Recaps

Lei Dong traveled with Wu Ji and the other Golden Core cultivators toward Scorching City, where Wu Ji explained the city’s corruption and invited the group to enter the Purgatory Domain together. The group reached the city and paid its entrance fee, while Wu Ji planned to bid on a Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade instead of joining their expedition.

• Murong Fu mocked Li Xianxian, and Wu Ji introduced Gao Fei and Situ Zhennan to Lei Dong.
• Wu Ji explained that Scorching City’s factions extorted travelers and that traveling in a group helped reduce the fees and risks.
• Lei Dong said he hoped to make a fortune in the Purgatory Domain, and Wu Ji warned him about its dangers before suggesting that the seven prospective explorers form a group.
• Wu Ji revealed that he had come to bid for a Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade and would not enter the Purgatory Domain with them.
• Lei Dong and the others reached Scorching City after a day of travel and paid one thousand Spirit Stones each to enter.

Lei Dong explored Scorching City with Wu Ji and learned about its Purgatory-inspired architecture, powerful races, and human strength. After encountering Purgatory Devils, a Flame Giant, and a seductive Crimson Fire Snake at their inn, he remained wary and prepared to defend himself.

• Wu Ji explained that Scorching City's unusual buildings imitated the architecture of the Purgatory Flame Devils.
• Lei Dong and his companions checked into an expensive inn where powerful Purgatory races also stayed.
• Lei Dong recognized the Flame Giant from the Inner Devil Hall incident and remembered how it had nearly killed him and Qi Feifei.
• A Crimson Fire Snake tried to entice Lei Dong, and Wu Ji warned him that her kind used Charm Techniques to drain cultivators.
• Wu Ji told Lei Dong that Purgatory visitors came to Scorching City to trade and described the strength of humanity's Spirit Transmutation experts.
• Lei Dong realized the Purgatory visitors were Nascent Soul cultivators and resolved to kill the Crimson Fire Snake if she threatened him.

Lei Dong settled into Scorching City and used Ghost Thorn to spy on three Purgatory visitors, discovering that they planned to pursue the Flame Monarch’s Rebirth Essence. As the visitors argued over cooperation and dividing the prize, Lei Dong recalled the Flame Monarch’s ancient origins and formidable power.

• Lei Dong agreed to accompany Wu Ji to an auction in three days and returned to his room to meditate behind a defensive array.
• Lei Dong sent Ghost Thorn to survey Scorching City, and Ghost Thorn discovered three Nascent Soul-level Purgatory beings meeting in a courtyard.
• Lei Dong ordered Ghost Thorn to listen in as Kampal, Chi Wei, and Huo Ling argued about trusting one another and working together.
• Chi Wei and Huo Ling demanded that Kampal explain how they would divide the Flame Monarch’s Rebirth Essence if they obtained it.
• Lei Dong recognized the Flame Monarch as a distant descendant of the Flame Ancestor and recalled its immense power and secluded territory in the Purgatory Domain.

Lei Dong overheard Kampal negotiate with Chi Wei and Huo Ling for their help obtaining the Flame Monarch’s Essence, then decided the treasure could benefit his own cultivation and spirit treasures. He had Ghost Thorn follow Chi Wei and watched her choose Chen Yun as her target instead of him.

• Kampal offered Chi Wei three cities and their dependent lands, and she accepted the terms of his pledge to help obtain the Flame Monarch’s Essence.
• Kampal offered Huo Ling ten million pieces of Fire Spirit Jade, and Huo Ling agreed to assist him.
• Lei Dong considered how the Flame Monarch’s Essence could help him refine a powerful spirit treasure and listened to the visitors’ plans.
• Lei Dong sent Ghost Thorn to follow Chi Wei as she searched for a Golden Core Cultivator to bid at the auction.
• Chi Wei entered the room next to Lei Dong’s, where Chen Yun was staying, and chose him for her scheme.

Lei Dong and Wu Ji attended the Scorching City auction, where Wu Ji hoped to obtain Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade and Lei Dong offered to help him buy a woman he admired. The auction began under the supervision of a Nascent Soul host, with a Fire Patterned Thunder Leopard cub as its first item.

• Lei Dong and Wu Ji entered the crowded auction hall in disguise and took neighboring seats.
• Wu Ji explained that the women performing at the auction were selling themselves into servitude to support their families, and Lei Dong offered to pay for Number Eight on Wu Ji’s behalf.
• An attendant told Lei Dong that several bidders wanted Number Eight, so she would be put up for auction; Lei Dong agreed to bid on her.
• Elder Yang, a Nascent Soul Cultivator, opened the auction and presented a Fire Patterned Thunder Leopard cub as the first item.

Lei Dong bid on a Fire Patterned Thunder Leopard cub and bought Number Eight for Wu Ji, encouraging him to pursue the Nascent Soul Realm. As the auction neared its end, Lei Dong watched masked Chen Yun and recognized the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade as likely the Flame Monarch's essence.

• The Fire Patterned Thunder Leopard cub sold for seven million three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and Lei Dong urged Wu Ji not to give up on reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Lei Dong outbid a rival for Number Eight at four million Spirit Stones and gave her to Wu Ji, telling him he could repay the cost only after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Lei Dong rested while keeping watch on masked Chen Yun, who reacted to a distant Sound Wave shortly before the auction ended.
• The auctioneer presented the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade, and Lei Dong suspected it was the Flame Monarch's essence sought by the demon generals from the Purgatory Domain.
• Bidding for the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade surged past five million Spirit Stones as Wu Ji waited for a chance to bid.

At the auction, Chen Yun outbid Wu Ji for the disguised treasure, which Lei Dong knew was the essence left by the Flame Monarch. Wu Ji then decided to join Lei Dong in the Purgatory Domain, and the group agreed to explore the dangerous Heart of the Melting Lake for treasures and powerful fire.

• Chen Yun and Wu Ji competed for the supposed Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade, and Lei Dong lent Wu Ji Spirit Stones so he could keep bidding.
• Chen Yun won the item for thirty million Spirit Stones, while Lei Dong recognized its true value and saw that Chen Yun was pleased with his commission.
• Wu Ji told Lei Dong he intended to go to the Purgatory Domain, and Lei Dong failed to dissuade him from joining the dangerous trip.
• Wu Ji revealed that the Heart of the Melting Lake contained earthfire sites, including Six Extremes Yang Fire beneath a giant beast's lair.
• Wu Ji gathered the traveling Golden Core Cultivators and proposed exploring the Heart of the Melting Lake, and Chen Yun, Murong Lian, Murong Fu, and the others agreed.

Lei Dong and seven cultivators entered the Purgatory Domain to search the Melting Lake, agreeing on how to divide their spoils before setting out. After paying the entry fee, they traveled west under Wu Ji’s lead, while Lei Dong watched Chen Yun and the others adjust to the hostile land.

• Wu Ji secured the group’s agreement that any high-quality Fire Spirit Jade they found would belong to him in exchange for twelve million spirit stones, and the cultivators settled their shares of other spoils.
• Lei Dong and the other seven cultivators paid to teleport from Scorching City into the Purgatory Domain, where they paid an Inferno Devil Bull another eight hundred thousand spirit stones to enter.
• Wu Ji warned the weaker cultivators to stop using their ice-attribute pendants so they could acclimate to the heat before reaching their destination.
• Wu Ji urged the group to leave the city promptly, and Lei Dong noticed Chen Yun appeared both frightened and excited about the beautiful snake’s promise.
• Wu Ji led the eight cultivators west through the crimson landscape, answering their questions as Lei Dong observed the Purgatory Domain and Li Xianxian continued to look at him with contempt.

Lei Dong’s group reached the heart of the Melting Lake while three Purgatory Devil Generals followed and plotted to attack them there. Lei Dong secretly learned their plan and let the journey continue, then accepted a cooling jade pendant from Murong Fu, suspecting the sisters had an ulterior motive.

• The Murong Sisters humiliated Li Xianxian as Lei Dong ignored their quarrel.
• Huo Ling, Chi Wei, and Kampal agreed to wait until Lei Dong’s group reached the heart of the Melting Lake before attacking, while Lei Dong secretly overheard them.
• Wu Ji led the group to the Melting Lake after half a month of travel, and they struggled against its intense heat.
• Li Xianxian mocked Lei Dong for lacking an ice-type treasure, and Wu Ji offered him one of his own.
• Murong Fu gave Lei Dong a spare jade pendant, and he wondered what the Murong Sisters wanted from him.

Lei Dong joined the search for treasures in the Melting Lake and quickly found far more than the other cultivators. The Murong Sisters were attacked by a Golden Core Peak beast, and Lei Dong rushed to help them.

• Murong Fu gave Lei Dong her jade pendant, and he accepted it while deciding to protect the Murong Sisters during the dangerous journey.
• Wu Ji divided the cultivators into four groups to search the Melting Lake, pairing Li Xianxian with Lei Dong.
• Lei Dong found Fire Spirit Jade, red copper, and Flame Purple Iron far more efficiently than Li Xianxian and the other cultivators.
• The Murong Sisters cried for help while fighting a seven- or eight-zhang beast with Golden Core Peak strength.
• Lei Dong rushed toward the Murong Sisters and attacked the beast with a powerful slash of his giant blade.

Lei Dong, disguised as the Martial Cultivator Ding Dong, helped the Murong Sisters and other cultivators battle a Golden Core Peak Flame Breath Beast and pursue it through the Melting Lake to its lair. They cornered the wounded beast in a cavern, where Situ Zhennan spotted its eggs.

• Lei Dong wounded the Flame Breath Beast while dodging its powerful fire and protecting the Murong Sisters.
• Wu Ji struck the beast with his Great Hammer, and the injured creature fled into the Melting Lake.
• The Murong Sisters used a protective magic treasure to carry the group through the molten rock as they followed the beast to its cave.
• Murong Lian used her Lotus Lamp to illuminate the cave and dispel its poisonous gas while the group tracked the beast’s blood trail.
• The group cornered the Flame Breath Beast in a cavern, where Wu Ji met its flames with fire from his palms.
• Situ Zhennan spotted Flame Breath Beast eggs in the cavern.

Wu Ji’s team defeated a Golden Core Peak Flame Breath Beast and divided its valuable spoils, including three eggs that were sold through bidding. Their settlement was interrupted by Chi Wei, a powerful Crimson Divine Snake who attacked Wu Ji after he refused her offer to follow her.

• Wu Ji punished Situ Zhennan and Li Xianxian for disrupting the battle and fighting timidly, then the team killed the Flame Breath Beast.
• Wu Ji valued the spoils at twenty-four million five hundred thousand Spirit Stones and oversaw bidding for the three eggs.
• Murong Lian, Chen Yun, and Wu Ji each secured an egg, while Lei Dong privately urged the Murong Sisters to trust him.
• Chi Wei appeared in the cave, and Wu Ji offered her the team’s spoils in hopes of appeasing her.
• Chi Wei struck Wu Ji in the chest after he declined to follow her, leaving the team terrified.

Chi Wei and two other Purgatory Devil Race generals trapped Lei Dong and the cultivators, while Chen Yun revealed his loyalty to Chi Wei. As Kampal brutalized the Murong Sisters, a hidden Nascent Soul-level ally told them to wait, and Chi Wei and Huo Ling began disputing who would claim Lei Dong.

• Chi Wei offered Lei Dong resources and a path to the Nascent Soul Realm, but Kampal and Huo Ling arrived and crushed the group’s hopes of escape.
• Chen Yun knelt before Chi Wei, called himself her servant, and revealed that the sought-after item was on him.
• Kampal rejected Li Xianxian’s attempt to seduce him, then seized and chewed up the Murong Sisters’ natal Flying Swords, injuring them through their soul connection.
• A hidden voice told the Murong Sisters to stay calm and promised to make the devil generals pay.
• Chi Wei invited Lei Dong to become her lover, while Huo Ling asked to take him as a potential Martial Cultivator; Chi Wei then cast Chen Yun aside as a useless servant.

Chi Wei forced the human cultivators to choose between death and humiliation, then ordered those who submitted to attack Wu Ji. As the four servants launched their assault, Lei Dong asked Chi Wei whether she had had her fun.

• Chi Wei threatened to kill the human cultivators unless they swore to become her servants, and Gao Fei submitted to save himself for his poisoned wife.
• Chi Wei forced Gao Fei to renounce his wife, then accepted Situ Zhennan and Li Xianxian as servants alongside him.
• Chi Wei ordered the four servants to kill the injured Wu Ji and promised them half his spoils.
• Li Xianxian led the attack on Wu Ji, and Gao Fei and the others joined in.
• Lei Dong sighed and asked Chi Wei whether she had had her fun.

Lei Dong revealed his immense divine sense by rescuing Wu Ji and overpowering the three Devil Generals in a contest of wills. The Devil Generals and his former teammates learned that the supposedly Golden Core-level Ding Dong was a formidable Nascent Soul cultivator, leaving them to court his favor.

• Lei Dong pulled Wu Ji away from danger with a black-light claw, shocking Wu Ji and the others who had watched him disappear.
• Lei Dong repelled the combined divine-sense assault of Kampal, Huo Ling, and Chi Wei, forcing the three Devil Generals to stop and pay their respects.
• The teammates realized that Ding Dong was far stronger than he had appeared, and Li Xianxian and Chen Yun regretted how they had treated him.
• Kampal introduced himself respectfully, while Chi Wei and Huo Ling tried to win Lei Dong's goodwill and Chi Wei hinted at her powerful backing.
• The teammates and Wu Ji paid their respects to Lei Dong, who said he had come to the Purgatory Domain for a minor matter and had not wanted to disturb them.

Lei Dong revealed that he wanted Chen Yun’s Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade and challenged the three Devil Generals who guarded it. He left them fighting off his endless Suicide Ghosts and Nascent Soul Mid-tier Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger.

• The Murong Sisters recognized Lei Dong as Ding Dong and grew excited at his strength, while the Devil Generals offered to help him find a lava vent.
• Lei Dong told Kampal that he wanted the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade Chen Yun carried, and Kampal realized Lei Dong had overheard their secret conversation.
• Lei Dong said he feared the Purgatory Devil King but would take the jade if the three Devil Generals stayed silent.
• Kampal, Chi Wei, and Huo Ling drew their weapons and attacked Lei Dong after he called them dead dogs.
• Lei Dong summoned the Netherflame Ghost Banner, whose Suicide Ghosts forced the three Devil Generals onto the defensive.
• Lei Dong summoned his Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger, which charged Chi Wei.

Lei Dong and his allies killed the Inferno Devil Kampal, Huo Ling, and Chi Wei after they tried to flee or resist. Chi Wei’s Six Extremes Yang Fire Pearl continued pursuing Lei Dong after her death, leaving him to face its threat alone.

• Ghost Thorn ambushed Kampal, destroyed his organs, crushed his Nascent Soul, and then killed Chen Yun.
• Huo Ling fled as a flaming stone sphere, but Lei Dong caught him and killed him with three Netherworld Finger strikes.
• The Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger and Gui Ming trapped Chi Wei while she pleaded with and then threatened Lei Dong.
• Chi Wei unleashed the Six Extremes Yang Fire Pearl at Lei Dong, and Ghost Thorn killed her before the pearl stopped pursuing him.
• Lei Dong kept the others back, activated the second stage of Devil Emperor Transformation, and prepared to confront the pearl.

Lei Dong survived the Six Extremes Yang Fire’s explosion and escaped the flooding magma with the Golden Core Cultivators, while King Chi Gui learned that her daughter Chi Wei had died and set out for revenge. In a cavern, Lei Dong recovered the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade and faced the surviving traitors, as Gui Ming prepared to kill Li Xianxian.

• Lei Dong’s attempt to freeze the Six Extremes Yang Fire failed when it exploded, but his Indestructible Profound Yin Shield let him withstand the blast.
• Lei Dong carried the Golden Core Cultivators through the earth to safety as the Melting Lake’s magma destroyed the Flame Breath Beast’s lair.
• King Chi Gui discovered that Chi Wei had died, vowed to avenge her daughter, and flew toward a distant destination.
• Ghost Thorn gave Lei Dong Chen Yun’s storage ring, and Lei Dong found the Top Grade Fire Spirit Jade inside.
• Li Xianxian begged Lei Dong to spare her and offered to become his concubine, but Gui Ming announced that he would kill her.

Lei Dong killed the traitors who had turned against him, entrusted Wu Ji with buying a Mixed Yuan Golden Pill, and chose to travel deeper into the Melting Lake. The group headed for its Heart, where they hoped to find a way out and a Six Extremes Yang Fire vein.

• Gui Ming killed Li Xianxian and Situ Zhennan, then blasted Gao Fei to smithereens despite the Murong Sisters asking him to spare him.
• Lei Dong took the dead men's storage rings and gave Wu Ji valuables to convert into Spirit Stones for a Mixed Yuan Golden Pill.
• Lei Dong explained that Gao Fei had chosen to betray his allies and had to bear the consequences, while Wu Ji urged the Murong Sisters to consider how they might have acted in the same situation.
• Wu Ji proposed traveling downward to the Heart of the Melting Lake, where a Nascent Soul-level Monster Beast might dwell and a Six Extremes Yang Fire vein could be found.
• Lei Dong gave the Murong Sisters the promised Egg of a Flame Breath Beast and jade pendant, then led the group down a little-traveled passage.
• The group gathered valuable treasures along the way, and Wu Ji divided them into ten shares, keeping three for himself and the Murong Sisters and offering seven to Lei Dong.

Lei Dong ordered Gui Ming to kill a powerful Flame Element Phoenix as a test of obedience and combat skill. Gui Ming lured the creature into revealing its elemental core with Lei Dong’s Flame Essence, then launched a surprise attack, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Lei Dong gave Wu Ji the gathered treasures to distribute and ordered Gui Ming to attack a nearby Flame Element Phoenix.
• Gui Ming objected that the Phoenix had the advantage in its fiery territory, so Lei Dong punished Ghost Thorn for indulging him and gave Gui Ming one chance to succeed.
• Gui Ming cautiously approached the sleeping Phoenix but could not locate its hidden elemental core.
• Gui Ming borrowed Lei Dong’s Flame Essence and used its pure flame aura to lure the Phoenix out of its magma pool.
• The Phoenix swallowed the Flame Essence, revealing its core beneath its left wing, and Gui Ming attacked its flank with a streak of Black Qi.

Gui Ming killed the elemental phoenix and uncovered a rich Fire Spirit Jade mine beneath its lair. Lei Dong’s group mined the deposit and ended with a haul worth over seven hundred million spirit stones, leaving Wu Ji and the Murong Sisters afraid that Lei Dong might kill them to keep the fortune.

• Gui Ming used the Netherworld Great Law to defeat the wounded elemental phoenix and shattered its life core with a Ghost Sha Palm.
• Gui Ming found Fire Spirit Jade embedded beneath the molten pool and reported his discovery to Lei Dong.
• Lei Dong gave Wu Ji the broken elemental core, which Wu Ji agreed to pay for with an equal share of other spoils.
• Lei Dong ordered the group and three thousand Sword and Shield Ghosts to mine the deposit.
• The group excavated Fire Spirit Jade worth over seven hundred million spirit stones, and Wu Ji and the Murong Sisters trembled with fear over their share of the treasure.

Lei Dong reassured Wu Ji and the Murong Sisters that he would share the Fire Spirit Jade fairly, earning the respect of his companions and Ghost Servants. As the group divided the treasure, the Purgatory Devil King secretly watched Lei Dong, intrigued by his strength and his possible connection to the Netherworld Ghost Emperor.

• Wu Ji and the Murong Sisters offered to accept only a small reward, worried about taking a share of the valuable Fire Spirit Jade.
• Lei Dong insisted on the agreed split, then ordered Ghost Thorn to divide the deposit into ten portions, with his group taking seven.
• Ghost Thorn and Gui Ming began dividing the Fire Spirit Jade as Lei Dong's companions reflected on his principles and loyalty to his Ghost Servants.
• The Purgatory Devil King watched Lei Dong's group from a hidden cloud of red mist and wondered about Lei Dong's powerful techniques and two Ghost Kings.
• The Purgatory Devil King recalled sensing Kampal's death and observing Lei Dong's battle, which had sparked his interest and suspicions about a connection to the Netherworld Ghost Emperor.

The Purgatory Devil King went to the Melting Lake’s core to call on the sealed Flame Devil King while Lei Dong’s group explored the depths and learned the legend of the Flame Devil King. They reached the Heart of the Melting Lake, where Lei Dong tested the Six Extremes Yang Fire with Flame Purple Iron.

• The Purgatory Devil King left Lei Dong alone and traveled to the Melting Lake’s core, where he demanded that the Flame Devil King come out.
• Wu Ji told Lei Dong and the others how the Flame Devil King had been betrayed, turned cruel, and sealed away by the Flame Monarch.
• Lei Dong remained wary that the group might have reached the legendary prison, though he considered the story uncertain.
• Lei Dong and the three Golden Core Cultivators explored for days, finding valuable treasures and overcoming demonic creatures with help from Lei Dong’s Ghost Servants.
• Wu Ji identified the pale blue flame at the Heart of the Melting Lake as the Six Extremes Yang Fire.
• Lei Dong wrapped his divine sense around a chunk of Flame Purple Iron and sent it into the Six Extremes Yang Fire.

Lei Dong began preparing to repair the Spirit Transmutation Puppet, testing the Six Extremes Yang Fire and arranging defenses in the Melting Lake. He reunited the Arena Spirit with Dana’s Primordial Spirit, learned his chosen name was Mò Yáo, and started melting a spare puppet part to practice repairing its drive formations.

• Lei Dong refined Flame Purple Iron with the Six Extremes Yang Fire, producing exceptionally pure material in less than a hundred breaths.
• Lei Dong sent Wu Ji and the Murong Sisters toward the surface with Gui Ming and Shadow Tiger, then revealed that his name was Lei Dong and that he came from Kang Prefecture in Dahuang Continent.
• Lei Dong summoned ghost soldiers and had Ghost Thorn arrange them into a defensive formation around his work area.
• Lei Dong spoke with the Arena Spirit, who had fused with Dana’s Primordial Spirit and chose the name Mò Yáo.
• Lei Dong confirmed that Mò Yáo would accept the Blood Sacrifice Technique until Lei Dong reached the Mid Spirit Transmutation stage, then began melting a spare puppet part to repair its drive formations.

Lei Dong repaired most of a Spirit Transmutation-level Puppet while King Chi Gui investigated her daughter’s death and blasted her way toward the lakebed. The chapter left King Chi Gui closing in as the Purgatory Devil King returned and discovered Lei Dong’s work.

• Lei Dong painstakingly repaired the War Puppet’s damaged components, and Mò Yáo grew hopeful that he would become a Spirit Transmutation-level Expert once it was restored.
• King Chi Gui arrived at the Melting Lake, tortured a crimson toad for information, and learned that outsiders had entered the lakebed around the time her daughter died.
• King Chi Gui deduced that the humans from Great Gan Continent might have killed Chi Wei and plunged into the lakebed to hunt for them.
• Lei Dong repaired most of the Puppet’s damaged components over several days.
• The Purgatory Devil King returned, spotted Lei Dong refining a Puppet, and recognized it as a Spirit Transmutation-level Puppet.