Recaps

Li Changshou completed a hidden, three-dimensional formation beneath Lesser Qiong Peak and sorted through his spoils from the Northern Continent. When Jiu Jiu arrived to help refine pills, Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi secretly followed her onto the peak, where they discovered Li Changshou’s formations.

• Li Changshou entered his concealed secret chamber and inspected the layered formations he had built with Jiu Jiu’s help.
• Li Changshou explained how his interwoven horizontal, vertical, and diagonal formations concealed a formidable defense beneath Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Li Changshou sorted through the spoils from his trip to the Northern Continent and set aside two sleeping Love Gu.
• Jiu Jiu flew to Lesser Qiong Peak on the day she had agreed to help Li Changshou refine pills.
• Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi watched Jiu Jiu arrive, then concealed themselves and flew toward Lesser Qiong Peak despite Jiu Wu sensing its formations.

Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi secretly approached Lesser Qiong Peak to find Jiu Jiu, but Li Changshou’s layered illusion arrays trapped them until they stumbled upon the alchemy room and left. Li Changshou confirmed his arrays had kept their secrets and began preparing to refine poison pills with Jiu Jiu.

• Jiu Shi persuaded Jiu Wu to sneak into Lesser Qiong Peak rather than visit openly, and they entered Li Changshou’s illusion arrays.
• Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi struggled for hours to escape the interconnected arrays, eventually losing their way and doubting their array skills.
• Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi found Jiu Jiu with Li Changshou in the alchemy room, then left without interrupting them after Jiu Shi decided Li Changshou seemed dependable.
• Li Changshou checked that the arrays had not revealed their secrets and brought out protective gear for himself and Jiu Jiu before beginning poison-pill refinement.

Jiu Jiu clarified that she and Li Changshou had not become Dao companions, while Jiu Wu learned that she had helped him set up arrays and refine poison pills. Recognizing Li Changshou’s unusual talents and his discreet message, Jiu Wu visited Lesser Qiong Peak at night to question him, leaving Li Changshou ready to answer while offering wine and food.

• Jiu Jiu delivered the spiders Jiu Wu had requested, and he gave her array-formations insights and new clothes while asking about her relationship with Li Changshou.
• Jiu Jiu explained that she had helped Li Changshou set up arrays and refine poison pills as repayment for his offerings, and Jiu Wu realized Li Changshou had designed the arrays.
• Jiu Jiu traded poison pills for Jiu Wu’s cultivation insights, and Jiu Wu recognized the couplet on the bottles as Li Changshou’s discreet request for him to overlook his secrets.
• Jiu Wu visited Lesser Qiong Peak at the third quarter of the Hour of the Pig, where Li Changshou welcomed him with wine and invited him to ask questions openly.

After settling Jiu Wu’s suspicions, Li Changshou completed his preparations for the First Plan to help Qi Yuan survive his tribulation. He began the Second Plan by prompting Qi Yuan to deepen his cultivation and started building a device to divert the tribulation’s lightning.

• Li Changshou reviewed his conversation with Jiu Wu and reassured Ling'e that he had revealed some of his hidden cultivation to settle the matter.
• On his way back to Sky-Breaking Peak, Jiu Wu concluded that Li Changshou had hidden his strength to protect Lesser Qiong Peak and planned to arrange further support for him.
• Li Changshou confirmed that Jiu Wu had taken no further action, finished sugar-coating a Melting Immortal Pill, and stored the extra pills as backups and possible trade goods.
• Li Changshou asked Qi Yuan cultivation questions that led his Master into deep contemplation and meditation by the lake.
• Li Changshou began making a Secondary Transfer Lightning Needle from Falling Thunder Wood and Thunder-Containing Seven Divine Irons to draw tribulation lightning away from Qi Yuan.

Li Changshou and Lan Ling'e tested a lightning-resistant cage intended to help Qi Yuan survive his heavenly tribulation, then rushed to prepare when tribulation clouds appeared. The apparent tribulation turned out to be an azure dragon demanding to speak with Du Xian Sect, leaving Qi Yuan crouched in embarrassment inside the cage.

• Li Changshou tested his Mage Birdcage by trapping Lan Ling'e inside and striking it repeatedly with summoned lightning.
• Lan Ling'e helped Li Changshou continue testing the cage for three days, until Qi Yuan awoke and found their clearing turned into a blackened pit.
• Qi Yuan sensed gray clouds approaching and declared that his heavenly tribulation had arrived, so Lan Ling'e carried the cage to the back mountain while Li Changshou gave Qi Yuan a precious medicine.
• Li Changshou placed Qi Yuan inside the cage and urged him to withstand the first bolt, as the clouds gathered over Du Xian Sect.
• A thousand-zhang azure dragon burst from the clouds, struck the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, and demanded that Du Xian Sect's leader come out and answer.
• Li Changshou realized the clouds were not a heavenly tribulation, and Qi Yuan crouched inside the cage in embarrassment.

Venerable Wangqing and the Du Xian Sect elders drove off a Dragon Palace emissary who invited the sect to a Demon-Quelling Assembly. Li Changshou continued preparing for Qi Yuan’s impending heavenly tribulation, which finally struck after a year and nine months.

• Venerable Wangqing stopped the Red-Scaled Azure Dragon’s attack and hurled it into the sky, while the Du Xian Sect elders confronted the dragon-headed emissary.
• The emissary delivered an invitation to a Demon-Quelling Assembly scheduled for three years later, then left after the elderly woman smoothed things over.
• Qi Yuan hurried away after his disciples witnessed his tribulation attempt fail, and Li Changshou considered the risks of repairing his master’s damaged Dao foundation.
• Qi Yuan spent two months in closed-door cultivation, then returned to answer Li Changshou’s questions but was stumped by further questions and went back to cultivating.
• Li Changshou sensed that the Heavenly Dao had locked onto Qi Yuan, and after a year and nine months, Qi Yuan’s heavenly tribulation began.

Qi Yuan faced a five-bolt Immortal Ascension Tribulation, and Li Changshou’s cage helped him evade the first strike before breaking apart. After Qi Yuan swallowed the Melting Immortal Pill, he dissolved and reformed as a Turbid Immortal, surviving the tribulation by choosing Liberation by Violence.

• Li Changshou identified Qi Yuan’s tribulation as a common five-bolt Immortal Ascension Tribulation and recorded its signs.
• The Mage Birdcage absorbed the first lightning bolt, but the Heavenly Dao destroyed it and Qi Yuan received no immortal spiritual aura from that strike.
• Qi Yuan endured the second and third lightning bolts, though each left him badly injured.
• Believing he was near death, Qi Yuan swallowed the Melting Immortal Pill as the fourth bolt gathered.
• The pill dissolved Qi Yuan into bloody water, but clear and turbid qi and three-colored immortal light gathered him back into a Turbid Immortal.
• Qi Yuan saluted Li Changshou as onlookers recognized that he had used Liberation by Violence to survive.

Qi Yuan survived his tribulation as a Turbid Immortal, while Li Changshou rested and received the first volume of the Wu Wei Scripture from Jiu Wu in exchange for joining a mission. The chapter ended when an unfamiliar, beautiful woman arrived at Lesser Qiong Peak asking for Li Changshou.

• Qi Yuan accepted his survival as a Turbid Immortal and followed Li Changshou's advice to claim he had used the Melting Immortal Pill.
• Li Changshou returned to the pill chamber to rest, briefly revealed signs of his Dao comprehension, then concealed his aura.
• Jiu Wu gave Li Changshou a Jade Card containing the first volume of the Wu Wei Scripture and secured his agreement to join a mission while appearing to have lower cultivation.
• Lan Ling'e noticed Jiu Jiu arriving at Lesser Qiong Peak and fretted over her frequent visits to Li Changshou.
• An icy, beautiful woman carrying a Greatsword arrived and asked whether Li Changshou lived there.

Lan Ling'e, Jiu Jiu, and Youqin Xuanya waited for Li Changshou and passed the time playing his homemade cultivation board game, where Youqin learned how the game worked and joined in. Li Changshou avoided meeting them, stabilized his breakthrough, and prepared to inspect his poisons before his upcoming trip to the Eastern Sea.

• Lan Ling'e asked Youqin Xuanya why she had come to Lesser Qiong Peak, and Youqin explained that she wanted to thank Li Changshou for saving her life twice.
• Jiu Jiu woke and suggested that Lan Ling'e and Youqin play Li Changshou's Simulated Immortal Life game while he remained unavailable.
• Youqin, Jiu Jiu, and Lan Ling'e played the game, drew event cards, and laughed together as the earlier awkwardness faded.
• Li Changshou finished stabilizing his aura after breaking through a Minor Realm, sensed Youqin's presence, and quietly returned to the pill-refining room instead of meeting her.
• Li Changshou activated the outer formation and decided to inspect his poison reserves before heading to the Eastern Sea.

Li Changshou was summoned to a meeting about Du Xian Sect’s trip to the Eastern Sea Demon-Quelling Assembly, where Elder Ge announced that he would lead the young disciples. Li Changshou tried to expose the appointment as Jiu Wu’s unauthorized scheme and decline it, but Youqin Xuanya proposed that they lead together, leaving him trapped in the role.

• Li Changshou found Ling'e, Jiu Jiu, and Youqin Xuanya passed out after drinking and playing through the night, then went to the Hall of Hundred Affairs after receiving a summons.
• Elder Ge explained that Du Xian Sect would travel to the Eastern Sea in four days for the Demon-Quelling Assembly, where young disciples would compete for Dragon Palace treasures.
• Elder Ge announced that Li Changshou would lead the young disciples, drawing astonished looks from the disciples and True Immortals.
• Li Changshou claimed Jiu Wu had arranged the appointment to save face after a drunken boast and asked Elder Ge to appoint someone else unless Venerable Wangqing had personally ordered it.
• Elder Ge agreed to find another leader, but Youqin Xuanya volunteered to serve alongside Li Changshou.

Li Changshou accepted that he would join the Eastern Sea expedition, planning to stay inconspicuous while Youqin Xuanya led the disciples. He continued preparing for his eventual heavenly tribulation and, as the group traveled, Youqin Xuanya sat beside him wearing thick gloves.

• Li Changshou reflected on Jiu Wu's attempt to make him lead the group and resolved to keep his cultivation hidden and let Youqin Xuanya take charge.
• Back at Lesser Qiong Peak, Li Changshou crafted another folding Mage Birdcage and wrote etiquette guidelines for facing heavenly tribulation.
• Four days later, Li Changshou traveled toward the Eastern Sea with sixteen True Immortals, eleven disciples, and their Celestial Immortal protectors.
• Youqin Xuanya, seated at the front as the group's leader, moved to sit beside Li Changshou and wore thick gloves that did not match her dress.

Li Changshou and the Du Xian Sect delegation arrived at the Dragon Palace’s Demon-Quelling Assembly, where the dragons staged an extravagant welcome. As the disciples settled into their seats, Li Changshou discovered the Dragon Palace had served them grapes with an embarrassing side effect and warned Youqin Xuanya before she ate one.

• Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya discussed their duties as team leaders while the Du Xian Sect traveled toward the Shore of the East Sea.
• The delegation encountered other invited sects, and Li Changshou recalled the agreements meant to protect the human Qi Refiners’ reputation when they faced young dragons.
• The group reached the assembly grounds and saw the Dragon Palace’s enormous water-lotus platform, dragon forces, and three thousand True Immortal Flood Dragon Soldiers.
• The Du Xian Sect disciples were directed to their seating area, where Li Changshou identified their Ice Condensation Immortal Grapes as a trick that could make them lose control of their aura.
• Li Changshou warned Youqin Xuanya to ask the elders before eating the grapes, but she was already holding one near her mouth.

Li Changshou attended a Du Xian Sect gathering at the Dragon Palace, where poisoned fruit and wine caused an embarrassing chain reaction among the delegation. Afterward, he returned to find his master absent, leaving a letter explaining his trip to the Eastern Sea and warning him about the formations near the alchemy chamber.

• Li Changshou searched the Water Lotus Terrace for escape routes while several Du Xian Sect members ate the trapped grapes and suffered their effects.
• Youqin Xuanya warned the senior martial uncles, and Jiu Jiu joined Li Changshou after drinking the poisoned wine; the delegation raised a barrier to conceal the ensuing commotion.
• The Carefree Eastern Woods Sect arrived, and the Du Xian Sect members acted as though nothing unusual had happened while Li Changshou continued studying the formations.
• After the banquet, Qi Yuan returned to Lesser Qiong Peak but wandered into the woods without seeing the letters Li Changshou had left throughout his home.
• Li Changshou's letter congratulated Qi Yuan on becoming an immortal, explained his weeklong trip to the Eastern Sea, and warned him to avoid the area near the alchemy chamber's active formations.

Li Changshou monitored the gathering while reflecting on the Human Race, the Three Teachings, and Qi Refiners’ chances of surviving heavenly tribulations. As the Dragon Palace’s festivities began, he kept Jiu Jiu occupied with a puzzle cube and politely turned away Youqin Xuanya, hoping the assembly would remain peaceful.

• Li Changshou used the Wind Whisper Spell to monitor the crowd and overheard discussions about heavenly tribulations and the Three Teachings’ differing survival rates.
• Li Changshou considered how the Human Race had risen and privately judged the Three Teachings’ contributions and their disciples’ chances of surviving tribulations.
• Jiu Jiu asked Li Changshou for one of his amusing items, so he gave her a six-colored cube that kept her occupied.
• The Dragon Palace began a two-day performance with musicians and dancers, quieting much of the crowd’s chatter.
• Youqin Xuanya approached Li Changshou, but he asked to rest alone, and she stayed with another female True Immortal.

Li Changshou noticed that the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace’s Second Prince, Ao Yi, had singled him out at the Demon-Quelling Assembly. Ao Yi, hoping to awaken the Dragon Clan to its decline, chose Li Changshou as his opponent so he could lose publicly, but the chapter ended before their spar began.

• Li Changshou sensed a young dragon watching him and learned that the youth was a Dragon Palace prince preparing to spar.
• Li Changshou considered the Dragon Clan’s precarious position and decided to stay with Du Xian Sect rather than leave.
• Ao Yi reflected on the Dragon Clan’s decline and resolved to publicly lose to Du Xian Sect’s weakest disciple to shock his clansmen into changing their ways.
• Ao Yi took the stage and pointed at Li Changshou, calling on him to exchange a few moves.

Li Changshou was forced into a spar with Ao Yi at the Dragon Palace gathering and tried to lose without revealing his strength. After Li Changshou conceded, Ao Yi staged a dramatic collapse, leaving the arena in chaos.

• Ao Yi insisted on sparring with Li Changshou despite the Du Xian Sect disciples' protests, and Li Changshou entered the arena after refusing Jiu Jiu's offer of the Evil-Slaying Ruyi Sword.
• Li Changshou delayed the fight to establish rules, and Turtle Prime Minister marked the sparring boundary and prohibited killing magic treasures.
• Ao Yi repeatedly charged at Li Changshou while Li Changshou dodged and used talismans, gradually maneuvering toward the boundary.
• After their fists met, Li Changshou pretended to cough blood and conceded by stepping beyond the boundary.
• Ao Yi suddenly burst with Dragon Blood and collapsed, claiming Li Changshou's talismans and technique had overwhelmed him, while Dragon Clan members rushed to his side.

After Ao Yi’s match ended in confusion, Li Changshou defused the Dragon Palace’s suspicions by leaving the arena and letting the Second Prince be declared the winner. At the Demon-Quelling Assembly, Youqin Xuanya dominated the sparring matches and gave the four immortal treasures she won to Li Changshou, while Ao Yi woke in the palace, learned he had won, and fainted again.

• Ao Yi collapsed after his own immortal power recoiled, and Li Changshou suggested the Second Prince’s cultivation had gone astray while the Turtle Prime Minister declared him unharmed.
• Li Changshou stepped beyond the boundary, allowing a Du Xian Sect True Immortal to argue that Ao Yi had won; the Dragon Palace accepted the explanation and carried the Second Prince away.
• Jiu Jiu scolded Li Changshou for his weak cultivation, while Youqin Xuanya prepared for battle and Li Changshou urged her to exercise restraint.
• The Dragon Palace began its arena matches for twelve immortal treasures, and Youqin Xuanya claimed four treasures after defeating dozens of Qi Refiners and injuring four dragon youths.
• Youqin Xuanya placed her four treasures on Li Changshou’s table, then avoided his attempt to support her as she returned to her seat.
• Ao Yi woke in the underwater palace, asked whether he had lost, and fainted again after learning that he had won.

Li Changshou returned from the Demon-Quelling Assembly with praise from Venerable Wangqing and obtained a Samadhi True Fire cultivation method by trading for it. As the Du Xian Sect headed home, the newly awakened Ao Yi approached the Dragon Palace feast, ready to make another move.

• Youqin Xuanya defeated thirty-six Qi Refiners and four Dragon race champions, then gave the four awarded immortal treasures to Li Changshou to defend the Du Xian Sect’s dignity.
• Jiu Jiu told Li Changshou that Venerable Wangqing praised his handling of Ao Yi and rewarded him with the Luo Tian Yang Lei True Scripture.
• Li Changshou asked to exchange the Lightning Method for a Samadhi True Fire method, and Venerable Wangqing allowed him to keep both Jade Cards.
• Jiu Jiu solved Li Changshou’s cube and received a five-layered Rubik’s Cube in return.
• At the Dragon Palace feast, Ao Yi climbed the steps after waking and prepared to do another great thing.

Daoist Master Qi Yuan became trapped in the array protecting Lesser Qiong Peak’s alchemy room and realized it had been designed by Li Changshou. After Lan Ling'e rescued him, she revealed how much Li Changshou had done for him, leaving Qi Yuan grateful and resolved to let his disciples manage the peak while he cultivated.

• Qi Yuan wandered through the array’s signs, recognized his own handwriting, and feared he was a heart demon or had crossed a Temporal Rift.
• Lan Ling'e found Qi Yuan and explained that Li Changshou had designed the array, with Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu helping set it up.
• Lan Ling'e showed Qi Yuan her hidden cultivation and told him how Li Changshou had taught her, helped prepare for Qi Yuan’s tribulation, and supplied the Melting Immortal Pill.
• Qi Yuan asked how he should treat Li Changshou, and Lan Ling'e advised him to act as usual and keep their conversation secret.
• Qi Yuan admitted he had neglected his disciples, then agreed to pretend nothing had happened and let Lan Ling'e help tease Li Changshou when he returned.

After returning to Du Xian Sect, Li Changshou reunited with his master and junior sister and learned that Lan Ling'e had told Old Daoist Qi Yuan a little about him. In his secret chamber, he planned to avoid the Great Cataclysm of the Investiture of the Gods by joining the Heavenly Court early, and considered making his master a Land God.

• Li Changshou returned to Lesser Qiong Peak and found Old Daoist Qi Yuan and Lan Ling'e trapped in his formations.
• Old Daoist Qi Yuan pretended to punish Li Changshou, while Lan Ling'e joined in and ended up biting him.
• Old Daoist Qi Yuan announced he would enter secluded cultivation and put Li Changshou in charge of Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Li Changshou asked Lan Ling'e what she had told their master, but concluded that her revelations were limited.
• In his underground chamber, Li Changshou considered how to enter the Heavenly Court's immortal registry before the Great Cataclysm and thought about having Old Daoist Qi Yuan become a Land God.

Li Changshou tricked Jiu Wu into drinking potent medicinal wine, trapped him in a chain array, and forced him to swear an oath not to expose or arbitrarily assign tasks to him. Two months later, Jiu Jiu asked for the wine recipe, and Li Changshou warned her that women who drank it might grow beards.

• Li Changshou welcomed Jiu Wu with a banquet and gave him a jar of Bone-Strengthening Poison Dragon Wine, which Jiu Wu drank.
• Li Changshou lured Jiu Wu into a modified Nine Bright Glazed Array, where a paper-man decoy burned and left Jiu Wu trapped alone.
• The wine's potent Yang energy overwhelmed Jiu Wu, who eventually recited a Heavenly Dao Oath to keep Li Changshou's information secret and stop arranging tasks for him.
• After Jiu Wu fled to find Shi Shi, Li Changshou recovered his recording ball and merged the array into the surrounding formation.
• Two months later, Jiu Jiu asked Li Changshou for the medicinal wine recipe, and he warned her that women who drank the Yang Wine might grow beards.

Li Changshou prepared to cultivate Samadhi True Fire in seclusion and built a disguised tower ship to conceal his true location beneath the lake. Meanwhile, Ao Yi remained imprisoned in the Crystal Palace, determined to apprentice himself to the Du Xian Sect despite his clan’s opposition.

• Li Changshou finished refining pills, advised Jiu Jiu to drink in moderation, and learned that she was focusing on the Wu Wei Scripture.
• Li Changshou gave Ling'e pills and explained why he would not hide his Samadhi True Fire cultivation from others.
• Li Changshou built a large tower ship, filled it with paper decoys, and entered a hidden underwater seclusion site beneath it.
• Ao Yi recalled how the Dragon Clan condemned his wish to apprentice himself to the Du Xian Sect and how his mother urged him to recant.
• Ao Yi endured the iron pillar’s torture and demanded to see his father so he could again ask to leave for the Du Xian Sect.

Three months after the Dragon Prince’s rebellion, Ao Yi was sent away from the Eastern Sea to study under Great Immortal Wuyun, while Jiu Jiu began questioning her feelings for Li Changshou. After his offhand praise of her “pure” immortal power embarrassed her, Jiu Jiu fled to Sky-Breaking Peak and wondered whether to try on the dresses Fourth Senior Sister had made for her.

• Ao Yi listened to the Turtle Immortal’s persuasion and agreed to travel to Great Immortal Wuyun, though he secretly intended to seek a path forward for the Dragon Clan.
• Jiu Shi teased Jiu Jiu about her closeness with Li Changshou and suggested that Jiu Jiu might have feelings for him.
• Jiu Jiu spent months doubting herself, then hurried to Lesser Qiong Peak after receiving Li Changshou’s invitation to refine pills.
• While refining Poison Pills, Li Changshou praised Jiu Jiu’s immortal power as strong, stable, and pure, not realizing she had meant to ask what he thought of her.
• Jiu Jiu blushed, fled to Sky-Breaking Peak, and wondered whether she should try on the colorful immortal dresses she had brought.

Jiu Jiu debuted a new outfit and makeup on Lesser Qiong Peak, where Li Changshou praised her before she and Ling'e persuaded him to pause their lesson for a card game. After the women fell asleep, Li Changshou returned to cultivation but remained unwilling to advance to the Ninth Realm of Dao Attainment.

• Jiu Jiu left Sky-Breaking Peak in a new skirt, drawing startled looks from the disciples, while Jiu Wu briefly mistook her for someone else.
• Jiu Jiu surprised Li Changshou and Ling'e during their lesson, then asked Li Changshou what he thought of her outfit.
• Ling'e helped Jiu Jiu apply makeup, and Li Changshou praised her beauty, easing her disappointment.
• Jiu Jiu and Ling'e convinced Li Changshou to join their game of Fight the Great Gods, and the three played through the day.
• Li Changshou put the sleeping Jiu Jiu and Ling'e to bed, then cultivated in his secret chamber without advancing to the Ninth Realm of Dao Attainment.

Li Changshou arranged to leave Du Xian Sect under the pretense of guarding his parents’ graves so he could find a secluded place to cross his heavenly tribulation. After paying respects at their graves and disguising himself as an old Daoist, he headed toward the Eastern Sea, while a Little Green Dragon secretly planned to flee an immortal island for Southern Continent.

• Jiu Jiu woke Lan Ling'e to announce that her cultivation bottleneck had broken, and Li Changshou told Lan Ling'e he would enter seclusion before leaving for several years.
• Li Changshou woke Old Daoist Qi Yuan and explained that he intended to return home to guard his parents’ graves; Lan Ling'e reluctantly let him go alone.
• Li Changshou bribed Elder Wei with spirit fish to avoid a sect inspection and obtain permission to leave Du Xian Sect.
• Li Changshou evaded observation, traveled to his parents’ graves, paid his respects, and spent seven days cultivating nearby before departing for the Eastern Sea.
• Li Changshou disguised himself as a cold-faced old Daoist and headed toward the Eastern Sea to find a place to cross his tribulation.
• The Little Green Dragon left his treasure pool intending to reach Southern Continent, while a pair of enormous turtle eyes opened on the immortal island.