Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun Intercept Zhou Mi

Overview

As the Wild World invasion raged across the Haoran World, Great Li National Master Cui Chan executed his most daring and dangerous calculation to halt the enemy's overarching momentum. Rather than directing the war from the safety of the Bao Ping Continent, the peak thirteenth-tier Cui Chan traveled directly into enemy-occupied territory on the Tongye Continent, confronting the mastermind Zhou Mi face-to-face on a small boat at Taoye Ferry (桃叶渡). He did not come alone; Cui Chan was accompanied by the lingering thoughts and fourteen-tier Dao presence of his deceased junior brother, Qi Jingchun.

During the confrontation, Zhou Mi attempted to shatter Qi Jingchun's mind by manifesting three specific "Heart-Form" (心相) illusions: a white-sketched map of Bao Ping Continent, Shanya Academy before its relocation to Great Sui, and the small town school from the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven. Zhou Mi sought to attack Qi Jingchun's most cherished truths, but Qi Jingchun allowed Zhou Mi to strike these illusions, ultimately shattering the deceptive constraints and revealing Zhou Mi's true foundational Great Dao—a boundless "Sea of Books" (书海).

This clash of illusions was entirely part of Cui Chan's ruthless master plan. By continuously consuming Qi Jingchun's lingering thoughts and Dao, Cui Chan created a bizarre shortcut to temporarily elevate his own cultivation to the fourteenth tier. In doing so, he successfully encroached upon and stole Zhou Mi's Sea of Books to repair and temper his own knowledge. Had Zhou Mi fully seen through the trap and forced a definitive outcome, Cui Chan was fully prepared to drag both Qi Jingchun and Zhou Mi into a life-and-death struggle that would have sunk the entirety of Tongye Continent into the ocean within a single incense stick of time.

Outcome / Consequences

This intellectual and spiritual interception stands as the ultimate turning point of the Wild World Invasion Arc. By successfully matching wits with Zhou Mi and stealing a portion of his foundational Sea of Books, Cui Chan fundamentally disrupted Zhou Mi's optimal invasion strategy. Surviving this encounter allowed Cui Chan to secure his retreat path to the Great Li capital, stabilizing Bao Ping Continent's defense and forcing Zhou Mi to realize that total conquest of the Haoran World was no longer viable, thereby accelerating Zhou Mi's decision to abandon the ground war and ascend to the ancient heavenly ruins.

References

• 剑来27：风雪夜归人，第三章 — 春风得意: Details the confrontation at Taoye Ferry, Zhou Mi manifesting the three heart-form illusions against Qi Jingchun, and Cui Chan utilizing his junior brother's remaining Dao to temporarily achieve the fourteenth tier and steal Zhou Mi's Sea of Books.