Recaps

Auspicious Duck discovered that Xu Yi still had traces of life despite appearing dead, and told Yan Zi that replenishing his depleted Life Source Power might save him. Yan Zi forced Auspicious Duck to help and followed his directions east across a lake.

• Auspicious Duck's human coin showed that Xu Yi's spirit had not completely vanished, though most of his Seven Souls were fading.
• Auspicious Duck explained Xu Yi's strange condition to Yan Zi and concluded that his Life Source Power was nearly depleted.
• Yan Zi threatened Auspicious Duck until he asked her to retrieve the Precious Medicine from Xu Yi's Sumeru Ring.
• Auspicious Duck insisted they find a secluded place to treat Xu Yi, and Yan Zi grabbed him to keep him from escaping.
• After Yan Zi clipped some of his feathers, Auspicious Duck directed her east, and she dragged a bamboo raft across the lake beneath the moonlight.

Little Red Carp rescued Xu Yi’s body from his pursuers and erased the traces left by Yan Zi. In a hidden cavern, Yan Zi gathered Precious Medicines while the Auspicious Duck selected what was needed to restore Xu Yi’s Life Source Power.

• Little Red Carp recognized Xu Yi, drove off his pursuers, and carried him away with the help of water plants and double-headed arrowfish.
• After finding Yan Zi with Xu Yi, Little Red Carp waited until they left, then washed away their traces from the lakeshore.
• Yan Zi brought Xu Yi to the Auspicious Duck’s concealed cavern and warned the duck not to attempt anything.
• The Auspicious Duck sorted Yan Zi’s Precious Medicines, setting aside unsuitable ingredients and saying the remaining medicines were insufficient.
• Yan Zi produced more Precious Medicines until the Auspicious Duck had selected three hundred, after which it reconsidered its earlier divinations.

Yan Zi sacrificed her Life Source Power in Ruiya’s attempt to revive Xu Yi, and Xu Yi eventually woke in the cave, gravely wounded and nearly powerless. He regained a little strength with spring water and pills but remained in danger, unaware of what had happened to Yan Zi.

• Ruiya warned Yan Zi that using the Wedding Dress Divine Art could drain her Life Source Power, but she insisted he proceed.
• Ruiya swallowed nearly a hundred Precious Medicine pills and began transferring Yan Zi’s Life Source Power toward Xu Yi.
• After an hour, Ruiya collapsed unconscious, while Xu Yi’s consciousness emerged from the darkness and he opened his eyes.
• Xu Yi found Ruiya beneath rats and guessed that Yan Zi had escaped the Ghost Master and gone to find food and water.
• Xu Yi slowly reconnected with his Sumeru Ring, took two pills, and later chewed the remaining Precious Medicine pills wrapped in blue cloth.

Xu Yi recovered from his near-death injuries and learned that his fused soul and spirits had kept him alive, but left his Yin Soul dangerously weakened. He found his meridians severed, his medicinal supplies depleted, and his body too weak to use the Wailing Stick as he slowly left the cave.

• Xu Yi recalled his apparent death in the Dragon River and realized that his fused soul and spirits had prevented his Yin Soul from escaping his body.
• Xu Yi replenished some Life Source Power with Precious Medicines, frightening away the giant rats that had surrounded him and Auspicious Duck.
• Xu Yi discovered that his Yin Souls had dwindled to two faint shadows and that every meridian in his body was severed.
• Xu Yi found that hundreds of usable Precious Medicines were missing from his Sumeru Ring and that he could no longer bear the Wailing Stick.
• Xu Yi put the bare Auspicious Duck into his Spirit Beast Pouch and slowly made his way out of the cave.

Xu Yi escaped the cave with his Life Source Power nearly exhausted, leaving him aged, weak, and unable to use his baleful energy. He flew toward Jingyang Gate for a chance to survive, but a search party blocked his way, forcing him to bluff with money after his gold Demon Token failed.

• Xu Yi saw his aged reflection in the water and realized his Life Source Power was nearly spent.
• Xu Yi struggled through the forest, caught and devoured fish, then used a Mechanical Bird to fly toward Jingyang Gate.
• A group of Mechanical Bird riders intercepted Xu Yi and identified him as a suspected fugitive after finding he was at the Body Tempering Stage.
• Xu Yi presented the gold Demon Token from the Third Prince, but the Rosy-nosed man said old tokens were void under the new emperor's order.
• Xu Yi pinned a thousand-tael banknote to a young man's face and taunted the Rosy-nosed man to hide his weakness.

Xu Yi intimidated Gao and the imperial guards before flying away. At the Third Prince’s feast, the Head Butler used a message about a bottle to revive the prince’s hope, and the prince ordered the hall cleared for the arriving healer.

• Xu Yi rebuked Gao and flew away, leaving Gao to strike the rosy-nosed guard and rush back to seek help from his backers.
• As night fell and snow began, the Third Prince sat despondently amid a lavish feast, consumed by pain and fear of death.
• The Head Butler told the Third Prince that a divine healer outside guaranteed he could save his life, but the prince kicked him and ordered the guards to punish him.
• The Head Butler showed the Third Prince a piece of blue cloth and repeated, “Your Highness, do you still remember that bottle?”
• The Third Prince recognized the message, ordered everyone out of the hall, and prepared to receive his honored guest.

Xu Yi returned to the capital disguised as Old Cangtou and sought refuge in the Third Prince’s residence after learning that his associates and home had been targeted. After hearing that Ji Lie had been named Crown Prince, Xu Yi offered to help the Third Prince reclaim the throne, leaving him stunned.

• Xu Yi revealed the Life-Death Gu bottle to the Third Prince, who recognized him despite his disguise.
• Xu Yi explained that he had returned to the capital because his usual refuges were sealed and he needed access to resources.
• The Third Prince knelt and assured Xu Yi that he had missed him and would not dare plot against him.
• Xu Yi learned that his associates had been arrested or wanted, his residence and Zimo Xuan sealed, and the royal family had searched for his corpse.
• The Third Prince told Xu Yi that Ji Lie had been appointed Crown Prince by the Empress Dowager.
• Xu Yi offered to help the Third Prince reclaim the throne, and the prince froze in disbelief.

Xu Yi recruited the Third Prince to help him kill Ji Lie in exchange for the throne, then sought advice from the prince’s trusted Imperial Artisan about Life Source Power. Cao Er explained how repeated use of healing medicine depleted it, but Xu Yi left the conversation still searching for another source of it.

• Xu Yi told the Third Prince he would kill Ji Lie and help him claim the throne, but said they would have to work together.
• The Third Prince agreed to assist Xu Yi and brought him to meet Cao Er, a sixth-generation Imperial Artisan skilled in medicinal materials.
• Xu Yi asked Cao Er about Life Source Power, and Cao Er confirmed that he had studied it.
• Cao Er explained that repeated use of healing medicines consumed Life Source Power and could eventually make the medicines harmful.
• Xu Yi asked Cao Er what contained Life Source Power besides Precious Medicine, since he needed another way to address his failing body.

Xu Yi questioned Cao Er about restoring Life Source Power and learned that fierce-beast blood could nourish it, though it was dangerous for cultivators. Cao Er then suggested Divine Essence Pills, leaving Xu Yi to ask how they replenished Life Source Power.

• The Third Prince scolded Cao Er for rambling, and Xu Yi sent the prince outside so Cao Er could continue explaining.
• Cao Er explained that Precious Medicine was the safest way to replenish Life Source Power, but Xu Yi’s severe depletion would require an enormous amount.
• Cao Er revealed that Demon flesh and fierce-beast blood contained Life Source Power, while warning that beast blood could taint a cultivator’s blood and obstruct cultivation.
• Xu Yi asked how to use fierce-beast heart’s blood and claimed he had a secret method, despite knowing his severed meridians left him little cultivation to protect.
• Cao Er proposed Divine Essence Pills, and Xu Yi asked how a pill used to advance into the Qi Sea Realm could replenish Life Source Power.

Cao Er explained how Divine Essence Pills could replenish Life Source Power, leading Xu Yi to request them to restore his ruined body and Nine Yin Liquid to heal his damaged Yin Soul. The Third Prince agreed to arrange the medicines but revealed that his mansion's treasury was empty, and Cao Er warned that Nine Yin Liquid might be impossible to obtain.

• Cao Er told Xu Yi about his father's research into Divine Essence Pills and their ability to replenish Life Source Power, while warning that they could taint bloodlines.
• Xu Yi thanked Cao Er and asked how many Divine Essence Pills he could take; Cao Er estimated a maximum of eighteen before the risk of Pill Decline.
• The Third Prince ordered Cao Er to obtain the pills, but Cao Er revealed that the treasury had none and the Third Prince had spent the mansion's fortune after believing Xu Yi was dead.
• Xu Yi stopped the Third Prince from kneeling and said he would provide the money for the arrangements.
• Xu Yi also asked Cao Er to obtain Nine Yin Liquid for his damaged Yin Soul, but Cao Er said it was too precious and might be unobtainable.

Xu Yi sent Cao Er to seek Nine Yin Liquid from Marquis Anqing, using a private poem to remind the Marquis of their past, and secured Cao Er's silence with the Life-Death Gu. After draining two basins of tiger blood, Xu Yi removed the Gu from the Third Prince and secretly made him swallow a different pill, leaving the Third Prince alarmed but reassured that it would not take effect yet.

• The Third Prince agreed to seek Nine Yin Liquid from Marquis Anqing, but Cao Er warned that the Marquis now refused all visitors.
• Xu Yi wrote Marquis Anqing the private line “A new tune, a cup of wine” and sent Cao Er to deliver it.
• The Third Prince made Cao Er swallow a Life-Death Gu to ensure his silence, and Xu Yi gave him five thousand gold.
• Xu Yi drank the blood of two Western Extremity tigers and meditated while the Third Prince waited nearby.
• The Life-Death Gu tormented the Third Prince, so Xu Yi drew the enlarged worm from his body and made him swallow a black pill.

Xu Yi reunited with Marquis Anqing, accepted his Divine Essence Pills, and promised to help the Gao Family carry out its Seven Generations' Plan. He gave Marquis Anqing rare medicines to aid his search for Nine Yin Liquid, and the marquis hurried off to fulfill the request.

• Marquis Anqing recognized Xu Yi through their secret dealings and reunited with him, apologizing for the danger he had caused.
• Marquis Anqing gave Xu Yi twenty Divine Essence Pills without accepting payment and promised to search for Nine Yin Liquid.
• Xu Yi promised to help the Gao Family's Seven Generations' Plan if he left the realm, prompting Marquis Anqing to kneel in gratitude.
• Xu Yi gave Marquis Anqing thirteen rare Precious Medicines to help him obtain Nine Yin Liquid, and Marquis Anqing left at once to begin the search.

Xu Yi returned to his restored cave dwelling on Futuo Mountain, where memories of Yan Zi awakened his sorrow and left him uneasy about her disappearance. He concealed his living aura with the Locking Sun Disk and began taking a Divine Essence Pill to restore his damaged body, enduring its terrible effects without changing expression.

• The Third Prince and Marquis Anqing arranged Xu Yi's cave dwelling on Futuo Mountain and left attendants nearby to serve him.
• Xu Yi remembered Yan Zi and wondered what had happened to her after he awoke in the mountain cave.
• Xu Yi hung the Locking Sun Disk in his refining room to hide his yang energy from the Ghost Master.
• Xu Yi ate and rested before taking one of the twenty Divine Essence Pills Marquis Anqing had given him.
• The pill's medicinal power tore through Xu Yi's ruined meridians and churned his Qi Sea, but he endured the pain calmly.

Xu Yi used Divine Essence Pills and a Top-grade Essence Restoration Pill to heal his body, then took two Nine Yin Pills to repair his Yin Soul. He recovered his strength and perception, though his meridians remained severed and both kinds of pills quickly lost effectiveness.

• Xu Yi took Divine Essence Pills until he reached the Pill Decline threshold, and he realized the pills had polluted his blood.
• Xu Yi took a Top-grade Essence Restoration Pill, healed most of his wounds, and regained his strength, but his severed sinews and meridians did not recover.
• Xu Yi ate dozens of jin of cooked meat to satisfy his renewed hunger, then prepared to treat his Yin Soul with Nine Yin Pills.
• Xu Yi swallowed the first Nine Yin Pill, separated the figures on his spiritual platform, and regained perception with a range of about ten zhang.
• Xu Yi took the second Nine Yin Pill and found its effect much weaker, though his perceptive range increased by another five zhang.

Xu Yi learned that Yuan Qinghua, Zhao Baling, Xiong Kui, and the others had been sentenced to Scale-Slicing, and he prepared to intervene before their execution. Marquis Anqing brought Xu Yi Precious Medicines and nine drops of Nine Yin Liquid, strengthening Xu Yi’s chances of carrying out his plan.

• Marquis Anqing told Xu Yi that Yuan Qinghua and the others had been convicted of the Ten Heinous Crimes and would be executed in ten days during Ji Lie’s enthronement.
• Xu Yi reacted with killing intent and vowed to see whether the planned execution would go ahead as scheduled.
• Marquis Anqing gave Xu Yi twenty Precious Medicines to replenish his Life Source Power.
• Xu Yi discovered that the second box held nine drops of Nine Yin Liquid, a rare treasure that could help heal his severely injured Yin Soul.
• Xu Yi realized Marquis Anqing had likely taken the Nine Yin Liquid from the Merchant Alliance’s reserves, but Marquis Anqing insisted he would give everything to help him.

Marquis Anqing gave Xu Yi nine drops of Nine Yin Liquid, and Xu Yi prepared to refine a Soul-Summoning Banner using Futuo Mountain's Black Dragon Cauldron. The chapter ended as Xu Yi ignited the cauldron with the Gathering and Separating Flames and began the refinement.

• Marquis Anqing gave Xu Yi nine drops of Nine Yin Liquid, accepting the risk to help him recover and grow stronger.
• Xu Yi prepared a medicinal bath for the Auspicious Duck and summoned the Black Dragon Cauldron in his cave residence.
• Xu Yi resolved to refine the Soul-Summoning Banner, relying on the materials he had gathered and the instructions from Old Cangtou and Blind Daoist.
• Xu Yi reviewed the refinement process, then activated the Gathering and Separating Flames around the Black Dragon Cauldron.

Xu Yi used the Black Dragon Cauldron and five-element materials to refine the Wailing Stick and Blood River Flag into a Soul-Summoning Banner, sealing his artistic conception of sorrow inside it. As he continued refining the banner, the Ghost Master broke into the room.

• Xu Yi refined the five-element materials into energy and used his souls to guide it into the Wailing Stick and Blood River Flag.
• Xu Yi replenished his depleted souls with Nine Yin Liquid as the two weapons merged and changed into a gray Soul-Summoning Banner.
• Xu Yi added the remaining five-element materials and used his artistic conception of sorrow to form a Taiji ring around the banner.
• Xu Yi sealed the artistic conception of sorrow inside the banner and began grinding the Taiji ring’s power into it.
• The sealed window exploded, the Locking Sun Disk lay broken, and the Ghost Master gathered into a complete soul figure inside the room.

The Ghost Master tracked Xu Yi to Futuo Mountain and discovered that the unfinished Soul-Summoning Banner bore a Law Pattern, making it a magical artifact. Xu Yi realized the Ghost Master coveted the banner and tried to buy time until its forging was complete.

• The Ghost Master searched the capital for Xu Yi after failing to find his corpse, then followed his trail to Futuo Mountain when the Locking Sun Disk was destroyed.
• Xu Yi listed the rare materials in his cauldron and threatened to destroy them rather than let the Ghost Master take them.
• The Ghost Master noticed the pale green Law Pattern on the Soul-Summoning Banner and rejoiced at finding a magical artifact suited to his Yin Body.
• Xu Yi recognized the banner's potential and recalled the magical artifacts he had seen before.
• Xu Yi calmed himself and used the Ghost Master's greed to stall, hoping to finish forging the banner before the Ghost Master attacked.

Xu Yi’s attempt to finish refining the Soul-Summoning Banner before the Ghost Master attacked instead led to a battle between their souls inside the Taiji Halo. The banner continued to develop, but the Ghost Master contested control of its soul, leaving Xu Yi struggling to hold him back.

• The Ghost Master sensed the meaning of ultimate grief in the Soul-Summoning Banner and sacrificed his karmic fire to force his soul power into the Taiji Halo.
• Xu Yi and the Ghost Master’s soul forces clashed inside the Taiji Halo as its black and white halves fought for dominance.
• The Soul-Summoning Banner’s body turned pale white, its Law Pattern became pure cyan, and a second line began to form.
• Xu Yi sent soul fragments into the Taiji Halo to strengthen its white half and slow the Ghost Master’s advance.
• The Ghost Master praised Xu Yi’s extraordinary abilities and warned that completing the Soul-Summoning Banner could make him master of all fortune under heaven.

The Ghost Master tried to exploit Xu Yi’s desperate struggle to strengthen the Soul-Summoning Banner, while Xu Yi recognized the scheme but had no way to stop fighting. Xu Yi used Taiyin Liquid to restore his spirit and overwhelmed the Taiji Halo, forcing the Ghost Master to sacrifice more of his own spirit.

• The Ghost Master held back his power and provoked Xu Yi to keep splitting his soul, hoping to stabilize and strengthen the Soul-Summoning Banner.
• Xu Yi saw through the Ghost Master's plan but continued feeding split souls into the Taiji Halo to avoid being killed.
• Xu Yi swallowed three drops of Taiyin Liquid, reunited his split spirit, and sent eight split souls into the Taiji Halo.
• The white halo surged and crushed most of the black halo, and the Ghost Master's ghostly face attack was repelled.
• The Ghost Master sent a shadow of his own spirit wrapped in hellfire into the Taiji Halo, leaving his spirit body less distinct.

Xu Yi and the Ghost Master fought over the Soul-Summoning Banner as their Yin souls poured into the Taiji Halo, with Xu Yi gaining the advantage. The banner revealed two perfect Law Patterns and drew down a thunder tribulation, leaving the Ghost Master damaged but eager to seize the treasure.

• Xu Yi and the Ghost Master poured their Yin souls into the Taiji Halo, and Xu Yi's purer soul won their brief contest.
• The Ghost Master prepared to kill Xu Yi, but thunder struck and scattered both their Yin souls.
• Xu Yi's thunder halo shielded his weakened Yin soul from the thunder's danger.
• The Soul-Summoning Banner turned pure white, and its second Law Pattern turned blue, revealing two perfect Law Patterns.
• The Ghost Master recognized the storm as an Yin tribulation; further thunder scattered him and split his karmic fire into four, but he rejoiced at the treasure's power.

Xu Yi and Ghost Master struggled over the Soul-Summoning Banner as a deadly Yin Tribulation gathered overhead. Li Xiuluo broke free from Ghost Master's Yin Body and seized control, but Xu Yi remained helpless as the banner's refinement continued and collapse became inevitable.

• Ghost Master saw the approaching Yin Tribulation and gambled on one final attack against the weakened Xu Yi.
• Ghost Master's karmic fire shattered before his Yin souls could reach it, and Li Xiuluo's face appeared in his Yin Soul form.
• Xu Yi realized Li Xiuluo had survived by sealing his consciousness in his Soul Body and had seized his chance to reclaim Ghost Master's Yin Body.
• Li Xiuluo greeted Xu Yi, who urged him to flee and find Yan Zi as the dark clouds gathered overhead.
• The Soul-Summoning Banner continued drawing in Yin souls and spiritual power, while Xu Yi felt his connection to it deepen.

Xu Yi faced the Yin Tribulation while trapped in the Soul-Summoning Banner, but Li Xiuluo escaped to seek reunion with A Luo and Xu Yi survived when a mysterious bloodline-linked object appeared. Marquis Anqing and his companions found Xu Yi collapsed and gave him Demon Blood to restore his vitality.

• Xu Yi reflected on his regrets, and Li Xiuluo repeated his words before fleeing northwest to reunite with A Luo in the netherworld.
• The Yin Tribulation struck, but Xu Yi survived as a mysterious object sharing his bloodline connection appeared nearby and then vanished.
• Marquis Anqing rushed to Xu Yi's cave abode with Steward Liu and Cao Er after breaking through its restrictions.
• Cao Er warned that Xu Yi's vitality was severely depleted, and Marquis Anqing's second steward fed him the heart's blood of an Early Enlightenment Stage Demon Race creature.
• Xu Yi's iron-blue complexion began to fade after he swallowed the Demon Blood.

After a terrifying Yin Tribulation struck Futuo Mountain, powerful factions gathered to demand answers from Steward Sun. Lord Meng announced that the new emperor would ascend the throne in five days, with three Soul Sensing Ancestors expected to attend.

• Steward Liu left Futuo Mountain, and influential sects, clans, and the royal court sent people there to investigate the Yin Tribulation.
• Steward Sun faced demands from hundreds of gathered representatives while Lord Meng calmly watched from the hall.
• Representatives of the Upper Three Heavens and the Mu Family challenged the royal court, emboldened by the imperial family's weakened standing after the Battle of the Imperial Arena.
• Lord Meng announced that the new emperor would ascend the throne in five days, with Lord Huang Xuanji, the War Son of Heaven, and Master Daoyan attending.
• Lord Meng invited the gathered powers and their Old Ancestors to attend the enthronement ceremony.

Lord Meng drove the Upper Three Heavens, the Mu Family, and the other visitors from Futuo Mountain by revealing Great Yue’s four Soul Sensing Ancestors. He questioned Steward Sun about the Yin Tribulation, then learned Marquis Anqing had been there and faced Steward Sun’s attempt to enlist him against Steward Liu.

• Lord Meng ordered the visitors to leave Futuo Mountain, and the Upper Three Heavens and Mu Family representatives departed before the rest of the crowd scattered.
• Steward Sun kowtowed to Lord Meng, who demanded a full account of what had happened during the Yin Tribulation.
• Steward Sun said Steward Liu had gone up Futuo Mountain after the Yin Tribulation and revealed that Marquis Anqing had also visited.
• Lord Meng worried that implicating Marquis Anqing could provoke the Empress Dowager, so he set that lead aside and asked about other signs of the Yin Tribulation.
• Steward Sun claimed he had witnessed something strange while picking Immeasurable Fruit and urged Lord Meng to help him against Steward Liu.