Recaps

Chu Ge studied the cryptic notes his father had left in a copy of The Plum in the Golden X, while Qiu Wuji investigated the mirror and discovered how it responded to familiar people. Unable to decipher the clues, they decided to enter the book and examine them there.

• Chu Ge read his father's flyleaf remarks and underlined passages, which seemed to warn him not to get carried away and hinted at a world within a vessel.
• Qiu Wuji's attempt to probe the mirror with her divine sense failed when it swallowed her power and retaliated.
• Qiu Wuji concluded that the mirror showed a nonexistent world that could provide a basis for materialization, and that Chu Ge's father created things according to his understanding.
• Qiu Wuji sensed that the mirror behaved safely around Chu Ge but might attack unfamiliar intruders, leading them to suspect the old house held other hidden dangers.
• Chu Ge proposed recording his father's marked passages and entering the book to study them while building up a backlog of chapters.
• Qiu Wuji agreed, and the two decided to return to the book.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji used dual cultivation to restore his divine soul, but their shared sensations disrupted Qiu Wuji while she was teaching a queen inside the book. Afterward, Chu Ge told Qiu Wuji he wanted to conquer the world as a betrothal gift to her.

• Chu Ge realized the Great Joy and Ultimate Bliss Sutra could restore his strength, and he and Qiu Wuji began dual cultivating.
• While Qiu Wuji instructed the Queen of the Small Country about developing industry and commerce, the sensations from her divided soul left her trembling and unable to continue.
• Chu Ge's strengthened divine soul entered the book and supported Qiu Wuji, who sent the queen away before scolding him in private.
• Chu Ge explained that dual cultivation had let him enter the book without looking at the document, and Qiu Wuji angrily beat him on the Dragon Bed.
• Qiu Wuji challenged Chu Ge to win her over, and Chu Ge said he wanted to conquer the world as his betrothal gift to her.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji visited Yan Qianlie, who had forged a powerful new Dharma Body and was frustrated that the Earthfire Lotus Platform was in Hongfa Temple. Chu Ge explained that Yan Qianlie’s fate allowed him to obtain it and offered to help, then turned him back into Little Flame before they set off for the temple.

• Qiu Wuji told Chu Ge that the queen believed people needed a home to keep them from rebelling, prompting him to consider what Yan Qianlie might need.
• Yan Qianlie completed his new Dharma Body and learned that the Earthfire Lotus Platform he needed was at Hongfa Temple.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji arrived in the Heart of Blazing Flame, where Yan Qianlie complained that retrieving the platform would be difficult.
• Chu Ge explained that Yan Qianlie was destined to obtain the platform, though the events leading to it had not yet been written.
• Chu Ge offered to help Yan Qianlie and changed him into Little Flame before taking him and Qiu Wuji to Hongfa Temple.

Yan Qianlie visited Hongfa Temple with Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji disguised as his attendants, while they watched Great Compassion for signs of his understanding of heaven’s secrets. Great Compassion welcomed Yan Qianlie and agreed to give him the Bodhi Wonder Tree, leaving Yan stunned.

• Yan Qianlie announced his visit at Hongfa Temple’s mountain gate, startling the monks and awakening eminent monks from meditation.
• Great Compassion opened the temple to Yan Qianlie and welcomed him with a solemn reception.
• Yan Qianlie entered the Mahavira Hall with Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji disguised as attendants and discussed the Buddha’s form and nature with Great Compassion.
• Great Compassion questioned Yan Qianlie about his apparent devotion, and Yan Qianlie said he bowed to neither heaven nor earth.
• Yan Qianlie asked whether Great Compassion would give him the Bodhi Wonder Tree, and Great Compassion immediately ordered the monks to dig it up for him.

Yan Qianlie visited Hongfa Temple seeking the Earthfire Lotus Platform to save someone, but Dabei gave him the Bodhi Wonder Tree without asking for payment. Dabei then offered the lotus platform in exchange for the tree, revealing that he knew Yan Qianlie wanted to save lives and intended to use the gifts of Heaven to help him.

• Dabei said Hongfa Temple would give Yan Qianlie its Bodhi Wonder Tree, and monks brought the sacred tree to the hall.
• Yan Qianlie challenged Dabei with arguments about killing and merit, but Dabei warned that killing someone who had willingly given him a gift would leave him burdened by doubt and karma.
• Yan Qianlie asked for the Earthfire Lotus Platform, and Dabei agreed to give it to him in exchange for the Bodhi Wonder Tree.
• Dabei explained that Yan Qianlie sought the lotus platform to save someone, and pointed out Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji as he said Heaven cherished life.

After Yan Qianlie obtained the Earthfire Lotus Platform from Great Compassion, Chu Ge, Qiu Wuji, and Yan Qianlie were ambushed by a Buddha from the Heavenly Realm. Qiu Wuji severed the Buddha’s finger, and Yan Qianlie dragged his golden body through the inter-realm barrier into the mortal world.

• Chu Ge explained how Great Compassion had deduced Yan Qianlie’s purpose and chosen to give him the Earthfire Lotus Platform.
• Chu Ge, Qiu Wuji, and Yan Qianlie sensed a Buddha from the Heavenly Realm imprisoning them inside a palm-shaped Buddhist kingdom.
• Yan Qianlie fought the Buddha’s flames and broke free of his vajra power, but remained trapped within the Buddha’s palm.
• Qiu Wuji severed the Buddha’s descending finger with her sword, while Yan Qianlie revealed that the Buddha had attacked an illusion.
• Yan Qianlie seized the Buddha’s true body and dragged it through the inter-realm barrier into the mortal world.

Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianlie defeated a Buddha from the Heavenly Realm, while Dabei revealed that he had summoned the Buddha to test the Heavenly Dao. Dabei accepted Chu Ge as Father God after judging his actions and intentions.

• Qiu Wuji recognized the Buddha as a mechanical figure and waited for an opening to strike across the realm barrier.
• Qiu Wuji shattered the barrier as Yan Qianlie dragged the Buddha into the human realm, and she wounded him with her Heaven-Slaying Sword.
• Chu Ge called on Dabei, whose Jade Bodhi Tree sealed the fleeing Demon Buddha and began purifying him.
• Dabei explained that he had dug up the Bodhi Tree to test the Heavenly Dao and summon its Dharma protector in case of trouble.
• Dabei said he had found his answer in Chu Ge's choice to save others rather than enslave them, and accepted that he was already within the Buddha Kingdom.

After the group defeated the Buddhist figure Dabei, Chu Ge reflected on his growing connection to the living characters in his world, then helped Yan Qianlie prepare to resurrect his Master. As Chu Ge explained the Heavenly Realm’s power structure and offered to write Qiu Wuji’s advancement into her future, she agreed that her role as his female protagonist included helping complete his story.

• Dabei asked Chu Ge to return the Great Joy and Ultimate Bliss Sutra, embarrassing Qiu Wuji, while Yan Qianlie urged everyone to focus on resurrecting his Master.
• Dabei gave Yan Qianlie Buddhist treasures and took the sealed demonic Buddha back to his temple, while Yan Qianlie began the resurrection ritual in the Heart of Blazing Flame.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji discussed the Heavenly Realm’s ranks, and Chu Ge said he could make her a peak true immortal who could soon advance to profound immortal.
• Qiu Wuji agreed that Chu Ge could write her advancement if it served his vision for the story, saying that completing his story was part of her role as his female protagonist.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji argued over the scandal surrounding their relationship while Yan Qianlie’s murdered master returned through the Soul-Reposing Pearl. Yan Qianlie learned why she had let him survive, then was pulled into an intimate reunion as Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji left the cave and resumed bickering.

• Chu Ge tried to reassure Qiu Wuji, who scolded him over the sect’s reputation and the rumors about her and the Heavenly Dao.
• Yan Qianlie’s former master revived through the lotus pedestal and Soul-Reposing Pearl, then teased him about being a rebellious disciple.
• Yan Qianlie confronted his master about why she had hesitated to kill him, and she admitted she had wanted to see him reach the heights of power.
• Yan Qianlie’s master said she had taught him the Soul-Reposing Pearl method so she could stay by his side, then kissed him and pinned him against the cave wall.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji left the cave, joked about Yan Qianlie’s fate, and began fighting after Qiu Wuji accused Chu Ge of enjoying the view.

Chu Ge learned that Qingyan needed to cultivate as a spirit in the Heavenly Realm to extend her existence, and Yan Qianlie and Qingyan agreed to refine elixirs for him. As Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji bickered on their way back, Chu Tiange returned to Shenzhou after advancing from Nascent Soul to Deification.

• Yan Qianlie brought Qingyan to thank Chu Ge for resurrecting her and asked how to save her from disappearing in three years.
• Chu Ge explained that Qingyan’s condition was Ghost Cultivation and that she needed to ascend to the Heavenly Realm to cultivate as a spirit.
• Qingyan offered to refine elixirs for Chu Ge, and Yan Qianlie joined her, promising their combined yin and yang fires would improve the results.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji left the Heart of Blazing Flame and teased each other as they flew away together.
• Chu Ge fell from Qiu Wuji’s sword after she kicked him, while Chu Tiange returned to Shenzhou having advanced from Nascent Soul to Deification.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji shared music and worked together on writing and painting at Cloudreach Mountain, while Xuanji admired their bond. When Chu Tiange returned, Chu Ge recognized that the protagonist he had once treated as his projection might become an adversary and decided to meet him.

• Chu Ge stood by the cliff as punishment, and he and Qiu Wuji played a zither-and-flute version of Chu Ge’s ringtone together.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji sat side by side to write and paint, while Xuanji watched and reported that Chu Tiange had returned to Autumn Water Hall.
• Chu Ge reflected that Chu Tiange had been given exceptional opportunities and might resent him for taking away the Female Protagonist.
• Chu Ge smiled and said he would go see the shadow that had once held a projection of himself.

Chu Tiange returned to the Cloudreach Sect and met with Qiu Wuji, bringing her the White Tiger Fang he had found overseas. When she offered him leadership of the sect, he refused, saying his future lay in pursuing the truth of Heaven.

• Chu Tiange returned to the Main Peak, reflected on his affection for the Cloudreach Sect, and paid his respects to Qiu Wuji.
• Qiu Wuji asked about Chu Tiange's years abroad, and he explained how he crossed the Endless Sea and encountered the peoples of the sea.
• Chu Tiange gave Qiu Wuji a White Tiger Fang he had found overseas, an item she had once needed for ascension.
• Qiu Wuji offered to appoint Chu Tiange the Cloudreach Sect's young master, but he declined because he wanted to pursue the Dao rather than power.
• Chu Tiange discussed Qiu Wuji's new disciple and said the sect's future rested with Heaven's Will.

Qiu Wuji questioned Chu Tiange about his return from Overseas and learned that people there sought to complete the Heavenly Dao, potentially bringing conflict to Shenzhou. She sent him to Skyreach City to warn them and left the consequences of his altered fate unresolved as Chu Ge agreed to wait until Chu Tiange was ready to seek the truth.

• Qiu Wuji asked Chu Tiange what he had learned Overseas, and he explained that its people shared Shenzhou’s roots, preserved ancient species, and believed the divided lands had made the Heavenly Dao incomplete.
• Chu Tiange warned that people from the other shore might have discovered a route to Shenzhou and could seek to complete the Heavenly Dao; Qiu Wuji realized this could lead to a struggle between the shores.
• Qiu Wuji told Chu Tiange that the sect would face the danger together and sent him as an envoy to Skyreach City with a warning to watch for changes.
• Qiu Wuji suggested that Chu Tiange speak with Xie Yuner and asked whether he wanted to meet her disciple, but he replied that it was better not to meet yet.
• After Chu Tiange left, Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge concluded that he sensed something was wrong with his fate, and Chu Ge said he would wait until Chu Tiange came to ask him about the truth.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji discussed Chu Tiange’s loyalty and the plot’s coming conflict before settling into a peaceful month together at the sect. Chu Ge’s growing control over the world became apparent as he transformed a jade slip into a book, leaving Qiu Wuji wondering what he might eventually be able to do.

• Qiu Wuji reflected on her role in complicating Chu Tiange’s relationship with Chu Ge, while Chu Ge explained that the overseas cultivators’ journey was part of the established plot.
• Chu Ge warned Qiu Wuji that Yan Qianlie’s attack on the Orthodox Path Alliance was also part of the plot, prompting her to threaten him and chase him around the house with scissors.
• Xuanji saw Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji playfully chasing each other, then was sent down the mountain when she tried to peek.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji sat together by the plum blossoms and agreed to keep watching Chu Tiange, whom Qiu Wuji considered a good and ambitious disciple.
• Chu Ge said he would stay with Qiu Wuji for at least a month and began studying The Plum in the Golden Vase from a jade slip.
• Chu Ge effortlessly transformed the jade slip into a thread-bound book, and Qiu Wuji recognized the act as evidence of his growing control over the world.

Xuanji reached Golden Core and prepared to leave her attendant post, but Qiu Wuji let her stay on Cloudreach Mountain. As spring arrived, Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji reflected on how their relationship had taken shape, while Qiu Wuji remained flustered by their growing intimacy.

• Xuanji visited Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge to say goodbye after reaching Golden Core.
• Qiu Wuji recommended that Xuanji take a position within the sect rather than risk a dangerous outside assignment.
• When Xuanji insisted on staying, Qiu Wuji tossed her off the mountain after mistaking her promise not to tell anyone for a hint about their private relationship.
• Chu Ge persuaded Qiu Wuji to keep Xuanji as her attendant, and Qiu Wuji called Xuanji back to care for the flowers.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji admired Qiu Wuji's portrait of him and quietly recalled how their life together had become real.
• Qiu Wuji fled to the wooden house in embarrassment and pressed down the pages of an embarrassing book as the spring breeze stirred them.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji discussed his cultivation and the sword technique he was learning, while growing more comfortable with their life together inside the book. The chapter left them embracing and kissing in Qiu Wuji’s bedchamber.

• Chu Ge told Qiu Wuji he had found no pattern in his father’s underlined passages, and they discussed his book and their work.
• Qiu Wuji reflected on Chu Ge’s unusual power as a Heavenly Dao Projection and his progress in cultivation.
• Chu Ge asked about the Autumn Waters Reach the Sky sword technique, and Qiu Wuji explained that mastering it required deep understanding and experience.
• Qiu Wuji suggested Chu Ge spend more time in the Myriad Sword Cave, and Chu Ge tried to bargain for affectionate encouragement.
• Chu Ge pulled Qiu Wuji into an embrace in her bedchamber and kissed her despite her protests.

Chu Ge experienced the difference between kissing Qiu Wuji’s true body and her Mortal World avatar, then was thrown into the Myriad Sword Cave to train. After he pushed himself to the third level and emerged badly wounded, Qiu Wuji carried him back, treated him, and rewarded his ambition with a kiss.

• Qiu Wuji noticed Chu Ge’s reaction while they kissed, teased him, and sent him to the second level of the Myriad Sword Cave.
• Chu Ge was overwhelmed by the sword energy, while Qiu Wuji watched from outside and privately scolded him for being distracted by the other Qiu Wuji.
• Qiu Wuji in the Mortal World also punched Idiot Typing Machine after storming into his room.
• Hours later, Chu Ge crawled out of the cave and told Qiu Wuji he had gone from the second level to the third because he wanted to grow stronger faster.
• Qiu Wuji carried the wounded Chu Ge back to her room, fed him a medicinal pill, and warned him not to train recklessly.
• Qiu Wuji praised Chu Ge’s ambition and kissed his cheek as a reward.

Chu Ge immersed himself in the sword intents of Cloudreach Sect’s Sword Trial Grotto, gaining a deeper understanding of the world he had created. After Qiu Wuji encouraged his cultivation and acknowledged her feelings, they shared a kiss beneath the moon.

• Chu Ge returned to the third level of the Sword Trial Grotto and endured its sword intents longer while witnessing the stories preserved in the sect’s sword scars.
• Chu Ge left the grotto and told a disciple that he had improved by finding a master who rewarded him.
• Chu Ge heard Qiu Wuji playing the zither on Main Peak and joined her with his flute.
• Chu Ge told Qiu Wuji that the weight of his world daunted him, and she encouraged him to trust his connection to it.
• Qiu Wuji explained that helping Chu Ge cultivate meant helping him gain control over her, then kissed him as his reward.

Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge grew more intimate during their time together in the book, while Chu Ge trained for the Sword Trial Grotto. As their return approached, Qiu Wuji struggled with parting from him, and the chapter ended with her urging him to go back before their closeness left her frustrated.

• Qiu Wuji kissed Chu Ge and encouraged him to rest, then secretly enjoyed how flustered he was.
• Qiu Wuji piled over a thousand books on Chu Ge to prepare him for the fourth level of the Sword Trial Grotto and promised him a reward if he behaved.
• Xuanji watched Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge share intimate moments, then told Elder Zhou that Chu Ge had defeated her in three moves.
• Elder Zhou reported that Chu Tiange had gone with Xie Yuner to investigate a strange giant, and Qiu Wuji told the sect to prepare for a coming challenge.
• Qiu Wuji told Chu Ge he had to return, and Chu Ge admitted he needed to go back before he died of pent-up frustration.

Qiu Wuji returned from the World Within the Book to reunite with Chu Ge, and the two shared an intimate morning together. Chu Ge showed that his growing control over the book’s world let him bring a heavenly snow lotus into reality, leaving them hopeful that he could eventually connect the Two Worlds.

• At the studio, Qiu Wuji realized that a month in the World Within the Book had amounted to only a few days in the Mortal World, then playfully wrestled with Zhu Mengmeng.
• Chu Ge called for Qiu Wuji, and she teleported home to join him, where they teased each other before she changed into her ancient clothing.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji spent the morning together, while the Qiu Wuji in the World Within the Book felt their intimacy from afar and lamented her loneliness.
• Afterward, Chu Ge admitted that his projection in the book could not share the same physical sensations as his true body, and Qiu Wuji called their intimacy a castle in the air until their true bodies met.
• Chu Ge produced a thousand-year heavenly snow lotus from the Cloudreach Sect and explained that his expanding control over the world could help him cultivate toward connecting the Two Worlds.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji enjoyed a meal together and discussed how cultivation and everyday life differed between their worlds. They went to the mall to shop for Qiu Wuji’s new phone and noticed a poster for a pianist’s concert, which inspired them to plan a traditional music outing.

• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji ate beef noodles together, teasing each other about food and their life in the book.
• They discussed how reaching Golden Core might change their need for food and joked about studying the Heavenly Dao.
• As they walked to the mall, Qiu Wuji said she wanted a better phone for taking pictures, and Chu Ge agreed to help her choose one.
• They stopped for milk tea and talked about the price and features of modern phones.
• Qiu Wuji spotted a poster for pianist Daniel Robin’s concert, and she and Chu Ge agreed to look for a traditional music concert to attend.

While buying new phones, Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji discussed music for the animation adaptation of Boundless Chu Tian and reviewed its first-season script. Chu Ge learned that the project’s music was being handled by Long Sijia’s company, whose famous boss, Daniel Robin, might compose for it.

• Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge bought matching new phones after noticing a poster advertising a pianist whose concert tickets were far too expensive.
• Qiu Wuji suggested posting a clip of them playing the zither and flute, and Chu Ge proposed using her music as background music for the animation.
• Chu Ge found an email requesting his review of the animation script, approved the first season, and asked whether Qiu Wuji could submit background music.
• Long Sijia told Chu Ge that his company had been hired to make the animation’s music and that its boss, Daniel Robin, might compose it himself.
• Chu Ge realized that Daniel Robin was the pianist from the poster and wondered whether this coincidence could give him a chance to meet the maestro.

Chu Ge weighed the need to accelerate adaptations before his novel ended, then tried to bring Yan Qianlie into the real world and discovered he could not. Yan Qianlie appeared after Chu Ge provoked him, giving Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji a new lead for bridging their worlds.

• Chu Ge estimated that about 1.3 million characters remained in his novel and asked Long Sijia to keep him updated on the animation music project and gather information about his boss.
• Qiu Wuji told Chu Ge that the Black Room group had gone to the Capital for intensive training after being sidelined during the Magic City events.
• Chu Ge prepared to break through to Golden Core and tried to pull Yan Qianlie out, but could only bring out Qingyan because Yan Qianlie had become too powerful to extract.
• Qiu Wuji suggested Yan Qianlie might send out a Divided Soul, but Chu Ge found that Yan Qianlie could not sense him across the Inter-Realm Barrier.
• Chu Ge threatened to sell Qingyan, prompting Yan Qianlie to appear beside him as a ball of crimson flame, and Qiu Wuji realized their communication offered a way to search between the worlds.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji discussed Yan Qianlie’s role, his alchemy, and Qiu Wuji’s research into the Mirror before discovering that Boundless Chu Tian had been published in print. Their excitement turned to anger when they opened the book and found that someone had changed Chu Ge’s writing.

• Chu Ge told Yan Qianlie to alert him if the Overseas forces planned to defy Heaven, and he and Qiu Wuji discussed using Yan Qianlie’s flames to refine powerful pills.
• Chu Ge reflected on Yan Qianlie’s new potential and left the two flames to work together in the Alchemy Room Across the Door.
• Qiu Wuji explained how studying the Mirror had improved her spatial abilities, and Chu Ge suggested testing a different medium for connecting fiction and reality.
• Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji took their manuscripts to a print shop and found Boundless Chu Tian (1) in the neighboring bookshop.
• Chu Ge opened the published book, saw that its sentences had been altered, and angrily demanded to know who had changed them.

Chu Ge discovered that the publisher had altered his novel without permission and feared the changes could affect the World Within the Book. After he publicly demanded an accurate reprint or an end to publication, his followers overwhelmed the publisher, which contacted him to apologize.

• Chu Ge found that the publisher had changed wording and deleted sentences in his book, so he photographed the pages and left the bookstore in anger.
• Qiu Wuji collected their manuscripts and artwork, then followed Chu Ge home as he worried the unauthorized changes might affect the World Within the Book.
• Chu Ge posted a Weibo declaration demanding that the publisher reprint his book exactly as written or stop publication.
• Chu Ge's followers shared the post, and their comments and calls swamped the publisher's social media and phone lines.
• The publisher contacted the website, which blamed it for failing to communicate with Chu Ge despite having his contact information.
• A publisher's editor sent Chu Ge a QQ request to apologize, and Qiu Wuji called the fandom's power a demonic sword that harmed both sides.