Recaps

Zhunti asked Lin Yuan how the Western Regions could avoid sending disciples onto the Investiture of the Gods list, and Lin Yuan advised them to stop reaching into the eastern tribulation and adopt the Interception Sect’s safety measures. Tongtian agreed the sect would leave the West alone if it stayed out of their karma, but Zhunti ended by asking Lin Yuan to come to the Western Regions and protect his disciples.

• Zhunti asked Lin Yuan how the Western Regions could reduce their risk of being drawn into the Investiture of the Gods, and Lin Yuan traced the risk to Western disciples entering the east and accumulating karma.
• Lin Yuan advised Zhunti to recall or restrain Western disciples, use life lamps and warning systems, avoid meddling in every karmic connection, and retreat rather than stubbornly face danger.
• Zhunti asked whether Lin Yuan had devised the Interception Sect’s safety rules, and Lin Yuan offered to let the Western Saints build a similar system themselves.
• Zhunti asked how the Interception Sect would respond if the Western Regions stopped entangling themselves in the eastern tribulation, and Tongtian promised they would have no reason to trouble the West.
• Zhunti asked Lin Yuan to go to the Western Regions and personally protect his disciples, leaving the people on Golden Turtle Island stunned.

Zhunti offered Lin Yuan generous terms to join the Western Regions, but Lin Yuan chose to remain with the Interception Sect and the people he had saved. Zhunti accepted his decision, then asked whether Lin Yuan would help if Western Regions disciples became doomed by the Investiture of the Gods.

• Zhunti invited Lin Yuan to stay in the Western Regions, but Lin Yuan declined because he was busy and worried about the Interception Sect.
• Lin Yuan explained that his bonds with the Interception Sect ran deeper than his ties to the Western Regions, and Tongtian challenged Zhunti for trying to poach the sect's Daoist Heir.
• Zhunti offered Lin Yuan access to the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit, the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, Western Regions arts, and a high position, but Lin Yuan still refused.
• Lin Yuan told the Interception Sect disciples that he wanted them to protect him in return, and their jokes eased the tension.
• Zhunti accepted that Lin Yuan would not leave, then asked whether Lin Yuan would help if Western Regions disciples faced certain fates in the Investiture of the Gods; Lin Yuan fell silent.

Lin Yuan told Zhunti he might save a Western Regions disciple if they had no grudge and paid a suitable price, establishing a limited understanding between the Western Regions and the Interception Sect. After Zhunti departed, Lin Yuan saw the Investiture of the Gods tribulation aura spreading deeper into the Western Regions, then joked with his fellow disciples before Tongtian summoned him to Biyou Palace.

• Lin Yuan told Zhunti he would consider saving a Western Regions disciple depending on their past dealings with him and the price offered.
• Zhunti and Lin Yuan reached a loose understanding that the Western Regions could seek his help for a disciple in danger, while Tongtian raised no objection.
• As Zhunti left Golden Turtle Island, he and Lin Yuan sensed the Investiture of the Gods tribulation aura extending farther into the Western Regions.
• Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling teased Lin Yuan about turning down Zhunti's offer, and Lin Yuan said he had debts to collect from his fellow disciples.
• Tongtian called Lin Yuan into Biyou Palace, and Duobao and Jin Ling followed them inside.

After Lin Yuan reached the Daluo Realm, Tongtian gave him the complete Supreme Clarity Immortal Scripture and access to Biyou Palace’s resources, while assigning him responsibility for major karmic tribulations. As the Investiture of the Gods’ tribulation aura darkened over the Western Regions, Lin Yuan sensed that someone there was about to face danger.

• Tongtian asked Lin Yuan whether he regretted rejecting Zhunti’s offer, and Lin Yuan said he could seek the Western methods through a trade without joining the Western Regions.
• Tongtian explained that Lin Yuan’s Daluo breakthrough had strengthened the Interception Sect’s fortune and made its disciples less likely to fill vacancies on the Investiture of the Gods.
• Tongtian passed Lin Yuan the complete Supreme Clarity Immortal Scripture and gave him a token granting access to Biyou Palace’s archive, treasury, and core cultivation grounds.
• Tongtian assigned Lin Yuan to handle important Taiyi- and Daluo-level karmic tribulations while the Life Lamp system addressed ordinary disciples’ dangers.
• Lin Yuan used his Mystic Thunder Eyes to perceive the Interception Sect’s destiny as the Western Regions’ tribulation aura began to darken.
• On Mount Sumeru, Zhunti told Jieyin he had failed to recruit Lin Yuan, and the two Saints saw the tribulation thread stretch eastward; Lin Yuan then warned that someone from the Western Regions was about to face trouble.

After Zhunti returned to Mount Sumeru, he discovered that the Investiture of the Gods tribulation aura had reached the Western Regions and Daoist Medicine Master was trapped by Kong Xuan at Golden Rooster Ridge. Lin Yuan agreed to rescue Medicine Master in exchange for three days in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, then set out with Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling.

• Zhunti returned to Mount Sumeru and told Jieyin he had failed to recruit Lin Yuan, then repeated Lin Yuan’s advice to avoid sending disciples alone into the tribulation and to stop interfering in the east.
• Jieyin and Zhunti sensed that Daoist Medicine Master’s aura was dimming and discovered that he was trapped in Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light at Golden Rooster Ridge, where the tribulation aura threatened his true spirit.
• Zhunti contacted Lin Yuan for help, and Lin Yuan agreed to rescue Daoist Medicine Master in exchange for borrowing the Eight Treasures Merit Pool for three days.
• Tongtian approved Lin Yuan’s plan, and Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling joined him on the journey to Golden Rooster Ridge.

Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Holy Mother Huo Ling reached Golden Rooster Ridge to rescue Daoist Medicine Master, whom Kong Xuan had trapped in his Five-Colored Divine Light. Kong Xuan agreed to release Medicine Master if Lin Yuan endured three breaths inside the divine light, and Lin Yuan stepped forward to accept the test.

• Lin Yuan saw signs of a battle at Golden Rooster Ridge and sensed that Kong Xuan’s power was beyond what he could read with his Mystic Thunder Eyes.
• Kong Xuan appeared and revealed Daoist Medicine Master trapped in his Five-Colored Divine Light after Medicine Master tried to persuade him to join the Western Regions.
• Lin Yuan discovered that Investiture of the Gods tribulation aura was worsening Medicine Master’s condition while he remained trapped, and explained the danger to Kong Xuan.
• Kong Xuan learned that Zhunti had hired Lin Yuan to retrieve Medicine Master in exchange for three days in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, but demanded a test before releasing him.
• Kong Xuan challenged Lin Yuan to endure three breaths of his Five-Colored Divine Light, and Lin Yuan put away his magical treasures and accepted.

Lin Yuan withstood Kong Xuan’s Cyan Divine Light for three breaths by using its wood laws to complete his own Five Qi cycle, and Kong Xuan released Medicine Master as promised. As Lin Yuan prepared to leave Golden Rooster Ridge, Elucidation Sect cultivators approached from the direction of West Qi.

• Kong Xuan enveloped Lin Yuan in the Cyan Divine Light, and Lin Yuan endured its Great Dao pressure by guiding the wood laws into a Five Elements cycle within himself.
• On the third breath, Lin Yuan regained control of his body and took a step inside the divine light, so Kong Xuan withdrew it as promised.
• Zhao Gongming checked Lin Yuan, who was unharmed and admitted that he had used Kong Xuan’s divine light to temper his Five Qi.
• Kong Xuan released Medicine Master, whose Tribulation Aura faded, and Medicine Master thanked Lin Yuan while Kong Xuan warned him to tell Zhunti not to send anyone else to recruit him.
• Kong Xuan told Lin Yuan that he could not yet withstand all five colors, and Lin Yuan agreed to return to Golden Rooster Ridge when he was stronger.
• As Lin Yuan prepared to leave with Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling, several Elucidation Sect cultivators approached from the direction of West Qi.

Lin Yuan escorted Medicine Master back to Mount Sumeru after Medicine Master survived his mortal tribulation, and the system gave no notification for the rescue. Zhunti honored his promise of three days in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, where Lin Yuan immediately began cultivating.

• Lin Yuan left Golden Rooster Ridge with Zhao Gongming, Holy Mother Huo Ling, and Medicine Master, realizing the system would not mark every new mortal tribulation.
• Lin Yuan explained how he used the green wood law to complete a cycle among his five qi and resist Kong Xuan's Five-Colored Divine Light for three breaths.
• Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling parted from Lin Yuan and Medicine Master at the boundary between east and west, urging Lin Yuan to contact them if trouble arose.
• Lin Yuan and Medicine Master reached Mount Sumeru, where Zhunti confirmed Medicine Master could recover and welcomed them back.
• Zhunti opened the Eight Treasures Merit Pool for the promised three days, and Lin Yuan entered the pool and began purifying his immortal body with its merit qi.

After three days in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, Lin Yuan stabilized his early Daluo cultivation and learned how merit purified the effects of tribulation aura. He returned to Golden Turtle Island as the Investiture of the Gods calamity continued seeking new targets, then received word that Kong Xuan had taken treasures from Elucidation Sect disciples at Golden Rooster Ridge.

• Lin Yuan spent the first day purging baleful energy, the second stabilizing his three flowers and Daluo foundation, and the third studying how merit purified tribulation aura.
• Lin Yuan considered adding tribulation-aura purification to the Life Lamp system, while Zhunti arranged an early-warning system for the Western Regions' Soul Lamps.
• Medicine Master told Lin Yuan that Zhunti had ordered Western Regions Core Disciples in the east to withdraw, and Zhunti personally escorted Lin Yuan toward the Eastern Sea.
• Zhunti warned Lin Yuan that the Investiture of the Gods tribulation aura remained active and was searching for another target; Lin Yuan saw a gray thread drifting through the Western Regions.
• Lin Yuan reunited with Zhao Gongming near the Life Lamp Hall, then received Kong Xuan's message that Elucidation Sect disciples had arrived at Golden Rooster Ridge and he had taken their magical treasures.

Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Holy Mother Huo Ling visited Kong Xuan at Golden Rooster Ridge and learned he had repeatedly swept the Elucidation Sect’s treasures from their owners. As Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and other Elucidation Sect cultivators launched another assault, Kong Xuan met them with his Five-Colored Divine Light.

• Lin Yuan persuaded Zhao Gongming to join him and Holy Mother Huo Ling on a visit to Kong Xuan at Golden Rooster Ridge.
• Kong Xuan showed them the treasures he had taken from three Elucidation Sect attacks, and Huo Ling chose a bronze mirror while Zhao Gongming eyed the remaining loot.
• Guangchengzi and Chijingzi arrived with True Person Huang Long, Juliusun, and other Elucidation Sect disciples to demand the treasures back.
• Kong Xuan challenged the visitors to win the treasures themselves as Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, Juliusun, and True Person Huang Long unleashed their magic treasures.
• Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light surged across the sky as the battle began.

Kong Xuan used the Five-Colored Divine Light to seize several of the Elucidation Sect’s treasures and counter their attacks, while Lin Yuan studied his mastery of the five elements. After Lin Yuan caught and punished a disciple who tried to kill him with a Soul-Locking Needle, Kong Xuan said he would have taken the attacker with the divine light.

• Kong Xuan swept Guangchengzi’s Heaven-Flipping Seal and Chijingzi’s Yin-Yang Mirror into the Five-Colored Divine Light, then took Juliusun’s Immortal Binding Rope as well.
• Guangchengzi ordered the disciples to stop using treasures, and Kong Xuan countered their spells with the five elements as Lin Yuan watched closely.
• Lin Yuan sensed a Soul-Locking Needle aimed at his Primordial Spirit, caught it, and traced it to a gray-robed Elucidation Sect disciple.
• Lin Yuan returned the needle, broke the disciple’s protective magic and wrist, destroyed a second needle, and spared his life after warning him not to attack by surprise again.
• Kong Xuan praised Lin Yuan’s temper and said he would have swept the attacker away with the divine light.

Lin Yuan watched Kong Xuan break the Elucidation Sect’s confinement formation and drive Guangchengzi’s forces from Golden Rooster Ridge, taking more of their magical treasures. Afterward, Lin Yuan detected a deeper karmic connection between Kong Xuan and the Western Regions and warned that someone might come in person.

• Guangchengzi dealt with the Gray-Robed Disciple who had used a Soul-Locking Needle against Lin Yuan, and Lin Yuan let the matter drop.
• The Elucidation Sect encircled Kong Xuan with eight Jade Clarity Formation Flags and attacked while suppressing the five elements, but Kong Xuan’s self-sustaining cycle resisted their assaults.
• Kong Xuan broke the northeastern Formation Flag, escaped the confinement formation, and swept away more of the Elucidation Sect’s magical treasures as Guangchengzi ordered a retreat.
• Guangchengzi questioned Lin Yuan about helping Kong Xuan, and Lin Yuan said he had only watched and promised to keep his people in line.
• Lin Yuan saw a deeper karmic connection linking Kong Xuan to the Western Regions and warned him that someone might come in person.

Lin Yuan warned Kong Xuan that his growing ties to the Western Regions could draw Saint Zhunti, and helped him prepare to reduce his risks. After Kong Xuan returned ordinary magic treasures and made an escape passage, a golden lotus phantom appeared on the western horizon, signaling Zhunti’s arrival.

• Lin Yuan told Kong Xuan that his unresolved karma with the Western Regions was deepening and that he could not withstand a Saint alone, offering to call on Tongtian if a fight broke out.
• Lin Yuan realized the Western Regions might want Kong Xuan because of his complete Five Elements Great Dao, and advised him to return ordinary treasures, prepare an escape route, and avoid recklessness around a Saint.
• Kong Xuan returned a batch of ordinary magic treasures to West Qi, while Guangchengzi recognized Lin Yuan’s influence behind the move.
• Kong Xuan carved a Five Elements passage in Golden Rooster Ridge’s rear mountain, and Lin Yuan saw a golden lotus phantom approaching from the western horizon.

Daoist Zhunti came to Golden Rooster Ridge to recruit Kong Xuan for the Western Regions, but Kong Xuan refused and tested his Five-Colored Divine Light against the Saint. After realizing he could not win, Kong Xuan escaped through the Five Elements passage, leaving Zhunti to remark that Lin Yuan had taught those around him how to run away.

• Daoist Zhunti arrived at Golden Rooster Ridge and told Kong Xuan that the Western Regions needed cultivators like him.
• Kong Xuan refused Zhunti's offers, and Lin Yuan reminded him that the escape route was open if the fight went badly.
• Kong Xuan battled Zhunti with his Five-Colored Divine Light, but Zhunti deflected his attacks with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree.
• After combining all five colors and being forced back seven steps, Kong Xuan accepted Lin Yuan's advice and retreated through the Five Elements passage.
• Zhunti asked Lin Yuan whether he had taught Kong Xuan to flee, then said Lin Yuan had taught those around him how to run away.

Lin Yuan stopped Daoist Zhunti from pursuing Kong Xuan, then helped Kong Xuan arrange a trade for the Elucidation Sect’s captured treasures. The chapter ended with Guangchengzi receiving Kong Xuan’s demand to bring something in exchange for the Heaven-Flipping Seal.

• Kong Xuan escaped through the Five Elements passage, and Lin Yuan told Zhunti that their encounter was over.
• Zhunti considered tracking Kong Xuan, but Lin Yuan warned that forcing him to join the Western Regions would bring Tongtian into the matter.
• Zhunti let the tracking thread dissipate, and Kong Xuan confirmed that he had left Golden Rooster Ridge without being pursued.
• Kong Xuan asked Lin Yuan how to handle the Elucidation Sect’s demands for its captured treasures, and Lin Yuan suggested trading them for resources.
• Zhunti suggested the Eastern Sea as the trading place and left, while Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Holy Mother Huo Ling joked about Saints enjoying spectacles.
• Kong Xuan replied to Guangchengzi’s fourth message by telling him to bring something to trade for the Heaven-Flipping Seal, darkening Guangchengzi’s expression.

Lin Yuan negotiated with Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and Juliusun to ransom their captured treasures in exchange for high-grade formation materials for the Interception Sect. After Guangchengzi redeemed the Heaven-Flipping Seal, the negotiations for the other two treasures began, while Zhunti watched from the clouds.

• Kong Xuan showed Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Holy Mother Huo Ling the suppressed Heaven-Flipping Seal, Yin-Yang Mirror, and Immortal Binding Rope, and Lin Yuan proposed trading them for formation materials.
• Kong Xuan agreed to use the materials for the Interception Sect’s formations and arranged to receive a Life Lamp connected to a separate Eastern Sea node.
• Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and Juliusun arrived, and Kong Xuan put Lin Yuan in charge of negotiating the return of their treasures.
• Lin Yuan asked for formation materials, and Guangchengzi offered a substantial batch to redeem the Heaven-Flipping Seal.
• Kong Xuan accepted the deal, returned the Heaven-Flipping Seal to Guangchengzi, and Chijingzi and Juliusun began negotiating for their treasures.
• Zhunti watched from the clouds as Guangchengzi redeemed the Heaven-Flipping Seal and remarked that Lin Yuan knew how to balance the books.

Lin Yuan and Kong Xuan completed the exchange of the Heaven-Flipping Seal, Yin-Yang Mirror, and Immortal Binding Rope for resources that Lin Yuan assigned to strengthen the Interception Sect’s formations. A new reaction from the Life Lamps’ warning system drew Lin Yuan and the others back to Golden Turtle Island, while Daoist Zhunti observed that the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation still lay ahead.

• Chijingzi, Juliusun, and Guangchengzi traded resources for the three treasures Kong Xuan had taken, and Kong Xuan gave the materials to Lin Yuan.
• Lin Yuan sorted the resources for Life-Lamp Formations and warning systems, and Kong Xuan agreed to return another batch of ordinary disciples’ treasures to West Qi.
• After the Elucidation Sect members left, Zhao Gongming laughed about Guangchengzi’s reaction, and Kong Xuan asked Lin Yuan to make him a Life Lamp.
• Duobao sent word that the Life Lamps’ main formation had reacted to a surge in Investiture of the Gods Tribulation Aura, so Lin Yuan, Kong Xuan, Zhao Gongming, and Huo Ling headed to Golden Turtle Island.
• Daoist Zhunti watched the exchange and concluded that the empty places on the Investiture of the Gods list remained, leaving the greatest trouble ahead.

Lin Yuan and the Interception Sect developed a Life Lamp array that detected rising tribulation aura before anyone was injured, then used it to spot Daoist Randeng approaching Wen Zhong’s army. Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Kong Xuan set out for the front lines as the warning signs intensified.

• Qin Wan and the others showed Lin Yuan a new array that made a Life Lamp’s base turn gray when its owner’s tribulation aura rose, and they confirmed it by warning a cultivator away from a dangerous market dispute.
• Tongtian approved expanding the Life Lamp Tribulation Warning Array, and the disciples used materials from the Elucidation Sect’s artifact ransom to connect more lamps.
• Kong Xuan received a separate karmic link to the warning array and learned how Lin Yuan’s work with the disciples helped change the Interception Sect’s fortunes.
• Three Life Lamps belonging to Interception Sect outer disciples on Great Shang’s front lines turned gray as Lin Yuan detected Daoist Randeng and several Elucidation Sect Golden Immortals approaching from West Qi.
• Lin Yuan ordered the disciples to withdraw and sent word to Wen Zhong, then departed for the front lines with Zhao Gongming and Kong Xuan.

Lin Yuan’s upgraded Life-Lamp Formation warned Golden Turtle Island of danger, allowing three Interception Sect disciples to withdraw before Randeng arrived. After Randeng left without a fight, Lin Yuan detected a much greater tribulation thread from West Qi coiling around Kong Xuan.

• Wen Zhong recalled three warned disciples from the eastern camp, and Randeng arrived shortly afterward to find his targets gone.
• Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, and Kong Xuan confronted Randeng, who abandoned the planned attack and returned with the Elucidation Sect disciples.
• Lin Yuan explained that an upgraded Life-Lamp Formation could warn of approaching tribulation, and the three disciples’ warning threads faded after the danger passed.
• The Heavenly Court discovered that three potential Investiture of the Gods targets had vanished, and Haotian suspected Lin Yuan’s new formation was responsible.
• Lin Yuan saw a thick black thread of karma from West Qi wrap around Kong Xuan and warned that a greater tribulation had targeted him.

Lin Yuan recognized that Kong Xuan's growing tribulation came from the Western Regions trying to draw him west, not from the Investiture of the Gods, and devised a feigned defense to protect him at Golden Rooster Ridge. After the preparations were complete, the West Qi forces arrived with Lu Ya among them.

• Lin Yuan traced Kong Xuan's darkening karmic thread to the Western Regions and warned that his dazzling victories were drawing their attention.
• Lin Yuan proposed that Kong Xuan leave the exposed front while an avatar remained at Golden Rooster Ridge, and Kong Xuan agreed to the plan.
• Kong Xuan created a Five-Elements Avatar while Lin Yuan and Qin Wan arranged twelve movable Formation Eyes and hid the real Kong Xuan in the Rear Formation.
• Wen Zhong rotated Great Shang's troops, and the avatar continued to appear as the defender of Golden Rooster Ridge.
• Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, Randeng, and Lu Ya arrived with the West Qi forces, prompting Lin Yuan and Zhao Gongming to recognize that the enemy was prepared.

Lin Yuan broke the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife’s lock and pursued Lu Ya, interrupting his attacks and overcoming his escape arts. He wounded Lu Ya’s shoulder, then continued closing in, saying he had not yet repaid him for the first strike.

• Lin Yuan used his Mystic Thunder Eyes and Qingxuan Sword to disrupt the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife’s lock, making its white light miss him for the first time.
• Lin Yuan pursued Lu Ya as he fled with the Rainbow Escape Art, while Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Huo Ling stayed to manage the battle.
• Lin Yuan found Lu Ya’s true location in a valley and forced him out of hiding with the Qingxuan Sword.
• Lin Yuan interrupted Lu Ya’s next Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife attack and cut through his Separation Fire with the Qingxuan Sword.
• Lin Yuan anticipated Lu Ya’s acceleration and struck his arm guard, then drew blood from his shoulder as Lu Ya tried to escape again.
• Lin Yuan continued pursuing Lu Ya and said he had not finished repaying him for the first attack.