Recaps

Jia Hu visited Fan Youfu and revealed the ten-thousand-year struggle over the Primordial Chaos Fruit, including the history of the barrier between the celestial and mortal realms. He explained that the shattered Dragon Map was the only known clue to the fruit’s location, while Fan Youfu remained wary of Jia Hu’s motives.

• Jia Hu entered Fan Youfu’s wine shop and revealed that he knew Fan Youfu’s true identity, Fan Changfeng.
• Jia Hu warned Fan Youfu that the Primordial Chaos Fruit was nearing ripeness and that his son was in danger because he lacked proper guidance.
• Fan Youfu concealed himself beneath the One-Leaf Veil and asked Jia Hu to explain the fruit’s origins.
• Jia Hu recounted how the Cloud Sage sent Chi You to seize the Primordial Chaos Fruit, how the Xia Sage sent the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden to help defeat him, and how the Zhou Tian Maitreya Formation sealed the celestial and mortal realms.
• Jia Hu explained that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden created a Dragon Map while seeking the fruit, but it shattered and its pieces were scattered across the Four Seas and Eight Desolations.
• Fan Youfu accused Jia Hu of harboring ulterior motives as Jia Hu revealed that restoring the Dragon Map could lead them to the Primordial Chaos Fruit.

Fan Youfu heard Jia Hu's warning that the Primordial Chaos Fruit would soon ripen and could usher in a golden age, but revealed that he had already made his own move. In Great Chen, Emperor Chen learned that Cheng Zi Ya had quelled the Shu Region mutiny, then questioned whether Chancellor Cui Yizhong's illness was genuine.

• Jia Hu told Fan Youfu that the Primordial Chaos Fruit would ripen in three to five years and urged him to prevent the Cloud Sage from taking it.
• Fan Youfu rejected Jia Hu's appeal and revealed that he had already placed his own piece regarding the Primordial Chaos Fruit.
• Zhao Delu reported that Cheng Zi Ya had stabilized the Min River Camp, executed corrupt officials, and subdued the Black-Armor and Flying Eagle armies.
• Emperor Chen praised Cheng Zi Ya's strength but showed no joy at the mutiny's end.
• Emperor Chen questioned whether Cui Yizhong was truly ill, and Zhao Delu confirmed that the chancellor was recovering under medical care.

Emperor Chen learned that his nephew was alive and had a Dragon Hidden Guards commander killed to keep the secret contained. At Taihe Mountain, Liu Chuang bragged to Meng Xinghe about his exploits, and Meng Xinghe asked why he had given the valuable Water Droplet to a boy from the Knowledge and Practice Institute.

• Emperor Chen inspected the Armaments Bureau’s new weapons at Ritual Harmony Hall.
• A Dragon Hidden Guards commander reported that He An had met a suspicious beggar and that the orphaned imperial prince, Bai Xiang Shou, was Zhao Jiadi.
• Lu Aping killed the commander with silver needles and erased his body, while Emperor Chen concluded that his nephew had survived.
• Emperor Chen recognized his nephew as the one who had escaped fate and revealed his murderous intent.
• At Taihe Mountain, Liu Chuang complained to Meng Xinghe about practicing the True Martial Scripture and boasted about the treasures he had brought back.
• Meng Xinghe asked Liu Chuang why he had given the Water Droplet to a boy from the Knowledge and Practice Institute.

Liu Chuang left the True Martial Sect to venture into the world, while Meng Xinghe sealed Taihe Mountain and began a life-or-death secluded cultivation to contend with Heaven. The chapter then shifted to a desert caravan saved from mounted bandits by a gray-clad swordsman, whose identity remained unrevealed.

• Liu Chuang told Meng Xinghe that He An had earned his friendship by giving him all his silver, and Lao Tingxuan praised He An as a rare talent.
• Meng Xinghe sent Liu Chuang down the mountain to temper himself in the mortal world, and Liu Chuang departed eagerly.
• Meng Xinghe explained that Liu Chuang's natural, unrestrained Dao gave him hope for the sect, while Ling Wenyue's loyalty and service to Emperor Chen risked making him a broken blade.
• Meng Xinghe revealed that his lifespan was nearing its end and that he refused to ascend without a true successor, then ordered the mountain-protecting formation activated and sealed Taihe Mountain.
• Meng Xinghe entered secluded cultivation to contend with Heaven and told Lao Tingxuan that Liu Chuang should not grieve if the attempt killed him.
• A desert caravan traveling toward Wuwei City faced mounted bandits, and a gray-clad swordsman appeared to save its people and goods.

Disguised as a frontier traveler, He An reached Penghu Town on his way to repay a twenty-year blood debt. In Wuwei City, Han Chanjuan learned her father planned to choose a husband for her at the Water Lantern Festival, and she clung to her memories and promise from He An.

• He An disguised himself and traveled with a caravan through bandit territory toward Penghu Town, killing the outlaws who attacked along the way.
• He An recalled leaving the Northwest Camp after learning Fang Yizhi was away, and set out alone on his path of vengeance.
• He An followed the caravan toward Penghu Town, while his hatred and desire for revenge remained tightly controlled.
• Green Sepal told Han Chanjuan that Emperor Han Zhan intended to choose her husband at the Water Lantern Festival banquet.
• Han Chanjuan remembered He An's vow that he would never hurt her or her family, and spoke warmly of his character to Green Sepal.
• Han Chanjuan gazed toward Luoyang and thought of He An as dusk settled over the palace.

After Cheng Zi Ya visited Ding Feiyong in Langzhong, the two honored Ding Fengyuan’s grave and shared wine. Their conversation turned to the emperor’s suspicion of old ministers and the deaths of several former officials, and Cheng Zi Ya revealed a mysterious porcelain bottle taken from an intruder in the Imperial Palace.

• Ding Feiyong wrote a memorial piece for his late father, and Ding Wenruo praised it before Cheng Zi Ya arrived.
• Cheng Zi Ya asked to pay respects at Ding Fengyuan’s grave, and he and Ding Feiyong offered paper and wine there.
• Ding Feiyong praised Cheng Zi Ya for subduing the Shu Region army, but Cheng Zi Ya condemned Zhao Chang for distrusting loyal ministers and suppressing the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Cheng Zi Ya lamented the deaths of Liu Daxia, Qin Lie, and Ding Fengyuan, prompting Ding Feiyong to ask whether his father’s illness had concealed something more.
• Cheng Zi Ya produced an unmarked indigo porcelain bottle that his senior brother had taken from a mysterious intruder in the Imperial Palace.

Cheng Zi Ya revealed that a concealed poison had killed Old Chancellor Ding and suggested it had also caused the Former Emperor’s death, implicating the current ruler. He then disclosed that the surviving imperial grandson was someone Ding Feiyong knew well, leaving Ding Feiyong and Ding Wenruo stunned by the name He... An.

• Cheng Zi Ya explained how the poison weakened its victims and demonstrated its symptoms by inhaling some before expelling it through cultivation.
• Ding Feiyong took a small sample of the poison, and Cheng Zi Ya claimed the Former Emperor had suffered the same symptoms as Old Chancellor Ding.
• Ding Feiyong concluded that the person who benefited most from the deaths might have orchestrated the conspiracy, while Cheng Zi Ya accused the ruler of colluding with Western Liang and murdering his relatives.
• Cheng Zi Ya revealed that the little imperial grandson had survived and whispered his identity to Ding Feiyong, who reacted by saying, “He... An?”
• Ding Wenruo overheard the revelation, dismissed the servants’ alarm, and helped her stunned father as the drunken Cheng Zi Ya was taken to a guest room.

Ding Feiyong weighed Zhao Chang’s reforms against their human costs and resolved to bring down the emperor by rallying opposition and enthroning He An. As he drafted plans to pacify the realm, Ding Wenruo recognized his intention to return to the capital and asked when they would leave.

• Ding Feiyong concealed He An’s imperial lineage from Ding Wenruo, who rejoiced to hear of He An’s achievements.
• Ding Feiyong recalled his father’s possible murder by Zhao Chang and examined the damage caused by the emperor’s ambitious policies.
• Ding Feiyong resolved to unite discontented groups, expose Zhao Chang’s alleged crimes, and enthrone He An.
• Ding Feiyong began writing the Ten Strategies for Pacifying the State.
• Ding Wenruo brought Ding Feiyong soup, recognized his plans to return to the capital, and asked when they would leave.

Ding Feiyong ordered his household to exhume his father's grave so he could investigate the suspected poisoning, while Fan Dazhi hurried alone to the Flying Eagle Gang's hideout after Linu and Zhu Qiqi were abducted. In Lotus Seed Alley, a mysterious figure who seemed familiar to Fan Dazhi offered to lead him to the captives.

• Ding Feiyong told Ding Wenruo that he was acting for the people and secretly hoped to secure He An's throne and his daughter's future.
• After Cheng Zi Ya departed, Ding Feiyong apologized at Ding Fengyuan's grave and ordered the servants to open the coffin to uncover the truth about his father's death.
• Fan Dazhi learned that the Flying Eagle Gang had abducted Linu and Zhu Qiqi, gathered his talismans and money, and left the Knowledge and Practice Institute without help.
• Fan Dazhi hired a carriage to Lotus Seed Alley and entered the foul, narrow passage alone, determined to rescue Linu.
• A shadowy figure blocked Fan Dazhi's way and told him to follow if he wanted to ransom the captives; Fan Dazhi recognized something familiar in the voice.

Fan Dazhi followed the Black-Clothed Man to the Flying Eagle Gang’s underground den and demanded the release of Linu and Zhu Qiqi. The gang leader’s men demanded a ransom of ten thousand taels of gold, then attacked Fan Dazhi as he promised to find the money.

• Fan Dazhi followed the Black-Clothed Man down into a crowded underground gambling hall.
• The gang thugs recognized Fan Dazhi, but fell silent when the Black-Robed Youth arrived and was greeted as the Gang Leader.
• Fan Dazhi demanded that the Flying Eagle Gang release Linu and Zhu Qiqi.
• The veiled woman accused Fan Dazhi’s friends of injuring gang members, and the Black-Clothed Man demanded ten thousand taels of gold to ransom them.
• Fan Dazhi promised to find the gold, but the Black-Clothed Man struck him and the gang thugs swarmed to beat him.

Fan Dazhi endured a beating to learn whether Linu and Zhu Qiqi were safe, then erupted in fury when the Black-Robed Youth’s men wounded Zhu Qiqi and dragged her away. The chapter ended with Fan Dazhi unleashing the Black Tortoise Scripture’s power against the men blocking him.

• The Black-Robed Youth stopped the ruffians from killing Fan Dazhi and ordered them to bring the captives out.
• Fan Dazhi saw Linu and Zhu Qiqi bound and bruised, then rushed toward them and cut his hands on the sabers blocking his way.
• Linu tearfully urged Fan Dazhi to run, while Zhu Qiqi cried for him to save them.
• The masked woman stabbed Zhu Qiqi in the arm, and men in black dragged her unconscious into the passage.
• Fan Dazhi roared and unleashed the Black Tortoise Scripture’s true qi, blasting away the weapons and men in his path.

Fan Dazhi agreed to free the Black-Robed Youth’s imprisoned elder from Zhenyue Prison within three days in exchange for Linu and Zhu Qiqi’s release. After he left, Zhu Qiqi revealed that her hostage ordeal had been staged and teased Linu about Fan Dazhi’s devotion.

• The Masked Woman threatened Linu with her dagger, forcing Fan Dazhi to beg for her safety.
• The Black-Robed Youth promised to release the hostages if Fan Dazhi freed his elder from Zhenyue Prison within three days.
• Fan Dazhi accepted the task, watched Linu being taken away, and left after asking the Black-Robed Youth to keep his promise.
• In a secret chamber, Zhu Qiqi removed her fake restraints and used a fish bladder and chicken blood to reveal that her distress had been an act.
• Zhu Qiqi teased Linu about Fan Dazhi risking his life for her.

Dongren ordered his followers to prepare a midnight assault on the Knowledge and Practice Institute if Fan Dazhi failed to rescue the Venerable One within three days. Meanwhile, the Cui Family Ancestor reforged Cui Zhixia’s foundation, and Cui Zhixia regained his confidence and resolve to train.

• Linu broke down as Zhu Qiqi acknowledged their feelings for Fan Dazhi but said they had no choice.
• Dongren praised Zhu Qiqi and Linu, then ordered his followers to prepare for a midnight attack on the Knowledge and Practice Institute and Zhenyue Prison in three days.
• Zhu Qiqi taunted Jin Caiyun about her humiliation by Fan Dazhi, and Dongren stopped their quarrel.
• Dongren revealed that the group had a high-ranking insider at the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• The Cui Family Ancestor finished reforging Cui Zhixia’s Dao foundation and told him to consolidate his cultivation.
• Cui Zhixia tested his restored physical strength, regained confidence in himself, and resolved to train.

Bi Yunfei tortured Su Qiu, who struck him with a final Divine Sense attack before dying. Meanwhile, Fan Dazhi traced clues about Zhenyue Prison to the nameless stele on the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s Rear Mountain and discovered a vast formation beneath it.

• Bi Yunfei questioned Su Qiu in the Ministry of Justice prison about a secret that had drawn Emperor Chen’s attention.
• Su Qiu tricked Bi Yunfei into leaning close, then attacked his Sea of Consciousness with his Divine Sense and insulted him before dying.
• Bi Yunfei stabbed Su Qiu repeatedly with a heated iron poker and called for the guards.
• After a sleepless day and night investigating the Knowledge and Practice Institute, Fan Dazhi suspected the Rear Mountain mound was connected to Zhenyue Prison.
• Fan Dazhi examined the nameless stele and sensed Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy sinking underground into a vast Cosmic Circuit Formation.

Fan Dazhi removed the formation flags from the mound and briefly disturbed the Mountain-Suppressing Prison seal before it suppressed the escaping aura. He later discovered openings underground, where an imprisoned old man heard his call and struck the cold iron wall.

• Fan Dazhi used earth-attribute primordial energy to probe beneath the mound and confirmed that a vast, restricted space lay underground.
• Fan Dazhi retrieved the formation flags, causing fissures to open as gray-black aura escaped and the stele revealed the golden seal character "Yue".
• The stele's golden runes suppressed the aura, and Fan Dazhi fled before powerful divine senses swept the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• On the Water Lantern Festival holiday, Fan Dazhi returned to the mound and found dark openings in its scorched, lifeless soil.
• An old man shackled in a ten-thousand-year cold iron chamber heard Fan Dazhi's distant call and punched the wall.

Fan Dazhi realized Linu’s kidnapping was part of a trap but prepared to rescue her anyway, while a powerful prisoner remained confined by Li Xingzhi’s sword intent. At the Rear Mountain, Fan Dazhi called into the underground passage and received an offer from the imprisoned old man to help him escape in exchange for a heaven-defying opportunity.

• The old man battered his prison walls but retreated from the boundary guarded by Li Xingzhi’s lingering sword intent.
• Fan Dazhi recalled the Black-Clothed Man who had tried to kill him and realized Linu’s kidnapping was likely part of a calculated trap.
• Fan Dazhi gathered supplies and left for the Rear Mountain, while the Little Black Cat eagerly sniffed the soil and traces of a magic array on his clothes.
• Fan Dazhi widened the hole in the mound, dropped a fire taper into it, and called out to the person trapped below.
• The old man answered Fan Dazhi through Sound Condensation Thread and offered him a heaven-defying opportunity if he helped him escape.

Fan Dazhi accidentally awakened the Bixi spirit guarding the mountain array, and Little Black Cat drove it away, allowing the array’s captive to break free after twenty years. The chapter then shifted to the Lower Yuan Night festivities in Wuwei City, where Li Bie led a squad of warriors through the crowded streets.

• Fan Dazhi tried and failed to topple the wordless stele, but his blood seeped into it and awakened its golden seal-script character.
• The earth shook as a giant Bixi spirit emerged from beneath the stele and threatened Fan Dazhi.
• Little Black Cat confronted Bixi, which fled in fear, and the cat pursued it into the mountain forest.
• The unsupported stele fell, triggering a violent earthquake that sent a ragged, shackled man bursting from the earth and proclaiming his freedom and revenge.
• During Lower Yuan Night in Wuwei City, Li Bie led eight halberd-bearing warriors along the crowded, lantern-lit avenue.

During Wuwei City's Lower Yuan Festival, Li Bie watched the festivities and spotted Grand Tutor Qin Kelan and Grand Preceptor Zhu Shifu enjoying the street performances. At the palace celebration, an assassin struck Han Zhan with a sword, and Tong Shanxiong and other fighters moved to stop him.

• Li Bie patrolled Wuwei City and saw Qin Kelan and Zhu Shifu watching a street performance.
• Han Zhan celebrated with the Northern Qi and Tuyuhun envoys while asking whether the princess still refused to attend.
• A bamboo-hatted assassin launched a sword attack at Han Zhan during the palace festivities.
• Han Zhan caught the blade but could not stop it from piercing his left shoulder.
• Tong Shanxiong drew his saber and charged the assassin as other fighters closed in.

He An’s disguise was exposed after he wounded Han Zhan and fought off the emperor’s four generals. Surrounded by their coordinated attacks, he shattered the flagpole to escape into Lower Origin’s crowded streets, with Han Zhan and the others in pursuit.

• Guan Dian, Guan Pingchao, Qu Guangling, Tong Shanxiong, and Han Zhan attacked He An, who parried Tong Shanxiong’s saber and blunted Han Zhan’s fist before sending Tong Shanxiong crashing into a wall.
• He An’s hat and disguise were destroyed, revealing his identity; Han Zhan recognized him and vowed to kill him.
• Qu Guangling used two enchanted copper coins to bind He An, while Guan Pingchao restricted his movements and the others closed in with coordinated attacks.
• He An drove the Azure Cloud Sword into the flagpole, disrupting the bindings and battlefield control, then used the explosion’s recoil to escape toward the streets beyond the wall.
• Han Zhan, Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and the others leaped from the gate tower and pursued He An into Lower Origin.

He An was hunted through Wuwei City after attacking Han Zhan, while the court officials mobilized to protect the emperor. Surrounded by Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and Qu Guangling, He An unleashed the power of his Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture to break free of their restraints.

• Guan Pingchao treated Han Zhan’s shoulder wound and assured him that Wuwei City’s gates were shut and Master Qu was tracking He An.
• Zhu Shifu and Qin Kelan spotted a disturbance near Jiying Tower and rushed toward the palace to protect Han Zhan.
• Li Bie raced past Zhu Shifu and Qin Kelan, drawing his saber and pursuing He An.
• Tong Shanxiong attacked He An in the street, while Guan Dian wounded him with copper coins and daggers and Qu Guangling bound him with primordial energy.
• He An forced open the restraints with an explosive surge of true qi from his dan foundation, and his speed suddenly increased.

He An fought through Tong Shanxiong, Guan Dian, and Qu Guangling before Li Bie covertly revealed an escape route through the Imperial Palace. He An reached the palace wall, where Han Zhan trapped him in an ice dome, but He An used an Army-Cleaving Talisman as Han Zhan attacked.

• He An knocked Tong Shanxiong into a wall and struck at Qu Guangling with his Spirit-Shocking Finger, while Guan Dian dodged the attack.
• He An pursued the wounded Qu Guangling, but Li Bie intervened and secretly told him the palace’s rear exit was his only escape route.
• Li Bie pretended to fight He An as He An broke through the Imperial Guards on the palace wall and headed toward the gate tower.
• Han Zhan intercepted He An and trapped him inside a dome of mystic ice before bringing down a killing palm.
• He An revealed an Army-Cleaving Talisman, and Han Zhan raised an ice wall, but the talisman’s sword intent shattered it in a tremendous explosion.

He An attacked Han Zhan at the imperial banquet and escaped, prompting Han Zhan to order his death. Wei Zhilin suspected He An had learned the truth of his birth, then battled a masked attacker and trapped him above the Luo River.

• He An’s Sword Qi devastated the banquet, wounded Han Zhan, and let him escape into the palace; Han Zhan ordered his trusted generals to kill him before he could leave Wuwei City.
• Wei Zhilin told Cheng Zi Ya that He An might seek revenge after learning the truth of his birth, and Cheng Zi Ya promised to bring him back safely.
• A beast’s roar drew Wei Zhilin to the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s Rear Mountain, where a masked attacker ambushed him with poisoned weapons and a curved saber.
• Wei Zhilin countered the masked man’s attacks with the Disciplinary Ruler, dispelled his blood-red blade shadows, and pursued him to the Luo River.
• The masked man used Shadow Clone to split into three fleeing shadows, but Wei Zhilin froze them in midair and revealed his true body.

Wei Zhilin exposed Zhu Jin as a fiend from Unknown Island, but Zhu Jin escaped after warning that the Venerable One would soon break free. On Rear Mountain, Lin Qiu Chi’s formation failed to contain the freed prisoner, so she called upon her master’s sword and awakened the ancient stele.

• Wei Zhilin captured Zhu Jin and learned that he was a fiend from Unknown Island.
• Zhu Jin escaped across the Luo River, saying he only needed to delay Wei Zhilin until the Venerable One broke free.
• Fan Dazhi witnessed the prisoner escape as Lin Qiu Chi raised the Rear Mountain and bound him with Primordial Energy chains.
• The prisoner destroyed Lin Qiu Chi’s formation and reduced the mountain’s spectacle to an ordinary mound.
• Lin Qiu Chi gathered Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy and asked to borrow her master’s sword.
• A streak of sword light entered the ancient stone stele, which rose into the air and expanded like a divine sword.

Fan Dazhi learned that Linu had used him to help free the Venerable One, and she left despite his confession of love. As Wei Zhilin condemned Fan Dazhi for bringing disaster upon them, He An fled across the palace roofs while Imperial Guards closed in.

• Lin Qiu Chi's stele formation failed because it lacked the Baxia Talisman Core, and the Venerable One defeated her.
• The Black-Robed Youth, Jin Caiyun, Zhu Qiqi, and Linu joined the Venerable One as he escaped.
• Linu admitted that she had used Fan Dazhi, then departed after he confessed that he loved her.
• Feng Shaotang, Zou Zheng, Xu Kangnian, Chen Sangyu, and Wei Zhilin arrived, and Fan Dazhi recounted what had happened.
• Wei Zhilin blamed Fan Dazhi for bringing disaster upon them.
• He An fled across palace rooftops while Imperial Guards and expert pursuers searched for him.

He An fled the Imperial Palace guards and broke into Han Chanjuan’s chambers, where the two old friends reunited. Their reunion was interrupted by Han Zhan’s arrival, and Han Chanjuan hid He An behind a screen.

• He An realized the Imperial Palace prevented him from flying away and sought shelter in a secluded residence.
• Han Chanjuan reminisced about He An while Green Sepal taught her a Fated Wish Knot and wished she would see him soon.
• He An entered Han Chanjuan’s chambers with his sword drawn, then recognized her and lowered his weapon.
• Han Chanjuan embraced He An and discovered he was wounded, while he explained that he had been surrounded and attacked.
• Han Zhan’s guards surrounded the residence, and Han Chanjuan hid He An behind a Rosewood Screen.