Recaps

Chen Changming mastered and enhanced the Dragon Glide Step, then went to the Lingxiao Sect Mission Hall to find work that would earn him Spirit Gathering Pills. After Yu Hailong pointed him toward lucrative Cloud Mist Mountain missions, Chen Changming prepared to register for a hunt.

• Chen Changming spent months watering spirit fields and comprehending the Dragon Glide Step, eventually completing one hundred repetitions and increasing his speed tenfold.
• After completing one thousand repetitions, Chen Changming enhanced the Dragon Glide Step again, gaining fivefold greater speed while reducing its spiritual power cost fivefold.
• Needing more Spirit Gathering Pills, Chen Changming went to the Mission Hall to seek missions and contribution points.
• Yu Hailong brought Chen Changming to the crowded wall listing generous rewards for killing Demonic Beasts amid a beast tide on Cloud Mist Mountain.
• Yu Hailong explained the beasts' grades and strengths, then told Chen Changming to register with Elder Liu before taking a Cloud Mist Mountain mission.

Chen Changming went to Penglai Village to hunt the evil spirit that had been killing livestock and discovered it was a Blood Demon Sect disciple using black hair to drain blood. He killed the injured fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator with Spirit Finger Flick and claimed the black hair, the man’s head, and a red disk as spoils.

• Chen Changming declined Yu Hailong’s offer to join the Cloud Mist Mountain mission and accepted the Penglai Village mission instead.
• After reaching Penglai Village, Chen Changming questioned the villagers about the livestock killings and promised to deal with the evil spirit.
• That night, Chen Changming attacked the black hair as it drained blood from an ox, then pursued it into Penglai Lake.
• Chen Changming found a red barrier at the lake bottom and discovered the black hair belonged to an injured Blood Demon Sect disciple who was healing by absorbing blood.
• When the Blood Demon Sect disciple attacked, Chen Changming destroyed the black hair and killed him with Spirit Finger Flick.
• Chen Changming collected the black hair and the disciple’s head as proof for contribution points, then claimed the fallen red disk as spoils.

Chen Changming completed the Penglai Village mission, earned a thousand contribution points for killing the wounded Blood Demon Sect disciple Leng Shankui, and went to the Scripture Library to choose a sword technique. After Shi Kelang and two inner disciples mocked him, Luo Lan drove them away, deepening Chen Changming’s sense of belonging to Lingxiao Sect.

• Chen Changming found Spirit Stones, pills, and the Blood Spirit Cover in Leng Shankui’s belongings, then returned to Lingxiao Sect after reporting that he had cleared Penglai Village of ghosts.
• Elder Liu recognized Leng Shankui and awarded Chen Changming a thousand contribution points after Luo Lan confirmed she had previously wounded the Blood Demon Sect disciple.
• Chen Changming went to the Scripture Library to choose a sword technique and encountered Shi Kelang, who mocked his cultivation and background with two other inner disciples.
• Luo Lan confronted the three inner disciples and drove them out of the Scripture Library for insulting Chen Changming.
• Chen Changming thanked Luo Lan and felt grateful for her support and a new sense of belonging to Lingxiao Sect.

Chen Changming chose the Lingxiao Sword Technique despite doubting his ability to learn it, and Senior Sister persuaded Elder Duanmu to let him take it. Senior Sister began teaching him on a secluded mountaintop, but after seven or eight days he still struggled to understand the technique and worried about wasting her time.

• Chen Changming asked Senior Sister to help him choose a sword technique, and she urged him to take the Lingxiao Sword Technique because he had killed Leng Shankui.
• Senior Sister promised to personally teach Chen Changming, and Elder Duanmu agreed to let him borrow the technique booklet.
• Senior Sister took Chen Changming to a secluded mountaintop and explained the Lingxiao Sword Technique's thirty-six forms.
• Chen Changming studied with Senior Sister for half a day, admitted that he still had questions, and returned the next day to continue learning.
• After seven or eight days of lessons, Chen Changming still struggled to understand the technique and feared he was wasting Senior Sister's time.

Elder Luo tried to stop Luo Lan from teaching Chen Changming the Lingxiao Sword Technique because of his poor aptitude, but she refused to break her promise. Over half a year of lessons, Chen gradually learned the full sequence, though he still could not use it with real power.

• Elder Luo urged Luo Lan to stop teaching Chen Changming, but she insisted that he deserved her time as a loyal Lingxiao Sect disciple.
• Skyfire Peak disciples, including Shi Kelang, mocked Luo Lan for teaching the technique to a disciple with a Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root.
• Chen Changming asked to give up, but Luo Lan encouraged him to continue, and he broke through to the third level of Qi Refining.
• After several months of lessons, Chen gained an initial understanding of the Lingxiao Sword Technique and learned to perform its moves.
• After half a year, Chen could perform the entire Lingxiao Sword Technique, though it still had no real power.

After mastering the Lingxiao Sword Technique’s basics, Chen Changming trained obsessively and secretly enhanced its power twice before meeting Luo Lan for her promised test. His unexpected skill overwhelmed her when she suppressed her cultivation, and she celebrated him as a genius.

• Luo Lan explained the Lingxiao Sword Technique True Intent Tournament and told Chen Changming he could enter if he passed her test.
• Chen Changming trained in secret, enhancing the Lingxiao Sword Technique after one hundred and then one thousand repetitions.
• After twenty-six days, Chen Changming reached the second enhancement and prepared to surprise Luo Lan at their meeting.
• Chen Changming sparred with Luo Lan and gained the advantage when she suppressed her cultivation.
• Luo Lan stopped the spar, praised Chen Changming as a genius, and hugged him, leaving him blushing.

Luo Lan brought Chen Changming to the Lingxiao Sword Technique True Intent Tournament, confident that his skill could surprise the sect. As the Sect Master and peak masters arrived, they discussed past talents and the unusual story of Luo Lan teaching Chen.

• Luo Lan praised Chen Changming’s rapid progress and took him to the tournament on Lingxiao Peak.
• On the way, Chen Changming asked about the restored Spirit Rice valley and considered beginning the Heavenly Furnace Body-Forging Art.
• At the tournament plaza, outer-sect disciples envied Chen Changming for receiving Luo Lan’s instruction, while Yu Hailong admitted he had only learned the Breeze Sword Technique.
• Shi Kelang pointed Chen Changming out to Ma Tianxing, who dismissed him as no threat.
• Li Yue and the sect’s senior figures arrived, and Guo Haichuan recalled Ma Tianxing and other talents from the previous tournament while the elders reacted to Luo Lan’s choice to teach Chen.

The Lingxiao Sect began testing its disciples against a Sword Puppet that matched each fighter’s cultivation level. After Shi Kelang was defeated, Luo Lan attacked the puppet, leaving her own trial to come.

• Elder Luo said Luo Lan had likely mastered at least four parts of the Lingxiao Sword Technique’s True Intent, and the sect prepared to begin the trials.
• An elder introduced a Sword Puppet that adjusted to each disciple’s cultivation and warned the participants not to pursue victory recklessly.
• Shi Kelang attacked the Sword Puppet, but it broke through his swordsmanship, wounded his shoulder, and defeated him.
• The Sword Puppet revealed that Shi Kelang had mastered two parts of sword intent, prompting Luo Lan to criticize him.
• Luo Lan leaped onto the platform and launched a storm of sword beams at the Sword Puppet.

Chen Changming challenged the Sword Puppet at the True Intent Tournament and revealed swordsmanship far beyond what anyone expected from a disciple with a Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root. He stopped after earning Four-Part True Intent, leaving the sect astonished and Luo Lan certain he had held back.

• Luo Lan fought the Sword Puppet and earned Four-Part Sword Intent before encouraging Chen Changming to take the stage.
• Qin Changtian set the day's high mark with Six-Part True Intent, while Guo Haichuan pointedly questioned why Chen Changming had not yet challenged the puppet.
• Chen Changming ignored the crowd's mockery and fought the Sword Puppet while deliberately limiting his swordsmanship.
• The sect leaders and disciples were stunned by Chen Changming's skill, and some questioned whether his spirit-root test had been wrong.
• Chen Changming ended his challenge and earned Four-Part True Intent, drawing congratulations from Luo Lan.

After Chen Changming earned Four-Part Sword Intent, Lingxiao Sect confirmed that he truly had a Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root and rewarded him for the tournament. He cultivated toward the fourth Qi Refining layer while the Blood Demon Sect sent a killer after him, and the chapter ended with Luo Lan inviting him to hunt Beasts at Cloud Mist Mountain.

• Chen Changming’s Four-Part Sword Intent stunned the crowd, and Li Yue ordered a spirit root test to check whether he was a spy.
• Three Spirit Testing Stones confirmed Chen Changming had a Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root, and he credited Luo Lan’s instruction for his sword arts progress.
• Chen Changming and Luo Lan each received three hundred Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills, and he used them and Spirit Stones to cultivate closer to the fourth Qi Refining layer.
• A Blood-Robed Elder ordered a subordinate to kill Chen Changming and bring back his corpse to avenge Leng Shankui.
• Luo Lan invited Chen Changming to hunt Beasts at Cloud Mist Mountain, and he agreed because he needed contribution points.

Chen Changming traveled with Luo Lan to Cloud Mist Mountain for a beast-slaying mission and claimed the Blood Spirit Cover after Luo Lan erased its former owner's imprint. At the mountain camp, Luo Lan warned him about Qingxiao Sect and Cloud Water Gate, while a Blood Demon Sect group prepared to assassinate him.

• Chen Changming asked Luo Lan why he could not claim the Blood Spirit Cover, and she erased Leng Shankui's spiritual imprint and taught him how to remove such imprints.
• Chen Changming claimed the Blood Spirit Cover with a drop of blood, and Luo Lan warned him that using it consumed substantial spiritual energy.
• Liao Changhai learned that Chen Changming was traveling with Luo Lan and ordered three Blood Demon Sect disciples to kill him while he kept Luo Lan occupied.
• Chen Changming and Luo Lan reached Cloud Mist Mountain, where Luo Lan warned him to be wary of Qingxiao Sect and Cloud Water Gate.
• A seductive Cloud Water Gate woman approached Luo Lan and mocked her for bringing Chen Changming along.

Luo Lan and Chen Changming joined the Lingxiao Sect camp amid the Beast tide in Cloud Mist Mountain, where Qin Changtian tried to draw Chen into discussing swordsmanship. When Beasts attacked the camp, Chen fought an Iron-Armored Wolf while carefully concealing his strength.

• Yu Jingjing mocked Chen Changming's poor spiritual root and slow cultivation, while Luo Lan praised his swordsmanship.
• Luo Lan led Chen Changming to camp, where Qin Changtian invited him to discuss the Lingxiao Sword Technique; Chen politely declined, suspecting Qin wanted to test him.
• Luo Lan set up separate tents, and Chen cultivated the Evergreen Art while reminding himself to keep his strength hidden.
• Beasts attacked the camp at night, and Luo Lan warned Chen to be careful as they rushed toward the fighting.
• Chen tested an Iron-Armored Wolf's defense, then killed it with several strikes to avoid revealing his true strength and stored its body in his Storage Bag.

Chen Changming fought to survive as a second beast tide overwhelmed the Cloud Mist Mountain camp, while hidden Blood Demon Sect disciples prepared to exploit the chaos and kill him. Deep in the mountain, Foundation Establishment cultivators revealed that they had caused the attacks while hunting a Spirit-Devouring Insect that had escaped during the war between the Chu Kingdom and Yue Kingdom.

• Liao Changhai and three Blood Demon Sect disciples planned to attack Chen Changming when the second beast tide scattered the cultivators, with Liao Changhai intending to hold off Luo Lan.
• Foundation Establishment cultivators from the various sects joined the fight, but a second wave of beasts surged from Cloud Mist Mountain and overwhelmed the camp.
• Chen Changming dodged the beasts with Dragon Glide Step and fought while retreating, choosing not to help Senior Sister because he needed to hide his strength and could not handle her enemies.
• Deep in Cloud Mist Mountain, Elder Wu and other Foundation Establishment cultivators approached the Man-Eating Flower Demon while seeking to capture the Spirit-Devouring Insect.
• Elder Wu explained that the Spirit-Devouring Insect had escaped from disputed spirit veins during the war between the Chu Kingdom and Yue Kingdom, and that the hunters had triggered the beast tides with poisonous gas to cover their tracks.

Chen Changming fled Blood Demon Sect pursuers into Cloud Mist Mountain, where Senior Brother Qin Changtian refused to help him. Chen Changming killed both pursuers, but a powerful Beast then emerged and charged at him.

• Luo Lan tried to protect Chen Changming as three Blood Demon Sect disciples pursued him, while Liao Changhai blocked her with his seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation.
• Chen Changming fled toward Cloud Mist Mountain, and one of his pursuers was killed by a Beast along the way.
• Chen Changming called for help when he encountered Qin Changtian, but Qin Changtian flew away without intervening.
• Chen Changming used Spirit Finger Flick to kill the two remaining Blood Demon Sect disciples and took their Storage Bags.
• A first-grade mid-tier Beast burst from the earth and charged at Chen Changming.

Chen Changming and Luo Lan fought the Earth Armor Dragon while Liao Changhai launched a sneak attack, but a wounded Man-Eating Flower Demon emerged and devoured the beast. Chen Changming learned the flower was a Level 3 Mid-Tier Demonic Beast as Luo Lan prepared to lure it away.

• Luo Lan arrived to help Chen Changming fight the Earth Armor Dragon, which had eaten two Blood Demon Sect disciples.
• Liao Changhai attacked Chen Changming, but Chen dodged behind the Earth Armor Dragon as Luo Lan confronted Liao.
• Luo Lan, Liao Changhai, and the Earth Armor Dragon fought until Liao used Blood Escape to flee.
• Chen Changming wounded the Earth Armor Dragon alongside Luo Lan, and it burrowed underground before erupting back into the fight.
• A Man-Eating Flower Demon emerged from the ground, trapped and devoured the Earth Armor Dragon, and Luo Lan told Chen Changming she would try to lure it away.

Chen Changming watched Foundation Establishment cultivators drive off the Man-Eating Flower Demon, then discovered a strange insect that cured Luo Lan’s poison. The insect reacted to the Key on Chen Changming’s chest and settled over it.

• Luo Lan was poisoned by the Man-Eating Flower Demon, and Elder Wu led Foundation Establishment cultivators in an attack that drove the demon underground.
• Chen Changming tried his strengthened Detoxification Art on Luo Lan, but it did not remove the poison.
• A Purple Insect emerged from the soil, and Chen Changming stopped himself from killing it when he sensed it was unusual.
• The Purple Insect shed its purple liquid onto Luo Lan, curing her poison, then turned silver.
• The Silver Insect crawled beneath Chen Changming’s clothes and settled over the green spot on his chest when it glowed.

After escaping the Beast tide with the unconscious Luo Lan, Chen Changming took shelter in a ruined temple and met a mysterious old man and his granddaughter, Xiu'er. The old man asked Chen Changming to spar with Xiu'er in exchange for the meal, leaving him facing an encounter with two unfathomable strangers.

• Chen Changming carried the unconscious Luo Lan out of Cloud Mist Mountain while Qin Changtian noticed his speed and decided to deal with him later.
• Chen Changming ran a thousand li to a ruined Mountain God Temple, tended to Luo Lan, and recovered his spiritual energy as the Silver Insect absorbed most of the surrounding energy.
• Chen Changming cooked Mid-grade Spirit Rice porridge while a storm gathered, and Luo Lan showed signs of recovering.
• A mysterious Cloth-Clad Elder and his granddaughter Xiu'er entered the temple without getting wet, and Chen Changming shared his porridge with them.
• The Cloth-Clad Elder recognized Chen Changming as a Lingxiao Sect disciple and asked him to spar with Xiu'er, who also studied swordsmanship.

Chen Changming was forced to spar with Xiu'er and won after she exhausted her spiritual power, despite being wounded throughout their four-hour battle. The Cloth-Clad Elder invited him to travel with them, but Chen Changming declined, and the old man left Xiu'er and a Storage Bag behind.

• Chen Changming reluctantly agreed to spar with Xiu'er while Luo Lan slept in the ruined temple.
• Xiu'er’s relentless sword attacks wounded Chen Changming, but he used Dragon Glide Step and Lingxiao Sword Technique to survive.
• The Cloth-Clad Elder watched the battle and wondered how Chen Changming had such powerful techniques and abundant spiritual power despite his Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root.
• After four hours, Xiu'er ran low on spiritual power, and Chen Changming disarmed her to win the spar.
• Xiu'er admitted defeat and asked her grandfather why Chen Changming had so much spiritual power, but the Cloth-Clad Elder had no answer.
• The Cloth-Clad Elder invited Chen Changming to travel with them, but when Chen Changming stayed silent, he left with Xiu'er and a Storage Bag remained in the air.

The Cloth-Clad Elder planned to return later and take the Spirit-Devouring Insect from Chen Changming, while Chen received a hundred High-grade Spirit Gathering Pills and a Purple Lightning Sword. After rescuing Luo Lan and returning to Lingxiao Sect, Chen worried that enemies inside and outside the sect still wanted him dead.

• The Cloth-Clad Elder told Xiu'er that Chen Changming's Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root made his cultivation difficult and promised to bring her back for his Spirit-Devouring Insect.
• Chen Changming recovered in the ruined temple, opened the Storage Bag, and found over a hundred High-grade Spirit Gathering Pills, a Purple Lightning Sword, and a note from Xuanyang Mountain.
• Chen tested the Purple Lightning Sword and shattered a huge boulder with a lightning-charged strike.
• Luo Lan woke, and Chen Changming told her that a Foundation Establishment cultivator had rescued them while leaving out the Silver Insect and the mysterious grandfather and granddaughter.
• Luo Lan recovered for two hours, then she and Chen Changming returned to Lingxiao Sect on a Spirit Boat; she went to find her grandfather, and Chen returned to his cave abode.
• Chen Changming reflected on Qin Changtian's betrayal and the Blood Demon Sect's threats, convinced that enemies within and beyond the sect still wanted him dead.

Chen Changming fled Lingxiao Sect and took refuge in the Ziyuan Secret Realm, where he built a cave dwelling and trained in the Heavenly Furnace Body-Forging Art. After years of struggle, he mastered its first layer and awaited the strengthening it would bring.

• Chen Changming sold beasts at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and explained that the Blood Demon Sect had targeted him, so the White-Clad Woman let him enter the Ziyuan Secret Realm.
• Chen Changming chose a secluded spot by a river and carved out a cave dwelling for long-term cultivation.
• After using his Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills, Chen Changming learned that a High-grade Spirit Gathering Pill held the energy of a hundred Low-grade pills and decided not to risk taking it.
• Chen Changming spent two years learning to maintain the Heavenly Furnace for three shichen, reaching the art’s initial stage while continuing to cultivate the Evergreen Art.
• Chen Changming spent another year enduring the furnace’s heat until he could temper his skin for three shichen and master the first layer of the Heavenly Furnace Body-Forging Art.

Chen Changming enhanced the Heavenly Furnace Body-Forging Art, reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, and completed its first layer. His Spirit-Devouring Insect turned gold and revealed that it could produce a pill’s worth of spiritual power each day, leaving Chen Changming wary of the powerful cultivators searching for it.

• Chen Changming enhanced the Heavenly Furnace, tempered his skin with silver flames, and later enhanced it again until the furnace and flames turned gold.
• He consumed High-grade Spirit Gathering Pills while tempering his skin, broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, and spent a year turning his skin gold to complete the art’s first layer.
• Chen Changming discovered that the Spirit-Devouring Insect had turned gold and reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.
• The insect spat out a spiritual-energy sphere comparable to a High-grade Spirit Gathering Pill, which Chen Changming swallowed.
• The insect produced another sphere the next day, and Chen Changming realized it could make one each day.
• Chen Changming recalled the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had sought the insect and feared they would find and kill him if he returned to Lingxiao Sect.

After advancing his Evergreen Art and strengthening his body, Chen Changming discovered a remnant soul hidden in a carp that had tried to possess him. The old man revealed a Four Seas Merchant Alliance plot to seize the medicinal field and warned that the Ziyuan Secret Realm might collapse when the herbs ripened.

• Chen Changming broke through to the fourth enhancement of the Evergreen Art, greatly increasing his spiritual energy absorption and cultivation speed.
• Chen Changming reflected on his slow cultivation progress, then entered the river to catch fish and followed the Spirit-Devouring Insect to a deep pool.
• Chen Changming found a motionless Beast carp, but a remnant soul inside it failed to possess him because his tempered skin repelled it.
• Chen Changming pursued and struck the remnant soul, which identified itself as a Golden Core cultivator who had died while fighting the Medicine Sect.
• The old man offered a secret to save his life and revealed that at least a third of the medicinal field's guards belonged to the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, which planned to seize the herbs.
• The old man warned Chen Changming that the Ziyuan Secret Realm might collapse when the herbs ripened, potentially killing everyone inside.

Chen Changming learned that Ziyuan Secret Realm would collapse after the spirit herbs were harvested and agreed to use an ancient teleportation array to flee to the Yan Kingdom. As the herbs ripened, the Four Seas Merchant Alliance and the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion turned on each other, leaving Chen Changming watching the battle from hiding.

• The old man warned Chen Changming that harvesting the spirit herbs would trigger the secret realm’s collapse and offered to send him to the Yan Kingdom in exchange for delivering his Storage Ring to the Ouyang Family.
• Three days later, the old man gave Chen Changming a Teleportation Token and Storage Ring before his illusory body faded away.
• Chen Changming spent the next three months preparing for the collapse, strengthening his Dragon Glide Step and cultivating the Evergreen Art.
• After the spirit herbs ripened, Li Changfeng killed a guard and revealed that the Four Seas Merchant Alliance was attacking the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
• The two factions fought across the valley while Chen Changming watched from a mountain ten li away.

Chen Changming waited until the Four Seas Merchant Alliance defeated the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, then attacked the survivors and killed nearly all of them. The last man, Li Changfeng, fled in terror as Chen Changming pursued him with Spirit Finger Flick.

• Li Changfeng led the Four Seas Merchant Alliance to kill the remaining fighters from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and ordered his people to gather spirit herbs.
• Chen Changming approached Li Changfeng under the pretense of offering his Cloud Rain Art services, then ambushed him with Spirit Finger Flick and killed him along with more than half the survivors.
• Chen Changming killed the wounded Qi Cultivation Level 5 fighter, then used Dragon Glide Step, his body-refinement technique, Spirit Finger Flick, and the Purple Lightning Sword against the remaining attackers.
• After a prolonged fight, Chen Changming shattered one man's arm and beheaded him with the Purple Lightning Sword.
• The Qi Cultivation Level 7 fighter tried to flee, but Chen Changming killed his Qi Cultivation Level 6 companion with a barrage of Spirit Finger Flick, leaving the last man terrified.

Chen Changming killed the remaining Four Seas Merchant Alliance cultivator, gathered the spirit herbs, and escaped as the Ziyuan Secret Realm collapsed. He emerged in the Yan Kingdom, found Level 2 Demonic Beasts nearby, and retreated into the cave to hide until he grew stronger.

• Chen Changming defeated and killed the seventh-level Qi Refinement cultivator with Dragon Glide Step and Spirit Finger Flick, then collected the fallen cultivators' belongings and dug up the spirit herbs.
• Chen Changming fled the collapsing secret realm through the teleportation array beneath the river pool, while people outside were caught in the spatial storm.
• Chen Changming arrived in a secluded cave in the Yan Kingdom and reasoned that the Medicine Sect might have moved valuable things there before its destruction.
• Chen Changming dug through a boulder blocking the cave exit, spotted a Foundation Establishment Black Eagle and a Level 2 black ape, and retreated inside.
• Chen Changming blocked the passage and decided to hide in the cave until he became stronger, relying on his stored Spirit Rice and planning to gather water when safe.