Recaps

After dinner, Song Wen paid the steep bill and accompanied Wu Lingzhu on a nighttime tour of Hepo City, leaving Ke Zheng behind. Wu Lingzhu led him to Exquisite Pavilion to inspect a new batch of Netherworld Dates, and they went to the tea room to discuss the precious goods.

• Song Wen paid thirteen thousand high-grade spirit stones for dinner and agreed to tour Hepo City with Wu Lingzhu.
• Ke Zheng warned Wu Lingzhu about staying out late, but she dismissed his concern and sent him home.
• Song Wen and Wu Lingzhu visited You Shang Lake, where Song Wen flattered her as they walked beneath the moonlight.
• Wu Lingzhu suggested visiting Exquisite Pavilion, and Song Wen followed while suspecting she intended to make him spend more spirit stones.
• At Exquisite Pavilion, Wu Lingzhu asked to see the seventy-two newly arrived Netherworld Dates, and the maidservant led them to a tea room to discuss them.

Wu Lingzhu bought Netherworld Dates to prepare for advancing to Void Refinement, persuading Song Wen to contribute his spirit stones toward the purchase. After leaving the Exquisite Pavilion, she coldly dismissed him and flew away, while Song Wen concealed his anger to protect his larger plans.

• Wu Lingzhu inspected seventy-two Netherworld Dates at the Exquisite Pavilion and bargained with the maid until they agreed on a price of three thousand superior spirit stones each.
• When Wu Lingzhu lacked enough spirit stones to buy the dates she wanted, she asked Song Wen to lend her money, and he revealed his 24,321 spirit stones.
• Wu Lingzhu combined Song Wen's spirit stones with her own to buy forty-nine Netherworld Dates, promising to pay the remaining ten thousand superior spirit stones later.
• After they left the pavilion, Wu Lingzhu rejected Song Wen's invitation to spend the evening together and flew toward You Shang Lake.
• Song Wen watched Wu Lingzhu leave and suppressed his anger rather than risk disrupting his larger plans.

Song Wen staged a show of devotion to Wu Lingzhu, then used a night at Soft Fragrance Pavilion to provoke her jealousy. After she fled, he went to the Wu Clan’s spiritual fields and paid a guard to deliver a Jade Slip to steward Wu Qinghan, leaving the outcome of his request uncertain.

• Song Wen waited by the lake for days until Ke Zheng mocked his devotion to Wu Lingzhu and boasted about his own access to her.
• Song Wen sold spiritual materials for nearly forty thousand high-grade spirit stones and spent the night at Soft Fragrance Pavilion.
• Wu Lingzhu saw Song Wen leaving the pavilion and flew away in tears; Song Wen pursued her but failed to catch up.
• Song Wen traveled to the Wu Clan’s spiritual fields and asked the guards to pass a message to steward Wu Qinghan.
• Song Wen gave a guard a thousand high-grade spirit stones and a Jade Slip, and the guard went to report his request.

Song Wen lured Wu Qinghan and Wu Lingzhu to Rainbow-Drinking Ravine by pretending to seek forgiveness, hoping to take them quietly and use Wu Qinghan as bait for Wu Bo. The two women revealed their murderous intent and attacked him while the waterfall spray concealed their movements.

• Song Wen used a false love story and an offer of spirit stones to persuade Wu Qinghan to bring Wu Lingzhu to a secluded meeting place.
• Wu Qinghan agreed to meet Song Wen at Rainbow-Drinking Ravine, and Song Wen went there ahead of them.
• Wu Qinghan arrived with an unwilling Wu Lingzhu, while Song Wen decided against capturing them immediately because the ravine was too close to Hepo City.
• Song Wen offered Wu Lingzhu a storage ring with nearly forty thousand superior spirit stones, and Wu Qinghan asked about his spirit treasures.
• Wu Lingzhu pretended to forgive Song Wen and sliced through the waterfall; as the spray fell, both women drew cold gleaming weapons and lunged at him.

Song Wen overpowered Wu Lingzhu and Wu Qinghan, abducted them to a remote valley, and demanded a ransom from the Wu Clan. The women exposed each other’s secrets, leaving Song Wen questioning why Wu Qinghan had joined Wu Lingzhu’s plot despite her powerful family ties.

• Wu Lingzhu and Wu Qinghan attacked Song Wen, but his protective power blocked their swords and he rendered them unconscious.
• Song Wen carried the women upstream and traveled to an uninhabited valley, where he helped them recover.
• Song Wen took both women’s storage rings and demanded three hundred thousand superior spirit stones from the Wu Clan for Wu Lingzhu’s return.
• Song Wen said Wu Qinghan could return with his ransom message, but Wu Lingzhu revealed that Wu Qinghan was Wu Hao’s great-great-granddaughter.
• Wu Qinghan accused Wu Lingzhu of betraying their friendship, while Song Wen wondered why Wu Qinghan had plotted against him despite her family’s protection.

Song Wen used Wu Qinghan as bait to arrange a ransom exchange and draw out Wu Hao. After the Wu Clan sent the spirit stones, the Heaven-and-Earth Avatar fled with Wu Qinghan while the envoy signaled someone to pursue it.

• Wu Lingzhu exposed Wu Qinghan's extravagant spending on male companions, and Song Wen used their rivalry to decide that Wu Lingzhu would deliver his ransom demands.
• Song Wen ordered Wu Lingzhu to tell Wu Hao to send a Spirit Transformation cultivator alone with five hundred thousand superior spirit stones, threatening Wu Qinghan if anyone else appeared.
• Song Wen silenced Wu Qinghan, left his Heaven-and-Earth Avatar to guard her, and hid five thousand li away in a hollow tree.
• At noon the next day, a middle-stage Spirit Transformation young man arrived with the ransom, and the Heaven-and-Earth Avatar took the spirit stones and flew away with Wu Qinghan.
• After the avatar had flown more than two thousand li, its flying sword lost its power and fell; the young man fired a crimson signal, and a streak of light pursued the avatar.

Song Wen defeated Wu Bo and captured him, Wu Qinghan, and a young Spirit Transformation cultivator. He learned that Lan Chen’s soul was imprisoned in the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison, though he remained wary that Wu Bo might be setting a trap.

• Wu Bo pursued the Heaven-and-Earth Avatar, but Song Wen used a spiritual-sense attack to destroy Wu Bo’s Nascent Soul and magic power.
• Song Wen brought Wu Bo, Wu Qinghan, and the young Spirit Transformation cultivator aboard his flying ship and killed the young man.
• Song Wen mutilated Wu Qinghan and questioned Wu Bo about a woman he had killed in Thousand Blades City two hundred years earlier.
• Wu Bo remembered that the woman, Lan Chen, had survived as a soul and was imprisoned in the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison.
• Song Wen questioned whether Wu Bo was luring him into a trap, and Wu Bo insisted that Lan Chen was in the Cold Prison.

Song Wen decided to infiltrate the Wu Clan to rescue Lan Chen’s soul and sought Ke Zheng’s help, since Ke Zheng could enter the clan with his Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion identity token. He found Ke Zheng’s residence in Hepo City and discovered Ke Zheng with Wu Lingzhu, but the guards confronted him before he could learn more.

• Wu Bo revealed that Lan Chen’s soul still existed in the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison and offered to exchange it for Wu Qinghan, but Song Wen rejected the plan.
• Song Wen chose to infiltrate the Wu Clan first and incapacitated Wu Bo and Wu Qinghan, then concealed them in a cave behind sixth-tier formations.
• Song Wen returned to Hepo City and searched the western district for Ke Zheng’s residence.
• Song Wen found Ke Zheng with Wu Lingzhu at the Ke Residence, where she asked when Ke Zheng’s master would come to the Wu Clan to ask for her hand.
• Two guards confronted Song Wen and ordered him to leave the Ke Residence.

Song Wen entered the Ke Residence and confronted Wu Lingzhu and Ke Zheng, overpowering Ke Zheng and placing Gu insects in both of their brains. He forced Ke Zheng to agree to take him into the Wu Clan, threatening that Wu Lingzhu and Ke Zheng would die if Song Wen was discovered.

• Song Wen had the Ke Residence gates opened and carried the guards and steward away with him.
• Ke Zheng tried to kiss Wu Lingzhu, but she refused to go further until the Wu Clan and Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion approved their union.
• Song Wen appeared in the pavilion, broke Ke Zheng's forearm, and forced him to his knees.
• Song Wen tormented Ke Zheng with a Gu insect and told him Wu Lingzhu had chosen him for the protection of Gu Huang and the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion.
• Song Wen knocked Wu Lingzhu unconscious, implanted a Gu insect in her brain, and ordered Ke Zheng to take him into the Wu Clan.

Song Wen disguised himself as Ke Zheng’s attendant and entered the Wu Clan to reach its Cold Prison. After Ke Zheng requested permission to enter, the Ninth Elder summoned them into his stone house.

• Song Wen concealed his identity, subdued the Ke residence’s occupants, and had Ke Zheng lead him through the Wu Clan’s mountain gate.
• Ke Zheng told Wu Hong that Song Wen was a newly recruited attendant and gained entry to the Wu Clan.
• Song Wen directed Ke Zheng southwest to a solitary island that held the entrance to the Cold Prison.
• Ke Zheng claimed he wanted to see an imprisoned enemy, and a guard led them to the Ninth Elder.
• The Ninth Elder opened his stone house and allowed Ke Zheng and Song Wen inside.

Song Wen subdued Wu Luan and forced him to lead the way into the Wu Clan's Cold Prison. He revealed that he had come to find the Spirit Transformation soul Wu Bo had imprisoned there, leaving Wu Luan fearful of what Song Wen would do when he found her.

• Song Wen offered Wu Luan spirit stones, then seized him by the throat and disrupted his magical power.
• Song Wen threatened Wu Luan with the Soul-Splitting Blade until he agreed to take them into the Cold Prison.
• Song Wen ordered Wu Luan to hide his injuries and aura, then kept magical power around his Nascent Soul to prevent his escape.
• Wu Luan dismissed the female cultivator and led Song Wen and Ke Zheng down the Vertical Tunnel, removing five barriers on the way.
• At the Cold Prison's bottom cavern, Song Wen told Wu Luan he was searching for the Spirit Transformation soul Wu Bo had sent there over two hundred years earlier.

Song Wen entered the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison and rescued Lan Chen’s soul, then left Wu Luan to die in the prison’s green flames. As Song Wen and Ke Zheng neared the Wu Clan’s mountain gate, they found Gu Huang and Wu Shandie waiting outside its barrier.

• Song Wen persuaded Wu Luan to lead him and Ke Zheng through Cold Prison to Lan Chen.
• Song Wen found Lan Chen suspended over green flames, freed her from the chains, and stored her weakened soul in a soul bottle.
• Song Wen injected Wu Luan with corpse qi and threw him into a prison pit, planning for his death to trigger an explosion that would destroy Cold Prison.
• Song Wen retrieved Wu Luan’s token, sealed the cavern, and left Cold Prison with Ke Zheng.
• Song Wen and Ke Zheng reached the Wu Clan’s mountain gate and saw Gu Huang and Wu Shandie hovering outside its barrier.

Song Wen attempted to escape the Wu Clan’s territory with Ke Zheng, but attacked Gu Huang and Wu Shandie when they spotted him. Trapped inside Wu Shandie’s formation while she and Gu Huang escaped, Song Wen tried to pressure her into letting him leave by threatening the Wu Clan members caught inside.

• Song Wen warned Ke Zheng not to reveal their situation to Gu Huang, then followed him through a gap in the mountain gate.
• Ke Zheng shouted that he had been taken hostage, and Song Wen launched Soul-Slaying Spike attacks at Gu Huang and Wu Shandie.
• Gu Huang blocked the attacks with a treasure pearl, while Wu Shandie activated a formation that trapped Song Wen and over a hundred Wu Clan members.
• Song Wen used his lightning wings to fight through the formation’s chains, but Wu Shandie and Gu Huang escaped through a gap in the barrier.
• Song Wen urged Wu Shandie to spare the trapped clan members and offered not to harm them if she let him leave.

Song Wen revealed his identity as Gou Jun and fought to break free of the Wu Clan’s formation after destroying the Cold Prison. He used Blood Spirit Sacrifice to restore his spiritual power and sent the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword against the barrier, leaving it riddled with cracks as Gu Huang warned Wu Shandie not to let him escape.

• Wu Shandie dropped her chains when Song Wen called out, but after the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison was destroyed, Gu Huang recognized Song Wen as Gou Jun and urged Wu Shandie to kill him.
• Wu Shandie strengthened the formation, and its golden chains overwhelmed Song Wen’s Blood Tide shield and killed the Wu Clan members trapped inside.
• Song Wen unleashed the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword, shattering the chains and battering the barrier while Wu Shandie transformed into a giant ape and stabilized the formation.
• After Gu Huang declared Song Wen’s spiritual power exhausted, Song Wen used Blood Spirit Sacrifice to restore it and sent the sword against the barrier again.
• The barrier cracked across its surface, and Gu Huang warned Wu Shandie that Song Wen could escape and would be difficult to kill.

Song Wen pursued the badly injured Wu Shandie after breaking through the Wu Clan’s protective barrier, while Gu Huang fled and the clan’s formation repelled Song Wen’s Vast Extremity Divine Thunder. As Wu Shandie neared the mountain gate, Song Wen engulfed her in silver lightning and told her she would soon see Wu Bo.

• Wu Shandie helped repair the barrier, but Gu Huang fled when Gou Jun replenished his power and raised the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword again.
• The sword shattered the weakened barrier, struck Wu Shandie’s crimson-gold shield, and sent her flying with severe injuries.
• The Wu Clan’s formation blocked Song Wen’s Vast Extremity Divine Thunder with a barrage of water spears, surprising him.
• Song Wen pursued Wu Shandie as she fled toward the mountain gate, ignoring her pleas for mercy and resisting the formation’s water spears with a sea of blood.
• When Wu Shandie came within several dozen zhang of the gate, Song Wen engulfed her in silver lightning and said she would soon see Wu Bo.

Song Wen rescued Wu Shandie and Wu Lingzhu from the Wu Clan, then hid them with Wu Bo and Wu Qinghan before repairing Lan Chen’s damaged soul. He left the hidden grotto with Lan Chen to help her possess a body and regain physical form.

• Song Wen incapacitated Wu Shandie, failed to break the Wu Clan’s mountain gate barrier with the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword, and warned the clan’s cultivators before leaving.
• Song Wen captured unconscious Wu Lingzhu from the Ke Residence and imprisoned her with Wu Shandie, Wu Bo, and Wu Qinghan in a guarded cave.
• Song Wen hid in a riverbed grotto and used Soul Source Essence to heal Lan Chen’s cracked soul.
• Lan Chen recognized Song Wen and learned he had rescued her from the Wu Clan’s Cold Prison.
• Song Wen took Lan Chen out of the grotto to help her possess a body and regain a physical body.

Song Wen brought Lan Chen to confront Wu Bo and the Wu Clan captives, revealing that he had captured both of the clan’s Body Integration Realm ancestors. Lan Chen learned that Wu Lingzhu would be the body she possessed, while Wu Qinghan remained unexplained.

• Song Wen sent gu insects to investigate Wu Bo’s group, then took Lan Chen to the cave where they were held.
• Song Wen woke Wu Bo and the others, and Lan Chen recognized Wu Bo as the man who had destroyed her body and imprisoned her soul.
• Song Wen introduced Wu Shandie as the Wu Clan’s other Body Integration Realm ancestor, and Lan Chen realized Song Wen had captured them both.
• Lan Chen gloated that the Wu Clan would be vulnerable without its two ancestors, while Wu Shandie blamed Wu Bo for their predicament.
• Song Wen identified Wu Lingzhu as Lan Chen’s prospective possession body, and Lan Chen accepted the choice despite Wu Lingzhu’s pleas for mercy.
• Lan Chen asked about Wu Qinghan, and Song Wen dismissed her as insignificant.

Song Wen helped Lan Chen seize Wu Lingzhu’s body, then stood guard until Lan Chen emerged safely a month later. They returned to Cloud Creek Valley, where Song Wen spent twelve years cultivating while Lan Chen frequently sought him out.

• Song Wen used the Blood Tide to take Wu Bo, Wu Shandie, and Wu Qinghan away, then wounded Wu Lingzhu’s soul so Lan Chen could seize her body.
• Lan Chen attacked Wu Lingzhu’s weakened soul while Song Wen left the Cave and watched for threats from the Wu Clan and Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion.
• Song Wen retreated into a mud hole and waited for a month before Lan Chen announced that she had successfully seized Wu Lingzhu’s body.
• Song Wen welcomed Lan Chen out of the Cave and took her aboard his flying ship; three months later, they returned to Cloud Creek Valley and met Guan Lin.
• Lan Chen chose Song Wen’s pavilion, and the two spent time together there before Song Wen began twelve years of quiet cultivation in the valley.
• Song Wen refined Blood Luo Pills, studied formations and cultivation techniques, and found Lan Chen’s frequent visits exhausting.

Song Wen brought Lan Chen to Taitan City and asked Wang Qiuyue and Bai Wei to recommend her for admission to the Jade Spirit Palace. Wang Qiuyue refused after learning Song Wen’s friend was a beautiful woman, while Bai Wei agreed to meet them and Wang Qiuyue hurried over.

• Lan Chen agreed to join the Jade Spirit Palace after Song Wen explained that its cultivation methods suited her.
• In Taitan City, Wang Qiuyue warned Song Wen that Yuan Rong had placed a bounty on him and that cultivators coveted his Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword.
• Song Wen asked Wang Qiuyue to recommend his Spirit Transformation-stage friend, but she refused when she learned the friend was a beautiful woman.
• Song Wen contacted Bai Wei, who agreed to meet his friend and potentially take her in as a disciple.
• After learning Bai Wei had agreed, Wang Qiuyue asked Song Wen where he was and said she would come immediately.

Song Wen hosted Wang Qiuyue, Bai Wei, and Lan Chen, but Lan Chen’s introduction of Song Wen as Extreme Yin exposed his use of multiple names. Lan Chen then praised Bai Wei on Song Wen’s behalf, softening Bai Wei’s attitude and leaving Wang Qiuyue wondering what sort of relationship Lan Chen and Song Wen shared.

• Wang Qiuyue arrived first and questioned Lan Chen about her background while Song Wen sat aside.
• Bai Wei arrived veiled, saw Lan Chen, and invited her to join Azure Radiance Peak of Jade Spirit Palace.
• Lan Chen referred to Song Wen as Extreme Yin, prompting Wang Qiuyue and Bai Wei to question his identity.
• Song Wen explained that he used multiple Dao titles for convenience, and Bai Wei accepted that he would be called Extreme Yin.
• Lan Chen told Bai Wei that Song Wen often praised her beauty, alchemy, and kindness, which pleased Bai Wei and surprised Wang Qiuyue.

Bai Wei told Song Wen about an ancient Teleportation Array that might eventually let him reach the Western Rong Continent and seek the Jadeglow Lotus. As Song Wen considered his choices and asked about rare materials for a ritual altar, Bai Wei sought Wang Qiuyue’s help obtaining them from the Jade Spirit Palace.

• Bai Wei explained that the Azure Flame Sect had found a damaged Teleportation Array believed to connect to the Western Rong Continent, and that Yuan Rong had joined the effort to restore it twelve years earlier.
• Bai Wei said restoration plans were being tested and offered to help Song Wen use the array if it became functional; Wang Qiuyue said she also planned to travel west and suggested they go together.
• Song Wen weighed seeking the Jadeglow Lotus to improve his spiritual roots against the dangers of the Western Rong Continent and the risks of advancing by devouring cultivators’ cultivation.
• Song Wen invited Bai Wei, Wang Qiuyue, and their companion to share the Moon-Embracing Pavilion’s signature dishes, then gave Bai Wei a jade slip listing materials needed for the Thunder-Commanding Divine Control Ritual Altar.
• Bai Wei said she had only glazed crystal and that the Jade Spirit Palace possessed most of the listed materials, but purchasing them required sect merit points, so she asked Wang Qiuyue for help.

Song Wen sought Thunder Hou blood and learned that Ying Wu of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion might know where to find it. In Thousand Blades City, he followed Ke Zheng into the Enchanting Immortal Pavilion, where he planned to approach his old enemy.

• Wang Qiuyue accepted Song Wen's million superior spirit stones and said the treasury had no Thunder Hou blood.
• Wang Qiuyue recommended Ying Wu, a beast expert who might know where to find a Thunder Hou, and Song Wen considered trading his Beauty Serpent for help.
• Song Wen arrived above Thousand Blades City and spotted Ke Zheng entering the Enchanting Immortal Pavilion.
• Song Wen entered the pleasure house and learned that Ke Zheng had boarded the boat hosting Fairy Zhizhen's debut ceremony.
• Song Wen boarded the same boat and sat at a back-row table after seeing Ke Zheng seated near the stage.

Song Wen bid against Ke Zheng for Fairy Zhizhen, then pretended to fear Ke Zheng’s influence and offered her to him. The chapter ended with Ke Zheng accepting Song Wen’s offer after Song Wen paid five thousand Superior Spirit Stones.

• A matron introduced Fairy Zhizhen at her coming-of-age ceremony and described her tragic circumstances to the gathered cultivators.
• The guests bid for Fairy Zhizhen, and Song Wen raised Ke Zheng’s bid from two thousand to five thousand Superior Spirit Stones.
• Ke Zheng warned Song Wen to be cautious in Thousand Blades City before leaving the hall.
• Song Wen learned that Ke Zheng was a disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion and hurried after him to apologize.
• Song Wen offered to send Fairy Zhizhen to Ke Zheng’s room, and Ke Zheng accepted.
• Song Wen gave the matron five thousand Superior Spirit Stones and told her to arrange Fairy Zhizhen’s delivery to Ke Zheng.

Song Wen lured Ke Zheng into discussing a raid on the Li Clan by offering him a share of its supposed riches and exploiting his need for money. Ke Zheng accepted the plan, and Song Wen prepared to draw him out of Thousand Blades City.

• Song Wen waited while Ke Zheng spent three days with Fairy Zhizhen, then visited him after she left and praised his prowess.
• Ke Zheng agreed to put aside their past conflict, but grew suspicious when Song Wen invited him to drink and asked about True Person Gu Huang's business.
• Song Wen claimed the Li Clan of Beacon Fire Market had treasures from an ancient cultivator's cave and proposed that they raid it together.
• Ke Zheng refused at first, explaining that he feared encountering a formidable enemy outside Thousand Blades City, and challenged Song Wen to prove the opportunity was genuine.
• Song Wen offered his Soul Lamp as security and guaranteed Ke Zheng at least one hundred sixty thousand Superior Spirit Stones from the raid.
• Ke Zheng accepted the plan and put Song Wen's Soul Lamp into his storage ring.

Song Wen traveled with Ke Zheng, who tried to poison and kill him, but Song Wen exposed the attack and subdued him. Ke Zheng revealed that Gu Huang had disappeared with two million high-grade spirit stones, then explained why he called Ying Wu his master's wife.

• Song Wen noticed a strange fragrance on Ke Zheng while they flew away from Thousand Blades City.
• Ke Zheng attacked Song Wen with a poisoned golden palm, but Song Wen broke his arm and blocked his escape with a Blood Year tentacle.
• Ke Zheng begged for his life, and Song Wen questioned him aboard the flying ship as they sped toward the wilderness.
• Ke Zheng said Gu Huang had gathered two million high-grade spirit stones from fellow disciples for a major business deal, then vanished with the money.
• Ke Zheng explained that Ying Wu was not Gu Huang's Dao companion, but he called her his master's wife because Gu Huang had once pursued her at the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion.