Recaps

Other Holy Sons of Mount Shu reacted to Chen Changqing recruiting followers, while Liu Mu prepared Evergreen Peak’s selection plan. Chen Changqing asked Little Black about returning to the Heavenly Demon Clan, but Little Black said it was not yet the right time.

• Luo Qingyi learned that Chen Changqing was recruiting followers and decided Green Wood Peak could not afford to fall behind.
• Xiao Li and Xuan Hao questioned Chen Changqing’s motives and watched his recruitment with interest.
• Ji Changkong ordered a subordinate to monitor Evergreen Peak and find out who joined Chen Changqing.
• The other Holy Sons paid attention to the recruitment, which Mount Shu allowed as part of its factional rivalries.
• Liu Mu continued planning recruitment criteria that considered character and gave ordinary disciples a chance.
• Chen Changqing asked Little Black about the Heavenly Demon Clan, and Little Black said it was in the Demon Domain but that he could not return yet.

Rujie visited Chen Changqing at Evergreen Peak and was stunned to discover that Chen had reached the Spirit Transformation Realm. Rujie asked Chen for help but had not yet explained what he needed.

• Ran Hua told Chen Changqing that Rujie from Heavenly Sound Temple had come to see him, and Chen sent for the monk.
• While Rujie waited outside Evergreen Peak, he claimed he and Chen were brothers who had faced life and death together, then tried to flirt with Mystic Serpent and was rebuffed.
• Ran Hua brought Rujie to Chen, where Rujie noticed Chen's breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation Realm and marveled at his cultivation speed.
• Chen asked why Rujie had come, and Rujie admitted that he wanted Chen's help but had not yet said what the favor was.

Rujie asked Chen Changqing to help him defeat the Ghost Sovereign at Yulan Stronghold so he could gain merit in the Buddhist Sect's Holy Son contest. Chen Changqing agreed and brought Rujie to meet Xiaoqian, whose account of Thunder Sound Temple's massacre explained why he had taken her in.

• Rujie revealed that he was competing to become the Buddhist Sect's Holy Son and asked Chen Changqing to help him deliver the ghosts at Yulan Stronghold.
• Chen Changqing agreed to help Rujie without asking for anything in return.
• Chen Changqing told Liu Mu to manage Evergreen Peak and its disciple recruitment while he was away with Rujie.
• Chen Changqing brought Rujie to meet Xiaoqian, who explained that Thunder Sound Temple had slaughtered everyone in her town and that Chen Changqing had taken her to Shu Mountain Sacred Land.

After confirming that Thunder Sound Temple monks had massacred a town, Chen Changqing, Rujie, and Xiaoqian traveled to Yulan Stronghold to investigate its Ghost Cultivators. Xiaoqian discovered that the Yulan Ghost Emperor would marry in three days with three other Ghost Sovereigns attending, and Chen Changqing challenged Rujie’s suggestion to retreat.

• Rujie learned from Xiaoqian and Chen Changqing that Thunder Sound Temple monks had killed every resident of a town for cultivation.
• Chen Changqing asked Xiaoqian to accompany him and Rujie, and they flew toward Yulan Stronghold.
• Three days later, they reached the sinister mountains surrounding the stronghold, and Chen Changqing sent Xiaoqian to scout it.
• Xiaoqian reported that the Yulan Ghost Emperor’s wedding was three days away and that three neighboring Ghost Sovereigns had been invited.
• Rujie urged Chen Changqing to reconsider their plan, but Chen Changqing asked whether he no longer wanted the merits from Yulan Stronghold.

Chen Changqing convinced Rujie to wait until the Yulan Ghost Emperor’s wedding and seize the chance to defeat all four Ghost Emperors at once. As the wedding began and the stronghold filled with Ghost Cultivators, Chen Changqing remained confident while Rujie braced himself for the fight.

• Xiaoqian reminded Rujie that the Yulan Ghost Emperor’s wedding was three days away, prompting Rujie to suggest attacking before it began.
• Chen Changqing proposed striking all four Ghost Emperors together, and Rujie agreed, hoping the achievement would help him compete for Buddhist Sect Holy Son.
• After waiting three days, Chen Changqing, Rujie, and Xiaoqian watched from hiding as the Yulan Ghost Emperor welcomed the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor, the Withered Bone Ghost Emperor, and the Hundred-Child Ghost Mother to his wedding.
• Rujie worried over the many Ghost Cultivators gathered at Yulan Stronghold, but Chen Changqing told him to leave everything to him.

Chen Changqing, Rujie, and Xiaoqian waited in hiding as the Profound Yin Female Ghost arrived and married Yulan Ghost Emperor. Just as the feast ended and Yulan Ghost Emperor prepared to leave with his bride, Dao Sect cultivators intervened, angering Rujie.

• Chen Changqing told Rujie to wait so they could catch all their targets at once.
• The Profound Yin Female Ghost arrived at Yulan Stronghold in a bone sedan chair, and the wedding ceremony began.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor and the Profound Yin Female Ghost completed the ceremony, and the assembled ghosts celebrated with wine brewed from human blood.
• As Yulan Ghost Emperor prepared to take his bride to the bridal chamber, a Spirit Transformation Middle Stage Dao cultivator and six Dao Sect disciples arrived to exorcise the ghosts.
• Rujie cursed the Dao Sect disciples for interrupting his chance to earn merit by delivering a Ghost Sovereign's soul.

Chen Changqing watched as Dao Sect cultivators confronted Yulan Stronghold, where four Ghost Sovereigns emerged instead of the one they expected. Yulan Ghost Emperor broke their formation and overpowered the azure-robed Daoist leader, while Chen Changqing and Rujie waited to intervene.

• Chen Changqing identified the Dao Sect leader as a Spirit Transformation Middle Stage cultivator and advised Xiaoqian and Rujie to let the Dao Sect make the first move.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor and the other three Ghost Sovereigns emerged from the hall with their forces, shocking the seven Dao Sect cultivators.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor attacked the azure-robed Daoist, who led his six disciples in forming the Seven Star Demon Subduing Array to block the strike.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor unleashed his Ghost Domain and shattered the array, injuring and scattering the six Nascent Soul Cultivators.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor fought the azure-robed Daoist and steadily gained the advantage.

Daoist Qingxu and the six Dao Sect disciples strengthened their Seven Star Demon Subduing Array and trapped the Yulan Ghost Emperor in converging Sword Qi storms. As Chen Changqing and Rujie watched, Qingxu began casting the Five Thunders Orthodox Method: Palm Lightning.

• Rujie and Xiaoqian watched Daoist Qingxu struggle against the Yulan Ghost Emperor, while Chen Changqing told Rujie to wait before intervening.
• Daoist Qingxu called the six Nascent Soul disciples into the Seven Star Demon Subduing Array, which cut apart the Yulan Ghost Emperor’s resentful souls.
• Daoist Qingxu and the disciples summoned seven pillars of starlight that absorbed the Ghost Emperor’s Yin Baleful power and formed closing Sword Qi storms.
• The Yulan Ghost Emperor attacked with a tide of ghosts, but the Sword Qi storms shredded them and left him fearing he would be killed if caught.
• Chen Changqing warned Rujie that the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor, the Withered Bone Ghost Emperor, and the Hundred-Child Ghost Mother had yet to join the fight.
• Daoist Qingxu chanted the Five Thunders Orthodox Method: Palm Lightning.

Daoist Qingxu and the six Dao Sect disciples were overwhelmed when three Ghost Sovereigns joined the battle, leaving them badly injured and their formation shattered. As Qing Changqing prepared to intervene, Daoist Qingxu invoked the Dao Sect’s God Invocation Technique, suddenly gaining a Tribulation Transcendence presence and shocking the Four Great Ghost Emperors.

• The Blood Spring Ghost Emperor and Withered Bone Ghost Emperor attacked the Dao Sect’s golden shield with a Blood Sea, bone spikes, and ghostly fire.
• The Hundred-Child Ghost Mother’s cries disrupted the six Nascent Soul disciples, and the combined assault shattered the shield and Sword Formation, gravely injuring all seven Dao Sect fighters.
• The four Ghost Sovereigns gathered around Daoist Qingxu and prepared to kill him, while Rujie urged Chen Changqing to intervene.
• Daoist Qingxu chanted an invocation to the Dao Sect’s founding patriarch, causing his presence to surge beyond Spirit Transformation and reach Tribulation Transcendence.
• Rujie recognized the technique as the Dao Sect’s God Invocation Technique, and Chen Changqing suspected it carried a drawback.

Daoist Qingxu used the God Invocation Technique to attack the four Ghost Emperors, but his injuries made him lose control before he could kill them. Chen Changqing then arrived with Rujie and Xiaoqian, saved Qingxu, and challenged the Ghost Emperors.

• Chen Changqing held back from intervening after Daoist Qingxu’s God Invocation Technique raised his power, while Rujie worried that Qingxu would take the credit for defeating the Ghost Emperors.
• Daoist Qingxu summoned a vast Faxiang and struck at Yulan Ghost Emperor, Blood Spring Ghost Emperor, Withered Bone Ghost Emperor, and Hundred-Child Ghost Mother, breaking their combined defenses and pinning them down.
• Daoist Qingxu spat blood and collapsed before his sword could land, causing the Ghost Emperors to break free.
• Yulan Ghost Emperor charged at the exhausted Daoist Qingxu, but a sudden Sword Qi struck him and drove him back.
• Chen Changqing arrived with Rujie and Xiaoqian, identified himself as a disciple of Mount Shu, and declared that he would slay the ghosts.
• Blood Spring Ghost Emperor mocked Chen Changqing for boasting despite being only at the Spirit Transformation Early Stage.

Chen Changqing revealed the Immortal Artifact Heavenly Thunder Sword and wounded the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor, but the four Ghost Sovereigns surrounded him. He extracted the first four forms of the Eight Desolations Spear Technique and summoned a figure beside him as the fight was about to begin.

• Chen Changqing revealed the Heavenly Thunder Sword, shocking the Four Great Ghost Emperors, Rujie, and Daoist Qingxu.
• Chen Changqing struck the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor with the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique, but the Ghost Emperor survived with an injury.
• The Blood Spring Ghost Emperor called on the Yulan Ghost Emperor, the Withered Bone Ghost Emperor, and the Hundred-Child Ghost Mother to attack Chen Changqing and claim his Immortal Artifact.
• Xiaoqian tried to help Chen Changqing, but Rujie stopped her, while the injured Daoist Qingxu could only watch.
• Chen Changqing extracted the first four forms of the Eight Desolations Spear Technique at Great Accomplishment and summoned a figure beside him.

Chen Changqing summoned an Avatar with the same Spirit Transformation presence as himself, and the Avatar revealed a second Immortal Artifact, the Dragon-Patterned Sky-Splitting Spear. As the four Ghost Emperors attacked, Chen Changqing repelled their techniques and grievously wounded the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor, while the battle against the Avatar remained underway.

• Chen Changqing summoned an Avatar whose presence and combat strength matched his own.
• Chen Changqing's Avatar produced the Dragon-Patterned Sky-Splitting Spear, stunning Rujie, Xiaoqian, Daoist Qingxu, and the Four Great Ghost Emperors.
• The Four Great Ghost Emperors attacked, with Yulan Ghost Emperor and Blood Spring Ghost Emperor targeting Chen Changqing while Withered Bone Ghost Emperor and Hundred-Child Ghost Mother attacked his Avatar.
• Chen Changqing used the first form of the Immortal Execution Sword Technique to shatter Yulan Ghost Emperor's ghost blades and destroy the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor's blood skulls.
• Chen Changqing unleashed the second form of the Immortal Execution Sword Technique, evaporating the Blood Sea and grievously injuring the Blood Spring Ghost Emperor.

Chen Changqing and his avatar battled four Ghost Sovereigns and turned the tide with their Immortal Artifacts and techniques. The chapter ended with both bodies striking down their remaining opponents.

• Chen Changqing's avatar blocked Withered Bone Ghost Emperor and Hundred-Child Ghost Mother's attacks with the Black Tortoise Suppresses the Abyss technique.
• The avatar wounded Withered Bone Ghost Emperor and drove Hundred-Child Ghost Mother back with successive spear techniques.
• Chen Changqing's original body destroyed Yulan Ghost Emperor's Ten Thousand Ghosts Soul Devour Array and killed him with God Burial.
• The avatar killed Withered Bone Ghost Emperor with White Tiger Splits the Earth.
• Blood Spring Ghost Emperor and Hundred-Child Ghost Mother tried to flee, but Chen Changqing's Heavenly Thunder Sword and his avatar's Dragon-Patterned Sky-Splitting Spear pierced them.

Chen Changqing killed the Four Great Ghost Emperors and every Ghost Cultivator at Yulan Stronghold, earning AFK Points and astonishing Rujie and the others. Rujie collected the battle record for his bid to become the Buddhist Sect Holy Son, then prepared to return to Heavenly Sound Temple.

• The system rewarded Chen Changqing with 200,000 AFK Points after he slew the Four Great Ghost Emperors.
• Rujie, Xiaoqian, Daoist Qingxu, and the remaining Ghost Cultivators watched in shock as Chen Changqing and his Avatars defeated the Ghost Sovereigns.
• Chen Changqing used his Invincible Sword Domain and two Immortal Artifacts to kill every Ghost Cultivator who tried to flee Yulan Stronghold.
• Chen Changqing dismissed his Avatars and joined Rujie and Xiaoqian, while Rujie praised his strength and asked whether he would pursue a Ghost Emperor.
• Rujie gathered the Four Great Ghost Emperors’ battle record in a Buddhist Sect Law Artifact, excited that it would help him compete for the Buddhist Sect Holy Son position.
• Rujie thanked Chen Changqing and said he had to return to Heavenly Sound Temple.

After killing the Four Great Ghost Emperors, Chen Changqing departed with Xiaoqian while Daoist Qingxu and the Dao Sect disciples learned his identity and marveled at his strength and rapid cultivation. On the way back to Mount Shu, Chen Changqing discovered that many cultivators were heading to Tianyuan City and went to investigate.

• Rujie left after bidding farewell to Chen Changqing, and the skies over Yulan Stronghold cleared as the ghosts were destroyed.
• Daoist Qingxu and the surviving Dao Sect disciples thanked Chen Changqing, then reacted with shock when he revealed his name and they recognized him as the Azure Dragon Ranking's top cultivator.
• Chen Changqing collected the Ghost Cultivators' corpses and left with Xiaoqian, while Daoist Qingxu decided to return to the Dao Sect and report Chen Changqing's progress.
• On the way back to Mount Shu, Chen Changqing noticed many cultivators gathered in an otherwise ordinary town and went with Xiaoqian to a tavern.
• The waiter told Chen Changqing that the cultivators were traveling to Tianyuan City, a hundred li to the east.

Chen Changqing and Xiaoqian traveled to Tianyuan City and learned that the chessboard-like sealed land held the Heavenly Question Chess Game and the Chess Immortal Inheritance. When the game opened, they entered the sealed land and found themselves above a vast, still lake.

• Chen Changqing and Xiaoqian arrived in Tianyuan City and spotted a chessboard-like sealed land above it.
• At the Listen-to-the-Wind Pavilion, Chen Changqing heard that the Heavenly Question Chess Game opened every three years and offered Old Man Heavenly Question's inheritance to whoever solved it.
• Chen Changqing learned the game would open in three days and stayed in Tianyuan City with Xiaoqian.
• When the game opened, Chen Changqing and Xiaoqian entered the sealed land alongside the gathered cultivators.
• Chen Changqing and Xiaoqian found themselves in another world above a vast, still lake.

At the Heavenly Question Chess Game, Chen Changqing learned that each move tested a player's Dao and chose to watch as Lin Yiqiu challenged the Green-Robed Elder. The elder dismantled Lin Yiqiu's sword-based strategy, and the backlash left Lin Yiqiu defeated and questioning his Dao.

• Chen Changqing and Xiaoqian arrived in the Secret Realm and saw that the Green-Robed Elder presiding over the game was a Title True Lord.
• The Green-Robed Elder explained that the winner of one game could receive Old Man Heavenly Question's inheritance, while a nearby cultivator explained that every move tested Dao heart, comprehension, and cultivation.
• Chen Changqing chose to observe rather than take the first turn, and Lin Yiqiu of the Chess Sword Pavilion stepped forward to challenge the elder.
• Lin Yiqiu used black stones to form a fierce sword formation, but the elder's white stones gradually absorbed and redirected his Sword Intent.
• On the seventieth move, the elder's small knight's move shattered Lin Yiqiu's Sword Momentum, and the backlash made Lin Yiqiu spit blood and fly backward.

The Green-Robed Elder defeated a succession of challengers in the Heavenly Question Chess Game, overcoming ghostly traps, Buddhist purification, and icy suppression. True Person Profound Ice conceded without apparent injury, while the other defeated players suffered severe backlash and the crowd was left helpless.

• Lin Yiqiu crashed onto the lakeshore, dazed and grievously injured after losing the game.
• Yin Jiuyou of Hundred Ghost Cliff played black, but the Green-Robed Elder broke his Ten Thousand Souls Heart-Devouring Array and blasted him away.
• Huiming of Thunder Sound Temple tried to purify the game with Buddhist teachings, but the elder shattered his pure land, and Huiming left injured.
• True Person Profound Ice of North Pole Palace played black and built an icy formation, but the elder’s stones restored vitality and forced him to concede.
• Afterward, the challengers who played were defeated, and the crowd watched the Green-Robed Elder with helplessness.

Chen Changqing recognized the White-Clad Spear King as his martial uncle Bai Wuya when the Half-Step Heavenly Monarch arrived to challenge the Heavenly Question Chess Game. The cultivators and the Green-Robed Elder watched in suspense as Bai Wuya prepared to take his turn.

• After the cultivators failed to solve the Heavenly Question Chess Game, the Green-Robed Elder asked whether anyone else would challenge it.
• As Chen Changqing prepared to step forward, Bai Wuya arrived in white robes with a silver spear, and the cultivators recoiled at his overwhelming presence.
• A cultivator identified Bai Wuya as the Half-Step Heavenly Monarch known as the White-Clad Spear King, ranked among the Nine Provinces Continent's top fifty powerhouses.
• Chen Changqing recognized Bai Wuya as his Mount Shu martial uncle, who had once rescued him from powerful enemies, and confirmed their connection to Xiaoqian.
• The cultivators debated whether Bai Wuya could solve the chess game, while the Green-Robed Elder watched him in shock.

Bai Wuya challenged the Heavenly Question Chess Game with his Spear Dao but lost to the Green-Robed Elder on the 247th move. As the crowd despaired, Chen Changqing stepped forward to try, introducing himself as a Mount Shu disciple and greeting Bai Wuya as his martial uncle.

• Bai Wuya and the Green-Robed Elder used their own Principles to create pieces and began a fierce match that manifested their clashing Daos.
• On the 247th move, the elder diverted the Spear Dao killing formation, and Bai Wuya accepted defeat.
• Bai Wuya’s loss shocked the spectators, and the Green-Robed Elder prepared to end the chess game after no one volunteered.
• Chen Changqing stepped forward to challenge the game despite the crowd’s ridicule.
• Chen Changqing introduced himself as a disciple of Mount Shu and greeted Bai Wuya as Martial Uncle Bai, leaving the crowd stunned.

After the crowd learned Chen Changqing was the Azure Dragon Ranking’s top genius and Bai Wuya’s martial nephew, Chen Changqing sat down to challenge the Heavenly Question Chess Game. Though he admitted he knew nothing about chess, he began placing black pieces in a relentless assault on every white piece.

• The cultivators recognized Chen Changqing as the top-ranked Azure Dragon Ranking genius and were astonished by his rapid rise to Spirit Transformation Early Stage.
• The crowd learned Bai Wuya came from Mount Shu after Chen Changqing addressed him as martial uncle.
• The Green-Robed Elder invited Chen Changqing to take a seat and challenge the Heavenly Question Chess Game.
• Chen Changqing admitted he was not good at chess, then drew a black piece and placed it on the board.
• Chen Changqing ignored chess principles and launched a fierce attack, aiming to annihilate every white piece.

Chen Changqing played the Heavenly Question Chess Game without understanding its rules, turning the board into a battlefield where his black stones attacked relentlessly. Though his position looked doomed, his Slaughtering Will began to disrupt the Green-Robed Elder’s white stones’ Momentum.

• The spectators realized Chen Changqing genuinely did not understand the game and criticized his seemingly random moves.
• Chen Changqing placed a black stone near the Heavenly Origin, and the Green-Robed Elder sensed it devouring Dao Resonance and Spiritual Qi while warping the board’s rules.
• The Green-Robed Elder answered with white stones that stabilized the board, but Chen Changqing kept attacking them with stones imbued with killing intent.
• Chen Changqing sacrificed groups of black stones to launch attacks across the board, drawing ridicule from the spectators as his position collapsed.
• The Green-Robed Elder noticed Chen Changqing’s relentless will was interfering with the game’s order, and the white stones’ Momentum began to stagnate slightly.

Chen Changqing’s seemingly chaotic play at the Heavenly Question Chess Game developed into a forceful Dao of slaughter that began to unsettle the Green-Robed Elder’s position. The elder praised his unconventional approach and challenged him to show whether his slaughter could shake the supreme principles of heaven and earth.

• The cultivators mocked Chen Changqing’s play until Bai Wuya silenced them with a cold glare.
• Xiaoqian restrained herself from intervening and quietly hoped Chen Changqing would win.
• Chen Changqing’s black pieces formed a deliberate, instinctive assault that targeted weaknesses in White’s formation and changed the game’s balance.
• Chess experts recognized Chen Changqing’s moves as a Great Dao of slaughter, and the onlookers reconsidered their judgment of him.
• The Green-Robed Elder responded to Chen Changqing’s continued advance with approval and challenged him to test his Dao of slaughter against the principles of heaven and earth.

Chen Changqing broke the Heavenly Question Chess Game by overwhelming the Green-Robed Elder’s white pieces with his pure will to slaughter. He entered the inheritance realm and encountered an elder in a boundless starry world.

• Chen Changqing pressed his black pieces against the Green-Robed Elder’s final move and destroyed the white pieces’ Momentum with his will to slaughter.
• The Green-Robed Elder admitted defeat, celebrated finding someone who could break the game, and opened a gate to Old Man Heavenly Question’s inheritance.
• Chen Changqing entered the gate while Xiaoqian rejoiced, Bai Wuya praised his purity, and the watching cultivators reacted with astonishment and envy.
• Chen Changqing emerged in a boundless starry realm and saw an illusory figure take shape as a white-haired elder in a moon-white Daoist robe.

Chen Changqing met Old Man Heavenly Question, who revealed himself as an immortal soul and offered him a chance to inherit his legacy despite Chen Changqing refusing to become his disciple. Old Man Heavenly Question asked Chen Changqing to kill his treacherous senior disciple, and Chen Changqing agreed.

• Old Man Heavenly Question introduced himself as a wisp of his immortal soul and offered to take Chen Changqing as his disciple.
• Chen Changqing declined because he already had a master, True Person Chen Yuan of Mount Shu.
• Old Man Heavenly Question offered Chen Changqing his legacy if he agreed to help with one task.
• Old Man Heavenly Question revealed that his senior disciple had slaughtered his clan, ambushed him, and left him clinging to life through the chess game.
• Chen Changqing agreed to kill the senior disciple after hearing Old Man Heavenly Question's account.