Recaps

Lu Xuan discovered that Mind-Bewildering Viper Insects were invading the Spirit Beasts’ seas of consciousness and driving them berserk. He explained what he knew to Cang Wu Zhenren and suggested ways to lure out or restrain the insects, leaving the sect to investigate a solution.

• Chen Luo tried to purify an abnormal Spirit Beast, but the jade talisman had no effect.
• Cang Wu Zhenren used his Fifth Grade jade seal and concluded that no Evil Spirit was responsible.
• Lu Xuan inspected a Four-Winged Thunderstorm Tiger and identified a Mind-Bewildering Viper Insect in its sea of consciousness.
• Lu Xuan told Cang Wu Zhenren and the others about the insect and how it afflicted Spirit Beasts.
• Lu Xuan suggested using Spiritual Sense Treasures to lure the insects out and Soul-Type Treasures to restrain them.

Lu Xuan helped Cang Wu Zhenren and Old Dragon Turtle lure Mind-Bewildering Viper insects out of the frenzied spirit beasts and eliminate them. After receiving a thousand Sword Seals and leaving the blessed land, Lu Xuan was stopped by Chen Luo.

• Lu Xuan suggested using a powerful, simple-minded spirit beast to lure out the Mind-Bewildering Viper insect, and Cang Wu Zhenren summoned Old Dragon Turtle to help.
• Old Dragon Turtle used itself as bait, then trapped and killed the Mind-Bewildering Viper insect that emerged from the Four-Winged Thunderstorm Tiger.
• Old Dragon Turtle and Cang Wu Zhenren lured insects from more than ten abnormal spirit beasts and killed them, while Lu Xuan confirmed the beasts only needed time to recover their depleted minds.
• Lu Xuan advised Cang Wu Zhenren to check the other spirit beasts, especially those recently returned from Secret Realms, and Cang Wu Zhenren agreed to arrange inspections.
• Cang Wu Zhenren rewarded Lu Xuan with one thousand Sword Seals, and Chen Luo caught up with Lu Xuan as he headed back to the sect.

Lu Xuan refused Chen Luo’s attempts to obtain information about the Mind-Bewildering Viper Insect, then returned to his quiet cultivation and farming routine. In the Defective Secret Realm, he harvested a Good Grade Fourth Grade Lightning Fall Wood and obtained a powerful Fifth Grade Taiyi Thunder Talisman.

• Chen Luo asked Lu Xuan to share information about the Mind-Bewildering Viper Insect, but Lu Xuan refused and returned to his Cave Mansion.
• Lu Xuan learned that the Spirit Beasts in the Ten Thousand Demon Cave Blessed Land had all been inspected and the Mind-Bewildering Viper Insects had been eliminated.
• Lu Xuan visited his friends in the Ten Thousand Demon Cave, then decided to check on the Spirit Plants in the Defective Secret Realm.
• Lu Xuan found that his Fourth Grade Lightning Fall Wood had matured into a Good Grade plant after being nourished with Chì Lei Stones.
• Lu Xuan harvested the Lightning Fall Wood and received a Fifth Grade Taiyi Thunder Talisman, which could unleash devastating lightning but attacked all living beings in its area indiscriminately.

Lu Xuan inspected his high-grade spirit plants, then learned from Guan Wan that the sect was preparing for increasingly frequent threats in the Cultivation World. He later witnessed one of his Two-Headed Armadillos break through to Rank 3.

• Lu Xuan stored the Fifth Grade Taiyi Thunder Talisman and checked the spirit plants growing in the Defective Secret Realm.
• Guan Wan brought Lu Xuan thirty Hidden Essence Grass Spirit Seeds and explained that alchemists were busy meeting rising demand for high-grade medicinal pills.
• Lu Xuan offered to help the Alchemy Hall, but Guan Wan said the sect did not urgently need the pills he could currently refine.
• Half a month later, Lu Xuan sensed a Two-Headed Armadillo breaking through and went underground to watch over it.
• The Two-Headed Armadillo successfully broke through to Rank 3, growing nearly twice its former size.

Lu Xuan received the Earth Essence Secret Manual after his Two-Headed Armadillos broke through to Rank 3, greatly improving his earth-escape abilities. When the second armadillo advanced less than ten days later, its light orb gave him deeper mastery of the manual’s techniques.

• One Two-Headed Armadillo broke through to Rank 3, and Lu Xuan learned that it could locate spirit ores and soils.
• Lu Xuan touched its White Light Orb and received the Fourth Grade Earth Essence Secret Manual, which taught him specialized earth-escape methods.
• Lu Xuan tested the manual by moving swiftly through hard rock and different terrain inside the mountain.
• Lu Xuan gave both Two-Headed Armadillos Flame Soil and encouraged the one nearing a breakthrough to advance.
• Less than ten days later, the second Two-Headed Armadillo successfully broke through to Rank 3.
• Lu Xuan touched its White Light Orb and received deeper experience with the Earth Essence Secret Manual’s earth-escape methods.

Lu Xuan comprehended Slaughter Sword Intent and received the newly nurtured Fifth Grade sword grass spirit seed from Gu Jiankong. He left ready to cultivate the rare spirit plant and strengthen his power.

• Lu Xuan comprehended initial Slaughter Sword Intent, allowing him to cultivate the Fifth Grade White Bone Killing Sword Grass.
• Lu Xuan considered using the Yangxuan Sword Sheath and Slaughter Sword Intent to develop new sword grass varieties.
• Shen Ye summoned Lu Xuan to collect the Fifth Grade sword grass spirit seed nurtured in the Sword Pool.
• Shen Ye told Lu Xuan that Jian Wuxia had withdrawn and that Lu Xuan was favored because of his skill cultivating sword grass.
• Gu Jiankong gave Lu Xuan the newly nurtured Fifth Grade Sword Grass Spirit Seed and urged him to cultivate it well.

Lu Xuan received a Fifth Grade Light Splitting Shadowing Sword Grass Spirit Seed and learned how difficult it would be to nurture. At a Spirit Plant Masters’ gathering, he heard that unrest was spreading and that sect disciples might soon face compulsory missions.

• Gu Jiankong gave Lu Xuan the Light Splitting Shadowing Sword Grass Spirit Seed, and Shen Ye congratulated him on the rare gift.
• Lu Xuan planted the seed, learned its traits and need for Formless Dividing Sword Qi, and resolved to nurture it despite the difficulty.
• Liu Su invited Lu Xuan to a Spirit Plant Masters’ gathering, where his advice impressed the assembled disciples.
• The Spirit Plant Masters discussed the growing unrest, increased deployments, and the possibility of compulsory missions, then urged one another to prepare for danger.

Lu Xuan refined his sword skills and began cultivating mutated Water Firefly Grass seeds while chaos spread beyond the Heaven Sword Sect. The sect announced that large numbers of Extraterritorial Demons had invaded, forcing Lu Xuan to prepare to defend himself and his Spirit Field.

• Lu Xuan comprehended the Formless Dividing Sword Qi after two months of studying the Light Splitting Shadowing Sword Grass Spirit Seed.
• As reports of demon attacks and fallen cultivators spread, Lu Xuan stayed in his Cave Mansion to tend his Spirit Plants.
• Lu Xuan planted Water Firefly Grass Spirit Seeds nurtured in Thousand-Year Profound Life Spirit Milk and saw hope that they could develop into a new variety.
• The Heaven Sword Sect announced that its grotto-heaven's spatial barrier had been damaged and large numbers of Extraterritorial Demons had invaded.
• Lu Xuan resolved to protect his Spirit Field and turn any demons that threatened it into fertilizer.

Lu Xuan learned that the sect would assign him a mission within ten days to a month, though influential cultivators had asked that he be kept away from the front lines. Confident in his many treasures, he planned to prepare by ripening valuable spirit plants and gathering their Light Orbs.

• Lu Xuan reviewed his treasures, combat tools, and escape abilities, and felt confident he could handle danger.
• A cultivator surnamed Li from the General Affairs Hall told Lu Xuan that the sect would assign him a mission within ten days to a month.
• Li explained that several Core Formation cultivators and True Inheritors had asked for Lu Xuan to receive a lower-risk mission because he was not skilled in combat.
• Lu Xuan decided to use his remaining preparation time to ripen Water Firefly Grass, Jade Dew Fruit, Sword Peacock, Filth Insect Grass, and other spirit plants.
• Lu Xuan planned to keep the Flesh Spirit God fed and to store less mature spirit plants in the Gluttony Insect Pouch before leaving the sect.

Lu Xuan used Azure Wood Source Qi and Spirit Gathering Grass Orbs to ripen Water Firefly Grass and Jade Dew Fruit, harvesting their light orbs for cultivation, recipes, pills, and treasures. He then harvested a mature Sword Peacock and obtained a Fifth Grade Peacock King Ming Sword, leaving his combat power strengthened as his departure approached.

• Lu Xuan ripened and harvested 150 Water Firefly Grass, gaining cultivation, pills, talismans, formulas, and Water Element Pearls from the light orbs.
• Lu Xuan ripened five Jade Dew Fruit plants and harvested 24 fruits, obtaining Jade Cleansing Spirit Brew, Dust Cleansing Pills, Qing Wei Jade Locks, and recipe experience.
• Lu Xuan infused the mature Sword Peacock with Azure Wood Source Qi and Sword Qi until it ripened.
• Lu Xuan harvested the Sword Peacock and obtained the Fifth Grade Flying Sword, Peacock King Ming Sword.

Lu Xuan bought elixirs for his upcoming journey, then visited the Netherworld Courtyard and harvested a mature Filth Insect Grass. Its Light Orb rewarded him with the fifth-grade Ten Thousand Filth Pennant, leaving him with a new artifact as he prepared to venture out.

• Lu Xuan obtained the fifth-grade Peacock King Ming Sword and placed it in the Yangxuan Sword Sheath to nurture it.
• Lu Xuan visited the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion in disguise and bought ten Spirit Gathering Elixirs and three Heaven Essence Elixirs.
• Lu Xuan entered the Netherworld Courtyard and found that the Flesh Spirit God had secretly eaten a little Demon Beast Meat.
• Lu Xuan fed the Flesh Spirit God a Fourth Grade Demon Beast corpse and used foul objects to mature the Filth Insect Grass.
• Lu Xuan harvested the Filth Insect Grass and received the fifth-grade magical artifact Ten Thousand Filth Pennant from its Light Orb.

Lu Xuan harvested a Ten Thousand Filth Pennant, a Mutated Longevity Peach, and a Sixth Grade Taishui Meat from the Netherworld Courtyard. After eating the Taishui Meat and noting the cost of forcing the peach to mature, he prepared to put the newly born Flesh Spirit God into a special space.

• Lu Xuan identified the Filth Insect Grass's reward as a Fifth Grade Ten Thousand Filth Pennant and sealed it in a container.
• Lu Xuan used Azure Wood Source Qi to mature the Mutated Longevity Peach, which absorbed the blood qi from Demon Beast Blood Meat and drained its own plant body.
• Lu Xuan learned that the Fifth Grade peach could extend lifespan but also build up evil aura, and decided to keep it rather than eat it.
• Lu Xuan harvested the peach's light orb and obtained Sixth Grade Taishui Meat, which he ate to strengthen his blood vitality and body.
• Lu Xuan reflected on the Spirit Gathering Grass Orbs needed to force the peach to mature, then promised the Flesh Spirit God fresh Demon Beast Blood Meat before placing it in a special space.

Lu Xuan ripened a Fifth Grade Dragon Bone Grass in the Defective Secret Realm and obtained the Fifth Grade Nine Heads Dragon Chart. He tested its power and assessed the treasures and cultivation rewards he had gathered to prepare for the coming crisis.

• Lu Xuan left the Netherworld Courtyard stocked with nutrients, sealed it with the Illusionary Extinction Five Elements Formation, and returned to the sect.
• Lu Xuan traveled through the Array Hall's teleportation grand array to the Defective Secret Realm and tended to its spirit plants.
• Lu Xuan used Azure Wood Source Qi to ripen one of the three Dragon Bone Grasses growing in the Underworld Spring Spiritual Dew.
• Lu Xuan harvested the Dragon Bone Grass and received the Fifth Grade Nine Heads Dragon Chart, which contained the essence soul of a Nine Heads Flood Dragon.
• Lu Xuan summoned the Nine Heads Flood Dragon from the chart, found that doing so consumed nearly half his Spiritual Power, and recalled it into the chart.
• Lu Xuan reviewed the treasures and rewards he had accumulated and resolved to rely on them to protect himself amid the coming turmoil.

Lu Xuan prepared his spirit plants and beasts before joining a Heaven Sword Sect group bound for Black Star City. After arriving, he entered the besieged city with the other cultivators following an inspection for Evil Spirits.

• Lu Xuan finished condensing the Water Firefly Grass Spirit Seeds and chose to bring four Arrow Vines, the Cloud Stepping Lynx, and the Demon Ghost Vine with him.
• Lu Xuan received a summons and joined the Heaven Sword Sect cultivators traveling in a Flood Dragon puppet under Zhou Qi’s leadership.
• Zhou Qi told Lu Xuan that the group’s mission was to guard Black Star City and clear out demons and Evil Spirits escaping from Black Demon Abyss.
• The group reached Black Star City, where Zhou Qi met the local cultivator Wan and learned that the city still faced mutations and demon ambushes.
• A guard scanned the Heaven Sword Sect cultivators with a bronze mirror to check for parasitized Evil Spirits, then Lu Xuan entered the city with the group.

Lu Xuan arrived in Black Star City and was assigned to patrol its outskirts with three cultivators from other sects. The group’s leader, Qiu Changyuan, doubted Lu Xuan’s combat ability, leaving their first meeting tense as they prepared to work together.

• Lu Xuan settled into a courtyard in Black Star City and decided to delay planting his Water Firefly Grass seeds until he adjusted to the city’s poor spiritual energy.
• After three days, Lu Xuan received a patrol assignment and met Qiu Changyuan, Meng Yue, and Sun Yunming, who would patrol with him.
• The four cultivators introduced their abilities, and Lu Xuan explained that he mainly cultivated spirit plants and had little combat experience.
• Qiu Changyuan questioned why Lu Xuan had been assigned to the patrol, and Sun Yunming explained that a previous spirit-plant cultivator’s death had left Qiu wary.
• Lu Xuan assured Sun Yunming that Qiu’s opinion would not affect the patrol mission.

Lu Xuan and his companions patrolled Black Star City’s perimeter and fought off a flock of demon birds. After Lu Xuan revealed his formidable swordsmanship, Qiu Changyuan acknowledged his strength and offered him first choice of the spoils.

• Sun Yunming explained that Black Star City’s protective formation was only fully activated at critical points because of its immense cost.
• Lu Xuan sensed a flock of demon birds approaching before Qiu Changyuan spotted them, and the four cultivators prepared to fight.
• The demon birds attacked with blades of qi, and Lu Xuan dodged their assault before crippling one bird with his Wind Lightning Sword.
• Lu Xuan and his companions killed the demon birds, with Lu Xuan defeating four of them himself.
• Meng Yue praised Lu Xuan’s swordsmanship, and Sun Yunming realized he had understated his skill.
• Qiu Changyuan acknowledged Lu Xuan’s contribution and told him to choose first from the spoils.

Lu Xuan shared the Demon Bird spoils generously with his companions, keeping only the corpses’ flesh and blood for his own purposes. While patrolling near Black Star City, he detected a hidden Demon Worm and saved Qiu Changyuan from its sudden attack, warning that more might be underground.

• Lu Xuan learned that the Demon Birds had been mutated by Extraterritorial Demons and let Sun Yunming, Meng Yue, and Qiu Changyuan take their valuable claws, fangs, and Flesh Tumors in exchange for the corpses’ flesh and blood.
• The three companions thanked Lu Xuan and gave him ten of the more intact Demon Bird Corpses, which he packed away for his Spirit Beasts and Spirit Plants.
• Over the next three days, Lu Xuan and the others patrolled near Black Star City and dealt with several mutated Demon Beasts, while Meng Yue recovered quickly from a minor wound.
• Lu Xuan sensed giant insects moving underground and warned the others, but Qiu Changyuan failed to detect them before a Demon Worm attacked him with a Deep Yellow Tentacle.
• Lu Xuan’s Thousand Owl Sword Qi destroyed the tentacle and exposed the Demon Worm, and he urged the group to deal with it before more emerged.

Lu Xuan and his companions fought seven powerful Demon Worms, and his Rank 4 Sword Talismans turned the battle in their favor. Afterward, the group divided the spoils, with Lu Xuan claiming a Demon Core, three skin pouches, and the worms’ blood and flesh.

• More than ten Deep Yellow Tentacles burst from the soil, but Lu Xuan, Qiu Changyuan, Meng Yue, and Sun Yunming defended themselves and faced seven giant Demon Worms.
• Qiu Changyuan’s mantis Demonic Beast wounded a worm only slightly, while Sun Yunming’s broken blade damaged another before its corrosive pus ruined the Magic Tool.
• Lu Xuan urged the others to use their trump cards, and Meng Yue summoned a fire dragon while Qiu Changyuan unleashed a Four-Armed Six-Eyed Demon Ape.
• Lu Xuan used three Rank 4 Howling Sea Sword Talismans to destroy most of the Demon Worms, and Meng Yue and Qiu Changyuan finished off the others.
• The group recovered three Demon Cores and seven skin pouches, then agreed that Lu Xuan could take one Demon Core, three pouches, and all the collected blood and flesh.

After returning safely to Black Star City, Lu Xuan accepted Sun Yunming’s offer to show him where he could sell Demonic Beast materials. At a street stall, Lu Xuan recognized Yu Jie, an old acquaintance from Vast Forest Market, and learned that Yu Jie’s grandfather had died after their flight to the city.

• Lu Xuan, Sun Yunming, Meng Yue, and Qiu Changyuan returned to Black Star City after half a month patrolling its outskirts and parted ways inside the city.
• Sun Yunming offered to guide Lu Xuan to places where he could exchange Demonic Beast materials for Spirit Stones, and Lu Xuan agreed.
• As Sun Yunming showed Lu Xuan the city’s stalls and shops, Lu Xuan stopped at a stall selling Azure Water Python Blood.
• Lu Xuan recognized the stall owner, Yu Jie, from Vast Forest Market, and Yu Jie remembered Lu Xuan as the Spirit Plant Master who had bought snake blood from his grandfather.
• Yu Jie told Lu Xuan that Demonic Beasts had attacked the market and that his grandfather died after being injured and falling ill during their journey to Black Star City.

Lu Xuan reunited with Yu Jie in Black Star City, gave him several treasures, and helped arrange a possible place for him in Clear Source Sect. He then sold a large haul of Demonic Beast materials at Golden Dipper Pavilion for twenty-eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

• Lu Xuan recognized Yu Jie, gave him Spirit Accumulation Elixirs and two Third-grade treasures, and warned him to keep them hidden.
• Sun Yunming offered to introduce Yu Jie to Clear Source Sect, and Lu Xuan accepted his help.
• Sun Yunming brought Lu Xuan to Golden Dipper Pavilion, where Lu Xuan met the shopkeeper surnamed Jin.
• Lu Xuan had the pavilion assess his Demonic Beast materials, which they valued at about twenty-eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Lu Xuan accepted two hundred and eighty Middle Grade Spirit Stones and exchanged Communication Talismans with Sun Yunming before returning to his Small Courtyard.

After returning to Black Star City, Lu Xuan planted Water Firefly Grass and tended his Arrow Vines while waiting for a new assignment. He then disguised himself and entered the city’s hidden Black Market, hoping to find an Unknown Spirit Seed.

• Lu Xuan settled into his courtyard, planted more than two hundred Water Firefly Grass Spirit Seeds, and tended four Arrow Vines.
• Lu Xuan spent ten days cultivating plants and meeting fellow Heaven Sword Sect disciples, then learned Zhou Qi had asked about his whereabouts.
• Lu Xuan decided to visit the Black Market after recalling Sun Yunming’s recommendation and obtained the entry details from him.
• Lu Xuan used the Voidsky Nightmare Eye to check for observers, disguised himself with the Thousandfold Wraith Mask, and entered the hidden Black Market through the ruins.

Lu Xuan visited a secret market and bought a Soul Loss Bell and a mysterious tusk-shaped bone after the Demon Ghost Vine sensed a Spirit Seed within it. Back at his courtyard, he discovered the bone was a Sixth-Grade Tusk Bone Demon Seed tied to an Extraterritorial Demon and a powerful innate Divine Ability.

• Lu Xuan entered the hidden market with Sun Yunming's jade seal and bought a Fourth-Grade Soul Loss Bell for five thousand six hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• The Demon Ghost Vine alerted Lu Xuan to a Spirit Seed at a stall selling demon and monster remains.
• Lu Xuan bought a dim-black tusk-shaped bone from the stall owner for eight thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lu Xuan returned to his Spirit Field and identified the bone as a Sixth-Grade Tusk Bone Demon Seed that could absorb bone marrow, refine Demonic Qi, and develop the Tusk Bone Divine Ability.
• Lu Xuan wondered what a Demon Seed was and contemplated the power described in its information.

After discovering that the Tusk Bone Demon Seed had to grow inside a living host, Lu Xuan sealed it away and arranged to hunt alone beyond Black Star City. He ventured toward the Black Demon Abyss with the Voidsky Nightmare Eye scouting ahead and released the Flesh Spirit God to feast on stored Demon Beast meat.

• Lu Xuan learned that the Tusk Bone Demon Seed used a living being's flesh and bones to grow, then sealed it inside a Jade Box protected by Evil Expelling Isolation Talismans.
• Lu Xuan asked Zhou Qi to let him take a solo task hunting Demonic Beasts and Evil Spirits farther from Black Star City, and Zhou Qi agreed to arrange it.
• Several days later, Lu Xuan received authorization to act alone and hunt beyond the city.
• Lu Xuan went deeper beyond Black Star City, used the Voidsky Nightmare Eye to scout the area, and found no unusual auras nearby.
• Lu Xuan released the Flesh Spirit God and offered it stored Demon Beast blood meat, which it rapidly consumed.

Lu Xuan encountered Chen Luo in the Secluded Dark Forest and discovered that his senior fellow disciple intended to force him to reveal a fabricated ancient book about strange insects. Chen Luo threatened him with soul-searching, and Lu Xuan faced him while remaining on guard.

• Lu Xuan killed a Third Grade demonic snake, fed its flesh and blood to the Flesh Spirit God, and drew its Yin soul into the Soul Guiding Lamp.
• Lu Xuan spotted Chen Luo and another cultivator nearby through the Voidsky Nightmare Eye, then noticed the companion had disappeared when Chen Luo approached him.
• Chen Luo asked Lu Xuan for the ancient book about strange insects, and Lu Xuan repeated that he had returned the borrowed book years earlier.
• Chen Luo threatened to use the Soul Searching Technique unless Lu Xuan disclosed the book’s contents, revealing that he had pursued him to seize it.
• Lu Xuan condemned Chen Luo’s threat as conduct unbefitting an Orthodox Daoist Cultivator.

Lu Xuan confronted Chen Luo and Zheng, who planned to seize an ancient book and kill him, then revealed an array of powerful treasures and abilities in battle. He killed Chen Luo, while Zheng remained locked in combat with him.

• Chen Luo and Zheng revealed their plan to take Lu Xuan's ancient book, search his soul, and kill him.
• Lu Xuan scattered Chen Luo's Giant Bees with a dragon roar, trapped the attackers in illusions, and destroyed the spirit insects with his Wind Lightning Sword.
• Lu Xuan exposed and pierced Chen Luo's transparent Demon Beast, then blocked Zheng's powerful punch with his own body.
• Chen Luo fled on a four-winged Demon Bird, but Lu Xuan struck him with the Thorn God Cone and beheaded him with the Peacock King Ming Sword.