Chapter Summaries

Su Yao read a poem predicting Nanzhao’s fall and realized Proclaiming Earth threatened the kingdom as well as the surrounding witch realms. After establishing the Pear Garden Branch Temple, he avoided Princess Ziheng’s attempt to discuss the Mysterious Gate’s intentions, leaving her unable to fulfill her father’s orders.

• Su Yao told Li Siyi that Nanzhao might submit a memorial to relinquish its state title and warned her that the Feng Household could oppose anyone targeting its royal line.
• Su Yao studied the wooden box’s poem, which foretold Nanzhao’s downfall, and considered how the court, Confucian and Buddhist schools, and other powers would advance their interests through Proclaiming Earth.
• Zilin and Sanlang waited south of Golden Ao Mountain under orders not to enter before the princess left, and discussed the Jade Void’s dwindling strength and the coming Proclaiming Earth conflict.
• Su Yao completed the Pear Garden Branch Temple’s founding ceremony on Golden Ao Mountain and offered the assembled guests only a brief greeting.
• Princess Ziheng realized Su Yao had avoided meeting her privately, leaving her unable to learn the Mysterious Gate’s intentions for Nanzhao as her father had instructed.

After the Pear Garden opened in Nanzhao, Ziheng found Su Yao unwilling to reveal his plans and concluded that the Daoists had come to wait and see how Nanzhao fared. Liu Yunhe then spoke privately with Li Mosi and Yang Yanchang, who asked when Qixia Temple would accept disciples, but he told them the rules were still undecided.

• Ziheng congratulated Su Yao on opening the Pear Garden and tried to learn how long he planned to stay in Nanzhao, but he gave her no clear answer.
• After boarding her tower ship, Ziheng reflected that the Daoists had come to wait and see how Nanzhao would die, then ordered the ship to depart.
• After the banquet, Li Mosi and Yang Yanchang returned to speak privately with Liu Yunhe about placing younger relatives at Qixia Temple.
• Li Mosi asked about enrollment for his six-year-old grandnephew, while Yang Yanchang asked about his ten-year-old brother, whose cultivation path conflicted with the clan's method.
• Liu Yunhe explained that the temple's enrollment rules and schedule were still being drafted, promised to notify them once they were settled, and advised Li Mosi not to rush his grandnephew into advanced methods.

Su Yao set rules for Qixia Temple’s future disciples and explained why the sect would avoid long-term ties with Yuanfu. Zilin and Yang Xiu arrived at the Pear Garden’s opening, where the three couplets revealed the Dao resonance of all Three Pure Ones, and Su Yao welcomed them into the main hall.

• Liu Yunhe told Su Yao that Li Mosi and Yang Yanchang had asked about taking Yang Yanchang’s younger brother as a disciple, and Su Yao approved postponing the decision.
• Su Yao instructed Liu Yunhe to prioritize applicants’ backgrounds, talent, and character, and to exclude those connected to Yuanfu and other rival traditions.
• Su Yao explained that Yuanfu’s ties to the Human Dao and the Witchcraft Dao, along with Qixia’s personal grievances, made lasting cooperation dangerous.
• Zilin of Mount Lao and Yang Xiu of the Golden Court arrived, and Su Yao invited them to see the Pear Garden.
• Zilin and Yang Xiu read the three archway couplets and sensed the Dao resonance of the Three Pure Ones before joining Su Yao for tea in the main hall.

A black-clad youth questioned why auspicious rosy light, rather than Profound Qi, marked the mountain-opening ceremony before heading into Langqiong Zhao. Outside the city, a young girl challenged Young Master Duan’s claim that Confucian study was a better path than joining an immortal sect, while a beggar secretly aided A Mu.

• The black-clad youth recalled his past-life defeat and hoped Qixia Temple could give him backing to pursue the Dao in this life.
• A Mu asked Young Master Duan whether immortals lived on Golden Ao Mountain, and Duan urged him to pursue Confucian study and the imperial examinations instead.
• A young girl challenged Duan’s criticism of immortal sects by citing corruption in the Confucian School and pointing out that poor students could not afford the examination path.
• The girl entered Langqiong Zhao, leaving A Mu and Duan silent on the road.
• A nearby beggar secretly sent white light into A Mu’s body and judged that Duan’s ordinary background made advancement through the imperial examinations difficult.

Su Yao, Zilin, and Yang Xiu interpreted a mysterious poem that appeared over their wooden boxes as a prophecy guiding their role in Proclaiming Earth. They agreed to build and guard the Pear Garden while waiting for an emperor’s death, but Su Yao questioned why several powerful lineages had not joined them.

• Su Yao, Zilin, and Yang Xiu brought their wooden boxes together, revealing a poem and hidden lights of heaven, earth, and humanity inside them.
• Yang Xiu first praised the poem’s form, then explained that its lines foretold an emperor’s death and instructed the three to recruit and patiently nurture a few gifted disciples at the Pear Garden.
• Yang Xiu said he and Zilin should remain with Su Yao, avoid rash action, and wait for heaven’s appointed time before advancing Proclaiming Earth.
• Su Yao speculated that the emperor’s death might arise from conflict between a father and son, embroiling many people in an internal struggle.
• Su Yao asked why the Comet Light, Jade Spring, and Jieshi lineages had not arrived, and Zilin said Danqiu Exalted Perfected had expected their heirs to leave their mountains already.

Su Yao divined that the delayed groups traveling south had suffered only a minor setback and would arrive eventually, though he privately worried about what had caused it. The story then shifted to a barren mountain north of the Miao Mountains, where three travelers confronted four opponents who were blocking their way to Nanzhao.

• Su Yao used the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube to cast the Before Completion hexagram, while Zilin concealed the divination implement she had nearly revealed.
• Su Yao interpreted the hexagram as a sign that the other groups had faced a minor setback but would still arrive, and he and his companions decided to wait.
• Three hundred li north of the Miao Mountains, three figures confronted four figures who tried to dissuade them from traveling to Nanzhao.
• A silver-lit traveler accused the Yuanfu group of hypocrisy, and a golden-lit companion suggested they fight their way through.
• A youth in a moon-white feather robe declared that the three travelers were no match for the four, provoking further dissatisfaction.

A Yang Palace cultivator forced four opponents to retreat, while Xuan Yan, Mo Li, and Ying Qi arranged a way to continue to Nanzhao. At Golden Ao Mountain, Su Yao organized the Pear Garden’s disciple recruitment and set the Shangsi Festival as its opening day.

• A Yang Palace cultivator arrived as Xuan Yan and the others prepared to fight, prompting the four opposing cultivators to retreat.
• Xuan Yan and Mo Li complained about True Martial Mountain and Yuanfu, while Ying Qi urged the group to hurry to Nanzhao.
• Youning of the Azure Jade Temple arrived in a flying boat and offered the three cultivators help with their journey.
• Su Yao summoned Liu Yunhe, Li Siyi, Han Ziyi, Zhang Ziyan, and Zhu Xuejie to set rules and assign tasks for recruiting Pear Garden disciples.
• Su Yao chose the third day of the third month, the Shangsi Festival, as the day the Pear Garden would accept disciples.

The dying emperor summoned Crown Prince Ji'er and gave him instructions for ruling after his death. After warning him about relatives who interfered in the succession, he urged Ji'er to combine benevolence with firmness and accept counsel, then collapsed after vomiting blood.

• The emperor ordered everyone except the crown prince to leave the Palace of Heavenly Purity, then summoned Ji'er inside.
• The emperor spoke with the empress about his impending death and the years they had spent together as husband and wife.
• The emperor told Ji'er not to punish his second and third uncles, but to deal firmly with Yongping and Anning for meddling in court affairs and the succession.
• The emperor urged Ji'er to learn from Taizu by caring for the people and punishing corrupt officials without mercy.
• The emperor warned Ji'er that rulers must accept counsel and earn the people's devotion through virtue, then vomited blood.

A grieving empress and crown prince confronted the dying emperor over the bloody history of imperial succession, while Su Yao assessed prospective disciples at Golden Ao Mountain. The chapter ended with Su Yao discovering that a solitary black-clad youth radiated an extraordinary light of Heavenly Governance.

• The woman recalled generations of imperial family violence and asked why the emperor's conflict with his son had come to this.
• A profound voice said the emperor would have passed the Emperor Position to the Prince of Han if he had not married the woman and fathered Ji'er.
• The emperor vomited shattered starlight, the sun and moon's radiance, and several insects, then sent Ji'er away to meet the Crown Princess.
• Jueming and Nannuo mourned the absent Daozi as pear blossoms remained unbloomed on Qixia Mountain.
• Liu Yunhe told Su Yao that eight candidates had taken the assessment, including a wary scholar and a solitary black-clad youth.
• Su Yao used the Prism to examine the candidates and saw that the black-clad youth shone with Heavenly Governance brighter than the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube.

Su Yao used the prism to uncover hidden golden nature inside several prospective disciples and realized that others had schemed to direct one of them toward the Rainbow Clouds inheritance. At the selection, he invited Yang Xiu and Zilin to help assess the candidates, then recommended Ren Han to Yang Xiu for the Golden Court’s Profound Qi inheritance.

• Su Yao examined the black-clad youth and saw that Heavenly Governance favored him, then probed the Bai People youth and green-robed scholar despite the strain, discovering sealed golden nature within both.
• Su Yao recognized the Bai People youth’s hidden High Witch nature as part of a scheme to influence the Rainbow Clouds inheritance, and he decided the youth would not become his disciple.
• Su Yao went to the hall with Liu Yunhe, summoned Yang Xiu and Zilin to help assess the candidates, and took his seat before them.
• Ren Han introduced himself as a seeker of a master, and Su Yao told Yang Xiu that Ren Han’s cold disposition suited the Golden Court’s Profound Qi inheritance better than Rainbow Clouds.

Su Yao arranged for Ren Han and Zichuan to study the scriptures and cultivate under his care, then offered the other successful candidates the same opportunity. The green-robed scholar chose to return home and follow Confucianism, leaving Zichuan with a poem and Su Yao’s reassurance that he had a good friend.

• Yang Xiu initially refused to take Ren Han as a disciple, but agreed to provide a Profound Qi cultivation method for Su Yao to pass on.
• Su Yao questioned Zichuan about his name and reasons for cultivating, then assigned him and Ren Han to study scriptures while awaiting their methods.
• Su Yao selected Lu Yuan and four other candidates to study with him, with regular examinations determining who would remain under his instruction.
• The green-robed scholar said his heart belonged to Vast Righteousness and explained that he had come only to ensure A Mu was not bullied.
• Su Yao gave the scholar a poem and sent Liu Yunhe to escort him down the mountain.
• The scholar left Zichuan a parting poem, and Su Yao told Zichuan he had a good friend.

Su Yao explained why Ren Han and Zichuan’s arrival at the Golden Court worried him, and proposed teaching them Profound Qi and Great Yang to counter Yuanfu’s plans. When Shen Yuxiao of Yuanfu arrived to challenge him to a sword contest, Su Yao prepared to meet him with Zilin’s Purple Heart Flute.

• Su Yao revealed that Zichuan was likely arranged by Yuanfu and might bear a Witch Talisman, be a High Witch, or be a reincarnated being.
• Su Yao proposed teaching Ren Han Profound Qi and Zichuan Great Yang, while using Rainbow Clouds methods to conceal their training.
• Yang Xiu agreed to write to the Golden Court about Ren Han’s assessment, and Su Yao warned that they still needed to be cautious.
• Shen Yuxiao of Yuanfu announced a challenge to a sword contest, and Zilin offered to fight in Su Yao’s place.
• Su Yao insisted that he should answer the challenge while Yang Xiu and Zilin kept their methods hidden, and Zilin lent him her Purple Heart Flute.

Su Yao left Golden Ao Mountain to answer Shen Yuxiao’s challenge and quickly gained the upper hand in their duel. He unleashed Golden Palace Morning Clouds against Shen Yuxiao’s Greater Yin barrier, leaving the outcome of the attack unresolved.

• Su Yao left Zilin’s tea gathering and met Shen Yuxiao outside Golden Ao Mountain.
• Shen Yuxiao opened the duel with Witchcraft and Rosy Clouds in One Furnace, but Su Yao broke it with a strand of rainbow sword light.
• Shen Yuxiao sent three witchcraft talismans at Su Yao, who burned them away with Li Fire.
• Su Yao’s sword strike forced Shen Yuxiao to rely on his Greater Yin barrier to block the blow.
• Su Yao summoned Golden Palace Morning Clouds and commanded its countless threads of rosy rain to fall on Shen Yuxiao.

Su Yao defeated Shen Yuxiao with his newly combined sword technique, Morning Clouds Crossing, but spared him. Shen Yuxiao acknowledged Su Yao’s mercy as Su Yao returned to Golden Ao Mountain.

• Shen Yuxiao’s Greater Yin barrier failed under Su Yao’s rosy rain, and Su Yao struck him with three streaks of Sword Essence.
• Shen Yuxiao survived the Sword Essence and unleashed a final sword strike combining his Witch Techniques with Rainbow Clouds.
• Su Yao used Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss to power Morning Clouds Crossing, which shattered Shen Yuxiao’s Witch markings and stopped just short of him.
• Su Yao gathered the rosy rain and Sword Essence into a sword that split the clouds and exposed a rift into the Great Void.
• Su Yao advised Shen Yuxiao to separate his Witch Techniques from his Rainbow Clouds, then flew back to Golden Ao Mountain as Shen Yuxiao watched the rift disappear.

After defeating Shen Yuxiao, Su Yao discussed the strengths of their Dao paths with Yang Xiu and Zilin, whose words about ancient secrets were interrupted by the wooden box’s influence. When Yang Xiu sensed Azure Jade’s arrival, Su Yao and Zilin both avoided receiving them, leaving Yang Xiu to handle the visitors.

• Su Yao returned unharmed from his fight with Shen Yuxiao and thanked Zilin for lending him the Purple Heart Flute.
• Yang Xiu praised Su Yao’s combat ability, and Su Yao and Yang Xiu discussed the strengths of the Purple Qi, Profound Qi, and Rainbow Clouds paths.
• Zilin began revealing details about ancient Dao traditions and the Zhu Household, but the wooden box appeared to suppress her words and fill her with fear.
• Yang Xiu sensed that people from Comet Light, Jade Spring, and Jieshi were approaching and revealed that Azure Jade was coming too.
• Su Yao refused to meet Azure Jade because of its past role in damaging the King of Han’s foundation, then left for his cave abode and asked Zilin and Yang Xiu to pass on an excuse.
• Zilin also fled, saying she had lost to someone from Azure Jade before, so Yang Xiu was left to receive the visitors.

After cultivating for five days, Su Yao welcomed the Comet Light, Jade Spring, and Jieshi inheritors at Golden Ao Mountain and learned that Youning had left to avoid meeting him. A visitor from Qixia Temple then arrived, and Su Yao was astonished to recognize the Turbid and Clear Branch and suspect that the visitor was Guangli.

• Su Yao reflected on his fight with Shen Yuxiao, gained insights, and checked Golden Ao Mountain through the Soul-Dropping Bell.
• Su Yao greeted Ying Qi, Mo Li, and Xuan Yan, who recounted their journey and explained that Youning had escorted them to the mountain before leaving.
• Liu Yunhe reported that a True Person from Qixia Temple had arrived, and Su Yao went to meet him at the mountain gate.
• Su Yao recognized the visitor's Turbid and Clear Branch as belonging to Qixia Temple and suspected the man was Guangli, though his power seemed far greater than before.
• Gui Hong arrived and urged Su Yao to open the mountain gate, leaving Su Yao stunned.

Su Yao learned that Gui Hong had brought him to Golden Ao Mountain because Qingzhu believed an evil creature possessed or controlled someone there. After Gui Hong delivered a restricted Storage Bag of four cultivation methods and their required Spiritual Qi, Su Yao read a mocking lyric in the wooden box, while Gui Hong secretly listened outside his cave abode.

• Gui Hong brought Su Yao to his cave abode as a giant eye searched Golden Ao Mountain and was driven away by a golden bowl and a great sun.
• Gui Hong told Su Yao that Qingzhu had summoned him from seclusion and sent him to bring an evil creature, which Gui Hong suspected was possessing or controlling someone.
• Gui Hong admitted Daozheng had delayed Su Yao's journey down the mountain because of an immortal decree from Jade Void, though later events and the chosen cultivation ground were not Daozheng's doing.
• Gui Hong gave Su Yao a restricted Storage Bag from Qingzhu, and Su Yao found four fifth-grade Cultivation Methods and the Spiritual Qi needed to practice them.
• Su Yao read a lyric that mocked schemes and exposed evil, then laughed as Gui Hong secretly eavesdropped outside the cave abode.

Su Yao decided which Cultivation Methods to pass down before Gui Hong explained that the spiritual atmosphere in Nanzhao marked the return of Wuxian to the register. Gui Hong warned Su Yao that the upheaval reflected disorder in heaven, earth, and human relations, not merely a private feud.

• Su Yao chose the Great Yang path for Zichuan and planned to assign the other disciples methods based on their talents.
• Gui Hong confronted Su Yao outside the cave abode and revealed that the spiritual atmosphere in Nanzhao was called Wuxian Returns to the Register.
• Gui Hong explained that Witchcraft Dao was suppressing rival cultivators and that the Witch Hall in Luohu could expand spiritual atmospheres with a Law Treasure.
• Su Yao questioned how the spiritual atmosphere could affect regions beyond Nanzhao, and Gui Hong said many lineages were gathering in the Miao Mountains and Guan Mountain area for Proclaiming Earth to enter the world.
• Gui Hong warned Su Yao that the upheaval arose from disorder across the Three Powers: heaven, earth, and humanity.

Gui Hong advised Su Yao on navigating the factions threatening Qixia, then revealed he planned to seek Rainbow Clouds' remainder despite the danger. After Gui Hong left, Su Yao joined his companions at the pavilion, where they shared music, swordplay, and wine.

• Gui Hong told Su Yao to judge the changing world through the Three Powers and to neither trust nor doubt every faction completely.
• Gui Hong explained his lifespan and cultivation, then said he would visit the True Lord before returning to Qixia to seek gold.
• Su Yao warned Gui Hong that seeking Rainbow Clouds' remainder could kill him, but Gui Hong departed from Golden Ao Mountain anyway.
• Su Yao remained alone until music from the mountain pavilion drew him toward his companions.
• Su Yao found Zhu Xuejie and Li Siyi sparring with wooden swords while Zilin, Xuan Yan, and Ying Qi played music and Mo Li drank with the others.

Su Yao prepared Daoist scriptures for Qixia Temple’s disciples and set out a demanding daily study and training schedule. He then summoned Ren Han to ask whether the withdrawn disciple had settled in, while privately considering the limits of Ren Han’s Heavenly Element.

• Su Yao finished writing thirty Daoist scriptures and placed them in a Storage Bag for future instruction.
• Su Yao remembered Gui Hong’s departure and the other companions who had left to establish branches of their Dao lineages.
• Su Yao visited the study hall and ordered the disciples to train, study scriptures, and practice skills on a daily schedule.
• Su Yao gave Li Siyi the scriptures and asked him to send Ren Han to Baoxia Hall.
• Su Yao reflected on Heavenly Element and its limits, then asked Ren Han whether he was comfortable living on the mountain.