Recaps

Cui Qiezhe tended Jiang Peilan’s badly burned hands and told her he had never loved her, though he still fulfilled his duties as her husband. At Brightheart Residence, Zhang Yuan discovered that the method for cultivating [Ketu Thorn] required enduring torture, and Xiao Yuanjun offered to revise it.

• Cui Qiezhe asked Jiang Peilan about her hidden injuries and learned she had caught Solar Profound Light with her hands to protect the sword he had given her.
• Cui Qiezhe scolded Jiang Peilan for risking her hands over a mortal-iron sword, then applied medicine to her wounds.
• Jiang Peilan asked Cui Qiezhe whether he loved her, and he said he had never loved her but was treating her because she was his wife.
• Zhang Yuan read the Ninefold Nether True Lord Unmoving Torture Scripture and realized its cultivation required him to endure brutal torture to produce a Mystic Wonder.
• Xiao Yuanjun offered to revise the method for Zhang Yuan.

Xiao Yuanjun devised an easier method for Zhang Yuan to nurture a [Ketu Thorn] Mystic Wonder, using her cultivation insights and annotations. Zhang Yuan prepared to begin at once, but they postponed the attempt until morning because they lacked a water jar.

• Xiao Yuanjun spent nearly two hours improving a method for nurturing a Mystic Wonder while leaning on Zhang Yuan.
• Xiao Yuanjun wrote out her revised [Ketu Thorn] method, which required Zhang Yuan to submerge his head in water without warding it off while applying his cultivation insights.
• Zhang Yuan studied Xiao Yuanjun's annotations and estimated that he had at least a seventy-percent chance of success.
• Zhang Yuan urged Xiao Yuanjun to start immediately, but she pointed out they had no water jar and suggested buying one the next day.
• Xiao Yuanjun and Zhang Yuan went to sleep, leaving the Mystic Wonder attempt until morning.

Zhang Yuan discovered that the sun had failed to rise and that yin death qi was seeping through a crack in the Capital City's formation. At the city wall, he saw the world outside transformed by dense fog, roaming ghosts, and a blood-red moon.

• Cui Zhaowei arrived at Brightheart Residence and told Zhang Yuan that it was already the hour of the snake, though night still covered the sky.
• Zhang Yuan detected mysterious yin death qi in the courtyard and learned from Cui Zhaowei that a crack in the Capital City's grand formation was letting yin qi enter.
• Zhang Yuan asked Cui Zhaowei to buy a water vat for the birth of his mystic wonder, and she eagerly flew off to do it.
• Zhang Yuan flew to the Capital City's wall to investigate what Wu Duanzhuo had done.
• Zhang Yuan saw dense fog, a blood-red moon, roaming ghosts and ghost officials, towering giants, and lights from cities that should have been ruins.

Zhang Yuan concluded that the Ya Kingdom’s transformation was likely controlled by a mastermind connected to the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm, then returned to Brightheart Residence to strengthen himself by bringing forth mystic wonder. He began contemplating the nature of water while submerged in a filled vat.

• Zhang Yuan examined the Ya Kingdom and its formation, concluding that Wu Duanzhuo might be under another mastermind’s control and that the Capital City remained safe for now.
• Zhang Yuan returned to Brightheart Residence to focus on growing stronger and preparing to bring forth mystic wonder.
• Cui Zhaowei guarded a water vat while Xiao Yuanjun wondered whether Zhang Yuan had fooled her with his sweet talk.
• Zhang Yuan filled the vat with water using his words, then plunged into it as Xiao Yuanjun and Cui Zhaowei kept watch.
• Zhang Yuan endured the sensation of drowning and contemplated how water’s downward movement and earth-born turbidity related to the Nether Bureau and the Yellow Springs.

Zhang Yuan successfully manifested the [Yellow Springs Drink-and-Arrival] mystic wonder from [Golden Carriage Luan Chariot]. He explained that it could interrupt an opponent’s technique once and make an attack or technique happen again instantly, leaving Xiao Yuanjun and Cui Zhaowei impressed by its combat potential.

• Zhang Yuan plunged his head into the water vat and manifested a mystic wonder with two wondrous applications.
• Zhang Yuan identified it as [Yellow Springs Drink-and-Arrival], an extension of [Golden Carriage Luan Chariot]'s fate-disrupting effect.
• Zhang Yuan explained that [Yellow Springs Drink] could seal another person’s divine ability, mystic wonder, fate, or technique once, interrupting its use.
• Xiao Yuanjun recognized that the interruption could disrupt a battle even if the opponent could activate the technique again.
• Zhang Yuan explained that [Yellow Springs Arrival] could instantly repeat [Yellow Springs Drink] or enhance another attack, technique, or ally’s strike.

Zhang Yuan brought forth Mystic Wonders that strengthened his prospects of attaining [Ketu Thorn] and began refining xin metal. Meanwhile, Cui Zhaowei was assigned to help manage the Capital City amid endless darkness and growing rumors blaming her father, until an angry resident confronted her.

• Xiao Yuanjun praised Zhang Yuan's [Yellow Springs Arrival], and Zhang Yuan realized that his Mystic Wonders aligned with [Ketu Thorn] and could improve his chances of Seeking Truth.
• Zhang Yuan decided to refine the xin metal True Lord Ceased Light Punishes Thoughts had given him, while asking Cui Zhaowei to report any moves by Wu Duanzhuo.
• Two days later, the Capital City remained dark beneath the fog, and residents resumed daily life under lamplight as rumors blamed King Jiang Lingche, the court, and Chancellor Cui Qiezhe for the disasters.
• Cui Zhaowei arrived at the Bright Heaven Office, where she had been assigned to help manage the crowded city, and ignored residents denouncing her father as the Demon Chancellor.
• An angry resident shouted at Cui Zhaowei to give back their parents' lives, and her Waist Sword sprang from its sheath.

Cui Zhaowei killed Yan Ruosi and discovered a mass of hair inside her head, suggesting a Form Refinement, Spirit Transformation Path Demonic Cultivator was nearby. The hair attacked a crime reporter, ate his hair and part of his skull, then fled.

• Yan Ruosi stepped forward to complain about Cui Qiezhe, and Cui Zhaowei beheaded her with a burst of Sword Qi.
• Cui Zhaowei examined Yan Ruosi's head and found foul hair inside, suspecting the old monk Jingjue or another Demonic Cultivator was behind it.
• Cui Zhaowei ordered Registrar Zhu to cordon off Yan Ruosi's corpse and warned that Young Master Zhang was still in seclusion.
• A short man rushed into the Bright Heaven Office to report a death, then recoiled at the hair on the ground and begged the monk for mercy.
• The hair sprang at the short man, resisted Cui Zhaowei's Sword Qi, devoured his hair and part of his skull, then split into strands and escaped.

Zhang Yuan arranged the refined cinnabar yang fire qi and xin metal qi within his Dao Domain, creating a sea of fire and strengthening the mountain vegetation. Back at Brightheart Residence, he caught Old Monk Jingjue’s filthy hair infiltrating the room and trapped it in his Dao Domain, where he commanded it to stop.

• Zhang Yuan formed a vast sea of molten fire in the southern reaches of his Dao Domain using the cinnabar yang fire qi.
• Zhang Yuan infused xin metal qi into the mountain vegetation, hiding its sharpness while making it harder and more powerful.
• Zhang Yuan returned from the inner great void to find Xiao Yuanjun asleep beside him in Brightheart Residence.
• Zhang Yuan spotted filthy black hair probing through the door cracks and recognized it as part of the Canghua Shangyuan Immortal Art.
• Zhang Yuan spread his Dao Domain over Brightheart Residence, trapping the hair in the mountain forest, and ordered it to stop as it tried to escape.

Zhang Yuan discovered that the hair attacking Brightheart Residence belonged to Jingjue, a monk he had already killed, and set out to locate him in the Capital City. Meanwhile, Jingjue posed as a fortune-teller among the refugees and began discussing reincarnation with Fan Ting and the crowd.

• Zhang Yuan burned the hair down to one surviving strand after spotting fresh blood on it.
• Zhang Yuan used his Celestial Person Status to trace the strand’s karma and learned that Jingjue controlled it, despite having killed him utterly.
• Zhang Yuan decided to locate Jingjue in the Capital City and seize him to learn how he had returned.
• Fan Ting, a destitute merchant living among refugees near the southern gate, brought a bowl of porridge to Jingjue’s fortune-telling stall.
• Fan Ting asked Jingjue about his past life, and Jingjue questioned why people did not retain their memories through reincarnation, drawing the refugees into the discussion.

Jingjue tried to stir up the refugees, but Zhang Yuan seized him before he could escape the Capital City. Cornered by Zhang Yuan, Jingjue revealed Imperial Preceptor Lu’s identity and invoked an Immortal Sage.

• Jingjue asked Fan Ting whether remembering a past life was worthwhile and prepared to teach the refugees how to earn blessings for their next lives.
• Fan Ting spotted a mountain behind Jingjue, and Jingjue fled toward the south gate in panic.
• A huge spiritual hand grabbed Jingjue and carried him through a spatial fissure to Zhang Yuan.
• Zhang Yuan tricked Jingjue into admitting his identity, then questioned him about Imperial Preceptor Lu.
• Jingjue said Imperial Preceptor Lu was an Immortal Sage reborn to save the world, then summoned Canghua Shangyuan to descend.

Li Huixi explained to Dongfang Caibai that the coming chaos calamity would incorporate other realms into the Azure Firmament Dust-Dyed Realm, and that a cultivator from the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm had already arrived with Zhang Yuan. The conversation ended with Li Huixi rejecting Dongfang Caibai’s proposal to become Zhang Yuan’s secondary wife.

• Dongfang Caibai asked Li Huixi how this chaos calamity differed from earlier ones, and Li Huixi explained that other realms would be incorporated into the Azure Firmament Dust-Dyed Realm.
• Li Huixi said a heavenly law left by a True Lord in the previous calamity had made the current calamity its continuation, and that the realms still had a chance to survive through incorporation.
• Li Huixi revealed that a cultivator from the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm had arrived early and was with Zhang Yuan.
• Dongfang Caibai worried that Zhang Yuan might be in danger, then said he was her fiancé and proposed becoming his secondary wife.
• Li Huixi rejected Dongfang Caibai’s proposal and insisted that Zhang Yuan could only belong to her.

Lu Rong of the Nine Serenities Sect descended into the Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain and mistook Zhang Yuan for a helpless mortal before realizing he might be a powerful native cultivator. The chapter left Lu Rong terrified when Zhang Yuan began to reveal his dao epithet.

• Jingjue summoned Lu Rong from the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm through a black gate.
• Lu Rong introduced himself as an incarnation of True Person Canghua Shangyuan and claimed Jingjue had been bullied by Zhang Yuan.
• Lu Rong ordered Zhang Yuan to die by his palm or take his own life, but Zhang Yuan calmly identified Lu Rong as an advanced late-stage outer dao golden core cultivator.
• Lu Rong claimed to be True Person Lingyou of the Nine Nether Immortal Palace and asked Zhang Yuan for his name.
• Zhang Yuan began giving his dao epithet, Return to True, and Lu Rong feared he was an Earth Immortal of the Azure Firmament Dust-Dyed Realm.

Lu Rong mistook Zhang Yuan for an Earth Immortal and discovered that he had been trapped inside Zhang Yuan’s grotto-heaven blessed land all along. After Lu Rong sacrificed Jingjue to appease Zhang Yuan, Xiao Yuanjun questioned him about why he called her a Heavenly Immortal.

• Lu Rong fled from Zhang Yuan toward a molten sea of fire, but the grotto-heaven’s power returned him instantly to the central mountain.
• Lu Rong realized he had never left Zhang Yuan’s grotto-heaven blessed land, then struck Jingjue for summoning him into danger.
• Lu Rong apologized to Zhang Yuan and offered him an Outer Dao Dharma Treasure, then killed Jingjue when Zhang Yuan reminded him of his earlier threat.
• Zhang Yuan used Three Calamities Returning to Origin Divine Radiance to annihilate Jingjue’s body, hair, and soul.
• Xiao Yuanjun awoke and asked Lu Rong why he called Zhang Yuan an Earth Immortal and her a Heavenly Immortal.

Zhang Yuan learned the ancient cultivation ranks of the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm from Lu Rong, then dealt with a threat in the Capital City and discussed how to find hidden Form Refinement, Spirit Transformation Path cultivators. The chapter left Lu Rong concealing his means of contacting them while Zhang Yuan questioned him.

• Lu Rong explained the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm's cultivation stages, including the titles Earth Immortal, Divine Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, and Golden Immortal.
• Cui Zhaowei arrived to warn Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun that a Demonic Cultivator had infiltrated the Capital City, and Zhang Yuan said the danger had already been dealt with.
• Cui Zhaowei cautioned that more Demonic Cultivators might be hiding among the refugees, and Zhang Yuan agreed that the threat had to be rooted out.
• Zhang Yuan identified Lu Rong as a cultivator from the Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm and asked whether he could help locate Form Refinement, Spirit Transformation Path cultivators.
• Lu Rong denied knowing how to find them, though he secretly knew how to contact them and hoped to keep that knowledge as a means of escape.

Zhang Yuan brought Lu Rong to Cui Qiezhe so the chancellor could question him about Wu Duanzhuo's plans. At the Cui Residence, officials teased Zhang Yuan about marrying Cui Zhaowei, leaving him flustered and denying any romance.

• Zhang Yuan refused to let Lu Rong leave and took him to the Cui Residence, planning to have Cui Qiezhe question him.
• Cui Zhaowei wondered whether Zhang Yuan had held her the same way while flying and thought it had looked unseemly.
• Zhang Yuan and Lu Rong arrived at the Cui Residence, where officials had gathered for their weekly reports.
• Cui Wenxi introduced himself to Zhang Yuan and asked when he would marry Cui Zhaowei.
• The officials agreed with Cui Wenxi and teased Zhang Yuan, who insisted that nothing improper was happening between him and Cui Zhaowei.

Zhang Yuan brought Lu Rong, a captured Golden Core Demonic Cultivator, to the Cui Residence and learned that an intruder had injured Cui Qiezhe before escaping the Capital City. After Lu Rong revealed a way to detect nearby Form Refinement, Spirit Transformation cultivators, Zhang Yuan used it to summon them, then pinned a Fourth Rank official to the ground with a sword.

• Cui Wenxi told Zhang Yuan that Daoist Lu had infiltrated the Capital City, injured Cui Qiezhe with Mysterious Yin Death Qi, and escaped after Jiang Peilan repelled him.
• Zhang Yuan introduced Lu Rong as a captured Demonic Cultivator who could reveal the sect behind the Demonic Calamity, and He Yang and the other officials beat Lu Rong until he offered to cooperate.
• Lu Rong gave Zhang Yuan a secret art that could alert nearby Form Refinement, Spirit Transformation cultivators, and Zhang Yuan had Cui Wenxi spread his Dao Domain over the area.
• Zhang Yuan used the secret art to call the cultivators to the Cui Residence, but when nothing happened, he hurled a sword and pinned a Fourth Rank official to the ground.

Zhang Yuan exposed Ye Wende as a Demonic Cultivator of the form refinement, spirit transformation path, and Cui Wenxi captured him. After the officials dispersed, the prime minister invited Zhang Yuan inside for a talk.

• Zhang Yuan accused Ye Wende of secretly cultivating demonic arts and attacked him, but Ye Wende denied the charge.
• When Zhang Yuan struck again, Ye Wende used his cultivation to dissolve the sword and evade the attack, revealing the bloody maw in his abdomen.
• Cui Wenxi froze Ye Wende with his Dao Domain as he tried to burrow underground and escape.
• A messenger delivered the prime minister's decree accusing Ye Wende of colluding with Wu Kingdom and harvesting stomachs, then ordered Cui Wenxi to imprison him and Lu Rong.
• The officials left the Ya East Cui Residence, and the messenger stopped Zhang Yuan to invite him to speak with the prime minister.

Zhang Yuan visited the apparently gravely injured Cui Qiezhe and reported capturing a Mountain-Sea Profound Yellow Realm cultivator, while Cui Qiezhe maneuvered him into accepting a matchmaking meeting. After Zhang Yuan left, Cui Qiezhe revealed that his injuries were faked and that he intended to match Zhang Yuan with his daughter, Cui Zhaowei.

• Zhang Yuan asked Cui Qiezhe about the Daoist surnamed Lu who had ambushed him, and Cui Qiezhe said the attacker’s methods resembled the Hengyang Lu Clan’s arts but his origins were uncertain.
• Zhang Yuan told Cui Qiezhe he had captured a Demonic Cultivator who could summon an Immortal Sage, and suggested the authorities use pressure to capture more cultivators of that path.
• Cui Qiezhe offered Zhang Yuan a reward, then insisted on arranging a match for him when Zhang Yuan declined treasures and cultivation arts.
• Cui Qiezhe used his supposed frailty to push Zhang Yuan into agreeing to meet the prospective match, and Zhang Yuan returned to Brightheart Residence.
• After Zhang Yuan left, Jiang Peilan emerged, and Cui Qiezhe revealed that he was healthy and had intended to match Zhang Yuan with Cui Zhaowei.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun set out to seek the Mysterious Yin Death Qi outside the Ya Kingdom so Xiao Yuanjun could advance, while Li Jingque and Li Houjin arrived for the same essence. Li Zhongshuang encountered the Li clan pair on her way to find Zhang Yuan and was rebuked by Li Houjin.

• Xiao Yuanjun told Zhang Yuan that Mysterious Yin Death Qi was about to emerge outside the city, and he urged her to refine it so she could reach the Celestial Mid-Stage.
• Xiao Yuanjun agreed to Zhang Yuan's suggestion, and the two left the city to seek the essence.
• Li Jingque and Li Houjin arrived at the Ya Kingdom to obtain the Mysterious Yin Death Qi for Li Houjin's cultivation.
• Li Zhongshuang flew to the Ya Kingdom after learning Zhang Yuan had gone there, but found its borders shrouded in Great Yin Spirit Qi and Mysterious Yin Death Qi.
• Li Zhongshuang greeted Li Jingque and Li Houjin, and Li Houjin rebuked her for claiming kinship with the Li Clan.

Li Zhongshuang reflected on why she distrusted the Eastern Bian Li Clan and felt guilty about her marriage agreement with Zhang Yuan, while deciding she did not want to marry him. When Li Jingque offered to escort her toward the Ya Kingdom's Capital City, Lu Jianqing arrived and offered her a ride, revealing he had come to investigate someone impersonating the Hengyang Lu Clan.

• Li Houjin resented Li Zhongshuang for receiving the Little Ancestor's favor and clan resources despite being an illegitimate daughter.
• Li Zhongshuang recalled how Li Houcheng had brought her into the clan only after Li Huixi discovered her talent, and how he had ignored her mother's grave.
• Li Zhongshuang thought of her marriage agreement with Zhang Yuan and resolved to compensate him, though she did not want to marry him.
• Li Jingque warned Li Zhongshuang that the Ya Kingdom was overrun by ghosts and offered to escort her toward the Capital City.
• Lu Jianqing arrived on his scarlet gourd, offered Li Zhongshuang a ride, and said he had come to investigate someone acting in the Hengyang Lu Clan's name.

Lu Jianqing joined Li Jingque and Li Houjin on their journey through the Ya Kingdom, where Li Jingque planned to recruit a powerful ally before seeking mysterious yin death qi. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun left the Capital City and began preparing to use Zhang Yuan’s Dao domain to ambush their foes.

• Lu Jianqing joined Li Jingque’s group, then provoked Li Houjin by listing the powerful Celestial Persons competing for mysterious yin death qi.
• Li Jingque proposed visiting the Ya Kingdom’s Capital City to recruit Jiang Peilan, the Sword Immortal Chasing the Cold Away, to help deal with Deng Qiuzhi.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun informed Cui Zhaowei of their plans and left the Capital City using Xiao Yuanjun’s Dusk Veil.
• Zhang Yuan realized the Ya Kingdom’s dense yin qi could conceal his Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain and told Xiao Yuanjun he could use it to ambush people.
• Xiao Yuanjun blushed when Zhang Yuan leaned close to whisper, and Zhang Yuan wondered whether his closeness had caused it.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun traveled through the Ya Kingdom toward Clear River City while discussing the Nether Bureau and the Golden Position [Ketu Thorn]. Zhang Yuan realized an Elder Era True Lord might still be alive and threaten him if he pursued [Ketu Thorn], so he resolved to confront [True Lord Ceased Light Punishes Thoughts] again.

• Xiao Yuanjun playfully smeared powder on Zhang Yuan’s face, and he took her aboard the Immortal Palace as he drove his Dao Domain toward Clear River City.
• Zhang Yuan noticed Nether Bureau ghost soldiers and officials yielding to his mountain, then asked Xiao Yuanjun about their different ranks and duties.
• Xiao Yuanjun agreed that the Nether Bureau’s orderliness did not fit [Ketu Thorn] and suggested there was another reason for it.
• Zhang Yuan deduced that an Elder Era True Lord who established the Nether Bureau may have wielded a Golden Position related to rules rather than [Ketu Thorn].
• Zhang Yuan feared that the Elder Era True Lord might kill him if he attained [Ketu Thorn] and decided to speak with [True Lord Ceased Light Punishes Thoughts] after the trip.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun disguised themselves as fiendish ghosts to enter Clear Harmony City, where they planned to seek the mysterious yin death qi. At the gate, other Celestial Persons mistook them for weak vengeful ghosts, unaware of who they really were.

• Zhang Yuan concealed and camouflaged his Great Grotto Yin-Scenery Immortal Domain outside Clear Harmony City, preparing it as a trap for rival Celestial Persons.
• Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun saw that the city was bustling with ghosts, many of them maimed souls from the Demonic Calamity.
• Xiao Yuanjun chose to enter the city, so Zhang Yuan cloaked them both in baleful qi and bloody light to disguise them as fiendish ghosts.
• The ghosts in the queue feared Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun and moved aside as the pair approached the city gates.
• Li Jingque asked Lu Jianqing to identify the pair, and Lu Jianqing concluded they were vengeful ghosts that posed little threat to cultivators.

Li Jingque's group entered the queue for Clear Harmony City, hoping to seize the mysterious yin death qi and draw their pursuers toward the capital. Zhang Yuan recognized several Celestial Persons among the ghosts, then encountered Li Houjin, who attacked him and was met with a magically empowered punch.

• Li Jingque proposed taking the mysterious yin death qi to the Ya Kingdom's Capital City and asking Jiang Peilan for a sword strike.
• Li Houjin forced his way through the queue while Li Jingque and the others followed.
• Zhang Yuan used [Person Viewing] to spot Shen Qiulan, Pei Chongtian, and his old friend Qin Tianyi among the ghosts.
• Yan Zhang threatened Li Houjin after being knocked down, but Li Houjin ignored him and continued toward Zhang Yuan.
• Li Houjin failed to recognize the disguised Zhang Yuan and tried to strike him, so Xiao Yuanjun blessed Zhang Yuan's punch and Zhang Yuan empowered it with [Yellow Springs Arrival].

Zhang Yuan used his Mystic Wonders to overpower Li Houjin in the Netherworld, while Li Houjin struggled to understand the vicious ghost’s techniques. After burying Li Houjin in the ground, Zhang Yuan told the onlookers he was merely planting a ginseng.

• Li Houjin took Zhang Yuan’s first punch, then was struck again by [Yellow Springs Arrival] and wondered whether Zhang Yuan was a Foundation Establishment Celestial or connected to the Nether Bureau.
• Zhang Yuan discovered that Li Houjin’s Mystic Wonder, [Celestial Stillness], could halt beings and objects of equal or lower status for one second, and considered bringing Li Houjin into conflict with Wenren Qihan.
• Zhang Yuan strengthened his attack with Xiao Yuanjun’s [Dusk Veil] and used [Yellow Springs Drink] to seal Li Houjin’s [Celestial Stillness].
• Zhang Yuan mangled Li Houjin’s finger and drove him into the earth with a follow-up punch, drawing the attention of the waiting ghosts, hidden Celestial Persons, and Nether Bureau Soldier.
• Zhang Yuan cupped his hands toward the onlookers and said he was just planting a ginseng.