Recaps

Wu Mengliu tricked Cui Mi and the Heaven's Deputy Office guards, escaped with a Spirit-Binding Jade, and returned in disguise to pursue a treasure connected to Song Yan. Meanwhile, Song Yan entered a painting and overheard Wu Daoxuan speaking with a mysterious sword cultivator, whose story revealed a connection to the Sword Sect.

• Cui Mi loosened one restraint on Wu Mengliu and ordered her to steal the Divine Capital guard token from his Heaven and Earth Bag.
• Wu Mengliu stole the Spirit-Binding Jade from a guard instead, escaped the prison, and left behind a scroll reading “Sleight of hand.”
• Wu Mengliu knocked out two guards, disguised herself as one, and left Heaven's Deputy Office while planning to steal the treasure associated with Song Yan.
• Song Yan arrived in a painted mountain dwelling and listened as Wu Daoxuan spoke with a mysterious gray-robed man about his mother and his early Sword Dao training.
• The gray-robed man described how his mother forged him a sword when he joined the Sword Sect, startling Song Yan.

Song Yan witnessed a senior Sword Cultivator leave his mother's Flying Sword, Jin Returner, with Wu Daoxuan before departing, and Wu Daoxuan abandoned his unfinished portrait. Song Yan found the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo and Jin Returner in the Painting Realm, discovered they were ink illusions, but gathered eleven real clusters of Bamboo Rice.

• The senior Sword Cultivator demonstrated his sword control, and Wu Daoxuan painted a flowing sword shadow inspired by it.
• The senior named his mother's sword Jin Returner and left it with Wu Daoxuan before departing from Great Tang.
• Wu Daoxuan could not finish the portrait, and he vanished, leaving Song Yan alone in the Painting Realm.
• Song Yan found a grove of Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo and Jin Returner, but both dissolved into ink when he touched them.
• Song Yan discovered real Bamboo Rice among the illusory bamboo and collected eleven clusters.

Song Yan explored Wu Daoxuan’s painting realm, gathered spirit bamboo seeds, and let Xiao He paint a vivid portrait of him before leaving. Meanwhile, Zhong Ali completed a painting in the Ghost Domain that matched a figure from her childhood dreams, though she still did not understand the connection.

• Song Yan and Xiao He explored the painting realm and discovered that its bamboo seeds were real while its landscape was only illusion.
• Xiao He painted a lifelike portrait of Song Yan, and Song Yan decided not to risk painting one himself.
• Song Yan left the painting realm and waited at the Daoist Heir’s Former Residence for the other cultivators to finish.
• Zhong Ali recognized the ghosts and tiger in the Ghost Domain as figures from a recurring childhood dream and recalled the strange man who had protected her.
• Zhong Ali finished the painting in one stroke and left the Ghost Domain with it.

Dao Child Ink Spirit judged the paintings from the Painting Refinement and praised Zhong Ali’s ghostly-divinity painting with Grade A Mid, while Xiao He’s portrait earned Grade B High. When Mo Ling noticed the Sword Sect seal on Song Yan’s painting, he stopped before returning it, leaving Song Yan’s work under renewed scrutiny.

• Dao Child Ink Spirit restored the cultivators’ cultivation, invited them to sign and seal their paintings, and began judging their work.
• Dao Child Ink Spirit awarded Jiang Yunzhi’s meticulous painting Grade A Low and Zhong Ali’s ghostly-divinity painting Grade A Mid, revealing that Zhong Ali was a Luofu Sect inheritor.
• Lin Qing’s landscape received Grade B High, and Xiao He’s portrait of Song Yan also received Grade B High for its vivid spiritual resonance despite its simple technique.
• Dao Child Ink Spirit noticed the Sword Sect seal on Song Yan’s painting and drew it back instead of returning it.

The Painting Refinement ended with Zhong Ali taking first place and receiving Wu Daoxuan’s painting and brush rack, while Song Yan was summoned and given the Sword Sect Flying Sword Jin Returner. Wu Daoxuan revealed that the last Sword Sect sect master was named Zhong Min before fading into a painted page that the Wu Clan brought home.

• The Dao Child Ink Spirit recognized the Sword Sect Jade Seal on Song Yan’s painting and learned that Xiao He had painted it.
• The Ink Spirit declared Zhong Ali the Painting Refinement’s winner, then summoned both her and Song Yan into the courtyard.
• The Ink Spirit gave Zhong Ali his Scroll of the Eighty-Seven Immortals and the Law Treasure brush rack Autumn Sound, Candle Shadow.
• The Ink Spirit led Song Yan to Jin Returner and granted him the Flying Sword, then told him about a sword-nurturing valley near Xiangyang and paintings left there.
• The Ink Spirit told Song Yan that the last Sword Sect sect master was Zhong Min, then warned him that learning more could invite disaster.
• The Ink Spirit faded into a painted page, which Wu Xingzhi placed in the Wu Clan’s ancestral painting album.

Song Yan and Lin Qing returned from the Central Region, where Song Yan had gained the Wu Clan’s goodwill before coming home to plant Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo. Once he discovered that someone from the Heaven-Stealing Sect had stolen Xiao He’s portrait of him from his Heaven and Earth Bag, his anger turned to killing intent.

• The Wu Clan invited Zhong Ali and Song Yan to visit its painting garden; Zhong Ali accepted, while Song Yan declined the visit and accepted a Jade Talisman from Wu Yuqian.
• Song Yan left the valley with Lin Qing, returned to Maoling Market Ward, and departed for the Chu Kingdom after deciding not to stay for an auction.
• A month later, Song Yan and Lin Qing returned through the teleportation formation, then parted at the Hu River.
• Song Yan bought Hundred-Herb Soil from Liang Feng, returned to his sect cave abode, and planted a grain of Bamboo Rice in the courtyard.
• Song Yan searched his Heaven and Earth Bag for Xiao He’s portrait and realized it had been stolen; he suspected the Heaven-Stealing Sect and resolved that the theft would not go unanswered.

After discovering that someone had stolen his painting, Song Yan marked its lingering presence and refined the mid-grade Spirit Artifact Jin Returner. The sword revealed a memory of Zhong Yan’s early life, ending with Ye Chen offering to take him as a disciple in the Sword Sect.

• Song Yan placed a trace of the painting’s presence into the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil and resolved to seek the thief in the Central Region.
• Song Yan spent twelve double-hours refining Jin Returner and then entered the Two-Pole Realm, where the sword’s Yin-Yang Qi formed a woman who showed him Zhong Yan’s memories.
• Jiang Youxuan left Lotus Mountain with Zhong Yan to pursue his wish of becoming a Sword Cultivator, and she later told him how his father, Zhong Yuxing, had died fighting Demon Ruins Cultivators.
• Jiang Youxuan and Zhong Yan searched for a sword sect, settled in a secluded valley near Xiangyang, and waited for the Still Void Sword Sect’s recruitment.
• Zhong Yan failed the Still Void Sword Sect’s entrance examination because of his Four Spiritual Roots, but Jiang Youxuan encouraged him to seek another sect.
• Ye Chen appeared in the valley, introduced himself as the Sword Sect Master, and offered to make Zhong Yan his disciple.

Song Yan witnessed Zhong Yan's memories of his early days in the Sword Sect, his mother's death, and the sword display he performed in mourning. The vision inspired Song Yan to refine his own Sword Formation techniques, and he successfully merged two formations.

• Zhong Yan befriended fellow new disciples Pei Bu'er and Mirage in the Sword Sect's outer quarters.
• A thousand years later, Zhong Yan cared for his mother, Jiang Youxuan, and she urged him to avenge the deaths of Si Xiangqing, Dongcheng, and Su Yuan by killing the immortals.
• After Jiang Youxuan died, Zhong Yan summoned countless swords at the Heavenly Palace Temple and formed the Zhou Tian Xingchen Sword Formation before sending the gathered cultivators away.
• Song Yan gained insight from Zhong Yan's sword display, strengthening his slaughtering sword intent and grasp of merging Sword Formations.
• Song Yan practiced until two Sword Formations overlapped and merged into one.

After cultivating cloud abyss sword bamboo for a year and a half, Song Yan harvested its leaves and refined ten Sword-Nurturing Pills. Taking a high-grade pill in the Spirit-Absorbing Sword Formation pushed him into the middle Foundation Establishment stage and close to the late stage, but he chose to wait before taking another.

• Song Yan watched the cloud abyss sword bamboo grow past a thousand years old and harvested its sharp leaves with the Unmoored Boat.
• Song Yan refined thirty-six batches of Sword-Nurturing Pills over a month, producing ten pills, including three high-grade ones.
• Song Yan used the Spirit-Absorbing Sword Formation and took a high-grade Sword-Nurturing Pill during his morning cultivation.
• The pill strengthened Song Yan's body and propelled his cultivation into the middle Foundation Establishment stage, bringing him close to the late stage.
• Song Yan considered taking a second pill immediately, then decided to let his cultivation stabilize and avoid risking his foundation.

On Daoyuan Mountain, Shanhai and the purple-robed master of the Pill Sect discussed Chen Linyuan’s failing fortunes and the coming end of the old mortal age. The old man revealed that he had hidden Zhong Min’s instructions from his grandson, refusing to burden him with saving the world.

• Shanhai said Chen Linyuan’s collapsed Dao heart and fading sword intent made his death seem inevitable.
• The purple-robed old man argued that Chen Linyuan’s death could usher in a new age, and Shanhai said Ancestor Zheng’s fortunes would fall to the Chu Kingdom, the Dongyuan Sect, and Zheng’s disciples and successors.
• Shanhai asked about the purple-robed old man’s grandson, and the old man said the young man was doing well and had visited the Central Region.
• The purple-robed old man explained that Zhong Min’s legacy had been meant for Chen Linyuan and that his grandson had only received it because Chen Linyuan’s fortunes had run dry.
• The purple-robed old man admitted he had never told his grandson to gather spiritual sources, refine Yin-Yang Qi, or cultivate three sword intents, because he would not force the burden of saving the mortal world onto him.

Shanhai warned Wen Changming that the mortal world's old age was ending and a new age was approaching. After Xiao He reached the second tier, she prepared to leave with Bai Qi for Between Mountains and Seas, while Song Yan tried to ease her fears about their separation.

• Shanhai told Wen Changming that the fortune of the mortal world's old age was nearly exhausted and urged the Taiyi Sect to prepare for the coming age.
• At the Nuo Realm gathering, Song Yan heard reports of strange phenomena, including a dragon-shaped yao emerging from the Silent Dragon Abyss.
• Song Yan learned that Xiao He had reached the second tier and would leave with Bai Qi to seek Between Mountains and Seas.
• Bai Qi told Song Yan that Demon Cultivators of Shangtong Mountain had found a clue to Between Mountains and Seas and that preparations were complete.
• As Song Yan packed Xiao He's belongings, he reassured her that she could become powerful enough to visit him whenever she wished.

Song Yan parted from Xiao He as she left with Bai Qi for Between Mountains and Seas, while Wu Xusheng said farewell to the withdrawn Chen Linyuan. A year later, Song Yan tested the Six Void Heaven-Falling Sword Finger and destroyed a Foundation Establishment Realm puppet.

• Song Yan took Xiao He to the Yanran Mountain Range, where she gave him a clay figure of himself and promised they would reunite after becoming powerful.
• Bai Qi and another female yao carried Xiao He northwest toward Between Mountains and Seas, and Xiao He said she trusted Song Yan to become famous so they could live together for thousands of years.
• Song Yan returned to his cave abode, reflected on Xiao He's growth, and resolved to become a great cultivator before entering the Cultivation Room.
• Wu Xusheng told Chen Linyuan he had found news of his grandson and was leaving; Chen Linyuan wished him well but remained indifferent after he departed.
• One year later, Song Yan used the Six Void Heaven-Falling Sword Finger to pursue and destroy a Foundation Establishment Realm puppet.

Song Yan tested the Shaochong Sword and discovered that Xiao Ju’s Sword Intent let her resist techniques that restrained her. Xiao Ju then delivered a message from Li Yi about a gathering hosted by the Nangong Household at Immortal-Descending Pass.

• Song Yan used the Shaochong Sword to destroy a Foundation Establishment puppet, then replenished the Sword Qi it had drained from him.
• Xiao Ju visited Song Yan and told him she had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining and was preparing for Foundation Establishment.
• Song Yan sparred with Xiao Ju and discovered her Sword Intent let her move and control her sword within his Howling Sun Sword Formation, resisting its controlling effects.
• Song Yan explained his findings about Xiao Ju’s Sword Intent and encouraged her to keep developing it.
• Xiao Ju gave Song Yan a Communication Talisman from Li Yi and said the Nangong Household would hold a grand gathering at Immortal-Descending Pass.

Qin Feiyu arranged for Shi Yunhao to hear about the River and Sky Night Banquet and its Spirit Transformation Realm Sword Qi, hoping to use him against the Nangong Aristocratic Clan. Shi Yunhao saw through the scheme but considered attending for entertainment, while Li Yi and the Nangong sisters discussed his expected fellow disciple, Song Yan.

• Qin Feiyu and the Qin elders decided to invite Shi Yunhao to the River and Sky Night Banquet to disrupt the Nangong Aristocratic Clan’s plans.
• Qin Sheng told Shi Yunhao that the banquet offered a chance to study Spirit Transformation Realm Sword Qi, and Shi Yunhao recognized Qin Feiyu’s scheme but considered playing along.
• Nangong Wang watched Li Yi practice martial arts while Nangong Shu teased her about her admiration for him.
• Li Yi told the Nangong sisters that he was waiting for his fellow disciple, who would come for the chance to study the Sword Qi.
• Nangong Shu guessed that Li Yi meant Song Yan, and Li Yi confirmed it.

Song Yan arrived at the Nangong estate for the River and Sky Night Banquet, where he reunited with Li Yi and unexpectedly met Nangong Shu, whom he had encountered in the Central Region. He examined a strange pill linked to the Qin Lineage and suspected it was a Spirit Pill that could improve cultivation aptitude, then agreed to consult his master after the banquet; meanwhile, Nangong Ming considered how the Nangong clan should deal with Song Yan’s arrival.

• Li Yi told Nangong Wang and Nangong Shu that Song Yan was coming, then went with them to meet him outside the Nangong estate.
• Song Yan arrived, and Nangong Shu recognized him as the kind cultivator who had once let her eat for free in Fufeng Commandery.
• Song Yan declined a separate guest residence and stayed with Li Yi in Listening to the Waves Valley.
• Li Yi showed Song Yan an eerie pill recovered from a cultivator he had killed, and Song Yan suspected it was the Spirit Pill Qin Xijun had once described.
• Song Yan decided to take the pill back to the sect after the banquet and show it to Qin Xijun.
• Nangong Ming instructed his daughters to host Song Yan sincerely but without excessive formality, then worried that one wrong decision could bring ruin to the Nangong lineage.

Nangong Ming’s clan announced the River and Sky Night Banquet to attract powerful allies, while Song Yan learned that the Qin Lineage possessed a pill made from a blood-relative’s essence that could improve root bone aptitude. Song Yan reunited with friends at the riverside gathering, where the Buddhist cultivator Xuantong recognized him and noted that his Heart Demon had disappeared.

• Nangong Ming and Lin discussed the clan’s precarious future and its plan to seek an alliance through the River and Sky Night Banquet.
• The Nangong Aristocratic Clan announced the banquet, promising the three best sword-discussion participants a chance to comprehend the Straw-Cloaked Old Man’s ancient Sword Qi.
• Sheng Nian explained that the crimson Blood Skull Pill imitated a Southern Border Gu insect and required a relative’s essence blood, leading Song Yan to suspect the Qin Lineage had long ties to Devil Cultivators.
• Sheng Nian left to see A Yun, and Song Yan met Li Qingfeng, Cen Qinghe, and Gu Qingqing before they headed to the riverside grounds.
• Song Yan and his companions reached the gathering, where cultivators took part in sword contests and refined pursuits; Xuantong recognized Song Yan and remarked that his Heart Demon had vanished.

The River and Sky Night Banquet began, and Nangong Ming announced that the top three in the Sword Debate could contemplate a Spirit Transformation senior’s Sword Qi under elder protection. While the debate was about to start, Song Yan played chess with the unfamiliar Shi Yunhao and left after winning their first game.

• Nangong Ming welcomed the gathered cultivators and announced that the top three Sword Debate contestants would receive the chance to contemplate the Spirit Transformation Sword Qi.
• Li Qingfeng, Cen Qinghe, and Gu Qingqing watched the banquet, while Song Yan accepted food and wine but thought about his concerns and the rumored Sword Qi.
• Song Yan left his seat to play chess, reflecting on the Qin Lineage, the Blood Skull Pill, and the mysterious Straw-Cloaked Old Man.
• Shi Yunhao introduced himself to Song Yan, admitted he did not know how to play chess, and learned the rules during their game.
• Song Yan won their first game and left for the Sword Debate as Shi Yunhao said he hoped they would play again.

Song Yan defeated Ye Yin with a spectacular sword technique, then advanced through his bracket while Shi Yunhao emerged as a formidable contender after beating Li Yi and Lanxi Cave's young lord, Jiang Ming. Shi Yunhao defeated Jiang Ming with chained weapons and Water Dao Arts, then challenged him over the weakness of his abilities.

• Song Yan countered Ye Yin's talismans with a sword strike that gathered the clouds into a waterfall of Sword Qi, prompting Ye Yin to concede.
• Song Yan and Ye Yin exchanged advice about talisman formations, and both gained insights from the discussion.
• Shi Yunhao defeated Li Yi after the two fought with their bodies, spiritual power, and battle intent, and Li Yi conceded from exhaustion.
• Song Yan won every match in his bracket and entered the final, while Shi Yunhao advanced through the other bracket.
• Shi Yunhao restrained Jiang Ming's flying sword with his chains and defeated him with the Mystic Yin, Heavy Water Incantation.
• Shi Yunhao withdrew his chains and asked Jiang Ming whether that was all he could do.

Song Yan faced Shi Yunhao in the final sword contest and struggled against his strange, corrosive powers and phasing technique. Song Yan’s Swallow Sun and Moon formation disrupted Shi Yunhao’s abilities, but after Shi Yunhao revealed signs of demonic influence, he conceded.

• Song Yan and Shi Yunhao began their duel, and Song Yan revealed his Life-Bound Flying Sword, the Unmoored Boat.
• Shi Yunhao’s Asura Ghost Garment let him strike through Song Yan’s defenses and slow him, but Song Yan exposed the apparent attack as an illusion.
• Song Yan formed the Howling Sun and Moon Ring sword formations, then merged them into Swallow Sun and Moon, which began devouring Shi Yunhao’s reddish-brown Spiritual Power.
• As Song Yan’s final strike gathered force, Shi Yunhao’s hair turned scarlet and markings appeared on his skin; Xuantong identified the presence of Demonic Qi.
• Shi Yunhao regained control, let Song Yan break apart the attack, and conceded defeat.

Song Yan won the River and Sky Night Banquet’s Sword Debate, while Jiang Ming defeated Xu Fengcan for third place. Shi Yunhao left before claiming his prize, having sensed that the Nangong Clan’s Golden Core cultivator might have discovered his demonic identity, and marked Song Yan as prey.

• Song Yan’s Swallow Sun and Moon sword formation forced Shi Yunhao to concede, making Song Yan the Sword Debate champion.
• Jiang Ming used Water Dao Arts to defeat Xu Fengcan and secure third place behind Shi Yunhao.
• Nangong Ming announced the results and invited Song Yan, Shi Yunhao, and Jiang Ming to visit the Nangong Lineage the next day.
• After the banquet, Song Yan wondered whether he had sensed Demonic Qi from Shi Yunhao; the Nangong household then learned Shi Yunhao had left and Xu Fengcan would take his place to study the Sword Qi.
• Shi Yunhao watched the banquet from a barren mountain, concluded the Nangong Golden Core cultivator might know he was a Demon Ruins Dao Child, and carved Song Yan’s name onto his White Bone Chains as a target.

Song Yan and his companions entered a hidden chamber beneath the Lingyang River to observe the Spirit Transformation Sword Qi sealed by the Nangong Ancestor. After Xu Fengcan and Jiang Ming were expelled by the platform’s restrictions, Song Yan continued toward the Sword Qi, guided by the Sword Dao Lotus within his Sword Mansion.

• Elder Zhang led Song Yan, Jiang Ming, and Xu Fengcan beneath the Lingyang River and revealed the Sword Qi on a vast platform held in place by chains and restrictions.
• Elder Zhang explained that the Nangong Ancestor had sealed the Sword Qi there and warned the visitors not to probe or disturb it.
• Xu Fengcan and Jiang Ming stepped onto the platform, but the Sword Qi’s pressure forced them back, and Elder Zhang caught them safely.
• Song Yan stepped onto the platform and felt far greater pressure than his companions, while the Sword Dao Lotus began resisting it within his Sword Mansion.
• A dreamlike glimmer of Sword Qi emerged from Song Yan and drew him toward the central wisp, and the restrictions did not eject him as he advanced.
• Song Yan continued approaching the Sword Qi while the others watched in astonishment, and he neared its center.

Song Yan’s attempt to approach the Spirit Transformation Sword Qi caused it to pierce and destroy the Nangong Aristocratic Clan’s core restriction, after which Zhang Cheng rescued him and the Sword Qi vanished. As the clan struggled to contain the fallout, Zhang Cheng summoned Song Yan for a private meeting, while Song Yan found a growing, dreamlike radiance in his Sword Mansion.

• Song Yan endured the restriction’s pressure and drew a faint response from the Spirit Transformation Sword Qi as he approached it.
• The Sword Qi synchronized with dreamlike mist, pierced the core restriction, and disappeared, causing the grand formation and riverbed platform to collapse.
• Zhang Cheng pulled Song Yan and the others to safety, then used a tortoiseshell Law Treasure to shield them from the raging river.
• The Nangong elders argued over the lost restriction and how to handle the witnesses, but Zhang Cheng ordered Nangong Ming to speak candidly with Jiang Ming and Xu Fengcan and summon Song Yan to Water Cloud Lodge.
• Song Yan told Li Yi he planned to return to his sect early, then saw a growing grain-sized radiance surrounded by dreamlike mist within his Sword Mansion.

Song Yan met Zhang Cheng at Water Cloud Lodge, where the Golden Core cultivator recognized his connection to an ancient Sword Cultivator and explained that the Nangong Clan held no grudge over the Sword Qi. Zhang Cheng asked Song Yan to protect the Nangong lineage if it faced destruction after his death.

• A gleam began condensing in Song Yan’s lotus after Senior Mirage’s Sword Qi merged with it, bringing his Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water sword intent closer to completion.
• Nangong Ming escorted Song Yan to Watercloud Pavilion at Zhang Cheng’s request, leaving him to enter the garden alone.
• Song Yan found Zhang Cheng sweeping outside Water Cloud Lodge and followed him inside for tea.
• Zhang Cheng deduced that Song Yan was heir to a Sword Cultivator’s legacy and connected him to the Sword Qi left in the Lingyang River a thousand years earlier.
• Zhang Cheng told Song Yan that the Nangong Clan held no ill will over the Sword Qi and asked him to preserve the lineage if it faced destruction after Zhang Cheng’s death.

Song Yan accepted Zhang Cheng’s request to protect the Nangong Lineage if its bloodline faced extinction, then returned to the Dongyuan Sect. Half a year later, the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain used a Golden Core Sword Talisman to peer into Chen Linyuan’s memories, where Chen unexpectedly confronted him.

• Song Yan agreed to protect the Nangong Lineage if he could when Zhang Cheng’s clan faced danger, then left the Nangong Clan Lands for the Dongyuan Sect.
• Song Yan returned to his cave abode, where he found messages from the sect and Granny Qin, who had gone back to the Qin Lineage.
• Over the following half year, Master Xuantong was reported dead, the Demon Ruins cultivators disappeared, and the Chu Kingdom’s cultivation world reopened its markets and began recruiting disciples.
• The Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain used the Golden Core Sword Talisman’s spiritual resonance to cast Heaven-Peering and view three scenes from Chen Linyuan’s memories.
• Xin Mountain saw Chen Linyuan alone in a snowy mountain, drinking in the Dongyuan Sect’s scripture repository, and sitting beside a stone tablet bearing the name Jiang Qingrou.
• As Xin Mountain studied the final memory, Chen Linyuan appeared behind him, put a hand on his shoulder, and invited him to sit down for three orchids.

The Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain used the Heaven-Peering Secret Art to spy on Chen Linyuan, but Chen Linyuan noticed him and forced him to flee at the cost of severe spiritual damage. Later, Song Yan visited the Dongyuan Sect library to study core formation and borrowed texts to prepare for his future cultivation.

• Chen Linyuan confronted the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain inside the secret art's memory and marked his divine sense avatar with Sword Qi.
• The Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain severed his own arm to escape, then emerged from the secret art injured and resolved to possess Sheng Nian and leave the Chu Kingdom.
• Song Yan visited the Dongyuan Sect's Inner Sect Library and reunited with Xu Wenxuan, who gave him access to texts about core formation.
• Song Yan borrowed two Jade Slips of core-formation insights and the Orthodox Dao Lineage Canon, then returned to his cave abode to study and prepare for the Golden Core realm.