Recaps

Wang Yan returned after nearly two years and attacked Wang Ziling with the Infinite Fire God Needles. As Wang Ziling neared defeat, the Blacklight Devil Lord began possessing him, transforming him and turning the fight against Wang Yan, who was left caught in the Metal Skull’s pull.

• Wang Yan detonated needles embedded in Wang Ziling, then attacked him with a spinning vortex of Infinite Fire God Needles and a fireball.
• Wang Ziling called on the Devil Lord, whose black energy appeared as a giant figure and helped him resist Wang Yan’s attacks.
• Wang Yan detonated more needles in Wang Ziling’s back and sent another barrage at him while the Devil Lord attacked Wang Yan with a ghost claw.
• The Devil Lord began pouring demonic energy into Wang Ziling, who grew into a horned, half-monster form and knocked away the incoming needles with the Metal Skull.
• Wang Ziling’s aura rose to the early Core Condensation Realm, and he enlarged the Metal Skull and sent it after Wang Yan.
• Wang Yan used a Wind-Riding Talisman to flee, but the Metal Skull’s black mist pulled him in as it closed in behind him.

Wang Yan battled Wang Ziling, whose early Core Condensation cultivation and Metal Skull gave him a decisive advantage. Wang Yan dodged the Metal Skull and used his flying rings to evade Wang Ziling’s blade attacks, then plunged back toward him with the Water-Fire Blast Card activated.

• Wang Ziling struck Wang Yan with the Metal Skull, sending him crashing across the hall and badly damaging the Ironwood Shield.
• Wang Yan launched fire spells and his Mother-and-Son Flying Rings, but Wang Ziling shattered the spells and knocked the rings away with black blades.
• Wang Ziling sent the Metal Skull at Wang Yan again, and Wang Yan used the Fire Fist Spell Card to blast himself upward and avoid it.
• Wang Ziling pursued Wang Yan into the air and unleashed dozens of blade rays, but Wang Yan bounced upward on his flying rings to reach the hall’s ceiling.
• Wang Yan reversed direction with a blast from the ceiling and activated the Water-Fire Blast Card as he plunged toward Wang Ziling.

Wang Yan used his Water-Fire Blast Technique and the traps he had planted in the passage to badly injure Wang Ziling, but Wang Ziling survived beneath the rubble. As Wang Yan rushed to finish him, Wang Ziling agreed to merge with the Devil Lord to stay alive.

• Wang Yan endured Wang Ziling’s attacks and redirected his Water-Fire Blast Technique toward him, driving Wang Ziling into the passage.
• Wang Yan detonated the fire blast traps and Explosive Fire Talismans he had planted in the passage, burying Wang Ziling beneath rubble.
• The Card Fairy sensed that Wang Ziling was still alive, and Wang Yan hurried toward the blocked passage to finish him off.
• Wang Ziling struggled beneath the rubble and agreed to merge with the Devil Lord, who began chanting as black runes swirled over Wang Ziling’s body.

Wang Yan was gravely wounded by demonic energy, but the Card Fairy poured her remaining strength into him, healing his injuries and greatly increasing his power. As Wang Ziling emerged from the rubble merged with the Devil Lord, Wang Yan fought back and launched a strengthened Water-Fire Blast Technique at the Metal Skull.

• Demonic energy spread through Wang Yan's wounds, leaving him weak as the Card Fairy warned that it had invaded his body.
• The Card Fairy gave Wang Yan her remaining strength, and the Immortal Card Artifact healed his wounds while boosting his magic power.
• Wang Ziling broke through the rubble with the Devil Lord's power and charged Wang Yan with a Ghost Claw.
• Wang Yan stopped Wang Ziling's attack with Red-Light Flame, surprising Wang Ziling with his strength.
• Wang Ziling sent the enlarged Metal Skull at Wang Yan, who combined Red-Light Flame and Blue-Light Flame into a sphere and hurled it toward the skull.

Wang Yan overwhelmed Wang Ziling with his newly amplified magic power and drove him toward the hall’s blasted opening, but Fairy Purple Smoke’s embrace stopped Wang Yan from pursuing him. The chapter left Wang Yan frozen as she pressed her lips to his.

• Wang Yan’s Water-Fire Blast Technique shattered Wang Ziling’s Metal Skull and blasted a massive crater into the hall wall.
• Wang Yan attacked with the Mother-and-Son Flying Rings and a Fire Fist Spell, melting Wang Ziling’s sabers and severely wounding him.
• Wang Ziling summoned demonic ghost heads and Passion-Inducing Mist, but Wang Yan destroyed the heads and burned away the mist.
• Wang Ziling tried to escape through the hole in the wall, and Wang Yan blasted his back as he fled through it.
• Wang Ziling kicked Fairy Purple Smoke toward Wang Yan, and she clung to him, stopping his pursuit and pressing her lips to his.

Wang Yan and Fairy Purple Smoke were overcome by the Passion-Inducing Mist and became intimate, while Ye Shisan was persuaded to remain inside the ruin. Wang Yan woke to find Fairy Purple Smoke gone and a spiritual longsword plunging toward his throat.

• Fairy Purple Smoke's Passion-Inducing Mist affected Wang Yan, and the two became entangled in the hall.
• Ye Shisan tried to leave the Illusion Formation to find Wang Yan, but Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang convinced him to stay.
• Wang Yan woke beside Fairy Purple Smoke while the mist's effects still lingered, and they became intimate again.
• Fairy Purple Smoke bit Wang Yan's shoulder, and they eventually collapsed from exhaustion.
• Wang Yan opened his eyes and saw a spiritual longsword pointed at his throat as it plunged toward him.

Wang Yan awakened to find Fairy Purple Smoke attacking him over what had happened between them, and he fled through the ruined hall while she pursued him with her treasures. He escaped through a blasted opening, but her attack struck his back and sent him flying over a bottomless abyss.

• Fairy Purple Smoke woke before Wang Yan, retrieved the Golden-Light Box, and attacked him when he awakened, accusing him of being a lecher.
• Wang Yan searched for Wang Ziling and the golden boxes, then found that Card Fairy did not answer because she had gone to sleep after transferring her power.
• Fairy Purple Smoke recognized Wang Yan and intensified her pursuit with flying swords, a mirror treasure, and a Purple-Red Light Net.
• Wang Yan used his Immortal Card ability to blast himself clear of the net and noticed that Fairy Purple Smoke struggled to move because of her injuries.
• Wang Yan ran through the opening he had blasted into the hall, but Fairy Purple Smoke struck his back with a purple-red beam and sent him flying over the abyss.

Wang Yan, Fairy Purple Smoke, Ye Shisan, Zhang Qiulin, Zhang Qiulang, and the Two-Headed Lion Beast were swept away by five-colored spiritual light as the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land expedition ended. They reappeared outside the Five Great Sects, where Wang Yan crashed onto the beast and was seized as it tried to eat him.

• Fairy Purple Smoke knocked Wang Yan into Cloud Mountain’s flight-prohibited abyss, then vanished in five-colored spiritual light.
• The Two-Headed Lion Beast broke into the ruins and seized Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, while Ye Shisan tried to fight it.
• Five-colored light transported Ye Shisan, both women, and the Two-Headed Lion Beast away; Wang Yan vanished just before hitting a stone spire.
• Cultivators across the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land were transported out as the month-long expedition ended.
• The Two-Headed Lion Beast, Zhang Qiulin, Zhang Qiulang, and Ye Shisan appeared at the Firecloud Sect’s gathering place, where Wang Yan crashed onto the beast and knocked Ye Shisan down.
• The Two-Headed Lion Beast caught the badly injured Wang Yan and lunged to bite him.

Wang Yan survived the Two-Headed Lion Beast’s attack when Hua Zhitian killed it with a powerful axe, then was summoned with his companions to explain themselves aboard the Flying Boat. Elsewhere, Fairy Purple Smoke concealed a painful injury as the sects reacted to the losses and the Purple Flame Sect’s haul of inheritance treasures.

• Hua Zhitian’s red axe decapitated the Two-Headed Lion Beast and returned to him, saving Wang Yan, who had suffered severe injuries.
• Ye Shisan and the two women helped Wang Yan set and splint his broken bones while Hua Zhitian summoned him and his companions aboard the Flying Boat.
• Firecloud Sect survivors assembled for a headcount, and cultivators discussed Wang Yan’s group and the slain beast.
• The White Spirit Sect, Twin Joy Sect, and Pale Moon Sect lamented that none of their elite disciples had returned, while the Purple Flame Sect celebrated Fairy Purple Smoke’s inheritance treasures.
• After Uncle Long berated Xiao Han and the others, Fairy Purple Smoke returned to her room, revealed her injury, cursed Wang Yan, and took medicine.

Injured Wang Yan and his companions spoke with Hua Zhitian, who questioned them about Cloud Mountain’s ruins and the golden boxes. Wang Yan blamed the Purple Flame Sect for taking them, then the group joined the line to surrender their spoils, where Lingyu demanded four additional items from the Double-Sword Daoist.

• Wang Yan complained inwardly about Fairy Purple Smoke and wondered whether Wang Ziling had survived their fall from Cloud Mountain.
• Hua Zhitian questioned Wang Yan and his companions about the ruins and the three golden boxes, and Wang Yan claimed the Purple Flame Sect had taken them.
• Hua Zhitian told the four to hand over their medicinal herbs and leave, then wondered aloud whether the Purple Flame Sect had obtained at least three boxes.
• Wang Yan and his companions joined the line to surrender their spoils and met the Double-Sword Daoist, who said they must also hand over four items.
• The Double-Sword Daoist refused Lingyu’s demand for the four items.

After the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land expedition, Wang Yan and his companions joined the Firecloud Sect, and Wang Yan began recovering from his severe injuries. Card Fairy remained unconscious, leaving him unable to access several Storage Bags or rely on her guidance for cultivation.

• Lingyu forced the Double-Sword Daoist and the other survivors to surrender their Storage Bags and Spirit Medicine before the sect announced the expedition rankings.
• Yue Yang took first place, the Double-Sword Daoist placed second, and Wang Yan ranked fourth; Ye Shisan, Zhang Qiulin, and Zhang Qiulang took fifth through seventh.
• Hua Zhitian learned that only the Firecloud Sect and Purple Flame Sect direct disciples had returned from the expedition, and the major sects departed the next day after suffering heavy losses.
• Wang Yan and the other survivors became full Firecloud Sect members, while Ye Shisan, Zhang Qiulin, and Zhang Qiulang pooled their resources to buy him an Advanced Bone-Setting Pill.
• Wang Yan began healing in his residence, but Card Fairy remained unconscious, preventing him from retrieving his companions' Storage Bags or safely attempting a breakthrough to the Core Condensation Realm.

Wang Yan met with Ye Shisan and the Zhang sisters, learned that older Firecloud Sect disciples preyed on newcomers, and urged his friends to enter secluded cultivation and attempt breakthroughs. The next day, they went to the peak-assignment gathering, where the disciples were ordered to line up by their Cloud Mountain Treasure Land rankings.

• Wang Yan welcomed Ye Shisan and the Zhang sisters, who told him that new disciples would be assigned to branches the next day and gave him a Jade Slip of sect rules and notes.
• The Zhang sisters and Ye Shisan agreed to leave their valuables with Wang Yan after warning that older disciples targeted newcomers for their merit points and treasures.
• Wang Yan proposed that Ye Shisan and the sisters enter secluded cultivation to attempt breakthroughs to the Core Condensation Realm and avoid being assigned chores while vulnerable.
• After reading the Jade Slip, Wang Yan went with Ye Shisan and the sisters to the gathering place, where disciples discussed the four peaks and their benefits.
• A senior ordered everyone to line up according to their rankings in the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land.

Wang Yan watched four Golden Core cultivators arrive to choose disciples, but their selection turned into a dispute over who would take him. He stepped forward to ask that the cultivators respect the disciples’ wishes, leaving his own fate undecided.

• Daoist Fire Tiger, High Person Golden Cloud, Fairy Dream Mysterious, and Venerable Gray Three arrived to select disciples from the assembled cultivators.
• Fairy Dream Mysterious claimed Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, while the four cultivators argued over which peak would choose first.
• Daoist Fire Tiger offered Venerable Gray Three the first choice, and Venerable Gray Three selected the Double-Sword Daoist before demanding Wang Yan instead.
• Venerable Gray Three pressured Wang Yan, Ye Shisan, and the Double-Sword Daoist, but Daoist Fire Tiger objected when Gray Three tried to change his choice.
• Wang Yan stepped forward and told the Golden Core cultivators there was no need to argue, prompting Daoist Fire Tiger to say they should respect the disciples’ wishes.

Wang Yan chose Yellow Cloud Peak over Heaven Cloud Peak and gained Venerable Gray Three’s favor, becoming his nominal disciple and receiving two Qi Condensation Pills. As Venerable Gray Three flew him to the peak, he warned Wang Yan not to let his cleverness backfire and began explaining why he had accepted him.

• Wang Yan chose Yellow Cloud Peak because Venerable Gray Three reminded him of his late grandfather, then reasoned that the smaller peak would value him more.
• Venerable Gray Three made Wang Yan his nominal disciple and gave him two Qi Condensation Pills, while Daoist Fire Tiger regretted losing him.
• High Person Golden Cloud selected Ye Shisan, Fairy Mengxuan chose Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, and Daoist Fire Tiger took the Double-Sword Daoist.
• Venerable Gray Three reluctantly accepted the final disciple, who had earned no merit points and claimed he had been robbed.
• Venerable Gray Three flew Wang Yan to Yellow Cloud Peak and warned him that his cleverness could trip him up before asking why Wang Yan thought he had accepted him.

After recovering on Yellow Cloud Peak, Wang Yan prepared to seek the pills and cultivation technique he needed to advance, while learning that Venerable Gray Three had taken him as a disciple partly to find a successor. On his way to visit his master, Wang Yan was cornered by senior disciples demanding Spirit Stones.

• Venerable Gray Three told Wang Yan that newly advanced Core Condensation Realm disciples had to enter the Four Peaks Competition and that losing would get him posted to a Branch Hall.
• Wang Yan arrived at Yellow Cloud Peak, where Venerable Gray Three hinted that he had little time left to live.
• After more than a month in seclusion, Wang Yan recovered from his injuries and began preparing to obtain two more Qi Condensation Pills and a Core Condensation Realm technique.
• Wang Yan saw several disciples surrounding a thin youth they called Zero Merit, but chose not to intervene and continued up the mountain.
• Four senior disciples blocked Wang Yan on the steps and demanded that he lend them Spirit Stones to buy Qi Condensation Pills.

Wang Yan confronted Dai Hao and three disciples who tried to rob him, then made them return his Spirit Stones after revealing that Venerable Gray Three was his master. He left the three disciples’ payment with Dai Hao and continued up the mountain, while Dai Hao hurried after him.

• Dai Hao stole Wang Yan’s Storage Bag, found its Spirit Stones, and claimed they were his while the other disciples backed him up.
• Wang Yan threatened to fetch his master, and Dai Hao returned the Storage Bag after learning Wang Yan was Venerable Gray Three’s disciple.
• The three disciples blamed Dai Hao, then paid Wang Yan five hundred Spirit Stones each to be released.
• Wang Yan recognized Dai Hao’s misfortune with the other disciples and tossed him the three bags of Spirit Stones.
• Wang Yan headed up the mountain, and Dai Hao hesitated before hurrying after him.

Wang Yan visited Venerable Gray Three’s cave abode to seek guidance on a cultivation method before advancing to the Core Condensation Realm. Bing Ning told him to return in two days, then called after him with an offer of a fire-type cultivation method.

• Wang Yan returned the Spirit Stones Dai Hao had been owed and entered the area reserved for Core Condensation Realm cultivators using Venerable Gray Three’s token.
• Wang Yan reached Venerable Gray Three’s cave abode and asked Bing Ning to request his master’s guidance on choosing a cultivation method.
• Wang Yan offered Bing Ning a Storage Bag of Spirit Stones, and she agreed to announce his arrival despite Venerable Gray Three’s cultivation.
• Bing Ning returned and told Wang Yan that Venerable Gray Three wanted him to come back in two days because he was at a critical point in his cultivation.
• As Wang Yan was leaving, Bing Ning called after him and offered him a fire-type cultivation method.

Wang Yan visited the Merit Hall with Dai Hao, bought a Qi Condensation Pill, and found the available core condensation cultivation methods too costly. Unable to decide whether to cultivate the difficult Heavenburning Art, he returned to Venerable Gray Three for guidance, and the chapter ended as he asked to see his master.

• Wang Yan considered the complicated Heavenburning Art, which required opening 108 meridians, but hesitated to cultivate it.
• Dai Hao returned three bags of Spirit Stones to Wang Yan, then accepted them as a loan after Wang Yan spoke of reaching the core condensation realm.
• Dai Hao led Wang Yan across the Iron Chain Bridge to the Main Peak, where Wang Yan admired the abundant fire spirit qi of Firecloud Divine Mountain.
• Wang Yan exchanged 1,500 merit points and 1,500 Spirit Stones for a Qi Condensation Pill, while Dai Hao obtained two pills before they parted ways.
• Wang Yan found the core condensation cultivation methods at the Merit Hall too expensive and returned to his own peak.
• Three days later, Bing Ning brought Wang Yan to Venerable Gray Three, who asked what he had come to discuss.

After receiving guidance from Venerable Gray Three, Wang Yan chose to cultivate the Heavenburning Art and spent more than a year preparing to advance. He finally reached the Core Condensation Realm, though his slow progress had nearly cost him his place on Yellow Cloud Peak.

• Bing Ning saw Wang Yan off after Venerable Gray Three advised him about cultivation and let him choose an art from the Library Vault.
• Wang Yan weighed a faster fifty-six-meridian art against the Heavenburning Art, which used 108 meridians and promised purer, stronger magic power, then chose the Heavenburning Art.
• Wang Yan studied and cultivated the Heavenburning Art while other rogue cultivators, including Ye Shisan and Liu Wushuang, advanced to the Core Condensation Realm ahead of him.
• After Wang Yan failed to advance with his third Qi Condensation Pill, Venerable Gray Three warned him that he would be expelled from Yellow Cloud Peak if he did not succeed.
• Wang Yan used his final Qi Condensation Pill and, after ten days of breakthrough cultivation, reached the Core Condensation Realm and produced Red-Light Flame in his palm.

After stabilizing his Core Condensation Realm, Wang Yan visited Venerable Gray Three to ask about repairing the Immortal Card Artifact and prepare for the Four-Peak Core Condensation Tournament. Venerable Gray Three lent him a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact and promised it as a reward if Wang Yan placed in the top three.

• Wang Yan tried to wake Card Fairy, but she remained asleep, leaving him unsure which treasures could repair the Immortal Card Artifact.
• Wang Yan left seclusion and headed to Venerable Gray Three's Cave Abode, where disciples congratulated him and addressed him as martial uncle.
• Venerable Gray Three praised Wang Yan for reaching the Core Condensation Realm but warned that he had little time to learn spells and prepare for the tournament.
• Venerable Gray Three lent Wang Yan the supreme-grade Truefire Moon Wheel and promised to give it to him if he placed in the top three.
• Venerable Gray Three began guiding Wang Yan on what he needed to know in the Core Condensation Realm.

After Bing Ning urged Wang Yan to aim for second place in the Four Peaks Competition, he searched for ways to repair his Immortal Card Artifact and visited Ye Shisan, who had become High Person Golden Cloud’s disciple. Wang Yan learned that Ye Shisan was also entering the competition, but Ye Shisan did not know what second place would earn.

• Bing Ning told Wang Yan that Venerable Gray Three wanted him to take second place in the Four Peaks Competition.
• Wang Yan bought a low-grade Flying Sword, failed to find Fire Spirit Liquid, and discovered that the Flame Spirit Pearl cost more Merit Points and Spirit Stones than he could afford.
• Wang Yan visited Ye Shisan at Earth Cloud Peak and learned that High Person Golden Cloud had accepted him as a disciple after discovering his dual Immortal Roots and body-refining talent.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan revealed that they were both entering the Four Peaks Competition.
• Wang Yan asked Ye Shisan about the reward for second place, and Ye Shisan was surprised by the question.

Wang Yan learned about the Four Peaks Competition rewards and realized that Ye Shisan and Venerable Gray Three were aiming for different prizes. After returning to Yellow Cloud Peak, he registered as a Core Condensation Realm cultivator and prepared to move into a permanent cave abode.

• Wang Yan asked Ye Shisan about the competition rewards and learned that first place offered a Flame Spirit Pearl, while second place offered Millennium Spirit Milk that could extend lifespan.
• Wang Yan realized Venerable Gray Three wanted the Millennium Spirit Milk and that Ye Shisan’s master, High Person Golden Cloud, was interested in the Flame Spirit Pearl.
• Wang Yan left Earth Cloud Peak, reflected on Ye Shisan’s drive and their shared past, then hurried back toward Yellow Cloud Peak.
• A Cultivation Realm disciple told Wang Yan that his temporary cave abode lease had expired, and Wang Yan paid the overdue rent before entering his abode.
• The next morning, Wang Yan registered his advancement, collected his rewards, and chose a permanent cave abode in the Core Condensation Realm residential area.
• Wang Yan planned to cultivate new divine abilities, refine Immortal Cards, and repair his Ironwood Shield Card.

Wang Yan repaired and upgraded his Ironwood Shield with black mother iron ore, then refined a batch of Immortal Cards while preparing for the Four Peaks Competition. After Venerable Gray Three summoned him, Wang Yan joined the other core condensation disciples, and they set out for Firecloud Divine Mountain.

• Wang Yan fused black mother iron ore into his Ironwood Shield, repairing it and raising it to a High-Grade Spirit Artifact.
• Wang Yan refined several spell and Magic Artifact Cards, then fell asleep from mental exhaustion after working for more than half a month.
• Venerable Gray Three sent Wang Yan a voice transmission telling him to come prepare to depart.
• Wang Yan met Dai Hao and three other core condensation cultivators at Venerable Gray Three's Cave Abode, where ten disciples gathered.
• The next morning, Venerable Gray Three led Wang Yan and the other disciples toward Firecloud Divine Mountain.

Wang Yan and the Yellow Cloud Peak disciples arrived for the Four Peaks Competition, where Venerable Gray Three explained the rules and introduced them to golden core stage cultivators Huang Ling and True Person Long Yu. As the competition was about to begin, the powerful cultivators sensed that a nascent soul realm Martial Uncle had emerged from seclusion.

• Wang Yan learned that the Four Peaks Competition would begin with lots-drawn matches between peaks, followed by rotating challenges that determined the peak and individual winners.
• Venerable Gray Three led the disciples to a Firecloud Boat and introduced them to Martial Uncles Huang Ling and True Person Long Yu.
• True Person Long Yu praised Wang Yan and promised him an additional reward if he won glory for Yellow Cloud Peak.
• Venerable Gray Three, Huang Ling, and True Person Long Yu sensed that their Martial Uncle had come out of seclusion and hurried to meet him.

The Firecloud Sect opened its Four Peaks Competition, and Ye Shisan faced Xu Shao in the first match. Ye Shisan overwhelmed Xu Shao with his Earth Spirit Gold Staff and Earth Gang Shield, sending him flying across the arena.

• Ling Daozi opened the competition and announced the rule against killing fellow disciples.
• The draw selected Ye Shisan of Earth Cloud Peak to fight Xu Shao of Heaven Cloud Peak in the first match.
• Ye Shisan confidently took the arena while Wang Yan predicted he would win.
• Xu Shao questioned Ye Shisan’s advancement, but Ye Shisan immediately charged with his Earth Spirit Gold Staff.
• Ye Shisan broke through Xu Shao’s defense and knocked him dozens of zhang across the arena.