Recaps

Li Xiuchang prepared for a friendship match at the Sword Seeking Sect by learning spells from Chen Changsheng, including a spatial escape spell that sent enemies away. He then boarded the Immortal Cloud with Zhang Wanzhi and Elder Liu to travel to the competition.

• Li Xiuchang postponed forming his Golden Core and planned how to compete without revealing or using abilities forbidden by the rules.
• Chen Changsheng taught Li Xiuchang the Black Bee Technique and Charcoal Array, then passed on the spatial spell Send Enemy a Thousand Miles.
• Elder Liu summoned the enormous tower ship Immortal Cloud and took Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi aboard.
• Elder Liu collected the Foundation Establishment disciples bound for the exchange competition, and the Immortal Cloud sped away from the sect.

Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi arrived at the Sword Seeking Sect for their friendly match, and the true rumors about the Immortal Dust Sect’s powerful outer disciples stirred excitement across the visiting sects. The match began the next day, with Li Xiuchang facing a choice among several Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Sword Seeking Sect disciples.

• Li Xiuchang raised his apparent Cultivation Level to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, while Zhang Wanzhi complained of being worn out by lessons and played chess with him.
• Li Xiuchang observed that his Golden Halberd Unicorn Beetle larva had reached the third-instar stage and already possessed the aura of a second-order demon beast.
• Elder Xiang brought Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi to meet the Sword Seeking Sect elders, and word spread that the rumored outer disciples were real.
• The match was scheduled for the next day at the foot of Divine Sword Peak, and Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi placed large bets on their own victories.
• Yue Chongshan, Chen Gao, Ye Zhixing, Liang Zaiping, and others also bet heavily, with more than seventy thousand Spirit Stones wagered in total.
• At the match, a Sword Seeking Sect elder told Li Xiuchang to choose an opponent from among five or six of their Foundation Establishment Middle Stage inner disciples.

Li Xiuchang defeated Yu Feng of the Sword Seeking Sect without moving from his place, then accepted Cui He's challenge for a piece of Spirit-Infused Gold. He quickly defeated Cui He as well and left the arena having secured his sect's victory and his prize.

• Li Xiuchang asked for a Foundation Establishment Late Stage opponent, but the Sword Seeking Sect elder refused, so Li Xiuchang chose Yu Feng.
• Li Xiuchang used the Charcoal Array and Charcoal Bees to overwhelm Yu Feng and knock him out of the arena.
• Cui He challenged Li Xiuchang and offered Spirit-Infused Gold as a wager, and Li Xiuchang accepted.
• Li Xiuchang unleashed a swarm of Charcoal Bees while Cui He attacked with sword intent, and a referee elder intervened to protect Cui He from the explosion.
• Li Xiuchang used his kitchen knife to chop apart Cui He's sword intent, winning the spar and the Spirit-Infused Gold.

Li Xiuchang defeated two Sword Seeking Sect Foundation Establishment disciples and then watched Zhang Wanzhi enter the Golden Core match. Zhang Wanzhi beat the Sword Seeking Sect prodigy Zuo Hanguang with a single spear strike, leaving the sect elders stunned.

• Li Xiuchang challenged the Sword Seeking Sect disciples, but no one else accepted after he defeated Cui He and another elite disciple.
• Zhang Wanzhi decided to win a match of his own, while the Sword Seeking Sect selected its early Golden Core prodigy Zuo Hanguang to face him.
• Li Xiuchang received the promised Spirit-Infused Gold and reunited with acquaintances who congratulated him on his victory.
• Zhang Wanzhi and Zuo Hanguang began their match as the crowd favored the Sword Seeking Sect swordsman.
• Zuo Hanguang attacked with his Left-hand Sword Technique, but Zhang Wanzhi hurled a spear that overwhelmed Zuo Hanguang's Sword Intent and knocked his flying sword from his grasp.
• The judges' elders rose in shock as Zuo Hanguang's defeat exposed Zhang Wanzhi's formidable strength.

Zhang Wanzhi defeated Zuo Hanguang in one strike, earning praise and raising questions about Immortal Dust Sect’s exceptional outer disciples. Li Xiuchang used his reward token to begin Divine Sword Heart-Questioning, and the trial drew him into an unfamiliar scene.

• Zhang Wanzhi defeated Zuo Hanguang with a single spear strike, astonishing the spectators and elders.
• Zhang Wanzhi claimed he had practiced Spear Dao for eighty years, while Li Xiuchang knew he rarely practiced; Elder Xiang planned to secure him a magic-treasure spear, and Elder Liu planned to find him a Spear Dao master.
• Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi received jade tokens granting them chances to undergo Divine Sword Heart-Questioning, and Li Xiuchang chose to use his token.
• Zhang Wanzhi explained that completing the trial could earn Li Xiuchang a Sword Seed that might be reshaped into a Blade Heart or another weapon heart.
• At Divine Sword Peak, Li Xiuchang saw that the Heart-Questioning Sword was embedded upside down and abandoned the idea of pulling it out, but he activated the trial with his Spiritual Sense.
• The Heart-Questioning Sword sent Sword Qi into Li Xiuchang’s brow, erased his immediate sense of purpose, and pulled his consciousness into an unfamiliar scene.

Li Xiuchang was trapped in the Heart-Questioning Sword’s trial and abandoned its sword techniques to develop his own Equality Saber. After he cleaved the stone tablet in half, his memories returned and a kitchen-knife-shaped Sword Seed entered his consciousness.

• Li Xiuchang found himself in a blank space with a stone tablet and a sword, unable to use his cultivation or escape the area around the tablet.
• Li Xiuchang slowly learned the first form of the tablet’s sword techniques, but rejected the long path of mastering them all to break the tablet.
• Li Xiuchang treated the sword as a kitchen knife and the tablet as ingredients, transforming the sword techniques into his own Equality Saber.
• Li Xiuchang practiced the Equality Saber and eventually cleaved the stone tablet in half with its final form.
• Li Xiuchang regained his memories and realized he had been undergoing the Heart-Questioning Sword’s trial.
• A transparent Sword Seed emerged from the shattered tablet, changed into a kitchen-knife shape, and entered Li Xiuchang’s consciousness.

Li Xiuchang passed the Heart-Questioning Sword trial by awakening the Equalizer Dao within him, gaining a Cleaver Seed and deciding to pursue a cleaver natal treasure. He returned to the Immortal Dust Sect with Zhang Wanzhi, while Song Yu arrived too late to compete against him and was left facing the exchange tournament under heavy expectations.

• Li Xiuchang realized the trial had tested his sword-Dao talent and state of mind, and that his cleaver technique had revealed the Equalizer Dao in his heart.
• Li Xiuchang emerged from the pavilion recognized by the Heart-Questioning Sword, and the elder urged him to cultivate the sword Dao.
• Li Xiuchang told Zhang Wanzhi about the trial, and Zhang Wanzhi suggested that he forge a cleaver natal magic treasure when he reached the Golden Core Stage.
• Li Xiuchang declined Elder Xiang's invitation to join the exchange tournament and left with Zhang Wanzhi and Elder Liu for the Immortal Dust Sect.
• Chu Ya and Song Yu arrived at the Sword Seeking Sect after missing the friendly match, and Song Yu learned Li Xiuchang had already defeated Zhang Wanzhi.
• Song Yu realized the match had left him under pressure for the upcoming tournament, where winning would earn little notice but losing would invite ridicule.

On returning to the Immortal Dust Sect, Li Xiuchang began forming his Golden Core in the Earth-grade Medicine Field, choosing the dangerous Thirty-Six Transformations method. He safely endured twenty-four Core Tribulations and reached an Eighth-grade Golden Core, with the remaining tribulations still ahead.

• Li Xiuchang experimented with the Dao Heart Seed’s many weapon forms and decided to call his future Dao Heart the Heart of Myriad Daos.
• Li Xiuchang returned to the Immortal Dust Sect with Zhang Wanzhi and went to his shed in the Earth-grade Medicine Field to form his Golden Core.
• Li Xiuchang condensed his magic power into a black embryonic Golden Core without taking a Magnetic Origin Pill.
• Li Xiuchang chose the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Golden Core and used his abundant magic power to repair the damage from each Core Tribulation.
• Li Xiuchang endured twenty-four Core Tribulations, and his black Golden Core reached the Eighth grade.

Li Xiuchang endured thirty-six Core Tribulations and formed a Tenth Grade Diamond Core, then discovered that further enhancement could not damage it. He turned his attention to the second Golden Core embryo in his Second Dantian and considered forming another Golden Core.

• Li Xiuchang endured the twenty-fifth through thirtieth Core Tribulations, reaching Ninth Grade and using mana from his Second Dantian to continue.
• He spent Length to replenish his mana and endured the thirty-first through thirty-fifth Core Tribulations, while his Golden Core grew denser and more powerful.
• As he condensed the thirty-sixth Core Tribulation, the Golden Core connected with Heaven and Earth, and the tribulation’s power surged.
• Li Xiuchang formed a second Golden Core embryo in his Second Dantian for insurance, then let the thirty-sixth Core Tribulation strike his main Golden Core.
• His Golden Core transformed into a transparent, flawless Diamond Core, completing the Tenth Grade; he then tried a thirty-seventh Core Tribulation, which left it unharmed.
• Li Xiuchang concluded that the Diamond Core could not be enhanced further and considered forming another Golden Core in his Second Dantian.

Li Xiuchang formed a second tenth-grade diamond core, gained the Heavenly Dao’s recognition, and became an Early Golden Core cultivator with two cores. He returned to the Preaching Ranking and fought to reclaim first place, then decided to revive his old approach when his spirit-dish posts lost ground.

• Li Xiuchang spent seventeen inches of Length Value to form a second tenth-grade diamond core and gained the Heavenly Dao’s recognition for both cores.
• Li Xiuchang tested his Golden Core-stage power with a fireball and estimated that each diamond core let him borrow fifty percent of Heaven and Earth’s power.
• Li Xiuchang hurried to the Preaching Ranking and found that Mangy Head Fairy and Professional Flying Sword Haircut for 100 Years had pushed him down to third place.
• Li Xiuchang released his stockpile of Preaching Posts, briefly reclaimed first place, and then watched his rivals overtake him as their audiences unlocked more of their posts.
• Li Xiuchang concluded that spirit-dish recipes had too narrow an audience and decided to return to his old profession as editor-in-chief of the Shocking Department.

Li Xiuchang flooded the Preaching Ranking with gimmick short stories and reclaimed first place, while his and Zhang Wanzhi’s victories brought them fame at the Immortal Dust Sect. After settling into his new routine, Li Xiuchang claimed the Annual Preaching Ranking reward and prepared to choose posts for an Anointing.

• Li Xiuchang published a barrage of gimmick short stories as “The Longest Man,” drawing readers back and overtaking “Mangy Head Fairy” to secure first place on the Annual Preaching Ranking.
• News spread that Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi had defeated Sword Seeking Sect prodigies, bringing them attention and challengers at the Immortal Dust Sect.
• Chen Changsheng worried Zhang Wanzhi might lead Li Xiuchang astray, and Mo Tu advised him not to suppress young people too harshly.
• Li Xiuchang defeated several inner-sect disciples who challenged him, then hid in the medicinal fields to escape the growing attention.
• Li Xiuchang continued his cultivation, Spirit Chef studies, and other duties until the Annual Preaching Ranking settled.
• Li Xiuchang received first place and an Anointing reward that let him choose two thousand Preaching Posts.

Li Xiuchang carefully chose two thousand Preaching Posts suited to his current abilities so Anointing would teach him as much as possible. He accepted the reward and began receiving the knowledge, which poured into his sea of consciousness as the chapter ended.

• Li Xiuchang ruled out cultivation insights and recipe or blueprint posts, focusing instead on practical experience and realizations related to the Hundred Cultivation Arts.
• He selected posts on Spirit Plant Cultivation Arts, Spirit Chef arts, and soul manipulation, then searched the rankings for artifact-refining knowledge and considered whether Low-key Blacksmith Who Forges Silently was Zhang Wanzhi.
• Li Xiuchang added posts on artifact refining, alchemy, talisman arts, the Array Path, and Immortal Brewing, while recognizing Domineering Arrogant Heaven's technical posts.
• He used his remaining selections on insights about nurturing a Natal Magic Treasure, intending to make a kitchen-knife treasure, and completed his list of two thousand posts.
• Li Xiuchang accepted the Anointing reward and began hearing the selected knowledge enter his sea of consciousness.

After receiving Anointing from the Preaching Ranking, Li Xiuchang mastered knowledge from two thousand Preaching Posts and saw his Length Value soar. He prepared for the Hundred Arts Competition and his Natal Magic Treasure, while Song Yu returned to Immortal Dust Sect from a neglected championship and found everyone talking about Zhang Wanzhi.

• Li Xiuchang experienced Anointing as a dream of practicing many arts, gaining deep mastery and raising his Length Value from just over sixty-two inches to 294.56 inches.
• Li Xiuchang tested his skills and confirmed that four arts had reached the first grade, his Spirit Plant Cultivation Arts had reached the third grade, his alchemy had reached the second tier, and his Spirit Chef and Soul Master skills had greatly improved.
• Li Xiuchang decided to prepare for the Hundred Arts Competition, registered for the second-tier Soul Master assessment, and went to ask Zhang Wanzhi about the primary material for his kitchen-cleaver Natal Magic Treasure.
• Song Yu returned to Immortal Dust Sect after winning the Foundation Establishment exchange tournament, but received little attention because Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi had drawn the limelight.
• Immortal Dust Sect disciples asked Song Yu about Zhang Wanzhi and urged him to bring Chu Ya to spar with him, so Song Yu gave up on expecting a welcome and decided to return and form his Core.

Li Xiuchang visited his senior brothers with spirit dishes, got drunk on Mo Tu’s last jar of wine, and learned that the dog couple was returning. After waking, he asked Zhang Wanzhi for advice on his Natal Magic Treasure and was pointed toward forging a spirit-form kitchen knife with Earth Soul Crystal.

• Li Xiuchang concealed his cultivation and visited Zhang Wanzhi at Mo Tu’s residence, where he shared spirit dishes with Zhang Wanzhi, Mo Tu, and Chen Changsheng.
• Li Xiuchang drank Mo Tu’s strong wine and passed out; Gui Wuyan arrived and wrote that the dog couple was coming back.
• Li Xiuchang woke after eight days, feeling refreshed, and told Zhang Wanzhi he wanted advice on choosing a main material for his Natal Magic Treasure.
• Zhang Wanzhi suggested Li Xiuchang forge a spirit-form kitchen knife to complement his Bone Slicing Saber, then potentially fuse the saber into it later.
• Chen Changsheng told Li Xiuchang that the sect might have Earth Soul Crystal available in exchange for Contribution Points.

Li Xiuchang obtained an Earth Soul Crystal to forge his Natal Kitchen Knife Magic Treasure and sought ways to earn Contribution Points to repay his debt. As he prepared for the Hundred Arts Competition and improved his cultivation, Misty Qi began forming in his Second Dantian.

• Li Xiuchang borrowed eighty thousand Contribution Points from Senior Brother Chu Ya, who exchanged them for an Earth Soul Crystal, and left the crystal and his Bone Slicing Saber with Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi for the magic treasure’s refinement.
• Li Xiuchang asked Senior Brother Yan Song about rewards for the Hundred Arts Competition and his diplomatic mission, and Senior Brother Yan Song agreed to ask the elders about Contribution Points.
• Chen Changsheng offered to accompany Li Xiuchang on sect missions after the competition, while Li Xiuchang successively passed the tier-two Spirit Chef and Soul Master examinations.
• Senior Brother Yan Song secured a promise that Li Xiuchang would receive ten thousand Contribution Points if he won any one of the Hundred Arts Competition’s contests.
• Li Xiuchang mastered switching between Diamond Mana and Charcoal Attribute Mana, and noticed that Misty Qi was slowly forming in his Second Dantian.

Li Xiuchang celebrated the Netherfrost Tree’s abundant, potent Gloomy Chill Flowers and rewarded his yin souls, while secretly preparing to deal with the two demonic cultivator souls. Fan Liang and Tang Yan plotted to use Tang Yan’s hidden yin altar to grow powerful enough to overthrow him, and the chapter ended with Li Xiuchang being summoned to travel to the Hundred Arts Competition.

• Li Xiuchang harvested oversized Gloomy Chill Flowers from the three-zhang Netherfrost Tree and found they were about five times as potent as ordinary flowers.
• Li Xiuchang distributed flowers among his yin souls, gave Su Qingchun remembered poems, and set aside flowers for Fan Liang and Tang Yan.
• Tang Yan offered to reveal a yin altar near Ox Horn Ridge containing ten thousand Fierce Ghosts, while he and Fan Liang secretly planned to use it to advance and enslave Li Xiuchang and Su Qingchun.
• Li Xiuchang learned the altar’s location and decided to investigate it after the Hundred Arts Competition with Senior Brother Chen Changsheng.
• The sect summoned Li Xiuchang and the other competition participants to travel to the Seal Heaven Sect under the elders’ escort.

Li Xiuchang traveled with Chen Changsheng to the Seal Heaven Sect, where he planned to compete in Spirit Chef Arts and claim a reward from Elder Wu for saving his life. A conversation about the sect’s Seal Control Arts led him to realize his two dantians might let him cultivate a second Natal Magic Treasure, and he decided to ask Elder Wu for the Target Locking Seal.

• Li Xiuchang added Ox Horn Ridge to Chen Changsheng’s planned mission route so he could search for Tang Yan’s Yin Altar and take part in the demon-seeking mission.
• After traveling for more than ten days, Li Xiuchang and Chen Changsheng arrived at the Seal Heaven Sect and received a warm welcome from Yue Chongshan and Elder Wu.
• Li Xiuchang chose to enter the Spirit Chef Arts competition and discussed with Chen Changsheng what reward to request from Elder Wu.
• Chen Changsheng explained the Seal Heaven Sect’s Seal Control Arts, including the Target Locking Seal, prompting Li Xiuchang to realize that his two dantians might support two Natal Magic Treasures.
• Li Xiuchang decided to ask Elder Wu for the Target Locking Seal and planned to try adding points to his core pill before the competition.

Li Xiuchang advanced to the Mid Golden Core stage and discovered that his Second Dantian could expand its internal space independently, even successfully lengthening that space. Several days later, the Four Great Immortal Sects’ Hundred Arts Competition began, and he watched the alchemy, artifact refinement, talisman, and Array Path contests unfold.

• Li Xiuchang enlarged his First Diamond Core, reached the Mid Golden Core stage, then enlarged his Second Diamond Core and found that the Second Dantian absorbed the remaining force of heaven and earth.
• Li Xiuchang discovered that the Second Dantian’s interior had expanded and that its space could grow naturally or with cultivation breakthroughs; he successfully added an inch to that space, turning it into an ellipsoid.
• Several days later, Li Xiuchang and Chen Changsheng watched the Hundred Arts Competition begin, starting with the alchemy contest.
• An Ascension Pavilion disciple under thirty revealed herself as a Third-tier Alchemist and won the alchemy championship, while the artifact refinement competition produced no third-tier prodigy.
• More than five hundred participants competed in talisman arts, and an outer disciple from Immortal Dust Sect won the championship after a showdown among three third-tier talisman masters.
• The Array Path competition followed, while the Four Great Immortal Sects decided not to hold a Divination Arts competition because few diviners participated and they were unwilling to risk their lives.

Li Xiuchang advanced through the first round of the Spirit Chef competition by easily cooking a third-tier pepper-fried meat dish. The second round began with contestants drawing ingredient categories, and Li Xiuchang started preparing an innovative fish dish.

• Li Xiuchang chose third-tier ingredients and cooked pepper-fried meat, earning the judges’ approval and advancing to the top ten.
• The chief judge announced that the second round would reward innovation and thorough ingredient utilization, noting the famous but unidentified Spirit Chef from the Immortal Dust Sect.
• Li Xiuchang drew fish as his primary ingredient, while the other contestants drew categories including poultry, beast, shell, and insect.
• After examining a box of fish ranging from first to third tier, Li Xiuchang settled on an idea and began processing the ingredients with striking knife skills.

Li Xiuchang used every part of his fish ingredients to prepare a varied banquet, then unveiled his innovative dish, Gazing at the Stars, whose fish-head portions each had a different effect. The judges praised his cooking and awarded him the competition’s second-round championship by an overwhelming margin.

• Li Xiuchang cooked the large third-tier fish in several ways and made dishes from the other fish and their organs.
• He used the remaining fish heads, Spirit Wheat flour, and side ingredients to bake the striking dish Gazing at the Stars.
• Li Xiuchang explained that each portion had different fillings and effects, then cut the dish into portions for the judges.
• Elder Wu tasted a portion and found that it temporarily improved eyesight; the other judges confirmed that different portions had distinct effects.
• The judges gave Li Xiuchang high scores for his cooking, innovation, and complete use of the ingredients.
• After the other contestants finished, Li Xiuchang won the second round by an overwhelming margin.

Li Xiuchang won the Hundred Arts Competition’s spirit cuisine championship, received the Thousand Jun Stone, and secured permission to learn the Seal Heaven Sect’s Target Locking Seal. As he and Chen Changsheng began traveling onward, Chen Changsheng learned that a prison break had occurred in the Immortal Dust Sect’s Eastern Geng District.

• Li Xiuchang boosted his body-cultivation progress by combining Blood Replenishing Mud with Blood Bodhi Fruit Mud.
• After the competition ended, Li Xiuchang received a fingernail-sized piece of Thousand Jun Stone as his prize.
• Li Xiuchang persuaded Elder Wu to arrange for him to learn the Target Locking Seal and swore not to disclose it.
• Li Xiuchang stayed behind with Chen Changsheng while Elder Xiang led the other Immortal Dust Sect disciples home.
• On the road, Chen Changsheng taught Li Xiuchang to conceal his cultivation and disguise himself, and Li Xiuchang adopted the appearance of a simple-minded youth.
• Chen Changsheng abruptly grew angry after learning that a prison break had occurred in the Immortal Dust Sect’s Eastern Geng District.

Chen Changsheng failed to stop his tortoise Spirit Pet from escaping into Immortal Dust Sect’s inner grounds, where the elders mistook it for a long-missing demon beast. He then continued escorting Li Xiuchang through sect missions, and they reached Moonfall Oasis, where they would have to challenge someone to obtain fresh spring water without waiting months.

• The little tortoise escaped its cage with a clone as a decoy, and Chen Changsheng pursued its true body toward the sect’s inner grounds before elders detected a breach in the Sect Protecting Great Array.
• The elders recalled a suspected demon beast that had caused trouble more than two hundred years earlier and ordered the sect’s formations reinforced.
• Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang continued their journey, completing missions at several locations before arriving at Moonfall Oasis.
• Chen Changsheng explained that Moonfall Spring’s water at moonset could improve soil quality and warned Li Xiuchang that they might have to fight for it.
• A bald cultivator told Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang to join the long queue or challenge someone ahead of them for a place.

Li Xiuchang and Senior Brother Chen Changsheng collected Moonfall Spring water after Chen staged a drawn-out duel to claim the front of the queue. Pu Hua then invited Chen to help explore a ruin, but Chen refused, citing the danger to Li Xiuchang.

• Senior Brother Chen Changsheng waited until the two Golden Core Stage cultivators had left before challenging the short cultivator at the front of the line.
• Senior Brother Chen Changsheng put on a prolonged, seemingly close fight, won the challenge, and collected the spring water for Li Xiuchang.
• Senior Brother Chen Changsheng explained that he hid his strength to avoid attracting suspicion and preserve room to respond to danger.
• Pu Hua approached Senior Brother Chen Changsheng and described a cave abode ruin with a damaged Fourth-tier Formation that he believed had belonged to a Nascent Soul True Lord.
• Li Xiuchang urged Senior Brother Chen Changsheng to investigate the ruin, but Chen refused, saying he could not risk the Holy Son's safety.

Pu Hua led Li Xiuchang, Chen Changsheng, and a group of cultivators to a hidden cave abode in the desert, where a Flame Puppet emerged before a damaged formation. As Li Xiuchang and the others attacked it, Pu Hua, Ni, and the two Formation Masters trapped them in a cage and called for Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang to come out.

• Pu Hua recruited Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang for a cave-abode expedition and arranged shares of any spoils for the group.
• After Ni returned from Moonfall Spring, Pu Hua led the cultivators into the desert and revealed the cave abode beneath the quicksand.
• The group entered the ruins and reached a gateway blocked by a damaged Fourth-tier Formation, which two Formation Masters tried to break.
• A Flame Puppet emerged, and the cultivators attacked it after the Formation Masters urged them to destroy it.
• The two Formation Masters activated concealed formations that trapped the attackers, while Pu Hua and Ni withdrew beyond the cage and called for Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang to come out.

Chen Changsheng and Li Xiuchang learned that Pu Hua and Bald Monk Ni had lured them to a cave dwelling to avenge their slain elder brother and break its demonic formation. When hostile reinforcements arrived, Chen blocked the corridor with a formation and Li Xiuchang swiftly subdued the three trapped cultivators, revealing their hidden strength.

• Pu Hua explained that the three cultivators in the formation had killed his elder brother fifty years earlier, and Bald Monk Ni confirmed their plan to take revenge.
• Bald Monk Ni revealed that the entrance formation required three Foundation Establishment cultivators as a blood sacrifice, but Chen Changsheng said he could break it without one and demanded half the cave dwelling's gains and the enemies' possessions.
• Chen Changsheng told Li Xiuchang to capture the three cultivators while he sealed the corridor against approaching reinforcements.
• Four or five Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators led by an Early Golden Core cultivator arrived, but Chen Changsheng's formation stopped them.
• Li Xiuchang asked the Formation Masters to dispel their formation, then knocked down the three enemies with a punch apiece, astonishing Pu Hua and the others.