Recaps

Zhang Mo waited to see whether Baiyun Immortal City would intervene, while Liu Wei failed to unite Hidden Sword Mountain and the Lingxiu Three Sects with the Qingli Six Families against the Yin Ghost Division. Three months later, Baiyun Immortal City sent a flying boat to Lianxin Valley, forcing Zhang Mo to abandon attacks on the Qingli Dynasty but leaving him determined to destroy the Lin Family.

• Zhang Mo learned that the Qingli Six Families were seeking reinforcements and decided to wait for Baiyun Immortal City's response.
• Liu Wei asked Jian Changhe to join a coalition against the Yin Ghost Division, but Jian Changhe refused to cooperate with the Lingxiu Three Sects because he still intended to control them.
• Lin Daoyuan and the Wuxiang Sect declined to join the coalition, leaving Yang Zhengshan discouraged and considering whether to wait out Zhang Mo instead.
• Three months later, Baiyun Immortal City's flying boat arrived at Lianxin Valley, and Zhang Mo realized he could not continue attacking the Qingli Dynasty without provoking a Golden Core cultivator.
• Zhang Mo told Duan Qiankun that he would still avenge the Duan Family by destroying the Lin Family, which he expected to come after him.

After Baiyun Immortal City took control of Lianxin Valley, Yang Zhengshan planned to establish several Yang family shops there and recruited Bai Xiaoyun and Xia Yunshu to help. He then gathered a powerful group from the Spirit Source Land and set out for Lianxin Valley to open businesses and demonstrate the Yang family’s strength.

• Lianxin Valley reopened under Baiyun Immortal City, which invited the Yang family and other powers to establish businesses and attend an upcoming auction.
• Yang Zhengshan rejected reopening the Yang Clan Wife Artifact Casting Workshop and planned a pill shop, a talisman shop, and other stores in Lianxin Valley.
• Yang Zhengshan hired Bai Xiaoyun as a Yang family Guest Elder to oversee its shops and offered Xia Yunshu the chance to study talismans and work in the talisman shop.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged to travel with Liu Yue, who was leading Huanyue Sect’s move and business plans in Lianxin Valley.
• Yang Zhengshan assembled more than ten cultivators, numerous Golden Body Realm martial artists, and many Strange Beasts to display the Spirit Source Land’s strength as they headed for Lianxin Valley.

Yang Zhengshan led a powerful group of second-rank Strange Beasts and Golden Body Realm fighters to join Huanyue Sect and the other forces traveling to the Qingli Dynasty. Aboard Xuanqing Sect’s Glazed Cloud Boat, he discussed his unfinished Demon Essence Pill research with Yunxiao and learned he could buy more Demon Cores from him.

• Yang Zhengshan and his group rode their second-rank Strange Beasts from Yang Family Town to Huanyue Sect, astonishing the townspeople and Yue Qing.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yue Qing merged their forces and traveled toward the Qingli Dynasty, where Xuanqing Sect and Wuxiang Sect were waiting across the Lingxiu Sea.
• Yunxiao and Yun Xi invited Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi aboard Xuanqing Sect’s Glazed Cloud Boat, which Yang Zhengshan admired for its craftsmanship and scale.
• Yang Zhengshan showed Yunxiao a failed, first-rank Demon Essence Pill made from a second-rank Demon Core and explained that he needed more cores to improve his refining.
• Yunxiao offered to sell Yang Zhengshan Demon Cores and revealed that they came from the Cloud Sparrow Clan of Cangyu Mountain.

Yang Zhengshan arrived at Lianxin Valley with the Lingxiu Three Sects and learned that Baiyun Immortal City had gathered powerful factions from across the region. The chapter left him seated among the least prominent guests as the assembly prepared for Baiyun Immortal City’s undisclosed major move.

• Yang Zhengshan asked Yunxiao to help connect him with the Cloud Sparrow Clan, and Yunxiao agreed to bring him to Cangyu Mountain after the gathering while advising him to bring Treasure Fish.
• True Person Yunguo and Lin Xiqiu welcomed the Lingxiu Three Sects and Yang Family to Lianxin Valley, where Yunguo privately questioned Lin Xiqiu about the Xuanqing Sect’s strength.
• The White Cloud Chamber of Commerce gave Yang Zhengshan’s group a small courtyard, and Yang Zhengshan accepted the modest reception without protest.
• Youyu Gate arrived with a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist and six Foundation Establishment Cultivators, followed by more than twenty factions that gathered over forty Foundation Establishment Cultivators in Lianxin Valley.
• Yang Zhengshan attended Yunguo’s assembly and saw Que Lingfei, Jian Changhe, Feng Guiyue, and Han Jiangche seated ahead of him while he took a place in the fourth row.

True Person Yunguo announced Baiyun Immortal City’s plans to establish Qingli Immortal City at Lianxin Valley and invited cultivators to invest. Yang Zhengshan discovered that the Yang Family’s free shop was poorly located, then purchased several better properties and residences for the family.

• True Person Yunguo condemned the Wuchang Ghost Sect but offered no concrete plan to oppose it, then announced that Baiyun Immortal City would develop Lianxin Valley into Qingli Immortal City and raise its Spirit Vein to Third-Order Low-Grade.
• Baiyun Immortal City distributed property tokens to the gathered forces, and Yang Zhengshan learned that the Yang Family had received a Grade D No. 48 shop near the city wall.
• Yang Zhengshan, True Person Yunxiao, and Liu Yue inspected the shop, after which Yang Zhengshan decided to buy better properties and Yunxiao offered to introduce him to Fairy Lingfei.
• At the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce, Yang Zhengshan purchased two Grade B Cave Abodes, four shops, and thirty-eight ordinary residences for the Yang Family.

Yang Zhengshan bought residences and shops in Lianxin Valley, then negotiated a resource trade with Que Lingfei of Cangyu Mountain. After Lianxin Valley was renamed Qingli Immortal City, the city quickly revived and the Yang Family opened its pill and talisman shops.

• Yang Zhengshan bought cave abodes and shops, assigning Cui Yang and Zhang Hexuan to manage the pill and talisman businesses and reserving a courtyard for Bai Xiaoyun.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yunxiao met Que Lingfei, who agreed to trade Demon Cores for goods supplied by Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan exchanged resources for five Second-Order Low-Grade Demon Cores and arranged future trades with Que Lingfei.
• Cangyu Mountain sought new trading partners after the Qingli Six Families lost Lianxin Valley and suffered resource shortages.
• Lianxin Valley was renamed Qingli Immortal City, and Rogue Cultivators and factions gathered there as it regained its prosperity.
• The Yang Family opened its pill shop and talisman shop in Qingli Immortal City, selling pills, talismans, and commissioned alchemy.

Yang Zhengshan refined and tested Demon Essence Pills, improving his methods and confirming that he could produce them reliably. He delivered a Second-Order Low-Grade pill to Yunxiao, fulfilling their agreement and giving Yunxiao a new source of the rare pills.

• Yang Zhengshan spent years refining Demon Essence Pills, eventually producing a Second-Order Mid-Grade Wood-attribute pill and consuming it to increase his magic power and study its effects.
• Yang Zhengshan refined six more cauldrons over three years and produced four successful Demon Essence Pills with different attributes.
• Yang Zhengshan visited the Xuanqing Sect and gave Yunxiao a Second-Order Low-Grade Demon Essence Pill as agreed.
• Yunxiao recognized the pill and rejoiced that Yang Zhengshan could provide him with a source of Demon Essence Pills.

Yang Zhengshan traded Demon Essence Pills with Yunxiao and Que Lingfei, then obtained a Demon Cultivator cultivation method for the Strange Beasts in his Spirit Source Land. The chapter left him with a path for his beasts to cultivate, though their success depended on their own efforts.

• Yang Zhengshan gave Yunxiao one earth-attribute Demon Essence Pill and promised to refine two more within two years in exchange for nine Demon Cores.
• Yunxiao told Yang Zhengshan that threats to Baiyun Immortal City's marketplaces in the Wanhua Mountain Range had prompted it to establish Qingli Immortal City, and guessed Demon Cultivators were involved.
• Yang Zhengshan visited Que Lingfei and offered to trade Demon Essence Pills; she bought his three available pills and reserved ten more at a rate of one per year.
• Que Lingfei exchanged more than fifty Demon Cores for the pills and explained that the Demon Race preserved Demon Cores as currency.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Que Lingfei for Demon Cultivator cultivation methods so the Strange Beasts at home could cultivate, and she gave him the Primordial Truth Transformation Art.
• Que Lingfei explained that Demon Cultivators cultivated transformation and bloodlines, while Yang Zhengshan concluded that his Strange Beasts would have to pursue cultivation without his protection or the Demon Race's secret transformation experience.

Yang Zhengshan arranged teachers and disciples in the Spirit Source Land while preparing Yang Jizhen for Foundation Establishment. Yang Jizhen successfully established his foundation, and the Golden Thunder Bamboo absorbed Yang Zhengshan’s thunder bead and began to grow and reproduce.

• Yang Zhengshan assigned Luo Feiyu to teach the Green Wolf King basic cultivation knowledge.
• Yang Jizhen, Ma Qiuyan, and Ning Yun accepted three young Spirit Aperture Children as disciples, and Yang Zhengshan gave them refined Spirit Spring Water.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yang Jizhen to establish his foundation under his protection and appointed Yang Zongyuan as his assistant in the Pill Hall to teach him alchemy.
• Two months later, Yang Jizhen entered seclusion at Tingzhu Pavilion, and Yang Zhengshan guarded him as he began Foundation Establishment.
• Yang Jizhen successfully established his foundation after more than three months, while the Golden Thunder Bamboo absorbed Yang Zhengshan’s Azure Flower Thunder Bead, grew taller, and sprouted a new shoot.

After Yang Jizhen established his foundation, Yang Zhengshan arranged a ceremony and prepared to hand him authority over the Spirit Source Land’s Immortal Cultivators. Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen found Mo Xuanyu hiding in Twin Peaks Gorge and planned to lure him to the Spirit Source Land for a fight.

• Yang Zhengshan celebrated Yang Jizhen’s Foundation Establishment and planned to entrust him with Tai Wei Tower’s Immortal Hall and Ziwei Tower’s Jingxuan Hall.
• Yang Jizhen’s Foundation Establishment Ceremony brought the Spirit Source Land’s higher-ups together at Tai Wei Tower.
• Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen discussed their long futures, and Yang Zhengshan considered preparations for reaching the Golden Core realm.
• Yang Zhengshan told Xuan Zhen that Bai Xiaoyun had found Mo Xuanyu hiding in Twin Peaks Gorge, and the two set out to confront him.
• Yang Zhengshan detected a concealed formation in the gorge, then decided to draw Mo Xuanyu into the Spirit Source Land rather than fight on his home ground.
• Yang Zhengshan chose a remote northern mountain forest as the battlefield, sent Xuan Zhen there to prepare, and returned to Twin Peaks Gorge.

Yang Zhengshan found Mo Xuanyu cultivating in a hidden cave and used the Cave Heaven Portal to send him into the Spirit Source Land. There, Mo Xuanyu recognized Xuan Zhen, realized he had betrayed him, and began fighting him.

• Yang Zhengshan slipped into Twin Peaks Gorge and used his Spiritual Sense to locate Mo Xuanyu's hidden cave and blood pool.
• Yang Zhengshan approached Mo Xuanyu, but Xue Sha Qi poured into him and Mo Xuanyu woke, recognizing him as a cultivator from the Lingxiu Yang Family.
• Mo Xuanyu unleashed the Myriad Ghost Banner and twelve Ghost Generals, while Yang Zhengshan countered with the Azure Flower Thunder Bead and used the Cave Heaven Portal to send Mo Xuanyu into the Spirit Source Land.
• Yang Zhengshan left a Jade Token behind and entered the Spirit Source Land, where Xuan Zhen attacked the newly arrived Mo Xuanyu with his Seven-Star Dharma Sword.
• Mo Xuanyu recognized Xuan Zhen, realized he had sabotaged the formation and blood pool, and attacked him with the Soul Suppressing Lamp.
• Xuan Zhen blocked Mo Xuanyu's Soul Suppressing Lamp with his golden-lit Dharma Sword and knocked it back.

Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen struggled against Mo Xuanyu, whose monstrous transformation drew power from the Blood Pool beyond the Spirit Source Land. Yang Zhengshan unleashed the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace’s Solar True Fire, leaving Mo Xuanyu trapped in a blazing inferno.

• Xuan Zhen used the Purify Heaven and Earth Divine Curse to weaken Mo Xuanyu’s evil energies, but Mo Xuanyu transformed into a towering, blood-empowered monster.
• Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen fought Mo Xuanyu together; Mo Xuanyu’s blood qi overwhelmed Yang Zhengshan’s vines, and his blows badly injured Yang Zhengshan despite Xuan Zhen’s Golden Light Divine Curse.
• Yang Zhengshan discovered that Mo Xuanyu drew an endless supply of Xue Sha Qi from the Blood Pool outside the Spirit Source Land, then summoned the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace.
• Yang Zhengshan fed hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones into the furnace and ordered the Golden Crow to burn Mo Xuanyu.
• The Golden Crow erupted in Solar True Fire, forcing Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen to flee as the flames engulfed Mo Xuanyu.

After killing Mo Xuanyu, Yang Zhengshan and Xuan Zhen divided his spoils and discovered the Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda and a body-refining technique. Yang Zhengshan returned to his quiet room to begin refining the pagoda with his soul.

• Yang Zhengshan told Xuan Zhen that summoning the Bagua Furnace had cost him more than four hundred thousand Spirit Stones, then demanded that Xuan Zhen repay him.
• The Golden Crow confirmed that Mo Xuanyu had been destroyed, and Yang Zhengshan retrieved Mo Xuanyu's Storage Bag and the Myriad Ghost Banner.
• Yang Zhengshan found that the Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda was a rare top-grade soul magic treasure with seven abilities and the potential to become a Spirit Artifact.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Xuan Zhen the other four sinister Magic Treasures to purify, while they copied and kept Mo Xuanyu's incomplete Spirit-Swallowing Dharma Body cultivation method.
• Xuan Zhen left to drink, and Yang Zhengshan returned to the Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau to begin refining the Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda with the Soul Refining Method.

Yang Zhengshan fully refined the Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda and began cultivating the Spirit-Swallowing Dharma Body, using the Spirit Source Land as his Spirit Domain. After two years, he demonstrated his giant Dharma body to Yu Qingyi and prepared to visit Baiyun Immortal City alone.

• Yang Zhengshan used the Spirit Source Land’s Origin Core to completely refine the Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda, unlocking all seven levels and learning how its Exquisite Soul Domain trapped and weakened enemy souls.
• Yang Zhengshan studied the Spirit-Swallowing Dharma Body and decided to cultivate it alongside the Wood Transformation Body-Nurturing Method by absorbing Wood Attribute spiritual energy from spirit fruit.
• Yang Zhengshan completed the Dharma body tempering stage in two years and discovered that the Spirit Source Land itself could serve as his Spirit Domain.
• Yang Zhengshan transformed into a three-zhang Dharma body on the Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau, and Yu Qingyi admired the robe that grew with him before they strolled together.
• Yang Zhengshan invited Yu Qingyi to visit Baiyun Immortal City, but she declined because the city looked down on martial artists.

Yang Zhengshan traveled toward Baiyun Immortal City with Yunxiao to find rare materials for his Life-Bound Magic Treasure. Yunxiao warned him about the city’s powerful factions and complicated politics, while Yang Zhengshan prepared to establish an intelligence foothold there.

• Yang Zhengshan told Yu Qingyi he would go to Baiyun Immortal City, leaving Xuan Zhen and Jizhen to protect Ma Qiuyan and Cui Yang during their Foundation Establishment attempts.
• Yang Zhengshan visited Yunxiao at the Xuanqing Sect and invited him to travel to Baiyun Immortal City; Yunxiao agreed despite warning that the city had grown dangerous after conflict with the Demon Race in the Wanhua Mountain Range.
• Yang Zhengshan explained that he needed high-grade materials for his Life-Bound Magic Treasure and planned for his descendant Yang Jizhen to refine it once his skills improved.
• Half a month later, Yang Zhengshan and Yunxiao crossed the Yunxiao Mountain Range aboard Yang Zhengshan’s Jade Cloud Boat while Yunxiao described Baiyun Immortal City’s major factions and warned him not to provoke them.
• Yunxiao told Yang Zhengshan that Baiyun True Lord’s influence reached many local families, but admitted he had never met Baiyun True Lord and knew only conflicting legends about him.

Yang Zhengshan arrived at Baiyun Immortal City with Yunxiao and learned about its formidable defenses, strict rules, and bustling population. After settling into a cave abode, they saw a mysterious armored woman fly to the city's administrative center, then returned to plan which rare spirit materials Yang Zhengshan would seek.

• Yunxiao showed Yang Zhengshan Baiyun Immortal City's massive mountain foundation, defensive array, and Tianji Pavilion as they approached the city.
• A white-robed Foundation Establishment Cultivator mocked Yang Zhengshan, who ignored him and entered the city with Yunxiao.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Baiyun Immortal City forbade flying and fighting, relied on Second-tier puppet patrol guards, and charged visitors for entry and residence.
• Yunxiao helped Yang Zhengshan register his Cloud Tiger Colt and rent a Grade D cave abode before showing him the city's landmarks and alliance stations.
• A golden-armored female cultivator flew through the city's protective array and landed at True Lord Tower, prompting Yunxiao to take Yang Zhengshan back to their cave abode.
• Yang Zhengshan planned to search for Third-Order Spirit Wood and other materials for his Divine Wood Treasure Cauldron and Azure Wood Violet Lightning Sword.

Yang Zhengshan visited Wanbao Trading Company in Baiyun Immortal City to seek Wood and Lightning Attribute spiritual materials for his Life-Bound Magic Treasure. After learning that Martial Dao cultivators could reach the Golden Core Realm, he revealed his skill as an Alchemist and negotiated to become a Guest Elder in exchange for scarce Third-Order Spiritual Materials.

• Yang Zhengshan met Zhongli Xiayi, who told him that Martial Dao could lead to the Golden Core Realm, prompting him to reconsider what Divine Soul Realm Martial Artists could achieve.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Zhongli Xiayi about acquiring Second-Order and Third-Order Wood Attribute and Lightning Attribute spiritual materials, but she explained that the rare materials required valuable exchanges or lengthy, dangerous missions.
• Zhongli Xiayi offered another route: Yang Zhengshan could become a Guest Elder by contributing his skills in Alchemy, Artifact Casting, Talismans, or Formations.
• Yang Zhengshan disclosed that he was a Second-Order Alchemist who could refine Demon Core Pills and showed Zhongli Xiayi one of his pills.
• Zhongli Xiayi offered Yang Zhengshan one portion of Third-Order Low-Grade spiritual material if he joined Wanbao Trading Company, and said further materials would depend on his contributions.

Yang Zhengshan investigated a cultivator who had been following him and discovered that two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Yunyao Alliance sought revenge for a woman he had killed. Facing their influence in Baiyun Immortal City, he revealed to Yunxiao that Wanbao Trading Company had invited him to become a guest elder.

• Yang Zhengshan considered Wanbao Trading Company’s offer but left without accepting, then noticed an ordinary cultivator following him through Baiyun Immortal City.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to his cave abode and covertly followed the cultivator to Zuiyun Restaurant, where he overheard two Foundation Establishment men discussing revenge for their younger sister’s death.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized the men as two cultivator robbers whose female companion he had killed, then followed them to the Yunyao Alliance and realized they could use its influence against him.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yunxiao about the threat, and Yunxiao pledged to stand by him despite the danger posed by the Yunyao Alliance.
• Yang Zhengshan revealed that Wanbao Trading Company had invited him to become a guest elder, and Yunxiao reacted with astonishment.

Yang Zhengshan decided to join Wanbao Trading Company after learning its guest elders could trade contribution points for rare goods without surrendering their freedom. He became a Ninth-Rank Guest Elder and entered the treasure vault to choose a third-order spiritual material for his planned life-bound magic treasure.

• Yunxiao urged Yang Zhengshan to join Wanbao Trading Company, explaining that it was backed by a powerful force from the Central Region.
• Yang Zhengshan studied the guest elder rules and decided the company could support his cultivation, trading, and future plans for the Spirit Source Land.
• Yang Zhengshan joined Wanbao Trading Company, and Zhongli Xiayi revealed that Baiyun True Lord was its Sixth-Rank Guest Elder in the city.
• Yang Zhengshan received an identity token, a guest elder robe, and a Grade C Cave Abode before entering the company's treasure vault.
• Yang Zhengshan told the vault elder he needed wood- and lightning-attribute materials, then examined the available third-order spiritual materials.

Yang Zhengshan joined Wanbao Trading Company as a ninth-rank guest elder and acquired Banyan Heart Wood from its Treasure Vault. He discovered a profitable route to earning contribution points by refining Foundation Establishment Pills, then returned to Chunqiu Ward with materials for thirty-five batches.

• Yang Zhengshan chose Banyan Heart Wood from the Treasure Vault, and Zhongli Xiayi showed him around Wanbao Trading Company before taking him to his assigned cave abode.
• Yang Zhengshan studied the mission catalog and realized he could profit from refining Foundation Establishment Pills, especially since he could make mid-grade and high-grade pills.
• Yang Zhengshan exchanged ten Foundation Establishment Pills for six hundred contribution points and used them to obtain materials for thirty-five batches.
• Li Deming learned that Yang Zhengshan could refine Demon Core Pills and explained that such alchemists were called pill medicine masters.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to Chunqiu Ward, told Yunxiao he had joined Wanbao Trading Company, and explained that he had received Foundation Establishment Pill materials.

Yang Zhengshan learned about Xu Mingzhu and Zhou Tu’s positions in the Yunyao Alliance and prepared to confront Blazing Flame Hall with help from his allies. As Yang Jizhen and Xuan Zhen escorted Bai Xiaoyun toward Baiyun Immortal City, Duan Qiankun spotted them and returned to report their passage to Zhang Mo.

• Yang Zhengshan identified Xu Mingzhu and Zhou Tu as Blazing Flame Hall’s leaders and planned to lure them out of Baiyun Immortal City to fight them.
• Yang Zhengshan consulted Wanbao Trading Company’s intelligence, concluded that the Yunyao Alliance was divided, and began preparing with Xuan Zhen, Yang Jizhen, Bai Xiaoyun, and Yunxiao as allies.
• Xu Mingzhu and Zhou Tu discussed waiting for Yang Zhengshan to leave the city before attacking him, while Xu Mingzhu refused to investigate his origins further.
• Yang Jizhen and Xuan Zhen collected Bai Xiaoyun from Qingli Immortal City and set off with Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun toward Baiyun Immortal City on Golden Feather Fire Crows.
• Xuan Zhen sensed someone watching the group as they crossed a gorge, and Duan Qiankun identified them as members of the Lingxiu Yang Family before returning to Zhang Mo’s blood-filled formation.

Zhang Mo prepared to attack Lingxiu Sea while Yang Zhengshan and his disciples established the Greater Yin Cold Pool Formation to ambush his pursuers. Yang Zhengshan lured a hidden Foundation Establishment cultivator toward the prepared mountain stream as a flying boat approached.

• Zhang Mo told Duan Qiankun to wait until his Spirit-Swallowing Dharma Body reached great completion before attacking Lingxiu Sea and destroying the Lin Family.
• Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun showed Yang Zhengshan their Greater Yin Cold Pool Formation and selected a water-rich mountain stream south of Baiyun Immortal City as its site.
• Ma Qiuyan, Ning Yun, Xuan Zhen, Yang Jizhen, and Bai Xiaoyun spent more than half a month building the formation and its underwater cave abode.
• Yang Zhengshan sent Yunxiao out of the city, then left the next morning while six Qi Refining cultivators watched him.
• Yang Zhengshan feigned alarm as he evaded a concealed Foundation Establishment pursuer and headed toward the mountain stream when a flying boat arrived from the north.

Yang Zhengshan lured Xu Mingzhu’s flying boat into the Greater Yin Cold Pool Formation, where Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun activated the trap. After the formation weakened the pursuers, Yang Zhengshan launched a surprise soul attack, leaving two Foundation Establishment cultivators falling toward the river.

• Zhou Tu and Xu Mingzhu pursued Yang Zhengshan in a flying boat, while Master Zhou prepared to seal the Void and prevent his escape.
• Yang Zhengshan led the flying boat through the Great River mountain gorge, where Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun activated the Greater Yin Cold Pool Formation.
• The formation spread Greater Yin cold qi across the river and trapped Xu Mingzhu’s group, while Master Zhou identified ways they might break it.
• Yang Zhengshan waited for the cold to weaken the pursuers, then assigned Yunxiao, Xuan Zhen, Bai Xiaoyun, and Yang Jizhen their roles before entering the formation.
• Yang Zhengshan used the Soul-Absorbing Bell and two Soul Piercing Awls to strike the group by surprise, sending two Foundation Establishment cultivators plunging toward the river.

Yang Zhengshan ambushed Xu Mingzhu’s group, but Yunxiao revealed himself as a powerful Sword Cultivator and killed Zhou Tu and Xu Mingzhu with two strikes. Yunxiao then unleashed another sword against the remaining enemies, shattering the formation and carving a deep ravine through the river channel.

• Yang Zhengshan used the Soul-Absorbing Bell and Seven Treasures Soul Suppressing Pagoda to kill three Foundation Establishment cultivators before Xu Mingzhu attacked him with his Dharma Image.
• Xuan Zhen, Yunxiao, and Bai Xiaoyun entered the formation, and Yunxiao blocked Zhou Tu’s Geng Metal Sword Qi before revealing his hidden Sword Cultivation.
• Yunxiao killed Zhou Tu with one sword strike, stunning Yang Zhengshan, Xu Mingzhu, and the others.
• Xu Mingzhu fled, but Yunxiao struck him down as Yang Zhengshan praised the sword and agreed that it was worth two Demon Essence Pills.
• Yunxiao ignored Master Zhou’s plea for mercy and unleashed another sword, destroying the formation and splitting the river channel through the surrounding terrain.

After Yunxiao helped Yang Zhengshan defeat Xu Mingzhu’s party, the group celebrated and Yunxiao agreed to teach Yang Zhengshan’s sword-cultivator disciples in exchange for Demon Essence Pills. When Yang Zhengshan returned to his cave abode, Immortal Law Hall officers arrested him and took him away without explaining the charge.

• Yunxiao revealed that his Danyue Sword was a damaged Spirit Artifact, and Xuan Zhen and Bai Xiaoyun gathered the surviving spoils after the battle.
• Kuang Fu learned that Xu Mingzhu’s Soul Tablet had shattered and ordered an investigation into Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan hosted Yunxiao and his disciples, then agreed to owe Yunxiao two Demon Essence Pills for three years of guidance for Li Jianning and Li Jianan.
• Xuan Zhen, Yang Jizhen, and the others explored Baiyun Immortal City before departing, while Yang Zhengshan stayed behind to visit Wanbao Trading Company and refine pills.
• Kuang Hengxian and other Immortal Law Hall officers confronted Yang Zhengshan at his cave abode and ordered him to accompany them to the Hall.
• Yang Zhengshan went with the officers, signaled Yunxiao not to intervene, and Kuang Hengxian noticed the gesture and asked whether Yang Zhengshan had accomplices.