthrough as Hu Yun severed the golden chains binding Little Mountain Peak, then disrupted the system and vanished from Ouyang’s mind as it began upgrading.
• Ouyang told Chen Changsheng and Bai Feiyu that Hu Yun had left, and they congratulated him on reaching Foundation Establishment; Ouyang worried that future breakthroughs might demand another sacrifice.
• Ouyang honored Li Taibai and Hu Yun by adding the words “white clouds” to the calligraphy in Hu Yun’s room, then put away the wooden plaques of the six disciples.
• Su Xiaoqi asked whether Hu Yun was truly dead, and Ouyang reassured her before asking her to take special care of Hu Tutu’s cultivation.
• Ouyang took the dumplings Chen Changsheng had brought for Hu Yun and smiled at the clouds, saying he would feed Hu Yun when he returned.

Ouyang struggled to study cultivation notes while Little Mountain Peak descended into chaos, and Hu Tutu tried to escape her qin lessons. Su Xiaoqi took control of the lesson and ordered Hu Tutu to practice for sixteen hours.

• Ouyang fell asleep while reading Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation notes and wondered what mission the system would give him next.
• Bai Feiyu read Xiao Bai's Diary and laughed as Diao Mao pecked him in the head.
• Chen Changsheng chased Little Bie San and Liang Zai through the courtyard after they stole a whole pot, and the monkey dropped it over Hu Yan's head.
• Hu Tutu fled her qin lesson to complain to Ouyang, who carried her back to Su Xiaoqi.
• Su Xiaoqi used the qin to make Hu Tutu sit down and ordered her to practice for sixteen hours.

Ouyang met with Su Xiaoqi, who agreed to teach Hu Tutu, before they were summoned to an Azure Cloud Sect meeting. The meeting ended with Dongxu Zi announcing that Little Mountain Peak would be stripped of its peak designation.

• Ouyang poured tea for Su Xiaoqi and explained that Hu Yun had found Hu Tutu, while they both mourned Hu Yun’s uncertain fate.
• Su Xiaoqi promised to protect Little Mountain Peak and agreed to teach Hu Tutu the Qin Dao.
• Dongxu Zi summoned Su Xiaoqi and Ouyang to Azure Cloud Peak for a formal deliberation.
• Su Xiaoqi brought Ouyang to the Main Hall, where Dongxu Zi announced that Little Mountain Peak would lose its peak designation.