Recaps

After the Demon Lord’s lingering will restores Moral Value and Zhang Yuanqing advances to Day Wanderer, he builds a new coalition called Return of the Dead and investigates the Southern Faction. The arc leaves him preparing a covert attack on the Third and Ninth Elders while trying to keep his plans hidden from Ling Tuo.

• The Demon Lord’s lingering will possessed Zhang Yuanqing, broke Sleeping Dragon Duke’s sleep domain, and restored Moral Value by unleashing the sun’s power, ending the crisis in New Covenant County.
• Zhang Yuanqing completed his advancement to Day Wanderer, fought off the Sovereigns attacking Heaven’s Punishment’s branch, and learned more about his father’s curse and his uncle’s plans for him.
• Zhang Yuanqing recruited Deng Jingguo and other allies, then formally founded Return of the Dead with a mutual non-betrayal contract and assigned its members their roles.
• Zhang Yuanqing sought official support from the Five Elements Alliance, recruited Lian Sanyue to lead Return of the Dead’s Dark Division, and visited his family as they recovered from the attacks.
• Zhang Yuanqing investigated a mysteriously erased missing-person report for Lei Yibing and learned that even Lei Yibing’s mother had no memory of him disappearing.
• Zhang Yuanqing gathered intelligence on the Southern Faction and met Gang Leader Jiang, who explained the Same Boat Society’s split and named possible Sovereign-level suspects in Huo Zhengkui’s assassination.
• At Lian Sanyue’s auction, Zhang Yuanqing manipulated the bidding so an Illusionist bought the Fire Thief Orb, then compiled intelligence on Southern Faction members and prepared teams to attack the Third and Ninth Elders.

Zhang Yuanqing hunted the Southern Faction elders, investigated the relic left by Ling Jun’s mother, and lost it to Ling Tuo. He then entered Lord of a Fallen Kingdom with his allies, where palace assassinations threatened him while Fu Qingyang faced an invading army led by a level-nine enemy.

• Zhang Yuanqing captured the Ninth Elder as a Spirit Servant, but his summoned companions fell into the Third Elder’s ambush.
• Zhang Yuanqing rescued his trapped allies, and the group seized the Kui Ox Drum and destroyed the Third Elder’s body before the Pure Yang Sect Leader escaped with his primordial spirit.
• Zhang Yuanqing questioned Elder Zhao about the Same Boat Society and learned about a seed entrusted to him by Ling Jun’s birth mother.
• Zhang Yuanqing traced the seed’s cultivation method through recordings and Miao Fengyun, but Ling Tuo attacked his duplicate and took the seed.
• Zhang Yuanqing advanced Princess Yinyao, refined the Ninth Elder into a Spirit Servant, and entered Lord of a Fallen Kingdom with his companions.
• Fu Qingyang organized the dynasty’s defenses with his teammates while Zhang Yuanqing investigated the emperor’s poisoning and searched for a palace spy.
• Zhang Yuanqing survived an assassination attempt by three palace women, then faced Zheng Longtu’s sword after following him into a side hall.
• Fu Qingyang and the defenders repelled a Northern Dynasty assault, and Fu Qingyang realized that Tuoba Guanghe was level nine.

Zhang Yuanqing escaped the palace, gathered his scattered companions, and worked to rescue the children and undermine Zheng Wenhan’s coup. He revealed his imperial identity at the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony, stopped the sacrifice, and won the crowd’s support as the Imperial Preceptor reacted.

• Zhang Yuanqing used Beauty Wan’s help to survive Zheng Longtu’s attack, then learned of the plots linking the Zheng Family, the Northern Dynasty, and the Imperial Preceptor.
• After regaining his powers, Zhang Yuanqing reunited with his teammates and escaped the Summer Palace during Zheng Wenhan’s assault, but Consort Wan died protecting him.
• Zhang Yuanqing and his companions fled through the capital, where Wang Beiwang captured them and brought them before the Azure Dragon Gang, and Zhang Yuanqing persuaded him to help rescue Wang Xiu from the child sacrifice.
• Zhang Yuanqing regained his strength, rescued Wang Xiu and the other children from the Ministry of Justice, and fought off the forces pursuing him before reuniting with his teammates.
• Sun Miaomiao revealed that the Imperial Preceptor was using a Spirit Servant and intended the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony to proceed, while Zhang Yuanqing prepared to challenge the Zheng Family’s plans.
• At the ceremony, the Imperial Preceptor ignited the sacrificial firewood, but Yang Zheng intervened as Guan Ya’s group watched for assassins.
• Zhang Yuanqing revealed the Imperial Seal and Twin Dragon Jade Pendant, identified himself as Zhao Shun, stopped the ceremony, and urged the parents to rescue their children.
• After the crowd acclaimed him, Zhao Shun announced reforms and said he would govern from Heavenly Secrets Tower, unsettling the Imperial Preceptor.

Zhang Yuanqing helped defeat Zheng Wenhan and the Imperial Preceptor, then defended the capital from Tuoba Guanghe alongside Fu Qingyang. After returning to the modern world, he investigated an ancient abyss and entered the dangerous Southern Garden of Shu Mountain with his allies.

• Zhang Yuanqing undermined Zheng Wenhan, won the Divine Sharp Army's support, and completed the quest to eliminate him, while the Imperial Preceptor broke through and emerged as an undead threat.
• Zhang Yuanqing and his companions defeated the Imperial Preceptor by overfeeding his Heaven-Devouring Beast, but Tuoba Guanghe then led an attack on the capital.
• Zhang Yuanqing rallied the capital's defenders, and Fu Qingyang joined him, and together they helped drive off the Great Gate Army and kill Tuoba Guanghe, completing Lord of a Fallen Kingdom.
• Back in the modern world, Zhang Yuanqing declined to surrender the Light Compass Fragment and explored a frozen abyss with Xiahou Aotian, awakening the Commander of the Bad Men and finding a Demon Lord treasure-map fragment.
• Zhang Yuanqing rescued Deng Jingguo from an attack and gathered Sovereigns' blood for a resurrection plan, while Ling Tuo ordered the Grand Protector to stop targeting Yuanshi Tianzun and keep him alive.
• Zhang Yuanqing entered the Southern Garden of Shu Mountain with Fu Qingyang, Xiahou Aotian, the Palace Master, and Demon Eye Heavenly King, where mysterious footsteps attacked his Yin corpses.
• Zhang Yuanqing found a letter describing how Shu Mountain's sect master uncovered a secret about spiritual energy's decline and brought disaster upon the sect, then entered the Golden Roof Hall with his companions.