Recaps

Yu Ci helped Master Miao Xiang expel the witch poison in the Ghost Pool while You Rui fought off its guardian snake. Master Miao Xiang recovered and recognized Yu Ci’s abilities, then asked whether the pool could be modified to reproduce the treatment.

• You Rui entered the Ghost Pool to help Master Miao Xiang, but the Ghost Winged Snake attacked her and drove her back out.
• Yu Ci used the Taiyin Banner to clear the ghostfire and found Master Miao Xiang conscious but in severe pain.
• Master Miao Xiang seized Yu Ci’s wrist and silently asked for help, so he used the ghostfire to temper her body and expel the witch poison.
• The Ghost Winged Snake stopped pursuing You Rui, and she waited until the ghostfire faded before joining Yu Ci and Master Miao Xiang.
• Master Miao Xiang recovered, thanked Yu Ci as a fellow Daoist, and asked whether modifying the Ghost Pool could reproduce the effect.

Yu Ci continued rebuilding Miao Xiang’s Ghost Pool as she slowly expelled the witch poison, until a message prompted her to leave and told him not to worry about Ma Huai. Meanwhile, Black Robe and Ling Xi Wanderer tracked the person who had taken the Xuan Ling Yin to Huayan City and toward a newly discovered ruin, where they spotted Sand Bandits from Ling Xi Wanderer’s past.

• Yu Ci refined the Ghost Pool’s yin-baleful aura while Miao Xiang endured the ghostfire, and she said her witch poison was being expelled more slowly.
• Miao Xiang offered Yu Ci any reward he wanted, but a messenger bird delivered a jade slip before he could respond.
• After reading the message, Miao Xiang paused the work, left to handle outside matters, and told Yu Ci he need not worry about Ma Huai.
• Black Robe and Ling Xi Wanderer searched Huayan City for the person who had taken the Xuan Ling Yin, then followed the scent trail toward a newly opened region and its ruin.
• Black Robe noticed several Sand Bandits, and Ling Xi Wanderer admitted he had once spent time with them.

Black Robe investigated Zhao Ziyue’s associates and discovered a half-finished Curse Demon Crystal linked to Divine Path arts. Meanwhile, Yu Ci reconsidered how he was using Kou Chu and removed the talisman imprint, but he then noticed his own power was behaving strangely.

• Black Robe and Ling Xi Wanderer interrogated Sand Bandits, learned Zhao Ziyue planned to attend the Suixin Dharma Assembly in Fengdu City, and failed to discover his current whereabouts.
• Black Robe found a half-melted Curse Demon Crystal among the ashes and deduced that someone had used Divine Path arts to implant a method in another person.
• Black Robe sent Ling Xi Wanderer to deliver a transmission talisman to Three Families Market while deciding he wanted to meet Zhao Ziyue or the person behind him.
• Yu Ci realized the danger of using people as talismans and erased the Grand Unity Smoke Capital Starfire Talisman imprint from Kou Chu, ordering Kou Chu to cultivate with Tie Lan at Ghost Pool.
• Yu Ci manifested a flame with little effort, but it scattered into sparks, leaving him aware that something about his power was wrong.

Yu Ci’s plan to use Ling Xi Wanderer to lead Black Robe toward the ruins was disrupted when Zhai Que’er arrived and revealed the Ten Directions Great Venerable’s ties to their master. Meanwhile, Yu Ci survived an ambush by a white lion cat and faced Zhao Ziyue, who demanded a truce while holding a Six Yang Skyfire Thunder.

• Black Robe and Ling Xi Wanderer entered the tunnel, where Black Robe sensed a powerful cultivator and recognized the aura of the Heavenly Demonic Secret Arts.
• Zhai Que’er appeared, denied tracking Black Robe, and said that dealing with Zhao Ziyue required persuading the Ten Directions Great Venerable, their master’s outer sect elder and Dharma-Protecting True Person, to hand over his sworn brother.
• Ling Xi Wanderer’s controlling pressure vanished, and Yu Ci abruptly sensed danger as a white lion cat attacked him beside the giant tree.
• Yu Ci dodged the strike and wounded the white lion cat with a burst of flames, but it remained alive and severed the tree.
• Zhao Ziyue emerged backward with a sword and a Six Yang Skyfire Thunder, warned that it could destroy everything within ten li, and called for a truce; Yu Ci recognized him.

Yu Ci and his allies ambushed Zhao Ziyue, who had taken a fragment near Huayan City, and forced him to reveal a powerful defense shared with his lion cat. Zhao Ziyue recognized Yu Ci and claimed he had only been passing by, but Yu Ci demanded an explanation.

• Zhao Ziyue asked whether Yu Ci had taken the fragment during the earth-vein anomaly near Huayan City, while Lu Qing explained the strengths and weakness of his Six Yang Skyfire Thunder.
• Zhao Ziyue concealed the thunder and feigned surrender, but Yu Ci ordered his allies to attack rather than let him escape the confrontation.
• Zhao Ziyue and his lion cat lunged for Yu Ci, but Yu Ci struck the cat with his formless sword while Tie Lan's sword Qi wounded Zhao Ziyue.
• The lion cat's crimson flames joined Zhao Ziyue's flames to form a wheel that deflected Tie Lan's sword Qi and protected them both.
• Yu Ci halted Tie Lan's attack, and Zhao Ziyue recognized him from Juebi City and claimed the lion cat had gone mad while he was merely passing by.
• Yu Ci remained suspicious of the lion cat's unusual behavior and demanded that Zhao Ziyue explain himself.

Black Robe, Zhai Que'er, and Ling Xi Wanderer reached the ruins where Venerable Ten Directions awaited them. Ling Xi Wanderer identified the Xuan Ling Yin's location, and Black Robe exposed the figure on the main seat as an avatar.

• Black Robe demanded to know why Venerable Ten Directions deserved a share of the Yellow Springs Secret Mansion, and Zhai Que'er defended his knowledge of the ruins.
• Black Robe hurried Ling Xi Wanderer through the underground passage, and Ling Xi Wanderer cautiously guided him toward the ruins.
• Venerable Ten Directions greeted the group from ahead, and Zhai Que'er led them into the ruined main hall.
• Black Robe demanded to know where the Xuan Ling Yin was, and Ling Xi Wanderer declared that it was there despite the hostile stares of the gathered cultivators.
• Black Robe swept red light across the hall, causing the seated figure to vanish and revealing that it had been an avatar.

Black Robe and Zhai Que'er investigated the underground Blood Sacrifice maze after Ling Xi Wanderer sensed the Xuan Ling Yin there, while Black Robe grew suspicious of the Ten Directions Great Venerable’s methods. Elsewhere, Yu Ci turned his attention back to Zhao Ziyue and recognized the crimson flames around him and the cat as Crimson Fire Demonic Flame.

• Black Robe clashed with the Ten Directions Great Venerable’s incarnation, and Zhai Que'er explained that he was recovering from the Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice.
• Ling Xi Wanderer sensed that the Xuan Ling Yin was underground, and the Ten Directions Great Venerable allowed them to search the Blood Sacrifice site.
• Zhai Que'er, Black Robe, Ling Xi Wanderer, and a ghost cultivator entered the maze beneath the hall, where Black Robe examined its ruins and formations.
• Ling Xi Wanderer led the group to an area where the blood stench and aura interference had scattered the Xuan Ling Yin’s trace, prompting Black Robe and Zhai Que'er to question how it got there.
• Yu Ci refocused on Zhao Ziyue and recognized the crimson flames surrounding him and the cat as Crimson Fire Demonic Flame.

Yu Ci recognized Zhao Ziyue’s lion cat as connected to the Great Brahma Demon King and considered killing them before they could become a threat. Zhao Ziyue then revealed that Xie Yan and others were nearing a contest over one of Lu Chen’s northern palaces, drawing Yu Ci’s attention away from the planned attack.

• Shadow Ghost identified the lion cat’s flames as Crimson Fire Demonic Flame and linked it to the Great Brahma Demon King.
• Yu Ci weighed killing Zhao Ziyue and the lion cat, but held back as Zhao offered information about the Yellow Springs Secret Mansion.
• Zhao Ziyue told Yu Ci that sects had used the Mysterious Azure Ring and the Great Luo Heaven Void Divine Thought Technique to locate a grotto-heaven where Xie Yan appeared to be present.
• Zhao Ziyue explained that the grotto-heaven was one of Lu Chen’s northern palaces, a prize the Demonic Path was determined to claim.
• Yu Ci ordered Lu Qing and Tie Lan to prepare an attack, but Zhao Ziyue’s revelation that Xie Yan was about to enter the conflict made him pause.

Xie Yan and Yang Zhu explored a barrier inside a vast secret mansion while discussing Lu Chen’s techniques and their own cultivation. Elsewhere, Yu Ci brought Zhao Ziyue to Fengdu City to obtain evidence about Xie Yan, and they arrived as a Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat approached the opening Grand Magnetic Array.

• Xie Yan stood before a vast palace in the secret mansion, where Yang Zhu praised Lu Chen’s fist intent and urged Xie Yan to study it.
• Xie Yan declined to concern himself with Lu Chen’s technique, and Yang Zhu said he would pursue the Siming Sect’s Great Majesty Profound Heaven Righteous Qi.
• Senior Uncle Danyang called Xie Yan and Yang Zhu into the dark hall after they encountered another layer of barrier.
• Yu Ci and Zhao Ziyue traveled toward Fengdu City aboard the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat, after Yu Ci had forced Zhao Ziyue and Manoo to negotiate at Black Moon Lake.
• The boat neared Fengdu City as the Grand Magnetic Array began opening, and Zhao Ziyue identified an arriving Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat.

Yu Ci and Zhao Ziyue reached the Grand Magnetic Array, where a cargo hold was attacked and the array killed the would-be raiders. As the flying boat neared Fengdu City, Yu Ci turned back into the black storm and pressured Zhao Ziyue to devise a way to help Immortal Xie, demanding collateral before Zhao could leave.

• Zhao Ziyue explained the Grand Magnetic Array as Yu Ci watched passengers and cargo pass through its storm-walled passage.
• An incendiary blast disrupted the array and tilted a cargo hold, prompting cultivators to rush toward it and try to rob it.
• The Grand Magnetic Array unleashed Void-Reversing Magnetic Thunder, destroying the raiders before guards escorted the cargo hold safely down.
• Yu Ci questioned Zhao Ziyue about proving his claims and, as the flying boat neared Fengdu City, ordered Lu Qing to turn back into the black storm.
• Yu Ci argued Zhao Ziyue should find a way to help Immortal Xie and offered to let him go if he left collateral; Manoo bared its teeth at Zhao.

Yu Ci forced Zhao Ziyue to leave and work on ensuring Xie Yan’s escape, while secretly tracking him and planning to uncover his connections. Yu Ci then entered Sanlian Bastions and sought a communication flying sword so he could alert the Li Chen Sect to the danger.

• Yu Ci threatened Zhao Ziyue with his prepared talismans and the others’ support, and Zhao Ziyue agreed to find a way to help Xie Yan escape within a day.
• Zhao Ziyue left the flying boat, while Yu Ci asked others to watch Manoo and went out into the black-sand storm.
• Yu Ci crossed the storm safely and tracked Zhao Ziyue using a Divine Intent Star Glimmer, intending to pressure him into revealing more.
• Yu Ci entered Sanlian Bastions and went to Suixin Pavilion’s shop to look for a communication flying sword.
• Yu Ci decided to contact the Li Chen Sect for help with Xie Yan’s possible danger.

Yu Ci bought a messaging flying sword and array disk, then traveled toward the black storm and encountered Shopkeeper Shen on a shuttle. Meanwhile, Xie Yan and a group of cultivators remained blocked while searching the northern lands for secret mansions and grotto-heavens.

• Yu Ci purchased a Bìluò Seamless messaging flying sword and a Heavenly River Disk from Suixin Pavilion’s Manager Huangfu.
• Manager Huangfu directed Yu Ci to Da Tongxing, where Yu Ci arranged a shuttle ride from the Sanlian Bastions toward the black storm.
• While waiting aboard the shuttle, Yu Ci observed Zhao Ziyue exploring Fengdu City through his Inner Void.
• Shopkeeper Shen arrived, and Yu Ci greeted him after noting that he had shaved his beard.
• Xie Yan and five other cultivators guarded Daoist Duanyang as the four sects’ search team remained unable to advance.

Yang Zhu and the other cultivators discovered that Lu Chen’s fist-intent world overlapped with a third, terrifying realm: the Heavenly Demon Eye. Meanwhile, Yu Ci asked Shen Wan how the Li Chen Sect or other major factions could mobilize help quickly, and she suggested there might be a way.

• Yang Zhu used his jade pendant and a Confucian verse to trace its path through the darkness, helping the cultivators realize that the voids were overlapping.
• Cheng Xiang and Cheng Zhi discussed how their probing had contributed to the danger, while Xie Yan described feeling an obstruction before his sword.
• Daoist Duanyang revealed a distorted vortex that showed three overlapping realms and was identified by the cultivators as the Heavenly Demon Eye.
• Yu Ci retrieved his array flags after sending a transmission flying sword and asked Shen Wan to investigate Zhao Ziyue and consider how the major factions could provide urgent assistance.
• Shen Wan told Yu Ci that Suixin Pavilion had no intelligence on the four sects’ movements, but suggested there might be a way to mobilize help.

Zhao Ziyue reflected on how Ghost Prison Powder had turned the Northern Wilderness into a vast holding ground for corrupt cultivators, then met with Elder Xiao to discuss Manoo’s capture and the approaching Yellow Springs Secret Mansion excavation. He ordered intelligence gathering and preparations to manipulate the situation while questioning who would benefit if the Northern Wilderness descended into chaos.

• Zhao Ziyue walked through Fengdu City, where a Ghost Prison Powder user died in the street, and recalled how the drug had made the Northern Wilderness a prosperous refuge for desperate cultivators.
• Zhao Ziyue considered the region a prepared pasture for the Wutian Jiao Prison and recalled his role as its watch-dog, including his alliance with the Ten Directions Great Venerable.
• Zhao Ziyue met Elder Xiao and revealed that Manoo had been detained, prompting Elder Xiao to threaten him over the crisis.
• Zhao Ziyue explained that Yu Ci had helped defeat them at Sword Garden and warned that Manoo’s captors were too powerful to attack recklessly.
• Zhao Ziyue ordered Elder Xiao to gather intelligence on the four sects’ excavation without alerting the Eastern Branch of the Demonic Sect, and to prepare ways to influence events from the shadows.
• Zhao Ziyue wondered who would profit if the Northern Wilderness fell into chaos.

Yu Ci went to Three Families Market seeking materials but could not secure an audience with Third Master He, then visited the Heavenly Script Society and examined the intricate talisman carved into its screen wall. A short, travel-worn Daoist appeared behind him and warned him not to plunge into the talisman apertures.

• Shen Wan told Yu Ci that Third Master He had returned to Fengdu City and that Xia Shuanghe had died on the expedition.
• Yu Ci disguised himself and went to Three Families Market, but its attendant would not grant him an audience with Third Master He, so he left a calling card.
• Yu Ci visited the Heavenly Script Society after recalling the Class A scroll and his earlier discussion with Shen Wan.
• Yu Ci recognized the screen wall’s carved patterns as an intricate spirit talisman and praised how clearly its apertures were displayed.
• A short Daoist approached Yu Ci unnoticed and warned him that studying the talisman apertures could lead him astray.

Yu Ci learned that Zhu Tai Yi had fallen and suspected he was Old Mr. Zhu, then arranged for Haoran Sect disciples to bring news of their trapped elders to True Man Guangwei. The plea for aid reached Guangwei, while Zhao Ziyue realized information had leaked and prepared to deal with Yu Ci.

• Daoist Xin Yi told True Man Guangwei that he had returned after seeing Tai Yi fall, and Yu Ci inferred that Zhu Tai Yi might be Old Mr. Zhu.
• Yu Ci cursed Zhao Ziyue for failing to provide useful news, while Zhao Ziyue and Elder Xiao discussed information west of Yinshan and how to make Yu Ci let go.
• Yu Ci used Suixin Pavilion's channels and Cai Xuan's trust to send Haoran Sect disciples to seek help from True Man Guangwei for trapped elders Cheng Xiang and Cheng Zhi.
• Luo Qian, Cai Xuan, and other Haoran Sect disciples arrived at the Heavenly Script Branch and requested an audience with Guangwei, prompting Yu Ci to leave.
• Elder Xiao discovered that news had spread, and Zhao Ziyue ordered an investigation, preparations for the fallout, and a private talk with Yu Ci.

Yu Ci witnessed Zhao Ziyue contact the Great Brahma Demon King through a blood ritual, while the demon’s eye nearly detected Yu Ci before the Divine Intent Astral Ray expired. In the sealed palace, Daoist Duanyang realized the demon had been trapped by Lu Cheng’s Fist Intent, and Xin Tianjun arrived.

• Zhao Ziyue used blood and Crimson Fire Demonic Flame to summon the Great Brahma Demon King, who ordered him to prioritize the Yellow Springs Secret Mansion.
• The Great Brahma Demon King’s demonic eye searched Zhao Ziyue’s mind-palace, but Yu Ci’s Divine Intent Astral Ray expired just in time to conceal him.
• Shadow Ghost asked Yu Ci for something to do, then questioned his plan to draw the Great Brahma Demon King into peace talks.
• Hongyuan Daoist used the Nine Revolutions Divine Illumination Cold Jade Tower to protect Xie Yan and the others from waves of demonic shadows.
• Daoist Duanyang determined that Lu Cheng’s Fist Intent had forcibly hooked and sealed the demon in the palace.
• A golden scroll appeared above the cultivators, and Daoist Duanyang recognized Xin Tianjun’s arrival.

After Xin Tianjun’s talisman decree destabilized the intersecting voids, Yang Zhu was separated from his companions and drawn into the End Law Lord’s demon domain. There he encountered a pair of vast, world-spanning eyes and realized their owner was weakened, while the jade pendant in his hand began to flicker.

• Xin Tianjun’s talisman decree struck the void, causing Lu Chen’s Palace to collapse and its fist intent to vanish.
• Daoist Duanyang used his Mystic Pupil Divine Illumination to guide the cultivators through the collapsing void, then stabilized it with the talisman token.
• Yang Zhu recovered his jade pendant, but the void split through the group’s formation and swept him away from his companions.
• The jade pendant’s movement carried Yang Zhu into the Outer Domain of the Nine Heavens, where he recognized the End Law Lord’s demon domain.
• Yang Zhu sensed the End Law Lord’s weakened soul behind a pair of immense eyes and stepped toward it with the jade pendant flickering at his fingertip.

Zhao Ziyue weighed intelligence about Yu Ci against other urgent threats and suspected connections between Yu Ci, the rune master Soul Chaser, and Shen Wan. At the Suixin Dharma Assembly, Yu Ci discovered that an old iron box he had consigned was an Innate Secret Treasure worth far more than he had realized, and wondered if he could withdraw it from sale.

• Zhao Ziyue prioritized news about Yu Ci as the deadline for the Pan Huang Sect's plan to seize Manoo approached, while the sect's Longevity True Men were still hours away.
• Zhao Ziyue connected reports about Yu Ci, Shen Wan, Soul Chaser, and the powerful maidservant from Red Fang Workshop, though he could not confirm whether they were linked.
• Yu Ci examined the jade slips Shen Wan had given him, which listed the Suixin Dharma Assembly's auction treasures and his own consigned items.
• Yu Ci recognized the Nine Nether Prison he had casually consigned as an Innate Secret Treasure that could summon and imprison ghost gods.
• Yu Ci read that the Nine Nether Prison was especially valuable to ghost-path cultivators and wondered whether he could stop it from being sold.

Yu Ci explained the Nine Nether Prison’s cruel purpose to Shen Wan and used his interest in the Suixin Dharma Assembly’s treasures to uncover a possible connection to a five-year-old robbery. Meanwhile, Zhao Ziyue waited for Yu Ci in the Northern Wilderness, but received only a cryptic message as the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat departed.

• Yu Ci learned from Shen Wan that the Nine Nether Prison used the Reincarnation Tu Ling Demonic Light to grind away imprisoned ghosts’ intelligence, and Shen Wan warned him that revealing the treasure could endanger him.
• Yu Ci asked Shen Wan to disclose details about treasures listed for the Suixin Dharma Assembly, and her reaction to several items led him to recall Zhou Youde’s robbery at the Sky Rift Valley Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat dock.
• Yu Ci asked whether Shen Wan had contacts in Huayan City and hinted that Western Buddhist treasures there might relate to her private concern; Shen Wan nodded.
• Zhao Ziyue waited in the black sandstorm for Yu Ci, while Manoo fell from the Clear Sky Gang Thunder Boat after Lu suppressed it with her fist intent and delivered a jade slip.
• Zhao Ziyue read the jade slip and realized Yu Ci had found better collateral than Manoo; Manoo discovered the message contained the words, “Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know.”

Yu Ci negotiated with Third Master He while disguised as Soul Chaser, then exchanged messages with Zhao Ziyue until they agreed to meet at the Heavenly Script Branch. The chapter left Yu Ci and Zhao Ziyue at a talismanic test guarding the entrance to the branch’s garden.

• Yu Ci met Third Master He, collected the promised spirit materials, and heard a dubious pitch for a talisman-dueling assembly.
• Third Master He arranged a quiet courtyard for Yu Ci, who later visited Shen Wan and resumed contact with Zhao Ziyue through a jade slip.
• Yu Ci and Zhao Ziyue exchanged messages repeatedly until Yu Ci agreed to meet him at the Heavenly Script Branch.
• Yu Ci and Zhao Ziyue walked through the branch toward its garden, where Yu Ci noticed a talismanic entrance test.
• Zhao Ziyue slapped the wall, scattering the test’s colorful light and making its patterns harder to read.

Yu Ci negotiated with Zhao Ziyue over Wan Quan’s safety and heard an offer to cooperate, while Zhao Ziyue secretly planned to use the deal against the Eastern Branch. Yu Ci then examined the Great Accomplishment Buddha Shrine of Radiant Glass with Shen Wan and noticed its link to the Ten Directions Ci Guang Buddha.

• Yu Ci confronted Zhao Ziyue about Pan Huang Sect’s plans and negotiated for Wan Quan’s safety, demanding at least two hundred years of protection.
• Zhao Ziyue offered Yu Ci a chance to cooperate on a secret matter if he swore an oath, and Yu Ci listened to his proposal.
• Zhao Ziyue told Manoo he intended to use the deal to undermine the Eastern Branch’s Great Evolution Formation, then learned the Great Accomplishment Buddha Shrine of Radiant Glass had been privately sold and ordered an investigation.
• Yu Ci examined the Buddha shrine in Shen Wan’s courtyard as Shen Wan explained that she had acquired it to investigate stolen treasures from Great Guanghua Temple.
• Yu Ci read the shrine’s appraisal and focused on its reference to the Ten Directions Ci Guang Buddha.

Yu Ci and Shen Wan connected Zhao Ziyue to the robbery of the Suixin Pavilion caravan and planned to trace the stolen Buddhist implements through Huayan City's black market. At the Heavenly Script Branch, Yu Ci sorted the forces around the Yellow Springs Secret Mansion into those that kept him hidden and those that exposed him, and decided Zhao Ziyue's side was his target.

• Shen Wan told Yu Ci that Ten Directions Ci Guang Buddha had survived defeat by the Karmaless Sword Immortal before vanishing, and that Buddhist Kingdom implements resembling Manager Zhou's treasures had surfaced in Huayan City.
• Yu Ci compared Zhao Ziyue's fundraising with the Buddhist implements and concluded that Zhao Ziyue was probably behind the Suixin Pavilion caravan robbery.
• Shen Wan explained that she had put up a Buddhist shrine as bait, and Yu Ci proposed comparing the Huayan City items with old manifests to identify what the thieves had taken.
• Yu Ci entered the Heavenly Script Branch garden and considered the many factions involved in the Yellow Springs Secret Mansion.
• Yu Ci divided the forces into those that allowed him to stay hidden and those that pushed him into the open, then resolved to act against Zhao Ziyue's side.

Yu Ci listened to Third Master explain how he adapted the Tiangang Disha Refining Method to heterodox treasures, then saw Third Master’s grief over his limited lifespan and unfinished work. The discussion was interrupted by the return of Xin Yi, a powerful talisman grandmaster whom Yu Ci recognized from the screen wall.

• Yu Ci joined a garden discussion where Third Master demonstrated how he had modified a heterodox Soul-Shaking Gourd with the Tiangang Disha Refining Method.
• Third Master explained that his method could strengthen heterodox treasures but remained incomplete, and said True Man Guangwei had praised his self-taught work.
• Yu Ci handed Third Master his Immortal Binding Rope for examination.
• Third Master wept over how little time he had left to pursue refining, then insisted on examining the other treasures so he could leave his method for later generations.
• Xin Yi arrived and declared Third Master’s warning wrong, and Yu Ci recognized the returned expert as the man True Man Guangwei had welcomed.

Xin Tianjun encouraged Xu Bo to combine ritual refinement with artifact forging and offered to guide him if he raised his gourd to the ninth tier. Yu Ci used that approach to improve the Immortal Binding Rope, then received a message from Three Families Market summoning him back on the day Zhai Que'er returned.

• Xin Tianjun urged Xu Bo to broaden his approach to ritual refinement and artifact forging, then wagered that he could raise his gourd to the ninth tier in exchange for guidance at the Cloud Mountain Range.
• True Man Guangwei asked Xin Tianjun to explain the essentials of ritual refinement and artifact forging to the gathered cultivators, and Xin Tianjun agreed.
• Yu Ci experimented with Xin Tianjun's advice and refined the Immortal Binding Rope, lowering its refinement level before restoring it with a stronger, blood-red quality.
• Yu Ci completed his ritual at the Seven Stars Altar and received a jade slip from Three Families Market ordering him to return at once, as Zhai Que'er was due back.