Recaps

Lin Bai rescued Sun Yao and let her leave, but Su Kong claimed she was the real cultivator of Heart Demon Implantation. Jiang Xuansu rejected his accusation and ordered the Eternal Devil Sect to take him back for investigation, leaving Sun Yao's guilt unresolved.

• Lin Bai arrived, saved Sun Yao, and promised that the Eternal Devil Sect would not pursue her for three months, but refused to save Su Kong.
• Sun Yao left alone after declaring that her debt to Lin Bai remained, while Su Kong collapsed and accused her of being the true Joyous Union Sect leader and cultivator of Heart Demon Implantation.
• Su Kong claimed Sun Yao had found the forbidden technique and a Grand Yi Divine Weapon, then made him the sect's public leader to draw the Eternal Devil Sect's attention away from her.
• Wan Wei learned that Su Kong could not remove the Dao Seeds, and asked Lin Bai to let them pursue Sun Yao.
• Jiang Xuansu dismissed Su Kong's account as a desperate attempt to implicate others and ordered the Eternal Devil Sect disciples to take him back for investigation.

After Lin Bai released Sun Yao, the Eternal Devil Sect destroyed the Joyous Union Sect but faced a difficult choice over how to punish him. Li Mojun ordered Lin Bai to reflect at Contemplation Cliff for half a year and then earn a top-ten ranking at the Evil Moon Grand Feast, or face punishment for all his crimes.

• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu discussed the consequences of Sun Yao's escape, and Lin Bai vowed to take responsibility alone.
• The Eternal Devil Sect destroyed the Joyous Union Sect's branches, and the Zhang Clan became the leading force in Le Province.
• Ke Yu reported that Su Kong had been a puppet and Sun Yao the true Joyous Union Sect Leader, and that Qing Luo had helped Sun Yao escape.
• Lin Bai admitted his guilt before Li Mojun, while Jiang Xuansu tried to speak up and Liu Fuyun demanded that Lin Bai be expelled and have his cultivation crippled.
• The Second Elder, the Grand Elder, and other Elders pleaded for leniency, and Li Mojun sentenced Lin Bai to six months at Contemplation Cliff followed by a top-ten finish at the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

After returning from Joy Province, Lin Bai learned that the Eternal Devil Sect had ordered him to reflect at Contemplation Cliff and compete at the Evil Moon Grand Feast. He decided he would leave the Eternal Thirteen Provinces afterward and arranged for Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an to enter Qin Pavilion while he was away.

• Lin Bai returned safely to the Sword Hiding Hermitage and told Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an that he had to spend half a year at Contemplation Cliff before competing at the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Lin Bai reassured them that he had a year to prepare, but worried that they would be vulnerable without him, especially with Young Master Lu still an uncertain threat.
• Lin Bai told Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an that he would leave the Eternal Devil Sect and the Eternal Thirteen Provinces after the Evil Moon Grand Feast, regardless of his ranking.
• Lin Bai explained that Senior Sister Qin Yuyan would come the next day and that he planned for Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an to enter Qin Pavilion.
• Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an asked to remain with Lin Bai, but he insisted they follow his arrangements and stay behind.

Lin Bai arranged for Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an to join Qin Pavilion before he left the Eternal Devil Sect. After packing away valuable resources from Sword Hiding Hermitage, he went to Contemplation Cliff to serve his half-year punishment.

• Qin Yuyan explained that the sect had imposed Lin Bai's punishment to appease public opinion and buy time, and Lin Bai told her he planned to leave after the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Lin Bai entrusted Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an to Qin Yuyan, who agreed to take them into Qin Pavilion.
• Lin Bai sent the three to Qin Pavilion immediately so they could settle in before he went to Contemplation Cliff and then traveled to the Evil Moon Sect.
• Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, and Liu An'an said farewell to Lin Bai, and Liu An'an promised to cultivate hard and find him again.
• Lin Bai packed the ten-thousand-year spiritual liquid from Moon Gazing Pond and filled the Azure Gourd with flames from the Fire Region.
• Lin Bai went to Contemplation Cliff to reflect on his mistakes for half a year.

During his three months at Contemplation Cliff, Lin Bai advanced to the Second-Grade Dao God realm by consuming Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk. Jiang Xuansu visited him and reported that the Eternal Devil Sect had subdued its enemies but suffered heavy losses, while Zhou Xi and the Liu sisters had settled into life at Qin Pavilion.

• Jiang Xuansu visited Lin Bai at Contemplation Cliff and found him drinking Ten-Thousand Year Spirit Milk to raise his cultivation.
• Lin Bai swallowed the last of the spirit milk, and the Heaven Swallowing Dao Fruit refined it as his cultivation edged toward the Third-Grade Dao God realm.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai that the Eternal Devil Sect's victories had driven its enemies into hiding and brought the Eternal Thirteen Provinces a chance for peace.
• Jiang Xuansu revealed that the Eternal Devil Sect had lost one-third of its Dao God experts in the recent wars.
• Jiang Xuansu reported that Zhou Xi had become an auction-house elder and that Liu Jiangxue and Liu An'an were learning business under Qin Yuyan at Qin Pavilion.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu discussed the Eternal Devil Sect’s future leadership and the prospects of its young candidates. Lin Bai refused to stay, fearing his enemies would destroy the sect, but Jiang Xuansu asked whether he would accept implicating one more person.

• Lin Bai told Jiang Xuansu that the Eternal Devil Sect could safely defend its territory but should not attempt expansion under its current leaders.
• Lin Bai judged Meng Qi and Gong Jian unsuitable to lead the sect and said Jiang Xuansu lacked experience in wielding power, while Murong Chuan was the best candidate for Sect Master.
• Jiang Xuansu asked whether Lin Bai could lead the sect, and Lin Bai said the threat of the Giant God Race drove him to keep advancing.
• Lin Bai told Jiang Xuansu he would not remain in the Eternal Devil Sect because the Heaven Swallowing Race would bring disaster to everyone around him.
• Lin Bai described the family and friends he had already put in danger, and Jiang Xuansu asked whether he would mind implicating one more person.

Lin Bai declined to promise Jiang Xuansu that he would leave with her, then refined five Dragon Immortal Jade beads to raise his cultivation to the Seventh-Rank Dao God Realm. After half a year at Contemplation Cliff, Jiang Xuansu told him that the sect would depart for the Evil Moon Sect in ten days to attend the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

• Jiang Xuansu asked Lin Bai to leave with her, but he warned her not to follow him into danger and promised he would remember her if the Giant God Race disappeared.
• Lin Bai decided to use his Dragon Immortal Jade to prepare for the Evil Moon Grand Feast, and refining the first bead raised him to the Third-Rank Dao God Realm.
• Lin Bai refined all five Dragon Immortal Jade beads over half a year and reached the Seventh-Rank Dao God Realm.
• Jiang Xuansu and Lin Bai's acquaintances visited him at Contemplation Cliff, and Zhou Xi and the others reported that things were going smoothly at Qin Pavilion.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai that the sect would leave for the Evil Moon Sect in ten days to participate in the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

Lin Bai and the Eternal Devil Sect’s chosen disciples set out by spirit boat for the Evil Moon Grand Feast, where Meng Qi warned that the sect’s recent losses had left it poorly prepared. The group concluded that only Lin Bai, Jiang Xuansu, Meng Qi, and Gong Jian were likely to achieve results.

• Liu Fuyun led several hundred Eternal Devil Sect disciples aboard a spirit boat bound for the Evil Moon Sect.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai the journey would take four or five months because using teleportation arrays beyond the Eternal Thirteen Provinces was impractical.
• Meng Qi invited Lin Bai, Jiang Xuansu, and Gong Jian to drink Dragon Bone Wine aboard the spirit boat.
• Meng Qi said the timing of the Evil Moon Grand Feast disadvantaged the sect because the destruction of the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province had driven many geniuses away.
• Gong Jian and Lin Bai agreed the sect lacked enough strong contestants, and Lin Bai said only he, Jiang Xuansu, Meng Qi, and Gong Jian were likely to achieve anything.

Lin Bai and the others discussed how the destruction of the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province had weakened the Eternal Devil Sect and shifted power across the Eternal Thirteen Provinces. As the group prepared for the Evil Moon Grand Feast, Meng Qi advised them to avoid making enemies but not to back down if trouble found them.

• Gong Jian reflected on how destroying the Eight Great Noble Families had sent aftershocks throughout the Eternal Thirteen Provinces.
• Lin Bai considered how the war in Heng Province had enabled the Joyous Union Sect to rise, emboldened the Eternal Demon Alliance, and depleted the Eternal Devil Sect’s experts.
• Meng Qi said the destruction of the Eight Great Noble Families had been worth the cost, though the sect now had to attend the Evil Moon Grand Feast before recovering.
• Lin Bai asked Meng Qi to explain what the group should expect at the Evil Moon Sect, and Jiang Xuansu and Gong Jian agreed.
• Meng Qi urged the group to avoid creating grudges among the many powerful martial artists attending the feast, while saying they should show no mercy if others provoked them.

Meng Qi warned Lin Bai, Jiang Xuansu, and Gong Jian about powerful forces in the Evil Moon Thousand Provinces before their visit to the Evil Moon Sect. He explained Wind and Snow Villa’s rise with help from a secretly trained member of the Heaven Swallowing Race, whose identity the villa publicly denied.

• Meng Qi warned the group not to provoke Evil Moon Sect disciples, and Lin Bai recalled that the Eternal Devil Sect had once imprisoned dozens of them.
• Meng Qi described the Returning Moon Sect, Purple Dawn Sect, Yunling Li Family, and Wind and Snow Villa as the strongest forces beneath the Evil Moon Sect.
• Meng Qi recounted how the Yunling Li Family destroyed a sect within a year after one of its disciples provoked the family.
• Jiang Xuansu asked about Wind and Snow Villa’s rumored member of the Heaven Swallowing Race, and Meng Qi explained that the villa had secretly trained him a thousand years earlier.
• Meng Qi said the Heaven Swallowing Race member ranked third on the Evil Moon Dao God Rankings and helped Wind and Snow Villa expand by secretly assassinating rival forces.
• Meng Qi explained that Wind and Snow Villa denied any connection to the Heaven Swallowing Race, prompting Gong Jian to criticize its master as a scoundrel.

Lin Bai learned how the Wind and Snow Villa used a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race to destroy its enemies and wondered if he would meet that person at the Evil Moon Grand Feast. During the journey, Lin Bai failed to advance his Five Elements Dao Body and arrived in the fertile Twenty-Seven Provinces of Yunling, territory of the Yunling Li Family.

• Lin Bai learned that the Wind and Snow Villa secretly relied on a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race to destroy its foes and clean up the aftermath.
• Lin Bai hoped to meet the living member of the Heaven Swallowing Race at the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Lin Bai tried and failed to advance his Five Elements Dao Body, realizing he needed a heavenly treasure to nourish it.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai that the spirit boat had entered the Twenty-Seven Provinces of Yunling, a fertile territory belonging to the Yunling Li Family.
• Jiang Xuansu explained that Yunling was known as the Evil Moon Cauldron of Pills and lay near the Evil Moon Sect.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu’s spirit ship crashed into a vast ice-blue formation while traveling through the Twenty-Seven Provinces of Yunling, forcing it to land for repairs. Suspecting the formation sealed the world amid a major upheaval, they set off to find a city and learn what had happened.

• Lin Bai admired the fertile mountains of Yunling before the spirit ship struck a suddenly activated ice-blue curtain of light and began falling.
• Several Eternal Devil Sect ancestors shielded the damaged ship as it descended, and Liu Fuyun ordered the disciples to remain alert.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu examined the formation and concluded it might be a World Sealing Formation.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu followed the formation for several hours but found neither its end nor any people, so they decided to search for a city.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned that Qi Province had been sealed off amid unrest and traveled to South Yi City to obtain a token allowing them to leave. They entered the city and were escorted to the City Lord's Mansion.

• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned from a city commander that Qi Province was sealed under the Yunling Li Family's orders and that travelers needed an exit token from South Yi City.
• Liu Fuyun decided the group would repair their crashed spirit boat in the mountains while Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu went to South Yi City with the Evil Moon Sect's invitation token.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu traveled across Qi Province and found its cities sealed and the surrounding wilderness eerily deserted.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu reached South Yi City, explained their purpose to the guards, and were admitted and escorted to the City Lord's Mansion.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu reached South Yi City and asked city lord Li Xie for passage tokens, only to learn that Qi Province remained sealed because of a rebellion. Li Xie told them they would have to wait another three to five days before they could leave for the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

• A purple-robed administrator escorted Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu to meet South Yi City’s city lord, Li Xie.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu found the Tianheng Sect arguing with Li Xie over their delayed passage tokens.
• Du Hang insulted the Eternal Devil Sect, and Jiang Xuansu grew angry as Li Xie introduced the Tianheng Sect.
• Li Xie revealed his superior cultivation and warned the Tianheng Sect to control its disciple, prompting its patriarch to agree to wait three to five days.
• Li Xie apologized to Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu and said they, too, would have to wait until Qi Province was pacified and the World Sealing Formation was activated.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu arrived at Meilan Courtyard in South Yi City, where the Yunling Li Family’s representative gave them a dubious explanation for sealing Qi Province. Lin Bai warned Jiang Xuansu that probing into the matter could make the Li Family suspect the Eternal Devil Sect of seeking its interests, so they needed to avoid provoking powerful enemies before the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

• Li Xie arranged for a purple-robed old man to escort Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu to Meilan Courtyard and gave them a token to move around South Yi City.
• The purple-robed old man claimed the Yunling Li Family had sealed Qi Province only to inspect the World Sealing Formation ahead of the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai she believed the old man was lying and asked why he had not pressed Li Xie for the truth.
• Lin Bai reasoned that the Li Family was hiding a serious matter tied to its interests and did not want outsiders involved.
• Lin Bai explained that showing too much curiosity could make the Li Family suspect the Eternal Devil Sect of competing for those interests and invite hostility during the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

Lin Bai persuaded Jiang Xuansu not to interfere directly in the Yunling Li Family’s affairs in Qi Province, and suggested they look for information discreetly while exploring South Yi City. As they began their outing, they realized the Li Family had secretly sent people to watch them, but they continued without confronting the watchers.

• Lin Bai explained that meddling in the Yunling Li Family’s affairs could offend them, and Jiang Xuansu agreed not to ask Li Xie about Qi Province.
• Lin Bai suggested that the Tianheng Sect might have provoked the Yunling Li Family deliberately to obtain information, and proposed searching for rumors around South Yi City instead.
• The next morning, Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu left Meilan Courtyard to explore the city, after a maid told them they did not need an escort.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu noticed they were being watched soon after leaving the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Lin Bai reasoned that Li Xie had secretly ordered the surveillance so the Li Family could monitor visitors while maintaining an outward appearance of openness, and he and Jiang Xuansu continued their outing.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu explored South Yi City, where Jiang Xuansu admired a Jade Hairpin at a roadside stall. As Lin Bai prepared to buy it for her, Yun Bailu arrived, offered a higher price, and introduced himself to Jiang Xuansu.

• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu wandered through South Yi City and enjoyed its busy streets and shops.
• Jiang Xuansu admired a Jade Hairpin at a roadside stall, and the vendor asked five thousand Thousand Autumn Pills for it.
• Lin Bai judged the price excessive, but Jiang Xuansu liked the hairpin, so he decided to buy it for her.
• Yun Bailu offered ten thousand Vermillion Bird Pills for the Jade Hairpin, then introduced himself to Jiang Xuansu and offered to give it to her.

Lin Bai confronted Yun Bailu after Yun tried to buy a hairpin for Jiang Xuansu and the peddler turned the sale into an auction. Lin Bai threatened Yun Bailu with his sword, but City Lord Li Xie arrived before the confrontation could escalate.

• Yun Bailu outbid Jiang Xuansu for the hairpin, and the peddler proposed an auction to drive up its price.
• Jiang Xuansu gave up the hairpin, but Lin Bai stopped her from leaving and challenged Yun Bailu for targeting him.
• Lin Bai threatened to charge Yun Bailu one hundred thousand Thousand Autumn Pills for his head and drew the Demon Sword, unleashing sword intent across a hundred miles.
• Li Xie arrived with several experts, and Lin Bai sheathed his sword, expecting the City Lord to appear.

Lin Bai exposed Li Sizhu’s attempt to probe him and Jiang Xuansu, then used City Lord Li Xie’s intervention to drive Yun Bailu away. After buying Jiang Xuansu a Jade Hairpin, Lin Bai and she continued their stroll, while Li Xie returned to confront his son, Li Sizhu.

• Lin Bai identified a young master watching from a nearby building and realized Yun Bailu had been sent to test him and Jiang Xuansu.
• Li Xie arrived, dismissed Yun Bailu, and apologized to Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu for his son’s actions.
• Lin Bai asked Li Xie to assess a Jade Hairpin, bought it for five Thousand Autumn Pills, and placed it in Jiang Xuansu’s hair.
• Li Xie praised Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu’s closeness before returning to the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Li Xie confronted his frightened son, Li Sizhu, in the study for stirring up trouble in South Yi City and Qi Province.

Li Sizhu reported on the Eternal Devil Sect and Tianheng Sect disciples to his father, Li Xie, while preparing for the Evil Moon Grand Feast. Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu explored South Yi City, and Lin Bai headed into a busy restaurant to gather information about Qi Province.

• Li Sizhu explained that he had tested the Eternal Devil Sect disciples and judged Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu formidable, while dismissing the Tianheng Sect disciples as weak.
• Li Xie praised Li Sizhu’s assessment, then warned him not to become arrogant and told him to prepare for the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Li Sizhu asked whether the stolen thing had been taken out of Qi Province, and Li Xie said the province remained sealed while the Lineage searched for the culprits.
• Jiang Xuansu eagerly ate Hundred Spirits Buns and shared one with Lin Bai as they walked through South Yi City.
• Lin Bai suggested they find wine and entered a busy restaurant to seek information about what had happened in Qi Province.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu spent the day in a South Yi City tavern, where Lin Bai gathered rumors about Qi Province’s sealing and the Zhao Family’s remnants. As they prepared to leave, he overheard six armed strangers say that a mysterious thing had been lost, possibly giving the Zhao Family a chance to return.

• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu took a window table at a tavern and listened to the guests discuss the Evil Moon Grand Feast and Qi Province’s sealing.
• Lin Bai pieced together the story of the Zhao Family, which had once challenged the Yunling Li Family and had recently begun recruiting forces again.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu stayed at the tavern until nightfall, but Lin Bai heard no reliable explanation for Qi Province’s sealing.
• Six armed strangers arrived and quietly said that a thing had been lost and that the Yunling Li Family’s power was weakening.
• The strangers linked the loss to the Li Family’s past conflict with the Zhao Family and speculated that the Zhao Family might rise again.

Lin Bai learned that the Zhao family remnants had stolen the God-Demon Heart from Dusk City, causing Qi Province to be sealed. Jiang Xuansu explained that the God-Demon Heart could grant a martial artist the second awakening needed to embark on the Supreme Path, while Lin Bai recalled Yue Shuang and her potential Ghost God Child.

• Six men resumed discussing Qi Province’s sealing and revealed that the Zhao family remnants had stolen something from Dusk City.
• The men identified the stolen object as the God-Demon Heart, shocking Lin Bai, Jiang Xuansu, and the other martial artists in the tavern.
• Jiang Xuansu explained that the God-Demon Heart could trigger a second awakening and grant access to the Supreme Path.
• Lin Bai recalled that Yue Shuang’s Nine Yin Spirit Nurturing Body could produce a Ghost God Child with the same potential, and remembered that Yue Shuang was still inside the Soul Refining Banner.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu heard that the Zhao Family remnants had taken the God-Demon Heart, prompting the Yunling Li Family to seal Qi Province. Lin Bai suspected the Li Family had deliberately lured the remnants out and left the story with him considering the risks of the family’s plan.

• Lin Bai reasoned that the God-Demon Heart could let a Martial Soul reach the Supreme Path through a second awakening and recognized why the Yunling Li Family valued it.
• An elderly drinker explained that the Zhao Family had found the God-Demon Heart, hidden it after the Li Family destroyed its forces, and that the Li Family sealed Qi Province after Zhao Family remnants took it from Dusk City.
• Jiang Xuansu asked whether the tale was credible, and Lin Bai argued that the Li Family’s decision to seal Qi Province suggested the rumors were largely true.
• Lin Bai questioned why Senior Li Xie expected the matter to be resolved within three to five days and concluded that the Li Family had likely set a trap for the Zhao Family remnants.
• Jiang Xuansu realized that the Li Family might use the trap to destroy the remnants and recover the God-Demon Heart, while Lin Bai admired the plan’s boldness and considered its risks.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned that the Yunling Li Family had risked drawing powerful factions into a struggle over the God-Demon Heart, then obtained a passage token that could let them leave Qi Province. They chose to investigate the Zhao Family’s remnants, and Lin Bai suspected they might still be hiding in Dusk City.

• Jiang Xuansu decided to report the God-Demon Heart’s appearance to the Eternal Devil Sect, and Lin Bai urged the sect to move cautiously because other factions would seek the treasure.
• After drinking late into the night, Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu visited Li Xie, who gave them a passage token and explained that it would open the World Sealing Formation for half an hour before turning to ashes.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned that the Tianheng Sect had already left South Yi City, then questioned why the Yunling Li Family was allowing them to leave so easily.
• Jiang Xuansu considered whether they should leave Qi Province, but Lin Bai produced a rough map and began searching for where the Zhao Family’s remnants might be hiding.
• After rejecting the Dusk Mountains as too obvious, Lin Bai wondered whether the Zhao Family’s remnants had never left Dusk City, and Jiang Xuansu suggested they might be hidden in plain sight.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu traveled to Dusk City to investigate whether the Zhao Family's remnants had taken the God-Demon Heart, but the Li Family had sealed the city against entry and exit. As they wondered how to get inside, a tremendous shock came from within the city, as if someone were attacking its defensive formation.

• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu flew from South Yi City toward Dusk City instead of using a teleportation array that might reveal them to the Yunling Li Family.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu crossed the Dusk Mountains and encountered a white-robed man whose dangerous presence suggested he was a powerful expert guarding the region.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu concluded that the Zhao Family's remnants were likely hiding in Dusk City, where the Li Family was searching for them and the God-Demon Heart.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu reached Dusk City, but the soldiers refused to let them enter because the city was sealed.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu heard a tremendous tremor from inside Dusk City, apparently caused by an attack on its defensive formation.