Recaps

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue traveled to Chaoge City for the Plum Gathering, while Liu S sui was drawn toward the Never-Old Forest after refusing other paths back to cultivation. As the Gathering opened, Zhao Layue chose to enter the dangerous Dao Battle, and Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue encountered Se Se and Consort Hu in the Old Plum Garden.

• Jing Jiu defeated Gu Han in the sword trial, broke Guo Nanshan’s flying sword, and secured a Plum Gathering place for Divine End Peak with Zhao Layue.
• Liu S sui returned to his village and refused offers to restore his cultivation through evil arts, but Wei Chengzi forced him to leave for the Never-Old Forest by threatening his family.
• Jing Jiu traveled to Meng Mountain, where the Zen Child exposed the supposed cave abode as a prank, then continued to Chaoge City and entered the Jing family courtyard.
• Jing Jiu contacted the Curtain Rollers, exchanged information with the doctor, and learned about the Plum Gathering’s prizes and Heaven Near Person’s arrival.
• Jing Jiu welcomed Zhao Layue to the Jing family home, and they attended the Plum Gathering, where Bai Zao’s zither performance captivated the crowd and Zhao Layue volunteered for the Dao Battle.
• Jing Jiu warned Zhao Layue that the Dao Battle could be fatal, then took her to seek Heaven Near Person at the Old Plum Garden, where they heard bells from the broken formations.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue entered the plum grove with Se Se and encountered Consort Hu, who mocked Zhao Layue before Se Se and a young man challenged her remarks.

Jing Jiu's encounter with Heaven Near Person exposes the danger of the fragment within him, while his growing bond with Zhao Layue and his confrontation with Tong Yan bring the Plum Gathering's Chess Battle into focus. The arc ends with their fierce game nearing its final move as the Divine Emperor approaches.

• Jing Jiu promised Se Se he would do one thing for her, then confronted Luo Huainan, who threatened to break his sword.
• Jing Jiu entered Heaven Near Person's hermitage, destroyed the fragment that threatened his cultivation, and left Heaven Near Person wounded.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue encountered Tong Yan playing Scholar Guo at Go, and Jing Jiu challenged Tong Yan to face him at the Plum Gathering.
• Jing Jiu told the Duke of Lu that Fang Jingtian had sent Heaven Near Person to kill him, then met with the Divine Emperor.
• The Zen Child defeated Heaven Near Person in their contest of intent, forcing him to leave Chaoge City unable to calculate heaven's secrets for ten years.
• At Chessboard Mountain, Jing Jiu and Tong Yan arranged to play the opening match, while the Chess Battle was set to decide the sects' dispute over crystal-stone quotas.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan began a game that bewildered most spectators, but the expert players recognized its extraordinary danger and depth.
• As Jing Jiu and Tong Yan drove the game toward its close, the board's Sword Intent overwhelmed onlookers, and Tong Yan prepared a likely final move amid rain and thunder.

After Zhao Layue survived an assassination attempt, Jing Jiu uncovered Shi Fengchen’s role and reflected on the divide between cultivators and mortals. He joined the Dao Battle, where a Kunlun disciple died in the snowfield as Jing Jiu investigated a strange Snow Nation creature and Bai Zao’s team approached the Forbidden Zone.

• Jing Jiu defeated Tong Yan at Go, then explained that cultivation meant attempting what lay beyond human capability and left the Plum Gathering with Zhao Layue.
• Jing Jiu learned that Zhao Layue had been lured into an ambush at Emerald-Cry Valley, where she fought off Wei Chengzi until Guo Dong and Nan Wang arrived.
• Nan Wang confronted the Zhongzhou Sect over Wei Chengzi’s attack, while Jing Jiu sent Mo Xi back to the Water-Moon Convent and refused Bai Zao’s request to join a coalition.
• Jing Jiu confronted Shi Fengchen, identified Jing Xin as the plot’s backer, and watched Shi Fengchen die after he admitted hiring Wei Chengzi.
• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue that cultivators depended on ordinary people while leaving them to suffer, and described the resentment created by cultivators’ power and long lives.
• Jing Jiu joined the Dao Battle with Dai Yin, Lu Jin, Wu Mingzhong, and Yin Qingmo, then entered the snowfield and studied a Snow Nation egg sac.
• Dai Yin chased a Listening Ear and was killed, and Jing Jiu’s group later continued across the snowfield as the Zen Child and Shi Hai considered the threat of another beast tide.
• Jing Jiu revived the tiny beetle inside the Egg Embryo and examined it, while Bai Zao’s team prepared to enter the Snow Nation Forbidden Zone.

Jing Jiu won the Dao Battle and arranged an evacuation before the Snowfield disaster, then disappeared with Bai Zao while attempting to rescue Luo Huainan. After three years without his return, Zhao Layue prepared to kill Luo Huainan and sought medicine for a breakthrough.

• Jing Jiu rescued Bai Zao's group from Snow-Foot Beasts and secured first place in the Dao Battle.
• Jing Jiu gathered the young cultivators, warned of danger, and arranged for thirty disciples to leave aboard Green Mountain's Seafaring Boat.
• Jing Jiu and Bai Zao stayed behind and entered the spreading Cold Mist to answer Luo Huainan's distress signal.
• Bai Zao rescued Luo Huainan from a dead Snow Worm, but he attacked her, took her Ten-Thousand-Li Seal, and escaped after striking Jing Jiu.
• Jing Jiu sheltered the injured Bai Zao and exchanged information with the Ice and Snow Queen, whose impending childbirth prevented their escape.
• Jing Jiu taught Bai Zao the Danzhu Ancient Scripture while Zhao Layue reached White City and doubted Luo Huainan's account of their disappearance.
• Zhao Layue cultivated for three years, then decided to kill Luo Huainan despite the gap in their cultivation.
• Zhao Layue and Gu Qing sought medicine for her breakthrough, and Precious Tree Residence identified the Three Purities Grass before Zhao Layue examined a sealed case containing a three-leaved blade of grass.