Recaps

Kou Qingtong revealed himself as a powerful former member of the Blood Demon Sect and challenged Jing Jiu after knocking Lian Sanyue underground. As Kou Qingtong’s demonic aura harmed Liu Sui, Lian Sanyue rose from the underground river alive, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Kou Qingtong threatened Jing Jiu, while Ping Yongjia denounced the Zhongzhou Sect for sheltering a Blood Demon Sect remnant.
• The cultivators recalled that Kou Qingtong had betrayed the Blood Demon Sect a thousand years earlier and had since lived in Yunmeng Rear Valley under Bairen’s agreement.
• Liu Sui recognized the Blood Demon Sect aura in Kou Qingtong, and its influence made him vomit black blood until Bu Qiuxiao helped him recover.
• Jing Jiu judged that he could not defeat Kou Qingtong directly but knew someone else would kill him.
• Lian Sanyue burst from the underground river alive, and Kou Qingtong expressed surprise that she had survived.

Lian Sanyue dismissed her injury and explained that she regretted not striking first, while Kou Qingtong challenged her over their reputations as killers. She struck him with a simple punch that broke through his demonic defense and sent him crashing into Ying Tian Gate, where he lay bewildered and angry.

• Lian Sanyue cleaned herself with a breeze and said she regretted not striking first because injury only weakened her.
• Kou Qingtong asked Lian Sanyue whether she had counted her kills and whether she took pride in them, and she said she valued being able to kill rather than the killing itself.
• Lian Sanyue gathered heavenly earth vital energy and unleashed a punch that Kou Qingtong could not evade.
• Kou Qingtong's demonic defense split apart, and Lian Sanyue's punch struck his chest and sent him flying through the palace wall.
• Kou Qingtong crashed into Ying Tian Gate, where he stared at the morning sky in bewilderment and anger.

Lian Sanyue overwhelmed Kou Qingtong in the Imperial Palace, revealing the merciless strength she had held back. Kou Qingtong survived her final blow and lay in the ruins by the city wall as three Zhongzhou Sect Valley Masters moved to seize him, but a flute melody began.

• Lian Sanyue and Kou Qingtong traded devastating blows as the Imperial City Grand Formation struggled to contain their battle.
• After Kou Qingtong claimed she had not seen his truly cruel side, Lian Sanyue unleashed thousands of punches and broke through his defenses.
• Lian Sanyue glanced back at Jing Jiu before striking Kou Qingtong again and sending him flying through Ying Tian Gate and into the city wall.
• Three Zhongzhou Sect Valley Masters threatened the people maintaining the Forbidden Array and approached the injured Kou Qingtong to take him away.
• A flute sounded with a melody that carried killing intent.

Lian Sanyue challenged True Person Tan immediately after defeating Kou Qingtong, and the two began a battle of profound Daoist arts. She shattered the morning light to disrupt True Person Tan’s spatial mirrors, while he emerged from a tower displaced into the sky.

• Lian Sanyue defeated Kou Qingtong and challenged True Person Tan to the second bout.
• True Person Tan accepted, and Lian Sanyue flicked a drop of water between his hands to begin their battle.
• True Person Tan used his Daoist arts to divide the Imperial City into overlapping spatial mirrors, injuring Lian Sanyue with the pressure.
• Lian Sanyue caught and shattered a beam of morning light, sending its particles into the mirrors and forcing the spaces to draw together.
• True Person Tan walked out of a tower that was drifting back toward the Imperial Garden.

Lian Sanyue defeated True Person Tan in a fierce battle in Chaoge City, leaving him to concede and depart for Yunmeng Mountain. Afterward, she washed the blood from her face and sat beside Jing Jiu on the palace steps.

• True Person Tan used the Jingyun Bell and Heaven and Earth Misstep to approach Lian Sanyue, while she used the Water-Moon Convent's Celestial Person Connection to track him.
• Lian Sanyue charged past True Person Tan at her utmost speed, and the Jingyun Bell rang as space shifted around them.
• When the battle ended, Lian Sanyue and True Person Tan stood wounded, and True Person Tan admitted defeat.
• True Person Tan said Lian Sanyue's True Essence ranked among the top three in the Cultivation World's history, then left Chaoge City for Yunmeng Mountain.
• Jing Xin noticed Jing Yao as Lian Sanyue approached the great hall, then Lian Sanyue washed the blood from her face and sat beside Jing Jiu.

Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue reunited in the Great Hall, while Yin San killed Kou Qingtong from afar and probed White True Person. As the third battle between the Green Mountain Sect and the Zhongzhou Sect approached, Bai Zao emerged beside White True Person.

• Lian Sanyue asked Jing Jiu why he had not killed Jing Xin, and they discussed the risks of the alternative he had planned.
• Ping Yongjia brought tea to Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue, overheard their exchange, and feared they might kill him.
• A flute sounded near the city wall, and an invisible sword killed the gravely wounded Kou Qingtong before the Zhongzhou Sect’s Valley Masters could intervene.
• Yin San drank Runhao Green Tea while watching White True Person’s cloud and mist, then told Qing'er that someone might die that day.
• The officials and cultivators recognized Lian Sanyue’s victories, while the Zhongzhou Sect prepared White True Person for its third battle.
• White True Person entered the Imperial Palace square, and Bai Zao stepped out from behind her.

Bai Zao appeared as Zhongzhou Sect’s third fighter, and Jing Jiu tried to face her until Lian Sanyue restrained him with her new Dao technique, Moonlit Night. As Lian Sanyue confronted Bai Zao and condemned White True Person, Bai Zao rose into a storm and was struck by lightning from multiple realms.

• Bai Zao walked toward the Great Hall, and Jing Jiu recognized her as Green Mountain’s third and strongest opponent.
• Jing Jiu offered to take the round, but Lian Sanyue used Moonlit Night to bind him and went to fight instead.
• Lian Sanyue put a peach blossom in Jing Jiu’s ear, while Jing Jiu asked Ping Yongjia to force out all his Sword Intent.
• Lian Sanyue confronted White True Person over Bai Zao, accusing her of harming her own daughter.
• Bai Zao rose into the sky as a storm gathered, and lightning from the clouds and the Thunder Domain struck her body.

Bairen Immortal descended through Bai Zao and overwhelmed Chaoge City with her presence, then fought Lian Sanyue in the Void Realm. Lian Sanyue crashed back into the square, apparently defeated, while Jing Jiu remained bound and watched.

• Lian Sanyue watched as lightning entered Bai Zao, whom she regarded as her true heir, and grieved over what the Zhongzhou Sect and Bai Household had done to her.
• Bai Zao awoke with Bairen Immortal's power, and her voice and aura forced nearly everyone in Chaoge City to kneel.
• Yin San dismissed Bairen's claim to being an immortal because she had returned, while Jing Jiu tried to free himself and prepared to fight her if necessary.
• Lian Sanyue challenged Bairen Immortal and rose into the clouds to fight her in the Void Realm.
• A fine line snapped in the clouds, and Lian Sanyue fell through the Imperial City Grand Formation and struck the square, lying motionless among cracked stones.

Lian Sanyue repeatedly rose after Bairen struck her down, enduring the immortal’s attacks and launching herself back into battle. She revealed that the Immortal Qi Jing Jiu had poured into her body let her match Bairen’s supply, and charged at him again.

• On Green Mountain Hidden Peak, the Unthought Sword and Universe Edge flew out of the cave abode toward the horizon, while Tong Yan offered Corpse Dog a story.
• In Chaoge’s Imperial City, Lian Sanyue survived Bairen’s first blow, stood up, and flew back into the sky to fight again.
• Bairen repeatedly struck Lian Sanyue down, but she kept rising and returning to the battle despite her worsening injuries.
• After a long pause, Lian Sanyue stood once more and flew toward Bairen, leaving the watching crowd in awe.
• Above the Void Realm, Lian Sanyue explained that Jing Jiu had given her the Immortal Qi from an Immortal Register, bringing her supply close to Bairen’s.
• Lian Sanyue declared that Bairen could not easily beat her to death and charged at him again.

Lian Sanyue used the shared origin of her immortal qi to bind Bairen and struck Bai Zao’s body with a palm. The blow forced Bairen’s avatar out of Bai Zao, leaving the palace witnesses shocked.

• Bairen explained that her immortal sense let her evade Lian Sanyue’s attacks and gain the upper hand.
• Lian Sanyue forced all the immortal qi from her body, binding Bairen’s fingertip to her brow with a thread of their shared essence.
• Lian Sanyue used Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water and struck Bai Zao’s chest with her palm.
• Bairen’s avatar emerged from Bai Zao’s body, astonishing the onlookers.

Lian Sanyue forced Bairen out of Bai Zao, leaving him free to descend as a true immortal while Bai Zao survived. Jing Jiu confronted Bairen with four of his former swords and trapped him in the Zhuxian Sword Formation.

• Lian Sanyue emptied her immortal qi into Bai Zao, forcing Bairen to leave her body, and carried the collapsed Bai Zao toward the great hall.
• Bairen declared that he could still kill everyone, while Jing Jiu emerged into the sky to face him.
• Jing Jiu's sword intent drew flying swords from the Kunlun Sect and summoned the First Child Sword, the Nondual Sword, and Universe Edge.
• The Unthought Sword, the First Child Sword, Universe Edge, and the Nondual Sword surrounded Bairen and formed a powerful sword formation.
• Bairen asked what formation Jing Jiu had used, and Jing Jiu named it the Zhuxian Sword Formation.

Jing Jiu used the Zhuxian Sword Formation to attack Bairen, while the White True Person sent the Zhongzhou Sect’s Cloud Boats into Chaoge City. A rain of ordinary flying swords descended from the clouds and destroyed a Cloud Boat, and Jing Jiu identified the technique as a sword technique that descended from the heavens.

• Jing Jiu entered the Zhuxian Sword Formation and joined his four flying swords in attacking Bairen, but her immortal intent stopped their strikes.
• The White True Person ordered the Zhongzhou Sect’s Cloud Boats to seize the Imperial City despite the agreed match between the Zhongzhou Sect and the Green Mountain Sect.
• The Cloud Boats reached Chaoge City, prompting the Divine Crossbows to fire and Bu Qiuxiao to prepare to lead his disciples into the Imperial Palace.
• Countless ordinary flying swords fell from the clouds and overwhelmed the foremost Cloud Boat, killing its Valley Master and many Zhongzhou Sect disciples.
• Bairen asked Jing Jiu what the falling swords were, and Jing Jiu called it a sword technique that descended from the heavens.

Zhao Layue recognized the Green Mountain Sword Formation as Green Mountain’s swords devastated Chaoge City, while Jing Jiu used the formation and the Netherworld Immortal Sword to kill Bairen. After the battle left Jing Jiu unable to fight, White True Person arrived and asked who would face her next.

• Zhao Layue identified the countless swords leaving Green Mountain as the Green Mountain Sword Formation, and Zhuo Rusui and Yuan Qu sent their swords to join it.
• The Green Mountain Sword Formation destroyed the Zhongzhou Sect’s Cloud Boats and killed the cultivators in the Imperial City square.
• Jing Jiu told Bairen that she could die, then used the Netherworld Immortal Sword to make her vanish for good.
• Jing Jiu survived the formation but was badly injured, and the swords gathered around the sleeping Ping Yongjia without harming him.
• White True Person entered the Imperial City and asked Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue who would fight her next.

Yin San arrived at Chaoge City and used the Green Mountain Sword Formation to halt the Zhongzhou Sect’s assault, forcing White True Person and the Cloud Boats to withdraw. The Green Mountain Sect then launched an attack on Yunmeng Mountain, where Tong Yan studied the defenses of the Yunmeng Grand Array.

• White True Person advanced on Jing Jiu while the remaining Zhongzhou Sect Cloud Boats approached the Imperial City.
• Yin San entered the square playing a bamboo flute, and the awakened flying swords killed Zhongzhou Sect cultivators and severely wounded Yue Qianmen.
• Yin San told White True Person that he could still use the Green Mountain Sword Formation, but she challenged him to prove it.
• The Qilin roared from Yunmeng Mountain, and White True Person withdrew with the Zhongzhou Sect Cloud Boats.
• Thirteen Green Mountain Sword Boats surrounded Yunmeng Mountain, while Tong Yan directed attacks at the Yunmeng Grand Array’s weak points.

The Green Mountain Sect attacked Yunmeng Mountain while the Zhongzhou Sect’s forces were occupied in Chaoge City, and Nan Wang damaged the Yunmeng Grand Array before a rain of swords arrived from the south. In Chaoge City, Yin San attacked Bu Qiuxiao with a giant sword made from flying swords, but Jing Jiu stopped it in midair.

• Tong Yan joined the Green Mountain Sword Boat and directed its attack on the Yunmeng Grand Array.
• True Person Tan returned from Chaoge City and confronted Yuan Qijing as the Green Mountain Sect pressed its assault on Yunmeng Mountain.
• Nan Wang attacked the Yunmeng Grand Array with Sword Strings, opening a breach after sensing Lian Sanyue and Jingyang in Chaoge City.
• A vast rain of flying swords arrived from the south, and the Green Mountain disciples cheered Jing Jiu after a distant explosion sounded from Chaoge City.
• Qilin roared from Yunmeng Mountain, while a colossal black dog watched the mountain from the clouds.
• Yin San used his Bamboo Flute to assemble flying swords into a giant sword and send it toward Kuzhou, but Jing Jiu stopped it in midair.

Jing Jiu and Yin San contested control of the Green Mountain Sword Formation before Yin San escaped Chaoge City. After the battle, Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue cared for Bai Zao, and Yuan Qijing arrived to keep watch as Jing Jiu prepared to leave.

• Jing Jiu broke Yin San's control over the Green Mountain Sword Formation, and Yin San left the Imperial City protected by flying swords.
• Yin San joined Profound Yin Ancestor in a carriage outside Chaoge City and regretted that White True Person had escaped.
• Jing Jiu sat with Lian Sanyue and Bai Zao, who had survived the attempted possession and fell asleep in Lian Sanyue's arms.
• Yuan Qijing arrived at Imperial Palace Square, thanked Lian Sanyue, and offered to keep watch while Jing Jiu left with Bai Zao and Lian Sanyue.

Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue left Chaoge City and reunited at Three Thousand Nunnery, where she cocooned Bai Zao to help her refine immortal qi. After a brief clash and an honest conversation about their feelings, Lian Sanyue asked Jing Jiu to accompany her to White City.

• Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue departed Chaoge City as the capital’s people knelt, and the Enthronement Ceremony was held that evening.
• Ping Yongjia woke amid the swords in the Imperial City, learned from A Piao that Jing Jiu had gone traveling with Lian Sanyue, and watched the flying swords return toward Green Mountain.
• At Three Thousand Nunnery, Lian Sanyue wrapped Bai Zao in a cocoon with Spring Silkworm Transforms into a Butterfly so she could refine the immortal qi in her body.
• Jing Jiu and Lian Sanyue exchanged a blow beside the lake, and she claimed that even with Bairen’s immortal qi, he could not defeat her.
• Lian Sanyue explained that her failed ascension left her little time, kissed Jing Jiu, and asked him to go with her to White City; Jing Jiu agreed.

Lian Sanyue reunited with Cao Yuan, traveled with Jing Jiu, and revisited Young Master Li before disappearing into golden light. Jing Jiu was left behind as her words promised she would wait for him in the next life.

• Lian Sanyue spent three days sleeping in the little temple while Cao Yuan held her, then thanked him and left with Jing Jiu.
• Lian Sanyue and Jing Jiu traveled through Juye City and other places before returning to the Three Thousand Nunnery, where they checked on Bai Zao.
• Young Master Li visited the Three Thousand Nunnery and played the Moonlit Night Prelude for Lian Sanyue as she spoke with him about their past.
• Lian Sanyue told Jing Jiu she would wait for him in the next life, then dissolved into golden light as the sun rose.
• Young Master Li sobbed as his hair turned white, Qing'er wept, an earthquake struck White City, and a blade light plunged into the Snowfield.

After Jing Jiu collapsed following the strange dawn over Dayuan City, Gu Qing and the others struggled to understand his condition and brought him to the Jing Residence. He remained unconscious as Zhao Layue arrived and watched over him.

• Jing Jiu asked for the zither, spoke of what he could not learn, then collapsed in the Great Hall while his breathing and sword intent remained faint but intact.
• Gu Qing kept Jing Jiu under guard and cared for him as he slept for three days, while He Zhan forced his way into the Imperial City seeking an explanation.
• He Zhan learned that Jing Jiu was unconscious and cried over Lian Sanyue's death before leaving to return to White City.
• Gu Qing, Ping Yongjia, A Piao, and Consort Hu decided Jing Jiu meant the Jing Residence when he told Gu Qing to take him home, and they brought him there.
• Zhao Layue arrived at the Jing Residence, cut down the begonia tree with the Unthought Sword, and silently watched Jing Jiu sleep.

After Jing Jiu remained asleep, Zhao Layue kept watch before leaving for Divine End Peak, while allies gathered around the Jing Residence to protect him. A century later, she emerged from seclusion having surpassed Jingyang and reached the peak of Sea-Breaking.

• Zhao Layue ate with Jing Jiu's disciples and resumed watching over him in the study as he slept.
• Jing Li learned that the street outside the residence had been cleared to relocate Pure Enlightenment Temple, where the Zen Child warned that Jing Jiu might never awaken.
• The Water-Moon Convent Abbess and representatives of other sects arrived, and allied forces settled around the Jing Residence to guard against the Zhongzhou Sect.
• Zhao Layue cut off her braid, left it beside Jing Jiu, and returned to Divine End Peak with Liu A'da.
• A hundred years passed as the Green Mountain Sect grew stronger while Jing Jiu remained asleep and True Person Taiping roamed freely.
• Zhao Layue emerged from a century of seclusion and shattered the sea of clouds with her sword intent, revealing that she had reached the peak of Sea-Breaking.

Zhao Layue learned that Fang Jingtian was pushing to appoint a new Green Mountain Sect Master, while Jing Jiu remained asleep in Chaoge City. Gu Qing refused to return to Green Mountain and shared a tearful moment with Empress Dowager Hu, who asked if he was going to leave her behind.

• Fang Jingtian proposed choosing a new Green Mountain Sect Master, and the sect prepared to settle the question at the Sword Trial the following spring.
• Yuan Qu told Zhao Layue that Gu Qing remained in Chaoge City, Ping Yongjia and A Piao had disappeared, and Tong Yan and Zhuo Rusui were still absent from public view.
• Yuan Qu reported that Jing Jiu had not woken and that Bu Qiuxiao was currently watching over him in Chaoge City.
• Gu Qing told Empress Dowager Hu that he did not intend to return to Green Mountain, even if Fang Jingtian became Sect Master and summoned him.
• Empress Dowager Hu asked whether Gu Qing would become dao companions with Zhen Tao before spring, and he admitted that he was fond of her.
• After they silently looked out the window together, Empress Dowager Hu asked Gu Qing whether he was going to leave her behind, and he saw that her eyes were filled with tears.

Gu Qing reflected on how Jing Jiu’s arrival had changed his life and how his guarded affection for Empress Dowager Hu had grown over many years. After finding her drinking alone, he took her hand and walked with her through the Imperial Garden, neither letting go.

• Gu Qing recalled leaving the Gu Household for Divine End Peak after Jing Jiu defeated him and his cultivation was suspended.
• He became Jing Jiu’s disciple, served Green Mountain and the imperial court, and eventually became regent while Jing Yao ruled.
• After the Divine Emperor died, Gu Qing found Consort Hu grieving and let her cling to him as she wept through the night.
• Years later, Hu’s teasing gaze helped Gu Qing break through into Wandering the Wilds, and they began secretly watching each other.
• After Gu Qing returned from seeing Zhen Tao off, he found Hu drinking alone, took her wine away, and invited her to walk in the garden.
• Hu caught Gu Qing’s hand as she stumbled, and the two walked hand in hand through the deserted Imperial Garden without letting go.

Gu Qing and Empress Dowager Hu confronted the limits of their relationship, and he promised to remain by her side even as he sought a life of his own. Meanwhile, Yue Qianmen stole the Heaven-Restoring Pearl containing their private conversation, but Yin San and his companions killed him and recovered it.

• Gu Qing and Empress Dowager Hu recalled their sixty years together and agreed he could pursue his own life while continuing to care for her.
• Yue Qianmen obtained the Heaven-Restoring Pearl from an old eunuch, hoping to use its recorded contents against Gu Qing and Green Mountain.
• Yin Phoenix forced Yue Qianmen into the open, and an invisible little sword pierced his skull before Profound Yin Ancestor swallowed him.
• Yue Qianmen detonated himself, but Profound Yin Ancestor suppressed the blast and spat out the Heaven-Restoring Pearl.
• Yin San played the recording of Gu Qing and Empress Dowager Hu's conversation, while Yin Phoenix defended Gu Qing and Profound Yin Ancestor killed the old eunuch.

Gu Qing learned that Yin San had evidence of his relationship with Empress Dowager Hu and agreed to carry out tasks for him in exchange for the Heaven-Restoring Pearl. After saying farewell to the people he cared about, Gu Qing resolved to lay a trap to kill True Person Taiping, expecting to die whether he succeeded or not.

• Gu Qing confided in his sleeping master Jing Jiu about his feelings for Empress Dowager Hu and his plans to become Zhen Tao’s dao companion.
• Gu Qing and Zhen Tao walked together beneath the stars, and news of their coming union spread through the cultivation world.
• Yin San showed Gu Qing images from the Heaven-Restoring Pearl and threatened the fallout, then demanded that he stop his preparations and perform tasks in exchange for the pearl.
• Gu Qing visited Empress Dowager Hu, Yuan Qijing, and Zhen Tao before returning to Jing Jiu’s bedside.
• Gu Qing decided to lay a trap to kill True Person Taiping and accepted that he would die whether or not the plan worked.

Tong Yan left Hidden Peak after learning that the Green Mountain Sect would choose a new Sect Master, and he reached Divine End Peak to discuss the coming Assembly with Zhao Layue and Yuan Qu. Zhao rejected his plan to back Shiyue Peak, leaving Tong Yan and Yuan Qu to search the sect rules while she departed on the Unthought Sword.

• Tong Yan left Hidden Peak, passed through the Sword Prison, and traveled toward Divine End Peak after hearing about the coming Sect Master selection.
• At Sword-Washing Creek, Tong Yan heard young Green Mountain disciples discuss the Zhongzhou Sect and the events at Chaoge City before instructors mistook him for a Zhongzhou Sect member.
• Tong Yan summoned a Daoist art to signal Twofold Forgetting Peak, and Gu Han arrived, identified him, and sent the instructors and disciples away.
• Tong Yan advised Yuan Qu that Divine End Peak should support Shiyue Peak's candidate, but Zhao Layue refused the plan.
• Zhao Layue left on the Unthought Sword, while Tong Yan and Yuan Qu searched through sect rules for another strategy; Yuan Qu worried that she would cleave them if she learned of their plan to put her forward as Sect Master.