Chapter Summaries

Song Yan returned to Floating Jade Island and joined the search for Venerable Pillow Sea’s hidden hall while keeping watch on Green Sparrow. When Green Sparrow revealed that he had detected Song Yan’s surveillance, Song Yan confronted him at a village puppet show and asked why he had come to the island.

• Song Yan reunited with A Yuan, who reported that Green Sparrow lived near Changning Bay and had been helping local fishermen.
• Song Yan joined Ruan Zhi, Wu Mengliu, and the others in searching the waters around Floating Jade Island, but they found no useful clues.
• A Yuan reported that Green Sparrow had entered Changning Bay, while Village Chief Zhou Yang reported the arrival of Li Lin and three Daoists; Song Yan identified two of them as Left and Right Daoists and went to the bay.
• Song Yan watched Changning Bay’s puppet show from a distance and realized Green Sparrow’s Divine Sense was as powerful as his own when Green Sparrow invited him to join the villagers.
• Song Yan sat beside Green Sparrow and asked why he had come to Floating Jade Island; Green Sparrow denied intending harm and told Song Yan to stop watching him.

Zhou Jue discovered a moonlight-activated teleportation formation in a sea cave beneath Floating Jade Island, and Song Yan and the others followed it to an undersea palace they suspected was the Mohist School's Secret Hall. There, Li Lin considered killing his rivals while the group encountered a cheerful Mechanism Golem.

• Idle-Fishing Boy spotted a sea cave, and Zhou Jue entered it alone to investigate.
• Moonlight revealed a teleportation formation engraved across the cave, and Zhou Jue activated it with Spirit Stones, vanishing with his Mechanism Puppet.
• Song Yan, Green Sparrow, Ruan Zhi, Wu Mengliu, Li Lin, and others followed the formation into the secret hall, while Song Yan found himself in an armory filled with soldier figurines.
• Song Yan emerged into an undersea palace and met up with the others in its central square.
• Li Lin considered ordering Left Daoist to kill Song Yan and the other cultivators, but decided to wait for a better chance.
• The Mechanism Golem introduced itself to the gathered cultivators, and Xiao He pointed out the Mohist School mark on it.

Ruan Zhi and Gongsu Mi agreed to settle their dispute over the Secret Hall’s treasures through a simulated war devised by Qu Jiangzi’s golem. The battlefield took shape, the commanders received tiger tallies, and Song Yan recognized Ruan Zhi’s tally as resembling one he possessed.

• Ruan Zhi used her Juzi Token to confirm that Qu Jiangzi had left the Secret Hall and its treasures to the Mohist School and the Gongsu Clan.
• The golem explained that Qu Jiangzi had won a wager against Gongsu Yi, while Gongsu Mi questioned whether the Gongsu Clan had truly lost its treasures.
• The golem revealed that Zhou Jue had opened the Secret Hall alone, leaving him unwell, and led the group to him and a sand-table war game.
• Ruan Zhi and Gongsu Mi accepted the golem’s challenge to compete for the treasures in a contest of offense and defense.
• The hall transformed into a vast battlefield, where each side had to capture nine cities without personally attacking, and Ruan Zhi and Gongsu Mi received tiger tallies.
• Song Yan recognized Ruan Zhi’s tiger tally as similar to the black-and-gold tally General Bai Qi had given him, which began to glow in his Water Jade Ring.

Ruan Zhi outmaneuvered Gongsu Mi in the sand-table battle, surrounding his main camp despite losing cities to Left Daoist’s advance. With victory near, she offered to end the Mohist School and Gongsu Clan’s long conflict through cooperation and peace.

• Gongsu Mi and Ruan Zhi activated their Tiger Tallies and issued orders as their armies began fighting across the battlefield.
• Ruan Zhi’s forces traded cities with Gongsu Mi’s army while Xiao He examined Song Yan’s mechanical ball and learned that its puzzle had hidden inner mechanisms.
• Ruan Zhi used the eastern losses to draw Left Daoist’s vanguard away as Song Yan and Wu Mengliu advanced around the flanks and threatened Gongsu Mi’s main camp.
• Green Sparrow Daoist abandoned his city and withdrew his troops to reinforce Gongsu Mi, but Ruan Zhi’s forces completed their encirclement and brought defeat close.
• Ruan Zhi halted the attack and offered Gongsu Mi peace, proposing that the Mohist School and Gongsu Clan cooperate and promising he could take his clan’s treasures.

Song Yan used Bai Qi’s genuine Tiger Tally to turn the terracotta soldiers against Gongsu Mi’s forces and summon the General Terracotta Warrior Bai Qi. After Song Yan appeared to accept the Daoist’s truce, Bai Qi revealed the retreat was an illusion and fatally impaled Gongsu Mi.

• Gongsu Mi agreed to make peace but demanded that Ruan Zhi surrender her military tally first, and Ruan Zhi accepted after receiving Song Yan’s assurance.
• After Ruan Zhi’s troops fell silent, Gongsu Mi ordered his army to attack, revealing that he had never intended to make peace.
• Song Yan stepped in to protect Ruan Zhi, then produced Bai Qi’s genuine Tiger Tally and used it to command the terracotta soldiers on both sides.
• A powerful General Terracotta Warrior bearing the name Wu'an arrived, and the Mechanism Golem identified him as Bai Qi.
• The Daoist offered terms, and Song Yan appeared to accept and put away the Tiger Tally, but Bai Qi’s retreat proved to be an illusion.
• Bai Qi pierced Gongsu Mi from behind, while Song Yan told Li Lin that nothing was too deceitful in war.

Song Yan killed Gongsu Mi, then received Lord Wu'an's military records while the group explored Qu Jiangzi's hidden hall. The Mechanism Golem began explaining why Qu Jiangzi had left the Mohist School, ending with Qu Jiangzi secretly departing for Xianyang.

• Song Yan used Lord Wu'an's General Terracotta Warrior to kill Gongsu Mi, and the battlefield returned to the hall.
• The Mechanism Golem took back the white jade Tiger Tally and led the group to inspect Qu Jiangzi's treasures, while Ruan Zhi warned Li Lin not to seize Mohist property.
• The golem told Song Yan he could not take the General Terracotta Warrior, but gave him a box containing Bai Qi's formation diagrams and military treatise.
• Ruan Zhi asked why Qu Jiangzi had left the Mohist School, and the golem explained that the First Emperor had sought artisans for his mausoleum and Li Si had secretly pressured Qu Jiangzi to join the work.
• After the Mohist School's Sword Dao commander Gai Nie fell and the school weakened, Qu Jiangzi left without farewell and set out for Xianyang.

The Mechanism Golem recounted how Qu Jiangzi escaped Immortal Qin and preserved his collection on Floating Jade Island, where Song Yan and Ruan Zhi found an Unsolved Spiritual Resonance. Green Sparrow attacked for the relic and trapped Song Yan in an imitation of the Heaven-Sealed Land, leaving Ruan Zhi, Wu Mengliu, and Xiao He to confront him as the Mechanism Golem warned them not to damage the collection.

• The Mechanism Golem explained that Shen Juan helped Qu Jiangzi escape Immortal Qin through a Teleportation Formation on Floating Jade Island, while Gongsu Yi chose to die rather than endanger his clan.
• The Mechanism Golem led the group to Qu Jiangzi's collection, where Ruan Zhi and Song Yan recognized an Unsolved Spiritual Resonance.
• Green Sparrow attacked Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu while dim starlight imprisoned Song Yan in a crude imitation of the Heaven-Sealed Land.
• Ruan Zhi and Wu Mengliu fought Green Sparrow, and Ruan Zhi nearly wrested his golden bell away with her Artifact Refining Divine Ability.
• Xiao He revealed her Dragon Pearl and struck Green Sparrow with lightning, while the Mechanism Golem asked everyone to avoid damaging Qu Jiangzi's belongings.

Li Lin claimed the Numerical Extremity Key and left the Secret Hall while Zhou Jue retrieved the Unsolved Spiritual Resonance, but Green Sparrow Daoist revealed that he had been hiding in Zhou Jue’s Mechanism Puppet and stole the treasure after mortally wounding him. As the hall prepared to expel its remaining visitors, the Mechanism Golem pointed Ruan Zhi toward an ancient book that might contain a way to save Zhou Jue.

• Li Lin sent Left Daoist to break the restriction, took the Numerical Extremity Key, and departed with him after explaining it belonged to the Gongsu Clan.
• Zhou Jue broke the restriction holding the Unsolved Spiritual Resonance, and Xiao He struck Green Sparrow Daoist down with the Dragon Pearl’s power.
• Song Yan emerged from the collapsing starlight and warned everyone, but Zhou Jue’s Mechanism Puppet stabbed him and seized the Unsolved Spiritual Resonance before transforming into Green Sparrow Daoist.
• Green Sparrow Daoist escaped the Secret Hall, while Song Yan used the Kunwu Remnant Flame to slow Zhou Jue’s bleeding.
• The Mechanism Golem warned that everyone would soon be expelled and said an ancient creation manual might save Zhou Jue, so Ruan Zhi opened the restriction and found a book titled Immortal Mechanisms Unveiled.

Song Yan faced Green Sparrow, Qu Yi, and Xu Ze after the Secret Hall, while Ruan Zhi escaped with the others and Yue Ting arrived to support him. As Song Yan fought Qu Yi, his Myriad Manifestations Sword Intent began to transform, but Qu Yi's deathly Sword Intent was steadily eroding his defenses.

• The Mechanism Golem sent Ruan Zhi, Song Yan, and the others out of the Secret Hall, then reflected on Ruan Zhi being the Mohist School's current Lord Juzi and began cleaning up.
• Green Sparrow confronted the group and revealed that he had allied with Qu Yi and Xu Ze to kill Ruan Zhi and claim her treasures.
• Song Yan urged Ruan Zhi to take Xiao Zhou and the others away, and she left while Song Yan held off Green Sparrow, Qu Yi, and Xu Ze.
• Yue Ting arrived and warned Song Yan that Dugu Yin might be coming, while Song Yan blew a White Jade Carved Whistle and stayed behind to block Green Sparrow and Qu Yi.
• Song Yan attacked Green Sparrow, then fought Qu Yi, whose gray-white Sword Intent began consuming the Unmoored Boat's Sword Qi and eroding Song Yan's Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water Sword Intent.
• As Song Yan's Sword Heart pounded, his Chivalrous Heroes' Journey Sword Intent began resonating with his Myriad Manifestations Sword Intent, and he sensed a transformation emerging within his Sword Dao.

Song Yan battled Qu Yi while Xiao He attacked Green Sparrow, and Qu Yi’s sword intent threatened to overwhelm him. Song Yan awakened the Myriad Manifestations of the Sword Dao’s divine ability, stripping away Qu Yi’s techniques and leaving him to face Song Yan’s final challenge.

• Green Sparrow tried to retreat and pursue Ruan Zhi, but Song Yan ordered Xiao He to attack him with her Dragon Pearl and Thunder-Ming Marsh-Traveling Method.
• Qu Yi attacked Song Yan with his white-bone flying sword, and Song Yan used the Fourteen Provinces Heaven-Crossing Sword Formation to withstand the strike.
• Song Yan revealed three sword intents and neared the Third Sword Dao Realm, but Qu Yi’s Immortal-Eating Bone sword intent devoured his sword essence and broke his formation.
• Song Yan used Mirror Flower Shadow to replenish his sword essence, then advanced his cultivation with the Purple Qi Void-Union True Art and trapped Qu Yi in Heavenly Dao in Motion.
• Song Yan awakened the Myriad Manifestations of the Sword Dao’s divine ability, Primordial Chaos Undivided, which returned the devoured sword intents and stripped Qu Yi of his own sword intent and divine abilities.
• Song Yan told Qu Yi that, without his sword intent and techniques, he was no different from an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Song Yan defeated Qu Yi after reaching the threshold of the third Sword Dao realm, while Dugu Yin arrived too late to save him. Green Sparrow escaped a devastating explosion, but Song Yan identified him as Deng Ruikai and vowed to kill him.

• Song Yan overwhelmed Qu Yi with Sword in the Clouds and Stacked Blade, then struck him with four Shaoshang Swords as Dugu Yin's Six Paths Incarnations arrived.
• A giant sea-eagle phantom blocked the Heavenly Dao Incarnation's attack on Song Yan, and Qu Yi died before Dugu Yin could save him.
• Song Yan's Asura Dharma Body and Xiao He fought Green Sparrow, who revealed that his gentle face was a disguise over a Mechanism Body.
• Green Sparrow triggered an explosion and fled through the storm as gray mist, while Song Yan recognized him as Deng Ruikai and promised to find and kill him.

After Song Yan killed Qu Yi, Dugu Yin revealed himself and faced Shen Er, Dugu Zhang, and their allies in a widening battle. Song Yan fled toward Chivalrous Heroes Island, but Xu Ze pursued him and broke through his sword formation with three Golden Crow arrows, leaving three more arrows on course to strike.

• Song Yan killed Qu Yi, collected his treasures with Xiao He, and was nearly crushed by Dugu Yin’s pressure until Shen Er intervened.
• Shen Er confronted Dugu Yin over the remains of Tao Wen, prompting Dugu Yin to reveal his identity and criticize Penglai for honoring Tao Wen.
• Zhang Chao and Li Cheng left the battlefield, while Xu Xiuran and Idle-Fishing Boy stayed behind after Jiang Yulong arrived with the masked Earth-Character Thirty-Nine.
• Earth-Character Thirty-Nine revealed himself as Dugu Zhang, Dugu Yin’s younger brother, destroyed his mask, and prepared to fight him alongside Jiang Yulong.
• Dugu Yin split his Six Paths Forms to battle Shen Er, Dugu Zhang, Jiang Yulong, and Yue Ting, while Xu Ze pursued Song Yan on his orders.
• Song Yan fled toward Chivalrous Heroes Island, but Xu Ze fired six Golden Crow arrows; the first three shattered Song Yan’s sword formation, leaving him unable to stop the rest.

Song Yan and Xiao He were driven to the brink by Xu Ze, but a Wooden Figure and Xu Xiuran’s intervention briefly protected Song Yan. After Song Yan died and activated Heaven-and-Earth Reversal, he invoked the Elder Mirage Dragon, leaving Xu Ze trapped in a spreading mirage.

• Xiao He used the Thunder-Ming Marsh-Traveling Method to shield Song Yan from Xu Ze’s arrows, but the snake phantom shattered and she was wounded.
• A Wooden Figure emerged from Song Yan’s Water Jade Ring, blocked Xu Ze’s arrows, and kicked him away before its power faded.
• Xu Xiuran secretly summoned fourteen mahjong tiles that stopped Xu Ze’s Nine Stars Linked attack, giving Song Yan time to recover.
• Xu Ze overwhelmed the tile barrier and killed Song Yan, who then activated Heaven-and-Earth Reversal as Sword Qi gathered around his corpse.
• Song Yan called on the Elder Mirage Dragon through the Dragon Pearl, and a mirage spread around Xu Ze as a pair of eyes appeared above the clouds.

Shen Er confronted Dugu Yin over Penglai techniques and a vanished treasure while Xu Ze cornered Song Yan, but Mirage intervened and trapped the battlefield in his Sea-Market Mirage. Song Yan joined his Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water Sword Intent with Mirage’s Divine Ability, entered the Void Realm, and killed Xu Ze before Mirage remarked that Song Yan had been born too late.

• Shen Er unleashed his sword against Dugu Yin, who blocked it with Penglai’s missing Thousand-Leaf Feather-Splitting Canopy and claimed he had brought the treasure from the Central Region.
• Xu Ze’s Golden Crow Arrow Rain shattered Song Yan’s Sparrow Cards and seemingly overwhelmed him, but Song Yan re-formed using Turning Heaven and Earth.
• Mirage appeared over the sea, immobilized Xu Ze, and trapped him while Song Yan revealed his Sword Sect inheritance and thanked Mirage for intervening.
• Song Yan connected his Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water Sword Intent to Mirage’s Illusory-Reality Divine Ability and entered the Sea-Market Mirage, where he became its master.
• Song Yan stabbed Xu Ze, beheaded him, and destroyed his fleeing Nascent Soul with Shaoshang Sword.
• Mirage praised Song Yan as a heaven-gifted genius, then lamented that he had been born too late.

Song Yan and Xiao He were rescued from the sea by Idle-Fishing Boy, while Mirage reclaimed the power it had bestowed on Dugu Yin. Shen Er and the others attacked Dugu Yin, but he escaped badly wounded after detonating five of his incarnations.

• Song Yan and Xiao He fell toward the sea, and Idle-Fishing Boy summoned a Whale Phantom from his cauldron to catch them and carry them away.
• Mirage confronted Dugu Yin, judged his answer unsatisfactory, and reclaimed the iridescent power it had given him.
• Shen Er attacked Dugu Yin, with Yue Ting, Jiang Yulong, and Dugu Zhang joining the assault as Dugu Yin's fighting grew disordered.
• Dugu Yin unleashed resentful souls and was wounded by Yue Ting and Dugu Zhang before Shen Er's sword lights pierced him.
• Dugu Yin detonated five Nascent Soul Realm incarnations to break free and escaped with grievous injuries.

After Dugu Yin fled, Dugu Zhang joined Shen Er on the way to Penglai, while Shi Yunhao and Dugu Hao used the black sun’s remnants to merge and form a First-Rank Golden Core. Shi Yunhao parted ways with Sheng Nian, and Song Yan later awoke in a cave with Xiao He and the unmasked Idle-Fishing Boy beside him.

• Dugu Zhang gave Jiang Yulong his Hidden Dragon Secret Bureau token and accepted Shen Er’s offer to go to Penglai and help pursue Dugu Yin.
• Shi Yunhao and Dugu Hao gathered the black-and-red spiritual currents into jewels, swallowed them, and used a life-and-death secret art to merge their bodies.
• The merged Dugu Hao achieved a First-Rank Golden Core and reflected on the opportunities and planning that had brought him there.
• Sheng Nian confronted Shi Yunhao, and they each recognized the other’s secrets before parting on civil terms.
• Song Yan woke in a cave, where Xiao He told him they had escaped and the unmasked Idle-Fishing Boy revealed himself.

After recovering from his battle, Song Yan met Xu Xiuran and Jiang Yulong, then set out with Xiao He and Idle-Fishing Boy toward Chivalrous Heroes Island. Mirage intercepted him and brought him to the Sea Kingdom, where he said Song Yan was too weak to be worth devouring and ordered him to form his Nascent Soul first.

• Idle-Fishing Boy told Song Yan he had saved him, and Song Yan sensed Xu Xiuran approaching and had the cave opened.
• Xu Xiuran thanked Song Yan for helping him, while Jiang Yulong offered to arrange an escort back to the Central Region and Xu Xiuran asked Song Yan to send his regards to their master.
• After recovering enough to travel, Song Yan left with Xiao He and Idle-Fishing Boy, but a deep-blue mist and a demonic eye appeared over the sea.
• Song Yan tried to flee toward Chivalrous Heroes Island, but Mirage's influence made the world vanish and brought him to the familiar valley in Black Mountain's original appearance.
• Mirage explained that they were in his temporary residence in the Sea Kingdom and told Song Yan to undergo Nascent Soul Formation before he would devour him.

After Song Yan vanished, Xiao He gathered Idle-Fishing Boy, Zhang Chao, and Li Cheng to prepare to enter Yu Abyss and rescue him, while Li Qingfeng and Cong Yuzhen stayed behind to search for Qin Xijun. When the octopus brothers went to retrieve anything they could sell, they found their old sea cave transformed into a treasure-filled vault and wondered whether the Dragon King had answered their prayer.

• Xiao He and Idle-Fishing Boy returned to Chivalrous Heroes Island, learned from Cong Yuzhen that Qin Xijun had gone missing, and concluded that the Mirage Dragon had taken Song Yan.
• Xiao He decided to go to Yu Abyss to rescue Song Yan, and Idle-Fishing Boy, Zhang Chao, and Li Cheng volunteered to join her; Li Qingfeng agreed to search for Qin Xijun with Cong Yuzhen.
• Xiao He and Idle-Fishing Boy sold Worry-Relief Pavilion's stored goods and bought supplies and protective items for the journey across the Ruin Sea.
• Zhang Chao and Li Cheng prayed at the Dragon King Temple for help rescuing Song Yan and for Xiao Zhou and Granny Fan Dai to be well.
• The brothers entered their old sea cave and found it enlarged and filled with spirit stones, treasures, medicines, and antiques, prompting Zhang Chao to wonder whether the Dragon King had manifested his power.

Zhang Chao and Li Cheng discovered the Nine-Square Hall’s hidden treasure trove and decided to become Sea Raiders by stealing it. Meanwhile, Shi Pu learned the Sea Hall had been robbed, and Song Yan considered how to survive Mirage’s threat while awaiting help from Jun Mountain.

• Zhang Chao and Li Cheng recognized the Nine-Square Hall’s marks on the treasure and decided to plunder it as Sea Raiders.
• Shi Yunhao announced he would leave the Eastern Sea for the Central Region, renamed Dugu Pu as Shi Pu, and ordered him to prepare their departure.
• Shi Pu’s aide reported that the Sea Hall had been robbed, and Shi Pu considered silencing him before Shi Yunhao found out.
• Song Yan consulted Chen Linyuan about Mirage’s plan to devour him and worried that Xiao He would risk her life searching for him.
• Chen Linyuan said Jun Mountain likely knew Song Yan’s location and that his master might already be heading to the Eastern Sea, but warned Mirage could be stronger than an ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator.
• Song Yan resolved to cultivate and strengthen himself while waiting for help, and Chen Linyuan reminded him that forming a Nascent Soul would take time.

Song Yan searched Qu Yi and Xu Ze’s belongings and learned more about the Nascent Soul breakthrough, then cultivated his Sword Essence and Sword Intent in Mirage’s valley. When he tried to leave, Mirage stopped him with a Thousand-Illusion Mirage Bead, which Song Yan recognized as resembling Lin Qing’s Jade Cicada; their conversation turned to Mirage’s past with Zhong Min.

• Song Yan found Xu Ze’s complete Mountain-Backed Tide-Gazing Pupil Technique and studied jade slips describing cultivation realms and the path from Golden Core to Nascent Soul.
• Song Yan decided to cultivate his Sword Essence, comprehend Sword Intent, and practice the pupil technique, then used upper-grade spirit stones and the Spirit-Absorbing Sword Formation to advance his cultivation.
• Song Yan noticed Mirage had vanished and tried to leave the valley, but Mirage reappeared and warned that he could bring Song Yan back wherever he went.
• Mirage gave Song Yan a Thousand-Illusion Mirage Bead to strengthen his Sword Intent, and Song Yan realized it resembled Lin Qing’s Jade Cicada.
• Mirage examined the Jade Cicada and said it naturally formed with traces of the Illusory-Reality Divine Ability; Song Yan then asked whether Mirage knew where Zhong Min was.
• Mirage questioned how Song Yan knew he had entered the sect alongside Zhong Min, and Song Yan claimed Zhong Min had mentioned him in the things he left behind.