Recaps

Di Nüfeng and Shangguan Suiyun escaped after Lingxu’s final ember shattered Happy Old Man’s Dao Domain. While Ascension Great Emperor and Happy Old Man searched Shu Mountain’s treasure vault for the missing Myriad Souls Banner, Di Nüfeng brought Li Xuanxiao back to Heavenly Fiend Hall, and his awakening stirred the sealed banner beneath Divine Grass Mountain.

• Happy Old Man’s Dao Domain began destroying Shangguan Suiyun’s treasure and draining the cultivators’ power, but Lingxu’s final ember shattered the domain and allowed Di Nüfeng and Shangguan Suiyun to flee.
• Ascension Great Emperor asked Happy Old Man about the Myriad Souls Banner, and Happy Old Man agreed to let him search Shu Mountain’s treasure vault.
• Ascension Great Emperor found the vault’s records but discovered the spot where the Myriad Souls Banner had been stored was empty.
• Di Nüfeng returned to Heavenly Fiend Hall with Li Xuanxiao and placed him on a lotus platform, whose formation enveloped him in a cocoon of light.
• Li Xuanxiao opened his eyes as the Myriad Souls Banner, sealed in a treasure box beneath Divine Grass Mountain, began to tremble.

Thirty-one years into the Chaotic Ancient Era, Ling Xuanxiao wandered through a devastated Central Continent, burdened by hatred. After rescuers brought him to Cold Mountain Temple, the abbot led him to a Buddha statue and left him alone with the temple’s scriptures.

• After Shu Mountain fell, Central Continent descended into famine and disorder as demons, monsters, and rival factions overwhelmed the land.
• In heavy snow, Ling Xuanxiao encountered a group who were dragging refugees and accepted their offer of food and shelter.
• The group brought Ling Xuanxiao and the other refugees to Cold Mountain Temple, where monks gave them porridge and steamed buns.
• The abbot noticed Ling Xuanxiao’s distress and took him through the temple, where Ling Xuanxiao admitted that hatred troubled him.
• The abbot spoke to Ling Xuanxiao about letting go of attachment, showed him a Buddha statue and shelves of scriptures, then left him alone in the room.

While staying at Cold Mountain Temple, Ling Xuanxiao listened to the abbot’s teachings and saw the temple’s Buddhist hell before unleashing the Myriad Souls Banner and setting the temple ablaze. He thanked the abbot for helping him find his purpose, then awoke on a lotus platform at Heavenly Fiend Hall with Di Nüfeng beside him.

• The abbot told Ling Xuanxiao that his hatred and desire for revenge were based on illusions, and urged him to let go of them.
• Ling Xuanxiao followed Buddhist practices at Cold Mountain Temple, and the abbot showed him the eighteen levels of hell beneath the Buddhist prison.
• Ling Xuanxiao took up the Myriad Souls Banner and attacked the hell, absorbing the tortured sinners to strengthen himself as he fought the monks.
• Ling Xuanxiao used the sinners as shields while battling the monks, and Cold Mountain Temple was set ablaze as the soul banner pierced the abbot.
• Ling Xuanxiao thanked the abbot for helping him understand his purpose, then awoke at Heavenly Fiend Hall, where Di Nüfeng greeted him.

Ling Xuanxiao awoke in Heavenly Fiend Hall after thirty years unconscious and learned that Shu Mountain had fallen. After recovering for three months, he tried to leave to pursue his duty, but Di Nüfeng made him her strategist and gave him a necklace so she could track him.

• Ling Xuanxiao woke in Heavenly Fiend Hall and learned from Zhang Tianxin that Shu Mountain had fallen and its leaders had died.
• Ling Xuanxiao reflected on his master and the destruction of Shu Mountain, then began recovering his injuries in seclusion.
• Three months later, Ling Xuanxiao encountered Yin Lingzi, who recalled their past connection to Shu Mountain's Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
• Ling Xuanxiao told Di Nüfeng he intended to leave, but she demanded that he become her strategist.
• Ling Xuanxiao agreed to return after a short trip, and Di Nüfeng placed a tracking necklace around his neck.

Li Xuanxiao traveled to Divine Grass Mountain after escaping an assassination attempt and witnessing the devastation across Great Sui. Troubled by revenge and his inability to cultivate, he opened the seal hiding the Myriad Souls Banner and discovered it was gone.

• Li Xuanxiao left the valley for Divine Grass Mountain, but four attackers ambushed him and destroyed his body before he resurrected and marked them.
• Half a month later, Li Xuanxiao entered Great Sui and saw widespread death, ruined cities, and starving people, including a child offered for food.
• Li Xuanxiao reached Divine Grass Mountain and reunited with the Sword Spirit, who noticed that something seemed missing from him.
• Li Xuanxiao admitted he intended to cultivate and take revenge, but later struggled with doubts about whether he could defeat the world and avenge Shu Mountain.
• Li Xuanxiao opened the seal around the hidden magic treasure and found that the Myriad Souls Banner was gone.

Ling Xuanxiao discovered that the Myriad Souls Banner had vanished and returned to the ruins of Shu Mountain, where he found recently erected graves for its disciples. After killing three scavengers who ambushed him, he questioned the surviving woman about her boss’s warning.

• Ling Xuanxiao asked the Sword Spirit about the missing Myriad Souls Banner, and it claimed the banner had disappeared despite its control of Divine Grass Mountain.
• The Sword Spirit told Ling Xuanxiao that Jia Sidao had left Great Sui for Great Xia, and Ling Xuanxiao set out for Shu Mountain with it the next day.
• Ling Xuanxiao crossed the desolate Evernight Forbidden Zone and encountered scavengers sheltering from black rain; their old leader decided not to provoke him.
• At the ruins of Shu Mountain, Ling Xuanxiao found recently erected gravestones bearing the names of Shushan Disciples.
• The female scavenger and two Martial Artists ambushed Ling Xuanxiao, but he shattered her flying swords, killed the two men, and captured her.
• The surviving scavenger told Ling Xuanxiao that her boss had warned he was not someone to provoke and seemed familiar.

Ling Xuanxiao confronted the yellow dog that had tyrannized Baiyun County and demanded tribute from its starving people. After trapping the dog with the Myriad Souls Banner, he left the villagers with his name: Shushan Disciple, Ling Xuanxiao.

• The yellow dog demanded offerings from Baiyun County’s villagers, beat Master Zhang, and ordered him to send his pregnant daughter to drink with it.
• Ling Xuanxiao challenged the yellow dog, but its attacks overwhelmed him and left him badly wounded.
• Ling Xuanxiao trapped the yellow dog’s arm with his magic treasure and summoned two monks who captured it in the Myriad Souls Banner.
• The villagers knelt to thank Ling Xuanxiao, who departed after declaring himself a Shushan Disciple named Ling Xuanxiao.

Ling Xuanxiao returned to Baiyun County and killed the dog demon left guarding it, then used the Myriad Souls Banner to absorb its power. Old Yellow Dog retaliated by slaughtering the county, drawing the attention of Elephant Mountain Academy, whose disciples arrived under Bai Jing.

• Old Yellow Dog threatened Baiyun County and hung the heads of Master Zhang's family from the flagpole to lure Ling Xuanxiao back.
• After waiting for Ling Xuanxiao, Old Yellow Dog left a junior dog demon in the county and led the others back to their cave.
• Ling Xuanxiao entered the shrine, defeated the junior dog demon in a fierce fight, and absorbed its power with the Myriad Souls Banner.
• Old Yellow Dog returned after learning another junior had been killed, but Ling Xuanxiao had vanished and had slaughtered the Lineage's old and young.
• Old Yellow Dog began massacring Baiyun County's residents, including the magistrate's family, prompting Elephant Mountain Academy to send Bai Jing and other disciples.
• Bai Jing's fellow disciples questioned why the dog demon had suddenly gone berserk as they looked down toward Baiyun County.

Bai Jing and Xiangshan Academy's disciples arrived in Baiyun County and fought the Dog Demon, who had massacred the county and killed Li Xuanxiao's family. Li Xuanxiao saved Bai Jing from the Dog Demon's attack, and she brought him back to Xiangshan Academy to recover.

• Bai Jing led Xiangshan Academy's disciples to Baiyun County and found the wounded Li Xuanxiao facing the Old Yellow Dog.
• Bai Jing attacked the Dog Demon, but he fought back and gained an opening when she hesitated to trade injuries.
• Li Xuanxiao took the Dog Demon's punch meant for Bai Jing, allowing her and the other disciples to kill the Dog Demon.
• Before fainting, Li Xuanxiao apologized for failing to protect Baiyun County's people, moving Bai Jing.
• Li Xuanxiao woke at Xiangshan Academy, where Bai Jing told him to rest and learned his name.

Bai Jing brought Lan Qing to visit the recovering Li Xuanxiao, and Lan Qing invited him to a banquet that became a display of the guests’ prestigious family backgrounds. As Li Xuanxiao struggled to answer their questions about his humble upbringing, Bai Jing’s affection for him faded because she saw their social standing as mismatched.

• Bai Jing visited Li Xuanxiao with Lan Qing, who questioned the rogue cultivator’s background and invited him to a banquet.
• Bai Liu teased Bai Jing about her feelings for Li Xuanxiao and warned her that their family status did not match.
• Lan Qing introduced Li Xuanxiao to young men from prominent lineages at the banquet, emphasizing their families’ prestigious histories.
• Nansun Chao and Lan Qing questioned Li Xuanxiao about his master, home, and education, exposing his humble background.
• Bai Jing realized Lan Qing had arranged the banquet to embarrass Li Xuanxiao, and her affection for him diminished.

At a banquet at Xiangshan Academy, Li Xuanxiao stunned the gathered disciples by reciting several celebrated poems before leaving with Bai Jing. As they walked, Bai Jing explained the Academy’s role in Shu Mountain’s destruction, while memories revealed her jealousy and betrayal of her younger sister, a Shu Mountain disciple.

• Bai Liu repeatedly toasted Li Xuanxiao, and Lan Qing challenged him to compose a poem and match couplets.
• Li Xuanxiao recited several poems, including lines about the moon, wine, and making merry, then left the pavilion; Bai Jing followed him.
• Bai Jing watched Li Xuanxiao walk through Xiangshan Academy and wondered how he knew such poetry.
• Li Xuanxiao asked about more than twenty skeletons bound to wooden frames, and Bai Jing said they were Shu Mountain disciples killed by Xiangshan Academy thirty years earlier.
• Bai Jing recalled her younger sister’s arrival at Shu Mountain and her own jealousy, then told Li Xuanxiao that Shu Mountain had deserved its downfall.
• Bai Jing reassured Li Xuanxiao that Lan Qing had embarrassed himself, and Li Xuanxiao glanced back coldly at the skeletons.

Bai Jing helped Li Xuanxiao gain the chance to study at Xiangshan Academy, but he refused and left. Three months later, she rescued him from Chang Lei Sect pursuers, learned he was a Remnant of Shu Mountain, and killed the men who hunted him.

• Wang Tingzhi agreed to accept Li Xuanxiao as an unregistered disciple after Bai Jing praised his poem and character.
• Bai Jing told Li Xuanxiao about the opportunity, but he declined, citing hardships he could not discuss.
• Li Xuanxiao left the academy, and Bai Jing discovered a handkerchief bearing his farewell poem after he had gone.
• Three months later, Bai Jing caught Li Xuanxiao as he fell from a cliff, badly wounded and pursued by four Chang Lei Sect disciples.
• The Chang Lei Sect disciples identified Li Xuanxiao as a Remnant of Shu Mountain and showed Bai Jing his Jade Token.
• Bai Jing recognized the token and killed the pursuing disciples with a sweep of her sword.

Bai Jing hid the wounded Li Xuanxiao, a former Shushan disciple, and grew close to him as he recovered and returned to his family. When Xiangshan Academy ordered her to kill him, a memory wipe made her obey, and she regained her memories only after stabbing him.

• Bai Jing discovered Li Xuanxiao was a Shushan Remnant but withdrew her sword and let him recuperate in a secluded residence.
• Bai Jing visited Li Xuanxiao often, grew fond of him, and learned that he planned to live quietly with his family.
• Bai Jing introduced Li Xuanxiao to her family and continued visiting him to cultivate together.
• Wang Tingzhi ordered Bai Jing to kill Li Xuanxiao, struck her down, and used a Memory Wipe Technique to make her forget what had happened.
• Lan Qing accompanied Bai Jing to Li Xuanxiao's home, where she killed his family and stabbed him through the throat.
• Bai Jing's memories returned, and she cried out Li Xuanxiao's name as he told her to move forward.

After finding Li Xuanxiao’s final gift, Bai Jing attacked Xiangshan Academy in grief and rage, wielding the Myriad Souls Banner against her teacher Wang Tingzhi. As the banner’s power consumed her, she saw Li Xuanxiao approaching.

• Bai Jing found Li Xuanxiao’s letter and the Myriad Souls Banner beneath the tree in Baiyun County.
• Bai Jing stormed Xiangshan Academy and killed disciples and two Nascent Soul Realm elders.
• Wang Tingzhi restrained Bai Jing and fought back with his enormous brush as she struggled to control the banner.
• Bai Jing drove the Myriad Souls Banner through her heart, channeling its power through her body and transforming as its backlash threatened her life.
• Bai Jing saw a figure approach and recognized Li Xuanxiao.

Li Xuanxiao killed Bai Jing, then reunited with Zhao Lu after awakening thirty years after Shu Mountain's fall. He entered the imperial palace with her, where the National Teacher requested an audience.

• Li Xuanxiao reclaimed the Myriad Souls Banner from Bai Jing, killed her, and absorbed her into the banner.
• Rumors spread that Shu Mountain's remnants had returned for revenge after Xiangshan Academy was destroyed and its disciples' bodies appeared where Shu Mountain's corpses had been.
• Li Xuanxiao traveled to Heavenly Fiend Hall, then met Zhao Lu, who had become Great Xia's Empress.
• Li Xuanxiao told Zhao Lu that Di Nüfeng had saved him and that he had only recently awakened; he concealed his search for the Myriad Souls Banner and agreed to enter the imperial palace with her.
• A secret guard informed Zhao Lu that the National Teacher had requested an audience, and she warned Li Xuanxiao that he monitored Shu Mountain.

Zhao Lu reunited with Li Xuanxiao and warned him that rumors blamed Shushan Disciples for destroying Xiangshan Academy, while he denied involvement and focused on finding the Myriad Souls Banner. After continuing his recovery in the palace, Li Xuanxiao used his Gold Token and a secret sigil to enter the Heavenly Fiend Hall’s network, where another suspicious lord joined him on the way to the main hall.

• The National Teacher warned Zhao Lu that Shushan Remnants had destroyed Xiangshan Academy and reminded her that she had killed five Shushan Disciples in the past.
• Zhao Lu asked Li Xuanxiao about Xiangshan Academy, and he denied attacking it while Zhao Lu speculated that someone else might be using the Shushan Disciples’ name.
• Li Xuanxiao continued recovering from his injuries and used the dormant Sword Qi of his life-bound flying sword to circulate through his meridians.
• Two days later, Li Xuanxiao took Zhao Lu’s Gold Token and went to the palace study to investigate the Old Emperor’s belongings.
• Li Xuanxiao presented a secret sigil at a pawnshop, identified himself as a Secret Envoy of the Heavenly Fiend Hall, and prepared to travel to its main hall.
• Qin Li eyed Li Xuanxiao warily as they waited outside the city for the Guide Envoy.

Ling Xuanxiao sought Di Nüfeng’s help after destroying Xiangshan Academy, using a treasure to kill Qin Li before meeting her at the Heavenly Fiend Hall. Di Nüfeng appointed him Left Protector and asked him to accompany her somewhere, while Ling Xuanxiao began to explain that he needed her help.

• Ling Xuanxiao lured Qin Li toward a hidden lotus, which exploded and killed Qin Li, though the blast also injured Ling Xuanxiao.
• Di Nüfeng heard rumors that the Shushan remnants had returned and Xiangshan Academy had been destroyed, then tried to sense Li Xuanxiao’s whereabouts.
• A subordinate announced that Li Xuanxiao’s secret envoy had arrived, and Di Nüfeng eagerly summoned him.
• Di Nüfeng appointed Li Xuanxiao Left Protector and told him to accompany her somewhere.
• Di Nüfeng said they would share blessings and hardships, and Li Xuanxiao told her he needed her help.

Di Nüfeng trusted Li Xuanxiao and followed him to Qingcheng Temple, where he launched a bloody attack. After killing the temple disciples guarding the gates and forming a sword formation, Li Xuanxiao was knocked back by a powerful attacker who demanded to know who had killed the disciples.

• Di Nüfeng left the Hall of Baleful Intent with Li Xuanxiao, insisting to Yin Lingzi that Li Xuanxiao would not lie to her.
• As they traveled through Yellow Sand Valley, Li Xuanxiao asked Di Nüfeng about Yin Lingzi, and she explained that she had recruited him after he was imprisoned in Shu Mountain's Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
• Two days later, Li Xuanxiao killed the gatekeeper at Qingcheng Temple and kicked open its gates while Di Nüfeng watched in surprise.
• Li Xuanxiao broke the sword formation of eighteen temple disciples and killed them as he tested his newly raised cultivation.
• A powerful sword light struck Li Xuanxiao, sent him skidding backward, and knocked his sword from his hand as an attacker demanded to know who had killed the temple disciples.

Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to slaughter Qingcheng Temple’s disciples and kill the Qingcheng Temple Master, while Di Nüfeng watched him with growing suspicion. Afterward, Di Nüfeng asked Li Xuanxiao why she felt something was off about him.

• The Qingcheng Temple Master attacked Li Xuanxiao, but Di Nüfeng destroyed his Natal Sword and beat him into submission.
• Di Nüfeng returned to Qingcheng Temple and found Li Xuanxiao using the Myriad Souls Banner to absorb disciples’ bodies and souls amid the burning temple.
• Li Xuanxiao asked Di Nüfeng where the Qingcheng Temple Master was, and she said she had beaten him into submission.
• The Qingcheng Temple Master returned and attacked Li Xuanxiao, but the Myriad Souls Banner drained his spiritual power before Li Xuanxiao killed him.
• At an inn, Di Nüfeng sat apart from Li Xuanxiao over their noodles and said she felt something was off about him.

Ling Xuanxiao told Di Nüfeng that his revenge against Shu Mountain would continue and that he expected her help against minor sects. He then confronted Zhu Rong, one of the cultivators who had destroyed Shu Mountain, and defeated him, leaving Zhu Rong to plead for his disciples.

• Di Nüfeng questioned Ling Xuanxiao about his strange behavior and learned that he planned to keep seeking revenge against Shu Mountain.
• Zhu Rong recalled severing a Shushan Disciple’s leg during the sect’s destruction before she detonated her Golden Core and killed the surrounding cultivators.
• Ling Xuanxiao burned Zhu Rong’s mountain gate and confronted him, revealing that Zhu Rong’s father was already dead.
• Ling Xuanxiao defeated Zhu Rong, who begged him to spare his disciples, but Ling Xuanxiao declared he would repay Shu Mountain’s destruction in kind.

Li Xuanxiao and Di Nüfeng left the ruined sect gate and traveled to Jiangnan, where Li Xuanxiao tried to merge the Myriad Souls Banner’s power into himself. After killing an innocent disciple and failing to complete his golden core, Li Xuanxiao recognized that he had become attached again, while the Extreme Demon Bureau began hunting the Shushan Disciple believed to be in Jiangnan.

• Li Xuanxiao spared a young disciple at Zhu Rong’s ruined sect gate and told him to remember that he was a Shushan Disciple; Di Nüfeng then agreed to travel with him to Jiangnan.
• Several days later, Di Nüfeng realized she had lost her ankle pendant and returned to Zhu Rong’s ruins, where she found the young disciple’s corpse.
• Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to merge its power with his own, forming a cracked dark-red golden core that was not yet complete.
• Li Xuanxiao blamed Di Nüfeng for his lack of progress, then recalled killing the innocent disciple and calmed himself by recognizing that he had become attached again.
• The Extreme Demon Bureau learned that six sect gates connected to Shu Mountain’s destruction had been wiped out and ordered its agents to capture the suspected Shushan Disciple in Jiangnan.

Ling Xuanxiao openly challenged the Extreme Demon Guard by killing two guards at Shu Mountain’s abandoned Jiangnan branch and replacing the hanging Shushan Disciples with their bodies. He sent Di Nüfeng away and planned to remain in Jiangnan, where the Guard launched a search for him.

• The Jiangnan forces gathered to discuss the returning Shushan Disciples and the missing Shu Mountain treasure, while the Old Guard Captain felt uneasy about the rumors.
• Ling Xuanxiao visited Shu Mountain’s abandoned Jiangnan branch and killed the two Extreme Demon Guard disciples watching it.
• The Extreme Demon Guard found its two disciples hanging where the four Shushan Disciples’ corpses had been, and the Old Guard Captain ordered a sweeping search for Ling Xuanxiao.
• Ling Xuanxiao returned to the inn, told Di Nüfeng to leave Jiangnan, and warned her to beware of Yin Lingzi.
• Di Nüfeng asked Ling Xuanxiao about the necklace he had given her, then left with the stuffed flatbread he handed her.
• Ling Xuanxiao left the inn for a rented courtyard, intending to stay in Jiangnan and achieve the Golden Core.

Li Xuanxiao killed the Catfish Demon and sent the Old Flood Dragon a fake map that led to a real Shu Mountain treasure vault. The Old Flood Dragon's forces and other Jiangnan factions reached the vault together, where the Carp Demon General turned against the others as the treasure was revealed.

• Li Xuanxiao ambushed and killed the Catfish Demon, absorbed his divine soul into the Myriad Souls Banner, and used the surviving Shrimp Soldiers to deliver a treasure map to the Old Flood Dragon.
• The Old Flood Dragon examined Li Xuanxiao's obviously recent map but sent his demon generals to investigate it.
• The Old Flood Dragon learned that Shu Mountain treasure really existed, but other factions had discovered the location as well.
• Scouts from the Six Sects of Jiangnan, the Twenty-Eight Gates, and the Thirty-Two Demons gathered at the buried Shu Mountain branch vault as its bronze gate opened.
• The Carp Demon General attacked his companions to seize the revealed treasure for himself.

Li Xuanxiao used the hunt for Shu Mountain’s treasure to plunge Jiangnan into chaos, then killed a Spirit Sword Temple Daoist in a sedan chair. The Carp Demon General remained trapped in the city with the treasure, and his cousin secretly sent out a letter.

• The Carp Demon General defeated rival scouts at Shu Mountain’s treasure site, but vanished with the treasure as rumors drew suspicion toward Pure Water Palace.
• The Old Flood Dragon ordered his forces to find the missing Carp Demon General while Jiangnan’s factions clashed over the treasure.
• Li Xuanxiao watched the unrest from a noodle shop, then struck down a Spirit Sword Temple Daoist traveling in a sedan chair.
• The Carp Demon General hid at his cousin’s home and explained that he could not escape Jiangnan or transport the treasure easily.
• The Carp Demon General’s cousin secretly sent out a letter.

Li Xuanxiao prepared a trap by hiding Netherworld energy inside the Shu Mountain treasure materials, while major forces rushed to claim them. As Li Xuanxiao arrived in Jiangnan, he found wanted posters bearing his face and wondered why they showed him.

• The Old Flood Dragon and several major powers learned that the Carp Demon General's hidden treasure had been found and moved to a new location.
• Li Xuanxiao embedded Netherworld energy in the treasure materials and concealed it with a formation, intending to detonate them when the pursuing forces gathered.
• The Old Flood Dragon led his demon army toward the treasure, while Spirit Sword Temple, Hui Chun Men, and other factions also set out.
• The Old Guard Captain suspected the treasure's sudden discovery was a trap but decided his group still had to investigate.
• Li Xuanxiao arrived in Jiangnan, saw wanted posters with his face, and asked, "Huh? Me?"