Chapter Summaries

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.

Song Yan studied notes on Golden Core formation and learned about the ancient Great Skyfall and the decline of Divine Ability cultivation, then received a message summoning him to Huanling Cave. There, Sheng Nian revealed that he intended to kill his master, the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain, and A Yuan joined the attack.

• Song Yan read Jade Slips about Core Condensation, learning about the Essence-Compounding Pill and the different paths cultivators could take to form a Golden Core.
• Song Yan read the Orthodox Dao Lineage Canon, which described the Great Skyfall, the ancient Golden Core grades, and the decline of cultivators who formed cores with Divine Abilities.
• Song Yan considered the strange lotus-seed light in his Sword Mansion, then received a red message Jade Pendant summoning him to Huanling Cave.
• At Huanling Cave, Sheng Nian questioned the weakened Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain, then declared that he meant to kill him and attacked with his saber.
• A Yuan burst through a rock wall and attacked Xin Mountain with corpse-fire fists; Sheng Nian revealed that he had told A Yuan what he knew about Xin Mountain.

Sheng Nian and Corpse Puppet A Yuan fought the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain, but Song Yan arrived and trapped their enemy in an illusion that restored the valley and healed them. As Song Yan’s Sword Formation confused the wounded False Core cultivator, Sheng Nian and A Yuan attacked, leaving the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain vulnerable to a hand emerging from the moonlight.

• Sheng Nian and Corpse Puppet A Yuan battled the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain, but his Blood Slaughter Storm overwhelmed them and left Sheng Nian badly wounded.
• A black crow triggered Song Yan’s illusion, transporting everyone into the valley’s restored appearance and healing Sheng Nian and A Yuan.
• Song Yan confronted the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain and used the Sword Formation, Swallow Sun and Moon, to attack him.
• The Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain realized he remained trapped in an illusion as his Divine Soul pain intensified.
• Sheng Nian and A Yuan attacked the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain, while a pale hand reached for him from the moonlight.

Song Yan, Sheng Nian, and A Yuan defeated and killed the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain after Song Yan’s Sword Intent overwhelmed his perceptions. They entered Xin Mountain’s cave to search for treasures and freed the paper people made from his victims.

• A Yuan attacked Xin Mountain and spoke of the people he had forgotten, while Song Yan’s illusions and Sheng Nian’s saber strikes wounded the cultivator.
• Song Yan used Shadows of Flowers in the Mirror to trap Xin Mountain between two worlds, then unleashed overwhelming Sword Qi that shattered his defenses.
• Sheng Nian used Boundary to cut Xin Mountain in two, killing the False Core Realm cultivator.
• Sheng Nian asked Chen Jiping to help A Yuan refine Xin Mountain’s corpse, then he and Song Yan discussed Song Yan’s Sword Intent and Sheng Nian’s ancient treasure, Water Dragon.
• Sheng Nian opened Xin Mountain’s cave abode, where he and Song Yan released the paper people Xin Mountain had made from slain cultivators’ souls and blood.

Song Yan and Sheng Nian divided the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain’s spoils, including purple spirit miasma stone and a powerful Sword Talisman, then returned to their own paths. Back at the Dongyuan Sect, Song Yan began investigating the Sword Talisman and the records he had taken, while the strange figure in the Infinite Treasury stopped him from adding more miasma stone to the Fire Pool.

• Sheng Nian explained how the Artifact-Refining Art let him fuse a non-bonded Law Treasure into his body, and he and Song Yan divided Xin Mountain’s belongings.
• Song Yan took the purple spirit miasma stone, a Sword Talisman, defensive Law Artifacts, and several Jade Slips, while Sheng Nian kept the remaining spoils and half the Spirit Stones.
• Sheng Nian suggested that Xiao He might be in the Central Region, leaving Song Yan considering a journey there as he returned to the Dongyuan Sect.
• After resting, Song Yan placed purple spirit miasma stone by the Fire Pool in the Infinite Treasury, but the strange figure stopped him from adding more.
• Song Yan activated the Jade Talisman and realized it was a Golden Core Realm Sword Talisman, then wondered whether Xin Mountain had ties to the Evil Sword Sect or the Qin Lineage.
• Song Yan read a Jade Slip describing demonic pills, including the Blood Skull Pill, and then took out a second Jade Slip titled "Observing Shanhai."

Song Yan read Liang Ze Rogue Person’s account of visiting Between Mountains and Seas and documenting its demons, while Sheng Nian returned with A Yuan to the graves at South Mountain Monastery. Sheng Nian considered the three Demon Ruins traditions’ tokens after Old Xie described how a corpse could awaken to sentience.

• Song Yan read the preface to Observing Shanhai and learned that Liang Ze Rogue Person had compiled it from his observations of demons and Spirit Beasts.
• Liang Ze Rogue Person recounted how his friend Feng Huai, a young mountain lord of Shaomeng Mountain, took him to Between Mountains and Seas after sealing his senses for five years.
• Liang Ze Rogue Person described exploring the Demon Race’s sacred land, befriending its little demons, and recording their appearances, habits, and customs over more than thirty years.
• Song Yan wondered whether Xiao He and the others had found Between Mountains and Seas as he browsed the demons described in the Jade Slip.
• A Yuan knelt silently before the graves of South Mountain Monastery’s disciples while Sheng Nian and Chen Jiping watched.
• Old Xie told Sheng Nian that A Yuan’s awareness might come from a special opportunity, and Sheng Nian brought out tokens from the Yellow Springs Way, the Seed Demon Way, and the Asura Path.

Sheng Nian considered the Demon Ruins traditions while A Yuan honored the dead, and Qin Ying learned that Xin Mountain had died and lost her Sword Talisman. At Dongyuan Sect, Chen Linyuan revealed that he had crafted the talisman and left Song Yan and Qin Ying to decide who would keep it.

• Sheng Nian learned that the Demon Ruins tokens offered preliminary eligibility, while Old Xie recalled the Yellow Springs Way's interest in Sword Cultivators and its refined-corpse leader, Tianye.
• A Yuan made white flowers from corpse baleful intent fire and placed them before the graves before leaving the Yanran Mountain Range with Sheng Nian and Old Xie.
• Zhang Xingming told Qin Ying that Xin Mountain was dead, Sheng Nian had taken her Sword Talisman, and the Demon Ruins intended to take control of the Chu Kingdom.
• Song Yan requested an audience with Chen Linyuan, received permission, and went to the sect master's residence, where he found Qin Ying already present.
• Song Yan presented Qin Ying's Sword Talisman, and Chen Linyuan confirmed he had made it before asking Song Yan and Qin Ying to decide who would keep it.

Song Yan recovered Qin Ying’s Sword Talisman from Sheng Nian, but remained unsure of her account of how it was lost. In the Infinite Treasury, Seeking Benevolence was restored, and the silent figure beside the Fire Pool began acting as if it wanted to forge the sword further.

• Qin Ying told Chen Linyuan that she had lent her Sword Talisman to a former Sheyang Sect friend, and Song Yan declined to claim it for himself.
• Song Yan told Qin Ying that he had killed Sheng Nian and obtained the talisman from him, while Qin Ying said Sheng Nian had been connected to her friend.
• Song Yan returned to his cave abode and found that the Fire Pool had restored Seeking Benevolence with the essence of a Purple Spirit Miasma Stone.
• Black and white Spiritual Qi descended onto Seeking Benevolence, and the figure beside the Fire Pool blocked Song Yan from touching the sword.
• The figure asked for Artifact Refining materials, so Song Yan brought materials and Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo to the Fire Pool.
• The figure picked up the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo and walked into the Fire Pool.

Song Yan watched Yan Bo use Burning Like Karmic Fire to forge Seeking Benevolence into a low-grade Law Treasure, then discovered he could wield some of its power. Meanwhile, Qin Ying failed to persuade Zhang Xingming to kill Song Yan, unaware that Zhang had already come under orders from the Yellow Springs Way to do exactly that.

• Yan Bo tempered Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo with his lingering obsession, forging a scabbard for Seeking Benevolence and helping the sword become a low-grade Law Treasure.
• Song Yan drew Seeking Benevolence and used its Sword Qi to split a distant rock formation, then bowed as Yan Bo's fulfilled obsession faded away.
• Song Yan resolved to visit Yan Bo's grave on Beiya Mountain, put away the sword, and entered his cave abode to cultivate.
• Qin Ying asked Zhang Xingming to kill Song Yan, claiming he might have been involved in Sheng Nian's killing of Xin Mountain and had obtained her Sword Talisman.
• Zhang Xingming refused Qin Ying's request, but his true mission was to kill Song Yan under orders from the higher ranks of the Yellow Springs Way.

Zhang Xingming decided to wait for the Demon Ruins’ Nascent Soul cultivators to subdue Chen Linyuan before attacking Song Yan. Meanwhile, Song Yan visited Beiya Mountain, reunited with Yan Xun and Wu Duo, and went with Yan Li to pay respects at Yan Bo’s grave in the Yan Household Artifact Tombs.

• Zhang Xingming judged that Song Yan’s Sword Talisman could expose him to Chen Linyuan’s retaliation, so he resolved to wait until the Demon Ruins subdued Chen Linyuan before striking.
• Song Yan returned to Beiya Mountain City after years of cultivation, where he met Yan Xun and Wu Duo and learned that Lu Ziye was marrying Nangong Ling.
• Song Yan asked to visit Yan Bo, and Yan Xun explained that Yan Bo had belonged to a branch family and that the clan had moved his grave to the Artifact Tombs.
• Yan Li led Song Yan, Yan Xun, and Wu Duo into the secluded valley and showed them Yan Bo’s grave, marked with his name carved into black ore.

Song Yan honored Yan Bo and told Yan Li that Yan Bo’s attempt to forge a Foundation Establishment Law Treasure could be a pioneering path. As he read Yan Bo’s notes, Song Yan learned how Yan Bo’s ambition shaped his choices and endured repeated failures, leaving Yan Bo resolved to keep walking his own Dao.

• Song Yan paid respects at Yan Bo’s memorial, and Yan Li invited him to examine the ancestor’s personal records.
• Song Yan argued that Yan Bo’s unconventional research might inspire future artifact-refining methods, and Yan Li shared the family’s doubts about his ancestor.
• Song Yan read Yan Bo’s notes about using spiritual charm to forge a Law Treasure and discovered Yan Bo had questioned whether his path was mistaken.
• Yan Bo recalled Yan Gui seeking his artifact-refining advice, then refused the Main Family’s Second Miss because he would not set aside his ambition to forge a Law Treasure.
• After another failed experiment near the end of his life, Yan Bo rejected others’ criticism and affirmed that pursuing his ambition was itself walking the Great Dao.