Recaps

Yu Ci’s Yin Spirit was shattered after the fish-dragon swallowed him, but he used his final awareness to understand the creature’s unifying “spine” and incorporate it into his own cultivation. The fish-dragon collapsed, and Yu Ci briefly awoke before fainting, leaving Xie Yan stunned and overjoyed.

• The fish-dragon swallowed Yu Ci’s weakened Yin Spirit, then erupted in fire and blood when the vicious fragrance inside it ignited.
• The fish-dragon absorbed surrounding vital essence to repair itself, while its absorption shattered Yu Ci’s Yin Spirit and drew its fragments toward the creature’s spine.
• Yu Ci realized the fish-dragon’s spine unified its flesh, blood, and soul, and saw how to apply that principle to the Xuan Yuan Gen Ben Qi Fa.
• Minglan approached Crimson Yin, who said she planned to return to the Eastern Sea after that night and leave local affairs to Master Ming.
• The fish-dragon fell lifeless onto a tree branch, and Yu Ci opened his eyes long enough to see Xie Yan’s shock turn to joy before he fainted.

Yu Ci recovered from his near-fatal injuries after rebuilding his Inner Void and resisting the fish-dragon’s instinctive attempt to dominate it. He summoned the sect leaders to discuss Juebi City’s future, then challenged Ming Lan’s explanation for Crimson Yin’s absence and suggested she was trying to leave for the East China Sea.

• Yu Ci reopened his Inner Void and fought the fish-dragon’s spine for control, then woke and asked Xie Yan about the time and the sect leaders gathered at Dan Cliff.
• Yu Ci asked Xie Yan to grant him a request, and Xie Yan agreed to hear it.
• After receiving Yu Ci’s invitation, Shi Song and the other sect leaders went to his room while Xie Yan rested nearby.
• Yu Ci raised the distribution of Bai Ri Mansion’s resources and asked why Crimson Yin was absent.
• Ming Lan said Crimson Yin was recovering from injuries, but Yu Ci demanded that she attend in person and questioned whether she planned to return to the East China Sea.

Minglan returned to Youqiu Palace and found Crimson Yin still refusing to surrender the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, while Yu Ci used its resonance to monitor her and keep her from leaving. After Xie Yan returned to Yu Ci, Xu Hui arrived with a hostile greeting, and Yu Ci identified him to his uncle-master.

• Minglan returned to Youqiu Palace, prayed at the Xuan Yin Celestial’s hall, and then went to speak with Crimson Yin.
• Crimson Yin refused to return the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror and explained that it resonated with Yu Ci even across distance and could not be contained in a Storage Ring.
• Yu Ci watched Crimson Yin and Minglan through the mirror’s connection in his Inner Void and had Xie Yan intercept Crimson Yin before she could leave.
• Xie Yan returned to Yu Ci after carrying out his request and questioned why he was prolonging the conflict with Crimson Yin.
• Xu Hui entered Yu Ci’s room and mocked him, and Yu Ci pointed Xu Hui out to Xie Yan.

Yu Ci learned that Tu Du may have used the Void Heart Demon Spider Shadow Curse and ordered Wanling Sect to find Kuang Yanqi, while Fish Dragon survived in a diminished state. Elsewhere, Monk Yi Xin and Lu Mingyue discussed Yu Ci and prepared to exploit the upheaval in Juebi City to kill him.

• Xu Hui warned Yu Ci that Jin Huan’s family’s deaths would bring retribution, but Yu Ci revealed Tu Du’s alleged use of the Void Heart Demon Spider Shadow Curse, drawing Xu Hui and Xie Yan’s attention.
• Yu Ci told Xu Hui and Xie Yan to question witnesses and Crimson Yin about Tu Du before exhaustion caused him to fall asleep.
• Hu Dan reported that Kuang Yanqi was the only Bai Ri Mansion cultivator still missing, and Yu Ci ordered Wanling Sect to capture him alive if possible.
• A maid brought Yu Ci the nearly lifeless Fish Dragon, which recognized him and slowly floated toward him.
• Lu Mingyue urged Monk Yi Xin to kill Yu Ci, but Monk Yi Xin said they should wait for an opportunity created by the turmoil in Juebi City.

After being recalled from Juebi City by the Li Chen Sect, Yu Ci traveled toward Zhixin Temple while recovering through the fish-dragon’s vital energy. When mountain and forest imagery returned to his Inner Void, he ordered the coachman away, but an attacker struck the Chasing Sun Chariot and accused him of being a fugitive slave.

• Shi Song learned that Zhixin Temple had sent Daoist Bao De to replace Yu Ci in Juebi City’s defenses and ordered Yu Ci to return.
• Yu Ci left Juebi City in the Chasing Sun Chariot as rumors about his recall unsettled the city.
• Yu Ci’s Inner Void’s fish-dragon spread clouds and rain, nourishing his body and healing much of his damaged soul.
• Mountain and forest imagery reappeared in Yu Ci’s Inner Void, prompting him to emerge from meditation and knock on the carriage wall.
• Yu Ci ordered the coachman to get out and run back, then an unseen attacker struck the chariot, bringing down its beasts and vehicle.
• Yu Ci leapt from the wreckage as a voice called him a fugitive slave and declared that clan law would be enforced.

Yu Ci was ambushed by Crimson Yin, but a hidden Moon Demon and two powerful cultivators disrupted her attack and turned the wilderness into a battlefield. As Xie Yan pursued the Moon Demon, thunderfire engulfed it, while Crimson Yin remained under Master Yu’s control.

• Crimson Yin trapped Yu Ci in her Ghost Fire Yin Prison and threatened to torture him for information about the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.
• Yu Ci used his connection to the mirror to detect a hidden attacker beneath the frost-covered ground, then evaded the Moon Demon’s killing strike with help from Xie Yan’s Bixie Yuan Magnetic charm.
• Xie Yan and the Moon Demon fought beneath the earth as Yu Ci escaped, while Master Yu stopped Crimson Yin from fleeing with his sword intent.
• The Moon Demon burst into the sky, and Crimson Yin and Master Yu recognized it as dark clouds gathered overhead.
• Lightning and thunderfire struck the Moon Demon, swallowing it as it let out a piercing shriek.

Xie Yan and Xie Liang joined forces to nearly destroy Moon Demon, whose body revealed a True Person’s Yang God parasitizing a fiendish puppet. The Yang God targeted Yu Ci but escaped only briefly before Xie Liang’s spell halted its flight.

• Xie Liang’s thunder and Xie Yan’s sword strikes battered Moon Demon, whose ice defenses failed and whose body was badly damaged.
• Crimson Yin recognized the signs of a prayer to the Divine Lord and saw an opportunity as Moon Demon rose to face another lightning strike.
• Moon Demon unleashed vast golden Sword Qi that threatened everyone nearby, while Xie Yan’s sword-qi defenses shielded Yu Ci.
• Moon Demon’s puppet body burst apart as its golden light intensified, and Xie Liang identified the being within as a True Person’s Yang God parasitizing a fiendish puppet.
• The Yang God attacked Yu Ci, but Xie Yan and Xie Liang intercepted it before it fled with a boastful laugh.
• Xie Liang invoked the Five Directions Absolute Prison, abruptly cutting off the Yang God’s laughter.

Crimson Yin and Yu Zhou fought as the True Person Yang God escaped the Moon Demon, but a ring controlled by Aunt He trapped it and helped expose its old wounds. Aunt He’s snake-like shadow swallowed the Yang God, leaving Yu Ci to recognize her and Yu Zhou visibly unsettled.

• Crimson Yin exploited Yu Zhou’s distraction to attack, but his Sword Qi wounded her before she escaped with a clone technique.
• The True Person Yang God fled as Yu Zhou rushed toward Yu Ci, then became trapped in Aunt He’s Heavenly Law Absolute Prison ring.
• The Yang God broke the ring, but its fragments tore apart the golden light protecting it and left it struggling to escape.
• Yu Zhou warned Yu Ci to stay still while the shattered prison’s power weakened the Yang God’s vital essence barrier.
• Aunt He struck the Yang God with curse power, triggered its suppressed wounds, and swallowed it in her snake-like shadow.
• Yu Ci recognized the shadow as Aunt He and asked Yu Zhou about it, leaving his face exceptionally splendid.

Yu Zhou nearly killed Crimson Yin after she tried to flee, but Aunt He intervened at the last moment to spare her and cited the need to preserve relations between the Lichen and Rakshasa Sects. A Rakshasa Sect figure arrived and apologized to Yu Ci for Crimson Yin’s conduct.

• Crimson Yin tried to escape the Heavenly Law Absolute Prison, but Yu Zhou’s restraint forced her back toward Yu Ci and Yu Zhou.
• Yu Zhou drew his sword and struck Crimson Yin three times, overcoming her illusions and leaving her on the verge of death.
• Aunt He pressed Crimson Yin down and diverted Yu Zhou’s final strike, saving her from death.
• Yu Ci came out of his focus on Yu Zhou’s swordsmanship and saw Crimson Yin’s injuries, then recognized Aunt He.
• Aunt He argued that Crimson Yin’s status as a Rakshasa Sect branch master made killing her harmful to relations between the sects.
• A Rakshasa Sect figure arrived, bowed to Yu Ci, and asked forgiveness for Crimson Yin’s offense.

Yu Ci confronted Crimson Yin over her attempt to kill him and killed her while she was restrained and weakened. Immortal He acknowledged his action, then exposed Ming Lan’s Rakshasa Illusion Arts as Ming Lan began coughing blood.

• Yu Ci took the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror from Crimson Yin and reminded her that she had tried to destroy his soul with Burning Breath Incense.
• Ming Lan confirmed that the incense Crimson Yin had used was Burning Breath Incense, and Yu Ci admitted he had lured Crimson Yin to Juebi City to settle their grudge.
• Yu Ci struck Crimson Yin with the Pure Yang Talisman Sword and Half-Mountain Mirage sword qi, breaking her heart meridian and killing her.
• Yu Ci told Immortal He that he had acted from his true heart and left judgment of the sect feud to her; Xie Yan praised his resolve.
• Immortal He called Yu Ci upright and identified Ming Lan’s Rakshasa Illusion Arts as a technique that could deceive impermanence and Yama kings.
• Ming Lan began coughing up blood in front of the others.

Minglan revealed a strange power while speaking of the Divine Lord, then vanished through Great Illusory Translocation as the swallowed Yang God transformed into a demon. Yu Ci and the others retreated, but He Qing’s restraint failed, and the unleashed gray mist swept across the sky.

• Minglan approached Crimson Yin, recited a passage about the human heart as a supreme sacrificial offering, and pointed out that the snake shadow had begun to convulse after swallowing a True Person’s Yang God.
• The snake shadow expelled gray vapor that gathered into a vast mist vortex, while Xie Yan, Xie Liang, Yu Zhou, and He Qing prepared to contain it.
• Minglan, Crimson Yin’s body, and the surrounding air rippled and disappeared as Minglan used Great Illusory Translocation.
• Xie Yan recognized the danger as an inner demon charging with Baleful Intent, identified He Qing’s method as Tai Xuan Jie Xing Suo, and led Yu Ci and the others into retreat.
• He Qing’s light band briefly restrained the swelling gray mist, but the restriction collapsed as the transformed Yang God cursed Yu Qing Xuan and the mist spread across ten li.

Yu Ci and the others fought through the Heart Demon Sha Qi while discussing the connection between Yu Qing Xuan, the Tai Xuan Demon Mother, and the calamity at Sky Rift Valley. After the group defeated the Yin Demons, Xie Yan taught Yu Ci a sword-intent technique and told him to practise on the remaining threats.

• Xie Yan cut a path through the gray mist, while Immortal He's fish dragon protected He Qing and Yu Ci guided his own injured fish dragon toward them.
• Xie Yan stopped the group to kill a formed An Yin Demon and questioned why He Qing had come; Yu Zhou explained that she had been sent to investigate the Juebi City deaths.
• Yu Zhou and Xie Liang identified clues linking the True Person's Yang God, the Tai Xuan Jie Xing Suo, and Yu Qing Xuan's unfinished seal, then connected the Sky Rift Valley calamity to the Rakshasa Ghost King and Tai Xuan Demon Mother.
• Yu Zhou explained Ruizhu Palace's history and the power of the Tai Xuan Demon Mother and her disciple Yu Qing Xuan as Yin Demons approached.
• The group killed the Yin Demons, and Xie Yan explained how sword intent could dispel evil delusions before giving Yu Ci a mnemonic and telling him to practise.

Yu Ci learned to use the Half-Mountain Mirage sword intent to destroy yin demons and discovered a growing desire to sharpen his sword further. As the Li Chen Sect elders considered the consequences of the events in Juebi City, Baoguang arrived with news that Yu Ci was going to be punished.

• Yu Ci used Xie Yan's formula and the Half-Mountain Mirage sword intent to repel waves of yin demons, earning Daoist Yu Zhou's praise.
• Yu Ci wondered whether his sword could become sharper as he walked through the maple grove near Zhixin Temple.
• Yu Ci considered He Qing's investigation and how Xie Yan, Xie Liang, and Yu Zhou's support might affect the mountain gate's decision about him.
• Baoguang ran up to Yu Ci and announced that he was going to be punished.

Yu Ci reflected on the obligations of joining the Li Chen Sect and practiced his sword while waiting to learn his punishment. He Qing arrived and questioned him about his swordsmanship, then noticed that his fish-dragon was missing its “True Form Qi.”

• Baoguang told Yu Ci that Yu Zhou had spoken privately with He Qing and that Yu Ci's punishment did not seem serious, but he avoided discussing the tension between them.
• Yu Ci considered the constraints of sect life, then practiced with the Pure Yang Talisman Sword and reflected on how his swordsmanship had improved.
• A giant fish-dragon descended over the maple grove as He Qing approached Yu Ci.
• He Qing asked Yu Ci how he used the sword, and he explained that he wanted to erase the gap between himself and powerful enemies.
• He Qing looked at Yu Ci's fish-dragon and asked where its “True Form Qi” was.

He Qing explained that Yu Ci had absorbed and transformed the fish dragon’s True Dragon Form Qi within his Inner Void, and she taught him a method to dissolve foreign qi. She urged him to make good use of his opportunities, then confronted him over the deaths in Juebi City, and Yu Ci acknowledged his fault.

• He Qing explained the nature and value of True Dragon Form Qi and confirmed that Yu Ci had absorbed it into his Inner Void.
• He Qing’s fish dragon sensed the True Dragon Form Qi on Yu Ci and tried to approach him, but He Qing drove it away.
• Yu Ci recounted how the fish dragon’s core had entered his Inner Void and lost control of it, and He Qing inferred that he had opened the inner and outer voids.
• He Qing taught Yu Ci the Void Assimilation Method and advised him to ask Junior Brother Xie about the cultivation benefits.
• He Qing warned Yu Ci not to squander his opportunities and then asked whether he accepted responsibility for the deaths caused by his handling of the defense in Juebi City; Yu Ci acknowledged his fault.

Yu Ci chose a year of guard duty at the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat docks instead of quarrying stone, while Monk Yi Xin revived a body and received a visit from Bichao of the Xuan Yin Sect. Later, Yu Ci hunted an Eagle Ape with a companion, and the arrival of the Guiding Cloud Shuttle interrupted them.

• He Qing punished Yu Ci by assigning him a year of labor, and Yu Ci chose to guard the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat docks.
• Monk Yi Xin used black-flame spirit snakes to awaken a body with vertical pupils in an underground chamber.
• Yi Xin reflected on Lu Mingyue's death before returning to Jingshui Altar, where he welcomed Bichao of the Xuan Yin Sect.
• Yu Ci killed an Eagle Ape with one sword while a middle-aged companion watched and praised his skill.
• The Guiding Cloud Shuttle arrived, startling Yu Ci and his companion.

Yu Ci watched a Guiding Cloud Shuttle arrive at the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat pier while Elder Zhu rebuked him for hunting and risking his recently healed soul. The chapter ended as the Round Light Technique revealed a crimson cloud descending toward the docking formation.

• Yu Ci and Zhao Xiqiao returned to the pier with Eagle Ape's corpse as the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat docked overhead.
• Zhao Xiqiao brought Yu Ci before Elder Zhu, who scolded Yu Ci for hunting and accumulating Killing Intent while recovering from a grievous soul injury.
• Yu Ci joined Zhao Xiqiao and Zhou Hu in the docking chamber to watch the arriving Guiding Cloud Shuttle.
• Zhou Hu used the Round Light Technique to show the isolated valley, and Zhao Xiqiao pointed out a crimson cloud descending from the sky.

Yu Ci watched passengers arrive aboard the Guiding Cloud Shuttle and carried out his patrol duties at the hidden mountain outpost. After noticing that the quiet female cultivator and two other passengers had stayed behind, he returned to his room and began practicing the Void Assimilation Method.

• Yu Ci learned how the mooring array used magnetic fire to move the Guiding Cloud Shuttle between the mountain and the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat.
• Yu Ci accompanied Zhao Xiqiao to the docking area, where they inspected passengers disembarking from the shuttle.
• Yu Ci noticed a red-clad female cultivator traveling with the dark-faced Daoist Lake and Sea Wanderer, as well as a quiet female cultivator who kept her face lowered.
• Zhou Hu went outside to check the forest and told Yu Ci to remain at the corridor exit while passengers left the mountain.
• Zhao Xiqiao told Yu Ci that Lake and Sea Wanderer and Chu Yan had registered as Rogue Cultivators and planned to stay outside as a base for hunting demons.
• Yu Ci returned to his room and began practicing the Void Assimilation Method.

Yu Ci used the Void Assimilation Method to deepen his understanding of the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror and secretly implanted its divine intent starlight in the Lake and Sea Wanderer to monitor him. As Yu Ci prepared to investigate the pair’s plans, Zhao Xiqiao announced that Master Bicha of the Xuan Yin Sect had arrived.

• Yu Ci cultivated with the True Return Purple Smoke Warm Jade and the True Dragon Form Qi, refining his Inner Void through the Void Assimilation Method.
• Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror’s divine intent starlight to sense that Chu Yan’s cultivation was higher than the Lake and Sea Wanderer’s and that she was concealing her strength from him.
• Yu Ci guided the starlight into the Lake and Sea Wanderer’s brain palace and altered it to cling to his soul, extending its ability to transmit information.
• Yu Ci chose not to implant starlight in Chu Yan, wary of her hidden strength and the possibility of exposing himself.
• Zhao Xiqiao told Yu Ci that Master Bicha of the Xuan Yin Sect had come as a guest.

Yu Ci received a visit from Crimson Yin, the new master of the Xuan Yin Sect, who invited him to a banquet and gave him a censer for his injured divine soul. After she departed, Yu Ci used the fish-dragon to spy on her carriage and discovered she was speaking to someone inside.

• Yu Ci met Crimson Yin at the Da Tongxing hall, where she said her sect did not blame the former Crimson Yin for attacking him.
• Crimson Yin invited Yu Ci to a banquet at Tianyi Tower, but he declined because he had duties in Juebi City.
• Crimson Yin gave Yu Ci a Boshan censer and Benzoin Incense, then invited him to visit Youqiu Palace.
• Yu Ci heard distant demonic beasts roaring as Crimson Yin left in her carriage with the Incense Slave.
• Yu Ci used the fish-dragon to listen in on Crimson Yin's carriage and heard her ask someone, “After all these days, do you know the difference between you and me?”

Yu Ci tracked the disturbance that had drawn Bi Chao and Incense Slave away from the carriage, then set out to investigate signs of demons and ferocious beasts near the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat dock. After following their trail west, he sensed danger as a yin wind rose in the dark forest.

• Yu Ci used Fish-Dragon to watch Bi Chao and Incense Slave investigate the distant disturbance, but Bi Chao continued west while Incense Slave returned to the carriage and left without her.
• Yu Ci told Yan Hao that demons or ferocious beasts might be active near the dock and said he would investigate.
• Yu Ci examined the battle site and used Fish-Dragon to trace the routes taken by injured ferocious beasts and demons.
• Yu Ci chose the western route Bi Chao had followed and advanced beyond Fish-Dragon’s scouting range.
• Yu Ci drew the Pure Yang Talisman Sword when a yin wind suddenly rose in the dark forest.

Yu Ci killed a severely wounded demon by combining the Half-Mountain Mirage sword intent with his own fierce sword style, then recovered its Blood Treasure. Following a distant roar with the fish-dragon, he sensed an injured woman meditating nearby and wondered if he recognized her.

• Yu Ci used sword intent to break the demon's soul attack, dodged its claws, and countercharged to kill it with his Pure Yang Talisman Sword.
• Yu Ci reflected on how Xie Yan's method of breaking evil delusions had helped him reshape the Half-Mountain Mirage sword intent into a style of his own.
• Yu Ci examined the demon's severe injuries, extracted its Blood Treasure, and considered what kind of expert could have wounded it.
• Yu Ci heard a distant roar and sent the fish-dragon toward it to investigate.
• Yu Ci sensed an injured woman meditating nearby and wondered whether she was the person he had thought of.

Yu Ci investigated the signs of fighting near the dock, while Bicha searched the jungle with a moonlight spell before flying east. At the dock, Elder Zhu traded Yu Ci a Breath-Light Evasion Technique for the Earth Soul Demon’s blood treasure, just as a warning arrived that a beast tide was bearing down on them.

• Yu Ci saw Bicha use a vast moonlight search spell, noticed the fragile female cultivator had vanished, and fled before Bicha flew east past him.
• Yu Ci reported signs of numerous demons and monsters near the dock, and Zhao Xiqiao identified the blood treasure as coming from an Earth Soul Demon.
• Elder Zhu took an interest in the blood treasure and offered Yu Ci a Breath-Light Evasion Technique in exchange.
• A mechanism rang, and a caller warned that a beast tide was approaching the dock and demanded help.

A sudden beast tide drove fiends into the mountain dock, where Yu Ci and the cultivators fought to survive. Yu Ci killed two fiends with swift sword strikes, and he ordered everyone to shelter together in the warehouse for the night.

• A massive beast tide swept across the mountains, and Zhou Hu warned that the resulting chaos could last for days.
• Fiends broke into the mountain, so Elder Zhu, Zhou Hu, and Zhao Xiqiao joined Yan Hao and the refugee cultivators in the warehouse.
• An Earth Soul Demon attacked from the rock, and the cultivators drew it into the warehouse while Yu Ci was missing.
• The Earth Soul Demon lunged again, but Yu Ci appeared and killed it with a sword strike.
• Feng Chao credited Yu Ci with killing two fiends, and Yu Ci told the cultivators to clean up the corpse and stay together in the warehouse overnight.

Yu Ci helped secure the warehouse after killing two demons, then accepted Soul Soothing Pills from Zhao Xiqiao. Elder Zhu gave him the Breath-Light Evasion Technique and offered him something ten times better, leaving Yu Ci to wonder what the old man had in mind.

• Yu Ci learned that Feng Chao and the other newcomers had arrived during the first wave of demon hunters, and Feng Chao revealed he had seen Yu Ci defeat Zhao Ziyue in Juebi City.
• Yu Ci and the others repaired traps and defenses, while Yu Ci patrolled the mountain through the night and reflected on his thwarted plans to enter Sky Rift Valley.
• Zhao Xiqiao asked whether the sects would learn of the disturbance and gave Yu Ci a hundred Soul Soothing Pills as payment for the two Blood Treasures.
• Elder Zhu returned the Breath-Light Evasion Technique to Yu Ci and explained how it could conceal his aura and build Killing Intent for a sudden strike.
• Elder Zhu said he had something ten times better than the Breath-Light Evasion Technique and asked Yu Ci whether he wanted it.