Recaps

Song Wen searched for the two-winged White Tiger’s nest, discovered it hidden within the clouds above the mountain, and found a damaged inscription inside. The chamber held no treasures, and the surviving characters hinted at something called Nurturing Immortal Blood.

• Song Wen sent a Sacred Beetle Gu to confirm that the White Tiger slept inside the stone hall, then left a Gu to watch it and circled around the mountain.
• Song Wen reached the summit but found no nest or treasures, and suspected that the White Tiger’s nest was concealed in the clouds.
• Song Wen’s Sacred Beetle Gu found a place in the mist where one Gu had disappeared, and Song Wen stepped through it into a hidden stone chamber.
• Song Wen found White Tiger fur, claw marks, and a miniature teleportation array in the chamber, confirming it was the beast’s nest.
• Song Wen discovered a damaged inscription whose remaining characters read “nurture,” “immortal,” and “blood.”

Song Wen escaped the stone chamber with a damaged text about a mysterious blood that could break a cultivation bottleneck, but found no treasure on the mountaintop. After rejoining Rong Jingyun and the others, Mu Yunxin fueled suspicion that he had found White Tiger’s lair, and Xue Gu and Jie Ku decided to investigate the mountaintop.

• Song Wen studied the damaged text, activated the miniature teleportation array with eighty-one mid-grade spirit stones, and returned to the mountaintop.
• Song Wen reunited with his three Sacred Beetle Gu, left the mountain, and found Rong Jingyun and the others while considering how to escape the secret realm.
• Mu Yunxin suggested Song Wen had searched for White Tiger’s lair, prompting Xue Gu and Jie Ku to suspect he had taken its treasures.
• Song Wen said White Tiger was asleep in the stone hall and invited the others to inspect the mountaintop themselves.
• Xue Gu and Jie Ku agreed to investigate the mountaintop together, while Mu Yunxin stayed behind because her injuries had not healed.

Song Wen, Mu Yunxin, and Rong Jingyun tried to use the White Tiger as a distraction to enter the Stone Hall, but Xue Gu and Jie Ku arrived without having gone to the mountaintop. The group discovered the hall had no visible exit, then Song Wen found a hidden chamber containing the secret realm’s exit.

• Mu Yunxin persuaded Song Wen and Rong Jingyun to lure the White Tiger away with a lightning strike while Xue Gu and Jie Ku went to the mountaintop.
• Song Wen struck the mountaintop with Great Cavern Divine Thunder, and the White Tiger flew from the Stone Hall toward the lightning.
• Song Wen, Rong Jingyun, and Mu Yunxin rushed toward the Stone Hall, where Xue Gu and Jie Ku appeared and accused Mu Yunxin of using them.
• The five entered the Stone Hall and found no visible exit before the White Tiger returned and they shut the stone doors.
• Song Wen noticed the hall’s proportions were unusual, attacked a wall, and joined the others in blasting a hole through it to reveal a hidden chamber and the secret realm’s exit.

Song Wen escaped the Azure Tide Secret Realm after the white tiger blocked the exit, and he helped Rong Jingyun, Mu Yunxin, and Jie Ku get out while Xue Gu was killed. The five Golden Core cultivators questioned the survivors about the unexpected early return as the secret realm’s closing approached.

• The white tiger shattered the stone door, and Xue Gu attacked Song Wen as the cultivators rushed toward the narrow opening.
• Song Wen blocked Xue Gu with the bronze Great Lu and lightning, then counterattacked with the Soul-Splitting Blade so Rong Jingyun, Jie Ku, and Mu Yunxin could escape ahead of Xue Gu.
• The white tiger caught Xue Gu and swallowed him, while Mu Yunxin and Jie Ku fled through the opening and Song Wen and Rong Jingyun reached the secret realm’s exit first.
• Outside the secret realm, Rong Jingyun thanked Song Wen, who reminded her of their agreement and her soul oath.
• Mu Yunxin and Jie Ku emerged safely, and Mu Yunxin invited Song Wen to visit her at the Blissful Union Spring Night Tower.
• The five Golden Core cultivators arrived, and Yan Yuyan asked why the first group had left the secret realm before it closed.

Song Wen and Rong Jingyun returned from the Azure Tide Secret Realm and handed over the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branches they claimed to have found, while the factions learned that few other cultivators had survived. The Beast Taming Sect departed with its harvest, and the secret realm’s next opening seemed likely to draw fewer entrants.

• Mu Yunxin told Yan Yuyan that she had last seen Xue Gu and Ji Ruxue in the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid Hall, concealing Xue Gu’s death.
• Shu Qing invited Hui Ming to her chamber, but he excused himself and fled with Jie Ku to the Primordial Unity Temple’s ship.
• Song Wen presented Tu Lian with a four-leaf Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch, and Rong Jingyun handed over a two-hundred-year-old branch.
• Five days later, nine more cultivators escaped the secret realm after the white tiger was drawn away by a battle on the mountain.
• Tu Lian learned that another Beast Taming Sect cultivator had brought back a three-hundred-year-old branch and ordered the sect’s ship to return home.

Song Wen returned to the Beast Taming Sect, resumed managing the Human-Snake Cavern, and secured permission to observe Fang Pengyi refine a Golden Core Pill. He inventoried his gains from the Azure Tide Secret Realm and prepared to continue cultivating and refining corpses.

• Song Wen and Rong Jingyun asked Fang Pengyi to let them observe his Golden Core Pill refinement, and he agreed they could watch from an adjoining chamber once the sect finalized its plans.
• Fang Pengyi reprimanded Song Wen for entering the Azure Tide Secret Realm without permission, then ordered him to resume managing the Human-Snake Cavern with Rong Jingyun's assistance.
• Song Wen returned to the Human-Snake Cavern, took over from Liu Jiang, and received two Man-Snakes and a storage ring containing corpse-refinement materials.
• Song Wen secured the Man-Snakes in his cave abode and inventoried his expedition gains, including four Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branches, seven bottles of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid, two flames, cultivation techniques, spirit artifacts, and more than three hundred thousand spirit stones.

Song Wen met Zhou Siyi after returning from the Azure Tide Secret Realm, then visited the Pill Chamber to seek alchemy guidance and research a green flame. He learned it was the Nether Corpse Cold Flame, but could not refine it until reaching the Golden Core stage, and returned to his usual cultivation and studies.

• Zhou Siyi visited Song Wen, warned him about entering the Azure Tide Secret Realm, and asked him to trust her with future decisions.
• Song Wen told Zhou Siyi he had avoided danger in the secret realm, but she confronted him with what Elder Rong had said about his encounter with the White Tiger.
• At the Profound-Class Pill Chamber, Zuo Shuiyun tried to curry favor with Song Wen, while Wei Ding responded to him with restrained disdain.
• Song Wen asked Huo Ding to demonstrate how to refine Yellowglow Grass, a supplementary ingredient for the Golden Core Pill.
• Song Wen searched the Scripture Repository and identified the green flame as the Nether Corpse Cold Flame, which he could not refine before reaching the Golden Core stage.
• Song Wen returned to his cave dwelling and resumed cultivating, refining corpses, and practicing alchemy.

Song Wen arranged for Zhou Siyi to search for the rare Heart-Congealing Herb while he avoided dangerous markets, hoping to gather ingredients for Golden Core Pills. After years of waiting, he obtained three herbs, but his cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Peak and could advance no further without forming his core.

• Fang Pengyi refined two successful batches of Golden Core Pills, and Song Wen observed his use of the Earthcore Smelting Flame.
• Song Wen found that he had gathered nearly all the Golden Core Pill ingredients but still lacked Star-Soul Flowers and Heart-Congealing Herbs.
• Wary of Lan Chen and reluctant to visit the markets himself, Song Wen asked Zhou Siyi to purchase Heart-Congealing Herbs on his behalf and gave her spirit stones and a disguised mask.
• Zhou Siyi searched East Birch Market and the Mountain Ravine Ghost Market, then paid the Immortal Herb Pavilion to seek the herb for them.
• Over the next nine years, Zhou Siyi secured three Heart-Congealing Herbs for Song Wen, whose cultivation reached Foundation Establishment Peak and could not advance without forming his core.

Song Wen told Fang Pengyi that Yang Yu had demanded ten Man-Snake Profound Corpses within five years, prompting Fang Pengyi to promise him four stalks of Star-Soul Grass and the materials he needed. Song Wen returned to the task under Yang Yu’s warning, while Yang Yu departed with Fairy Lan Chen.

• Three months earlier, Fang Pengyi had promised Song Wen Star-Soul Grass but later chose to reserve the scarce supply for winning over Golden Core cultivators.
• Yang Yu visited the Human-Snake Cavern, criticized the eight completed Man-Snake Profound Corpses, and ordered Song Wen to refine ten more within five years.
• Yang Yu warned Song Wen to report any obstacles to Fang Pengyi, then left with Fairy Lan Chen of the Blissful Union Sect.
• Song Wen went to Fang Pengyi and reported Yang Yu’s demand, and Fang Pengyi promised him four stalks of Star-Soul Grass.
• Song Wen asked for more corpse-path spiritual materials, and Fang Pengyi promised to provide enough within half a month.

Song Wen bought two Heart-Congealing Herbs and learned that the Corpse Demon Sect had largely stopped hunting its traitors. Near the Beast Taming Sect, Yan Yiwen ambushed him with three peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, but Song Wen attacked her first.

• Song Wen assigned Zhou Siyi, Rong Jingyun, and the others duties at the Human-Snake Cavern to organize the Man-Snake Profound Corpse refinement.
• Zhou Siyi told Song Wen that the Immortal Herb Pavilion had two Heart-Congealing Herbs, and he decided to buy them himself.
• At the ghost market, Song Wen paid for the herbs and intelligence revealing that the Corpse Demon Sect had mostly recalled its pursuers.
• Near the Beast Taming Sect, three peak Foundation Establishment cultivators ambushed Song Wen, but his Profound Yellow Pagoda deflected their sword strikes.
• Yan Yiwen revealed herself, vowed revenge for the Yan Family, and said Song Wen had survived her attack, while Song Wen prepared to strike back with the Soul-Splitting Blade.

Song Wen lured Yan Yiwen and her three Foundation Establishment subordinates to a remote gorge, then ambushed them with powerful lightning arts and the Soul-Splitting Blade. Yan Yiwen remained protected by a barrier as the red-nosed cultivator moved to rescue her, while the other two struggled to withstand Song Wen’s attacks.

• Song Wen used the Profound Yellow Pagoda and a lightning escape technique to lead Yan Yiwen and her three subordinates on a chase away from the Beast Taming Sect.
• At a remote gorge, Song Wen stopped and let the three male cultivators attack him until Yan Yiwen arrived.
• Song Wen revealed that he had been waiting for them and summoned the Great Cavern Divine Thunder, then attacked the group with lightning spears and the Soul-Splitting Blade.
• The Soul-Splitting Blade knocked Yan Yiwen into a cliff and repeatedly struck the protective barrier around her without breaking it.
• As Song Wen summoned the Great Cavern Divine Thunder again, the red-nosed cultivator flew to rescue Yan Yiwen while the other two fought to hold Song Wen back.

Song Wen overwhelmed Yan Yiwen and the Nine Palaces Sect cultivators in the canyon, but Yan Yiwen escaped with a silver talisman. After searching the surviving cultivators’ souls, Song Wen learned how Yan Yiwen became Tai He’s disciple and discovered that Tai He had killed the Sect Master’s son.

• Yan Yiwen agreed to retreat, but Song Wen summoned the Ghost King and three corpse puppets to block the cultivators’ escape.
• The corpse puppets and Ghost King subdued the three male cultivators while Song Wen battered Yan Yiwen’s protective barrier until it broke.
• Yan Yiwen activated a silver talisman and vanished before Song Wen’s Soul-Splitting Blade could kill her.
• Song Wen searched the three defeated cultivators’ souls and learned that Tai He, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, had taken Yan Yiwen as his disciple after her family’s destruction.
• Song Wen learned that Tai He had rejected Yan Yiwen’s suitors and killed the Nine Palaces Sect Sect Master’s son when he sought to marry her.

Song Wen learned that Yan Yiwen had tracked him to the Beast Taming Sect and decided to leave before Tai He could arrange to have him captured. He secured a large supply of spiritual materials from Fang Pengyi, then claimed he would return to refining Profound Corpses.

• Song Wen learned from the three men's memories that Tai He had sent Yan Yiwen to hunt him, and that she had waited outside the Beast Taming Sect for more than two years.
• Song Wen devoured the three men's souls and blood essence, then flew back to his cave abode, deciding to leave the Beast Taming Sect and gather supplies first.
• Song Wen bought spiritual herbs at Spirit Medicine Peak, including herbs used to make Beast Brocade Pills for his six Sacred Beetle Gu.
• Song Wen met Fang Pengyi and received a storage ring of corpse-path materials worth at least 1.2 million spiritual stones, along with four Star-Soul Grass plants.
• Song Wen told Fang Pengyi he would go to the Human-Snake Cavern to continue refining Profound Corpses, while Fang Pengyi urged him to produce ten Man-Snakes brimming with Profound Qi.

Song Wen went to Spirit Beast Peak to obtain more meatballs for Human-Snake Cavern, claiming the First Supreme Elder had ordered the accelerated refinement of Man-Snake Profound Corpses. Zhuang Tao questioned the order, and Song Wen leaned close to reveal that he knew why the First Supreme Elder valued the corpses.

• Song Wen collected twenty meatballs from Liu Jiang, complained that Spirit Beast Peak was withholding supplies, and went to confront Zhuang Tao.
• Song Wen arrived at Spirit Beast Peak and called Zhuang Tao to meet him at the Beast Pill Pavilion.
• Song Wen asked Zhuang Tao for more meatballs, but Zhuang Tao claimed production was scarce and all supplies had been reserved.
• Song Wen invoked the First Supreme Elder's order to accelerate Man-Snake Profound Corpse refinement, making Zhuang Tao uneasy.
• Song Wen quietly asked Zhuang Tao whether he knew why the First Supreme Elder placed such importance on Man-Snake Profound Corpses.

Song Wen pressured Zhuang Tao into giving him two thousand meatballs for the Human-Snake Cavern, then bought a large supply of pills and set out toward the Spirit Flame Forbidden Land. He summoned Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding to the forbidden land’s entrance, leaving his purpose there unresolved.

• Song Wen warned Zhuang Tao that delaying the meatballs could anger the First Supreme Elder and reminded him that Zhou Xuelin had been killed for slaying Man-Snake Profound Corpses.
• Zhuang Tao called Song Wen back and gave him a storage pouch containing two thousand meatballs, asking him not to report their earlier disagreement to the First Supreme Elder.
• Song Wen bought several kinds of pills, including one thousand Beast Brocade Pills, and threatened a disciple to keep the purchase secret.
• Song Wen congratulated Rong Jingyun on refining the Barrier-Breaking Pill, and she said she would wait three to five years before attempting core formation.
• Song Wen changed course to Artifact Peak, then returned to Pill Peak and sent a message from outside the Spirit Flame Forbidden Land.
• Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding arrived together on flying swords.

Song Wen sought permission from Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding to collect a wisp of the earthcore smelting flame for corpse refinement, claiming the sect master had approved it. After promising to help them transfer to better posts in the Human-Snake Cavern, he persuaded Wei Ding to open the forbidden land.

• Song Wen told Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding that he needed a wisp of the earthcore smelting flame's flame core and claimed Fang Pengyi had approved the request.
• Wei Ding doubted Song Wen's claim, while Zuo Shuiyun refused to let him enter without proper orders.
• Song Wen offered to help Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding transfer to the Human-Snake Cavern, where they could earn better pay and promotions.
• Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding accepted Song Wen's offer to help arrange their transfers after Fang Pengyi emerged from seclusion.
• Song Wen again asked to collect the flame core, and Wei Ding activated a token to open the forbidden land's entrance.

Song Wen entered Pill Peak’s underground cavern and attacked Wei Ding and Zuo Shuiyun while they helped him access the Earthcore Smelting Flame. After crippling them, he tried to extract a branch flame, but the sealed spirit flame suddenly surged and raised the cavern’s temperature.

• Wei Ding led Song Wen and Zuo Shuiyun through the restrictions to the cavern where the Earthcore Smelting Flame burned inside a sealed cauldron.
• As Wei Ding prepared to collect a wisp of flame core, Song Wen struck him from behind and shattered his dantian.
• Zuo Shuiyun summoned her Blood Demon, but Song Wen killed it, and his Sacred Beetle Gu crippled her dantian.
• Song Wen severed both Wei Ding and Zuo Shuiyun’s right hands, preventing them from using their storage rings to call for help.
• Song Wen used the Limitless Fire-Control True Formula to separate a branch flame and began drawing it toward his bronze furnace.
• The Earthcore Smelting Flame abruptly surged inside the cauldron before its seal suppressed it, sharply raising the cavern’s temperature.

Song Wen stole part of the Earthcore Smelting Flame and escaped the Spirit Flame Forbidden Land, while Zhou Siyi recognized the likely truth and chose to protect him. Fang Pengyi learned that “Wu Sheng” was responsible and ordered a search as Wei Ding and Zuo Shuiyun were taken away for interrogation.

• Song Wen sealed the separated flame in a bronze furnace, left the unconscious Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding alive, and fled the forbidden land using Wei Ding’s passage token.
• Zhou Siyi encountered Song Wen near the forbidden land, realized his connection to the flame’s disturbance, and decided to say she had not seen him.
• After the weakened Earthcore Smelting Flame and the unresponsive elders were discovered, Fang Pengyi entered the forbidden land and saw the stolen flame and the unconscious Zuo Shuiyun and Wei Ding.
• Wei Ding and Zuo Shuiyun identified “Wu Sheng” as the thief, and Fang Pengyi ordered his capture and sent them to the Law Enforcement Hall.

Fang Pengyi failed to find Song Wen and learned that his soul lamp had gone out, while Tai He negotiated with Mi He to obtain the cultivator known as Wu Sheng. The deal fell through when Fang Pengyi reported that Wu Sheng had disappeared a year earlier.

• Fang Pengyi searched Pill Peak for Song Wen, learned his soul lamp had gone out, and questioned Song Wen's associates without finding useful information.
• Tai He and Yan Yiwen met Mi He outside the Beast Taming Sect, and Tai He offered a Minor Teleportation Talisman and five hundred superior spirit stones for Wu Sheng.
• Mi He accepted the offer and sent a jade slip into the sect to have Wu Sheng brought to them.
• Fang Pengyi arrived without Wu Sheng and told Mi He that Wu Sheng had vanished a year earlier and his soul lamp had gone out.

Tai He discovered that Extreme Yin had fled into the Endless Desert and set out to capture him, while Song Wen continued his desperate journey south through the barren region. The chapter left Song Wen more than two hundred thousand li inside the desert, facing its harsh conditions and searching for its scattered oases.

• Tai He used Extreme Yin's soul lamp to confirm that he was alive and fleeing south toward the Endless Desert, more than ten million li away.
• Fang Pengyi revealed that Extreme Yin had once been a Corpse Demon Sect disciple who joined the Beast Taming Sect, stole treasures, and vanished a year earlier.
• Mi He concluded that Extreme Yin was using the desert's lack of spiritual energy to deter pursuit, but Tai He rejected the danger and left to hunt him down.
• Tai He sent Yan Yiwen to wait at East Birch Market and promised to return with Extreme Yin alive within ten days.
• Song Wen, who had entered the Endless Desert ten days earlier, continued traveling south and reflected on its barren landscape, rare oases, and unusual spirit herbs.

Song Wen followed a Lizardfolk through the Endless Desert and discovered its settlement, where a human cultivator at Foundation Establishment Early Stage lived in a blue stone house. After observing the settlement, Song Wen landed outside the house and called for the cultivator to open the door.

• Song Wen spotted a Lizardfolk emerging from the sand with a dead worm and secretly followed it across the desert.
• Song Wen found a settlement of more than a thousand Lizardfolk and learned that they lived among crude houses built from sand-bound stones.
• A male Lizardfolk brought the worm to the blue stone house, received a waterskin from the human cultivator inside, and left the worm for the young Lizardfolk to eat.
• Song Wen observed the Lizardfolk return to their homes at night, then landed outside the blue stone house and asked to speak with its occupant.
• The middle-aged cultivator inside the house sensed Song Wen's presence and realized the visitor was far stronger than him.

Song Wen, posing as Wei Ding, visited Hu Guang’s isolated dwelling and learned that a Lizardfolk King might know where to find Hidden Soul Jade. After Song Wen accused Hu Guang of drugging the Lizardfolk’s water, he revealed that Hu Guang had poisoned the well water he drank.

• Song Wen entered Hu Guang’s bare stone house, drank two bowls of spiritual well water, and learned that Hu Guang managed the nearby Lizardfolk settlement.
• Two female Lizardfolk entered and climbed onto Hu Guang’s lavish stone bed, prompting Hu Guang to drive them out.
• Hu Guang said the Lizardfolk obeyed him because he had helped establish their settlement, but refused to explain why he had come to the desert.
• Hu Guang directed Song Wen southwest to an oasis five thousand li away, where a Lizardfolk King might know about Hidden Soul Jade.
• Song Wen accused Hu Guang of adding an aphrodisiac to the Lizardfolk’s water, then confronted him for poisoning the well water Song Wen had drunk.

Song Wen exposed Hu Guang’s poisoned well water, killed him and the ambushing lizardmen, then searched Hu Guang’s memories. The search confirmed Hu Guang’s claims about the oasis and Hidden Soul Jade and revealed why the Hu Clan had driven him into the Endless Desert.

• Song Wen revealed that his Sacred Beetle Gu had consumed the hallucinogenic Immortal Herb, while the Gu began eating the stones in the wall.
• Hu Guang admitted he had poisoned the well out of fear and explained how he learned about the lizardmen oasis, but Song Wen decided to kill him to conceal his tracks.
• Song Wen disclosed that his Sacred Beetle Gu had ambushed and killed the thirteen lizardmen waiting outside the house.
• Hu Guang attacked Song Wen with a flying sword, but Song Wen repelled it and crushed Hu Guang’s head.
• Song Wen searched Hu Guang’s memories and learned that Hu Guang had controlled the lizardmen with aphrodisiacs and fled the Hu Clan after violating women in his family.

Song Wen left the first lizardfolk settlement and encountered a female lizardfolk fleeing a sandworm attack at an oasis. He rescued her and forced her to follow him, leaving the reason for his interest in her unstated.

• Song Wen stored Hu Guang’s corpse and left the settlement while the first-order lizardfolk fought over their dead kin.
• Song Wen observed sandworms overwhelming a lizardfolk settlement near an oasis and spotted a peak second-order female lizardfolk fleeing toward him.
• Three sandworms tried to trap the female lizardfolk, but Song Wen’s Soul-Splitting Blade and the Ghost King drove them away.
• Song Wen blocked the female lizardfolk’s path, gestured for her to follow, and threatened her when she hesitated.
• The female lizardfolk followed Song Wen as he rode away on his flying sword.

Song Wen questioned a female Lizardfolk about the Hidden Soul Jade and followed its directions to Black Stone Mountain. Deep underground, he found signs that a powerful walking corpse had passed through the left-hand passage.

• Song Wen used drawings and gestures to learn that the Lizard King had gone east, where the female Lizardfolk believed the Hidden Soul Jade could be found.
• Song Wen compelled the frightened Lizardfolk to lead him east, and after two days they reached Black Stone Mountain.
• Song Wen sent the Lizardfolk into the mountain's dark cave and followed with the Ghost King and the Sacred Beetle Gu as his Divine Sense and spiritual power were suppressed.
• The Ghost King forced the Lizardfolk down a deep shaft, and Song Wen followed until they reached two passages at the bottom.
• Song Wen chose the left passage after the Sacred Beetle Gu found signs of activity there, then identified deep claw marks as belonging to a powerful walking corpse.