Recaps

Yang Xuanyang faced Nine-Phoenix Lishang in the contest to reduce sixteen contestants to eight, revealing the ruthless power of his Slaughtering Blade. He struck Lishang down by cutting off one of his heads, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Yang Tianyou and Wuhuang discussed how Yang Xuanyang’s Slaughtering Blade Force carried the meaning of the Cutting Heavenly Dao, and Yang Tianyou recalled his long, diligent rise to strength.
• Yang Xuanyang entered the barrier to fight Nine-Phoenix Lishang, a three-headed Phoenix Divine Bird.
• Nine-Phoenix Lishang flooded the battlefield with Phoenix True Fire, but Yang Xuanyang’s Blade Intent extinguished the flames.
• Yang Xuanyang and Nine-Phoenix Lishang clashed their attacks, and neither initially overcame the other.
• Yang Xuanyang unleashed Ruthless Edge and severed one of Nine-Phoenix Lishang’s heads, making Lishang cry out in agony.

Yang Xuanyang killed one of Nine-Phoenix Lishang’s lives in close combat, but a Nine-Phoenix Clan Sage Manifestation expert secretly injured him while intervening. After the assembly’s next round began, Yang Xuanyang drew Xuan Lingzi of the Seven Stars Sacred Land, and both men expected an easier match against someone from their own realm.

• Yang Xuanyang exploited Nine-Phoenix Lishang’s mistaken belief that he was weak at close combat and cut out his Phoenix heart, costing Lishang another life.
• Marquis Huoxu intervened to save Nine-Phoenix Lishang and secretly wounded Yang Xuanyang with Phoenix True Fire, prompting Wuhuang to confront the Nine-Phoenix Clan.
• Yang Tianyou pulled Wuhuang back and told her and Yang Xuanyang to endure the insult, warning Yang Xuanyang to leave after lasting ten breaths in his next match.
• Yang Xuanyang healed and rested while the assembly continued, then entered the contest to narrow eight contestants down to four.
• Yang Xuanyang and Xuan Lingzi recognized each other as opponents and both felt relieved to face someone from their own realm.

Yang Xuanwu entered the Nascent Soul Middle Stage battles of the Heavenly Prodigy Assembly as the spectators and leaders watched closely. He began fighting the Qing Ao Lion, ending the chapter with a massive spear strike bearing down on his opponent.

• Yang Xuanyang and Xuan Lingzi exchanged salutes after their match, securing Xuan Lingzi a place in the top four.
• The Nascent Soul Early Stage battles ended with an Eastern King Sect prodigy defeating a Jiufeng Imperial Clan prodigy to claim the Champion title.
• The Nascent Soul Middle Stage battles began, and Yang Xuanwu took the stage with the Yang Household's final genius competing.
• Yang Xuanwu summoned the Four Symbols with his sacred spear and used Chaotic Spear Slaughter to tear apart the Qing Ao Lion's abyssal maw.
• Yang Xuanwu grew into a hundred-zhang giant and swept his spear at the Qing Ao Lion, who sensed a mortal threat.

Yang Xuanwu defeated the Qing Ao Lion and advanced to the Top Thirty-Two before crushing Nine-Phoenix Qi to enter the Top Sixteen. The Yang Household’s remarkable Assembly results drew attention from the major forces, especially the Nine Phoenix Realm.

• Yang Xuanwu shattered the Qing Ao Lion’s defense and badly injured him, but a Sage Manifestation powerhouse intervened to save the Qing Ao Lion.
• Yang Xuanwu advanced into the Top Thirty-Two, while the Yang Household’s other contestants’ strong results drew envious and hostile attention from the major forces.
• Yang Tianyou recognized that the Nine Phoenix Realm had taken notice of the Yang Household and resolved to break through to Spirit Transformation and conceal the Lineage’s Fortune.
• Yang Xuanwu unleashed his full strength against Nine-Phoenix Qi, pierced through the Phoenix True Fire, and repeatedly wounded him.
• Nine-Phoenix Qi lost two lives and fled the Formation barrier to admit defeat, allowing Yang Xuanwu to advance into the Top Sixteen.

Yang Xuanwu reflected on combining the Immortal and Martial Daos as he prepared to face Tianwu Sect cultivator Xiao Lang in the Heavenly Prodigy Assembly. Their battle began with Yang breaking through Xiao’s Eight Blades Against Fate, and they continued trading refined spear and saber techniques.

• Yang Xuanwu watched the Tianwu Sect’s Martial Dao cultivators and considered how Martial Dao principles could strengthen his Four Symbols Sacred Scripture.
• Yang Xuanwu resolved to unite the Immortal and Martial Daos and planned to lay both foundations when he broke through to Spirit Transformation.
• The assembly began its round to reduce sixteen contestants to eight, pairing Yang Xuanwu against Xiao Lang.
• Yang Xuanwu opened with a powerful spear thrust, while Xiao Lang answered with his Martial Dao Divine Ability, Eight Blades Against Fate.
• Yang Xuanwu found a weakness in Xiao Lang’s saber technique and broke through it, after which the two continued their battle with spear and saber.

After defeating Xiao Lang, Yang Xuanwu reflected on Martial Dao Apertures and the importance of opening as many as possible before advancing. In the Heavenly Prodigy Assembly quarterfinals, he faced Feng Lin of the Divine Wind Clan and endured Feng Lin’s opening assault, which left Feng Lin sensing danger.

• Yang Xuanwu defeated Xiao Lang and considered how the Power of Creation could help him open more Martial Dao Apertures.
• Yang Xuanwu reflected on the Aperture Opening Realm’s stages and how a larger number of Apertures could strengthen a cultivator after unification.
• As the Assembly reached the round of eight, Yang Xuanwu faced Feng Lin, a Pure-Blood Royal Clan member of the Divine Wind Clan.
• Feng Lin attacked with lightning and wind, but Yang Xuanwu defended himself beneath the Xuanwu Divine Beast’s protection.
• Feng Lin unleashed the Divine Wind World-Breaking Spear, and after it struck, he felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of danger.

Yang Xuanwu defeated Feng Lin and the wounded Tree Demon to advance to the final battle, while the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan prodigy Bai Rui won the other semifinal. The chapter ended with Bai Rui attempting to unsettle Yang Xuanwu, only for his Battle Soul Heavenly Sound to break her enchantment.

• Yang Xuanwu used the Battle Intent Furnace to stun Feng Lin, then overwhelmed him with spear thrusts until a Divine Wind Clan Sage Manifestation powerhouse rescued the gravely wounded prince and Yang Xuanwu was declared the victor.
• Yang Xuanwu recovered from his injuries and faced the badly burned Tree Demon in the next battle, defeating him almost immediately with Chaotic Spear Slaughter.
• Bai Rui used her Illusion Technique to gain the advantage over a Ghost Tribe prodigy, but a Yin Moon Dynasty powerhouse intervened before she could kill him.
• Bai Rui tried to disturb Yang Xuanwu with her power of enchantment, but his Battle Soul Heavenly Sound shattered it and left her wary of facing him.

Yang Xuanwu defeated Bai Rui in the Heavenly Prodigy Assembly, while the Yang Household’s two Champions drew attention to its growing Fortune and the threat of the Nine Phoenix Realm. The assembly ended without a battle, with the Nine Phoenix Realm claiming the most Champions.

• Yang Xuanwu pierced Bai Rui’s Heavenly Charm Illusion Realm and won before a Sage Manifestation powerhouse intervened.
• Bai Rui became frustrated by her defeat and vowed to defeat Yang Xuanwu someday.
• A four-tailed fox woman pointed out that the Yang Household had two Champions, prompting the other powerhouses to recognize its Heaven’s Favor and the Nine Phoenix Realm to show killing intent.
• Yang Tianyou anticipated attacks on the Yang Household after the assembly, while considering possible trade partnerships with Lu Wu Realm forces.
• Marquis Huochang led the Nine Phoenix Realm’s people away without starting a fight, and the assembly ended with four Champions for the Lu Wu Realm, two for the Qiongqi Realm, and six for the Nine Phoenix Realm.

After the Nine Phoenix Realm invaded the Yang Household’s territories, Yang Tianyou and the Purple Moon Army launched a coordinated defense of Purple Moon Commandery. The Yang Household’s forces began killing the invaders with startling speed and precision.

• After other Lu Wu Realm forces stopped most of the invaders, the Yang Household abandoned Luochuan Commandery and concentrated its defenses in Purple Moon Commandery.
• Yang Tianyou deployed the White Tiger Boat and led clansmen to hunt Spirit Transformation Late Stage invaders, while Yang Yusheng and Feng Cang divided the Purple Moon Army into groups to attack the remaining forces.
• In Ten Thousand Blades County, Yang Tianyou’s White Tiger killed a Spirit Transformation black python, and Zhiming directed him toward another target.
• In Ice Pool County, Fire-Bathing Tribe invaders devastated the county and killed millions of mortals, despite the Yang Household having evacuated many residents in advance.
• Two Purple Moon Army teams used Vermilion Bird Divine Beasts to defeat and kill the Fire-Bathing Tribe invaders.
• The Yang Household’s precise, rapid counterattacks astonished other forces, whose experts wondered whether it possessed an Armillary Sphere.

The Yang Household used the White Tiger Boat to eliminate invading Nine Phoenix Realm cultivators and turn the war into a profitable Fishing Operation. After expanding its alliances and influence, Yang Tianyou returned to Purple Moon Mountain as Ziji High Person discussed how Mountain and River Hall would handle the growing household.

• The Yang Household and allied forces lured Nine Phoenix Realm cultivators into Purple Moon Commandery, where the White Tiger Boat and Purple Moon Army killed more than a hundred Spirit Transformation cultivators.
• Zhiming reported the war's losses to Yang Tianyou, who decided to reduce the household's presence in devastated Luochuan Commandery and reward the forces that helped intercept enemies.
• Yang Tianyou visited major forces while Yang Tianjiu established trade deals, rapidly expanding the Yang Household's relationships, commerce, and influence.
• After returning from Ji Province, Yang Tianyou learned that Ziji High Person had deliberately let Nine Phoenix Realm cultivators pass through Lan Province to weaken the Yang Household.
• Ziji High Person told Venerable Ziyuan that Mountain and River Hall would act as though nothing had happened and continue its usual dealings with the Yang Household.

After more than two hundred years of work, Yang Tianyou perfected the White Emperor Blade Canon by combining the Star Dao, Metal Element Dao, and Blade Dao into an Extreme-Path inheritance. He prepared to break through to Spirit Transformation and condense the Great White Saint Body.

• After the Yang Household entered a period of steady development, Yang Tianyou entrusted its affairs to his wife and cultivated in seclusion for seven years.
• In the Jade Register Heavenly Book, Yang Tianyou trained in the Star Dao, Metal Element Dao, and Blade Dao, conditioning his body to their powers.
• Yang Tianyou completed the White Emperor Blade Canon and tested its Extreme-Path Law Power, finding its killing power at least twice that of his previous Law Power.
• Yang Tianyou resolved to begin his breakthrough to Spirit Transformation and condense the Great White Saint Body.

Yang Tianyou broke through to Nascent Soul Great Perfection, then underwent his Spirit Transformation tribulation at Wolf Pool. He endured the Thunder and Heart Demon tribulations and successfully became a Spirit Transformation powerhouse.

• Yang Tianyou used Spirit Vein Essence and a Spirit Transformation Pill to advance from Nascent Soul Late Stage to Nascent Soul Great Perfection.
• Yunhua prepared the tribulation formation and supplies, then accompanied Yang Tianyou to Wolf Pool, where the Yang Household gathered to witness his tribulation.
• Yang Tianyou withdrew the Tribulation-Evading Method and faced the Thunder tribulation without using the formation.
• Yang Tianyou resisted the Three-Nine Tribulation with his body as the lightning tempered his White Emperor Indestructible Body.
• Yang Tianyou passed the Heart Demon tribulation and achieved Spirit Transformation.

After breaking through to Spirit Transformation, Yang Tianyou unlocked the Jade Register Heavenly Book’s fourth page and gathered his seven Bonded Spirit Beasts to help refine his body. He successfully formed the Great White Saint Body, leaving his aptitude and connection to Heaven and Earth greatly enhanced.

• Yang Tianyou absorbed the Qi of Creation from his breakthrough, strengthening his True Spirit and opening the fourth page of the Jade Register Heavenly Book.
• Yang Haoyu concealed Wolf Pool as Yang Tianyou’s seven Bonded Spirit Beasts gathered, their cultivation having advanced rapidly through their shared Destiny.
• Yang Tianyou directed the seven beasts to form the Seven-Star Spirit-Raising Formation and drew down the Power of the Stars to refine his body.
• Yang Tianyou used his Great White Life-and-Death Blade to refine spiritual energies and treasures, transforming his Root Bone and physique.
• Yang Tianyou sensed a distant Palace and heard a fragmentary invocation to the White Emperor before his consciousness returned.
• Yang Tianyou recognized that he had formed the Great White Saint Body and found it easier to absorb Spiritual Qi and comprehend the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Yang Tianyou studied the Acquired Fortune Cauldron and learned that it could conceal his Lineage's Fortune and condense Fruit Positions. He created a Child Cauldron to hide the Yang Household's Fortune, then worried about how to obtain enough discarded Spirit Items to replenish his Primordial Power.

• Yang Tianyou returned to Great White Residence with Yunhua and entered seclusion to study the Jade Register Heavenly Book.
• Yang Tianyou learned that the Acquired Fortune Cauldron could suppress and conceal the Yang Household's Fortune and condense Fruit Positions.
• Yang Tianyou spent seventy percent of his accumulated Primordial Power to create a low-grade Child Cauldron for concealing his Lineage's Fortune.
• Yang Tianyou considered moving mountains and seas into the Creation Space to produce more Primordial Power, but feared punishment from the will of heaven and earth.
• Yang Tianyou decided that he would have to buy more discarded Spirit Items.

Yang Tianyou used the Acquired Fortune Cauldron to examine the Yang Household’s Fortune, then fused its Child Cauldron with the Thick Earth Cauldron to conceal most of that Fortune and create five Fruit Position Embryos. The Lineage’s Fortune was stabilized, but Yang Tianyou remained concerned about the ominous black Qi and began preparing to gather Incense Power.

• Yang Tianyou visited Yunhua and watched Yang Lingjiao practice Law Techniques before taking Yunhua to the Lineage Ancestral Hall.
• Yang Tianyou used the Acquired Fortune Cauldron to observe the Yang Household’s Fortune and saw flourishing purple radiance with ominous black Qi hidden within it.
• Yang Tianyou and Yunhua discussed concealing the Lineage’s Fortune and using the Mountain and River Hall to share pressure without destroying it.
• Yang Tianyou fused the Child Cauldron with the Thick Earth Cauldron, reducing the visible Fortune to thirty percent and stabilizing the Yang Household’s Fortune.
• Yang Tianyou condensed five Fruit Position Embryos and planned to gather Incense Power, then sent Thirteenth Brother a Communication Talisman to buy discarded Spirit Items.

Yang Tianyou used Yang Tianjiu’s information about Fruit Positions to infer that the Jiufeng Imperial Clan was a Heavenly Mandate Race concealing a formidable force. He decided to seek evidence of its ambitions without revealing that the Yang Household also possessed Fruit Positions.

• Yang Tianjiu received a request for discarded Spirit Items, then sent Yang Tianyou information about Fruit Positions after Golden Tortoise sensed one in their Lineage.
• Yang Tianyou combined Yang Tianjiu’s information with what he knew from the Jade Register Heavenly Book and concluded that the Jiufeng Imperial Clan could condense Fruit Positions.
• Yang Tianyou realized the Nine-Phoenix Dynasty might have amassed powerful gods and could be waiting for the other factions to weaken before taking over the Three Great Realms.
• Yang Tianyou chose not to alert Alliance Headquarters because his conclusion lacked proof and could expose the Yang Household’s own Fruit Positions.
• Yang Tianyou decided to find evidence of the Nine-Phoenix Dynasty’s hidden strength and ambitions so other realms and the Nine Phoenix Realm’s factions would be warned.

Yang Tianyou entered the Four Symbols Secret Realm to take the Lineage Master assessment after reaching Spirit Transformation. He passed the comprehension, perseverance, and Fortune tests, then faced the previous White Tiger Lineage Master in the final combat test.

• Yang Tianyou left Yunhua in charge of the Lineage and traveled to the Four Symbols Secret Realm for his assessment.
• Yang Tianyou promised the Guardian Deity General that he would rebuild the Four Symbols Sect, while learning that the General's consciousness was slowly collapsing.
• Yang Tianyou entered the Four Symbols Tower and quickly passed its Divine Ability, perseverance, and Fortune assessments.
• Yang Tianyou began the combat strength test and encountered the previous White Tiger Lineage Master, eager to test his strength.

Yang Tianyou tested his strength against the White Tiger Lineage Master in the Four Symbols Tower and defeated him after a fierce battle. The trial ended with Yang Tianyou recognized as the new White Tiger Lineage Master.

• Yang Tianyou clashed with the White Tiger Lineage Master and discovered how greatly his physical strength had increased.
• Yang Tianyou unleashed the Great White Heavenly Blade, overpowering the White Tiger Lineage Master's devastating counterattack.
• Yang Tianyou assessed his combat strength and continued fighting the charging White Tiger Lineage Master.
• Yang Tianyou overwhelmed the White Tiger Lineage Master with platinum blade Qi, and the defeated guardian declared that he qualified.
• The Four Symbols Tower sent Yang Tianyou out, and the Guardian Deity General congratulated him on becoming the new White Tiger Lineage Master.

Yang Tianyou returned from the Four Symbols Sect with its Scripture Repository and treasury resources, then began crafting a Second Primordial Spirit puppet from Sun Soul Jade. He completed the jade body and placed the Mountain-Sea Pearl and Sun-Illuminating Divine Pearl in its Dantian, but it still lacked life.

• Yang Tianyou used his Lineage Master token to shrink and take the Scripture Repository, gathered the treasury’s resources, and left the Chaotic Sea after visiting the Four Symbols Alliance’s leaders.
• Back at Purple Moon Mountain, Yang Tianyou prepared to make a loyal Second Primordial Spirit puppet using the Sun Soul Jade, the Second Primordial Spirit Art, the Life-Bound Puppet Refining Method, and the Creation Brush.
• Yang Tianyou spent half a month mastering and adapting the two methods, then used the Creation Brush’s primordial power to transform the Sun Soul Jade.
• After another month of work, Yang Tianyou completed a nine-foot-tall jade body with organs and meridians but no life, then placed the Mountain-Sea Pearl and Sun-Illuminating Divine Pearl in its Dantian.

Yang Tianyou created a loyal clone by forming a body from Sun Soul Jade, shaping its Dantian with two pearls, and tempering a Second Primordial Spirit for it. He named the clone Shanhai and gave him the Infinite Measure Great Sun Sutra to cultivate.

• Yang Tianyou used the Mountain-Sea Pearl, the Sun-Illuminating Divine Pearl, and Spirit Liquid to form a Dantian inside the jade figure.
• Yang Tianyou split his Primordial Spirit, sent one half through the Jade Register Heavenly Book’s Mirror Spirit Space and Creation Space, and placed it in the jade figure’s Niwan Palace.
• The jade figure stabilized with golden flesh and jade bones, and Yang Tianyou confirmed that his new Life-Bound Puppet could act as a loyal clone.
• Yang Tianyou named the clone Shanhai and explained that he could use him to travel while remaining responsible for the Lineage.
• Yang Tianyou gave Shanhai the Infinite Measure Great Sun Sutra, and Shanhai sat down to begin cultivating.

Yang Tianyou cultivated his avatar Shanhai to the Spirit Transformation Realm and prepared him to infiltrate the Nine Phoenix Realm. He also distributed the treasures from the White Tiger Lineage's treasury, planting the Golden Jade Black Crystal Tree on Purple Moon Mountain and assigning the Old Ancestor to guard it.

• Yang Tianyou's avatar Shanhai rapidly cultivated to the Spirit Transformation Realm over a month, undergoing three Heavenly Tribulations as his prepared foundation ran out.
• Yang Tianyou reasoned that the Jade Register Heavenly Book was a high-grade World Embryo that granted him indirect command over powers associated with the Heavenly Dao.
• Yang Tianyou and the Old Ancestor chose to plant the Golden Jade Black Crystal Tree on Purple Moon Mountain, where it could strengthen the Clan-Guarding Array under the Old Ancestor's care.
• Yang Tianyou distributed suitable treasures to clan members and placed the remaining resources in the Lineage's treasury for members and departments to redeem.
• Yang Tianyou took the White Tiger Space-Piercing Wings for Shanhai, who was preparing to infiltrate the Nine Phoenix Realm.

Yang Tianyou refined a Spirit Transformation Early Stage White Tiger Talisman Soldier and assessed the Purple Moon Army’s shortcomings and combat strength. He concluded that the Yang Household remained vulnerable to an attack from the Nine Phoenix Realm, especially if it lost Purple Moon Mountain.

• Yang Tianyou completed a White Tiger Talisman Soldier, which behaved affectionately toward him despite its lethal power.
• Yang Tianyou determined that the Purple Moon Army lacked enough high-realm cultivators and that its rapid expansion had left its soldiers too weak.
• Yang Tianyou found that limited Weapon Sha Qi restricted him to refining six Spirit Transformation Early Stage White Tiger Talisman Soldiers over more than ten years.
• Yang Tianyou estimated that the Yang Household could resist several ordinary Early Sage Manifestation opponents while defending its headquarters, but had far less strength away from home.
• Yang Tianyou feared that the Nine Phoenix Realm would send four or five Sage Manifestation experts to destroy the Yang Household, leaving it unable to develop if Purple Moon Mountain fell.

Yang Tianyou decided to strengthen the Yang Household before the Realm Gate expanded by sending the Purple Moon Army into deadly battles and advancing Purple Moon Mountain’s Spirit Vein. He planned to enter the Nine Phoenix Realm for Spirit Vein Essence and chose Feng Cang as the Mirror Spirit Space occupant to replace.

• Yang Tianyou resolved to send the Purple Moon Army into frequent bloody battles, accepting up to sixty percent casualties to rapidly accumulate Weapon Sha Qi.
• Yang Tianyou informed Yang Yusheng, who led eighty percent of the Purple Moon Army to the fierce World Interstice in Mo Province.
• Yang Tianyou determined that advancing Purple Moon Mountain’s Spirit Vein to the Sixth Tier would require seven or eight masses of Fifth-Tier Upper-Grade Spirit Vein Essence and enormous resources.
• Yang Tianyou planned to use his avatar Shanhai to enter the Nine Phoenix Realm, gather intelligence, and obtain Spirit Vein Essence.
• Yang Tianyou chose Feng Cang to replace the Luochuan River Dragon King in the Mirror Spirit Space, intending to preserve Feng Cang’s consciousness and refine him into a Talisman Soldier.

Yang Tianyou refined Feng Cang into a Talisman Soldier and assigned him to guard the Great White Residence, then prepared the Void Worm and Formless Insect to support his clone’s infiltration of the Nine Phoenix Realm. Over the next three years, several members of the Yang Household and both spirit insects broke through to Spirit Transformation, strengthening the household.

• Yang Tianyou refined Feng Cang into a Talisman Soldier, severed his connection to the Jade Register Heavenly Book, and ordered him to guard the Great White Residence.
• Yang Tianyou assessed the Realm Gate the clone could use to enter the Nine Phoenix Realm and decided to give the clone two more safeguards.
• Yang Tianyou prepared the Void Worm and Formless Insect for tribulation, relying on their enhanced bloodlines and accumulated foundations.
• During the following three years, Yang Tianjiu, Zhiming, Tongming, Yang Haoyu, the Void Worm, and the Formless Insect each passed a Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and reached Spirit Transformation.
• Yang Tianjiu used Wealth Qi to ease his tribulation and gained additional Qi of Creation.

Yang Tianyou prepared his avatar for the Nine Phoenix Realm by strengthening its abilities and gathering powerful allies. The avatar entered a battlefield in the World Interstice under the White Cloud Sect’s territory, disguised as a Late Golden Core cultivator, and captured a Fire-Bathing Tribe fighter to use as a guide.

• Zhiming, Tongming, and Yang Haoyu advanced to the Spirit Transformation Realm, while the Void Worm and Formless Insect reached the Fifth Tier.
• After nearly three years of seclusion, the avatar mastered two Life-Bound Divine Abilities and refined several high-tier Law Treasures.
• Yang Tianyou sent the avatar through a Medium Realm Gate in Chenlong Commandery, Bai Province, toward the Nine Phoenix Realm.
• The avatar joined the battle disguised as a Late Golden Core cultivator and chose a Fire-Bathing Tribe member as a potential guide.
• The avatar trapped and knocked out the Fire-Bathing Tribe fighter, then emerged with the fighter’s spoils while appearing to have perished.