Chapter Summaries

Song Yan fled the Qilin’s demonic corpse toward the passage at Mount Nine Songs while Tao Wen revealed that an unknown evil thought controlled the corpse. After Song Yan’s sword briefly frightened the entity, it left the Qilin and possessed him, beginning to take control of his body.

• Tao Wen warned Song Yan to flee and explained that he had remained as a thought trapped inside the Qilin’s corpse for nearly four thousand years.
• Song Yan learned that the real Qilin had died and that an unknown entity was controlling its corpse, while Xie Chan and the others opened a passage out of the Mist Sea.
• Wang Ke led Xie Chan and the others through the passage so they could report the danger to Sect Master Shen, while Song Yan drew the Qilin away from them.
• Song Yan’s sword attack made the entity fear him, and Tao Wen realized that it had left the Qilin’s body and was moving toward Song Yan.
• The entity entered Song Yan’s body and began taking control as Song Yan felt his limbs becoming unfamiliar.

Song Yan broke free of the Evil Karma that had controlled Tao Wen and used the Unmoored Boat and the Infinite Treasury Sword Case to destroy it with the help of the victims’ lingering thoughts. As the Mist Sea began to disperse, Song Yan promised Tao Wen he would seek the source of the Evil Karma and bring peace between the Human Race and Demon Race.

• Song Yan relived Tao Wen’s memories of Ao Gui lending him the Ao Dragon Ancient Jade and of Tao Wen hearing the Evil Karma’s voice after his Tribulation of Mortal Transformation.
• Tao Wen sought Ao Gui’s help, but the Evil Karma took control of him and killed her, leaving Tao Wen to watch helplessly as it abandoned her body.
• Song Yan regained control long enough to stab himself with the Unmoored Boat, then drew strength from the lingering thoughts sealed in the Infinite Treasury Sword Case.
• Song Yan used the Void-Viewing Sword Eye to see the Evil Karma clearly, and the victims’ sword lights cut it apart until it vanished.
• Tao Wen asked Song Yan to find the Evil Karma’s source and reconcile the two races, and Song Yan promised to do so as the Qilin carried him toward the sword in the sky.
• The Mist Sea dispersed, revealing Song Yan seated atop the Qilin as people from both sides watched.

As the Mist Sea seal broke, Song Yan and the others emerged, and Ming the Qilin reunited with Ao Gui through Lingsi before dying. Song Yan explained that evil karma had controlled Tao Wen and Ming, leaving the Demon Race and Penglai to confront the mystery of who could possess a Quasi-Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator.

• Lingsi recognized Song Yan and Xiao He as the mist dispersed, while Ao Gui recognized Ming the Qilin’s body and called her Aunt Ming.
• Song Yan confirmed that Lingsi carried part of Ao Gui’s soul, then Ming descended to the sea cliff and approached her.
• Lingsi ran to Ming, who touched her forehead; Tao Wen silently apologized to Ao Gui as his lingering consciousness faded and Ming’s body became still.
• Kui moved to question the injured Song Yan, but Shen Er raised a Water Curtain to shield him until Ling Jia persuaded Kui to stand down.
• Ling Jia preserved Ming’s body in a blue-black jade bead and gave Song Yan healing Demon Power before asking him to explain the Mist Sea.
• Song Yan told the gathered Penglai and Demon Race members that evil karma had possessed Tao Wen and later turned Ming against them, prompting questions about who could control such a powerful cultivator.

After Song Yan shared the Mountain-Backed Tide-Gazing Pupil Technique with the demons, Penglai and the Sea Kingdom began cooperating around their newly revealed shared Old Site. While recovering in Penglai, Song Yan removed his eye band and discovered that both eyes had developed double pupils.

• Song Yan explained that he had used his pupil technique and Shi Zixing's sword intent to slay the evil karma, then offered Shen Er the Mountain-Backed Tide-Gazing Pupil Technique to share with the demons in exchange for spiritual resources.
• Shen Er agreed to share the technique with Ling Jia and Kui, and the demons promised gifts for Song Yan before departing.
• Shen Er thanked the gathered cultivators for helping reveal Penglai's Old Site, and Penglai and the Sea Kingdom began cautiously cooperating to protect the immortal continents.
• More than three months later, Song Yan recovered in his Penglai cave abode while Xiao He urged him to keep his injured eyes covered for half a year.
• Song Yan removed his eye band, and Xiao He recoiled when she saw that each of his eyes had two pupils.

Song Yan learned that the clear Qi that changed his eyes might be a Divine Ability related to Pupil Techniques, and Chen Linyuan suggested he try cultivating a second technique despite the risks. As they discussed Song Yan’s unusual Sword Intent, Chen Linyuan discovered that the Pure Land Great Radiant Dharma Form he had learned from Sheng Nian had an extraordinary origin.

• Song Yan examined his new Double Pupils, and Chen Linyuan guessed they housed a separate Pupil Technique Divine Ability that might be stabilized by Song Yan’s Sword Intent or the Sea Kingdom ruler’s Wood Element Demon Power.
• Chen Linyuan advised Song Yan to consider cultivating the fragmentary Mountain-Backed Tide-Gazing technique, warning that the attempt could strengthen his Void-Viewing Sword Eye or ruin his sight and techniques.
• Song Yan explained how his Sword Intent let him hear and cut away Evil Karma, and Chen Linyuan said directly perceiving and destroying Evil Karma was unlike Buddhist methods and was almost unheard of.
• Chen Linyuan asked whether Song Yan had practiced Buddhist scriptures, so Song Yan recounted receiving the Pure Land Great Radiant Dharma Form from Sheng Nian and wrote out its contents.
• After studying the method, Chen Linyuan judged that its lofty perspective could not have come from the Border Region and told Song Yan that Sheng Nian was likely no ordinary figure.

Song Yan finished refining Shi Zixing’s flying sword, Three Thousand Worlds, while preparing to leave Penglai after learning about the Sea Kingdom and its Phoenix. In the Two-Pole Realm, he witnessed Shi Zixing’s memories of becoming lost at sea, where Shi Zixing met Shen Lang, Penglai’s sect master.

• Song Yan chose to finish refining Three Thousand Worlds before returning to Chivalrous Heroes Island and read records about the Sea Kingdom and the Phoenix in Penglai’s Scripture Repository.
• Wang Ke and Yang Zhiyi visited Song Yan to say farewell, and Yang Zhiyi gave him three tokens inviting him to the Luo River Goddess Palace’s Qin Music Assembly.
• Song Yan fully refined Three Thousand Worlds and stored it in the Infinite Treasury, leaving him three ancient swords short of his desired sword formation.
• Song Yan entered the Two-Pole Realm and saw Shi Zixing’s memories after Shi Zixing failed to advance to Void Refining.
• Shi Zixing became lost while seeking the Northern Dark Sea, discovered he was in the Eastern Sea, and met Shen Lang, who invited him to Penglai.

Shi Zixing joined Shen Lang in attacking the Evil Sword Sect, slaughtering its cultivators and destroying the sect while Shen Lang searched for his disciple’s killer. After looting the ruins and finding a Flowing Continent Wood Seed, Shi Zixing accepted Shen Lang’s invitation to visit Penglai.

• Shen Lang told Shi Zixing that his gifted disciple had been murdered and showed him the suspected killer’s likeness, but Shi Zixing did not recognize the person.
• When Shen Lang mentioned that the Evil Sword Sect was in the Ruin Sea, Shi Zixing asked to accompany him to seek vengeance.
• Shi Zixing slaughtered the Evil Sword Sect’s cultivators, broke through their protective formation, and annihilated the sect, though Shen Lang’s target was absent.
• Shi Zixing searched the corpses and Heaven and Earth Bags, found a Flowing Continent Wood Seed, and gave the remaining spoils to Penglai as thanks.
• Shen Lang invited Shi Zixing to Penglai, and Shi Zixing accepted.

Shen Lang and Shi Zixing bonded over drinks at Penglai, and Shi Zixing agreed to become a Retainer Elder after his journey to the Northern Dark Sea. Their conversation turned to legendary Mount Buzhou, while Shen Lang pointed out Tao Wen and Ao Gui drinking together nearby.

• Shen Lang and Shi Zixing traveled to Penglai and became close as they talked about their lives and Dao Paths.
• Shen Lang invited Shi Zixing to become a Retainer Elder, and Shi Zixing agreed to join after searching for land in the Northern Dark Sea.
• Shi Zixing named Penglai's new wine Spit Out a Promise after a poem by Venerable Green Lotus.
• Shen Lang told Shi Zixing that Mount Buzhou in the Northern Dark Sea was said to offer a route to the Immortal Realm, and offered him access to Penglai's record of it.
• Shi Zixing spotted Tao Wen and Ao Gui drinking together, and Shen Lang said Tao Wen was preparing for his Tribulation of Mortal Transformation.

Shi Zixing found a home for the Flowing Continent Wood and reached Void Refinement after witnessing Qilin Ming’s ritual dance, but a century later he discovered Penglai and the Sea Kingdom at war and sealed the Immortal Continents of Penglai and Fanghu around an uncanny presence. Four thousand years later, Song Yan learned the sword’s origin, considered whether Mount Buzhou held the missing Sword Cultivators, and broke through to the Golden Core Late Stage.

• Shi Zixing found a mist-shrouded Immortal Continent with soil suited to the Flowing Continent Wood and established a cave abode beneath a stone wall bearing a poem.
• Hearing Qilin Ming’s ritual cry and watching her dance, Shi Zixing reached Void Refinement and became friends with Ming and Shen Lang.
• After a century of seclusion, Shi Zixing returned to find Penglai and the Sea Kingdom fighting, Qilin Ming dead, and Shen Lang gravely wounded; he drove the survivors away and sealed Penglai and Fanghu in a fog with his Sword Essence.
• Song Yan learned in a Sword Dao Illusion Realm that the Three Thousand Worlds sword had formed from Shi Zixing’s Sword Essence, then wondered whether Mount Buzhou was the destination of the missing Sword Cultivators.
• A wisp of sword light entered Song Yan’s Golden Core, and he used the Spirit-Absorbing Sword Formation to break through to the Golden Core Late Stage.

Song Yan met Shi Zixing’s Sword Spirit after breaking through and received Shi Zixing’s complete Body Tempering method, the Qilin Lord Homage Manual. After the Sword Spirit departed for the Northern Sea, Song Yan returned to studying the manual and began filling gaps in his Body Tempering.

• Song Yan discovered a little lion beside Three Thousand Worlds and learned it was Shi Zixing’s Sword Spirit, which had stayed to watch the Evil Thought.
• The Sword Spirit praised Song Yan for slaying the Evil Thought and said it planned to return to Shi Zixing in the Northern Sea, where he was searching for Mount Buzhou.
• The Sword Spirit transmitted Shi Zixing’s complete Body Tempering method to Song Yan, who recognized it as the mnemonic he had once seen in the Sacrificial Qilin Lord’s Sword Dao Illusion Realm.
• The Sword Spirit explained that Shi Zixing had completed the method after gaining insight from watching a Qilin dance in the Eastern Sea, then departed through Penglai’s restrictions toward the north.
• Song Yan studied the Qilin Lord Homage Manual, learned how its six manuals tempered the body to support Sword Essence, and decided to use its second manual to fill gaps in his training.

Song Yan left Penglai after registering Yingzhou’s boundary stele on his sea chart, then returned to the Worry-Relief Pavilion on Chivalrous Heroes Island. He reunited with Qin Xijun, told her he had reached late Golden Core and had found no Phoenix Feather, and agreed to attend the upcoming temple fair with her and Xiao He.

• Shen Er gave Song Yan a whistle that would summon his personal aid within the Star Dark Sea Region or the Ruin Sea, and Song Yan asked to register Yingzhou’s boundary stele.
• Song Yan used the sea chart to record Yingzhou’s boundary stele atop Yuli Peak, making Yingzhou’s image on the chart clear and detailed.
• Song Yan left Yingzhou with Xiao He, returned to Chivalrous Heroes Island, and learned that Fan Dai and Zhou Jue were helping prepare for the temple fair.
• Song Yan reunited with Qin Xijun at the Worry-Relief Pavilion and told her he had advanced to late Golden Core but had not found a Phoenix Feather.
• Qin Xijun invited Song Yan to attend the temple fair with her and Fan Dai, and Song Yan agreed.

Song Yan reunited with Ruan Zhi, who gave him Two Forms Force, a defensive formation Law Treasure designed by Xiao Ju and refined by Ruan Zhi. They discussed Ruan Zhi’s companion from the Heaven-Stealing Sect, and Ruan Zhi said she hoped to guide the woman toward using her methods for good.

• Song Yan returned to his cave abode and crushed the Jade Talisman Ruan Zhi had left for him.
• Ruan Zhi arrived and presented Two Forms Force, a formation-laying Law Treasure she and Xiao Ju had crafted for Song Yan.
• Ruan Zhi explained that Song Yan could use his Flying Swords, Sword Qi, or Sword Essence as formation flags, allowing the treasure to support stronger defensive formations as he advanced.
• Song Yan recognized that Two Forms Force drew on formations he had once given Xiao Ju and realized how capable his disciple had become.
• Song Yan warned Ruan Zhi that her traveling companion was a disciple of the Heaven-Stealing Sect, and Ruan Zhi said she hoped to guide the woman to use her methods properly.

Song Yan and his companions attended the Dragon King Temple Fair on Chivalrous Heroes Island, while Junhe Fairy and Dugu Zhang met secretly and discussed the changing situation in the Eastern Sea. The group ended the night by setting lotus lanterns afloat, and Qin Xijun wished that time could stop in that moment.

• Ruan Zhi told Song Yan that she believed Wu Mengliu could be reformed, and she explained that they had come to the Eastern Sea to find a Mohist School Secret Hall.
• Song Yan tested the Two Forms Force and its interaction with the Infinite Treasury, then joined his companions at the Dragon King Temple Fair.
• Fan Dai and Zhou Jue helped prepare the temple fair, while Jiang Yulong revealed herself as Junhe Fairy and met Dugu Zhang beneath a tea stall.
• Dugu Zhang reminisced about attending temple fairs with his brother before deciding that the Hidden Dragon Secret Bureau needed to restructure its Eastern Sea intelligence network.
• Song Yan and his companions watched the puppet play "Wandering Dragon Returns to the Sea" and later set lotus lanterns afloat.
• Xiao He wished to stay with Song Yan and bring her grandfather back to life, while Qin Xijun wished for the moment to last forever.

Li Lin met with Yuan Sidu at the Luo River Goddess Palace and learned that Penglai would soon return to the world. Months later, Song Yan and his companions arrived at the palace’s gathering, where Fang Cunsheng became eager to visit the Zither Terrace and Xu Xiaoyu struggled with her feelings after seeing Song Yan again.

• Li Lin criticized Yuan Sidu’s efforts to find information about the Mohist School’s Secret Hall, then became interested when Yuan revealed that Shen Er would attend the palace’s gathering and Penglai would soon return to the world.
• Months later, Song Yan, Xiao He, and Fang Cunsheng traveled aboard Zhang Chao to the Luo River Goddess Palace for its gathering.
• Yang Zhiyi welcomed Song Yan’s party and guided them around the island; Fang Cunsheng asked to visit the Zither Terrace, and Xie Chan arrived shortly after.
• Song Yan and Yang Zhiyi encountered Xu Xiaoyu, who hurried away and later recalled her encounter with Song Yan on Peach Blossom Island, resolving to avoid the arriving guests.
• Yang Zhiyi told Song Yan that Shen Er and the Penglai cultivators would arrive on the gathering’s final day, when Penglai would announce its return to the assembled Eastern Sea factions.

Song Yan visited Go Valley during the Luo River Goddess Palace gathering, declined Li Lin’s invitation to join his palace, and won their Go match. Meanwhile, Xiao He’s seemingly careless move on the ancient unfinished game caught Hall Master Lianjie’s attention, leaving the onlookers wondering whether it had revealed a solution.

• Song Yan learned about Go Valley’s contest prizes and played a pavilion champion, winning his first game.
• Li Lin invited Song Yan to visit his palace, but Song Yan declined and then beat him at Go by three and a half points.
• Xiao He slipped away to watch Ding Jingsheng and Hall Master Lianjie study the ancient unfinished game.
• After Ding Jingsheng restarted the game, Xiao He objected to his stopping and placed a black stone on the board before darting away.
• Ding Jingsheng and Hall Master Lianjie noticed that Xiao He’s move had changed the position, and Hall Master Lianjie told Ding Jingsheng to wait.

Xiao He’s careless Go move solved the ancient endgame problem, earning her the Peach Blossom Spring manual and the formation flags Song Yan wanted. Song Yan and his companions then toured Go Valley’s calligraphy and painting venues, where Fang Cunsheng received a rare painting.

• Ding Jingsheng and Hall Master Lianjie abandoned their attempts to save Black’s stones and solved the endgame by sacrificing them to free Black’s great dragon.
• Song Yan found Xiao He and headed toward the stone wall after hearing that Dushan Divine Lord Ding Jingsheng had solved the problem.
• Ding Jingsheng revealed that Xiao He’s earlier move had inspired the solution, and he and Hall Master Lianjie bowed to thank her.
• Xiao He asked to trade the Peach Blossom Spring manual for the six-win prize, but Hall Master Lianjie gave her both the manual and a set of formation flags.
• Ding Jingsheng invited Song Yan, Xiao He, Xie Chan, and Li Lin to tour the garden; they visited the Stele Forest and Painting Wall Dojo.
• Xiao He’s painting won no prize, while Fang Cunsheng received a copy of Lay Buddhist Vimalakirti’s Wangchuan Painting from a Shuiyue Hall elder.

Yang Zhiyi celebrated her Golden Core achievement and became the master of Yiyin Hall at the Myriad Sounds Immortal Music Gathering, where she performed the ancient Immortal Longing Tune. After invited guests played on the Qin Platform, Song Yan urged Fang Cunsheng to take his turn.

• Guests gathered at the Qin Platform, where Song Yan speculated to Xie Chan about why it had no protective formations.
• Penglai Sect Master Shen Er arrived with his disciples, greeted Divine Lord Sangyu, and warmly invited Song Yan to visit Penglai.
• Yang Zhiyi arrived, received congratulations from Xu Xiaoyu and the guests, and was formally invested as Yiyin Hall's master.
• Yang Zhiyi played the Immortal Longing Tune on the Nine Heavens Ringed Pei, and Li Lin explained the tune's origins and rarity.
• Two invited Zither Dao masters performed for the gathering, then Song Yan urged his hesitant disciple Fang Cunsheng to play.

Fang Cunsheng played the ancient score "Wind and Thunder Guide" at the Myriad Sounds Immortal Music Gathering, briefly summoning wind and thunder before failing to fully realize its artistic conception. Months later, Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu asked Song Yan to help them visit Penglai as they investigated the Mohist School's Secret Hall and its connection to Qu Jiangzi.

• Song Yan invited Fang Cunsheng to perform, and Yang Zhiyi encouraged him to play the Nine Heavens Ringed Pei.
• Fang Cunsheng played "Wind and Thunder Guide," stirring wind and thunder, while a pendant Ye Yin had given Song Yan reacted to the music.
• Yang Zhiyi advised Fang Cunsheng on his technique, and he later returned to the Central Region as the gathering ended.
• Over the next half year, Penglai's return unsettled the Abyss Alliance, while Zhang Chao advanced to become a third-tier Great Yao.
• Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu visited Song Yan and revealed that their search for the Mohist School's Secret Hall had uncovered a connection to Penglai and Qu Jiangzi.
• Song Yan agreed to introduce them to Penglai.

Song Yan accompanied Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu to Penglai to search for clues about the Mohist School's Secret Hall and found evidence connecting it to Venerable Pillow Sea and an underwater palace. The clues pointed toward Floating Jade Island, so Song Yan gathered the Worry-Relief Pavilion's companions to investigate Otter Mountain Village.

• Song Yan arranged for Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu to consult Penglai's records, where Shen Er told them that Li Lin was also searching for the Mohist School's Secret Hall.
• Wu Mengliu explained that Li Lin sought the Secret Hall for its Mohist treasures, Gongsu Clan relics, and possible Immortal Qin artifacts, and described his rivalry with other princes.
• Song Yan, Ruan Zhi, and Wu Mengliu searched Penglai's records for a month and found a disciple's Daily Record describing Venerable Pillow Sea's plans for an underwater palace and Secret Hall.
• Song Yan found records about the Phoenix Feather's power and identified Floating Jade Island on the map as a possible location for the Secret Hall.
• Song Yan consulted Fan Dai and Zhou Jue, who identified Otter Mountain Village as a promising site, then gathered the Worry-Relief Pavilion's companions for the trip.

Song Yan left his friends on their way to Floating Jade Island to meet Yue Ting and Sheng Nian, who warned him that Green Sparrow Daoist was searching the island’s surrounding waters. After Song Yan revealed the Mohist School Secret Hall, Yue Ting recalled that he had given related architectural plans to Peach Blossom Island’s former island lord, and Song Yan returned to the island to watch over it.

• Song Yan followed a message from Yue Ting’s Sea Eagle to the Great Mirage Tower, where Lian Yutong brought him to meet Yue Ting.
• Song Yan met Sheng Nian aboard the tower and admitted that his name was Song Yan, while Yue Ting explained how he and Sheng Nian had become friends.
• Sheng Nian told Song Yan that Green Sparrow Daoist had persuaded Dugu Yin to meet him and had been searching the waters around Floating Jade Island.
• Song Yan told Yue Ting and Sheng Nian about the Mohist School Secret Hall, and Yue Ting recalled giving books and plans for an undersea palace to Peach Blossom Island’s former island lord.
• Song Yan returned to Floating Jade Island and promised Yue Ting that he would protect the islanders if trouble arose.