Recaps

Song Wen agreed to help Mu Li ambush Ji Tong and Wu Liang, though he suspected she had chosen him because she thought she could control him. After Mu Li sent him to wait at Cloudrest Marsh, Song Wen reached the area and hid in a cave, where he discovered his Heaven-and-Earth Avatar could no longer imitate his current aura.

• Song Wen questioned Mu Li's motives, but agreed to work with her after she offered to split their gains and sell him Grand Unity True Water.
• Mu Li proposed ambushing Ji Tong first and then dealing with Wu Liang, using Wu Liang's regular visits to his Fiery Sun Gold Mine as an opportunity.
• Mu Li gave Song Wen a map and told him to wait at Cloudrest Marsh while they traveled separately to avoid attracting attention.
• Song Wen left the Mu Residence, flew west before changing direction, and reached a mountain near Cloudrest Marsh.
• Song Wen searched the area, hid in a cave, and tested his Heaven-and-Earth Avatar, finding it could only emit the aura of the Tribulation Transcendence stage.

Song Wen and Mu Li waited in ambush for Ji Tong near Cloudrest Marsh, combining their immortal artifacts to destroy his flying ship. Ji Tong survived and recognized both attackers as they closed in on him.

• Song Wen tested his secret arts and baleful energies, finding that only a few of his weapons and techniques were truly powerful.
• Mu Li arrived at Cloudrest Marsh, and she and Song Wen hid beneath the lake in her concealment formation.
• After half a month, Ji Tong's ship passed the lake on its way to the Fiery Sun Gold Mine, and Mu Li decided to wait for his return.
• Mu Li revealed her low-grade immortal artifact, the Soul-Withering Dart, while Song Wen showed her his Ghost Bone Sword.
• When Ji Tong returned, Mu Li's dart cracked the ship's shield, and Song Wen's Ghost Bone Sword shattered it and split the ship apart.
• Ji Tong escaped the wreckage and summoned a shield, then recognized Mu Li and Song Wen as they emerged from the lake to attack him.

Ji Tong used the Mystic Chi Soul-Refining Pagoda to summon soul-attacking chi dragons, injuring Song Wen and forcing Mu Li to defend herself. Song Wen recovered and destroyed Ji Tong’s cultivation, while Ji Tong warned that his powerful master would take revenge on them.

• Ji Tong shattered his damaged shield with the Mystic Chi Soul-Refining Pagoda and sent a chi dragon to attack Song Wen and Mu Li.
• The chi dragon’s golden soul attack struck Song Wen, while Mu Li used her bronze mirror to bind and destroy the dragon.
• Ji Tong summoned two chi dragons against Mu Li, but Song Wen recovered and attacked Ji Tong with nine transparent blades.
• Ji Tong’s pagoda and chi dragons vanished, and Song Wen’s sword pierced Ji Tong’s abdomen and destroyed his immortal nascent soul.
• Song Wen captured the powerless Ji Tong with corpse qi, and Ji Tong threatened that his master would kill Song Wen and Mu Li.

Song Wen and Mu Li divided Ji Tong’s spoils and planned how to kill Wu Liang, whose lingering soul injury made him vulnerable to bait involving Grand Void Origin Restoration Dew. Mu Li gave Song Wen a map fragment to use as a pretext for luring Wu Liang out, revealing she had targeted him for his immense wealth.

• Song Wen killed Ji Tong and divided his treasures with Mu Li, including paying her ten thousand immortal essence stones for the Evernight Grass.
• Mu Li explained that Wu Liang was difficult to ambush because he rarely left his residence, so they would need to lure him out.
• Mu Li revealed that Wu Liang sought Grand Void Origin Restoration Dew to heal an old soul injury that made prolonged combat dangerous for him.
• Mu Li gave Song Wen a fragmentary map of the Cangwu Immortal Sect so he could invite Wu Liang to explore its ruins, where the dew was rumored to have been produced.
• Mu Li admitted she had long wanted to kill Wu Liang because his Teleportation Array business had made him immensely wealthy.

Song Wen manipulated Wu Liang into believing he possessed a jade slip leading to the Cangwu Immortal Sect Ruins. Wu Liang followed him east and threatened him for the slip, setting up a confrontation.

• Song Wen visited Wu Liang in the Nameless Market and asked about the Cangwu Immortal Sect, learning that its ruins were hidden somewhere east of the market.
• Song Wen claimed he had learned of the sect from a destroyed ancient book, then hurriedly departed while Wu Liang watched him suspiciously.
• Song Wen flew southwest, changed course to evade pursuit, and headed east while consulting a jade slip.
• Wu Liang caught up with Song Wen and demanded the jade slip, claiming it recorded the ruins’ location.
• Wu Liang summoned an Immortal Artifact sword and warned Song Wen that his superior cultivation and weapon left Song Wen little chance in a fight.

Song Wen and Mu Li joined forces to trap Wu Liang, but Wu Liang used his sword technique and Taiyin Cold Qi to freeze Song Wen and draw Mu Li away. The chapter ended with Wu Liang’s silver flying sword closing in on the immobilized Song Wen.

• Song Wen revealed Mu Li as his ally, and she attacked Wu Liang with the Soul-Withering Dart while Song Wen used the Ghost Bone Sword to hinder him.
• Mu Li warned Song Wen that Wu Liang’s old soul injury might worsen if they prolonged the fight, prompting Wu Liang to grow angry and attempt to flee.
• Wu Liang unleashed Moonfall Skyfrost, splitting his sword into six phantoms; Song Wen was frozen after his shield and protective qi were shattered.
• Wu Liang feigned a desperate attack and escape, then used Taiyin Cold Qi to block Mu Li’s dart and turned his sword on the frozen Song Wen.
• Mu Li tried to intercept Wu Liang’s sword, but the dart could not reach it, leaving Song Wen unable to evade the approaching blade.

Song Wen survived Wu Liang’s attack by using a Death-Substitution Spell, then helped Mu Li exploit Wu Liang’s old soul injury and defeat him. With Wu Liang bound and falling, Mu Li turned the Soul-Withering Dart on Song Wen and demanded his techniques.

• Song Wen reappeared after his apparent death and told Mu Li that the Death-Substitution Spell had damaged his soul, leaving him weak.
• Mu Li attacked Wu Liang with the Soul-Withering Dart, and Song Wen sent the Ghost Bone Sword after him as Wu Liang tried to flee using Taiyin Cold Qi.
• Mu Li forced the Soul-Withering Dart through Wu Liang’s defenses, destroying his right arm and leaving him unable to circulate Immortal Essence.
• Mu Li bound Wu Liang with Immortal Essence threads, then turned on Song Wen and demanded his Death-Substitution Spell and soul attack technique.

Song Wen used Shadow Void and the Blood Tide to capture Mu Li and Wu Liang, then killed them both after learning Mu Li had lied about the Cangwu Immortal Sect Ruins. He took their storage rings and teleported toward the Purple Star Immortal Domain, leaving Wang Da and Wang Er behind without paying the array fee.

• Shadow Void disrupted Mu Li's mind, allowing Song Wen to evade her Soul-Withering Dart and bind her and Wu Liang with the Blood Tide.
• Song Wen explained that Shadow Void interfered with Evil Spirit Cultivators through the Blood Servant Contract, and Mu Li realized he had concealed his strength.
• Mu Li offered to lead Song Wen to the Cangwu Immortal Sect Ruins, but Song Wen disbelieved her and crushed her, swallowing her soul, flesh, and blood.
• Wu Liang offered his treasures in exchange for his life, but Song Wen killed him too and took both storage rings.
• Song Wen reached the Teleportation Array guarded by Wang Da and Wang Er, refused to pay the fee, and claimed Wu Liang had already paid.
• The Teleportation Array activated and transported Song Wen toward the Purple Star Immortal Domain.

Song Wen searched Azure Purity City for living soil to upgrade the Blood Sea Imperial Seal, then discovered Radiant Light Hall was recruiting cultivators with talent for Thunder Arts. He recognized old acquaintances Su Dian and Shi Min at the recruitment and was left wondering why Shi Min addressed Profound Lord Danyang so intimately.

• Song Wen spent half a month searching Azure Purity City for living soil and learned that Wu Liang's storage ring contained dragon-sleep sand, leaving living soil as the final principal material he needed to upgrade the Blood Sea Imperial Seal.
• Song Wen asked an inn attendant about the unusually large crowds and learned that Radiant Light Hall was recruiting disciples in the city's central square.
• Song Wen watched the recruitment and recognized Profound Lord Danyang as the city's master and Su Dian among the six Lingxu Dao Immortals seated beside him.
• Song Wen learned that Radiant Light Hall was testing candidates for Thunder Arts aptitude and considered acquiring its Immortal-Tier Thunder Arts, though he had no intention of joining.
• Shi Min arrived at the platform, whispered to Profound Lord Danyang, and appeared to address him as her master, leaving Song Wen puzzled by her breach of etiquette.

Profound Lord Danyang concluded the Purple Star Immortal Sect’s recruitment, while Song Wen contacted Shi Min and learned that his past actions had contributed to the Shi Family’s destruction. Shi Min accepted his explanation but could not restore their old friendship, leaving Song Wen hoping to help her in the future.

• Profound Lord Danyang announced that aspiring Thunder Arts cultivators could still test for admission at Radiant Light Hall and led his followers south with Shi Min.
• Song Wen returned to his inn and messaged Shi Min, hoping to use her connection to Radiant Light Hall to find clues about living soil.
• Shi Min accused Song Wen of giving the Gai Family cause to destroy the Shi Family and recalled being forced to serve Jing Xun to survive.
• Song Wen claimed he had infiltrated the Gai Family to avenge the Shi Family, and Shi Min accepted that the family’s vulnerability and its possession of a blessed grotto-heaven had ultimately led to its fall.
• Shi Min said she no longer resented Song Wen but could not pretend their past had not happened, while Song Wen promised to help her whenever she needed him.

Song Wen tried to reconnect with Shi Min while searching for clues about Living Soil, but seeing her with Profound Lord Danyang led him to confront her and claim he loved her. Shi Min rejected his assumptions and told him that he loved the woman she used to be, leaving their relationship unresolved.

• Shi Min told Song Wen that her goal was to advance to the Immortal Realm and rebuild the Shi Family, and Song Wen accepted Extreme Yin as the name she should use for him.
• Song Wen saw Shi Min and Profound Lord Danyang standing intimately together aboard a flying vessel and assumed she was flattering her master to gain his favor.
• After failing to find clues about Living Soil, Song Wen messaged Shi Min and accused Profound Lord Danyang of coercing her, but she insisted everything was her own choice.
• Song Wen confessed that he had long been in love with Shi Min and pleaded with her not to sever ties with him.
• Shi Min said Song Wen loved the proud woman she had been, not the person she had become, and Song Wen insisted that she was still herself to him.

Song Wen learned that Radiant Light Hall would receive a large shipment of Living Soil and investigated its herb garden manager, Ruan Wu, for a way to obtain some. After discovering Ruan Wu sought a Life-Giving Stone reportedly found in an ancient tomb, Song Wen headed to Dragonspine Ridge to investigate.

• Song Wen told Shi Min that his lingering physical injuries required Living Soil, and she agreed to ask around at Radiant Light Hall.
• Shi Min informed Song Wen that thousands of jin of Living Soil were being shipped to Radiant Light Hall and would be given to herb garden manager Ruan Wu.
• Song Wen bought information about Ruan Wu and learned that he rarely left the herb garden and had recently been seeking a Life-Giving Stone.
• Song Wen learned that an ancient tomb in Dragonspine Ridge contained an object suspected to be a Life-Giving Stone, and he left Azure Purity City to investigate.

Song Wen bought the lower-realm portion of the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art from the Autumn-Knowing Pavilion, confirming that the shop also possessed its costly immortal-realm methods. He then sought information about a dangerous ancient tomb in Dragonspine Ridge and agreed to be introduced to other Tribulation Transcendence cultivators planning to explore it.

• Song Wen visited the Autumn-Knowing Pavilion and learned that it did not know where to find living soil.
• A maid showed Song Wen the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art, and he learned the immortal-realm portion cost thirty thousand immortal spirit stones.
• Song Wen bought the art's Qi Refining-to-Tribulation Transcendence portion for five million superior spirit stones.
• Song Wen asked the pavilion's attendant about a recently discovered ancient tomb, and the attendant confirmed it was real and perilous.
• Song Wen revealed he was at the Tribulation Transcendence stage and agreed to an introduction to cultivators seeking companions for the tomb expedition, subject to a ten-thousand-spirit-stone fee.

Song Wen, traveling under the name Ye Hua, joined Yuan Wu, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue to explore an ancient tomb in the Dragonspine Mountains. Their journey was interrupted by a ninth-order Essence-Eroding Blood Bat, whose cries attacked their souls and began drawing blood essence from their bodies.

• Song Wen paid ten thousand high-grade spirit stones to join Yuan Wu, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue on the tomb expedition, and the four agreed to divide ordinary treasures equally while claiming rare treasures by their own abilities.
• Yuan Wu led the group toward the tomb, and Xu Yi warned them that the Dragonspine Mountains held many dangerous demonic beasts.
• A ninth-order Essence-Eroding Blood Bat attacked the four, and its piercing cry shook their souls as Xu Yi identified its threat.
• Yuan Wu rang a small bell to blunt the bat's cry, while Xu Yi and another cultivator attacked it; the bat dodged and changed its cry, causing blood mist to seep from the group's pores.

Song Wen helped Yuan Wu, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue escape three Essence-Eroding Blood Bats, then agreed to Yuan Wu’s secret alliance proposal. The four reached the Rift Valley containing the tomb and began descending into it.

• Song Wen used a soul-defense jade plaque to shield the group from the Blood Bats’ cries, allowing them to flee while Yuan Wu held the creatures back.
• After they regrouped, Xu Yi accused Song Wen of delaying before using his treasure, but Yuan Wu and Bi Yue defended him.
• Yuan Wu secretly proposed that he and Song Wen ally against Xu Yi and Bi Yue, and Song Wen gave a slight nod of agreement.
• The next morning, the four arrived at the Rift Valley, where Yuan Wu warned them about poisonous insects and other cultivators.
• Yuan Wu, Song Wen, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue summoned their magical treasures and descended into the Rift Valley toward the tomb.

Song Wen and his companions descended into the Rift Valley, encountered two Evil Spirit Cultivators besieged by venomous insects, and reached the tomb entrance. They struggled to open its bronze door, whose Buddhist writing led Song Wen to suspect the tomb belonged to a Buddhist monk.

• Song Wen and his companions spotted two cultivators surrounded by venomous insects, and Yuan Wu recognized that the trapped men were Evil Spirit Cultivators.
• Yuan Wu refused Xu Yi's suggestion to use the swarm against the Evil Spirit Cultivators, and the four withdrew as the men attacked the insects with Origin Qi.
• Song Wen and his companions descended to the valley floor and followed Yuan Wu west to the tomb entrance.
• The four entered the cave passage and found a tightly shut bronze door blocking their way.
• Song Wen and his companions tried to pull the heavy door open while Song Wen examined its Buddhist script and suspected the tomb belonged to a Buddhist monk.

Song Wen and the others entered Dharma Master Puxuan's tomb and found six bronze doors beyond its Buddhist hall. After testing and opening the first door, they heard a fierce battle ahead, though their divine senses had detected no one in the passageway.

• Song Wen asked Suchén whether the newly emerged tomb was Puxuan's, and Suchén revealed that she had never made it past the Buddhist hall's Buddha statue.
• Xu Yi, Bi Yue, Yuan Wu, and Song Wen entered the tomb after forcing its bronze gates open, then crossed an empty Buddhist hall and reached six more bronze doors.
• Song Wen asked Suchén which door she had chosen during her earlier exploration, but learned that she had retreated from the tomb soon after entering.
• Yuan Wu struck the far-left door with his saber, which rebounded without marking it and nearly injured Bi Yue.
• The four pulled the left bronze door open, passed into a narrow passageway, and heard a fierce battle from deeper inside despite finding no one with their divine senses.

Song Wen and the others entered a cavern where a female corpse cultivator was fighting a Demon Ape guarding a spirit-herb field. Song Wen’s intervention wounded the ape and awakened its Long-Armed Giant Ape bloodline, leaving the group to face a much stronger foe.

• Song Wen realized the bronze door and passage had distorted their spiritual senses, but the four continued deeper into the tomb.
• Song Wen, Bi Yue, Yuan Wu, and Xu Yi found a female corpse cultivator battling a Demon Ape in a cavern filled with spirit herbs.
• Yuan Wu identified the herbs as likely intended for the Demon Ape, which he believed was the tomb’s guardian beast.
• Song Wen attacked the Demon Ape with the Mountain-Crushing Mace, creating an opening for the female cultivator to wound it with a Corpse-Suppressing Nail.
• The Demon Ape expelled the nail, awakened its Long-Armed Giant Ape bloodline, and grew far stronger; Song Wen warned that the group would be next if the female cultivator died.
• Yuan Wu cut off Xu Yi’s rebuke and sent his saber toward the Demon Ape’s throat.

Song Wen and the others fought the Demon Ape while its bloodline power made it nearly invulnerable, trying to keep it occupied until the power ran out. The Demon Ape’s aura faded and its body shrank, leaving it weakened as the battle continued.

• The gaunt female cultivator fled into a cave after her Corpse-Suppressing Nails and Yuan Wu’s saber failed to hurt the Demon Ape.
• Xu Yi, Bi Yue, Yuan Wu, and Song Wen attacked from different directions, but the Demon Ape shattered their attacks and drove them back.
• Song Wen escaped the Demon Ape’s staff by retreating into a passage whose stone wall stopped the weapon, then returned to strike the Demon Ape’s back with the Mountain-Crushing Mace.
• Xu Yi and Bi Yue intercepted the Demon Ape as it charged Yuan Wu, allowing Yuan Wu to retreat without using his jade talisman.
• The Demon Ape’s dark red baleful aura faded, and its body shrank from a hundred feet to thirty as its strength visibly weakened.

Song Wen and the others divided the spirit herbs and life-giving stones they found in the medicinal garden. He discovered that Yuan Wu was actually Ruan Wu and that Ruan Wu, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue were allies who planned to use him as a shield while exploring the tomb.

• The Demon Ape escaped by activating a formation restriction, and Song Wen guessed it had teleported to a nearby fixed location.
• Xu Yi questioned whether Song Wen deserved an equal share of the spirit herbs, but Yuan Wu insisted they honor their agreement.
• Bi Yue found eight life-giving stones, and Yuan Wu asked to take them in exchange for receiving fewer spirit herbs; Song Wen agreed.
• The four divided the herbs, with Yuan Wu giving up his first ten selections as promised.
• Song Wen overheard Xu Yi and Yuan Wu conspiring through a spiritual-sense transmission and realized Yuan Wu was Ruan Wu, with Xu Yi and Bi Yue likely his allies from the Purple Star Immortal Sect.

Song Wen and the three cultivators explored the cavern, passed through a flame-scorched tunnel, and discovered a vast field of Buddhist pagodas leading to the Boundless Hall. The hall doors opened at Song Wen’s touch, leaving the group wary of what awaited inside.

• Song Wen considered how to gain leverage over Yuan Wu and make him surrender the Living Soil.
• Xu Yi, Bi Yue, and Yuan Wu pressured Song Wen to scout the next tunnel, so he used the Qingming Lamp to send flames through it before leading the way inside.
• At the tunnel’s exit, Xu Yi, Bi Yue, and Yuan Wu rushed ahead while Song Wen followed and found countless Buddhist pagodas stretching through the cavern.
• The group flew past the pagodas and reached the Boundless Hall, where Yuan Wu believed the female corpse cultivator had gone.
• After their spiritual threads failed to open the hall doors, Song Wen pushed them with a giant spiritual hand, and they swung inward unexpectedly.

Song Wen and the others entered Boundless Hall and found themselves before a strange stone mountain whose stairs swallowed divine sense. They encountered two evil spirit cultivators and learned someone had already climbed the mountain, while Xu Yi was injured when his sword shattered against the stairs.

• Xu Yi, Bi Yue, Yuan Wu, and Song Wen entered Boundless Hall and emerged in a barren mountain landscape beneath a gray sky.
• Bi Yue said the hall’s gates showed no formation power, and Song Wen spotted two hidden cultivators behind a boulder.
• The old man and the pale-faced youth revealed they had entered through another gate and said someone had already climbed the mountain.
• The old man explained that the mountain devoured divine sense and that the climber had reached its far side.
• Xu Yi attacked the stone stairs with his flying sword, which shattered on impact and left him injured on the ground.

After Xu Yi’s bonded flying sword shattered against the mysterious stone mountain, the cultivators began climbing its stairs under a restriction that prevented flight and imposed heavy gravity. As the climb tested their strength, Song Wen kept pace through physical cultivation and urged the frail corpse-path cultivator to continue; Xu Yi and the young Evil Spirit Cultivator resorted to desperate measures to move ahead.

• Xu Yi’s bonded flying sword shattered against the stone mountain, and the old and young Evil Spirit Cultivators tried to fly up the stairs but fell when a restriction forced them to climb.
• Yuan Wu, Bi Yue, Xu Yi, Song Wen, and the two Evil Spirit Cultivators began ascending the stairs, where gravity made progress difficult and their physical strength became clear.
• The group encountered the frail female corpse-path cultivator on the stairs; Yuan Wu passed her, and Song Wen encouraged her not to give up before continuing upward.
• As they entered gray clouds on the mountainside, Xu Yi fell behind and angrily challenged Song Wen, who passed him and Bi Yue while urging them to save their strength.
• Xu Yi burned his blood essence to surge ahead, and the young Evil Spirit Cultivator swallowed a pitch-black pill that lightened his steps.

Song Wen and the others reached a summit plaza where cultivators waited before a sealed golden Buddha and five demonic beasts. Song Wen suspected the tomb owner’s corpse might be inside the Buddha statue, but the group had not confirmed it.

• Song Wen’s group found a corpse on the steps, then climbed through the thinning mist to the summit plaza.
• Song Wen saw more than twenty cultivators in the plaza, including three Mahayana-stage cultivators, and realized he was the only immortal there.
• Song Wen and Bi Yue noticed the golden Buddha, five beasts, and six cushions behind an azure barrier, and Yuan Wu identified the Demon Ape as the beast from the herb garden.
• Bi Yue suggested attacking the barrier, but Yuan Wu advised waiting because the barrier was likely difficult to break and many cultivators were present.
• Song Wen questioned where the tomb owner’s body was, and Bi Yue suggested it might be entombed inside the golden Buddha statue.

Song Wen watched as Dharma Master Puxuan's remnant soul appeared and offered his Six-Aspects Prison-Suppressing Body inheritance to whoever could first condense one of its six aspect phantoms. Yuan Wu, Xu Yi, and Bi Yue decided to attempt the trial, while Song Wen remained wary of the imprisoned beasts and the possible trap.

• Song Wen observed a thunderbird teleport onto a golden meditation cushion, where its light restrained it, and recognized divine beast bloodlines in the six demonic beasts.
• Dharma Master Puxuan's remnant soul emerged from the Buddha statue and announced that he would grant his treasures to whoever first condensed the phantom of one of the Six-Aspects Prison-Suppressing Body's six aspects.
• The cultivators saw that the body-refining art's six aspects represented the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Divine Ape, and Thunder Roc, and some warned that the trial could be a trap.
• Xu Yi urged Yuan Wu and Bi Yue to take the chance, arguing that refusing the trial would not protect them if Puxuan intended harm.
• Yuan Wu agreed that the four companions should comprehend the art and told Song Wen to join them, promising to share the inheritance among the four if one of them won.