Chapter Summaries

Jing Jiu announced that he would compete in the Dao-Seeking Assembly for the Water-Moon Convent while remaining a Green Mountain disciple, provoking a dispute with Green Mountain elders. After settling into the Green Mountain lodgings, he agreed to help Se Se kill the Old Madam.

• Jing Jiu declared that the Dao-Seeking Assembly's rules allowed him to fight for the Water-Moon Convent without leaving Green Mountain, and the Twofold Forgetting Peak Disciples showed their respect before departing.
• Bai Zao questioned Jing Jiu about Guo and his cultivation, and he confirmed that Guo was doing well and agreed to hear what she learned about the Cloud-Dream Illusion.
• Jing Jiu gave Gu Qing advice on the Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique and said that Zhuo Rusui was not stronger than Twelfth Month.
• At a Green Mountain council, Bai Rujing and Fang Jingtian insisted that Jing Jiu could not represent another sect unless he renounced Green Mountain, but Jing Jiu ignored them and left with Gu Qing.
• Se Se asked Jing Jiu to help her kill the Old Madam, and he agreed.

Jing Jiu sought Se Se’s Life-Bound Bell to prepare for entering the Cloud-Dream Illusion, while Se Se reunited with He Zhan and learned he was at the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple. He later agreed to give Zhuo Rusui instruction in a secluded valley, where an unexpected gathering formed around their impending fight.

• Jing Jiu told Se Se where He Zhan was, and she hurried to the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple to find him.
• He Zhan admitted he blamed himself for a friend’s betrayal and another friend’s death; Se Se shared her own fears about her family, and he agreed to take her for grilled fish.
• Jing Jiu asked Se Se for a bell, and she lent him her precious Life-Bound Bell; he then visited two monks from the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple and asked about Monk Du Hai.
• A Water-Moon Convent disciple challenged Jing Jiu’s right to join the Dao-Seeking Assembly, and Zhuo Rusui questioned her confidence; Jing Jiu led them to a secluded valley to demonstrate Zhuo Rusui’s abilities.
• He Zhan and Se Se arrived with fish, followed by Tong Yan, and Zhuo Rusui asked Jing Jiu for instruction; Jing Jiu agreed to give it.

Jing Jiu fought Zhuo Rusui in a sword contest at Yunmeng Mountain, first holding off his fierce attacks and then defeating him with the Formless Sword Body. The gathered cultivators learned that Jing Jiu possessed an innate Formless Sword Body, while the battle left the Green Mountain Sect’s hidden strength under scrutiny.

• Tong Yan predicted that Jing Jiu would win, reasoning that Jing Jiu would not have accepted the challenge without calculating the outcome.
• Jing Jiu and Zhuo Rusui began their contest at close range, trading countless sword strikes as sparks filled the valley.
• Jing Jiu and Zhuo Rusui resumed their fierce exchange, but Bai Zao had to remove her formation when Elder Yue Qianmen called for her to do so.
• As cultivators from several sects gathered above the valley, Jing Jiu released his hands and shifted the fight into a chilling sword-intent clash.
• Jing Jiu pinned Zhuo Rusui’s flying sword beneath his foot and struck him with his fingers, blasting him into a tree and leaving him wounded.
• Yue Qianmen questioned Fang Jingtian and Nan Wang about Green Mountain’s hidden talent, and Nan Wang revealed that Jing Jiu had an innate Formless Sword Body.

Jing Jiu defeated Zhuo Rusui, then silenced doubters by nearly killing Jian Ruyun with a sword strike from more than ten li away. At the Dao-Seeking Assembly, he entered the contest for the Longevity Immortal Register on behalf of the Water-Moon Convent, where the name Bai Qianjun appeared behind him.

• Jian Ruyun accused Zhuo Rusui of going easy on Jing Jiu, and Jing Jiu hurled the Iron Sword at him before Nan Wang deflected it.
• Jing Jiu left the valley after Zhuo Rusui asked about his unfamiliar sword art, and he returned to find Gu Qing cultivating at Molting Skin Mountain.
• Gu Qing chose to keep his ordinary flying sword, and Jing Jiu grew uneasy while considering the risks of competing for the Longevity Immortal Register.
• More than ten days later, Jing Jiu attended the Dao-Seeking Assembly as the Water-Moon Convent's contestant, drawing widespread attention.
• Yue Qianmen announced Jing Jiu's name, then the birds formed the name Bai Qianjun as a violent, bloody presence approached from behind.

The Dao-Seeking Assembly’s participants gathered at Echo Valley, where Bai Zao introduced Qing'er, the Azure Sky Mirror’s spirit, and explained that she would screen them before they entered the Cloud-Dream Illusion. Qing'er began testing them with deceptively simple questions, and Zhuo Rusui prepared to go in while Jing Jiu remained seated.

• Seven Zhongzhou Sect disciples and representatives from several other sects gathered outside Echo Valley for the Dao-Seeking Assembly.
• Bai Zao told Jing Jiu that they would not know each other once inside the illusion, and Jing Jiu said he would recognize her if they met.
• The participants gathered in a hall, where Tong Yan studied their habits and the Zhongzhou Sect disciples reviewed signals for identifying one another in the illusion.
• Qing'er appeared and explained that she would question the participants to decide whether they could safely enter the Cloud-Dream Illusion.
• The No-Grace Gate disciple answered “two” to Qing'er's question about one plus one and was allowed to enter; He Zhan answered “fourteen” to one plus four and passed as well.
• Zhuo Rusui said he would enter first, while Jing Jiu chose to sit for a while before going in.

Tong Yan, Zhuo Rusui, and Jing Jiu passed Qing’er’s test and joined the other contestants beside the Azure Sky Mirror, which drew them into the Cloud-Dream Illusion. Qing’er revealed that Jing Jiu’s name was not truly his, and the illusion began with the birth of an imperial prince whose eyes held Jing Jiu’s calm, weary awareness.

• Qing’er rejected one contestant for being ugly, then let Tong Yan pass after he won their game of marbles and accepted Zhuo Rusui’s answer that he was listless because he had not slept well.
• Jing Jiu passed when Qing’er asked his name, and he joined the other contestants in the cavern beneath the tower, where he sensed immortal energy leaking from the Azure Sky Mirror.
• Qing’er told the sect leaders that she had kept unstable contestants out and marked a suspected Blood Demon Sect descendant, then told White True Person that Jing Jiu was not his name, though he had not lied.
• White True Person placed the Heaven-Restoring Pearl into the Azure Sky Mirror, and the twenty-six contestants entered the Cloud-Dream Illusion as its world appeared above Yunmeng Mountain.
• In the illusion, the empress died in childbirth, and the newborn imperial prince opened his eyes with a familiar calm and weariness before thinking, “What a bother.”

Jing Jiu cultivated as the ninth prince of Chu in the Cloud-Dream Illusion, learned that the palace was an illusion, and discovered that Prince Jing’s heir was another seeker. He remained content to cultivate quietly while considering how his path differed from the other seekers’.

• He Zhan drifted down a river as a newborn and cried until a woman on the bank might notice him.
• Jing Jiu awakened in the imperial palace, cultivated, and confirmed through tests that the people around him were not genuinely alive.
• Jing Jiu learned he was Chu’s sole heir, though the grieving emperor paid him little attention.
• Se Se and the Water-Moon Convent girl watched the seekers’ images, while Gu Qing left Yunmeng Mountain worried about Jing Jiu’s words.
• Four years later, Jing Jiu heard palace maids praise Prince Jing’s brilliant heir and realized he had encountered another seeker.
• Jing Jiu considered the likely identity of the heir and concluded that he would follow a path unlike the other seekers.

Jing Jiu, the Heir of Prince Jing, He Zhan, and Jiang Rui adapted to life in the Cloud-Dream Illusion while trying to identify fellow Dao-Seekers and survive. He Zhan was sold into the Chu palace and faced a terrifying ordeal, while Jing Jiu met a Qin princess who seemed delighted by him.

• Jing Jiu instinctively placed a game piece for two palace maids, then realized the Cloud-Dream Illusion had stirred memories of his past and stopped playing.
• The four-year-old Heir of Prince Jing recorded his identity and plans, then waited in Cangzhou for other Dao-Seekers to find him.
• He Zhan and Jiang Rui recognized each other as Dao-Seekers in neighboring villages and agreed to speak more once they escaped the illusion.
• Jiang Rui tricked his abusive father into searching for a supposed gold nugget, but the man found nothing and killed He Zhan's adoptive mother while beating He Zhan.
• He Zhan was sold through traffickers to Zhao, then taken to the imperial palace, where an old eunuch approached him with a knife.
• At a banquet welcoming the Qin emperor, Jing Jiu met the Qin emperor's five-year-old princess, who crawled over and sat beside him.

Jing Jiu became the emperor of Chu and used an extravagant palace renovation to provoke political turmoil, then entrusted power to Grand Academician Zhang. Meanwhile, the Heir of Prince Jing, Tong Yan, struggled to understand Jing Jiu’s plans and recorded his identity in a secret book.

• The little princess of Qin kissed Jing Jiu, then left Chu with the Qin Emperor after telling Jing Jiu they would be opponents.
• The Qin Emperor died in an ambush, and the Duke of Pei seized the throne while searching for the missing princess.
• The Chu Emperor died, and Jing Jiu ascended the throne before ordering craftsmen to shave the palace floors into a dense mesh.
• Grand Academician Zhang confronted Jing Jiu, who said he would rely on Zhang and wanted to be left alone whether matters arose or not.
• The Grand Tutor died, and political purges left nearly all officials at court aligned with Grand Academician Zhang.
• Tong Yan wondered what Jing Jiu intended, then opened a hidden book whose first line identified him as Tong Yan.

Tong Yan, He Zhan, and Jiang Rui pursued their aims in the illusion as the Dao seekers grew older, while a mysterious killer began eliminating them. The chapter ended with Jiang Rui encountering a man in black.

• Tong Yan advised Prince Jing to encourage Beihai's rebellion and spread rumors in Xianyang, then discussed Zhao's muddled ruler with his father.
• He Zhan gained Eunuch Hong's favor by befriending the Crown Prince over grilled fish, and Eunuch Hong agreed to teach him a cultivation method.
• Se Se and the girl from Water-Moon Convent returned from Cold Food Valley to find that the Dao seekers had aged to fifteen.
• Tong Yan discovered that several Dao seekers had been killed by an unidentified cultivator and worried that his memories of the others were fading.
• Jiang Rui advanced his standing in the county after killing his father, but grew frustrated with powerful rivals and sensed an obstruction to his ambitions.
• Jiang Rui noticed a man in black standing in the street.

A black-clad Dao-Seeker nearly killed Jiang Rui, but a ghostly figure intervened and He Zhan returned to the Zhao palace. Elsewhere, Bai Zhou advanced Qin’s campaign while rejecting the princess’s refusal only once, and growing pressure mounted on Grand Academician Zhang to seize the Chu throne as a covert assassination began in the Imperial Palace.

• The man in black wounded Jiang Rui, but a ghostly shadow attacked him and Luo Kingdom cavalry drove him to flee.
• He Zhan returned to Zhao’s Imperial Palace and brought the emperor his medicine, while Tong Yan read reports about Beihai’s rebellion and wondered whether Young Eunuch He was his friend.
• Bai Zhou told the princess that Qin’s forces could cross Great Wind Pass by spring, proposed marrying her, and left after she told him not to raise the matter again.
• Grand Academician Zhang refused to claim the throne, called himself a regent, and met Yunqi at Lord Mo’s cottage on Xiu Mountain.
• As Zhang’s allies and eldest son remained dissatisfied, several water carts passed palace inspections, and an assassination prepared to begin.

An assassination attempt against the emperor failed when Liu S sui defended Jing Jiu, who then revealed him as a hidden Green Mountain helper. After the palace was secured, Grand Academician Zhang arrived to meet the emperor, unaware of how the balance of power had shifted.

• Grand Academician Zhang learned his eldest son was missing, while the son waited with court officials who expected him to become Crown Prince if the assassination succeeded.
• Jing Jiu waited in the palace for the assassins, then went outside when fighting broke out and found Liu S sui wounded among the bodies.
• Jing Jiu declared Liu S sui his personal guard and stopped the palace guards from attacking him.
• Liu S sui explained that Liu Ci had sent him into the Dao-Seeking Assembly as a disciple of the No-Grace Gate to help Jing Jiu.
• Jing Jiu discovered and erased a mark the Azure Sky Mirror Spirit had placed on Liu S sui’s soul.
• Grand Academician Zhang entered the palace and knelt before the emperor after the failed assassination.

Jing Jiu survived the court assassination attempt and remained emperor of Chu, while Dao-Seekers began awakening from the Azure Sky Mirror and learning how their lives in the illusion had ended. Three years later, Zhuo Rusui appeared as the black-clad killer before Tong Yan, who recognized him.

• Jing Jiu spared Grand Academician Zhang and ordered him to deal with the aftermath, while a young bodyguard began guarding Jing Jiu day and night.
• Dao-Seekers awakened from the Azure Sky Mirror and realized that a powerful black-clad assassin had killed many of them; Qing'er hurled Qiu Chengdao out of the cave after he tried to disturb Jing Jiu.
• Qing'er watched events in the illusion as Bai Zhou became Crown Prince of Qin, his elder brother died, the princess was confined, and Bai Zhou gained a reputation for brutality.
• Tong Yan learned that Xiang Wanshu had been killed by the Man in Black and speculated that he might be the killer's next target.
• A bamboo-hatted man confronted Tong Yan in the snow, and Tong Yan recognized him as Zhuo Rusui.

Tong Yan learned that Zhuo Rusui had been killing other Dao-Seekers to become the final winner, but let him leave after their prepared ambush was exposed. An imperial guard then delivered the Emperor’s warning to Tong Yan to stop spreading rumors about the Grand Academician.

• Tong Yan questioned Zhuo Rusui, who explained that he was killing Dao-Seekers before they could grow stronger and admitted to killing Xiang Wanshu and Que Niang.
• Zhuo Rusui discussed the Dao-Seekers he had not found, including He Zhan and Bai Zao, and revealed that he intended to target Tong Yan before more protected opponents.
• Tong Yan’s preparations were exposed: armed guards and crossbows surrounded Snow Lake, while Lord Mo watched nearby, but Zhuo Rusui said he had made preparations of his own.
• Zhuo Rusui walked away in the snow, and Tong Yan signaled his forces not to attack him.
• An imperial palace guard emerged from behind a tree and delivered the Emperor’s warning that Tong Yan’s people should stop spreading rumors that the Grand Academician planned to usurp the throne.
• Lord Mo remarked on the conversation he had overheard, and Tong Yan apologized for the trouble.

Tong Yan recalled how Jing Jiu’s single remark had ended a political storm, while Liu S sui returned to the palace and began losing his memories after finding Jing Jiu. Twenty years into the Dao contest, Chu’s emperor summoned Prince Jing’s heir to the capital, raising the prospect of a clash over Chu’s growing power.

• Tong Yan reflected on Jing Jiu’s role in ending the attack on Grand Academician Zhang and wondered why Jing Jiu had protected him despite the danger.
• Liu S sui returned to Chu’s capital, found Jing Jiu, and admitted that he could no longer remember who Jing Jiu was, though he still felt bound to protect him.
• Liu S sui’s memories continued to fade as he left the hall and resumed guarding Jing Jiu.
• Twenty years into the Dao contest, the kingdoms’ fortunes had shifted, while Prince Jing held a vast territory and Grand Academician Zhang kept his own ambitions restrained.
• Chu’s emperor personally issued an edict ordering Prince Jing’s heir to come to the capital.

After the Heir of Prince Jing arrived in the capital, Jing Jiu met Tong Yan in the Azure Sky Mirror illusion and discussed the Dao-Seekers’ identities, motives, and conflict. Outside the illusion, Que Niang and Xiang Wanshu watched the mirror reveal Jing Jiu and Tong Yan facing each other over a Go board.

• The Heir of Prince Jing arrived in Chu’s capital amid snow, and crowds gathered to welcome him before some headed toward the palace fearing for his safety.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan met in a snow-covered pavilion and discussed how the Dao-Seekers’ deepest wishes shaped their lives in the illusion.
• Tong Yan explained that he had eliminated or controlled many Dao-Seekers and admitted he considered Jing Jiu his greatest rival to Bai Zao.
• Jing Jiu revealed that Tong Yan had repeatedly sent assassins after him, and Tong Yan asked for a chance to prove himself.
• Que Niang and Xiang Wanshu woke beside the Azure Sky Mirror, absorbed their insights, and went to investigate the distant uproar.
• Que Niang and Xiang Wanshu saw the mirror project Jing Jiu and Tong Yan sitting across a Go board in the snow-covered pavilion.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan began a new Go game in the Chu Imperial Palace while Zhuo Rusui appeared before the Azure Bird, prompting fears that the Green Mountain Sect intended to kill Tong Yan. Lord Mo also entered the capital, and Jing Jiu and Tong Yan sensed someone undergoing Tribulation-Breaking.

• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan began placing stones on the Go board in the Snow Pavilion as people outside Echo Valley watched.
• Zhuo Rusui appeared before the Azure Bird on Western Mountain, obscuring the game from the real world.
• The Azure Bird warned Zhuo Rusui that anyone who tried to kill someone must be prepared to be killed, then flew toward the Imperial Palace.
• The Azure Bird showed the Chu capital, revealing armed fighters and Imperial Guards whose loyalties were uncertain.
• Lord Mo appeared in the snow-covered palace square and looked toward the sky, unsettling those watching.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan noticed someone breaking through to the next realm, and Jing Jiu identified it as Tribulation-Breaking.

As the Chu Capital braced for violence, Tong Yan realized Lord Mo was preparing to face a Heavenly Tribulation, which could destroy both him and Tong Yan’s game. Jing Jiu made a Go move as thunder struck the palace, and Liu Sui went to see what Lord Mo would do.

• Grand Academician Zhang rejected an official’s proposal to exploit the crisis around the Heir of Prince Jing and said Lord Mo would not serve their selfish interests.
• Tong Yan recognized signs of a Heavenly Tribulation and understood that Lord Mo was about to attempt to transcend his realm.
• Tong Yan asked Jing Jiu what Lord Mo should choose, but Jing Jiu remained silent.
• Jing Jiu placed a black stone on the Go Board, and a bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck the Imperial Palace.
• Liu Sui entered the palace square and found Lord Mo standing beside the thunder-scarred ground with his hand on his sword.
• The Azure Bird returned to the table and looked at Jing Jiu in confusion.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan played Go inside the Azure Sky Mirror while Lord Mo faced a heavenly tribulation in Chu’s Imperial Palace. After Jing Jiu won and the lightning stopped, Lord Mo entered the palace, leaving Jing Jiu to warn him not to regret his choice.

• The Azure Bird concealed the Mirror’s view of Lord Mo’s tribulation from the cultivators outside Echo Valley as Jing Jiu and Tong Yan began their game.
• Que Niang alone understood the game’s subtlety and watched its progress through her changing reactions.
• Lord Mo weighed drawing his sword against the heavens against killing the emperor, while Liu S sui watched him in the snow.
• Liu S sui returned to the pavilion and shook his head at Jing Jiu, after which the wind, snow, and lightning ceased.
• Jing Jiu declared victory, and Lord Mo walked through the palace gates as Tong Yan sat silently.
• Jing Jiu told Lord Mo that he hoped he would not regret the choice he had made.

Jing Jiu refused to let Tong Yan escape and ordered Zhuo Rusui to attack him while Liu S sui held off Lord Mo. Jing Jiu struck Tong Yan and then appeared in the snow, leaving Lord Mo fatally wounded and asking how Jing Jiu could move so fast.

• Lord Mo revealed that he had come to kill Jing Jiu for the sake of the world, while Tong Yan realized Jing Jiu had anticipated his plans and Zhuo Rusui was nearby.
• Grand Academician Zhang reported that the palace had been secured, but Jing Jiu said he did not care about the political consequences and insisted Tong Yan must die.
• Jing Jiu ordered Zhuo Rusui to kill Tong Yan as Lord Mo pushed the wheelchair toward the palace gate.
• Tong Yan shot Zhuo Rusui and used a Talisman Treasure, blowing off one of his arms, while Lord Mo charged Jing Jiu and Liu S sui intercepted his sword.
• Lord Mo pierced Liu S sui and destroyed the pavilion, but Jing Jiu appeared behind Tong Yan and struck him through the wheelchair.
• Jing Jiu reappeared in the snow as hundreds of tiny wounds drained Lord Mo's vitality, and Lord Mo asked how Jing Jiu could move so fast.