Chapter Summaries

Bai Zao’s life in the Azure Sky Mirror revealed her plan to oppose the Qin Emperor, who survived an assassination attempt and pursued her to Cangzhou. After Bai Zao emerged from the mirror, Tong Yan told her that Jing Jiu had disappeared.

• Bai Zao warned the Qin Emperor that killing his opponents would not win the people’s submission, but he insisted on pursuing the Immortal Register by his own methods.
• The Empress and palace maids tried to assassinate the Qin Emperor, but his armor saved him, and he retaliated by burning Xianyang Academy and purging the city.
• Bai Zao planned an uprising in Cangzhou using the resources Tong Yan had left her, but the Qin Emperor arrived with Prince Jing and confronted her.
• Bai Zao told the Qin Emperor that Jing Jiu had been present all along, then opened Tong Yan’s strange book and left the Azure Sky Mirror after decades in the illusion.
• Bai Zao emerged from the mirror and met Xi Yiyun, who wondered where Jing Jiu was; she later met Tong Yan, who revealed that Jing Jiu had disappeared.

He Zhan sailed the seas for years and refused to return after learning that the Empress Dowager of Zhao had died, while the Qin Emperor conquered the continent and traveled to Mount Buzhou to claim the Bronze Tripod. At the temple, he discovered that Jing Jiu had arrived before him, leaving the Qin Emperor shocked and his supposed final victory in doubt.

• Tong Yan showed Bai Zao the Azure Bird’s image of He Zhan walking across the sea with a fleet of ships following him.
• After learning that the Empress Dowager of Zhao had died, He Zhan rejected his former officers’ request to return and said he had little left to return for.
• The Qin Emperor conquered Zhao, Qi, and the northern tribes, then ordered the construction of the Heavenly Access Great Dao to Mount Buzhou.
• The Qin Emperor led his procession to the temple and approached the Bronze Tripod, while cultivators watching the image wondered where Jing Jiu was.
• The Qin Emperor entered the temple, mistook Jing Jiu for the Divine Envoy, then recognized him and exclaimed that Jing Jiu could not be there.

Jing Jiu killed the Qin Emperor’s guards and wounded him while waiting for the Divine Envoy to appear through the Bronze Tripod. When the Divine Envoy rejected Jing Jiu’s claim, Jing Jiu threatened him and demanded the Tripod.

• Jing Jiu told the Qin Emperor he had been living in the temple for decades and had killed the death warriors sent there.
• The Qin Emperor tried to escape and ordered his experts to protect him, but Jing Jiu killed them with rapid sword strikes and severed the Qin Emperor’s leg.
• The Qin Emperor’s blood activated the Bronze Tripod, summoning the Divine Envoy, who confirmed that only the sovereign of all under heaven could claim it.
• The Divine Envoy rejected Jing Jiu’s claim and defended his judgment as the rules of the Azure Sky Mirror.
• Jing Jiu walked to the Bronze Tripod, said he had waited decades for the Divine Envoy to hand it over, and admitted he was threatening him.

Jing Jiu challenged the Divine Envoy, the embodiment of the Azure Sky Mirror’s rules, and broke through the world’s limits with his sword. After the Azure Sky Mirror’s laws turned chaotic and heavenly thunder struck, Jing Jiu returned to Mount Buzhou as the Divine Envoy vanished, leaving the Bronze Tripod glowing with possible signs of the Immortal Register.

• The Divine Envoy ranked the Dao-Seekers, placing Bai Qianjun first, while Jing Jiu and Zhuo Rusui appeared in the middle of the list.
• Jing Jiu refused to accept the Qin Emperor’s terms and told the Divine Envoy he wanted to learn whether Heaven or the Divine Envoy stood higher.
• Jing Jiu struck the Divine Envoy with his wooden sword, which crumbled against the smoke from the Bronze Tripod.
• Jing Jiu stepped toward the smoke, and a storm of sword cries shattered the temple and left the Qin Emperor unconscious.
• The Azure Sky Mirror’s natural laws went into upheaval as Jing Jiu’s sword light rose through heavenly thunder.
• Jing Jiu returned to the summit, where the Divine Envoy faded away and the Bronze Tripod began to shine with what might have been the Immortal Register.

Jing Jiu broke the Azure Sky Mirror illusion’s rules and seized the Immortal Register from the Bronze Tripod, then returned to reality holding it in his left hand. When Bai Qianjun attacked him, Jing Jiu shattered his fist and Life-bound Law Treasure with a single punch, leaving Tong Yan to suspect that he still held the Register.

• Jing Jiu explained that he had never intended to win the Divine Envoy’s recognition and reached for the Bronze Tripod to seize the Immortal Register himself.
• Jing Jiu endured the immortal aura’s impact, contained its power, and caused Mount Buzhou’s summit to erupt as the world’s boundaries shifted.
• Jing Jiu left the illusion with the Immortal Register clenched in his left hand and awakened beside the Azure Sky Mirror.
• Bai Qianjun accused Jing Jiu of breaking the rules and attacked him with his Life-bound Law Treasure.
• Jing Jiu struck Bai Qianjun with his left fist, shattering his fist and treasure and sending him crashing into the Azure Sky Mirror.
• Tong Yan recalled Jing Jiu’s clenched left hand and suspected he had kept the Immortal Register in it.

After the Dao-Seeking ended, Jing Jiu promised to give Water-Moon Convent the Immortal Register, while the Azure Bird discovered he had broken the Azure Sky Mirror world's rules and left it a chance to revive. The Dao-Seekers planned to meet again in three years, but tension arose between Jing Jiu and Nan Wang over the Immortal Register.

• White True Person took the Heaven-Restoring Pearl and Bai Qianjun from the Azure Sky Mirror, and He Zhan told Jing Jiu he wished he could have stayed in the illusion longer.
• Jing Jiu told Zhen Tao that the Immortal Register he had won as a Water-Moon Convent disciple should belong to her convent, though he could not hand it over yet.
• The Azure Bird realized Jing Jiu had broken the illusion world's rules, allowing its people and land to awaken again without the Immortal Register or outside intervention.
• Bai Zao invited the Dao-Seekers to meet again in three years, and He Zhan said he planned to go to White City.
• The Dao-Seekers noticed a tense exchange between Jing Jiu and Nan Wang at the Green Mountain Sect's viewing platform.

Jing Jiu kept the Immortal Register and waited at the Skin-Shedding House while Nan Wang guarded him, as the Green Mountain Sect dealt with objections to how he had obtained it. White True Person reviewed the illusion’s hidden memories and recognized Jing Jiu, leaving his past conflict with her unresolved.

• Zhuo Rusui silenced those who challenged Jing Jiu’s seizure of the cauldron, and Nan Wang took Jing Jiu away from Echo Valley.
• Fang Jingtian confronted Nan Wang outside Jing Jiu’s room, but she refused to let him enter and later confirmed that something was wrong with the Immortal Register.
• Liu S sui climbed to the summit to guard Jing Jiu, then left after learning the Sect Master had summoned him.
• Jing Jiu told Nan Wang he had anticipated winning and suspected the Immortal Register was problematic, while she waited for Liu Ci to return.
• White True Person used the Heaven-Restoring Pearl to review Jing Jiu’s hidden actions in the illusion and vowed she had not forgotten his past deeds.

White True Person and Qilin concealed the Azure Sky Mirror and discussed the danger of the Immortal Register, while Jing Jiu explained to Liu Ci that its Immortal Intent could let Bairen Immortal possess its chosen inheritor. Jing Jiu planned to refine the register, and Liu Ci shielded it with Green Mountain’s Heaven-Bearing Sword Technique before arranging his return to Green Mountain.

• White True Person froze the Azure Sky Mirror and hid it beneath Yunmeng Mountain, while Qilin agreed to leave Jing Jiu to the Immortal Register’s control if he could not refine it.
• White True Person wondered whether Jing Jiu was the escaped Nether Emperor, returned from the dead, and feared he might need to die again.
• Liu Ci visited Jing Jiu at the Skin-Shedding House, sealed their conversation with a Sword Formation, and heard that the Longevity Immortal Register was a primary register.
• Jing Jiu told Liu Ci that Bairen Immortal’s Immortal Intent could possess the chosen Dao Body, but that the register had fallen into his hands and he intended to refine it.
• Liu Ci warned that refining the register would be difficult and could expose Jing Jiu’s identity; Jing Jiu said he would cut off his left hand if necessary.
• Liu Ci wrapped Jing Jiu’s left hand in Heaven-Bearing Sword Intent to suppress the immortal energy, then said he had resolved the dispute over Jing Jiu’s rule-breaking cauldron seizure and addressed him as Martial Uncle.

Jing Jiu returned from Yunmeng Mountain with Liu Ci after obtaining the Immortal Register, and the two discussed the dangers and suspicions surrounding Green Mountain. Their conversation ended with Liu Ci asking Jing Jiu to become Sect Master, and Jing Jiu refusing before they disappeared from the restaurant.

• Bai Zao and other Dao-Seekers found that Jing Jiu had already departed Yunmeng Mountain with Liu Ci, while the Green Mountain disciples returned home.
• On the journey, Liu Ci and Jing Jiu discussed Qilin's pursuit and the danger posed by the Immortal Register; Jing Jiu released a trace of immortal intent, and Liu Ci drove away the demons drawn to it.
• Jing Jiu and Liu Ci stopped in Yunji Town for hotpot, where Jing Jiu asked about the imprisoned Disciple of the Meng Family and Fang Jingtian's possible role in his escape.
• Jing Jiu suggested Liu Ci had let the Nether Department disciple escape and accused him of killing Lei Poyun to conceal the thunder soulwood's origin.
• Liu Ci again asked Jing Jiu why he would not become Sect Master, then vanished with him from the restaurant.

Jing Jiu returned to Green Mountain, reunited with Zhao Layue, and told her what he had learned about the Immortal Register and Jingyang’s failed ascension. He left her suspecting that Taiping had sabotaged Jingyang’s ascension from the beginning.

• Liu Ci returned to Green Mountain with Jing Jiu, and the disciples welcomed Jing Jiu back to Divine End Peak.
• Jing Jiu told Gu Qing to prepare to become Sect Master and promised to find him a better sword.
• Jing Jiu reunited with Zhao Layue, examined the Unthought Sword, and released mosquitoes for the Cold Cicada to manage.
• Jing Jiu combed Zhao Layue’s hair with the Yin Wood Comb and recounted his recent travels, including obtaining the Immortal Register and Bairen’s remnant Immortal Sense.
• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue that Taiping may have designed the Smoke and Clouds Disperse formation so Jingyang could never ascend successfully.

Jing Jiu explained to Zhao Layue why immortals feared the boundless world beyond the Immortal Register and said he needed help refining it from a friend who was already dead. At the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, Yin San reflected on Jing Jiu’s concealed identity, then went to visit the ailing Liu S sui and asked him for wine.

• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue that an immortal might return through the Immortal Register out of fear of losing herself in the boundless world, and said he trusted Layue with the secret because he expected her to ascend.
• Jing Jiu explained that he needed to refine the Immortal Register before its immortal consciousness possessed him, then revealed that the friend he would ask for help was already dead.
• At the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, Yin San refused to tell the Zhongzhou Sect that Jing Jiu had been in the Demon-Suppressing Prison, saying Jing Jiu was hiding rather than simply concealing his identity.
• The Profound Yin Ancestor and a fat monk discussed a braised pig’s trotter and the spectacle of a sword strike that killed two True Persons.
• Yin San saw that Liu S sui’s illness had worsened and, after reflecting on his failure to study Daoist arts, entered his room and asked whether he had any wine.

Yin San reunited with Liu S sui at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, while Tong Yan heard Qing’er calling for help from beneath Yunmeng Mountain and began digging toward her. Jing Jiu left Green Mountain with Zhao Layue and the white cat, then returned to the cave where the veiled figure lay and questioned whether Bairen had tampered with the Formation.

• Yin San shared wine and food with Liu S sui and asked about his Dao-seeking and Jing Jiu.
• Tong Yan recognized Qing’er’s faint voice coming from a crack in Luo Huainan’s hidden cave abode and realized she was imprisoned deep in the Earth Vein.
• Tong Yan sent Bai Zao a message claiming he would enter secluded cultivation, then began digging toward the Earth Vein despite estimating the task would take twelve years.
• Jing Jiu left Divine End Peak with Zhao Layue and the white cat, and Zhao Layue dissolved an elixir into the water vat at Liu’s family home.
• Jing Jiu traveled to the cave abode where the veiled figure lay and said the Formation was wrong, proposing to determine whether Bairen had acted.

Jing Jiu discovered that the immortal qi fragments in a dead cultivator’s body matched those from the Longevity Immortal Register, confirming that Bai Xianren had ambushed him during his failed ascension. He traveled with Zhao Layue to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple to find Great Chang Monk and recognized the Former Emperor’s Relic Pagoda.

• Jing Jiu examined the corpse with a strand of immortal qi and confirmed that the fragments were connected to the ambush by Bai Xianren.
• Jing Jiu left the mountain village with Zhao Layue and flew at high speed toward Moqiu on the Iron Sword.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue arrived at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, where the guest-receiving monk mistook Zhao Layue for Fairy Bai Zao.
• Jing Jiu asked Great Chang Monk to let him practice Chan meditation at the temple.
• Jing Jiu stood before the small pagoda in the rear courtyard and told Zhao Layue it was the Former Emperor’s Relic Pagoda.

Jing Jiu brought Zhao Layue to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple to calm his heart and refine the Immortal Register, then visited Liu S sui in the vegetable garden. After learning why Liu S sui had avoided One-Thatch Studio, Jing Jiu let him accompany them back to the temple.

• Jing Jiu explained that the Divine Emperor was buried beneath the stone pagoda and that Fruitful Accomplishment Temple could help him resist Bairen’s Immortal Sense.
• Jing Jiu urged Zhao Layue to steady her cultivation by studying Buddhist scriptures, and she agreed to visit Liu S sui at the temple.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue visited Liu S sui, where Jing Jiu discovered he had the Guan Cheng Brush and learned he feared investigating Mister Yan’s death would bring trouble to Jing Jiu.
• Jing Jiu told Liu S sui to consider asking Lord Corpse Dog to resolve the True Qi inside him, then allowed Liu S sui to accompany them back to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue settled into a quiet routine at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, while Liu S sui tended to them and repaired Jing Jiu’s bamboo chair. As spring arrived, Yin San visited the vegetable garden to check on Liu S sui, unaware that Jing Jiu was also staying at the temple.

• Jing Jiu reunited with a young physician monk, who said his master had gone north to the Snowfield and that he was leaving to help with an epidemic in Yu Commandery.
• Jing Jiu, Zhao Layue, and Liu S sui settled into the Quiet Garden, where they met the Great Chang Monk and saw the Previous Divine Emperor’s Relic Pagoda and the white cat.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue began attending scripture lectures, while Liu S sui stayed behind to tend the garden and repair Jing Jiu’s bamboo chair.
• During the winter, Liu S sui’s coughing worsened as the conflict between the true qi within him threatened to recur; Yin San and the Patriarch spent their days elsewhere in the temple without knowing Jing Jiu was there.
• When spring arrived, Yin San thought of Liu S sui and went to the vegetable garden to see whether the young man’s cough had improved.

Yin San learned that Jing Jiu was at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple and considered killing him, but instead gave Liu S sui methods for refining the Immortal Register. Jing Jiu found the anonymous method convincing, leaving its author’s identity unstated.

• Yin San told Little Lotus that Liu S sui could never become Green Mountain Sect Master and urged her to consider a life beyond Green Mountain.
• Yin San revealed to the Old Ancestor that Jing Jiu was at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple and said he intended to kill him, though he admitted Jing Jiu would be difficult to reach.
• Jing Jiu listened to the sounds carried on the wind while Liu S sui practiced matching the rhythm of his fingers with his true essence.
• Yin San visited the Vegetable Garden and gave Liu S sui papers containing methods for refining the Immortal Register, telling him not to reveal who had supplied them.
• Liu S sui brought the papers to Jing Jiu, who found the anonymous author's method plausible.

Yin San tested Jing Jiu's understanding of the Smoke and Clouds Disperse Formation through a series of questions, then ended their correspondence after receiving Jing Jiu's reply. On New Year's Eve, Jing Jiu refined one-tenth of the Immortal Sense in his left hand, and Zhao Layue acknowledged him as her master.

• Yin San sent Jing Jiu another question through Liu S sui after Jing Jiu dismissed the first set of questions as unhelpful.
• Jing Jiu recognized the questioner's high standing and suspected he had once been the abbot of the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple.
• After reading Jing Jiu's reply, Yin San suspected Jing Jiu knew about the Smoke and Clouds Disperse Formation and ended their contact.
• Over the following seasons, Zhao Layue stabilized her cultivation and Liu S sui's True Qi became calmer.
• On New Year's Eve, Jing Jiu used Sword Intent and scripture to refine one-tenth of the Immortal Sense in his left hand.
• Zhao Layue bowed to Jing Jiu, wished him a happy New Year, and nestled into his arms.

Over five years at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, Jing Jiu studied Buddhist methods and gradually refined the Immortal Register while Zhao Layue waited to break through. As he prepared to complete the refinement on New Year’s Eve, Qilin pressed White True Person to let him attack Jing Jiu, and the temple prepared for a grand ceremony marking the absence of the man in the little stone pagoda for three hundred years.

• Bai Zao worried over Tong Yan’s sudden seclusion and Yunmeng Mountain’s silence, while Tong Yan continued digging underground.
• Qilin sensed the predecessor’s immortal sense fading and wanted to kill Jing Jiu, but White True Person refused to let him leave Yunmeng Mountain.
• Jing Jiu deepened his understanding of Chan cultivation and the Immortal Register, while the white cat returned to the empty White Mountain Chan Room and Yin San kept Jing Jiu’s note before him.
• Jing Jiu refined the Immortal Register year by year and advised Zhao Layue to delay her breakthrough, while she questioned his urgency.
• After five years, Jing Jiu prepared to write the final scripture and attempt to refine the Immortal Register completely, as Qilin again demanded permission to attack him.
• Fruitful Accomplishment Temple prepared for the Duke of Lu to fulfill the Divine Emperor’s vow in a ceremony marking three hundred years since the man in the little stone pagoda had been gone.

Several parties gathered at Fruitful Accomplishment Temple for the three-hundredth anniversary memorial of the Previous Divine Emperor, while Tong Yan reached the Azure Sky Mirror and questioned Qing'er about what had happened. The ceremony ended in shock when a veiled Zhongzhou Sect disciple revealed himself as a horned being and struck Xi Yiyun down with his voice.

• Tong Yan dug for six years to reach the Azure Sky Mirror, where he asked Qing'er what had happened, explaining that finding answers mattered to him.
• Jing Jiu told Zhuo Rusui not to go north to the Snowfield until he reached the Sea-Breaking Realm, and Zhuo Rusui left after Zhao Layue refused to let him stay in Quiet Garden.
• Monk Du Hai returned from White City and consulted Jing Jiu about the Snowfield, while the Duke of Lu visited and discussed news from the Jing Household.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue stayed out of the pagoda memorial ceremony as six representatives entered Quiet Garden to pay respects to the Previous Divine Emperor.
• Xi Yiyun challenged the veiled Zhongzhou Sect disciple to remove his hat, and the disciple revealed two horns and struck Xi Yiyun with his voice, making him spit blood.

Qi Ling confronted Jing Jiu in the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple's Quiet Garden and accused him of causing Azure Dragon's death during the Demon-Suppressing Prison upheaval. The chapter ended as Qi Ling's pressure threatened Jing Jiu and a cat meowed outside the garden.

• Qi Ling arrived at the Quiet Garden and demanded that Jing Jiu come out, threatening to destroy the temple if he refused.
• Monk Du Hai prepared to alert the abbot and activate the temple's great formation, but Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu emerged from a rear room.
• Qi Ling told Jing Jiu that he would kill him if his answer was unsatisfactory, then asked why he had caused Azure Dragon's death.
• The Duke of Lu asked whether Qi Ling had evidence, and Qi Ling roared that with evidence Jing Jiu would already be dead.
• Qi Ling's oppressive might surrounded Jing Jiu, but a cat meowed outside the garden and Qi Ling turned to look.