Recaps

Yao Hao accused Elder Duan of stealing a missing immortal pill and tried to expel him from the Setting Sun Chamber of Commerce. Chen Ning intervened with a seven-pattern immortal pill, thwarting Yao Hao’s plan, while an unknown observer watched from outside.

• Yao Hao confronted Elder Duan over the missing immortal pill and accused him of theft, then ordered Sikong Xue removed and Elder Duan dismissed.
• Chen Ning arrived with Hua Luo and challenged Yao Hao to prove Elder Duan had stolen the pill.
• Chen Ning placed a seven-pattern immortal pill in the empty box, stunning the crowd and more than compensating the chamber for its loss.
• Yao Hao gave up on expelling Elder Duan and let the accusation rest, though he resented Chen Ning.
• Someone outside the Setting Sun Chamber of Commerce quietly watched Chen Ning and Hua Luo.

Chen Ning settled in Lone Smoke City to cultivate before seeking news of the first sect leader, but five members of the Hu Household followed him and tried to rob him. He used the devil ape to subdue them, learned about the city’s leading powers, and left the survivors killing one another for a chance to live.

• Chen Ning sold talismans and pills through the Setting Sun Chamber of Commerce, then bought a place to stay in Lone Smoke City and focused on cultivation.
• Chen Ning noticed five Heavenly Martial Realm experts had followed him and let them approach so he could learn more about the city.
• The five attacked Chen Ning, but the devil ape pinned them in place, and Chen Ning killed the man who threatened him.
• Hu Chai told Chen Ning that the five great households led Lone Smoke City, the Han Household was strongest, and city lord Han Qianren was a Late-Stage Saint with three generals under him.
• Chen Ning released the devil ape’s suppression so Hu Chai’s three cousins could attack him, and all four men died fighting for the chance to answer Chen Ning’s final question.

After Chen Ning and Hua Luo killed five attackers, Chen Ning learned about Lone Smoke City’s powerful factions and the Wolf General Yuan Ming. That night, the Hu Household, Yao Household, Yuan Ming, and City Lord Han Qianren each began responding to Chen Ning’s arrival.

• Chen Ning discussed Lone Smoke City’s five great households and City Lord Han Qianren with Sikong Xue, who revealed that the Yellow Sand Lord was Yuan Ming’s maternal uncle.
• Chen Ning ordered Sikong Xue to dispose of the bodies while Hua Luo ate and showed signs of becoming more responsive to the world.
• Hu Qiu learned from Yao Musheng that the man who killed Hu Chai had produced a seven-mark immortal pill, and Yao Musheng urged him to deal with Chen Ning.
• Yuan Ming used his Divine Ability on the Earth-Burrowing Demonic Lizard to see Chen Ning and vowed to find him and avenge his uncle.
• Han Qianren read a report about Chen Ning and ordered that he be invited to the City Lord’s Manor the next day.

Chen Ning invented a Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb heritage to persuade Han Qianren to shield him and Hua Luo from their enemies, while Han secretly planned to use the claim to pressure him into joining the city lord's mansion. Meanwhile, a Hu Household member captured Sikong Xue and demanded to know Chen Ning and Hua Luo's backgrounds.

• Chen Ning told Han Qianren that he and Hua Luo were survivors' descendants of the destroyed Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb, then asked him to settle their conflicts with the Hu Household, Yao Household, and Yuan Ming.
• Han Qianren agreed to suppress the disputes because he valued Chen Ning's strength, especially his reported killing of the Saint Realm Yellow Sand Lord, and offered him a general's status in the city lord's mansion.
• Chen Ning declined to join, and Han Qianren privately ordered an attendant to spread word that a Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb descendant was in Lone Smoke City so enemies would pressure Chen Ning into seeking his protection.
• A Hu Household member broke into Sikong Xue's courtyard, bound her with a yellow rope, and threatened her for information about Chen Ning and Hua Luo after the household's search had found no clues.

Hu Qiu learned that Chen Ning and Hua Luo were connected to the Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb, then ordered Sikong Xue taken away. Chen Ning arrived at the Hu estate seeking Hu Qiu’s head, and the fight left the Hu Household in danger as the demonic ape killed one of its Saints.

• Sikong Xue revealed to Hu Qiu that Chen Ning and Hua Luo were descendants of the Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb, and Hu Qiu sent her to the city lord’s mansion instead of giving her the promised earth crystal stones.
• Chen Ning and Hua Luo arrived at the Hu estate, where Chen Ning announced that he had come for Hu Qiu’s head and sliced through the estate’s roofs with Sword Qi.
• Hu Qiu confronted Chen Ning over the deaths of Chai'er and the other Hu Household members, then attacked him.
• The demonic ape fought Hu Qiu and the Hu Household members, overwhelming their attacks and crushing the head of the household’s other Saint.
• Onlookers recognized the demonic ape as a rare beast from High Antiquity as it continued to overpower the Hu Household.

Chen Ning destroyed the Hu Household and killed its head, Hu Qiu, with Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning while seeking Sikong Xue. Mo Feng of the Mo Clan offered to help, then revealed that the Hu Household had sent its captives to the City Lord's Manor.

• The demonic ape's Sha Qi overwhelmed the Hu Household's remaining experts as Chen Ning demanded that Hu Qiu reveal where Sikong Xue had been sent.
• Hu Qiu burned his life force and attacked Chen Ning, but Chen Ning killed him with Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning, destroying his body and soul.
• Mo Feng, the Mo Clan's eldest young master, approached Chen Ning and offered to help locate the missing girl.
• Chen Ning went with Mo Feng to the Drunken Flower Pavilion, where Mo Feng tried to persuade him not to pursue the captives' destination.
• Mo Feng revealed that the Hu Household had sent all its captives to the City Lord's Manor.

After rescuing Sikong Xue from the City Lord's Manor, Chen Ning rejected Han Qianren's offer to serve him and threatened Yuan Ming. A holy herb was set to mature in the Absolute Void Mountain Range in three days, where Han Qianren and Yuan Ming planned to use the ensuing conflict to kill Chen Ning.

• Han Qianren explained that the City Lord's Manor had rescued Chen Ning's friend from the Hu Household's captives, then offered Chen Ning a powerful position, but Chen Ning refused.
• Yuan Ming arrived and announced that Heaven-Draping Azure, a holy herb that could let a Ninth-Level Heaven Martial Realm cultivator enter the Saint Realm safely, would mature at midnight in three days.
• Yuan Ming threatened Chen Ning and challenged him to fight for the herb, and Chen Ning promised to bury Yuan Ming in the Absolute Void Mountain Range.
• Chen Ning took Sikong Xue from the courtyard and left the City Lord's Manor, telling Han Qianren there was no need to explain his affairs.
• Han Qianren told Yuan Ming to let Chen Ning's other enemies attack first and gave him a blood-lit human face made from countless people as a last resort.

Powerhouses from across Cangxuan Domain gathered in the Absolute Void Mountain Range to compete for the Heaven-Draping Azure. Chen Ning faced Gu Ao’s attack, and Huang Yuehua intervened before warning Chen Ning to take Hua Luo and Sikong Xue away.

• Xu Yin and Huang Yuehua arrived among the powerhouses gathering for the holy herb, while the city lords stayed behind to guard their cities.
• Chen Ning walked with Hua Luo as Sikong Xue acted unusually quiet and claimed she was nervous.
• Gu Ao of Greedy Wolf City recognized Chen Ning as a remnant of the Ghost Capital Ghost Tomb and attacked him.
• The demon ape blocked Gu Ao’s punches, and Huang Yuehua stopped him from striking again to avoid alerting the holy beast.
• Huang Yuehua told Chen Ning she had not helped him and urged him to leave with Hua Luo and Sikong Xue before they were caught in danger.

Chen Ning stayed to claim the Heaven-Draping Azure and protect Sikong Xue and Huang Yuehua despite warnings that he could not face the Saints gathering at the Absolute Void Mountain Range. When the Saint herb matured and its Phantom Leopard guardian attacked, Chen Ning sent the demonic ape to fight it and wounded Gu Ao in a direct clash, stunning the gathered experts.

• Huang Yuehua warned Chen Ning that he could not protect Sikong Xue and her from the Saints, but Chen Ning insisted he would keep them safe.
• As night fell, Yuan Ming watched Chen Ning and vowed that he would die that night.
• The Heaven-Draping Azure matured, and Heaven Martial Realm cultivators rushed toward it before the Phantom Leopard slaughtered dozens of them.
• Chen Ning judged the Phantom Leopard to be a Saint Realm Middle Stage beast, then sent the demonic ape to attack it at Little Black Dragon’s urging.
• Gu Ao seized the chance to attack Chen Ning with Earth Overlord Fist, but Chen Ning countered with Destruction Divine Fist and opened a bloody gash on Gu Ao’s fist.
• The gathered experts, especially Huang Yuehua, stared in shock as Chen Ning survived the clash and wounded Gu Ao.

Chen Ning refused Xu Yin's demand for the Phantom Leopard's beast soul, and Xu Yin joined Gu Ao in attacking him. Chen Ning crippled Gu Ao with Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning and blocked Xu Yin's sword feathers with Eternal Fire, leaving Xu Yin preparing to fight with everything he had.

• Xu Yin snatched the Phantom Leopard's beast soul from the demon ape, but Chen Ning refused to hand it over because Little Black wanted to eat it.
• Xu Yin threatened Chen Ning and joined Gu Ao in deciding to kill him, while the other city experts fought over the Heaven-Draping Azure.
• Gu Ao attacked Chen Ning with the full power of the Earth Overlord Fist, but Chen Ning struck him with Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning and left him with only half his body.
• Xu Yin unleashed tens of thousands of sword feathers at Chen Ning, who burned them all away with the Eternal Fire.
• Xu Yin summoned a great azure bell and prepared to fight Chen Ning with his life on the line.

Chen Ning survived Xu Yin’s Wind-Chiming Heavenly Bell by detonating Gui Water Yin Lightning he had planted through the demonic ape, then killed Xu Yin and Gu Ao. He turned his attention to Wolf General Yuan Ming, who was considering retreating.

• Xu Yin rang the Wind-Chiming Heavenly Bell six times, unleashing sound waves that threatened to kill Chen Ning and devastated the surrounding fighters.
• Chen Ning revealed that Gui Water Yin Lightning had been planted in Xu Yin when Xu Yin struck the demonic ape, and the lightning destroyed Xu Yin’s organs and shattered his bell.
• Xu Yin begged Chen Ning and the other cultivators to spare him, but no one intervened, and Chen Ning let Xu Yin die.
• Chen Ning burned Gu Ao to nothing with Eternal Fire after Gu Ao begged for his life.
• Wolf General Yuan Ming lost his will to fight after seeing Xu Yin and Gu Ao fall, and Chen Ning turned his gaze toward him.

Chen Ning drove Yuan Ming to retreat, then fought Yuan Ming and three other Saints at once, killing two and overwhelming the rest. The onlookers abandoned their hopes of claiming the holy medicine, while Sikong Xue and Huang Yuehua watched in shock.

• Chen Ning taunted Yuan Ming, who chose to retreat rather than fight him for the holy medicine.
• Chen Ning stopped Yuan Ming with a suction force and refused to let him leave, prompting Yuan Ming to urge the crowd to join forces against Chen Ning.
• Three Saints agreed to assist Yuan Ming, and the four launched their strongest attacks against Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning used Sword Intent to shatter the White Wasteland City Sword Saint's attack and the fifth level of the Destruction Divine Fist to kill two Saints, while Yi Wood Orthodox Lightning blocked Yuan Ming's spear flashes.
• The onlookers gave up on competing for the holy medicine, and Sikong Xue and Huang Yuehua were stunned by Chen Ning's strength.

Chen Ning defeated the White Wasteland City Sword Saint and killed Yuan Ming after the general fused with a resentful human face. He claimed the Heaven-Draping Azure, while the survivors left wary of the powerful enemies he had provoked, and Huang Yuehua apologized to him.

• Chen Ning broke the White Wasteland City Sword Saint’s ultimate technique with his Sword Intent and killed him with a single strike.
• Yuan Ming fused a blood-lit human face to his own and unleashed its overwhelming resentment against Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning lured Yuan Ming close and used Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning to destroy the resentment and reduce Yuan Ming to ash.
• Chen Ning asked the crowd who else wanted the Saint-grade medicinal herb; they backed down, and he uprooted the Heaven-Draping Azure and stored it in his Heaven-Swallowing Bag.
• The crowd departed, concerned that Greedy Wolf City and Rending Wind City might seek revenge, while Huang Yuehua apologized to Chen Ning for underestimating him.

Chen Ning returned to Lone Smoke City, where Han Qianren publicly welcomed him and offered him the city’s protection. Meanwhile, Han Qianren revealed that he had long known Sikong Xue’s identity and planned to use her to deal with Chen Ning.

• Chen Ning and his companions rode Little Black back to Lone Smoke City after obtaining the saintly herb.
• Han Qianren and the heads of the four remaining great Lineages welcomed Chen Ning, praised his deeds, and offered him the City Lord’s protection.
• Chen Ning declined to stay at the City Lord’s residence and returned to his courtyard with Sikong Xue and Hua Luo.
• Han Qianren’s people abducted Sikong Xue while she went to buy food, and she woke to find him confronting her.
• Han Qianren revealed that he had destroyed the Sikong Household fifteen years earlier and had spread the rumor that the Earth-Burrowing Demonic Lizard’s venom could kill Saints.
• Han Qianren told Sikong Xue he intended to use her against Chen Ning, then challenged her to let her benefactor die.

Han Qianren coerced Sikong Xue into poisoning Chen Ning with Blood Poison by holding Grandpa Duan hostage, and she gave Chen Ning the poisoned chicken soup. After the poison took effect, Han Qianren appeared and declared that Hua Luo also had to die.

• Han Qianren threatened Sikong Xue with Grandpa Duan’s safety and persuaded her to put his Blood Poison in Chen Ning’s food.
• Sikong Xue brought food to Chen Ning, but hesitated when he was about to drink the poisoned chicken soup before letting him eat it.
• Chen Ning drank the soup, and Sikong Xue tearfully apologized as Han Qianren entered the courtyard.
• Chen Ning tried to counter the Blood Poison with his Poison Dao power, but the poison continued to affect his meridians.
• Sikong Xue begged Han Qianren to spare Hua Luo, but he said Hua Luo had to be killed.

Chen Ning used the Shadow of Chaos and Myriad Transformations to deceive Han Qianren while protecting Sikong Xue, whose family Han had slaughtered. The real Chen Ning remained in the Absolute Void Mountain Range as Han Qianren prepared to make their confrontation public.

• Han Qianren attacked Chen Ning and Hua Luo, but Chen Ning's apparent poisoned body kept crawling toward him while another Chen Ning appeared nearby.
• Chen Ning's clone revealed that the Shadow of Chaos, combined with Myriad Transformations, could convincingly imitate his meridians and Qi sea.
• Earlier, Chen Ning questioned Sikong Xue about her distress and persuaded her to reveal her blood feud against Han Qianren.
• Sikong Xue explained that she had pursued poison as her only way to kill Han Qianren, a Late-Stage Saint, and Chen Ning offered another path by sending his clone back with her.
• Chen Ning warned Sikong Xue to play along with Han Qianren's scheme while he stayed behind in the Absolute Void Mountain Range.
• Han Qianren realized Chen Ning had deceived him, then flew into the sky and declared that he would make some noise.

Chen Ning revealed that he had reached the Saint Realm and defeated Han Qianren after the city lord unleashed an evil art fueled by hundreds of thousands of victims. Han Qianren died beneath Chen Ning’s Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, leaving Lone Smoke City’s power struggle unresolved.

• Han Qianren attacked Chen Ning with Saint Power while cultivators and the four great clans gathered to watch.
• Chen Ning revealed his Saint Realm cultivation and effortlessly dismantled Han Qianren’s attack, shocking the onlookers.
• Han Qianren unleashed a human-skin evil art that released a vast tide of resentful power and admitted he would kill everyone if necessary.
• Chen Ning summoned Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and struck Han Qianren from the front and behind.
• The lightning destroyed Han Qianren’s body and divine soul, killing him.

Chen Ning killed Han Qianren and nearly wiped out the Han Household’s experts, then exposed the Mo Clan’s scheme to use him against the City Lord’s Residence. When the Mo Clan’s hidden ancestor appeared, Chen Ning demanded the clan submit or die, and the ancestor chose submission.

• Sikong Xue thanked Chen Ning after he killed Han Qianren and avenged her family.
• The Han Household patriarch ordered an attack, but Chen Ning killed him and the clan’s other leading experts.
• Chen Ning forced Mo Feng to his knees for using him as a weapon, prompting the Mo Clan’s hidden ancestor to rescue him.
• Chen Ning explained that the Mo Clan had steered him into fighting Han Qianren to weaken the City Lord’s Residence and seize control of Lone Smoke City.
• Chen Ning demanded that the Mo Clan become his servants or die, and the Mo Clan’s ancestor agreed to submit.

After taking control of Lone Smoke City, Chen Ning questioned Chu Xuanyuan about the God Clan and learned that the Darkness God Clan ruled the Nine Provinces Realm and eliminated unusually gifted cultivators there. Chu Xuanyuan warned Chen Ning to avoid the clan, but Chen Ning asked him about the Darkness Divine Mark.

• Chen Ning learned from the Mo Clan ancestor about the vast Nebula Continent and decided to seek information about the founding sect master.
• Chen Ning visited Chu Xuanyuan in the Black Snake spatial bag and revealed that he had become a Saint and reached the Vast Land.
• Chu Xuanyuan explained that he belonged to the Darkness God Clan, which controlled small worlds to obtain the Power of the World Origin.
• Chu Xuanyuan said he had been the divine envoy for the Shattered Star Realm before being demoted to the Nine Provinces Realm after the Five Saint Sects' crimes.
• Chu Xuanyuan warned Chen Ning that the Darkness God Clan eliminated exceptional cultivators from sealed worlds and advised him to avoid the clan.
• Chen Ning asked about the Darkness Divine Mark, and Chu Xuanyuan admitted that he envied Chen Ning for cultivating one.

Chen Ning learned about the God Clans and heard a clue linking Hua'er to the Heaven-Burying Ancient Land. After reaching the Saint realm, he unlocked a quest that sent him to Brocade Zither City to find a member of the founding sect leader’s mysterious faction.

• Chu Xuanyuan explained Divine Marks, the Darkness God Clan, and the danger posed by even God Clans without living gods.
• Chen Ning questioned Chu Xuanyuan about the dazed woman, and Chu Xuanyuan said she might be the ominous being from the Heaven-Burying Ancient Land, cursed by an unknown god.
• Chen Ning kept Chu Xuanyuan imprisoned but promised he would eventually let him go.
• Chen Ning advanced to the Saint realm and unlocked the mythic-level Dragon-Seeking Sect 2.0 quest.
• The system directed Chen Ning to find the faction’s nearest member in Brocade Zither City on the Nebula Continent, and Chen Ning resolved to go there.

Chen Ning left Lone Smoke City with Hua Luo and the demon ape, then traveled north into the Boulder Domain toward Brocade Zither City. Near the city, Shi Potian accused Chen Ning of attacking him after Chen Ning diverted his rolling form into the city wall, and a yellow-robed young man dismissed Shi Potian as a bully.

• Elder Duan gave Chen Ning a map of the territories north of the Cangxuan Domain and saw him off outside Lone Smoke City.
• Sikong Xue arrived dressed elegantly, said she would remain in Lone Smoke City, and urged Hua Luo and the demon ape to stay safe with Chen Ning.
• Chen Ning and his companions crossed into the Boulder Domain and headed for Brocade Zither City, where powerful figures were gathering to seek the female city lord's hand in marriage.
• Chen Ning noticed a little monk walking toward the city and nudged a man rolling as a stone ball, causing him to crash into the city wall.
• A black-clad young man blamed Chen Ning for the crash, and Shi Potian demanded an explanation while onlookers identified him as a young master of the Shi Household.
• A yellow-robed young man called Shi Potian a lineage-dependent bully and said his older brother, Shi Jingtian, was the more impressive one.

Chen Ning entered Brocade Zither City after the demon ape killed a cultivator who had attacked them, and learned that the city lord, Nalan Yao, was seeking a husband. He and his companions joined the crowd waiting to see her.

• Li Xuanyi ignored Shi Potian and entered Brocade Zither City, while Shi Potian backed down from Chen Ning and the demon ape.
• Chen Ning ordered the black-clad youth to kneel, and the demon ape killed him after its Gui Water Yin Lightning-enhanced power shattered the youth's attack.
• The little monk thanked Chen Ning and offered to take him to Heavenly Light Temple if the Shi Household sought revenge.
• Chen Ning entered Brocade Zither City with the little monk and the demon ape to seek clues about a mysterious faction and its mission reward.
• Chen Ning and his companions went to the southern gathering place, where cultivators awaited Nalan Yao's husband-selection event.

Nalan Yao announced that the husband-selection contest would test contestants’ musical skill by seeing how much they could grow her Divine Scholar Tree Sapling. As several contestants failed to affect it, Chen Ning learned that the little monk had come to deliver advice to Nalan Yao on his master’s orders.

• Nalan Yao welcomed the crowd and announced that her only requirement for a husband was his realm in music.
• Old Freak Huai revealed his mastery of the Dao of Music, having reached its highest realm, Grand Music of the Central Heaven.
• Nalan Yao brought out a Divine Scholar Tree Sapling and explained that whoever made it grow the most by playing music would become her husband.
• Several contestants played, but none changed the sapling because their musical attainments were insufficient.
• Hua Luo remarked that the sapling would make good skewers, and Chen Ning stopped her from trying to take it.
• Chen Ning asked the little monk whom he sought, and the little monk said he had come on his master’s orders to advise Nalan Yao.

Li Xuanyi and Old Freak Huai made the Divine Huai Tree sapling grow dramatically with their music, leaving the crowd convinced Old Freak Huai had won Nalan Yao. Nalan Yao upheld her promise to marry whoever grew the sapling most, while two unidentified voices suddenly interrupted.

• Shi Potian grew a short branch on the Divine Huai Tree sapling with his music, but Li Xuanyi surpassed him by making several branches grow three feet in total.
• Li Xuanyi declared that he would take Nalan Yao home, but Old Freak Huai stepped forward and played a mournful piece that made the sapling grow more than a zhang.
• Chen Ning shielded the little monk, the demonic ape, and Hua Luo from Old Freak Huai's music, and noticed that the little monk was unaffected even without his protection.
• Old Freak Huai's performance discouraged the crowd from continuing the challenge, and Li Xuanyi offered to protect Nalan Yao from him.
• Nalan Yao said she would keep her promise to marry whoever made the sapling grow most, and Li Xuanyi angrily flung his sleeves as Old Freak Huai laughed.
• Two voices were heard conversing, causing everyone present to change color.

Chen Ning and the little monk revealed that Old Freak Huai’s zither music had stolen a trace of vitality from the crowd, leaving the groom selection in turmoil. When Nalan Yao asked Chen Ning to help her escape the forced match, he stepped forward with the Dazzling Suona.

• Chen Ning and the little monk said Old Freak Huai’s music had used sinister methods to steal vitality from those who listened.
• The little monk explained how to sense the stolen vitality, and Li Xuanyi, Shi Potian, and others confirmed they had lost a year of lifespan.
• Old Freak Huai denied the accusation and refused to go with Li Xuanyi, then invoked the groom-selection rules to pressure Nalan Yao into protecting him.
• Nalan Yao asked Chen Ning to help her avoid marrying Old Freak Huai, and Chen Ning stepped forward as the crowd watched.
• Chen Ning studied the divine locust sapling, decided Nalan Yao might help him find the old man’s faction, and produced the Dazzling Suona.