Recaps

Xu Yi deciphered and mastered the Spirit Splitting Art from Xie Qingfeng's cultivation notes, dramatically improving how quickly he could use his perception. After meeting Liu Yinglin at the Singing Pavilion, Xu Yi gave him a Swift Body Talisman in exchange for an introduction to a skilled talisman-paper maker, convincing Liu Yinglin that Xu Yi had an expert backing him.

• Xu Yi deduced the Spirit Splitting Art from Xie Qingfeng's notes and learned to spread his perception across a room in an instant.
• After practicing the art, Xu Yi rested until Liu Yinglin sent him a message, then arranged to meet him at the Singing Pavilion.
• Liu Yinglin, disguised with a Body Concealing Pill, recognized Xu Yi through their agreed signal and brought him to a private room for a banquet.
• Once they were alone over tea, Liu Yinglin said he had made progress on Xu Yi's request, and Xu Yi immediately showed him a Swift Body Talisman.
• Xu Yi offered Liu Yinglin the talisman in exchange for an introduction to someone skilled at crafting talisman paper, and Liu Yinglin took the offer as proof that Xu Yi had an expert behind him.

Xu Yi negotiated with a mysterious man in black, who wanted the Heart of the Earth in exchange for a talisman-paper-making method. Xu Yi agreed to pursue the costly trade for the Fire Element talisman-paper method, then hurried after the man when he tried to leave.

• Xu Yi asked Liu Yinglin to introduce him to the person who knew how to make talisman paper and promised him another extraordinary talisman.
• Liu Yinglin brought Xu Yi to meet a cloaked man in black, who asked about the success rate of Xu Yi's supposed Talisman Master.
• The man in black revealed that he wanted the Heart of the Earth, expected to appear at an auction in three days and to cost at least two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xu Yi agreed to trade for the method of making talisman paper, but the man in black rejected his request to include more than one kind and started to leave.
• Xu Yi chased after the man in black and persuaded him to return to the room.

Xu Yi learned that the fire-type talisman-paper method was a dangerous Blood Prohibition inheritance and agreed to obtain the Heart of the Earth before meeting the black-robed man again. He then visited Mr. Hong of the Blazing Fire Merchant Association to collect the benefits promised for his help in the Strength Battle.

• The black-robed man explained that the talisman-paper refining method was a Blood Prohibition Secret Technique inherited through a perilous single line, and Xu Yi accepted the value of the inheritance.
• Xu Yi chose the fire-type refining method, and the black-robed man arranged to meet him again in three days if Xu Yi obtained the Heart of the Earth.
• Liu Yinglin gave Xu Yi a booklet of information about Peach Blossom Demon, and Xu Yi arranged to meet him again in three days.
• Xu Yi went to a Blazing Fire Merchant Association estate, where Mr. Hong welcomed him and offered him a banquet.
• Xu Yi reminded Mr. Hong that he had come to claim the benefits promised for his help in the Strength Battle.

Xu Yi negotiated a guest elder position and a reward from the Blazing Fire Merchant Association while cautiously concealing his doubts. He revealed that he had come to buy Wind Spirit Stones, and Mr. Hong agreed to sell them as Xu Yi prepared to pursue the Heart of the Earth.

• Mr. Hong offered Xu Yi either ten thousand spirit stones or a guest elder position with thirty thousand spirit stones in compensation.
• Xu Yi chose the guest elder position but claimed he needed his master's approval before collecting the reward.
• Xu Yi asked whether the association could sell him Wind Spirit Stones for his master's supposed wind-element treasure.
• When Xu Yi started to leave, Mr. Hong admitted the association had Wind Spirit Stones but said he lacked authority to give them away.
• Xu Yi offered to buy the stones at the public price, and Mr. Hong agreed while promising Xu Yi access to more after he became a guest elder.

Xu Yi sold Yin Venerate souls, a Starry Sky Sea Serpent core, and battle spoils to Mr. Hong, while Lie Xingkong and Mr. Hong debated how to deal with him. After detecting a Ghost Bird tailing him, Xu Yi hid in a tavern and contacted someone, and Liu Yinglin arrived at his room the next morning in disguise.

• Xu Yi showed Mr. Hong the Starry Sky Sea Serpent core and exchanged it, two bottles of Yin Venerate souls, and battle spoils for five Wind Spirit Stones and five thousand spirit stones.
• After Xu Yi left, Lie Xingkong told Mr. Hong to wait three days before deciding whether to hand Xu Yi over to Old Demon Zhong.
• Xu Yi sensed a Ghost Bird following him and used his movements to bring it within range of his perception.
• Xu Yi entered a tavern, rented a private room, and used his voice-transmission orb to send a message.
• The next morning, Liu Yinglin arrived at Xu Yi’s room wearing a different face.

Xu Yi prepared for Shang Gong Hall’s autumn auction by turning his wind materials into Swift Body Talismans and exchanging them for spirit stones. As the auction began, he still had not decided which treasured possession to give up to obtain the Heart of the Earth.

• Liu Yinglin delivered thirty sheets of Wind element Talisman Paper to Xu Yi, who paid him and left to handle urgent business.
• Three days later, Xu Yi entered Shang Gong Hall’s third-tier auction in disguise, joining thousands of cultivators at the enormous event.
• Xu Yi learned that bidders could choose any auction tier without a funds check, but winners who could not pay would never leave the hall.
• Xu Yi used the auction’s exchange system to trade twenty-five Swift Body Talismans for ten thousand spirit stones.
• Xu Yi weighed selling the Crystal Jade Skeleton or one of his boundary tokens, but hesitated because the tokens were his hope of returning to Great Yue and Yan Zi.

Xu Yi liquidated nearly all his possessions to compete for the Heart of the Earth after winning a wisp of Yin-Yang Two Qi and earning a fortune by selling his black boundary token. He made a pair of rapid bids of four hundred and ten thousand Spirit Stones, leaving the auction screen frozen as the contest reached its final moments.

• Xu Yi won the wisp of Yin-Yang Two Qi for thirty-six thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xu Yi sold his black boundary token for three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, raising his score to three hundred and sixty-four thousand.
• The auctioneer revealed that the Heart of the Earth might produce top-grade Earth element Spirit Stones, and Xu Yi began bidding for it.
• Xu Yi sold his talismans, Clear Wind Net, Soul-Shaking Bell, and nearly all his other possessions to raise his score to four hundred and ten thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xu Yi bid four hundred thousand Spirit Stones and immediately raised his offer to four hundred and ten thousand, freezing the auction screen.

Xu Yi obtained the Heart of the Earth at auction and met the black-robed man to complete their exchange. After learning that the man was sacrificing himself for his clan, Xu Yi received his blood-seal legacy and learned the method for making fire-element talisman paper.

• Xu Yi won the Heart of the Earth for four hundred and ten thousand, redeemed spirit stones, and refined his iron essence while waiting for the auction restrictions to lift.
• Xu Yi met Liu Yinglin and then returned to the teahouse, where the black-robed man asked whether he had obtained the Heart of the Earth.
• Xu Yi kept his distance at first, but revealed the Heart of the Earth after the black-robed man offered to pass on the legacy first.
• The black-robed man revealed that his clan had gathered with Origin Blast Beads to protect the exchange, and Xu Yi agreed to proceed.
• The black-robed man disclosed that he was the inheritor of the fire-element talisman paper legacy and explained that he could not make the paper himself.
• The black-robed man transferred his blood-seal legacy to Xu Yi, who received the method for making fire-element talisman paper in his mind.

After handing over the Heart of the Earth, Xu Yi realized his resources were nearly exhausted and that he had little chance of defeating Old Demon Zhong. He returned to the Blazing Fire Merchant Association to collect his promised compensation and discuss becoming a guest retainer, but learned the position required surrendering his privacy.

• Xu Yi handed the Heart of the Earth to the man in black, then worried about his dwindling supplies and his promise to give Liu Yinglin another Swift Body Talisman.
• At Brightmoon Pool, Xu Yi assessed his lack of money, pills, and Wind element Spirit Stones and concluded he needed to seek out the man in crimson again.
• Xu Yi returned to the Blazing Fire Merchant Association and told the man in crimson he had attended Shang Gong Hall's autumn auction and wanted to collect what he was owed.
• The man in crimson explained that becoming a guest retainer required Xu Yi to drip blood into the association head's Traction Plate.
• Xu Yi recognized that the Traction Plate could track him anywhere, and the man in crimson reassured him that the association treated its guest retainers well.

Xu Yi joined the Blazing Fire Merchant Association and secretly followed the crimson-robed man to learn what the Traction Plate was hiding. He discovered Lie Xingkong had captured him in a plot, while Lie regretted agreeing to an unknown favor.

• Xu Yi swore the blood oath on the Traction Plate and received only ten thousand spirit stones, while the crimson-robed man promised the rest after a year of service.
• The crimson-robed man arranged temporary quarters for Xu Yi, who used his perception to follow him through the garden.
• Xu Yi tracked the crimson-robed man into a secret chamber and overheard him tell Lie Xingkong that Xu Yi had fallen into their hands.
• Lie Xingkong asked about Xu Yi's master and learned that the man had appeared at the last moment.
• Lie Xingkong lamented that he had miscalculated and should not have agreed to Zhong's request.

After Xu Yi became a guest elder of the Blazing Fire Merchant Association, Lie Xingkong and Old Demon Zhong plotted to capture him and claim his treasures. Xu Yi returned from Hong Yun Hall after challenging Old Demon Zhong, upending the merchant association’s plan and leaving the man in crimson stunned.

• Lie Xingkong decided to honor his deal with Old Demon Zhong and have Xu Yi captured quietly so the association could take his spoils.
• The man in crimson tracked Xu Yi to the market and waited for him to return to his residence.
• Xu Yi told the man in crimson that he had visited Hong Yun Hall and challenged Old Demon Zhong on behalf of the Blazing Fire Merchant Association.
• Xu Yi claimed his master’s secret techniques would let him defeat Old Demon Zhong, while the man in crimson realized Xu Yi had derailed his plan.

Xu Yi used Hong Yun Hall’s challenge system to force a confrontation with Old Demon Zhong, hoping to avoid attacks from Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong. After arranging the challenge, he urged Elder Hong to persuade the young master to bet heavily on his victory, leaving Elder Hong stunned and desolate.

• A green-robed man informed Elder Hong that Hong Yun Hall had sent someone to meet him.
• Xu Yi admitted that he had challenged Old Demon Zhong as a guest of the Blazing Fire Merchant Association, explaining that the move gave him room to maneuver against Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong.
• Head Official Zhao arrived, and Xu Yi introduced him to Elder Hong as the official who had verified Xu Yi’s identity through Xie Qingfeng’s notebook.
• Head Official Zhao praised the association for sending Xu Yi to fight Old Demon Zhong and explained that Hong Yun Hall expected the match to attract major attention and betting.
• Xu Yi told Elder Hong that Head Official Zhao had come at his invitation and urged him to have the young master bet heavily on Xu Yi’s victory.
• Elder Hong asked Head Official Zhao to return while he discussed the bet with the young master, then stared at Xu Yi in disbelief and desolation.

Xu Yi made his duel with Old Demon Zhong public, trapping the Blazing Fire Merchant Association in the fallout and seeking its support. Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong realized Xu Yi had outmaneuvered them, while Xu Yi asked Elder Hong to fund his challenge.

• Xu Yi's maneuver forced Elder Hong to acknowledge him as a Blazing Fire Merchant Association guest advisor before Head Official Zhao.
• Lie Xingkong learned that Old Demon Zhong had discovered Xu Yi's visit to Hong Yun Hall and asked Elder Hong how to respond.
• Elder Hong proposed having Old Demon Zhong persuade Head Official Zhao to suppress the matter, but Old Demon Zhong contacted Lie Xingkong first and threatened to destroy the association.
• Lie Xingkong realized news of the duel had spread and blamed Xu Yi, who had ordered the Bald Monk, Triangle Eye, and others to publicize it.
• Xu Yi told Elder Hong that the association needed to support his challenge to Old Demon Zhong because he was only at the Mid Soul Sensing Stage.

Xu Yi persuaded Elder Hong and Lie Xingkong to support his challenge against Old Demon Zhong, arguing that the fight could benefit the Blazing Fire Merchant Association. He revealed a third-tier soul artifact, leaving Lie Xingkong willing to provide support as the coming conflict promised gains whichever side prevailed.

• Xu Yi told Elder Hong that he had announced his challenge to Old Demon Zhong and argued that killing him would protect and benefit the Blazing Fire Merchant Association.
• Elder Hong abandoned his anger and called Lie Xingkong to discuss what support Xu Yi needed.
• Lie Xingkong questioned Xu Yi’s confidence and offered to trade moves, but Xu Yi reminded him of Xie Qingfeng and said he would show him a treasure.
• Xu Yi revealed the third-tier Soul-Summoning Banner, stunning Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong with its power.
• Lie Xingkong accepted that opposing Xu Yi was no longer practical and asked what support he needed, reasoning that the merchant association would profit whether Xu Yi or Old Demon Zhong won.

Xu Yi negotiated with Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong for resources to fight Old Demon Zhong, while they sought to secure his Soul-Summoning Banner as collateral. The chapter ended with Xu Yi challenging their proposed exchange as unfair.

• Xu Yi asked Lie Xingkong for Wind Spirit Stones, use of the Spirit Gathering Array, and Origin Blast Beads, offering to pay after defeating Old Demon Zhong.
• Elder Hong demanded collateral, and Xu Yi claimed his Soul-Summoning Banner was the only valuable item he could offer.
• Elder Hong proposed that the association keep the banner if Xu Yi won, and Lie Xingkong agreed after weighing the chance to acquire the third-tier artifact.
• Xu Yi pretended to accept the deal, but objected when Elder Hong rushed to put their agreement in writing, arguing that the banner was worth far more than the requested supplies.

Xu Yi negotiated with Elder Hong and Lie Xingkong for resources in exchange for pledging the Soul-Summoning Banner, then searched the association’s catalog for a way to face Old Demon Zhong. He ended the chapter with a sudden clue that might help him overcome the perilous challenge.

• Elder Hong offered Xu Yi spirit stones, Wind Spirit Stones, Origin Blast Beads, and free use of the Spirit Gathering Array in exchange for the Soul-Summoning Banner as collateral.
• Xu Yi negotiated for five Wind Spirit Stones, three Origin Blast Beads, and a treasure worth another ten thousand spirit stones, and Lie Xingkong agreed to provide them from his private treasury.
• Xu Yi delayed signing the agreement until Elder Hong brought him the catalog, then requested food and drink and settled in to study the volume.
• Xu Yi secretly used the Still Water Art to calm himself as he considered how little chance he had against Old Demon Zhong in a direct fight.
• Xu Yi’s resolve wavered as he reviewed the danger, but a clue suddenly came to him.

Xu Yi searched for a way to use favorable conditions against Old Demon Zhong and realized he needed to find the right moment for their duel. On Peach Blossom Island, Old Demon Zhong met with his allies and introduced a plan to profit from Hong Yun Hall’s betting pool.

• Xu Yi recalled how he had defeated Old Ancestor Shui by turning the Yin River and Cloud Burst Arrows against him, then realized Old Demon Zhong would choose the duel’s location.
• Unable to count on a favorable battlefield, Xu Yi considered using weather and other conditions to his advantage and leaped to his feet with a new idea.
• Old Demon Zhong dismissed his guests’ fears about Xu Yi and ordered the banquet cleared so they could begin a meeting.
• Old Demon Zhong’s strategist proposed that the gathering make money from Hong Yun Hall’s betting pool on the challenge.
• Several allies eagerly claimed they wanted in, while alliance members stayed silent because they feared Old Demon Zhong was preparing to extort them.

Old Demon Zhong borrowed spirit stones from allies to maximize his bets on his upcoming duel with Xu Yi, while a middle-aged adviser pointed out the mysteries surrounding Xu Yi’s challenge and Xie Qingfeng’s defeat. The chapter ended with the adviser solemnly congratulating Old Demon Zhong.

• A middle-aged man persuaded Old Demon Zhong’s allies to lend him spirit stones at thirty-percent interest so he could bet on the duel.
• Old Demon Zhong’s duel with Xu Yi, scheduled for two months later, drew widespread attention and a varied betting pool at Hong Yun Hall.
• Old Demon Zhong dismissed the lenders after settling the loan terms, leaving the middle-aged man alone with him.
• The middle-aged man identified Old Demon Zhong’s two concerns: how Deputy Alliance Leader Xie Qingfeng had been defeated and why Xu Yi dared to challenge him.
• The middle-aged man clasped his hands toward Old Demon Zhong and congratulated him.

Old Demon Zhong learned to suspect Xu Yi’s secret art and prepared his Baomu Qionxiang as a trump card for their duel. Meanwhile, Xu Yi asked Elder Hong for a Rain Praying Formation and a huge quantity of Dark Yin Jade, leaving Elder Hong baffled.

• A middle-aged man in a round-collared robe told Old Demon Zhong that Xu Yi had likely killed Deputy Alliance Leader Xie with a strange talisman and advised him to keep his distance and use his superior speed and ranged attacks.
• Old Demon Zhong said he would fight with full effort and revealed that his Baomu Qionxiang had finally dissolved, killing the servants who caught its fumes.
• The middle-aged man praised Old Demon Zhong for obtaining the treasure, and Old Demon Zhong said he planned to use it to protect the spirit stones he had deposited at Hong Yun Hall.
• Xu Yi asked Elder Hong for a mid-grade Rain Praying Formation and Dark Yin Jade, intending to spend nearly all of his ten thousand spirit stones on the jade.
• Elder Hong questioned Xu Yi’s choices and tried to change his mind, but Xu Yi refused to budge.

Xu Yi entered a cave abode prepared by Elder Hong and began cultivating the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art with a mid-grade Thunder Spirit Stone. After enduring unbearable pain, he continued training for more than fifty days.

• Elder Hong led Xu Yi to a cave abode with a powerful Spirit Gathering Array and gave him the command token.
• Xu Yi searched the cave for tampering, then activated the seven-plaque array and began the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art.
• Thunderous intent pierced Xu Yi’s acupoints, causing agony far worse than he had expected and leaving him sprawled on the floor.
• Xu Yi realized ordinary spirit stones were quickly exhausted because they could not regulate their energy loss, while the mid-grade Thunder Spirit Stone remained nearly intact.
• After recovering, Xu Yi resumed the painful cultivation, and more than fifty days passed.

Xu Yi completed the first layer of the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art, greatly strengthening his body and Yin Soul, but the training left him ravenously hungry. After devouring a huge amount of food, he recovered his appearance while Elder Hong wondered what cultivation art he had practiced.

• Xu Yi activated the Spirit Gathering Array and endured a powerful final surge of lightning that expelled foul-smelling impurities from his body.
• Xu Yi realized the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art had greatly improved his physical body and Yin Soul, lighting three petals of his Karma Fire Red Lotus.
• Xu Yi rushed from his cave abode and demanded food from Elder Hong, then devoured an enormous feast in the kitchen.
• Elder Hong ordered the kitchen staff to keep cooking as Xu Yi ate for two hours, and Xu Yi finally paid them with two spirit stones.
• Elder Hong caught up with Xu Yi beside a pool and asked about his cultivation art after seeing his body and hair recover from the training.

Xu Yi settled his accounts with Liu Yinglin and returned the Life and Death Bottles to the Bald Monk and the others. He then used a teleportation disc to travel eight thousand miles to the Qingchuan Plain.

• Xu Yi met Liu Yinglin, collected a hundred sheets of Wind element Talisman Paper, and left to refine three Swift Body Talismans.
• Xu Yi gave Liu Yinglin the three Swift Body Talismans in exchange for the talismans and to fulfill his earlier promise.
• Xu Yi realized that Swift Body Talismans were worth far more than he had thought because his success rate was unusually high.
• Xu Yi placed Life and Death Bottles in separate storage cabinets and left the Bald Monk and the others instructions for retrieving them.
• Xu Yi sent messages to the Bald Monk, Triangle Eye, and the others, crushed his communication ball, and teleported to the Qingchuan Plain.

With his duel against Old Demon Zhong three days away, Xu Yi returned from Qingchuan Plain to prepare at the Blazing Fire Merchant Association. After crafting talismans and testing his improved body, he studied Old Demon Zhong’s abilities and became more wary.

• Xu Yi intimidated the would-be attackers in Qingchuan Plain with his visible resentment, visited Yuqing Hall, and returned to Autumn Wind Plain by teleportation array.
• Elder Hong told Xu Yi that the duel would take place at Jade Dragon Snowfield and gave him a detailed topographical map.
• Xu Yi spent two days and one night crafting four Swift Wind Talismans and thirteen Swift Body Talismans from Wind Spirit Stones.
• Xu Yi tested his first level of the Profound Thunder Body Tempering Art and found that his skin resisted most of the Coral Horn’s force.
• Xu Yi studied records about Old Demon Zhong, the Peach Blossom Alliance, and Yin Venerables, and his confidence gave way to renewed vigilance.

As the Chaotic Star Sea gathered to watch Xu Yi duel Zhong Ziyu, both fighters arrived at Immortal Finger Peak and prepared for battle. Zhong Ziyu assured Old Zhang that he would fight cautiously, while remaining confident he could defeat Xu Yi within ten moves.

• Nearly a hundred thousand spectators gathered at Immortal Finger Peak, while Hong Yun Hall prepared to broadcast the duel across the Chaotic Star Sea.
• Xu Yi arrived aboard a Hong Yun Hall dragon boat, then returned to his cabin to calm his mind and prepare for battle.
• Zhong Ziyu arrived on another dragon boat after winning a chess game that the middle-aged man had deliberately conceded.
• The middle-aged man warned Zhong Ziyu not to let the betting pool distract him and explained that the Alliance's winnings depended on how many moves the duel took.
• Zhong Ziyu said he would face Xu Yi as seriously as the Venerate of Light and was confident he could win within ten moves.

Xu Yi fought Zhong Ziyu in the arena and turned aside his Soul-Reaping Darts before injuring him with the Thunder True Intent. The battle continued with Xu Yi having gained the upper hand and the spectators cheering.

• Xu Yi and Zhong Ziyu entered the red zone and faced one another before the fight began.
• Zhong Ziyu launched seven Soul-Reaping Darts at Xu Yi, who blocked them and plunged into the snow.
• Zhong Ziyu sent his true soul into Xu Yi’s spiritual platform, where the Thunder True Intent destroyed the invading soul sense.
• Xu Yi seized the opening to capture three darts, forcing Zhong Ziyu to recall the four remaining darts while in agony.
• The spectators cheered as Xu Yi proved he could contend with Zhong Ziyu, and Lie Xingkong and Elder Hong rejoiced aboard the dragon boat.