Recaps

Ren opened the Eclipse Gate, uncovered the truth behind Layla’s bloodline, and prepared the Dimensional Guild and Fiore for war against Zeref. The invasion gained ground, but Natsu’s return to the battlefield drew Ren’s attention while a mysterious young man gathered dark energy.

• Ren opened the Eclipse Gate with Layla and the Celestial Spirits, releasing its Time Energy into the Tower of Heaven and the God Tree.
• Layla learned that Zeref had created her bloodline from Anna’s and his blood and tied the clan’s lives to the Eclipse Gate.
• Ren awakened new allies in the Demon Hall and declared war on Alvarez, prompting Fiore’s king and guilds to join the invasion.
• Whitebeard, Dragon, Akainu, Toshiro, Qing Zhi, and Might Duy defeated the rejuvenated Twelve Shields at the Alvarez coast, while Madara Uchiha fought Irene.
• The Battle King rescued Irene from Madara Uchiha, escaped with her to the imperial palace, and received Zeref’s help recovering his youth.
• After a year of fighting, Tobirama and Kizaru battled Alvarez’s Ice King and Sandstorm King as their forces and Fiore’s guilds fought across conquered cities.
• Natsu blocked Kizaru’s attack on Invel, and Ren ordered Ryder to capture Natsu as a test subject to draw out the Fire Dragon King.
• Ren burned an intelligence report about the war while, in a silent forest, a young man spread and absorbed dark energy.

Ren’s war against Zeref’s empire escalated as the Death God completed the Eclipse Gate and unleashed dragons across the world. Ren seized Mavis and Fairy Heart, while the dragon invasion left Zeref overwhelmed by memories of the age of dragons.

• Hades escaped Kayle and began an experiment with the Death Energy he had collected, while Bluenote Stinger reported capturing a city through Tobirama’s strategy.
• Kizaru and Tobirama fought the Ice King and Sandstorm King until Zeref intervened, and Ren arrived to confront him and capture the Sandstorm King’s Divine Blood.
• Ren and Zeref’s clash drew the Black Dragon into the battle, while forces on both sides fought over Natsu after the Ice King revealed that he was Zeref’s younger brother.
• Zeref withdrew from the battlefield without handing Natsu to Ren, and Ren trapped the Fire Dragon King before turning his attention toward the Northern Continent.
• Hades’s experiment produced a Death God who killed Bluenote Stinger, while Ren awakened Crocodile and Shigekuni Yamamoto to strengthen his forces.
• Zeref restored Natsu’s memories and placed him in command of the demon legion, then ordered August to take Fairy Heart from Fairy Tail.
• August and Irene attacked Fairy Tail, but Yamamoto arrived on Ren’s orders, destroyed the Magic Council, and defeated August before Ren seized Mavis and Fairy Heart.
• The Death God completed the Eclipse Gate and unleashed dragons worldwide, while Ren ordered his allies to kill them and collect Dragon Crystals as Zeref fell into confusion.

After Death God’s world-sacrifice destroys the Fairy Tail World, Ren survives as the spirit of the Zhu Xian Sword in the Investiture of the Gods World. He rebuilds a body, learns his origins, and begins plotting to obtain cultivation methods while Yuding Zhenren and Yang Jian leave for Kunlun.

• Death God’s sacrifice turned the world into a vast magic array, but Ren’s Zhu Xian Formation Diagram consumed it before Death God destroyed the ruined world.
• Ren used the Trash Station to devour the dying Fairy Tail World and save Aizen and the other survivors, but the Spacetime Tunnel crushed Ren’s body and carried his soul to the Investiture of the Gods World.
• Ren realized he had become the Zhu Xian Sword and learned from the Trash Station that Saint Tongtian had sent him, a fused Sword Spirit, through Reincarnation alongside the unfinished Trash Station.
• Ren secretly learned the First Turn of the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique from Yuding Zhenren and used Spiritual Qi and Ye Fan’s blood essence to form a new body.
• Ren wounded the Howling Celestial Hound with the Zhu Xian Sword and collected some of his blood before Yang Jian and Yuding Zhenren treated the hound.
• Yuding Zhenren left for Kunlun with Yang Jian, the Howling Celestial Hound, and the Seven Meishan Monsters, leaving Ziyu Daoist Boy in the hall.
• Ren recognized the Large Seal Script in Yang Jian’s annotated bamboo slip and released Fiendish Qi around Ziyu Daoist Boy as he began practicing the Nine-Rank Heavenly Demon Art.

Ren left the Investiture of the Gods World, took the Demon Emperor’s Heart, and cultivated in Purple Mountain with Duan De and the Black Emperor. He went to find Yan Ruyu and fought Ji Haoyue and the Ji Family over the Azure Emperor’s Emperor Weapon.

• Ren stole the Yellow Dragon Jade Pendant’s Dragon Qi and made Yuding believe Zi Yu had vanished after a cultivation accident.
• Ren crossed the Spacetime Tunnel, met Ye Fan and Duan De, killed Taixuan Sect disciples, and took the Demon Emperor’s Heart after fighting the possessed Pang Bo.
• Ren escaped with Ye Fan and Duan De, then revealed Duan De’s past lives and exchanged information for his arts and knowledge.
• Ren explored Purple Mountain with Duan De, learned the Dou Character Secret from Jiang Taixu, and gained access to the Wushi Scripture after forming the Zhu Xian Sacred Body.
• Ren completed the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm, left Purple Mountain with Duan De, and returned to the Southern Region as the Holy Lands searched for him.
• Ren followed the Demon Emperor’s Heart toward Yan Ruyu, while Yan Ruyu accepted Ji Haoyue’s challenge and fought him to protect the Emperor Weapon.
• Ren arrived as Ji Haoyue wounded Yan Ruyu, killed a Ji Family elder, and attacked Ji Haoyue before trapping the Ji Family fighters in an Immortal Sword Formation.
• The Ji Family’s Void Mirror shattered Ren’s formation, and many of the trapped fighters survived.