Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye waited through the night rain to protect the sleeping Jinyang, and killed Zhang Mengqiu when he emerged from the Mirage Realm to assassinate her. With Jinyang still asleep and safe, Pei Ye leaned against the bed and finally let his exhaustion catch up with him.

• Zhang Mengqiu prepared to assassinate Jinyang with the Mirage Stab, a technique he had trained for over twenty years.
• Zhang Mengqiu entered Vermilion Mirror Hall and launched his strike at Jinyang’s throat as she slept.
• Pei Ye intercepted Zhang Mengqiu’s sword and cut off his head before he could harm Jinyang.
• Pei Ye sealed the blood and its smell, checked that Jinyang remained asleep, and sat against the headboard as his tension faded.

Pei Ye killed the assassin who attacked Li Xizhou in the Bedchamber of Bright Moon Palace, using the speed he had built through repeated practice with [Unbound]. After Li Xizhou thanked him and entrusted her life to him, she said she had found the door to the Goddess of the Luo River Palace and took him to see it.

• Pei Ye used the rain and his knowledge of the assassin’s approach to prepare for the attack, then killed the intruder before he could harm Li Xizhou.
• Pei Ye spent the night beside Li Xizhou’s bed, and she woke to ask whether he had been hurt.
• Li Xizhou told Pei Ye she would trust him with her life, and he pulled the quilt over her shoulders as she rested against him.
• Li Xizhou told Pei Ye she had found the door to the Goddess of the Luo River Palace by having a swing and invited him to see it.
• Li Xizhou dressed, approached Pei Ye, and extended her wrist toward him while the assassin’s corpse remained in the bedchamber.

Li Xizhou brought Pei Ye into the Goddess of the Luo River Palace, where they followed a current toward its heart and discussed what her mother had done with its power. As they continued their writing project, Li Xizhou revealed that the chapter they were working on was a love affair.

• Li Xizhou linked herself and Pei Ye with a blood ribbon, then led him into a rainy Spirit Realm version of Vermilion Mirror Hall.
• Li Xizhou sat on a swing while Pei Ye pushed her, and they talked about continuing their story after publishing four chapters.
• Li Xizhou revealed that the swing courtyard was the entrance to the Goddess of the Luo River Palace, and she and Pei Ye entered its water-filled realm.
• Li Xizhou explained that the palace’s original power could grant access to the Mirage Realm and inheritance of [White Water], but her mother had used it for another purpose.
• Li Xizhou described the chapter’s setting of Li Yao and Zhao Baibi returning to the old capital, then told Pei Ye that their story was a love affair.

Li Yao’s army stormed the Palace City, where he killed the emperor and took the throne, only to discover that Heaven’s Will bound him there with Zhao Baibi. Pei Ye and Li Xizhou then reached the Merfolk Hall and saw the long-dead woman whose body had become the Goddess of the Luo River blossoms.

• Li Yao’s forces breached the Palace City, and Li Yao arrived to fight through the Imperial Guards with a halberd and a spear-wielding ally.
• Li Yao killed the gold-armored general, carried the Crown Prince’s head into the throne room, and confronted the emperor.
• Li Yao fought the emperor through a day and two nights, killed him, and became the new emperor as Heaven’s Will ribbons wound around him.
• Zhao Baibi reminded Li Yao of his ambition to change the world, and they accepted that they could no longer escape the palace and would succeed or die together.
• Pei Ye and Li Xizhou saw the dead woman on the swing and learned that her body had dissolved into flowers throughout the Mirage Realm.

Pei Ye and Li Xizhou discovered Wei Qingju’s legacy, the Mirage-Qilin Knot, which Li Xizhou believed could free her from Qilin Blood. Li Xizhou entered the true Mirage Realm, leaving Pei Ye behind with instructions to keep her departure secret.

• Li Xizhou retrieved the Mirage-Qilin Knot from Wei Qingju’s body and explained that her mother had studied the conflict between Mirage Blood and Qilin Blood.
• Li Xizhou concluded that Wei Qingju had used her body to develop a way to break free of Qilin Blood and left the Knot for her daughter.
• The Knot entered Li Xizhou’s body, but she said she still needed Mirage Dragon True Blood to use it fully.
• Li Xizhou told Pei Ye that Xu Chuo would be leaving the capital and asked him to keep her departure secret and treat Her Highness Jinyang respectfully.
• Li Xizhou opened a passage to the true Mirage Realm and disappeared through it, while Pei Ye tried and failed to catch her.

Pei Ye struggled with Li Xizhou’s departure into the Mirage Realm and found her apparently unchanged in the palace afterward. He left the Divine Capital to pursue his orders and went to the Cultivation Literature Academy seeking Qi Zhaohua.

• Pei Ye worried that Li Xizhou intended to enter the dangerous wilderness waters of the Mirage Realm, and Luo Weiyou told him she could not reopen the passage Li Xizhou had used.
• Pei Ye returned to the palace and found Li Xizhou apparently present as usual, leaving him unsure whether his earlier encounter had been real.
• Pei Ye told Li Xizhou he would leave the Divine Capital, and she urged him to kill Yong Ji before they worked together.
• Pei Ye loaded Zhang Mengqiu’s remains into a carriage and departed the palace, while Qu Xin followed to say farewell to Li Xizhou.
• Pei Ye went to the Cultivation Literature Academy and asked its scholars whether Qi Zhaohua was there.

Pei Ye reunited with his friends in the Divine Capital while carrying a headless corpse, and heard about the many sword gatherings taking place in the city. At the banquet, he reflected on his ongoing major undertaking and Jiang Yiner promised to help him once she could venture into the Jianghu.

• Pei Ye visited Qi Zhaohua at the Cultivation Literature Academy and learned that Xu Chuo had left, then invited their friends to gather.
• Qi Zhaohua and Fang Jidao were startled to find a headless male corpse inside Pei Ye's carriage, but Fang Jidao rode beside it to the Star-Plucking Tower.
• Pei Ye gathered Qi Zhaohua, Fang Jidao, Shang Lang, Xing Zhi, Yan Feiqing, Yang Zhenbing, Jiang Yiner, Cui Zhaoye, and Changsun Jue for a reunion banquet.
• Cui Zhaoye told Pei Ye about the sword gatherings in the Divine Capital, including Yang Zhenbing's second-place finish at the Awakening of Insects Sword Gathering.
• Jiang Yiner asked Pei Ye whether his palace work was going badly, and he said he was handling a vast undertaking involving many people.
• Jiang Yiner told Pei Ye that her master would let her venture through the Jianghu in a little over a year, and she promised to help him then.

Pei Ye visited the Immortal Platform, closed the twenty-three-year-old Bright Moon's Stab case, and was promoted to a Crane Inspector. Li Jian assigned him a new, empire-wide investigation into Mirage City's attempt on the Eldest Princess and directed him to consult Zhang Zhongcheng about work beyond the Divine Capital.

• Jiang Yiner told Pei Ye that the Qilin Blood Test would determine Great Tang's next Crown Prince, and they talked until Cui Zhaoye pulled her away.
• Pei Ye traveled with Xing Zhi and Shang Lang to the Immortal Platform and revealed that he had killed Zhang Mengqiu, a Crane List cultivator involved in the old case.
• Pei Ye gave Li Jian his brief closure report on Bright Moon's Stab, and Li Jian officially closed the case.
• Li Jian promoted Pei Ye to First Bing Crane Inspector and opened a top-priority investigation into Mirage City's attempt to assassinate the Eldest Princess.
• Li Jian told Pei Ye to ask Zhang Zhongcheng about the Immortal Platform's next operations beyond the Divine Capital and to handle the new case's registration and records.

Pei Ye joined the Fate Hounds’ observation as a prospective member and declared that he wanted to kill the Supreme One True Dragon Immortal Lord. After reporting to Censor-in-Chief Zhang Siche, he was assigned to investigate the water gangs’ mysterious fishing preparations by infiltrating a Green Reed Gang boat.

• Pei Ye asked Li Jian to let him join the Fate Hounds, and Li Jian explained that access to the Queen Mother of the West’s dream depended on her bequests and the bearer’s reason for serving them.
• Pei Ye told Li Jian that his ideal was to kill the Supreme One True Dragon Immortal Lord, then left to report to Censor-in-Chief Zhang Siche.
• Pei Ye registered his Bing One token, submitted the closed Bright Moon's Stab case, and delivered Li Jian’s order to open an investigation into the assassination attempt on the Grand Princess at Vermilion Mirror Hall.
• Zhang Siche assigned Pei Ye to investigate the Azure Wind Envoy’s waterway network, whose gangs had spent ten days gathering enormous quantities of fish for a supposed welcome of the Water Lord.
• Zhang Siche arranged for Pei Ye to disguise himself and join a Green Reed Gang boat as hired labor, sending him north to investigate the preparations for an imminent sacrifice.

Pei Ye joined a fishing crew on Great Goose Dock’s crowded lake under orders to find and kill a mysterious powerful target during the gathering. His boat delivered its fish offering and reached the vast flotilla, where the newcomers came face to face with the water-gang heroes.

• Zhang Siche told Pei Ye to board the great ship within two days, meet Great Goose Dock’s master, and kill a revered visitor on the second night, with insiders secretly helping him.
• Pei Ye confirmed to Zhang Siche that Zhu Gaoyang often used his name, then answered Fu Zaiting’s questions as the assassination case file was formally sealed.
• Pei Ye traveled in disguise as Zhu Liu with Third Uncle and three village youths, who were hired to haul fish for the Green Reed Gang.
• Third Uncle warned the young men to obey the rules, keep fires forbidden, and avoid drawing attention while they worked on the lake.
• The boat brought its catch to the immense gathering of boats around a huge ship, where Pei Ye answered a water-gang member who challenged him.

Pei Ye joined the fishermen aboard a boat under Wild Goose Dock’s scrutiny, then spent the night waiting for news from [Knowing Intent] and speaking with Xiao Qi. At dawn, Dock Master Qiu Qianshui announced that the assembled river gangs had gathered to perform a seven-day rite for the two Water Masters and welcome the Water Lord’s ascension.

• Xiao Qi boarded Pei Ye and Xu San’s boat, and Hall Master Jing inspected the crew for spies before letting them continue their work.
• Wild Goose Dock ordered the boats to extinguish their lights and carry no firearms, while Pei Ye received no reply after asking whether someone was there through [Knowing Intent].
• Xiao Qi caught and released a small fish, guessed that Pei Ye was troubled over a girl, and offered him a sweet reed stalk.
• At dawn, the great ship distributed provisions and lowered four huge, fish-filled spheres into the river.
• Qiu Qianshui addressed the gathered boats, announced the seven-day rite for the two Water Masters and the Water Lord’s ascension, and led the assembled heroes in proclaiming their worship.

Pei Ye and his companions baited their boat for the Water Masters’ feast while Qiu Luo described the river deities and revealed his fear of an authority behind the gathering. As they cast their net in worsening cold and rain, Pei Ye suspected Mirage City was staging the event to help Yong Ji claim the Water Lord’s seat.

• Qiu Qianshui ordered the boats to carry offerings into the river, and Qiu Luo joined Xiao Qi’s boat.
• Third Uncle had Pei Ye and Da Xi drop the bloody bundle into the water as bait.
• Qiu Luo told the crew stories about the Water Masters and said the dock had been told there were two.
• Pei Ye questioned Qiu Luo, inferred that he had encountered an Azure Wind Envoy, and connected the spectacle to Mirage City and Yong Ji.
• Xiao Qi and Pei Ye cast a net, and Xiao Qi suggested that the feast might be an attempt to seize the Water Lord’s position through force and deception.
• The rain grew colder as Zhao Bao helped with the net and remarked that the day’s pay was worthwhile.

Pei Ye and the Wild Goose Dock crew encountered the Water Master in the Mirage Realm, and he jumped into the water to draw it away from their boat. When the Jiaozhu failed to distract the creature, a flowering-quince blossom appeared on Pei Ye’s wrist and the Water Master accepted it, forming a subtle connection with him.

• The Water Master swallowed two distant boats and approached the crew’s boat through the Mirage Realm.
• Xiao Qi cut the bait rope, but the Water Master turned back toward them and fixed its attention on Pei Ye.
• Pei Ye took Qiu Luo’s Jiaozhu and jumped into the water, telling the others to steer away while he drew the creature off.
• The Water Master ignored the Jiaozhu and regarded Pei Ye with hostility as he prepared to defend himself.
• A flowering-quince blossom appeared on Pei Ye’s wrist, and the Water Master took it into its mouth, establishing a faint connection with him.

Pei Ye returned to Qiu Luo’s boat after diverting the Water Master, but the survivors were arrested and taken aboard the great ship. Qiu Luo learned that hundreds of men had vanished while tracking the Water Master, and feared the High Envoy would keep sacrificing Wild Goose Dock’s people to pursue it.

• Pei Ye sent the tiger head away from the Water Master’s feast and later surfaced beside Qiu Luo’s boat, where the others rejoiced to find him alive.
• Qiu Luo’s father, Qiu Qianshui, arrived and ordered the boat’s occupants arrested and locked below deck.
• Qiu Luo concluded that a powerful figure was aboard the ship and that his father had become a puppet following orders.
• Hall Master Jing questioned Qiu Luo and revealed that forty-seven boats and 295 men had vanished after encountering the Water Master.
• Qiu Luo feared the High Envoy would send more Wild Goose Dock members to their deaths, while Pei Ye tried to reassure him that the missing men might still be alive.

Pei Ye and Qiu Luo discussed the Eight Waters’ hopes for a Water Lord and the hunt for a mysterious “great dragon,” while Pei Ye learned Xiao Qi was the only Feather Inspector present. The prisoners were brought before the Wind Envoy, who demanded that Qiu Luo recount his encounter with the Water Master.

• Qiu Luo explained that waterfolk hoped a Water Lord could unite the scattered gangs through their shared reverence for water.
• Pei Ye questioned Qiu Luo about the earlier hunt at Qu Lake, where three docks had surrounded the lake and two Hidden Flower Dock hall masters reportedly died.
• Pei Ye spoke privately with Xiao Qi and discovered she had not opened her meridians and was the only Feather Inspector in the area.
• Hall Master Jing brought the prisoners onto the deck, where Pei Ye saw Qiu Qianshui kneeling before a black-robed Wind Envoy.
• The Wind Envoy fixed his gaze on Qiu Luo and demanded a detailed account of his encounter with the Water Master, while the prisoners trembled under the scrutiny of the assembled heroes.

Qiu Luo recounted how the Water Master had pursued his boat, but the Floodwaters Envoy impaled him when he refused to explain what unexpected event had drawn the creature’s attention. Pei Ye revealed his swordsmanship and used the Great Edict Usurpation to immobilize the envoy, then struck him and prepared another attack as the envoy focused on him.

• Qiu Luo told the gathered river gangs that he had thrown his father’s bead to the Water Master, causing it to stop chasing his boat.
• The Floodwaters Envoy questioned Qiu Luo about what had unexpectedly happened aboard the boat, then hurled a fishing spear through his abdomen when he would not answer.
• Qiu Luo defied the envoy, who turned away from him and began to question someone else.
• Pei Ye rose among the fishermen, freed his hands, and wielded rain and two swords to break into the gathered men’s encirclement.
• Pei Ye used the Great Edict Usurpation to freeze the Floodwaters Envoy, then slashed his neck before the envoy broke the sword and regained movement.
• Pei Ye caught another sword and launched another attack as the Floodwaters Envoy fixed his gaze on him.

Pei Ye killed the Lao Water Wind Envoy aboard the ship and reunited with Xiao Qi, but five Azure Wind Envoys and a sealed Profound Formation trapped them. A mysterious woodcutter killed one attacker and carried Pei Ye away, while another stranger remained to greet Qiu Qianshui.

• Pei Ye announced that he had executed the Lao Water Wind Envoy for plotting to assassinate Her Highness Jinyang.
• Pei Ye reunited with Xiao Qi, who said she had come on a secret Immortal Platform undertaking and asked after Her Highness Jinyang.
• A black-robed Body Recasting cultivator attacked Pei Ye, and he wounded the attacker with Xiao Qi's help before five Azure Wind Envoys surrounded the ship.
• Pei Ye discovered that a Profound Formation had sealed the ship and tried to escape into the lake.
• A woodcutter killed one Azure Wind Envoy, praised Pei Ye, and whisked him away as the remaining four gave chase.
• A gray-haired stranger stayed behind and greeted Qiu Qianshui.

He Changge refused to rebuild Fengshui Dock, while Li Piaoqing and Shi Zanxue persuaded Qiu Qianshui to oppose Mirage City and then sailed away. Pei Ye reunited with Zhu Gaoyang, who revealed that he had called on the Immortal Platform for help and had captured He Changge before befriending him.

• He Changge told Qiu Qianshui he would not rebuild Fengshui Dock and revealed he had reached the Heavenly Gate of Entering the Palace Gate.
• Li Piaoqing asked Qiu Qianshui to share Mirage City's plans and invited him to join their effort to kill Mirage City; Shi Zanxue arrived bearing Heavenly Mountain's greetings.
• Li Piaoqing and Shi Zanxue discussed their plans aboard a departing boat, including meeting Pei Ye in Divine Capital City to ask about the Heart of the Western Court.
• Pei Ye landed in a muddy lake among ducks and reunited with Zhu Gaoyang, who said he had been investigating Mirage City for years.
• Zhu Gaoyang told Pei Ye he had asked the Immortal Platform for an assassin and had captured He Changge during the Southern Golden Wind interception, then become his friend.

On the boat, Zhu Gaoyang explained that his public assault had exposed Mirage City’s Wind Envoys, while warning Pei Ye that the city’s leaders and Yong Ji’s plans remained hidden. Later, Zhu Gaoyang and Pei Ye prepared to evade their pursuers by switching clothes, leaving Pei Ye wary of Zhu Gaoyang’s supposed strategy.

• Zhu Gaoyang told Pei Ye that the assassination had revealed all eight Wind Envoys and explained why he had forced Mirage City to respond openly.
• Pei Ye learned that the Immortal Platform had sent no support and that Zhu Gaoyang had no plan for his mission; Zhu Gaoyang said the remaining Azure Wind Envoys were pursuing them.
• Zhu Gaoyang said Mirage City’s command center had not been exposed and raised the city lord, Yong Ji’s ally, and the meaning of Water Lord Ascension before asking Pei Ye about the Mirage Realm’s origins.
• Pei Ye reflected that exceptional fighters could not be measured by realm or rank, then asked Zhu Gaoyang why they had stopped instead of continuing to flee.
• Zhu Gaoyang proposed disguising their movements by switching clothes, and Pei Ye changed into Zhu Gaoyang’s outfit while teasing him about hiding a pouch.

Zhu Gaoyang and Pei Ye faced Mirage City’s Azure Wind Envoys at Marten Dock, killed the Hao River Envoy, and escaped the others. As they fled, Zhu admitted he was too depleted to use his escape technique immediately.

• Zhu Gaoyang and Pei Ye arrived at Marten Dock in disguised identities and challenged its master, but no one answered.
• The Wei and Feng River Envoys attacked Pei Ye while the Jue and Hao River Envoys pursued the disguised Pei Ye.
• Pei Ye and Zhu Gaoyang switched tactics, and Pei Ye used the hidden sword technique to behead the Hao River Envoy.
• Zhu Gaoyang blocked the remaining Envoys’ attacks and carried Pei Ye out of their encirclement.
• Zhu Gaoyang told Pei Ye that he could not immediately use his escape technique because he had nearly exhausted his Profound Qi.