Recaps

Fang Shu reported completing the Second Tribulation, and the hall master gave him Whale-Whisker Soul-Nourishing Incense to help him cross the Third Tribulation. After Qu Yan and Fu Shier failed to obtain medicine and rumors spread that Fang Shu had been turned away, he continued cultivating until his Dao Register showed he was ninety-seven percent ready to cross the tribulation.

• Fang Shu met the hall master and reported that he had completed the Second Tribulation, prompting her to examine his strong qi and blood.
• The hall master explained how the Third Tribulation refined the brain and soul, then gave Fang Shu Whale-Whisker Soul-Nourishing Incense and instructed him on how to use it.
• Fang Shu left the Council Hall, where Qu Yan and Fu Shier saw his qi-and-blood wolf-smoke and were astonished by his progress.
• Qu Yan and Fu Shier asked the hall master for medicine, but she refused because they were still far from completing the Second Tribulation and the academy's supplies were scarce.
• Qu Yan and Fu Shier left believing Fang Shu had also failed to obtain medicine, and rumors that he had hit a wall reached Second Uncle Yu Le, who sent him a comforting note.
• Fang Shu ignored the rumors, resumed seclusion, and reached ninety-seven percent readiness to cross the tribulation.

Fang Shu used Whale-Whisker Soul-Nourishing Incense and his prepared methods to cross the third tribulation. He reached the Three-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal realm, leaving only the Qi-Refining Spirit Immortal step before the immortal sects’ Dao lineages.

• Fang Shu compared the soul-nourishing medicine with his remaining flesh ganoderma and prepared to cross his third tribulation.
• Fang Shu lit eight portions of Whale-Whisker Soul-Nourishing Incense and inhaled the smoke alongside the lead-and-mercury paper smoke.
• Fang Shu directed his blood and qi into his brain in eight controlled streams, assisted by the flesh worm between his brows and monitored by the Dao Register.
• Fang Shu completed Essence Restoration, Brain Nourishment and attained the Three-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal realm.
• Fang Shu gained sharper senses and mental strength, with only the Qi-Refining Spirit Immortal step remaining before the immortal sects’ Dao lineages.

After breaking through to the Third Tribulation, Fang Shu discovered that his qi and blood had grown denser and stronger. He opened the mine owner surnamed Cao’s Storage Bag and found a Mountain-Piercing Seal, which he attached to his waist for protection.

• Fang Shu tested his newly strengthened body and expelled black impurities from his lungs.
• Fang Shu used a spell and his qi and blood to open the Storage Bag taken from the mine owner surnamed Cao.
• Fang Shu inspected the bag’s ores and supplies, finding them worth only a few catties of spirit stones.
• Fang Shu identified a golden-red Mountain-Piercing Seal as a quasi-Fourth Tribulation talisman artifact capable of breaking stone and enabling earth-escape.
• Fang Shu nourished the Mountain-Piercing Seal and hung it beneath his robe before packing the remaining belongings into the Storage Bag.

After weeks of seclusion, Fang Shu returned to Solitary Gu Hall and was chosen alongside Qin Min to represent the hall in the Spring Examination. As Master Du called for them to demonstrate their Third Tribulation qi and blood, Fang Shu challenged Qin Min about testing his strength again.

• Fang Shu spent several dozen days consolidating his Third Tribulation cultivation, but failed to awaken divine consciousness.
• Yu Le sent Fang Shu word that Master Du had summoned the Inner Court disciples, and Fang Shu left seclusion.
• Fang Shu entered the council hall, where the disciples watched him and Qin Min and Du Yu'er greeted him.
• Master Du chose Qin Min and Fang Shu as champions to represent Solitary Gu Hall in the Spring Examination, without naming Du Yu'er.
• Master Du asked Qin Min and Fang Shu to demonstrate their cultivation, and Fang Shu asked Qin Min whether she was going to weigh his strength again.

Hall Master Du stopped Fang Shu and Qin Min from fighting and helped Fang Shu complete his Spring Examination registration. At Scorched-Tail Hall, Steward Xiao Hu attacked Ling Baiquan and died with his teeth locked into Ling Baiquan’s neck, leaving the gathered disciples shaken and suspicious.

• Hall Master Du forbade Fang Shu and Qin Min from sparring, had them share their Third Tribulation insights, and told Fang Shu to settle his household registration before the Spring Examination.
• Second Uncle Yu Le gave Fang Shu the prepared household documents, and Fang Shu completed his registration with Hall Master Du.
• Hall Master Ling gathered Scorched-Tail Hall to showcase Ling Baiquan’s hard-body cultivation, and Ling Baiquan defeated the disciples who challenged him.
• Steward Xiao Hu challenged Ling Baiquan, endured his charge, and bit through his protective force into his neck despite Hall Master Ling striking Xiao Hu in the chest.
• Ling Baiquan snapped Xiao Hu’s neck and finally pried him away, while the disciples watched in sorrow and looked at Ling Baiquan with suspicion.

After Xiao Hu died proving his and Xiao Lili’s innocence, Hall Master Ling saw through Ling Baiquan’s excuses and sent him to retrieve Xiao Lili, who had already escaped. Xiao Lili reached Solitary Gu Hall and begged Grandma Du to clear her father’s name and avenge him in exchange for the precious medicine within her body.

• Ling Baiquan accused Xiao Hu of trying to ruin his chances of entering an immortal sect, but Hall Master Ling dismissed the crowd and challenged Ling Baiquan’s claim of innocence.
• Hall Master Ling ordered Ling Baiquan to collect Xiao Lili’s corpse, and Ling Baiquan discovered that she was missing from her room.
• Earlier, Xiao Lili escaped Scorched-Tail Hall and searched Guling Town for help, but the people she approached turned her away.
• Xiao Lili reached Solitary Gu Hall, where Du Yu’er brought her before Grandma Du.
• Xiao Lili bowed to Grandma Du and offered the precious medicine within her body in exchange for clearing Xiao Hu’s name and avenging him.

Xiao Lili begged Hall Master Du to help avenge her father, but Du instead gave her a chance to survive by removing and consuming the ginseng medicine growing inside her. Fang Shu agreed to help with the dangerous procedure, while Du secretly told him to take the medicine for himself if Xiao Lili died.

• Hall Master Du stopped Xiao Lili from harming herself and explained that her father, Xiao Hu, had kept the ginseng medicine in her body from killing her.
• Xiao Lili refused to return to Scorched-Tail Hall and offered the medicine as a reward to whoever avenged her father.
• Hall Master Du summoned Fang Shu and explained that he could help Xiao Lili remove the medicine and give her a chance to live.
• Xiao Lili accepted the risky procedure and asked Fang Shu to help her, and Fang Shu agreed to assist her survival rather than pursue revenge.
• Hall Master Du ordered Du Yu'er to prepare a quiet chamber and secretly instructed Fang Shu to claim the medicine if Xiao Lili died.

Fang Shu began treating Xiao Lili’s condition in a medicinal bath, deciding to try to save her rather than claim the ginseng within her. As he examined her body, he discovered the ginseng’s roots formed a mysterious pattern that the Dao Register recognized as secret script.

• Fang Shu decided Hall Master Du had left the choice between Xiao Lili and the medicinal ginseng to him, and he chose to do his best to save her.
• Du Yu’er prepared the medicinal bath for Fang Shu and Xiao Lili, then left them alone in the restricted chamber.
• Xiao Lili undressed and entered the tub, and Fang Shu joined her to use his qi and blood in the treatment.
• Fang Shu examined Xiao Lili and sensed that the crimson ginseng and its roots had spread throughout her body.
• The Dao Register recorded the pattern of the ginseng’s roots, and Fang Shu realized it was secret script.

Fang Shu extracted the nearly mature medicinal ginseng from Xiao Lili after studying the Natural Secret Script formed inside her body. Xiao Lili bit through its final root and devoured the living ginseng, leaving her mangled in the bath barrel as unusual vitality and a complex pattern emerged.

• Fang Shu discovered and recorded the Natural Secret Script within Xiao Lili, then agreed to remove the medicinal ginseng after she insisted on proceeding despite the danger.
• Fang Shu restrained Xiao Lili, sealed her vitality with copper needles, and spent hours feeding her and the ginseng his qi and blood before cutting the ginseng's roots from her body.
• Fang Shu removed the ginseng except for its final root in Xiao Lili's heart aperture and told her she could still choose whether to cut it and refine the medicine.
• Xiao Lili bit through the final root herself, endured the pain, and stuffed the writhing ginseng into her mouth to devour it.
• Xiao Lili and the ginseng tore at and consumed each other until she collapsed, while unusual vitality and a dense spiritual pattern rose from the bath barrel.

Fang Shu used Metal-Stone Poison and Flesh Lingzhi Treasure Medicine to suppress the medicinal ginseng and save Xiao Lili, whose innate secret script completed three transformations before vanishing. After recovering, Xiao Lili swore herself to Fang Shu as his servant, and he left the oath in her heart rather than formally accepting her.

• Fang Shu discovered that the medicinal ginseng roots were overwhelming Xiao Lili and used the poison in the bathing tub to suppress them.
• When the roots continued to threaten her life, Fang Shu placed the Lead-Essence Treasure Pearl in Xiao Lili's mouth and guided its Metal-Stone Poison through her body.
• Fang Shu used Flesh Lingzhi Treasure Medicine to counter the poison and heal Xiao Lili, who survived and recovered from her grievous injuries.
• Fang Shu recorded and studied the three-stage innate secret script above Xiao Lili, sensing that it could benefit his natal insect embryo.
• After Xiao Lili awoke, she swore to serve Fang Shu as her master, and he told her that the oath had already made him her master in her heart.

Fang Shu discovered that Xiao Lili had recovered and gained a spirit root after surviving her illness, and Curator Du accepted her as a disciple. After sending Xiao Lili away, Curator Du kept Fang Shu behind and hinted that his own gains from her transformation were no less valuable.

• Fang Shu examined Xiao Lili and found no trace of the Natural Secret Script, then accompanied her to the Inner Court Council Hall.
• Du Yu'er welcomed Xiao Lili and thanked Fang Shu for helping her recover.
• Curator Du examined Xiao Lili and explained that the spirit ginseng had taken root in her, giving her a spirit root and the potential to reach Qi Refinement.
• Xiao Lili kowtowed and accepted Curator Du as her master, while Curator Du cautioned her that her spirit root was average and her cultivation had fallen to the First Tribulation.
• After Xiao Lili left to recuperate, Curator Du told Fang Shu that his gains from her transformation were no loss, leaving him puzzled.

Hall Master Du explained Xiao Lili’s demonization and warned Fang Shu about the dangers of letting others control the process of planting spirit roots. She revealed that he had gained insight into the Spirit Root Atlas from helping Xiao Lili, leaving him to wonder whether his spirit root might manifest through his natal insect embryo.

• Hall Master Du explained that Xiao Lili had become a medicine person and that the medicinal ginseng in her brain had affected her temperament.
• Hall Master Du warned Fang Shu that spirit roots and Gu insects must remain under his control, and explained that his qi and blood had left a mark on Xiao Lili.
• Hall Master Du told Fang Shu that anyone helping plant another person’s spirit root could gain insight into their foundation and potentially make them a puppet or Dao soldier.
• Fang Shu rejected using Xiao Lili as medicine, and Hall Master Du revealed that he had seen the Spirit Root Atlas while helping extract the medicine.
• Fang Shu reviewed the preserved memory and wondered whether his spirit root would manifest through the natal insect embryo between his brows.

Fang Shu questioned Hall Master Du about spirit roots and artifact cultivation, then set aside his expanding plans to focus on the Spring Examination. At the crowded examination grounds, he encountered a woman who appeared to be his second uncle Yu Le’s former wife, while the examination still had not begun by sunset.

• Fang Shu learned from Hall Master Du that artifact cultivators could use artifacts as spirit roots, and her advice about cultivation paths broadened his ideas for refining his natal Gu.
• Fang Shu restrained his thoughts about pursuing multiple cultivation paths and made preparing for the Spring Examination his priority.
• When the examination date was announced, Fang Shu and Qin Min went with Hall Master Du, Yu Le, and others to the crowded marketplace grounds.
• Fang Shu joined the candidates while Li Hou'er, Li Yuan, and Dou Sufu called encouragement from outside the examination area.
• A heavily made-up woman greeted Yu Le, spoke as though she had once been his wife, and then hurried to serve a young man; Fang Shu inferred she was his former second aunt.
• The candidates waited from noon until sunset without the examination beginning, and three figures appeared on the raised platform.

Fang Shu and the other examinees gathered for Guling Town’s Spring Examination, where Immortal Sect envoy Zong and her companions introduced the Greenfly Coin-Exchange Technique. The greenflies began draining the candidates’ essence blood and turning into blood-red talisman coins, leaving the examination’s purpose and outcome unresolved.

• Envoy Zong and two Immortal Sect disciples arrived, and the martial hall masters respectfully yielded the arena to them.
• A market steward reported that all ninety-two qualified Daoist acolytes were present, but the envoys said only eighteen could go up the mountain early.
• The two male envoys announced they would use greenflies to test the candidates’ qi and blood, then forbade the examinees from using talismans or magical artifacts.
• The envoys released greenflies that drained all ninety-two examinees’ essence blood, while a bone flute and a chilling aura kept them from resisting.
• One envoy crushed a swollen greenfly and transformed it into a blood-red talisman coin, then began making more coins from the insects.

Fang Shu and the other examinees endured a blood-draining trial by Greenfly Blood Coins, then were ordered to ring a giant bell after their strength had been depleted. Fang Shu recovered with Flesh Lingzhi Treasure Medicine and passed, while many others struggled to regain enough strength before the deadline.

• Two Immortal Sect envoys released Greenfly Blood Coins that drained the examinees, eliminating those who collapsed as Fang Shu endured the insects.hee.
• Immortal Zong ordered the envoys to stop, and the examinees were freed from the insects after their blood coins were collected.
• The envoys set down a giant bell and required examinees to ring it within three quarter-hours, while the academy masters secretly urged them to recover with medicine.
• Fang Shu took Flesh Lingzhi Treasure Medicine, restored his vital energy and blood, rang the bell, and joined the examinees who had passed.
• As the deadline approached, examinees without enough medicine begged others for help, but the remaining candidates and academy masters watched coldly.

Fang Shu and the other candidates endured the bronze bell test and prepared for the final arena round, but a widespread miners' revolt at Lead Mountain Mine changed the examination. The Zong-surnamed immortal voided the arena and ordered the candidates to earn passage by suppressing the revolt, while others approached Guling Market from beyond town.

• Zou'er drank blood from his young mistress, rang the bronze bell, and passed the test as other candidates resorted to desperate methods.
• The examination's time limit expired, leaving twenty-seven candidates to face a final arena selection in which alliances and rivalries quickly formed.
• Flames rose over Lead Mountain Mine as news arrived that dozens of mines had revolted.
• The Zong-surnamed immortal voided the arena round and declared that candidates who earned the greatest merit suppressing the revolt would pass.
• Fang Shu, the other candidates, and the hall masters raced toward Lead Mountain Mine, while others gathered beyond Guling Town and eyed Guling Market.

After the examination, Yu Le’s former second aunt discovered that Fang Shu was his nephew and that Solitary Gu Hall honored him. Meanwhile, Fang Shu and the hall masters found Lead Mountain Mine deserted and realized Guling Market was under attack, where a sword strike met the invading paper effigy.

• Yu Le’s former second aunt argued with him, and Li Hou'er and the others honored Yu Le as Fang Shu’s uncle, leaving the woman stunned when she learned Fang Shu was his nephew.
• Fang Shu and the hall masters reached Lead Mountain Mine and found it filled with corpse-skeletons instead of living miners.
• The hall masters realized the mine was a trap meant to draw them away from Guling Market and rushed back while the immortal sect envoys ordered Fang Shu and the other examinees to suppress the corpses.
• Miners and mine slaves surrounded Guling Market as a paper-effigy figure entered the streets in a sedan chair.
• A streak of cold light split the sedan chair, and sword cries rang through the air.

Zong Qingxue confronted a Withered Bone Abbey immortal while Fang Shu hunted Unchanging Bones in Lead Mountain Mine for the sect selection. After fighting off an examinee and avoiding a trap involving Qin Min, Fang Shu left the tunnels as Qin Min was overwhelmed by her former allies.

• Zong Qingxue ambushed the Withered Bone Abbey immortal at the market district, and he summoned skeletons as they began to fight.
• Fang Shu hunted zombies and skeletons in Lead Mountain Mine, collecting dozens of Unchanging Bones with help from his insects.
• An examinee tried to rob Fang Shu, but Fang Shu poisoned and attacked him until the man fled, scattering his Unchanging Bones.
• Fang Shu heard Qin Min arguing over a zombie and realized her companions had turned on her, then used the distraction to leave the mine tunnels.
• Qin Min fought the three examinees who had ambushed her, but they defeated her and left her badly injured.

Fang Shu emerged from the mine and headed for the immortal sect envoys, but Ling Baiquan tried to recruit him into robbing other examinees. Fang Shu killed Ling Baiquan with the Long-Tongue Sword, leaving the other examinees to witness his strength.

• Hua Xiaqing tricked the other attackers, seized Qin Min's bundle, and fled deeper into the mine while Qin Min was carried toward the exit by spiritual light.
• Fang Shu left the mine and headed toward the immortal sect envoys, passing examinees who had gathered Unchanging Bones and blocked the road.
• Ling Baiquan invited Fang Shu to join him in eliminating weaker examinees and taking their possessions.
• Fang Shu attacked Ling Baiquan with the Long-Tongue Sword, then overwhelmed him and severed his head.

Fang Shu killed Ling Baiquan by striking the hidden weakness in his neck, then reached the examination boundary with his spoils. As the Spring Examination ended, Qin Min survived long enough to crawl into the protected circle and lie beside him.

• Fang Shu recalled Xiao Lili's account of Ling Baiquan's neck wound and used the Dragon-Seeking Gold-Finding Insect to find the weakness, then killed Ling Baiquan with one sword.
• Fang Shu collected Ling Baiquan's precious blood and valuables and hurried toward the immortal sect envoys, passing the badly injured Qin Min without noticing her.
• Fang Shu entered the hundred-pace boundary, where he noticed a Black Tiger Hall candidate with mice beneath his robe and rested among the other candidates.
• An immortal sect envoy slapped away a candidate's attempt to leave Undying Bones inside the boundary, and Qin Min crawled into the circle, where Fang Shu let her rest beside him.
• After the battlefield fell silent, an immortal sect envoy announced that the Spring Examination had ended.

After the Immortal Sect assessment, Fang Shu and seventeen others were selected as immortal seeds and returned to Guling Town. They found the uprising suppressed and watched as captured rioters were executed in the streets.

• The Immortal Sect envoys collected the examinees’ Imperishable Bones and selected eighteen people, including Fang Shu, while the unsuccessful candidates were left behind.
• Hao Hexin and Lao Youdiao introduced themselves warmly to the selected examinees and asked them to help carry the remaining miners back to town.
• Fang Shu and the others returned to Guling Town, where the uprising had been suppressed and the woman surnamed Zong prepared to pursue the escaped Withered Bone Abbey thief.
• The hall masters welcomed the selected examinees and led them through town in a public procession as captured rioters were beheaded along the road.
• A kneeling miner called out to Fang Shu for help, but a martial hall disciple killed him before Fang Shu could respond.

After passing the Spring Examination, Fang Shu returned to Solitary Gu Hall to receive the disciples’ congratulations, while Ling Baiquan’s death stirred grief and anger in Scorched-Tail Hall. A commotion at Solitary Gu Hall drew Fang Shu to Qin Min and her sister, where he found a scene reminiscent of one from a year earlier.

• Fang Shu recognized Tian Tianquan among the executed rioters but kept his acquaintance with him to himself.
• Ling Baiquan’s body was returned to Scorched-Tail Hall, and the hall master ordered it burned and buried; Yin Xiaojian was left with the task.
• Bai Lang learned that Ling Baiquan had died and blamed the Scorched-Tail Hall master for failing to care for him, while the master urged him to cultivate and fulfill Ling Baiquan’s wish.
• Fang Shu returned to Solitary Gu Hall, where Second Uncle Yu Le and the disciples welcomed him as an immortal, and he entrusted visiting well-wishers to Yu Le.
• Fang Shu arrived at the medicine hall and found Qu Yan pressuring the crippled Qin Min to marry him and proposing to take her sister Qin Ji as well.

Fang Shu stopped Qu Yan from pressuring Qin Min into marriage, but refused her desperate pleas to take her into the sect. The Lone Pavilion Master explained that Qin Min could no longer cultivate and then began preparing Fang Shu, Du Yu’er, and Xiao Lili for the risks of entering the immortal sect.

• Fang Shu confronted Qu Yan, who admitted his misconduct and left to seek the Lone Pavilion Master's judgment.
• Qin Min crawled after Fang Shu and pleaded to become his servant or concubine, but he turned away.
• The Lone Pavilion Master told Fang Shu that Qin Min's injuries had destroyed her cultivation and left her with little prospect of recovery.
• The Lone Pavilion Master said she would raise Qin Min in the hall and find her a decent family, then began explaining what awaited the three disciples at the sect.
• Fang Shu learned that Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili were also going up the mountain, and realized the move posed particular risks for Xiao Lili.

Fang Shu, Du Yu'er, and Xiao Lili prepared to leave Guling Town for the Mount Lu sects, then boarded a Five Viscera transport vessel. As the ship departed, Solitary Gu Hall learned that Qin Min had taken her own life.

• Lone Pavilion Master explained the Spring Examination, introduced Mount Lu's five sects, and told Fang Shu, Du Yu'er, and Xiao Lili to board the transport vessel when it arrived.
• Fang Shu spent the days before departure with his second uncle Yu Le, while thinking about the Hu Family's inheritance site he hoped to find after ascending the mountain.
• On the fifth day, a Five Viscera transport vessel arrived, and Fang Shu, Du Yu'er, and Xiao Lili boarded it amid a crowd of onlookers.
• Fang Shu bid farewell to Yu Le and watched Guling Town disappear into the mist as the vessel sailed away.
• A disciple reported that Qin Min had taken her own life in the hall, leaving Lone Pavilion Master deeply melancholy.

After Qin Min’s death, the Lone Pavilion Master honored her final request by protecting her elder sister. Fang Shu continued toward the Five Organs Immortal Sect and found himself sharing a cabin with six other immortal seeds, several of whom he recognized.

• The Lone Pavilion Master burned Qin Min’s farewell letter, collected and cremated her body, and took her elder sister in as a maidservant.
• Fang Shu traveled aboard the Five Viscera Transport Vessel with Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili until they disembarked at an immortal town.
• The transport vessel crossed a vast expanse of water, and its cultivators distributed cabin tokens to the immortal seeds.
• Fang Shu entered a cabin with six other immortal seeds, including Wu Dan, Black Mouse, Hua Xiaqing, Mai Shenger, and the stranger Er Daiyuan.
• Er Daiyuan introduced herself and lit the cabin with a luminous pearl, while Fang Shu recognized several of his cabinmates.
• A chained, white-furred man opened his greenish eyes and stared at Fang Shu, who met his gaze without flinching.