Chapter Summaries

Wu Dong and An Zang sprang their formation against a hidden Third Step Grandmaster at the Immortal Platform, using the mist to seal off his control of Profound Qi. An Zang’s Heavenly Tides struck the man and shattered his defenses, leaving him bloodied beneath the parasol tree.

• An Zang told Shi Zanxue that the Bright Sword Master would return the next day, and they wondered whether [Illuminating the Nether] might reveal images of King Mu.
• Wu Dong waited at the Immortal Platform with [Silk-Tether · Jade Tiger] and ordered Pu Huaimeng to activate [Cloud-Locked Vermilion Tower] when Shang Huaitong’s life triggered the warning.
• Wu Dong’s tethered sword struck the hidden man in the courtyard, but the man caught it and snapped it in two.
• An Zang entered the formation and used [Conquering Mist, Riding Clouds] to knock the man into the mist and restrict his movement.
• An Zang unleashed [Heavenly Tides], breaking the man’s gathered defenses and causing blood mist to burst from his body.

An Zang and Wu Dong nearly killed the wounded Xiang Minghao, but his autumnal sword intent broke their mist formation and revealed his identity as the Sun-Swallowing Society’s [Cold Scholar]. As Xiang Minghao tried to escape, a black-robed attacker wearing the [Sima] guise struck him down, and Wu Dong and An Zang intervened, only for the attacker to reveal mastery of both saber and formations.

• An Zang’s [I Went to the Yellow Bamboo] failed to hinder the wounded enemy, who drew on the courtyard’s autumnal energy and shattered the mist formation.
• An Zang and Wu Dong recognized the enemy as Xiang Minghao, the Sun-Swallowing Society’s [Cold Scholar], and realized their forces had badly misjudged the scale of the affair.
• As Xiang Minghao escaped the formation, a black-robed figure wearing the [Sima] guise struck him with a powerful saber blow and sent him crashing onto the street.
• An Zang attacked the black-robed figure, but the figure evaded his sword with extraordinary saber skill.
• Wu Dong pressed the attacker at close range, but the figure used a formation traced in midair to redirect Wu Dong’s sword light and True Qi behind him.

Wu Dong, An Zang, and Li Weiru attacked the black-robed Lord of the Mask, but he killed Xiang Minghao and remained ready to face the survivors. Wu Dong then used a lightning sword technique and an unexpected unarmed strike to try to wound him.

• The black-robed Lord of the Mask struck down Wu Dong, defeated Xiang Minghao, and pressed forward despite Li Weiru and An Zang’s attacks.
• Li Weiru’s sword and An Zang’s Western Sea Jade Assemblage Canon wounded the Lord of the Mask, while Wu Dong continued attacking.
• Xiang Minghao regained control of his Profound Qi and unleashed a vast force of night rain, but the Lord of the Mask gathered it into a saber stroke and shattered his body.
• The Lord of the Mask turned on Wu Dong and An Zang, and Wu Dong met his saber with a Radiant Thunderbolt sword strike that singed his cuff.
• Wu Dong released his sword and reached for the Lord of the Mask’s waist with a swift, unarmed attack.

Wu Dong, An Zang, and Li Weiru fought the black-robed enemy, trying to strike the bead pouch at his waist. An Zang drove the enemy into Cloud-Locked Vermilion Tower while Li Weiru fell with him, and the scene then shifted to Pei Ye and Young Girl in the Deep Mountains of Xin Cang.

• Wu Dong targeted the bead pouch, and Li Weiru struck at it while An Zang prepared his final technique, [Riding the White Dragon].
• The black robe nearly killed Li Weiru, but An Zang's technique interrupted the attack and gave Wu Dong another chance to engage.
• The black robe evaded Wu Dong and countered An Zang with a Formation Sword, which Li Weiru intercepted despite Wu Dong's warnings.
• An Zang trusted Li Weiru to hold the Formation Sword and struck the black robe, smashing him into Cloud-Locked Vermilion Tower as Li Weiru fell after him.
• In the Deep Mountains of Xin Cang, Black Chi told Pei Ye and Young Girl that the formation still worked and they could return to Xiangzhou.

Pei Ye, Li Piaoqing, and Black Chi activated the Jade Ke Formation and arrived in a rain-shrouded manor, where a gravely wounded Xiang Minghao burst from the mist. Xiang Minghao recalled how he had pursued Joy-in-Death Tower and realized its Theater Master was pursuing a broader plan, while the mist began to change around him.

• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing returned to the Jade Ke Formation while concealing their worries about the Edict Diagram and Heart Poison.
• Pei Ye and Black Chi discussed the ties between Joy-in-Death Tower, the Torchworld Cult, and the Sun-Swallowing Society before Pei Ye sensed something was wrong.
• Pei Ye, Li Piaoqing, and Black Chi channeled Profound Qi through Glaze and activated the Jade Ke Formation, noticing a faint point of light beyond their destination.
• Pei Ye, Li Piaoqing, and Black Chi emerged in a ruined manor in cold rain, where Xiang Minghao hurtled out of the mist with grievous injuries.
• Xiang Minghao recalled his pursuit of Joy-in-Death Tower, understood that its Theater Master sought to eliminate the Sun-Swallowing Society and target Heavenly Mountain, and then felt the mist grow damp around him.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing arrived in Bowang as a battle erupted, and Li Piaoqing watched the old man charge into the fight and fall. Meanwhile, Xiang Minghao joined forces with the Cloud-Locked Vermilion Tower to wound the Lord of the Mask, while An Zang discovered the Lord carried the Soul-Seizing Pearl and saw an ancient symbol appear on his Heavenly Mountain pendant.

• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing entered the mist-covered manor in Bowang and saw a powerful battle underway.
• Li Piaoqing recognized the old man in the fight, watched him fall, and ran toward him.
• Xiang Minghao and the Cloud-Locked Vermilion Tower combined their power, allowing Xiang Minghao to strike and seriously wound the Lord of the Mask.
• Wu Dong and An Zang attacked the Lord of the Mask, and An Zang revealed the Golden Hairpin for Angling Flood Dragons.
• An Zang saw the Soul-Seizing Pearl in the Lord of the Mask's hand, but his hairpin could not pierce the pearl pouch around it.
• An ancient symbol appeared on An Zang's Cloud-Gilt Jade Pendant.

Pei Ye arrived at the battle between Black Robe and the wounded Heavenly Mountain elders, helping Wu Dong keep Black Robe under pressure with Glaze and his Intent Sword. After Black Robe used the Soul-Seizing Pearl to disable Pei Ye, a young swordsman appeared in the manor and unleashed the third section of Snow-Collapsing, [Darkness and Light].

• The Lord of the Mask killed An Zang, but Xiang Minghao’s strike wounded him as Pei Ye arrived at the battlefield.
• Pei Ye realized Glaze had regained strength as its wielder approached Bowang, then joined Wu Dong’s assault and shouted that Miss Ming was coming.
• Wu Dong and Pei Ye pressed Black Robe with successive attacks, and Pei Ye’s Intent Sword briefly suppressed him.
• Black Robe revealed the Soul-Seizing Pearl, causing Pei Ye to fall and giving Black Robe a chance to recover his breath.
• A young swordsman appeared within the manor and unleashed Snow-Collapsing’s third section, [Darkness and Light].

Meng Li stabbed the Lord of the Mask, who revealed that he had lured the swordsman out before leaving the battle. Li Piaoqing found her gravely injured grandfather, Li Weiru, and realized that his hatred of An Zang had driven him to risk his life; seeing her stopped him from fighting on.

• Meng Li pierced the Lord of the Mask with his sword, but the wounded man said he had expected Meng Li to act and then withdrew into the fluorescent glow.
• Pei Ye turned to find Li Piaoqing and saw her approaching Li Weiru’s bloodied, motionless body.
• Li Piaoqing discovered that Li Weiru was still alive and struggling toward An Zang’s corpse, while Shang Huaitong lay trapped and badly injured nearby.
• Li Piaoqing found Li Weiru’s blood-stained book, Jadeite Exposition, and understood that his deep hatred had been aimed at the Lord of the Mask and Joy-in-Death Tower.
• Li Weiru took a talisman from An Zang and prepared to attack again, but when he saw Li Piaoqing, he panicked and promised not to leave her.

Li Piaoqing uncovered the old man's true intentions and saved Li Weiru from a fatal counterattack, losing her left forearm. Pei Ye then unleashed the Immortal Lord Edict Diagram Scroll against the black-robed man, but a pendant's radiance disrupted the clash and left Pei Ye unconscious.

• Li Piaoqing recognized that the old man's words had been gentle support rather than deception and chose Jade Feather again.
• Li Piaoqing used Heart Candle and [Quail Head] against the black-robed man, but the realm shattered as Li Weiru launched a final strike with [Sun-Plucking Feather Illumination].
• Li Weiru severed the black-robed man's left arm, but the man counterattacked, and Li Piaoqing pulled her master clear at the cost of her left forearm.
• Pei Ye saw Li Piaoqing's injury, lost control, and connected the Immortal Lord Edict Diagram Scroll to reality, drawing the black-robed man into the Purple Bamboo Secret Realm.
• A pendant at Li Weiru's waist radiated light, shattered the clash, and sent Pei Ye and the black-robed man reeling as Pei Ye fell unconscious.

After Black Robe escaped and Pei Ye recovered from the battle, he learned that an Edict Diagram had damaged his Mindscape. He opened Yang Yan’s Jade Pendant, offered to trade for it by teaching him a sword form, and then met Li Piaoqing, who asked him to walk by the lake.

• Black Robe used the Array Patterns to escape as Ming Qitian arrived, and she caught Pei Ye before he fell.
• Pei Ye woke after sleeping for about twenty-eight hours and learned that the Lord of the Mask of Shaolong, [Cold Scholar], and Meng Li had been involved in the battle.
• Pei Ye told Yang Yan he had seen the person who took his sect’s belongings and Yang Yan’s Senior Brother, then used their sword arts to open the Jade Pendant and reveal its empty cavities.
• Pei Ye offered to trade Yang Yan the Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form for the pendant and its missing bead, and Yang Yan said he did not want to go to Heavenly Mountain.
• Pei Ye began teaching Yang Yan the sword form, then saw Li Piaoqing arrive and accept her invitation to walk by the lake.

Li Piaoqing told Pei Ye that her sect leader was dying and ended their relationship, giving him a Finger Sword before he left. At the Immortal Platform, Pei Ye found her poem engraved on the blade, then asked Shi Zanxue whether Heavenly Mountain would return to Shaolong.

• Li Piaoqing told Pei Ye that the sect leader was out of danger but had little time left, and reflected on the hardships that had changed her life.
• Li Piaoqing vowed to face future hardships, then told Pei Ye they should not be together and gave him the Finger Sword she had promised.
• Li Piaoqing kissed Pei Ye as he prepared to leave; he gently pushed her away, wished her safety, and walked off.
• Pei Ye found two lines Li Piaoqing had carved into the Finger Sword and went to the Immortal Platform to plan his next steps.
• Pei Ye asked Shi Zanxue whether Heavenly Mountain would return to Shaolong, and she said it would depend on the sect's reply and the Jade Assemblage Pavilion's arrangements.

Pei Ye learned that Wu Dong was leaving for the Prefectural City and was entrusted with the Soul-Seizing Pearl and a lead at Kongtong, where the Joy-in-Death Tower might seek a replacement. As Pei Ye departed, Li Piaoqing struggled with their parting and sought comfort from Ming Qitian.

• Shi Zanxue assured Pei Ye that Heavenly Mountain genuinely supported Shaolong and Jade Feather, then Pei Ye went to the Immortal Platform to meet Wu Dong.
• Pei Ye told Wu Dong about the Torchworld Cult and his experiences in Xiangzhou, and Wu Dong explained that the investigation had found an empty coffin and no clear connection between the cult and the Joy-in-Death Tower.
• Wu Dong planned to trace the hundred and twenty jin of Heart Amber in the Prefectural City and gave Pei Ye the Soul-Seizing Pearl, directing him to watch Kongtong for the Joy-in-Death Tower's next move.
• Wu Dong told Pei Ye to ask Li Piaoqing about the missing five liang of Heart Amber bought by Yu Chaocai, then left for the Prefectural City without waiting for reinforcements.
• Li Piaoqing mourned her parting with Pei Ye by the lake, and Ming Qitian arrived and listened as Li Piaoqing asked whether she could hug her.

Pei Ye said farewell to his friends in Bowang and left with Ming Qitian, while Li Piaoqing stayed behind to pursue her own path. On the road, Pei Ye discussed his swordsmanship with Ming Qitian, but his grief over parting still weighed on him.

• At the farewell gathering, Zhang Junxue planned to keep competing in Bowang and seek a master at White Deer Palace, while Zhang Dingyun said he would stay in the city and Yang Yan confirmed he would not go to Heavenly Mountain.
• Li Piaoqing arrived and told Pei Ye she would study swordsmanship by correspondence as a Shaolong Sword Adept; Pei Ye asked her to investigate the five taels of Heart Amber and they exchanged farewells.
• Pei Ye left Bowang with Ming Qitian, waving to his friends and Li Piaoqing from beyond the south gate.
• As they traveled, Pei Ye apologized for delaying Ming Qitian's Sword Inquiry journey, and she said she preferred taking the journey slowly.
• Ming Qitian asked Pei Ye about his sword studies, and he described his plans to learn the Jadeite Sword and study Li Piaoqing's incomplete Intent Sword, The Immortal in the Deep.

Pei Ye and Ming Qitian camped on the road to Great Kongtong, where she explained the principles behind Jadeite Sword Theory and the path toward Flying Feather Immortal. Elsewhere, the wounded Lord of the Mask took Meng Li deeper into the mountains while keeping him alive under his control.

• The Lord of the Mask removed his broken Play Mask and told Meng Li that he had survived only because the Lord was keeping him alive.
• The Lord of the Mask led Meng Li toward the distant Iron Tower, while Meng Li vowed to kill him and called him a lapdog.
• Pei Ye and Ming Qitian stopped for the night and discussed their route to Great Kongtong and Pei Ye's uncertainty about Jadeite Sword Theory.
• Ming Qitian taught Pei Ye how the sword art's fullness and emptiness, speed, finesse, and power shaped its ultimate forms and the path to Flying Feather Immortal.
• Pei Ye recognized the sword moves needed for the next stages, but asked Ming Qitian to stop the lesson for now.

Pei Ye asked Ming Qitian about the masked Lord and their unfinished Mindscape clash, then sought comfort while reviewing his clues. Ming identified the jade pendant as the artifact Illuminating the Nether, and Pei Ye awakened it with Quail Head’s Chi Flame, opening a connection to the artifact.

• Pei Ye recounted how the Edict Diagram and the Lord of the Mask’s bead had drawn them into an unexpected Mindscape confrontation, and asked Ming Qitian what they were trying to do.
• Ming Qitian said ancient secrets had only recently begun to surface and suggested Heavenly Mountain and the Immortal Platform might know the bead’s origins; she offered Pei Ye wine, music, or cards to comfort him.
• Ming Qitian examined the jade pendant Pei Ye had received from Yang Yan and translated its ancient characters as “Illuminating the Nether.”
• Pei Ye poured True Qi into the pendant, which drained much of his strength before Ming Qitian supplied True Qi to stabilize him, but the artifact did not activate.
• The black cat suggested King Mu’s artifact required something deeply personal to its master, and Pei Ye realized that might be Quail Head.
• Pei Ye covered the pendant in Quail Head’s Chi Flame, awakening its central eye and opening a connection between his consciousness and the artifact.

Pei Ye used the Pendant and [Illuminating the Nether] to enter a record of Lake Mountain Sword Gate’s past, finding an image of Yang Yan and entering it. He watched Yang Yan train with Meng Li, who urged him to work harder and learn the Second Chapter.

• Pei Ye learned from Ming Qitian and Black Cat that Immortal Authorities could be divided into different kinds, and Black Cat suggested [Chi Flame] was part of a fruit while [Quail Head] might be complete.
• Pei Ye activated the Pendant and entered the strange space of [Illuminating the Nether], where he saw recorded scenes from Lake Mountain Sword Gate’s past.
• Black Cat explained that Pei Ye needed an anchor from his own mind to access a particular tributary, and Pei Ye chose a person.
• Pei Ye recognized a younger Yang Yan in the record and touched his image, entering the scene.
• Yang Yan rushed to Meng Li’s courtyard and asked him to practice saber with him.
• Meng Li sent Yang Yan flying with a sword strike, then told him to work harder and learn the Second Chapter sooner.

Yang Yan learned that Meng Li’s argument with their Master concerned the position of sect leader, then worried as Meng Li left him alone on the eve of his coming-of-age ceremony. The next morning, Master summoned Yang Yan and asked about his martial training.

• Meng Li and Yang Yan joked about using Blade-Tethering Thread on Master and hiding their other tricks.
• Yang Yan learned that Meng Li had argued with Master over who would become sect leader, and Meng Li said he had also thought he would not take the position.
• Yang Yan found Meng Li’s courtyard locked and discovered him in the library among scattered books on formations; Meng Li left without explaining further.
• Yang Yan worried that Meng Li and Master were still at odds before Meng Li’s coming-of-age ceremony the next day.
• Master summoned Yang Yan to the great hall and asked how his martial training was progressing; Yang Yan reported learning parts of Sea-Swallowing and Snow-Collapsing.

Yang Yan was ordered by his master to flee the Hushan Sword Gate, but he went to the mountain hall and found his master murdered, with Meng Li standing nearby. After escaping the dungeon, he left the sect alone and retrieved an Eye-Shaped Jade Pendant from a hidden cache.

• Yang Yan's master told him to leave alone through the Direct Lineage's secret escape route after nightfall, while Meng Li separately told him to meet at the hall on Sashan at midnight.
• Yang Yan climbed to the hall and found his master's corpse pinned by a saber, while Meng Li stood by the locked rear door; others seized Yang Yan and accused him of murder.
• The Hushan Sword Gate's Direct Lineage fell, and Yang Yan was interrogated in the dungeon by Senior Sister Huayu, an abusive Martial Uncle, and Black Robe.
• Yang Yan escaped through an improperly fastened dungeon lock and left the mountain before dawn, then turned into a worship hall on the way down.
• Yang Yan removed an Eye-Shaped Jade Pendant from a hollow in the second Buddha statue from the left.

Pei Ye explored the past through the Jade Pendant and discovered that Meng Li had secretly investigated an ancient formation with Yang Yan. He followed their search into a sealed cave, where their discoveries continued until they nearly got caught by their master.

• Pei Ye learned that the pendant reconstructed the past through people’s experiences and decided to open Meng Li’s tributary directly to the night on the mountaintop.
• Pei Ye and Ming Qitian stopped to camp near Great Kongtong, where Ming Qitian worked on annotating a sword manual while Pei Ye entered the pendant again.
• Pei Ye rewound events in Meng Li’s courtyard and found that Meng Li had burned books after copying material about ancient Zhou formations into a blue book.
• Pei Ye watched Yang Yan secretly let Meng Li into the mountain with Fossilizing Powder, which they planned to use to open a sealed cave.
• Pei Ye followed the two disciples into the cave and saw them turn its cluttered ruins into a treasure vault until they nearly got caught by their master.

Meng Li investigated the Star Worm feeding on Qu Zhoufu’s qi and uncovered that Lake Mountain was built within an ancient formation called the Buried Star Tomb. The chapter ended with Qu Zhoufu telling Meng Li that he wanted Yang Yan to become sect master.

• Meng Li found a note warning that a Star Worm weakened Qu Zhoufu every fifteen days by feeding on his qi.
• Meng Li tested Qu Zhoufu with a palm strike and confirmed that his master had become unnaturally weak.
• Meng Li searched for the Star Worm, discovered an ancient booklet describing Lake Mountain as a formation, and began studying the Formation Dao.
• Meng Li uncovered bronze components hidden in the cliffs and beneath the lake, then found that the cliff component had vanished.
• Meng Li pieced together that the Star Worm was a living formation called the Buried Star Tomb, which used Lake Mountain’s people as nourishment.
• Qu Zhoufu told Meng Li that he wanted Yang Yan to become sect master.