Recaps

After months of intensive cultivation, Jiang Liu broke through to Grandmaster in Spirit Power, greatly expanding his spiritual sea of consciousness and Divine Sense range. He tested his newly strengthened techniques and then resumed cultivating in the Flowing Cloud Sect.

• Jiang Liu exhausted his Spirit Power and used the Soul Art at midnight to absorb a torrent of Spirit Power Particles.
• Jiang Liu endured the pain as his spiritual sea of consciousness expanded, then broke through its barrier and extended his Divine Sense to two thousand one hundred meters.
• A guarding elder suffered pain in his spiritual sea of consciousness when his Divine Sense approached Jiang Liu's plaza, and realized why the Sect Master had forbidden probing him.
• Jiang Liu found that Nebula Shrunken Earth let him appear wherever his mind reached, though his speed and vital energy limited its use.
• Jiang Liu tested Starfall and combined its firing method with Ice Blade, turning the Ice Blades into nearly undetectable, lethal attacks.
• Jiang Liu returned to sitting cross-legged and continued cultivating in the plaza.

After more than two years of cultivation, Jiang Liu reached the Grandmaster realm and completed Nebula Shrunken Earth. He asked Flowing Cloud Matriarch for permission to travel, leaving with his senior sisters eager to join him but still needing to master the Nebula Art.

• Jiang Liu absorbed the Primal Qi Storm until his dantian expanded and he broke through to the Grandmaster realm.
• Jiang Liu used Nebula Shrunken Earth to pass beyond the high wall unnoticed, then returned to the plaza.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch, the elders, and Jiang Liu's senior sisters gathered and recognized his breakthrough; they also sensed that Flowing Cloud Matriarch had advanced in the Nebula Art.
• Jiang Liu told Flowing Cloud Matriarch he wanted to travel after years of cultivation, and she agreed.
• Jiang Liu's senior sisters asked to accompany him, but Flowing Cloud Matriarch said they could go only after mastering the Nebula Art.

Jiang Liu traveled toward Cloud Province, stopping in Shanyang City to gather information and practice Cloudfall Strike. Meanwhile, Murong Yin oversaw the Listening Wind Pavilion and Gentle Rain Pavilion as she waited for Jiang Liu to return.

• Jiang Liu left the Flowing Cloud Sect for Cloud Province with the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger, reunited with the Frostwing Dragon near Azure Dragon City, and continued his journey.
• Jiang Liu reached Shanyang City, met the Flowing Cloud Sect’s external elder Li Yuanda, and learned about the provinces and the three sects’ efforts to monitor the factions.
• Jiang Liu considered the turmoil in Great Qian and the uncertain intentions of Tian Province’s Peak Grandmaster, then practiced Cloudfall Strike with Nebula Shrunken Earth.
• Murong Yin reviewed the Listening Wind Pavilion and Gentle Rain Pavilion’s progress, with Yin Yunting and He Chuyue overseeing intelligence gathering and Hao Jiao and Li Yueping handling assassination training.
• Murong Yin continued to miss Jiang Liu, and Cuier urged her to rest while Murong Lie watched her leave with a sigh.

After leaving Shanyang City, Jiang Liu was targeted by bounty hunters who had learned of his whereabouts through the Assassination List. He defeated their ambush, learned how they had taken the job, and continued toward Qi Province with the identity of the bounty’s sponsor still unknown.

• Jiang Liu left Shanyang City and flew toward Qi Province with the Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger.
• A newly promoted Entry Grade martial practitioner spread word of Jiang Liu’s whereabouts, renewing the bounty on the Assassination List.
• Five Minor Grandmasters ambushed Jiang Liu in the border forest, but the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and Frostwing Dragon killed two of them immediately.
• Jiang Liu immobilized the remaining three with ice needles and questioned them about who had sent them.
• Two surviving attackers revealed that they had accepted the bounty through the Assassination List and gave Jiang Liu their codes, but they did not know who had posted it.
• Jiang Liu killed the two attackers with Starfalls and ordered the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger to swallow their corpses.

Jiang Liu investigated the Assassination List in Qilin City and learned that the mysterious Dark Star Hall was behind the threat. After decoding a contact mark at Yuelai Inn, he captured a Minor Grandmaster agent and took him outside the city.

• Jiang Liu returned to Qilin City in disguise and asked Luo Shihong about the Assassination List, learning that it was reportedly connected to the Dark Star Hall.
• Jiang Liu decided to seek out the Dark Star Hall's contact and left its coded mark outside Yuelai Inn.
• After three days without a response, Jiang Liu found a code directing him to Room Two on the inn's third floor.
• Jiang Liu used his Divine Sense to locate a Minor Grandmaster in the room and knocked him unconscious.
• The agent awoke outside the city with a masked Jiang Liu standing before him.

Jiang Liu interrogated a Dark Star Hall contact about the assassination attempt and verified that the employer’s payment was held at Tongqian Bank. After learning the secret code and killing the contact through the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger, he headed toward Lin City.

• Jiang Liu disguised his voice and threatened the Dark Star Hall contact until the man revealed that Tongqian Bank held the employer’s payment and that the Hall Master knew who commissioned the job.
• Jiang Liu visited Tongqian Bank in Qilin City, confirmed the money existed, and knocked the manager unconscious before leaving.
• Jiang Liu returned to the forest, obtained the bank’s secret code from the contact, and knocked him unconscious again.
• Jiang Liu summoned the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger, which ate the unconscious contact, and then rode it toward Lin City.

Jiang Liu arrived in Lin City and investigated a secret deposit tied to the attempt on his life. The bank manager’s description led him to conclude that Koinu Jun'ichirō had hired the assassins, and Jiang Liu headed to Ascension Tower to learn where he was.

• Jiang Liu reached Lin City, showed his Flowing Cloud Sect token to the three sect representatives, and entered the city.
• Jiang Liu tried to invade the Tongqian Bank chief manager’s mind, but the Minor Grandmaster resisted and attacked before Jiang Liu subdued him.
• Jiang Liu questioned the manager about a secret-code deposit and learned that a masked, unusually short Grandmaster with a foreign accent had arranged the assassination mission.
• Jiang Liu recognized the description as Koinu Jun'ichirō and learned that he had hired the Assassination List to avenge his lover and biological son.
• Jiang Liu left the bank and flew to Ascension Tower to investigate Koinu Jun'ichirō’s whereabouts.

Jiang Liu asked Luo Qingtian to search for the person who arranged his ambush, then left Qilin City and rescued an Ascension Tower caravan from bandits. Learning that the bandits were backed by Corpse Valley, he decided to investigate.

• Jiang Liu told Luo Qingtian about his ambush and asked him to use Ascension Tower’s network to find the person responsible.
• Luo Qingtian arranged a banquet with three sect representatives, and Jiang Liu left Qilin City after no news arrived.
• Jiang Liu traveled toward Qi City with the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and Frostwing Dragon and spotted an Ascension Tower caravan under attack.
• Jiang Liu killed the bandits with ice needles and asked the caravan steward who had attacked them.
• The steward said the bandits belonged to Black Mountain Stronghold, newly subdued by Corpse Valley, and Jiang Liu resolved to investigate.

Jiang Liu attacked Koinu Jun'ichirō and the Corpse Valley Grandmaster at Black Mountain Stronghold, where their opening clash left both sides injured. Elsewhere, Lu Tianheng cultivated with a blood-essence-absorbing boulder and revealed himself as the mastermind behind Great Qian’s turmoil, seeking to reach the Saint Realm.

• Jiang Liu flew to Black Mountain Stronghold and recognized Koinu Jun'ichirō and a Corpse Valley Grandmaster among the five experts who confronted him.
• Koinu Jun'ichirō and the Corpse Valley Grandmaster attacked Jiang Liu, while the Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger counterattacked.
• The clash injured the Frostwing Dragon and the two Grandmasters, while Jiang Liu’s Divine Sense attack overwhelmed the three Minor Grandmasters.
• Jiang Liu steadied himself and prepared for the real battle as the opening exchange ended.
• Lu Tianheng cultivated atop a boulder that gathered blood essence from across the land and recalled how he discovered its power.
• Lu Tianheng admitted that he had fueled Great Qian’s chaos to cause martial artists’ deaths, manipulate the Three Sects, and advance toward the Saint Realm.

Jiang Liu fought Koinu Jun'ichirō and killed him after overcoming his manifested attacks and striking from concealment. As Jiang Liu paused to recover, the Frostwing Dragon's mournful cry warned him that something had gone wrong.

• Jiang Liu and Koinu Jun'ichirō exchanged manifested attacks while the Grandmaster from Corpse Valley battled the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and the Frostwing Dragon nearby.
• Jiang Liu struck Koinu Jun'ichirō with Eight Steps of Trampling and Extreme Fist, but their manifested bodies injured each other in return.
• Jiang Liu used Nebula Shrunken Earth to hide from Koinu Jun'ichirō, then landed Starfall, Cloudfall Strike, and a kick that left Koinu Jun'ichirō reeling.
• Jiang Liu stomped Koinu Jun'ichirō into the ground and repeatedly cut him until he died.
• Jiang Liu prepared to recover, then recognized the Frostwing Dragon's mournful cry and realized something was wrong.

Jiang Liu arrived to support the Frostwing Dragon and the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger, then used his speed and Cloudfall Strike to overwhelm White Golem. He cut White Golem apart and destroyed his upper body, leaving him dead as Jiang Liu began recovering his primordial energy.

• Jiang Liu reached the battle and found White Golem absorbing the beasts’ blood while fighting them.
• Jiang Liu sent the Frostwing Dragon and the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger to retreat, then attacked White Golem with Cloudfall Strike.
• Jiang Liu battered White Golem with rapid strikes until White Golem suffered severe internal injuries and tried to flee.
• Jiang Liu struck White Golem from the front as three short knives pierced his back, then slashed him in half with a saber.
• White Golem tried to escape by rejoining his halves, but Jiang Liu split his upper body apart, killing him.
• Jiang Liu evaded the torrent of chaotic primordial energy, sat down, and meditated to recover.

Jiang Liu defeated White Golem and the Corpse Valley fighters, then searched Black Mountain Stronghold for the reason Corpse Valley had chosen it as a base. He uncovered a hidden chamber that was a rare Corpse Nurturing Ground, but Corpse Valley had not yet moved in force.

• Jiang Liu recovered from the battle, searched White Golem's and Koinu Jun'ichirō's corpses, and killed the three incapacitated Minor Grandmasters and their Corpse Golems.
• Jiang Liu searched the deserted stronghold, cremated the abused women and bloodless martial artists he found, and destroyed the stone houses with a saber strike.
• Jiang Liu exposed a concealed underground chamber and found that its strange Essence Particles repelled him.
• Jiang Liu realized the chamber was a Corpse Nurturing Ground where Corpse Golems could develop souls and grow stronger over time.
• The chapter revealed that Corpse Valley had only recently discovered the site and had sent one Grandmaster and three Minor Grandmasters, all of whom Jiang Liu had killed.

Jiang Liu cleared Corpse Valley’s secret chamber and decided to use it as bait to draw out the remaining members. He reached Mountain City, where Exotic Beast Valley had taken control, and told Li Chunyang he had found Corpse Valley’s stronghold.

• Jiang Liu froze and destroyed the corpses in the secret chamber, then investigated the strange Essence Particles there.
• Jiang Liu uncovered and cleaned out the chamber, but left it intact so Corpse Valley’s people could be lured back into a trap.
• Jiang Liu concealed the chamber beneath earth and stones, then decided to seek reinforcements from Exotic Beast Valley.
• After flying for three days, Jiang Liu reached Mountain City and was recognized by Exotic Beast Valley disciples on patrol.
• Zhang Kong escorted Jiang Liu to Exotic Beast Valley’s station in the City Lord’s Mansion, where Li Chunyang welcomed him.
• Jiang Liu told Li Chunyang that he had discovered Corpse Valley’s stronghold and asked him to send the news to Exotic Beast Valley.

Jiang Liu discovered that Li Chunyang was secretly working with Corpse Valley and tracked a messenger to a hidden mountain passage. After interrogating two intermediaries, he learned that Corpse Valley had infiltrated Exotic Beast Valley’s core, and he considered how to eliminate the remaining spies.

• Jiang Liu told Li Chunyang he had killed four Corpse Valley fighters and planned to destroy their stronghold, then asked him to send a message to the valley.
• Jiang Liu watched Li Chunyang enter a hidden chamber beneath a pavilion and detected that his essence qi came from the same source as Corpse Valley’s.
• Jiang Liu followed a black-clad messenger from Mountain City to a concealed passage in the mountains and waited for him to return.
• Jiang Liu captured and questioned the messenger and another Rank 9 Martial Practitioner, learning that Corpse Valley had infiltrated Exotic Beast Valley with three Core Disciples, including Li Chunyang.
• Jiang Liu found the hidden cavern empty and pondered how to wipe out the remaining Corpse Valley members.

Jiang Liu gathered intelligence on Corpse Valley’s strongholds and summoned Exotic Beast Valley reinforcements to prepare a sweeping attack. As the elders began planning the operation, a Man in Black arrived at a Corpse Valley hideout and found no one responding.

• Jiang Liu brought two Corpse Valley captives to Ascension Tower and asked Bai Zongyu to send his code message to Elder Bai.
• Jiang Liu waited at Ascension Tower while Li Chunyang grew uneasy about Bai Shu’s prolonged absence.
• Elder Bai, Elder He, and five Minor Grandmaster elders arrived outside Mountain City, and Jiang Liu told them that three Core Disciples were Corpse Valley agents.
• Elder Bai, Elder He, and the other elders began assigning tasks for an encirclement and suppression operation.
• A Man in Black reached a Corpse Valley stone cavern, received no response, and decided to wait.

Jiang Liu and the Exotic Beast Valley elders raided Corpse Valley strongholds in Mountain City and captured the people fleeing the City Lord's Mansion. Interrogating Li Chunming and a Corpse Valley practitioner revealed that the Lotus Sect had ambitious plans and that a Grandmaster was among its envoys, leaving Jiang Liu worried the man might escape and alert Corpse Valley.

• Jiang Liu and Elder Gong Ruqi subdued six people at a Corpse Valley residence in western Mountain City, then Jiang Liu hurried toward the City Lord's Mansion.
• Jiang Liu joined Elder Bai, Elder He, and two Minor Grandmasters in pursuing the fugitives, capturing Li Chunming and a Minor Grandmaster while Elder Bai and Elder He killed two others.
• The group returned to the City Lord's Mansion, where Elder He identified A Duanpo of the Lotus Sect among the captured people.
• Jiang Liu used his mental power to question Li Chunming and a Corpse Valley practitioner, learning that three Minor Grandmasters, two Rank 9 Martial Practitioners, and a Grandmaster had come to contact Corpse Valley.
• Jiang Liu worried that the Grandmaster might escape and warn the remaining Corpse Valley members, making them difficult to capture.

Jiang Liu and the elders set a trap at the City Lord's Mansion to capture the Lotus Sect's Grandmaster. Mo Baitian returned to Mountain City, fell into the ambush, and was beaten unconscious.

• Jiang Liu learned from the Rank 9 Martial Practitioner that the Lotus Sect had come to Qi Province to meet with Corpse Valley and had split up after reaching Mountain City.
• Jiang Liu arranged the Lotus Sect members and their contact in the side hall to make it look as though they were still meeting, while he hid near the mansion gate and Elder Bai and Elder He waited nearby.
• Mo Baitian left Corpse Valley's hiding place and returned to the City Lord's Mansion, where he noticed the motionless figures in the side hall and tried to flee.
• Jiang Liu struck Mo Baitian with a Divine Sense attack, then used Nebula Shrunken Earth and Cloudfall Strike to overwhelm him.
• Elder Bai, Elder He, and the other elders arrived as Jiang Liu knocked Mo Baitian unconscious.

After capturing Mo Baitian, Jiang Liu helped Elder Bai and Elder He dismantle Corpse Valley’s network in Qi Province and uncover a newly advanced Grandmaster. The chapter leaves the valley screening its disciples, with several hidden Corpse Valley spies already exposed, while Jiang Liu prepares to use Koinu Jun'ichirō’s marked belongings to draw out East Wo Country’s spies.

• Elder Bai and Elder He gathered Corpse Valley’s captured members in Mountain City, and Jiang Liu helped interrogate them to map their strongholds across Qi Province.
• Jiang Liu told Elder Bai about the Grandmaster he had encountered in the mountains and showed him the spoils, which Elder Bai identified as belonging to a newly advanced Corpse Valley Grandmaster and Koinu Jun'ichirō.
• Elder Bai found a token and a concealed marking on Koinu Jun'ichirō’s belongings, while Jiang Liu planned to use the items to expose East Wo Country’s spies.
• Elder Bai and Elder He purged Corpse Valley remnants from Mountain City’s guards and led operations to capture its forces across Qi Province.
• Elder Bai informed Valley Master Mo Han, who ordered Exotic Beast Valley disciples screened for signs of Corpse Valley cultivation.
• The screening exposed several Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Sect Disciples as Corpse Valley spies.

Jiang Liu returned to Exotic Beast Valley, where he helped expose Ouyang Xiong as a Corpse Valley spy using the abnormality in his vital energy and a hidden Blood Suppression Pill. Ouyang Xiong was captured, confirming that Corpse Valley had infiltrated even the elders.

• Jiang Liu sold one of Koinu Jun'ichirō's sabers to draw out anyone seeking the East Wo Country Preceptor and ordered Ascension Tower to watch for Dark Star Hall.
• Jiang Liu returned to Exotic Beast Valley with Elder Bai and Elder He after confirming the Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger had recovered.
• Mo Han told Jiang Liu and the elders that the Corpse Valley spies among the disciples had been purged, but suspected that an elder might also be involved.
• Jiang Liu explained that Corpse Valley cultivation caused an abnormality in vital energy, and the elders recognized that Ouyang Xiong fit the signs.
• Jiang Liu pressured Ouyang Xiong with his Grandmaster aura, exposing the hidden fluctuations in Ouyang Xiong's aura.
• Jiang Liu found a Blood Suppression Pill hidden beneath Ouyang Xiong's meditation cushion, and two elders identified him as a Corpse Valley spy after he was captured.

Jiang Liu helped Exotic Beast Valley expose and purge Corpse Valley’s spies, then learned more about Corpse Valley’s remaining leaders and its control through blood pills. After discussing his recent victories with the elders, Jiang Liu went to the Ascension Tower in Qi City to seek news about East Wo Country and Yun Province, where Bai Wusong greeted him in surprise at his advancement to the Grandmaster realm.

• Ouyang Xiong revealed that Han Tong’s refinement had failed and that he knew Corpse Valley had three Grandmasters, including the Corpse King, White Golem, and Bai Lei, before Mo Han killed him.
• Elder Bai told Mo Han and Elder He that Jiang Liu had killed one of Corpse Valley’s Grandmasters and Koinu Jun'ichirō in the Mountain City mountain range.
• Jiang Liu explained how the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger had willingly become his beast familiar, astonishing Mo Han, Elder Bai, and Elder He.
• After the elders reviewed everything they knew about Corpse Valley, Jiang Liu returned to his courtyard and meditated until morning.
• Jiang Liu flew to the Ascension Tower in Qi City to look for news about East Wo Country and Yun Province, and Bai Wusong welcomed him after recognizing his Grandmaster cultivation.

Jiang Liu gathered news from Bai Wusong and returned to Exotic Beast Valley, where he declined administrative duties and asked Mo Han to support the women’s faction he had established in Yun Province. He prepared to return to Yun Province, with Exotic Beast Valley agreeing to send more messenger beasts there.

• Jiang Liu asked Bai Wusong about Koinu Jun'ichirō, Dark Star Hall, and developments across Great Qian before leaving Ascension Tower.
• Bai Wusong reflected on Jiang Liu’s rapid rise to Grandmaster and his ties to the Murong Family and Flowing Cloud Sect.
• Jiang Liu returned to Exotic Beast Valley and declined Elder Bai’s offer to manage several commanderies so he could focus on improving his strength.
• Jiang Liu told Mo Han he planned to return to Yun Province and requested support for the women he had rescued and organized into a small faction.
• Mo Han agreed to increase the messenger beasts sent to Yun Province, and Jiang Liu said farewell before heading to his courtyard.

Jiang Liu set out for Yun Province while the Ye Family hosted a banquet that revealed its growing influence and ambitions in Zhen Province. After the banquet, Ye Bolun plotted with four great family heads, while Kuang Qianzi began seeking allies to counter them.

• Jiang Liu packed his belongings, left the courtyard on the Frostwing Dragon, and headed toward Yun Province with the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger following.
• Ye Bolun hosted a banquet celebrating the Ye Family’s control of six counties, and leaders from the Lotus Sect, Buddhist Sect, Sun Moon Sect, and four great families attended.
• The guests agreed to hold a friendly martial match between outstanding juniors before the banquet ended.
• Ji Xingfeng, Wang Dali, Li Qianming, and Liu Yihang met Ye Bolun secretly, and the five plotted to make Zhen Province the Ye Family’s domain.
• Kuang Qianzi discussed the Ye Family’s ambitions and Mo Baitian’s disappearance with Xu Kuangsheng, then invited Master Xuanzhi and Guardian Xuanming to discuss an alliance.

Jiang Liu reached Luo City and learned from Bai Luohe that the Sun Moon Sect and other forces were brutally exploiting Yun Province’s commoners. After hearing how dire the situation had become, he prepared to continue toward Yun Province as unrest seemed likely to worsen.

• Jiang Liu arrived in Luo City after more than twenty days of travel and left his Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger to rest.
• Jiang Liu noticed that many Yun Province families had fled to Luo City and visited Ascension Tower to meet Bai Luohe.
• Bai Luohe told Jiang Liu that rival martial forces had taken control of Yun Province and were squeezing commoners with heavy taxes and arbitrary levies.
• Bai Luohe described the Sun Moon Sect’s abuses, including abducting women and killing commoners over minor offenses.
• Jiang Liu learned that Ascension Tower and Cloud City’s great lineages were losing influence, and he suspected Yun Province would soon fall into further chaos.

Jiang Liu accompanied He Guo to Luo Yun County after learning that Corpse Valley members had appeared there, and swiftly defeated three attackers. Their interrogation revealed they had come from Yun Province, prompting Jiang Liu to plan a campaign against Corpse Valley and the Sun Moon Sect in Xia County.

• Jiang Liu met He Guo at the City Lord's Mansion and learned that Corpse Valley members had been reported in Luo Yun County.
• Jiang Liu and He Guo flew to Luo Yun County on the Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger.
• Jiang Liu sensed danger in the City Lord's Mansion, shattered three Corpse Golems with his Divine Sense, and knocked their Corpse Valley handlers unconscious.
• Jiang Liu interrogated the three men, who confessed that they had arrived from Yun Province that day.
• Jiang Liu decided to wipe out Corpse Valley's forces in Xia County and destroy the Sun Moon Sect's forces there as well.

Jiang Liu traveled toward Yun Province and encountered Ghost Lord fighting the Ancestor of the Yun Family in the border forest. After secretly reigniting their battle, Jiang Liu pursued Ghost Lord while his two Exotic Beast Kings cornered the Ancestor of the Yun Family.

• Jiang Liu left Luoyun City with the Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and flew toward Yun Province.
• Jiang Liu discovered Ghost Lord and the Ancestor of the Yun Family fighting, then struck the Ancestor of the Yun Family with Starfall when the two tried to call a truce.
• After the two Grandmasters fought until they were exhausted, Jiang Liu pursued Ghost Lord while the Ancestor of the Yun Family fled in the opposite direction.
• Jiang Liu caught up with Ghost Lord, who stopped and gathered elemental energy to attack him.
• The Frostwing Dragon and Three-Eyed Flying Tiger surrounded the Ancestor of the Yun Family, leaving him baffled by their cooperation.