Recaps

Senior Brother Gui revealed his Mind Monkey and Will Horse secret technique, gave Li Xiuchang a Blood Bodhi Fruit, and flew him out of Xianyin. On the way, they found an unconscious man whom Senior Brother Gui identified as having been stunned by Li Xiuchang.

• Senior Brother Gui explained how he turned his restless mind and unruly desires into the summoned Mind Monkey and Will Horse, then gave Li Xiuchang the secret technique.
• Li Xiuchang received the Mind Monkey Will Horse Subdues Buddha Scripture and committed it to memory for later practice.
• Senior Brother Gui demanded compensation from the Blood Bodhi Tree and took three fruits, giving one to Li Xiuchang to aid his future blood refinement.
• Senior Brother Gui summoned his white Will Horse and carried Li Xiuchang toward the exit of Xianyin.
• Senior Brother Gui stopped when they found an unconscious, high-cultivation man, and wrote that Li Xiuchang had stunned him.

Li Xiuchang led the disciples out of the Immortal Shade with the unconscious Elder Wu, claiming Old Ancestor Scar had defeated their pursuers. After the group reunited with the sect elders, they learned Elder Wu had been knocked unconscious by a mysterious sonic attack, while the other three elders were still missing inside.

• Senior Brother Gui identified the unconscious man’s Great Seal and instructed Li Xiuchang to carry him toward the exit while he escorted them in secret.
• Li Xiuchang released the eight trapped disciples, and Yue Chongshan recognized the unconscious man as Elder Wu of the Seal Heaven Sect.
• Li Xiuchang told the group that Old Ancestor Scar had slain the Eighteen Bald Donkeys and destroyed the Fat Daoist’s Primordial Spirit with a sonic attack.
• The group reached the boundary of the Immortal Shade without further trouble and reunited with the waiting elders outside.
• Li Xiuchang released Elder Wu, who awoke and recalled being struck unconscious by a tremendous noise; the sect elders then worried about the other three missing elders and planned to contact them.

After escaping the underground palace, Li Xiuchang proposed a trading alliance with the other survivors and named it the Four Immortals Merchant Alliance. He then recounted their expedition to the elders, who identified the Lion-Tiger Great Demon as a seventh-tier beast and suspected Old Ancestor Scar might be a lost Sword Seeking Sect senior.

• Li Xiuchang shared his second-tier Smoked Spirit Meat with the other survivors, and they discussed using Ye Zhixing's family transport channels to sell it and Li Xiuchang's other goods.
• Li Xiuchang and the others agreed to form a commercial alliance, settled on wholesale sales and transport arrangements, and named it the Four Immortals Merchant Alliance.
• After resting at the Nine Peaks Temple ruins, Li Xiuchang and the other survivors were summoned to report their findings to the elders of the Four Great Immortal Sects.
• Li Xiuchang described their journey through the underground palace, showed the elders two Buddhist Corpses, and revealed the Lion-Tiger Great Demon's corpse.
• The elders identified the demon as a seventh-tier Great Demon and speculated that Old Ancestor Scar might be a lost senior of the Sword Seeking Sect.

Li Xiuchang returned from Immortal Shade with the location of the Demon Sealing Land and a rich haul, while the elders planned cooperation among the four sects. Back at the Immortal Dust Sect, he completed his mission, secured a large reward, and began sorting through his treasures.

• Li Xiuchang described how Old Ancestor Scar had rescued the group, and the elders speculated that Scar might be a lost Mahayana ancestor of the Sword Seeking Sect.
• Li Xiuchang revealed that the Demon Sealing Land was somewhere at Ox Horn Ridge, prompting the four sects’ elders to plan a joint search and regular exchanges.
• The disciples divided the Lion-Tiger Great Demon corpse, and Li Xiuchang received thirty percent of its body and bones.
• Li Xiuchang returned the elders’ protective treasures but secretly kept an unused Eighth-Tier Protective Talisman, then confirmed that his mission rewards would be granted.
• Li Xiuchang submitted the mission at the Immortal Dust Sect and received Contribution Points worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.
• Li Xiuchang returned to his courtyard and began sorting the treasures he had collected on the trip.

After returning from the Immortal Shade, Li Xiuchang sorted through his gains and failed to summon a Mind Monkey or Will Horse. With Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu's advice, he noticed the summoning art briefly strengthened his body, leaving him to suspect a connection to the Vajra Dharma Image.

• Li Xiuchang returned to Eastern Geng District No. 18, released Su Qingchun's Yin Soul, and gave him Scholar Tang's original manuscripts to read.
• Li Xiuchang assessed the Buddhist Corpses, door panels, Blood Bodhi Fruit, great demon corpse, protective talisman, and Mind Monkey and Will Horse Summoning Art he had brought back.
• Li Xiuchang repeatedly tried and failed to summon a Mind Monkey or Will Horse, then went to find Zhang Wanzhi and discovered he was visiting Mo Tu.
• Li Xiuchang told Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu about his trip to the Immortal Shade and asked why he could not summon anything.
• Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu explained that a successful summoning should consume substantial magical power, then advised Li Xiuchang to observe changes in his body and mind.
• Li Xiuchang noticed that using the summoning art briefly increased his physical strength, then wondered whether it was connected to the Vajra Dharma Image.

Li Xiuchang asked Zhang Wanzhi to forge his Buddha Heart Steel into a cleaver and light-armor blanks, then tested his Vajra Dharma Image and discovered his Mind Monkey and Will Horse summons changed its form and abilities. He left excited by the prospect of gaining three different transformation forms as his Body Cultivation advanced.

• Li Xiuchang learned from Zhang Wanzhi that his door panels were Sixth-Tier Buddha Heart Steel, unsuitable for a heavy Great Seal but useful for lightweight weapons and armor.
• Li Xiuchang asked Zhang Wanzhi to forge a cleaver and armor blanks, and Zhang agreed to use one door panel and materials from a Seventh-Tier great demon.
• Li Xiuchang decided to preserve the Blood Bodhi Fruit and consume it in portions rather than refine it into a pill.
• Li Xiuchang went to his medicinal field and found that summoning the Mind Monkey turned his Vajra Dharma Image into a Golden Fur Ape that increased his strength.
• Li Xiuchang found that summoning the Will Horse changed the Dharma Image into a white horse and increased his speed, leading him to imagine gaining three transformation forms at higher tiers.

Li Xiuchang restarted his smoked spirit meat business with Wang Long and a workforce of ghosts, then collected his sect mission rewards. He received a hundred-year right to an Earth-grade Medicine Field and chose Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle eggs, leaving the sect to arrange male eggs and refine two Buddhist Corpses into puppets.

• Li Xiuchang and Wang Long organized production and sales of smoked spirit meat, with ghosts tending the furnaces and Wang Long managing supplies and local sales.
• Li Xiuchang arranged for the Four Immortals Merchant Alliance to distribute smoked meat to the other three Great Immortal Sects while Wang Long sold it at the Immortal Dust Sect Market.
• Li Xiuchang sent the first batch of smoked meat to the alliance members through the Ye family's escort agency and began selling the new grades locally.
• Elder Xu gave Li Xiuchang a hundred-year usage right to an Earth-grade Medicine Field as his mission reward.
• Li Xiuchang selected Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle eggs and asked Elder Xu to secure male ones; Elder Xu agreed to discuss it with the Beast Taming Grandmaster.
• Elder Xu took Li Xiuchang's two Buddhist Corpses to have them refined into Fourth-grade puppets.

Li Xiuchang expanded his spirit-flower business, shared incomplete poems from his past life with Su Qingchun, and registered as a Guest Alchemist Master at Danxiang Tower. Su Qingchun mistakenly believed Zhao Yuansi had written the poems, while Li Xiuchang headed to Zhao Manor to return the Confucian works.

• Elder Xu warned Li Xiuchang not to tell Zhao Yuansi that he had entered the Immortal Shade, and Li Xiuchang agreed.
• Li Xiuchang bought seeds, planted his Earth-grade Medicine Field, and secured an order from Senior Brother Chu Ya for Heartwarming Orchids and Blazing Lilies.
• Li Xiuchang gave Su Qingchun incomplete poems and lyrics, which strengthened Su Qingchun's Righteous Qi and left him desperate to learn the missing lines.
• Su Qingchun concluded that Zhao Yuansi must have composed the poems and wished to study under him.
• Li Xiuchang registered as a Guest Alchemist Master at Danxiang Tower, received a communication token from Shopkeeper Zhao, and then flew toward Zhao Manor.

Li Xiuchang explained why he had borrowed Zhao Yuansi’s books, then collected two refined Fourth-grade puppets and a male Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle Egg from Elder Xu. He enlarged and buried the egg in his medicine field, then prepared to break through to Third-grade Body Cultivation while monitoring it.

• Li Xiuchang admitted he had not read Zhao Yuansi’s books and told him about Su Qingchun, so Zhao Yuansi invited Su Qingchun to borrow books from his study.
• Li Xiuchang told Su Qingchun about Zhao Yuansi’s invitation, and Su Qingchun was delighted at the prospect of meeting him.
• Elder Xu gave Li Xiuchang a male Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle Egg and two Buddhist Corpses refined into Fourth-grade puppets.
• Li Xiuchang added three inches of length to the egg, buried it in his Earth-grade Medicine Field, and decided to let it hatch naturally.
• After reaching Peak Second Tier Body Cultivation, Li Xiuchang released his Vajra Dharma Image and prepared to force a breakthrough to Third-grade Body Cultivation.

Li Xiuchang advanced to Third-grade Body Cultivation, tested the powers of his Dharma Image forms, and prepared to pursue core formation while refining Blood Bodhi Fruit. As he arranged to bring Su Qingchun to meet Zhao Yuansi, he discovered that Tang Yan had died and become a Second Tier Yin Soul.

• Li Xiuchang experimented with adding length to the Will Horse Dharma Image, then strengthened his Vajra Dharma Image and spent three inches of length to break through to Third-grade Body Cultivation.
• Li Xiuchang crushed a Blood Bodhi Fruit into fruit mud and used it to begin refining his blood, then assessed his new strength and tested borrowing power from the Mind Monkey, Will Horse, and Vajra Dharma Images.
• Li Xiuchang studied core formation and Beast Taming at the Preaching Ranking while monitoring the Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle Egg and maintaining his Yin Souls.
• Zhao Yuansi urged Li Xiuchang to visit and bring Su Qingchun, so Li Xiuchang agreed to go the next day and told Su Qingchun he could stop working that night.
• Li Xiuchang discovered that Tang Yan had died inside the Beast Taming Bag and become a Second Tier Yin Soul, then decided he could replace Su Qingchun on the night shift.

Li Xiuchang introduced Su Qingchun to Zhao Yuansi, and the two scholars bonded over Confucian culture and the severed roots of the Confucian Path. As Li Xiuchang prepared to form his Golden Core, he discovered an ancient method called the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Golden Core and decided to cultivate it.

• Li Xiuchang brought Su Qingchun to Zhao Yuansi, where the two exchanged knowledge about Confucian culture and earned each other's respect.
• Zhao Yuansi explained that the Confucian Path's inheritance remained but had become impossible to cultivate, though he did not know why its roots had been severed.
• Zhao Yuansi invited Su Qingchun to browse his books, and Li Xiuchang left after warning him not to mention the poems Li Xiuchang had copied.
• Li Xiuchang reviewed the Golden Core formation process and judged that his solid cultivation energy, reserves, and Second Dantian made him well prepared.
• Li Xiuchang found the ancient Thirty-Six Transformations of the Golden Core on the Preaching Ranking and vowed to become its second successful cultivator.

Li Xiuchang studied the dangerous Thirty-Six Transformations of the Golden Core method while continuing to cultivate and manage his businesses. After receiving his newly forged Bone Slicing Saber and Undying Armor, he went looking for a demon to test them and found two Golden Core cultivators arguing over a demon cave.

• Li Xiuchang learned that the Thirty-Six Transformations could produce a Tenth Grade Golden Core but risked shattering the core, and he planned to consider it when he was ready to form one.
• Li Xiuchang kept accumulating magical power, tending his businesses and spirit creatures, while the Four Immortals Merchant Alliance expanded its sales.
• Zhang Wanzhi gave Li Xiuchang a crude kitchen-knife weapon and armor, which Li Xiuchang named the Bone Slicing Saber and Undying Armor.
• Li Xiuchang visited the New Demonic Path village, harvested Spirit Medicine and ores, and removed the Malevolent Energy from the miner Wolf Souls.
• Li Xiuchang captured a harmless Second-Tier black bear spirit, learned of a Third-Tier Four-legged Snake that secretly committed evil, and headed for its cave.
• Li Xiuchang found two Golden Core cultivators disputing who had the right to slay the demon and proposed that they give it to him.

Li Xiuchang intervened in Liang Zaiping and Hong Yi’s dispute over a third-grade demon beast, then entered its cave to test his battle skills. He discovered the Lizard spirit had disguised itself as a young woman and cornered it after his Fourth-grade puppet blocked its escape.

• Li Xiuchang persuaded Liang Zaiping and Hong Yi to share the demon beast’s spoils and let him handle it, revealing his Fourth-grade puppet to reassure them.
• Li Xiuchang entered the cave, sent Fan Liang and Tang Yan ahead to scout, and found a Lizard spirit and a young woman inside.
• The young woman slipped past Li Xiuchang, who kicked the apparent lizard and exposed it as an illusion created by the Lizard spirit.
• The disguised Lizard spirit ran into Li Xiuchang’s puppet and returned to the cavern, where it tried to distract him by exposing its chest.
• Li Xiuchang ignored the spirit’s attempt to unsettle him and raised his kitchen knife to attack.

Li Xiuchang defeated a Third Tier Lizard spirit, claimed its Illusion Skin, and shared the creature’s remains with Hong Yi and Liang Zaiping. After learning about the Four Great Immortal Sects’ exchange events, he parted ways with the two cultivators.

• Li Xiuchang tested his new equipment against the Lizard spirit, then wounded it with the Bone Slicing Saber and killed it after it tried to deceive him with a false offer.
• Li Xiuchang took the Lizard spirit’s Demonic Core and Illusion Skin, then brought its corpse out to Hong Yi and Liang Zaiping.
• Hong Yi and Liang Zaiping praised Li Xiuchang’s strength, and the three divided the corpse while Li Xiuchang declined his share.
• Liang Zaiping and Hong Yi explained that the sects were encouraging cross-region training and described upcoming exchange tournaments for Golden Core and Foundation Establishment disciples.
• Li Xiuchang exchanged contact information with Hong Yi and Liang Zaiping before the three parted ways.

Su Qingchun discovered that Zhao Yuansi’s poetry was poor and suspected Li Xiuchang had written the famous poems instead. Li Xiuchang’s Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle hatched, and he asked Zhang Wanzhi to teach him artifact refining; Zhang directed him to learn the basics at the Library Pavilion.

• Su Qingchun found Zhao Yuansi’s hidden poetry collection and concluded that Li Xiuchang had likely written the poems Zhao was credited with.
• Li Xiuchang discovered that his Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle Egg had hatched after consuming thousands of spirit stones, then moved the larva into fermented Spirit Wood sawdust.
• Li Xiuchang asked Zhang Wanzhi to teach him artifact refining, and Zhang told him to study an introductory inheritance and practice forging iron first.
• Zhang Wanzhi identified Li Xiuchang’s Illusion Skin as a high-quality, roughly fifth-tier hide from the Phantom Viper Tribe and explained that it needed to be refined into a magical treasure for a cultivator to use.

Li Xiuchang obtained a chance to have Illusion Skin refined into a disguise treasure and was assigned to accompany the Immortal Dust Sect’s delegation to the Four Great Immortal Sects Hundred Arts Competition. After learning that the first-place prize was Thousand Jun Stone, he planned to compete in Spirit Planting and quickly raise another technique as backup.

• Zhang Wanzhi agreed to have Li Xiuchang’s Illusion Skin refined into a Top-grade Magic Treasure, and they congratulated Wang Long on buying a Foundation Establishment Pill and entering secluded cultivation.
• Li Xiuchang attended Senior Brother Mo’s Soul Controlling class before Elder Xu summoned him and assigned him to accompany the sect delegation to the Hundred Arts Competition.
• Elder Xu explained that the Seal Heaven Sect would host the competition in eight months and offer Thousand Jun Stone as the first-place reward; Li Xiuchang decided he wanted to win it.
• Elder Xu told Li Xiuchang that the four sects were searching Ox Horn Ridge for the hidden Demon Sealing Land after arresting many demonic cultivators but missing the Blood Flower Sect’s leader.
• Li Xiuchang resolved to compete in Spirit Planting and raise either Spirit Cooking or Soul Controlling to Tier 2, considering the Preaching Ranking’s Anointing reward as a way to improve quickly.

Li Xiuchang planned his priorities for the next eight months, balancing Golden Core cultivation, the Hundred Arts Competition, and a push for first place on the Annual Preaching Ranking. After finding the ranking’s top spot within reach, he began publishing posts featuring his new Spirit Delicacy Dishes.

• Li Xiuchang visited Senior Brother Song Yu, who said he would travel with Senior Brother Chu Ya to the Four Great Immortal Sects’ Foundation Establishment exchange competition before attempting to form his Golden Core.
• Li Xiuchang received a First-tier Artifact Refiner inheritance and bought blacksmithing tools, then made an eight-month plan that prioritized Golden Core cultivation and winning the Annual Preaching Ranking.
• Li Xiuchang decided to train Yin Souls in Spirit Chef and Spirit Planter work so he could delegate chores, while considering Registered Disciples as apprentices to dispel Malevolent Energy.
• Li Xiuchang checked the Annual Preaching Ranking, saw that the top spot was contested by Mangy Head Fairy and Professional Flying Sword Haircut for 100 Years, and began publishing posts with his new Spirit Delicacy recipes.
• Li Xiuchang published ten Preaching Posts to start his campaign for first place.

Li Xiuchang posted ten spirit-dish recipes, delegated his Yin Soul workforce after discovering Su Qingchun could dispel Malevolent Energy, and climbed to third on the Annual Preaching Ranking. As the top two began responding to his rise, the Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle larva appeared to be in trouble.

• Li Xiuchang published ten spirit-dish Preaching Posts and drew support from Talisman Masters, female cultivators, and Spirit Chefs.
• Li Xiuchang brought Su Qingchun back from Zhao Manor and tasked him with training Yin Souls to fertilize fields and cure spirit meat.
• Li Xiuchang discovered that Su Qingchun could use the Malevolent Energy-dispelling spell, so he assigned him to care for the Yin Souls and oversee the Smoked Meat Factory.
• Li Xiuchang continued posting recipes, reached ninth place with eight thousand Dao Spikes, and later rose to third with twelve thousand.
• Senior Brother Wang Long emerged from seclusion after successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, celebrated with a feast, and returned to work at the smoked-meat production line.
• The top two on the Annual Preaching Ranking began taking action against Li Xiuchang's rise, while the Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle larva seemed to encounter trouble.

Li Xiuchang cared for his unusually large Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle larva and sought expert advice when it outgrew the sawdust it could digest. On the Preaching Ranking, he learned that Beast King Bone Powder could strengthen the larva’s bones, then asked whether he could feed it Blood Bodhi Fruit.

• Li Xiuchang found the larva malnourished, switched it to second-rank sawdust, and watched it recover and grow into its second-instar stage.
• When the larva lost its appetite for second-rank sawdust but could not digest third-rank sawdust, Li Xiuchang sought advice from Beast Tamers on the Preaching Ranking.
• The Longest Man’s rise to third place on the annual ranking prompted Mangy Head Fairy and Professional Flying Sword Haircut for 100 Years to publish new Preaching Posts.
• Humble Poop Scooper advised Li Xiuchang to mix bone-strengthening treasures into the sawdust and said Beast King Bone Powder would work.
• Li Xiuchang was delighted that he could feed the larva Beast King Bone Powder and asked Humble Poop Scooper whether Blood Bodhi Fruit was suitable too.

Li Xiuchang built an acre-sized tray to produce huge quantities of spirit-beast feed while considering how to mass-produce Gloomy Chill Flowers. As he hosted three visiting Golden Core cultivators during the Four Great Immortal Sects tournament, a sudden surge of spiritual energy and laughter drew everyone’s attention.

• Li Xiuchang fed the Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle larva Beast King Bone Powder and, seeing how quickly it ate, forged an acre-sized tray to produce vast stores of bone powder and Blood Bodhi Fruit Mud.
• Li Xiuchang considered using Giant Netherfrost Grass to solve the problems involved in mass-producing Gloomy Chill Flowers, then stored his resources and tray in Storage Bags and a Beast Taming Bag.
• Li Xiuchang followed the tournament through Wang Long’s daily reports and planned to watch Chu Ya’s match on the final day if Chu Ya reached the finals.
• Liang Zaiping, Hong Yi, and Ye Zhixing visited Li Xiuchang, saw his Netherfrost Grass, and learned that he was a twenty-one-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator who had cultivated for just over three years.
• A surge of spiritual energy came from Eastern Geng District No. 1, and Zhang Mouren’s laughter proclaimed that he had achieved Golden Core at the age of one hundred and one.

Zhang Wanzhi staged a dramatic breakthrough and revealed a High-grade Golden Core, astonishing Ye Zhixing, Liang Zaiping, and Hong Yi while Li Xiuchang treated the display as routine. After Zhang held a lavish banquet attended by several remarkable outer disciples, Ye Zhixing concluded that the Immortal Dust Sect’s outer sect was full of hidden talent.

• Zhang Wanzhi formed a High-grade Golden Core at age one hundred and one, while Li Xiuchang recognized the display as his senior brother’s familiar way of showing off.
• Ye Zhixing, Liang Zaiping, and Hong Yi congratulated Zhang Wanzhi and were impressed by his power, charisma, and social skills.
• Zhang Wanzhi asked Li Xiuchang to cook Second-order spirit delicacies for a three-day banquet and gave him a Top-grade Magic Treasure called the Skin-swapping Mask as payment.
• Li Xiuchang helped host Zhang Wanzhi’s banquet, where Ye Zhixing, Liang Zaiping, and Hong Yi met the low-key outer disciples Chen Changsheng and Mo Tu.
• Ye Zhixing concluded that the Immortal Dust Sect’s outer sect hid exceptional talents whom the sect’s rigid rules had overlooked.

After the Four Great Immortal Sects' exchange tournament ended, Elder Xu rejected Mo Youjian's request to enter the Preaching Ranking to protect the Immortal Dust Sect's embarrassing secrets. The chapter left the sect elders considering an exception to admit Zhang Wanzhi into the inner sect.

• Zhang Wanzhi's Golden Core banquet made his High-grade Golden Core and young age known across the sect, while Li Xiuchang's hard work improved his Spirit Chef Arts.
• Mo Youjian defeated Senior Brother Chu Ya in the tournament final, and the Sword Seeking Sect took first place while the Immortal Dust Sect finished second.
• Mo Youjian offered to forfeit his prizes for a chance to experience the Preaching Ranking, but Elder Xu refused and cited a sect rule.
• Elder Xu privately admitted he had refused because the Preaching Ranking contained embarrassing titles and comments that could damage the Immortal Dust Sect's reputation.
• Senior Brother Chu Ya asked Li Xiuchang to pick mature spirit flowers before setting out with Senior Brother Song Yu to gain experience at the Sword Seeking Sect.
• Elder Xu proposed that the sect make an exception and admit Zhang Wanzhi into the inner sect.

The Immortal Dust Sect elders debated how to reward Zhang Wanzhi for forming a High-grade Golden Core and decided to ask whether he would enter the Inner Sect or accept an elder as his master. As Li Xiuchang advanced his cultivation and skills, Zhang Wanzhi struggled with the attention his conspicuous achievement had drawn and leaned toward taking a master.

• The elders discussed Zhang Wanzhi's High-grade Golden Core, recalled that he had rejected discipleship before, and decided to ask what he wanted.
• Li Xiuchang reached twenty thousand Dao Tassels, advanced to Foundation Establishment Peak, raised his Spirit Chef Arts to the Second Tier, and watched his Yin Souls grow stronger.
• An Inner Sect Elder invited Zhang Wanzhi to enter the Inner Sect or become an elder's disciple, leaving him unsure how to refuse.
• Zhang Wanzhi asked Mo Tu and Chen Changsheng for advice, but they teased him for attracting attention by forming a High-grade Golden Core.
• After Mo Tu told him to choose between entering the Inner Sect and taking a master, Zhang Wanzhi said he would rather take a master.

Li Xiuchang advanced his ranking campaign, earned a perfect score in the Second-grade Spirit Planter assessment, and used his reward to produce a large supply of Spring Dew. Meanwhile, rumors about Immortal Dust Sect's outer-sect disciples prompted Sword Seeking Sect to invite them to a friendly match, offering Divine Sword Heart-Questioning opportunities for each visitor.

• Li Xiuchang intensified his Preaching Posts to try to overtake the top two in the annual ranking and earned a perfect score in the Second-grade Spirit Planter assessment after growing a Third-grade Spirit Plant on his second attempt.
• Yan Song encouraged Li Xiuchang to reach the Third Tier and become an Attendant, but Li Xiuchang privately decided he would stop at Peak Second Tier.
• Li Xiuchang used his tray to multiply his Spring Dew reward, distributed it to the Yin Souls tending his medicinal fields, and added an inch of Length Value to his main dantian to hasten his progress toward the Golden Core Stage.
• Rumors spread through Seal Heaven Sect and Sword Seeking Sect that Immortal Dust Sect's outer sect concealed its strongest disciples, stirring demands for a friendly exchange.
• Mo Youjian asked Elder Xiang whether the rumors were true and proposed an exchange with Immortal Dust Sect's outer-sect disciples; two Straightforward Sword Cultivator elders backed the proposal.
• The Sword Seeking Sect elders offered a Divine Sword Heart-Questioning opportunity for every Immortal Dust Sect outer-sect disciple who attended, and Elder Xiang agreed to ask the disciples what they thought.

The Immortal Dust Sect elders discussed the rumor that their Outer Sect was stronger than their Inner Sect and asked Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi to visit the Sword Seeking Sect. Li Xiuchang agreed after learning the trip offered a valuable Divine Sword Heart-Questioning opportunity, and both disciples prepared to leave with Elder Liu.

• Elder Wu explained that outsiders had spread the rumor after meeting Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi, and the elders discussed sending them to the Sword Seeking Sect.
• Elder Liu said teaching Zhang Wanzhi was going well because he quickly understood and expanded on her lessons.
• Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi rode his Abalone Flying Boat to Elder Xu after both were summoned.
• Elder Xu invited them to spar with the Sword Seeking Sect's Inner Sect disciples, but Li Xiuchang initially refused because he was busy preparing for the Hundred Arts Competition.
• Elder Xu offered them the chance to undergo the Divine Sword Heart-Questioning, which could be sold for tens of thousands of spirit stones, and Li Xiuchang agreed.
• Zhang Wanzhi agreed to go because Li Xiuchang was going, and Elder Xu arranged for Elder Liu to take them there the next day.