Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye confided in Qi Zhaohua about his distress over Li Piaoqing, and she helped him realize that he had feelings for her too. She then urged him to keep those feelings from growing by telling Li Piaoqing he would soon leave Bowang for the Divine Capital and never return.

• Qi Zhaohua explained that she had traded away her reputation and other things when she needed to, while Pei Ye apologized for judging her and admitted he felt miserable about Piao Qing.
• Qi Zhaohua asked Pei Ye to compare his closeness with Li Piaoqing to his friendship with other women, pointing out that he was unusually playful with Li Piaoqing and had hidden his sword technique from her.
• Pei Ye realized that he likely liked Li Piaoqing and started to leave to find her, but Qi Zhaohua stopped him and reminded him that she had advised him to curb the budding relationship.
• Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye that he and Li Piaoqing carried different burdens and stood too far apart, then urged him to say he would leave Bowang for the Divine Capital and not return.

Pei Ye decided he would find a way to enter the Divine Capital’s Sword Cultivation Academy with Piao Qing, then returned to the Martial Arts Hall and studied the Sword Manual. Sui Zaihua took him to the Immortal Platform, where Wu Dong reported that two Soul-Seizing case files had vanished from a desk while he was in the room.

• Pei Ye told Miss Qi he would make it possible for himself and Piao Qing to enter the Divine Capital’s Sword Cultivation Academy together.
• A man and his younger companion hid from a figure flying across the sky, and the man identified the passerby as Ming Qitian.
• Pei Ye returned to the Martial Arts Hall, took Snow-Collapsing from Yang Yan, and privately studied the Sword Manual while discussing his plans with the black cat.
• Sui Zaihua received a Blue Bird Sends Feathers message about trouble at the Immortal Platform and brought Pei Ye there.
• Wu Dong told Sui Zaihua, An Zang, and Pei Ye that two Soul-Seizing case files had disappeared from his desk during a two-and-a-half-breath interval, despite his staying in the room.

Pei Ye and three Grandmasters searched the Immortal Platform’s sealed archive and found that the remaining Soul-Seizing case files were intact, suggesting the thief could not breach its strongest defenses. When an unseen presence struck as they prepared to leave, Sui Zaihua froze the room with his spiritual art but caught nothing, and the entity vanished after the Chi Shadow sensed it through Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant.

• An Zang outlined ways the thief might have bypassed Mistwater Listening to Truth, and the group went to inspect the archive’s remaining case files.
• Wu Dong opened the sealed archive, and the three Grandmasters found its rooms and defenses undisturbed.
• The group confirmed that all three remaining Soul-Seizing case files were originals, concluding that the thief had acted when Wu Dong carried the other files out.
• Pei Ye noticed the Fenghuai Candle-Illumination case record, then sensed an unseen presence above the empty Soul-Seizing compartment and drew his sword.
• Sui Zaihua used Covering the Mirror, Making a Painting to immobilize the archive, but his grasp found nothing.
• The Chi Shadow told Pei Ye it had sensed the thing from Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant, then reported that it was gone.

Wu Dong explained that the intruder could enter and leave the fourth floor but was blocked by the sealed Third-Tier Pavilion, then arranged an investigation while Pei Ye and Sui Zaihua continued their work. After discussing the intruder’s reaction to Yang Yan’s jade pendant with Black Cat, Pei Ye awoke to Ming Qitian’s unexpected visit and told her about his Martial Competition victory.

• Wu Dong compared the fourth floor with the Third-Tier Pavilion and told the group to study how its materials, seals, and spiritual qi lock might block the intruder.
• Wu Dong sent the others back, arranged to meet at the Prefectural Office before noon, and stayed at the Immortal Platform to investigate.
• Pei Ye told Black Cat that the intruder had stolen files during Sui Zaihua’s attack, and Black Cat clarified that it sensed Chi Flame reacting before the fruit rather than sensing the Extraordinary Arts Canon.
• Pei Ye fell asleep while reading, then awoke to find Ming Qitian beside his bed asking to see Snow-Collapsing.
• Pei Ye told Ming Qitian about becoming Chief Champion and defeating a sixth growth with a newly learned sword art, and she praised his understanding of the General Treatise.

Pei Ye was reprimanded by Ming Qitian for neglecting his sword studies, then attended a Prefectural Office deliberation with her as the officials planned their traps for Joy-in-Death Tower and investigated the origins of the Snow-Collapsing sword manual. The meeting left the Sun-Swallowing Society as the likely source of the pavilion intruder and the manual’s acquisition records as the next lead.

• Ming Qitian questioned Pei Ye about the General Treatise, found that he had barely read it, and told him to take her lessons seriously.
• Pei Ye brought Ming Qitian to the Prefectural Office deliberation, where her arrival with Heart-Slaying Glaze unsettled the officials’ trap and reassured their allies.
• Pu Huaimeng explained how concealment techniques interacted with space and concluded that the pavilion intruder’s method remained unknown.
• Sui Zaihua argued that the intruder likely belonged to the Sun-Swallowing Society rather than Joy-in-Death Tower, and the officials decided to continue their ambush plan.
• Ming Qitian refused to leave Pei Ye’s side despite Wu Dong’s request that she move toward the southeast of the city.
• Cheng Lin reported that the Snow-Collapsing sword manual had likely entered the collection through an old barter regulation, and Wu Dong ordered an investigation into the officials involved.

Cheng Lin and Wu Dong pursued new Heart Amber leads, while Pei Ye asked Ming Qitian for help getting a friend into the Sword Cultivation Academy and making a keepsake. The chapter ended with Li Piaoqing hurt by Pei Ye’s avoidance, wavering between seeking him out to repair their friendship and letting it go.

• Cheng Lin told Wu Dong and Sui Zaihua that Heart Amber production and distribution needed investigation, and Sui revealed that a shipment from the old assassination case had gone to the Jade Pavilion.
• Wu Dong ordered the Jade Pavilion shipment investigated again, then ended the meeting as Sui Zaihua departed and advised Pei Ye not to become entangled in trouble.
• Shi Zanxue teased Pei Ye about joining Heavenly Mountain, and Pei Ye told Ming Qitian he wanted to attend the Sword Cultivation Academy in the Divine Capital and asked her to consider recommending a friend.
• Ming Qitian agreed to assess Pei Ye’s friend and shaped his copper bar into a small Glaze, but Pei Ye hesitated to explain the inscription when he noticed the gathered clerks.
• Li Piaoqing sat with her Lost Jade Sword, regretting her failed selection and her strained relationship with Pei Ye, and struggled to decide whether to seek him out or give up their friendship.

Li Piaoqing went to the Prefectural Office hoping to reconnect with Pei Ye and meet Ming Qitian, but she found Pei Ye already speaking closely with the sword master. The chapter ended as Ming Qitian asked Pei Ye whether he had any questions.

• Li Piaoqing chose to wear the yellow dress she had worn at the Pill Auction and set out after Shen Yao told her Ming Qitian had arrived at the Prefectural Office.
• At the crowded gathering, Li Piaoqing learned that Ming Qitian was discussing swordsmanship and followed Zhang Dingyun into the garden to listen.
• Li Piaoqing watched Ming Qitian finish her explanation of White Bamboo swordsmanship and was disappointed when she was told not to approach her.
• Li Piaoqing spotted Pei Ye in the front row wearing the green outfit she had given him and started toward him.
• Ming Qitian approached Pei Ye, who presented her with a bouquet, and asked how much of her instruction he had remembered and whether he had any questions.

Pei Ye mistook Li Piaoqing’s sadness for jealousy over his closeness with Ming Qitian, then confessed that he liked her and invited her boating. Li Piaoqing accepted, though she stayed close to Ming Qitian during the visit to Jade Feather Academy.

• Li Piaoqing watched Pei Ye consult with Ming Qitian and assumed he was in love with the Bright Sword Master.
• Pei Ye brought woven flowers to Li Piaoqing, confessed his feelings, and invited her to go boating.
• Li Piaoqing asked to meet Ming Qitian, who greeted her warmly and praised her beauty.
• Li Piaoqing accompanied Ming Qitian to Jade Feather Academy and continued asking her questions while Pei Ye followed anxiously.
• Pei Ye pulled Li Piaoqing aside and asked whether she would go boating with him; she agreed to go that night.

Li Piaoqing learned that her strong Sword Heart and Sword Sensibility would qualify her for the Sword Cultivation Academy, while Yang Yan weighed joining Heavenly Mountain against pursuing revenge. Pei Ye mastered Snow-Collapsing's first form, then headed to meet Li Piaoqing at night, but Yang Yan stopped him.

• Ming Qitian explained the five aspects of Sword Endowment and assessed Li Piaoqing as eligible for the Sword Cultivation Academy, promising her a recommendation letter.
• Yang Yan told Pei Ye that Heavenly Mountain had invited him to join and admitted that his deepest desire was to confront the senior brother who betrayed their sect.
• Pei Ye advised Yang Yan to join Heavenly Mountain and build his strength before seeking revenge, and Li Piaoqing encouraged him to live well while he waited.
• Pei Ye mastered the first form of Snow-Collapsing and sent a thirty-foot column of water bursting from a well with one sword strike.
• At night, Pei Ye saw Li Piaoqing waiting by the courtyard gate, but Yang Yan caught and held him back as he started toward her.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing reconciled during a moonlit boat ride, where he told her about the disaster in Fenghuai and his plan to go to the Divine Capital. Li Piaoqing hesitated over leaving her master and home, but agreed to consider going with Pei Ye, and he prepared a gift for her.

• Pei Ye struggled to row Li Piaoqing to the center of the lake, but they stayed in the boat’s cabin and enjoyed being together.
• Li Piaoqing shared her happiness about her master’s support, meeting the Bright Sword Master, and making up with Pei Ye.
• Pei Ye told Li Piaoqing that Miss Ming had helped save Fenghuai County and warned her to flee if she encountered dark-blue-scaled humanoid monsters, the [Torchworld Cult], or their symbol.
• Pei Ye said he planned to go to the Divine Capital to grow stronger and hunt the surviving enemies, and explained that his recommendation letter could get Li Piaoqing into its Sword Cultivation Academy.
• Li Piaoqing worried about leaving her master and felt that Pei Ye’s talent and troubles set them far apart, but Pei Ye reassured her that he liked her for who she was.
• Li Piaoqing said she wanted to be with Pei Ye, and he offered her a gift.

After Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing exchanged heartfelt gifts and confessed their feelings, they strolled through the southern city, where a missing theatrical mask triggered Pei Ye’s alarm and a sudden attack on a vendor. The vendor died from poison before Pei Ye could learn what had happened to the mask.

• Pei Ye gave Li Piaoqing a Heart-Slaying Glaze engraved with his name, and she told him she wanted his name on it because he was important to her.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing held hands and leaned against each other on the boat, where they admitted they liked each other.
• On their way through the city, Pei Ye asked Shi Zanxue about Yang Yan’s invitation to Heavenly Mountain and heard that the Soul-Seizing Pearl resembled an ancient prison-guarding instrument called Illuminating the Nether.
• Pei Ye stopped at a mask stall and reached for an ordinary-soldier mask for Li Piaoqing, but it had vanished; he drew his sword and pulled her behind him.
• A purple-robed attacker struck at the vendor, but a green-clad figure stopped the attack and caught the flying weapons; the vendor then collapsed dead with black blood at his seven orifices.

Pei Ye and the Immortal Platform investigated a suspicious corpse and concluded that the Sun-Swallowing Society may have deliberately exposed Joy-in-Death Tower’s weakness. The chapter left Pei Ye determined to pursue the surviving clues as investigators searched Bowang for the factions’ traces.

• Pei Ye, Li, Qinghuang, and Purple Bamboo found a deformed corpse after an attempted poison suicide and reported it to the Immortal Platform.
• A man studying Bowang’s map marked South Street and the southeast while his young companion investigated the street and they planned to search the area further.
• The Shaolong Playmaster visited the injured Shang Huaitong, helped restore his state of mind, and offered to take him along if he could draw his Nether Immortal Sword again.
• Wu Dong questioned Pei Ye about the vanished mask and reasoned that the Sun-Swallowing Society had deliberately alerted him to Joy-in-Death Tower’s weakness.
• Pei Ye recalled that Black Cat had sensed something during the earlier theft but sensed nothing this time, and he resolved to pursue the vendor’s corpse and the mystery behind it.

Wu Dong questioned Qinghuang and Purple Bamboo about their connection to the dead peddler, then investigated the body while Pei Ye suspected the Torchworld Cult was involved. Pei Ye visited Purple Bamboo that night and asked about the thing he had encountered in Xin Cang; meanwhile, Li Weiru continued watching the Seven Flood Dragons estate and reported nothing unusual.

• Wu Dong found a Divine Capital seal in Purple Bamboo's file that forbade inquiry into events from the seventh and eighth months of the Xinsi year, and warned the pair to avoid the Joy-in-Death Tower affair.
• Wu Dong learned the peddler had traveled from Xiangzhou with the Qiyun Commercial Association's caravan and ordered an investigation into the association's possible covert routes.
• After leaving the Immortal Platform, Purple Bamboo admitted to Qinghuang that he doubted himself, while Qinghuang promised to keep helping him.
• Pei Ye sent Li Piaoqing back to Jade Feather Academy and went to the White Bamboo Pavilion, where he drew half a tree in tea and asked Purple Bamboo about the thing's appearances and actions.
• Purple Bamboo told Pei Ye that he was not searching for the thing because it was searching for him, and said he had not slept well since leaving Xin Cang Mountain.
• Li Weiru kept watch outside the Seven Flood Dragons estate through the night, then wrote that he had nothing to report.

Purple Bamboo recounted how he and Zhang Zijing tracked the legendary original of Xifang Tian’s immortal painting into Xin Cang Mountain, where a mysterious ritual ended in disaster. The chapter left Purple Bamboo gravely wounded and recalling that he had seen the painting’s original while unconscious.

• Purple Bamboo told Pei Ye how Xifang Tian’s disciple had preserved a copy of the burned immortal painting and how its victims had been drawn toward Xin Cang Mountain.
• Zhang Zijing learned that the disciple had begun running toward the mountain again, so he and Purple Bamboo took the old man there to follow his path.
• After finding mysterious tracks deep in the mountains, Purple Bamboo saw a Fire Talisman appear on Zhang Zijing’s forehead and followed him to a ritual site.
• Purple Bamboo attacked the ritual’s black-robed officiant, but Zhang Zijing drank Dragon Saliva and transformed before a Purple-Robed Man arrived.
• The Purple-Robed Man killed the transformed Zhang Zijing and the other captives, crushed Purple Bamboo’s body, and drove a bronze rod into his abdomen.
• Purple Bamboo said he had seen the original painting while lying unconscious with his injuries and True Qi nearly gone.

Purple Bamboo told Pei Ye how a fragment of a mysterious immortal painting had haunted him and explained why he was investigating the painter Xifang Tian and the Qiyun Commercial Association. Pei Ye decided to pursue the painting’s origins in Xiangzhou, while Ming Qitian prepared to travel to Kongtong for Sword Inquiry.

• Purple Bamboo recounted seeing a fragment of an immense dragon in a vision while gravely injured, then described how the image continued to haunt him after he lost his cultivation.
• Purple Bamboo showed Pei Ye the painting he had made from the vision and revealed that, although he remembered seeing Xifang Tian’s complete painting, he could no longer recall its contents.
• Purple Bamboo explained that he had traced Xifang Tian’s history to the Qiyun Commercial Association, and Pei Ye said he would not abandon the search.
• Black Cat speculated that the painting was the cause preceding the events in Xin Cang and connected it to the Torchworld Cult and Joy-in-Death Tower; Pei Ye proposed investigating Xiangzhou.
• Ming Qitian invited Pei Ye to accompany her to Kongtong, but he chose to go to Xiangzhou, while the girl in the green skirt decided to travel with Ming Qitian.

Li Piaoqing said farewell to Li Weiru and left with Ming Qitian, while Pei Ye traveled alone to Xiangzhou to investigate a case tied to Xifang Tian. In Seven-Nine City, Pei Ye began tracing Qiyun’s local power structure and heard a woman propose coordinating inquiries with someone at Azure Sky Pavilion.

• Li Piaoqing told Li Weiru that the Bright Sword Master had recommended her to the Sword Cultivation Academy in the Divine Capital, then left with Ming Qitian toward Xiangzhou.
• Pei Ye rode to Xiangzhou with Snow-Collapsing and learned that the Immortal Hunter would teach him to use [Chi Flame].
• Pei Ye used his Hero Tally to obtain an earth-grade room and asked an innkeeper about the Qiyun Commercial Association and its local district.
• A theater attendant told Pei Ye that Steward Changsun, Second Young Master Xu, and Chief Di answered to Master Kou, and said Xu and Di were inside the theater.
• Pei Ye entered the theater and watched the two powerful men upstairs as he considered how to approach them.
• A clear-voiced woman beside Pei Ye proposed that one investigator work through Seven-Nine City while another questioned the managers and owners at Azure Sky Pavilion.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing watched the theater’s White Snake Romance, but its painter offered no clues about Xifang Tian. After Li Piaoqing left for the Azure Sky Pavilion, Pei Ye went backstage to buy the script and found the theater’s performers arguing over their low ticket prices.

• Li Piaoqing joined Pei Ye at the theater, and they listened to Yi Chengxin perform White Snake Romance.
• A theater patron explained that the opera told of a white snake maiden who loved a mortal painter, but Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing found no connection to Xifang Tian.
• Li Piaoqing decided to bring the opera to Bowang and left Pei Ye with the black cat before heading to her meeting at the Azure Sky Pavilion.
• Pei Ye overheard Ji Yun urge the theater’s old master to raise ticket prices, while the old man insisted on keeping performances affordable for Seven-Nine City’s poor residents.
• Pei Ye introduced himself to the old master and asked to buy the script; the old man praised Pei’s taste and offered to sing a passage for him to judge.

Pei Ye received a copy of White Snake Romance from the opera master and learned that Yi Chengxin was being married off against her wishes. As his Chi Flame Source finished forming, he discovered how its three sources worked and arrived at Dragon Gate Tower to seek an audience with Master Kou.

• Pei Ye praised the old man's rendition of White Snake Romance, paid two taels for its annotated manuscript, and offered Ji Yun advice on his martial-role performance.
• Yi Chengxin formally took leave of her teacher and revealed that she would marry far away the day after tomorrow; Ji Yun said her family had accepted a huge betrothal gift from a wealthy man in Xilong.
• The old man explained that Yi Chengxin loved opera but could not remain with the troupe, and he asked Pei Ye to return that evening to discuss the script.
• While reading the manuscript, Pei Ye's Chi Flame Source finished assimilating, and he recognized its three sources: Black Chi's Profound Qi, their shared bond, and his own Endowed Fortune.
• Black Cat explained Chi Flame's properties and urged Pei Ye to gather an ordinary flame; Pei Ye then reached Dragon Gate Tower and asked the guard to let him visit Master Kou.

Li Piaoqing questioned Qiyun’s head manager about Xifang Tian and the Immortal-Visiting Scroll, while Pei Ye was turned away from Dragon Gate Tower and refused an Iron Cage Fight. That night, Li Piaoqing entered Qiyun’s rear courtyard to search for information, with Black Cat accompanying her.

• Black Cat spoke to Li Piaoqing, startling her, and Yi Chengxin arrived to check her betrothal gifts before her upcoming marriage and retirement from performing.
• Li Piaoqing asked Qiyun’s head manager about Xifang Tian’s works, writings, and the Immortal-Visiting Scroll, but he refused to reveal the owner or offer useful information.
• Pei Ye tried to see Master Kou at Dragon Gate Tower, but the guards demanded a referral and offered him an Iron Cage Fight instead.
• Pei Ye rejected the guards’ violent challenge and waited nearby as night fell.
• Li Piaoqing carried Black Cat into Qiyun’s rear courtyard and silently entered a room through a window.

Li Piaoqing uncovered evidence that Xifang Tian had painted many unsold works for Dan Jun, while Pei Ye noticed that White Snake Romance had been revised and set out to find its source. When Pei Ye returned to the theater, he found it wrecked and its injured performers gathered backstage.

• Li Piaoqing found records of Xifang Tian's paintings for Dan Jun, including a set of twelve works that had never been sold.
• Li Piaoqing and Black Cat hid as a powerful man entered the accounts room, took a ledger from about twenty years earlier, and left for the proprietor's residence.
• Pei Ye found no mention of Dan Jun in the script, but noticed its final pages had different ink and handwriting and its spine had been rebound.
• Pei Ye realized White Snake Romance had likely been revised and returned to the Seventy-Nine City Theater to investigate who had written it.
• Pei Ye found the theater courtyard wrecked and discovered six injured, frightened people gathered backstage.