Recaps

Shu Mountain's leaders argued over the massacre of cultivators blamed on their sect while Li Xuanxiao tested Fox Face's strength. As Fox Face pondered why an apple fell downward, Li Xuanxiao realized he might uncover a profound principle of the world.

• Shu Mountain's Peak Masters and elders debated who had killed hundreds of cultivators, with Wushangzi worrying about the sect's reputation and Qingshi and Yuyangzi arguing over the deaths.
• Feng Liuli showed Li Xuanxiao a chess trap, and he praised her before ordering her to copy scriptures after she compared his skill to Qingshi's.
• Li Xuanxiao lured four rogue cultivators to Fox Face to gauge his strength, and Fox Face swiftly killed three before dispatching the last one as well.
• Fox Face waited for Xiao Ran beneath an apple tree while Li Xuanxiao prepared to test him, but a falling apple led Fox Face to question why objects fell downward.
• Li Xuanxiao realized Fox Face might discover a principle of heaven and earth and urged himself to act before Fox Face achieved enlightenment through physics.

Fox Face was ambushed by Li Xuanxiao’s hidden weapons, poison, Sword Insects, and chains. The attacks left Fox Face incapacitated and screaming as the chains restrained him.

• Fox Face destroyed a flying sword and puppet, then cut down venomous snakes whose bodies released corrosive smoke.
• Li Xuanxiao’s Sword Insects swarmed Fox Face and devoured his Sword Qi, forcing him to retreat.
• Fox Face destroyed a hidden weapon but was struck by Crane-Top Silver Needles, which carried tiny venomous insects that slipped through his armor and poisoned him.
• The poison caused Fox Face’s body to swell painfully, and black chains wrapped around him as he cried out.

Li Xuanxiao tortured Fox Face for a month without getting him to reveal his secret, so he and the Sword Spirit trapped Fox Face in an illusory world built from memories and fears. Fox Face relived choices that led to disaster and death, then woke to realize the nightmare was continuing.

• Li Xuanxiao bound and captured Fox Face, then tortured him for a month while Fox Face refused to speak.
• Li Xuanxiao told the Sword Spirit that Fox Face had been professionally trained and proposed using the Sword Spirit’s Heart Questioning Bureau to break his will.
• Fox Face imagined himself as Li Xuanxiao, a Shu Mountain disciple who abandoned a mission to kill the Heaven Devouring Demon Lord and died when disaster struck Shu Mountain.
• In another imagined scenario, Fox Face threw the box containing the Heaven Devouring Demon Lord into the Three Lights Divine Water, sacrificing the Old Sect Leader to save Shu Mountain.
• Fox Face imagined neglecting Su Wan when Jiang Luoshui framed her, and years later Su Wan killed him during a mission.
• Fox Face woke from the visions, unaware that his nightmare had only just begun.

Li Xuanxiao endured thousands of deaths and revivals as he tried to survive the people and disasters around Shu Mountain. Broken by the endless cycle, he heard a voice offer him the chance to change everything in exchange for the secret buried in his heart.

• Fox Face repeatedly revived after Su Wan killed him, but even destroying her body and soul did not keep her from returning to kill him.
• After Fox Face finally resolved the crisis involving Su Wan, Lin Wanqing sacrificed Silver Sword Peak for Fanyue, and Fox Face died repeatedly before eventually defeating them.
• Fox Face continued to die at the hands of Feng Liuli, Zhao Lu, Ye Yunzhou, and others, reaching thousands of revivals in total.
• Overwhelmed by the deaths he could not prevent, Fox Face considered leaving Shu Mountain but rarely survived more than five years.
• A voice in Fox Face's mind offered him a chance to change everything in exchange for the secret buried in his heart.

Li Xuanxiao tried to learn who was behind Fox Face, but Fox Face’s hidden contingency killed him before he could reveal a name. Meanwhile, Xiao Ran challenged Su Wan at Shu Mountain to fulfill their old appointment, and their first clash showed that he was her equal.

• Fox Face began to reveal that his backer was outside Central Continent, but illusory characters in his Purple Mansion dantian triggered an explosion that destroyed him and the area around the cave.
• Li Xuanxiao escaped the blast and concluded that the words “outside Central Continent” were an important clue about the force targeting Shu Mountain.
• Xiao Ran arrived at Shu Mountain’s martial arena, where Shushan Disciples gathered to watch him challenge Su Wan over their old engagement and oath.
• Su Wan resolved to win for herself, Little Bamboo Peak, and Shu Mountain, while Xiao Ran stood by his vow to wash away his humiliation.
• Xiao Ran teleported toward Su Wan and struck with his greatsword; she blocked, and the elders and disciples realized his strength matched hers.

Xiao Ran battled Su Wan with the Thousand Peaks Sword Art, but Su Wan broke through from the Golden Core realm to Nascent Soul in the middle of the fight. She gained the advantage and unleashed a devastating Shushan sword formation attack, leaving Xiao Ran in danger.

• Xiao Ran used the Thousand Peaks Sword Art to force Su Wan into a fierce sword formation battle.
• Lin Wanqing shielded Li Xuanxiao from stray Sword Qi while he watched the duel.
• As she struggled against Xiao Ran, Su Wan broke her Golden Core and advanced to the Nascent Soul realm.
• Xiao Ran used his Lightning Wings to evade Su Wan, but controlling the treasure taxed him and he fell behind.
• Su Wan invoked Shushan Sword Formation, Slay Evil, Annihilate Demonic, gathering golden lightning at her sword tip and sending a blinding attack toward Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran defeated Su Wan at Shu Mountain after breaking through to Nascent Soul amid their battle, then returned home to a hero’s welcome. He spent the next three months enjoying his newfound status and indulging himself, convinced that he had earned it.

• Xiao Ran fought Su Wan, broke through to Nascent Soul during the battle, and defeated her.
• Lu Ziyin carried the injured Su Wan away as Xiao Ran left Shu Mountain, while Li Xuanxiao concluded that Xiao Ran could counter Su Wan.
• Xiao Ran returned to the Xiao Family, where his relatives and servants welcomed him, and he reunited with his father.
• Xiao Ran basked in his family’s newfound prestige and spent three months neglecting cultivation to enjoy himself.

Ling Xuanxiao saw Xiao Ran losing his drive to cultivate and made plans as Xiao Ran went on a spring outing with Qing'er. A black-robed attacker defeated Xiao Ran and Elder Soul, leaving both missing and a clue that pointed Xiao Ran toward Soul Hall.

• Ling Xuanxiao noticed Xiao Ran had become complacent while Su Wan cultivated diligently, and began making plans to spur him on.
• Xiao Ran chose to join Qing'er on a spring outing instead of continuing to cultivate.
• A black-robed man ambushed Xiao Ran, poisoned him, overcame his swordsmanship, and seized Qing'er.
• Elder Soul appeared to protect Xiao Ran, fought the black-robed man, and urged Xiao Ran to escape with Qing'er.
• Xiao Ran returned with Xiao Family members to find ruins, Elder Soul missing, and a jade pendant marked “Soul Hall Envoy.”
• Xiao Ran found Elder Soul’s message on a leaf and vowed to find him.

Li Xuanxiao rekindled Xiao Ran’s drive to cultivate and, after rebuilding his Zhang Haoran identity, returned to the capital under a fabricated story. Zhang Haoran reunited with the family he had found there and was later summoned by the Grand Chancellor to visit White Egret Academy.

• Li Xuanxiao watched Xiao Ran resume intense cultivation, then worried about how he would fare without Elder Soul’s guidance.
• Zhang Haoran told the Grand Chancellor that Liu Qiushui had captured him and Shi Hao, and that he had only recently escaped.
• Li Xuanxiao, having recreated Zhang Haoran’s identity, endured three months of questioning and surveillance before returning to his home in the capital.
• Wang Er Ni joyfully welcomed Zhang Haoran home and prepared a meal, while Old Zhang brought his wife and children to reunite with him.
• The Grand Chancellor summoned Zhang Haoran to accompany him to White Egret Academy.

Zhang Haoran accompanied the Chief Minister to White Heron Academy, where the Grand Scholars questioned why a Golden Armored Guard should join them. After Zhang Haoran wrote a line on a blank stele, all fifty-one remaining imperial steles shattered, leaving Li Xuanxiao thrilled by the feeling of being a power-fantasy protagonist.

• The Chief Minister told Grand Scholars Su Jia and Zhao Jianzhi that he wanted to send Zhang Haoran to White Heron Academy, but they challenged the idea.
• At the academy’s back mountain, Su Jia explained that the Old Emperor had once erected seventy-six steles to promote imperial loyalty, and that fifty-one remained.
• Zhang Haoran wrote, “To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish life for the common people, to continue the lost teachings of the sages of old, to open peace for all ages to come,” on a blank stele.
• All fifty-one remaining steles cracked and exploded, shocking the Chief Minister, the Grand Scholars, and the two disciples.
• At Silver Sword Peak, Feng Liuli found Li Xuanxiao crying with joy over the exhilarating experience he had just felt through Zhang Haoran.

Zhang Haoran returned the academy’s accumulated Righteous Qi after destroying its stone steles, while Li Xuanxiao enjoyed his newfound status on Silver Sword Peak before being drawn into Lu Ziyin’s investigation of a murder. The chapter ended with Li Xuanxiao worrying that Zhang Haoran and Jia Sidao were developing consciousnesses of their own.

• Zhang Haoran impressed White Egret Academy’s scholars by inscribing the Four Sentences of Hengqu, returned the academy’s stored Righteous Qi, and received an invitation to join.
• Li Xuanxiao basked in the respect he received on Silver Sword Peak, then laughed alone in his basement after holding in his excitement.
• Lu Ziyin dragged Li Xuanxiao and Feng Liuli to investigate the murder of Mountain Dew Valley’s deputy valley master.
• Lu Ziyin examined the wounds and guessed the killer’s height, but a voice from a trash bin corrected him and the hidden figure fled.
• Li Xuanxiao realized Zhang Haoran and Jia Sidao seemed close to developing consciousnesses of their own.

Li Xuanxiao worried about the risks of maintaining his Jia Sidao and Zhang Haoran clones while Lu Ziyin’s group investigated an assassin organization whose members livestreamed killings for tips. After capturing a contact, the Shushan Disciples sought help from Great Sui and Great Xia, whose representatives arrived to join the investigation.

• Li Xuanxiao devoted more attention to keeping Jia Sidao and Zhang Haoran stable as their identities and newfound power threatened to expose his schemes.
• Lu Ziyin captured Wei Yuan, who revealed that the assassin organization used real-time image-transmitting stones to entertain employers and earn tips.
• Wei Yuan identified his contact method as a carrier pigeon, but the pigeon was actually his horse, which Lu Ziyin angrily beat him for naming that way.
• Lu Ziyin, Feng Liuli, and Li Xuanxiao followed Carrier Pigeon to a headless contact, completed the bizarre contact procedure, and subdued him.
• Li Xuanxiao proposed seeking help from Great Sui and Great Xia, and Lu Ziyin contacted Shu Mountain to arrange cooperation.
• Jia Sidao arrived as Great Sui’s representative, and Great Xia’s people arrived with several academy interns.

Lu Ziyin, Zhang Haoran, and Jia Sidao joined forces to raid an assassin organization, while Li Xuanxiao secretly suppressed the emerging consciousness in Zhang Haoran and Jia Sidao. The raid destroyed a branch and captured more than a hundred assassins, and Jia Sidao returned to Great Sui as relations with Shu Mountain drew closer.

• Lu Ziyin led academy disciples, including Zhang Haoran, in a surprise attack on an assassin branch posing as a livestreaming operation.
• Li Xuanxiao opened Zhang Haoran and Jia Sidao’s chests, erased their emerging self-awareness, and sent them away after imposing restraints.
• Lu Ziyin’s forces subdued the assassins, destroyed the branch, and seized its roster while the headquarters fled.
• Jia Sidao told his companions that Great Sui’s participation demonstrated its stance and its desire to draw closer to Shu Mountain.
• Ye Yunzhou led Great Sui’s officials outside the city to welcome Jia Sidao and his returning party.

Li Xuanxiao suppressed a remnant of self-awareness in Jia Sidao and turned his attention to the growing threat against Shu Mountain. In Central Continent, Gou Shengzi gathered powerful cultivators in a sealed Blessed Land and began a plan to kill Daoist Qingshi, while Happy Old Man vowed to drag Shu Mountain down.

• During Li Xuanxiao’s nightly disconnection, Jia Sidao’s scattered remnants of consciousness reassembled and resolved to kill his main body, but Li Xuanxiao’s dormant consciousness erased them.
• Li Xuanxiao reviewed the threat from a mastermind beyond Central Continent and worried that events would soon force the plan against Shu Mountain into motion.
• Six Realms of Sentient Beings entered Gou Shengzi’s sealed Blessed Land and lost his memory, joining the people there who were waiting for an unknown important event.
• Gou Shengzi sealed the Blessed Land, revealed that he intended to kill Daoist Qingshi and claim the Dao to reach the Mahayana Realm, and warned Happy Old Man that there was no turning back.
• Happy Old Man declared that the game had begun and vowed to use his life to bring Shu Mountain down.

The Azure Stone Peak Master assured Lingxu that nothing was wrong, while Lingxu concealed his visit to Gou Shengzi. Beyond the Central Continent, Happy Old Man gathered rival powers and proposed using the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races to attack Shu Mountain, leaving the alliance itself weakened.

• The Azure Stone Peak Master lost a game of Gomoku to Lingxu and insisted that he could calculate anything in the world.
• Lingxu asked whether the Azure Stone Peak Master had learned anything useful from Gou Shengzi, and the Azure Stone Peak Master left without getting an answer.
• Happy Old Man told Baili that he planned to strike quickly against the hidden enemy and welcomed the gathered powers from across the continents.
• Wen Yuan challenged the Ascension Great Emperor to hold Lingxu back for three days, but the Great Emperor refused.
• Happy Old Man proposed sending the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races against Shu Mountain so the human powers could cripple both their enemies.
• The Star Palace Patriarch questioned whether Happy Old Man had arranged the alliance with the Demon Domain long ago, and Happy Old Man said it served their grand plan.

Crimson Firmament Demon King joined Happy Old Man and several major powers in a plan to destroy Shu Mountain, while Li Xuanxiao found the peace around Shu Mountain unsettling and checked on its people and reports. After Di Nüfeng asked for his help amid turmoil at Heavenly Fiend Hall, Li Xuanxiao assured her he would not deceive her, having planned to wait until she trusted him enough to seek his aid.

• Crimson Firmament Demon King offered to help Happy Old Man and the other leaders kill Lingxu because he wanted Shu Mountain to fall, and the leaders agreed to join forces despite Wen Yuan's hatred of him.
• Ling Xuanxiao told Feng Liuli that the lack of trouble at Shu Mountain felt strange, then secretly checked on the sect, its disciples, and reports from across the Central Continent.
• Ling Xuanxiao reviewed the peaceful reports, confirmed Lin Wanqing and others were safe, and resolved to advance the Shushan Wandering Plan and destroy the Mysterious Yin Cult.
• Di Nüfeng sent Ling Xuanxiao a blank letter, and they met in a valley where she explained that Heavenly Fiend Hall was nearing chaos and that she trusted no one else.
• Ling Xuanxiao promised Di Nüfeng that he could not deceive women, while privately noting that he had waited for her to seek his help so she would rely on him.

Di Nüfeng read Ling Xuanxiao’s illustrated plan for reorganizing Heavenly Fiend Hall and realized how much he cared for her. Meanwhile, Ling Xuanxiao carried the Sword Spirit toward Shu Mountain’s Sword Tomb to help her recover, insisting that he would do his best to protect Shu Mountain rather than leave its fate to others.

• Ling Xuanxiao gave Di Nüfeng a management plan for Heavenly Fiend Hall, including rotating Guardian Vajras, councils, succession challenges, contribution points, and preaching to the public.
• Di Nüfeng found illustrated explanations on the document’s back and felt that Ling Xuanxiao treated her better than anyone else.
• Ling Xuanxiao inspected Divine Grass Mountain and considered how to conceal it and the Shushan Disciples if Shu Mountain fell.
• Ling Xuanxiao took the Sword Spirit’s heavy rusted main body and set off with her toward Shu Mountain’s Sword Tomb so its sword intent could help her recover.
• The Sword Spirit questioned why Ling Xuanxiao risked himself for Shu Mountain, and he answered that he did not want to leave everything to fate and was simply doing his best.

Li Xuanxiao stabilized his Nascent Soul cultivation and secretly brought the ancient Sword Spirit to recover in Shu Mountain’s Sword Tomb. As the year ended, the Silver Sword Peak disciples gathered at Lu Ziyin’s residence, where a sudden noise interrupted the new year’s gathering.

• Li Xuanxiao stabilized his Nascent Soul cultivation, then visited the Sword Spirit as she cultivated in the Sword Tomb’s furnace.
• The Sword Spirit said she was recovering well and would defeat the Old Emperor once her strength returned, while Li Xuanxiao warned her not to attract attention.
• Shu Mountain’s bell marked the end of the year, and Li Xuanxiao realized he was forty-two; Happy Old Man also reflected on his age and the time remaining for his undertaking.
• Feng Liuli told Li Xuanxiao that Lu Ziyin had summoned them, and seven members of Silver Sword Peak gathered at the Peak Master’s residence for a new year’s meal.
• Lu Ziyin began a speech as Peak Master, but pounding sounds outside startled Li Xuanxiao.

Ling Xuanxiao celebrated New Year with the Silver Sword Peak disciples and delivered dumplings to the imprisoned Tao Jincí, who refused to explain his mysterious wife’s identity. Over the next six months, deadly anomalies struck across the Central Continent, keeping Shu Mountain busy with rescue efforts.

• Lu Ziyin set off fireworks and invited the group to eat dumplings for New Year.
• Ling Xuanxiao and Pei Qi visited Tao Jincí at Confinement Cliff, where Tao asked whether Hongdou had eaten and refused to explain his silence.
• Ling Xuanxiao returned to Silver Sword Peak and hoped he could protect the place despite the troubles around him.
• A blood moon brought deadly red rain and withered plants across the northern Central Continent, prompting Shu Mountain and other sects to organize rescues.
• Two months later, earthfire devastated the south while the Nether River flooded the west and stirred lost souls into slaughter.
• Shu Mountain disciples rushed to respond as strange disasters continued throughout the Central Continent.

Old Zhang encountered the Netherworld Water as it surged through Little River Town and died trying to warn the villagers. Li Xuanxiao and Lu Ziyin arrived as Netherworld Rivers appeared across the land, and Silver Sword Peak rallied to protect the fleeing people.

• Old Zhang discovered that the river had become Netherworld Water and shouted for Little River Town's villagers to run.
• Old Zhang died after confronting the deadly flood, and Li Xuanxiao recognized him and closed his eyes.
• Lu Ziyin arrived to face the Netherworld River and split it apart with Sword Qi.
• As more Netherworld Rivers appeared and a mountain collapsed, Lin Wanqing destroyed the debris and Pei Qi rescued a child.
• Feng Liuli and Yun Ran joined Lu Ziyin and the rest of Silver Sword Peak as he promised the fleeing crowd that Shushan Disciples were there to protect them.

As Netherwater and torrential rain overwhelmed Central Continent, Li Xuanxiao witnessed the suffering of fleeing mortals and received a sealed letter. In Cangzhou, Wen Yuan sent Burial Soldier City skyward as the Eastern Wasteland Demon Domain crossed the Soul Burial Sea with help from the Water Tribe, while beasts destroyed villages and a city.

• Feng Liuli led mortals through the flooding darkness, comforted a frightened girl, and helped a woman in labor as the rain disrupted her spiritual energy.
• Li Xuanxiao watched the disaster and reviewed reports describing Central Continent’s growing unrest before a sealed letter arrived.
• Wen Yuan began moving Burial Soldier City away from Cangzhou, refusing to explain his reasons to Cao Changjing.
• Cao Changjing saw the Water Tribe helping the Eastern Wasteland Demon Domain cross the Soul Burial Sea and realized Wen Yuan had expected the betrayal.
• Cao Changjing jumped from Burial Soldier City, but Wen Yuan restrained the other cultivators who tried to follow.
• A nine-headed bird and a lava-covered black bull devastated Cangzhou, and the black bull broke through a city’s defenses as a Beast Tide swallowed its inhabitants.

Demon beasts poured out of the Soul Burial Sea and devastated Cangzhou while the Crimson Firmament Demon King and three other clan chiefs watched. Old Man Desolate Bone joined the slaughter, but Lingxu appeared to confront him.

• Demon beasts crossed the Soul Burial Sea, destroyed cities and clans across Cangzhou, and killed their people and Spirits of the Artifact.
• The Crimson Firmament Demon King and the chiefs of the Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, the Desolate Bone Wolf Clan, and the Blood Feather Phoenix Clan arrived in Cangzhou.
• Old Man Desolate Bone attacked a young powerhouse fighting demon beasts and killed him with a single blow.
• Old Man Desolate Bone seized a human elder above a burning city, and the elder demanded to know whether he feared Burial Soldier City, Cangzhou, the human race, or Shu Mountain.
• Lingxu appeared above Old Man Desolate Bone and challenged his arrogance, while the Crimson Firmament Demon King smiled, saying he had expected Lingxu to come.

After learning that the Eastern Wasteland Demon Domain and the Water Tribe had invaded Cangzhou and Burial Soldier City had vanished, Li Xuanxiao warned Lingxu that the crisis might be a trap meant to draw him away from Shu Mountain. Lingxu ordered the sect guarded but chose to travel to Cangzhou himself, promising he would return if danger arose.

• Lingxu received an urgent report that the Eastern Wasteland Demon Domain and the Water Tribe had crossed the Soul Burial Sea and invaded Cangzhou, while Burial Soldier City had disappeared.
• Li Xuanxiao stopped Lingxu and warned that Burial Soldier City might be working with the Demon Race to lure Shu Mountain into a trap.
• Lingxu questioned the theory, but Li Xuanxiao urged him to stay at Shu Mountain and send others to investigate first.
• Lingxu ordered the sect’s Tribulation Crossing powerhouses to return and guard Shu Mountain, then decided to go to Cangzhou himself.
• Li Xuanxiao warned Lingxu to beware of ambushes and distrustful allies, while Lingxu assured him he would turn back if the situation became dangerous.

Lingxu confronted Old Man Desolate Bone, then appeared before a city under siege and devastated the Demon Race forces. He left Blood Ape Ancestor unable to regenerate after tearing him apart and grinding him into nothingness.

• Lingxu rescued the cultivator held by Old Man Desolate Bone, punched him back, and watched him flee.
• Lingxu struck the demon tide before the city and slaughtered demons as they charged him.
• Demon King Yixiao told Old Man Desolate Bone to rest while they wore Lingxu down.
• Lingxu killed a Thunder Feather ferocious bird with a single punch.
• Lingxu stomped apart Blood Ape Ancestor's Dharma Idol and crushed him, but the ape demon regenerated and challenged him to continue.
• Lingxu tore Blood Ape Ancestor into fragments and ground him into nothingness, taunting him to regenerate again.

Lingxu slaughtered the Demon Race army while the demon kings continued using their forces to wear him down. At Shu Mountain, Dugu Wudi poisoned and killed Sixth Senior Brother, then the Xuantian Sword Sect massacred its Shu Mountain branch as Qin Wenke fled.

• Lingxu tore through the Demon Race army, destroying its generals and mountains while Yixiao and the other demon kings watched.
• Lady Luozhi revived slain demon soldiers as puppets, but Lingxu pulverized them, and Yixiao stopped her from spending more energy to restore them.
• Sixth Senior Brother went to meet Dugu Wudi, the Xuantian Sword Sect's sect master, and Dugu Wudi poisoned and killed him.
• The Xuantian Sword Sect attacked and massacred its Shu Mountain branch, while Qin Wenke broke through a barrier and fled through the rain.