Recaps

Mo Hua searched the Deep Mountain with Commander Yang for the Third Leader, a Foundation Establishment Evil Array Master, and found his concealed cave. Commander Yang subdued the Third Leader, but the Qian Family Ancestor remained at large as the chapter left the hunt unresolved.

• Mo Hua volunteered to help Commander Yang search the Deep Mountain for the Third Leader and the Qian Family Ancestor.
• Mo Hua found a Concealment Array on a cliff, used Divine Sense Derivation to map the cave’s arrays, and slipped inside to scout.
• Mo Hua saw the Third Leader drawing an evil array among array materials and vats of human blood, then returned to Commander Yang with a map and warned him about the hidden passage.
• Commander Yang followed Mo Hua into the cave and fought the Third Leader until the commotion stopped and the Third Leader was subdued.
• Mo Hua reentered the cave, while Commander Yang joked about finding a suitable girl to lure him into the Yang Family; the search for the Qian Family Ancestor still had no results.

Mo Hua questioned the captured Third Leader about Black Mountain Stronghold, its Stronghold Master, and the Evil Arrays, while Third Leader tried to understand Mo Hua’s extraordinary Divine Consciousness and Array Techniques. Third Leader was taken to Dao Prison for interrogation, still unaware that the Qian Family Ancestor had escaped after being exposed.

• Mo Hua inspected the ruined cave and found a damaged Visualization Diagram and an unusual Evil Array among Third Leader’s belongings.
• Mo Hua asked Third Leader about the Evil Arrays and the Stronghold Master, and Third Leader admitted he had suspected Mo Hua tampered with Black Mountain Stronghold’s Arrays.
• Third Leader explained that he had not told the Stronghold Master about Mo Hua because the Stronghold Master would have tried to recruit or capture him and seize his secrets.
• Third Leader confirmed that he had feared Mo Hua might join the Stronghold Master, then asked whether Mo Hua had truly dismantled his Array Techniques.
• Commander Yang pulled the spear from Third Leader and prepared to escort him to Dao Prison, while Mo Hua noted that the Qian Family Ancestor had escaped with grave injuries.

Mo Hua brought clues about the White Bone Alchemy Furnace and strange herbs to Elder Feng, and the alchemists tried to identify the evil pills the Qian Family Ancestor might have been refining. Their suspicions deepened when a young alchemist recounted hearing an evil alchemist discuss a pill made from a person's lifespan, but they could not determine what the herbs were for.

• Mo Hua reasoned that the Third Leader's Evil Array in the White Bone Alchemy Furnace had been intended for alchemy, then took his sketches and the strange herbs to Elder Feng at the Alchemy Guild.
• Elder Feng gathered the alchemists to examine Mo Hua's drawings and asked them to identify the possible pills and herbs.
• A young alchemist recalled being captured and hearing his master speak with a strange-voiced Taoist about a Life-Turning Yuan Pill that used a person's lifespan to create medicinal power.
• The young alchemist said his master had only bought a few herbs before the Dao Court Office arrested him and sent him to Dao Prison.
• The alchemists shared what they knew of evil pills, but Elder Feng and Mo Hua could not tell which pills the Qian Family Ancestor had been preparing.

Mo Hua and Zhang Lan learned that Qian Family Dan was pursuing the demonic Life-Turning Yuan Pill, which required prolonged mass slaughter to refine. After completing his compound-array calculations, Mo Hua tested their collapse on a White Bear Beast and saw the array annihilate half its body, leaving him with a new measure of the technique’s power.

• Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan and Commander Yang to identify the Life-Turning Yuan Pill, and both sent its drawings and herbs to their clans for answers.
• Zhang Lan and Commander Yang learned that the pill was a demonic method that converted lives into cultivation power, and they ordered searches for Qian Family Dan’s pill furnaces and White Mountain Stronghold.
• Mo Hua finished calculating the compound array’s collapse and set a trap for a White Bear Beast to test its power.
• The White Bear Beast triggered Mo Hua’s Earth Fire Compound Array, whose collapse annihilated half its body and killed it on the spot.

Mo Hua tested his newly derived Array Disintegration on a White Bear Beast and discovered that its Life Gate could preserve a blade of grass amid the destruction. As Bai Zisheng’s departure approached, Mo Hua and Jie Zhili reflected on their bond and the parting ahead.

• Mo Hua used compound Array Disintegration on a White Bear Beast, reducing half its body and the surrounding land to ash while leaving the other half intact.
• Mo Hua found the blade of grass he had deliberately spared as the array’s Life Gate and considered the limits and risks of using disintegration against cultivators.
• Mo Hua realized that the enormous pig in the Blood-Colored Alchemy Room was the true pill furnace and recalled that its bloodstains had been evil-array patterns.
• Mo Hua practiced Dao Methods with Jie Zhili, whose strategy of tiring Mo Hua out eventually let him seize and restrain him.
• Mo Hua asked whether Jie Zhili would leave when Mr. Zhuang departed, and the two shared food beneath a locust tree while facing the coming parting.

Mo Hua realized the missing pig from Black Mountain Stronghold was the Pill Furnace refining the Life-Turning Yuan Pill, and warned the city’s leaders that the Qian Family Ancestor might be hiding on Little White Mountain. The cultivators mobilized to search the Deep Mountain, but after a day they had found no trace of him.

• Mo Hua deduced that the missing pig had been used to refine the Life-Turning Yuan Pill and that the elixir might already be nearly complete.
• Mo Hua told Commander Yang and Zhang Lan about the pig, prompting them to warn the city’s leaders that the Qian Family Ancestor could be on Little White Mountain.
• Commander Yang, Elder Shou Huayuan, Chief Administrator Zhou, and the city’s families and organizations mobilized a thorough search of the Deep Mountain.
• Mo Hua helped map the Deep Mountain and arranged for Mist Arrays to be dismantled and Stone Needles bearing the Sinan Child Array to monitor the area.
• The searchers avoided seventh-grade monster lairs, and Mo Hua suggested inspecting them for Array Techniques that could reveal the Qian Family Ancestor’s presence.
• After searching the Deep Mountain for nearly a day, the cultivators found no trace of the Qian Family Ancestor.

Mo Hua detected an Array Technique hidden inside a monster beast nest, reconstructed its paths, and helped the group search for the Qian Family Ancestor. Meanwhile, Wen Yunbo prepared to leave without taking the Bai children as disciples, while Elder Yu sensed a possible change in the Heavenly Dao.

• Mo Hua used his Divine Consciousness to detect traces of an Array Technique in a mountain cave, then spent an hour mapping its passages and patterns.
• Mo Hua warned that his incomplete calculation might contain omissions, and Chief Administrator Zhou identified the mapped passages as routes toward the Qian Family Ancestor’s hiding place.
• Mr. Zhuang and the others split up to search the nest, and Mr. Zhuang warned Mo Hua to hide and stay careful.
• Wen Yunbo told Old Kui he would not take the Bai children as disciples and said he was preparing Array Technique insights for Mo Hua before leaving.
• Elder Yu performed a Derivation Calculation and wondered whether a change in the Heavenly Dao had arisen in the small Immortal City.

Mo Hua discovered a hidden chamber near the entrance of the demon beast nest and found Qian Family Wei Xian and Qian Hong there with the Qian Family Ancestor. He overheard the Ancestor explain his evil cultivation and plans to refine the Life-Turning Yuan Pill, leaving Mo Hua concealed inside and weighing whether to retreat and call for help.

• Mo Hua noticed a newly filled cave entrance near the nest and slipped inside to investigate.
• Mo Hua descended into a blood-stained chamber, where he saw Qian Family Wei Xian and Qian Hong beside a sleeping pig demon.
• The Qian Family Ancestor spoke to Qian Hong about using evil arts, Human Longevity Pills, and the Life-Turning Yuan Pill to overcome the limits facing his family.
• The Qian Family Ancestor argued that the cultivation world was built on the exploitation of Rogue Cultivators and described people as tools for the strong.
• Mo Hua realized the pig demon was meant to serve as a pill furnace and that the chamber was the Ancestor's hidden alchemy room.

Mo Hua discovered that Qian Hong had killed the Qian Family Ancestor and was using Xue Tao and a pig demon to complete the Life-Turning Yuan Pill. After Qian Hong swallowed the pill and began refining it, Mo Hua tried to stall him with taunts and set off an array while calling for help, leaving Qian Hong to confront the threat as reinforcements rushed over.

• Mo Hua noticed the Qian Family Ancestor was dead and realized Qian Hong had been speaking to a corpse while preparing the Life-Turning Yuan Pill.
• Qian Hong tore out Xue Tao’s heart and fed it to the pig demon, completing the Evil Array and the pill.
• Qian Hong swallowed the Life-Turning Yuan Pill and began refining its power, aiming to break through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Qian Hong deduced that Mo Hua had infiltrated White Mountain Stronghold and uncovered his identity and schemes.
• Mo Hua cursed Qian Hong, set out the first-grade Earth Fire Compound Array, and rang the Dao Court Office’s Bronze Bell to summon help.
• Commander Yang and the others heard the Bronze Bell and hurried toward Mo Hua as Qian Hong recognized the array’s threat.

The Qian Family Ancestor tried to recruit Mo Hua to rebuild White Mountain Stronghold, but Mo Hua refused and exposed the Ancestor’s ruthless ambitions. As the Ancestor prepared to finish refining the Life-Turning Yuan Pill, the supposedly dead pig demon attacked and swallowed him.

• The Qian Family Ancestor admitted that he had killed Qian Hong because he valued his bloodline only as a medicinal primer.
• The Qian Family Ancestor offered Mo Hua power and influence if he helped rebuild White Mountain Stronghold, but Mo Hua refused to join him.
• The Qian Family Ancestor revealed that he had been refining the Life-Turning Yuan Pill while stalling for time and planned to kill the rescuers when they arrived.
• Mo Hua saw the dead pig demon rise behind the Qian Family Ancestor, who failed to notice it.
• The pig demon bit the Qian Family Ancestor repeatedly and swallowed him whole.

Mo Hua and the others discovered that the pig demon had eaten the Qian Family Ancestor and was regenerating by refining his blood qi and the Life-Turning Yuan Pill. Mo Hua used his array to destroy the demon’s leg and help the group escape, but the monstrous beast revived and emerged into the world as cultivators fled the Deep Mountain.

• Mo Hua saw the pig demon swallow the Qian Family Ancestor and begin refining the medicinal power and blood qi, restoring its strength.
• Mo Hua warned Commander Yang and Zhang Lan that Qian Family Wei Lan had been eaten and that everyone searching the mountain needed to flee.
• When the pig demon pursued them, Mo Hua activated his Earth Fire Compound Array, whose disintegrating patterns dissolved the demon’s hind leg.
• The pig demon regenerated its leg and chased Mo Hua, Commander Yang, and Zhang Lan out of the cave.
• Mo Hua and the others reached the mountain’s foot as the pig demon erupted from the Deep Mountain, and the cultivators began evacuating.

Mo Hua learned that the pig demon above Deep Mountain had been identified as the great demon Feng Xi, whose overwhelming blood qi made it nearly impossible to defeat without feeding it more victims. The Dao Court ordered that Fei Xiangmei consider moving the city, leaving Mo Hua to face the prospect that the region’s people might have to flee.

• Eight days after seeing the pig demon’s rising blood qi, Mo Hua learned that the Dao Court had identified it as the great demon Feng Xi.
• Zhang Lan explained that cultivators above Foundation Establishment could not enter the seventh-grade Baishan Prefecture, because the Heavenly Dao erased anyone who exceeded the region’s cultivation limit.
• Fei Xiangmei told Mo Hua that Feng Xi’s immense blood qi and ability to replenish it by eating people made a prolonged battle likely to end with the demon consuming the city’s cultivators.
• Zhang Lan recounted that a previous Feng Xi had eaten the cultivators and demon beasts of its region before starving to death after more than a century without food.
• The Dao Court advised the local office to consider moving the city if it lacked the strength to respond, and Mo Hua understood that nearby immortal cities might have to flee as well.

Mo Hua learned that Lesser Monsters were Dao Sins born when cultivators violated the Heavenly Dao, and that State Boundary grades limited the cultivators able to fight them. Mr. Zhuang revealed that the sky itself was an innate immortal-grade grand formation, then warned Mo Hua to keep the secret of Dao Sin; the city’s people still faced moving south if no solution emerged.

• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that great monsters were nearly invincible within a realm and that the Zhai Fen Bureau might have to move the city south.
• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang about Lesser Monsters and State Boundary grades, and Mr. Zhuang explained that Lesser Monsters were Dao Sins caused by violations of the Heavenly Dao.
• Mr. Zhuang revealed that the Heavenly Dao was the world’s strongest formation: an innate grand array known as an immortal-grade array.
• Mr. Zhuang warned Mo Hua not to tell anyone about Dao Sin, while Mo Hua agreed to keep the explanation secret.

Mr. Zhuang and Wei Aihui explained the Heavenly Dao Grand Array and how it restrained high-level cultivators, while Mo Hua considered learning grand arrays to fight Feng Xi. Mo Hua resolved to pursue that path, despite the immense difficulty and risks.

• Mr. Zhuang told Mo Hua that the Heavenly Dao Grand Array had existed since the Dao Court's founding and determined State Boundary grades by restricting cultivation.
• Wei Aihui explained that the array's checks and balances gave low-level cultivators room to survive, while its absence could unleash widespread slaughter across Feng Xi.
• Wei Aihui warned that Dao Sin could become invincible within a State Boundary under the array, but argued that its destruction would be less disastrous than unchecked cultivators destroying all of Feng Xi.
• Mo Hua asked whether he could learn grand arrays, and Wei Aihui described the immense demands of their materials, construction, Array Hubs, and many collaborating Array Masters.
• Mo Hua concluded that a grand array was the only way he could deal with Feng Xi and resolved to consider the undertaking seriously.

As Dao Sins emerged across the Nine Provinces, Mo Hua’s family and the independent cultivators around him prepared to relocate, though the dangerous journey threatened to separate him from his friends and home. Mr. Zhuang resolved to stay until the crisis was settled, while an old man in the Dao Court began investigating the spreading calamities.

• Mr. Zhuang watched the blood aura over Deep Mountain and told Old Kui he would leave only after the Dao Sin matter was settled.
• Mo Hua learned that his family and the cultivators he knew were preparing to relocate, likely south of Li Prefecture, and worried about the perilous journey and parting from his friends.
• Master Luo visited Mo Hua’s family eatery, explained that he planned to move north of Li Prefecture to Lanling State Boundary, and handed Mo Hua an invitation.
• An old man in the Dao Court traced a route of few survivors on a compass and considered the increasingly frequent Dao Sins and the causes behind them.

Mo Hua considered a formal invitation to teach at Lanshan Sect, while Master Luo explained the opportunities and risks of joining as a Rogue Cultivator. The chapter left Mo Hua uncertain about accepting, despite the promise of posts for his parents.

• Master Luo gave Mo Hua Lanshan Sect’s invitation to serve as an outer sect instructor and potentially become an elder after reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Master Luo explained that Mo Hua’s array talent could earn him better treatment, but joining the inner sect would bind him closely to Lanshan Sect.
• Mo Hua asked how to handle sect factions, pressure, and relations with other Rogue Cultivators, and Master Luo advised him to stay measured and use his talent as leverage.
• Master Luo offered to negotiate better terms and said Lanshan Sect could arrange comfortable posts for Mo Hua’s parents.
• Mo Hua thanked Master Luo but remained unsure, feeling that joining Lanshan Sect might not be the path he wanted.

Mo Hua received offers from sects and clans after Master Luo urged him to consider his choices, and Zhang Lan explained the opportunities and risks of joining a clan or a Dao Court subordinate sect. Mo Hua leaned toward remaining independent, while Zhang Lan and Liu Ruhua urged him not to marry into another family.

• Master Luo urged Mo Hua not to rush his decision, and invitations from nearby sects and clans soon arrived with offers of positions and marriage prospects.
• Liu Ruhua burned the portraits sent by clans and warned Mo Hua against marrying into another family.
• Zhang Lan gave Mo Hua a letter from the Old Chief Administrator recommending him to a sect under the Zhengzheng Direct Jurisdiction and explained the route it could provide into the Central Dao Court.
• Zhang Lan outlined the Zhang Family's offer and the Yang Family's prospects, while warning Mo Hua that joining a clan could limit his freedom.
• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that no family deserved to have him marry into it, and Mo Hua promised to help the Chief Administrator if trouble arose.

As Immortal City’s rogue cultivators prepared to flee south from the great demon, Mo Hua struggled to choose between a safer future and helping them survive the migration. He resolved to learn first-grade grand arrays and protect an immortal city, while Elder Yu and the others began leaving their home behind.

• Mo Hua watched Immortal City empty as rogue cultivators prepared to relocate to the Wilderness, and he questioned his Dao and whether he should help them.
• Immortal City urged Mo Hua to choose his path openly and honorably, then gave him a warehouse jade talisman holding more than ten thousand Spirit Stones for his Foundation Establishment cultivation.
• Mo Hua visited Elder Yu and learned that Elder Yu, Master Chen, and the children and friends Mo Hua knew would leave with the rogue cultivators despite the dangerous journey.
• Elder Yu and Xin Youhao told Mo Hua not to follow them and urged him to pursue his own future rather than share their hardships.
• Mo Hua decided to begin with a first-grade grand array, learn to set one, slay Dao Sin in a region, and protect the peace of an immortal city.

Mo Hua decided to learn the Grand Array so he could help protect the Rogue Cultivators and eventually kill Feng Xi. Mr. Zhuang warned him about the array’s difficulty and limited time, but gave him the Grand Array jade slips after Mo Hua insisted.

• Mo Hua asked Commander Yang how long Feng Xi would take to refine its blood qi, and Commander Yang estimated about a month while planning to harry it and delay its recovery.
• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang to teach him the Grand Array, arguing that refusing to try would show fear and leave him without the experience to lead a grand-array construction.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that grand arrays depended on coordinating many single arrays through an Array Hub and demanded substantial divine sense and skill.
• Mo Hua concluded that Foundation Establishment divine sense was barely enough and that the Grand Array might be his chance to help the Rogue Cultivators remain in Immortal City.
• Mr. Zhuang accepted Mo Hua’s determination and handed him ten jade slips containing the Grand Array.

Mr. Zhuang explained the demands and significance of First-Grade Grand Arrays to Mo Hua, then gave him ten Jade Slips and a Five-Element Demon-Slaying Grand Array to study. After Mo Hua left, Mr. Zhuang and Old Kui discussed whether Mo Hua could truly learn Grand Arrays.

• Mo Hua asked whether Qi Refining array masters could draw First-Grade Grand Arrays, and Mr. Zhuang explained that such prodigies existed but were exceedingly rare.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that Grand Arrays required ten-pattern divine sense, extensive array knowledge, and mastery of an entire category of array techniques, and he identified Mo Hua's Reverse Spirit Array as an Absolute Array.
• Mr. Zhuang gave Mo Hua ten Jade Slips covering Grand Array principles and introduced the Five-Element Demon-Slaying Grand Array, a trapping-and-killing array suited to dealing with Feng Xi.
• Mo Hua accepted the Jade Slips and left to study, determined to learn Grand Arrays while remaining humble.
• After Mo Hua departed, Mr. Zhuang asked Old Kui whether Mo Hua could learn Grand Arrays, and Old Kui said Mo Hua's low realm made it a distant prospect.

Mo Hua began studying the Five Elements Demon-Slaughtering Grand Array, focusing first on its immense and intricate Array Hubs. Repeated practice on the Dao Stele strengthened his divine sense, and the chapter left him steadily pursuing the array despite its difficulty.

• Mo Hua skimmed the ten jade slips, extracted the grand array’s main Array Hub and Array Eye sections, and began learning the Array Hubs first.
• Mo Hua practiced the Seven Elements Demon-Slaughtering Small Array’s Array Hub until the effort exhausted his divine sense, then continued practicing on the Dao Stele.
• Mo Hua realized that practicing formations beyond his previous limits could rapidly strengthen his divine sense, and he intensified his training despite the strain.
• Bai Zixi and Bai Zisheng watched Mo Hua draw, while Bai Zisheng stopped Bai Zixi from disturbing his concentration.
• Mei Youxin examined Mo Hua’s array, became dizzy from trying to understand it, and was shocked when he looked again.
• Mo Hua continued studying the grand array bit by bit, seeking Mr. Zhuang’s guidance when he encountered difficult points.

Mo Hua learned that Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi might leave when the city relocated, then devoted himself to mastering the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Grand Array’s hub. After a month of repeated practice, he finally drew the complete hub and was ready to begin preparing the grand array.

• Bai Zisheng told Mo Hua that a great demon would likely force the city to relocate, and Mo Hua asked whether there was another way to deal with it.
• Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi revealed their worry that Bai Zisheng would leave without taking them as disciples, while Mo Hua wondered what they would do afterward.
• Mo Hua asked Zhong Mingren about the grand array’s hub, then shut himself away to study and repeatedly practice drawing it.
• Mo Hua struggled with the hub for a month, gradually improving his drawing and strengthening his Divine Consciousness.
• Mo Hua finally drew the complete Five Elements Demon-Slaying Grand Array hub on the Dao Stele and resolved to prepare the grand array.

Mo Hua successfully reproduced the Five Elements Demon-Slaughtering Grand Array’s Array Hub and asked Mr. Zhuang to confirm it. Mr. Zhuang approved the drawing and told Mo Hua to begin preparing the resources and manpower needed to construct the grand array, while Old Kui worried about the growing demon aura and whether the array could kill the great demon.

• Mo Hua repeatedly practiced drawing the Array Hub until he reproduced it perfectly, then fell asleep from exhaustion.
• After eating, Mo Hua drew the Array Hub on a large sheet of Array Paper with his parents helping him.
• Mo Hua showed the completed Array Hub to Mr. Zhuang, who carefully checked it and confirmed that it was correct.
• Mo Hua asked if he could begin preparing to construct the grand array, and Mr. Zhuang approved while warning him that gathering resources and manpower would be difficult.
• Mr. Zhuang gave Mo Hua advice on preparing the grand array, while Old Kui noted that the great demon’s blood aura had intensified and questioned whether the array could defeat it.

Mo Hua persuaded Immortal City to gamble on building an eleven-pattern Five-Element Demon-Slaying Grand Array to trap and kill Feng Xi, a Lesser Monster, rather than abandon their homeland. Immortal City agreed, and Mo Hua went to seek support and begin preparations.

• Mr. Zhuang revealed that the array Mo Hua had learned was an eleven-pattern grand array, not the ten-pattern one Old Kui had assumed.
• Mo Hua told Immortal City that the grand array could give them a high chance of killing Feng Xi, though he warned that success was not certain.
• Immortal City weighed the risks of spending the wandering cultivators' resources against being forced to relocate, then decided to build the grand array.
• Mo Hua left to find others who could support the effort and returned home to plan the preparations.

Mo Hua proposed building a grand array to kill Feng Xi, and the leaders of the Dao Court Office and Dao Soldier Bureau agreed after trusting his abilities and imagining that his teacher would guide the work. Mo Hua resolved to build the array successfully and planned to use Array Disintegration if it failed to kill the great demon.

• Mo Hua invited Elder Yu, Chief Administrator Zhou, Commander Yang, and Zhang Lan to discuss building a grand array to kill Feng Xi, then showed them its Array Hub.
• Chief Administrator Zhou, Commander Yang, and Zhang Lan discussed the proposal and agreed to build the grand array after Zhang Lan vouched for Mo Hua and they assumed Mr. Zhuang would help.
• Chief Administrator Zhou sent Mo Hua an official note confirming that the grand array could be built.
• Mo Hua vowed not to disappoint everyone and considered how to handle the possibility that the grand array might fail.
• Mo Hua decided he would use Array Disintegration against Feng Xi if the Five Elements Demon-Slaughtering Grand Array could not kill it.