Recaps

After waking, Gongsun Haoyue joined Jiang Liu as he inspected the exposed Wheel King Palace chamber and instructed Dongling Rui to bring the treasures and release the captured maids. Jiang Liu discovered a Frost Jade Crystal, completing the materials needed to forge a Voidmetal Talisman and protect Gongsun Haoyue’s spiritual sea.

• Gongsun Haoyue woke and went to prepare food while Jiang Liu called the hidden maids out of the underground space.
• Dongling Rui reported that the Assassin Alliance had been cleared and asked Jiang Liu how to handle the survivors and treasures.
• Jiang Liu ordered Dongling Rui to spare martial artists who were not cultivating the Blood Saint Art, bring the treasures to him, and escort the maids home.
• Jiang Liu inspected the secret chamber and gave Gongsun Haoyue a rare piece of Ambergris Tears after she identified it.
• Jiang Liu found a Frost Jade Crystal, and Gongsun Haoyue was delighted because it meant they could forge the Voidmetal Talisman to protect her spiritual sea.

Jiang Liu recovered after his crisis and considered the threat posed by the Dark Primal Qi and the Source of the Netherworld. While searching the underground space beneath the island for the former Wheel King Palace residents’ cultivation methods, he uncovered a hidden source of heat and a dragon’s roar.

• Jiang Liu secured the Frost Jade Crystal and other valuables, then ate with Gongsun Haoyue and reflected on the Dark Primal Qi, the Source of the Netherworld, and the power of the Heaven Dao.
• The next morning, Jiang Liu explored the underground space while Gongsun Haoyue sorted through valuables delivered by King Chujiang Hall.
• Jiang Liu broke through a decorated wall and found the former living and cultivation quarters of the Old Ancestor from Wheel King Palace and the woman, but discovered no manuals or secret texts.
• Jiang Liu sensed a hidden space beneath the hall, cut a circle into the floor, and stomped down, releasing a wave of heat and a dragon’s roar from a captive Fire Dragon Beast Emperor below.

Jiang Liu freed a Fire Dragon from Wheel King Palace and made it his spirit beast, then joined the others at the main island. He began forging a furnace with the Fire Dragon’s flames as the first step toward making the Voidmetal Talisman.

• Jiang Liu used a Spirit Control Art to subdue the Fire Dragon and cut through the chains binding it.
• The Fire Dragon destroyed the underground space and collapsed the island while Jiang Liu returned to the Sea Turtle.
• Dongling Rui reported that the Assassin Alliance had been disbanded and Wheel King Palace’s possessions destroyed; Jiang Liu sent Gongsun Haoyue to inspect the main island.
• Jiang Liu considered how to forge the Voidmetal Talisman and chose a boulder on the main island as his work site.
• Jiang Liu used the Fire Dragon’s flames to shape a furnace and decided to inscribe formations in it to preserve the divine essence of materials.

Jiang Liu tested formations for his furnace, then inscribed three onto the real furnace and began forging the Voidmetal Talisman. With Gongsun Haoyue and the Fire-Winged Monkey guarding the beach, he heated Void Iron in the furnace and left it burning steadily.

• Jiang Liu tested the Gathering Qi, Stabilizing, and Sealing Divinity Formations on an energy furnace, but the furnace dissipated when he completed the third formation.
• Jiang Liu decided to inscribe the three formations directly onto his actual furnace, then recovered his energy and mental strength.
• Gongsun Haoyue told Jiang Liu that everything had been dealt with, and Jiang Liu ordered Dongling Rui to seal off the beach.
• Jiang Liu summoned the Fire-Winged Monkey to help guard the area while he successfully inscribed the three formations onto the furnace.
• The Fire-Winged Monkey and Dongling Rui's people secured the beach as the Fire Dragon heated Jiang Liu's furnace.
• Jiang Liu put Void Iron into the heated furnace, where the formations kept the heat even and protected the material as it began to smelt.

Jiang Liu forged Void Iron and Frost Jade Crystal into a Voidmetal Talisman, then sealed Gongsun Haoyue’s Divine Sense into it. Gongsun Haoyue tested its abilities while Jiang Liu cleaned up.

• Jiang Liu tempered and hammered the Void Iron and Frost Jade Crystal together, refining the metal and preserving its divine resonance.
• Jiang Liu activated the Sealing Divinity Formation and tempered the Void Iron with its divine resonance until it was ready for the final step.
• Jiang Liu divided the Void Iron, asked Gongsun Haoyue to extend her Divine Sense, and sealed a portion of it into one piece.
• The Void Iron became a Voidmetal Talisman that could enter and leave its owner’s spiritual sea of consciousness and be used offensively.
• Gongsun Haoyue stored the talisman in her spiritual sea of consciousness and tested its aura-concealing ability while Jiang Liu cleaned up.

Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue rested on the Sea Turtle after the battle, while King Chujiang Hall celebrated its spoils and the Assassin Alliance archipelago feared losing its protection. Jiang Liu discovered that the Yin-Yang Union Art had been transformed into the mutually beneficial Joyous Meditation Art, and Gongsun Haoyue agreed to try cultivating it with him that night.

• Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue chose to rest and cultivate on the Sea Turtle while Gongsun Haoyue recovered from splitting her Divine Sense.
• Dongling Rui lifted the lockdown and ordered everyone to rest, and he, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing discussed dividing the seven fallen Peak Grandmasters' corpses.
• The people of the Assassin Alliance archipelago worried that their islands would again be enslaved after Jiang Liu and the others left.
• Jiang Liu read the Yin-Yang Union Art, and the Data Panel recorded it as the uninitiated Joyous Meditation Art, a method beneficial to both practitioners.
• Jiang Liu explained the transformed cultivation method to Gongsun Haoyue, who reluctantly believed him and agreed to cultivate it with him that night.

Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue discovered that the Joyous Meditation Art strengthened their bodies, then prepared to return to the mainland while Jiang Liu planned to hunt down his enemies. As the voyage began, Jiang Liu warned the Dongling brothers against betrayal and sensed an increasingly distinct presence watching him.

• Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue cultivated the Joyous Meditation Art, and Jiang Liu found that it was strengthening both their bones and their ability to contain primal qi.
• Jiang Liu told Dongling Rui to prepare King Chujiang Hall's ship for the return voyage through the Sea Gazing Strait, intending to search for the group that had ambushed Ming Chengyun and the others.
• After the ship set sail, Jiang Liu told Dongling Rui, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing that he planned to eliminate the remnants of Haotian Sect despite its historic ties to Saint Heaven Sect.
• Jiang Liu declared that anyone who opposed him would be exterminated, and the three men respectfully left after accepting his warning.
• Gongsun Haoyue cautioned Jiang Liu that the Dongling brothers might betray him, while Jiang Liu resolved to use them to uncover and destroy the Halls of Yama and other evil forces.
• Jiang Liu sensed an increasingly distinct presence watching him and felt weighed down by the upheaval caused by Dark Primal Qi.

Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He tried to escape three Beast Emperors but were drawn into the Abyssal Canyon’s black mist, where they vanished. Grandmaster Xing Qiong witnessed the event and flew toward Jing City after the beasts disappeared.

• Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He fought the three Beast Emperors, then attempted to flee when their strength began to fail.
• The Phoenix Beast burned the brothers, and the dragon beast and three-eyed flying tiger trapped and struck them, sending them plunging into the Abyssal Canyon.
• As they fell, Dongyang Yi realized their Divine Sense was weakening and warned Dongyang He, but neither brother could stop their descent.
• The three Beast Emperors watched the brothers disappear into a maw of black mist, which soon turned white again.
• Grandmaster Xing Qiong watched from the forest, then flew toward Jing City after the Beast Emperors vanished.

Flowing Cloud Matriarch investigated the Abyssal Canyon after Xing Qiong reported a bone-chilling cold and an evil aura there. She ordered the area sealed off, then found an ancient text whose contents shocked her.

• Flowing Cloud Matriarch arrived in Jing City and questioned Xing Qiong about the two Peak Grandmasters who had vanished in the Abyssal Canyon.
• Xing Qiong reported a piercing cold and an evil aura near the canyon, and Flowing Cloud Matriarch ordered Wind Hall to monitor it from afar and report the three Beast Emperors to the Hall of Governmental Affairs.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch went to the Abyssal Canyon, saw concealed black mist, and decided to wait for Jiang Liu rather than enter.
• Murong Yin issued a realm-wide prohibition against approaching the Abyssal Canyon, and Flowing Cloud Matriarch returned to the Star Cloud Saint Sect.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch found an ancient text in the Pavilion of Books, read it, and dropped it in shock.

Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He were dragged into the black vortex beneath Abyssal Canyon, while Flowing Cloud Matriarch realized the ancient records pointed to a renewed Dark Nether Race invasion. She feared the weakened continent could not withstand the coming crisis and wished Jiang Liu would return so they could decide what to do.

• Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He fell into the black vortex at the bottom of Abyssal Canyon and disappeared inside it.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch reread the Star Moon Sect's ancient record and recognized that Abyssal Canyon's changes matched its warnings.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch learned that past Dark Nether Race invasions had devastated the continent and that the Halls of Yama had served as Nether Race spies.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch realized signs of Abyssal Hell's emergence had appeared while the continent lacked any true Saint Realm martial artists.
• Flowing Cloud Matriarch wished Jiang Liu would return and feared the continent might have to hide inside the Heaven-Veiling Grand Formation to survive.

Ming Lang brought Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He to Nether, the Nether God of the Abyssal Hell, who placed them in stone coffins as part of a larger plan. Nether intended to revive his ancestors’ plan to invade the continent, though he suspected the Heavenly Dao had manipulated the Nether race’s previous failed invasion.

• Ming Lang captured Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He in the black vortex and carried them deeper into the Abyssal Hell.
• Ming Kun watched Ming Lang leave and recalled being wounded by the Heavenly Dao while searching outside for people the Nether God needed.
• Ming Lang presented Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He to Nether, who judged them usable and sent Ming Lang to collect his reward.
• Nether removed the ice protecting Dongyang Yi and Dongyang He, inspected them with beams of light, and placed them in two stone coffins.
• Nether considered his plan to invade the continent, the Nether race’s losses, and his suspicion that the Heavenly Dao had schemed against them in their previous invasion.

Nether planned to use the Halls of Yama to prepare the mainland for another Nether Race invasion, while martial artists began disappearing into strange, dark places. Murong Yin linked the disappearances to the Dark Nether Race and ordered suspicious locations sealed, but the missing-person reports continued.

• Nether reasoned that the Halls of Yama had likely fractured after losing contact with the Nether Race, and he planned to find their Blood Saint Art cultivators to aid his invasion.
• Nether reflected that the Heavenly Dao had likely noticed the reopened Gates of Hell and might have engineered the earlier invasion as a trap.
• Gui Shan fled Three-Eyed Flying Tigers into a dark, silent place, fell unconscious, and was dragged away by an invisible hand.
• Martial artists disappeared in several prefectures, prompting Murong Yin to connect the incidents to a possible Dark Nether Race invasion.
• Murong Yin ordered suspicious locations across the realm marked and sealed, but reports of disappearances continued and worried her and Flowing Cloud Matriarch.

Gongsun Haoyue advanced her spiritual power while resting with Jiang Liu, and he wondered whether the Heavenly Dao had eased its restrictions because a greater threat was approaching. After confirming her advancement had caused no harm, Jiang Liu listened as she described what had happened.

• Jiang Liu wondered why the Heavenly Dao targeted martial artists and whether its hostility had changed since the Dark Primal Qi emerged from the Source of the Netherworld.
• Gongsun Haoyue became absorbed in her thoughts, and primal qi gathered around her as her aura grew indistinct.
• Jiang Liu shielded the area with his Divine Sense while the Sea Turtle and Fire-Winged Monkey guarded Gongsun Haoyue during her advancement.
• Gongsun Haoyue advanced successfully, and Jiang Liu suspected the Heavenly Dao had made advancement easier after the Dark Primal Qi appeared.
• Gongsun Haoyue demonstrated her stronger control of heavenly fire with the Skyfire Staff, then sat with Jiang Liu and recounted her advancement.

After Gongsun Haoyue completed her breakthrough, Jiang Liu’s group encountered five ships from the South Return Isles. Jiang Liu recognized Haotian Art’s vital energy among them and ordered Dongling Rui’s forces to capture the ships’ occupants for interrogation.

• Gongsun Haoyue told Jiang Liu how she had endured her perilous breakthrough by holding on to her faith in him.
• Dongling Rui, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing came to check on the aura released during Gongsun Haoyue’s breakthrough, then returned to their ship.
• A scout spotted five ships ahead, and Dongling Rui’s group moved to intercept them as the occupants tried to flee.
• The leader of the five ships said they were islanders from the South Return Isles, while Fire-Winged Monkey briefly appeared and left without attacking.
• Jiang Liu sensed Haotian Art’s vital energy among the islanders and ordered Dongling Rui to capture them for interrogation, starting a battle across the five ships.

After capturing the attackers, Jiang Liu learned they were survivors of the Haotian Sect who had joined forces with Duanmu Haotian’s followers. While Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue cultivated together, a strange black force spread across the seabed, prompting Jiang Liu to investigate as Gongsun Haoyue stayed alert above the water.

• Jiang Liu interrogated a captured Grandmaster and learned that the attackers were Haotian Sect survivors who had ambushed Ming Chengyun and Jiang Congyue’s group out of revenge.
• Jiang Liu shattered the eight captives’ dantians and handed them to Dongling Rui before returning to the Sea Turtle and telling Gongsun Haoyue what he had learned.
• Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue shared dinner and discussed their martial arts, then discovered that their matching spiritual power let them sense each other’s bodies and qi more clearly while cultivating the Joyous Meditation Art.
• A black force spread across the seabed, darkening sea beasts and sending some of them toward Jiang Liu’s group.
• The Fire-Winged Monkey killed a sea fish carrying Dark Primal Qi and alerted Jiang Liu, who hurried to investigate beneath the sea with the monkey while Gongsun Haoyue remained above to watch for enemies.

Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey fought through blackened sea beasts beneath the ocean, while Jiang Liu purified their Dark Primal Qi and used it to strengthen his cultivation. As he neared a breakthrough, a huge shadow concealed by the Dark Primal Qi approached him.

• Jiang Liu discovered that nearby sea beasts were tainted by Dark Primal Qi and began killing them and purifying the Qi with the Saintly Sky Art.
• Jiang Liu realized that purified Dark Primal Qi strengthened his Saintly Sky Art Qi and concluded that its source was likely the Abyssal Hell.
• Jiang Liu followed the Fire-Winged Monkey deeper into the sea, fighting increasing numbers of stronger blackened sea beasts and absorbing their purified Dark Primal Qi.
• Gongsun Haoyue burned away blackened sea beasts and Dark Primal Qi that drifted toward the surface and the King Chujiang Hall ship.
• Jiang Liu sensed his second dantian compressing as he neared a breakthrough, while a huge shadow hidden beneath the Dark Primal Qi rushed toward him.

Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey battled a powerful Saint Realm figure from the Abyssal Hell beneath the sea. The fight continued as Gongsun Haoyue sensed the enemy’s strength from the surface.

• A black figure appeared before Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey, trapping Jiang Liu with a spatial attack before the Fire-Winged Monkey knocked the figure’s palm away.
• Jiang Liu used Heaven and Earth One Blade Chop, and the black figure realized that Jiang Liu’s Saintly Sky Art Primal Qi could strongly purify his Dark Primal Qi.
• The black figure attacked Jiang Liu with a spear and another spatial technique, but the Fire-Winged Monkey hid its aura and struck him with Staff Shatters the Sky.
• Jiang Liu kept up his saber assault while purified Dark Primal Qi replenished him, and the Fire-Winged Monkey attacked the wounded enemy with growing force.
• The battle churned the sea into massive waves, and Gongsun Haoyue recognized that Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey were facing a Saint Realm enemy.

Gongsun Haoyue headed toward Jiang Liu as Dark Primal Qi corrupted disciples aboard King Chujiang Hall’s ship. Nether Hu revealed his true form and was struck by Heaven’s Dao, but he began preparing to fight back, leaving Jiang Liu facing a threat to his Divine Sea.

• Gongsun Haoyue used her heavenly fire to clear Dark Primal Qi and went toward the battle, while corruption spread among the disciples aboard King Chujiang Hall’s ship.
• Jiang Liu dodged as Nether Hu seized his saber, revealed his true form, and gathered Dark Primal Qi to intensify his attack.
• Heaven’s Dao struck Nether Hu with Thunder, scattering the Dark Primal Qi and weakening him, while Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey were also struck.
• Nether Hu recovered, cursed Heaven Huang Cang, and prepared to fight his way out as Jiang Liu and the Fire-Winged Monkey blocked him.
• Jiang Liu tried to restrain Nether Hu with his Divine Sense, but a black vortex appeared in his Divine Sea and began devouring it.

Jiang Liu absorbed Nether Hu’s spiritual power, sealed the pit after Nether Hu fell into it, and purified Dark Primal Qi from the sea. He returned to the great ship of King Chujiang Hall and found Dongling Rui, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing fighting darkened Grandmasters.

• A white light in Jiang Liu’s Divine Sea split and absorbed Nether Hu’s black spiritual-power vortex, weakening Nether Hu.
• Thunder struck Nether Hu twice, sending him into the icy pit, and the enormous face vanished after failing to find him.
• Jiang Liu sealed the pit with an Entrapment Formation, a Stabilizing Formation, and a Gathering Qi Formation, then purified Dark Primal Qi across the sea.
• Jiang Liu saw darkened Grandmasters attacking Dongling Rui, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing aboard the great ship of King Chujiang Hall.
• Jiang Liu struck three attackers in their dantians with Ice Blades, causing them to collapse as Dark Primal Qi seeped from their bodies.

Jiang Liu absorbed purified Dark Primal Qi until his second dantian ruptured during an apparent failed advancement, scattering his Saintly Sky Art Qi. As he gathered that Qi again, it entered his abdominal dantian and clashed with the Qi inside, leaving him afraid it would explode and cripple him.

• Jiang Liu killed the remaining Grandmasters, purified the Dark Primal Qi from their bodies, and hurried to the seafloor when he felt forced advancement approaching.
• Dongling Rui, Dongling Heng, and Dongling Qing began clearing away the dead and wounded while Jiang Liu's unstable Qi formed a vortex underwater.
• Gongsun Haoyue and the Fire-Winged Monkey sensed Jiang Liu's advancement and guarded the surrounding sea as he focused on his dantian.
• Jiang Liu's second dantian ruptured, dispersing its Qi through his meridians and making him fear his advancement had failed.
• Jiang Liu gathered the scattered Saintly Sky Art Qi, but it rushed into his abdominal dantian and struggled against the Qi already there.
• Jiang Liu used his mental strength to steady both streams of Qi, then feared the swelling dantian might explode and leave him crippled.

Jiang Liu endured his dantians’ destruction as his vital energy and spiritual power fused in his Divine Sea. He completed his advancement with a vastly stronger aura and the ability to perceive different kinds of vital energy by their colors.

• Gongsun Haoyue sensed Jiang Liu’s aura weaken, then steadied as he continued absorbing vital energy.
• Jiang Liu realized his two dantians had to fuse before he could advance, and endured vital energy tempering his body into a Saint Body.
• Jiang Liu’s two streams of vital energy fused and his abdominal dantian exploded, leaving him unable to sense his vital-energy cultivation.
• The streams flowed into Jiang Liu’s Divine Sea, where his spiritual power manifested and fused with his vital energy.
• Jiang Liu’s aura surged as his phantom appeared above him, frightening Gongsun Haoyue and Dongling Rui and the others aboard the King Chujiang Hall ship.
• Jiang Liu recovered, perceived vital energy by its colors, and realized he had completed his advancement.

Jiang Liu advanced into the Saint Realm and discovered that he could command the vital energy and space around him. After the Heavenly Dao’s ninth lightning strike failed to take control of him, Jiang Liu fought back and flew toward its enormous face with his saber raised.

• Jiang Liu realized he could command surrounding vital energy and created an ice blade that vanished beyond his Divine Sense’s range.
• The Heavenly Dao struck Jiang Liu with eight bolts of lightning, tempering his body as he wondered whether it had changed its intentions.
• The ninth bolt concealed pale purple lightning that tried to seize control of Jiang Liu’s Divine Sea, but the little figure there swallowed it and showed him a fleeting image of a giant wielding an axe.
• Jiang Liu recognized the Heavenly Dao’s hostile intent and attacked its enormous face with an ice blade, which a ripple of light shattered.
• The Heavenly Dao crushed space and drained the vital energy around Jiang Liu, but he sensed the changes, flew toward its face, and swung his saber.

After advancing to the Saint Realm, Jiang Liu survived the Heavenly Dao’s warning strike and returned to King Chujiang Hall’s ship to remove the Dark Primal Qi. He found the ship clear of corruption and checked the Data Panel, which was still upgrading, before a disturbance erupted from the depths of the Abyssal Hell and awakened Nether.

• The Heavenly Dao struck Jiang Liu after his advancement and vanished, leaving him to wonder about its secrets.
• Gongsun Haoyue told Jiang Liu that nearby corrupted sea beasts had been killed, and he hurried with her back to King Chujiang Hall’s ship to investigate the spread of Dark Primal Qi.
• Jiang Liu extracted Dark Primal Qi from the corrupted dead and restrained martial artists, leaving the survivors weakened, then checked the ship’s three statues and found no corruption.
• Dongling Rui ordered the ship to sail back, and Jiang Liu searched it with his Divine Sense before joining Gongsun Haoyue on the Sea Turtle.
• Jiang Liu found the Data Panel still displaying “System Upgrade” as a disturbance from the Abyssal Hell awakened Nether.

Nether learned that a disciple of the Saint Heaven Sect had reached the Saint Realm and discovered that Nether Hu had been badly injured by the disciple. He ordered Nether Yao and Nether Jue to release their controlled martial artists and search for the Saint Heaven Sect disciple before he could threaten the Nether Race further.

• Nether summoned Nether Hu, Nether Yao, and Nether Jue after sensing a Saint Heaven Sect disciple had reached the Saint Realm.
• Nether Hu arrived on a stretcher and said a Peak Grandmaster from the Saint Heaven Sect had wounded him severely.
• Nether recalled the Saint Heaven Sect's role in the Nether Race's past and considered replacing Nether Hu, whose injuries might prevent his recovery.
• Nether Yao and Nether Jue reported that they had failed to capture anyone from the Halls of Yama.
• Nether ordered Nether Yao and Nether Jue to release the martial artists who had submitted to them and make them search for the Saint Heaven Sect disciple.

After the system upgrade, Jiang Liu learned that Saint Realm cultivation had four tiers and gained a Fixed-Point Shuttle ability as he hurried back to the mainland. There, Murong Yin faced mounting unrest caused by mysteriously returned martial artists, especially in Mo Province and Xun Province, while considering how to strengthen Jiang Liu’s authority.

• Jiang Liu examined his upgraded Data Panel, learned that the Saint Realm had four tiers, and discovered the Fixed-Point Shuttle could store nine destinations.
• Jiang Liu and Gongsun Haoyue traveled toward the mainland on a sea turtle while he worried about the situation there and reassured her that Murong Yin and Feng Yue could shelter in the Heaven-Veiling Grand Formation.
• Murong Yin read Wind Hall’s report that missing martial artists had returned across several provinces stronger than before, prompting chaos and vicious incidents.
• Murong Yin considered the severe unrest in Mo Province and Xun Province, where officials and local forces struggled to stop the violence.
• Murong Yin weighed rumors about Chen Bo and considered how to raise Jiang Liu’s prestige, believing his advancement to the Saint Realm would silence dissent.