Recaps

Li Qing tried unsuccessfully to regain his earlier state of enlightenment, then released Chong Jiu on Hundred Refinements Peak to absorb World Spiritual Energy and transform. Chong Jiu became much stronger but changed little in appearance, and Li Qing decided to hatch the three Golden Silkworm Eggs himself.

• Li Qing drank nearly half a jar of Moon Palace Brew but could not enter the state of enlightenment again, and he noted that his lifespan had risen to 2,121 years after refining two artifacts.
• Li Qing arranged restrictions around Hundred Refinements Peak and released Chong Jiu from his Beast Taming Pouch.
• Chong Jiu absorbed the peak’s World Spiritual Energy for nearly a day, gaining strength comparable to a mid-stage third-order demonic beast while changing little in appearance.
• Li Qing asked Chong Jiu to hatch three Golden Silkworm Eggs, but decided to do it himself when Chong Jiu seemed too clumsy to trust with them.

While incubating the Golden Silkworm Eggs, Li Qing examined demonic arts taken from a slain cultivator and discovered the middle volume of the Myriad Life Demonic Art. He decided to cultivate its Life Transformation Method using his own abundant lifespan, hoping to strengthen his abilities and revive withered things such as his Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame’s Origin Fire Seed.

• Li Qing channeled true essence into the Golden Silkworm Eggs while reading the demonic arts in a Storage Bag.
• He rejected Extreme Fiend Finger and Nine Sons Demonic Child after learning that they relied on killing and cruel sacrifices.
• Li Qing found a dark green iron book containing the middle volume of the Myriad Life Demonic Art, the Life Transformation Method.
• After spending two days and two nights reading, Li Qing learned that the method converted lifespan into life essence that could enhance abilities and revive withered things.
• Li Qing decided to cultivate the method with his own lifespan and considered using its life essence to revive the Origin Fire Seed of his Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame.

Li Qing spent nearly a year comprehending the Transformation chapter of the Myriad Life Demonic Art while the war between the righteous and demonic paths intensified. He finally transformed thirty years of his lifespan into Seven-Colored Vitality Essence and used some of it on a Golden Silkworm Egg, which began to show signs of life.

• Li Qing paused incubating the Golden Silkworm Eggs and devoted himself to understanding the Transformation chapter of the Myriad Life Demonic Art.
• Ghost Sword Sect forces attacked Taiyi Sect's spirit gold mine, and Elder Gu detonated his Golden Core to destroy the mine and kill the attackers.
• News of Elder Gu's sacrifice stirred the righteous cultivators and intensified the fighting across the Great Desolation Region.
• After nearly a year of study, Li Qing used Moon Palace Brew to grasp the art's key principles and transformed thirty years of lifespan into Seven-Colored Vitality Essence.
• Li Qing infused a trace of Seven-Colored Vitality Essence into a Golden Silkworm Egg, which began pulsing with vigorous vitality.

Li Qing used Seven-Colored Vitality Essence to revive the extinguished Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame, though the reborn flame had lost its stored demonic-beast forms. After storing its Origin Fire Seed in his dantian, he faced another sudden change.

• Li Qing examined three newly hatched Golden Silkworms, fed them aqua-blue iron, and placed them inside his robes after they ate and fell asleep.
• Li Qing spent 120 years of lifespan to create Seven-Colored Vitality Essence and feed it to the extinguished Origin Fire Seed.
• The Origin Fire Seed warmed, trembled, and reignited as black spirit fire, which Li Qing gathered and controlled before it melted his cave floor.
• Li Qing realized the reborn Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame had lost its memorized demonic-beast forms and would need to accumulate new ones.
• Li Qing judged that the flame could devour Spiritual Power and help him face Mid Core Formation cultivators, then stored it in his dantian as another shocking change arose.

Li Qing struggled to control the Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame and Nether Cold Fire after their Origin Fire Seeds began clashing inside his dantian. By using the Crimson Blazing true essence to mediate them, he stopped their rampage and discovered that the two fires were expanding his dantian.

• The Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame and Nether Cold Fire collided inside Li Qing's dantian, nearly damaging it, until he suppressed them with his divine sense.
• The fires settled into separate black and white halves of the dantian, while Li Qing's two Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seals changed color and grew stronger.
• Li Qing found that the fires resumed fighting whenever he relaxed his suppression, so he searched for a solution in the incomplete Crimson Blazing Heaven Art.
• Li Qing loosened his control and sent down Crimson Blazing true essence, which calmed the fires and caused them to spread outward.
• Li Qing realized the two spirit fires were expanding his dantian and used more true essence to help them continue.

Li Qing finished expanding his dantian, settled the two Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires, and found that they greatly accelerated his cultivation. After learning that Shangqing Sect had sent troops to the Great Desolation Region, he began considering his plans, only to be interrupted by Zhao Nan requesting an audience.

• Li Qing completed his months-long cultivation, leaving his dantian three times larger and the two spirit fires settled into separate halves.
• Li Qing discovered that the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires greatly boosted his cultivation speed and refined six more Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seals.
• Li Qing spent another year cultivating in seclusion while Nanyang Marketplace grew busier with Rogue Cultivators fleeing the Immortal Dao War.
• Li Qing learned that Shangqing Sect had sent a Supreme Elder and Foundation Establishment cultivators to assist Taiyi Sect, and he ordered the Black Market to keep watching them.
• Zhao Nan arrived to request an audience, and Li Qing invited him inside while asking after his father.

Zhao Nan visited Li Qing to thank him for saving his life and delivered a gift of spirit wine and rare spirit-gold materials. He also relayed Ghost Sword Sect’s invitation for Li Qing to help refine a secret treasure in three months, and Li Qing agreed.

• Zhao Nan entered Li Qing’s cave abode and offered him a Storage Bag as thanks for saving his life.
• Zhao Nan explained that a Taiyi Sect Supreme Elder had detonated his Golden Core in a spirit-gold mine, and the Golden Jade Armor had protected Zhao Nan from the blast.
• Li Qing accepted the spirit wine and spirit-gold materials Zhao Nan had brought.
• Zhao Nan told Li Qing that Ghost Sword Sect’s sect master, Gui Li, had invited him to assist three other Core Formation artifact refiners in making an extraordinary treasure.
• Li Qing agreed to attend the refinement in three months, and Zhao Nan gave him a small black wooden sword as a token for entering Ghost Sword Sect.

Three months later, Li Qing arrived at Ghost Sword Sect’s Sword Valley under the name Wuji, answering the Sect Master’s invitation to refine a mysterious treasure. After meeting the sect’s powerful leaders, he faced Nascent Soul cultivator Gui Li, whose first question challenged Li Qing’s origins.

• Li Qing flew to Sword Valley and presented the black wooden sword token to Ghost Sword Sect’s disciples, identifying himself as Wuji.
• True Person Jisha welcomed Li Qing and escorted him through Ghost Sword Sect’s mountain gate toward its great hall.
• Li Qing sensed the formidable spiritual presence within the hall and met Ghost Sword Sect’s Sect Master, Gui Li.
• Gui Li examined Li Qing and asked whether he was a cultivator from outside the Great Desolation Region.

Li Qing admitted to Gui Li that he came from the Qingling Region after Gui Li recognized the aura of his Crimson Blazing Heaven Art, then spent three days cultivating on a spirit peak before meeting the other invited Artifact Refiners. Gui Li arrived as Hu Sanniang teased Li Qing about joining the Ghost Sword Sect, and said he would gladly welcome him.

• Gui Li recognized Li Qing’s Crimson Blazing Heaven Art and correctly guessed that he came from the Qingling Region, while True Person Jisha listened in surprise.
• Gui Li told Li Qing that four Core Formation Artifact Refiners had been invited to work on a treasure, but said he would explain the details in three days.
• Li Qing took up residence on a spirit peak and cultivated with the Nether Cold Fire and Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame, drawing in the dense spiritual energy for three days.
• Hu Sanniang, Venerable Xuan Gu, and True Person Chifa waited for Li Qing; Hu Sanniang and Venerable Xuan Gu praised his diligence, while Chifa dismissed it.
• Li Qing met the three Artifact Refiners, apologized for keeping them waiting, and explained that the spirit peak’s abundant energy had absorbed his attention.
• Hu Sanniang teased Li Qing about joining the Ghost Sword Sect, and Gui Li arrived, saying he would be delighted if Li Qing joined.

Li Qing and three other artifact refiners learned that Gui Li planned to refine the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron and assigned each of them a portion of the work. Enticed by dragon marrow, extra rewards, and diluted Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk, they accepted the task and followed Gui Li onward.

• Li Qing declined Gui Li's invitation to join the Ghost Sword Sect, and Hu Sanniang and the others declined as well.
• Gui Li revealed his plan to refine the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron, an ancient treasure requiring materials from spirit beasts with True Spirit Bloodlines.
• Li Qing received instructions to use his Nether Cold Fire to temper a Crimson Phoenix Feather for forty-nine days as part of the Vermilion Bird portion.
• Gui Li promised each refiner half a portion of dragon marrow and additional rewards, then supplied diluted Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to sustain their work.
• Li Qing and the other refiners accepted the task and followed Gui Li out of the hall.

Li Qing and three other Artifact Refiners began refining the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron in a furnace built into a mountain behind Sword Valley. As Li Qing refined Red Luan’s feathers for the Vermilion Bird portion, a dragon’s roar from Venerable Xuan Gu’s station left the others wondering what material he was using.

• Gui Li showed Li Qing, True Person Chifa, Venerable Xuan Gu, and Hu Sanniang the massive cauldron prototype and asked them to refine its four portions.
• Li Qing took the Vermilion Bird position, where he was tasked with fusing Red Luan’s Natal Spirit Feather into the cauldron.
• The four Artifact Refiners began working with their respective flames, while Li Qing used Nether Cold Fire and kept his Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame concealed.
• Li Qing placed Red Luan’s three feathers in his flame to refine them, then heard a dragon’s roar from Venerable Xuan Gu’s position.
• True Person Chifa, Hu Sanniang, and Li Qing reacted with astonishment and wondered whether Gui Li had captured a living flood dragon.

Li Qing and the other artifact refiners continued forging the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron under Gui Li’s watch, while news from the Ancient Emperor Tomb Cluster deepened tensions with the Yin Puppet Sect. As the final stage began, the cauldron’s four spirit imprints stirred to life.

• Li Qing and the other three refiners sustained the cauldron’s fire for forty-nine days, using diluted Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to replenish their mana.
• Gui Li learned that the Yin Puppet Sect had taken powerful yin corpses and treasures from the Ancient Emperor Tomb Cluster, but chose to focus on completing the cauldron.
• On the forty-sixth day, four colored pillars of light burst from the cauldron, and Gui Li concealed them from the Ghost Sword Sect disciples.
• Li Qing and the other refiners completed the Vermilion Bird’s tail feathers and refined the spiritual beast materials into the cauldron.
• Gui Li urged the refiners to complete the final step, and their true essence caused the four spirit imprints to move as cries and roars sounded from the cauldron.

After helping Gui Li complete the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron, Li Qing gained new insights into artifact refinement and received his promised dragon marrow. Jisha offered him one of three generous rewards, and Li Qing paused to ask what the other refiners had chosen.

• Gui Li dismissed Li Qing and the other refiners, then began refining the nearly complete Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron himself.
• Li Qing returned to his cave abode and used Moon Palace Brew to enter an extended state of enlightenment about artifact refinement.
• True Person Jisha delivered Li Qing half a portion of dragon marrow and offered him a choice of two Top-grade Spirit Stones, a favor from the Ghost Sword Sect, or one item from its treasure vault.
• Li Qing considered the three rewards and asked Jisha which options the other three refiners had chosen.

Li Qing chose to claim a treasure from the Ghost Sword Sect’s treasury rather than accept a favor, deciding that rebuilding his sect should be his own responsibility. As Jisha led him and Chifa to the treasury, Chifa raised the possibility that they might want the same treasure.

• Jisha told Li Qing that he could take three days to choose between a favor and selecting a treasure from the Ghost Sword Sect’s treasury.
• Li Qing chose the third option and reflected that he should rebuild the Lingyun Sect himself rather than depend on another sect’s favor.
• After three days of cultivation, Li Qing met Jisha and Chifa, and the three traveled through Sword Valley toward the treasury.
• Jisha showed Li Qing and Chifa the Sword Washing Pool and explained that it contained Geng Metal Qi but no Geng Metal.
• Jisha presented his token to the guards and led Li Qing and Chifa toward the treasury’s iron gate.
• Chifa asked what would happen if he and Li Qing chose the same treasure, leaving Jisha and Li Qing caught off guard.

Li Qing searched the Ghost Sword Sect treasury with True Person Chifa and found that it held many valuable treasures. After Chifa claimed a silver shield Li Qing had spotted first, Li Qing learned that a stone disk contained a Simple Formation Disk, then continued searching and noticed a section of Withered Vine.

• True Person Jisha set the rule that whoever took a liking to a treasure first could claim it, and led Li Qing and True Person Chifa into the treasury.
• Li Qing examined an ancient broken blade but dismissed it after finding its Dao patterns could not be restored.
• True Person Chifa seized a Small Silver Shield that Li Qing had discovered first, and rejected Li Qing's claim to it.
• Li Qing found a Stone Disk and privately offered True Person Jisha help with treasure refining in exchange for information about it.
• True Person Jisha revealed that the Simple Formation Disk held a small Spirit Gathering Formation that could also block spiritual sense and serve as a defense.
• Li Qing set the formation disk aside and spotted a section of Withered Vine in a corner.

Li Qing and True Person Chifa chose treasures from the Ghost Sword Sect's vault, where Li Qing became interested in a mysterious Withered Vine Wood. He left with the vine, hoping to revive it with his Seven-Colored Vitality Essence or refine it into a magic treasure.

• Li Qing asked True Person Jisha about the Withered Vine Wood and learned that Gui Li had found it in an underground chamber beneath the Ancient Imperial City.
• True Person Chifa examined a Yellow Crystal, then took an ordinary-looking oval stone after True Person Jisha let him choose either item.
• After True Person Chifa left, Li Qing suspected his interest in the Yellow Crystal had been a performance meant to trick others into taking it.
• Li Qing chose the Withered Vine Wood and planned to study whether he could revive it or refine it into a magic treasure.

Gui Li let True Person Chifa leave the Ghost Sword Sect with the egg-shaped stone material, and Li Qing headed home with the Withered Vine. True Person Chifa ambushed Li Qing on the way, but Li Qing survived the strike with his Golden Jade Armor and counterattacked with Nether Cold Fire before Chifa emerged unharmed in a peculiar robe.

• True Person Jisha told Gui Li that True Person Wuji had taken the Withered Vine Wood and True Person Chifa had chosen the egg-shaped stone material, and Gui Li ordered him not to pursue Chifa.
• Li Qing left Sword Valley, planning to plant the Withered Vine and give Rice Bucket the last Third-tier Red Crystal.
• True Person Chifa ambushed Li Qing with his Breaking Army Blade and sent him crashing into a small mountain.
• Li Qing emerged uninjured thanks to the Golden Jade Armor and detonated his Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seal, engulfing Chifa in Nether Cold Fire.
• True Person Chifa walked out of the flames unharmed, and Li Qing focused on the peculiar robe protecting him.

Li Qing learned that the Yellow Crystal contained an Earth Spirit Pearl Fragment and that True Person Chifa had planned to take it, along with a valuable stone embryo and Li Qing’s Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire. Their battle intensified as Chifa’s defensive talisman survived Li Qing’s hammer strike, and Li Qing unleashed his powerful spiritual sense against him.

• True Person Chifa revealed that the Yellow Crystal held an Earth Spirit Pearl Fragment and berated Li Qing for choosing the Withered Vine Wood instead.
• Chifa explained that he had intended to use Li Qing to obtain both the Earth Spirit Pearl Fragment and the stone embryo, then targeted Li Qing’s Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire.
• Chifa attacked with three Breaking Army Blades, while Li Qing used the Golden Jade Armor and Primordial Peerless Hammer to counter him.
• Chifa used a talisman to withstand the hammer strike, and his blades struck Li Qing’s armor.
• Li Qing unleashed his spiritual sense and began attacking Chifa’s divine soul with repeated Soul Condensing Slashes.

Li Qing and True Person Chifa fought to a stalemate as Chifa used a soundwave drum and a Lightning Fire Talisman against Li Qing’s defenses. Li Qing took refuge inside the Black Furnace, where he resisted Chifa’s attempt to move it, leaving Chifa stunned by Li Qing’s strength and abilities.

• Li Qing struck True Person Chifa with Spiritual Sense blades, but Chifa fought back with a drum that disrupted Li Qing’s mind and three Breaking Army Blades.
• True Person Chifa used a Lightning Fire Talisman to break through the Golden Jade Armor, so Li Qing sheltered inside the Black Furnace and regained his clarity.
• The Black Furnace withstood the lightning, flames, and Breaking Army Blades, and True Person Chifa realized it had no Spiritual Power and could only defend passively.
• True Person Chifa sent a Mountain Moving Rat to move the furnace, but Li Qing braced against it from inside and prevented it from budging.
• True Person Chifa recognized that Li Qing was a Body Cultivator and wondered how someone with Four Spiritual Roots could have such formidable abilities.

Li Qing killed True Person Chifa with an amplified strike from the Primordial Peerless Hammer, then collected his belongings and fled. Venerable Xuan Gu witnessed the aftermath and mistook Li Qing for a dangerous killer, while Li Qing returned to Hundred Refinements Peak with a complete portion of dragon marrow.

• True Person Chifa excavated the ground to free Li Qing from the Black Furnace, and Li Qing released Chong Jiu to attack him.
• Li Qing spent a hundred years of lifespan to amplify the Primordial Peerless Hammer and killed True Person Chifa with one strike.
• Li Qing killed the Mountain Moving Rat, collected Chifa's possessions, and burned away the battle's traces, while Chong Jiu swallowed the rat and its core.
• Venerable Xuan Gu emerged from hiding, feared Li Qing after witnessing the aftermath, and left believing him to be dangerous.
• Li Qing departed the area, worried that Xuan Gu would misunderstand his actions, and returned to Hundred Refinements Peak seven or eight days later with a complete portion of dragon marrow.

After returning to Nanyang Spirit Peak, Li Qing examined True Person Chifa’s Storage Bags and found a fortune in Spirit Stones, rare spirit materials, battle talismans, dragon marrow, and unusual treasures. He put the spoils away, including a damaged Fire Repelling Treasure Robe and a sound-based battle drum, and planned to investigate the mysterious stone embryo later.

• Li Qing secured his cave dwelling and found over thirty-four thousand Spirit Stones, rare artifact-refining materials, and three Spirit Corroding Fruits in True Person Chifa’s first Storage Bag.
• Li Qing set aside spirit gold and scraps to feed his three Golden Silk Silkworms and kept the Spirit Corroding Fruits for a possible future attempt to refine Spirit Nurturing Pills.
• Li Qing found second-rank and third-rank talismans, including Origin Shield Talismans and a Lightning Fire Talisman made by Fu Xuan, in the second Storage Bag.
• Li Qing discovered another half portion of dragon marrow, giving him enough to pursue advancement to Mid Core Formation, and stored the mysterious stone embryo for later investigation.
• Li Qing examined the damaged Fire Repelling Treasure Robe and blood-red sound-based drum, keeping both as potential assets for future battles.

Li Qing discovered that the Soul Calming Drum required its Treasure Cultivation Art to protect its user and enhance their blood and qi, then wondered what Gui Li’s newly refined cauldron meant for artifact refinement. Gui Li learned that his Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron was only a fragile imitation of an ancient Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, and that each use would bring it closer to breaking apart.

• Li Qing found the Soul Calming Drum’s Treasure Cultivation Art in a jade slip and used it to activate the drum without suffering its mind-disturbing effects.
• Li Qing realized the drum’s incantation could also boost blood and qi, and considered combining incantations with magic treasures in his future refinements.
• Li Qing received a lifespan reward of twelve years for assisting in the refinement of the Four Symbols Suppressing Heaven Cauldron (Imitation), and questioned why it was classified as a Forbidden Artifact.
• Gui Li tested the newly refined cauldron by striking a mountain, but discovered a crack in it after recalling it to his hand.
• Gui Li concluded that the Great Dao rejected the cauldron because the original had become a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, leaving his version a limited-use imitation that cracked with each use.

Li Qing prepared his cave abode with a Spirit Gathering Formation and helped Rice Bucket begin advancing with a Third-tier Red Crystal. Rice Bucket’s transformation drove him toward madness, and the chapter ended with his roar shaking Hundred Refinements Peak.

• Li Qing paid the young Formation Master six Mid-grade Spirit Stones for installing the Spirit Gathering Formation and used hundreds more Spirit Stones to enrich his cave abode’s spiritual energy.
• Li Qing released Rice Bucket and gave him the Third-tier Red Crystal to aid his advance, then sealed the cave abode with restrictions.
• Rice Bucket swallowed the crystal and endured a dangerous transformation as his fur turned black, Yin energy gathered around him, and his strength grew.
• Li Qing watched Rice Bucket’s consciousness falter and urged him to keep fighting, while Rice Bucket refused to stop the transformation.
• Rice Bucket’s last trace of clarity vanished into madness, and his roar shook the entire Hundred Refinements Peak.

Li Qing used a blood lotus seed to absorb the Red Moon Secret Power that had driven Rice Bucket berserk, and Rice Bucket completed his transformation into a Third-tier Demonic Beast. After experimenting with the sprouted lotus and Seven-Colored Vitality Essence, Li Qing moved it to a secret chamber and turned to examine the Withered Vine Wood from the Ghost Sword Sect.

• A blood lotus seed absorbed the Red Moon Secret Power from Rice Bucket, restoring his clarity before taking root and competing with him for spiritual energy.
• Li Qing fed spirit stones into the Formation Eye as Rice Bucket used the remaining Red Moon Secret Power to complete his transformation and forge a Demonic Beast Inner Core.
• After seven days of advancement and a further day of cleansing, Rice Bucket became a Third-tier Demonic Beast, briefly releasing an aura that Li Qing concealed from the cultivators on Nanyang Spirit Peak.
• Li Qing examined Rice Bucket's increased strength and new abilities, then considered cultivating the Blood Lotus Seed with spiritual energy and beast blood.
• Li Qing spent thirty-five years of lifespan producing Seven-Colored Vitality Essence and fed it to the Blood Lotus Seed, but saw no change.
• Li Qing replanted the Blood Lotus Seed in a secret chamber and took out the Withered Vine Wood he had brought from the Ghost Sword Sect.

Li Qing tested his life essence on a withered vine and discovered that reviving it would require more lifespan than he could afford, so he stored it away as a likely priceless treasure. He then activated his Spirit Gathering Formation and began using dragon marrow to break through to Mid Core Formation.

• Li Qing poured life essence equivalent to thirty years of lifespan into the withered vine, restoring only a faint trace of vitality.
• Li Qing judged the vine too costly to revive for now and stored it in his Storage Bag.
• Li Qing filled the Spirit Gathering Formation with Low-grade Spirit Stones and began cultivating toward Mid Core Formation.
• Li Qing consumed five pellets of dragon marrow and used his Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires and Crimson Blazing Heaven Art to refine their energy, raising his cultivation.