Recaps

Shi Lan discovered that her unknown innate divine ability could absorb energy through the Black Domain, then used it to refine Phoenix blood and strengthen herself. After advancing to the middle stage of the eighth level of the Xiantian Realm, she drank some Seven-Treasure Spirit-Opening Jade Liquid while recovering from the strain.

• Shi Lan named her innate divine ability the Black Domain, and Samsara identified the pool’s blood as Phoenix blood that could strengthen her body.
• Shi Lan touched the Phoenix blood and recoiled from its intense heat, so Samsara made her a storage bracelet from the Kongming crystal.
• Shi Lan named the bracelet the Universe Bracelet and tested its spacious interior with her battle halberd.
• Shi Lan cautiously used the Black Domain on the blood pool, absorbed a surge of energy, and circulated the Jade Clarity Creation Art and Jade Forging Art to refine it.
• Shi Lan broke through to the eighth level of the Xiantian Realm and reached its middle stage before the energy ran out.
• Shi Lan, still suffering from burning pain in her organs, drank a mouthful of Seven-Treasure Spirit-Opening Jade Liquid.

Shi Lan used the Spirit-Opening Jade Nectar to master two more variations of the Heaven-Burning Three Halberds and discovered her cultivation had reached the peak of the eighth Xiantian level. After learning that powerful outsiders were seeking what she had taken from the Thunderclap Hall, she faced a new threat when five Heavenly Dipper experts discussed stealing the item without killing her.

• Shi Lan drank the Spirit-Opening Jade Nectar and mastered the Entangling Force variation of the Heaven-Burning Three Halberds.
• Shi Lan consumed the remaining nectar, mastered Crushing Force and Shaking Force, and reached the peak of the eighth level of the Xiantian Realm.
• Shi Lan learned from Wu Lingkong that five Heavenly Dipper experts and more than twenty Earthly Fiend martial artists had come to Ancient Phoenix City seeking what she took from the Thunderclap Hall.
• Wu Lingkong said she had used her Demon-Suppressing Army identity to stop the experts from searching the City Lord's Mansion, but warned Shi Lan that they might resort to underhanded methods.
• At a tavern, the five experts debated whether to pursue Shi Lan, and the burly man and Daoist proposed taking the item without killing her.

As Daoist Chisong warned four companions that the Demon Race vanguard was nearing Chengtian Domain, they scattered to investigate or make preparations, while his divination revealed a disastrous omen near the City Lord's Mansion. Shi Lan advanced to the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm, received two demanding quests, and discovered that her fame had risen sharply overnight.

• Daoist Chisong told the others that the Demon Race vanguard's beast tide was less than forty thousand li away and that the Demon-Suppressing Army appeared to be retreating.
• Ye, the burly man, and another companion flew west to investigate, while Brother Li left to make preparations and Daoist Chisong's divination warned him to flee the area.
• Shi Lan stored two boxes of phoenix blood in her Qiankun Bracelet and refined more of it to break through to the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm.
• The system gave Shi Lan a two-year quest to reach the Tiangang Realm and a one-year quest to slay a thousand Earthly Fiend Realm or stronger demon beasts.
• Shi Lan checked her system panel and saw that her fame had risen to 31,490, then received the Earthly Fiend Realm cultivation route for the Jade Purity Creation Art.

Shi Lan learned how the Earth Fiend Realm acupoint-opening process worked while recovering, as Yuan Shan sought to hire the Soul Reaping Tower to kill her. The Soul Reaping Tower refused the contract unless Yuan Shan offered the lives of his entire family, leaving him facing a dangerous demand.

• Shi Lan studied the locations of the acupoints she would need to open to enter the Earth Fiend Realm and resumed cultivating without Spirit-Opening Jade Liquid.
• Yuan Shan and Yuan Guanhai met the old man in Spiritwind City, who ordered Yuan Shan to hire the Soul Reaping Tower to target Shi Lan while protecting the Yuan family’s identity.
• Yuan Shan disguised himself and visited a Soul Reaping Tower outpost, where a young man asked him to identify himself before discussing the contract.
• Yuan Shan revealed that he was from Spiritwind City and offered first two hundred thousand, then three hundred thousand spirit crystals for Shi Lan’s assassination.
• The young man rejected the payment and demanded that Yuan Shan add the lives of every member of the Yuan family in Spiritwind City.

A young man posted a commission to wipe out the Yuan family, while Gu Feng City grew tense as news spread that Shi Lan and Wu Lingkong belonged to the Demon-Subduing Army. After Gu Qingcang woke, Shi Lan announced that they would leave in two days and resumed cultivating with Phoenix blood to prepare for a breakthrough.

• The young man killed Yuan Shan and posted a commission to destroy the Yuan family, which a black-robed figure took.
• Shi Lan recovered and went to find Wu Lingkong to discuss leaving Gu Feng City as visitors continued arriving at the City Lord's Manor.
• Gu Deyuan told Gu Rentong that Gu Qingcang had awakened, and the four hurried to see him; Gu Qingcang recognized his grandfather.
• Shi Lan told Gu Rentong that she and Wu Lingkong would leave in two days because of the worsening demon-beast situation, and advised him to prepare.
• Shi Lan set up a Spirit Gathering Formation and cultivated with Phoenix blood, bringing herself close to the ninth-level Xiantian Realm peak.
• After two Earth Fiend Realm scouts attacked at night and Gu Rentong drove them away, Shi Lan told Wu Lingkong she would try to break through to the Earth Fiend Realm.

Shi Lan broke through to the Early Earthly Fiend Realm and absorbed the lingering blood energy in the stone chamber before leaving Ancient Phoenix City with her companions. Outside the city, she encountered Shen Tianlan, who had come to escort her group through Heavenly Thunder Hall territory.

• Shi Lan opened the Yangxi acupoint after five strikes, advanced to the Early Earthly Fiend Realm, and found that her Jade Forging Art had not reached its next level.
• Shi Lan used her Black Domain to absorb the blood energy in the chamber, then sealed the hidden room and prepared to leave with Wu Lingkong and the others.
• Gu Rentong tried to persuade Shi Lan to stay, but she declined, thanked him, and departed the manor with her group.
• Gu Qingcang thanked Shi Lan, and Gu Rentong agreed to begin making preparations after she warned him.
• Shi Lan and her companions left Ancient Phoenix City as martial artists followed them from a distance.
• Shen Tianlan met Shi Lan at a roadside teahouse and said he had come to escort her group through Heavenly Thunder Hall territory.

Shi Lan led her group away from Ancient Phoenix City after advancing into the Earthly Fiend Realm, while Shen Tianlan escorted them beyond the Heavenly Thunder Hall’s territory. Once Shen Tianlan left, the pursuers prepared to attack before Shi Lan reached the Shengwu Immortal Sect’s sphere of influence.

• Shi Lan refused Shen Tianlan’s offer of protection, but he followed her group to warn off those pursuing them.
• People at the tea stall discussed Shi Lan’s unexpected cultivation and the treasure they believed she carried, then some followed her group.
• Shi Lan’s group traveled peacefully for several days as she cultivated and recovered, with Shen Tianlan accompanying them.
• After they traveled more than ten thousand li, Shi Lan thanked Shen Tianlan and told him they could continue alone; he bid them farewell.
• With Shen Tianlan gone, the pursuers hurried after Shi Lan’s group and planned to strike before they reached Shengwu Immortal Sect territory.

Shi Lan defeated three Earth Fiend Realm ambushers with a single overwhelming attack, revealing the Violet Tenuity Seven-Star Halberd’s amplified power and her strength after entering the Earth Fiend Realm. Shen Tianlan departed in shock, while witnesses debated whether anyone could still capture Shi Lan.

• Three black-clad Earth Fiend Realm martial artists blocked Shi Lan’s group, and Shi Lan attacked before their leader could finish speaking.
• Shi Lan crippled the leader and struck down his two companions, while controlling her black domain before it drained the leader completely.
• Shen Tianlan, who had meant to draw out and punish pursuers, left after seeing Shi Lan defeat them with ease.
• Shi Lan examined the Violet Tenuity Seven-Star Halberd and realized it had multiplied her attack’s power; Wu Lingkong was shaken by the gulf between their strength.
• The surviving ambushers fled, and other pursuers arrived, recoiling from the battle’s aftermath and concluding that only a Heaven Dipper Realm expert might be able to capture Shi Lan.

Song Jue reached Ancient Phoenix City too late to find Shi Lan, while Shi Lan and her companions arrived in Shengwu Immortal Sect territory and were summoned to battle by a Demon-Subduing General. They set out for the coordinates, facing the threat of military punishment if they failed to report.

• Song Jue learned from a servant that Shi Lan had left Ancient Phoenix City, then departed on his flying brush.
• Shi Lan and her companions traveled safely into Shengwu Immortal Sect territory and found a large city where they bought a map.
• Wu Lingkong advised the group to avoid the sect’s mountain gate because their Demon-Subduing Orders had not recorded military merits recently, making them appear to have deserted.
• Shi Lan’s Demon-Subduing Order grew hot and transmitted coordinates about three thousand miles away, summoning the group through a Demon-Subduing General’s Command Platform.
• Wu Lingkong explained that failing to answer the summons would count as desertion in battle and carry the death penalty, so the group prepared to leave.

Shi Lan and Wu Lingkong prepared to join the Demon-Suppression Army, and Shi Lan reflected on how her hopes for a peaceful life had been overtaken by survival and danger. Their group reached the summoned coordinates at dawn and boarded a massive flying vessel, where other armored groups were also arriving.

• Shi Lan sat with Wu Lingkong in the courtyard as they watched the dragon horses being fed and reflected on the dangers ahead.
• Wang Ning reported that the group was ready to depart, and Shi Lan resolved to become strong enough to survive.
• Wu Lingkong fitted Shi Lan with armor and a hair crown before they left the inn.
• Shi Lan led the group out of the city, and the dragon horses carried them three thousand li to the rendezvous by dawn.
• Shi Lan and the others rode a golden beam up to a huge flying vessel and saw other black-armored groups arriving on nearby beams.

Shi Lan boarded a Demon Suppression Army flying ship and was promoted to thousand-man commander by the dark-armored officer, who reorganized the arriving troops. After settling into the ship's hold, Shi Lan received a visit from Wu Lingkong.

• Shi Lan recognized the dark-armored officer from Twin Moon City as he gathered the arriving troops aboard the flying ship.
• The officer ordered the four formations into the hold, then summoned the centurions and inspected their Demon Suppression Tokens.
• The officer promoted Shi Lan to thousand-man commander despite her insufficient battle merits and assigned several hundred soldiers, including Wang Ning, under her command.
• The officer assigned Wu Lingkong and the other women to a separate women's battalion and told everyone to rest in the hold.
• Shi Lan dismissed her soldiers to rest in the ship's large hold, and Wu Lingkong came to her room after the two women settled in.

Shi Lan learned about Bai Weiyang’s reputation and followed her deployment to the Thunder Hall, where Bai Weiyang demanded that Lei Wuji come out. The chapter ended with Lei Chen facing the Demon-Suppressing Army at the Thunder Hall.

• Wu Lingkong told Shi Lan about Bai Weiyang’s achievements, command style, age, and family background.
• Shi Lan and Wu Lingkong received orders to assemble on the warship’s deck, where Bai Weiyang distributed Martial Summons Orders and authorized officers to execute anyone who resisted by force.
• Bai Weiyang sent the Myriad-Man Commanders and most officers away to issue summonses, while Shi Lan and four Hundred-Man Commanders remained aboard the warship with her.
• The warship carried Shi Lan and Bai Weiyang to the Thunder Hall, where Lei Chen and several others came out to meet them.
• Bai Weiyang demanded that Lei Wuji come out to speak.

Bai Weiyang delivered the Imperial Court’s conscription order to the Heavenly Thunder Hall and required it to send most of its cultivators to fight the Demon Race. Lei Wuji agreed, assigned Lei Chen to defend the sect, and recognized Shi Lan when she arrived to collect the summoned fighters.

• Bai Weiyang appeared at Sky Thunder Peak, summoned Lei Wuji, and presented the Imperial Court’s order to mobilize the Heavenly Thunder Hall against the Demon Race.
• Bai Weiyang ordered the sect to send nearly all its Earth Fiend Realm cultivators, most of its Xiantian Realm cultivators, and hundreds of Body Tempering cultivators, while refusing Lei Wuji’s request to recruit disciples into the Demon Suppression Army.
• Lei Wuji listed the sect’s strength, received the corresponding Summons Orders, and agreed to obey the decree.
• Lei Wuji told Lei Chen to stay behind to protect the Heavenly Thunder Hall while he took Tianlan to the battlefield.
• Shi Lan arrived with several Centurions to collect the conscripts, and Lei Wuji praised her talent and recognized her as the martial tournament champion.

Shi Lan and the Thunder Hall warriors boarded the warship as the Demon Suppression Army gathered forces for the worsening war. After learning how badly the Chengtian Domain had been abandoned by reinforcements, Shi Lan used her saved intermediate draw and received a disappointing result before spotting a reset button.

• Shi Lan led Lei Wuji and the Thunder Hall contingent aboard the warship, where Bai Weiyang explained that the Demon Suppression Army had lost many commanders and was retreating against the Demon Race.
• Bai Weiyang revealed that the Imperial Court could not spare reinforcements, leaving the Chengtian Domain to fight almost alone.
• Wu Lingkong returned with a group of women, including Gu Rongyue, while Shi Lan helped settle the growing number of passengers.
• Shi Lan used her intermediate draw on pills and received a bottle of two-star Qi-Enhancing Pills.
• Shi Lan noticed a lit reset button beside the lottery wheel and recovered from her despair.

Shi Lan used the Black Domain to draw faint soul-cleansing energy from the Spirit Transformation Pill, then received a summons from Bai Weiyang. At a gathering on the warship, Ren Kaiyang brought in the captured Daoist Chisong and accused him of evading recruitment and stealing armor.

• Shi Lan reset her draw and obtained a six-star Spirit Transformation Pill, which the system said could help Myriad Forms martial artists break through to the Primordial Spirit realm.
• Unable to break the pill with astral energy, Shi Lan used the Black Domain to extract spiritual energy and two faint wisps of clear energy that refreshed her mind but left her exhausted.
• Shi Lan absorbed the spiritual energy with the Jade Clarity Creation Art and felt she was nearing the breakthrough to her second acupoint.
• Bai Weiyang summoned Shi Lan and hundreds of others to the warship's lowest-deck plaza.
• Ren Kaiyang brought Daoist Chisong before Bai Weiyang and accused him of luring soldiers into a trapping formation, refusing recruitment, attempting to escape, and stealing artifact-grade armor.

Bai Weiyang suppressed Chi Songzi’s attempt to spread an ominous reading and began assigning martial artists from various factions to the Demon-Subduing Army. As the arrangements continued, Shi Lan recognized a faint connection to a young man from Chongxu Pavilion, and Bai Weiyang beckoned her forward.

• Chi Songzi claimed his hexagram foretold victory for the Demon-Subduing Army, then blamed a suit of armor for threatening its fortunes, and Bai Weiyang sealed his acupoints and sent him away with Ren Kaiyang.
• Bai Weiyang placed the Rakshasa Manor members under Ren Kaiyang’s command, including Zhao Jing'an.
• Bai Weiyang assigned Miaoyin Valley’s musical support practitioners to the women’s camp under Lü Anqing.
• As Bai Weiyang arranged the remaining factions, Shi Lan noticed a young Chongxu Pavilion disciple whose face seemed familiar and faintly connected to her.
• Bai Weiyang beckoned Shi Lan over while fewer than a hundred people remained unassigned.

Bai Weiyang tested Shi Lan’s full strength to assess what Earthly Fiend Realm warriors she could command. Shi Lan broke through his spiritual barrier with her Black Domain, and Bai Weiyang responded by gathering far more spiritual energy.

• Bai Weiyang asked Shi Lan to attack him with everything she had so he could judge her abilities.
• Shi Lan struck Bai Weiyang’s barrier, cracking it with her amplified true qi while he remained unharmed.
• The onlookers marveled at Shi Lan’s strength, and Shen Tianlan admitted she had no chance of matching her.
• Bai Weiyang trapped Shi Lan in a contracting barrier, which she could not escape despite unleashing hundreds of halberd strikes.
• Shi Lan activated the Black Domain and devoured the barrier, prompting Bai Weiyang to gather spiritual energy nearly ten times denser than before.

Shi Lan demonstrated that her Black Domain could nullify Bai Weiyang’s spiritual-energy cage, then received command of a force of nearly a thousand warriors. After cultivating and gathering her new subordinates, she recognized something about Liu Ziming and asked about his family.

• Bai Weiyang’s spiritual-energy cage crumbled when it approached Shi Lan, and he ended their demonstration after suppressing her briefly with the power of space.
• Bai Weiyang assigned eight Earth Fiend Realm warriors, dozens of Xiantian Realm warriors, and two hundred Body Tempering Realm warriors to serve under Shi Lan.
• Bai Weiyang privately asked Shi Lan whether she would join the Bai Household, then withdrew the question and let her leave.
• Shi Lan absorbed the spiritual energy from the Black Domain’s clash, opened the Hegu acupoint, and found that her Jade Forging Art had not advanced beyond the sixth level.
• Shi Lan assembled her nearly thousand subordinates and questioned Liu Ziming after recognizing his name, learning that he lived in Shuangyue City with his elderly father.

Shi Lan discovered that Liu Ziming owned the Divine Cloud Bow and told him that Twin Moon City had fallen and his father, Liu Ping, was likely dead. Meanwhile, Bai Weiyang pressed Chisongzi for the result of his divination and learned that the army’s expedition was deeply inauspicious, but she rejected his advice to avoid confronting the Demon Race.

• Shi Lan recognized the Divine Cloud Bow on Liu Ziming, learned he had won it at auction, and invited him to her quarters to discuss something important.
• Shi Lan reorganized her forces, assigning most martial artists under the four Hundred-Man Commanders and placing the eight Earth Fiend Realm martial artists in a squad under her direct command.
• Shi Lan told Liu Ziming that Twin Moon City had fallen to the beast tide and that his father, Liu Ping, was likely dead; Liu Ziming left in a daze.
• Shi Lan returned to her quarters, opened the Black Domain, and began drawing out the Spirit Transformation Pill’s medicinal power.
• Bai Weiyang demanded the truth about Chisongzi’s divination, and he said he could not see the battle’s outcome but that the army’s expedition was deeply inauspicious.
• Chisongzi advised Bai Weiyang to avoid meeting the Demon Race head-on, but she ordered him to keep the divination secret and threatened to kill him if rumors spread.

Shi Lan struggled to cultivate amid constant fights aboard the warship and harshly punished the Blood Fiend Hall and Windblade Sect after their latest brawl. Samsara warned that Phoenix blood, killing intent, and impatience were affecting her, and the warship stopped near Taixu Academy.

• Chisongzi begged Bai Weiyang to release him, but Bai Weiyang kept him confined and promised to protect him.
• Over nearly half a month, Shi Lan absorbed more Phoenix blood, broke through three acupoints, and was repeatedly pulled away from cultivation to settle conflicts aboard the crowded warship.
• Shi Lan stopped a fight between the Blood Fiend Hall and the Windblade Sect, kicked two fighters, and ordered everyone involved hung from the deck after her kick damaged the floor.
• Samsara told Shi Lan that Phoenix blood, the warship's killing intent, and her impatience were making her unusually agitated.
• Shi Lan went onto the deck as the warship stopped, and she saw Taixu Academy in the distance.

Bai Weiyang led Shi Lan and the Demon-Subduing Army to Taixu Academy, where he reunited with Lin Yusheng and revealed that he had come to borrow troops. Lin Yusheng asked how many men he wanted, and Bai Weiyang requested as many as the academy could lend.

• Bai Weiyang and his commanders rode toward Taixu Academy, while Shi Lan followed on an unfamiliar dragon-horse.
• Lin Yusheng arrived at the academy entrance with teachers and disciples to welcome the visitors.
• Bai Weiyang greeted Lin Yusheng, and Lin Yusheng recognized Shi Lan and remarked on her rapid growth in strength.
• Bai Weiyang declined Lin Yusheng's invitation to go inside and said he had come to borrow men because the Demon Race was powerful.
• Lin Yusheng asked how many troops Bai Weiyang needed, and Bai Weiyang answered that he wanted as many as the academy could lend.

Bai Weiyang secured Lin Yusheng and over a hundred scholars from Taixu Academy for his westbound army, while Shi Lan briefly reunited with Xu Yuanbai. As the warship neared the battlefield, Shi Lan prepared her troops and gave Wu Lingkong a protective talisman before a sudden crash shook the ship.

• Bai Weiyang demanded a great scholar and at least a hundred scholars from Taixu Academy, and Lin Yusheng agreed to accompany the army with over a hundred scholars.
• Shi Lan recognized Xu Yuanbai at the academy, but left him behind as he regretted his past choices and lamented his failed ambitions.
• Bai Weiyang assigned the scholars quarters aboard the warship and sped west toward the battlefield with the army.
• Shi Lan prepared her subordinates, and the Demon Suppression Army received dragon horses and black banners.
• Shi Lan gave Wu Lingkong a Heavenly Spirit Talisman to protect her on the battlefield, then a thunderous crash shook the warship.

Shi Lan and the Demon-Suppressing Army charged into the beast tide while Lei Wuji fought a powerful demon in the sky. As Bai Weiyang directed the battle, two mysterious figures appeared beside the warship.

• Shi Lan joined the forces on deck, where they found a slain giant demon bird and sensed a powerful demonic cloud approaching.
• Lei Wuji confronted the burly demon with a storm of lightning while Bai Weiyang led the army down a golden road toward the beast tide.
• Shi Lan and the martial artists fought through the monsters, and Liu Ziming helped her by shooting giant toads whose corrosive pus threatened her.
• Bai Weiyang spotted a jade-haired man and a seductive woman appearing in the air beside the warship, and the woman said she wanted to turn him into a wraith.

Lin Yusheng and the Confucian scholars attacked two demon kings with the power of a sage’s phantom. The green-haired demon king sacrificed his vitality to protect Little You, leaving her alive beside his dying ancient-tree form.

• Bai Weiyang asked Lin Yusheng to make his move against the two demon kings.
• Lin Yusheng and the Confucian scholars summoned a sage’s phantom, whose divine light wounded Little You after she transformed into a giant black tiger.
• The green-haired demon king used his ancient-tree phantom to heal and shield Little You, while she refused to retreat.
• Lin Yusheng merged with the sage’s phantom, and the scholars’ true words formed a giant sword that struck at the black tiger.
• The green-haired demon king became a towering ancient tree and took the sword’s blow to protect Little You, suffering fatal damage.
• Little You returned to human form, stroked the tree’s scarred trunk, and heard Evergreen urge her to go.

Shi Lan led her battered troops through the final stage of the beast tide, activating the Demon Slaughtering Array and learning how it drew on and redistributed the army’s blood reserves. The surviving beasts fled, and the chapter ended with the Demon Suppression Army retreating to its ships while crews gathered the dead for burial.

• The ancient tree crumbled and transported the woman inside it away, while Lei Wuji drove off the wounded demon king who had been fighting him.
• After hours of battle, Bai Weiyang ordered Shi Lan to form the Demon Slaughtering Array as her troops’ losses mounted.
• Shi Lan connected to the array, which drew out the formation’s stored strength and redistributed its physical toll among the martial artists.
• With the demon kings gone and the beasts fleeing, the battlefield was cleared, but more than six thousand of the people who had disembarked from the warships had died.
• Shi Lan returned to the ships with her surviving troops as Bai Weiyang ordered the battlefield cleared and the dead gathered for burial beneath a memorial stele.