Recaps

Qu Jianlei’s group ordered four villages to relocate, offering compensation that decreased each day and threatening to test an Illusion Array on the land. Feng Yingyu and his son secretly planned to enlist Yin Family Fort’s help, while the newcomers watched their conversation and decided to let the contact proceed.

• Yan Sicong told Hua Xiezhi that the Yan Family would not immediately handle the villagers’ relocation, prompting Qu Jianlei’s group to devise its own plan.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the four villages to move within five to ten days, offering each person up to five spirit stones and threatening an Illusion Array if they remained.
• The team surveyed the villages for the array, and Foundation Establishment cultivators’ Coercive Pressure persuaded some villagers to move while others resisted.
• Feng Yingyu’s son, Feng Juncai, urged him to oppose the move and approach Yin Family Fort, hoping to protect the Feng Family’s plans for a nearby Tier 2 Spirit Vein.
• Feng Yingyu tacitly agreed to let Feng Juncai make contact, unaware that members of Qu Jianlei’s group had been monitoring them.
• Fourth Boss and Yuanyuan agreed to let Feng Juncai go, preferring to act against someone who had already committed a clear offense.

Hua Xiezhi and the new masters of Red Leaf Ridge watched villagers relocate and used two robberies to uncover who was targeting them. The bandits were caught and punished, Feng Junwu was killed for colluding with them, and nine households remained undecided about staying.

• Hua Xiezhi paid spirit stones to villagers who relocated, and Su Ye's family left the territory with fifty-five spirit stones.
• Two Qi Refining Realm bandits robbed Su Ye's family, while several streams of divine sense witnessed the attack.
• More than twenty households moved to the designated area, where an organized gang later robbed them of over one thousand spirit stones and injured several people.
• Hua Xiezhi and Xiang Xue captured the bandits and displayed them upside down; they also hung Feng Junwu's head beside them after discovering his involvement in the robbery.
• A gust of wind killed one bandit when he spoke harshly to the villagers, and the remaining bandits revealed Feng Junwu's collusion.

Xiang Xue and Hua Xiezhi enforced Red Leaf Ridge’s relocation terms, while the Su Family returned to settle nearby after recovering its stolen spirit stones. Yan Xuemin and Yan Sicong arrived to assess the new owners and considered whether to encourage a conflict with Yin Family Fort.

• Feng Yingyu blamed Feng Junwu’s attack on personal misconduct, then led the Feng Family away without compensation and left Feng Junwu’s body behind.
• Xiang Xue denied the remaining eight households access to the Temporary Residence, and they departed after spending the night near Red Leaf Ridge.
• Hua Xiezhi returned villagers’ stolen spirit stones and appointed two representatives to collect ransoms for the captured bandits.
• Su Ye recovered his family’s fifty-five spirit stones but was refused permission to return to the Temporary Residence, so he bought land beside Red Leaf Ridge for the Su Family.
• Yan Xuemin judged Qu Jianlei’s group disciplined and forceful, and he suspected a major force had placed them at Red Leaf Ridge.
• Yan Sicong asked whether the Yan Family should provoke a dispute between the Red Leaf Ridge group and Yin Family Fort.

Red Leaf Ridge ignored Yin Family Fort’s schemes and focused on building up its settlement, while Yin Family Fort secretly exterminated the Feng Family. The chapter ends with Qu Jianlei preparing to help Claire and Hua Lei, who are nearing breakthroughs into the Golden Core Realm.

• Yan Xuemin rejected Yan Sicong’s suggestion to deliberately provoke Yin Family Fort, and two days later Yin Family Fort sent Feng Juncai’s head to Red Leaf Ridge.
• Hua Xiezhi declined to decide the fate of the Feng Family’s twenty-six remaining members, so Yin Family Fort confined them in the wilderness and later secretly killed them all.
• Red Leaf Ridge completed major construction, including drawing up part of a Tier 4 Spirit Vein, building cultivation caverns and a Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, and setting up surveillance equipment.
• Qu Jianlei accepted the villagers and agreed to split their agricultural yield evenly, while restricting them to their assigned area and establishing a Spirit Beast Breeding Farm.
• After emerging from seclusion, Qu Jianlei learned from Qinghu that Yin Family Fort had exterminated the Feng Family and revealed that Claire and Hua Lei were close to attempting Golden Core breakthroughs.

Qu Jianlei’s team decided to sell supplies and buy resources in the Cultivation World, bringing four members to Yan Family Market. Yan Sicong welcomed them as partners of the Yan Family and began assessing their strength and goods.

• Qu Jianlei decided the team needed to sell supplies to fund purchases and better establish itself in the Cultivation World.
• Paranoid urged Mu Yu to go out, but Qu Jianlei, Jing Yuexin, Duo Gan, Jia Shuiqing, and Little Snake went to Yan Family Market instead.
• The group paid the entrance fee and attracted attention as unfamiliar visitors from Red Leaf Ridge.
• Yan Sicong approached them, called them partners of the Yan Family, and withdrew his probing after sensing Duo Gan’s intimidating presence.
• Jia Shuiqing told Yan Sicong they wanted to buy supplies and sell items to the highest bidder, so he led them to a Yan Family reception courtyard.
• Yan Sicong served Heart Cleansing Tea, and Jia Shuiqing asked its price while Duo Gan remained watchful and declined to drink.

Jia Shuiqing negotiated with the Yan Family over rare Flawless Crystal and revealed that her group also had a Golden Core Realm Tiger-Human corpse. The Yan Family’s interest shifted to the corpse, whose preserved condition impressed Yan Xuemin, though its thighs had already been cut off.

• Yan Sicong offered to buy Jia Shuiqing’s grindstone-sized Flawless Crystal, but she rejected his highest offer of forty thousand Spirit Stones and demanded fifty thousand.
• Jia Shuiqing refused to say whether her group had more Flawless Crystal, citing their promise not to disrupt the market for supplies.
• Yan Sicong asked what other goods the group had, and Jia Shuiqing offered Tiger-Human Corpses.
• Jia Shuiqing produced a seven- or eight-meter Golden Core Realm Tiger-Human corpse, prompting Yan Xuemin to arrive and inspect it.
• Yan Xuemin confirmed the corpse’s rank and praised how well it had been preserved, while Jia Shuiqing explained that someone had already taken pieces from its thighs to eat.

Jia Shuiqing negotiated with Yan Xuemin over Tiger-Man remains, revealing that her group had far more valuable goods than he expected. The chapter ended with Yan Xuemin asking the price of a piece of Nascent Soul Realm flesh and blood.

• Yan Xuemin hesitated over buying the whole Golden Core Tiger-Man corpse and asked Jia Shuiqing whether she had other remains to sell.
• Jia Shuiqing produced Tiger-Man limbs, heads, organs, and bones, and Yan Xuemin selected a bundle before bargaining over its price.
• Jia Shuiqing insisted that Yan Xuemin could only inspect Nascent Soul Realm remains after dismissing the maid, and warned that a complete corpse would cost extra.
• Jia Shuiqing showed Yan Xuemin a severed palm containing Nascent Soul Realm coercive pressure, which left Yan Sicong and Yan Xuemin shaken.
• Duo Gan silently rebuked Yan Xuemin when he tried to stop Jia Shuiqing from putting the flesh away, and Yan Xuemin asked how much it would cost.

Jia Shuiqing negotiated with Yan Xuemin over Flawless Crystals and Tiger-Human Nascent Soul remains, revealing that her group possessed multiple valuable corpses. Yan Xuemin arranged to buy goods and introduce discreet buyers, then asked about Jia Shuiqing’s cultivation level, which she declined to disclose.

• Jia Shuiqing refused to name a price for the Tiger-Human Nascent Soul flesh, and Yan Xuemin offered to buy a Flawless Crystal to show sincerity.
• Yan Xuemin questioned whether the corpse was from an unrecorded Tiger-Human Nascent Soul, and Jia Shuiqing implied that her group had more than one such corpse.
• Yan Sicong learned that Jia Shuiqing’s group might sell other rare resources, while Yan Xuemin ordered him to bring three hundred thousand spirit stones and a list of goods.
• Yan Xuemin asked Jia Shuiqing for Nascent Shaping Pills for the Yan Family Supreme Elder, but she said she could not promise they had any.
• Jia Shuiqing agreed to try to reserve some Tiger-Human Nascent Soul flesh for the Yan Family and asked that the matter remain discreet.
• Yan Xuemin asked Jia Shuiqing about her cultivation level, and she replied that sincerity mattered more between friends.

Jia Shuiqing and her companions accompanied Yan Xuemin to the Zhu Family’s main market to discuss selling the Tiger-Human Corpse, while Qu Jianlei studied the Cultivation World’s Teleportation Array. The group reached a discreet shop, where a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator invited them into its rear courtyard.

• Jia Shuiqing declined to order goods from Yan Sicong yet and said the group would compare prices, while giving the Yan Family priority under equal conditions.
• Yan Xuemin ordered Yan Sicong to keep the Tiger-Human Corpse secret and sent Qingjiu and two disciples to guard Huangling Town.
• Yan Xuemin took Qu Jianlei, Jia Shuiqing, and the others through a Teleportation Array to the Zhu Family’s main market, where he vouched for them at the entrance.
• Qu Jianlei examined the genuine Teleportation Array, and Jia Shuiqing declined Yan Xuemin’s offer of a Flying Shuttle as a gift.
• Yan Xuemin led the group to a small shop on the market’s outskirts, then went upstairs to meet its shopkeeper.
• A Foundation Establishment Realm female cultivator arrived and invited Jia Shuiqing and the others to the rear courtyard.

Jia Shuiqing negotiated with Heyang True Person over the team’s Tiger-Man corpses, selling the Golden Core corpse and agreeing to auction the Nascent Soul corpse. The deal was set at seven thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, with the seller’s identity concealed.

• Jia Shuiqing sold the damaged Tiger-Man Golden Core corpse to Heyang True Person for six thousand Medium Spirit Stones.
• Jia Shuiqing revealed the Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse, and Heyang True Person asked to examine it personally.
• Jia Shuiqing refused to provide a story about the corpse’s origin, while Heyang True Person explained that a story could raise its price by at least twenty percent.
• Heyang True Person proposed auctioning the corpse and guaranteed a five-thousand-High-Grade-Spirit-Stone purchase if it failed to reach that reserve.
• Jia Shuiqing negotiated a seven-thousand-High-Grade-Spirit-Stone price, secured Yan Xuemin’s guarantee, and required the seller’s identity to remain concealed.

Jia Shuiqing and her companions negotiated with Heyang True Person over the Tiger-Man Nascent Soul, shopped at Zhu Family Market, and left after learning that an auction would be held in half a year. Yan Xuemin warned them to bring a True Immortal when they returned to settle the matter.

• Heyang True Person examined the Tiger-Man Nascent Soul and offered three thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, while Yan Xuemin promised the Yan Family would cover the remaining four thousand.
• Heyang offered Jia Shuiqing a procurement deal, but she declined to buy from him immediately and explored Zhu Family Market with her companions and Yan Xuemin.
• Jia Shuiqing chose to stay in two Mobile Palaces outside the market, and Yan Xuemin remarked on their luxury before asking whether the group had made them themselves.
• Jia Shuiqing asked Yan Xuemin about Heyang, and he said Heyang was a True Immortal Disciple from the Five Sects and warned her not to casually mention a True Person's name.
• The group bought goods worth a little over two hundred thousand spirit stones and left Zhu Family Market after Yan Xuemin said the auction would take half a year to prepare.
• Yan Xuemin advised Jia Shuiqing to bring a True Immortal when she returned to settle the matter.

A Foundation Establishment Shopkeeper and Heyang True Person allowed word of the travelers’ High-Grade Spirit Stones to spread, and the group was ambushed on the way to Red Leaf Ridge. The pursuers forced them beyond the Yan Family’s territory and brought down their Flying Shuttle, but Qu Jianlei and the others calmly faced the Golden Core attacker.

• The Foundation Establishment Shopkeeper proposed that bandits might rob the travelers, and Heyang True Person told her to pretend she had never spoken to him.
• After teleporting to Yan Family Market, Jia Shuiqing declined Yan Xuemin’s warning to stay, and the group left for Red Leaf Ridge the next morning.
• A Golden Core-level Mud Swamp Array activated ahead of the Flying Shuttle, so Qu Jianlei and the others turned away and tried to escape.
• A Golden Core True Person and four Foundation Establishment cultivators pursued the group, steering them beyond the Yan Family’s territory while Yan Xuemin chose not to intervene.
• The Golden Core True Person used an invisible force to damage the Flying Shuttle, and four of its passengers emerged to face him without panic.

Qu Jianlei and his companions defeated a Golden Core guardian and four Foundation Establishment robbers, then returned to Red Leaf Ridge and sealed it against outside scrutiny. A soul search revealed the attack had been motivated by rumors of their High-Grade Spirit Stones, and the captured cultivator explained that a Treasure Hunting Rat had detected them.

• Jia Shuiqing questioned the Zhu Family Market guardian, whose divine sense attack backfired before the Great Serpent revealed its Golden Core peak strength and subdued him.
• Qu Jianlei and the others used Golden Wheel attacks to sever the legs of four pursuing Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Yan Xuemin suspected the group had more hidden power than they showed.
• The group restrained the five Robber Cultivators, collected the Golden Core-level Swamp Array, returned to Red Leaf Ridge, and raised its Mountain Protecting Grand Formation.
• After the team activated its inner arrays, a soul search revealed that the Zhu Family guardian had tried to rob them after hearing they carried High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• A captured Foundation Establishment cultivator begged to avoid a soul search and revealed that his second-tier Treasure Hunting Rat could sense High-Grade Spirit Stones through a Storage Bag.

Wu Laoliu convinced Qu Jianlei’s group to spare him and accept him as a restricted subordinate, offering his treasure-appraisal skills and knowledge of cultivation worlds. He left Red Leaf Ridge to retrieve his possessions and, newly backed by the group, refused to tell a Yan Family Golden Core cultivator more about them.

• Wu Laoliu revealed that he could appraise treasures and offered to become the group’s lifelong slave in exchange for his life.
• After Yi He and Jing Yuexin asked about other worlds, secret information, and cultivation techniques, Qu Jianlei agreed to let Jiao Daoren place a restriction on Wu Laoliu.
• Wu Laoliu asked to spare the three poisoned Foundation Establishment cultivators, then killed the one who had been rendered an idiot; the survivors paid fines and treatment costs.
• Five days after their capture, Wu Laoliu left Red Leaf Ridge to collect his possessions and settle there.
• A Yan Family Golden Core Female Cultivator questioned Wu Laoliu about what had happened, but he warned her not to ask about the restriction and departed through the Teleportation Array.

After half a year serving Red Leaf Ridge, Wu Laoliu arranged for Yin Family Fort to escort Shi Yongsheng on a trip to retrieve his Treasure Hunting Rat. Jiao Daoren then revealed that Red Leaf Ridge’s Spirit Vein had risen to Tier 3 and rewarded Wu Laoliu with permission to cultivate there, while ordering him to keep its true grade secret.

• Wu Laoliu returned to Red Leaf Ridge and accepted Jiao Daoren’s order to leave the faction that had used him as a pawn uninvestigated for now.
• Over the next six months, Wu Laoliu became Red Leaf Ridge’s manager and receptionist, while neighboring factions failed to meet its real masters.
• Wu Laoliu ordered the three injured Foundation Establishment bandits to descend the mountain and retrieve supplies, and Shi Yongsheng agreed to bring back his Treasure Hunting Rat.
• After receiving Jiao Daoren’s instruction, Wu Laoliu arranged for Yin Family Fort to escort Shi Yongsheng and the other two bandits toward Zhu Family Market.
• Jiao Daoren showed Wu Laoliu the Tier 3 Spirit Vein, allowed him to cultivate there, and told him not to reveal that it was stronger than Tier 2 or to leave the matter in his stomach unresolved.

Wu Laoliu learned that Red Leaf Ridge owned the Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse being auctioned and handled Yan Xuemin’s request for the remaining payment. After Yan Jinhai’s divination warned him not to calculate further, Wu Laoliu told Jiao Daoren he suspected Heyang had leaked the High-Grade Spirit Stone news, and Jiao Daoren urged him to stay guarded.

• Shi Yongsheng returned with the Treasure Hunting Rat and told Wu Laoliu that Zhu Family Market would hold auctions featuring a Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse.
• Wu Laoliu reported the auction news to Jiao Daoren, who revealed that the Tiger-Human Nascent Soul was Red Leaf Ridge’s merchandise and told him to keep it secret.
• Yan Xuemin visited Red Leaf Ridge to arrange collection of the remaining auction payment, and Wu Laoliu asked him to bring it back rather than involve Jia Shuiqing.
• Yan Xuemin consulted Yan Jinhai, who approved his neutral approach toward Red Leaf Ridge and Heyang, then stopped divining after sensing danger.
• Wu Laoliu told Jiao Daoren that Heyang might have leaked the High-Grade Spirit Stone news, and Jiao Daoren said Red Leaf Ridge would settle the matter if Heyang caused trouble again.

Yan Xuemin settled the Yan Family’s payment for the severed hand, while Shi Yongsheng waited in vain for a female cultivator he admired. A Golden Core tribulation formed over Red Leaf Ridge, revealing a powerful Spirit Vein, and Yan Xuemin and a Golden Core cultivator from the Yan Family headed there to offer congratulations under the pretense of questioning the ridge.

• Yan Xuemin negotiated the price of the severed Nascent Soul Realm hand with Wu Laoliu, and the Yan Family paid 20,000 Medium Spirit Stones upfront, with the remaining 10,000 due within a year.
• Shi Yongsheng waited at Red Leaf Ridge for the female cultivator he admired, then noticed dark clouds gathering as a storm approached.
• Shi Yongsheng and Wu Laoliu sensed something unusual as golden threads appeared in the clouds, and nearby cultivators recognized the gathering phenomenon as a Golden Core Realm tribulation.
• Yan Xuemin and a female Golden Core Realm cultivator realized Red Leaf Ridge had a Tier 3 or possibly Tier 4 Spirit Vein that the Yan Family had sold too cheaply.
• Yan Xuemin and the female cultivator set out for Red Leaf Ridge to congratulate the cultivator undergoing tribulation while avoiding a direct provocation.

Claire completed an eleven-day tribulation and successfully formed a Golden Core, while Red Leaf Ridge’s representatives firmly handled the Yan Family’s visit and the rumors that followed. The Yan Family warned that it had not spread the rumors, but spies continued gathering information around Red Leaf Ridge, where Wu Laoliu was told to respect the boundary of the Yan Family’s territory.

• Claire endured eleven days and five tribulation bolts before succeeding, easing the team’s worries after Kefu’s failure.
• Yan Xuemin and another Yan Family Golden Core visited Red Leaf Ridge, where Hua Xiezhi and Xiang Xue received them and challenged their motives.
• Hua Xiezhi explained that Red Leaf Ridge had guided an existing Spirit Vein and refused to share its secret method with the Yan Family.
• Yan Jinhai confirmed that Red Leaf Ridge was formidable, and the Yan Family kept quiet as outsiders speculated about its relationship with the faction.
• Yan Sicong told Wu Laoliu that the Yan Family had not spread rumors of an ancient inheritance, while spies continued to lurk near Red Leaf Ridge.
• Great Serpent told Wu Laoliu not to capture intruders beyond Red Leaf Ridge’s territory, reinforcing the rule not to cross the line.

After rumors about Red Leaf Ridge faded, Wu Laoliu and Jiao Daoren used a stolen-dried-meat complaint to clear fifteen hidden observation posts on the Su Family’s land. A new lightning tribulation then ended after three strikes, and Yan Sicong learned from Wu Laoliu’s anger that Red Leaf Ridge had been attacked by someone outside the Yan Family.

• Yan Xuemin and the Golden Core Realm female cultivator watched speculation about Red Leaf Ridge die down over two months.
• When the Su Family reported five missing strips of dried meat, Wu Laoliu consulted Jiao Daoren, who sent him to clear fifteen observation posts on Su family land.
• Yan Sicong questioned Su Ye about the ambushes on his land, then told him to ask Red Leaf Ridge only about family matters.
• A month and a half later, Yan Xuemin watched a second lightning tribulation gather over Red Leaf Ridge and chose not to visit.
• After the third tribulation lightning, the clouds dispersed, and Yan Sicong went to Red Leaf Ridge to offer condolences.
• Wu Laoliu threatened Yan Sicong and denied the Yan Family was involved, prompting Yan Sicong to flee and announce that someone else had struck from the shadows.

After Hua Lei died during her tribulation, Qu Jianlei dismissed the likelihood of sabotage while allowing Wu Laoliu to investigate for merit. Wu Laoliu returned from his inquiries as rumors spread, and Qu Jianlei asked him to assess the challenge of compiling several cultivation systems that could reach Nascent Soul or Out-of-Body Realm.

• Qu Jianlei questioned Wu Laoliu about possible sabotage, promised him a reward for finding evidence, and said no one else would be assigned to help.
• Qu Jianlei told Jing Yuexin that Hua Lei had most likely simply failed her tribulation, while Tian Yin and the Keros siblings remained resolute about their own cultivation.
• On the twelfth day after Hua Lei's death, Hua Xiezhi received Yan Xuemin and told him Wu Laoliu had gone to investigate possible interference.
• Yan Xuemin told the Yan Family to cooperate with Wu Laoliu, and rumors spread that Red Leaf Ridge suspected someone had harmed Hua Lei.
• Wu Laoliu returned after other Golden Core cultivators questioned him about Red Leaf Ridge, and Qu Jianlei asked how difficult it would be to compile several self-contained Main System Cultivation Methods.
• Wu Laoliu learned that Qu Jianlei wanted the methods to reach at least Nascent Soul Realm, preferably Out-of-Body Realm.

Qu Jianlei tasked Wu Laoliu with gathering cultivation knowledge and secret manuals, and Wu Laoliu used his expertise and reputation to acquire manuals and arrange limited protection for a small family. After leaving the family, Wu Laoliu was confronted by Ge Xin True Person and another Golden Core cultivator over his dealings with Tongyuan.

• Wu Laoliu warned Qu Jianlei that Out-of-Body cultivation methods were scarce in Eastern Prosperity Continent and difficult to obtain, but Qu Jianlei told him to gather all kinds of cultivation materials and writings.
• Wu Laoliu asked for a Nascent Soul cultivator to protect him while he collected materials, but Qu Jianlei refused to disrupt the team's plans.
• Wu Laoliu publicly evaluated secret manuals from two shops, pressuring their owners to compensate him with obscure manuals; other shops also offered manuals to avoid trouble.
• A small family offered Wu Laoliu more than ten copied secret manuals in exchange for protection, and he agreed to let them use his name for eighteen years while promising only to preserve their bloodline.
• After Wu Laoliu left the family's village, Ge Xin True Person and a gaunt Golden Core cultivator confronted him, and Ge Xin challenged his claim that he had merely punished a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Wu Laoliu escaped an ambush by five Golden Core Realm cultivators and reached Red Leaf Ridge, while the Yan Family's search failed to identify the attackers. Three days later, eight figures infiltrated Red Leaf Ridge and a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator demanded the residents surrender.

• Hua Xiezhi and Xiang Xue forced Ge Xin and his companion to retreat after they confronted Wu Laoliu in Yan Family territory.
• Wu Laoliu gathered Secret Manuals from several markets, then used a Nascent Soul Realm defensive talisman to escape an attack by five Golden Core Realm cultivators.
• Wu Laoliu reached Red Leaf Ridge and entered the Gathering Spirit Array to recover as the Yan Family organized a search for his attackers.
• Yan Xuemin ended the search after learning that Red Leaf Ridge's Mountain Protecting Grand Formation had reached Golden Core Realm grade.
• Eight figures infiltrated Red Leaf Ridge, collapsed its formation, and a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator ordered its people to surrender.

Qu Jianlei and his allies swiftly defeated an invading Nascent Soul cultivator and captured the Golden Core attackers at Red Leaf Ridge. The Yan Family patriarch and two True Immortals arrived to assist, while Carefree True Immortal realized the force at Red Leaf Ridge was far stronger than he had expected.

• The Nascent Soul Black Shadow discovered that a Thunder Cultivator’s Three Powers Array had shattered his Mending Sky Shield and left him too injured to escape.
• Qu Jianlei’s group used lightning, Nether Qi, and a great net to subdue the intruders at Red Leaf Ridge within minutes.
• Qu Jianlei ordered restrictions placed on the captives and warned that anyone who resisted would be killed; Wu Laoliu recognized the captive as Carefree True Immortal.
• A False Core aura appeared from the Yan Family, then Jiao Daoren’s Great Serpent warned nearby onlookers to retreat.
• Yan Erle led Yan Xuemin and another True Immortal to Red Leaf Ridge, thanked the Great Serpent for its help, and stopped at the activated Mountain Protecting Grand Formation.

Yan Erle and Yan Xuemin learned that Red Leaf Ridge had captured a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and wiped out its attackers, but they declined to take any prisoners or dictate their fate. An interrogation revealed that Ji Yang had been drawn into the attack through information from Yin Family Fort, whose lingering guilt over its past plotting had made it wary of Red Leaf Ridge.

• Hua Xiezhi told Yan Erle and Yan Xuemin that Red Leaf Ridge had captured seven Golden Core Realm cultivators and a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, and that no attacker had escaped.
• Hua Xiezhi hinted that the Nascent Soul Realm captive was one of the Six Great, while Yan Erle declined her offer of Golden Core Realm prisoners and urged her to share intelligence.
• Yan Erle left the remaining discussion to Yan Xuemin, and Hua Xiezhi said the captives' fate would depend on their Luck.
• After the interrogation stalled, Qu Jianlei ordered a soul search of Ji Yang, whom Jiao Daoren identified as the leader of the five Golden Core Realm cultivators who had ambushed Wu Laoliu.
• Yuanyuan lifted Ji Yang for the soul search, which revealed that Yin Family Fort had supplied him with information because it remained uneasy about Red Leaf Ridge after its past plotting.
• Qu Jianlei remarked that the Yin Family had a guilty conscience, and Jing Yuexin advised him to rein in his usual approach when necessary.

Red Leaf Ridge uncovered how Ji Yang and Carefree True Immortal had been drawn into an attack, prompting the Yan Family to move against Yin Family Fort. The captured Carefree True Immortal begged Jia Shuiqing to let him ransom himself, while Red Leaf Ridge still had to decide what to do with all eight invaders.

• Ji Yang’s soul search revealed that Yin Family Fort’s disciples had spread the ancient-inheritance rumor, and Yan Xuemin agreed the Yan Family would handle the fort.
• Yan Xuemin decided the Yan Family would expel Yin Family Fort, and he considered letting Red Leaf Ridge manage the abandoned land.
• The other captured Golden Core cultivators saw Ji Yang’s damaged state and became less willing to resist Red Leaf Ridge.
• A Golden Core cultivator revealed that Carefree True Immortal had attacked to seek cultivation resources for a descendant hoping to reach the Golden Core Realm.
• Qu Jianlei was surprised by Carefree True Immortal’s reasoning, while Paranoid objected that the invaders had underestimated Red Leaf Ridge.
• Carefree True Immortal repeatedly begged Jia Shuiqing for mercy and offered to pay a high price to ransom himself.