Recaps

Song Wen obtained Jian Yun’s preserved body from Ying Wu so Zhou Siyi could possess it, then arranged for Zhou Siyi to join the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion as Ying Wu’s disciple. The chapter left Song Wen and Ying Wu flirting after Zhou Siyi departed, with Ying Wu teasing him about calling her Martial Aunt.

• Ying Wu explained that her former disciple Jian Yun had died after the Thousand-Eyed Chi scattered her soul, and gave Jian Yun’s preserved body to Song Wen for Zhou Siyi.
• Song Wen released Zhou Siyi’s soul and told Ying Wu that Zhou Siyi was his senior sister and the creator of his Man-Snake breeding method.
• Zhou Siyi possessed Jian Yun’s body, but found that Jian Yun’s Nascent Soul had already collapsed and she had no cultivation.
• Song Wen asked Ying Wu to teach Zhou Siyi a suitable cultivation technique, and Zhou Siyi joined the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion as Ying Wu’s disciple.
• Ying Wu arranged a cave dwelling, identity token, soul lamp, cultivation technique, and supplies for Zhou Siyi, while Song Wen gave her spirit stones.
• After Zhou Siyi left, Ying Wu drew Song Wen close and teased him about becoming her Martial Aunt.

Song Wen learned about the perilous Kunxu Secret Realm but decided to gather more information before considering a visit. After returning to Cloud Creek Valley, he found that Guan Lin had died peacefully and buried her outside the valley.

• Ying Wu told Song Wen that the Kunxu Secret Realm was rumored to hold secrets of advancing to Tribulation Transcendence, but Song Wen and Ying Wu both chose not to enter rashly.
• Song Wen stayed on Ying Wu's island, visited Zhou Siyi, and saw her reach the middle stage of Qi Refining in three months.
• Song Wen left after declining Ying Wu's invitation to stay and bidding farewell to Zhou Siyi.
• Song Wen returned to Cloud Creek Valley and found Guan Lin's skeleton and a letter explaining that she had died peacefully without resentment toward him.
• Song Wen buried Guan Lin on a mountain outside the valley, where her grave faced east.

Song Wen learned that a top-grade spirit treasure made from a Nine Heavens Thunder Astral Stone could weaken heavenly tribulations, and that one such stone had once been found in the Kunxu Secret Realm. He considered preparing to explore the realm, which currently admitted only Integrated Body Realm Cultivators, and took stock of his escape and survival treasures.

• Song Wen tended the neglected Bodhi Spirit Stamens and asked Gu Que whether the Thunder-Commanding Divine Control Ritual Altar had stopped improving his lightning arts talent; Gu Que explained that both the altar and human talent had limits.
• Song Wen asked Gu Que about the Kunxu Secret Realm, and Gu Que recalled that a Mahayana Realm cultivator had found a Nine Heavens Thunder Astral Stone there, which could be used to refine a spirit treasure that weakened lightning tribulations.
• Gu Que said the secret realm was perilous and that the cultivator had encountered formidable ghosts, so Song Wen considered his lightning arts and the Thunder Kui Wings as preparations for exploring it.
• Song Wen thought about taking the Thunder Kui Wings to Ying Wu for help upgrading them, but decided not to return to Great Passage Lake yet.
• Song Wen inventoried his escape and survival items, including two eighth-grade talismans, one remaining Teleportation Talisman, and twenty-seven Death-Substitute Puppets.

Song Wen returned to Taitan City, sold spiritual items for spirit stones, and reunited with Wang Qiuyue, Bai Wei, and Lan Chen. As they shared a meal, Wang Qiuyue apologized for failing to help him return from Western Rong Continent and asked how he had made the journey.

• Song Wen learned that Gu Que could not draw Teleportation Talismans and went to Taitan City to sell spiritual items for spirit stones.
• After Song Wen spotted people following him, he lured them out of the city, dealt with them, and returned disguised as Extreme Yin of the Body Integration Realm.
• Song Wen contacted Wang Qiuyue, who came to the Immortal Arrival Tavern with Bai Wei and Lan Chen.
• Bai Wei embraced Song Wen, while Lan Chen concealed her affection and Wang Qiuyue teased Bai Wei about the reunion.
• Wang Qiuyue apologized for failing to help Song Wen return through the Teleportation Array, then asked how he had traveled back from Western Rong Continent.

Bai Wei told Song Wen that Qiao Mengyu had resurfaced in Scarlet Firmament Province and was returning home, though she still worried because they had not met in person. Wang Qiuyue shared information about the deadly Kunxu Secret Realm, while Song Wen discouraged her from risking entry and found the records unhelpful.

• Bai Wei asked Song Wen whether he had seen Qiao Mengyu, then explained that Che Jing had died and Qiao Mengyu had vanished before her soul lamp finally responded in Scarlet Firmament Province.
• Bai Wei told Song Wen that Qiao Mengyu had reached the Azure Flame Sect and was traveling back to Southern Nether Province aboard Xuan Feng's flying ship.
• Wang Qiuyue asked Bai Wei and Song Wen about entering the Kunxu Secret Realm, and Bai Wei forbade Lan Chen from going.
• Wang Qiuyue said she was considering the secret realm as a chance to break through to Mahayana, but Song Wen advised her not to rush.
• Wang Qiuyue gave Song Wen a jade slip detailing the secret realm's history, entry conditions, and the many cultivators who had entered without returning; Song Wen found the information unhelpful.

Song Wen reunited with Lan Chen and shared an intimate moment with her after Bai Wei and Wang Qiuyue left. When Bai Wei returned and noticed the untouched meal, she confronted them, and Song Wen tried to reassure her by declaring his devotion.

• Wang Qiuyue received an urgent order for the sect's Body Integration elders to return, and she and Bai Wei departed, leaving Lan Chen with Song Wen.
• Lan Chen embraced Song Wen and confessed how frightened she had been when she thought he might never return; they became intimate in the private room.
• Bai Wei returned late at night, and Song Wen and Lan Chen dressed and cleared away the signs of what they had done before opening the door.
• Bai Wei noticed that the meal leftovers were unchanged and demanded to know when Song Wen and Lan Chen had begun their relationship.
• Song Wen and Lan Chen denied having an illicit relationship, and Song Wen claimed he had loved Bai Wei since they first met and had risked everything to return to her.

Song Wen reunited with Bai Wei, eased her suspicions through a calculated confession, and spent several days with her before learning that Xuan Gu and Six Baleful Hall might threaten the sects again. He told Bai Wei he would remain for now, but her clinginess left him uncomfortable.

• Lan Chen left Song Wen and Bai Wei alone after Bai Wei declared her devotion to him.
• Song Wen reminded Bai Wei that her suspicion of him and Lan Chen had hurt him, and Bai Wei apologized and vowed her heart belonged to him.
• Song Wen and Bai Wei reconciled passionately and spent several days together.
• Bai Wei told Song Wen that Xuan Gu had attacked Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion with the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation, and that Jade Spirit Palace elders were ordered to patrol for Six Baleful Hall members.
• Song Wen agreed to be cautious, then Bai Wei asked why he had contacted Wang Qiuyue before her, leaving him uncomfortable with her clinginess.

Song Wen told Bai Wei that he had reached the Mahayana Realm and needed spirit stones and an eighth-rank artifact refiner to turn the Thunder Kui Wings into a supreme-grade spirit treasure. Bai Wei took the wings to seek Elder An Yi’s help, while Song Wen left to recover in seclusion and avoid Lan Chen.

• Song Wen asked Bai Wei for help selling spiritual items, but she offered him three or four million high-grade spirit stones instead.
• Song Wen revealed his Mahayana Realm cultivation and explained that he needed lightning-element materials and an eighth-rank artifact refiner for the Thunder Kui Wings.
• Bai Wei promised to keep Song Wen’s cultivation secret and said she would ask Elder An Yi to reforge the wings.
• After ten days together, Bai Wei left with the Thunder Kui Wings, and Song Wen departed the city to enter seclusion and recuperate.

Song Wen sought the Evil-Banishing Thunderwood needed to refine his Thunder Kui Wings, and Bai Wei found that Ji Yue of the Mystic Firmament Sect possessed a stalk. Song Wen approached Ji Yue with an offer of a formation that could extend her lifespan, and the two began discussing the deal from a distance.

• Bai Wei told Song Wen she had gathered nearly all the materials needed to refine his Thunder Kui Wings, but Evil-Banishing Thunderwood remained missing.
• Bai Wei revealed that Ji Yue possessed a stalk of Evil-Banishing Thunderwood over ten thousand years old, and Song Wen promised to thank her before drawing her close.
• Song Wen disguised himself, released his Mahayana aura at the Mystic Firmament Sect's gate, and sent Ji Yue a Jade Slip proposing a trade for the Thunderwood.
• Song Wen waited east of Thunder Marsh City, and Ji Yue arrived after a quarter of an hour but remained ten thousand li away.
• Ji Yue asked about Song Wen's offer to extend her lifespan by four thousand years, and Song Wen said the method was a formation.

Song Wen and Ji Yue arranged an exchange of the Devouring Essence Array’s secrets for evil-banishing thunderwood, but Ji Yue betrayed him and called on Zhu You and Qing Xu to attack. As the two Mahayana cultivators closed in, Song Wen remained composed and pulled the thunderwood toward himself.

• Song Wen revealed that the Devouring Essence Array used Longevity Art cultivators as catalysts, and Ji Yue questioned him before accepting proof of its effects.
• Song Wen showed Ji Yue an incomplete Jade Slip about the array, and Ji Yue displayed a section of evil-banishing thunderwood for his inspection.
• Song Wen and Ji Yue sent their treasures toward the midpoint and waited until Song Wen’s magical power neared the falling thunderwood before he released the Jade Slip.
• Ji Yue ordered Zhu You and Qing Xu to help capture Song Wen, revealing that she had planned to seize his possessions and kill him.
• Zhu You and Qing Xu approached Song Wen from behind, while Song Wen remained calm and pulled the evil-breaking divine wood toward himself.

Song Wen took the Evil-Banishing Thunderwood while Zhu You and Qing Xu held him back, then clashed with Ji Yue after she discovered the jade slip was blank. He survived her Void-Shattering Divine Thunder and escaped, threatening to make the Mystic Firmament Sect pay.

• Song Wen sent blood dragons to hold Zhu You and Qing Xu at bay and retrieved the Evil-Banishing Thunderwood.
• Ji Yue caught the jade slip, discovered it was blank, and attacked Song Wen with Void-Shattering Divine Thunder.
• Song Wen met Ji Yue's thunderbolt with the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword, and their clash devastated the surrounding area.
• Ji Yue recognized the sword and wondered if Song Wen had killed Gou Jun, but Song Wen did not answer.
• Song Wen recalled the Blood Sea Imperial Seal and fled with the Mystic Thunder Nine Heavens Escape Art, warning Ji Yue that the Mystic Firmament Sect would never know peace.

Song Wen used a decoy and a Death-Substitute Puppet to escape Ji Yue and her allies, while wounding Zhu You during his attempt to break through their encirclement. Ji Yue and Qing Xu pursued him, leaving Zhu You behind to recover and oversee the sect.

• Ji Yue attacked Song Wen with her short halberd while Zhu You and Qing Xu began forming a vast lightning net to trap him.
• Song Wen let Ji Yue’s halberd destroy a decoy, then appeared behind Zhu You and shattered his right forearm with the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword.
• Zhu You escaped Song Wen with talisman fragments, and the lightning-net formation collapsed when its eastern and western flags went uncontrolled.
• Song Wen used a Death-Substitute Puppet to survive Ji Yue’s halberd and teleport beyond the trio’s sensing range.
• Ji Yue ordered Zhu You to stay behind and recover while she and Qing Xu pursued Song Wen.

Song Wen feigned weakness to draw Ji Yue into attacking, then revealed powerful Void-Shattering Divine Thunder and fought back against Ji Yue’s golden halberd and ancient cauldron. Ji Yue’s Five Elements True Fire initially seemed poised to burn away Song Wen’s Blood Sea, but the sea reached a balance as the blood mist returned to it.

• Song Wen offered Ji Yue the complete formation diagram of the Devouring Essence Array, then abruptly stopped and unleashed Void-Shattering Divine Thunder.
• Ji Yue pierced Song Wen’s thunderclouds with her golden short halberd and summoned an ancient bronze cauldron to crush him.
• Song Wen raised his vast Blood Sea to meet the cauldron, absorbing its impact as Ji Yue’s four fire phoenixes attacked with Five Elements True Fire.
• Qing Xu arrived, and Ji Yue ordered him to remain back and provide support.
• Ji Yue saw that the blood mist produced by the flames drifted away and returned to the Blood Sea, preventing its surface from continuing to fall.

Song Wen struck at Qing Xu while Ji Yue's lightning shattered the sea of blood, but Qing Xu escaped by sacrificing his legs. With Ji Yue pressing her attack, Song Wen began retreating and unleashed a technique that created identical copies of himself, leaving her unable to tell which was real.

• Ji Yue blasted the sea of blood with golden lightning and Five Elements True Fire, forcing it to collapse into bloody rain.
• Song Wen emerged from the rain and attacked Qing Xu, weakening Qing Xu's control over his bronze mace before swatting it aside.
• Qing Xu used a Mystic Thunder Nine Heavens Talisman, then sacrificed his legs to block Song Wen's flying sword and escape.
• Ji Yue attacked Song Wen with her short halberd, but he used a Death-Substitute Puppet to evade the blow and reappeared elsewhere.
• Song Wen reclaimed the bloody rain and shattered a blood-colored crystal, producing identical copies of himself that fled in different directions.

After escaping Ji Yue’s attack on the Mystic Firmament Sect, Song Wen returned to Cloud Creek Valley, where Bai Wei welcomed him and helped arrange for his Evil-Banishing Thunderwood to be forged into thunder wings. Bai Wei then brought him to Taitan City to meet Wang Qiuyue, who had summoned him but postponed explaining why until after a meal.

• Ji Yue’s flames destroyed several of Song Wen’s incarnations, but the others escaped in different directions, and she suspected the attacker belonged to the Divine Blood Sect.
• Song Wen fled for several months before returning to Cloud Creek Valley, where Bai Wei checked that he was unharmed and reproached him for challenging three Mahayana cultivators.
• Song Wen and Bai Wei discussed having An Yi forge thunder wings from the Evil-Banishing Thunderwood, and Song Wen warned Bai Wei to conceal his true identity from her.
• Bai Wei told Song Wen that Wang Qiuyue was looking for him, and he agreed to accompany her to Taitan City.
• At the Immortal Arrival Tavern, Wang Qiuyue arrived, focused on the food, and said they could discuss her reason for summoning Song Wen after they had eaten.

Wang Qiuyue hired Song Wen to capture a live seventh-tier void demon, and he accepted the job alone in exchange for most of the payment. After selling spiritual items, Song Wen visited the Zheng Clan to buy more void demon spirit beast pouches, where Zheng Liyan welcomed him with conspicuous warmth.

• Wang Qiuyue offered Song Wen a commission worth two million superior spirit stones to capture a live seventh-tier void demon, and they agreed to an eighty-twenty split if he went alone.
• Wang Qiuyue gave Song Wen three spirit beast pouches and said she would deduct their cost from his payment.
• Song Wen sold spiritual items in the city and then traveled to the Zheng Clan at Hundred-Forging Ridge to purchase more pouches.
• Zheng Liyan personally greeted Song Wen, and the two exchanged flattering pleasantries as Song Wen prepared to discuss the purchase.

Song Wen negotiated with Zheng Liyan over Void Demon spirit beast pouches and a bounty for a live seventh-tier Void Demon. He agreed to the deal but remained suspicious of Zheng Liyan’s secretive motives, then left under the alias Xing Chang.

• Zheng Liyan quoted Song Wen three hundred thousand superior spirit stones per seventh-tier spirit beast pouch, then offered one million for a live seventh-tier Void Demon.
• Song Wen initially refused the bounty, then negotiated it up to one million eight hundred thousand superior spirit stones and the pouches down to Wang Qiuyue’s price.
• Zheng Liyan asked Song Wen to make their eventual exchange public, but refused to explain why he wanted that condition.
• Song Wen bought four pouches for eight hundred thousand superior spirit stones and gave Zheng Liyan the name Xing Chang before leaving.

Song Wen considered how to strengthen himself before entering the Kunxu Secret Realm and asked Gu Que about cultivation breakthroughs, the Source-Qi Death Domain, and Illusion-Destroying Powder. Gu Que revealed that the Divine Blood Sect could rapidly grow ancient Bodhi Spirit Stamen, explaining its vast demand for the herb.

• Song Wen learned that the Kunxu Secret Realm would admit Mahayana cultivators in sixteen years and asked Gu Que about treasures that could help him advance to the middle Mahayana stage.
• Gu Que said Song Wen might advance by cultivating for a thousand years and explained that devouring other Mahayana cultivators' mana had helped some people break through but not others.
• Song Wen considered devouring Xuan Gu's cultivation and asked Gu Que about the Source-Qi Death Domain's core, its origins, and its Source Qi.
• Gu Que recited the sixth- through ninth-order Illusion-Destroying Powder formulas and explained their Bodhi Spirit Stamen age requirements.
• Gu Que said the Divine Blood Sect could grow thirty-thousand-year Bodhi Spirit Stamen in one or two thousand years using a resource-intensive method that caused many plants to wither, and Song Wen connected this to Withered Zen Temple's large-scale cultivation.

Song Wen gave up on refining Illusion-Destroying Powder and traveled to the Source-Qi Death Domain with the Nether Fox and Shadow Void to hunt Void Demons. After encountering an early eighth-rank Void Demon leading a group, Song Wen prepared to face it while the Nether Fox retreated into its spirit beast pouch.

• Song Wen learned that Cloud Creek Valley lacked Bodhi Spirit Stamens old enough for Illusion-Destroying Powder and failed to get useful information about Six Baleful Hall from Bai Wei.
• Song Wen entered the Source-Qi Death Domain, released the Nether Fox, and ordered it and Shadow Void to watch for Void Demons, resentful spirits, and human cultivators.
• Song Wen captured Void Demons and resentful spirits as they traveled deeper, while the Nether Fox ate two sixth-rank Void Demons and refused to eat anything below the sixth rank.
• Shadow Void detected an early eighth-rank Void Demon approaching with several seventh-rank and many low-rank Void Demons, and Song Wen asked whether Shadow Void could handle it.
• The Nether Fox slipped into Song Wen's spirit beast pouch as Shadow Void mocked it for retreating.

Song Wen captured the eighth-rank Void Demon and sent the Nether Fox into its undersea cavern to investigate. The Nether Fox found a Source Crystal, which Shadow Void identified as a valuable cultivation treasure for the Nether Fox but not for itself.

• Shadow Void’s divine-sense attacks incapacitated the Void Demons, and Song Wen collected more than a hundred fifth-rank to seventh-rank demons before pursuing the wounded eighth-rank beast.
• Song Wen found the eighth-rank Void Demon on the seabed, and Shadow Void knocked it unconscious and pulled it into his sea of consciousness.
• Shadow Void sensed something unusual inside the cavern, so Song Wen sent the Nether Fox inside to investigate while he waited above the sea.
• The Nether Fox returned with a black crystal that emitted intense Source-Qi, and Song Wen had to shield his hand from its invasive energy.
• Shadow Void recognized the object as a Source Crystal and said it was a valuable cultivation treasure for the Nether Fox, though inferior to Soul Source Essence for itself.

Song Wen and his companions discovered a strange black sphere deep beneath an underwater cave, surrounded by exceptionally pure source qi. Despite Shadow Void’s warning, Nether Fox swallowed it and was left badly injured, while the sphere’s effects remained unknown.

• Song Wen sent Nether Fox and Steel Corpse into an underwater cave, then had Nether Fox and Shadow Void collect the source crystals inside.
• Nether Fox dug deep beneath the cavern and uncovered a natural cave containing a floating black sphere.
• Shadow Void warned Song Wen that the sphere inspired instinctive awe and advised them to leave it alone.
• Nether Fox became fixated on the sphere and insisted that it wanted to eat it.
• Shadow Void struck Nether Fox too late to stop it from swallowing the sphere, tearing open its waist and nearly snapping its body in two.

Song Wen escaped the underwater cave after Nether Fox swallowed the mysterious black sphere, which sent it into a deep slumber and caused Shadow Void to lose control. As numerous Void Demons pursued him, Song Wen killed one blocking his path, but Shadow Void warned that more eighth-rank Void Demons were closing in from every direction.

• Shadow Void attacked Nether Fox in a sudden frenzy, but Song Wen subdued it with the Sea of Consciousness Black Hole and pulled the injured Nether Fox from the rubble.
• Shadow Void said the black sphere had triggered its uncontrollable fury, while Nether Fox asked to sleep as it refined the sphere and Song Wen placed it in the spirit beast pouch.
• Shadow Void warned that many Void Demons were gathering, so Song Wen recalled the Steel Corpse and fled the Source-Qi Death Domain while Shadow Void devoured lesser pursuers.
• Shadow Void reported that high-rank Void Demons were hunting Song Wen because they sensed the black sphere had been taken from the cave.
• Song Wen and Shadow Void overwhelmed an eighth-rank mid-stage fierce bird Void Demon, and Song Wen destroyed its head with lightning.
• Shadow Void warned Song Wen that eighth-rank Void Demons were approaching from ahead, both sides, and behind.

Song Wen fought through a swarm of Void Demons in the Source-Qi Death Domain, killing a late eighth-tier octopus-like demon before fleeing deeper attacks. He was caught off guard when a peak eighth-tier Void Demon appeared beside him.

• Song Wen and Shadow Void attacked a late eighth-tier Void Demon, but its divine sense attacks failed to harm them.
• Song Wen used the Five Decays Yellow Springs Qi to cut through the demon’s tentacles, then pierced its body with the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword and killed it.
• Shadow Void dragged the dead octopus-like Void Demon into Song Wen’s Sea of Consciousness as Song Wen continued fleeing the converging demons.
• A slender tentacle from a peak eighth-tier Void Demon resisted Song Wen’s sword and slowed his escape, though he severed it and accelerated again.
• Another Void Demon emerged from the darkness on Song Wen’s right, revealing a six-meter body covered in flesh strips and slender tentacles.

Song Wen escaped the Source-Qi Death Domain after killing a fleshball Void Demon and evading the other eighth-rank Void Demons. In Taitan City, he delivered a seventh-rank Void Demon to Wang Qiuyue for the promised payment, and she asked who was buying them.

• Song Wen used lightning and the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword to kill a fleshball Void Demon, then fled as three eighth-rank Void Demons broke through his Five Decays Yellow Springs Qi.
• Song Wen escaped through the Source Qi, using thunder to deter his pursuers, and reached the edge of the Source-Qi Death Domain, where the eighth-rank Void Demons stopped.
• Song Wen decided to postpone his trip to Qicang Island to see Ye Bing and traveled to Taitan City.
• Song Wen handed Wang Qiuyue an early seventh-rank Void Demon and received one million two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones after the cost of two spirit beast pouches was deducted.
• Wang Qiuyue asked Song Wen who was buying the seventh-rank Void Demons at such a high price.

Song Wen delivered a seventh-tier Void Demon to Zheng Liyan for 1.8 million superior spirit stones, and Zheng Liyan arranged a public exchange in Hundred-Forging City. Wang Qiuyue also appeared as a seller, and the chapter ended as their two Void Demons were revealed to the crowd.

• Song Wen learned from Wang Qiuyue that Zheng Liyan wanted a seventh-tier Void Demon and warned her that Void Demons in the Source-Qi Death Domain had gone on a rampage.
• Song Wen went to the Zheng Clan and handed Zheng Liyan the seventh-tier Void Demon, but Zheng Liyan first asked him to wait three days before the public exchange.
• After receiving a message, Zheng Liyan agreed to hold the exchange that day, and Song Wen arrived at a crowded Hundred-Forging City square an hour later.
• Song Wen discovered that Wang Qiuyue was also making a deal with Zheng Liyan, and Zheng Liyan introduced them to the crowd as Integrated Body Realm Cultivators conducting a transaction.
• Zheng Liyan displayed chests of superior spirit stones and opened the pouches Song Wen and Wang Qiuyue had given him, releasing two Void Demons whose aura frightened the crowd.