Recaps

Jiang Liu avoided Li Qiaoyun and focused on cultivation while the Buddhist Sect’s leaders met to plan how to exploit a growing alliance and provoke conflict among their rivals. The meeting ended with the Buddhist Sect committed to weakening the Three Sects and Great Qian Imperial Family, though whether its scheme would succeed remained uncertain.

• Jiang Liu brushed off Li Qiaoyun’s invitation to go for a walk and cultivated at the practice grounds instead.
• Xuan Kong questioned Xuan Jian about Jiekong’s misconduct and the Yun Province branch temple’s ties to Corpse Valley and the White Saint Society.
• Xuan Kong explained that he had joined alliances to strengthen them, seize control, and provoke the Three Sects into conflict.
• Xuan Kong revealed his plan to turn the Great Qian Imperial Family against the Three Sects so both could be weakened.
• The five Buddhist leaders agreed to restrain their branch temples, strengthen the Buddhist Sect, and advance its strategy during their meeting.

Dao Fan Shangren confronted Lu Tianheng over the Martial Prohibition Hall’s failure to control the Jianghu forces, and their dispute escalated into a battle. The fight lasted several days and nights, and Lu Tianheng later appeared to accept the National Preceptor’s Mansion intervening in Jianghu affairs.

• Dao Fan Shangren met Lu Tianheng in a canyon and demanded that the Martial Prohibition Hall take responsibility for the unchecked Jianghu forces.
• Lu Tianheng refused to let Dao Fan interfere, citing their agreement that the National Preceptor’s Mansion would stay out of Martial Prohibition Hall affairs.
• Lu Tianheng attacked with corrosive, blood-colored vital energy, and Dao Fan countered with heavenly might from his whisk.
• Dao Fan accused Lu Tianheng of practicing a demonic art and summoned a talisman, while Lu Tianheng denied the accusation and formed a blood-colored vital-energy palm to oppose it.
• Dao Fan and Lu Tianheng fought for several days and nights, and Lu Tianheng later appeared to tacitly accept the National Preceptor’s Mansion’s intervention in Jianghu affairs.

The Ji Family attacked Du Prefecture in force, and Vast Righteous Sect met them in battle outside Du City. As the fighting spread across the battlefield, Ji Xingyu called for the Ji Family’s Old Ancestor to save him.

• Ji Xingfeng led seven Grandmasters and a large force toward Du Prefecture, prompting Li Moran to prepare Vast Righteous Sect’s defenses and warn of the possibly living Ji Qiang.
• Ji Xingfeng confronted Li Moran and Elder He outside Du City, and the Ji Family’s Grandmasters began fighting Vast Righteous Sect’s allies.
• The Fire-Winged Monkey struck Ji Xingyu down, while the other Grandmasters engaged their opponents and Yi Yue summoned swarms of venomous insects.
• The Ji Family attacked Du City’s walls, but the Five Poisons Sect’s poisonous creatures caused heavy casualties among its Ranked Martial Practitioners.
• Ji Xingyu pleaded for help after being badly wounded, and a figure with an even more powerful aura appeared in midair.

Jiang Liu overwhelmed Ye Guhe in battle and killed him, prompting the Ji Family forces to retreat. The Fire-Winged Monkey remained locked in a fierce fight with Ji Qiang and Ji Xingyu.

• Ji Qiang intervened to protect Ji Xingyu from the Fire-Winged Monkey, but the beast knocked him back and kept attacking.
• Jiang Liu used rapid movements and Divine Sense attacks to damage Ye Guhe, then struck him repeatedly with his manifested figure and great saber.
• Jiang Liu cut Ye Guhe in two with Heaven and Earth One Blade Chop, and the resulting primal-qi turbulence revealed that a Grandmaster had fallen.
• Ye Guyun glared at Jiang Liu but held back, while Ji Xingfeng ordered the Ji Family forces to retreat.
• The Grandmasters stopped fighting, but the Fire-Winged Monkey continued battling Ji Qiang and Ji Xingyu.

Jiang Liu halted the fighting after the Fire-Winged Monkey forced Ji Qiang and Ji Xingyu to retreat, and the Ji Family’s forces withdrew from the battlefield. The next day, Li Moran gathered the elders to decide whether the weakened Vast Righteous Sect should stay in Mo Province or leave.

• Jiang Liu ordered the Fire-Winged Monkey to stop attacking as both sides were exhausted and the Vast Righteous Sect’s forces faced heavy losses.
• Ji Xingfeng chose to retreat after assessing his side’s morale and strength, and Ji Xingyu led the Minor Grandmasters and Ranked Martial Practitioners away first.
• Li Moran let the Ji Family withdraw, then arranged treatment for the wounded as the remaining Grandmasters also left the battlefield.
• Yi Yue reported the Five Poisons Sect’s depleted creatures and injured members, and Li Moran handed him the sect’s compensation and reward.
• Jiang Liu returned to his courtyard to recover, while Li Moran summoned the elders the next day to discuss whether the Vast Righteous Sect should remain in Mo Province.

Li Moran decided that Vast Righteous Sect had to withdraw from Mo Province to survive its war with the Ji Family, and Jiang Liu offered Cloud Province as a refuge. The sect chose Xia County and began preparing to relocate while guarding against Ji Family spies and pursuit.

• Li Moran argued that continuing to fight the Ji Family would risk destroying Vast Righteous Sect, despite elders' calls for revenge.
• Quan Xing explained why the neighboring Gen, Feng, Qian, and Tian Provinces were unsuitable places to retreat.
• Jiang Liu suggested Cloud Province, and Vast Righteous Sect chose to relocate there after considering its options.
• Li Moran asked about settling in Xia County, and Yi Yue confirmed that its subdued local factions would welcome the sect.
• The elders agreed the Ji Family would likely try to stop the relocation, so Li Moran ordered a purge of spies in Du Prefecture and careful preparations.
• Li Moran asked Jiang Liu to help monitor the area, and Jiang Liu sent Yi Yue and four less-injured Minor Grandmasters to assist Quan Xing.

Bai Lei tried to preserve Corpse Valley by strengthening its ties with the Lotus Sect and exploiting the chaos in Xun Province. Meanwhile, Jiang Liu agreed to help the Vast Righteous Sect expand into Yun Province, while Li Qiaoyun reacted to the discussion with a growing blush.

• Bai Lei concluded that Jiang Liu had likely killed Corpse King and White Golem and that Corpse Valley’s Qi Province network had been destroyed.
• Bai Lei planned to use Xun Province’s turmoil and the Lotus Sect’s corpse trade to rebuild Corpse Valley, and ordered a subordinate to contact Kuang Qianzi for a meeting.
• Bai Lei urged Corpse Valley’s members to cultivate harder and refine Corpse Golems for the Lotus Sect, whose alliance secretly relied on them as fighting with the Five Great Lineages intensified.
• Jiang Liu discussed relocating and expanding the Vast Righteous Sect into Yun Province with Li Moran, hoping its territory would aid his cultivation.
• Li Moran welcomed Jiang Liu’s agreement, while Li Qiaoyun listened and gradually blushed.

Jiang Liu forced his Spirit Power through a painful breakthrough to Peak Grandmaster while Li Qiaoyun watched nearby. His Divine Sense reached 4,565 meters, and the story left him recovering as Li Qiaoyun prepared to explain why she had come.

• Jiang Liu cultivated the Saintly Sky Art and endured intense pain as Spirit Power Particles expanded his sea of spiritual consciousness.
• Li Qiaoyun secretly watched Jiang Liu and stayed nearby, worried but afraid to interrupt his cultivation.
• Jiang Liu broke through the shackle in his sea of spiritual consciousness, extending his Divine Sense to 4,565 meters and releasing powerful Spirit Power intimidation.
• Jiang Liu settled his turbulent essence energy, noticed Li Qiaoyun at the courtyard gate, and invited her inside.
• Four Grandmasters in Overseer City sensed the breakthrough and concluded that Jiang Liu had advanced his Spirit Power to Peak Grandmaster.

Jiang Liu dismissed Li Qiaoyun’s advances and assessed his cultivation, confident he could defeat the Ji Family’s strongest fighters despite the time needed to reach Peak Grandmaster. Meanwhile, Xiahou Yi consumed several young men to force her breakthrough and advanced to Grandmaster, giving the Sun Moon Sect a powerful new supporter.

• Li Qiaoyun visited Jiang Liu, but he sent her away because he did not want to disrupt his household or pursue romance.
• Jiang Liu checked his cultivation progress and realized that reaching Peak Grandmaster would take years, though his Saint Grade art and Essence Particles orbs accelerated his growth.
• Jiang Liu judged that he could defeat Ji Qiang and Ji Xingfeng together, especially with the Fire-Winged Monkey’s help.
• Xiahou Yi struggled to break through to Grandmaster after absorbing the vitality and Essence Particles of young men in her cultivation chamber.
• Xiahou Yi used another method of the Profound Yin Maiden Art to consume the young men and successfully advanced to Grandmaster.
• The Sun Moon Sect members celebrated Xiahou Yi’s breakthrough, believing their sect no longer had to curry favor with other forces.

Buddhism sent four Grandmasters and a large force to Xun Province, where it began recruiting servants in Qi County while preparing to attack the Ghost School. Its recruitment stirred rivalry within the Lotus Sect alliance, and the alliance chose Kui County as its next target as fighting reignited.

• Xuan Kong remained in Kun Province while Xuan Wen, Xuan Zhi, Xuan Jian, and Xuan Xing led Buddhist reinforcements to Xun Province.
• Kuang Qianzi welcomed the four Grandmasters, and Xuan Zhi said Buddhism would seek further reinforcements from its branch temples.
• Buddhism advertised its protection and recruited large numbers of servants in Qi City, prompting the Daoist school to start recruiting as well.
• The other forces in the Lotus Sect alliance grew uneasy as Buddhist recruitment encouraged greater exploitation of Qi County's people.
• The alliance decided to invade Kui County next, and Buddhism's reinforcements reignited the fighting across Xun Province.

As the Vast Righteous Sect evacuated Mo Province, thousands of civilians followed, forcing Li Moran to weigh their safety against the strain on the retreat. Ji Qiang then confronted Jiang Liu and agreed to a duel that would determine whether the sect could leave safely; their first clash left Jiang Liu at a disadvantage.

• The Vast Righteous Sect moved its people and resources toward Wei Prefecture, while Jiang Liu, Li Moran, and Quan Xing stayed behind to guard the retreat.
• Thousands of Du City residents followed the departing sect, and Li Moran accepted that they would travel with the group despite the supply and safety concerns.
• Ji Qiang arrived with six other Grandmasters and demanded that Li Moran and Quan Xing stay behind, offering to let Jiang Liu leave.
• Jiang Liu proposed a one-on-one duel: if Ji Qiang won, Jiang Liu would not interfere, and if Jiang Liu won, the Vast Righteous Sect would be allowed to leave safely.
• Ji Qiang accepted and struck first; Jiang Liu countered with a saber technique, but their weapons collided and forced Jiang Liu back while Ji Qiang held his ground.

Jiang Liu used his Divine Sense, speed, and repeated Cloudfall Strike attacks to overwhelm Ji Qiang, whose body was too tough to injure. Ji Qiang admitted defeat and withdrew with the Ji Family, leaving Mo Province to Jiang Liu's side.

• Jiang Liu discovered that his Ice Blade could not pierce Ji Qiang's exceptionally tough body.
• Jiang Liu used Nebula Shrunken Earth to evade Ji Qiang's senses, then devoured part of Ji Qiang's Divine Sense and attacked him with Cloudfall Strike.
• Jiang Liu relentlessly attacked Ji Qiang for nearly a quarter of an hour, while Ji Qiang's internal organs began to buckle despite his undamaged exterior.
• Ji Qiang admitted defeat, and Jiang Liu stopped attacking.
• Ji Qiang ordered the Ji Family to withdraw, choosing not to risk his forces or get involved in the Ye Family's grudge.

Jiang Liu and the Vast Righteous Sect organized the evacuation of nearly a hundred thousand commoners from Mo Province, arranging flying carriages, transport beasts, supplies, and guards. The massive procession finally departed Wei City for Yun Province, with Jiang Liu guarding the rear.

• Jiang Liu, Li Moran, Quan Xing, and the civilians traveled to Wei Prefecture, where they found tens of thousands more people waiting to leave.
• Jiang Liu suggested using flying exotic beasts to pull passenger carriages, and Li Moran arranged for Exotic Beast Valley to send beasts while the sect built and tested the carriages.
• Quan Xing organized journey supplies as Jiang Liu watched for a possible attack from the Ji Family; nearly half a month later, the beasts arrived and the carriages were ready.
• The Vast Righteous Sect assembled nearly a hundred thousand people from Du, He, and Wei Prefectures into an escorted procession traveling by air and road.
• Quan Xing led the procession out of Wei City, and Jiang Liu followed with the Fire-Winged Monkeys to guard the rear as the civilians began their journey.

Jiang Liu safely escorted the Vast Righteous Sect and its commoners into Qian Province, then left the group to return to the Flowing Cloud Sect. He reached Heng City and met Elder Xingyun, while the reason for the changed atmosphere in Qian Province remained unclear.

• The Vast Righteous Sect’s caravan crossed into Qian Province without attack from the Ji Family, and the travelers relaxed after reaching safety.
• Jiang Liu told Li Moran and Elder He that he planned to return to the Flowing Cloud Sect, then instructed Yi Yue to lead the group if he did not return in time.
• Jiang Liu flew ahead toward Qian Prefecture, sent the Fire-Winged Monkey to find food, and decided to rest overnight in Heng City.
• Elder Xingyun, Elder Yunkong, and Elder Changtian flew out to meet Jiang Liu, and Xingyun welcomed him and accompanied him to the Flowing Cloud Sect’s station.
• The Flowing Cloud Sect’s disciples recognized Jiang Liu as their celebrated True Inheritor Male Disciple and watched him enter the station.

Jiang Liu received Elder Xingyun’s warning about a reformist faction within the Haotian Sect, arranged support for the Vast Righteous Sect’s relocation, and set out from Heng City. A masked figure with a powerful aura ambushed him and the Fire-Winged Monkey in the woods.

• Elder Xingyun told Jiang Liu that the Haotian Sect had split into factions and warned him that reformists might obstruct the Vast Righteous Sect’s relocation, while promising the Flowing Cloud Sect would protect him.
• Jiang Liu visited Luo Luoping at Ascension Tower and asked him to report the Vast Righteous Sect’s relocation to Yun Province and arrange supplies and an escort through Qin Bailian.
• Jiang Liu sent letters for Murong Yin and Feng Yue, then spent the night cultivating at the Flowing Cloud Sect’s headquarters.
• The next morning, Jiang Liu said farewell to Elder Xingyun, who warned him about attacks on lone martial artists, and he flew out of Heng City.
• After leaving Qian County aboard the Fire-Winged Monkey, Jiang Liu was stopped in a stretch of woods by a powerful masked figure.

Jiang Liu and Fire-Winged Monkey fought a Man in Black whose strength and defenses far surpassed theirs. Jiang Liu’s elusive attacks briefly dazed the Peak Grandmaster, and the chapter left Jiang Liu preparing to catch him off guard with a strike against his mental sea.

• Fire-Winged Monkey attacked the Man in Black, but he effortlessly dodged and dispersed its elemental-energy staff.
• Jiang Liu used Nebula Shrunken Earth to strike from behind, but his attack barely affected the Man in Black, who became eager to seize Jiang Liu’s technique.
• The Man in Black tried to grab Jiang Liu, but Jiang Liu evaded him and struck his head, leaving him briefly dizzy.
• Jiang Liu repeatedly attacked the Man in Black’s head while Fire-Winged Monkey kept striking with its staff, though the Man in Black neutralized the monkey’s attacks.
• The Man in Black spread his Divine Sense toward Jiang Liu, who sensed danger, restrained his own Divine Sense, and prepared to damage the man’s mental sea in a surprise attack.

Jiang Liu injured a Peak Grandmaster by devouring his Divine Sense and fled toward Qian City with the Fire-Winged Monkey. The Man in Black abandoned his pursuit near the city, and Jiang Liu returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect to meet the Sect Master.

• The Man in Black swept Jiang Liu with his Divine Sense, but Jiang Liu released his own and devoured it, badly injuring the man's mental sea.
• Jiang Liu escaped toward Qian Prefecture while the Man in Black recovered, tracked his energy, and resumed the pursuit.
• The Fire-Winged Monkey caught up with Jiang Liu and carried him toward Qian City at top speed.
• The Man in Black turned away before reaching Qian City because he feared the two Peak Grandmasters there and his injuries worsening.
• Jiang Liu reached the Flowing Cloud Sect, greeted the Elders, and hurried to the Back Mountain to find the Sect Master.

After Jiang Liu returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect with the Fire-Winged Monkey, Flowing Cloud Matriarch identified his attacker as Lu Tianheng and warned him to stay cautious. She was astonished to discover that Jiang Liu's Spirit Power had already surpassed her own and asked whether he knew how to reach the Saint Realm.

• Jiang Liu met Flowing Cloud Matriarch, who recognized the Fire-Winged Monkey as the Beast Emperor Duanmu Haotian had once struggled to trap.
• Jiang Liu described the Peak Grandmaster who had ambushed him, and Flowing Cloud Matriarch identified the attacker as Lu Tianheng, suspected of making Grandmasters disappear across Qian Province.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch told Jiang Liu to avoid traveling until she and Gongsun Haoyue learned what Lu Tianheng was planning, and Jiang Liu decided to warn Yi Yue and Li Moran.
• Jiang Liu left the Fire-Winged Monkey at the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger's former residence and accompanied Flowing Cloud Matriarch to her cultivation plaza.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch sensed that Jiang Liu's Spirit Power had surpassed her own despite his vital energy remaining below the Peak Grandmaster level.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch asked Jiang Liu whether he had gained any insight into entering the Saint Realm.

Jiang Liu explained the correct cultivation sequence for reaching the Saint Realm and revealed flaws in Flowing Cloud Matriarch and Gongsun Haoyue’s version of the Star Cloud Saint Art. After giving Flowing Cloud Matriarch his complete method and explaining Star Cloud Power, he faced her questions about how his spiritual power had advanced so quickly.

• Jiang Liu told Flowing Cloud Matriarch that cultivators must temper the body first, advance spiritual power second, and accumulate vital energy last.
• Jiang Liu claimed his talent let him cultivate any technique after reading it once and blamed the changes in his aura on natural treasures from the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Jiang Liu wrote down the Star Cloud Saint Art he cultivated, including its prerequisites for advancing to Martial Saint, and handed it to Flowing Cloud Matriarch.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch found that Jiang Liu’s version corrected passages and errors in the version she and Gongsun Haoyue had studied.
• Jiang Liu explained how Star Cloud Power tempered the body and how to cultivate it, giving Flowing Cloud Matriarch new hope of reaching the Saint Realm.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch asked whether Jiang Liu used another technique to advance his spiritual power, leaving him nervous.

Jiang Liu explained how the Soul Art and Beast Mastery Art had accelerated his spiritual power growth, and Flowing Cloud Matriarch chose to study the Star Cloud Saint Art first. After she warned him to keep the arts secret, she met with Gongsun Haoyue to discuss Lu Tianheng’s attacks, and Gongsun questioned whether their Star Cloud Saint Art had been cultivated in the wrong direction.

• Jiang Liu told Flowing Cloud Matriarch that he had learned the Soul Art from Old Man Tianhun and cultivated it alongside the Beast Mastery Art to advance his spiritual power.
• Jiang Liu gave Flowing Cloud Matriarch a copy of the Soul Art, but she destroyed it and told him to keep the art and his other secrets from others.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch said she would first try the Star Cloud Saint Art, then left to discuss Jiang Liu’s pursuit and Lu Tianheng’s attacks with Gongsun Haoyue.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch and Gongsun Haoyue agreed they had no clues about where Lu Tianheng had taken the captured Grandmasters.
• Gongsun Haoyue asked Flowing Cloud Matriarch whether the Star Cloud Saint Art had been cultivated in the wrong direction.

The Flowing Cloud Matriarch and Gongsun Haoyue discovered and corrected flaws in their Star Cloud Saint Art, then began cultivating Jiang Liu’s version. After the Matriarch returned to warn her sect, Jiang Liu cultivated Star Power to strengthen his body and prepare for future battles and advancement to the Saint Realm.

• The Flowing Cloud Matriarch told Gongsun Haoyue about Jiang Liu’s corrected Star Cloud Saint Art and gave her the written method.
• Gongsun Haoyue and the Flowing Cloud Matriarch studied the method, set aside their search for Lu Tianheng, and began correcting the flawed cultivation practiced by their sects.
• The two women cultivated Jiang Liu’s version and found that it absorbed Essence Particles faster than their bodies could refine them, but that it was far more powerful than their previous method.
• The Flowing Cloud Matriarch left to deliver the corrected method to the Flowing Cloud Sect’s Grandmasters and True Inheritor Disciples.
• Jiang Liu, shaken by his inability to defeat Lu Tianheng, decided to strengthen his body and stabilize his cultivation in the Flowing Cloud Sect.
• That night, Jiang Liu absorbed Star Power alongside Essence Particles and used it to temper his body for future battles and advancement into the Saint Realm.

Jiang Liu used the unusually dense Star Power to temper his bones, enduring each one being shattered and reassembled nine times. As he began strengthening the next bone, Flowing Cloud Matriarch left him to continue cultivating and resolved to try drawing in Star Power herself.

• Flowing Cloud Matriarch watched Jiang Liu draw Star Power directly into his body and was struck by how quickly he cultivated.
• Jiang Liu's Star Power shattered one bone, ground it to powder, and reassembled it nine times, leaving it faintly glowing with golden light.
• Jiang Liu continued the painful process with the rest of his bones, then began strengthening the next one.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch recognized Jiang Liu's suffering and recalled the pain of her own advance to Peak Grandmaster.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch left without disturbing Jiang Liu and hoped her next attempt to temper her body with Star Power would be less painful.

Jiang Liu spent the night tempering his bones with Star Power, unaware that he was using a body-strengthening method intended for those advancing to the Saint Realm. Flowing Cloud Matriarch asked him how he drew down Star Power, agreed to return that night for his guidance, and Jiang Liu turned to cultivating the Saintly Sky Strike.

• Jiang Liu strengthened nine bones overnight and used the Saintly Sky Art to recover from the mental strain.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch told Jiang Liu that the Soul Art had accelerated her spiritual power cultivation.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch asked how Jiang Liu attracted Star Power, and he explained his method in detail.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch failed to understand how to draw Star Power into her body, so Jiang Liu offered to guide her that night.
• After breakfast, Jiang Liu began cultivating the Saintly Sky Strike so he could attack Lu Tianheng through spiritual power.

Jiang Liu tested the Saintly Sky Strike on two spirit-power magical beasts and learned how to use the technique more effectively. He left considering whether to use it against Lu Tianheng.

• Jiang Liu compared the Saintly Sky Strike with Annihilation by Thought and considered using the new technique against Lu Tianheng.
• Jiang Liu asked Si Yang for the strongest magical beasts available for training, and Si Yang brought him a Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and a Rainbow Cloud Python.
• Jiang Liu revived the drugged beasts and struck the Rainbow Cloud Python with the Saintly Sky Strike, destroying its spiritual sea.
• Jiang Liu attacked the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger and learned the best way to use the Saintly Sky Strike from its stronger resistance.

Jiang Liu cultivated Nebula Extinction and discovered how its elusive attacks combined Spirit Power and physical force. A guarding elder arrived and was shocked by his speed and overwhelming pressure.

• Jiang Liu decided to cultivate Nebula Extinction so he could use its Spirit Power attacks against Lu Tianheng.
• Jiang Liu recovered his strength, then practiced Nebula Extinction and found that its attacks became uncontrollable beyond one thousand meters.
• A Grandmaster elder came to find Jiang Liu but could not see his movements and felt intimidated by his pressure.
• The elder refrained from probing Jiang Liu with Divine Sense because Flowing Cloud Matriarch had warned that doing so could cause lasting injuries.