Recaps

Li Xinge learned that the County Prefecture had ordered Baihe County’s forces to join the fight against the Demon Race, and he led a group of cultivators to Lion-Tiger Pass. The group arrived at the great fortress and was invited to a welcoming banquet as powerful cultivators gathered for battle.

• The Grand Elder gave Fourth Elder Li Xuanzong a Top-grade Qi and Blood Pill prepared by Li Xinge, and Li Xuanzong accepted it with gratitude.
• A military emissary announced that Baihe County had to send fifty body realm cultivators and at least five qi and blood realm cultivators to Lion-Tiger Pass within three days.
• Li Xinge ordered Jiang Dao and ten body realm cultivators from the Li Family to assemble with other factions at Green Maple Valley.
• Li Xinge, Jiang Dao, Zheng Lingjun, Chen Shuyao, and Shangguan Jie rode toward Lion-Tiger Pass and saw widespread devastation from the demonic beasts.
• The group arrived at Lion-Tiger Pass, received lodgings at a luxurious inn, and was invited to Zhang Xingyi’s welcoming banquet.

Li Xinge attended a banquet where Zhang Xingyi introduced him as an eighteen-year-old who had slain two Qi and Blood Great Accomplishment demon beasts, making him the focus of Ascending Dragon Prefecture’s powerful figures. Zhang Xingyi then revealed that Fire Winged Tiger Lord led the demonic chaos and called on the assembled cultivators to fight, while the Prefect prepared to face the Demon Race’s leader.

• Li Xinge arrived at the banquet with Zheng Lingjun and took a seat reserved for an old ancestor, startling the assembled leaders.
• Zhang Xingyi arrived, toasted the gathered fighters, and introduced the powerful families, sects, and military leaders of Ascending Dragon Prefecture.
• Zhang Xingyi introduced Li Xinge as the Head of the Baihe Li Clan and revealed that he was eighteen and had slain two Qi and Blood Great Accomplishment demon beasts.
• The assembled guests toasted Li Xinge as the young genius of Ascending Dragon Prefecture, while Li Xinge wondered why Zhang Xingyi was promoting him.
• Zhang Xingyi announced that Fire Winged Tiger Lord commanded the demonic chaos and said the Prefect had arrived at Lion-Tiger Pass to confront him.
• Zhang Xingyi urged the gathered cultivators to strike the demons, and they pledged themselves to the Human Race.

The Demon Race attacked Lion-Tiger Pass under the command of the Innate Great Demon, the Fire Winged Tiger Lord, who accused the Prefect of stealing a sacred fruit. As the Prefect confronted the Tiger Lord, Li Xinge joined the battle and used surprise attacks to kill demon beasts.

• The Red-Backed Python Bull, Red-Crowned Green-Feathered Eagle, and Unicorn Mountain-Piercing Beast arrived before Lion-Tiger Pass, followed by the Fire Winged Tiger Lord.
• The Tiger Lord accused the Prefect of stealing the Dragon Saliva Sacred Fruit and ordered the Demon Race to attack when the Prefect denied knowing about it.
• The Prefect and the Tiger Lord flew into the sky to fight, while the Xie Family's First Elder, Zhang Xingyi, and the Wang Family Head engaged the three Great Perfection demon beasts.
• Li Xinge urged Zheng Lingjun and the others to prioritize their survival, then killed a Qi and Blood Minor Accomplishment leopard demon with a surprise attack.
• Li Xinge moved on to support another battlefield, and a nearby cultivator resolved never to make an enemy of him.

Li Xinge killed the Moon-Worshipping Silver Wolf, while the Prefect defeated the Fire Winged Tiger Lord after revealing he had reached the Middle Stage of the Innate Realm. As the Prefect moved to finish the wounded tiger, a powerful force intervened, and a gigantic figure emerged from the dark clouds.

• Li Xinge defeated and killed the Moon-Worshipping Silver Wolf, a Qi and Blood Great Accomplishment demon, and chose not to capture its soul with the Hundred Ghost Banner.
• Zhang Xingyi held off the enraged Red-Backed Python Bull as the human soldiers celebrated Li Xinge’s victory.
• The Prefect defeated the Fire Winged Tiger Lord and revealed his breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Innate Realm.
• The Prefect prepared a fatal attack on the wounded Fire Winged Tiger Lord, but a streak of rosy light intercepted it.
• Dark clouds engulfed the sky, and a gigantic figure soared out from them.

The Qinghe Dragon Lord confronted the Prefect over the Dragon Saliva Sacred Fruit, but a mysterious old man gave it a Fifth-grade Shapeshifting Pill in exchange for withdrawing its forces. After the Demon Race retreated, Li Xinge attended the victory banquet, where the Prefect publicly praised his potential.

• The Qinghe Dragon Lord arrived at Lion-Tiger Pass and demanded the Dragon Saliva Sacred Fruit from the Prefect.
• A mysterious old man negotiated with the Dragon Lord, offering it a Fifth-grade Shapeshifting Pill in exchange for returning to the Qinghe Mountain Range.
• The Dragon Lord took the pill and withdrew, followed by the Fire Winged Tiger Lord and the Demon Race troops.
• Li Xinge gathered his survivors and learned that the battle had killed Shangguan Jie and three Li Family Body Realm cultivators.
• At the victory banquet, the Prefect asked to meet Li Xinge and praised him as a prodigy destined to reach the Innate Realm.

Li Xinge returned to Green Maple Valley after refusing the Prefect’s offer of a deputy general post and building ties with Zhang Xingyi. He organized the lineage’s rewards and sent Li Xuanqi to secure the Li Family’s interests in East County.

• The Prefect offered Li Xinge a deputy general position in Yang Province, but Li Xinge declined in favor of focusing on his lineage.
• Li Xinge received beast flesh and two Superior Qi and Blood Pills, then spoke with Zhang Xingyi, who invited him to visit the Zhang Family.
• A middle-aged man angrily demanded to know where the ancestor’s body had gone.
• After returning to Green Maple Valley, Li Xinge met privately with Gongsun Ban and then convened the elders to discuss the lineage’s gains and plans.
• Li Xinge ordered Li Xuanqi to lead cultivators and Attendant Jiang Dao to East County to help the Guo Family protect the Li Family’s interests there.
• Li Xinge ordered an underground ice chamber built to store leftover beast flesh, and the elders finished arranging its distribution.

Li Xinge summoned Guo Taichang, permitted the Guo Family to return to East County, and arranged to station Li Family forces there under the guise of protection. Meanwhile, Li Xingzong trained diligently, ate the lineage’s allotted great demon flesh, and left his rest time to cultivate.

• Li Xinge kept Guo Taichang waiting in his study before telling him the Guo Family could return to East County.
• Li Xinge proposed sending an elder and elite Li Family members to protect the Guo Family, and Guo Taichang accepted despite recognizing the Li Family’s ambitions.
• Li Xinge told Guo Taichang to pack that day and depart the next day, then hinted that he should recognize the changing tides.
• More than two hundred Li Family children trained at the Clan Martial Plaza, and their instructor announced Steward Yanzhong would teach them Tiger Roar Fist that afternoon.
• Li Xingzong returned home, ate soup made from his share of great demon flesh, and felt close to Body Tempering Great Perfection.
• Li Xingzong told Li Qinshi he would repay the lineage by working hard, then ran off to cultivate during his rest time.

The Yan Family decided to withdraw to East County after their ancestor’s death left them vulnerable to the Si Family. Meanwhile, Li Xinge arrived at the Silver Ridge Mine and defeated the Azure Wolf King, but the wolf queen stopped him from detonating his Demonic Core and submitted to the Li Family.

• Yan Xiude and the Yan Family elders chose to relocate to East County and ordered the First Elder to secure the County Magistrate appointment.
• Li Xinge learned that a pack of azure wolves had attacked the Silver Ridge Mine and injured the First Elder and Second Elder.
• Li Xinge reached the mine and drove the pack into the depths with his aura.
• The Azure Wolf King challenged Li Xinge, who grievously wounded him with a single attack.
• The wolf queen fought the Li Family elders to protect the Azure Wolf King, then forced his Demonic Core back inside when he tried to detonate it.
• The wolf queen prostrated herself before Li Xinge’s group in submission.

Li Xinge had Gongsun Ban forge Beast Taming Rings to control the Azure Wolf King and wolf queen. After bringing the wolf pack back to Green Maple Valley, Li Xinge proposed forming an elite force called the Azure Wolf Cavalry.

• Li Xinge summoned Gongsun Ban to Silver Ridge Mine and asked him to forge rings for the two surrendered Azure Wolves.
• Gongsun Ban warned that the rings would cost more than ten thousand taels of gold in materials and would stop working if the beasts reached the Innate Realm.
• Three days later, Gongsun Ban finished the rings and used them to bind the Azure Wolf King and wolf queen.
• Li Xinge tested the mother ring, causing the Azure Wolf King agony, then thanked Gongsun Ban for his service.
• Li Xinge led the Azure Wolf King and its pack back to Green Maple Valley.
• The next day, Li Xinge proposed selecting the Lineage's elites to ride Azure Wolves in a new force named the Azure Wolf Cavalry.

The Yan Family learned that the Guo Family might be backed by Li Xinge and suspended its campaign in East County while investigating. Li Xinge prepared to visit the Zhang Family in the prefectural capital and set out with four guards, stopping at a town restaurant after a day of travel.

• Li Xuanqi told Guo Taichang that the Li Family would investigate the Yan Family before acting against it.
• The Yan Family elders identified Li Xinge as a possible supporter of the Guo Family and warned that opposing him could destroy their Lineage.
• Yan Xiude ordered the Yan Family to suspend its offensive in East County until it confirmed whether Li Xinge stood behind the Guo Family.
• Li Xinge learned that the Third Elder had prepared gifts for his visit to the Zhang Family.
• Li Xinge and four guards left Green Maple Valley and stopped at a local restaurant after traveling for a day.

Li Xinge punished Fu Shengnan for her violent rule over the town by capturing her and ordering the Fu Family wiped out. The next morning, after the townspeople took revenge on Fu Shengnan, Li Xinge and his group resumed their journey to the prefectural city.

• Li Shuo killed a rider who struck a child, and Fu Shengnan confronted Li Xinge over the death.
• Li Xinge ordered Pu Hongtao to wipe out the Fu Family, while Li Shuo subdued Fu Shengnan and her riders.
• Pu Hongtao and two guards slaughtered the Fu Family and returned with the head of its leader.
• Li Xinge handed Fu Shengnan and the captured women over to the townsmen, who surged forward to take revenge.
• The next morning, Li Shuo reported that everything had been taken care of, and Li Xinge led the group toward the prefectural city.

Li Xinge arrived in the prefectural city and received an elaborate welcome from Zhang Xingyi, who sought to recruit him into the struggle for the vacant Prefect's seat. Zhang Xingyi offered the Baihe Li Clan authority over three counties, and Li Xinge was left considering the offer after Zhang Qin Hu interrupted with an invitation to go have fun.

• Zhang Xingyi and Zhang Qin Hu welcomed Li Xinge at the Zhang Family gates, drawing speculation from onlookers about his identity and the contest for the Prefect's seat.
• Li Xinge toured the Zhang Family's lavish ancestral grounds and joined Zhang Xingyi for a private conversation in the reception hall.
• Zhang Xingyi explained his rivalry with the Prefectural Assistant and offered the Baihe Li Clan control over appointments and dismissals in Baihe, East, and Stone Counties if he won the Prefect's seat.
• Li Xinge said his clan was too weak to provide much help, while Zhang Xingyi urged him to consider the proposal over the next few days.
• Zhang Qin Hu invited Li Xinge to visit a place with beautiful women, prompting Zhang Xingyi to scold him as Li Xinge suddenly raised his head.

Li Xinge committed the Baihe Li Clan to Zhang Xingyi’s camp, while the Li Family gained a First-Rank Alchemist and another qi and blood realm cultivator. In East County, the Yan Family learned the Prefectural Assistant would support them only if they stayed to oppose the Li Family, setting up a confrontation.

• Zhang Qin Hu told Li Xinge that the Yan Clan supported the Prefectural Assistant, and Li Xinge chose to have the Baihe Li Clan join Zhang Xingyi’s ranks.
• Li Yanming successfully refined the Body Tempering Pill and became a First-Rank Alchemist.
• Li Xinge promoted Li Yanming to eighth elder and established a Pill Hall, while Li Xuanzong broke through to the qi and blood realm.
• Yan Xiude learned that the Prefectural Assistant would mediate the Yan Family’s conflict with the Si Family only if the Yan Family remained in East County to oppose the Li Family.
• Yan Xiude told the elders that the Prefectural Assistant would send an Attendant to help them, and ordered the Yan Family to prepare to fight the Li Family.

Zheng Cangfeng reached qi and blood great perfection and reaffirmed the Zheng Family’s unconditional support for Li Xinge, who promised the Zheng Family would stand as long as the Li Family did. Meanwhile, the Li Family appeared to yield in its market dispute with the Yan Family, while an ambush began against a Yan Family shipment on the road to Qu County.

• Zheng Cangfeng told Zheng Lingjun that his breakthrough had come through Li Xinge’s fortune and decided to visit him to show the Zheng Family’s support.
• Zheng Cangfeng pledged the Zheng Family’s unconditional support to Li Xinge, who promised to protect the Zheng Family as long as the Li Family stood.
• Li Xuanqi told Guo Taichang to suspend herb purchases in East County, and the Yan Family mocked the apparent retreat while remaining wary.
• Yan Zhenyu escorted a valuable Yan Family shipment toward Qu County and urged the wagons to hurry when he sensed danger.
• Arrows suddenly flew toward Yan Zhenyu and the convoy.

The Li Family’s ambushes devastated the Yan Family, which withdrew and waited for reinforcements rather than risk a direct fight. Li Xinge decided the Li Family would strike the Yan Family before it could recover.

• Masked attackers ambushed Yan Zhenyu’s convoy, killed him and the guards, and stole the Yan Family’s medicinal herbs.
• Yan Xiude told the Yan Family elders that seven convoys had been attacked, causing heavy casualties and a loss of thirty-six thousand taels of gold; he ordered them to avoid rash action and withdraw to their main base.
• At the Guo Family estate, Li Xuanqi told Guo Taichang that the Li Family had approved the ambush and would wait to see how the Yan Family responded.
• Li Xinge’s First Elder reported the Yan Family’s strength, and the elders discussed whether the Prefectural Assistant was supporting them.
• Li Xinge declared that the Li Family should attack the Yan Family sooner rather than later.

Li Xinge assembled the Li Family and its allies to march against the Yan Family, while the Prefectural Assistant sent a Daoist-robed elder to protect the Yan Family. Confident in the elder’s strength, Yan Xiude decided to attack the Guo Family that night.

• Li Xinge ordered the Azure Wolf Cavalry, Li Family elders, Body Realm cultivators, and vassal families to assemble at Green Maple Valley and march on the Yan Family.
• Li Xingzong noticed the martial instructor’s urgent departure and took Li Wu to train harder.
• Li Xinge led nearly a hundred Body Realm cultivators and the Azure Wolf Cavalry out from Green Maple Valley.
• Yan Xiude received a Liu Family token and welcomed an old man in Daoist robes sent by the Prefectural Assistant to defend the Yan Family.
• After a banquet for the old man, Yan Xiude ordered the Yan Family to launch a surprise attack on the Guo Family that night.

The Yan Family launched a night raid on the Guo Family estate, only to discover Li Xinge and the Li Family had laid an ambush. The Li Family slaughtered the Yan elites, and Li Xinge set off after the fleeing Old Zhao.

• Yan Xiude led the Yan Family's elites to attack the Guo Family estate, where Li Xinge and Guo Taichang were waiting for them.
• Li Xinge revealed the Li Family's forces surrounding the estate and ordered over a hundred Body Realm cultivators to attack the Yan Family.
• Old Zhao used black smoke to escape over the wall, and Li Xinge sent Zheng Cangfeng after him.
• Li Xinge killed Yan Xiude and the Li Family wiped out the Yan Family's remaining fighters.
• Li Xinge collected wisps of black smoke from the battlefield with the Hundred Ghost Banner, then went after Old Zhao.

The Li Family's Azure Wolf Cavalry slaughtered the Yan Family, while Li Xinge and Zheng Cangfeng pursued Old Zhao. Old Zhao unleashed a Mother-Child Fiend to hold Zheng Cangfeng off, and Li Xinge stayed behind to face the fiend himself.

• Li Yanxiao led the Azure Wolf Cavalry in a massacre of the Yan Family and ordered the survivors' heads piled before the gates.
• Old Zhao escaped Li Xinge and Zheng Cangfeng, but Zheng Cangfeng caught up with him and attacked.
• Old Zhao released his Mother-Child Fiend, revealing himself as a remnant of the Crimson Dust Demonic Cult.
• Zheng Cangfeng fought the fiend with a qi-and-blood Mountain Lord manifestation, while Old Zhao abandoned it and fled.
• Li Xinge stopped the Mother-Child Fiend from pursuing Zheng Cangfeng and called the creature a rare treasure.

Li Xinge captured the Mother-Child Fiend and the weakened Old Zhao after the Li Family destroyed the Yan Family, then sent County Magistrate Yan Xiuwen to Zhang Xingyi. The prefectural city’s factions reacted to the Li Family’s rise, while Liu Jizu resolved to lie low until the Liu Family’s Second Progenitor completed his plans.

• Li Xinge used the Hundred Ghost Banner to capture the Mother-Child Fiend, and Zheng Cangfeng returned with Old Zhao as his prisoner.
• Gongsun Ban claimed Old Zhao as his captive, and Li Xuantong told Li Xinge that the Li Family had also captured County Magistrate Yan Xiuwen.
• Li Xinge ordered Yan Xiuwen sent to the prefectural city and handed over to Zhang Xingyi.
• Zhang Xingyi celebrated the Yan Family’s destruction and ordered the Zhang Family to watch the Prefectural Assistant and the Liu Family.
• Liu Jizu learned that Zhao Qi had not returned, blamed Li Xinge for the Liu Family’s losses, and ordered his clan to keep a low profile until the Second Progenitor succeeded.

After Li Wuyou disappeared during Li Xinge’s seclusion, the Li Family searched for her while she traveled alone to Baihe County Town. She was abducted by bandits and taken toward their mountain stronghold, where her fate remained uncertain.

• Half a year after Li Xinge entered secluded cultivation, the First Elder learned Li Wuyou was missing and ordered a search while the County Lieutenant sealed the major routes.
• Li Wuyou reached Baihe County Town and headed toward its western outskirts as several suspicious men followed her.
• The County Lieutenant’s soldiers closed the city gate to departures, and a merchant backed down after learning the officer belonged to the Baihe Li Clan.
• Seventh Brother and his men surrounded Li Wuyou on a quiet path and decided to present her to their Great Chieftain.
• Li Wuyou obediently accompanied the bandits through the mountains, and they arrived near their stronghold after several hours.

Li Wuyou slaughtered the bandits at their stronghold, then followed an unseen pull to a cliff and discovered an ancient cave. There she learned the first half of the Blood Demon True Technique and took a strange ring and the crystalline skeleton, intending to bring the ring to her uncle.

• Seventh Brother brought Li Wuyou to the bandit stronghold and presented her to the Great Chieftain.
• Li Wuyou tore out the Great Chieftain’s heart, then used her eerie red eyes to drain the other chieftains until they crumbled to dust; Seventh Brother also died.
• Li Wuyou left the silent stronghold, walked to a sheer cliff, and leaped down, where a flash of golden light left her unharmed.
• Li Wuyou entered an ancient cave and received the first half of the Blood Demon True Technique from a glowing scroll.
• Li Wuyou tore an ancient black ring from the skeleton and saw that it contained a vast space with a mist-covered mountain inside.
• Li Wuyou searched the chamber, then lifted the crystalline skeleton onto her shoulder and carried it away.

Li Wuyou returned to the Li Family after reaching Body Cultivation Grand Completion, bringing back unusual bones that Gongsun Ban identified as Divine Mansion Jade Bone. The Grand Elder learned that activating them required a third-tier Weapon Forger, so he considered seeking help from Old Man Fengshan by solving his long-standing Go puzzle.

• The Grand Elder sent the Azure Wolf Cavalry to search for Li Wuyou after the Li Family failed to find her for three days.
• Li Wuyou finished slaughtering the mountain bandit strongholds, reached Body Cultivation Grand Completion, and started back home.
• An Azure Wolf Cavalryman tracked down Li Wuyou, and the Grand Elder welcomed her home with concern before learning she had brought back unusual bones.
• The Grand Elder tested the bones and found they remained unharmed after his Qi and Blood-powered punch, so he summoned Gongsun Ban.
• Gongsun Ban identified the bones as Divine Mansion Jade Bone and explained that a third-tier Weapon Forger could carve runes to activate their power.
• The Grand Elder learned that hiring Gongsun Ban's master, Old Man Fengshan, would cost at least a thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, but Fengshan might grant a favor to whoever solved his Go puzzle.

Li Xingzong claimed he could solve Old Man Fengshan’s chess puzzle, earning a chance to meet the renowned weapon forger. At Fengshan, Old Man Fengshan agreed to let him try, but warned that failure would mean ten years working the forge.

• After two days passed without anyone solving the puzzle, Li Xingzong learned that success would earn a month in the Spirit Gathering Array and declared he knew a solution.
• The Great Elder brought Li Xingzong’s proposed solution to Gongsun Ban, who confirmed it was viable and told them where to find Old Man Fengshan.
• The Great Elder sent Sixth Elder Li Yanzhao, two Guest Officials, and Li Xingzong on the long journey to Fengshan in Longtan County.
• At Old Man Fengshan’s home, Anian initially tried to turn the group away because they had brought no spirit stones, but Old Man Fengshan invited them in after hearing they could solve his puzzle.
• Li Xingzong volunteered to solve the puzzle, and Old Man Fengshan offered him a chance with the condition that he work the forge for ten years if he failed.

Li Xingzong accepted Old Man Fengshan’s offer, then won their bet by scattering the chess pieces instead of solving the puzzle conventionally. He used his reward to persuade Old Man Fengshan to leave seclusion and travel with the group to Baihe County.

• Li Xingzong agreed to work with Old Man Fengshan after Anian warned him about refusing the opportunity.
• Old Man Fengshan finished forging a Profound Rank treasure weapon by tempering it in the essence blood of a powerful demonic beast.
• Old Man Fengshan invited Li Xingzong to solve his chess puzzle, and Li Xingzong scattered the pieces across the board by force.
• Anian prepared to attack Li Xingzong, but Old Man Fengshan stopped him and acknowledged that Li Xingzong had found a loophole.
• Li Xingzong asked Old Man Fengshan to accompany the group to Baihe County, and Old Man Fengshan agreed.
• Li Yanzhao praised Li Xingzong for helping the Lineage, and Li Xingzong eagerly asked whether he might meet the family head.

Old Man Fengshan left his shop with Li Yanzhao and Li Xingzong, then brought them to Green Maple Valley on a powerful Red Feathered Demonic Bird. After reaching the Li Family, Anian was shocked to learn that a hidden array might unleash power at the Innate Realm.

• Old Man Fengshan told Li Yanzhao and Li Xingzong he was leaving because Li Xingzong had solved his chess puzzle, and asked Old Li to watch the shop.
• Old Man Fengshan summoned a gigantic Red Feathered Demonic Bird and flew with the group to Green Maple Valley in less than a day.
• Li Yanzhao asked Old Man Fengshan to land outside the valley, then hurried off to tell the Li Family to welcome him.
• Anian questioned why Old Man Fengshan had visited the ordinary-looking Li Family, but Old Man Fengshan revealed that he had sensed a formidable hidden array beneath it.
• Anian realized the array might reach the Innate Realm and accepted Old Man Fengshan's warning not to underestimate anyone.