Arc 24Chapters 576–600
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Pei Ye broke into Yu Sicheng’s residence to investigate the Jiaozhu powder and found evidence that Yu Sicheng was studying passages between Mirage Realms. Yu Sicheng caught him and nearly overwhelmed him, but Pei Ye transformed into a Hornless Dragon and plunged with Yu Sicheng into an icy pool.
Pei Ye and the Black Chi entered the Mirage Realm through South Pool and discovered they could not draw on the spirit profound there. As they traveled north toward Bright Moon Palace, unseen creatures attacked them, and Pei Ye fought a fast, scaled predator in the darkness.
Pei Ye and the black cat fought through the Merfolk in the Mirage Realm while Yu Sicheng pursued them, then turned toward the creatures’ source after realizing their sense of direction was unreliable. As the Merfolk closed in around them, Pei Ye detected a delicate fragrance in the dark water.
Pei Ye discovered the Goddess of the Luo River Wood Peach, whose gift restored his senses and control of water, and fought through the Merfolk toward Yu Sicheng. He entered the forbidden depths with Black Cat, where a Water-Splitting Daggers-wielding human ambushed him.
Pei Ye and Black Chi confronted Yu Sicheng in the grassy valley beyond the countercurrent, where the eunuch tried to stop them from going deeper. Pei Ye wounded Yu Sicheng but could not kill him, and Black Chi was hurled away as the fight continued.
After Yu Sicheng defeated Pei Ye, Pei Ye and Black Cat recovered in the Water Realm, where a mysterious spirit named Luo Weiyou guided them toward a route Yu Sicheng could not see. Following her directions, Pei Ye reached the surface and discovered a springlike pond and pavilion.
Pei Ye witnessed a vision of the late empress Wei Qingju reviewing an experimental flood-dragon-gold skeleton technique developed by a refined official and his short attendant. The vision ended with the attendant warning the official that the palace was dangerous and that Wei Qingju’s warning should be taken seriously.
Pei Ye explored the Water Realm with Luo Weiyou and learned that the hidden old palace of the Goddess of the Luo River was beyond reach, while he considered how to overcome Yu Sicheng’s iron bones. Before leaving, Pei Ye asked Luo Weiyou for more Goddess of the Luo River Wood Peach blossoms.
Pei Ye recovered with Luo Weiyou’s Scale Blossoms, fought his way out of the Water Realm, and escaped the merfolk by returning to the Daming Palace. After Li Xizhou sheltered him, he recounted what he had found and discussed the risks surrounding Yu Ziliang’s case.
Li Yao went to the palace gates to reclaim his ancestry but encountered his cousin Li Heng abusing a girl and fought to stop him. After Li Yao killed Li Heng with help from a young man, he insisted that people still had to answer for their actions amid the ruined capital.
Li Yao returned to the palace after killing Li Heng, denounced the gathered imperial relatives, and was imprisoned. Zhao Baibi helped him escape the capital and revealed that she had obtained the Imperial Heirloom Jade Seal, which awakened Li Yao’s cultivation and set him on a path to defend the realm; she ended by asking what the Luo River Goddess would do if the Prince of Chen betrayed her.
Pei Ye discussed palace legends and an upcoming wedding with Li Xizhou, then spoke with a correspondent through Knowing Intent about their National Gazettes and his injuries. The next morning, Qu Xin began treating him and explained the costly medicines she would use, while Pei Ye braced himself for the procedure.
Pei Ye brought Qu Xin to examine Guo You, whose consciousness was trapped in a dreamlike memory, and she diagnosed his condition as soul separation. With Li Xizhou providing Guo You’s background and agreeing to the consultation fee, Qu Xin began a treatment that required Pei Ye to guide the old man’s qi with his flame.
Qu Xin treated Guo You with the Spirit Pivot Heart-Knocking Record, helping him regain awareness so Pei Ye could question him about the Mercury Blossoms Floating Raft. Guo You suddenly fled after beginning to recall its creation, and Pei Ye set out to pursue him with Li Xianfang while Qu Xin stayed behind.
Li Xizhou and Pei Ye questioned the delusional Guo You about the [Mercury Blossoms Floating Raft] and deduced that its battle with Yu Sicheng likely took place at Bright Moon Palace. As they headed there, Li Xizhou revealed that the Nourishing Intent Tower’s Artifact Masters involved in the raft’s creation had all died in the purge after Wei Qingju’s death.
Li Xizhou and Pei Ye searched Bright Moon Palace for evidence of a battle connected to the late Empress’s death but found no traces. They concluded that Ziliang’s Mercury Blossoms Floating Raft had fought there to protect her, and began considering whether its people had attacked or defended.
Pei Ye uncovered evidence that a fierce battle had taken place on the path to Bright Moon Palace, including spear strikes, intense scorching, and a damaged fragment from the [Mercury Blossoms Floating Raft]. He suspected the flame that damaged it was Qilin Flame and asked Li Xizhou, the Qilin-Blood Princess, whether the blood on the fragment affected her, but she felt nothing.
Pei Ye and Li Xizhou planned to borrow Qilin Flame from Li Zhi to counter Yu Sicheng, while Meng'er searched beneath Scenic Pool’s ice for something Empress Wei might have left behind. The chapter ended with Meng'er limping back toward Clear Thought Hall after a day of chiseling, still determined to find it.
Meng'er was attacked by Your Eighth Highness while hurrying back to Clear Thought Hall, as Yong Ji and Yu Sicheng discussed Pei Ye’s progress and their plan to enter the Goddess of the Luo River Palace. At the Vermilion Mirror Side Hall, Qu Xin prepared trigger puppets to help treat Guo You and unexpectedly gave one to Pei Ye.
Pei Ye, Li Xizhou, and Qu Xin examined Guo You’s memories of Ziliang’s defeat and discovered that Guo You’s breakdown had come from a later consequence tied to his own regret. They prepared to question him about the Purple-Gold Body Bones after Li Xizhou’s reply from the Nourishing Intent Tower arrived.
Pei Ye and Li Xizhou used Guo You’s memories and the Nourishing Intent Tower’s detailed plans to learn how the [Mercury Blossoms Floating Raft] worked and identify its weak points. Li Xizhou then revealed that the Guo Family believed the Goddess of the Luo River ruled a vast Immortal Realm, and that Yu Sicheng and others might be trying to seize control of it.
Li Xizhou and Pei Ye discussed Guo You’s reconstruction of a classic and Pei Ye’s past battles as they prepared to face Yu Sicheng. The next day, Li Xizhou finished analyzing Guo You’s writing and invited Pei Ye to examine her deductions.
Li Xizhou explained the Guo family’s laws of the spirit realm, and Pei Ye used them to distinguish two ways of entering it and infer that the Goddess of the Luo River Palace was a separate, hidden realm from the Mirage Realm. The chapter ended with Pei Ye proposing that the two realms were separate in broad terms but connected as one in essence.
Pei Ye and Li Xizhou explored how the Mirage Realm and the Goddess of the Luo River Palace might be connected, while preparing to stop Yu Sicheng from obtaining what Li Xizhou’s mother left behind. After failing to find a Boundary Marker in the old Jade Hail Garden, Pei Ye concluded that Yu Sicheng might use the site and Scenic Pool to reach the palace.
Pei Ye and Li Xizhou deduced that Yu Sicheng needed to alter his body and open a water gate to enter the Goddess of the Luo River Palace, but they could not determine how he could open it. Pei Ye stopped Li Cannan from beating Meng'er and learned that Meng'er believed a secret passage held a way to wash the qilin blood from Li Xizhou; the chapter ended as palace legends about the Spirit Realm were described.