Recaps

Jing Jiu settled Jing Li’s marriage, secured One-Thatch Studio’s neutrality, and arranged for Gu Qing to protect Jing Yao in the palace before preparing to leave Chaoge City. On a dark street, he sensed a watcher who could not be human and called for them to come out.

• Jing Jiu ate hotpot with Gu Qing, Liu S sui, and Zhuo Rusui while a storyteller recounted his fame and the Jing Household’s secret.
• Jing Jiu told Liu S sui to study at One-Thatch Studio and leave its affairs alone, while Gu Qing warned him to keep Little Lotus away from the Wind Corridor.
• Jing Jiu told Consort Hu that Gu Qing would stay in the palace for a year to help keep Jing Yao safe, and ordered Gu Qing to return to Green Mountain if the decree remained unissued.
• Jing Jiu told the Divine Emperor to deal forcefully with those who disobeyed and criticized the Imperial Court’s continued influence by Yunmeng Mountain.
• Jing Jiu sensed an unseen presence on a dark street and called for it to come out.

Jing Jiu met projections of the High Priest and the Nether Master, who each sought to enlist him in the struggle over the Netherworld. After the Nether Master vanished, Jing Jiu found a cryptic message that made him look south.

• The High Priest projected himself into Chaoge City and offered to cooperate with Jing Jiu against the Taiping Remnants.
• Jing Jiu went to the Old Plum Garden, where the Nether Master appeared and proposed that they kill the High Priest and choose a new Nether Emperor.
• The Nether Master said he had deliberately leaked information about the Nether Emperor's Seal and left without showing Jing Jiu the letter he had brought.
• Jing Jiu considered how the Nether Master had tracked him and found no trace in his body.
• In the morning, Jing Jiu saw the words “A cloud has drifted in from the south” on the floor and looked toward the southern sky.

Jing Jiu learned that Nan Qu had left Mist Island and was drifting toward the mainland, giving Green Mountain a chance to confront its ancient enemy. Nan Qu crossed the sea in a killing fog, while a mortal messenger delivered a letter to Liu Ci and died after it was read.

• Jing Jiu read his Senior Brother’s letter and learned that Nan Qu had left Mist Island and was heading toward the Chaotian Continent.
• Nan Qu’s fog killed everyone aboard a Penglai Island ship and nearly everyone in a fishing village, sparing Nan Zheng because she was his descendant.
• Nan Qu entered a coffin Nan Zheng found and sealed himself inside with talismans to conceal his aura.
• Ming Guoxing received an ordinary-looking man who identified himself as a letter and notified the inner sect.
• Elder Mo brought the man to Liu Ci, who read his message and watched him jump from the cliff to his death.

Jing Jiu walked through Green Mountain, revisiting places tied to his past and confirming that the sect was still his. He told Liu Ci he would agree to True Person Taiping’s request, while a discussion about Taiping’s letter and a suspected traitor left the summit tense.

• Jing Jiu walked from South Pine Pavilion through the Green Mountain grounds, recalling his history with his senior brother and the rise of Shangde Peak.
• Jing Jiu reached Heavenly Light Peak, greeted Origin Turtle, and joined Liu Ci at the cliff to look out over Green Mountain.
• Jing Jiu told Liu Ci that Green Mountain was his and that he would agree to True Person Taiping’s request.
• Liu Ci said Taiping had sent him a letter too and suggested it might be meant to sow discord; Yuan Qijing arrived on Three Feet and proposed that the letter could instead be covering for Jing Jiu.
• Jing Jiu, Liu Ci, and Yuan Qijing faced the unspoken question of who within Green Mountain had helped Taiping escape the Sword Prison.

Jing Jiu, Liu Ci, and Yuan Qijing discussed True Person Taiping’s letter from the Western Sea and whether his presence there was a trap for Green Mountain. Jing Jiu concluded that Green Mountain should kill Nan Qu and then True Person Taiping.

• Yuan Qijing demanded that Liu Ci explain how True Person Taiping had escaped the Sword Prison, while Jing Jiu intervened to calm their confrontation.
• Liu Ci told Yuan Qijing that True Person Taiping’s letter said he had gone to the Western Sea and urged Green Mountain to destroy the Western Sea Sword Sect.
• Jing Jiu warned that True Person Taiping might be using Nan Qu as bait to lure Green Mountain into danger and asked whether Liu Ci trusted him.
• Liu Ci said he trusted True Person Taiping on this matter, and Jing Jiu proposed killing Nan Qu and then True Person Taiping.

Jing Jiu arranged for Green Mountain to mobilize against True Person Taiping and discussed how to deal with Nan Qu, while also investigating the possibility of a traitor within the sect. He left the question of Green Mountain’s hidden ghost unresolved, and Zhao Layue warned him that the coming plan could be dangerous.

• Jing Jiu told Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing to bring Green Mountain’s forces to the Western Sea, leaving Little Four behind to guard the sect.
• Liu Ci volunteered to kill Nan Qu, but Yuan Qijing objected that Liu Ci had no sword; Jing Jiu suggested Snow Ji help him.
• Jing Jiu told Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing that Tong Yan’s plans might involve Guo Dong, then returned to Divine End Peak.
• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue that he believed they could identify the ghost within Green Mountain this time.
• Zhao Layue warned Jing Jiu that Liu Ci and Yuan Qijing might be watching each other rather than protecting him, but Jing Jiu said neither had tried to kill him.
• Jing Jiu explained that he had chosen Liu Ci over Yuan Qijing as Sect Master because Liu Ci had reached Heavenly Access first and Yuan Qijing disliked him.

Yin San and the Profound Yin Ancestor headed for Shaoming Island to seize the Western Sea Sword Sect’s formation nexus, while the Western Sea Sword God prepared to lure Green Mountain into conflict. On Divine End Peak, Jing Jiu emerged from seclusion ready to act.

• Yin San confirmed he would go to Shaoming Island, where the First Child Sword or the sect’s formation nexus might be found, and he and the Profound Yin Ancestor approached its hidden cave abode.
• Flying Whale brought Su Ziye to the Western Sea Sword God, who learned of the Zhongzhou Sect’s plan involving True Person Taiping and ordered Su Ziye to claim the First Child Sword was on Tianxuan Island.
• Su Ziye reported that Tong Yan had stolen the Azure Sky Mirror and defected from the Zhongzhou Sect, while the Western Sea Sword God said Tong Yan could come to him.
• The Western Sea Sword God reflected that he would rely on strength rather than schemes and believed he could kill his enemies with help this time.
• After Gu Qing and Yuan Qu returned to Divine End Peak, Jing Jiu left his cave abode, and Zhao Layue asked whether he was ready.

Jing Jiu left Green Mountain with Nan Wang and the white cat to search for Nan Qu, while the Green Mountain Sect sent reports of thousands of new events without finding a lead. Their search reached Daozhou City, where a doctor suddenly announced that they had found him.

• Jing Jiu entrusted the Azure Sky Mirror to Gu Qing for delivery to the Three Thousand Nunnery, said farewell to Divine End Peak, and departed on Universe Edge.
• Jing Jiu met Nan Wang at the Yunji Town restaurant and forced her to sober up before they set off together with the white cat.
• Jing Jiu and Nan Wang traveled west while Green Mountain couriers delivered reports, but the search produced no clues despite the Sect's extensive efforts.
• Nan Wang drank Osmanthus Drink aboard a boat in Daozhou City and demanded that Jing Jiu smile or dance.
• A doctor rushed from a carriage marked with a begonia and shouted that they had found him.

Nan Wang and Jing Jiu traced the strange deaths and buried yin wood to a trail leading toward Yizhou, concluding that Nan Qu was being transported in a coffin. The chapter left Nan Zheng waiting with the coffin in an isolated mountain god temple, where she lit a red lantern.

• Nan Wang and Jing Jiu traveled to Deer Mountain, where Southern Barbarian elders uncovered ancient yin wood beneath a mountain god temple bearing Nan Wang's likeness.
• Nan Wang used the Spirit-Communing Art with Jing Jiu to map suspicious sites, revealing a fan-shaped trail extending north from the Southern Sea.
• Jing Jiu deduced that Nan Qu had to remain motionless to hide his aura and was likely being carried in a coffin by ordinary means.
• Nan Zheng drove a coffin into the wild mountains near Yizhou and found an old tribal mountain god temple where she decided to wait.
• At night, Nan Zheng lit a tattered red lantern outside the silent temple.

Nan Zheng witnessed Sword Ghost Boy suppress a false god’s aura, while Bai Zao failed to secure a divination at the Water-Moon Convent. On Shaoming Island, Tong Yan secretly reached the First Child Sword, as Yin San and the Profound Yin Ancestor moved to seize the island’s Formation Core.

• Sword Ghost Boy appeared beside Nan Zheng, identified the aura beneath the statue as the smell of a false god, and told her to guard the Black Coffin before disappearing into the mountains.
• Bai Zao visited the Water-Moon Convent, learned that its seniors could not perform the divination she sought, and left hoping for peace and for Jing Jiu’s well-being.
• Tong Yan offered the Azure Sky Mirror to the Western Sea Sword God in exchange for a chance to cultivate the Supreme Profound Art and remain alive.
• Tong Yan dug from his chamber to a hidden cave abode on Shaoming Island, found the First Child Sword, and waited there with Qing'er.
• Yin San and the Profound Yin Ancestor located the Formation Core’s hiding place and planned to take the First Child Sword after breaking the Formation Core.

Jing Jiu and Nan Wang tracked Nan Qu to a ruined shrine in the mountains, where his corpse lay in a black coffin and a girl named Nan Zheng tended a red lantern. Jing Jiu suspected Nan Qu’s sword ghost was elsewhere, possibly in the Western Sea, and stayed behind while Nan Wang and the white cat prepared to leave.

• The Green Mountain Sect’s investigation concluded that Nan Qu had used the Mountain God Soul-Seizing Great Art to become a living corpse that could evade the Grand Array.
• Jing Jiu and Nan Wang followed the white cat’s scent through the mountains until it led them to an old shrine and a black coffin.
• Nan Wang recognized the girl tending the shrine as Nan Zheng, a descendant of Nan Qu, and identified the shrine’s statue as likely depicting Nan Qu.
• Jing Jiu sent the Unthought Sword to inform the Sect Master, then kept watch with Nan Wang through the night as the sword failed to return.
• Jing Jiu reasoned that Nan Qu’s sword ghost was absent from the coffin and might have gone to the Western Sea, so he had not summoned Green Mountain’s full force.
• After Nan Zheng extinguished the red lantern, Jing Jiu said the corpse would not awaken and told Nan Wang and the white cat to leave while he waited behind.

Jing Jiu and Nan Wang remained near Nan Qu’s coffin as Green Mountain prepared for war, with Jing Jiu warning that Nan Qu might awaken. Liu Ci led Green Mountain’s forces west in seventeen sword boats, leaving Fang Jingtian behind to guard the sect.

• Jing Jiu calculated that Nan Qu had no more than a ten percent chance of waking, but Nan Wang and the white cat stayed with him near the ruined temple.
• Nan Wang questioned Jing Jiu about who he was and reminded him that Green Mountain’s fall would endanger the people and groups under her protection.
• Zhao Layue activated Divine End Peak’s restrictions, then boarded a sword boat with Yuan Qu and Ping Yongjia as disciples from Green Mountain’s other peaks prepared to depart.
• The golden pheasant Guardian left Shiyue Peak and boarded Shangde Peak’s sword boat, prompting Chi Yan and Duan Liantian to conclude that Liu Ci intended to destroy the Western Sea.
• Liu Ci warned Fang Jingtian to remain at Green Mountain, took the Heaven-Bearing Sword’s scabbard, and led seventeen sword boats west after sending out attack orders.

After Liu Ci announced that True Person Taiping had emerged and Green Mountain was marching to the Western Sea, the continent’s major powers prepared for the coming conflict. Seventeen Green Mountain Sword Boats reached the Western Sea Archipelago as more than a thousand cultivators watched from a distance.

• Liu Ci sent Sword Letters across the continent announcing that True Person Taiping was in the Western Sea and Green Mountain was going to demand his surrender.
• Zhang Yiai reported the news to the Divine Emperor, while the Zen Child ordered Fruitful Accomplishment Temple monks to watch Green Mountain and declared that Taiping must die.
• The Imperial Court, northern sects, Juye City, and One-Thatch Studio reacted to the impending conflict, while White True Person told Bai Zao to prepare to leave.
• Seventeen Green Mountain Sword Boats advanced toward the Western Sea, and cultivators from dozens of sects gathered nearby without daring to approach the archipelago.
• He Wei and the Kunlun Sect reached the Western Sea, where lightning struck the archipelago before the Sword Boats emerged from the clouds; the lightning was Green Mountain sword light.

The Green Mountain Sect’s Sword Boats swept through the Western Sea Archipelago, overwhelming its defenses and defeating several powerful opponents. The chapter left the watching sect leaders stunned by the strength of Green Mountain’s peak masters and the unknown True Person Guangyuan.

• Seventeen Green Mountain Sword Boats destroyed or subdued more than a hundred outer islands while their disciples attacked without pause.
• He Wei joined Bu Qiuxiao and questioned whether the other sects would let Green Mountain attack without asking questions, while the Green Mountain forces reached the Heaven-Calculating Pavilion.
• The Green Mountain Sword Formation broke the Pavilion’s grand formation, and Cheng Youtian struck Qi Moshu into the sea and seized his Law Treasure.
• Mochi and Bai Rujing cut through a fortified black stone mountain, forcing the Western Sea Sword Sect disciples there to flee.
• A green-robed Daoist killed a Western Sea Sword Sect sea-breaking expert with the Returning Sun Sword and Six Dragons Sword Arts; Liu S sui identified him as True Person Guangyuan of Shiyue Peak.

Green Mountain Sect attacked the Western Sea Sword Sect to find True Person Taiping, overwhelming its forces and confronting the Western Sea Sword God. Liu Ci waited until Yin San’s presence caused the Mountain Gate Formation to open, then Taiping revealed himself and accused Liu Ci of pursuing his master.

• Shiyue Peak’s Zhao Layue used the Unthought Sword to slaughter sea demons, while Green Mountain’s disciples continued routing the Western Sea Sword Sect.
• Bu Qiuxiao and the other observers realized Green Mountain had waited for witnesses before beginning its attack, and Bu Qiuxiao explained that war revealed a sect’s true strength.
• The Western Sea Sword God appeared with the Twelve-Story Tower Sword, and Liu Ci told him Green Mountain had come to bring True Person Taiping back to the mountain.
• Liu Ci presented the Imperial Edict and demanded that the Western Sea Sword Sect open its Mountain Gate Formation; the Sword God refused and challenged Green Mountain to fight.
• Liu Ci waited as the Mountain Gate Formation opened at Shaoming Island, where Yin San sat drinking tea; Yin San recognized Liu Ci and accused him of pursuing his master.

True Person Taiping appeared on Shaoming Island, prompting the cultivation world to converge as Green Mountain and the other sects sought to kill him. Jing Jiu recognized that Green Mountain’s war against the Western Sea also served to expose a hidden enemy, while he turned to deal with the old ghost inside the Black Coffin.

• Liu S sui, He Wei, and Bu Qiuxiao noticed that Green Mountain’s search for True Person Taiping and the Western Sea campaign had unfolded suspiciously smoothly, while White True Person warned Bai Zao that Green Mountain might be staging a show.
• Yuan Qijing froze the sea around Shaoming Island, and the Western Sea Sword God struck the island; black smoke protected True Person Taiping from the blow.
• True Person Liu Ci questioned the Western Sea Sword God, who accused Liu Ci and his master of putting on a deceptive performance as cultivators from across the continent surrounded the island.
• Gu Qing told Jing Yao that True Person Taiping had become the common enemy of the Chaotian Continent and that every righteous sect would act against him.
• The emperor told Consort Hu that True Person Taiping wanted a world without mortals, and Jing Jiu considered his plans while approaching the red lantern in the ruined temple to deal with the old ghost in the Black Coffin.

Nan Wang destroyed the red lantern and attacked Nan Qu, but Jing Jiu realized the old man had become a sword that nurtured a Sword Ghost. As the Western Sea conflict escalated toward a duel between Liu Ci and the Western Sea Sword God, Nan Qu recognized something familiar in Jing Jiu’s sword.

• Nan Wang defeated Nan Zheng, destroyed the red lantern, and shattered the Black Coffin before attacking Nan Qu, whose body remained unharmed.
• Flying Whale charged toward Shaoming Island, but Yin Phoenix wounded it and drove it back beneath the sea.
• Liu Ci demanded that the Western Sea Sword Sect disband and that the Western Sea Sword God leave the continent; the Sword God revealed his Mist Island origins and summoned the Twelve-Story Tower Sword to challenge Liu Ci.
• Jing Jiu understood that Nan Qu had reverse-cultivated himself into a sword and nurtured a Sword Ghost, then stopped Nan Wang from continuing her attack.
• Jing Jiu extended his hand toward Nan Qu, who studied his face and remarked that he looked like a perfect, familiar sword.

Liu Ci faced the Western Sea Sword God as Nan Qu’s Sword Ghost ambushed Green Mountain’s forces, destroying the Sword Boat and severely injuring Yuan Qijing. At Desolate Mountain, Jing Jiu confronted Nan Qu directly, and their duel ended with Jing Jiu refusing to release his grip despite being wounded as the Green Mountain Sword Formation approached.

• Liu Ci accepted the Western Sea Sword God’s challenge while the Green Mountain forces watched from their Sword Boats.
• Nan Qu’s Sword Ghost emerged from a bloodstain on Yin Phoenix’s feathers, ambushed Yuan Qijing, and killed Duan Liantian and other Green Mountain disciples.
• The Sword Ghost destroyed the Shangde Peak Sword Boat’s formation core, and Yuan Qijing attacked it with the Three Feet Sword as Green Mountain’s flying swords pursued it.
• The Western Sea Sword God’s Twelve-Story Tower Sword struck, and the cultivators saw the two powerful figures battling in the Void Realm.
• Jing Jiu confronted Nan Qu at the ruined temple on Desolate Mountain, and their sword clash wounded Jing Jiu as Nan Qu urged him to let go.
• Jing Jiu refused to release Nan Qu’s hand and asked whether he feared the approaching Green Mountain Sword Formation.

Jing Jiu and Nan Wang confronted Nan Qu at a ruined temple while Green Mountain’s forces fought his Sword Ghost at the Western Sea. Zhuo Rusui completed a sword formation that trapped the Sword Ghost, and Liu Ci declared that he would kill Nan Qu’s current body first.

• Jing Jiu sent Liu Ci a message about his plan, then joined Nan Wang in confronting Nan Qu at the ruined temple.
• Jing Jiu, Nan Wang, and the white cat attacked Nan Qu, who revealed that he had come to meet his death and was no longer afraid of the Green Mountain Sword Formation.
• At the Western Sea, the Sword Ghost Boy evaded Green Mountain’s attacks, destroyed another Sword Boat, and wounded Yuan Qijing while Zhuo Rusui began arranging a sword formation.
• Zhuo Rusui’s formation trapped the Sword Ghost Boy after Liu S sui secretly supplied the Nondual Sword as its final anchor.
• The Western Sea Sword God bowed to the Sword Ghost Boy, confirming that he was Nan Qu, the Mist Island Old Ancestor.
• Nan Qu insulted Yuan Qijing and Liu Ci, while Liu Ci introduced Zhuo Rusui as his final disciple and said he would kill Nan Qu’s present body first.

Liu Ci fought Nan Qu over the Western Sea and, after revealing that he had a sword, summoned Jing Jiu to return. Meanwhile, Jing Jiu, Nan Wang, and the White Cat battled Nan Qu on a desolate mountain, and Jing Jiu accepted Liu Ci’s invitation to join the contest.

• Nan Qu defeated Liu Ci with a sword strike and declared that Green Mountain’s decline had begun, but Liu Ci refused to accept that his proof was enough.
• Nan Qu used Jing Jiu as a weapon against Nan Wang, then fought off Nan Wang and the White Cat as they attacked him.
• Liu Ci explained that Nan Qu’s Sword Ghost Dao had roots in Green Mountain’s methods and revealed the Heaven-Bearing Sword’s scabbard, saying that he had a sword.
• Jing Jiu questioned Nan Qu about whether the surviving version of him was truly himself, and Nan Qu answered that he was.
• Jing Jiu heard Liu Ci’s sword invitation and rose to return, intending to compare his Sword Dao with Nan Qu’s.

Jing Jiu reached the Oneness of All Things and struck Nan Qu with a sword that crossed the Western Sea, killing him after severely wounding the Western Sea Sword God and destroying the great black shadow beneath the sea. In the Void Realm, Jing Jiu and Nan Qu shared a final exchange before Nan Qu dissolved into rain, ending a thousand years of conflict.

• Jing Jiu floated into the air while holding Nan Qu’s hand, then flew away and left a great emptiness through Nan Qu’s body.
• Liu Ci drew his sword over the Western Sea as Nan Qu began to fade and the Twelve-Story Tower Sword broke into twelve sections around him.
• Nan Qu fled into the sky as Jing Jiu’s sword light crossed the Western Sea, shattered the Tower Sword, severely wounded the Western Sea Sword God, and pursued Nan Qu beyond sight.
• Jing Jiu and Nan Qu met in the Void Realm and discussed whether they were still themselves, with Jing Jiu declaring that he was Jingyang.
• Nan Qu praised Jing Jiu’s unrivaled sword and departed, dissolving into points of light that became rain over the red Western Sea.

Liu Ci’s devastating sword strike killed Nan Qu and grievously wounded the Western Sea Sword God, while Su Ziye revealed that he had spent years setting a trap to kill the Western Sea Sword God. As Green Mountain’s forces moved to capture True Person Taiping, Tong Yan confronted Yin San with the Azure Sky Mirror.

• Liu Ci struck Nan Qu with a powerful sword, killing him and leaving the Western Sea Sword God badly wounded.
• The Western Sea Sword God returned to Fallen Immortal Island and confronted Su Ziye, who admitted that his plan had been to kill him.
• Su Ziye’s stored sword intent from Pei Baifa struck the Western Sea Sword God, but the wounded swordsman spared Su Ziye and suspected Green Mountain was also in danger.
• Green Mountain and the allied Righteous Path sects prepared to land on Shaoming Island and capture True Person Taiping.
• In the chamber containing the First Child Sword, Tong Yan faced Yin San and fired the Azure Sky Mirror at him.

The Immortal Register’s light struck Yin San and summoned a heavenly tribulation over Shaoming Island, but Liu Ci shielded him from the lightning. As Yin San escaped with the Profound Yin Ancestor and the Yin Phoenix, Green Mountain’s factions turned against one another, leaving Jing Jiu to confront the possibility that they considered him a ghost.

• The Immortal Register’s light wounded Yin San, destroyed the stone chamber, and provoked heavenly lightning to descend on Shaoming Island.
• Liu Ci blocked the lightning with his palm, then wavered as Green Mountain disciples attacked Tong Yan, who escaped to the Cloud Boat using the Ten-Thousand-Li Seal.
• The Profound Yin Ancestor carried Yin San away while Bu Qiuxiao, the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple monks, and He Wei tried to stop them; Guangyuan and Mochi blocked their efforts.
• The Yin Phoenix knocked He Wei and his Cold-Calling Bird onto the ice, then carried Yin San and the Profound Yin Ancestor out to sea despite Yuan Qijing’s order to kill it.
• Zhao Layue watched the Green Mountain conflict without intervening, and Jing Jiu wondered whether the people of Green Mountain saw him as a ghost.

The Green Mountain Sect left the Western Sea after Liu Ci admitted he had saved True Person Taiping, while the other sects held back after witnessing his heavenly tribulation. The chapter revealed how Tong Yan and Bai Zao had arranged for him to uncover evidence against Taiping and bring the Azure Sky Mirror to the Western Sea, ending with Taiping entering Tong Yan’s hidden chamber.

• White True Person challenged Liu Ci over Green Mountain’s actions, and Liu Ci accepted responsibility for saving his master before leading the Green Mountain Sword Boats away.
• Mochi apologized to Liu Ci for helping Taiping escape, and Liu Ci said Green Mountain could not hold back.
• Jing Jiu reflected on Liu Ci’s heavenly tribulation and the rift within Green Mountain, then exchanged a distant look with Bai Zao.
• Tong Yan had dug for years to reach the Azure Sky Mirror, and Bai Zao persuaded White True Person to let him take it under the Zhongzhou Sect’s watch.
• Tong Yan carried the Azure Sky Mirror through a series of bargains and trials until he reached Shaoming Island and waited in its hidden chamber.
• True Person Taiping entered Tong Yan’s hidden chamber.

After the Western Sea battle, Tong Yan failed to secure Qing’er’s freedom, while Jing Jiu met Liu Ci to learn that Liu Ci had been the hidden figure behind True Person Taiping’s release. Liu Ci explained that he had acted to reclaim his sword, leaving Jing Jiu to reckon with the price Liu Ci had paid.

• White True Person asked Tong Yan what reward he wanted, and Tong Yan pleaded for Qing’er to live, but he left without securing her freedom.
• Bai Zao comforted Tong Yan, who questioned whether he had truly done everything he could for Qing’er and recalled that he had kept Snow Ji secret from White True Person.
• Zhao Layue brought the wounded white cat aboard Divine End Peak’s Sword Boat, while Nan Wang carried the unconscious Nan Zheng away.
• Jing Jiu met Liu Ci on a remote mountain peak and asked whether Mist Island would produce another Nan Qu and whether Xilai would return.
• Liu Ci confirmed that he had been the ghost within Green Mountain and said he had released True Person Taiping because he wanted his sword back.
• Jing Jiu admitted that killing his senior brother had always been his deepest wish, then told Liu Ci that his sacrifice had not been worth it.