During the time of the New Republic Era in 21 ABY, Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Master, and Lando Calrissian embarked on a journey to locate the secret world of Exegol, situated within the Unknown Regions. In their travels, they encountered Kiza, an acolyte, and the spectral presence of Exim Panshard, a former Viceroy. Their efforts were actively opposed by both the Corporate Sector Authority and the Sith Eternal.
Ultimately, they were unsuccessful in their search for Exegol and decided to discontinue their mission. However, years later, specifically in 35 ABY, amidst the war between the First Order and the Resistance, Rey, Skywalker's Jedi apprentice, resumed the search with the goal of finally discovering Exegol.
Legend held that Exegol was the covert world of the Sith. In the year 21 ABY, Skywalker began to perceive the lingering influence of the dark side. Consequently, he initiated an investigation into any leads that made mention of Exegol. His comrade, Lando Calrissian, decided to accompany him on this mission to uncover Exegol.
Skywalker made his way to Tython, where, while meditating using the seeing stone, he experienced a vision depicting Exegol. During this time, he dueled against nine wraiths, and the Force spirit of Anakin Skywalker materialized beside him.
Skywalker and Calrissian investigated various rumors regarding a hunter specializing in Sith relics and a seasoned Jedi hunter known as Ochi of Bestoon. Calrissian, who was actively monitoring the underworld in hopes of finding information about his daughter, Kadara Calrissian, overheard an intoxicated Ochi bragging in a cantina, specifically the Sennifer's Beam and Balance, about his reinstatement by the Sith. Driven by this information, Skywalker and Calrissian began searching for Ochi, eventually tracking him to the desert planet of Pasaana. However, their pursuit stalled on Pasaana, as they were unable to locate Ochi and, consequently, the wayfinder. Ochi's ship was left abandoned in the desert.
In 35 ABY, as the war raged on between the First Order and the Resistance, Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord, along with his followers in the Sith Eternal, revealed their existence to the galaxy. Searching for the source of the broadcast, Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader, acquired a Sith wayfinder on Mustafar. This device guided him to Exegol, where the Sith Eternal had amassed the largest fleet ever witnessed in the galaxy, known as the Final Order. Sidious offered Ren command of this fleet on the condition that he killed Rey, the last Jedi, Rey.
A spy embedded within the First Order transmitted this crucial information to the Resistance. Rey, who had undergone brief Jedi training under Skywalker and continued her studies under his sister, General Leia Organa of the Resistance, discovered through Skywalker's notes within the sacred Jedi texts that he had been searching for a Sith wayfinder capable of leading to Exegol, but his investigation had reached a dead end on Pasaana. Determined to neutralize the Sith fleet, Rey, accompanied by Finn, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, and the droids C-3PO and BB-8 aboard the Millennium Falcon, resumed his quest to find Exegol.
During their mission to Pasaana, the Resistance team encountered Lando Calrissian, who provided them with details regarding the original quest. Ultimately, the group managed to obtain another wayfinder that led them to Exegol. There, they succeeded in preventing the Final Order fleet from deploying during the Battle of Exegol, an event that also resulted in the destruction of Darth Sidious and the demise of the Sith Eternal.
The mission to locate Exegol was initially referenced in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, released in 2019, which served as the concluding chapter of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Some accounts suggested that Calrissian began tracking Ochi after hearing that he claimed to have discovered a Sith wayfinder within the Emperor's vaults, capable of leading to Exegol. However, the depiction of the quest in Shadow of the Sith instead established that Calrissian overheard Ochi discussing his "reactivation" by the Sith.
Adam Christopher, the author of Shadow of the Sith, addressed the question of why Anakin Skywalker did not simply warn Luke Skywalker about Exegol after becoming a Force spirit. He concurred with fans who viewed Force spirits as "spirit guides" constrained by the will of the Force. Christopher pointed out that Anakin had to expend all of his energy merely to save Luke and that "something" actively sought to terminate their conversation.