Recaps

Song Yan recovered from his battle with Shan Zifeng and examined the spoils, discovering that a strange mask called the Mysterious Calamity Worship Spirit could sense spiritual items. An ancient Evil Cultivator’s notes explained how the mask had helped its former owner target other cultivators, and Song Yan was startled when he came across the term “Sword Cultivator.”

• Song Yan returned to Greenleaf Peak, replenished his spiritual power, and slept after the strain of fighting Shan Zifeng.
• After waking refreshed, Song Yan laid out Shan Zifeng’s possessions and found a damaged bronze bell and a strange mask Xiao He had retrieved.
• Song Yan searched Shan Zifeng’s belongings for clues about the mask and found an ancient book titled “Evil Cultivator Notes.”
• Song Yan learned the Mysterious Calamity Worship Spirit could detect cultivators carrying spiritual items with a chosen type of Spiritual Qi, which explained how Shan Zifeng had found him.
• Song Yan read the notes for warnings about evil cultivators and suddenly spotted the familiar term “Sword Cultivator.”

Song Yan read an evil cultivator’s account of three branches of sword cultivation and considered how the Two-Pole Bead and Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil might help him find or use ancient Sword Intent. He refined the veil and counted Shan Zifeng’s spirit stones, concluding that he had done what was needed for the cultivators Shan had oppressed.

• Song Yan read the senior evil cultivator’s description of three sword-cultivation branches, including one said to have originated in the Chu Kingdom.
• Song Yan guessed that the Two-Pole Bead might be connected to the Chu Kingdom branch and considered using the veil to detect ancient swords bearing Sword Intent.
• Song Yan realized that testing his ideas would require a fully formed life-bound flying sword and lamented that he still lacked Sword Intent.
• Song Yan erased Shan Zifeng’s spiritual imprint from the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil, refined it, and discovered that it could vanish from his face.
• Song Yan counted the spirit stones taken from Shan Zifeng and decided he had done all that benevolence and duty required by avenging the cultivators Shan had oppressed.

Song Yan settled into steady cultivation after Shan Zifeng’s death went largely unnoticed, then visited Tongchen Peak’s Affairs Hall and reunited with Wu Zheng. He received the Xuanyuan Sect’s compensation goods and headed to Lingyuan Marsh Market to sell surplus items before the new year.

• Song Yan sorted his spirit stones and planned to save some while spending the rest on cultivation resources and sword practice.
• Song Yan heard that Lin Qing had passed the Heart-Refining Road and entered the Inner Sect, while rumors about Shan Zifeng’s death soon faded.
• Song Yan visited Tongchen Peak’s Affairs Hall, where Wu Zheng greeted him and they counted the Xuanyuan Sect’s compensation goods together.
• Song Yan found spirit stones, pills, formations, and other goods among the compensation, including three high-quality Spirit Condensing Pills.
• Song Yan felt grateful to the elders and sect master who had helped settle the dispute, then went to Lingyuan Marsh Market to sell surplus Law Artifacts and miscellaneous items.

Xiao He found a second Jade-Stone Ball and met Bai Qi, a white snake demon who tried to recruit her to Shangtong Mountain and search for Between Mountains and Seas. Xiao He refused to leave Yanyan, but Bai Qi warned her to cultivate and left her with the Black Chi Dragon Transformation Chapter.

• Xiao He followed the marked Jade-Stone Ball to a cliff and found an identical one.
• Bai Qi confronted Xiao He, reclaimed the balls, and revealed herself as a white snake demon who had used them to lure Xiao He into conversation.
• Bai Qi learned that Xiao He had never cultivated and that her human grandfather had raised her alongside Yanyan.
• Bai Qi invited Xiao He to Shangtong Mountain to seek Between Mountains and Seas, but Xiao He refused because she wanted to stay with Yanyan.
• Bai Qi placed spiritual knowledge in Xiao He's mind, urged her to cultivate, and left for the clouds after giving her the Black Chi Dragon Transformation Chapter.

Song Yan celebrated New Year’s Eve with friends at the Dongyuan Sect, where Li Jun’s handwritten greetings gave the disciples a sudden boost in cultivation. Song Yan received a special message urging him to cultivate his sword intent, while a secluded young man and a woman in white reflected on the sect and the fragile hope of its people.

• Song Yan joined Gu Qingqing, Li Qingfeng, Shao Sichao, and Yang Yuerong for New Year’s Eve dinner at the sect’s dining establishment, where they shared stories of home and welcomed Xiao He.
• At midnight, the sect’s lanterns and fireworks lit the mountain as Li Jun sent every disciple on duty a handwritten greeting containing pure Spiritual Qi that advanced their cultivation.
• Song Yan’s greeting bore the words “Diligently cultivate sword intent; do not waste the spiritual opportunity,” and its spiritual intent entered his Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing and merged with his Dao Seed.
• In the Forbidden Ground, a young man in white kept vigil beside a gravestone, spoke of a promising young sword cultivator in the sect, and worried about the growing traces of Devil Cultivators.
• On Floating Jade Peak, a woman in white watched the New Year celebrations and considered how humans endured hardship, before sending a blue-green butterfly drifting into the Yanran Mountain Range.

Liu Yuechan told Gu Qingqing about the Dongyuan Sect’s support assignment for the Flower Festival at Beiya Mountain, and Gu declined a chance to replace Yuerong. Song Yan and Li Qingfeng found their names on the mission list and prepared to travel to Dragon Spring Prefecture, where Song considered visiting the Wu and Yan clans.

• Liu Yuechan explained that the Sheyang Sect had invited Dongyuan Sect disciples to help with the Flower Festival at Beiya Mountain.
• Liu Yuechan offered Gu Qingqing Yuerong’s place on the assignment, but Gu declined because she felt Yuerong deserved the opportunity.
• Song Yan and Li Qingfeng checked the mission list and found that they, Lin Qing, and Yang Yuerong had been assigned to the Flower Festival.
• Song Yan recognized Beiya Mountain as the home of the Wu Clan and considered visiting the Yan Clan of Sword-Casting Manor during the trip.
• Li Qingfeng called the mission an easy sightseeing assignment, while Song Yan remained wary because past supposedly safe missions had turned dangerous.

Lin Qing used his knowledge of his previous life to claim a commission for delivering Pear Blossom Wine, hoping to earn a Dao-Protecting Sword Talisman from Daoist Li Jun. After Chen Linyuan paid him and asked about Feng'an, he sensed Lin Qing’s eager expectations and began probing him under spiritual pressure.

• Lin Qing searched the Mission Hall for Qingrou’s commission to deliver three jars of Pear Blossom Wine, knowing Daoist Li Jun had once rewarded its courier with a sword talisman.
• Having already bought the wine, Lin Qing accepted the commission and traveled to a secluded valley near Dragon Head Peak.
• Lin Qing met Chen Linyuan, delivered the jars, and received the promised twenty spirit stones.
• Chen Linyuan reminisced about Feng'an and the Drunken Immortal Abode while Lin Qing waited for the sword talisman he expected.
• Chen Linyuan noticed Lin Qing’s anticipation, asked what he was waiting to receive, and used immense pressure that left Lin Qing unable to control his mouth.

Song Yan and the Dongyuan Sect disciples traveled to Beiya Mountain for the Flower Festival, where the expedition’s changing roster made Song Yan suspect Gu Qingqing was bringing bad luck. At the mountain, they stopped a chased purple-striped mountain boar from reaching a tea plantation, then met Yan Xun of Sword-Casting Manor.

• Qin Xijun told Song Yan that the grand Flower Festival included a wish-making ceremony once held beneath a Peach Blossom Spirit Tree, which had mysteriously withered.
• Song Yan set out with Li Qingfeng and Lu Ziye, and Gu Qingqing joined after Yang Yuerong was replaced on the roster.
• Gu Qingqing brought a Recording Pearl to film the trip for Yang Yuerong, while Song Yan worried that the new lineup resembled the one from Silent Valley.
• After nearly three days of travel, the group reached Beiya Mountain and saw cultivators chasing a purple-striped mountain boar toward a tea plantation.
• Lu Ziye restrained the boar, and Song Yan struck it with his sword to stop it without killing it; Yan Xun of Sword-Casting Manor then introduced himself to the Dongyuan Sect group.

Song Yan reunited with Sheng Yun in Beiya Mountain City and learned how she had joined the Sheyang Sect. He then entered a teahouse to meet another old friend, Sheng Nian, who had overheard his joke about caring for him in old age.

• Yan Xun escorted Lu Ziye, Song Yan, Gu Qingqing, and Li Qingfeng through Beiya Mountain City toward Linghua Valley and introduced them to Cong Yuzhen of the Sheyang Sect.
• Song Yan recognized Sheng Yun, who was delighted to meet him and introduced him to Cheng Yu and greeted Xiao He.
• Sheng Yun told Song Yan what had happened to her and Sheng Nian, and Song Yan reassured her that her brother could manage on his own.
• Song Yan noticed an old friend at a teahouse and went inside while Cong Yuzhen and the others continued on with Yan Xun.
• Song Yan found Sheng Nian seated beneath a bamboo hat, and Sheng Nian teased him about promising to care for him in his old age.

Song Yan met Sheng Nian, who warned him that the Flower Festival was dangerous and told him to watch out for Liang Feng. After Song Yan left, an ancient devil explained that Song Yan carried an unusually powerful Heart Demon, whose influence might strengthen him if he could control it.

• Sheng Nian told Song Yan he had practiced a Devil Cultivation Method and warned him that the Flower Festival was not peaceful.
• Sheng Nian told Song Yan to watch out for Liang Feng and said he wanted to kill Cheng Yu for harassing Sheng Yun.
• Song Yan said Cheng Yu should be crippled rather than killed, then left the teahouse.
• An ancient devil told Sheng Nian that Song Yan had a heavy Heart Demon despite being only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
• The ancient devil explained that Heart Demons could be controlled and that stronger Demonic Thoughts could make a cultivator stronger.

Song Yan and the Dongyuan Sect group arrived at Linghua Valley for the Flower Festival gathering, where Song Yan learned that Liang Feng was overseeing the event. That night, Liang Feng met a yellow-robed Daoist who urged him to kill Song Yan if necessary while pursuing the Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed to save his bedridden wife.

• Yan Xun explained the Flower Festival’s history, its rewards, and the tragic legend commemorated at the Blooming Flowers Gathering.
• Yan Xun led the Dongyuan Sect group to Linghua Valley, where Wu Duo welcomed them and showed them to their courtyards.
• Wu Duo introduced Liang Feng as the Linghua Valley cultivator overseeing the gathering, and Song Yan recognized the name from Sheng Nian’s warning.
• After nightfall, Liang Feng met a yellow-robed Daoist in secret and said he suspected one of the Dongyuan Sect visitors was probing him.
• The yellow-robed Daoist told Liang Feng he could arrange a deadly mishap at the Blooming Flowers Gathering and urged him to obtain the Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed to save his wife.
• Liang Feng said that he only wanted his wife to live again and did not want to concern himself with anyone else.

Song Yan and the other Dongyuan Sect disciples learned about the Blooming Flowers Gathering and its prizes before joining the first stage of Linghua Valley’s Valley Excursion. The Flower-Sea Spirit Search began with cultivators racing to find Spirit Plant seeds.

• Lu Ziye told Song Yan and the others that Lin Qing was devoted to Qin Ying.
• Wu Duo and Liang Feng invited the Dongyuan Sect disciples to join the Valley Excursion and gave them Jade Slips listing its rules and prizes.
• Song Yan focused on the third-place prize, the ancient Flying Sword Joined Branches, while the others discussed the supreme-grade Spirit-Congealing Flower Goblet.
• The next day, Song Yan and the others arrived at Butterfly-Chasing Spring, where around a hundred cultivators gathered for the Blooming Flowers Gathering.
• The Linghua Valley stewards explained that the first stage required cultivators to find Spirit Plant seeds within an hour, and the Flower-Sea Spirit Search began.

Song Yan used the Mysterious Calamity Spirit-Worshipping Veil to locate hidden spirit seeds in Linghua Valley, then fought off Cheng Yu when he tried to claim them. After Cheng Yu withdrew, Song Yan noticed a withered Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus seed among the fallen seeds and continued searching.

• Song Yan tested the veil on a sample spirit seed and learned that the Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus seeds were too difficult to cultivate and preserve to count for contributions.
• Song Yan used the veil to find three spirit seeds concealed in a cliff face at the western edge of Linghua Valley.
• Cheng Yu attacked Song Yan and tried to take the seeds, but Song Yan countered his fire techniques and collected them.
• Cheng Yu conceded and withdrew after Song Yan demonstrated his sword control.
• Song Yan found a withered Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus seed that had fallen from the cliff and continued searching.

Song Yan revived a withered Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus seed with lightning-threaded Sword Qi and obtained a living lotus seed before secretly keeping the discovery to himself. At the Blooming Flowers Gathering, Lu Ziye won first place, Song Yan took third, and Song Yan received an old Flying Sword as the Two-Pole Bead began to hum.

• Song Yan found that ordinary spiritual power could not revive the Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus seed, but Sword Qi laced with golden lightning broke through its decay and brought it to life.
• Song Yan nourished the sprouting lotus with wood Spiritual Qi and Sword Qi, causing it to bloom and produce a living lotus seed before the flower withered.
• Song Yan searched the area for witnesses, chose not to tell Linghua Valley about the living seed, and left to pursue the ancient sword.
• Song Yan collected around eight or nine spirit seeds, while Lu Ziye gathered more than thirty and challenged him to compete.
• Lu Ziye won the Blooming Flowers Gathering, a local female cultivator took second, Song Yan finished third, and Cheng Yu placed fifth.
• Song Yan accepted an old Flying Sword as his prize, and the Two-Pole Bead began to hum softly.

Song Yan learned about the ancient Moon-Bearing Lotus and its ability to restore vitality, improve root bone, and potentially reconstruct a body. The compendium suggested pure-yang thunder could revive its withered seeds, leaving Song Yan considering what he could do with that knowledge.

• Song Yan tried refining the ancient sword Joined Branches with spiritual power and Sword Qi, but the Two-Pole Bead did not respond.
• Yan Xun delivered Song Yan the Hundred Flowers Compendium and told him that Liang Feng had compiled it.
• Yan Xun explained that Liang Feng's wife had been unconscious for over twenty years after being caught in a fight involving devil cultivators.
• Song Yan read that the ancient Moon-Bearing Lotus could improve root bone and that its seeds might reconstruct a cultivator's body.
• Song Yan learned that pure-yang thunder could restore vitality to withered lotus seeds, though it could not make them produce seeds.

A Devil Cultivator’s array drove Linghua Valley’s Flower Demons and Spirit Beasts into a frenzy, while Liang Feng secretly stole the Spirit Pearl from Star Pond. After Cong Yuzhen broke the array and calmed the creatures, Wu Duo and Yan Xun noticed Liang Feng was missing and followed her toward the valley entrance.

• Liang Feng used a Talisman to retrieve the pale green Spirit Pearl from Star Pond and left with it in a box.
• Xiao He sensed something strange near the Ancient Spirit Peach Tree, then an array sent the valley’s creatures into a frenzy.
• Cong Yuzhen identified the Five-Ghost Spirit-Disrupting Array and assigned cultivators to guard the Ancient Spirit Peach Tree while she broke it.
• Song Yan helped restrain the maddened creatures, and Li Qingfeng knocked down a Purple-Patterned Dangkang with his Black Pot.
• Cong Yuzhen broke the array and used Pure Rain to calm the creatures, then headed toward the valley entrance with Song Yan.
• Wu Duo and Yan Xun realized Liang Feng was missing, and Wu Duo followed Cong Yuzhen with Yan Xun.

Liang Feng’s attempt to trade the Spirit Pearl for help saving A Qing failed when the Yellow-Robed Little Daoist Child revealed his betrayal and seized it. Cong Yuzhen trapped the Devil Cultivator, but Song Yan revealed that he possessed the real Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed, leaving everyone stunned.

• The Yellow-Robed Little Daoist Child wounded Liang Feng, took the Spirit Pearl, and admitted he had never intended to help save A Qing.
• Liang Feng tried to detonate himself, but the Yellow-Robed Little Daoist Child suppressed his spiritual power and taunted him for losing his gamble.
• Cong Yuzhen arrived and used Guest-Detaining Rain to bind the Devil Cultivator, while her flying sword shattered his Ghost Qi attack.
• Lu, Song Yan, Yan Xun, Wu Duo, Cheng Yu, and Sheng Yun arrived, and the Yellow-Robed Little Daoist Child revealed that the Spirit Pearl contained a mature Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed.
• Liang Feng admitted he had stolen the treasure in desperation to save A Qing, while Cong Yuzhen hesitated to attack because the Devil Cultivator held the Spirit Pearl.
• Song Yan told Liang Feng to confess and accept punishment, then revealed that the real Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed was in his own hand.

Song Yan exposed the false Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed and helped Cong Yuzhen kill the yellow-robed Devil Cultivator, while Xiao He retrieved the genuine seed. The Devil Cultivator’s surviving incarnation tried to seize a village boy but was captured by Sheng Nian, and a mysterious old ghost considered giving Song Yan an Asura cultivation method.

• Song Yan claimed Cong Yuzhen had anticipated the Devil Cultivator’s scheme, prompting her to attack with Deathless Rain.
• Xiao He carried off the genuine Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed as Cong Yuzhen’s sword strike killed the yellow-robed Daoist boy.
• Cong Yuzhen took the Devil Cultivator’s Heaven and Earth Bag and ordered the group, including Song Yan, back to Linghua Valley.
• The yellow-robed Daoist boy’s incarnation approached a lost village boy, but Sheng Nian stopped it and used the Soul-Seizing Spirit-Snatching Art.
• A mysterious old ghost discussed the Desire Realm Heaven Asura Dharma Body and agreed to transcribe a renamed copy for Song Yan.

During Beiya Mountain’s Flower Festival, Song Yan celebrated with Yan Xun and the others before receiving a cultivation method from the Devil Cultivator Sheng Nian. The Jade Slip contained the Pure Land Great Radiant Dharma Form.

• Song Yan and Yan Xun discussed the festival and Song Yan asked about Sun Household Market, which Yan Xun insisted did not exist anywhere in Beiya Mountain.
• Yan Xun invited Song Yan to visit the Yan Clan’s Sword-Casting Manor the next day, and Song Yan accepted.
• Song Yan joined Gu Qingqing, Li Qingfeng, and Sheng Yun beneath the Ancient Spirit Peach Tree to write wishes and hang them on jade tablets.
• Sheng Nian appeared beside Song Yan and gave him a Jade Slip containing the Pure Land Great Radiant Dharma Form.

Song Yan visited the Yan Clan grounds with Yan Xun to search for materials that could explain or improve his Flying Sword. At the abandoned Old Sword Forge, the Two-Pole Bead briefly stirred near a dusty, unfinished Sword Case, which Song Yan decided he wanted.

• Song Yan accompanied Yan Xun to the Yan Clan grounds and met Yan Cheng on the way to the Old Sword Forge.
• Yan Xun searched the forge’s stored materials but could not identify what the Flying Sword was made from.
• Song Yan explored the Thousand Mechanisms Hall and learned that its old, damaged Law Artifacts had been moved there as mementos.
• The Two-Pole Bead hummed briefly, and Song Yan noticed a dusty, dark-blue unfinished Sword Case in a corner.
• Yan Xun said the Sword Case was defective and useless, but Song Yan told him he was interested in it.

Song Yan activated the Two-Pole Bead with the Sword Case and Joined Branches, then was drawn into Yan Gui’s memories of his bond with Hua Luo. The memories ended as Hua Luo asked Yan Gui to leave Beiya Mountain City and travel with her.

• Song Yan discovered that Joined Branches flew into the dark blue Sword Case, then used the Two-Pole Bead to draw the case and its spiritual lights into the Two-Pole Realm.
• Song Yan touched the Sword Case inside the realm, triggering a blur of his Divine Sense and a vision of Yan Gui’s past.
• Yan Jue scolded Yan Gui for being distracted and told him to observe the elders and Linghua Valley seniors during the Flower Festival.
• Yan Gui met Hua Luo, a rogue cultivator, and later gave her a flying sword he claimed to have forged himself.
• After Hua Luo exposed his lack of sword-casting skill, Yan Gui devoted himself to artifact refining and forged her a sword called Green Plum.
• As Hua Luo prepared to leave, she took Yan Gui’s hand and asked him to travel with her beyond the mountains.

Song Yan relived Yan Gui and Hua Luo’s tragic past, then absorbed the spiritual intent left in their paired sword and experienced a dangerous surge in cultivation. He survived the breakthrough and found himself close to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

• Yan Gui and Hua Luo traveled together as rogue cultivator dao companions while Yan Gui worked to forge his own Flying Sword.
• A devil cultivator attacked them, and Hua Luo sacrificed herself to destroy the demonic formation and slay their enemy, leaving Yan Gui with the shattered Green Plum.
• Yan Gui forged Green Plum and Bamboo Horse into the sword Joined Branches, then merged his consciousness into it as he longed to reunite with Hua Luo.
• Song Yan watched two wisps of spiritual light emerge from the Sword Case and merge into the Seed of the Sword Dao, triggering a powerful surge of Sword Qi and spiritual power.
• Song Yan endured an hour of severe pain as the Sword Qi condensed into a single solid wisp, then discovered his cultivation had nearly reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Song Yan examined his new Sword Case and tried to cultivate a Dharma Body from the method Sheng Nian had sent, but lacked the spiritual power and demonic materials required. After Liang Feng’s punishment was settled, Song Yan learned that the group would leave Beiya Mountain for the sect within days.

• Song Yan refined the Sword Case, placed Joined Branches and Unmoored Boat inside it, and practiced deploying his Flying Swords.
• Song Yan tried to use Sword Qi to revive a withered ancient lotus seed, but its remaining vitality vanished.
• Song Yan read Sheng Nian’s Jade Slip and learned that the Dharma Body method required immense spiritual power and demonic substances.
• Song Yan estimated that he needed spiritual power at the Qi Refining ninth or tenth layer to form the Dharma Body’s skeleton, then recovered his strength.
• Yan Xun told Song Yan that Liang Feng had been stripped of his cultivation resources, crippled, and expelled from Linghua Valley, and that they would soon return to the sect.

Song Yan met the disgraced Liang Feng, learned that a Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed could produce more seeds, and accepted Liang Feng’s pledge of loyalty. The next day, Song Yan and the Sheyang Sect visitors departed Linghua Valley and headed back to their sect.

• Song Yan welcomed Liang Feng, whose cultivation had fallen after he was expelled from Linghua Valley, and heard his plans to live quietly with his wife.
• Song Yan told Liang Feng the Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed was fake, then revealed it was real and asked what Liang Feng would do with it.
• Liang Feng explained that a Moon-Supporting Ancient Lotus grown from a Moon-Bearing Lotus Seed could produce more seeds in about three years, and offered Song Yan a Heart-Linked Mother-and-Offspring Insect as proof of his trust.
• Song Yan accepted Liang Feng’s pledge after Liang Feng swallowed the smaller insect and Song Yan revealed the moonlight in his palm.
• Lu Ziye and the Outer Sect Disciples said farewell to the Sheyang Sect; Cong Yuzhen reprimanded Cheng Yu for belittling Song Yan.
• The visitors boarded their Spirit Boats and set off to return to their sect.

After returning to Dongyuan Sect, Song Yan searched for a Breakthrough Pill to help him advance through late Qi Refining, but found the sect treasury nearly empty. He went to ask Lin Qing for advice and found the senior brother looking as though he had recently recovered from a serious injury.

• On the Spirit Boat returning from Beiya Mountain, Song Yan recalled Cong Yuzhen’s sword strike and wondered whether he could someday cultivate one like it.
• After reaching Dongyuan Sect, Song Yan visited Granny Qin’s store but found a note saying she had left to visit her lineage.
• Back at his cave abode, Song Yan planned to obtain a Breakthrough Pill and prepare to overcome the three late Qi Refining barriers on his first attempt.
• The next day, Song Yan checked the inner sect treasury but found no suitable Breakthrough Pills and little chance of obtaining even Spirit Condensation Pills.
• Song Yan went to Lin Qing’s cave abode to ask about Breakthrough Pills and found Lin Qing’s spiritual power unstable, as if he had recently recovered from a serious injury.