Recaps

Fang Shu survived the Spring Examination, earned a place among the eighteen selected candidates, and left Guling Town aboard the Five Viscera Transport Vessel with Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili. As he began the journey toward the immortal sects, Qin Min died back at the hall, and a chained stranger aboard the vessel fixed his attention on Fang Shu.

• Fang Shu completed his Third Tribulation and obtained the Mountain-Piercing Seal, then was chosen with Qin Min to represent Solitary Gu Hall in the Spring Examination.
• Fang Shu helped Xiao Lili survive the removal of the spirit ginseng, and she became Curator Du's disciple with a spirit root.
• The Immortal Sect envoys tested the candidates with Greenfly Blood Coins and a giant bell, then redirected the examination to the revolt at Lead Mountain Mine.
• Fang Shu hunted the undead, killed Ling Baiquan after discovering his weakness, and reached the boundary where the surviving candidates gathered.
• The envoys selected Fang Shu among eighteen successful candidates, who returned to Guling Town as its uprising was suppressed.
• Fang Shu learned that Qin Min had lost her cultivation, while she later took her own life after he refused her plea to become his servant or concubine.
• Fang Shu, Du Yu'er, and Xiao Lili boarded the Five Viscera Transport Vessel and left Guling Town, while the Lone Pavilion Master cremated Qin Min and took her elder sister in as a maidservant.
• Fang Shu reached an immortal town aboard the vessel, entered a cabin with Wu Dan, Black Mouse, Hua Xiaqing, Mai Shenger, and Er Daiyuan, and met the stare of a chained, white-furred man.

Fang Shu planted a Cordyceps spirit root, reached Qi Refinement, and joined the Five Viscera Temple’s Venom Hall under Long Gu. After repaying Fang Lu’s support, he began searching for a place to build his cave abode and sensed spiritual energy deep underground.

• Fang Shu traveled through the nine converging rivers, witnessed the River Merfolk attack the immortal seeds, and arrived at Toad Mudflats, where he studied spirit roots and sought a way to cultivate.
• Fang Lu stood guarantor for Fang Shu at the Jin Family Treasure Hall, allowing him to obtain a spirit-root method and enter a spiritual chamber for seclusion.
• Fang Shu refined the Cordyceps Parasitism Technique into the Fang Clan Cordyceps Gu-Seeding Art and planted the Worm-Grass Gu, then subdued and fused with it to reach Qi Refinement.
• Fang Shu took control of the Dao Register and transformed it through his divine threads, then left seclusion and revised his debt contract with the Jin Family.
• Steward Sun killed Hua Xiaqing after Fang Shu confronted her, then escorted Fang Shu to Household Hall, where Fang Shu was assigned to the Venom Hall.
• Long Gu accepted Fang Shu as her registered disciple, examined his Cordyceps spirit root, and gave him the Venom Hall’s cultivation catalogue and a waist token.
• Fang Shu offered to repay Fang Lu for her help, and they spent the night together before he left to find a place for his cave abode.
• Fang Shu rode a pangolin from Beast Hall and surveyed the land near Venom Hall with his Divine Silk, sensing spiritual energy deep underground.

Fang Shu strengthened his cultivation and prepared to compete for an inner sect position, but a plot aboard a cargo ship led him to uncover threats linked to Withered Bone Abbey. Back in Guling Town, he joined the Lone Pavilion Master in attacking suspected conspirators and killed Ling Bai Lang after the latter turned on him.

• Fang Shu established Fang Immortal Cave, chose the Life-and-Death Yin-Yang cultivation method, and began refining his true qi and studying spells.
• Fang Shu took charge of Huai Liangxing’s venom pits, refined and sold Gu insects, accepted Er Family sponsorship, and explored the clan’s extensive library.
• Fang Shu combined ancient arts with modern spells, refined Yin-Yang Gu, and completed his Fourth Tribulation after three years of secluded cultivation.
• Fang Shu learned the requirements for the inner sect contest and discovered that seventy-six disciples qualified, then set out for Guling Town with Ling Bai Lang and Black Mouse.
• Fang Shu uncovered a plan to kill the three disciples aboard the Pan Family Cargo Ship, killed Deng Lixing and the conspirators, and escaped the sinking vessel with his companions.
• Fang Shu showed the Lone Pavilion Master evidence linking the ship attack to Withered Bone Abbey, and she led him to confront Mountainbreaker Hall.
• Fang Shu and the Lone Pavilion Master defeated the Mountainbreaker Hall Master, then Fang Shu killed Ling Bai Lang after Ling attacked the Scorched-Tail Hall Master and challenged him.

Fang Shu advanced through the Fifth Tribulation, gained control of two gu pits, and earned inner sect status with his Gu-Refined Dao Soldier method. As the Five Viscera Temple prepared for war with Withered Bone Abbey, Fang Shu left the mountain to seek the resources and cultivation opportunities he needed.

• Fang Shu rescued Lü Daoist, killed Aunt Yin, and learned that Yin Xiaojian had been used as medicine material.
• Fang Shu passed the Fifth Tribulation, reunited with Yu Le, and left Guling Town for Lead Mountain Mine, where he found his ancestor’s cave and created the Flood Dragon Spine Hundred-Gu Banner.
• Fang Shu returned to the Five Viscera Temple, killed Huai Liangxing in a contest, and won control of the Yin-Yang Gu pits after revealing evidence of Huai Liangxing’s suspected ties to Withered Bone Abbey.
• Immortal Long Gu accepted Fang Shu as her disciple and gave him the Six Desires Baleful Method, while Fang Shu organized both gu pits and developed a Gu-Refined Dao Soldier method.
• Fang Shu contributed his method to the Scripture Hall, gained two hundred Dao merits, and secured a place among the nine new inner sect disciples.
• After entering the inner sect, Fang Shu refined Unattainable Baleful Qi into yin-yang true Sha and continued cultivating as the temple’s conflict with Withered Bone Abbey approached.
• Long Gu ordered Fang Shu and Hao Junliang to prepare for war over earth veins, so Fang Shu stocked his cave, entrusted Fang Lu with the gu pits, and left the mountain.
• Er Daiyuan reached the mountain gate after receiving Fang Shu’s letter, but the formation had been raised and she was trapped inside with Pei Zhongshan and the other disciples.