Recaps

After the battle, Qu Jianlei and the others questioned Zeng Jiarui about the Cultivator Alliance’s Suppression Order and negotiated compensation for Red Leaf Ridge. Zeng Jiarui agreed to obtain an Out of Body Cultivation Method, but Jia Shuiqing insisted they still had to discuss the costs of the Demon Subduing Formation.

• After the grand array dispersed, Qu Jianlei, Jing Yuexin, Paranoid, Jia Shuiqing, Ji Xiaohua, and Thousand Hands True Immortal questioned Zeng Jiarui in a pavilion.
• Zeng Jiarui admitted that Le Tong had worked on the Suppression Order and that he had not objected, explaining that Seven Stars Sect had pushed to target Red Leaf Ridge.
• Jia Shuiqing pressed Zeng Jiarui to prove his innocence, and he offered the Zeng Family’s Nascent Soul Techniques; she said they already had nearly all such techniques and asked for an Out of Body Cultivation Method instead.
• Thousand Hands True Immortal offered to trade his Out-of-Body insights, prompting Zeng Jiarui to promise that the Zeng Family would find a method at any cost.
• Jia Shuiqing demanded compensation for Red Leaf Ridge’s losses, including the expense of the Demon Subduing Formation, despite Zeng Jiarui’s promise.

Jia Shuiqing interrogated Zeng Jiarui and Le Tong after Red Leaf Ridge captured them, demanding compensation and an explanation for the Seven Stars Sect’s actions. Le Tong revealed the sect’s plan and agreed to ransom himself, while Jia Shuiqing set the terms.

• Jia Shuiqing demanded five thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones from Zeng Jiarui for the formation’s use and warned that the Zeng Family would not get a third chance to provoke Red Leaf Ridge.
• Qu Jianlei brought Wu Laoliu before Le Tong, whose disdain turned to suspicion after Wu Laoliu explained how the Seven Stars Sect had been manipulated.
• Jia Shuiqing told Le Tong that Carefree True Immortal had fled, and Le Tong agreed to cooperate and ransom himself rather than risk being declared to have fled too.
• Le Tong explained that the Seven Stars Sect wanted Hundred Herbs Valley’s pills and used the Cultivator Alliance’s mobilization effort to justify targeting Red Leaf Ridge.
• Jia Shuiqing demanded the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual and five thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones from Le Tong as ransom.

Le Tong negotiated over his ransom and the Immortal Binding Rope, while Jia Shuiqing released several captives but refused to search a Central Province cultivator’s soul. Zhu Jiayi then revealed that the captured True Immortal Bowen was his old friend Duan Bowen, a Dongsheng native who had posed as a Central Province cultivator while secretly trading between the regions.

• Le Tong said he could not readily provide the ransom, and Jia Shuiqing told him he would remain at Red Leaf Ridge until it was paid while claiming the Immortal Binding Rope as spoils of war.
• Jia Shuiqing agreed to let one of Le Tong’s disciples carry a message, and Li Jingtian left as a witness escorting a Seven Stars Sect cultivator.
• Jia Shuiqing considered searching True Immortal Bowen’s soul, but Ji Xiaohua and Thousand Hands True Immortal warned her against provoking Central Province, so she released several defeated invaders the next day.
• Zhu Jiayi arrived with San Duo True Person and asked Qu Jianlei to consider an unreasonable request concerning the captured Duan Bowen.
• Zhu Jiayi explained that Duan Bowen was a Dongsheng native who had claimed Central Province origins after settling there with his family, then secretly traded between the regions for centuries.

Qu Jianlei and Zhu Jiayi persuaded Duan Bowen to reveal the route to Central Province by showing him Red Leaf Ridge’s evidence of its strength against the Tiger-Men. Duan Bowen agreed to guide them when he was ready to return, and Zhu Jiayi revealed that he also hoped to travel to Central Province.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to hear Duan Bowen out after Zhu Jiayi explained why he had acted arrogantly and asked them to show leniency.
• Duan Bowen recognized Zhu Jiayi, questioned Qu Jianlei about Carefree True Immortal’s death, and demanded reliable information about a possible second Tiger-Man invasion.
• Qu Jianlei threatened to search Duan Bowen’s soul unless he shared the passage’s location, while Zhu Jiayi presented Red Leaf Ridge’s Tiger-Human Nascent Soul trophies and a Wood Shield from the Otherworld.
• Duan Bowen examined the Wood Shield, accepted Tiger-Human Nascent Soul flesh as payment, and agreed to lead them to the passage when he returned to Central Province.
• Zhu Jiayi promised that the Zhu Family would guarantee Duan Bowen’s return and said he wanted to visit Central Province too; Qu Jianlei was surprised that Zhu Jiayi had never been there.

After settling disputes with Seven Stars Sect and the Zeng Family, Red Leaf Ridge received an invitation to a major gathering about exploring the void. Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin arrived at Alliance Gathering Valley, where Li Yuren came to visit them.

• Thousand Hands True Immortal and Ji Xiaohua arrived as Qu Jianlei released Duan Bowen, and they discussed whether Xiaoyao should be spared.
• The Zeng Family delivered two accounts of Out-of-Body Realm cultivation insights, and Red Leaf Ridge released Zeng Jiarui and the other Zeng Family members while continuing to hold Le Tong.
• At Seven Stars Sect's request, Red Leaf Ridge released Le Tong to search for the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual, giving him half a year to recover it.
• Three months later, a Qingyang Sect disciple invited Red Leaf Ridge to the major powers' gathering about exploring the void, and Qu Jianlei, Jing Yuexin, and Little Snake attended.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin set up at Alliance Gathering Valley, where Li Yuren arrived with several Li Family disciples to visit them.

The Alliance conference began with Red Leaf Ridge recognized as the foremost faction beneath the Twelve Greats, while True Immortal Hai He announced Central Province’s readiness to provide aid. The Alliance proposed exploration teams for investigating the Sealing Grand Array’s changes, leaving the conference to decide how the remaining True Immortals and other cultivators would be supplied.

• Emerald Screen Mountain, the Zhu Family, Thousand Hands True Immortal, and True Immortal Qi Ya visited Red Leaf Ridge, but Jing Yuexin showed little interest in Qi Ya’s proposal for mutual aid.
• The Alliance introduced Red Leaf Ridge as the thirteenth faction, while Qu Jianlei noticed the unusually prominent placement of Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• True Immortal Hai He told the conference that Central Province was prepared to provide aid but offered no advice on Dongsheng’s decisions.
• The Alliance proposed exploration teams of one True Immortal, five Golden Core Realm cultivators, and two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, then recommended sending nine True Immortals in three groups.
• The Twelve Greats claimed four True Immortal slots and accompanying cultivators, leaving the other factions to provide the remaining five True Immortals and twenty-five Golden Core Realm cultivators.

At Alliance Gathering Valley, the factions debated who would supply cultivators for a dangerous void mission, but Qu Jianlei refused to let Red Leaf Ridge be pressured into contributing True Immortals. The dispute shifted to Golden Core cultivators, where Wind and Rain Pavilion demanded two from Red Leaf Ridge and Jing Yuexin angrily objected.

• The Twelve Greats assigned the medium and small factions five True Immortal slots, while True Immortal Qi Ya proposed that the Rogue Cultivators Alliance provide two, including Xiaoyao if he could be found.
• When True Immortal Yuan Yi asked Red Leaf Ridge to state its position, Qu Jianlei said his faction had come only to observe and refused to risk its people without status or recognition.
• True Immortal Hai He urged unity against outsiders, but Qu Jianlei agreed only in principle, and the gathering decided to proceed without counting Red Leaf Ridge's True Immortals.
• Wind and Rain Pavilion's Golden Core True Person demanded that Red Leaf Ridge provide two Golden Core cultivators for the mission.
• Jing Yuexin angrily reminded Wind and Rain Pavilion of their past dispute, while True Immortal Yuan Yi argued that Red Leaf Ridge could spare cultivators without harming its foundations.

Red Leaf Ridge negotiated over its contribution to an expedition against the Alien Race, refusing to let its cultivators become expendable Chess Pieces. Qu Jianlei agreed to send two True Immortals if Xiaoyao True Immortal could not be found, but the other factions left wary of Red Leaf Ridge’s command and battlefield discipline.

• Yuan Yi and Ke Liang argued that Red Leaf Ridge should send Golden Core cultivators, while Qi Ya defended her disciple and Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin weighed the risks.
• Zeng Jiarui, Hai He, Yuan Yi, and Zhao Sanshui asked Qu Jianlei to provide four Golden Core cultivators, but Qu Jianlei demanded assurances they would not become cannon fodder.
• Qu Jianlei offered one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in place of the Golden Core cultivators, on the condition that Red Leaf Ridge command the other two True Immortals in the squad.
• After Yuan Yi questioned Red Leaf Ridge’s experience coordinating with outsiders, Qu Jianlei offered two True Immortals a voice in a squad if Xiaoyao True Immortal could not be found.
• Qu Jianlei said Red Leaf Ridge would accept any teammate with a sense of the greater good and warned that it would enforce battlefield discipline without sparing anyone’s feelings.
• The four True Immortals agreed to announce Red Leaf Ridge’s contribution, while three privately decided not to let their own people team up with Red Leaf Ridge.

Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing joined a void expedition after Red Leaf Ridge claimed two Nascent Soul slots, and the other forces finalized their teams around them. The group reached the grand array, where Thousand Hands True Immortal secured a place alongside Red Leaf Ridge, and He Jiuling learned that Red Leaf Ridge possessed knowledge of Alien Races beyond Tiger-Men.

• Thousand Hands True Immortal joined the mission after learning Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing would represent Red Leaf Ridge, then helped settle the rogue True Immortals' selections.
• Ji Xiaohua decided to stay on the expedition after hearing Qu Jianlei would go, and he persuaded He Jiuling to accompany him.
• The selected cultivators gathered at Red Leaf Ridge, where Qu Jianlei left Jiao Daoren behind to guard their home and brought Sunset Glow instead.
• Qu Jianlei's group traveled to the grand array, and Thousand Hands True Immortal secured a place on their team.
• Ji Xiaohua hinted to He Jiuling that Red Leaf Ridge possessed Alien Race remains beyond Tiger-Men, prompting He Jiuling to suspect they had Alien Race trees.

The three squads began exploring the void, with Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing using a Battalion-Class Ship to coordinate with their allies. Their search uncovered lingering Heavenly Demon aura, and Qu Jianlei, Jia Shuiqing, and Thousand Hands True Immortal prepared to collect evidence and clear it away.

• The True Immortals divided the cultivators into three squads, placing Li Yuren with Ji Xiaohua and He Jiuling while Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing joined Thousand Hands True Immortal.
• Qu Jianlei revealed a Battalion-Class Ship after the squads entered the void, and Jia Shuiqing and Thousand Hands True Immortal brought their groups aboard.
• Li Yuren asked Qu Jianlei to sell his squad a Battalion-Class Ship, but Qu Jianlei refused and agreed to maintain communications instead.
• After more than a month of searching, Jia Shuiqing investigated an anomaly and ordered the nearby cultivators to withdraw after sensing a grave presence.
• Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing identified an aura resembling a Heavenly Demon, and Thousand Hands True Immortal joined them to inspect it.
• Qu Jianlei proposed collecting the aura in sealed bottles and clearing what remained, and Thousand Hands True Immortal agreed.

Qu Jianlei demonstrated that the Broken Blade could swiftly erase Heavenly Devil Qi, then learned that the other exploration teams had encountered real Heavenly Demons and sent reinforcements. His team found Ji Xiaohua’s besieged Warships, whose defenders feared they could hold out for only ten more days.

• Qu Jianlei used the Broken Blade to clear the surrounding Heavenly Devil Qi, astonishing Thousand Hands True Immortal and the others.
• Five days later, Ji Xiaohua’s team reported that Li Yuren’s group had been attacked by Heavenly Demons, suffered casualties, and needed aid.
• Qu Jianlei sent a Zhu Family Golden Core Realm cultivator back to warn the cultivators inside the Sealing Grand Array, then led his team toward the besieged groups.
• Qu Jianlei stopped the Battalion-Class Ship after his intuition warned him of danger, and Xiao Hu’s detectors located three Warships trapped in anomalous energy.
• Ji Xiaohua’s three Warships used a Three Powers Array and soul-defense formations to resist the Heavenly Demons, but He Jiuling estimated they could hold out for at most ten days.

Ji Xiaohua’s group learned that Red Leaf Ridge was launching a rescue, and Wind Forgotten emerged to attack the Heavenly Demons. The Tree Race giant disrupted the enemy but faced limits in its energy-intensive, narrow attacks.

• Ji Xiaohua restrained a Cultivator who criticized the Twelve Greats, warned everyone not to weaken morale, and told the teams to prepare to resist until rescue arrived.
• Sunset Glow appeared as a Ruler and instructed Ji Xiaohua’s group to keep attacking the Heavenly Demons and move toward Red Leaf Ridge if anything changed.
• A massive tree appeared and used black spatial attacks to cut apart Heavenly Demons, revealing itself as an Alien Race rather than an immortal plant.
• Qu Jianlei released Wind Forgotten from the portable space to fight alone, while keeping the other Tree Race members in reserve.
• Wind Forgotten charged into the Heavenly Devil Qi and drew many Heavenly Demons away from the Cultivators, but its linear attacks consumed considerable energy and could not deal area damage.

Wind Forgotten sheltered Ji Xiaohua’s three warships while Qu Jianlei and Broken Blade attacked the Heavenly Demons surrounding them. After the demons fled and were pursued, Qu Jianlei ordered the Battalion-Class Ship to rendezvous with Ji Xiaohua’s team.

• Wind Forgotten invited Ji Xiaohua and the others into its tree holes, letting their warships escape the siege from most directions.
• Wind Forgotten relayed Qu Jianlei’s order for the cultivators to attack the Heavenly Demons and avoid irrelevant targets.
• Qu Jianlei released Broken Blade, which destroyed Heavenly Demons far more quickly than Wind Forgotten’s black lines.
• After more than half an hour of fighting, the Heavenly Demons scattered, and Broken Blade pursued and killed many of them.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the Battalion-Class Ship to advance toward Ji Xiaohua’s team, whose members realized they had escaped.

Qu Jianlei and the two exploration teams eliminated the remaining Heavenly Demons, assessed their losses, and decided to return while leaving Red Leaf Ridge to guard outside the Sealing Grand Array. They found the Third Team, which had also fought Heavenly Demons and escaped, but one of its True Immortals had been injured.

• Qu Jianlei helped the teams destroy the remaining Heavenly Demons, including one that used a spatial jump to attack Li Yuren.
• Qu Jianlei took away the Tree Race, and the teams counted their casualties and damage before discussing whether to continue exploring.
• Qu Jianlei warned that Heavenly Demons might find weak points around the Sealing Grand Array, and the True Immortals agreed to return while Red Leaf Ridge guarded outside it.
• Ji Xiaohua led his team aboard the Battalion-Class Ship to search for the Third Team, and they found it after two days.
• Li Yuren learned that the Third Team had fought and killed some Heavenly Demons, escaped, and suffered the injury of a True Immortal.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge completed six months of border garrison duty, patrolling around the Sealing Grand Array and destroying several small Heavenly Demon units. As they returned inside the array, Le Tong warned Qu Jianlei that a major cultivator might have arrived from Central Province.

• Zhao Sanshui, Daoist Gao, and the Palace-Attired Beauty reviewed battle recordings and agreed to withdraw with Red Leaf Ridge.
• Qu Jianlei led the squads back to the Sealing Grand Array by a circuitous route, where True Immortal Yuan Yi asked Red Leaf Ridge to hold the line for half a year.
• Qu Jianlei refused Yuan Yi's requests to inspect the Tree Race cultivator and buy the Mortal Warship, then agreed to remain on patrol with Thousand Hands True Immortal.
• Jia Shuiqing left for over three months to retrieve supplies, while Qu Jianlei and Thousand Hands True Immortal continued patrolling and eliminating Heavenly Demon units.
• Li Jingtian, Le Tong, and True Immortal Ke Liang arrived with the next rotation, and Le Tong told Qu Jianlei that a major cultivator might have come from Central Province.
• Qu Jianlei and the returning cultivators entered the Sealing Grand Array as its stone pillars and defenses stood ready for battle.

Qu Jianlei and Jia Shuiqing returned to Red Leaf Ridge after facing intrusive inspections, and Qu Jianlei reported that the Cangwu Realm would soon face a Heavenly Demon invasion. As Red Leaf Ridge attracted allies and refugees, Yan Jinhai proposed greatly expanding its territory and making it a refuge.

• Qu Jianlei refused a demand to surrender his belongings during an inspection, then reached Red Leaf Ridge with Jia Shuiqing.
• Paranoid told Qu Jianlei that Tian Yin was nearing a breakthrough, and Qu Jianlei agreed to discuss it after resting.
• Qu Jianlei told the residents of Red Leaf Ridge about the Heavenly Demons as Dongsheng prepared to resist their invasion.
• Small and medium-sized forces sought ties with Red Leaf Ridge after its squad became known for defeating Heavenly Demons without losses.
• Yan Jinhai visited Red Leaf Ridge and proposed expanding its territory to create a refuge for Dongsheng's people.

Qu Jianlei’s team agreed to expand Red Leaf Ridge amid the coming Heavenly Demon invasion and discussed how to manage refuge seekers and nearby land. The chapter ended with Qu Jianlei rejecting Hundred Herbs Valley’s envoy and demanding the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual before he would help them.

• Yan Jinhai explained that Red Leaf Ridge could expand and establish rules for a refuge site, while Paranoid insisted on a buffer zone and Duo Gan proposed charging fees through an agent system.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to expand Red Leaf Ridge, and Yan Jinhai told Yan Xuemin to build ties with Wu Laoliu.
• After Tian Yin emerged from seclusion, Qu Jianlei divined that she would be safer attempting a breakthrough in half a year.
• Three Flavors True Immortal arrived from Hundred Herbs Valley to discuss Heavenly Devil Qi contamination, but Qu Jianlei cursed Five Willows and ordered him away.
• Qu Jianlei refused to help Hundred Herbs Valley unless it brought him the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual, and Three Flavors True Immortal left in anger.

Red Leaf Ridge negotiated its territorial expansion and began planning Small Towns to shelter refugees while recruiting workers. Qu Jianlei’s team left the terms of refuge unsettled but established a larger protected domain and adopted a more restrained approach to dealing with outsiders.

• Wu Laoliu reported an offer of a Seven-Leaf Mysterious Soul Grass, but Hua Xiezhi refused to let Shi Yongsheng’s treasure aura influence Red Leaf Ridge’s decisions or grant the offerer access to the Core Area.
• True Immortal Yuan Yi visited to discuss Red Leaf Ridge’s expansion, and Qu Jianlei declined to promise how many people they would protect or confirm plans for an official Residential Area.
• Red Leaf Ridge and the Yan Family settled the new boundaries at nearly two thousand square kilometers, with the Yan Family reserving one hundred square kilometers for a possible retreat.
• Hua Xiezhi announced plans to build Small Towns for refugees and recruit construction workers, while Wu Laoliu explained that protection would come at a cost.
• Duo Gan and Jia Shuiqing defended Red Leaf Ridge’s restrained handling of suspicious outsiders as the proper way to integrate into Cangwu Realm society.

Qu Jianlei and Red Leaf Ridge turned away True Immortal Zhiyuan’s demands and built a system of outside supervisors, inspectors, and project overseers for the Small Town. As work continued and Red Leaf Ridge strengthened its Spirit Veins, True Immortal Jiaoying visited Jing Yuexin to ask why her family’s Xuan Soul Grass had been refused, leaving Jing Yuexin to guess her real reason.

• Qu Jianlei refused True Immortal Zhiyuan’s requests to inspect and question the Tree Race member, telling him to return after becoming a Great Venerable.
• Duo Gan warned True Immortal Zhiyuan that Heavenly Demons might attack Central Province, and Zhiyuan left after offering to welcome Red Leaf Ridge if it provided the Out-of-Body Mother Tree’s remains.
• Dongsheng factions competed for Small Town construction positions, and Red Leaf Ridge established supervisors, project overseers, and inspectors to oversee the work.
• Qu Jianlei expanded Red Leaf Ridge’s territory and began improving its Spirit Veins while reports of scattered Heavenly Demons continued.
• True Immortal Jiaoying told Jing Yuexin that the family who had offered Xuan Soul Grass belonged to her, and Jing Yuexin guessed that Jiaoying had another reason for seeking Red Leaf Ridge’s help.

Jing Yuexin confronted True Immortal Jiaoying over Heyang’s schemes, and Jiaoying offered a Jade Tablet to settle the Profound Moon Sect’s grievance with Red Leaf Ridge. Two days later, Zhu Jiayi asked Qu Jianlei to shelter the Zhu Family and proposed building a Teleportation Array at Red Leaf Ridge as protection against a Heavenly Demon invasion.

• Jing Yuexin challenged True Immortal Jiaoying’s account of the dispute over the Tiger-Man Nascent Soul corpse and accused her of trying to bait Red Leaf Ridge into harming her clansmen.
• True Immortal Jiaoying admitted she wanted to resolve the conflict, and Jing Yuexin warned her to keep Heyang away from Red Leaf Ridge.
• True Immortal Jiaoying left a detailed Jade Tablet about the Eastern Prosperity Continent, and Qu Jianlei agreed to let the grievance end if Heyang caused no further trouble.
• Zhu Jiayi asked Qu Jianlei to reserve territory at Red Leaf Ridge as a contingency for the Zhu Family, explaining that a few clansmen would arrive first to prepare residences.
• Qu Jianlei questioned whether the Zhu Family could safely reach Red Leaf Ridge during an emergency, and Zhu Jiayi tentatively proposed establishing a Teleportation Array there.

Zhu Jiayi negotiated with Qu Jianlei to establish a teleportation link between the Zhu Family and Red Leaf Ridge, offering array discs and proposing a fixed array. He also revealed that Duan Bowen wanted to return to Central Province, leaving Qu Jianlei weighing the timing of the trip while reassuring Zhu Jiayi that Red Leaf Ridge would not abandon the war.

• Zhu Jiayi proposed a teleportation link with Red Leaf Ridge so the two sides could share information and supplies, and offered to let Red Leaf Ridge personnel guard both ends.
• Zhu Jiayi explained that his family had an array master and Teleportation Array Discs, while Qu Jianlei suggested building a fixed array as well and asked to study both types of teleportation technology.
• Qu Jianlei asked what the Zhu Family had planned to offer in exchange, and Zhu Jiayi said Duan Bowen wanted to return to Central Province and had asked whether anyone from Red Leaf Ridge would go with him.
• Qu Jianlei asked how long a round trip would take and considered the risks of leaving Dongsheng while war with the Heavenly Demons seemed imminent.
• Zhu Jiayi felt relieved that Qu Jianlei was considering the trip rather than fleeing Dongsheng, and concluded that his fears about Red Leaf Ridge abandoning the fight had been unnecessary.

Qu Jianlei learned the principles of the Zhu Family’s Teleportation Array before setting out with Zhu Jiayi and Duan Bowen to cross the sea from Dongsheng to Central Province. The group boarded Duan Bowen’s concealed Warship for a voyage expected to last at least three months.

• Qu Jianlei arranged land for the Zhu Family, whose cultivators built homes and a Teleportation Array while its array master explained the craft to him.
• Qu Jianlei studied the array and its Array Plate, then entrusted Xiao Hu with calculations to explore improvements to the travel experience.
• Qu Jianlei, Qinghu, Zhu Jiayi, Claire, Tian Yin, and the Keros siblings traveled to a West Coast town and met Duan Bowen and his hunter-cultivator group.
• After making preparations, Duan Bowen brought out a small concealed Warship and explained that crossing the Isolation Grand Array required his array diagram, Sea Chart, and knowledge of the sea.
• The group boarded the cramped Warship after dark, with Qu Jianlei’s companions receiving more space while Duan Bowen’s group settled into stacked bunks.

As Sea Beasts made the voyage to Central Province increasingly dangerous, Qu Jianlei proposed a new way to travel using the aura of an Out-of-Body Tiger-Man. Duan Bowen discovered that Red Leaf Ridge possessed a Tiger-Man Great Venerable’s little toe and was stunned by how they had obtained it.

• Duan Bowen warned Qu Jianlei that divine-sense probes and battles could attract Sea Beasts, and the warship repeatedly changed course to avoid them.
• After the Sea Beasts’ activity pushed the estimated journey to as long as six months, Qu Jianlei proposed storing everyone below the True Immortal level in Spirit Beast Pouches.
• Qu Jianlei asked whether an Out-of-Body aura could repel Sea Beasts, and Duan Bowen promised to keep the matter secret.
• Qu Jianlei revealed a piece of flesh from an Out-of-Body Tiger-Man, and Duan Bowen recognized it as a little toe and demanded to know how Red Leaf Ridge had obtained it.

Qu Jianlei used the Tiger-Human Great Venerable’s remains to conceal the group as Sunset Glow carried them across the sea far faster than the Warship. The group paused to rest, and Duan Bowen told his attendants they would reach Central Province within four days.

• Duan Bowen examined the toe and concluded that Qu Jianlei had killed a Great Venerable.
• Duan Bowen judged that the Great Venerable’s aura cleared a safe path through the Sea Beasts and estimated the Warship would take another month and a half to reach Central Province.
• Qu Jianlei proposed using Sunset Glow to travel faster, and Duan Bowen agreed after they put away the Warship.
• Qu Jianlei carried Sunset Glow and the Great Venerable’s remains above the sea while Qinghu and Duan Bowen held on, and Sunset Glow accelerated through the gang winds.
• Duan Bowen corrected their course and later estimated that they could reach Central Province in five days at their current speed.
• After two days, the group stopped to rest, and Duan Bowen told his attendants they would reach Central Province in four days at most.

Qu Jianlei and his companions reached Central Province, parted ways with Duan Bowen in Wanghai East City, and settled in Liuguang City. Qu Jianlei tested a teleportation array beneath their rented courtyard, triggering the Defense Array, while his companions staged a loud argument to disguise the disturbance.

• Duan Bowen brought the group ashore in Central Province, where they hunted Sea Beasts and passed as returning hunters.
• Duan Bowen led his disciples to Wanghai East City, then gave Qu Jianlei and the other five advice on obtaining temporary identities before they separated.
• Qu Jianlei and his companions bought passage Talisman Plates, spent several days in Wanghai East City, and teleported to Liuguang City.
• The six rented a courtyard in Liuguang City for three months and took turns exploring the city and buying goods.
• Qu Jianlei secretly built a Stone Chamber and Teleportation Array underground, but its energy ripple made the Defense Array tremble.
• Tian Yin and Korona loudly argued and overturned a table, distracting nearby cultivators while Qu Jianlei returned aboveground.