Recaps

Lu Xuan confronted Senior Zhang, a hidden martial artist who possessed a Movement Technique, but refused to risk helping him kill a court official for it. When Zhang revealed that a Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom was tied to his daughter’s death and offered to let Lu Xuan merely hold off the victim’s guards, Lu Xuan turned back to hear him out.

• Liang Cheng attacked Senior Zhang, but Lu Xuan blocked the blow with two fingers, and Zhang fled before Lu Xuan caught him.
• Lu Xuan explained that he wanted to learn Zhang’s Movement Technique, not harm him on behalf of a county official.
• Zhang offered the technique in exchange for Lu Xuan killing the County Magistrate Assistant and another man, but Lu Xuan refused.
• As Lu Xuan started to leave, Zhang offered to reveal why he had disappeared for half a month and named the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom.
• Zhang asked Lu Xuan only to hold off the guards while he killed the man who had caused his daughter’s death, and Lu Xuan asked how he could trust Zhang’s story.

Lu Xuan obtained the Wind Chasing Steps manual from Senior Zhang and agreed to help him find the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom and kill the Mutated Beast. After changing clothes, Senior Zhang confronted a young man he called a beast in a deserted alley.

• Senior Zhang told Lu Xuan about the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom and the Mutated Beast that had killed his friends.
• Lu Xuan used 20 System Points to deduce the incomplete Wind Chasing Steps, then agreed to help Senior Zhang.
• Senior Zhang retrieved clean clothes from a buried chest containing his daughter's keepsakes and changed before returning to Lu Xuan.
• At Dwelling Fragrance Pavilion, Brother Huang left with four guards after mistreating the women accompanying him.
• Senior Zhang and another figure blocked Brother Huang in a deserted alley, and Senior Zhang revealed his face and confronted him.

Zhang Heng confronted the young man who had abused and driven his daughter to suicide, while Lu Xuan intervened to defeat the young man’s guards. Lu Xuan left as Zhang Heng began torturing the young man, choosing vengeance over escape.

• The young man recognized Zhang Heng and ordered his four guards to kill him.
• A mysterious man accompanying Zhang Heng struck down two guards with ease, revealing his overwhelming strength.
• One guard threatened the mysterious man with the deputy county magistrate’s influence, but the man appeared behind the remaining guards and knocked them unconscious.
• The mysterious man was revealed to be Lu Xuan, who departed after reflecting on Zhang Heng’s willingness to sacrifice his life for revenge.
• Zhang Heng broke the young man’s limbs and repeatedly cut him with a kitchen knife as the young man begged for mercy.

Zhang Heng killed Huang Xuanjie and his four guards, then took his own life. Chief Constable Chen Shi arrived at the scene and took charge of the politically dangerous case, while Liang Cheng recognized Zhang Heng and worried that he and Xuan-ge would be implicated.

• Zhang Heng killed Huang Xuanjie and his four guards, then struck his own chest and died.
• A yamen runner told Chen Shi that Huang Xuanjie had been killed, and Chen Shi learned the victim was secretly the County Magistrate's biological son.
• Liang Cheng celebrated Huang Xuanjie's death until Chen Shi reprimanded him, then Chen Shi took him to the scene.
• The Huang Family Head Butler tried to interfere with the corpse, but Chen Shi stopped him and ordered the yamen to remove the bodies.
• Liang Cheng recognized Zhang Heng and resolved to find a way to keep himself and Xuan-ge out of the case.

Lu Xuan rode to Chenpo Village to find Tongling Peak and search for the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom Zhang Heng had mentioned. After learning that beasts had gone mad on the mountain, he paid Zhang Dachun to watch his horse and set off alone up the trail.

• At the county office, Chen Shi kept Zhang Heng and the Huang family members’ bodies in the morgue and planned to report the case to the County Magistrate.
• Lu Xuan rode out of the county town and headed for Tongling Peak after investigating the area and confirming Chenpo Village lay at its foot.
• Lu Xuan met Chen Dachun at the village entrance and asked him for directions to Tongling Peak.
• Chen Dachun warned Lu Xuan that beasts from the summit had gone mad and attacked villagers, but Lu Xuan said he could handle them and was only seeking medicinal herbs.
• Lu Xuan gave Chen Dachun copper coins to watch his horse, then went alone up the mountain path.

Lu Xuan reached Tongling Peak in search of the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom, where he encountered and killed a sentient Mutated Beast. The System awarded him points for the kill, confirming his suspicion that demon beasts could yield points too.

• Lu Xuan fought through the beasts on Tongling Peak and found Zhang Heng's marker beside the trail to the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom cave.
• A Mutated Beast ambushed Lu Xuan, survived his palm strike, and fled after he realized it had become sentient.
• Lu Xuan pursued the Mutated Beast and killed it with the Crimson Flame Blade Art.
• The Point Addition System showed Lu Xuan had 17 points, confirming that killing the Mutated Beast had earned him points.

Lu Xuan gained System Points from killing a Mutated Beast, collected rare medicines, and secured the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom on Tongling Peak. He descended the mountain and left Chenpo Village for the county town, while the village guards realized how powerful he was.

• Lu Xuan gained 15 System Points from killing the Mutated Beast but found that Wind Chasing Steps still had not prompted a derivation.
• Lu Xuan extinguished the fire around the beast and found several kinds of Great Supplement Medicine outside a cave.
• Lu Xuan overturned a boulder and collected the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom growing beside it.
• Lu Xuan leapt down the mountain through the treetops as Zhang Dachun and Chen Xiong's guard squad gathered at its foot to search for him.
• Lu Xuan thanked the guards and rode away from Chenpo Village toward the county town, while Chen Xiong praised Zhang Dachun for meeting him.

Lu Xuan deduced Wind Chasing Steps with System Points gained from a Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom, then planned to seek more points from bizarre creatures and mutated demon beasts. Meanwhile, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold sent Second Head and Third Head to Azure Cloud County to steal Great Supplement Medicine.

• Lu Xuan ate half the Purple Blood Spirit Mushroom, spent 20 System Points to deduce Wind Chasing Steps, and found his speed and cultivation had improved.
• Lu Xuan consumed the mushroom’s remaining half, saw that he still lacked enough System Points, and decided to investigate bizarre creatures and mutated demon beasts.
• At Black Wind Stronghold, the injured old master told Second Head and Third Head that he needed more Great Supplement Medicine to recover his strength.
• The old master promised to teach them Black Fiend Palm after healing and ordered them to obtain medicine in Azure Cloud County.
• Second Head planned to identify the family with the most Great Supplement Medicine, then sneak in with Third Head, kill its members, and steal the herbs.

Fang Sheng revealed that the White Lotus Holy Seed was parasitizing his body and that he planned to use it to reach the Inner Qi Realm. The next morning, Liang Cheng visited Lu Xuan to report Zhang Heng’s death and ask for martial arts guidance.

• Fang Sheng recalled how the Lanshan County officials had betrayed him and blamed him for the Black Wind Stronghold extermination.
• Fang Sheng revealed the White Lotus Holy Seed in his chest and hoped to consume it once it matured.
• Liang Cheng told Lu Xuan that Zhang Heng had died after killing five people from the Huang Family, including the County Magistrate Assistant’s nephew.
• Liang Cheng assured Lu Xuan that the County Magistrate had closed the case and said the deaths would not implicate them.
• Liang Cheng asked Lu Xuan to guide his martial arts training, and Lu Xuan teased him about his past visits to Dwelling Fragrance Pavilion.

Liang Cheng decided to train seriously after realizing how vulnerable he was, while Lu Xuan planned to use his uncle’s county office connections to investigate unusual cases. Meanwhile, Second Head and Third Head entered the county town and tried to infiltrate the Lu Family through its pharmacy.

• Liang Cheng told Lu Xuan he had taken leave and was serious about practicing martial arts, and Lu Xuan agreed to train him at the Lu Family.
• Lu Xuan planned to ask his uncle by marriage, the county office’s records clerk, about past cases involving supernatural anomalies.
• Second Head and Third Head visited a small pharmacy, where the clerk directed them to the Lu Family Pharmacy as the town’s largest pharmacy.
• Second Head warned Third Head to behave discreetly because the county’s Chief Constable had recognized them before.
• Second Head and Third Head posed as Flesh Refining martial artists seeking work, and Lu Jiahe came out to meet them.
• Second Head presented Lu Jiahe with forged identity documents and travel permits.

Lu Xuan arranged for Liang Cheng to spar with martial artists, then recognized that two newly arrived Lu Family guards were actually concealed Bone Refining Realm fighters plotting an attack. He confronted them and struck the Second Head before their planned assault that night.

• Lu Xuan harshly trained Liang Cheng and ordered servants to bring Flesh Refining Realm martial artists for him to practice against.
• The Second Head and Third Head planned to attack the Lu Family that night and kill everyone except the old master and his relatives.
• Li Mingzhong brought five martial artists to Lu Xuan, who recognized Black Tiger and Black Wind as concealed Bone Refining Realm fighters.
• Lu Xuan dismissed the other three fighters and told Black Tiger and Black Wind to spar with him, pretending he was stuck at a Flesh Refining Realm bottleneck.
• The Second Head agreed to spar, and Lu Xuan immediately punched him flying.

Lu Xuan killed the Second and Third Heads after learning that their master was Fang Sheng, the Black Wind Stronghold Chief. In Azure Cloud County, Magistrate Ye Qingshan learned that the Blackbird Guard was coming to capture Fang Sheng, and his daughter Ye Qingxuan prepared to meet them at the city gates.

• Lu Xuan killed the Third Head with one stomp and then exploded the Second Head's head after learning Fang Sheng's location.
• Chief Constable Chen Shi told Ye Qingshan that the County Magistrate had emerged from seclusion but had done nothing about Huang Xuanjie's death.
• Ye Qingshan told Chen Shi that the prefecture had assigned the Blackbird Guard to capture Fang Sheng and asked him to greet the arriving delegation.
• Ye Qingxuan entered and revealed that her superior, Li Yanran, was leading the Blackbird Guard team; she asked to go with Chen Shi to the city gates.
• Ye Qingshan agreed to let Ye Qingxuan accompany Chen Shi to welcome the Blackbird Guard.

Li Yanran and the Blackbird Guard arrived in Azure Cloud County, where Ye Qingxuan rebuked Su Tianqi for addressing her familiarly. After Lu Xuan killed two bandits targeting the Lu Family, he decided to investigate their alleged Blood Refinement Realm master in the Lofty Mountain Range.

• Chen Shi and Ye Qingxuan waited at the county gate to welcome Li Yanran and the two Blackbird Guard members traveling with her.
• Ye Qingxuan told Su Tianqi not to call her by name, and Chen Shi escorted Li Yanran's party to the county office.
• Liang Cheng asked Lu Xuan what to do with the two dead bandits, and Lu Xuan said he would arrange their disposal inside the Lu Family.
• Lu Xuan decided to visit the Lofty Mountain Range because the dying bandit had claimed their master was a Blood Refinement Realm martial artist.
• Liang Cheng asked about Lu Xuan's Martial Realm, and Lu Xuan joked that he was only a tiny hundred-million-bit higher.

Lu Xuan headed into the Lofty Mountain Range to verify a bandit's claim about Black Wind Stronghold, while Li Yanran's group also approached the stronghold to deal with Fang Sheng. As Fang Sheng lost his sanity and slaughtered his own bandits, Lu Xuan encountered Li Yanran and her companions near the mountain.

• Lu Xuan set out for Black Wind Stronghold to investigate the threat to the Lu Family.
• Li Yanran, Chen Shi, Ye Qingxuan, and Li Yanran's two other companions made their way toward the stronghold, with Ye Qingxuan and Chen Shi staying outside.
• Fang Sheng's White Lotus consumed his Qi and Blood, driving him into a ravenous frenzy.
• Fang Sheng killed the bandits who entered the hall and looked at them as food.
• Lu Xuan met Li Yanran's group at the foot of the mountain, and he and Li Yanran recognized each other.

Lu Xuan encountered Chen Shi, Ye Qingxuan, and their group as they headed to raid Black Wind Stronghold, while Su Tianqi grew jealous and accused him of bandit ties. Lu Xuan sensed a Blood Refinement Realm martial artist among them and followed after they departed; Li Yanran reached the apparently deserted stronghold and smashed open its gates.

• Su Tianqi accused Lu Xuan of colluding with the bandits, but Chen Shi and Ye Qingxuan defended him.
• Chen Shi warned Lu Xuan to leave, then led Li Yanran and the others toward Black Wind Stronghold.
• Lu Xuan sensed a Blood Refinement Realm martial artist in the group and realized they were pursuing the bandit chief Fang Sheng.
• Chen Shi noticed the approach was strangely free of bandits and traps, but Li Yanran pressed on toward the stronghold.
• Li Yanran ordered Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng to handle any bandits while she confronted Fang Sheng, then blasted open the stronghold gates.

Li Yanran and her companions discovered that Fang Sheng had been driven to consume the people in Black Wind Stronghold as a White Lotus Blood Infant hatched from him. The infant killed Chen Lingfeng and wounded Li Yanran, then pursued Su Tianqi as Lu Xuan appeared at the stronghold gates.

• Li Yanran found Fang Sheng surrounded by bones and blood, with a White Lotus Blood Infant growing from the White Lotus Holy Seed in his chest.
• Fang Sheng died as the embryo drained his Qi and Blood, and Li Yanran recognized the creature as a White Lotus Blood Infant.
• Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng arrived, and Li Yanran urged them to run as the infant burst from its embryo.
• The White Lotus Blood Infant tore through Chen Lingfeng and swallowed his heart before Li Yanran sliced it apart, but its wounds quickly healed.
• The infant struck Li Yanran and injured her thigh, then pursued Su Tianqi as Lu Xuan appeared outside the stronghold gates.

Lu Xuan arrived at the bandit stronghold and witnessed Su Tianqi being hunted and killed by the White Lotus Blood Infant, an aberration created by the Pure World White Lotus Sect. As Li Yanran warned him to flee, Lu Xuan suddenly kicked the monster back into the stronghold and chased after it, leaving her stunned.

• Su Tianqi fled the White Lotus Blood Infant toward the stronghold entrance and encountered Lu Xuan.
• Su Tianqi tried to use Lu Xuan as a decoy, but his palm passed through Lu Xuan, and the White Lotus Blood Infant caught and devoured him.
• Li Yanran struck the monster away, warned Lu Xuan that it was an aberration, and urged him to run while she held it off.
• The White Lotus Blood Infant charged toward the entrance, but Lu Xuan kicked it back into the stronghold and pursued it.
• Li Yanran stood outside the stronghold, stunned because she had not seen what Lu Xuan did.

Lu Xuan killed the White Lotus Blood Infant and discovered that it had earned him System Points, then resolved to investigate the Pure World White Lotus Sect. Li Yanran found the scorched ground where the monster had been and decided to seek answers from Lu Xuan in Azure Cloud County City.

• Lu Xuan burned the White Lotus Blood Infant to nothingness with his Crimson Flame Blade Art and gained 33 System Points.
• Lu Xuan noted that the monster had carried a weak mysterious aura, remembered the name Pure World White Lotus Sect, and left by way of the rear mountain.
• Chen Shi and Ye Qingxuan arrived at the stronghold gate and found the injured Li Yanran, who hurried back into the stronghold.
• Li Yanran found charred ground where the White Lotus Blood Infant had been but found neither it nor Lu Xuan.
• Li Yanran decided she would seek answers from Lu Xuan in Azure Cloud County City, then urged Chen Shi to return to the county town.

Li Yanran mourned the Blackbird Guards lost on her journey, while Huang Yangping dealt with the fallout from Huang Xuanjie’s death and received his brother-in-law Jia Sheng. The chapter ended with Huang Yangping rebuking Jia Sheng over the counterfeit medicine scandal that had nearly earned him an execution.

• Li Yanran buried Chen Lingfeng after all the Blackbird Guards under her command perished, while Su Tianqi's body had been completely destroyed.
• Huang Yangping ordered his Head Butler to take away the relatives of the guards who had fled after Huang Xuanjie died, condemning them to death.
• Huang Yangping learned that Ye Qingshan had closed the case and vowed to seize the Azure Cloud County Magistrate post from him.
• Huang Yangping agreed to receive Jia Sheng, who complained that the Lu Family Pharmacy was ruining his business.
• Huang Yangping scolded Jia Sheng for selling counterfeit medicine that had killed more than a dozen people, reminding him that he had destroyed the evidence to save him from execution.

Huang Yangping decided to move against the Lu Family Pharmacy and enlisted Huang Wen to deal with Liang Cheng. Meanwhile, Lu Xuan deduced the Crimson Flame Blade Art, broke through to Inner Qi Realm Lesser Mastery, and resolved to ask Liang Shanhai about the Pure World White Lotus Sect.

• Huang Yangping agreed to attack the Lu Family Pharmacy because it threatened his interests, and Jia Sheng warned him that Liang Cheng was guarding it.
• Huang Yangping promised that Huang Wen would help deal with Liang Cheng, reassuring Jia Sheng.
• Lu Xuan used 40 System Points to deduce the Crimson Flame Blade Art and broke through to Inner Qi Realm Lesser Mastery.
• Lu Xuan swallowed half of his powerful tonic medicine and discovered that his System Points remained at 15 despite the medicine being fully absorbed.
• Lu Xuan thought about the White Lotus Blood Infant and the Pure World White Lotus Sect, then decided to visit Liang Shanhai the next day.

Li Yanran reported that Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng had been killed by the White Lotus Blood Infant, prompting Ye Qingshan to prepare an urgent report to the prefecture. After Li Yanran delayed that report to investigate a young man from the Lu Family, she went to Lu Xuan's courtyard at midnight to question him.

• Li Yanran told Ye Qingshan, Chen Shi, and Ye Qingxuan that Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng were dead and that Fang Sheng had also been killed.
• Li Yanran said the White Lotus Blood Infant of the Pure World White Lotus Sect had killed Su Tianqi and Chen Lingfeng, and Ye Qingshan ordered Chen Shi to report the threat to the prefecture.
• Li Yanran stopped Ye Qingshan from sending Chen Shi because she had not confirmed whether the White Lotus Blood Infant was dead or alive.
• Li Yanran asked Chen Shi to describe Lu Xuan, then went to the Lu Family in the dead of night to investigate what had happened.
• Lu Xuan emerged after Li Yanran's arrival, recognized her, and heard her explain that she had come to get to the bottom of what happened.

Li Yanran confirmed that Lu Xuan had killed the White Lotus Blood Infant and explained the higher Martial Realms and the Blackbird Guard's work against extraordinary horrors. Lu Xuan accepted her identity token and decided it was time to leave Azure Cloud County, while trouble gathered at the Lu Family Pharmacy.

• Li Yanran asked Lu Xuan whether he had killed the White Lotus Blood Infant, and he admitted that he had.
• Li Yanran learned that Lu Xuan was an Inner Qi Realm expert and told him about the Outer Core Realm and Divine Mansion Realm.
• Li Yanran explained that the Blackbird Guard fought extraordinary horrors and mutated demonic beasts, and that Divine Palace True Persons might be able to erase the horrors.
• Li Yanran gave Lu Xuan her Blackbird Guard identity token and directed him to the prefecture's archives for more information.
• The next morning, Lu Xuan headed to Liang Shanhai's residence as unwelcome visitors arrived outside the Lu Family Pharmacy on Master Jia's orders.

Jia Sheng’s men attacked the Lu Family Pharmacy to kill Lu Jiahe and cripple the family’s business. Li Mingzhong took the assassin’s strike meant for Lu Jiahe, leaving both men injured as the guards moved to fight back.

• Jia Sheng’s burly leader entered the Lu Family Pharmacy with several men, intending to kill Lu Jiahe for a reward of three thousand taels of silver.
• The burly man seized a pharmacy apprentice and demanded to see Lu Jiahe, prompting Li Mingzhong and the guards to confront the intruders.
• Lu Jiahe arrived with Lu Yunqing and Lu Yunfeng, examined the men, and found no sign that they were ill.
• The burly man insulted Lu Jiahe, then drew a short sword from his sleeve and lunged at him.
• Li Mingzhong blocked the attack with his left arm, which the sword pierced, while its tip only cut Lu Jiahe’s chest.
• The people in the rear hall realized what had happened and turned on the attackers in fury.

Li Yanran intervened when Lu Jiahe and his family were attacked outside the Lu Family Pharmacy, while Liang Cheng fought Huang Wen and rushed to the scene. At the county office archives, Liang Shanhai told Lu Xuan that his father had been harmed, and Lu Xuan's aura surged in fury.

• Li Yanran stopped outside the Lu Family Pharmacy with Ye Qingxuan and recognized the commotion when Lu Jiahe and his sons fled the shop under attack.
• Liang Cheng charged toward the pharmacy, but Huang Wen and his men blocked him and engaged him in a fight.
• Li Yanran knocked aside the attackers pursuing Lu Jiahe and gave Lu Yunqing a Profound Origin Root Elixir for his poisoned father.
• Liang Cheng drove Huang Wen away, and Li Yanran caught and broke a short sword hurled at Lu Jiahe before sending its attacker crashing back inside the pharmacy.
• Liang Shanhai entered the county office archives and told Lu Xuan that his father had been harmed, causing Lu Xuan's aura to erupt.

After learning that his father had been attacked, Lu Xuan returned to the Lu Family and found Lu Jiahe recovering from his injuries. He identified the likely people behind the attack and went to the county office late at night to deal with them himself.

• Lu Xuan left Liang Shanhai at the storeroom and rushed back to the Lu Family main hall.
• Lu Xuan found Lu Jiahe alive, learned that Li Mingzhong was safe, and used internal qi to help his father recover.
• Lu Xuan asked Liang Cheng about the attack and learned that the unconscious assailants were held at the county office, while Huang Wen had deliberately delayed Liang Cheng.
• Lu Cheng learned that the female hero who saved Lu Jiahe was called Lord Li and belonged to the Blackbird Guard, leading Lu Xuan to suspect Li Yanran.
• Late at night, Lu Xuan approached the county office, intending to kill those who threatened the Lu Family.