Recaps

Song Yan accepted a golden manual page from Wang Ke and hosted Wu Huaguo and Rong Xiaofeng, who thanked him for saving Wu Huaguo. While sorting through Yuan Zhen’s belongings, he discovered a Dharma-Transmission Wooden Figure that revealed a mysterious inheritance but expelled his Divine Sense before he could study it.

• Wang Ke gave Song Yan the golden page called the Five-Star Pulse Seizing Orthodox and Reversed Diagram, and Song Yan left with it.
• Song Yan found Wu Huaguo and Rong Xiaofeng visiting, accepted their gifts, and agreed to visit them when he passed Beiya Mountain.
• Song Yan examined Yuan Zhen’s wooden fish, kept a Heart-Guarding Mirror and a white Flying Sword for Xiao Ju, and saved two Demon Beast Cores for Xiao He.
• Song Yan used his Divine Sense on the faceless wooden figure and saw a monk, six streaks of sword light, and a scripture taking shape.
• Song Yan’s Spiritual Power and Sword Qi surged out of control, and the wooden figure expelled his Divine Sense before he could comprehend the inheritance.
• Song Yan concluded that the wooden figure was a Dharma-Transmission Object and guessed that he needed to reach Foundation Establishment before he could study its secret method.

Song Yan examined Yuan Zhen’s belongings, repaired his damaged Dharma Body, and then set out for Chu Capital with Xiao Ju, Snake Treasure, and Wang Ke. On the journey, Xiao He recognized mountains in the mysterious Go position, and the group approached the bustling capital.

• Song Yan read Yuan Zhen’s Yin-Yang Zen Body scripture and learned that Yuan Zhen had sensed a fragment of a Mind-Reading Divine Ability Sarira on Wu Huaguo.
• Song Yan summoned his Dharma Body, assessed its Demonic Qi refinement, and spent his Sword Qi reshaping its missing left arm, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• After sleeping through their planned departure, Song Yan woke on the third day and left Beiya Mountain City with Xiao Ju, Snake Treasure, and Wang Ke aboard the Red Dust Chariot.
• Song Yan studied the golden Go manual while Wang Ke worked on a Go position, and Xiao He pointed out shapes she recognized as Little Solitary Mountain and Green Mountain.
• The Red Dust Chariot passed other flying cultivators and vessels as Song Yan announced they were nearing Chu Capital, whose vast city walls came into view.

Song Yan received the Truefall Vine from Wang Ke and traveled with Xiao Han and Xiao He to Immortal-Descending Pass. There, they heard a storyteller recount how a mysterious straw-cloaked old man confronted a fourth-tier flood dragon, leaving the outcome for the next installment.

• Wang Ke gave Song Yan the Truefall Vine and parted ways with him at Boyang Mountain, then headed to a hidden teleportation array in the valley.
• Three Evil Cultivators ambushed Wang Ke, but he revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation and turned them into chess stones.
• Wang Ke activated the teleportation array and left the Chu Kingdom after glancing toward the Chu Capital and mentioning Song Yan and Song Yesheng.
• Song Yan traveled northeast with Xiao Han and Xiao He and chose to visit Immortal-Descending Pass, the Chu Kingdom's largest gathering place for Rogue Cultivators.
• A storyteller described the fourth-tier flood dragon's destruction of the Purple Source Sect and the cultivators' failed attempt to defeat it.
• The storyteller introduced an old man in a straw raincoat who trapped the flood dragon in a formation and sent a sword-light pellet toward its brow, then stopped before revealing what happened next.

Song Yan heard the legend of a Straw-Cloaked Old Man who slew a wicked flood dragon and wondered if he was the senior he had met in Wushan Valley. After selling unwanted items and meeting Li Qingfeng and Cen Qinghe in Immortal-Descending Pass, he learned that General Xiao Ming had died and saw an elderly fisherman whose appearance recalled the legend.

• A storyteller recounted how the Straw-Cloaked Old Man used a sword strike to kill a wicked flood dragon, leading cultivators to gather at Immortal-Descending Pass.
• Song Yan wondered whether the legendary old man was the senior he had encountered in Wushan Valley, then declined Qin Yicao's invitation to a barter gathering.
• Song Yan sold unwanted goods at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and bought ingredients and pills before running into Li Qingfeng and Cen Qinghe.
• Li Qingfeng told Song Yan that Cen Qinghe had reached the sixth Qi Refining layer and that they were returning to the sect, while Song Yan revealed he was preparing for Foundation Establishment.
• Li Qingfeng said Senior Brother Li Yi had gone to visit General Xiao Ming, who had died peacefully half a month earlier.
• Song Yan decided to buy a few more things before returning to Lanxi Cave, then noticed an elderly fisherman in a straw cape and bamboo hat passing by.

Song Yan commissioned a Moon-Cleansing Talisman from Jiang Gudong at Strange Talisman Inn, then left Immortal-Descending Pass with Xiao Ju and Xiao He. At Yingjing’s docks, the Two-Pole Bead stirred and the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil led him to a mortal old man fishing by the river, whom Song Yan approached with wine.

• Song Yan disguised himself and commissioned a second-tier high-grade Moon-Cleansing Talisman from Jiang Gudong, supplying three Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus petals and agreeing to return in three months.
• Song Yan confirmed no one was following him, met Xiao Ju and Xiao He, and left Immortal-Descending Pass for Yingjing’s docks to travel by water.
• At the docks, the Two-Pole Bead stirred, and Song Yan used the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil to follow a faint sword Dao presence along the riverbank.
• Song Yan found an old man fishing from a riverside cliff, apologized for startling him, and offered him wine.

Song Yan discovered that the fisherman Xiao Ming was the late Chu Kingdom general, and the Straw-Cloaked Guest helped him recover memories of his life and death. Xiao Ming learned he had died before his allotted time and agreed to see how the Xiao Household had reacted.

• Song Yan questioned Xiao Ming about his name and mentioned Li Yi, prompting Xiao Ming to remember their past together.
• Xiao Ming recalled meeting the Straw-Cloaked Guest on Black Mountain, receiving a spirit sword, and rising through the Chu Kingdom’s military ranks.
• Xiao Ming remembered that court suspicion and his family’s desire for his death had left him weary, and he had died quietly while hoping to reunite with his wife.
• The Straw-Cloaked Guest told Xiao Ming that he still had at least two years of life remaining and had brought about his early death to spare him further suffering.
• Xiao Ming agreed to see what had happened to the Xiao Household after his death, and the Straw-Cloaked Guest began revealing the scene in the sky.

Song Yan accompanied Xiao Ming back to the Xiao Residence, where he revived the general and reunited him with his family. After Qin Yicao and Prince Shi Ying arrived to investigate, Qin Yicao suspected Song Yan had taken Xiao Ming’s Spirit Sword and secretly pursued him.

• Xiao Ming saw his family mourning him and begged the Straw-Cloaked Old Man to restore his life, so the old man sent him back with Song Yan.
• Song Yan entered the Xiao Residence disguised as Daoist Tong Chuping and revived Xiao Ming in front of the mourning family.
• Xiao Ming reunited with his family, and the Xiao household held a feast to honor Song Yan.
• King You Xiong sent Prince Shi Ying and Qin Yicao to investigate Xiao Ming’s return, while Qin Yicao privately sought the sword he believed Xiao Ming possessed.
• Qin Yicao met Song Yan at the Xiao family feast, then pursued him after suspecting he had taken the Spirit Sword.

Song Yan confronted Qin Yicao, who demanded Xiao Ming’s spirit sword and admitted involvement in General Xiao’s death. Song Yan killed Qin Yicao before his secret technique could fully stabilize, burned the body, and left with his Heaven and Earth Bag.

• Qin Yicao searched the riverside woods for Song Yan, then found him standing on a cliff and demanded Xiao Ming’s spirit sword.
• Song Yan questioned Qin Yicao about General Xiao’s death, and Qin Yicao admitted his guilt before attacking with a Five-Phases Linked-Pearl Talisman Formation.
• Song Yan broke through Qin Yicao’s talisman attacks with his swords and formed the Moon Ring Sword Formation.
• Qin Yicao activated a strength-enhancing secret technique and attacked Song Yan with an Ancient Bronze Mirror.
• Song Yan unleashed Moonfall, pierced Qin Yicao’s head with the Unmoored Boat, and killed him.
• Song Yan burned Qin Yicao’s corpse, took his Heaven and Earth Bag, and left the cliff.

Xiao Ming experienced an illusory vision of the hardship and estrangement that awaited if he returned to life, then chose to remain dead after seeing his family mourn him sincerely. The Straw-Cloaked Old Man sent Xiao Ming on, gave Song Yan a spiritual bead to help establish his Dao Foundation, and disappeared.

• Xiao Ming awoke in a vision after sixteen days unconscious, but his return to life brought court suspicion and declining fortunes for the Xiao Household.
• At a family banquet, Xiao Ming confronted his relatives after hearing them call him a monster and accuse him of bringing trouble to the household, then collapsed.
• Xiao Ming woke beside the river with Song Yan and the Straw-Cloaked Old Man, who revealed that his return had been an illusory dream of what would happen if he went back.
• Xiao Ming saw his family mourning at his grave and chose not to return, accepting that they remembered him better as a dead grandfather.
• Xiao Ming dissipated, and the Straw-Cloaked Old Man gathered the spiritual light into a bead and gave it to Song Yan to help him establish his Dao Foundation.

Song Yan examined Qin Yicao’s belongings, refined a water-element supreme spiritual object, and discovered the Purple Qi Void-Union True Art. After refining the mysterious Spirit Pearl bestowed by the senior, he found it transformed into powerful sword light, which he recognized as a form of Inner Sword Method; he remained focused on establishing his Dao Foundation.

• Song Yan searched Qin Yicao’s Heaven and Earth Bag and refined a strange water-element supreme spiritual object, causing a river to appear in the Two-Pole Realm and changing the Seed of the Sword Dao.
• Song Yan studied the Purple Qi Void-Union True Art, learned how it could strengthen Spiritual Power, and put it aside so he could focus on reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Song Yan examined the Spirit Pearl, and Xiao He identified its scent as belonging to a demon, though Song Yan could not detect any Demon Qi.
• Song Yan spent twelve hours refining the pearl, which transformed into concealed but immense sword light that he could control like Spiritual Power.
• Song Yan considered whether the pearl was a Sword Pellet and connected its sword cultivation path to the Inner Sword Method.

Song Yan discovered that the Mirage Sword Pellet could open a small world where he could cultivate, and he decided to stay near Immortal-Descending Pass while preparing for Foundation Establishment. He inspected a secluded cave abode at Northern Mountain and considered renting it for three months.

• Song Yan entered the Sword Pellet’s Dream Small World, found he could cultivate and use his supplies there, and learned that only a little time passed in reality.
• Song Yan changed his plans and headed to Immortal-Descending Pass with Xiao Ju and Xiao He to rent a cave abode while he cultivated and attempted to refine pills.
• Nangong Ling told Song Yan that Immortal-Descending Pass’s reputation came from a senior slaying a flood dragon and that Sword-Breath Rock was associated with the event.
• Nangong Ling led Song Yan’s group to the Stream-Listening Retreat at Northern Mountain, where Song Yan found the quiet cave abode suitable for his stay.

After three months of seclusion, Song Yan completed two Foundation Establishment Pills and collected three Moon-Cleansing Talismans before returning toward Lanxi Cave. There, he learned that Jiang Chaoshen had recently attained the Golden Core realm, transforming Lanxi Cave into a place presided over by a Golden Core True Person.

• Song Yan spent three months cultivating in a rented cave abode and successfully refined one high-grade and one middle-grade Foundation Establishment Pill after multiple failed attempts.
• Song Yan collected three Moon-Cleansing Talismans from Su Changcai, including an extra talisman Jiang Gudong had made from the remaining spiritual material.
• Song Yan reunited with Xiao Ju and Xiao He, then left Immortal-Descending Pass aboard the Red Dust Chariot to return to Lanxi Cave.
• Song Yan noticed unusual Spiritual Qi and festive decorations at Lanxi Cave's Market Ward upon arrival.
• A patrolling guard told Song Yan and Xiao Ju that Jiang Chaoshen had attained the Golden Core realm, making Lanxi Cave a blessed land under a Golden Core True Person.

Song Yan left Lanxi Cave with Xiao Ju and offered to take her as his disciple if he successfully established his foundation. After returning to the Dongyuan Sect, he visited Qin Xijun, who gave him five Foundation Establishment Pills before his planned seclusion.

• Song Yan returned the Red Dust Chariot's jade key, left Lanxi Cave with Xiao Ju and Xiao He, and asked Xiao Ju whether she wanted to continue traveling with him.
• Xiao Ju chose to stay beside Song Yan, and he promised to take her as his disciple if he successfully established his foundation.
• Song Yan attended an auction on the way back but found no suitable cultivation method and continued toward the sect.
• After half a month, Song Yan reached the Dongyuan Sect and returned to his Earth Character Twenty-One cave abode with Xiao Ju.
• Song Yan visited Qin Xijun and told her he was preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Xijun gave Song Yan five Foundation Establishment Pills and urged him not to rush.

Song Yan spent more than ten months cultivating in the Mirage realm, stabilizing his Qi Refining realm and preparing for foundation establishment. After merging the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing with his Qi Sea, he reached the critical moment of his breakthrough and prepared to take an Upper-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

• Song Yan gave Xiao Ju the Essentials of Formation Diagrams and encouraged her to study formations while he entered seclusion.
• Song Yan used the Mirage realm and Spirit-Gathering Sword Formation to cultivate without pills at first, while studying Yuan Zhen’s Foundation Establishment Insights.
• Over ten months, Song Yan stabilized his cultivation, gradually used foundation-strengthening pills, and reached Qi Refining tenth-layer perfection.
• Song Yan began building his Dao foundation by merging the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing with his Qi Sea, enduring intense pain as it transformed into a vast sea of sword Qi.
• Song Yan prepared Moon-Cleansing Talismans and other items, then drew out an Upper-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill as he readied himself to break through.

Song Yan completed Foundation Establishment, forming a Sword Dao Lotus and Myriad Phenomena Dao Patterns while the Mirage Bead Sword Pellet merged into his foundation. After stabilizing his new realm and discovering he could read but not yet practice the Six Void Heaven-Falling Sword Finger, he entered the Two-Pole Realm and saw an immense ink-wash image filling the sky.

• Song Yan absorbed the superior-grade Foundation Establishment Pill and Spirit Stones, completing his Dao Foundation as a Sword Dao Lotus bloomed and Myriad Phenomena Dao Patterns appeared around it.
• The Mirage Bead Sword Pellet shattered and merged into the lotus, leaving a dreamlike purple glow at its center.
• Song Yan’s Sword Qi cleansed and strengthened his body, and he completed Foundation Establishment without encountering the Heart Demon.
• Song Yan refined Sacrificial Qilin Lord, Joined Branches, and Moon-Crying, while Unmoored Boat rose to the level of a supreme law artifact.
• Song Yan read the inheritance of the Six Void Heaven-Falling Sword Finger but could not yet practice it, and he considered combining its principles with Green Snake in the Sleeve Sword Qi.
• The Straw-Cloaked Old Man sensed the Mirage Bead’s presence had vanished, while Song Yan entered the Two-Pole Realm and saw an enormous ink-wash image in the sky.

Song Yan studied a vast map of the mortal world and wondered how Xie Tianji could have traveled from the Chu Kingdom to the Central Region and back as a mortal. After emerging from seclusion with his Foundation Establishment complete, he tested flight with Xiao Ju and Xiao He, then began studying the swift but costly Wandering the Great Void sword escape.

• Song Yan examined the heavenly map, recognized the Sword Sect Ruins marked in the Chu Kingdom, and was stunned by the world's scale.
• Song Yan calculated how vast the journey from the borderlands to the Central Region would be and questioned how Xie Tianji had made it as a mortal.
• Song Yan emerged after thirteen months of seclusion and told Xiao Ju and Xiao He that he had successfully established his foundation.
• Song Yan flew through the air on his own Sword Qi, then rode the Unmoored Boat with Xiao Ju and Xiao He through the clouds and mountains.
• Song Yan reviewed Wandering the Great Void and learned that the sword escape offered great speed and agility but consumed several times more Sword Qi.

Song Yan mastered the first steps of the Wandering the Great Void escape technique, then accepted Xiao Ju as his disciple after she chose the perilous Sword Cultivator path. With Song Yan protecting her, Xiao Ju completed the sword-planting ritual and formed her Sword Mansion and Dao Seed, leaving her alive but exhausted and in need of recovery.

• Song Yan practiced Wandering the Great Void and demonstrated a swift, nimble sword-light escape before returning to the courtyard.
• Song Yan explained the risks of the Sword-Planting Technique to Xiao Ju, and she chose the Sword Cultivator path despite the danger.
• Xiao Ju knelt and completed the discipleship ceremony, becoming Song Yan’s disciple.
• Song Yan taught Xiao Ju the Spirit Transformation Chapter, and about ten days later she prepared to plant her sword in the meditation chamber.
• Xiao Ju severed her Spiritual Roots and endured the collapse of her cultivation while Song Yan suppressed her uncontrolled Spiritual Qi.
• Xiao Ju formed a Sword Mansion and a golden-patterned Dao Seed, and Song Yan caught her as she collapsed and told her to rest.

After establishing his foundation, Song Yan helped Xiao Ju resume cultivation and prepared for the Dragon Pool Gathering while searching for a faster cultivation method and information about Dao Patterns. He left Xiao Ju and Snake Treasure with passes and traveled alone to the Sword Sect using the Jade Seal, where his strength let him open the Bamboo Grove’s hidden path.

• Xiao Ju cultivated the Qi Condensation Scroll, returned to the third layer of Qi Refining, and studied swordsmanship and formations.
• Song Yan searched for news of the Demonic Path invasion but found no signs of unusual activity, then visited the Inner Sect Scripture Repository to look for cultivation methods and information about Dao Patterns.
• Song Yan met Xu Wenxuan, who had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator and told him that the Dragon Pool Gathering would be broadcast across the Chu Kingdom using the Spirit-Revealing Treasure Mirror.
• Song Yan found no suitable method or useful information in the repository and returned to his cave abode, where he gave Xiao Ju and Snake Treasure passes and told them to travel to Dragon Pool Mountain if he was delayed.
• Song Yan used the Great Void Sword-Nourishing Chapter and the Sword Sect Jade Seal to teleport to the Sword Sect, then used his Foundation Establishment Sword Qi to open the Bamboo Grove’s hidden path.

Chen Linyuan and Wu Xusheng discussed Lin Qing’s claim of having lived another lifetime and the possible future demonic calamity, while Chen offered Wu a lead in his search for his missing grandson. In the Sword Sect Ruins, Song Yan found a courtyard and a sword case that joined with the Two-Pole Bead, revealing the name “Inexhaustible Treasury.”

• The gray-robed Chen Linyuan visited Wu Xusheng in the Inner Sect Library, where Wu studied the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones Divine Ability.
• Chen and Wu dismissed Yang Wenxuan’s scheming as a minor threat, and Chen said Song Yan would have to face his own trials.
• Chen asked Wu about reversing time, then told him of Lin Qing’s claim and the demonic calamity Lin Qing had described.
• Chen gave Wu a Jade Slip in hopes that Lin Qing’s supposed memories might help locate Wu’s missing grandson.
• Song Yan followed the Two-Pole Bead’s guidance through the Bamboo Grove and discovered a secluded courtyard with a familiar black stone stele and an ancient sword case.
• The Two-Pole Bead flew into a recess in the sword case, whose newly revealed inscription read “Inexhaustible Treasury.”

Song Yan spent twenty-three days refining the Sword Case and discovered that its inner world contained the incomplete Void Transformation Book, including a cultivation method that greatly improved his progress. After switching to the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture, he cultivated for a month before hurrying to the ongoing Dragon Pool Gathering.

• Song Yan struggled to refine the Sword Case for twenty-three days before it accepted his Sword Qi and connected to him.
• Song Yan entered the Sword Case's vast inner world, where black-and-white Qi surged into his consciousness and gave him the incomplete Void Transformation Book.
• Song Yan learned that the Void Transformation Book contained the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture and the Void Sword Chapter, and found that the scripture refined his Sword Qi far more effectively than his former method.
• Song Yan formed a Spirit-Gathering Sword Formation and switched to the Purple Firmament Daoist Scripture, steadily strengthening his Dao Foundation over the next month.
• Song Yan realized the Dragon Pool Gathering had already been underway for several days and set off in black-and-white sword light toward Qiyuan Prefecture.

At the Dragon Pool Gathering, Li Xuan and the Zhongmiao Sect sought to capitalize on the Dongyuan Sect’s declining reputation, while Zhou Liu rebuffed Li Xuan’s attempt to ingratiate himself. After Zhao Xuan lost a spar, Zhongmiao Sect cultivators insulted Dongyuan Sect and provoked Gu Qingqing, until Li Xuan used his Foundation Establishment pressure to challenge Yuwen Yao and the others.

• Li Xuan brought two Zhongmiao Sect disciples to Looking Immortal Terrace, where Zhou Liu curtly dismissed his attempt to introduce them.
• Zhao Xuan lost a close spar to a Hanging Sword Mountain disciple, prompting cultivators to gossip about the Dongyuan Sect’s weakness.
• Li Xuan and other cultivators joined in disparaging the Dongyuan Sect, angering Gu Qingqing when they insulted Song Yan and questioned his reputation.
• A Zhongmiao Sect disciple pressured Gu Qingqing and challenged her, so Yuwen Yao stepped in to protect her.
• Li Xuan arrived and intensified his Foundation Establishment pressure against Yuwen Yao and Gu Qingqing, then challenged them to settle the dispute through their skills.

Li Yi and Song Yan arrived at Looking Immortal Terrace and confronted Li Xuan after he pressured Gu Qingqing and the Dongyuan Sect disciples. Song Yan revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation and forced Li Xuan to back down, while a hidden Rogue Cultivator considered killing him and wondered where his disciple had gone.

• A crow pecked through Li Xuan's protective Spiritual Qi and pierced his hand as he threatened Gu Qingqing.
• Li Yi arrived and shattered the pressure Li Xuan had placed on the Dongyuan Sect cultivators, and Song Yan descended beside Gu Qingqing as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Song Yan challenged Li Xuan over Gu Qingqing's question and unleashed a sword strike that left Li Xuan dazed and unable to understand what had happened.
• Zhou Liu ordered the groups to stop disrupting the gathering, and Li Xuan refused Li Yi's challenge before leaving with the Zhongmiao Sect disciples.
• The Dongyuan Sect disciples celebrated Song Yan's breakthrough, learned that Xiang Zhaoling had not yet arrived, and went to their assigned lodgings on Egret Cliff.
• A hidden Rogue Cultivator recognized Song Yan as a threat and considered eliminating him while wondering where his disciple had gone.

Xiang Zhaoling and Zhou Mengdie crossed Great Heaven Mountain as Xiang explained that she had come to the Chu Kingdom searching for a legendary Gu insect that could foresee the future. At Dragon Pool Mountain, Song Yan learned about the Nine Veins Grand Competition, prepared to study the Void Transformation Book, and brought out a sword case for Xiao Ju.

• Xiang Zhaoling guided the exhausted Zhou Mengdie across the coldest part of Great Heaven Mountain and told her she had come north after sensing a trace of a legendary future-seeing Gu in the Chu Kingdom.
• Xiang Zhaoling summoned Gray Plume, and she and Zhou Mengdie flew toward Qiyuan Prefecture and Dragon Pool Mountain.
• Xiao Ju briefed Song Yan and Li Yi on the Dragon Pool Gathering, its competition stages, and the widely favored Xuanyuan Sect prodigy Zhou Liu.
• Li Yi challenged Song Yan to spar, and Song Yan agreed to meet him the next day.
• Song Yan decided to spend two days studying the Void Transformation Book, then brought out the Useless Sword Case and the Flying Sword Joined Branches for Xiao Ju.

Song Yan studied the Sword Chapter and searched Tiered Spring Market for Flying Swords, where he encountered Gu Qingqing and learned that Yang Yuerong had been forced to leave the Dongyuan Sect and return to her Lineage. Gu Qingqing invited Song Yan and Xiao Ju to witness the Yang Lineage’s centennial grand rite.

• Song Yan gave Xiao Ju the Useless Sword Case and Joined Branches, then studied the Void Transformation Book and puzzled over the distinctive effects of his Sword Intent.
• Song Yan spent several days studying sword cultivation and sparring with Li Yi before heading to Tiered Spring Market with Xiao Ju to seek Flying Swords.
• Song Yan saw Moon-Midst Pavilion, where the leaders of the nine branches discussed affairs, and met Gu Qingqing and Yang Yuerong at a pool.
• Yang Yuerong told Song Yan that she had left the Dongyuan Sect and returned to the Yang Lineage because of its traditions and rules.
• Yang Yuerong recommended that Song Yan visit Thousand-Forging Hall for Flying Swords, and Gu Qingqing invited him to attend the Yang Lineage’s centennial grand rite.

Song Yan visited the Thousand-Forging Hall to look for flying swords, but the irritable shopkeeper insulted him and Xiao Ju before recognizing that her Sword Case had been repaired. The old man begged Song Yan to explain how it was fixed, but Song Yan left without answering, bought two flying swords elsewhere, and worried about his dwindling Spirit Stones.

• Yang Yuerong invited Song Yan to observe the Yang Clan’s centennial ceremony, then directed him to the Thousand-Forging Hall.
• Song Yan and Xiao Ju found the old shopkeeper arguing with a Yan Clan disciple, then entered the shabby shop to ask about flying swords and ancient swords.
• The shopkeeper mocked Song Yan’s Sword Case and ordered them out, but he stopped them when he saw the Useless Sword Case on Xiao Ju’s back.
• Song Yan told the shopkeeper that Yan Xun had given him the unfinished case, and the old man criticized the Yan Clan and insulted Song Yan and Xiao Ju.
• Xiao Ju summoned the Joined Branches Flying Sword to confront the shopkeeper, who recognized that the case and sword were intact and harmonized.
• The shopkeeper begged Song Yan to explain how the case had been repaired, but Song Yan left and later bought two high-grade flying swords while worrying about his lack of Spirit Stones.