Recaps

After Xiao Changyuan left Qingjiang County, Wu Tao became the Immortal Registry Office’s sole Immortal Official, deepening the Wu Household’s fear of Xu Household ambitions. Wu Rushan warned her family by revealing her Xiantian strength, and the chapter ended with Wu leaders debating whether to submit to the Xu Household or seek help from a powerful Commandery Seat clan.

• Xiao Changyuan left Qingjiang County, leaving Wu Tao in charge of the Immortal Registry Office, and County Magistrate Wu worried that the Xu Household would soon take control of local officialdom.
• The Wu Household Head and Madam Zheng visited Wu Rushan, where Xu Mingyuan explained that the Xu Household wanted the county magistrate’s position and Wu Rushan revealed that she had reached the Xiantian realm.
• The Wu Household Head interpreted Wu Rushan’s strength as a warning, returned home deeply troubled, and summoned the Heavenly Dragon Hall master, County Magistrate Wu, and Wu Zhan to discuss the Xu Household.
• The Wu Household leaders debated submitting to the Xu Household or drawing support from a Commandery Seat clan, while Wu Zhan argued that their powerful connections could counter the Xu Household.

The Xu Household intercepted Wu Zhan as he secretly rode toward the Commandery Seat to seek help against them. After Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei learned the Wu Household’s plans and history from him, they spared his life and sent him away.

• The Wu Household Head, County Magistrate Wu, and the Heavenly Dragon School Master agreed to wait and avoid provoking the Xu Household, but Wu Zhan secretly decided to seek outside support.
• Xu Mingyuan learned that Wu Zhan had left Qingjiang, and Xu Mingshu rode Little White with Third to capture him on the road.
• Xu Mingshu defeated Wu Zhan, bound him, and brought him back to the Xu Household, where he realized his captors were from the Xu Clan.
• Xu Mingyuan questioned Wu Zhan and ordered a guard to break his arm when he refused to talk.
• Wu Zhan revealed the Wu Household’s debate over the Xu Clan and his plan to approach the Zhong Household; Xu Mingyuan spared him, and Wu Zhan fled.

After Wu Zhan fled to seek the Zhong Household’s help against the Xu Household, Manager Jin warned the Zhong Household Head and secured his cooperation. Two days later, Wu Zhan brought the Zhong Household Head to Qingjiang, still believing their arrival would let him challenge the Xu Household.

• Xu Mingwei told Xu Mingyuan to handle the Wu Household’s affairs without neglecting his martial training, while Wu Zhan rode toward the commandery city seeking revenge.
• Cheng Fei delivered a letter from the Xu Household to Manager Jin at the Broad Lake Residence, and Manager Jin burned it after reading it.
• Manager Jin visited the Zhong Household Head and warned him that Wu Zhan might seek his help, prompting the Zhong Household Head to agree to act against the Wu Household’s interests rather than oppose the Xu Household.
• Wu Zhan arrived at the Zhong Household and persuaded the Zhong Household Head to accompany him to Qingjiang, claiming the Xu Household concealed a heaven-sent fortune.
• Two days later, the Zhong Household Head reached Qingjiang County with Wu Zhan, who invited him to rest at the Wu Household before confronting the Xu Household.

The Zhong Household lured Wu Zhan and the Wu Household’s forces into a trap and slaughtered them, then returned to the Commandery Seat without confronting the Xu Household. As rival clans moved to destroy the weakened Wu Household, Xu Mingwei prepared to intervene and take control of Qingjiang.

• The Zhong Household Head led Wu Zhan, the Heavenly Dragon Hall master, and their followers out of town, then ordered his forces to kill them all except Wu Zhan.
• The Zhong Household Head revealed that a fifth-rank aristocratic clan backed the Xu Household, executed Wu Zhan, and burned the bodies before returning to the Commandery Seat.
• Xu Mingshu reported the massacre to Xu Mingyuan, while the Wu Household Head found no signs of battle at the Xu estate and grew fearful as rumors spread.
• The Fang, Wang, He, and Cao Household Heads formed an alliance to divide the Wu Household’s wealth and foundations.
• Several Xiantian martial artists ambushed County Magistrate Wu, leaving him gravely injured, and the four allied households attacked the Wu Household.
• Xu Mingwei watched the attack with Xu Mingyuan and the others, planning to kill the attacking Xiantian martial artists and bring Qingjiang under the Xu Household’s control.

The Xu Household watched the Wu Household’s battle from afar, then Xu Mingwei helped Li Zhi defeat the attackers and left him to restore order in Qingjiang. Wu Rushan and Xu Mingyuan visited the devastated Wu Household, where County Magistrate Wu asked Li Zhi to take over the county’s administration.

• Xu Mingyuan confirmed that Li Zhi was waiting near the Wu Household, and Xu Mingshu sent A-Da to signal him when the time came.
• Li Zhi entered the battle with the yamen runners, and Xu Mingwei shot three attacking Xiantian Martial Artists who had surrounded him.
• Li Zhi imprisoned the survivors and condemned the Fang, Wang, He, and Cao Households after the five households’ leaders and many elders died.
• Xu Mingyuan told Wu Rushan what had happened, and they went to the Wu Household, where Wu Ruliang explained that the four households had attacked it.
• County Magistrate Wu asked Xu Mingyuan to tell Li Zhi to take over Qingjiang’s administration while he recovered from his injuries.

The Xu Household expanded its influence after the fall of the Five Great Aristocratic Clans, welcomed two new daughters, and saw Xu Dezhao enter the Xiantian Realm. Xu Mingwei entrusted Xu Dezhao with the secret Xiantian Five Elements Creation Art and warned him to protect the family’s hidden strength as the clan prepared for its future.

• Wu Rushan asked Wu Ruliang to send word if he learned the fate of her mother, Madam Zheng, or brother Rufeng, then departed with Xu Mingyuan.
• The Fang, Wang, He, and Cao Households were executed, and the Xu Household acquired their businesses as the Wu Household transferred its own holdings to Xu Mingwei’s family.
• Zhang Wanqing gave birth to Xu Deyun, Wu Rushan gave birth to Xu Derong, and Xu Dezhao broke through to the Xiantian Realm before turning fourteen.
• Xu Mingwei taught Xu Dezhao the Xiantian Five Elements Creation Art and ordered him to keep it secret, explaining that exposure could bring the Xu Household’s destruction.
• Xu Mingwei told Xu Dezhao that he would soon withdraw from clan leadership and urged him to keep the family’s strength concealed rather than declare it a Qi Refining Clan.
• At the Year Sacrifice, the Xu Household’s third generation numbered nine; Xu Chuan continued gathering resources and developing a protective formation while the family kept its identity hidden.

The Xu Household celebrated its prosperity, discovered that Xu Deling might have innate eagle spirit eyes, and expanded its influence in Qingjiang by placing two guards in official posts. Meanwhile, Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian arrived near Copper Mountain Commandery City after traveling through cultivator markets, where Xu Mingxian questioned why they were stopping there instead of going to the imperial capital.

• Bai Jing toasted the Xu Household’s prosperity, thanked her daughters-in-law, and urged Xu Mingshu’s brothers to help find her a husband.
• Xu Mingshu noticed that Xu Deling’s eyes briefly resembled an eagle’s, and Xu Mingwei told her to keep the possible innate spirit eyes secret and help the girl bond with the Azurefire Eagles.
• Xu Mingwei assigned Cheng Fei and Shen Guang to seek official posts; after a rival candidate defeated Shen Guang and was secretly killed by the Xu Household, Shen Guang became county commandant and Cheng Fei took the deputy magistrate post.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian arrived outside Copper Mountain Commandery City, where Xu Mingxian asked why they were stopping there rather than continuing to the imperial capital.

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian traveled to Copper Mountain Commandery City, explored its cultivator market, and spent months refining pills and improving their resources. The chapter ended when Xu Mingxian reported a lead on a clan-protecting grand formation, though it was far too expensive.

• Xu Chuan warned Xu Mingxian to stay cautious on their journey and agreed to repair his damaged alchemy furnace rather than replace it.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian entered Copper Mountain Commandery City and registered to access its cultivator market, where they learned that rogue cultivator Qiu Jiu remained missing.
• Xu Mingxian repaired Xu Chuan's furnace, and the two rented a cave abode where Xu Chuan refined pills while Xu Mingxian studied formations.
• Xu Chuan improved his alchemy, acquired pills and magical artifacts, and saved more than six hundred spirit stones with Xu Mingxian.
• Xu Mingxian told Xu Chuan they had found a lead on a clan-protecting grand formation, but its price was too high.

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian bought an incomplete Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation, and Xu Mingxian began repairing it. Xu Chuan sold Realm-Breaking Pills, reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and learned that the formation repairs would require more materials.

• Xu Mingxian told Xu Chuan he could complete the damaged formation within a year, and Xu Chuan agreed to raise the eight hundred spirit stones needed to buy it.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian sold pills until they had enough spirit stones, then Xu Mingxian bought the Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation from the Rare Treasures Pavilion.
• Xu Chuan sold two Low-Grade Realm-Breaking Pills, used the proceeds to buy spirit medicines, and continued cultivating and refining pills.
• After reaching the peak of the eighth layer of Qi Refining, Xu Chuan swallowed a High-Grade Realm-Breaking Pill and broke through to the ninth layer.
• Xu Mingxian said he expected to finish repairing the formation before the Year Sacrifice but needed five costly second-tier materials, while Xu Chuan wondered whether Xu Mingwei had reached grandmaster perfection.

Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingxian pills to support his cultivation and continued seeking materials to repair the formation. After hearing that Prince Yong's Estate was recruiting pill masters to treat the princess consort, Xu Chuan went to apply and arrived at the estate for assessment.

• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingxian three bottles of pills and urged him to advance quickly so he could repair the formation.
• Xu Chuan found that the materials for the repair were costly, then heard that Prince Yong's Estate was offering a substantial reward to a pill master who could refine a healing pill.
• At Prince Yong's Estate, Zhou Sen said that he could not refine a mid-grade Jade Sprout Pill, but suggested that the Zhou Household's absent guest elder might have been able to do so.
• Xu Chuan registered at the Market District recruitment site under the name Daoist San Shu and traveled to Prince Yong's Estate with two other applicants.
• Steward Gu welcomed the pill masters and said they would be assessed on their knowledge of the Pill Dao before receiving a chance to treat the princess consort.

Xu Chuan won the Prince's Residence's pill-refinement assessment and studied second-tier formulas before refining a Mid-Grade Jade Sprout Pill to treat Princess Consort Yong. As Prince Yong returned with Yun Zhongzi and ordered the scarce ingredients reserved for him, Xu Chuan continued refining inside the sealed Pill Chamber.

• Xu Chuan reunited with Zhou Sen and Master He, then won the pill-refinement assessment by producing more and better Qi-Replenishing Pills than the other candidates.
• Steward Gu gave Xu Chuan second-tier pill formulas and ingredients, and Xu Chuan practiced until he successfully refined a low-grade True Essence Pill.
• Xu Chuan studied the Jade Sprout Pill's ingredients and, after repeated failures, refined a Mid-Grade pill on his tenth batch.
• Prince Yong returned with Yun Zhongzi, who said he needed five or six sets of ingredients to have a chance of refining a Mid-Grade Jade Sprout Pill.
• Prince Yong ordered Steward Gu to stop Xu Chuan, but Xu Chuan continued refining after Steward Gu called through the Pill Chamber's restrictions.

Xu Chuan refined Jade Sprout Pills for Prince Yong and helped secure the princess consort’s recovery. After receiving rewards, he considered Yun Zhongzi’s invitation to join the Pill Hall as a Guest Elder, leaving his decision open.

• Xu Chuan used all twelve sets of Jade Sprout Pill materials and produced five low-grade pills and one Mid-Grade pill among his results.
• Xu Chuan presented his pills to Prince Yong, and Yun Zhongzi confirmed that one was Mid-Grade before Prince Yong took it to treat his wife.
• Prince Yong announced that the princess consort was recovering and offered Xu Chuan a reward; Xu Chuan requested a high-grade metal-element Flying Sword and three sets of Formation Path materials for a friend.
• Prince Yong rewarded Xu Chuan and gave him a token for entering and leaving the Market District.
• Yun Zhongzi invited Xu Chuan to join the Pill Hall as a Guest Elder and explained its freedom, duties, and stipend.

Xu Chuan joined the Pill Hall in the Imperial Capital, gaining the Great Wei Imperial Clan’s protection while studying the Pill Dao. After completing his annual pill assignment, he learned of advanced alchemy techniques that might help him overcome a bottleneck.

• Xu Chuan accepted Yun Zhongzi’s invitation to join the Pill Hall and told Xu Mingxian that the Xu Household had gained a powerful backer.
• Yun Zhongzi brought Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian to the Imperial Capital, where Xu Chuan completed his admission ceremony and received a pill chamber and nearby residence.
• Xu Chuan finished the Pill Hall’s annual assignment in two months, collected sixty spirit stones, and spent his time studying, cultivating, and advising other alchemists.
• True Person Yunding explained that Xu Chuan could improve his alchemy with advanced techniques kept on the Pill Hall’s third floor, including the Nine-Flame Art and the Jade Elixir Return-to-Truth Art.
• Xu Chuan considered seeking the Nine-Flame Art from Yun Zhongzi, hoping his [Heaven Rewards Diligence] talent would let him master it.

Xu Chuan learned two pill-refining arts, improved his skills, and earned more than four hundred spirit stones through performance assignments while avoiding a deeper commitment to the Pill Hall. Xu Mingxian broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining and neared completion of his formation repairs, while Xu Chuan remained away from home.

• Xu Chuan bought the Nine-Flame Art and the Jade Elixir Return-to-Truth Art from Yun Zhongzi, but declined to immediately bind himself to the Pill Hall.
• Xu Chuan practiced the two arts, refined new pill formulas, and improved his pill-refining results.
• Xu Chuan accepted performance assignments and raised his savings to more than four hundred spirit stones by mid-October.
• Xu Mingxian swallowed a mid-grade Realm-Breaking Pill and broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Mingxian reconstructed most of the formation patterns and planned to redraw them after acquiring enough materials, noting that Xu Chuan had been away for nearly half a month.

Xu Chuan supported Xu Mingxian’s plan to use formations in close combat and gave him the Nine-Flame Art to cultivate his divine sense. Later, Xu Chuan rejected several clans’ offers of cooperation and joined True Person Yunding at an auction, where he learned about Great Wei’s major clans.

• Xu Mingxian told Xu Chuan about his idea to create formations with divine sense and use them to hinder enemies in close combat.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingxian the Nine-Flame Art, explaining that it could help him control multiple magical artifacts and repair formation flags.
• Xu Chuan refused Wang Gui’s proposal that he cooperate with the Wang Clan, and the Wang Clan’s head told Wang Gui not to antagonize a Pill Hall attendant.
• Xu Chuan continued turning down clan managers who sought cooperation, then agreed to accompany True Person Yunding to an auction at the Rare Treasures Pavilion.
• True Person Yunding explained that the Jiang, Lin, and Lei clans were Great Wei’s three first-rank aristocratic clans, and Xu Chuan and Yunding watched the auction while drinking Jade True Brew.

Xu Chuan and True Person Yunding bought an Ancient Alchemy Scripture Scroll and an incomplete pill formula at auction, then discovered the formula might strengthen Divine Sense and improve the chances of reaching Foundation Establishment. Yun Zhongzi assigned Xu Chuan, Yunding, and Xu Zhen to complete it, leaving all four pill masters studying the formula.

• Xu Chuan and True Person Yunding discussed the Wang Clan's young Ice Attribute Bloodline genius and the Imperial Capital's aristocratic clans.
• Xu Chuan and True Person Yunding pooled their funds to buy an Ancient Alchemy Scripture Scroll for thirty-two spirit stones, then Yunding won an incomplete pill formula for nine.
• Xu Chuan copied the Ancient Alchemy Scripture Scroll while True Person Yunding investigated the formula and discovered its pill might transform Divine Sense into Spiritual Consciousness.
• Xu Chuan and True Person Yunding brought the formula to Yun Zhongzi, who accepted it for the Pill Hall and organized a study group with Xu Zhen.
• Xu Zhen, Xu Chuan, True Person Yunding, and Yun Zhongzi began studying the incomplete formula, hoping to complete it and earn a share of the pill's proceeds.

Xu Chuan completed a pill formula that produced Spirit Ascension Pills, then took three high-grade pills and transformed his Divine Sense into Spiritual Consciousness. He concealed the result and planned to use his remaining time in the Pill Hall to improve his pill-refining skills.

• Xu Zhen abandoned his attempt to complete the formula, and True Person Yunding later gave up as well, leaving Xu Chuan and Yun Zhongzi to continue experimenting.
• Xu Chuan studied the ingredients, tested dozens of formulas, and found that harvesting Moon-Viewing Grass under moonlight improved the pill’s efficacy.
• Yun Zhongzi set a one-month limit for the research, while Xu Chuan refined a high-grade formula and named its pills Spirit Ascension Pills.
• Xu Chuan accumulated five high-grade Spirit Ascension Pills, then took three and endured the powerful medicinal force as his soul and Divine Sense transformed.
• Xu Chuan awakened with Spiritual Consciousness capable of probing several li, kept his breakthrough concealed, and planned to refine ordinary pills before returning to Spirit Ascension Pills.

Xu Chuan completed the Divine Sense Pill formula, received the high-grade Lìfèng Furnace and a share of future profits, while secretly stockpiling Spirit Ascension Pills for the Xu Household. After revealing that his divine sense had transformed into spiritual consciousness, Xu Chuan was summoned by the Lei Clan’s manager and left with him for the clan.

• Xu Chuan presented Yun Zhongzi with the completed Divine Sense Pill, accepted the Lìfèng Furnace, and agreed to receive five percent of the pill’s profits.
• Yun Zhongzi announced Xu Chuan’s achievement, and demand for Divine Sense Pills surged among the Imperial Capital’s aristocratic clans.
• Xu Chuan told Xu Mingxian that high-grade Spirit Ascension Pills had transformed his divine sense into spiritual consciousness and advised him to wait until Qi Refining perfection before taking one.
• Xu Chuan continued refining Divine Sense Pills, while news of his alchemy skill reached the Imperial Clan and other aristocratic clans.
• After Yun Zhongzi left to travel, Lei Feng invited Xu Chuan to the Lei Clan on its head’s behalf, and Xu Chuan accompanied him from the Pill Hall.

Xu Chuan refined an Azure Radiance Pill for the Lei Clan and earned its protection, then helped True Person Yunding learn to make high-grade Divine Sense Pills. With the Pill Hall no longer relying on him alone, Xu Chuan prepared to travel home, though he gave no return date.

• Xu Chuan refined an Azure Radiance Pill for the Lei Clan Head, received a Lei Clan Token, and swore not to disclose the matter.
• Xu Chuan learned that the imperial clan wanted twelve high-grade Divine Sense Pills and decided to teach True Person Yunding to refine them.
• After several days of guidance from Xu Chuan, True Person Yunding refined his first high-grade Divine Sense Pill, provoking Xu Zhen's anger.
• Xu Chuan gathered ingredients for the Xu Household's pill reserves while True Person Yunding's success made his departure from the Pill Hall feasible.
• Steward Chen tried to persuade Xu Chuan to stay, but Xu Chuan said his return date was undecided.

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian returned to the Xu Household after traveling to the Imperial Capital, where their family and retainers welcomed them home. Xu Chuan reunited with Bai Jing and his children, then assessed the household’s progress and planned support for its cultivators and martial artists.

• Xu Chuan left the Pill Hall after giving Steward Chen Divine Sense Pills, and he and Xu Mingxian traveled back toward Qingjiang.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian arrived at the Xu Household, where farmers, guards, and family members celebrated their return.
• Xu Mingyuan explained how the Xu Household had seized the Wu Household’s lands and absorbed property from the Wu, Fang, Wang, He, and Cao households.
• Xu Mingxian described the Imperial Capital to the family but withheld the details of Xu Chuan’s reputation there.
• Xu Chuan reassured Bai Jing, discussed Xu Mingshu’s choice not to marry, and heard an account of the household’s affairs.
• Xu Chuan praised Xu Mingwei’s progress, urged his sons to keep cultivating and strengthening alliances, supplied pills, and directed the household’s young Qi Refining members to meet him at the Jade-Cold Pool.

Xu Chuan and Xu Mingxian discovered that the Jade-Cold Pool concealed an ancient sealing formation that could power the Xu Household’s Clan-Protecting Grand Formation. Xu Chuan also developed pills that greatly accelerated the Xu Household’s martial cultivation, while the formation’s sealed threat remained uncertain.

• Xu Chuan explained that the Black Iron Fruit Tree could transform demon beasts, then gave cultivation pills to household members and invited Zhang Wanqing to study the Pill Dao.
• Xu Mingxian investigated the Jade-Cold Pool and found traces of a powerful formation beneath its waters.
• Xu Chuan’s divination revealed that the Three-Absolute Dragon-Locking Grand Formation could support a Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation, and Xu Mingxian confirmed this while warning that the formation sealed a great demon or vicious creature.
• Xu Chuan instructed Xu Mingxian not to damage the ancient formation and continued investigating its implications through daily divination.
• Xu Chuan perfected pill formulas for Houtian and Xiantian martial artists, enabling the Xu Household to cultivate martial experts more quickly and help some members enter the Immortal Way.

Xu Mingwei broke through to Grandmaster Perfection and entered the Immortal Way, then tested the Ink Flood Dragon Bow against Xu Chuan. His magic-powered arrow shattered five of Xu Chuan’s six Blazing Fire Walls, leaving the final wall between them.

• Xu Chuan developed Grandmaster Martial Pills, and Xu Mingwei used them to reach Grandmaster Perfection before converting his Xiantian True Qi into magic power and attaining the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan gave Xu Mingwei a Storage Pouch, High-Grade Qi-Gathering Pills, and a Mirror-Breaking Pill, while Xu Mingwei urged the Xu Household to guard against soul searches and keep watch on the loyalty of those it trained.
• Xu Chuan began teaching Zhang Wanqing pill refining, while his own cultivation neared the late ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Chuan and Xu Mingwei tested the Ink Flood Dragon Bow near Jade-Cold Pool, and Xu Mingwei’s physical-strength-only arrow broke through Xu Chuan’s Blazing Fire Wall after several breaths.
• Xu Mingwei powered a second arrow with his magic power, identified weaknesses in the fire walls with his changed Fate Talent, and shattered five of Xu Chuan’s six layers.

Xu Chuan tested Xu Mingwei’s combat strength, then learned that activating the Xu Household’s new protective formation disturbed the seal holding a powerful flood dragon beneath the Jade-Cold Pool. After speaking with the dragon, Xu Chuan weighed whether the Xu Household should cooperate with it or keep it sealed, while preparing to strengthen the clan and conceal its growing cultivation.

• Xu Mingwei used Weak-Point Targeting to break Xu Chuan’s Blazing Fire Walls, and Xu Chuan blessed him with [gale chasing lightning].
• Xu Mingwei reported that the Four Symbols Heavenly Dipper Formation was ready, and Xu Chuan’s divination warned that activating it would disturb the Three-Absolute Dragon-Locking Grand Formation and awaken the sealed flood dragon.
• Xu Mingxian activated the formation, allowing Xu Chuan to communicate with the peak third-rank Water-Element Flood Dragon and learn that it had only two or three hundred years of life remaining.
• Xu Chuan had Xu Mingxian deactivate the formation and discussed the flood dragon’s possible escape, deciding to consider cooperation while keeping the option of leaving it sealed.
• Xu Chuan sent Xu Mingxian to the Imperial Capital to seek another formation and collect cultivation resources, while planning to conceal the Xu Household’s rising strength.

Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu’s herb-gathering party encountered Su Dingzhen and his guards in the Broken Fang Mountain Range, where a dispute over a Blueheart Flower ended without violence. After learning the Xu party’s strength and spirit beasts, Su Dingzhen chose not to attack, and Xu Dezhao urged caution because the Su Household might retaliate.

• Xu Mingxian left to venture into the world, while Xu Chuan reassured Bai Jing that he would return soon.
• Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu led an eighteen-person party, including Xu Dezhao and the Red-Gold-Eyed White Tiger, back into the mountains to search for medicinal plants.
• A Su Household guard struck Wang Yan when he approached a Blueheart Flower, and Xu Mingshu demanded that Su Dingzhen settle the dispute.
• Su Dingzhen agreed to let the matter rest after sensing the Xu party’s strength, and Xu Mingxuan’s group gave up the flower and moved on.
• Su Dingzhen’s guards suggested attacking the Xu party, but he judged the outcome uncertain and led his group away.
• Xu Dezhao warned Xu Mingxuan and Xu Mingshu that killing Su Dingzhen could provoke retaliation from the Su Household’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor.

The Xu Household considered exploiting the growing turmoil between the Su and Zhou households, while the Su Household began rallying its allies and investigating rival clans. In the Imperial Capital, Xu Mingxian met three cultivators seeking a Formation Master to help explore an ancient cave abode in Guangling Commandery.

• Xu Mingxuan led the Xu team onward after confirming the other group had gone in the opposite direction, while Su Dingzhen returned from his herb-gathering trip with a report about a spirit-beast rider and a jade dew pill.
• Su Shangfang rewarded Su Dingzhen and reported the encounter to the Su Household’s leaders, who suspected a Qi Refining clan was secretly preparing to exploit the Su Ancestor’s approaching death.
• Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei discussed the coming turmoil in Moon Lake Commandery as a possible opportunity for the Xu Household, and Xu Chuan told them to plan carefully.
• Half a month later, the Su Household invited Qi Refining clans to send promising youths for training, prompting the Zhou Household and its allies to leave and dividing the city’s clans.
• Xu Mingxian, having failed to find rare cultivation materials in the Imperial Capital, was approached by Zhang Yanzhi, Daoist Chongxu, and Jin Hu, who invited him to help break the formation guarding an ancient cultivator’s cave abode in neighboring Guangling Commandery.