Recaps

Xu Taiping used his Mysterious Origin Avatar to fight Hall Master Siyou evenly for a time, but Siyou destroyed the avatar and attacked his real body. Xu Taiping then used Jun Shuyan’s North Wind Fan and a cloud of Silver Sand infused with Geng Metal blade qi, leaving Siyou surrounded by flying blades.

• Xu Taiping’s Mysterious Origin Avatar traded fierce blows with Hall Master Siyou, surprising the crowd and angering Gao Qi.
• Hall Master Siyou broke through the avatar’s Mountain-Bearing Form and destroyed it, then charged Xu Taiping with an ultimate killing move.
• Xu Taiping swept Jun Shuyan’s North Wind Fan and sent a powerful gale at Siyou, while Jun Shuyan recognized that the force came from Xu Taiping rather than the fan’s divine ability.
• Xu Taiping scattered Silver Sand and used the Sword-Controlling Art to turn it into flying knives infused with Geng Metal blade qi.
• Hall Master Siyou sensed the blade intent surrounding him and punched toward the incoming cloud of Silver Sand.

Xu Taiping used the North Wind Fan and Silver Sand to trap Siyou, but Siyou broke free and launched a powerful counterattack. Xu Taiping then fused the wind and metal into a silver hummingbird, leaving the clash at a decisive moment.

• Xu Taiping broke Siyou's Fist Force with Silver Sand, then used the North Wind Fan to wrap him in a silver cocoon.
• Siyou forced the cocoon open with his Qi and Blood, judged Xu Taiping's strength, and unleashed his full power.
• Siyou shattered the cocoon and sent a flood dragon of Fist Aura toward Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping called out "Fuse!" and combined the Gang Wind and Silver Sand into a silver hummingbird whose beating wings shook the arena.

Xu Taiping defeated Hall Master Siyou with a silver hummingbird formed by fusing wind and metal essence, but Siyou launched a furious attack after conceding. The chapter ended as nine phantoms of Siyou charged at Xu Taiping, declaring that he still deserved to die.

• Hall Master Siyou dismissed the silver hummingbird as a bluff and attacked Xu Taiping with his Red Dragon's Wrath technique.
• Xu Taiping's hummingbird shattered Siyou's flood-dragon fist force and severed one of his arms through his protective gang qi.
• Jun Shuyan speculated that Xu Taiping had mastered the spell at the legendary Celestial Person realm, while Gongshu Nanxing told him not to let his imagination run wild.
• Xu Taiping knocked Siyou down, spared his life, and accepted Siyou's admission of defeat.
• As Xu Taiping turned to challenge Hall Master Gaishan, Siyou created nine phantoms and attacked him, shouting that Xu Taiping still deserved to die.

Xu Taiping killed Hall Master Siyou, then fought Hall Master Gaishan, whose palm and saber attacks pushed him to the brink. An unknown elder intervened and shattered Gaishan’s saber projection, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Xu Taiping’s silver-winged hummingbird sliced Siyou apart and killed him in the arena.
• Gaishan charged Xu Taiping and knocked the hummingbird back with a saber strike.
• Jun Shuyan recognized the limits of Xu Taiping’s fused spirit weapons, while Gongshu Nanxing worried that he lacked another weapon to match Gaishan.
• Gaishan struck with his Mountain-Shaking Palm, and Xu Taiping transformed the hummingbird into a goshawk to break the palm projection.
• Gaishan followed with a stored saber attack, but an aged voice rang from the tower and a burst of sword qi shattered his saber projection.

Xu Taiping resumed his contest against Hall Master Gaishan after the Former Pavilion Master intervened, and he used the North Wind Fan and Silver Sand to hold off Gaishan’s attacks. He then brought out Golden Crow Fire and fanned it, apparently attempting a dangerous fusion of the fan’s power and his own True Fire, leaving Gongshu Nanxing and Jun Shuyan alarmed.

• The Former Pavilion Master stopped Gaishan’s attack, reprimanded him, and arranged for the contest to continue with Xu Taiping’s consent.
• Gaishan unleashed his strength and attacked Xu Taiping with a massive blade phantom, but Xu Taiping used the North Wind Fan and Silver Sand to form a silver-winged goshawk that broke the attack and kept Gaishan at bay.
• Jun Shuyan worried that Xu Taiping’s lower-grade treasures would only delay defeat, while Gongshu Nanxing trusted that Xu Taiping had a plan.
• Xu Taiping summoned Golden Crow Fire and fanned it with the North Wind Fan, making the flames swell dramatically.
• Jun Shuyan realized Xu Taiping might be trying to combine the fan’s power with his True Fire and warned that the fusion could destroy a cultivator’s physique, while Gongshu Nanxing wondered what Xu Taiping intended.

Xu Taiping used his Mysterious Origin Avatar and Silver-Winged Eagle to hold off Hall Master Gaishan, while the Former Pavilion Master and Devil Master Tianxing watched from the stands and suspected Xu Taiping might be the Otherworlder they sought. The Former Pavilion Master ordered Gaishan to use the Deity-Summoning Technique, and Gaishan began summoning a Nine Heavens Wood Armor Divine General.

• Xu Taiping's Mysterious Origin Avatar blocked Gaishan's attack and used the Silver-Winged Eagle to shatter his claw-shaped Blade Force.
• Jun Shuyan was astonished that Xu Taiping's avatar could use the same Divine Ability.
• The Former Pavilion Master and Devil Master Tianxing discussed whether Song Xian was the Otherworlder they were hunting and decided to wait for more evidence.
• The Former Pavilion Master ordered Gaishan to use the Deity-Summoning Technique and kill Song Xian.
• Gaishan reluctantly obeyed, drove back Xu Taiping's avatar, and threw a talisman while calling for the Nine Heavens Wood Armor Divine General.

Xu Taiping completed the 𩙥 Flame by merging the North Wind Fan’s wind essence with the Golden Crow Fire, then used it to break Gaishan’s enormous saber strike and engulf the arena. Gaishan remained trapped in the flames, struggling to survive.

• Gaishan summoned a Wood Armor divine general, whose flute strengthened his true essence enough to shatter Xu Taiping’s Mysterious Origin Avatar and attack him with blade and fist force.
• Xu Taiping endured Gaishan’s assault and bought time by combining the North Wind Fan’s wind essence with Silver Sand’s metal essence, but the resulting silver strike failed to stop Gaishan’s fist.
• Xu Taiping completed the merge with the Golden Crow Fire and revealed the blue-green 𩙥 Flame, whose force halted Gaishan’s fist.
• Jun Shuyan and Gongshu Nanxing watched in astonishment as Xu Taiping produced the 𩙥 Flame, while Gaishan used the divine general’s aid to strengthen himself again at a physical cost.
• Gaishan poured his blood qi and true essence into his saber and unleashed a massive slash, but Xu Taiping shaped the 𩙥 Flame into a giant hand that cleaved the saber shadow apart and engulfed Gaishan in fire.

Xu Taiping used 𩙥 Flame to overwhelm Hall Master Gaishan, who called on the Wood Armor Divine General to empower him and launch a counterattack. As Gaishan’s renewed assault began, Xu Taiping remained protected by the flame barrier, and the match was still unresolved.

• The Former Pavilion Master and Devil Master Tianxing discussed Xu Taiping’s unfamiliar spell and agreed to have their people fight next if Gaishan lost, using Xu Taiping to test Wuhuan.
• Xu Taiping controlled 𩙥 Flame with ease and formed it into a giant palm that struck at Gaishan.
• Gaishan summoned the Wood Armor Divine General’s true essence, greatly increasing his strength, and attacked Xu Taiping with hundreds of fist shadows.
• Xu Taiping’s 𩙥 Flame formed a wind barrier that shattered Gaishan’s fist shadows and left him unharmed.
• Gaishan refused to give up and slashed at Xu Taiping again.

Xu Taiping defeated Gaishan with the 𩙥 Flame Finger, but Hall Master Wuhuan intervened and froze him before the flames broke free. Wuhuan offered Xu Taiping the first move in their match, and Xu began chanting to build up Buddhism power for the Sea-Swallowing Seal.

• Xu Taiping used the 𩙥 Flame Finger to shatter Gaishan's blade shadow and destroy his long blade and arm.
• Wuhuan descended, cut away Gaishan's ruined arm, extinguished Xu Taiping's 𩙥 Flame, and froze half the arena.
• Xu Taiping drove back the frost and challenged Wuhuan over his interference in the match.
• Wuhuan offered Xu Taiping the first move in their formal match, and Xu accepted.
• Xu Taiping began chanting Buddhist scriptures to accumulate power for the Sea-Swallowing Seal.

Xu Taiping chanted scriptures in the arena and drew down Buddhist power as Hall Master Wuhuan prepared to counter him with the Heavenly Frost Pavilion’s Netherfrost Sword Qi. The chapter left their clash on the verge of beginning, with Wuhuan’s sword qi gathering overhead.

• Xu Taiping chanted with his palms pressed together, and a golden pillar of light descended from the clouds to infuse him with Buddhist power.
• Hall Master Wuhuan spread freezing ice across the arena and admitted that he had misjudged Xu Taiping’s opening move.
• Wuhuan summoned his flying sword and began gathering Netherfrost Sword Qi to attack Xu Taiping.
• Jun Shuyan explained to Gongshu Nanxing that Netherfrost Sword Qi combined netherfrost true qi with Heavenly Frost Sword Qi and could freeze the divine soul.
• Devil Master Tianxing remarked to the Former Pavilion Master that Wuhuan was cautious to use Netherfrost Sword Qi immediately.

Xu Taiping gained enough Buddhist power from reciting the Lankavatara Sutra to perform the Sea-Swallowing Seal, but Wuhuan’s Netherfrost Sword Qi shattered his defenses and left him exposed. Wuhuan sent the peng-shaped Sword Qi diving toward Xu Taiping, and the chapter ended before the attack landed.

• The Former Pavilion Master explained that Wuhuan had sensed danger and prepared Netherfrost Sword Qi, while Devil Master Tianxing watched with interest.
• Wuhuan summoned a huge peng bird of frosty Sword Qi as another golden light formed a kasaya-shaped phantom around Xu Taiping.
• After finishing the Lankavatara Sutra, Xu Taiping realized he had enough Buddhist power to perform the Sea-Swallowing Seal.
• Wuhuan’s Netherfrost Sword Qi struck Xu Taiping, nearly breaking his protective gang qi and freezing his 𩙥 Flame Armor.
• Xu Taiping began forming the Sea-Swallowing Seal, but Wuhuan destroyed the armor and Mysterious Origin Avatar before sending the peng bird diving at him.

Xu Taiping defeated Hall Master Wuhuan by using the Sea-Swallowing Seal to capture and seal his Netherfrost Sword Qi, earning permission to enter the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and meet Qingcheng. Unbeknownst to Xu Taiping, Devil Master Tianxing believed he had identified him as Rusty Lion and prepared to spring the trap laid for him.

• Xu Taiping stopped Wuhuan's Netherfrost Sword Qi with a golden ring and expanded it with six more rings of Buddha Light.
• Xu Taiping used the Sea-Swallowing Seal to encircle the peng bird, shatter it with a Buddha's hand, and seal Wuhuan's Netherfrost Sword Qi in a finger ring.
• Wuhuan conceded after losing his Netherfrost Sword Qi, and Xu Taiping asked to enter the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion after defeating Siyou, Gaishan, and Wuhuan.
• The Former Pavilion Master granted Xu Taiping permission to meet Qingcheng and asked Devil Master Tianxing whether he had confirmed Xu Taiping's identity.
• Devil Master Tianxing declared that Xu Taiping was Rusty Lion and said he would personally spring the trap, while the Former Pavilion Master wondered whether Qingcheng would finally give up after her rescuer died.

After Xu Taiping won the marriage contest and entered the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Xuanyuan Xueluo suspected he was Rusty Lion and ordered her people to prepare for danger. Gongshu Nanxing watched anxiously from outside as the pavilion’s occupants appeared on the second floor.

• Spectators speculated that Song Xian had beaten the three Hall Masters only because Wuhuan had held back, while Xu Taiping walked into the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
• A Mu told Xuanyuan Xueluo he had detected an orchid fragrance from Song Xian, leading her to suspect that Song Xian was Rusty Lion in disguise.
• Xuanyuan Xueluo ordered A Mu to alert their people and position them near the Heavenly Frost Pavilion, then suspected that Du Mu was Gongshu Nanxing.
• Gongshu Nanxing worried that the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion was the most dangerous part of Xu Taiping’s plan, while Jun Shuyan struggled with his attraction to her disguised appearance.
• A commotion announced that people had appeared on the second floor of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and Gongshu Nanxing looked up tensely.

Xu Taiping went upstairs to meet Gu Qingcheng, knowing the wedding was a trap and preparing a counterattack. He unleashed Netherfrost Sword Qi, killing Gu Qingcheng and the demon cultivators disguised as servants, while the onlookers below realized he had come to murder rather than marry.

• Xu Taiping warned Gongshu Nanxing to leave the courtyard and wait near the Earth-Traveling Earth-Diving Formation because his planned spell could endanger her.
• Xu Taiping explained that he would use thunderflame if needed, then sent a shadow duplicate to hide near the stairway landing.
• Xu Taiping reached the third floor and accepted a bamboo rod from the middle-aged woman, knowing it would become an Immortal-Binding Rope when he lifted Gu Qingcheng's veil.
• The Golden Ring on Xu Taiping's finger flashed, and Netherfrost Sword Qi killed Gu Qingcheng and the disguised demon cultivators, freezing their bodies into headless ice sculptures.
• A bystander shouted that Xu Taiping had come to murder his bride, not marry her.

Xu Taiping fought to stop Devil Master Tianxing from swallowing the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion with a blood python, but the demon cultivators broke free of his Netherfrost Sword Qi. After Xu Taiping defeated them with the Great Sage Fist, Tianxing recognized him as the Golden Scale Champion and attacked.

• Devil Master Tianxing used a blood python to swallow the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and Xu Taiping unleashed his remaining Netherfrost Sword Qi to pierce it.
• Tianxing’s blood-colored killing intent shielded him and the other demon cultivators as they began breaking free of the ice.
• Xu Taiping killed the demon cultivator disguised as a middle-aged woman with the Baxia Form, then destroyed nine servants with the Raging Thunder Form.
• Tianxing broke free, recognized Xu Taiping as the Golden Scale Champion, and slashed at him with his Blood Blade.

Xu Taiping fought Devil Master Tianxing, whose Thousand Silk Blade wielded power beyond the Sixth Layer's cultivation ceiling. After countering several attacks with his forms, avatar, and wind-infused Silver Sand, Xu Taiping faced Tianxing's use of a Sin-Exemption Token to invoke the power of Profound Calamity.

• Xu Taiping blocked Devil Master Tianxing's opening strike with the Mountain-Bearing Form, but Tianxing attacked again with his Thousand Silk Blade.
• Xu Taiping's Mysterious Origin Avatar intervened, letting him escape the blade threads and raise his Python Flood Dragon Physique to the Furious Flood Dragon Realm.
• Xu Taiping used the Baxia Form to break much of Tianxing's blade force and stagger him, but Tianxing's power soon gathered again.
• Tianxing's renewed blade attack wounded the Mysterious Origin Avatar and inflicted severe pain on Xu Taiping's divine soul.
• Xu Taiping used wind-infused Silver Sand to shatter Tianxing's blade threads, and Tianxing crushed a Sin-Exemption Token to claim one chance to wield the power of Profound Calamity.

Xu Taiping faced Devil Master Tianxing after Tianxing unleashed his power of profound calamity, which devoured energy and grew stronger. With Elder Zhang reporting that the captives had been rescued, Xu Taiping fused thunder and fire into a destructive thunderflame, leaving Tianxing shaken.

• Devil Master Tianxing broke the golden chain restraining him, grew to twenty feet tall, and attacked Xu Taiping with a torrent of blade qi.
• Xu Taiping’s 𩙥 Flame Armor blocked the attack, but Tianxing’s blade qi devoured its flames and multiplied.
• Xu Taiping recognized that Tianxing’s power of profound calamity could consume the power of the five elements and grow stronger.
• Elder Zhang told Xu Taiping that they had rescued the captives, and Xu Taiping ordered him to leave and wait at their agreed location.
• Xu Taiping combined great sun golden flame with Five Thunder Talismans and fused their thunder and fire origins into a white thunderflame.
• Xu Taiping sent a swallowtail butterfly of thunderflame toward Tianxing, whose confidence turned to horror at the fusion.

Xu Taiping used thunderflame to break Devil Master Tianxing’s Profound Calamity and trap him in a swarm of lightning-flickering butterflies. At the Abyssal Pavilion, Fairy Lingyue revealed that she had anticipated the demon cultivators’ trap, and Ye Chensha recognized Xu Taiping’s flame as thunderflame.

• Xu Taiping’s thunderflame butterfly burned through Devil Master Tianxing’s blade qi, terrifying Tianxing with flames that could consume anything.
• Devil Master Tianxing tried to escape inside his blood-red robe, but Xu Taiping scattered thunderflame butterflies throughout the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and one landed between Tianxing’s brows.
• At the Abyssal Pavilion, Ye Chensha saw Xu Taiping battling a demon cultivator in the Haotian Mirror and asked Fairy Lingyue whether she knew about the trap.
• Fairy Lingyue told Ye Chensha that they had learned of the demon cultivators’ plan beforehand and intended to turn it against them; Ye Chensha deduced that the Nine Abysses had planted a spy near him.
• Fairy Lingyue and Ye Chensha recognized the devouring blade qi as the Demon Abyss’s power of Profound Calamity, and Lingyue insisted Xu Taiping could counter it with his spell.
• Ye Chensha watched lightning-flickering white butterflies erupt from the pavilion and identified Xu Taiping’s power as thunderflame.

Xu Taiping’s self-mastered Thunderflame Art engulfed the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and Fairy Lingyue concluded that his people had rescued Ye Chensha’s sister, Qingcheng. The Heavenly Frost Pavilion’s former pavilion master attacked the pavilion, but Devil Master Tianxing emerged alive and thanked him.

• Fairy Lingyue told Ye Chensha that Xu Taiping had independently comprehended the Thunderflame Art, a dangerous forbidden technique.
• Thunderflame spread from the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, forcing nearby cultivators to flee as it burned everything in its path.
• The former pavilion master of the Heavenly Frost Pavilion flew toward the pavilion and demanded that the otherworlder hand over Qingcheng.
• Fairy Lingyue told Ye Chensha that his sister had likely already been rescued by her disciple’s people.
• The former pavilion master struck the pavilion with netherfrost sword qi, which clashed with a thunderflame pillar from the third floor.
• Devil Master Tianxing emerged from the pavilion and thanked the former pavilion master, surprising Ye Chensha by surviving the thunderflame.

Xu Taiping mastered the Thunderflame and used it to destroy the Former Pavilion Master and drive off Devil Master Tianxing. After reuniting with Gu Qingcheng on the sixth layer, he learned that they had to reach the seventh layer to save the Xuanyuan Family’s heir, Xuanyuan Xueluo.

• Xu Taiping emerged from the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s ruins holding a spear formed from Thunderflame.
• The Former Pavilion Master attacked Xu Taiping to give Devil Master Tianxing time to escape, but Xu Taiping’s thrown spear pierced through him and struck Tianxing.
• Devil Master Tianxing’s blood-mist form was consumed by Thunderflame, and he threatened to seek revenge in the Shangqing Realm.
• Xu Taiping returned to the sixth layer and confirmed that Gongshu Nanxing, Elder Zhang, and the others were unharmed.
• Gu Qingcheng urged Xu Taiping to go to the seventh layer and save the Xuanyuan Family’s heir, whom she identified as Xuanyuan Xueluo.

Xu Taiping and Elder Zhang retrieved Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s second cache from the Sixth Layer, including a cultivation manual and two Immortal Treasures. A note revealed that the Sun-Piercing Chapter and the key to the emperor’s treasury awaited whoever reached the Eleventh Layer and defeated Daonu Wushuang, while Xu Taiping hurried to rejoin Gu Qingcheng and the others on the Seventh Layer.

• Xu Taiping told Elder Zhang that they had to reach the Seventh Layer’s entrance within one incense stick to rejoin Gongshu Nanxing, Zhai Mo, and Gu Qingcheng.
• Elder Zhang warned Xu Taiping not to trust Gu Qingcheng’s claims about the Nine Abysses’ plot, and Xu Taiping said she had agreed to explain everything on the Seventh Layer.
• Xu Taiping opened the chest and received the Mysterious Wasteland Art’s Sea-Overturning Chapter, the Wind-Suppressing Pearl, and the Cloud-Cloaking Umbrella.
• Xu Taiping found a note stating that the Sun-Piercing Chapter and the key to Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s treasury required reaching the Eleventh Layer and defeating Daonu Wushuang.
• When Elder Zhang warned that their time was nearly up, Xu Taiping left to rejoin the others and learn what had happened on the Seventh Layer.

Xuanyuan Xueluo returned to the cave too late to find Xu Taiping and the others, then decided to return with A Mu to the Ningyuan Kingdom. At the Mysterious Wasteland Tower’s seventh-layer exit, Xu Taiping rejoined his companions, agreed to ascend with Gu Qingcheng, and warned everyone to stay behind him because the Lotus Eye had foreseen a calamity.

• Xuanyuan Xueluo and A Mu searched the cave for Xu Taiping and the others, but they had already vanished.
• Xuanyuan Xueluo decided to return after learning the White Tiger Battalion had taken over the Heavenly Frost Pavilion and would turn its attention to Guifang.
• Gongshu Nanxing and Zhai Mo waited at the seventh-layer exit for Xu Taiping while Gu Qingcheng insisted that Xuanyuan Xueluo was essential to reaching the tower’s Ninth Layer.
• Gu Qingcheng said she could not explain her divination, and Xu Taiping recognized that she practiced the Qi-Gazing and Divination Art.
• Xu Taiping agreed to ascend to the seventh layer and warned everyone to stay behind him, since the Lotus Eye had foreseen a calamity there.

Xu Taiping led his group into the seventh layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, where he recognized that they had arrived in Guifang territory and Black Mountain, the Guifang Blue-Eyed Demon Monk’s world-forming treasure. He prepared to guide them through the coming hunt, while Gu Qingcheng remained wary of relying on him.

• Xu Taiping recalled Lotus Eye’s warning that Black Mountain’s refugees faced three waves of attacks before being captured or killed.
• Xu Taiping told Gongshu Nanxing, Zhai Mo, Elder Zhang, Gu Qingcheng, and Yuzhu to follow him without asking questions, and Gu Qingcheng said she would act if she sensed mortal danger.
• The group entered the seventh layer and landed in darkness before the bronze doors shut behind them.
• Gongshu Nanxing noticed that their surroundings did not match any known landing point in Ningyuan Kingdom, and Xu Taiping identified the place as Guifang territory.
• Xu Taiping spotted a tree marked with beast claws and recalled that its shelter would be safe during the first wave of hunting, then summoned Lotus Eye’s Divine Soul Mark to check his memory.

Xu Taiping led his companions into an ancient tree to hide after recognizing that they had entered Guifang territory. Gu Qingcheng ran west to escape, but refugees fell from the sky and arrows began raining down around her.

• Xu Taiping told Elder Zhang, Gongshu Nanxing, Zhai Mo, and Yuzhu to hide inside an ancient tree.
• Gu Qingcheng calculated that the forest would soon become dangerous and urged everyone to flee west.
• Xu Taiping warned Gu Qingcheng to return if she could not escape, then climbed into the tree with his companions.
• Gu Qingcheng ran west as thunder sounded and refugees fell into the forest, apparently unharmed.
• The refugees fled west, and an arrow from the sky killed an old man who had warned Gu Qingcheng to run.
• Gu Qingcheng looked up and saw arrows raining down across the forest.

Gu Qingcheng abandoned her attempt to reach the western exit and returned to Xu Taiping’s group after discovering their tree had remained unharmed during the first hunt. Xu Taiping led everyone onward, then stopped at a heap of boulders to prepare for the approaching second wave, which Gu Qingcheng divined was a certain-death predicament.

• A falling boulder and scalding oil attacked Gu Qingcheng and the refugees, while the Black Mountain weakened defenses and rapidly drained true essence.
• Gu Qingcheng spotted Xu Taiping’s unharmed tree and, at Gongshu Nanxing’s summons, returned to the group.
• Xu Taiping waited through a final volley of arrows before leading everyone down from the tree as the first hunt ended.
• Thousands of new Ningyuan Kingdom refugees fell into the forest as Xu Taiping’s group sprinted onward.
• Xu Taiping stopped at a heap of boulders and warned that the second hunt was about to begin; Gu Qingcheng’s divination revealed a certain-death predicament.