Recaps

Li Fuchan used the Jiao-Driving Lightning register on A Plea for Thirty-Six Years of Romantic Tales, transforming it into the Jade Pivot Thunder Canon and gaining control of the magical treasure. He opened it and discovered its first revealed instruction, a method for forming Gold-Pressing Thunder.

• Li Fuchan decided that Three Nothing was too dangerous to keep alive and considered using register qi to control the book.
• Three Nothing sensed Li Fuchan's hostility and tried to stop him, but he sealed his mind and pressed Jiao-Driving Lightning into A Plea for Thirty-Six Years of Romantic Tales.
• The book transformed into the Jade Pivot Thunder Canon, and Li Fuchan confirmed that he had absolute control over it.
• Li Fuchan opened the Jade Pivot Thunder Canon and read an instruction for forming Gold-Pressing Thunder from the gold-gathering current.

Li Fuchan refined Three Nothing into a thunderbolt that could target cultivators of Gold-Gathering Current, then secluded himself to replenish his Nature Root. At Pivot Court, Gongyang Ling ordered Wei Qingcheng to travel to the Northern Lands, seek the Great Zhi Pivot’s Secret Seals, and bring Ning Xiu Cong back.

• Li Fuchan realized Gold-Pressing Thunder could strike cultivators of Gold-Gathering Current and might pin down the Divine Ability’s Dao Fruit.
• Li Fuchan hid the Jade Pivot Thunder Canon in his Sea of Qi and entered seclusion to cultivate.
• Gongyang Ling read reports about Huici capturing Flying Light and the Fei Household migrating north.
• Gongyang Ling ordered Wei Qingcheng to seek the Great Zhi Pivot’s Secret Seals in the Northern Lands, capture Heaven-and-Earth Yang Images, and bring back Ning Xiu Cong.

Gongyang Ling agreed to take Ning Xiucong as her disciple, while Liang Fangning imposed conditions to secure his ties to the Pivot Court and keep him protected on the mountain. Ning Xinping left Warm-Cool Mountain without seeing Ning Xiangyi, who had died in seclusion, and Mu Suli announced his attainment of the Great Compassionate Wisdom King Rank.

• Liang Fangning told Gongyang Ling to have Ning Xiucong marry a daughter of the Wei and remain confined to the mountain until the Ning Family's four Xiu cultivators had died.
• Gongyang Ling asked why the Great Moth Pivot's secret seal had formed a karmic bond with people from the Northern Six Sects, and Liang Fangning said a Purple Mansion Lord would oversee the Northern Lands.
• Ning Xinping learned Ning Xiangyi had entered seclusion after Xiuqing's death and left Warm-Cool Mountain without seeing him.
• Ning Xiufu opened Ning Xiangyi's Cave Abode and found his clothes and a letter revealing that he had died regretting he would never see Great Mist Veiling the River.
• Mu Suli announced that he had attained the Great Compassionate Wisdom King Rank and would establish a dojo in You Province in seven days.

Li Fuchan prepared to travel north as Mu Suli announced his attainment of the Great Compassionate Wisdom King Rank. Gao Gongjin revealed that the Ancestor had been targeted in a plot involving Self-Sacrifice Zen and the Five Thieves, and Gao Gonglu agreed to let the Ancestor die.

• Li Fuchan sensed that the affairs of the Northern Lands were about to begin and decided to leave before replenishing his Fate Root.
• Jia Hua returned to the Gao Household, instructed Gao Gonglu to care for Gao Huan, and asked to be told when Gao Gongjin returned.
• Gao Gonglu secretly met Gao Gongjin, who had already returned and hidden himself in a chamber behind the residence.
• Gao Gongjin told Gao Gonglu that Self-Sacrifice Zen had used Gao Xianxiang's arrow to forge a karmic link, making the Ancestor one of the Five Thieves and marking him for death by one of the Four Aspects.
• Gao Gongjin explained that the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King had offered to protect the Gao clan if one of them killed the Ancestor, took his Changze, and became the Wisdom King's disciple; Gao Gonglu agreed to let the Ancestor die.

Gao Gonglu and Gao Gongjin decided to seek another way to save the Gao Household and inspected their ancestor Gao Xianxiang’s sealed retreat. Gao Gongjin then summoned Gao Huan, while Gao Shuying announced that she would be adopted into the Third Lineage, leaving Gao Huan suspicious that something was afoot.

• Gao Gonglu persuaded Gao Gongjin that the Gao Household should rely on the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King rather than risk its survival for Gao Xianxiang.
• Gao Gonglu and Gao Gongjin opened Gao Xianxiang’s secluded chamber, then concluded that Peaceful Way Abbey meant to use the Gao Household to nurture one of the Four Aspects of Slaying Bandits.
• Gao Gongjin asked Gao Huan about his cultivation art, and Gao Huan told him he was practicing the Wudu Seven Marquis Military Strike Art.
• Gao Shuying told Gao Huan that Gao Gongjin planned to adopt her into the Third Lineage so she could help direct more resources to him.
• Gao Huan hid his suspicions from Gao Shuying and playfully lifted her into his arms.

Li Fuchan overheard Gao Gongjin and Gao Gonglu discussing their secret, then left to focus on the Peaceful Way Abbey and Gao Huan. At the Xu Residence, Xu Xuan revealed a terrifying new power by devouring Li Qingshui and restoring him unharmed, and celebrated that he had achieved Aperture Opening.

• Li Fuchan overheard Gao Gongjin and Gao Gonglu discuss Mu Suli's plan to seize Changze and wondered whether Gao Xianxiang was dead.
• Li Fuchan decided that Gao Huan was the key to his objective at the Peaceful Way Abbey and slipped away.
• Li Qingshui demanded to see Xu Xuan, then found black threads extending from Xu Xuan's hands into his eyes in the stone chamber.
• Li Qingshui accused Xu Xuan of guarding his position and revealed that Xu Wen and other Xu relatives sought to establish a clan priesthood.
• Xu Xuan tore out Li Qingshui's eyes, devoured him, then pulled a seemingly unharmed but uncanny Li Qingshui from his abdomen the next day.
• Xu Xuan celebrated in the cave chamber after realizing he had achieved Aperture Opening.

Li Fuchan sealed Jia Hua after discovering him watching Xu Xuan, preventing him from restricting Xu Xuan’s cultivation. Jia Hua sent Quan Yong a letter, and when Quan Yong used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror, it showed only a blur, leaving him to question whether Jia Hua had lied.

• Jia Hua sensed Xu Xuan’s growing demonic qi and planned to restrain his cultivation, but Li Fuchan appeared and sealed Jia Hua’s sea of qi.
• Li Fuchan left without revealing his identity, and Jia Hua realized the seal still prevented him from using Dharma power or restricting Xu Xuan.
• Jia Hua wrote to Quan Yong and sent the letter to Flying Yellow Mountain, asking his senior brother to come down quickly.
• Quan Yong received the letter three days later as Zilu mocked him and Southern Peak rebuked Zilu.
• Quan Yong asked the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to reveal the truth, but its surface showed only a blur, making him wonder whether Jia Hua had lied.

Li Fuchan tried to force Quan Yong to leave Flying Yellow Mountain so he could expose the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror and remove the constraint it placed on his plans. Quan Yong remained on the mountain despite repeated warnings, and after four months Li Fuchan was still waiting for him to make a move.

• Li Fuchan sensed Quan Yong's failed divination, returned to the Gao Household, told Gao Huan hidden matters, and left him an Ancient Pill.
• Li Fuchan spotted Ning Xiucong traveling with a swordswoman from Pivot Court, suspected they sought Great Moth Pivot's secret seal, and then resumed focusing on Quan Yong.
• Jia Hua sensed someone had tampered with the means he had placed on Gao Huan, but stayed at the Xu Household and sent another detailed letter to Quan Yong.
• Quan Yong read Jia Hua's repeated warnings, consulted the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror, and found that it still revealed nothing, but refused to leave Flying Yellow Mountain.
• After four months without Quan Yong descending, Li Fuchan grew frustrated and continued to hope that exposing the mirror would free him to pursue his plans.

Li Fuchan abandoned his attempt to force Quan Yong down the mountain and decided to turn Jia Hua against him, hoping to deprive Quan Yong of the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror. He went to meet Jia Hua at Xu Family Village under the name Li Yaoshi, leaving Jia Hua surprised but somewhat reassured by his name-aspect method.

• Li Fuchan concluded that he could not force Quan Yong down the mountain from outside and considered whether Jia Hua could be made to expose Quan Yong’s exploitation.
• Li Fuchan suspected Quan Yong was using the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to trace his schemes through people he became entangled with, but decided to take the risk of approaching Jia Hua.
• Li Fuchan flew openly toward Xu Family Village, aiming to learn whether Jia Hua knew what Quan Yong had done and to weaken Quan Yong’s control of the mirror.
• Jia Hua stopped trying to break Li Fuchan’s seal on his sea of qi and came out of his meditation chamber when he sensed someone approaching.
• Li Fuchan introduced himself to Jia Hua as Li Yaoshi, and Jia Hua recognized that the name suited him through the name-aspect method.

Li Fuchan revealed himself to Jia Hua and demanded that Quan Yong come down from Flying Yellow Mountain. When Jia Hua refused to yield, Li Fuchan killed him, leaving the conflict with Quan Yong set to escalate.

• Li Fuchan explained how he had chosen the alias Li Yaoshi to obscure his identity from divination.
• Li Fuchan revealed himself to Jia Hua and said he had come to speak with him.
• Li Fuchan demanded that Jia Hua bring Quan Yong down the mountain, threatening Gao Huan and Jia Hua if he refused.
• Jia Hua rejected Li Fuchan's threats and refused to bargain or show weakness.
• Li Fuchan killed Jia Hua with murky thunderlight and said it was only the beginning.

After Jia Hua’s Fate Jade shattered, Quan Yong realized his death threatened Peaceful Way Abbey and could expose secrets tied to the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror. He used the mirror to find Jia Hua’s corpse and rushed to retrieve it, but found no trap or sign of tampering and wondered what his opponent intended.

• Quan Yong discovered Jia Hua’s broken Fate Jade and suppressed Zilu’s taunts about Jia Hua’s death.
• Quan Yong reasoned that Jia Hua’s killer was trying to force him down the mountain and expose the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to the Five Mountains Immortal Sect.
• Quan Yong used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to locate Jia Hua’s corpse in a gully near Xu Family Village at the foot of Black Mountain.
• Quan Yong flew down from Flying Yellow Mountain in less than two days to reach the corpse.
• Quan Yong found Jia Hua’s body untouched and asked what his opponent was trying to do.

Quan Yong failed to find the hidden enemy and returned Jia Hua's corpse, then encountered Wei Qingcheng of the Pivot Court, whose arrival convinced him the enemy had set another trap. He remained outwardly composed as Wei Qingcheng asked him for an important favor.

• Quan Yong planted a hidden restriction in Xu Xuan to preserve his clarity if his demonic nature grew stronger.
• Quan Yong checked that Gao Huan was practicing safely, then worried that no one remained to carry on the Peaceful Way Abbey's work after Jia Hua's death.
• Quan Yong suspected the hidden enemy might be concealed in the Hunting Grounds but decided to return to Flying Yellow Mountain with Jia Hua's corpse.
• Quan Yong met Wei Qingcheng and a young man on the road; Wei Qingcheng introduced herself as a disciple of Azure Fish Peak at the Pivot Court and said she had come on her master's important business.
• Quan Yong concluded that the enemy had arranged the encounter and resolved that the man in the shadows must die, while Wei Qingcheng asked him to grant her an important favor.

Wei Qingcheng used a Note pointing to Shi Water and Great Illumination Vision to pressure Quan Yong into helping the Pivot Court find the secret seal. Li Fuchan watched from afar, satisfied that his plan to bring the Pivot Court against Quan Yong could expose Quan Yong’s Magical Treasure and weaken his control over it.

• Wei Qingcheng showed Quan Yong a Note bearing the words “Shi Water” and “Great Illumination Vision” and asked him to help find a secret seal.
• Quan Yong used the name-aspect method to divine the Note’s origins, traced it through a mass of beasts to Medicine Buddha, and failed to uncover more.
• Wei Qingcheng made clear that she expected Quan Yong to help, while relying on the Pivot Court’s influence and a Purple Mansion Lord’s support.
• Li Fuchan watched from a teahouse and reflected that he had drawn the Pivot Court into confronting Quan Yong instead of relying on the Five Mountains Immortal Sect.
• Li Fuchan hoped Quan Yong would use his Magical Treasure to locate the secret seal, exposing it to other sects and loosening his control over it.

Li Fuchan accepted the risks of manipulating Quan Yong and waited for the Pivot Court to expose Quan Yong’s secret. Meanwhile, Gu Tong investigated the Pivot Court’s arrival and went to Flying Yellow Mountain to pay respects to its envoy, with Quan Yong reluctantly welcoming him.

• Li Fuchan reflected on how far he had come and continued refining the chaotic image in his consciousness into tribulation qi.
• Gu Yun told Gu Tong that Elephant-Washing Peak sought yang aspects, while Azure Fish Peak’s purpose remained unclear.
• Gu Tong grew suspicious of Quan Yong’s unusual decision to welcome the Pivot Court envoys and ordered Gu Yun to investigate Jia Hua.
• Gu Tong prepared gifts and traveled with disciples and junior brothers to Flying Yellow Mountain to pay respects to the envoys.
• Wei Qingcheng agreed to receive Gu Tong, and Quan Yong went to the mountain gate to welcome him.

Gu Tong visited Peaceful Way Abbey and inferred from Quan Yong's hesitation that Jia Hua had vanished. After confirming Jia Hua had not appeared since leaving Huaishuo Town, Gu Tong concluded that Quan Yong was under pressure and that the secret he had hidden might soon be exposed.

• Gu Tong greeted Quan Yong at Peaceful Way Abbey and noticed his hesitation when asking whether the jade slips had arrived, suspecting something had happened to Jia Hua.
• Wei Qingcheng told Ning Xiucong that the factions in the Northern Lands were pitiable and urged him to trust the Pivot Court, Azure Fish Peak, and their Master.
• Gu Tong met Wei Qingcheng briefly, then returned to Jade Rooster Mountain to wait for news.
• Gu Yun reported that Jia Hua had not appeared since leaving the Gao household in Huaishuo Town half a month earlier.
• Gu Tong concluded Jia Hua was likely dead or hidden, leaving Quan Yong in a passive position as the Hunting Grounds approached.

Quan Yong accepted that Li Fuchan had forced him to use the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror, while Li Fuchan tried to avoid becoming entangled in the four aspects of slaying bandits. A divination revealed that the name Li Yaoshi was linked to that fate, but Li Thunder blocked the connection from reaching Li Fuchan.

• Quan Yong crushed Li Fuchan's Note and vowed to seize hold of him when his hidden secrets were exposed.
• Li Fuchan killed a Bear-Shaped Ming Beast and decided against taking the Twenty-Month Azure Fish Ring from the Fei Household.
• Li Fuchan worried that his connection with Quan Yong could draw the Purple Mansion's attention and considered using Register Qi to hide his destiny.
• When Quan Yong suddenly came to mind, Li Fuchan activated Embrace-Lock Crouching Cicada and fled into a remote forest to examine himself.
• Li Fuchan used the Name-Aspect Method to divine the name Li Yaoshi and sensed a blocked resonance, then concluded that Li Thunder had stopped it.

Li Fuchan realized that “Li Thunder” had made the name Li Yaoshi an unseen Fifth Aspect of Slaying Bandits, granting him a way to hide from karmic scrutiny without forcing him to claim any Changze. He chose to keep the identity as a disguise, avoid further Tribulation Divination unless necessary, and consider how Quan Yong’s new entanglement might give him an opportunity.

• Li Fuchan concluded that “Li Thunder” had blocked his connection to the Four Aspects and tied the name Li Yaoshi to a hidden Fifth Aspect.
• Li Fuchan decided that claiming a bandit’s Changze would draw the Purple Mansion cultivators’ scrutiny and expose him.
• Li Fuchan resolved to use Li Yaoshi as a deeper disguise while pursuing his plans in the Northern Lands, including the Great Moth Pivot Secret Seal, the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact, and the Wudu Seven Marquis Military Strike Art.
• Li Fuchan weighed the risks of Tribulation Divination and chose not to use it while he still had other means of concealment and information.
• Li Fuchan reasoned that Quan Yong had become the ghost and might have sensed his karmic link to Li Yaoshi, leaving Quan Yong unsettled and creating an opportunity.

Li Fuchan planned to use his Contrary Thunder disguise and the Secret Seal to manipulate Quan Yong, while Quan Yong faced mounting pressure from the Pivot Court. In the secret chamber, Zilu asked Quan Yong to use the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror on Jia Hua’s corpse and discover whether Jia Hua had known about Quan Yong’s dealings.

• Li Fuchan resolved to approach Quan Yong under a plausible identity and exploit Quan Yong’s lack of allies and growing pressure from the Five Mountains Immortal Sect and the Pivot Court.
• Wei Qingcheng pressed Quan Yong to hurry with his answer, and Quan Yong promised to give her one soon.
• Quan Yong entered the secret chamber where Jia Hua’s corpse lay and heard Zilu address him.
• Zilu urged Quan Yong to use the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to absorb Jia Hua’s Life Force and locate the Secret Seal.
• Zilu asked Quan Yong to examine Jia Hua’s life with the mirror and learn whether Jia Hua had known about Quan Yong’s filthy dealings.

Quan Yong used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to learn the secret seal’s location and inform Wei Qingcheng, while Zilu taunted him about his approaching death. After Wei Qingcheng left for the Hunting Grounds, Quan Yong received a blunt demand for the Peaceful Way Abbey’s contrary thunder spirit artifact.

• Quan Yong used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror on Jia Hua’s corpse, and it revealed Jia Hua’s final thought: he feared his death would burden his Senior Brother.
• Zilu mocked Quan Yong and predicted that the Pivot Court, the Five Mountains Immortal Sect, the Medicine Buddha, and the times themselves would bring about his death, but Quan Yong insisted he would survive.
• The mirror revealed the secret seal’s location and two people connected to it, and Quan Yong identified them alongside the eleven people he said had died through foolishness.
• Quan Yong gave Wei Qingcheng the secret seal’s location, entry method, and letters for the Yu Sword Gate and Boyue Mountain disciples guarding the Hunting Grounds.
• Wei Qingcheng gathered the Elephant-Washing Peak disciples and left for the Hunting Grounds, while Quan Yong watched the storm clouds gather.
• A visitor sent Quan Yong a calling card demanding the contrary thunder spirit artifact, and Quan Yong decided to meet him.

Quan Yong confronted a stranger who demanded a Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact, then used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to investigate the thief-slayer bound to him by karma. The mirror revealed the thief-slayer was hiding inside the Great Pivot's Secret Seal, which the Pivot Court had already claimed.

• Quan Yong ordered his disciples to invite the stranger to the abbey, but the stranger refused and demanded that Quan Yong meet him in person.
• Quan Yong tried to dismiss the stranger, but the stranger injured the Mountain-Guard Disciples and broke their hastily assembled Enemy-Repelling Formation with dark, heavy lightning.
• Quan Yong found the stranger gone and learned he had demanded a Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact as an apology.
• Quan Yong rewarded the wounded disciples, returned to the Patriarch Hall, and used the Clear-Sight Subtlety Mirror to trace his karmic bond to the thief-slayer.
• Quan Yong discovered the thief-slayer was inside the Great Pivot's Secret Seal and realized the Pivot Court had already secured it.

Quan Yong deduced that Li Fuchan’s demand for the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact was meant to draw him toward Yaoshi, then tracked Li Fuchan down and attacked him. Li Fuchan used the Rare Image spirit talisman to escape as a false body of filthy water, while Quan Yong revealed his Reflecting Shadow Chill and vanished into a pool.

• Quan Yong decided to meet the man demanding the Contrary Thunder Spirit Artifact and test whether he could be controlled or used to lure Yaoshi out.
• Li Fuchan descended onto a barren mountain, confident that his scheme had prompted Quan Yong to seek him out.
• Quan Yong appeared behind Li Fuchan and attacked him with Reflecting Shadow Chill, forming a pool of turbid water beneath his feet.
• Li Fuchan activated the Rare Image spirit talisman, turned his false body into filthy water, and escaped Quan Yong’s grasp.
• Quan Yong recognized Li Fuchan as an Ancient Art Cultivator, then gathered azure rain into a mirror-like pool and disappeared inside it.

Li Fuchan sent a false body to the Gao clan, posing as an envoy from Peaceful Way Abbey to extort tribute while using Quan Yong’s suspicions to muddy the waters. Gao Gonglu doubted his identity but let him enter the mountain-protecting formation, where the chapter left them awaiting the promised arrival of the Abbey Master.

• Li Fuchan decided to use his false body to collect tribute from the Gao clan and sent it to Huaishuo Town.
• The false body introduced himself at the Gao clan’s mountain gate as Li Fuchan of Peaceful Way Abbey.
• Gao Gonglu came to greet Li Fuchan and grew suspicious because he did not recognize him.
• Li Fuchan claimed he had come on the Abbey Master’s orders and said the Abbey Master would arrive after the tribute was handed over.
• Gao Gonglu weighed the risks, then invited Li Fuchan into the Gao clan’s mountain-protecting formation.

Li Fuchan entered the Gao Household’s mountain formation and demanded a Magic Robe as tribute, but Quan Yong appeared and exposed the danger to his false body. The robe fell into Quan Yong’s turbid water as Li Fuchan dissolved, leaving Gao Gonglu horrified.

• Li Fuchan entered the Gao Household’s mountain formation and told Gao Gonglu to fetch items from his list.
• Gao Gonglu reluctantly brought out the Flying Firmament Magic Robe, an Aperture Opening robe that let its wearer ride the wind.
• Quan Yong appeared behind Li Fuchan and warned that using his ancient art again would expose his true body.
• Li Fuchan took Flying Firmament and offered it to Quan Yong to return to his true body later.
• Quan Yong let the brocade box fall, and Flying Firmament was swallowed by the turbid water as Li Fuchan dissolved into a puddle.

Quan Yong destroyed Li Fuchan’s false body and questioned Gao Gonglu about Gao Huan and Gao Gongjin. Li Fuchan escaped with his true body intact and revealed that he had used Quan Yong to expose the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King’s plans, leaving the Northern Lands’ Purple Mansion cultivators focused on the Gao Household.

• Quan Yong asked Gao Gonglu about Gao Huan’s cultivation, then described the dead man as a vermin meddling in the Northern Lands’ balance of power.
• Quan Yong asked where Gao Gongjin was before Gao Gonglu could answer.
• Li Fuchan re-formed his false body in a forest and reflected on how Quan Yong had found and destroyed it.
• Li Fuchan explained that he had used Quan Yong’s visit to the Gao Household to expose the Great Compassionate Venerable Wisdom King’s attempt to reclaim influence over Changze.
• Li Fuchan concluded that attention would turn to the Gao Household and Mu Suli, while his own role as the hidden butterfly would go unnoticed.

Li Fuchan visited the Yuchi Household to extort tribute, but Yuchi Yuanqing dispersed his false body with the Three Qi Lightening art before Quan Yong arrived. Quan Yong recovered the spirit talisman, recognized the signs of Li Fuchan’s schemes, and vanished after deciding it was his turn to act.

• Li Fuchan went to the Yuchi Household and demanded tribute while claiming to be a disciple of the Peaceful Way Abbey.
• Yuchi Yuanqing refused to pay and tried to detain Li Fuchan when he turned to leave.
• Li Fuchan attacked Yuchi Yuanqing with golden light, but Yuchi Yuanqing used Three Qi Lightening to disperse Li Fuchan’s false body.
• Quan Yong arrived and seized the fading spirit talisman, but Yuchi Yuanqing’s intervention left him without the information he needed to locate Li Fuchan’s true body.
• Quan Yong realized Li Fuchan’s probes resembled the schemes described in the letters and concluded he should seek the Thunder Cultivator’s help.
• Quan Yong transformed into turbid water and vanished, telling Yuchi Yuanqing that his turn had come.