Recaps

Zhong Yi entered Lu Ze’s new Illusion Realm, Plants vs. Zombies, and found himself cutting fruit with his sword to protect a Spirit Field. The Elders dismissed the game as a waste of time, while Ding Mingcang became confident that Lu Ze had lost.

• Zhong Yi selected Adventure Mode and entered a realm where Zombies shambled beside a barren field.
• Zhong Yi learned that fruit and plants falling from the sky could damage his family’s Spirit Field, so he sliced them apart with his sword.
• The Elders watched the disciples cut fruit, and Liu Qingmei and Lin Qingxuan judged the Illusion Realm poorly.
• The other Elders left, while Chao Wendao stayed to study the scene and Ding Mingcang sneered at Lu Ze, convinced he had won.

Zhong Yi discovered that his farmland could become a Spirit Field, where spirit plants consumed spiritual energy and produced more of it. When zombies approached, his Peashooter attacked them, revealing how the Illusion Realm worked.

• Zhong Yi learned that one lane of his farmland had become a Spirit Field and that spirit plants with awakened awareness could appear among the falling fruit.
• Zhong Yi accidentally chopped up a spirit plant, then used the back of his blade to land another pea pod on the Spirit Field.
• The pea pod transformed into a Peashooter, and Zhong Yi worked out that the number displayed represented spiritual energy used to grow plants and generated by the field.
• Zombies advanced toward the Spirit Field, while Zhong Yi found that his sword could not hurt them and he could only move within a limited area to handle falling fruit and plants.
• The Peashooter fired a pea at a zombie, and Zhong Yi realized how to play the Illusion Realm.

Zhong Yi discovered the strategy behind Plants vs. Zombies and helped Mu Yawen learn to use its plants instead of fighting the Zombies with her sword. The Inner Disciples gradually figured out the game’s mechanics, though they still insisted it helped them practice swordsmanship.

• Zhong Yi unlocked Sunflowers and learned to build Spiritual Energy supplies before planting Peashooters as he advanced through the levels.
• Mu Yawen asked Zhong Yi for help after repeatedly letting the Zombies eat her brains, and he explained how to plant and use the plants.
• Zhong Yi watched Mu Yawen place a Peashooter in the front row and explained that it belonged in the back, while the Wall-nut Taoist could serve as a defender.
• The Inner Disciples shared strategies in their Spiritual Sense channel, discussing Sunflowers, Buckethead Zombies, and Ice Peashooters.
• When a disciple questioned whether they were supposed to be practicing swordsmanship, the others claimed the game let them swing their swords more often.

Lu Ze watched the Spirit Cloud Sect disciples become absorbed in his Plants vs. Zombies Illusion Realm and received another reward from Zhong Yi. When the hour ended, the Second Elder found that even Grand Elder Chao Wendao had been engrossed in playing, leaving him worried about the Illusion Realm and his Sect Covenant with Lu Ze.

• Lu Ze watched Zhong Yi master the nighttime levels, overcome an armored General Zombie with a Hypno-shroom, and praise the game's design.
• Lu Ze received twenty years of martial arts experience as a reward from Zhong Yi, though he wished for a more powerful skill.
• Ding Mingcang announced that the hour was over, but the disciples remained inside the Illusion Realm until his spiritually empowered shout pulled them out.
• Chao Wendao complained that Ding Mingcang had interrupted his fight against the final zombie wave, revealing that even the Grand Elder had been playing.
• Ding Mingcang worried that the Illusion Realm was more demanding than it appeared and that losing his Sect Covenant with Lu Ze would send him to Repentance Valley.

After clearing Adventure Mode in "Plants vs. Zombies," Zhong Yi shared strategies and boasted about his progress on the Forum. Just as he discovered Survival Mode, his master Chao Wendao caught him playing and demanded his help with Level 3.

• Zhong Yi cleared the final stage of Adventure Mode and returned to the Forum to see how far the other disciples had progressed.
• He answered disciples' questions with strategies, repeatedly emphasizing that he had cleared the game.
• Zhong Yi opened a guide thread, described the later levels and Demon God Zombie, and drew a picture for the disciples.
• After leaving the Forum, Zhong Yi noticed Survival Mode had become available and prepared to start it.
• Chao Wendao caught Zhong Yi playing, recognized him as Genius Cultivator, and ordered him to help beat Level 3.

Zhong Yi helped Chao Wendao clear a level of “Plants vs. Zombies,” while Ding Mingcang tried to counter the game’s growing popularity. Lu Ze adjusted the later stages to make them brutally difficult, anticipating the Senior Brothers’ reaction.

• Chao Wendao recognized Zhong Yi as the guide behind the popular post and asked him to help clear the third level of “Plants vs. Zombies.”
• Chao Wendao told Zhong Yi not to help Elder Lin, hoping to mock him after clearing the level, and ordered Zhong Yi to stay on call overnight.
• Ding Mingcang panicked after disciples spent the night playing Lu Ze’s illusion, but Qian Yutang reassured him that they would soon clear it and lose interest.
• Ding Mingcang ordered Danqing Peak to intensify the disciples’ lessons and asked Sword Inquiry Peak to denounce Lu Ze’s illusion as an insult to the sword path.
• Lu Ze observed that disciples were progressing through Adventure Mode and beginning to explore Survival Mode, so he adjusted later stages to make them far more difficult.

After players unlocked Mini-Game, Puzzle, and Survival Modes, Survival Mode became the Forum’s main attraction. Zhong Yi cleared its stages and complained that they lacked Barbarian Zombies, so Lu Ze announced new levels for the next day, intending to give him plenty of them.

• Players unlocked Mini-Game, Puzzle, and Survival Modes, and the new levels and modes quickly drew interest.
• Players shared their Survival Mode strategies and favorite spirit-plant formations on the Forum.
• Zhong Yi cleared every Survival Mode stage and posted a guide, lamenting that the stages had no Barbarian Zombies.
• Lu Ze watched Zhong Yi boast, decided to give him more Barbarian Zombies, and announced that new levels would be available the next day.

Ding Mingcang tried to stop Lu Ze from changing the Illusion Realm and planned to increase the disciples’ coursework. Meanwhile, Zhong Yi struggled with Lu Ze’s redesigned Hard Mode, while Lu Ze used the players’ repeated failures to earn Demonic Value.

• Qian Yutang told Ding Mingcang that disciples had easily cleared the new Illusion Realm levels, and Ding Mingcang ordered him to warn Lu Ze against making further changes.
• Ding Mingcang sent Qian Yutang to Sword Inquiry Peak and Danqing Peak to arrange additional courses and distract the disciples from the Illusion Realm.
• Zhong Yi was overwhelmed by the tougher Hard Mode, where powerful zombies repeatedly defeated him.
• Zhong Yi read the Forum’s pleas for help and vowed to overcome the challenge and return to aid the other disciples.
• Lu Ze collected Demonic Value from the players’ repeated defeats and revealed that he had redesigned Hard Mode to provoke Zhong Yi and keep players hooked.

Ding Mingcang inspected the Spirit Cloud Sect’s classes, expecting Lu Ze’s difficult Survival Mode to have discouraged the disciples, but found that every peak had built lessons and training around Plants vs. Zombies. He returned to Numinous Ascent Peak alarmed as even the Elders who had opposed the game seemed to be embracing it, and he worried about losing his bet and being sent to Repentance Valley.

• The disciples grew more skilled at Spiritual Sense control while playing hard-mode Survival Mode after their demanding classes.
• Ding Mingcang visited Sword Inquiry Peak and discovered that its swordsmanship lesson used Plants vs. Zombies to teach precise sword techniques.
• At Danqing Peak, Lin Qingxuan taught how to cultivate an Ice Peashooter and planned to grow every game plant in the sect.
• At Quenching Gold Peak, Mu Yawen led body training using Tall-Nut-shaped stones, inspiring disciples to strengthen themselves like the Wall-nut Taoist.
• Ding Mingcang found Grand Elder Chao Wendao teaching formation design through Survival Mode in the Sect Plaza and backed down when confronted.
• Ding Mingcang returned to Numinous Ascent Peak worried that the Elders were warming to Plants vs. Zombies and that he might lose his bet.

After spending two days mastering Difficult Survival Mode, Zhong Yi cleared its final rooftop stage using a Corn Cannon against waves of Barbarian Zombies. He discovered five new Endless Mode stages and, convinced they had a finish, eagerly began the challenge.

• Zhong Yi paused the final wave to post updates and strategy tips on the Forum, where disciples praised him and asked about his tactics.
• Zhong Yi explained that a Corn Cannon had helped him survive groups of Barbarian Zombies, then returned to the game and faced five charging in separate lanes.
• Zhong Yi precisely fired corn kernels to destroy the Barbarian Zombies and used his accumulated plants and resources to defeat the remaining waves.
• Zhong Yi cleared the final Difficult Survival Mode stage and noticed five new stages labeled Endless Mode.
• Zhong Yi decided that Endless Mode could not truly be endless and resolved to find its end.

Zhong Yi emerged from an all-night attempt to master Endless Mode, while disciples across the Spirit Cloud Sect became obsessed with the game. Lu Ze enjoyed the game’s popularity, and Zhong Yi later discovered that Quenching Gold Peak had adopted Plants vs. Zombies imagery for its body-training goals.

• Zhong Yi lost a battle in Endless Mode after a Red-Eyed Barbarian Zombie broke through his defenses, then learned from Mu Yawen that he had played through the night.
• Zhong Yi described Endless Mode’s brutal zombies and told Mu Yawen he would post a guide before returning to try again.
• Disciples across the sect debated Endless Mode strategies on the Forum, while Lu Ze read their posts and concluded that the game’s difficulty had not driven players away.
• Lu Ze noted that the game was generating substantial Demonic Value, though he expected most players to move on after clearing its regular stages.
• At Quenching Gold Peak, Zhong Yi instinctively sliced a thrown Spirit Fruit and then saw a lifelike Tall-Nut used as a Body-Training Rock.
• A fellow disciple told Zhong Yi that Quenching Gold Peak now aspired to become Barbarian Zombies, leaving Zhong Yi wondering whether he was the only one losing his mind.

Spirit Cloud Sect revealed that its disciples had far exceeded Ding Mingcang’s contest requirements while playing Plants vs. Zombies. Ding Mingcang accused Lu Ze of cheating and offered to void their wager, but Lu Ze demanded that he honor it if Endless Mode could be beaten.

• Grand Elder Chao Wendao announced that disciples averaged three and a half hours of play and 7,328 sword swings per day, and praised Plants vs. Zombies for its ingenuity.
• Ding Mingcang objected to the results, claiming Lu Ze had unfairly added difficult levels and made Endless Mode impossible to clear.
• Lu Ze pointed out that the contest had no rule forbidding updates and that the later mode icons had been present from the start.
• Ding Mingcang proposed voiding the wager and promised to explain the matter to the Sect Master on Lu Ze’s behalf.
• Lu Ze refused to compromise and asked Ding Mingcang whether he would admit defeat if Lu Ze proved Endless Mode could be beaten.

Lu Ze agreed to demonstrate that he could reach wave fifty in Endless Mode after Ding Mingcang accused him of cheating, and the sect inspected the Crystal and Illusion Tower. Lu Ze began a run on Daytime Pool with an unusual No-Cannon Formation, leaving the watching disciples and Zhong Yi puzzled about how he would survive.

• Ding Mingcang accepted Lu Ze's challenge and demanded an inspection of the Crystal and Illusion Tower before the demonstration.
• The disciples gathered at Lingxiao Plaza and doubted Lu Ze could reach wave fifty without cheating.
• After the inspection found no tampering, Lu Ze entered the Illusion Tower and considered how to prove his skill without revealing an easy Formation.
• Lu Ze chose Daytime Pool and started Endless Mode with a No-Cannon Formation and an unusual selection of Spirit Plant Cards.
• Mu Yawen and Zhong Yi watched Lu Ze's choices, and Zhong Yi wondered how he could survive to wave fifty without Peashooters or Tall-Nuts.

Lu Ze demonstrated an efficient strategy for the first level, earning Zhong Yi’s admiration and a cultivation method as a reward. As he prepared for the next levels, he chose an unconventional formation while the watching disciples struggled to understand his plans.

• Lu Ze used Potato Mines and Squashes to protect expanding rows of Sunflowers, then funneled zombies with Garlic and defeated groups with Doom-shrooms.
• Zhong Yi understood Lu Ze’s strategy and admired his skill, earning Lu Ze the Grand Dao Truth Incantation.
• Lu Ze decided to play more seriously while still leaving room for the disciples to discover tactics, then selected plants for the second level.
• Lu Ze chose a Double Shooter and a mix of shooters, throwers, and mushrooms, confusing the disciples watching his projected game.
• Lu Ze built up his formation with Double Shooters, Puff-shrooms, Watermelon Throwers, Twin Sunflowers, and Pumpkin Heads.

Lu Ze used ladder placement to protect his backline and built a standard 97-cannonless formation as he pushed into stage 20. The disciples doubted his choices, but Lu Ze left them to work out his strategy for themselves while he continued his run to send Ding Mingcang to Repentance Valley.

• Lu Ze used Ladder Zombies’ climbing behavior to set ladders and protect his backline, confusing the disciples watching him.
• Lu Ze completed a 97-cannonless formation with Gatling Shooters, Torches, Winter Melons, Doom-shrooms, and Ice-shrooms.
• Lu Ze advanced to stage 20, where Barbarian Zombies and Ice Cart Zombies appeared.
• The disciples criticized Lu Ze’s formation and suggested replacing plants, but Lu Ze smiled and kept his reasons to himself.
• Lu Ze focused on clearing the game so he could send Ding Mingcang to Repentance Valley.

Lu Ze’s Plants vs. Zombies demonstration overwhelmed the disciples and earned him a flood of abilities and insights through the system. Meanwhile, Li Moran struggled to advance her swordplay, then saw news of Lu Ze’s demonstration and suspected he was behind the game she had been playing.

• Lu Ze’s formation stopped the zombie waves, and the disciples praised his strategy, including his deliberate use of ladders against the giant’s thrown zombie.
• Lu Ze received system rewards from several admiring disciples, including cultivation arts, martial insights, and swordplay.
• Li Moran failed to break through the major mastery realm of Nine Heavens Mystic Ice Swordplay and reflected on her need for an opportunity to reach perfection.
• Li Moran checked the Forum, saw reports of Lu Ze demonstrating Endless Mode, and wondered if he was also the person behind Plants vs. Zombies.

Lu Ze continued battling the increasingly difficult zombie waves in the Illusion Realm while Li Moran watched and reached a breakthrough in her swordsmanship. The system rewarded Lu Ze with perfect Sword Mastery after Li Moran gained insight and developed admiration for him.

• Li Moran arrived at Lingxiao Plaza and found Zhong Yi distressed by Lu Ze’s untidy plant layout.
• Lu Ze rearranged his plants to irritate Zhong Yi while he fought through stage thirty-five against powerful Red-Eyed Barbarian Zombies.
• Lu Ze repeatedly froze and defeated the zombie waves, using precise timing and disposable plants to protect his formation.
• Li Moran watched Lu Ze’s battle, gained insight, and performed sword forms that caused her Nine Heavens Mystic Ice Swordplay to break through to perfection.
• Chao Wendao recognized that Li Moran’s swordsmanship had already been close to a breakthrough, while the crowd marveled at her progress.
• The system announced that Li Moran had gained insight while watching Lu Ze and developed admiration, rewarding him with perfect Sword Mastery.

Lu Ze cleared fifty stages of Endless Mode and forced Ding Mingcang to serve his Sect Covenant punishment in Repentance Valley. Chao Wendao invited Lu Ze to design an Illusion Realm for the upcoming Five Great Sects Martial Arts Tournament, and Lu Ze negotiated for a true disciple's stipend.

• Lu Ze defeated the fiftieth stage of Endless Mode without dying, proving his challenge victory to Ding Mingcang and the watching disciples.
• Lu Ze refused to compromise on the Sect Covenant, and Chao Wendao officially admitted him to the inner sect.
• Chao Wendao asked Lu Ze to design an Illusion Realm for the Martial Arts Tournament, and Lu Ze agreed after securing a true disciple's stipend, pills, cultivation method, and weapon.
• Ding Mingcang went to Repentance Valley to serve his one-month punishment under the Sect Covenant.
• The system rewarded Lu Ze for exceeding the challenge requirements with the Heaven and Earth Unification Art, a cultivation method suited to his spiritual roots.

Lu Ze asked Nangong Yuan to craft tools for recording and livestreaming within the Illusion Tower, while he expanded Plants vs. Zombies with restricted challenges to revive players’ interest and boost Demonic Value. He also prepared Illusion Realm materials himself, determined to keep control of the project and maximize its Demonic Value.

• Lu Ze reflected on how the Heaven and Earth Unification Art could absorb Cultivation Methods and inherit their traits, with his physique helping him make full use of it.
• Nangong Yuan returned to the sect, learned Lu Ze had defeated Ding Mingcang, and agreed to craft tools for screenshots, recordings, and live streaming, though Lu Ze would have to solve the Relay Platform problem himself.
• Lu Ze added Advanced Endless Mode to Plants vs. Zombies, with rotating restrictions and weekly rewards, reigniting the disciples’ competitive play and increasing their deaths.
• Lu Ze began preparing monster designs and scenes for the Illusion Realm himself because he wanted to retain control over its ownership and Demonic Value.

Lu Ze attended the Martial Arts Exchange with Zhong Yi, who recounted his generation’s third-place finish and introduced the rival sects. At the gathering, Lu Ze encountered Xiao Hongzhi and learned that Zhang Shifei hoped to design the Secret Realm in Elder Ding’s place.

• Zhong Yi told Lu Ze about his generation’s defeat at the Martial Arts Exchange and advised him to treat the event as experience, but Lu Ze said he would win first place.
• Zhong Yi introduced the arriving sects and described his awkward history with a Cloud Immortal Palace True Disciple who had once been rescued by him.
• Lu Ze joined the Spirit Cloud Sect representatives and greeted Xiao Hongzhi, while Zhang Shifei challenged his right to participate because he was only at Foundation Establishment.
• Xiao Hongzhi told Lu Ze that the Grand Elder might assign a disciple to create the Secret Realm after Elder Ding was sent to Repentance Valley.
• Zhang Shifei claimed that, as Elder Ding’s True Disciple, he would accept the responsibility of designing the Secret Realm if it went to a disciple.

At the Martial Arts Exchange, Chao Wendao announced that Lu Ze, a newly Foundation Establishment Inner Disciple, had created the competition Illusion Realm, provoking disbelief and complaints from the visiting sects. After Lu Ze revealed that Ding Mingcang had lost a bet over his Illusion Realm and been sent to Repentance Valley, Yang Zhengxin challenged him to prove his ability.

• Yang Zhengxin criticized the Spirit Cloud Sect for sending Ding Mingcang to Repentance Valley and threatened to judge the exchange Illusion Realm by Ding's standards.
• Chao Wendao said an Inner Disciple named Lu Ze had created the Illusion Realm, shocking Yang Zhengxin and the other elders.
• Zhang Shifei realized Lu Ze was the disciple Chao Wendao had praised and felt humiliated as the gathered disciples objected to being tested by someone at Foundation Establishment.
• Yang Zhengxin urged Chao Wendao to bring Ding Mingcang back and mocked Lu Ze, who explained that Ding had lost a bet with him and gone to Repentance Valley.
• Yang Zhengxin, unable to challenge Lu Ze while Chao Wendao watched over him, demanded that Lu Ze prove he could test Nascent Soul True Disciples.

Lu Ze accepted Yang Zhengxin’s challenge to prove he could create a Secret Realm mechanism after Yang and other sect elders questioned his ability. He claimed no one present would solve his mechanism and said he could build it in three hours.

• Chao Wendao confronted Yang Zhengxin for repeatedly questioning Lu Ze in Spirit Cloud Sect territory.
• Lu Ze told Yang Zhengxin he had never explored a Secret Realm but could create mechanisms, and agreed to prove it publicly.
• Yang Zhengxin challenged Lu Ze to create a mechanism meeting the Five Great Sects’ C-Grade standard.
• Lu Ze asked what grade it would be if no one present could solve his mechanism, prompting Yang Zhengxin to call it an Immortal-Grade Mechanism.
• Yang Zhengxin gave Lu Ze three days to build the mechanism, and Lu Ze replied that three hours would suffice.

Lu Ze prepared an Illusion Realm based on the punishing platform game I Wanna to meet the Azure Peak Sect elder’s challenge. He began setting its traps while disciples gathered outside to hear whether he could fulfill his boast.

• Disciples at the Spirit Cloud Sect plaza spread news that Lu Ze had promised to make a C-Grade trap-filled Secret Realm that even the elders could not overcome.
• Lu Ze chose I Wanna as the model for his trap-filled Illusion Realm, using plans he had made for punishing games.
• Lu Ze created an abstract version of the game and a landscape version for players, making the abstract visuals visible through Spiritual Sense.
• Lu Ze finished the visuals and started setting traps, including lethal ground spikes and blocks that could disappear.

Lu Ze finished an illusion realm in an hour and a half, despite Yang Zhengxin's doubts and Nangong Yuan's offer to take over. Yang Zhengxin entered the realm to test it, where its opening challenge appeared.

• Nangong Yuan confronted Yang Zhengxin for making Lu Ze create a C-Grade mechanism, while Yang Zhengxin insisted Lu Ze had volunteered.
• Lu Ze opened his eyes and announced that he had completed the illusion realm, astonishing Chao Wendao and Nangong Yuan.
• Yang Zhengxin accused the elders of trying to claim credit for Lu Ze's work, and the other sect elders demanded to inspect the realm themselves.
• Lu Ze presented the Illusion Crystal Stone and rejected Nangong Yuan's offer to intervene.
• Nangong Yuan moved the Illusion Tower to the grounds, and Lu Ze placed the crystal inside and invited Yang Zhengxin to enter.
• Yang Zhengxin stepped into Lu Ze's illusion, where the challenge read, "If You're a Cultivator, Descend a Hundred Levels".

Lu Ze projected his trap-filled Illusion Realm, If You're a Cultivator, Descend a Hundred Levels, for the Martial Arts Exchange and let Yang Zhengxin try it. Yang Zhengxin dismissed the game’s crude art and traps, but the first level killed him with its flying title characters, leaving him baffled after reviving.

• Lu Ze projected Yang Zhengxin’s view of the Illusion Realm for the gathering and explained that cultivation was suppressed inside it.
• Yang Zhengxin confidently started Random Level: One while spectators mocked the game’s abstract artwork.
• Yang Zhengxin tested his movement, learned he could jump and push off once in midair, and proceeded without expecting combat.
• Yang Zhengxin leaped onto a platform, where the giant characters reading “If You're a Cultivator” flew at him and smashed him apart.
• Yang Zhengxin revived at the starting point and stared in confusion at the title characters.