Recaps

Lin Sheng met Qi Ning, who revealed herself as the Dark Star Blazing Star Emissary Thousand Faces, and asked about the Phantom Demon Beast and his prospects for joining a sect. On her recommendation, he traveled to Wanhua City to visit the Seven Forms Sect and, after finding its headquarters nearly deserted, spotted someone as he neared the mountainside.

• Lin Sheng recognized Qi Ning as Thousand Faces, and she examined his cultivation in the Ape Fetus Technique and Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm.
• Qi Ning told Lin Sheng that Dark Star had spread word about the Phantom Demon Beast and that the Lin'an authorities would respond.
• Qi Ning warned Lin Sheng that joining the major powers would be difficult and recommended the Seven Forms Sect, giving him a Concealment Art to hide his qi and blood.
• Lin Sheng gathered intelligence on the Seven Forms Sect, learned about its seven courtyards and Sect Master Ouyang Bing, and decided to visit.
• Lin Sheng traveled for three days to Wanhua City, climbed toward the Seven Forms Sect headquarters, and finally saw someone near the mountainside.

Lin Sheng passed the Seven Forms Sect’s martial assessment despite being outmatched in strength by Lu Tie, then learned that his bloodline talent was low. Lu Tie explained that the sect’s seven courtyard arts combined into the hidden Seven Forms True Martial and began revealing its founding history.

• Zhang Yuanshan guided Lin Sheng to the Hall of External Affairs and described the Seven Forms Sect’s seven courtyards.
• Lin Sheng paid the assessment fee, and Lu Tie tested his strength and speed before declaring that he had passed.
• Steward Wang tested Lin Sheng’s blood and found only a thin trace of ape-type bloodline, which Lu Tie called lowest of the low.
• Lu Tie assured Lin Sheng that the sect did not place high requirements on bloodline talent and explained that its seven courtyard arts formed the Seven Forms True Martial.
• Lu Tie began telling Lin Sheng about the Seven Forms Sect’s founding ancestor.

Lin Sheng joined the Seven Forms Sect’s Qingniao Institute and became Xie Qingyun’s personal disciple, then began cultivating its Green Winged Bird-based technique. After moving his companions to Wanhua City, he struggled to find enough suitable beast blood and resolved to seek a reliable source and a way to earn money.

• Lu Tie explained the Seven Forms Sect’s history and its founder’s creation of the Seven Forms True Martial, and Lin Sheng chose the quieter Qingniao Institute over the crowded Golden Origin Courtyard.
• At Qingniao Peak, Xie Qingyun confirmed Lin Sheng was seventeen and made him her fifth personal disciple.
• Lin Sheng spent four days practicing Qingniao Chasing Star Finger but made little progress, so he went to Wanhua City to find suitable avian beast blood and meet Wang Dehai and the others.
• Lin Sheng rented two courtyards, settled Wang Dehai, Xiao Shi, Old Zhou, Lin Hong, and the others, and sent three men to search for high-grade avian beast blood.
• Lin Sheng absorbed the gathered blood but obtained enough for only one beast, then recognized that he needed a steadier supply and a way to make money.

Lin Sheng joined Qingniao Institute and began cultivating Qingniao Chasing Star Finger, using an Azure Feather Pill to break through to its first level. He then sought stronger bird-type beasts in Wanhua City and learned that Myriad Beasts Hall had a Ghost Face Black Plover priced at eighteen thousand taels of silver.

• Lin Sheng assimilated a Crimson Feather Eagle and improved his cultivation of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger under Xie Qingyun's guidance.
• Lin Sheng struggled to sense the technique's rhythm until an Azure Feather Pill helped him activate his first acupoint and enter the first level.
• Lin Sheng failed to open a second acupoint after taking his remaining Azure Feather Pill, then decided to seek suitable bird-type beasts in Wanhua City.
• At Myriad Beasts Hall, Yang Niu told Lin Sheng that the requested Azure Windbirds and Void Songbirds were unavailable but offered a Ghost Face Black Plover for eighteen thousand taels of silver.

Lin Sheng accepted a Dark Star commission to kill the Blood Circulation Practitioner Luo Hu and spent the following days preparing through intensive cultivation. He broke through to major completion in Tendon Forging with the Ape Fetus Technique, then set out to test his improved strength.

• Lin Sheng chose a Gray Star commission to kill the Red-haired Bandits' leader, Red-haired Ghost Luo Hu, despite the base woman's warning that two Gray Star Emissaries had died attempting it.
• The base woman registered the task and told Lin Sheng that the client wanted to meet him at No. 175, Shuixiang Street.
• Lin Sheng returned to his residence, trained with medicinal preparations, and planned to strengthen the Ape Fetus Technique and Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm before confronting the bandits.
• After seven days of intensive cultivation, Lin Sheng shattered the Ape Fetus Technique's bottleneck and reached major completion in Tendon Forging.
• Lin Sheng tested his new agility by leaping onto a roof, then vanished to test his strength.

Lin Sheng met Cao Ying and Cao Luan after accepting their mission to kill the Red-haired Ghost, Luo Hu, and learned detailed intelligence about the bandit gang. When Cao Luan challenged Lin Sheng for not being a Blood Circulation Practitioner, Lin Sheng grabbed him by the neck.

• Lin Sheng finished digesting Cold Condensation Grass, strengthening his Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, then left to meet his client.
• Cao Ying told Cao Luan that Ghost Face had accepted their mission, while Cao Luan doubted the assassin could avenge their father.
• Lin Sheng arrived at Cao Ying's home, where she shared intelligence about Luo Hu and the Red-haired Bandits.
• Cao Ying said she had an item that might help locate Luo Hu and went inside to retrieve it.
• Cao Luan accused Lin Sheng of deceiving them because he was not a Blood Circulation Practitioner, and Lin Sheng seized him by the neck.

Lin Sheng accepted Cao Ying’s mission to hunt the Red-haired Bandits after discovering the Jade Moth and receiving her Snow Silver Moth for tracking Luo Hu. While Lin Sheng prepared to leave for Pingshan County, Cao Luan secretly took a locked-away cylindrical object and slipped into the night, determined to avenge their father himself.

• Lin Sheng crushed the Jade Moth’s jade casing, learned the insect could sense qi and blood, and stopped Cao Luan from taking it back by force.
• Cao Luan accused Lin Sheng of being only a Muscle Forging martial artist, but Cao Ying accepted him for the mission and gave him the Snow Silver Moth to track Luo Hu.
• At his residence, Lin Sheng inspected the Snow Silver Moth, considered its perception-enhancing value, and decided to set out for Pingshan County the next day.
• Cao Ying went to sleep while Cao Luan cleaned up, then secretly unlocked a room and took a cylindrical object.
• Cao Luan left the courtyard in the darkness, vowing to punish Lin Sheng if he deceived them and to kill Luo Hu himself.

Lin Sheng agreed to take Cao Luan to Pingshan County for an additional two thousand taels, while a Phantom Demon Beast’s demonic seed spread through a pack of mountain wolves as Song Yan and an armored man hunted it. After reaching Pingshan County, Lin Sheng went to a tavern instead of immediately searching for the Red-haired Bandits, frustrating Cao Luan.

• Lin Sheng met Cao Luan outside Wanhua City and agreed to bring him to Pingshan County for two thousand taels of silver, warning him that he had only one life.
• On the road, Lin Sheng killed a bandit leader, and the surviving bandits fled and left behind a horse for him.
• A gray rabbit carrying the Phantom Demon Beast’s demonic seed infected a pack of mountain wolves, turning them into shriveled corpses before the wolf leader vanished.
• Song Yan and an armored man examined the remains and set off to pursue the demonic seed before it could consume more flesh and blood.
• After four days of travel, Lin Sheng and Cao Luan reached Pingshan County, and Lin Sheng dismissed Cao Luan’s suggestion to search randomly with the Snow Silver Moth.
• Lin Sheng took Cao Luan to a tavern and feasted, while Cao Luan grew angry and then backed down when Lin Sheng’s dangerous aura intimidated him.

In Pingshan County, Wu Shan learned that Lin Sheng and Cao Luan were asking about the Red-haired Bandits and ordered them watched. Elsewhere, Mo Shan and Song Yan destroyed a Phantom Demon Beast, which survived by possessing a field mouse; after two days in Pingshan County, Cao Luan reclaimed the Snow Silver Moth from Lin Sheng and unknowingly attracted pursuers.

• Sun Mazi reported to Wu Shan that a young peak Muscle Forging Practitioner and a Body Tempering boy had asked about the Red-haired Bandits, and Wu Shan ordered his men to watch them.
• Mo Shan and Song Yan ambushed and destroyed a Phantom Demon Beast that had been draining the life from villagers in a mountain village.
• After Mo Shan and Song Yan left, the demon seed escaped through a corpse and possessed a field mouse before fleeing into the mountains.
• Cao Luan confronted Lin Sheng after two days of waiting in Pingshan County and demanded the Snow Silver Moth back.
• Lin Sheng returned the small jade gourd containing the Snow Silver Moth and walked away, while several watchers began following Cao Luan.

Lin Sheng captured two men following him and tried to learn where Luo Hu was, but one died by poison and the other gave up no useful information before Lin Sheng killed him. Meanwhile, Sun Mazi abducted Cao Luan and sent him to Boss Wu’s residence for interrogation, leaving Lin Sheng unaware that his companion had been taken.

• Lin Sheng lured two Red-haired Bandits watchers into an abandoned courtyard and subdued them.
• Lin Sheng demanded to know where Luo Hu was, but the peddler threatened him and the thin man tried to poison himself rather than reveal anything.
• Lin Sheng absorbed some of the poison with the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, tortured both men, and killed them after they refused to talk.
• Lin Sheng reasoned that the Red-haired Bandits likely had connections in Pingshan County’s seat and headed off to check on Cao Luan.
• Cao Luan tested the Snow Silver Moth, found no sign of the Red-haired Bandits, and decided to search the eastern district before leaving the city.
• Sun Mazi disguised as a flatbread peddler drugged and abducted Cao Luan, then ordered two men to take him to Boss Wu’s other residence for interrogation.

Cao Luan used the corrosive weapon his father left him to escape Sun Mazi and fight through the Red-haired Bandits’ compound, but Zhou Quan disarmed and captured him. As Wu Shan prepared to question Cao Luan, a powerful newcomer broke through the courtyard gate.

• Cao Luan pretended to remain unconscious, then injured Sun Mazi when he tried to steal the bundle and killed him with the weapon’s black mist.
• Cao Luan killed several bandits with the weapon as he tried to escape, but Wu Shan and Zhou Quan arrived and identified him as someone seeking Luo Hu.
• Zhou Quan dodged the weapon’s black mist, used a bandit as a shield, and snatched the weapon from Cao Luan after breaking his wrist.
• Wu Shan stopped Zhou Quan from taking Cao Luan away before questioning him, and a newcomer smashed through the courtyard gate and entered.

Lin Sheng rescued Cao Luan from Wu Shan and the Red-haired Five Devils, killing Zhou Quan and the men who attacked him. Wu Shan led Lin Sheng and Cao Luan to the Green Bamboo Forest, where the Snow Silver Moth confirmed Luo Hu was hiding beneath a courtyard.

• Lin Sheng killed Zhou Quan in the courtyard, then killed the dozen Red-haired Bandits who charged him.
• Wu Shan fled with Cao Luan, but Lin Sheng caught up, wounded him with a poisoned flying knife, and forced him to lead the way to Luo Hu.
• Lin Sheng let Wu Shan guide him out of Pingshan County while Cao Luan followed with his short rod.
• Wu Shan led Lin Sheng and Cao Luan to a courtyard in the Green Bamboo Forest and revealed an underground space beneath it.
• Cao Luan released the Snow Silver Moth, which flew toward the courtyard and confirmed Luo Hu was inside the underground space.

Lin Sheng survived Wu Shan’s trap and confronted Red-haired Ghost Luo Hu in the underground passageway. Though Luo Hu’s saber strikes badly wounded him, Lin Sheng’s poisonous blood and rapid regeneration turned the fight in his favor, and he demanded Luo Hu’s possessions as the chief’s life faded.

• Wu Shan trapped Lin Sheng in the study with crossbow bolts, but Lin Sheng broke through the passageway wall and caught him.
• Luo Hu appeared, and Lin Sheng dropped Wu Shan before crushing him beneath his boot.
• Lin Sheng transformed and fought Luo Hu, whose nimble footwork and Crimson Tiger Demonic Saber repeatedly wounded him.
• Luo Hu realized Lin Sheng’s blood was poisonous and launched Demonic Tiger Annihilation, but Lin Sheng drove his hand into Luo Hu’s chest and seized his heart and spine.
• Lin Sheng’s wounds rapidly healed, and he demanded that Luo Hu hand over everything he owned as Luo Hu’s strength ebbed.

Lin Sheng killed Luo Hu, survived Nether Ghost Bee venom, and searched Luo Hu’s underground lair for treasure. After finding a hidden chamber and taking its valuables, he left the ruined courtyard with Cao Luan.

• Lin Sheng failed to save Luo Hu from the accumulated poison, then emerged from underground and handed Luo Hu’s corpse to Cao Luan, who recognized him as Ghost Face.
• Lin Sheng touched Nether Ghost Bee venom and repeatedly tore away the poisoned flesh until his rapid healing purged it.
• Lin Sheng searched the underground hall and discovered a hidden chamber concealed above the walls.
• Lin Sheng took more than ten thousand taels in banknotes, red silk, scarlet pills, and an enormous tiger pelt from the chamber.
• Lin Sheng returned to Cao Luan and left the purple bamboo grove with him.

Lin Sheng returned to Wanhua City after completing his mission, accepted Cao Ying’s offer to become an Attendant, and collected his Dark Star reward. After checking his gains and returning to the Seven Forms Sect, he met Senior Sister Bai Qing and decided to look for a suitable Spirit Beast.

• Cao Ying thanked Lin Sheng for protecting Cao Luan, gave him three thousand taels and a matured Jade Moth, and invited him to become an Attendant in her reopened business; Lin Sheng agreed to receive twenty percent of its future monthly profits.
• After Lin Sheng left, Cao Ying scolded Cao Luan for taking their father’s Nether Staff and warned him not to disrespect Lin Sheng again.
• Lin Sheng claimed his mission reward at the Dark Star headquarters, where the middle-aged woman ordered a short man to investigate what had happened in Pingshan County.
• Lin Sheng returned home, checked on Lin Hong, Xie Guilan, Wang Dehai, and Old Zhou, and examined his money, Jade Moth, pills, and red silk before resting.
• At the Qingniao Institute, Lin Sheng learned that Xie Qingyun was away and met her fourth personal disciple, Bai Qing, who examined his martial progress and invited him to spar.
• Lin Sheng left the institute and returned to Wanhua City to search for a suitable Spirit Beast.

Lin Sheng bought a savage Three-eyed Spirit Monkey from Myriad Beasts Hall after failing to find a suitable avian Spirit Beast. He left Wanhua City with the monkey and asked Yang Niu to notify him if any avian Spirit Beasts became available.

• Lin Sheng reviewed Myriad Beasts Hall’s available Spirit Beasts and chose the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey for his Ape Fetus Technique.
• Yang Niu bargained with Lin Sheng and agreed to sell the monkey for twenty-one thousand taels of silver.
• Yang Niu led Lin Sheng to a stone chamber, where they found the chained Three-eyed Spirit Monkey subdued by Bone-Softening Powder.
• Lin Sheng paid for the monkey, received its chains and a horse carriage, and asked Yang Niu to watch for avian Spirit Beasts.
• Yang Niu revealed that the monkey had killed villagers, attendants, and a disciple named Tian Xie, and hoped Lin Sheng would handle it carefully.

Lin Sheng fought and subdued the unusually resilient Three-eyed Spirit Monkey by crushing its bones and poisoning it with his blood and qi. After inspecting the creature, he discovered information that made his pupils contract, leaving its secret unrevealed.

• Lin Sheng attacked the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey, but its body endured dozens of blows without serious injury.
• Lin Sheng transformed with the Blood Demon Centipede, his Earth Affinity talent, and the Ape Demon Transformation, then pinned the monkey and poisoned it when it drank his blood.
• Da Huang returned with a pack of dogs, and the monkey burst out of Lin Sheng’s room before Lin Sheng stomped it down and carried it back inside.
• Lin Sheng found the monkey poisoned and badly injured but still alive, and wondered whether something unusual explained its strength.
• Lin Sheng touched the monkey’s wound to read information about it, and his pupils contracted at what he learned.

Lin Sheng studied the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey and learned that its Blood Dragon Fruit transformation gave it two Talents, but he postponed assimilation until he could meet its Perception requirement and prepare the beast as a test subject. Later, after discussing ancient beasts with Zhao Kongfang in Wanhua City, he watched Liu Tianci accept Ouyang Lengshui’s challenge and head for the city outskirts.

• Lin Sheng discovered that the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey provided eighteen assimilation attributes, including Spirit, and possessed the Iron Bone and mutated Heart Ape Talents.
• Lin Sheng decided to research the Blood Dragon Fruit, but he locked the weakened monkey away because he could not yet meet its assimilation requirement and wanted to test the Blood Beast Spirit Nurturing Method on it.
• Lin Sheng spent several days with Zhao Kongfang, who praised his Qingniao Chasing Star Finger and told him that the Green Winged Bird might share bloodline with the Azure Thunder Town Wind Sparrow.
• Zhao Kongfang told Lin Sheng where to find the ancient book about the Green Winged Bird, at a sundries shop on Magnolia Street.
• Ouyang Lengshui challenged Liu Tianci to settle their previous contest, and Liu Tianci accepted before the two left for the city outskirts.

Lin Sheng learned about the formidable Liu Tianci and Ouyang Lengshui before returning home to experiment with body entry on Black Tiger Bees and the Jade Moth. The Jade Moth survived the process, and Lin Sheng left it resting in its jade stone.

• Zhao Kongfang told Lin Sheng that Liu Tianci and Ouyang Lengshui were exceptional fighters, and warned him to keep his distance from them.
• Lin Sheng decided not to follow the two men and returned to his residence, where Old Zhou and Xiao Shi presented him with five Black Tiger Bees.
• Lin Sheng entered three Black Tiger Bees into his body and observed that the process consumed roughly two-thirds of each insect's bodily fluid.
• Lin Sheng fed the Jade Moth powder from a Blood Cultivating Pill before entering it into his body.
• The Jade Moth shriveled and its glow dimmed, but it soon began recovering, so Lin Sheng returned it to its jade stone.

Lin Sheng strengthened his Perception by absorbing the Horned Eagle and Da Huang, then arranged for Spirit Beast meat to be processed and fed to Da Huang. With his Perception now sufficient, he entered the rear courtyard to absorb the confined Three-eyed Spirit Monkey.

• Lin Sheng absorbed the Horned Eagle, then went outside and caught Da Huang after the dog tried to ignore him and lead his pack away.
• Lin Sheng warned Da Huang about the beast meat he had been giving away, offered Blood Cultivating Pills, and absorbed him, gaining additional Perception and Constitution.
• Lin Sheng sensed Xiao Shi and Old Zhou approaching with a crate of one hundred pounds of Spirit Beast meat and had them prepare it as jerky, giving each man two pounds to take home.
• Lin Sheng fed Da Huang a strip of Spirit Beast meat and carried another strip into the rear courtyard to confront the confined Three-eyed Spirit Monkey.

Lin Sheng integrated the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey, endured the painful transformation, and tested his enhanced strength and Iron Bone talent. He discovered that Iron Bone formed tough bony armor beneath his skin, then turned to investigate the mutated Heart Ape talent.

• Lin Sheng replenished the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey’s poison, fed it Spirit Beast meat, beat it into submission, and absorbed its blood to integrate it.
• The integration transformed Lin Sheng, giving him the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey’s power and a crimson vertical-eye marking while he stacked the Blood Demon Centipede integration to withstand the change.
• Lin Sheng tested his new speed and strength in the western forest, shattering a boulder and driving his hand into a mountain wall.
• Lin Sheng examined Iron Bone and discovered that it formed dense, durable bone spurs beneath his skin, especially around vital organs.
• Lin Sheng studied the mutated Heart Ape talent and wondered what its mutation meant.

Lin Sheng activated the Heart Ape talent and endured severe mental pain as it transformed him, then found that it greatly increased his destructive power and nearly doubled his Ape Fetus Technique cultivation speed. Five days later, he heard Zhao Kongfang mention a newly discovered beast mine in Yunshui Mountain, where the city’s factions would negotiate over its benefits.

• Lin Sheng activated the Heart Ape talent, suffered unbearable pain, and transformed as bone spikes emerged and a vertical eye opened on his forehead.
• Lin Sheng’s rampage shattered the mountaintop and punched a deep hole through a stone wall before the talent’s effects faded.
• Lin Sheng examined the new vertical eye, withdrew the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey, returned to Wanhua City, and slept until his consciousness recovered.
• Lin Sheng tested the Three-eyed Spirit Monkey’s effect on the Ape Fetus Technique and found that his cultivation efficiency had nearly doubled, estimating he could reach Blood Circulation in two months.
• Five days later, Zhao Kongfang told Lin Sheng that a beast mine had been discovered in Yunshui Mountain and that Wanhua City’s forces would negotiate over its benefits.

Lin Sheng learned that a fifty-thousand-year beast mine had been discovered in Yunshui Mountain and agreed to spar with Bai Qing. At the Seven Forms Sect meeting, Ouyang Bing chose to focus on Great Cui Peak for now rather than risk claiming another peak.

• Zhao Kongfang explained that Yunshui Mountain’s newly discovered beast mine was likely over fifty thousand years old and that Great Cui Peak might contain a medium-sized vein.
• Bai Qing arrived at the Qingniao Institute and invited Lin Sheng to spar; Zhao Kongfang declined her offer to spar later and left.
• Ouyang Bing told the institute heads that Great Cui Peak held a medium-sized fifty-thousand-year beast mine and that the other peaks remained unclaimed.
• Yuan Rong and Yu Zhao urged the Seven Forms Sect to seize another peak, while Xie Qingyun warned that doing so could provoke stronger factions in Wanhua City.
• Ouyang Bing weighed the mine’s value against the risks and ordered the sect to focus on Great Cui Peak for now, postponing decisions about the other peaks.

Lin Sheng sparred with Bai Qing and learned that her mastery of Samadhi let her dismantle his attacks and redirect his force. After she explained Samadhi’s three realms, Zhao Kongfang warned Lin Sheng not to let its study distract him from Martial Way cultivation.

• Lin Sheng used his Ape Fetus Technique and Ape Demon Ghost Release against Bai Qing, but her skill realm repeatedly disrupted his attacks and she defeated him.
• Bai Qing explained Samadhi’s skill, body, and heart realms, then demonstrated how the body realm could absorb and redirect Lin Sheng’s punch.
• Bai Qing offered to guide Lin Sheng in Samadhi, and he thanked her before they parted.
• Lin Sheng met Zhao Kongfang outside Qingniao Institute, who admitted Bai Qing was a formidable sparring partner and cautioned Lin Sheng to prioritize Martial Way cultivation.

Lin Sheng discovered that Star Worms eased the mental exhaustion caused by his Heart Ape talent and planned to obtain more, while continuing his cultivation amid growing tensions over the beast mine. After half a month, the major forces in Wanhua City were clashing over the mine, but the Seven Forms Sect remained cautious and focused on preserving its gains.

• Lin Sheng ate many Star Worms at Tianxiang Tower with Zhao Kongfang and found that they restored his mental energy without harming him.
• Zhao Kongfang explained that Star Worms came from Star Dew Grass and could cause cold poison if eaten in excess; Lin Sheng's Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm neutralized the poison.
• Lin Sheng asked Zhao Kongfang about Ouyang Lengshui and Liu Tianci, learning that their battle had ended without a victor and that Ouyang Lengshui had killed a Blood Circulation expert with one strike.
• Lin Sheng bought several old books at a sundries shop, then returned home to review his exchange with Bai Qing and practice Samadhi and the Ape Fetus Technique.
• Over the next half month, Lin Sheng learned that the White Dragon Gang and Fang Family were fighting most fiercely over the beast mine, while the Seven Forms Sect avoided major conflict and held its position.