Recaps

Lin Bai and Old Wen secretly left Eternal Night Pass for the Northern Domain, where they faced fierce blizzards and avoided a huge military camp. Old Wen explained how the Northern Domain’s people navigated its endless snow and warned that a true heavy snowfall could halt their journey.

• Lin Bai agreed to travel to the Northern Domain with Old Wen as his sole companion, and they departed Eternal Night Pass under the protection of Goddess Li Guxian and the Palace Lord of the Demon Palace.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen saw the Northern Domain army gathered at the East Ice River and changed course to avoid its frontline positions.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen traveled northeast toward the Xuanjing Clan through the dark, snowbound wilderness, protected from detection by the Palace Lord’s divine sense.
• Old Wen explained that Northern Domain martial artists relied on heightened perception to navigate and usually traveled during light snowfall days.
• Old Wen told Lin Bai that a heavy snowfall could blow Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm martial artists out of the air and render the clans’ teleportation arrays unusable.

Lin Bai and Old Wen crossed the Northern Region’s harsh snowstorm in search of the Xuanjing Clan, relying on the Demon Palace Palace Lord’s guidance until they left the reach of her divine sense. After several exhausting days, they reached the Xuanjing Clan’s restrictive array and were asked about their origins and business.

• Old Wen explained that Heavy Snowfall Days disrupted teleportation arrays and could send travelers into the void.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen flew northeast through the snowstorm, then continued alone after the Demon Palace Palace Lord’s divine sense could no longer reach them.
• After days of flying and resisting the storm, Lin Bai and Old Wen spotted an orange-yellow pillar of light and followed it toward a mountain range.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen found a restrictive array and prepared to identify themselves as members of the Blazing Sun Merchant Guild, as Li Guxian had instructed.
• A martial artist from the Xuanjing Clan approached them and asked where they had come from and what business they had there.

Lin Bai and Old Wen entered the Xuanjing Clan after proving they were from the Blazing Sun Merchant Guild and asking to use its teleportation formation. As the clan’s guards guided them inside, they learned how deeply the Northern Region’s young martial artists longed to see the Eastern Region and why their leaders hoped to gain territory through the competition.

• Old Wen explained that he and Lin Bai were Blazing Sun Merchant Guild martial artists seeking shelter and access to the Xuanjing Clan’s teleportation formation.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen showed forged guild credentials, and the Xuanjing Clan’s guards opened the formation barrier and let them in.
• The guards escorted Lin Bai and Old Wen through the peaceful, snow-covered clan grounds while asking about life in the Eastern Region.
• Old Wen described the Eastern Region’s changing seasons, blue skies, and pleasant scenery, stirring the guards’ longing to visit it.
• The guard commander said the Northern Region hoped to secure Eastern Region territory through the young prodigy competition, since conquering it would be easier than holding it.

The leader of the Xuanjing Clan explained how the Northern Region’s invasions had weakened the Seven Nights Divine Sect over the centuries. Lin Bai inferred that the Chu Kingdom had avoided the same fate by retreating strategically and letting the Northern Region invade before crushing its forces, leaving the Eastern Region’s martial artists to bear the cost.

• The leader of the Xuanjing Clan recounted how the Northern Region repeatedly seized border territory before the Chu Kingdom retook it.
• The leader said the Seven Nights Divine Sect had lost many experts fighting the Northern Region, leading to internal divisions and its decline.
• Lin Bai reasoned that the Chu Kingdom had shifted its focus from direct border battles to allowing Northern Region forces into the Eastern Region before destroying them.
• Lin Bai concluded that the Chu Kingdom’s strategy let it rally its people and claim victories while the Eastern Region’s martial artists paid the price.

Lin Bai and Old Wen entered the Xuanjing Mountain Range and saw the crowded, impoverished conditions of the Xuanjing Clan. The commander took them to the clan’s teleportation formations, where Lin Bai learned that costly travel kept most lower-level warriors confined to their clan.

• Several Xuanjing Clan warriors led Lin Bai and Old Wen into the Xuanjing Mountain Range and explained that the clan was small and poor.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen passed through crowded streets, where Northern Region women openly admired Lin Bai and asked whether he was married.
• The commander said the Xuanjing Clan wanted the strangers to leave soon and led them toward the teleportation formations.
• The commander explained that the clan had nine formations, each leading to another clan, and that each transmission cost about half a piece of immortal jade.
• Lin Bai realized that the cost and deadly storms kept lower-level warriors from leaving their clans, where they served as the foundation for the clan’s survival and reproduction.

Lin Bai and Old Wen traveled through the Northern Region by repeatedly teleporting between clans to conceal their route, then stopped at the Eternal Night Clan to recover. After resting briefly in a poor inn, they sensed that someone was watching them.

• Old Wen paid the commander an immortal jade for leading them to the teleportation array.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen teleported through a succession of clans for about half a month to hide their whereabouts.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen stopped in the Eternal Night Clan to recover their mental strength and spiritual energy.
• Old Wen paid for one room at an inn, where he discovered that even spiritual flames could not withstand the cold.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen sensed that someone was watching them from outside the room.

Lin Bai and Old Wen escaped an attempted robbery in the Eternal Night Clan and continued their journey through the Northern Region. They reached the God Burial Clan, where the extreme cold and the clan’s dependence on protective formations revealed just how harsh life was near the region’s far north.

• Old Wen detected about fifteen armed Dao God realm martial artists watching Lin Bai and Lin Bai chose to leave before they could attack.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen evaded the intruders, then discussed the Northern Region’s brutal snowstorms and the failed ancient expedition to uncover their cause.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen resumed traveling by teleportation array and agreed to continue without stopping until they reached the God Burial Clan.
• Lin Bai and Old Wen arrived at the God Burial Clan, a vast settlement near the Soul Refinement Sect, and Lin Bai felt the cold slowing his blood.
• Lin Bai judged that the clan’s protective formation was essential because the cold could freeze lower-level martial artists if it failed.

Lin Bai and Old Wen arrived at the God Burial Clan, where the Second and Third God Children had arranged to meet them. The chapter left Lin Bai asking whether they had prepared for the purpose of his visit.

• A frail young man recognized Lin Bai and Old Wen as visitors from the Eastern Region and showed Old Wen a genuine Nine Underworlds Demon Palace token.
• The young man led Lin Bai and Old Wen through the God Burial Clan to a carriage, where they met the Third God Child, Shen Yunfan.
• Shen Yunfan took Lin Bai and Old Wen to the Eternal Youth Pavilion, a Nine Underworlds Demon Palace stronghold.
• Lin Bai sensed the powerful sword intent of the Second God Child, Duanmu Lin, and Old Wen introduced him.
• Lin Bai asked Duanmu Lin and Shen Yunfan whether they had made preparations for his visit.

Lin Bai reunited with the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s forces and learned that most of the Northern Region’s experts had gathered at the borderlands. Suspecting the mass movement was a military mobilization rather than an audience for the battle between the chosen, he left the group facing a possible war.

• Lin Bai urged the Second God Child, the Third God Child, and Old Wen to act quickly before the Northern Region could be sealed off.
• Duanmu Lin explained that Bu Junfeng had become the Northern Region’s celebrated savior, drawing martial artists to the borderlands for his battle with Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai grew suspicious that the Soul Refinement Sect and other major forces had left their strongholds too lightly defended for the battle to be the sole reason.
• The Second God Child reported that roughly two-thirds of the martial artists in each major force had gone to the borderlands.
• Lin Bai warned that the gathered forces seemed to be preparing for war, not merely watching the battle.

Lin Bai learned that the Northern Region's forces had sent most of their fighters to the frontier and ordered warnings to be sent to Li Guxian and the Eastern Region. He reviewed the rescue plan for the Eastern Region's Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, but the uncertainty about Soul Refinement Sect's hidden experts and the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace's limited forces left a direct attack too dangerous.

• Lin Bai and Old Wen suspected the Northern Region's fighters were preparing for war, so Old Wen contacted Li Guxian while Lin Bai sent spies to monitor the region and report the troop movements.
• The Second God Child showed Lin Bai maps of Soul Refinement Sect and explained that the captives were held in the lower level of the Abyssal Fissure, beneath an area where the sect's powerful ancestors entered seclusion.
• Lin Bai concluded that Leng Xingguang was probably being held alongside the Eastern Region's Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, since the sect had no other holding facilities.
• The Second God Child outlined a plan to contact their ally inside Soul Refinement Sect and infiltrate the sect disguised as its disciples.
• Lin Bai learned that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had about twenty Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm fighters, eight Grand Luo Dao Fruit Realm fighters, and three Primal Chaos Dao Fruit Realm fighters or stronger in the Northern Region, too few for a direct assault.

Lin Bai halted the God Burial Clan’s plan to rush into the Soul Refinement Sect and arranged to consult a Great Mystic Art User before deciding how to rescue the captives. Meanwhile, the Second God Child privately questioned whether Lin Bai’s talent made him fit to lead the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.

• Lin Bai warned the Second God Child and Third God Child that attacking the Soul Refinement Sect without knowing its defenses could get them killed.
• Lin Bai asked Old Wen to contact the Devil Palace’s Great Mystic Art User in the Northern Region and bring him to the God Burial Clan.
• Lin Bai ordered the hidden agents to prepare identities and called for only martial artists above the Dao God Realm to assemble for the rescue mission.
• Old Wen contacted the Great Mystic Art User while the Second God Child and Third God Child summoned the available Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists.
• At the Eternal Youth Pavilion, the Second God Child told the Third God Child that Lin Bai’s talent alone did not prove he could wisely lead the Devil Palace.

Lin Bai met with the Second and Third God Children, then waited for Senior Gu Yun, a Great Mystic Art User, to arrive and help with the operation against the Soul Refinement Sect. Gu Yun agreed only to do his best and warned that he would flee if the plan went wrong, leaving Lin Bai stunned.

• The Second and Third God Children debated whether attacking the Soul Refinement Sect was worth the danger of unknown experts in the Abyssal Fissure.
• Old Wen told Lin Bai that he had contacted a Great Mystic Art User, and Lin Bai said the Second and Third God Children should prepare for the operation.
• Lin Bai spent the next few days resting and improving his cultivation and mastery of Mystic Arts and Dao Arts.
• Five days later, Old Wen brought Lin Bai to a secret chamber, where the Second and Third God Children were waiting with a drunken old man named Senior Gu Yun.
• Gu Yun acknowledged Lin Bai only after he mentioned the Palace Master, then said he would help but would flee if anything went wrong, leaving Lin Bai stunned.

Lin Bai arranged for Gu Yun to infiltrate the Abyssal Fissure in the Soul Refinement Sect, investigate its defenses, and draw away its Great Mystic Art Users if the operation proceeded. He ordered Gu Yun to wait at the God Burial Clan while the others gathered, and set the operation to begin in three days.

• Lin Bai asked Gu Yun to scout the Abyssal Fissure and lure away its Great Mystic Art Users after reporting the number of experts and the defenses.
• Gu Yun agreed to investigate but questioned whether he could handle multiple Great Mystic Art Users; Lin Bai said he would decide whether to proceed based on Gu Yun's report.
• Lin Bai told Gu Yun to wait for a signal and coordinate with Old Wen rather than enter the Soul Refinement Sect early.
• Lin Bai instructed Gu Yun to remain at the God Burial Clan until the operation was ready, to avoid alerting the Soul Refinement Sect.
• The Third God Child said the summoned forces would arrive within a day or two, and Lin Bai set the operation to begin in three days.

Lin Bai and Old Wen planned to investigate the Abyssal Fissure before deciding whether to rescue the Eastern Region’s Holy Sons and Holy Daughters. Lin Bai then focused on how they could escape the Northern Region after the operation, and asked for detailed teleportation maps to plan a route.

• Lin Bai reviewed the infiltration plan with Old Wen and decided Senior Gu Yun could help assess the Abyssal Fissure’s defenses.
• Lin Bai realized that the Northern Region might be sealed after a rescue, making escape difficult without teleportation arrays.
• Old Wen gave Lin Bai a map showing the God Burial Clan’s teleportation connections, and Lin Bai rejected the distant Ting Mountain Clan as an obvious trap.
• Lin Bai concluded that teleporting through a large or top-tier clan would offer more routes and help them evade pursuit.
• Lin Bai asked Old Wen to obtain detailed teleportation maps so he could plan a complete retreat route.

Lin Bai planned an escape route for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace in case the Soul Refinement Sect sealed off the Northern Region. He arranged for operatives to secure the teleportation arrays in the God Burial Clan and Black Water Clan, leaving the Third God Child to organize preparations as the gathered warriors awaited the mission.

• Lin Bai asked the Second God Child and Third God Child whether the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had operatives who could control the God Burial Clan's teleportation arrays, and they confirmed it did.
• Lin Bai instructed the God Burial Clan operatives to keep its teleportation arrays running so the group could escape after their operation against the Soul Refinement Sect.
• Lin Bai ordered the Second God Child and Third God Child to secure the Black Water Clan's teleportation arrays as well, explaining that its extensive network offered more escape routes than the Ting Mountain Clan.
• The Second God Child and Third God Child agreed with Lin Bai's route through the Black Water Clan, and the Third God Child promised to make the arrangements.
• The Second God Child said nearly all Nine Underworlds Demon Palace warriors stationed in the Northern Region would arrive within two days, while Lin Bai left the mission's risks to Goddess Li Guxian.

Lin Bai gathered the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists in the Northern Region and launched the operation targeting the Soul Refinement Sect. As the group traveled through the deadly snowstorm, Lin Bai began to suspect that the Northern Region’s natural laws had been shaped by an immortal.

• Lin Bai counted the assembled forces, asked the martial artists to give their all, and spent two days refining the operation plan with the Second God Child and the Third God Child.
• Before setting out, Lin Bai asked Senior Gu Yun to approach the Soul Refinement Sect, investigate the Abyssal Fissure, and act when he received instructions.
• Lin Bai, the Second God Child, the Third God Child, and Old Wen left the God Burial Clan after the other martial artists departed in batches.
• Gu Yun praised Lin Bai’s planning, then set out through the snowstorm to meet his old friends.
• Lin Bai struggled against the Northern Region’s snowstorm until the Third God Child gave him beast hides, which helped shield him from the cold.
• Lin Bai sensed the snowstorm’s overwhelming laws and wondered whether an immortal had created them.

Lin Bai and the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists reached the snowy forest near the Soul Refinement Sect, where they prepared to enter its territory in disguise. Shi Yanguang arrived with disciple robes and identity tokens, ready to guide them to the mountain gate and the Abyssal Fissure.

• Lin Bai and the Second and Third God Children reached the Azure God Mountain after traveling through the blinding snow.
• The group gathered with the Demon Palace martial artists and contacted the Soul Refinement Sect undercover agent.
• Lin Bai warned the martial artists of the dangers ahead and told them they could retreat if they lost their ability to fight or completed their tasks.
• Shi Yanguang arrived and gave the group Soul Refinement Sect disciple robes and identity tokens.
• Shi Yanguang said he would lead them to the mountain gate region and the Abyssal Fissure, leaving them to handle what came next.

Lin Bai and the Second God Child infiltrated the Soul Refinement Sect with Shi Yanguang, who guided them through the sect under the pretext of serving Elder Li Yuanlin. They reached the inner disciple area and continued toward the Abyssal Fissure without raising an alarm.

• Lin Bai and the others put on Soul Refinement Sect robes and tokens, then followed Shi Yanguang toward the sect.
• The Second God Child promised Shi Yanguang an escape through Eternal Night Pass after the operation began.
• Shi Yanguang led the group through the defensive array and across the outer disciple area toward the Abyssal Fissure.
• After passing into the inner disciple area, the group encountered Zhao Kun, who questioned their purpose.
• Shi Yanguang claimed Elder Li Yuanlin had requested the group, and Zhao Kun let them pass.

Lin Bai and his companions reached the outskirts of the Abyssal Fissure in the Soul Refinement Sect, where Old Wen contacted Senior Gu Yun to begin the next step of their plan. As Gu Yun prepared to infiltrate the sect, he reflected on the buried Azure God Mountain and the dangers of the Land Beyond the Heavens.

• Lin Bai learned how the Northern Region's harsh climate shaped its sects and drove its martial artists to cultivate relentlessly.
• Shi Yanguang bluffed past inspections and led Lin Bai and the God Children to the narrow path near the Abyssal Fissure, where fear stopped him from going farther.
• Lin Bai confirmed their location using the map, found a secluded place to rest, and ordered Old Wen to contact Senior Gu Yun.
• Senior Gu Yun waited outside the Soul Refinement Sect and reflected on Azure God Mountain, the Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow, and the rumored immortal buried in the Land Beyond the Heavens.
• After receiving Old Wen's transmission, Gu Yun agreed to infiltrate the Soul Refinement Sect quietly and investigate its experts and defenses.

Gu Yun infiltrated the Soul Refinement Sect and descended into the Abyssal Fissure using rare tokens that bypassed its formations. He found the Eastern Region’s abducted Saint Sons and Holy Daughters frozen in natural prison cells and discovered that Mo Nan did not respond to his calls.

• Gu Yun used a token to slip through the Soul Refinement Sect’s defensive formation, and its experts mistook the breach for a flaw.
• Gu Yun used a second token to enter the Abyssal Fissure and descended past snow-covered martial artists sitting in recesses along its walls.
• Gu Yun chose one of the two passages at the fissure’s bottom and entered a cavern filled with ice prisons.
• Gu Yun recognized Mo Nan and Li Xuanqiu among the frozen prisoners and realized the Eastern Region’s abducted Saint Sons and Holy Daughters were all there.
• Gu Yun called to Mo Nan from outside her prison, but she did not respond, leaving him to wonder whether she was dead.

Senior Gu Yun discovered that Mo Nan and the other Eastern Region Saint Sons and Saint Daughters were alive but sealed in Soul Refinement Sect’s ice prisons. Mo Nan learned that Lin Bai had become the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s Imperial Son, and Gu Yun left to report that she needed rescuing before the seal froze her again.

• Senior Gu Yun found Mo Nan frozen in an ice prison and awakened her with spiritual power.
• Mo Nan learned that Gu Yun had come ahead of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s Imperial Son, Lin Bai, to investigate and rescue the captives.
• Mo Nan recognized Lin Bai as the former Wolf Marquis of the Chu Kingdom and Saint Son of Tianshui Sect, but struggled to believe he had joined the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Mo Nan explained that Soul Refinement Sect had sealed the captives in ice, and she demonstrated that touching the prison barrier triggered a formation that trapped her inside.
• Senior Gu Yun said the Demon Palace’s Formation Daoists could break the prison formation, then left to notify Lin Bai while Mo Nan warned that she would soon be frozen again.

Senior Gu Yun investigated the Ice Prison beneath the Abyssal Fissure, found a Heaven Swallowing Race prisoner held in a cell made of Devouring Stone, and confirmed the Eastern Region’s Holy Sons and Holy Daughters were imprisoned on the first level. After promising Mo Nan that he would notify the Imperial Son, he continued toward the fissure’s other end to search for Soul Refinement Sect powerhouses.

• Senior Gu Yun discovered a staircase below the cells holding the Eastern Region’s Holy Sons and Holy Daughters and went down to investigate.
• Senior Gu Yun found a single prisoner on the second level, whose Devouring Power melted the ice around him.
• Senior Gu Yun recognized the prisoner as a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race and realized the cell was built from Devouring Stone.
• Senior Gu Yun searched the second level, found no further staircase, and returned to the first level.
• Senior Gu Yun told Mo Nan he would notify the Imperial Son, then headed toward the other end of the Abyssal Fissure to search for Soul Refinement Sect powerhouses.

Senior Gu Yun used a swarm of spirit mosquitoes to scout the depths beneath the Abyssal Fissure and uncovered the Soul Refinement Sect’s hidden forces. He escaped after a Great Mystic Art User detected the swarm and sent his findings to Lin Bai and Old Wen, leaving them to decide whether to proceed or withdraw.

• Senior Gu Yun determined that the cavern beyond the ice prison likely led to the Soul Refinement Sect’s secluded experts and chose to scout it with spirit mosquitoes instead of entering himself.
• Senior Gu Yun sent the mosquitoes through the winding passages and discovered numerous experts, including martial artists with Chaos and Supreme Dao Fruits.
• A Great Mystic Art User detected the mosquitoes, destroyed the swarm, and challenged the unseen visitor, so Senior Gu Yun concealed himself and fled.
• Senior Gu Yun transmitted his findings to Old Wen, reporting hundreds of cultivators, dozens of powerful experts, and at least one Great Mystic Art User beneath the Abyssal Fissure.
• Old Wen relayed Senior Gu Yun’s report to Lin Bai and the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists, who learned that the Eastern Region’s Holy Sons and Holy Daughters and a mysterious young man were held in the ice prison.

Lin Bai ordered the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists to begin their rescue operation at the Soul Refinement Sect while Gu Yun drew away the sect’s Great Mystic Art User. The enemy had left the Abyssal Fissure, and Lin Bai prepared to move against the remaining defenders.

• Gu Yun reported that the Soul Refinement Sect had numerous powerful defenders beneath the Abyssal Fissure, including one Great Mystic Art User.
• Lin Bai decided to start the operation and asked Gu Yun to keep the Great Mystic Art User away from the sect for three hours.
• Lin Bai instructed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists to rescue the Eastern Region’s Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, hold off pursuers if discovered, and regroup after escaping the Abyssal Fissure.
• Gu Yun appeared at the Soul Refinement Sect’s mountain gate, called out Old Freak Li, and lured the sect’s Great Mystic Art User away into the snowstorm.
• Lin Bai sensed the Great Mystic Art User leave the Abyssal Fissure and announced that the operation could proceed.

Lin Bai led the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace warriors into the Soul Refinement Sect’s Abyssal Fissure after Senior Gu Yun lured away a Great Mystic Art User. They broke through the formation and descended toward the imprisoned Eastern Region Saint Sons and Holy Daughters as Soul Refinement Sect experts discovered them.

• Lin Bai waited for the Soul Refinement Sect’s high-level warriors to settle after Senior Gu Yun drew away a Great Mystic Art User, then ordered the group to rescue the Eastern Region’s Saint Sons and Holy Daughters and withdraw.
• The Nine Underworlds Demon Palace Formation Daoist struggled to break the Abyssal Fissure’s formation, so Lin Bai silently cut open a crack with his devouring power.
• Lin Bai, Old Wen, the Second God Child, the Third God Child, and the other warriors entered the fissure and began falling toward its bottom.
• The Second God Child assigned several Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm warriors to hold back the awakening Soul Refinement Sect warriors along the rock walls while Lin Bai led the others onward.
• Soul Refinement Sect experts discovered the intruders and called out for them to identify themselves as Lin Bai plunged deeper into the fissure.