Recaps

Xu Yi used a trapped box to kill Han Qi with a lightning strike from a marked treasure, then concealed his role behind a fabricated story about Song Yuan. The next day, the Imperial Venerate promoted Xu Yi to False Lord and gave him command of the Ancestor Demon Token.

• Xu Yi produced a box he claimed Song Yuan had left as evidence, and Han Qi opened it to reveal a seven-star sword hidden in corpse miasma.
• A scorched bolt of lightning struck Han Qi from above, killing him and injuring Xu Yi and the others; Huangmei absorbed the corpse qi.
• Xu Yi falsely blamed Song Yuan and the Imperial Observatory, while the gathered Demon Lords and elders had no proof that Xu Yi had arranged Han Qi’s death.
• The day after Han Qi died, Xie Zongxun announced the Imperial Venerate’s edict promoting Xu Yi to False Lord and placing him in command of the Ancestor Demon Token.
• Xu Yi recognized the token he received as Han Qi’s.

Xu Yi became Acting Demon Lord and handed the Ancestral Court’s offices broad autonomy while demanding that they improve their performance. He then returned to the Ancestral Cult and offered to resign as Night Commander to Dao Master Xu Linghe.

• Xu Yi accepted the Ancestor Demon Seal, and Xie Zongxun arranged a Demon Lord-style accession ceremony and delegated the Ancestral Court’s affairs to him with the Imperial Venerate’s approval.
• Xie Zongxun privately warned Xu Yi that his appointment might be a test, but the elders in the main hall readily congratulated him and showed no sign of resistance.
• Xu Yi let each department manage its own affairs and announced yearly performance comparisons, warning that underperforming offices would lose their chiefs.
• Xu Yi left for sea after the ceremony, then disguised himself as Plum Blossom Seven and returned to the Ancestral Cult with Huang Mei’s help.
• Xu Yi visited Dao Master Xu Linghe, offered him over a hundred Heaven Wish Beads, explained that he disliked life at the center of power, and offered to resign as Night Commander.

Xu Yi received praise from Xu Linghe and was sent to witness Ai Laozi’s immortal tribulation before returning to Biyou Academy, where he gained honors and an honorary post. After escaping Xia Fangge’s social rounds, he met a man at Cloud Sea Peak.

• Xu Linghe praised Xu Yi’s leadership of the Night Army and invited him to lead a group to witness Ai Laozi’s immortal tribulation.
• Xu Yi returned to Two Forget Peak, where Xia Fangge and other Old Ancestors warmly welcomed him and Xia Fangge accepted him as a junior brother on behalf of his late master.
• Cao Guan invited Xu Yi to become a Biyou Palace Envoy, and Xu Yi accepted the honorary position after Xia Fangge urged him to take it.
• Xu Yi escaped Xia Fangge’s attempts to bring him on more visits and went to Cloud Sea Peak, where he joined a man at a table of wine and food.

Xu Yi reunited with Shi Erli, then returned to Peach Blossom Mountain and set a trap for an intruder who attacked him. He revealed himself as the apparent victim and confronted the white-robed man, while still wondering who was behind Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan’s disappearance.

• Xu Yi visited Shi Erli, drank and ate freely with him, and promised him a stroke of good fortune.
• After Xu Yi left, Shi Erli found his Sumeru Ring, threw it into the sea of clouds, and later searched for two years before howling with joy.
• Xu Yi returned to Peach Blossom Mountain and cultivated in seclusion while waiting for Elder Ai’s immortal tribulation.
• A shadow struck Xu Yi with a Green Sword and gathered the resources and corpse energy that burst from him.
• A white-robed man attacked the shadow, but the shadow used Thunder True Intent and Fire Spirit Power to break free.
• Xu Yi revealed that the attack had been staged and challenged the white-robed man, while reflecting on the person behind Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan’s disappearance.

Xu Yi lured out the man in white who had been watching him and learned that the man was connected to a powerful force. Their fight revealed the man’s formidable Spirit Endowment ability, but Xu Yi managed to wound him with a surprise attack and held back rather than risk harming Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan.

• Xu Yi repeatedly staged assassinations and feigned deaths until the man in white appeared and admitted he had been ordered to watch him.
• Xu Yi asked whether the man in white had taken Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan, but the man dismissed his claim of closeness to them and tried to leave.
• The man in white destroyed Xu Yi’s Nine-Star Kui Yin Great Formation and warned him that tricks were useless against overwhelming strength.
• The man in white empowered a lamp wick with spirit and broke through Xu Yi’s attacks, leaving Xu Yi badly injured.
• Xu Yi used the Immobilization Technique, the God-Beating Whip, and the Silver Winged Saber to strike the man in white, then chose not to press the attack because Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan were still in the man’s hands.

Xu Yi questioned Minion about the Immortal Realm and the people holding Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan, but Minion revealed little about his backers. Before leaving, Minion told Xu Yi that his unusual cultivation might be an opportunity, though he could not explain how to handle it.

• Xu Yi questioned the Middle-aged Man in White, who called himself Minion, about entering the Immortal Realm and admitted that a powerful force had helped him bypass the realm officials.
• Xu Yi suspected Auspicious Duck was behind Minion, but Minion showed no recognition of the duck or Great Virtue Mighty Young Master.
• Minion told Xu Yi that Yan Zi and Xuan Xuan were being held to make Xu Yi do work and would be released afterward.
• Xu Yi persuaded Minion to stay by promising that helping him now might pay off when Xu Yi reached the Immortal Realm.
• Xu Yi asked Minion about his cultivation, and Minion was astonished that Xu Yi had refined two Fire Element Seeds before suggesting that cultivation mutations could be rare opportunities.

The Middle-aged Man in White explained the Five Realms of Spirit Endowment to Xu Yi before disappearing, leaving Xu Yi to rethink his own technique. After thirteen days of meditation, Xu Yi used his Three Heads and Six Arms Aspect to reach toward heavenly secrets and make a fireball briefly come alive, though it soon burst apart.

• The Middle-aged Man in White explained the Five Realms of Spirit Endowment and assessed Xu Yi’s magic treasures before vanishing.
• Huangmei told Xu Yi that the man’s Spirit Endowment was far beyond the techniques Huangmei had learned from absorbed memories.
• Xu Yi tested his own Spirit Endowment on a lamp wick, but the Immortal Slaying Sword extinguished it with one sweep.
• Xu Yi meditated on Spirit Endowment for thirteen days until Huangmei woke him and reminded him of his Three Heads and Six Arms Aspect.
• Xu Yi summoned the Spirit Official Three Lives Aspect, drew Fire Element from the void, and briefly gave a fireball a touch of liveliness before it burst.

Xu Yi perfected a technique that used deep-blue fire to capture his sword formation, then refined four Fire Element Seeds to strengthen himself. As preparations for Old Ai’s Immortal Tribulation neared, Xu Yi wrestled with whether to travel to the Eastern Continent and restore Xia Zimo’s memories to Lian Yunshang.

• Xu Yi used deep-blue fire to absorb his sword formation’s Sword Light, proving his method worked but leaving him exhausted.
• Huang Mei urged Xu Yi to refine more Fire Element Seeds, arguing that greater strength would help him in the Barren Frontier and expand his future capacity.
• Xu Yi refined two more Fire Element Seeds and exchanged for another, but his body rejected the fifth, establishing four as his limit.
• Xu Yi tested his enhanced strength and found that four seeds let him wield the power without the strain he had suffered before.
• An elder from the Ministry of Rites told Xu Yi that Old Ai’s Immortal Tribulation was near and the group was ready to depart once he gave the order.
• Xu Yi hesitated over the Eastern Continent trip and restoring Xia Zimo’s memories to Lian Yunshang, while Huang Mei advised him to explain the truth and let her choose.

Xu Yi arrived in Chang'an City as the Ancestral Court's Acting Master and explored the city while Xuan Zhuang plotted to use him in a scheme tied to Saint Master Xuanzang. After learning that Xuan Zhuang had come to visit him, Xu Yi returned with a cold smile.

• Xu Yi arrived in Chang'an City and sent Elder Zeng to take the delegation to its lodging while he explored alone.
• Xuan Zhuang learned that Xu Yi had fused only one Fire Element Seed and told his associate to inform High Master Cao that they could begin their plan.
• Xuan Zhuang explained that he sought revenge for Xu Yi disrupting an important mission and said he had secured Liu Jingtian of Lesser Vehicle Mountain for the scheme.
• Xu Yi spent two days enjoying Chang'an City before Elder Zeng reported that Xuan Zhuang had come to visit him.
• Xu Yi agreed to return, then left the pleasure boat while murmuring, "What was the point?"

Xu Yi reunited with Xuan Zhuang at White Horse Temple, where Xuan Zhuang gathered rival delegations and maneuvered the meeting toward Xu Yi. He revealed a Dongmou Bead containing a genuine Fortune Dragon, and Xu Yi immediately coveted it.

• Xu Yi greeted Xuan Zhuang warmly, but refused to meet Plum Blossom Seven until Xuan Zhuang insisted that he welcome the visitor.
• Plum Blossom Seven entered with his party, and Xuan Zhuang urged Xu Yi to treat everyone as guests of the Eastern Continent.
• Delegations from Biyou Academy and Lesser Vehicle Mountain arrived, filling the hall as Xuan Zhuang praised Xu Yi and said he wanted his help.
• Xuan Zhuang revealed the Dongmou Bead and drew out its Fortune Dragon, which Xu Yi recognized as genuine and began plotting to take.

Xuan Zhuang brought Xu Yi before a delegation to study the fortune dragon, but Xu Yi absorbed it into his Starry Sky Ring and claimed it had escaped. Xuan Zhuang and Liu Jingtian demanded its return, while Xu Yi called on the Western Continent representatives to defend him.

• Xuan Zhuang asked Xu Yi to help him comprehend the fortune dragon, concealing a plan to blame Xu Yi if the dragon disappeared.
• Xu Yi agreed, took the Dongmou Bead, and released its restriction as Xuan Zhuang instructed.
• Xu Yi pretended the fortune dragon was escaping as it flew into his body and vanished into his Starry Sky Ring.
• Xuan Zhuang's allies protested that Xu Yi had disrupted their plan, and Xuan Zhuang angrily accused him of looking down on the Eastern Continent.
• Liu Jingtian demanded that Xu Yi return the fortune dragon, but Xu Yi denied taking it and asked Brother Mei, Elder Miao, and Elder Xue to stand up for him.

Xu Yi outmaneuvered Xuan Zhuang’s scheme to frame him over the Fortune Dragon, turning the gathered factions against the White Horse Temple. After revealing that Plum Blossom Seven and Xu Yi were one and the same, the confrontation escalated when Liu Jingtian attacked.

• Xuan Zhuang’s allies, Elder Miao and Elder Xue, refused to accuse Xu Yi, and Plum Blossom Seven condemned the White Horse Temple for surrounding him.
• Liu Jingtian and Xuan Zhuang realized their plan had been exposed, but they could not determine who had leaked it.
• Xu Yi had discovered the plot through the White Horse Temple’s messenger, extracted a payoff, and used his corpse-severing abilities and Huang Mei’s corpse puppet to appear as both himself and Plum Blossom Seven.
• Xuan Zhuang demanded that Xu Yi state his terms, but Xu Yi asked to speak with him privately.
• Liu Jingtian threatened Xu Yi and then struck.

Liu Jingtian attacked Xu Yi, but a ghostly blue furnace flame killed him and destroyed his cultivation in an instant. White Horse Temple and Lesser Vehicle Mountain abandoned plans for war and sent a delegation to negotiate with Xu Yi.

• Liu Jingtian used the Spirit Judge Brush to attack Xu Yi, but a ghostly blue furnace flame blocked the strike and pierced Liu Jingtian's head.
• Xu Yi denounced White Horse Temple and Lesser Vehicle Mountain, while Plum Blossom Seven, Elder Miao, and Elder Xue backed him.
• Xuan Zhuang despaired after seeing Liu Jingtian die and Xu Yi reveal overwhelming power.
• Huìnéng reported the incident, and the leaders of White Horse Temple and Lesser Vehicle Mountain decided against starting a war.
• White Horse Temple and Lesser Vehicle Mountain sent a joint delegation led by Huang Yifeng to meet Xu Yi.

Xu Yi negotiated with Elder Huang to keep Xuan Zhuang for a few days, then pressured him to answer questions about Saint Master Xuanzang and Xia Xingguang. Xuan Zhuang claimed his master had been an old friend of Xia Xingguang, but Xu Yi's main goal remained finding out where Lian Yunshang was.

• Xu Yi agreed with Elder Huang to keep Xuan Zhuang for a few days and promised not to kill him.
• Xu Yi threatened to imprison Xuan Zhuang until he stopped feigning silence and answered questions.
• Xu Yi challenged Xuan Zhuang's claims that Saint Master Xuanzang was present and could be contacted, and Xuan Zhuang admitted he could only receive his master's instructions.
• Xu Yi asked about Saint Master Xuanzang's relationship with Xia Xingguang, and Xuan Zhuang said they had been old acquaintances.
• Xu Yi remained intent on learning where Lian Yunshang was.

Xu Yi secretly tracked down Lian Yunshang and arranged a lavish trial performance of his play, Asking After Love, hoping to see how she would fare. As the show began, he watched from a private room while Lian Yunshang arrived with Su Jinyue, unaware that Xu Yi was there.

• Xu Yi used White Horse Temple and Xuan Zhuang to search discreetly for Lian Yunshang, then found her in the southern city.
• Xu Yi hired the Fatty Steward to assemble famous performers and rehearse Asking After Love in two days, with a monk's token compelling the stars to join.
• The Fatty Steward delayed the start until Xu Yi gave the order, and Xu Yi smiled when a woman in green arrived.
• Lian Yunshang and Su Jinyue took seats in the front row, and Lian Yunshang explained that the capital's top performers had gathered for a trial performance.
• Lian Yunshang recalled a mysterious voice predicting that Dongguo Hong would perform Asking After Love that day.

Xu Yi watched Lian Yunshang become absorbed in the play he had arranged to help her confront her past, while Ka Shentong revealed himself as her father-in-law and challenged Xu Yi’s plan to restore her memories. The chapter left Xu Yi facing the possibility that bringing Xia Zimo’s memories back would destroy Lian Yunshang as she was now.

• Lian Yunshang and Su Jinyue watched the packed theater’s production of Asking Love, which followed the tragic romance between a cultivator and a demon.
• As the play unfolded, Lian Yunshang grew silent and seemed to undergo a subtle change, but she did not respond when Su Jinyue called to her.
• A black-robed youth introduced himself to Xu Yi as Ka Shentong, Xia Zimo’s father and Xu Yi’s father-in-law.
• Xu Yi accused Ka Shentong of using love as an excuse for sending Xuan Zhuang to steal Xia Xingguang’s Immortal Body, and Ka Shentong laughed rather than taking offense.
• Ka Shentong told Xu Yi that restoring Xia Zimo’s memories might kill Lian Yunshang, since she was now a distinct person without those memories.

Xu Yi and Huang Mei argued after Ka Shentong trapped Xu Yi in a magical treasure, while Lian Yunshang reacted to a play and went looking for Xu Yi. Xu Yi and Huang Mei began preparing to escape with the Four-Colored Seal, but Xu Yi grew uneasy about how easily he had thought of the plan.

• Ka Shentong swallowed Xu Yi into his sleeve, and Huang Mei scolded Xu Yi for hesitating over Lian Yunshang and her memories.
• Lian Yunshang broke down in tears during the play, then went to the theater office and used Xu Yi's portrait to get Fatty Steward to help her find him.
• Xu Yi and Huang Mei cursed Ka Shentong and confirmed that he could not monitor them inside his magical treasure.
• Huang Mei told Xu Yi that Ka Shentong was a corpse with a spirit of his own and warned him that they were in danger.
• Huang Mei reminded Xu Yi to use the Four-Colored Seal, and Xu Yi summoned a corpse and sent it far away as he began his escape plan.

Xu Yi escaped the pitch-black barrier and arrived in the Barren Frontier, where Ka Shentong told Xuanzang that Xu Yi might be tied to the Fortune Dragon’s emergence. After the Heaven-Ruling Myriad Blessings Bag failed to contain Xu Yi, Xuanzang accepted that he might be an important opportunity and gave Ka Shentong a drop of blood essence.

• The Four-Colored Seal opened a passage through the darkness, and Xu Yi followed its light into the Barren Frontier with Huang Mei.
• Xu Yi contacted Zhang Fang while waiting for him to arrive, and Ka Shentong visited Xuanzang at a remote temple.
• Ka Shentong told Xuanzang that Xu Yi was his son-in-law and relayed Old Demon Ning’s theory that Xu Yi might have caused the boundary breach linked to the Fortune Dragon.
• Ka Shentong tried to activate the Heaven-Ruling Myriad Blessings Bag, but it failed, and Xuanzang found that Xu Yi had escaped and damaged it.
• Xuanzang accepted that Xu Yi might be the key to an opportunity and gave Ka Shentong a drop of blood essence before Ka Shentong departed.

Xu Yi followed Zhang Fang to a gathering of powerful cultivators preparing to collect Immortal Spirit Grass in the Barren Frontier. After the group traveled to Zhang Fang’s discovery, they began sealing off the area around a waterfall cave.

• Xu Yi met Zhang Fang and insisted on accompanying him to a gathering, using Zhang Fang’s corpse pill to keep him cooperative.
• Zhang Fang brought Xu Yi to meet thirteen seed cultivators, including Li Zhao, who dismissed Xu Yi as a weak newcomer.
• The group prepared defensive encirclement diagrams to protect themselves from crystal beasts while collecting Immortal Spirit Grass.
• Li Zhao made Xu Yi carry the heavy diagrams, and Xu Yi pretended to be too weak to manage them before the group set off.
• Zhang Fang led the group to a waterfall cave where he had found traces of Immortal Spirit Grass, then ordered the others to seal off the surrounding area.

Xu Yi joined Zhang Fang and the others in a cave, where they found and captured an Immortal Spirit Grass that Li Zhao took as their spoils. After the group divided its value into copper coins, Young Sect Master Guo arrived with four elders and accused them of stealing the grass.

• Xu Yi insisted on joining Zhang Fang, Li Zhao, Cao Guohua, and Man Wenqing as they searched the cave for Immortal Spirit Grass.
• Li Zhao tried to seize the grass, but it escaped into the ground until Xu Yi pulled it out with a spiral of clear radiance.
• Li Zhao claimed the Immortal Spirit Grass and exchanged it for one hundred copper coins, which the group divided among themselves.
• Young Sect Master Guo arrived with four elders, including a Five-Complete Sage, and accused the group of stealing the grass he had raised.
• Young Sect Master Guo summoned a string of round beads above each person's head.

Xu Yi confronted Young Sect Master Guo Rui and the Hundred Kings Sect after they forced cultivators to join their prospecting team. He captured Guo Rui with his ghostly-blue flames and ordered the others to fight back, leaving everyone stunned by his strength.

• Young Sect Master Guo Rui’s demon wolf killed a cultivator who dropped the silver bead, while Zhang Fang warned Xu Yi that the Hundred Kings Sect’s elders were too powerful to challenge.
• Li Zhao accepted Guo Rui’s blood pact and joined the Hundred Kings Sect’s prospecting team, then urged the others to follow him.
• Xu Yi destroyed the demon wolf with his flames and told the cultivators to fight while he held off Fang Zongdao.
• Xu Yi attacked Guo Rui instead of Fang Zongdao and trapped him and his Purple Spirit Treasure in a net of ghostly-blue flames.
• The cultivators stared in shock as Zhang Fang realized Xu Yi had grown powerful enough to capture Guo Rui with his divine abilities alone.

Xu Yi captured Guo Rui, took control of the prisoners, and held an assembly to learn about the Barren World. He learned that the Copper Ring connected to the General Chamber of Commerce and that Immortal Spirit Grass could be traded for its coins.

• Xu Yi revealed himself as Old Demon Kongxu and told Fang Zongdao he would exchange Guo Rui for resources in three days.
• Xu Yi agreed to take the prisoners with him after they each gave him blood essence, which Huang Mei used to draw out their corpse qi.
• Xu Yi warned Fang Zongdao not to interfere and left with Zhang Fang, Li Zhao, Cao Guohua, and the others.
• Xu Yi searched the prisoners in Purple Domain Space, confiscating their resources and Heavenly Spirits before convening an assembly at Bluestone Flat.
• Xu Yi laid out rules and life-or-death penalties for the meeting, prompting the prisoners to answer his questions.
• The prisoners explained that the Copper Ring was a trading teleportation array and that the General Chamber of Commerce exchanged Immortal Spirit Grass for its coins.

Xu Yi forced Guo Rui to submit and explain the Barren Frontier’s cultivation system. Guo Rui described the stages beyond Five-Complete Sage, leaving Xu Yi and the others with the distinction between Three Flower True Persons and Five Qi Yuan Monarchs.

• Li Zhao and others explained why cultivators valued copper coins and Immortal Spirit Grass and shared what little was known about the Black and White Emperor Lords.
• Xu Yi ordered Li Zhao to extract Guo Rui’s blood essence and feed him an Origin Seal Bead, then used a forbidden spell to break his resistance.
• After Xu Yi had Li Zhao give Guo Rui pills, Guo Rui explained that the Barren Frontier’s resources made reaching Five-Complete Sage easier and offered greater opportunities than returning to the lower realm.
• Guo Rui said that lower-realm Earth Immortals were actually at an intermediate stage, while Barren Frontier cultivators could develop further as Three Flower True Persons and then Five Qi Yuan Monarchs.

Xu Yi questioned his captives about the Barren Frontier and asked them to help plan his future. Li Zhao proposed that Xu Yi establish a sect and enter the Two Mansions, but Zhang Fang called the plan wildly unrealistic and deferred to Guo Rui.

• Xu Yi learned that a Pure Yang Dao Body rivaled an Earth Immortal and that crystal beast cores were valuable to the General Chamber of Commerce.
• Guo Rui explained that crystal beasts were bloodthirsty creatures with gaseous forms, and that mature beasts had cores containing Demonic Power and Immortal Spirit Power.
• Xu Yi shared food with his captives, revealed that he was new to the Barren Frontier, and asked them to suggest a path for his future.
• Zhang Fang warned Xu Yi that the Hundred Kings Sect remained an obstacle, while Xu Yi trusted Guo Rui to handle it.
• Li Zhao pledged himself to Xu Yi and proposed that he establish a sect, enter the Two Mansions, and strive to approach the two Emperor Lords.
• Zhang Fang said Li Zhao's plan was wildly unrealistic and asked Guo Rui to explain why.

Xu Yi considered establishing a sect after Guo Rui explained its costs, duties, and benefits, but Li Zhao revealed a chance to pursue a far more valuable Senior Official position. The chapter ended with Li Zhao offering ideas for obtaining the Green Crystal Core Chen Black Order wanted.

• Guo Rui explained that establishing a sect cost fifty Gold Coins, required annual taxes, and offered protection, medicine quotas, and a path into the Two Mansions.
• Xu Yi asked whether he should become a sect master, and his captives supported the idea because they preferred being sect members to remaining slaves.
• Li Zhao privately told Xu Yi that Chen Black Order would trade a Senior Official position for a Green Crystal Core.
• Xu Yi questioned why Chen Black Order wanted the core and learned that Black Order was an official rank in the Two Mansions.
• Li Zhao said he had several ideas for finding a Green Crystal Core, though he could not guarantee they would work.