Recaps

Jing Jiu watched the Profound Yin Cult’s forces from hiding and realized they were searching for the Azure Sky Mirror. He found the mirror buried beneath a weed and addressed it as a door.

• Jing Jiu concealed himself above the wasteland and counted 322 Profound Yin Cult followers surrounding the area.
• Jing Jiu considered the danger of Wang Xiaoming’s Blazing Sun Banner and the Green Mountain Sect’s lack of powerful Law Treasures.
• Su Qige warned Gao Ya that the Cult Master’s growing power and ambition could bring another catastrophe, then revealed evidence that the Old Ancestor had escaped.
• Jing Jiu used the cult’s formations and a familiar scent to search the wasteland without being detected.
• Jing Jiu found the Azure Sky Mirror buried beneath a vivid green weed and tapped it, saying, “Open the door.”

Jing Jiu reunited with Tong Yan, who had survived by hiding beneath Cold Mountain with help from Qing'er and the Fire Carp King. After Jing Jiu failed to dig through the Profound Yin Cult’s fire-vein defenses, Tong Yan described the cult master’s power and brutality, leaving them facing a dangerous threat.

• Tong Yan emerged from the Azure Sky Mirror’s illusion and reunited with Jing Jiu and Qing'er.
• Tong Yan explained that Qing'er had guided him to hide beneath Cold Mountain, where the Fire Carp King concealed him from the Zhongzhou Sect.
• Jing Jiu deduced that the Profound Yin Cult had discovered Tong Yan and used the Blazing Sun Banner to drive him from hiding.
• Jing Jiu tried to scout an underground escape route but was scorched by fire veins strengthened by the Blazing Sun Banner.
• Tong Yan described the young Profound Yin Cult master’s rise and massacres, and Jing Jiu admitted he had once declined Zhao Layue’s advice to kill him.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan escaped the Profound Yin Cult’s search through underground fire veins, but Ming Wang had anticipated their route and confronted them near the snow mountains. Jing Jiu’s question exposed Ming Wang’s fear that his rise and good fortune had been arranged by someone else.

• Tong Yan explained that he had taken the Azure Sky Mirror to save Qing'er from White True Person, who intended to destroy her.
• Jing Jiu said he had come to Cold Mountain to grind his sword and recognized the Azure Sky Mirror as the stone he had been seeking.
• Ming Wang examined the bodies of three slain cultists and ordered his followers to keep searching for Jing Jiu and Tong Yan.
• Jing Jiu used a day and night to map the underground fire veins, then led Tong Yan through a passage beneath the Profound Yin Cult’s formations.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan emerged near the snowfield, where Ming Wang revealed he had prepared their route and waited for them.
• Jing Jiu asked Ming Wang whether he liked the life others had prepared for him, leaving him shaken by the possibility that his fortune had been orchestrated.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan confronted Wang Xiaoming, whose Blazing Sun Banner blocked Jing Jiu’s sudden sword strike. As Tong Yan challenged Wang Xiaoming’s claim that he remained an ordinary person despite cultivating, Jing Jiu prepared to act on a way to overcome the banner.

• Jing Jiu recognized Wang Xiaoming as the young Profound Yin Cult Master and suspected his Senior Brother was behind the young man’s string of fortuitous encounters.
• Jing Jiu’s Universe Edge struck at Wang Xiaoming, but the Blazing Sun Banner warped space and diverted the sword into the snowy mountain.
• Jing Jiu judged that the Blazing Sun Banner could overpower his sword and told Tong Yan he would use the Azure Sky Mirror to clear a path; Qing’er protested that she could not fight.
• Wang Xiaoming reasoned that his Blazing Sun Banner made him stronger than Jing Jiu and boasted that Jing Jiu’s bad luck had brought him face to face with him.
• Tong Yan questioned Wang Xiaoming about his hatred of cultivators and his refusal to heal his crippled leg, arguing that his ability to cultivate made him a cultivator regardless of how he saw himself.

Wang Xiaoming confronted Jing Jiu and Tong Yan, blaming Jing Jiu for his adoptive father’s death and trapping them in the Blazing Sun Banner’s fires. Jing Jiu used the Azure Sky Mirror and Universe Edge to shield them from the flames, leaving the pair boxed in but protected for now.

• Wang Xiaoming accused Jing Jiu of causing Shi Fengchen’s death, and Tong Yan explained that Shi Fengchen had died by suicide after his failed attempt to assassinate Zhao Layue.
• Wang Xiaoming demanded the Azure Sky Mirror, but Jing Jiu’s Universe Edge could not break through the Blazing Sun Banner’s fiery barrier or send a message out.
• Wang Xiaoming unleashed the Blazing Sun Banner, filling the area with yang gang fire and attacking Jing Jiu and Tong Yan with a pillar of flame.
• Jing Jiu raised the Azure Sky Mirror to block the attack, then enlarged it overhead to shield them from fire raining down from the sky.
• As the Blazing Sun Banner’s earthfires rose beneath them, Jing Jiu placed Universe Edge below the mirror, trapping himself and Tong Yan between the two fire-resistant treasures.

Jing Jiu used earth and sand chilled in the cosmos to protect the Azure Sky Mirror and Universe Edge from the Blazing Sun Banner, then left to confront Wang Xiaoming with only a twenty percent chance of success. Tong Yan prepared to take Qing'er and the mirror away as the heat returned, while a strange snowman emerged beneath the great snowy mountain.

• Jing Jiu used Cold Cicada and earth and sand sent into the cosmos to cool the Azure Sky Mirror and Universe Edge as the Blazing Sun Banner's flames threatened them.
• Eldest Young Master Zhang saw the heat devastate the Azure Sky Mirror's world and feared his sleeping family would die before awakening.
• After sensing the Azure Sky Mirror's world could not endure the fire, Jing Jiu cooled it and Universe Edge with frozen earth and sand, then said he would go kill Wang Xiaoming.
• Jing Jiu told Tong Yan his chances were twenty percent, handed Qing'er to him, and vanished to confront Wang Xiaoming.
• As the mirror and sword heated again, Tong Yan told Qing'er he could take her out, while Cold Cicada suspected he had deceived Jing Jiu about his odds.
• A small, featureless snowman rose from the avalanche beneath the great snowy mountain and sensed the heat beyond it.

Snow Ji emerged from Snow Mountain and crossed the Blazing Sun Banner’s sea of fire to reach the Azure Sky Mirror, where she extinguished flames while seeking the cold trace in Jing Jiu’s sand and dirt. As Jing Jiu fought Wang Xiaoming, Snow Ji arrived at Snow Mountain and took the Universe Edge from Jing Jiu, studying it closely.

• Snow Ji sensed an intensely cold aura in the sand and dirt beneath the Azure Sky Mirror and leapt through the sea of fire toward it.
• Snow Ji extinguished the flames around the Azure Sky Mirror, but the Blazing Sun Banner’s heavenly fire threatened the sand and dirt, so she unleashed a torrent of snow and ice.
• Snow Ji’s soundless shriek reached the underground Fire Carp King, while Wang Xiaoming realized that much of the banner’s fire had been devoured.
• The Universe Edge appeared before Wang Xiaoming, and Jing Jiu crossed the sea of fire to reclaim it and attacked Wang Xiaoming with more than three thousand sword strikes.
• The Blazing Sun Banner burned Jing Jiu and forced him to face the approaching Snow Ji, who had forced her way through the fiery barriers.
• Snow Ji reached Jing Jiu, ignored Wang Xiaoming, and took the Universe Edge to study it.

Jing Jiu fought Wang Xiaoming while Snow Ji drew the Blazing Sun Banner’s fire away from him, then escaped with the Azure Sky Mirror. He left Universe Edge behind, but Snow Ji caught up with him on the sword in the snowy mountains.

• Snow Ji’s arrival drew the Blazing Sun Banner’s Yang Gang Fire away from the Azure Sky Mirror, allowing Jing Jiu to attack Wang Xiaoming and tear the banner with his right hand.
• Wang Xiaoming fought Jing Jiu in the sky, but both were blasted away; Wang Xiaoming survived and prepared to continue until Gao Ya and the Profound Yin Cult elders urged him to retreat.
• True Person He and the Wind Saber Sect Master arrived after the battle and found the wilderness devastated and the Snow Mountain collapsed.
• Jing Jiu left Snow Ji holding Universe Edge, picked up the Azure Sky Mirror, and departed with Qing'er and Tong Yan, leaving his sword and other belongings behind.
• Jing Jiu reached a snowy mountain cliff and saw Universe Edge float toward him with Snow Ji seated on it and Cold Cicada tucked in her hair.

Jing Jiu confronted Snow Ji on the snowy cliff after she blocked his path, while Tong Yan and Qing'er watched in alarm. Snow Ji asked to go to the same place as Cold Cicada, but Jing Jiu refused, and she eventually fell asleep.

• Jing Jiu faced Snow Ji on the cliff, and Tong Yan arrived after catching up with him.
• Cold Cicada woke, panicked at Snow Ji, and Jing Jiu picked her up and put her away.
• Snow Ji whimpered at Jing Jiu and asked to go where Cold Cicada had gone, but he explained that she was too advanced a life form.
• Jing Jiu offered Snow Ji Cold Cicada, the sword, and everything connected to that world, but refused to give himself.
• Snow Ji made the temperature plunge and stirred up the wind and snow, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan realized Snow Ji had fallen into a deep sleep after being wounded by the Blazing Sun Banner, and decided they could not hand her over or leave her behind. As the Azure Sky Mirror moved on, strange weather centered on Three Thousand Courtyard hinted that Snow Ji’s presence had affected the region.

• Tong Yan explained that Snow Ji was the Snow Nation Queen’s young daughter and had been wounded by the Blazing Sun Banner because she underestimated its strength.
• Tong Yan argued that Snow Ji had saved their lives, so he and Jing Jiu should take responsibility for watching over her; Jing Jiu called the plan rotten but would not kill her.
• Eldest Young Master Zhang checked on his family and Candidate Zhao’s household, then worried that the missing red carp might have come to harm.
• The Fire Carp King surfaced in the Lava River after sensing Snow Ji’s aura recede, then worried about Brother Zhang as the Azure Sky Mirror moved away.
• A heavy snowfall and late spring cold spell covered Dayuan City and its surroundings, with the deepest snow and cold centered on the nunnery marked Three Thousand.

Young Master Li returned to the Three Thousand Nunnery during an unnatural cold spell and found Jing Jiu keeping Snow Ji buried beneath quilts. As the nunnery’s formation began containing the cold and Snow Ji neared awakening, Young Master Li played an Ode to Spring in the snow.

• Young Master Li learned that the Three Thousand Nunnery had bought many padded jackets and quilts, then visited it the next day.
• He found Snow Ji buried beneath quilts in a frozen nunnery and tried to enter the room, but Jing Jiu’s formation threw him back.
• Jing Jiu told Young Master Li that Snow Ji was alive and that the cold had to be contained to keep Dayuan City from freezing.
• Young Master Li recognized Jing Jiu, lowered his knife, and left after bowing toward the Chan Room.
• The Old Nun lit the nunnery’s Longevity Lamps over several days and activated the Water-Moon Convent’s formation to control Snow Ji’s cold.
• As the snowfall stopped and Snow Ji neared awakening, Young Master Li played an Ode to Spring outside the nunnery.

Jing Jiu used the Azure Sky Mirror as a sword-grinding stone and helped Qing'er think through what it meant to become a person. In the mirror's illusory realm, Eldest Young Master Zhang cursed the heavens, then feared that His Majesty had heard him as the storms subsided.

• Jing Jiu retrieved the Azure Sky Mirror from beneath the quilts and went to Snow Lake while Tong Yan watched from the bridge.
• Jing Jiu sprinkled water on the Azure Sky Mirror and began grinding his sword on its surface as Qing'er asked how she could become a real person.
• Jing Jiu told Qing'er that she was a person if she considered herself one, and asked why she wanted to be human rather than something else.
• Qing'er said she wanted to be a person like Jing Jiu, Tong Yan, and Xiao Zao'er, then fell silent as Jing Jiu continued grinding.
• In the Azure Sky Mirror's illusory realm, Eldest Young Master Zhang cursed the thunder and lightning, then hurried home when the storm weakened and worried that His Majesty had become Heaven itself.

Snow Ji awakened and unleashed a deadly chill before Jing Jiu stopped her and gave her the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique to learn. Tong Yan began trying to teach her human communication, but she abruptly left to find Jing Jiu, who suspected she had already learned the sword art.

• Tong Yan returned from Dayuan City and concluded that the girl Young Master Li had met ten years earlier was a senior from Water-Moon Convent.
• Snow Ji awoke and released a freezing aura that injured Tong Yan and left Young Master Li unconscious, but Jing Jiu stopped her inside the Chan Room.
• Jing Jiu gave Snow Ji the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique and told Tong Yan that she needed to learn how to communicate with other living beings.
• Tong Yan entered the icy Chan Room and began teaching Snow Ji with objects and books he had bought in Dayuan City.
• Snow Ji ran through the window to Jing Jiu at Snow Lake, where he discovered the lake had frozen and wondered whether she had already learned the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique.

Jing Jiu left the Water-Moon Convent with Snow Ji after she mastered the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique, while Tong Yan tried and failed to stop them from taking the Azure Sky Mirror. Young Master Li departed with a porcelain bottle Jing Jiu had sent him, watching their sword light vanish.

• Jing Jiu realized Snow Ji had read Tong Yan's booklet in moments and mastered the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique, then asked whether she wanted to learn Go.
• Jing Jiu left Snow Lake with Snow Ji, who followed him under her quilt, and Young Master Li saw them before leaving the nunnery.
• Tong Yan tried to stop Jing Jiu from taking the Azure Sky Mirror, but the Water-Moon Convent's lamp formation repelled his law treasure.
• Jing Jiu used the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique to bind Snow Ji's quilt and conceal her cold as they departed.
• Young Master Li caught a small porcelain bottle Jing Jiu sent from the departing sword light and watched it disappear into the horizon.

Jing Jiu brought Snow Ji to Green Mountain under an agreement to sustain her with extreme cold in exchange for her staying there peacefully. The sect had emptied its peaks and entered secluded cultivation when they arrived, and Jing Jiu led Snow Ji into the Sword Prison, where Corpse Dog watched her warily.

• Jing Jiu offered Snow Ji a supply of powerful cold in return for her going to Green Mountain, causing no trouble, and not leaving without permission, and Snow Ji accepted.
• As a subtle chill spread through Green Mountain, Nan Wang ordered her disciples to enter secluded cultivation, and other peaks followed the Sect Master's command to do the same.
• Ping Yongjia brought Liu A'da into Zhao Layue's cave abode while the Green Mountain disciples remained in seclusion.
• Jing Jiu, Snow Ji, and Qing'er arrived on Universe Edge to find the Nine Peaks deserted and landed at Shangde Peak.
• Jing Jiu led Snow Ji into the Sword Prison, where Corpse Dog watched her with wariness, and Jing Jiu turned her head away to keep them from meeting eyes.

Jing Jiu brought Snow Ji to the Green Mountain Sword Prison and sealed her inside the cell that had once held True Person Taiping, believing confinement was the only way to prevent the world from killing her. Snow Ji appeared to accept the imprisonment, but a tiny ice crystal from a mosquito fell before she smiled silently.

• Jing Jiu brought Snow Ji and Qing'er through the Sword Prison, where the imprisoned demons submitted in fear of Snow Ji.
• Jing Jiu placed Snow Ji in the solitary cell and left with Qing'er, then used thirteen steps to activate the Myriad Things Sealed in Ice formation and confine her.
• Jing Jiu told Snow Ji he would keep her imprisoned until he found a suitable method, and Qing'er grew frightened of him and returned to the Azure Sky Mirror.
• Jing Jiu's reasoning revealed that Snow Ji could not safely remain free or serve as Green Mountain's guardian, and that only this cell could contain her.
• A mosquito from the Demon-Suppressing Prison entered Snow Ji's cell and shattered into an ice crystal, after which Snow Ji's face formed a thin red line that opened into a silent smile.

Jing Jiu, Liu Ci, and Yuan Qijing secretly discussed how to conceal Snow Ji’s presence on Green Mountain and prevent word from spreading. After the disciples returned to Divine End Peak, Jing Jiu reunited with his followers and met Ping Yongjia.

• Jing Jiu confirmed to Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing that Snow Ji was the Snow Nation Queen’s bloodline and was currently weaker than they were.
• Liu Ci, Yuan Qijing, and Jing Jiu agreed to keep Snow Ji’s presence secret while informing trusted allies, and Tong Yan realized Jing Jiu had detained him to protect that secret.
• Liu Ci planned to warn Cao Yuan and Zen Child, Jing Jiu agreed to inform His Majesty, and Yuan Qijing was tasked with keeping Corpse Dog from telling his master.
• Green Mountain’s disciples emerged from seclusion, while Yin Phoenix and Origin Turtle reacted to Snow Ji’s arrival without revealing what they knew to the others.
• Jing Jiu returned to Divine End Peak, greeted the White Cat, and met Ping Yongjia, who bowed to him as his master.

Jing Jiu investigated Snow Ji’s escape attempt, made arrangements for her imprisonment, and traveled to Chaoge City to discuss her with the emperor. As he considered the growing conflict between Green Mountain and the Zhongzhou Sect, he recognized his senior brother’s larger plan, while a tearful woman suggested that mediocre people created the world’s troubles.

• Jing Jiu gave Cold Cicada to the white cat and chose Qingrong Peak’s Endless Sword Technique for Ping Yongjia.
• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue he planned to go to Chaoge City, then discovered that Snow Ji had killed the mosquito watching her in the Sword Prison.
• Jing Jiu spoke to Snow Ji through her cell and arranged for her cell’s images to show an icy world with a distant peak.
• Jing Jiu met the emperor at Pure Enlightenment Temple and learned that Jing Xin’s position remained secure while the Zhongzhou Sect’s influence in Chaoge City persisted.
• Jing Jiu weighed the likely devastation of war between Green Mountain and the Zhongzhou Sect and realized that his senior brother had sought turmoil on a larger scale.
• A woman joined Jing Jiu by the pond, called people mediocre for creating trouble, and drew his insistence that neither he nor his senior brother was mediocre.

Jing Jiu learned that Brother Li wanted to marry the chancellor’s granddaughter and directed Gu Qing to pursue the match as part of efforts to strengthen Jing Yao’s claim to the throne. Gu Qing approached Xi Yiyun about teaching Jing Yao, but Xi Yiyun objected that Jing Yao was not of their kind.

• At Pure Enlightenment Temple, Jing Jiu met the chancellor’s granddaughter and learned she was in love with Brother Li, then said he wanted tea.
• Jing Jiu visited the Jing Residence with Gu Qing and told Jing Shang to support Brother Li’s marriage to the chancellor’s granddaughter.
• Gu Qing urged Jing Shang to propose before the Duke of Zhan’s heir, explaining that their allies gave them standing to compete.
• Jing Jiu told Gu Qing that winning One-Thatch Studio’s support could help Jing Yao become Crown Prince, and authorized him to involve Zhuo Rusui.
• Jing Jiu polished the Azure Sky Mirror and spoke with Qing’er, who emerged from it.
• Gu Qing met Zhuo Rusui and then Xi Yiyun, asking Xi Yiyun to become Jing Yao’s teacher; Xi Yiyun replied that Jing Yao was not of their kind.

Gu Qing and Liu S sui tried to win One-Thatch Studio’s support for a political marriage, while Jing Jiu investigated the circumstances behind Yan Scholar’s flight from the studio. The Daily Records led Jing Jiu to focus on Bu Qiuxiao’s movements and a demon in Still Lake, leaving Liu S sui anxious about what he had uncovered.

• Xi Yiyun refused to help Gu Qing approach the prime minister, but Gu Qing arranged to meet He Xiaoliu, who turned out to be Liu S sui.
• On the carriage ride, Liu S sui asked Gu Qing about Jing Jiu, and Gu Qing recounted the events of the past two years while Zhuo Rusui mocked Liu S sui’s travels among different sects.
• Jing Jiu told Gu Qing and Zhuo Rusui to leave, then examined Liu S sui’s meridians and heard that Bu Qiuxiao had taught him the Way of Righteous Qi.
• Liu S sui explained that Yan Scholar had accused Bu Qiuxiao of misconduct, fled with the Guan Cheng Brush, and later entered the Never-Old Forest after his Sage’s Heart was shattered.
• Jing Jiu had Liu S sui recite One-Thatch Studio’s Daily Records and questioned him about Bu Qiuxiao’s history, the black blood of a demon in Still Lake, and Bu Qiuxiao’s travels after the Plum Gathering.

Jing Jiu pieced together a possible story about He Zhan’s origins and asked Liu S sui to summon Bu Qiuxiao within eight days. At the prime minister’s residence, the marriage proposal for Cen Shi was interrupted when the Duke of Lu led a group inside.

• Jing Jiu connected details in the Daily Records to Guo Dong, He Zhan, and a possible account of He Zhan’s birth, though he had no evidence and chose not to investigate.
• Jing Jiu told Liu S sui to learn from Xi Yiyun and deliver a letter demanding that Bu Qiuxiao meet him within eight days.
• Eight days later, Cen Shi was brought back from the Pure Enlightenment Temple for the Duke of Zhan’s marriage proposal, while Lu Ming’s wife worried about her apparent calm.
• As Prime Minister Cen and the Duke of Zhan prepared to exchange formal greetings, the Duke of Lu and his followers barged into the residence.

The Duke of Lu and Jing Shang arrived at Chancellor Cen’s granddaughter Cen Shi’s wedding to propose her marriage to Jing Li, backed by an imperial decree. Chancellor Cen refused the decree, and the standoff escalated when Bai Qianjun and Zhuo Rusui faced off over the Green Mountain Sect’s influence.

• The Duke of Lu arrived with Jing Shang and Jing Li, then announced that Jing Shang had come to propose marriage to Cen Shi on Jing Li’s behalf.
• The Duke of Zhan challenged the proposal, but the Duke of Lu read an imperial decree that bestowed marriage on Jing Li and Cen Shi.
• Chancellor Cen refused to receive the decree, declaring that he would not obey what he considered an unrighteous command.
• Bai Qianjun appeared in support of the Duke of Zhan and questioned the Green Mountain Sect’s power.
• Zhuo Rusui stepped out in support of the Duke of Lu and challenged Bai Qianjun to fight.

Gu Qing’s plan to expose the Heir of the Duke of Zhan was interrupted, but Xi Yiyun announced that Bu Qiuxiao opposed the marriage too. Jing Jiu met Bu Qiuxiao by the lake, where the Studio Master agreed to call off the match before discussing their other business.

• Gu Qing watched Zhuo Rusui confront Bai Qianjun and rejected the idea of forcing the marriage through or abducting the Chancellor’s Seventh Miss.
• At a Gu Household Treasure Shop, the shopkeeper prepared to move the Heir of the Duke of Zhan’s former lover and their daughter out of Chaoge City, but a scholar offered the woman work at One-Thatch Studio instead.
• Xi Yiyun arrived at the Chancellor’s Residence and told Chancellor Cen that Bu Qiuxiao had come, then accused Gu Qing of using underhanded methods.
• Gu Qing accused Xi Yiyun of defending the Heir of the Duke of Zhan, and Xi Yiyun clarified that he and Bu Qiuxiao opposed Miss Cen marrying him.
• Bu Qiuxiao told Jing Jiu that he had sent Xi Yiyun to cancel the marriage, but warned that the match could be resumed; Jing Jiu walked toward the old nunnery without answering.

Jing Jiu met Bu Qiuxiao to argue that Jing Yao should become the next Divine Emperor and that Jing Xin should be removed, but Bu Qiuxiao refused to support Green Mountain’s position. Jing Jiu then exposed Bu Qiuxiao’s secret: He Zhan was his son.

• The guests left Chancellor Cen’s residence after the competing marriage proposals ended, while Bai Qianjun stayed and Gu Qing waited anxiously for Jing Jiu’s meeting with Bu Qiuxiao.
• Jing Jiu met Bu Qiuxiao at the Old Nunnery and said Green Mountain wanted Jing Yao as the next Divine Emperor and Jing Xin sent to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple or killed.
• Bu Qiuxiao rejected Jing Yao because he was the son of a fox demon, and Jing Jiu challenged One-Thatch Studio’s rigid rules and its opposition to him.
• Jing Jiu used Two Hearts Communication to probe Bu Qiuxiao and suggested he had a connection to Water-Moon Convent.
• Jing Jiu revealed that Bu Qiuxiao had fathered He Zhan with a woman at the nunnery, and Bu Qiuxiao reacted with shock and a trembling hand.

Jing Jiu used Bu Qiuxiao's concealed connection to a Water-Moon Convent scandal to secure approval for Jing Li's marriage to Cen Shi and One-Thatch Studio's neutrality over the throne. As the marriage news spread through Chaoge City, Jing Jiu suspected Bu Qiuxiao had taken the blame for his teacher and joined his companions for a celebratory meal.

• Jing Jiu threatened to expose Bu Qiuxiao's connection to the Water-Moon Convent unless he supported Li's marriage to Cen Shi and kept One-Thatch Studio neutral over the throne.
• Jing Jiu presented the Demon Phoenix's Life Tablet as proof of his authority, and Bu Qiuxiao accepted his proposal.
• Jing Jiu argued that Liu S sui should retain the Guan Cheng Brush and reminded Bu Qiuxiao of his promise to cure Liu S sui's illness.
• Xi Yiyun received confirmation of the agreement, and news of the marriage delighted the Jing household and Imperial Palace while angering Prince Jing Xin's faction.
• Jing Jiu suspected that the former head of One-Thatch Studio had fathered He Zhan and that Bu Qiuxiao had concealed his teacher's affair.
• Jing Jiu joined his companions for hotpot, thanked Gu Qing for his work, and told Liu S sui not to drink before the Dao Battle.