Recaps

Song Wen obtained an incomplete corpse-refinement formula from Hundred Herbs Tower, where a Xing Family woman secretly suffering from Corpse Transformation killed an attendant and set out to confront Yinshuo. After failing to find the herbs he needed, Song Wen bought marked goods in the black market and was followed into the forest by three cultivators planning to rob him.

• Song Wen took the incomplete formula from Hundred Herbs Tower and learned it belonged to the Xing Family.
• The woman in the secret chamber killed the attendant for interrupting her, then worried that her demonic technique would turn her into a mindless corpse and flew toward Fangzhu City to seek her father's help.
• Song Wen searched the black market for spiritual herbs, bought cheap demon beast blood essences and souls, and discovered a divine sense mark on the Soul Bottle.
• Song Wen left the black market and traveled through the forest while a Sacred Beetle Gu carried the marked Soul Bottle ahead of him.
• Three Foundation Establishment cultivators hid along the route and decided to kill Song Wen for his presumed wealth as the marked Soul Bottle approached their position.

Song Wen learned of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s monthly exchange gathering and sought access to it in the Fangzhu City black market. After discovering he needed to spend or sell treasures worth fifty thousand spirit stones, he asked whether the shop could custom-refine spiritual treasures.

• Song Wen arrived after six peak second-order Sacred Beetle Gu defeated three attackers, killed the surviving Big Brother, and searched all three men’s souls.
• Song Wen learned that the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion held a Foundation Establishment exchange gathering on the first and fifteenth of each month and that the Xing Family was preparing for an important matter.
• Song Wen devoured the three men’s essence blood and souls, took their corpses for death-substitution puppets, and obtained fifty thousand spirit stones plus miscellaneous spiritual materials.
• Ten days later, Song Wen visited the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and asked its steward about attending the exchange gathering.
• The steward told Song Wen that he had to spend or sell treasures worth fifty thousand spirit stones to qualify, and offered only two thousand spirit stones for Song Wen’s mid-grade flying sword.
• Song Wen asked about custom orders, and the steward said the shop could refine spiritual treasures to his specifications; Song Wen asked what rank its artifact refiner was.

Song Wen arranged to discuss commissioning a magic treasure and searched for rare spiritual herbs while cultivating in Fangzhu City. Xing Chang summoned him to teach thunder arts ahead of the upcoming Spell Arts Tournament, which Xing Chang’s elder brother had organized.

• Song Wen asked Tian Zhou about refining a short-bladed magic treasure, and Tian Zhou invited him to return in three days to meet a third-tier artifact refiner.
• Tian Zhou told Song Wen to come back on the night of the tenth for the Treasure Gathering, where he could seek third-tier spiritual herbs.
• Song Wen cultivated with Blood Spirit Pills and yin baleful dew after gathering the herbs needed for Blood Spirit Pills and Beast Brocade Pills.
• Xing Chang summoned Song Wen to the Listening Wind Pavilion and rebuked him for arriving late.
• Xing Chang demanded that Song Wen teach him thunder arts until his mother found another instructor, explaining that the Spell Arts Tournament was approaching.
• Xing Chang told Song Wen that Xing Liren had organized the first Spell Arts Tournament to bring cultivators together and raise the Xing Family’s prestige.

Song Wen taught Xing Chang Palm Thunder, but Xing Chang killed a Listening Wind Pavilion maid and fled after Bai Man revealed the pavilion belonged to his powerful elder brother. The next day, Xing Chang invited Song Wen back to teach him lightning arts, leaving Song Wen wondering what had made him bold enough to return.

• Xing Chang paid Song Wen one thousand spirit stones to teach him lightning arts for the Spell Arts Tournament, and Song Wen agreed while seeking the Soul-Concentrating Spike.
• Song Wen helped Xing Chang practice Palm Thunder in the courtyard, where Xing Chang successfully unleashed a burst of lightning.
• When a Listening Wind Pavilion maid asked Xing Chang to stop using spells, Xing Chang destroyed the gate with lightning and killed her with flying splinters.
• Bai Man confronted Xing Chang and warned him that Listening Wind Pavilion belonged to Xing Liren, causing Xing Chang to flee in fear.
• Song Wen told Bai Man he was uninvolved and left, then received another invitation from Xing Chang the following day.

Song Wen watched Shan Yue defend Xing Chang’s lightning-arts practice at the Listening Wind Pavilion, then met the Golden Core artifact refiner Wei Zhengzhi to discuss forging a magic treasure. The chapter ended when Wei Zhengzhi recognized Song Wen’s Fire-Scale Wood as Fire Gang Wood.

• Song Wen arrived at the courtyard and found Shan Yue there with Xing Chang.
• Shan Yue rebuked Bai Man and drove her away, allowing Xing Chang to continue practicing Palm Thunder.
• Shan Yue gave Song Wen a little over a hundred low-grade spirit stones before she and Xing Chang departed.
• Song Wen went to the Dark Star Black Market and met Tian Zhou and the third-tier artifact refiner Wei Zhengzhi.
• Song Wen showed Wei Zhengzhi two Fire-Scale Wood trees, and Wei Zhengzhi identified them as Fire Gang Wood.

Song Wen arranged for the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to forge a mid-grade fire-attributed short-blade magic treasure in exchange for Spirit Stones and one stalk of Fire Astral Wood. He later attended the Treasure Gathering with Tian Zhou and discovered that a third-rank bewildering formation guarded the mountain venue.

• Wei Zhengzhi offered to forge Song Wen a mid-grade short-blade magic treasure with a space for spiritual flame in exchange for one stalk of Fire Astral Wood and fifty Superior Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen and Wei Zhengzhi signed a soul contract, and Wei Zhengzhi took one stalk of Fire Astral Wood while Tian Zhou gave Song Wen a golden collection token.
• Song Wen asked Tian Zhou to take him to the Treasure Gathering, and Tian Zhou invited him to arrive at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion before midnight on the tenth.
• Song Wen avoided being followed on his way to Fangzhu City, then spent the following days cultivating after Xing Chang stopped troubling him.
• At midnight on the tenth, Tian Zhou led Song Wen from the black market to a mist-shrouded mountain, where a third-rank bewildering formation guarded the path to the Treasure Gathering.

Song Wen attended the Treasure Gathering with Tian Zhou, bought Golden Essence Seed, and set up a stall seeking two spiritual herbs. After Gan Hong learned that Song Wen claimed to serve a third-rank alchemist named Extreme Yin, he asked for an introduction, leaving Song Wen suspicious of his motives.

• Tian Zhou brought Song Wen to the Treasure Gathering, where Gan Hong began the auction and sold a series of spiritual materials.
• Song Wen bought fifty Golden Essence Seeds for thirty thousand spirit stones after no one else bid on them.
• After the auction, Song Wen displayed three low-grade spirit artifact flying swords and sought Profound Spirit Ginseng and Sparrowcry Flower, but no one approached his stall.
• Gan Hong approached Song Wen, asked whether he was a third-rank alchemist, and learned that he claimed to be acting for his master, Extreme Yin.
• Song Wen refused to introduce Gan Hong to Extreme Yin without permission and resolved to report the request to his master.

Song Wen examined Xing Xinxin’s severe corpse transformation at the Treasure Gathering and realized that only the complete Corpse King Blood Refinement Art could resolve it. He secretly followed her afterward and offered to help, leaving Xing Xinxin wary of how he knew about her condition.

• Gan Hong sold Song Wen twenty stalks of spiritual herbs and gave him a Treasure Gathering entry token.
• Song Wen found Xing Xinxin seeking a cure for fleshly corpse transformation and examined her, recognizing the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art and the severity of her condition.
• Song Wen told Xing Xinxin he was powerless to help, then left the Treasure Gathering.
• Xing Xinxin headed toward Fangzhu City, but Song Wen stopped her on the way and claimed he could resolve her corpse transformation.
• Xing Xinxin questioned how Song Wen had learned about her condition and remained guarded.

Song Wen offered Xing Xinxin the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art in exchange for an enormous payment, then arranged a cautious meeting at Star-Point Lake. Xing Xinxin paid through his gu worms, but the worm leading her to the cultivation art disappeared into a rock crevice, leaving her convinced she had been deceived.

• Song Wen claimed he possessed the complete Corpse King Blood Refinement Art and offered to help Xing Xinxin resolve her corpse transformation.
• Song Wen showed Xing Xinxin an outline of the art and demanded a hundred superior spirit stones, three profound yin stones, and a hundred baleful crystals; she accepted the terms.
• Song Wen chose an island in Star-Point Lake for the exchange, searched the area, and left two sacred beetle gu before departing.
• Xing Xinxin arrived the next day and received instructions to hand the spiritual items to one gu worm while following another to the cultivation art.
• Xing Xinxin gave the storage pouch to a gu worm and followed its companion, which eventually returned to the island and vanished into a crevice, convincing her that Song Wen had tricked her.

Xing Xinxin recovered the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art from the sacred beetle gu, while Xing Gaohan decided not to pursue Song Wen after suspecting a Nascent Soul cultivator was behind the transaction. Song Wen safely secured the spirit materials and returned to Fangzhu City, where he began practicing alchemy.

• Xing Gaohan calmed Xing Xinxin, and two sacred beetle gu returned with a jade slip containing the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment methods of the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art.
• Xing Xinxin urged Xing Gaohan to pursue Song Wen, but he ended the matter and left for Fangzhu City after suspecting the deal was a trap aimed at him.
• Song Wen used an underground tunnel and a false trail to keep the sacred beetle gu and its storage pouch safe from pursuit.
• Song Wen collected the spirit stones and spirit materials, let the black hole in his sea of consciousness consume the tracking marks, and sent the gu to retrieve the buried jade slip.
• Song Wen disguised himself as a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator, traveled to Fangzhu City, and began preparing to refine six common pills.

Song Wen received and refined the Void-Breaking Blade, then tested its power and began selling pills he had made. At the Treasure Gathering, he offered Gan Hong Golden Jade Pills and Qi Spirit Pills, while remaining wary of the senior’s interest in his whereabouts.

• Wei Zhengzhi gave Song Wen the completed curved blade, and Song Wen paid him with Fire Astral Wood, Spirit Stones, and the transaction token.
• Tian Zhou proposed taking the blade back from Song Wen, but Wei Zhengzhi refused to risk provoking the mysterious Golden Core master behind him.
• Song Wen evaded any possible pursuers, returned to his cave, named the blade the Void-Breaking Blade, and spent more than two months refining it.
• Song Wen tested the Void-Breaking Blade at Star-Point Lake and found that one strike consumed nearly seventy percent of his spiritual power.
• Song Wen successfully refined Golden Jade Pills and Qi Spirit Pills, decided to sell most of them, and brought fifty Golden Jade Pills and ten Qi Spirit Pills to Gan Hong at the Treasure Gathering.
• Gan Hong offered four hundred Spirit Stones per Golden Jade Pill and eight hundred per Qi Spirit Pill.

Song Wen traded pills with Gan Hong, bought six third-tier pill formulas and their ingredients, then pretended to agree to introduce Gan Hong to his master. After Song Wen escaped the bewildering formation, Gan Hong realized that Song Wen himself was the third-tier alchemist and pursued him, but lost his divine sense marks.

• Song Wen agreed to trade Golden Jade Pills and Qi Spirit Pills for spirit herbs, then bought six third-tier pill formulas and ten sets of ingredients for each.
• Gan Hong offered Song Wen ninety thousand spirit stones to introduce him to his master and revealed that he served Xing Liren, who was seeking nine third-tier alchemists to refine an extraordinary pill.
• Song Wen pretended to be tempted by the Xing Family's offer but said his reclusive master disliked outsiders, then claimed he would return and persuade him to meet Gan Hong.
• Gan Hong gave Song Wen a communication jade slip, and Song Wen left the bewildering formation without being stopped.
• Gan Hong sensed his marks on Song Wen's jade slip and herbs moving at great speed, realized Song Wen was the alchemist and had invented his master, and gave chase.
• Gan Hong lost the divine sense marks after pursuing Song Wen for a few li and wondered how Song Wen had erased them so quickly.

Gan Hong reported his failed search for Song Wen to Xing Liren, who revealed the Xing Family’s plan to use the Spell Arts Tournament to gather materials and Soul-Origin Physique cultivators for Holy Spirit Pills. Song Wen strengthened his silver corpse with Profound Yin Stones and corpse-path materials, leaving it transformed into a more powerful mid-third-rank silver corpse.

• Gan Hong entered North City and told Xing Liren that he had found only five of the nine required third-rank alchemists and had lost track of Song Wen.
• Xing Liren explained that the Spell Arts Tournament would secretly identify cultivators with Soul-Origin Physiques and supply materials for refining Holy Spirit Pills.
• Xing Liren told Gan Hong the Xing Family sought Holy Spirit Pills to strengthen its Nascent Soul cultivators before the Starsea Alliance chose a new alliance leader.
• Song Wen put three Profound Yin Stones and corpse-path materials into a blood coffin and used the Nether Corpse Cold Flame to help his silver corpse refine them.
• After several months, the silver corpse absorbed the materials and released a powerful corpse baleful aura, completing its advancement.

Song Wen bought a better corpse-nurturing coffin, then met Xing Chang, who showed off his newly mastered thunder arts by killing fleeing Rogue Cultivators near Fangzhu City. As they prepared to leave, an angry cultivator challenged Xing Chang, who stayed to confront the self-proclaimed righteous defender.

• Song Wen purchased a supreme-grade spirit artifact corpse-nurturing coffin for one hundred and twenty thousand spirit stones.
• Xing Chang summoned Song Wen to Clearwind Tower and bragged that he had mastered the Thunder Spear Technique and the Falling Thunder Technique.
• Xing Chang flew to the outskirts of the southern district and destroyed a tree with a bolt of lightning.
• Xing Chang attacked fleeing Rogue Cultivators with thunder spears, killing several while Song Wen urged him to leave.
• An angry voice challenged the reckless use of thunder arts, and Xing Chang stopped to face the newcomer.

Xing Xinxin and Xing Chang's fight devastated part of Fangzhu City before Xing Liren intervened. Song Wen recognized Xing Xinxin as the cultivator who had traded him the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art and followed her, while she discovered a Gu insect and a jade slip.

• Xing Xinxin attacked Xing Chang after recognizing him, and their fight escalated when his lightning spears triggered her corpse baleful energy.
• Xing Xinxin and Xing Chang's battle destroyed more than a hundred houses and killed several hundred Rogue Cultivators.
• Xing Liren arrived and ordered them to stop; Xing Xinxin left, and Xing Chang returned to the northern district.
• Song Wen recognized Xing Xinxin during her transformation and followed her as she wandered through the southern market district.
• Xing Xinxin spotted a Gu insect that slipped into a wall crack, where she found a jade slip beside it.

Xing Xinxin lured Song Wen to Star-Point Lake to capture him, but had Granny Jin impersonate her. Song Wen spotted the trap and fled, and the chapter ended as Granny Jin’s Demon-Breaking Needles collided with his lightning attack.

• Xing Xinxin received Song Wen’s message offering the Golden Core portion of the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art and decided to ask Granny Jin for help.
• Granny Jin disguised herself as Xing Xinxin and waited for Song Wen at Star-Point Lake while the real Xing Xinxin stayed away.
• Song Wen emerged from the lake after confirming Xing Xinxin appeared to be alone and presented a jade slip for the exchange.
• Granny Jin attacked Song Wen with iron needles, but he recognized that his opponent was a middle Golden Core cultivator and fled using Thunder Escape.
• Song Wen summoned a powerful lightning strike, and Granny Jin countered with her nine Demon-Breaking Needles, which collided with the lightning in a burst of energy.

Song Wen escaped Granny Jin and inferred that Xing Xinxin controlled the Hundred Herbs Tower. He bought fifty stalks of five-hundred-year Dragon-Pattern Grass there and secretly sent the Sacred Beetle Gu to scout the courtyard.

• Granny Jin pursued Song Wen but was forced to withstand repeated Jade Pivot Divine Thunder strikes, then gave up and returned to Fangzhu City.
• Song Wen suspected Xing Xinxin was the Hundred Herbs Tower’s hidden proprietor and disguised himself to visit the shop.
• Granny Jin told Xing Xinxin that Song Wen had escaped and warned her to be careful, while Xing Xinxin hid her frustration over Granny Jin’s failure.
• Song Wen confirmed Xing Xinxin was inside the Hundred Herbs Tower and asked the servant to obtain fifty stalks of five-hundred-year Dragon-Pattern Grass.
• Song Wen used the Sacred Beetle Gu to scout the rear courtyard, then paid the manager one hundred thousand spirit stones for the grass and left.

Song Wen tracked Xing Xinxin after she left the Ghost Market and followed her to Poison Old Ghost’s lair, where she sought a discreet way to incite lust. Xing Xinxin agreed to pay one hundred thousand spirit stones for the Illusory Desire Flower, intending to use it against Shan Yue.

• Song Wen hid near the Ghost Market and used the Sacred Beetle Gu to watch for Xing Xinxin leaving.
• Xing Xinxin traveled nearly ten thousand li to Poison Old Ghost’s cave and entered his poison den after taking an antidote pill.
• Xing Xinxin asked Poison Old Ghost for a subtle means of intensifying a woman’s lust, and he showed her the Illusory Desire Flower.
• Poison Old Ghost explained that the flower’s scent caused illusions and lust without leaving detectable traces, and that the whole plant had to be taken to use its petals.
• Xing Xinxin accepted Poison Old Ghost’s price of one hundred thousand spirit stones because she planned to ruin Shan Yue’s purity in Xing Gaohan’s eyes.

Song Wen confronted Xing Xinxin and Poison Old Ghost after following her to the poison den, where he asked to borrow the Soul-Concentrating Spike technique. Poison Old Ghost succumbed to the Illusory Desire Flower’s fragrance and attacked Xing Xinxin, leaving her pinned beneath him.

• Poison Old Ghost dug up the Illusory Desire Flower for Xing Xinxin, who paid him one hundred thousand spirit stones and carried it back with him.
• Song Wen revealed himself in Poison Old Ghost’s cave, inhaled the poisonous mist without harm, and used his Sacred Beetle Gu to slaughter the poisonous creatures.
• Xing Xinxin recognized Song Wen, who admitted he had followed her and asked to borrow the Soul-Concentrating Spike; she said she did not possess its technique.
• Poison Old Ghost inhaled the Illusory Desire Flower’s fragrance while distracted, lost control, and knocked Xing Xinxin to the ground.

Xing Xinxin killed Poison Old Ghost, then tried to use a Soul-Severing Talisman to attack Song Wen. Song Wen subdued and searched her mind, learning she had never cultivated the Soul-Concentrating Spike, but her soul appeared damaged when she woke with no memories.

• Xing Xinxin killed Poison Old Ghost by piercing his heart with her transformed hand.
• Xing Xinxin used a Soul-Severing Talisman to launch a Divine Sense attack at Song Wen, but his Sea of Consciousness Black Hole swallowed it.
• Song Wen demanded the Soul-Concentrating Spike technique and attacked Xing Xinxin when she refused to surrender it.
• Song Wen defeated Xing Xinxin, searched her memories, and learned she had never cultivated the technique and had long resented Xing Chang.
• Xing Xinxin woke confused and apparently amnesiac, prompting Song Wen to suspect the Soul Search Technique had injured her soul.

Song Wen lured Xing Chang to the cave where Xing Xinxin was held, intending to use him for his own purposes. As Xing Chang gloated over Xing Xinxin, a silver-glinting corpse puppet ambushed him.

• Song Wen subdued Xing Xinxin, confirmed her soul was unharmed, bound her, and left Sacred Beetle Gu to guard her.
• Song Wen cleared out his cave residence, then told Xing Chang that Xing Xinxin was injured and trapped in a distant cave.
• Song Wen claimed Xing Xinxin had become a powerful corpse-like figure, prompting Xing Chang to decide to visit the cave himself.
• Xing Chang traveled with Song Wen to the cave, protected by a mana shield left by a Golden Core cultivator.
• Song Wen led Xing Chang into the poison lair, where Xing Chang found the confused and frightened Xing Xinxin.
• As Xing Chang laughed at Xing Xinxin, a silver-glinting corpse puppet struck him from behind and clawed at his head.

Song Wen captured Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin while seeking the Soul-Concentrating Spike, then confined them in a third-tier formation. Xing Chang revealed he had given Song Wen his eldest brother’s communication Jade Slip instead of his mother’s, and insisted he would rather die than put his mother in danger.

• The Silver Corpse shattered Xing Chang’s shield, then stopped attacking when Song Wen approached, while Xing Xinxin lunged at Song Wen and was badly injured by the Silver Corpse.
• Xing Xinxin exposed Song Wen’s plan to obtain the Soul-Concentrating Spike, and Xing Chang realized that Song Wen was a Golden Core cultivator who had previously saved him to get close to him.
• Song Wen demanded Xing Chang’s communication Jade Slip linked to Shan Yue, took Xing Chang’s storage ring, and imprisoned Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin in the Four Symbols Reversal Formation.
• Xing Chang tested the formation with a fireball, triggering a gale that worsened Xing Xinxin’s injuries, and she warned him that he could not break the third-tier formation.
• Xing Chang admitted he had given Song Wen his eldest brother’s Jade Slip instead of his mother’s, and said he would not let his mother risk herself even if it cost him his life.

Song Wen used Xing Chang’s fear for Shan Yue to obtain her communication jade slip, then lured Shan Yue to the western outskirts by claiming Xing Chang was in danger. He told her a fabricated account of the events at the Poison Grotto, leaving her unaware that he had captured Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin.

• Song Wen threatened Xing Chang with a gu worm until Xing Chang identified Shan Yue’s communication jade slip, then Song Wen knocked Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin unconscious inside the formation.
• Song Wen used Xing Chang’s jade slip to summon Shan Yue, claiming that Xing Chang was trapped and that the matter could ruin his standing in the Xing Family.
• Shan Yue flew alone to the western outskirts and swore a soul oath that she had not alerted the Xing Family.
• Song Wen directed Shan Yue to a nearby hill, where she recognized him as Wei Ding.
• Song Wen told Shan Yue that Xing Chang had hired a poison cultivator to kill Xing Xinxin and that a formation had trapped them after Xing Xinxin killed the cultivator.

Song Wen lured Shan Yue to the cave where Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin were trapped, then used the formation to torture Xing Chang and force Shan Yue to comply. He demanded that she remove her mana shield, but she refused, leaving Xing Chang’s fate uncertain.

• Song Wen convinced Shan Yue he knew about Xing Chang’s predicament and collected one hundred high-grade spirit stones before guiding her to the cave.
• Shan Yue entered the cave under her mana shield and found Xing Chang and Xing Xinxin unconscious inside Song Wen’s formation.
• Shan Yue realized Song Wen had trapped the pair and threatened him, but he warned her to consider Xing Chang’s safety.
• Song Wen activated the formation’s gale winds and wounded Xing Chang until Shan Yue begged him to stop.
• Song Wen demanded that Shan Yue remove her mana shield, and she refused as he threatened Xing Chang again.

Song Wen coerced Shan Yue into obtaining the Xing Family’s Soul-Concentrating Spike, but she was overcome by an Illusory Desire Flower’s toxin, and the two spent the night together. He gave her one day to bring the technique in exchange for Xing Chang, while Shan Yue left torn between rescuing her son and abandoning him to keep what happened secret.

• Song Wen demanded that Shan Yue obtain the Soul-Concentrating Spike and threatened Xing Chang when she said she could not provide it.
• Shan Yue dropped her spiritual-energy shield, was poisoned by the Illusory Desire Flower, and succumbed to its effects alongside Song Wen.
• After waking, Shan Yue confronted Song Wen, who gave her one day to deliver the secret art and threatened to have his gu worm kill Xing Chang if anyone entered the cave.
• Shan Yue left the cave and considered abandoning Xing Chang, reflecting that the Xing Family could not protect her from every danger and that she needed her own strength.