Recaps

Yang Xiao evaded the Flame-Tailed Lion King's fire ropes and severed both of his arms with the Shadowless Blade. As the wounded king fought on with arms formed from flame, Yang Xiao waited for an opening and thrust his Army-Breaking Spear toward his chest.

• The Flame-Tailed Lion King focused his Core Illumination Light on himself and sent fire ropes after Yang Xiao, but Yang Xiao dodged them and escaped a closing net.
• Yang Xiao used the Shadowless Blade to cut off the Flame-Tailed Lion King's newly regrown left arm, then severed his remaining forearm after dodging a fiery punch.
• The Flame-Tailed Lion King recalled his fire ropes to guard himself and considered fleeing, but Yang Xiao approached with the Army-Breaking Spear and threatened him with Solar Flame.
• The Flame-Tailed Lion King formed replacement hands from flame and charged Yang Xiao, who evaded his repeated punches until the king's strength began to fade.
• Yang Xiao seized the opening as the Flame-Tailed Lion King's chest was exposed and thrust the Army-Breaking Spear toward it with condensed Solar Flame.

Yang Xiao killed the Flame-Tailed Lion King and reported to Pei Xuance that the Yellow Wind Demon King might have regained its vitality through the Longevity-Extending Treasure Lotus. Pei Xuance went to Yellow Wind Mountain to assess the Demon King’s recovery, while Yang Xiao set out to reinforce the other generals.

• Yang Xiao killed the Flame-Tailed Lion King, extracted its Fire Pattern Demon Core, and extinguished the flames on the mountain path.
• Yang Xiao returned to Wuquan Post Station, told the attendants that the great demon was dead, and rode northwest to the Demon Suppression Division’s camp.
• Yang Xiao gave Pei Xuance his confidential report about Lady Musk, the Longevity-Extending Treasure Lotus, and the Crimson Refinement Demon Emperor; Pei Xuance concluded that the Yellow Wind Demon King might have recovered and could no longer be left waiting.
• Pei Xuance assigned Yang Xiao to reinforce Lu Changgeng and pursue the remaining Demon Kings, then set out alone for Yellow Wind Mountain.
• Pei Xuance entered Yellow Wind Mountain, killed the guards and a Black-Faced Demon General, and pressed onward as horns sounded within the mountain.

Pei Xuance stormed Yellow Wind Mountain, discovered Yellow Wind had left to seek help from Xuan Zhen at Lotus Flower Temple, and hurried back to Qingzhou. Meanwhile, Yang Xiao used the Demon Cores he had collected, gaining demon essence and the Golden Thorn trait before realizing the cores could no longer strengthen his perfected Core Illumination physique.

• Pei Xuance forced his way up Yellow Wind Mountain, killing the Demon Kings who tried to stop him and demanding to know where Yellow Wind was.
• The surviving Demon Kings told Pei Xuance that Yellow Wind had left that day and planned to return in a few days.
• Pei Xuance realized Yellow Wind had likely gone to Lotus Flower Temple to seek help from Xuan Zhen, then rushed back to Qingzhou to prepare for a possible threat.
• Yang Xiao stopped in a secluded mountain hollow and placed the Demon Cores of the Golden-Mane Boar, Lady Musk, and the Flame-Tailed Lion King into his Equipment Slots.
• Yang Xiao absorbed the Golden-Mane Boar Demon Core, gaining demon essence and the Golden Thorn trait, but his Ten-Thousand-Forged Demon Body did not react because it had reached perfected Core Illumination.

Yang Xiao equipped three Core Illumination Demon Cores, gaining Golden Thorn, Musk, and the purple Flame-Burning trait while refining their demonic essence. His physique remained at the Core Illumination Perfected Stage, while his cultivation reached the verge of a breakthrough to the late stage.

• Yang Xiao tested Golden Thorn by forming and throwing a golden spear that pierced a rock, then retrieved it and dispersed it into Golden Qi.
• Yang Xiao equipped the Musk Deer Demon Core, gaining Musk, which masked his scent and could briefly entrance enemies whose cultivation was lower than his.
• Yang Xiao equipped the Flame-Tailed Lion King Demon Core and gained the purple Flame-Burning trait, then tested scarlet flames that burned a rock and depleted enemies’ blood Qi.
• Yang Xiao refined the essence of all three Demon Cores, bringing his Core Illumination Mid-Stage cultivation to perfection and leaving him one Demon Core away from advancing to the late stage.

Lu Changgeng and his Deputy Generals struggled to reach the Ice Toad King, who used Cold Frost Pool as a shield and taunted them from beneath the water. As the exhausted troops withdrew, Yang Xiao arrived and approached Lu Changgeng with his Army-Breaking Spear.

• Lu Changgeng struck Cold Frost Pool with sword light, but the freezing water blunted his attack before it could reach the Ice Toad King.
• The Ice Toad King surfaced to mock Lu Changgeng and challenge him to come beneath the pool after forming a Dao Infant, then evaded another sword strike with a watery illusion.
• Lu Changgeng ordered his Deputy Generals to retreat after the cold injured them and damaged their Demon-Subduing Chains.
• Yang Xiao arrived at Cold Frost Pool, surveyed the Ice Toad King beneath the water, and walked toward Lu Changgeng carrying his Army-Breaking Spear.

Yang Xiao joined Lu Changgeng at Cold Frost Pool to hunt the Ice Toad King, and tested how the water slowed Spiritual Power before they attacked together. Yang Xiao wounded the demon, but its counterattack left Lu Changgeng poisoned as its tongue burst from the pool.

• Lu Changgeng told Yang Xiao that the Ice Toad King avoided his attacks by hiding beneath the pool, where the cold water weakened Spiritual Power.
• Yang Xiao tested the icy water and agreed to attack when the demon surfaced, while Lu Changgeng rested after keeping watch for three days.
• Yang Xiao cautiously entered the pool and discovered that the Canglan Water Pattern let him move through its water, though it still impeded his Spiritual Power.
• When the Ice Toad King surfaced, Lu Changgeng struck with his sword while Yang Xiao sensed the demon’s movement and pierced it with a golden spear.
• The wounded Ice Toad King fired venom-coated ice spikes at the bank, and Lu Changgeng’s hand stiffened after venom grazed it as the demon’s tongue burst from the water.

Yang Xiao entered the Cold Frost Pool to confront the Ice Toad King directly, relying on his poison resistance and Core Illumination Light to withstand the water. The Ice Toad King spotted him descending and prepared to attack.

• Yang Xiao knocked the Ice Toad King’s tongue away from Lu Changgeng, who retreated to shore with cold poison on his hand.
• Yang Xiao told Lu Changgeng he had a countermeasure, then used Five-Colored Core Illumination Light to melt the ice and entered the pool.
• Lu Changgeng agreed to guard the shore while Yang Xiao used the Canglan Water Pattern to create a dry space around himself and descended into the dark water.
• At the bottom of the pool, the Ice Toad King discovered that Yang Xiao’s spear wound was burning with lingering heat.
• The Ice Toad King saw Yang Xiao approaching and, after expressing surprise, decided to attack him.

Yang Xiao overcame the Ice Toad King's control of the cold pool and drove it onto the shore. He killed the fleeing Toad King with the Army-Breaking Spear, leaving the pool and its territory under his control.

• The Ice Toad King used freezing water and venomous saliva to suppress Yang Xiao, but Yang Xiao protected himself and wounded it with the Army-Breaking Spear and solar flame.
• The Toad King hid in the sludge, but Yang Xiao expanded his Core Illumination Domain and eroded the Toad King's control of the pool, exposing its movements.
• Unable to control the water, the Toad King fled toward the surface as Yang Xiao's attacks forced it upward.
• The Toad King burst from the pool and tried to escape past Lu Changgeng and the Deputy Generals, who watched in surprise.
• Yang Xiao pinned the Toad King to the ground with the Army-Breaking Spear, and solar flame and crimson lion flame burned it to death.

Yang Xiao killed the Ice Toad King and claimed its Demon Core, then used it to break through to Core Illumination Late-Stage. His Core Illumination Light expanded to a thousand zhang across the mountain ridges.

• Yang Xiao pulled the Army-Breaking Spear from the Ice Toad King's corpse and confirmed the Demon King was dead.
• Lu Changgeng thanked Yang Xiao, claimed the Demon Core belonged to him, and arranged for the pool and its surroundings to be investigated.
• Yang Xiao went to a secluded stone slope and equipped the Ice Toad King's Demon Core, gaining the Freezing Frost affix and a surge of demonic essence.
• Yang Xiao broke through to Core Illumination Late-Stage as the five Pill Patterns brightened and his Spiritual Power surged.
• Yang Xiao's Core Illumination Light expanded across the mountain ridges, reaching a thousand zhang.

Yang Xiao reached core illumination late-stage and discovered a fragile Dao Embryo forming inside his mystic core. He chose to remain in the mountains to hunt demons and strengthen it, while Lu Changgeng read a secret order from Pei Xuance that made him think Yang Xiao should return only after matters were settled.

• Yang Xiao examined the embryo forming within his mystic core and concluded that it needed continued nourishment from demon cores before it could become a Dao Infant.
• Yang Xiao emerged from meditation at core illumination late-stage and learned from Lu Changgeng that Pei Xuance had urgently ordered the generals back to Qingzhou because the Yellow Wind Demon King had left its mountain.
• Yang Xiao asked whether a special cultivation method was needed to reach the Dao-Infant Realm, and Lu Changgeng told him that a sufficiently developed Dao Infant could break free on its own.
• Yang Xiao decided to stay and hunt the demons threatening Qingzhou before returning, and Lu Changgeng agreed to explain his choice to General Pei.
• After Yang Xiao left, Lu Changgeng opened a separate, personally sealed letter from Pei Xuance and concluded that it was better for Yang Xiao to return after matters had been settled.

Yang Xiao intercepted three Core Illumination Demon Kings fleeing Qingzhou and killed them swiftly at the border. After following the Qi-Gathering Bottle’s remaining traces, he continued his hunt, determined to reach the Dao Infant realm before Qingzhou’s great calamity.

• The blue-backed Wolf King led the black-scaled Snake Demon and the mandrill Demon King toward Qingzhou’s border, wary of the Demon Suppression Division’s recent killings.
• Yang Xiao trapped the three demons in his thousand-zhang Core Illumination Domain and told them to attack him together.
• Yang Xiao killed the mandrill Demon King with the Gold-Splitting Jade-Breaking Saber and took its Demon Core.
• Yang Xiao blocked the Snake Demon’s venom, burned it with Solar Flame and Evil-Splitting, Defilement-Burning, then took its Demon Core.
• The blue-backed Wolf King attacked Yang Xiao, but he pinned it down, wounded it with his blade, and killed it by severing its neck.
• Yang Xiao checked the three Demon Cores, followed the traces in the Qi-Gathering Bottle, and continued onward, aiming to break through to the Dao Infant realm before Qingzhou’s calamity.

Yang Xiao hunted water demons along the riverbanks of Guanlan Commandery and consumed their demon cores to nourish his Dao embryo, reaching the core illumination perfected stage as the embryo grew into an infant-shaped form. In Qingzhou City, Pei Xuance swallowed a demon core to stimulate his Dao infant while Li Hanguang guarded him.

• Yang Xiao used his core illumination to find and spear water demons in Guanlan Commandery’s river, collecting more than twenty Mysterious Core Realm demon cores.
• Han Chuan told Yang Xiao that Guanlan Commandery had no more demons to hunt and that he would need to search Xunjiang Commandery.
• Yang Xiao equipped the demon cores, refined them into demon essence, and fed the resulting spirit liquid to his Dao embryo until his cultivation reached the core illumination perfected stage and the embryo took an infant’s shape.
• Li Hanguang brought demon cores from the Demon Suppression Division’s storehouse, and Qin Lie warned that swallowing them could taint the mystic core and cause cultivation to stagnate or worse.
• As Buddhist chanting sounded and Qin Lie left, Pei Xuance swallowed a demon core and asked Li Hanguang to guard him while demonic baleful power surged around him.

Master Xuanzhen arrived in Qingzhou and fought Qin Lie while Pei Xuance continued consuming demon cores. After learning that Pei Xuance had destroyed Yellow Wind Mountain, the Yellow Wind Demon King set out to attack Guanlan Commandery.

• Xuanzhen confronted Qin Lie outside the Demon Suppression Division, saying he had come to settle an old debt, and Qin Lie attacked him.
• Xuanzhen eroded Qin Lie's power with Buddhist light and struck him through the Demon Suppression Division's outer wall.
• Li Hanguang watched in alarm while Pei Xuance swallowed another demon core, his eyes filling with Sha.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King returned to Yellow Wind Mountain and learned from a surviving gray-robed Demon King that Pei Xuance had killed the mountain's demons.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King vowed to wipe out Guanlan Commandery, and he and Black Rock flew toward it on the Golden Kite.

Yang Xiao broke through his Mystic Core and attained the Dao-Infant Realm, gaining a five-colored glazed Dao Infant and a new closeness to the world around him. At the edge of Guanlan Commandery, the Yellow Wind Demon King and Black Rock entered a county town to offer its people as sacrifices, prompting a yamen runner to call for the Demon Suppression Division.

• Yang Xiao merged his spiritual sense with his newly formed Dao Infant and discovered he could only attack his Mystic Core wall with his body.
• Yang Xiao used the Heaven-Melting Treasure Furnace to ram his Mystic Core while his Dao Infant struck from within, cracking the wall.
• Yang Xiao broke through and devoured the shattered core shell, transforming his Dao Infant into a five-colored glazed form and attaining the Dao-Infant Realm.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King and Black Rock arrived at the edge of Guanlan Commandery on a golden paper kite.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King strode into a county town, intending to sacrifice its people to the demons of Yellow Wind Mountain.
• A patrolling yamen runner spotted the demons and shouted for the Demon Suppression Division to be notified.

The Yellow Wind Demon King and Black Rock attacked Guanlan Commandery, slaughtering Demon Suppression soldiers while demanding Pei Xuance. Yang Xiao sensed the demons and raced to the city, where he arrived just in time to pierce Black Rock with his spear.

• The Yellow Wind Demon King entered Guanlan Commandery with Black Rock and invited the city to summon its defenders.
• Black Rock killed a deputy general and shattered the crossbowmen's attack, while the Yellow Wind Demon King's wind reduced soldiers to skeletons.
• A surviving deputy general held the street so other soldiers could evacuate civilians as Black Rock advanced on him.
• Yang Xiao sensed the two demons' Yao Qi and rushed toward Guanlan Commandery with the Army-Breaking Spear.
• Yang Xiao struck Black Rock through the chest with his spear, and the demon collapsed onto the street.

Yang Xiao, the newly arrived Dao-Infant Realm Demon Suppression General, confronted the Yellow Wind Demon King after killing Black Rock. He overwhelmed the demon in close combat, but the Yellow Wind Demon King unleashed a vast sandstorm as the fight continued.

• Yang Xiao ordered the Deputy General and his men to retreat after killing Black Rock, and the Yellow Wind Demon King recognized that Yang Xiao had just entered the Dao-Infant Realm.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King tried to negotiate, but Yang Xiao dismissed its challenge and charged at it.
• Yang Xiao broke the demon king’s steel fork and ancient armor, fractured its arm, then struck its waist and kicked it into a crater.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King recovered enough to unleash its Demon Power, raising a gigantic tornado and engulfing the surrounding area in yellow sand.

Yang Xiao defeated and killed the Yellow Wind Demon King, resisting his Soul-Seizing Bell and destroying his fleeing Demon Infant. After securing the demon’s remains and a golden paper kite, Yang Xiao left Guanlan Commandery and flew toward Qingzhou City, where Master Xuanzhen had entered and Qin Lie was in danger.

• Yang Xiao broke through the Yellow Wind Demon King’s wind-and-sand attacks and drove the Army-Breaking Spear through him into a mountainside.
• The Yellow Wind Demon King used the bronze Soul-Seizing Bell, but Yang Xiao’s [Soul Cleansing] trait steadied his mind and let him keep advancing.
• Yang Xiao ignored the demon’s warning about Master Xuanzhen and Qin Lie, then severed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s head with the Shadowless Blade.
• Yang Xiao pursued and destroyed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s escaping Demon Infant, then collected the Demon Infant and Soul-Seizing Bell.
• Yang Xiao returned to Guanlan Commandery, declared the demon dead, recovered Black Rock’s Demon Core and activated a golden paper kite.
• Yang Xiao flew on the golden paper kite toward Qingzhou City.

As Yang Xiao flew toward Qingzhou City, he unlocked a sixth Equipment Slot for nurturing spirit roots and used the Yellow Wind Demon King’s Demon Infant to replenish his essence and gain Wind Erosion. The Demon Infant completed his twelfth physical transformation, bringing his body into the Dao-Infant Realm, and he continued toward the powerful unfamiliar presence near the city.

• Yang Xiao examined his newly transformed Dao Infant and realized his physical body still remained at the Core Illumination level.
• A sixth Equipment Slot unlocked, allowing him to equip spirit roots and nurture them with Demon Infants or other sources of essence.
• Yang Xiao placed the Yellow Wind Demon King’s Demon Infant in an Equipment Slot, replenished his essence, and gained the Wind Erosion trait.
• The Demon Infant’s essence completed Yang Xiao’s twelfth transformation and raised his physical body to the Dao-Infant Realm.
• Yang Xiao accelerated the paper kite toward Qingzhou City, where he sensed a powerful unfamiliar presence.

Xuan Zhen defeated Qin Lie, but Pei Xuance broke through to the Dao-Infant Realm using demonic Sha and challenged him. After Xuan Zhen struck Pei Xuance down and declared that Qingzhou's fortune ended that day, a golden light streaked toward the Demon Suppression Division.

• Xuan Zhen left Qin Lie gravely wounded, exposing his Dao Infant and leaving him unconscious.
• Pei Xuance shattered his Mystic Core with demonic Sha and emerged with a golden-and-black Dao Infant.
• Pei Xuance shielded Qin Lie and attacked Xuan Zhen with spear lights, but Xuan Zhen bound them with Buddha-light chains.
• Xuan Zhen struck Pei Xuance in the chest, cracking his Dao Infant and leaving him bleeding in the courtyard ruins.
• Xuan Zhen declared that Qingzhou's fortune ended that day, while the Demon Suppression Division's forces were pinned down by his pressure.
• A golden light appeared on the horizon and shot toward the Demon Suppression Division.

Yang Xiao returned to Qingzhou City after killing the Yellow Wind Demon King and confronted Xuan Zhen, who had attacked the Demon Suppression Division. Yang Xiao wounded Xuan Zhen with a spear thrust, and Xuan Zhen decided he could not let him live.

• Yang Xiao arrived at the ruined Demon Suppression Division using Yellow Wind's golden paper kite, and Pei Xuance realized he had killed the Yellow Wind Demon King.
• Yang Xiao confirmed that he had killed Yellow Wind, while Xuan Zhen recognized him as Qingzhou's newly appointed Fourteenth Demon Suppression General.
• Yang Xiao asked Xuan Zhen whether he was from Lotus Flower Temple and declared that he would settle the score for Qingzhou.
• Xuan Zhen attacked Yang Xiao with a golden Buddhist seal, but Yang Xiao dodged it using the Void-Treading Step.
• Yang Xiao thrust the Army-Breaking Spear through Xuan Zhen's Lotus Platform and wounded his chest, prompting Xuan Zhen to decide to kill him.

Yang Xiao battled Xuan Zhen at the Demon Suppression Division, resisting his Buddhist chant and shattering his golden palm with a powerful punch. The fight continued as Yang Xiao broke through Xuan Zhen’s Lotus Platform with his spear.

• Xuan Zhen discovered that Yang Xiao’s spear wound resisted healing and used a Buddhist chant to attack his soul.
• Yang Xiao recovered quickly, traded blows with Xuan Zhen, and forced him to retreat amid the collapsing Demon Suppression Division.
• Xuan Zhen trapped Yang Xiao with a golden Buddhist palm, but Yang Xiao combined his Dao Infant power, blood and Qi, and demon liquid to smash it apart with his fist.
• Yang Xiao’s punch blasted Xuan Zhen through ruined walls and badly injured his hand, while Yang Xiao’s Ten-Thousand-Forged Demon Body quickly healed his own fist.
• Yang Xiao reappeared behind Xuan Zhen and used Eroding-Realm Mystic Light and his spear to crack and shatter the Lotus Platform.

Yang Xiao defeated Xuan Zhen in Qingzhou City, then pursued and destroyed his fleeing Dao Infant. He returned to the Demon Suppression Division with Xuan Zhen's Infant Core, where Li Hanguang confirmed that the threat was over.

• Yang Xiao wounded Xuan Zhen and evaded his frenzied attacks until he found an opening and severed his head.
• Xuan Zhen's Dao Infant escaped toward the city walls, and Pei Xuance offered to pursue it, but Yang Xiao went after it himself.
• Yang Xiao caught up with Xuan Zhen and pierced his Dao Infant with the Army-Breaking Spear, killing him completely.
• Yang Xiao collected Xuan Zhen's Infant Core and returned to Qingzhou City, where Li Hanguang asked if Xuan Zhen was dead.

After defeating Xuan Zhen, Yang Xiao left the injured Pei Xuance and Qin Lie in Li Hanguang’s care and went outside Qingzhou City to recover. He synthesized several prefixes, gaining Mountain-Shaking Astral Force and Dragon Sinews and Tiger Bones as he prepared to strengthen his foundation for future threats.

• Li Hanguang ordered the Demon Suppression Division to seal the streets, impose martial law, and treat the wounded after Xuan Zhen’s pressure vanished.
• Yang Xiao told Pei Xuance to nourish his damaged Dao Infant and saw Li Hanguang arrange care for the badly injured Qin Lie.
• Yang Xiao left the Demon Suppression Division, sat outside Qingzhou City, and examined his newly formed Five-Colored Glazed Dao Infant.
• Yang Xiao synthesized Rock Claw, Scale Skin, and Rockskin into the blue prefix Rock-Splitting Claw, then combined three other green prefixes into Devour Origin to Restore Life.
• Yang Xiao synthesized Bear-and-Bull Shakes the Mountain, Mountain-Crushing Strength, and External Golden Astral Aura into the purple prefix Mountain-Shaking Astral Force.
• Yang Xiao combined Tiger-Bone Rock Body, Flood Dragon Bone Savage Body, and Bloodbath into the purple prefix Dragon Sinews and Tiger Bones, which could mobilize vitality to repair injuries.

Yang Xiao synthesized several traits, gaining defensive and stealth abilities before creating the golden trait Three Calamities Entangling the Body, a powerful ranged attack. After learning that higher-level synthesis required equipping a spirit root, he examined Xuan Zhen’s Dao Infant Core, failed to extract its spirit root, and set out for the Demon Suppression Division.

• Yang Xiao combined Sinking Stance, Sandridge Armor, and Sand Wall into Thick Earth Rock Robe, then combined Wind Riding, Wind-Chasing Scent Tracking, and Shadow Affinity into Shadow-Chasing Without a Trace.
• Yang Xiao fused Flame-Burning, Freezing Frost, and Wind Erosion into the golden trait Three Calamities Entangling the Body and tested its devastating ranged erosion.
• Yang Xiao tried synthesizing golden traits but learned that golden traits were the highest grade at his current stage and that he needed to equip a spirit root first.
• Yang Xiao inspected Xuan Zhen’s Dao Infant Core, noticed its spleen shone more brightly, and failed to damage the core or extract a spirit root.
• Yang Xiao withdrew his divine sense and planned to return to the Demon Suppression Division.

Yang Xiao learned that advancing his Dao Infant required five Spiritual Roots and that demon-slaying merits could help him obtain them. He prepared to travel to Cuiyun Circuit with Li Hanguang, while Pei Xuance stayed in Qingzhou to stabilize his Dao Infant and warned Yang Xiao not to mention his dealings with Lotus Flower Temple.

• Yang Xiao read the Cuiyun Circuit debriefing report and saw that Pei Xuance had credited him with the major victories in Qingzhou.
• Pei Xuance explained that he had to remain in Qingzhou to stabilize his fused Dao Infant and asked Yang Xiao to take Governor Qin to the headquarters for treatment.
• Pei Xuance told Yang Xiao that advancing his Dao Infant required Five Elements Spiritual Roots, which he could obtain through meritorious service, demon slaying, or the dangerous Hundred-Thousand Demon Mountains.
• Li Hanguang offered to accompany Yang Xiao to Cuiyun Circuit and investigate blessed grounds so Qingzhou could restore access to them.
• Pei Xuance warned Yang Xiao not to mention his dealings with Lotus Flower Temple, and Yang Xiao set out determined to seek Spiritual Roots.