Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye pursued [Great Sima Mountain] after the man escaped the broken formation, but Wu Dong intercepted and stopped the chase. Wu Dong and Sui Zaihua uncovered evidence that Joy-in-Death Tower had infiltrated Kongtong and suspected Xiao Tingshu’s cooperation was meant to keep Ji Changyun away, while the reasons behind the conspiracy remained unresolved.

• Pei Ye followed [Great Sima Mountain] through the forest and found Wu Dong, who had fought the man but failed to capture him.
• Wu Dong asked whether Azure Bird’s message tube had been opened and told Pei Ye he would try to ensure Pei Ye survived to the end.
• Wu Dong revealed that he had investigated Chi Jianzong, the current Great Sima Mountain, and believed he would never betray Kongtong.
• Sui Zaihua arrived with a Play Mask found on Origin Martial Peak, confirming Xiao Tingshu’s connection to Joy-in-Death Tower.
• Wu Dong and Sui Zaihua reasoned that Xiao Tingshu had excluded Ji Changyun from Kongtong to keep him away from evidence of Bai Tianqu’s collusion with Joy-in-Death Tower.
• Sui Zaihua planned to ask Ji Changyun to take charge of Kongtong, while Wu Dong urged him to send word to Shaolong so they could bring people inside.

Pei Ye left Wu Dong to guard the Law Enforcement Hall while Wu Dong pursued a dangerous investigation into the identity of the shadow and the connection between Blade-Tethering Thread and [Silk-Tether]. At Sword-Belly Mountain, Ming Qitian exposed Xiao Tingshu’s loyalty to Bai Tianqu and learned that Xiao had colluded with the Joy-in-Death Tower to harvest swords, though Bai Tianqu had not known about the killings of Ji Feng, Yan Caiyue, and Zhang Jingbi.

• Wu Dong told Pei Ye to return to protect Zhang Jingbi, then questioned him about [Illuminating the Nether] and wondered whether the shadow and another figure were the same person.
• Wu Dong said he trusted Sui Zaihua and warned Pei Ye that he was taking a gamble that could leave Pei Ye in danger before sending him away.
• At Sword-Belly Mountain, Xiao Tingshu apologized to Ming Qitian for drawing her into the crisis and said she could leave with [Heart-Slaying Glaze].
• Ming Qitian deduced that Xiao Tingshu was acting for Bai Tianqu rather than seeking power for himself.
• Xiao Tingshu confirmed that Bai Tianqu wanted to create the Sword Repository and had forbidden harm to Kongtong disciples, but admitted he had secretly colluded with the Joy-in-Death Tower and concealed its killings from Bai.

Pei Ye returned to Kongtong after escaping the old man and investigated Chi Jianzong’s records with Gan Zifeng. They discovered that Bai Tianqu had tried to recruit Chi into the Sword Repository, and that the real Chi had been replaced after refusing Bai’s final plan.

• Pei Ye left the old man behind, returned to the Law Enforcement Hall, and gave Xu Shang Senior Zhang’s belongings and writings.
• Pei Ye and Gan Zifeng searched the Sword-Hiding Pavilion for records from ten years earlier, then found Chi Jianzong’s old room and notebook.
• The notebook revealed that Bai Tianqu repeatedly argued with Chi over the Sword Repository, but Chi rejected his ideas and condemned his final plan.
• Pei Ye found a private note showing Chi had completed Zhang Mei Qing’s artifact request shortly after Bai Tianqu’s final message, proving that the man who replaced Chi had not known about their private exchange.

Pei Ye traced Qu Zhu’s message to a likely hut near Hanging Heaven Curtain and pursued him, while Sui Zaihua lured Ji Changyun into a trap and the two fought before Ji escaped the killing strike. Ji Changyun then took control of the mountain formation and went to Sword-Belly Mountain, where Meng Li encountered the bloodied Crane Inspector.

• Pei Ye inferred that the Great Sima Mountain’s hut lay near a north-facing cliff beyond Hanging Heaven Curtain and set out to pursue Qu Zhu alone.
• Sui Zaihua led Ji Changyun beneath Hanging Heaven Curtain and attacked him with the Chiwen Bears Water formation.
• Ji Changyun used Yuanwu Cliff Sword and Spirit Child Observing the World to break Sui Zaihua’s attack, but Sui vanished as a water image.
• Ji Changyun reached the Law Enforcement Hall, ordered the formation’s True Qi sealed, and headed for Sword-Belly Mountain.
• Meng Li met the bloodied Crane Inspector inside the hidden valley and heard him ask when someone had returned.

Wu Dong and Meng Li explored the cave of the man they intended to kill, uncovering how his formation and artifact research had led to the Soul-Seizing Pearl. In the final chamber, Wu Dong discovered that the man had moved a Kongtong formation around a saber and a sword, and began examining the sword.

• Wu Dong broke through the cave entrance and identified a vast formation diagram based on Kongtong’s Lotus Heart Five Peaks.
• Wu Dong examined the man’s artifact workshop and read notes tracing the Pupil Pearl’s development into Seeing the Self, Knowing the Other, and the Soul-Seizing Pearl.
• Meng Li said he had stayed in the courtyard willingly to plot revenge, and accused the Immortal Platform and Heavenly Mountain of coveting his people’s treasures.
• Wu Dong learned that the final chamber’s barrier only required visitors to leave their swords behind; Meng Li followed him inside after setting down his blade.
• Wu Dong found fresh Array Patterns surrounding the chamber’s saber and sword, identified them as a Kongtong formation, and began examining the longsword.

Wu Dong activated the Lotus-Heart Sword Formation, forcing himself, Meng Li, and Qu Zhu to fight with True Qi and weapons alone. Wu Dong and Meng Li wounded Qu Zhu, but Qu Zhu exploited Meng Li’s attack and struck him down, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Wu Dong used Jade Tiger and Meng Li’s attack to draw the weapons from the sword stand and activate the Lotus-Heart Sword Formation.
• The formation sealed away Profound Qi and confined the three fighters to their weapons and True Qi.
• Meng Li attacked Qu Zhu with his saber while Wu Dong pressed him with his sword, and Wu Dong stabbed Qu Zhu in the abdomen.
• Qu Zhu released his sword sheath, exposed his iron left arm, and caught Meng Li’s saber before kicking him into the stone wall.
• Qu Zhu escaped Wu Dong’s killing strike and slashed Meng Li, leaving him badly injured as blood ran from beneath Qu Zhu’s Play Mask.

Pei Ye found the hidden courtyard tied to the Demon Swords plot and entered its mountain chambers, where he discovered the wounded Wu Dong and Qu Zhu amid the aftermath of their duel. He attacked Qu Zhu with Glaze and pressed him into a shrinking battlefield, beginning a renewed fight as the chapter ended.

• Wu Dong defeated Qu Zhu by sacrificing his sword arm and using [Silk-Tether] and [Jade Tiger] to leave Qu Zhu exposed to a killing blow.
• Pei Ye found a concealed cliffside courtyard and realized its owner had returned only recently.
• Pei Ye entered a vast hollow behind the courtyard and found Wu Dong gravely wounded, Qu Zhu pinned to a wall, and a bloodied Play Mask destroying a letter.
• Qu Zhu tried to speak to Pei Ye, but Pei Ye attacked him with a powerful strike and Glaze drove him back.
• The black cat spotted faint glimmers rising where Qu Zhu had sat, and Pei Ye stepped forward to restrict Qu Zhu's room to maneuver.
• Pei Ye drew Glaze and used [Drifting Returning Wind] while Qu Zhu struck at him with his saber.

Pei Ye and Meng Li nearly died defeating Qu Zhu, but Qu Zhu escaped after using [Void and Reality] to stop Glaze, and Meng Li revealed where he had gone. At the Sword-Belly Mountain, Ming Qitian identified Bai Tianqu’s body as long dead, just as another Bai Tianqu emerged from behind the Heart Amber mirror.

• Pei Ye, Meng Li, and Glaze drove Qu Zhu to the brink, but Qu Zhu used [Void and Reality] to halt Glaze and escaped in a cloud of lights.
• Pei Ye prepared to pursue Qu Zhu, and Meng Li told him that an [Other Shore Treasure Raft] was at an iron-colored tower two mountains north.
• Ming Qitian and the five peak masters entered the hidden mountain hollow and found Bai Tianqu’s body, the Heart Amber mirror, and the sword Formation.
• Ming Qitian told Xiao Tingshu that Bai Tianqu had been dead for ten years, leaving Xiao Tingshu to realize that someone else had guided him.
• The Sword Sensibility surged, and another Bai Tianqu rose from behind the mirror and looked down at the group.

Pei Ye chose to keep the Soul-Seizing Pearl and draw Qu Zhu into a fight far from Ming Qitian, while [Sima] revealed the Mirror Dragon Sword Sea and challenged Ming Qitian. The chapter ended as the wounded Qu Zhu approached Pei Ye on a mountaintop, ready to accept the duel.

• [Sima] identified himself and brought the Mirror Dragon Sword Sea, formed from thirteen thousand six hundred swords, under his control.
• Ming Qitian faced [Sima] inside Sword-Belly Mountain while Pei Ye pursued Qu Zhu across Kongtong.
• Black Cat warned Pei Ye that Qu Zhu had likely planned for his moves and urged him to destroy the Soul-Seizing Pearl and retreat.
• Pei Ye rejected retreat and proposed fighting Qu Zhu with Glaze far from Ming Qitian, keeping the Soul-Seizing Pearl as bait.
• Black Cat agreed, and Pei Ye traveled more than forty miles to a mountaintop and prepared for Qu Zhu.
• Qu Zhu, gravely wounded, climbed toward Pei Ye and accepted the challenge.

Ming Qitian and the Kongtong peak masters fought Sima and the Mirror Dragon, suffering heavy losses as Yi Duanzhi emerged from his bronze coffin. Surrounded by Sima, Yi Duanzhi, and the Mirror Dragon, Ming Qitian continued to attack and stopped Yi Duanzhi’s flaming spear with her bare hand.

• The Mirror Dragon’s sword sea overwhelmed the Kongtong fighters, grievously wounding Guang Ying and piercing Guan Shutang while Ming Qitian broke through to challenge Sima.
• Sima gained the upper hand with his Soaring Record, but Ming Qitian used the Commoner’s Sword to cut his neck.
• Shi Shaosheng attacked Sima with Sun and Moon Glistening Together, but Yi Duanzhi burst from the bronze coffin and struck him with Fire-Washed Lotus Seed.
• Ming Qitian’s intervention checked Yi Duanzhi’s spear long enough for it to pierce Shi Shaosheng, who fell from the stone platform as his body burned.
• The Mirror Dragon swept away Yinggao and Guan Shutang while Ming Qitian pressed Sima with a sword, then faced Yi Duanzhi’s Avici Lotus Blossoms without her blade.
• Ming Qitian touched the tip of Yi Duanzhi’s spear with her fingers, stopping the sea of flame in midair.

Ming Qitian fought Sima, Yi Duanzhi, and the mirror dragon inside Sword-Belly Mountain until Ji Changyun broke through the barrier, while Pei Ye faced Qu Zhu and a sword flood dragon on the mountain cliff. The chapter left Pei Ye fighting to protect himself as Glaze battled Qu Zhu, and Ming Qitian sensing a distant demand for cloud energy and answering it.

• Ming Qitian shattered Yi Duanzhi’s Sword Domain with [Change Sword] · [Top Nine], then fought Sima and Yi Duanzhi while trying to reach the mirror dragon’s Heart Amber mirror.
• Ming Qitian endured repeated sword formations and traded injuries with Sima and Yi Duanzhi, whose strength began to wane as he burned his life.
• Ji Changyun broke through [Mountain's Jiazi] and attacked Sima, allowing Ming Qitian to focus on the mirror dragon before sensing a distant call for cloud energy.
• Qu Zhu tried to kill Pei Ye with a surprise saber strike, but Glaze stopped him and drove him back.
• A sword flood dragon attacked Pei Ye, and he fought it with [Leaf-Eating], [Mountain Feather], [Clear Cry], and [Broken Leaf Returning Tide] while Glaze kept Qu Zhu at bay.

Pei Ye broke through the Sword Flood Dragon and entered the Spirit Realm, then defeated Qu Zhu in combat, but Qu Zhu’s Immortal Lord power overwhelmed him in their Mindscape battle. Qu Zhu took the Soul-Seizing Pearl and escaped, leaving Pei Ye helpless on Morning-Wind Mountain.

• Pei Ye sent Black Chi to help Glaze and faced the Sword Flood Dragon alone, studying its attacks as he endured its blades.
• Pei Ye entered the Spirit Realm and broke apart the Sword Flood Dragon, then rushed to Glaze’s aid.
• Pei Ye and Glaze broke Qu Zhu’s formation and drove him down, and Pei Ye pinned him to a boulder with his sword.
• Qu Zhu opened a Mindscape arena against Pei Ye, where the Edict Diagram overwhelmed Pei Ye before he could fight back.
• Qu Zhu removed the Soul-Seizing Pearl and [Heart of the Western Court], escaped from Morning-Wind Mountain, and left Pei Ye incapacitated as Black Chi guarded him.

Pei Ye recovered after Qu Zhu took the Soul-Seizing Pearl and learned that the enemy’s plot centered on Sword-Belly Mountain. As the Mirror Dragon’s completed formation trapped Ming Qitian, Pei Ye realized the Torchworld Cult’s hidden mission involved the Sword Treatise and panicked over the possibility that the Immortal Lord’s target was Ming Qitian.

• Black Cat revived Pei Ye after Qu Zhu took the Soul-Seizing Pearl, and they decided to return toward Sword-Belly Mountain.
• Qu Zhu returned to Meng Li, who attacked him with a dagger; Qu Zhu broke Meng Li’s wrist, then the two listened to the rain in silence.
• Pei Ye told Ming Qitian about the stolen pearl, and she said Ji Changyun was holding off Sima and Yi Duanzhi while she faced the Mirror Dragon.
• The Flood Dragon completed the Mirror Dragon’s formation, enclosing Ming Qitian in four layers of swords as the Heart Mirror pressed toward her.
• Pei Ye connected the Torchworld Cult’s mission to the Immortal Lord’s edict to “Slay the Sword” and feared that Ming Qitian was in danger.
• Ming Qitian resisted the Heart Amber’s reflection with her Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection heart.

Ming Qitian was wounded and trapped in the Mirror Dragon Sword Sea after Sima used the Heart Candle Guide to turn her Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection against the Gushe Heart Sutra. As Pei Ye resisted the Purple Bamboo Forest Dragon Immortal Secret Edict, he recognized Ji Feng’s sword as a possible way to reach her.

• Sima used the Heart of the Western Court to force Ming Qitian’s Mindscape Realm open and plant the Heart Candle Guide, causing her Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection and Gushe Heart Sutra to clash.
• Ming Qitian fell and struggled against the Heart Mirror, while the Sword Dragon’s formation repeatedly caught her in moments of confusion and wounded her.
• Pei Ye saw Ming Qitian being overwhelmed and urged Ji Changyun to save her, but Ji Changyun remained occupied fighting Sima and Yi Duanzhi.
• The Purple Bamboo Forest Dragon Immortal Secret Edict offered Pei Ye power in exchange for releasing Quail Head and entering the Purple Bamboo Forest, but Pei Ye rejected it.
• Pei Ye felt Ji Feng’s sword struggling to leave his grasp and realized it shared the spirituality of the swords in the formation, though it lacked Buried Star Tomb patterns.

Pei Ye broke the Mirror Dragon Sword Sea and helped Ming Qitian escape, but she remained gravely weakened by the Gushe Heart Sutra’s death ordeal. As Pei Ye carried her into hiding, Sima and Ji Changyun stayed behind at Kongtong and began discussing a deal.

• Pei Ye inscribed a Kongtong sword with altered array patterns, causing it to disrupt the Mirror Dragon Sword Sea and expose a gap for Ming Qitian.
• Ming Qitian broke through the formation, fought off Yi Duanzhi and Sima, then used [Carefree Journey] to transport herself and Pei Ye into unfamiliar mountains.
• Ming Qitian collapsed, and Pei Ye carried her through the forest while she explained that her death ordeal was still underway and urged him to find a hiding place.
• Pei Ye found a concealed cave and carried Ming Qitian inside.
• At Kongtong, Yi Duanzhi left while Sima treated the unconscious peak masters and invited Ji Changyun to discuss a deal.

Pei Ye and Ming Qitian took shelter in a cave, where she explained that Bright Heart and Gushe had separated and that her Ice and Snow Body was beginning to crack. She told Pei Ye that using Heart-Slaying might let him remove the conflict, while Sima and Yi Duanzhi pursued them through Cang Mountain.

• Ji Changyun ordered Sima to kill Pei Ye and Ming Qitian before nightfall, then pursued them as Sima and Yi Duanzhi escaped the mountain encirclement.
• Pei Ye carried the unconscious Ming Qitian into a cave and tried to tend to her while recovering from his own wounds.
• Ming Qitian woke and explained that she had lost her cultivation, but the struggle between Bright Heart and Heavenly Heart would continue into a decisive battle.
• Ming Qitian told Pei Ye that her Ice and Snow Body was cracking and that she could not remove Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection from herself.
• Pei Ye offered to help, and Ming Qitian asked him to use Heart-Slaying, saying Bright Heart would trust him.
• Sima and Yi Duanzhi found the stream where Pei Ye and Ming Qitian had washed away their blood, then debated which trail to follow.

Pei Ye descended from Ming Qitian’s cloud-top realm into her peaceful Mindscape and met her younger self, Ming Yun. After she admitted she trusted him and asked him to kill her if her duel failed, she discussed her handmade swords with him and watched him perform Jade Elder.

• Pei Ye spoke with Ming Qitian, who pointed him toward Heart-Disordering beneath the clouds and warned that the coming sword duel would grievously damage her Ice and Snow Body.
• Pei Ye descended to Godman Peak and found a tranquil landscape rather than the chaos he had expected.
• Pei Ye met the young Ming Yun, who rescued a small white bird and invited him to her simple home filled with swords she had made.
• Ming Yun told Pei Ye she trusted him, explained that she would collapse if the duel between Heart-Illuminating and Gushe remained unresolved, and said he could kill her before sunset.
• Ming Yun showed Pei Ye a reddish-brown bamboo sword, and Pei Ye recognized that its character resembled Jade Elder.
• Pei Ye performed Jade Elder and saw a vision of a bloodstained armored man casting himself into a river as a woman watched from the bank.

Pei Ye and Ming Yun discussed her swords and played an intuitive sword game, deepening his attachment as the day passed. When he realized the tiles she played alone connected her to the woman he knew, he questioned why Ming Yun had to die, and she answered that Gushe would not let him kill her.

• Ming Yun praised Pei Ye's swordplay and explained the inspiration behind her sword representing wine.
• Ming Yun and Pei Ye discussed several more swords, then played a game in which he performed moves based on his first impressions of them.
• As evening fell, Pei Ye asked whether he had to kill Ming Yun, and she said the collapse of the Ice and Snow Body would kill her and that their struggle needed a resolution.
• Pei Ye saw Ming Yun's tiles and recognized her clear eyes and habits as those of the woman he knew, realizing she had never chosen Gushe.
• Pei Ye asked why Gushe had to remain instead of Ming Yun, and Ming Yun replied that Gushe would not let him kill her.

Ming Yun rejected Pei Ye’s plan to let Gushe take over and chose to challenge Heavenly Heart instead, hoping Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection could govern it. Pei Ye agreed to help her in the sword duel, but as the fight began, he became lost in the unfamiliar depth of their swordplay.

• Pei Ye refused to let Ming Yun surrender her body to Gushe and offered to help her overcome Heavenly Heart.
• Ming Yun explained that she wanted Bright Mirror, Ice Reflection to govern Heavenly Heart rather than erase it, and accepted Pei Ye’s help.
• Ming Yun told Pei Ye that he only needed to block one sword strike, then led him to the sword platform to face Gushe.
• Ming Yun and Gushe began their sword duel, fought with swordsmanship alone, and Pei Ye watched for a chance to intervene.
• Pei Ye sensed a strange, deep breathing within their swordplay and grew increasingly bewildered as he tried to understand it.

Pei Ye failed to withstand Gushe in the Mindscape Realm and was expelled after she broke his swordplay and slit his throat. Back in the cavern, he saw that Ming Qitian was close to shattering from her injuries and sank into despair over his repeated failures, while their next duel remained two hours away.

• Ming Yun guided Pei Ye toward a chance to strike, but he realized he could not hold her off and attacked anyway.
• Gushe broke Pei Ye's swordplay, slit his throat, and expelled him from the Mindscape Realm.
• Ming Qitian told Pei Ye that the next duel would begin in two hours and that only one chance remained.
• Pei Ye offered Ming Qitian Kongtong wound medicine, but she said her injuries could not be treated with it.
• Pei Ye collapsed by the cavern wall and reflected on his failures, his inability to protect Ming Qitian, and his uncertainty about what to do.