Recaps

Xiao Liang escaped the exploration party and continued up Heavenly Sun Mountain with Pandora, where they searched the ruined sect buildings for resources. He found two jade slips, learned the Heavenly Yang Demon-Subduing Hand, and left the chapter eager to improve his new technique.

• Xiao Liang decided that Luo Dongbao’s flight had ended the exploration mission and chose to keep climbing the mountain alone.
• Xiao Liang dressed Pandora in a black robe and had her carry him over the strange plants toward the summit.
• Xiao Liang spotted Heavenly Sun Mountain’s sect buildings and directed Pandora to land outside them.
• Xiao Liang and Pandora searched the ruined residences, collecting more than a thousand Spirit Stones and valuable artifact-refining materials.
• Xiao Liang found jade slips containing the Heavenly Yang Demon-Subduing Hand and the Beast-Taming Art, then memorized the combat spell.
• Xiao Liang tested the Heavenly Yang Demon-Subduing Hand, denting a stone slab, and judged that he needed more practice to master its force.

Xiao Liang and Pandora reached the Earthfire Hall, where a defensive formation powered by earthfire blocked entry. After Qin Long called him out and mentioned a true inheritance inside, Xiao Liang revealed himself and asked if she knew how to enter.

• Xiao Liang identified the ruined building as the Earthfire Hall and suspected it contained valuable artifacts.
• Xiao Liang tested the hall’s barrier with stones and watched them burn to ash, then concluded it was likely sustained by natural earthfire veins.
• Pandora sensed someone approaching, so Xiao Liang hid with her behind the ruins.
• Qin Long arrived and called for the hidden cultivator, claiming the Earthfire Hall might contain a true inheritance of Heavenly Sun Mountain.
• Xiao Liang revealed himself to Qin Long and asked whether she knew how to open the hall.

Qin Long revealed that she held Earthfire Hall’s formation control token and explained how she had obtained it, persuading Xiao Liang to help explore the hall. The three entered together, while an unseen observer was left outside as the doors closed.

• Qin Long used an ancient jade talisman to disable Earthfire Hall’s barrier and open its bronze doors.
• Qin Long told Xiao Liang that she had inherited the token from a Heavenly Sun Mountain cultivator and had exhausted the guardian puppet’s energy.
• Qin Long said Pandora’s presence gave her a powerful sense of danger and asked Xiao Liang to help explore the hall.
• Xiao Liang agreed to enter with Qin Long, insisting they stay within three steps of each other, and Pandora followed them inside.
• The formation restored itself and the doors closed, leaving a concealed watcher outside.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long explored the apparently empty Earthfire Hall and found the remains of an ancient Daoist beside its enormous furnace. When Pandora tried to loot the remains and broke them apart, the Daoist’s eyes ignited with corpse-fire, and he demanded Xiao Liang’s body.

• Xiao Liang and Qin Long entered Earthfire Hall and found it grand but seemingly free of traps and guardians.
• Xiao Liang and Qin Long discovered a withered Daoist seated before the furnace, while Pandora confirmed that no other remains were in the hall.
• Qin Long left Xiao Liang to handle the remains, and he sent Pandora to take the Daoist’s belongings.
• Pandora failed to remove the whisk or meditation cushion, then kicked the Daoist’s remains apart and sent the upper half flying toward Xiao Liang and Qin Long.
• The Daoist’s eyes opened and corpse-fire flared as he recognized Xiao Liang’s Blood Nightmare Technique and demanded his fleshly body.

Hundred Tribulations Daoist tried to possess Qin Long, and Xiao Liang used her inheritance to summon Sun True Fire against him. As the fire began gathering, Xiao Liang’s spiritual power, blood essence, and lifespan drained away, while Hundred Tribulations Daoist remained confident he would fail.

• Hundred Tribulations Daoist’s green fire entered Qin Long and began taking over her body, but her special physique and spirit-strengthening technique briefly restored her control.
• Qin Long gave Xiao Liang the Heavenly Sun Mountain inheritance and urged him to use its Sun True Fire spell to destroy the spirit body.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist tried to persuade Xiao Liang to protect him with promises of becoming his disciple, but Xiao Liang pretended to agree while preparing the spell.
• Pandora used Qin Long’s spirit sword to smash through the Earthfire Hall ceiling, allowing sunlight to shine on Xiao Liang as he formed the hand seals.
• Xiao Liang drew on his spiritual power, blood essence, and lifespan to gather fire from the sunlight while Hundred Tribulations Daoist suppressed Qin Long and expected Xiao Liang to die before summoning Sun True Fire.

Xiao Liang invoked a strange hymn that drew an overwhelming blessing, restoring his body while flooding it with vitality. He burned his lifespan and blood essence to form Sun True Fire, leaving Hundred Tribulations Daoist facing a catastrophic explosion as a phantom sun expanded over the mountain.

• Xiao Liang’s manic laughter gave way to an ancient hymn that caused Hundred Tribulations Daoist to sense a gaze from beyond the hall.
• A chaotic, supreme existence blessed Xiao Liang, restoring his withered body and pouring excessive vitality into him until his flesh began to burst.
• Xiao Liang burned his lifespan and blood essence to guide the sunlight into a wisp of Sun True Fire.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist realized Xiao Liang’s growing Sun True Fire could explode and destroy the mountain peak and its surroundings.
• Sunlight dimmed across dozens of miles, and Yu Guang and the Guan Family siblings sensed the approaching disaster.
• Guan Qiu used his eye technique and saw an illusory sun expanding at a terrifying speed.

Xiao Liang struggled to control the unstable Sun True Fire as it drained his mind, forcing Hundred Tribulations Daoist to bargain for his life. The chapter ended with Xiao Liang laying down a strict, word-for-word Heavenly Oath that left the old ghost unable to spot an obvious loophole.

• Outside Earthfire Hall, Luo Dongbao saw the terrifying phenomenon and fled down the mountain.
• Xiao Liang’s Sun True Fire grew to the size of a human head as his vitality ebbed and a black mark appeared behind his ear.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist offered to vent the fire and serve Xiao Liang for one hundred years in exchange for his survival.
• Qin Long confirmed that a Golden Core cultivator could swear an unbreakable Heavenly Oath, while warning Xiao Liang about loopholes.
• Xiao Liang demanded that Hundred Tribulations Daoist swear specific terms protecting him and requiring obedience, and the old ghost struggled to find a way around them.

Xiao Liang forced the Hundred Tribulations Daoist to swear a Heavenly Oath and leave Qin Long’s sea of consciousness. After containing the Sun True Fire and protecting Qin Long, Xiao Liang realized that drawing power from an apocalyptic world had left a strange black mark and an uncertain price.

• Xiao Liang threatened the hesitant Hundred Tribulations Daoist until he swore a Heavenly Oath, with Qin Long exposing his attempts to evade its terms.
• Xiao Liang ordered the Hundred Tribulations Daoist out of Qin Long’s sea of consciousness, and the old ghost emerged as a ball of green fire before revealing the Five-Element Violet-Gold Furnace.
• The Hundred Tribulations Daoist taught Xiao Liang a fire-refining art, and Xiao Liang stored a thread of Sun True Fire essence in his dantian.
• Xiao Liang tossed the remaining Sun True Fire into the furnace, then shielded the weakened Qin Long from the explosion.
• Qin Long thanked Xiao Liang for saving them, while Xiao Liang noticed a strange black mark behind his ear and feared the cost of borrowing power from an apocalyptic world.

Xiao Liang recalled the terrifying Chaos deity whose power had saved him and worried about the mark it left behind. He forced the Hundred Tribulations Daoist to surrender his hidden spatial artifact and discovered the treasures stored inside.

• Xiao Liang remembered glimpsing the Chaos deity and feared its mark might eventually draw its attention to him.
• Qin Long apologized for giving Xiao Liang the Golden Crow Sun-Refining Divine Art, while the Hundred Tribulations Daoist warned that Xiao Liang might have become a powerful being's pawn.
• Xiao Liang ordered the Hundred Tribulations Daoist to hand over the Earthfire Hall's treasures.
• The Hundred Tribulations Daoist revealed the Heaven-Earth Bracelet hidden among his remains and removed its ownership restriction.
• Xiao Liang opened the Heaven-Earth Bracelet and found it filled with glittering treasures.

Xiao Liang divided Hundred Tribulations Daoist’s vast treasure hoard equally with Qin Long, choosing to follow his conscience despite her protests. Qin Long revealed her true beauty and said that, by Yan Kingdom’s martial-world rules, she would offer herself in marriage if she could not repay his life-saving grace.

• Xiao Liang decided that keeping a clear conscience mattered more than secretly taking most of Hundred Tribulations Daoist’s treasure.
• Xiao Liang brought out the Heaven-Earth Bracelet’s entire hoard and proposed that he and Qin Long split it equally.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist cursed at Xiao Liang over the division and plunged his Golden Core into the empty bracelet.
• Qin Long thanked Xiao Liang and questioned why he had given her so much, while he said it did not sit right with him to keep more.
• Qin Long revealed that her ordinary appearance was a disguise and showed Xiao Liang her swordsmanship with the Luoshui sword.
• Qin Long pointed her sword at Xiao Liang, then smiled and said she would offer herself in marriage if she could not repay his life-saving grace.

At a roadside tea stall, a retired martial expert and a Martial World Storyteller discuss three young heroes who have brought down Yan Wuxu’s allies and driven the general into hiding. Yan Kingdom posts wanted notices for the trio, and the Fire Ghost Freak enters the capital after objecting to his nickname.

• The old tea stall owner knocks the burly man’s broadsword and the richly dressed young man’s treasured sword out into the rain with two abacus beads.
• A Martial World Storyteller recognizes the owner’s Sand-Shifting Shadow technique and explains that three young experts have defeated notorious sects backed by Great General Yan Wuxu.
• The storyteller says Yan Wuxu ranks third on the Divine Weapon Manual but has been hiding in his manor since the three heroes rose to fame.
• Imperial Guards post wanted posters offering rewards for the Mystic Sound Divine Sword, Flying Demoness, and Fire Ghost Freak.
• The Fire Ghost Freak pins a soldier from afar, tears down his poster, knocks the soldier unconscious, and slips into the capital as guards raise the alarm.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long prepared to confront Yan Wuxu, whose forces had murdered Qin Long’s family and pursued her for her exceptional talent. After revealing the full extent of her vengeance, they set out to face him openly.

• Xiao Liang teased Pandora for drinking bloodberry juice, and the Hundred Tribulations Daoist explained that she had absorbed a Deep Sea Blood Crystal.
• Qin Long and Xiao Liang discussed their feelings for each other, while Xiao Liang reflected on the vast difference between their cultivation levels.
• Qin Long revealed that Yan Wuxu’s martial sect had slaughtered her family after they refused to hand her over.
• Xiao Liang explained that he had exposed himself at the city gates to warn Yan Wuxu that they were coming.
• Qin Long vowed to kill Yan Wuxu openly, and Xiao Liang burned the wanted poster as they prepared to attack the Grand General’s Manor.

Captain Zhao refused the middle-aged scholar’s offer to leave the dangerous defense of Yan Wuxu’s manor, then led his troops toward an explosion and was crushed by Xiao Liang’s tank. Inside the tank, Xiao Liang taught Qin Long and Pandora to operate it, while Qin Long wondered how it could see outside and whether they had hit something.

• A middle-aged scholar warned Captain Zhao that guarding Yan Wuxu’s manor was dangerous and offered to have someone replace him, but Captain Zhao refused.
• An explosion and screams drew Captain Zhao toward a guarded intersection, where he mounted his horse and charged ahead with a great axe.
• Xiao Liang’s iron-armored tank appeared in the street, and Captain Zhao’s axe barely scratched it before the tank crushed him and his horse.
• Inside the tank, Xiao Liang consulted a driving manual while teaching Qin Long and Pandora to operate the vehicle.
• Qin Long took the driver’s seat, felt the tank jolt, and asked how it observed the outside and whether they had hit something.

Xiao Liang drove a tank he had obtained from the Lighthouse Organization into the royal capital to help Qin Long fight, crushing the Imperial Guards’ defenses. The tank smashed through the checkpoints outside the Grand General’s Estate as the defenders fled in panic.

• Xiao Liang activated the tank’s cameras, and Qin Long tried to pry open the display panel to discover how it worked.
• Xiao Liang recalled that he had traded Spirit Stones for the tank and weapons at the Lighthouse Organization, where he had also helped activate runes that purified viruses.
• Qin Long drove the tank through arrows and crossbow fire while Xiao Liang ordered Pandora to fire the cannon, destroying two pavilions and the troops inside.
• The tank’s machine guns cut down the approaching Imperial Guards, but several generals tried to stop it with wooden stakes and iron chains.
• Xiao Liang ordered the tank to accelerate, and Qin Long drove it through the barricades and checkpoints outside the Grand General’s Estate.
• The Imperial Guards lost heart and fled, shouting that the armored monster could not be stopped.

After learning that intruders had overwhelmed his forces, a middle-aged scholar sought Yan Wuxu’s support and was ordered to hold them back while Yan Wuxu finished refining his spirit artifact. Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora destroyed the Grand General’s Manor gates, where the scholar confronted them.

• The middle-aged scholar killed Captain Zhao’s deputy with a ghostly hand after hearing that the intruders had defeated the Ironclad Guards.
• The scholar visited Yan Wuxu, who said his spirit artifact would be finished that day and ordered him to delay the intruders.
• The scholar suggested Yan Wuxu could claim the King of Yan’s throne, while secretly coveting the Essence-Absorption Technique.
• Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora drove their tank to the Grand General’s Manor, and Pandora fired a shell that destroyed its gates.
• The middle-aged scholar approached the trio and asked why they had attacked, while Xiao Liang said Yan Wuxu deserved to die and prepared to fight.

Xiao Liang fought Ghost-Hand Scholar, whose ghost hands and Black Blood Sword pressured him despite his powerful yang spiritual energy. Xiao Liang unleashed the golden flames stored in a fiery red pearl, destroying the scholar’s weapons and leaving him badly injured.

• Xiao Liang blocked Ghost-Hand Scholar’s first ghost hand with his Heavenly Yang Demon-Subduing Hand.
• Xiao Liang countered the ghost hand’s attacks, burning away its black mist with the Golden Crow Sun-Refining Divine Art.
• Ghost-Hand Scholar revealed a second ghost hand and wounded Xiao Liang, but Xiao Liang burned away the poison.
• Ghost-Hand Scholar sent his Black Blood Sword at Xiao Liang while Qin Long warned him about the magic artifact.
• Xiao Liang blew on a fiery red pearl, releasing a golden flame dragon that swallowed both ghost hands and the sword, severing Ghost-Hand Scholar’s connection to them and making him spit blood.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long killed the middle-aged scholar guarding the Grand General’s Manor, then pressed deeper into the seemingly deserted grounds. They discovered the inner courtyard was blanketed in blood mist and prepared to face the enemy hidden within.

• Qin Long killed the wounded middle-aged scholar with his own Black Blood Sword after Xiao Liang destroyed his ghost hands and magical artifact.
• Xiao Liang healed Qin Long’s burned hand, and Qin Long explained that she had used the scholar’s sword because her Four Symbols Swordsmanship move required time to build momentum.
• Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora searched the empty manor and concluded that Yan Wuxu was likely still inside.
• Pandora broke through the inner courtyard wall, where Xiao Liang and Qin Long found pale red mist made from warm blood.
• Qin Long resolved to enter the blood mist, believing her greatest enemy was hidden within it.

Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora fought through a swarm of female Cha Ghosts in the Grand General's Manor. After the Hundred Tribulations Daoist freed Xiao Liang from an illusion and advised him to use Sun True Fire, Xiao Liang cleared the corridor with the Fire Chi Pearl, but more ghosts gathered ahead.

• Xiao Liang woke the Hundred Tribulations Daoist, who sensed no immediate danger in the blood mist.
• Xiao Liang and Qin Long sensed a fast-moving presence in the garden, while Pandora encountered and destroyed a female ghost.
• More female Cha Ghosts appeared, and Pandora fought them as Xiao Liang and Qin Long defended themselves.
• A ghostly cry trapped Xiao Liang in an illusion where Qin Long appeared to attack him, but the Hundred Tribulations Daoist broke the illusion and warned him to use Sun True Fire.
• Xiao Liang used the Fire Chi Pearl to unleash Sun True Fire and destroy the ghosts, but more Cha Ghosts gathered beyond the corridor bend.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long faced an endless wave of Cha Ghosts and learned they came from the demonic Spirit Artifact called the Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting. Qin Long used her Mystic Sword Heavenly Note Body to cut through the ghosts and advanced toward the artifact’s hidden location.

• Xiao Liang asked why Qin Long had not been caught by the ghosts’ illusions, and Hundred Tribulations Daoist explained that her Mystic Sword Heavenly Note Body protected her from external evils.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist identified the Cha Ghosts as creations of the Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting, an extreme-grade demonic Spirit Artifact made through the brutal sacrifice and torment of a hundred souls.
• Hundred Tribulations Daoist sensed that the artifact’s true body lay in the depths of the corridor and explained that it could overwhelm Qi Refining cultivators by sending endless ghosts to wear them down.
• Qin Long stepped forward to confront the artifact, releasing her Formless Sword Tone as more than a hundred Cha Ghosts charged.
• Qin Long’s Formless Sword Tone scattered dozens of Cha Ghosts while Xiao Liang watched her display her true strength.

Qin Long fought through the Cha Ghosts and nearly destroyed the Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting, but a lightning attack gave its owner time to escape. Yan Wuxu appeared as a dragon-headed monster, and the Golden Core old ghost identified him as a Half-Demon.

• Qin Long reached the courtyard and found hundreds of dead servants beneath the Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting, which spawned Cha Ghosts to attack her.
• Qin Long used Azure Dragon Concealing the Pearl to break the painting’s blood-colored barrier, but a lightning sphere struck before she could destroy it.
• Qin Long redirected her sword strike to repel the lightning sphere, which exploded and reduced the courtyard to ruins; the painting vanished.
• Yan Wuxu emerged from the smoke holding the painting and caught Qin Long’s sword Qi with his scaled claw.
• The Golden Core old ghost recognized Yan Wuxu as a Half-Demon and warned Xiao Liang that his presence in the Yan Kingdom was deeply strange.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long fought Yan Wuxu, whose Half-Demon body and Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting made him a formidable opponent. After enduring Qin Long’s Four Symbols Swordsmanship, Yan Wuxu consumed the damaged Spirit Artifact and began trying to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

• Xiao Liang realized Yan Wuxu was a Half-Demon, and Yan Wuxu attacked him with lightning-charged speed.
• Qin Long blocked Yan Wuxu’s strike and wounded him with the Luoshui Sword, while the old ghost’s spiritual sense briefly disrupted him.
• Qin Long unleashed the Four Symbols Swordsmanship, sweeping away the Cha Ghosts and badly injuring Yan Wuxu.
• Yan Wuxu used the Charming Maiden Hundred Beauties Painting to shield himself, then bit into and swallowed the Spirit Artifact.
• Yan Wuxu drew in the courtyard’s spiritual energy and began attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Xiao Liang used a barrage of modern weapons to interrupt Yan Wuxu’s attempted Foundation Establishment breakthrough, allowing Qin Long to kill him and complete her revenge. Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora left the ruined general’s residence together in the rain.

• Yan Wuxu tore off Pandora’s arm and wing while fighting Qin Long, but Pandora’s limbs began to regenerate.
• Xiao Liang assembled launchers and explosives, then bombarded Yan Wuxu until his breakthrough failed and his battle frenzy subsided.
• Xiao Liang fired his pistols at the wounded Yan Wuxu but left the final blow to Qin Long.
• Qin Long beheaded Yan Wuxu, and Pandora retrieved his advanced storage bag for Xiao Liang.
• Xiao Liang took Qin Long’s hand, and the three left the general’s residence together.

Xiao Liang and Qin Long spent their final day together in the Royal Capital before deciding to follow separate paths. Xiao Liang left for the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern, while Qin Long planned to travel the kingdoms and seek a cultivation sect.

• Xiao Liang and Qin Long left the Immortal Welcoming Inn and strolled through the bustling Royal Capital, where Xiao Liang beat away Qin Long's persistent admirers.
• At sunset on Purple Smoke Mountain, Xiao Liang asked Qin Long to return with him to the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern, but she declined because she would not join the sect that destroyed Heavenly Sun Mountain.
• Xiao Liang accepted Qin Long's choice and told her he wanted to continue exploring the cultivation path.
• Qin Long decided to travel through the kingdoms and perhaps join a cultivation sect, promising Xiao Liang they would meet again.
• Xiao Liang said farewell to Qin Long and left with Pandora, who carried him away on her bat wings.

After returning to the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern, Xiao Liang passed the hidden entrance and headed toward Little Ghost Hall to learn about the grand competition. On the way, Yan Xiaodie provoked Hua Song into attacking him with a Corpse-Binding Net, leaving Xiao Liang facing a lethal test.

• Xiao Liang returned to the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern and persuaded Law Enforcement disciple Qiu Ling to let him pass through the hidden entrance.
• Xiao Liang entered the sect through its teleporting protective formation and made his way toward Little Ghost Hall.
• Xiao Liang recognized Yan Xiaodie on the outer sect training ground, where she was cuddling with Hua Song.
• Yan Xiaodie drew Hua Song's attention to Xiao Liang, and Hua Song ordered him to serve as a sparring partner.
• Hua Song attacked Xiao Liang with a Corpse-Binding Net that could infect its victim with corpse poison.

Xiao Liang confronted Hua Song and Yan Xiaodie after Hua Song attacked him with a Corpse-Binding Net. He revealed his Sixth Layer of Qi Refining strength, defeated Hua Song before dozens of outer sect disciples, and left the training ground with his power on display.

• Xiao Liang evaded Hua Song's Corpse-Binding Net and recognized that Hua Song was only at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.
• Hua Song and Yan Xiaodie learned that Xiao Liang had advanced cultivation techniques, and Yan Xiaodie urged Hua Song to seize them.
• Hua Song attacked Xiao Liang with the Corpse-Binding Net and Yin Demon Claw after Yan Xiaodie claimed Xiao Liang was no stronger than the Peak Third Level of Qi Refining.
• Xiao Liang caught the Corpse-Binding Net with the Heavenly Yang Demon-Subduing Hand and struck Hua Song with it, then broke several of Hua Song's fingers.
• Xiao Liang chased down Hua Song with Ghost Shadow Step and kicked him through three wooden training posts, defeating him in front of dozens of outer sect disciples.