Chapter Summaries

The Chess Battle drew attention as cultivators speculated about Jing Jiu’s connection to Tong Yan, while Consort Hu learned that the Divine Emperor had ordered her to stop taking the Severance Pill. Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue he disliked the emperor’s prince and suggested the emperor might soon have another son.

• The Plum Gathering’s Way of Go contest drew interest because Tong Yan was expected to win and people wondered about his exchanges with Jing Jiu.
• Consort Hu looked forward to watching Tong Yan defeat Jing Jiu at the Chess Battle after the Divine Emperor agreed to attend with her.
• The old eunuch told Consort Hu that the Divine Emperor had ordered her to stop taking Severance Pills, and she fainted in shock and joy.
• Jing Jiu told Zhao Layue that he disliked the prince for lacking boundaries and suggested the Divine Emperor might soon have another son.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue learned that the Green Mountain Sect’s Chess Battle against the Zhongzhou Sect would decide a dispute over crystal-stone quotas, and Nan Wang demanded that Jing Jiu win. They reached Chessboard Mountain, where Se Se drew the gathered cultivators’ attention to Jing Jiu.

• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue received greetings from Green Mountain disciples at West Mountain Residence, whose members hoped Jing Jiu would advance far enough to face Tong Yan.
• Nan Wang told Jing Jiu that he must win and asked whether he could kill their opponents; Jing Jiu calmly agreed.
• Jing Jiu explained to Zhao Layue that he accepted because the contest was tied to cause and effect and his Dao heart.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue learned that the Chess Battle would settle the Green Mountain and Zhongzhou sects’ dispute over crystal-stone quotas, after the Divine Emperor’s planned attendance helped the proposal pass.
• At Chessboard Mountain, Se Se pointed out Jing Jiu to the gathered cultivators, drawing their attention and making her uncomfortable.

Jing Jiu entered Chessboard Mountain with Zhao Layue, Se Se, and Senior Sister Cui as spectators watched and doubted his ability to challenge Tong Yan. After passing several players, Jing Jiu encountered Shang Jiulou and a hostile boy who mocked his Go and warned him to stay away.

• Senior Sister Cui explained the Chess Battle's pavilion rules, while Se Se suggested that choosing a weak opponent could save effort.
• Zhao Layue admitted she disliked that only she believed Jing Jiu could win, and Jing Jiu did not understand her frustration.
• Jing Jiu passed Que Niang's pavilion and Senior Sister Cui identified her as a Mirror Sect disciple trained in the Way of Go.
• Shang Jiulou told Jing Jiu to go elsewhere, and Se Se objected that they could challenge him.
• A boy near a secluded pavilion mocked Jing Jiu's game records and warned him to stay away if he wanted to avoid an ugly defeat.

Jing Jiu reached a quiet stream while the Plum Gathering Go competitors gathered at Chessboard Mountain. Tong Yan arrived to face the leading players, and Shang Jiulou challenged him to a match.

• Senior Sister Cui told Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue that Gu Yuanyuan was a favored Go player, and Jing Jiu continued on without reacting to the competitors.
• Jing Jiu chose a clear stream as his resting place and told Se Se he had remembered the players she described.
• Nan Wang kept the Green Mountain disciples at West Mountain Residence until Jing Jiu reached the final, arguing that their presence would only distract him.
• Guodong of the Water-Moon Convent arrived at Chessboard Mountain, and Jing Jiu watched her intently.
• Tong Yan arrived to widespread greetings and walked to the clearing where the strongest Go players waited.
• Shang Jiulou told Tong Yan he would beat him, and Tong Yan questioned whether he had the talent to do so.

Tong Yan belittled Shang Jiulou and Gu Yuanyuan before He Zhan arrived and challenged him to a Chess Battle. As the gathering approached, Tong Yan waited at a cliff without choosing a pavilion, while Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue remained by the stream.

• Tong Yan mocked Shang Jiulou and Gu Yuanyuan, then told Que Niang to defeat Gu Yuanyuan.
• He Zhan emerged from the weeds, and Se Se explained his reputation as the Second Person to Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu.
• He Zhan told Tong Yan that he had improved and believed he could beat him, but Tong Yan said he had no chance.
• He Zhan approached Zhao Layue, asked whether she was the legendary figure, and invited Se Se to share Dragon Bone Wine and grilled fish.
• Tong Yan stood at the cliff without choosing a pavilion as the Chess Gathering drew near, and Zhao Layue stopped Jing Jiu from taking out his chair.

The Plum Gathering Chess Battle began as Jing Jiu and Tong Yan each headed directly for the same secluded pavilion to play their long-anticipated first match. The chapter ended with Tong Yan holding stones to determine who would move first.

• Duke He opened the Chess Battle while Tong Yan, He Zhan, and Jing Jiu initially remained apart from the chosen pavilions.
• He Zhan challenged Jing Jiu, saying Jing Jiu would have to beat him before facing Tong Yan, but Jing Jiu declined because he already had an arrangement.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan moved toward the same hidden pavilion among the plum trees, revealing that they had planned to meet for the opening game.
• Duke He sent word to the palace, while Nan Wang and the Green Mountain disciples and the Zen Child received news of the match.
• Tong Yan and Jing Jiu sat down at the board, and Tong Yan held stones to decide who would play first.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan began their highly anticipated chess match at the Plum Gathering, drawing nearly everyone on Chessboard Mountain to watch. Their opening moves looked ordinary to the crowd, but several skilled players reacted with grave concern, leaving the match’s deeper significance unclear.

• He Zhan and Se Se reached the pavilion as competitors and spectators gathered, and Duke He ordered the other chess games sealed until Jing Jiu and Tong Yan finished.
• Jing Jiu asked Tong Yan which color he wanted, and Tong Yan chose white.
• Jing Jiu announced that he held three stones, then opened with a black stone at the three-three point; Tong Yan answered by placing white beside it.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan continued making calm, ordinary-looking moves, puzzling spectators who could sense no obvious conflict or buildup.
• Nan Wang dismissed the crowd’s criticism and urged the Green Mountain disciples to judge the match by watching those who understood it.
• Shang Jiulou and Que Niang watched with grave expressions, while Gu Yuanyuan stared at the board and breathed heavily.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan’s seemingly ordinary Go match left experts and spectators sensing hidden complications, while news of the match unsettled Jing Shang in Chaoge City. Jing Shang arrived at Duke Cheng’s residence and asked whether he could withdraw his bet.

• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan played a series of moves that made He Zhan exclaim at their ruthlessness, though most spectators could not see what was remarkable about the game.
• The Zen Child placed a black stone on his board, then learned from the Daoist that the move did not seem to belong there.
• Duke He told an official that he had bet on Tong Yan because it seemed like a safe choice.
• Jing Shang heard that Jing Jiu’s first opponent was Tong Yan and left his office for Duke Cheng’s residence, where the Plum Gathering’s Chess Battle betting pool was held.
• Jing Shang asked the steward whether he could still withdraw his bet, and the steward smiled without answering.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan played a match so intricate that even the national Go masters struggled to follow it, while Jing Shang learned that Jing Jiu was holding his own. As the game entered its middle stage, Tong Yan made a perilous move just as thunder boomed over Chessboard Mountain.

• Jing Shang entered Duke Cheng's Residence and learned that the crowd was analyzing a move from Jing Jiu and Tong Yan's game.
• Scholar Guo explained the move's brilliance, saying Jing Jiu's skill was far beyond the national masters' and Tong Yan's attainments were unprecedented.
• Jing Shang discovered that the national masters could not tell who was winning, though some onlookers assumed Tong Yan would prevail.
• On Chessboard Mountain, Que Niang, Shang Jiulou, Gu Yuanyuan, and He Zhan struggled to keep pace with the players' thinking.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan paused to drink tea, then resumed as clouds gathered and the atmosphere grew tense.
• Tong Yan made his first long think and placed a white stone, prompting lightning to flash and thunder to boom.

Jing Jiu and Tong Yan fought through the latter half of their Plum Gathering Go game as the match’s Sword Intent and shifting energies battered the spectators and darkened Chessboard Mountain. After the storm passed, Tong Yan held what seemed to be the game’s final white stone, with victory or defeat resting on where he placed it.

• Jing Jiu answered Tong Yan’s move by placing a black stone at three, nine, making He Zhan, Que Niang, and Shang Jiulou feel the game’s dangerous force.
• Zen Child judged the game too perilous to continue following, while Duke He learned that His Majesty was coming to Chessboard Mountain.
• Jing Jiu and Tong Yan fought through the latter half of the game, and Gu Yuanyuan fainted after seeing the stones as a battlefield of Snow Nation Soldiers.
• He Zhan shielded Que Niang and Shang Jiulou as the game’s Sword Intent overwhelmed them, while Zhao Layue recognized Jing Jiu’s unusual seriousness.
• Rain and thunder intensified as the game reached its final stage, then the storm cleared and sunlight returned.
• Tong Yan studied the water-covered board with a white stone in hand, preparing what appeared to be the final move.

Jing Jiu defeated Tong Yan in a legendary game of Go, leaving the crowd stunned and earning the respect of those who watched. Tong Yan accepted the honor of the match but ended in pain at the fact that he had lost.

• Tong Yan returned his final white stone to the bowl, conceding the game to Jing Jiu.
• The spectators erupted in shock, and He Zhan, Que Niang, Shang Jiulou, and many others bowed to honor the players.
• Bai Zao noticed Guodong had left, while Xiang Wanshu felt remorseful and saw Zhao Layue smiling admiringly at Jing Jiu.
• Tong Yan watched the rainy mountain scenery and said he had no regrets about playing such a game.
• Tong Yan admitted that he could not be satisfied because he had still lost.

Jing Jiu defeated Tong Yan in Go and explained that he saw the game as simple and without any special claim on the world’s meaning. He revealed their match had fulfilled his agreement with the Zhongzhou Sect, then left Chessboard Mountain with Zhao Layue.

• Tong Yan admitted that he disliked Jing Jiu’s indifference and could not accept losing at Go to someone who seemed to care nothing for it.
• Jing Jiu told Tong Yan that the world was unfair and that Go, like music, calligraphy, and painting, was too simple to approach the Great Dao.
• Jing Jiu arranged hundreds of stones into a three-dimensional game and said cultivation meant attempting what lay beyond human capability.
• Tong Yan and Jing Jiu recalled their agreement, made at the Four Seas Banquet, to play Go at the Plum Gathering.
• Jing Jiu clarified that he had come only to play Tong Yan, declared their game over, and left with Zhao Layue as the stones fell.

After winning a celebrated Go match against Tong Yan, Jing Jiu reflected on the game and his unusual mental endurance. Tong Yan withdrew from the Plum Gathering, while rumors about Jing Jiu spread across the cultivation world and raised questions about his origins.

• He Zhan quit the Chess Battle, saying he would never play Go again because he could not beat Jing Jiu or Tong Yan.
• Jing Jiu returned to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and offered to cover Jing Household Eldest Brother’s losses, but learned that he had bet on the single game instead.
• Jing Jiu reconstructed his match against Tong Yan and recognized that Tong Yan’s near-perfect play had been undermined by exhaustion, while his own unusual mental endurance helped him win.
• Que Niang of the Mirror Sect won the Chess Battle, and the match between Jing Jiu and Tong Yan became the subject of widespread discussion.
• Tong Yan left Chaoge City and entered secluded cultivation, while public accounts of Jing Jiu’s accomplishments spread and rumors suggested he might have come from the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple.

Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue discussed the rumors linking him to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple and her upcoming Dao Battle, while Zhao Layue agreed to meet Guodong privately. The chapter ended with Shi Fengchen telling Liang Xingcheng that Zhao Layue would die in three days.

• Rumors that Jing Jiu was connected to Fruitful Accomplishment Temple grew, but he chose not to enter the Dao Battle, leaving Zhao Layue to represent Divine End Peak.
• Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue discussed Bai Zao's calligraphy victory, the rumors about Jing Jiu, and Zhao Layue's plans for the Dao Battle.
• Mo Xi told Zhao Layue that Guodong wanted to meet her alone in Emerald-Cry Valley three days later, and Zhao Layue agreed without telling Jing Jiu.
• At a tavern, Shi Fengchen told Liang Xingcheng that Zhao Layue would die in three days.

Shi Fengchen arranged with the Never-Old Forest to kill Zhao Layue and frame the Noble Consort, acting on behalf of Prince Jing Xin. He returned to his lonely home, troubled by the thought that Zhao Layue would die in three days.

• Shi Fengchen told Liang Xingcheng that Zhao Layue's death would be blamed on the Noble Consort, and Liang Xingcheng ordered him to ensure the plan succeeded.
• Grand Tutor Liang told Prince Jing Xin that the Severance Pill had been discontinued, suggesting the Emperor might be preparing to have another son; Jing Xin demanded that the plot leave no trace tying him to it.
• Shi Fengchen met the Never-Old Forest's proprietor and offered the Crown Prince as the bargaining chip for their help, while asking them to keep his involvement secret.
• The proprietor agreed that the Never-Old Forest would not expose Shi Fengchen, noting that the Crown Prince could bring them valuable benefits.
• Back at his desolate home, Shi Fengchen thought of Zhao Layue's impending death and felt sorrowful.

Shi Fengchen resolved to kill Zhao Layue because he feared she would become another True Person Taiping, while he considered how to use the Crown Prince's household. He encouraged Wang Xiaoming to cultivate so he could investigate cultivators, and the chapter ended with Zhao Layue entering an array disguised as a ruined temple in Emerald-Cry Valley.

• Shi Fengchen reviewed files on Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu and decided Zhao Layue had to die to prevent another True Person Taiping from emerging.
• Shi Fengchen noticed that the palace was using fewer Severance Pills, contacted the Crown Prince's household, and concluded that the Crown Prince could be put to use.
• Shi Fengchen recalled adopting Wang Xiaoming after a mudslide destroyed his village and learned that Wang Xiaoming wanted to study case investigation rather than cultivation.
• Shi Fengchen told Wang Xiaoming that he had strong cultivation potential and urged him to cultivate so he could face powerful cultivators.
• Three days later, Zhao Layue went alone to Emerald-Cry Valley and discovered that its ruined Daoist temple was an array.

Zhao Layue was ambushed in a hidden formation by a powerful Man in Black and fought to survive after he broke her sword defense. She sent the Unthought Sword away as a sword message, then met his crushing fist with sword intent from her bare hands.

• Zhao Layue entered a concealed formation in a dilapidated Daoist temple and used the Unthought Sword to defend herself against the Man in Black.
• The Man in Black praised Zhao Layue’s swordsmanship and taunted her while explaining that her defensive move would soon exhaust her.
• Zhao Layue struck at the Man in Black, but he evaded her sword-rays and knocked her into the temple wall with a sleeve strike.
• The Unthought Sword flew away to carry a sword message, leaving Zhao Layue without her flying sword as the Man in Black attacked again.
• Zhao Layue raised both hands against his fist, releasing pure, sharp sword intent that sliced apart the temple.

Zhao Layue survived the Man in Black’s ambush in Emerald-Cry Valley, and Guodong arrived just as he escaped. Nan Wang and the Green Mountain disciples searched the area but found no trace of him, leaving his identity unknown.

• The Man in Black battered Zhao Layue with a Law Treasure, but she held out until a zither note sounded outside the temple.
• The Man in Black sensed the newcomer and escaped using the Heaven and Earth Escape Method before the arriving Green Mountain cultivator could reach the temple.
• Guodong entered the ruins, stopped Zhao Layue’s bleeding, and spoke with her about their connection through Lian Sanyue and True Person Jingyang.
• Nan Wang arrived, searched the valley with her sword sense, and ordered Green Mountain disciples to form a sword formation to hunt for the enemy.
• The search found no trace of the Man in Black, and Zhao Layue told Nan Wang that she would not die.

Zhao Layue survived a Zhongzhou Sect assassin’s trap after Guo Dong arrived in time, and the Green Mountain Sect and Imperial Court began investigating the attack. As the Man in Black fled using the Heaven and Earth Escape Method, a mysterious figure struck him with Soul Fire.

• Guo Dong told Nan Wang that Mo Xi had used her name to lure Zhao Layue into a death trap and promised that the Water-Moon Convent would account for it.
• Attendant Jin arrived to investigate, and Zhao Layue identified the attacker as someone from the Zhongzhou Sect.
• Guo Dong said the Man in Black’s use of the Heaven and Earth Escape Method pointed to the Zhongzhou Sect, while Attendant Jin called for evidence.
• The injured Man in Black escaped through the wilderness with the Heaven and Earth Escape Method, believing he could evade pursuit.
• A black saber appeared before the Man in Black, and Soul Fire corroded his Law Treasure before he recognized the attack as belonging to a powerful figure of the Nether Department.

A short old man devoured the Netherworld shadow that had killed Wei Chengzi, then met a young man fishing from a cliff and agreed to help him destroy Green Mountain. Green Mountain disciples found Wei Chengzi’s body and realized a powerful Netherworld fiend had been involved.

• The short old man seized and devoured the black mist, then traveled to a cliff north of Chaoge City to meet a young man fishing in the clouds.
• The young man explained that the Nether Master’s third disciple had sent the shadow and said he had asked the old man to intervene.
• The old man offered to help wipe out Green Mountain in exchange for protection, and the young man led him away to find people to eat.
• Nan Wang and Jin Attendant arrived at the Man in Black’s corpse and identified him as Wei Chengzi, a Nascent Soul elder of the Zhongzhou Sect.
• Jin Attendant sensed soul fire at the scene, and the Green Mountain disciples realized that a powerful Netherworld fiend had killed Wei Chengzi.