Recaps

Lin Bai comprehended the Four Intentions of Extinction quickly but chose to wait before taking the test so he would not draw unwanted attention. On the third day, Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang awoke with enough understanding to attempt the assessment, and Lin Bai decided the time had come to act.

• Lin Bai realized he had gained insight into the Four Intentions of Extinction after only a few hours, but decided to wait rather than become a target for the Heng Province Alliance.
• The five elders discussed how no one had awakened after two days, and Senior Brother Zhang blamed the difficulty on Martial Uncle Yan's profound technique and cultivation art.
• On the third day, Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang awoke, each having memorized several lines and believing they could pass the first assessment.
• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang mistook Lin Bai's bored expression for proof that he had failed to comprehend anything.
• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang walked toward the elders to undergo testing, drawing the other martial artists' attention, while Lin Bai smiled after waiting three days.

Lin Bai and several other martial artists passed the Eternal Devil Sect’s first trial by displaying their comprehension of the Four Intentions of Extinction. At midnight, the seventy-two successful candidates left Heaven’s Mandate Hall to begin the second trial, the Battle Trial.

• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang barely passed the first trial, and hundreds of other martial artists who underwent testing failed.
• Wu Yuanlin passed, followed by several more candidates who barely met the elders’ standards.
• Lin Bai deliberately restrained his Four Intentions of Extinction and passed despite Wu Yuanlin’s mockery.
• At midnight, the elders finished testing the candidates and announced that seventy-two people had passed.
• Senior Brother Zhang arranged for the successful candidates to leave Heaven’s Mandate Hall and proceed to the Battle Trial.

After passing the first trial, Lin Bai and the other examinees learned that the Battle Trial and Celestial Palace Trial required them to collect Devil Orbs and climb to the palace. As the examination began, Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang invited Lin Bai to join their group.

• The elder led the seventy-two examinees into the mountains, where Senior Brother Li revealed that the next two trials were connected.
• Senior Brother Li explained that examinees needed Devil Orbs and had to reach the third stair before the Celestial Palace, while warning that other candidates and Eternal Devil Sect inner disciples might take their orbs.
• Lin Bai collected a Devil Orb and discovered that its formation drew in spiritual power from heaven and earth.
• The elders vanished, and the candidates scattered into the mountains as the examination began.
• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang approached Lin Bai and invited him to climb toward the mountaintop with them.

Lin Bai entered the trial mountains and discovered that a martial artist had trapped him in a maze formation to steal his Devil Orb. He defeated the ambusher, took the orb, and continued toward the mountaintop as battles erupted throughout the mountains.

• Qingqiu Yun invited Lin Bai to travel with him and Yang Chang, but Lin Bai declined and went into the darkness alone.
• Qingqiu Yun warned Yang Chang not to fight Lin Bai if they met in the mountains, but Yang Chang insisted he could defeat him.
• Lin Bai realized he was walking in circles, marked a tree, and identified a formation set by an unseen opponent.
• A middle-aged man demanded Lin Bai hand over his Devil Orb, but Lin Bai found his hiding place and attacked him.
• Lin Bai withstood the man’s Great Wave Washes Sand attack, subdued him, and took his Devil Orb.
• The middle-aged man dismissed his formation and fled as fierce fighting spread through the mountains.

Lin Bai collected enough Devil Orbs to pass the second round and continued toward the Heavenly Palace. He discovered that inner disciples had covered the mountainside with linked formations and were waiting to ambush the martial artists forced along the only open path.

• Lin Bai defeated several martial artists and obtained six Devil Orbs, enough to pass the second round.
• An old man with four Devil Orbs let Lin Bai pass after seeing that he had six.
• Senior Brother Wu and the Heng Province Alliance inner disciples prepared to seize Devil Orbs from arriving assessment participants, while Wu Yuanlin secured his cousin's promise of help.
• Lin Bai noticed that formations covered the mountainside and that the inner disciples had left only one path to the summit.

Lin Bai reached the summit path and found the trial participants blocked by Eternal Devil Sect inner disciples and Wu Yuanlin’s group. He joined forces with Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang to try to break through, leaving their confrontation ahead.

• Lin Bai chose to climb the main road rather than reveal his Devouring Sword Soul by breaking through the forest formations.
• Lin Bai saw the inner disciples and Wu Yuanlin’s group blocking the summit, while Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and three other trial participants were trapped below them.
• Qingqiu Yun told Lin Bai that the forest routes were sealed by dangerous formations and asked him to join their group.
• Wu Yuanlin recognized Lin Bai as the only trial participant from Lianzhou, and Senior Brother Wu declared that Lin Bai would not pass.
• Lin Bai agreed to join forces with Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and the others to challenge the blockade.

The trial participants gathered beneath the mountaintop, where inner disciples waited to seize their Devil Orbs. After ten participants assembled, Qingqiu Yun organized a plan to break through the more numerous defenders, and the group prepared to attack.

• Yang Chang asked whether the group should attack or wait for more trial participants, and Lin Bai agreed to wait while introducing himself as Qing Luo from Lian Province.
• The elders discussed the Myriad Formation Banner, noting its formidable array of trapping, killing, and auxiliary formations.
• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang invited arriving martial artists to join them, and ten trial participants had gathered by dawn.
• Qingqiu Yun assessed the more than thirty opponents and proposed that each participant engage up to three enemies while avoiding prolonged fights and charging through when an opening appeared.
• Yang Chang and the others approved Qingqiu Yun's plan, and Lin Bai raised no objections as the group prepared to attack.

Lin Bai and the other examined martial artists tried to split the inner disciples into smaller groups, but Senior Brother Wu quickly defeated their allies and broke the plan. Surrounded and facing Senior Brother Wu, Lin Bai refused to kneel and challenged him instead.

• Qingqiu Yun led the ten examined martial artists in an attack, and Lin Bai drew Wu Yuanlin and two others away from the main fight.
• Senior Brother Wu rapidly defeated one examined martial artist, then overwhelmed Yang Chang and Qingqiu Yun as the inner disciples routed the rest.
• After the other nine examined martial artists fell, Senior Brother Wu struck Lin Bai back and the inner disciples surrounded him.
• Senior Brother Wu offered to spare Lin Bai if he knelt and begged for mercy, but Lin Bai answered with a taunt and refused to yield.

Elder Li and the other Elders decided not to interfere as the Heng Province Alliance disrupted the examination, though they planned to report the alliance afterward. Lin Bai defeated Senior Brother Wu and more than thirty attackers, leaving Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang to suspect he had concealed his strength and comprehended part of the Four Intentions of Extinction.

• Elder Li refused to intervene in the examination and said the Elders would report the Heng Province Alliance after it ended.
• Senior Brother Wu attacked Lin Bai with Raging Wind Piercing Shadows, but Lin Bai caught his fist and struck him down with one punch.
• Senior Brother Wu ordered the inner disciples to attack Lin Bai, and Lin Bai knocked down more than thirty fighters with a punch apiece.
• Yang Chang admitted that he and Qingqiu Yun were no match for Lin Bai, while Qingqiu Yun suspected Lin Bai had hidden his strength and partly comprehended the Four Intentions of Extinction.

Lin Bai defeated the Heng Province Alliance disciples and seized the Myriad Formation Banner from Senior Brother Wu after breaking through hundreds of formations. He reached the Heavenly Palace, while Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and the others passed the second trial and entered the third.

• Lin Bai defeated the Heng Province Alliance disciples with his physical strength, impressing the elders watching from the Heavenly Palace.
• Senior Brother Wu used the Myriad Formation Banner to trap Lin Bai in hundreds of formations.
• Lin Bai broke through the formations with the Devouring Sword Soul and defeated Senior Brother Wu, taking the Myriad Formation Banner.
• Lin Bai severed Senior Brother Wu's connection to the banner and stored it, refusing to return it despite Senior Brother Wu's threats.
• Lin Bai reached the elders at the mountaintop, and Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and the others followed after passing the second trial.

Lin Bai reached the heavenly ladder and discovered that its first two steps healed his body and refined his Dao heart. He failed to force his way onto the third step and realized its Talisman Seals grew stronger in response to his cultivation.

• The elders congratulated Lin Bai on passing the second trial and explained that reaching the third step would make him an inner disciple; Elder Li warned him to return the Myriad Formation Banner to the Heng Province Alliance.
• Lin Bai stepped onto the first step and used its healing force to repair old injuries and hidden ailments, while Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and the other assessed martial artists also recovered before moving on.
• Lin Bai reached the second step, where its force cleansed his Dao heart and made him feel his tribulation lightning might descend.
• Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang thanked Lin Bai for helping them pass the second trial and explained that gravity had repeatedly thrown them back from the third step.
• Lin Bai tried to reach the third step, but its Talisman Seals intensified their pressure when he circulated his cultivation, splitting his skin and bones and forcing him to retreat.

Lin Bai studied the third step of the Nine-Step Heavenly Ladder and discovered that his Devouring Sword Soul could absorb and break through its power. After reaching the third step, he received a strand of the Great Dao’s origin, while an old man in the Eternal Devil Sect sensed the Heaven Swallowing Race.

• Lin Bai told Qingqiu Yun and Yang Chang that the third step’s Talisman Seals grew stronger with a martial artist’s cultivation, so brute force would not work.
• Lin Bai examined the strange seals and concluded that he needed to discover how their power responded to him.
• As Lin Bai approached the third step, his Devouring Sword Soul absorbed the step’s power and then shattered its violent response.
• The Devouring Sword Soul refined a profound force into a golden thread that entered Lin Bai’s divine core, and Lin Bai ascended onto the third step.
• An old man in a mountain ravine opened his eyes and said, “The Heaven Swallowing Race...”

Lin Bai became an inner disciple of the Eternal Devil Sect and learned that the Nine-Step Heavenly Ladder held the Dao intent of an ancient ancestor. He chose to keep climbing, while Elder Li and the other elders concluded that Lin Bai belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race and decided to report him to the sect.

• Elder Li registered Lin Bai as an inner disciple and explained that the Heavenly Palace and its steps manifested an ancestor's Dao intent.
• Lin Bai learned that climbing farther could grant him Dao intent, while a later chance to comprehend it would cost one hundred thousand Devil Orbs.
• Lin Bai decided not to give up the opportunity and leaped onto the fourth step, where his Devouring Sword Soul absorbed its power.
• Elder Li and the other elders suspected Lin Bai was from the Heaven Swallowing Race and decided to report him to the sect's higher-ups.

The Eternal Devil Sect’s elders debated whether to keep Lin Bai after discovering he belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race, fearing retaliation from the Giant God Race. The sect master decided Lin Bai could help the sect overcome its many internal and external crises and argued that the benefits of accepting him outweighed the risks.

• Elder Li and the other elders confirmed that Lin Bai was a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race after he absorbed the Dao intent on the third step but could not pass the fourth.
• Elder Li sent word to the sect master, who convened the Elders Council to decide whether Lin Bai should stay.
• Several elders urged the sect master to reject Lin Bai, warning that the Giant God Race had destroyed the Cloud Heaven Sect for sheltering a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race.
• The sect master described the Eternal Devil Sect’s threats from the Crimson Moon Eighteen Provinces, the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province, the Evil Moon Sect, and unrest within the Thirteen Provinces Alliance.
• The sect master concluded that Lin Bai could help break the sect’s deadlock and declared that the benefits of keeping him outweighed the dangers.

Eternal Devil Sect leader He Dingzhou argued that taking in a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race could bring the sect great power, citing Mirror Moon Valley and Wind and Snow Villa. With the ancestors’ support, he prepared to issue his order.

• He Dingzhou described the threats facing the Eternal Devil Sect and argued that a Heaven Swallowing Race disciple could help it rise, as one had helped Mirror Moon Valley.
• An elder asked about Wind and Snow Villa, and He Dingzhou confirmed that it had secretly accepted a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race as a disciple.
• An elder suggested consulting the secluded ancestors before deciding whether to accept such a disciple.
• The Holy Daughter delivered Ancestor Wen’s message that the ancestors would support any decision He Dingzhou made.
• The elders pledged to stand behind He Dingzhou, who called for an order to be passed down.

Lin Bai reached the eighth step of the Nine-Step Heavenly Ladder, but Elder Li stopped him under threat of exposing his secrets, and he withdrew before entering the Heavenly Palace. The examination ended with eleven martial artists passing, and Lin Bai was accepted as an inner disciple of the Eternal Devil Sect.

• Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and Wu Yuanlin stopped at the third step while Lin Bai climbed to the seventh and then the eighth step.
• Elder Li received the Sect Master's order to accept Lin Bai as an inner disciple but prevent him from entering the Heavenly Palace.
• Elder Li and the other elders struck at Lin Bai to stop him, and Elder Li warned that Lin Bai's secrets could be exposed if he continued.
• Lin Bai returned to the third step and told Elder Li he could go no farther, then waited with Qingqiu Yun, Yang Chang, and Wu Yuanlin.
• The examination ended a day later with eleven martial artists passing, after Martial Uncle Yan's mistake had caused most examinees to fail the first trial.

Lin Bai entered the Eternal Devil Sect as an Inner Sect Disciple, but Elder Li kept his assessment under investigation while privately assuring him the sect would protect his secret. Elder Li brought Lin Bai, Zhou Xi, and Sun Yao to Lin Bai’s assigned residence, the Sword Hiding Hermitage.

• Elder Li led the eleven successful candidates to the Inner Sect Affairs Hall, where he sent everyone except Lin Bai to choose a residence.
• Elder Li claimed Lin Bai might have cheated on the assessment, prompting Wu Yuanlin to mock him, then said Lin Bai’s residence and supplies had already been arranged.
• Lin Bai questioned Elder Li about the investigation, and Elder Li explained that his actions followed orders from above and that the sect would keep his secret from outsiders.
• Elder Li told Lin Bai that the Thirteen Provinces Alliance dominated the Eternal Devil Sect and that disciples’ status now depended on their strength.
• Elder Li brought Lin Bai, Zhou Xi, and Sun Yao to Lin Bai’s new mountain residence and named it the Sword Hiding Hermitage.

Elder Li brought Lin Bai, Sun Yao, and Zhou Xi to Sword Hiding Hermitage and explained that the Eternal Devil Sect would let Lin Bai reside there as an inner disciple. After Elder Li left without explaining why the sect was watching Lin Bai, Lin Bai decided to cultivate while preparing to flee if the sect turned against him.

• Elder Li showed Lin Bai, Sun Yao, and Zhou Xi Sword Hiding Hermitage, Five Elements Mountain, and Moon Gazing Pond, which would belong to Qing Luo as his residence and dao arena.
• Elder Li explained that Lin Bai could attend lectures on the dao at Immortality Seeking Peak, and that Sun Yao and Zhou Xi could cultivate and attend lectures as his servants.
• An Affairs Hall disciple delivered robes, scriptures, and necessities for Lin Bai, and Elder Li departed after assuring him the sect would not kill him as long as he remained loyal.
• When Lin Bai asked when someone would explain the situation, Elder Li said it depended on Lin Bai's ability and left on a cloud.
• Lin Bai suspected the Eternal Devil Sect knew about his Devouring Spirit and decided to cultivate at Sword Hiding Hermitage, reach the Dao realm quickly, and escape if the sect showed sinister intentions.

Lin Bai settled into Sword Hiding Hermitage and studied the Devil Realm while considering how to find treasures for his Dao Realm tribulation. After sensing five inner sect disciples entering his cultivation ground, he followed them to a hidden cavern at Exquisite Ice Cliff and discovered they were collecting Exquisite Ice Crystals.

• Lin Bai told Zhou Xi and Sun Yao to explore the Eternal Devil Sect and improve their cultivation while he focused on his own affairs.
• Lin Bai examined the books and disciple robes in the Storage Bag, learning that he was in the Evil Moon Thousand Provinces of the Nine Cauldrons Realm.
• Lin Bai sensed five Quasi-Dao Realm inner sect disciples entering Five Elements Mountain and followed them to a hidden cavern at Exquisite Ice Cliff.
• The five disciples collected an Exquisite Ice Crystal, and Senior Brother Xue said he would keep it to forge a Dao-grade divine weapon before offering the others Devil Orbs for their help.

Lin Bai discovered that Sword Hiding Hermitage held valuable treasures and caught five Bear Province Alliance disciples taking an Exquisite Ice Crystal. After proving he was the hermitage’s new master, he established that the crystal belonged to him and the five had been stealing from his territory.

• Lin Bai entered the Exquisite Ice Cliff and learned that an Exquisite Ice Crystal formed there each month and was highly valuable.
• The five Bear Province Alliance disciples watched a crystal fall while discussing the many treasures across Sword Hiding Hermitage and its grounds.
• Lin Bai used spiritual power to seize the crystal before the five could take it, then told them it belonged to Sword Hiding Hermitage’s master.
• Senior Brother Xue claimed the alliance had won rights to the Exquisite Ice Cliff, but Lin Bai revealed that he was the hermitage’s new master.
• Lin Bai showed his Identity Token, and the five confirmed its inscription was genuine, realizing that taking the crystals now meant stealing from him.

Lin Bai defended the Sword Hiding Hermitage by defeating five members of the Bear Province Alliance who tried to take the Exquisite Ice Crystals. The Sect Master revealed that the sect had given Lin Bai the hermitage as a test, and expected other provincial alliances to challenge him soon.

• Senior Brother Xue and four Bear Province Alliance disciples demanded that Lin Bai hand over the Exquisite Ice Crystals, then attacked when he refused.
• Lin Bai defeated all five with a single strike, warned them not to trespass again, and let them return to the Bear Province Alliance with his message.
• Lin Bai returned to the Sword Hiding Hermitage and meditated beside Moon Gazing Pond while considering how to defend it.
• Elder Li reported the confrontation to the Sect Master, who said Lin Bai had to survive the challenge if he was to face the Giant God Race.
• The Sect Master told Elder Li to watch the hermitage and predicted that the other provincial alliances would soon come looking for Lin Bai.

Lin Bai showed Zhou Xi and Sun Yao Five Elements Mountain’s treasures and landmarks, including Exquisite Ice Cliff, a valuable Spirit Herb Garden, the Eighteenth Level of the Fire Domain, and the Divine Wind Corridor. He planned to search the mountain for the Sun Moon Divine Flower and Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk while expecting the province alliance that owned the garden to come claim it.

• Lin Bai took Zhou Xi and Sun Yao to Exquisite Ice Cliff, where Zhou Xi recognized the Exquisite Ice Crystal as a superb weapon-refining treasure.
• Lin Bai revealed that warriors from Bear Province Alliance had come to take the crystal and that he had fought them.
• Lin Bai led Zhou Xi and Sun Yao to the eastern Spirit Herb Garden, where Zhou Xi identified valuable herbs worth tens of thousands of Devil Orbs.
• Lin Bai showed them the southern Fire Domain but kept them out of its dangerous depths.
• Lin Bai guided them through the western Divine Wind Corridor, whose hidden mystery remained undiscovered.
• Lin Bai told Zhou Xi and Sun Yao to search Five Elements Mountain for the Sun Moon Divine Flower and Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk.

Lin Bai met a Tiger Demon that had secretly followed him and allowed it to remain in Five Elements Mountain, naming it Gu Yuanshan and tasking it with managing the mountain’s spirits. He sent Gu Yuanshan, Zhou Xi, and Sun Yao to search for the Sun Moon Divine Flower and Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk while preparing for the provincial alliances to approach the Sword Hiding Hermitage.

• Lin Bai confronted the Tiger Demon, which revealed it had overheard his conversation at the Sword Hiding Hermitage and came to ask permission to stay in Five Elements Mountain.
• Lin Bai allowed the Tiger Demon to remain if it cultivated peacefully and kept the other spirits and monsters in line.
• The Tiger Demon eagerly called Lin Bai its master, and Lin Bai named it Gu Yuanshan.
• Gu Yuanshan told Lin Bai that the Heng Province Alliance controlled the eastern Spirit Herb Garden, the Sun Moon Divine Flower, and the Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk, though it concealed the latter two locations.
• Lin Bai ordered Gu Yuanshan to search for the two treasures with Zhou Xi and Sun Yao, and anticipated that the provincial alliances would soon visit the Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai took out the Myriad Formation Banner as he considered how to handle the coming visitors.

Lin Bai refined the Myriad Formation Banner and used it to protect Five Elements Mountain, then waited for the province alliances to respond to his control of Sword Hiding Hermitage. The Bear Province Alliance decided to let the Heng Province Alliance test Lin Bai before choosing whether to challenge him or yield the Exquisite Ice Cliff.

• Lin Bai broke the divine sense imprint on the Myriad Formation Banner and deployed its formations to conceal and protect Five Elements Mountain and Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai studied the banner, arranged its formations across the mountain, and taught Zhou Xi, Sun Yao, and Tiger Demon Gu Yuanshan how to pass through them safely.
• Senior Brother Xue and his companions returned to the Bear Province Alliance severely wounded and reported that Sword Hiding Hermitage had an owner named Qing Luo.
• Dragon Protector consulted the Bear Province Alliance's master, who advised the alliance not to act rashly and to watch the Heng Province Alliance first.
• The Bear Province Alliance's master said they would return the Exquisite Ice Cliff and seek a favorable connection if the Heng Province Alliance failed to overcome Lin Bai.

The province alliances learned that the Sword Hiding Hermitage had gained an owner and weighed the risk of losing the resources they controlled there. While the other alliances waited for the Heng Province Alliance to act first, Vice-Alliance Leader Wu faced pressure to decide how to protect Heng’s valuable holdings.

• The Bear Province Alliance announced that the Sword Hiding Hermitage had an owner and held its forces in place until the Heng Province Alliance made a move.
• The Quan Province Alliance Leader discussed the threat to the Eighteenth Level of the Fire Domain and decided to wait for the Heng Province Alliance to test the new owner.
• The Quan, Bear, Kong, and Yuan Province Alliances stayed inactive for several days, leaving the Heng Province Alliance to make the first move.
• Heng Province Alliance guardians urged Vice-Alliance Leader Wu to act, citing their spirit herbs, Sun Moon Divine Flower, and Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk.
• Vice-Alliance Leader Wu acknowledged the value of Heng’s holdings and its future reservations, then asked the guardians for ideas.