Recaps

Chen Xiaojun, Xixi, Xiao Yi, and their companions climbed a scenic mountain, joking and admiring the views along the way. They reached a quiet old palace at the summit and decided to look inside.

• Chen Xiaojun teased Xixi about eating apples and her attempt to call him “Little Xiaojun,” and she playfully argued with him.
• Xixi pressed Chen Xiaojun to describe Xiao Yi, and he praised her beauty with a line attributed to Bai Juyi, making Xiao Yi blush.
• Zhu Wuneng complimented Xixi, and Luo Zhenjun urged the group to find a place to stop before dark.
• Xin Mengshen spotted a palace on a distant summit, and the group continued climbing while admiring the mountain scenery.
• The group reached the old palace surrounded by pines and cypresses, and Chen Xiaojun suggested they go inside.

Chen Xiaojun's group explored a palace devoted to the First-Generation Angel God, uncovering inscriptions about her deeds and her connection to the Sea God. After Chen Xiaojun noticed the palace's many inconsistencies, they suspected it was a spatial secret realm, but the night passed without incident and they resumed exploring at sunrise.

• Xixi identified the statue as the First-Generation Angel God and told the group about her use of the Angel Holy Sword to seal evil spirits and her friendship with the Sea God.
• Xixi deciphered a stone stele that recounted the First-Generation Angel God's deeds, blessings for humanity, and parting from the Sea God over their ideals.
• Chen Xiaojun questioned why the palace's inscriptions mentioned the Second-Generation Angel God and the Sea God, and the group continued searching the palace's rooms.
• Zhu Yanfeng pointed out that the palace lacked guards, staff, and visitors, while Chen Xiaojun noted the statue's condition and the site's obscurity as signs that something was wrong.
• Chen Xiaojun suspected the palace was a rare mobile spatial secret realm, and Zhu Yanfeng and Ou Ya took turns keeping watch through the night.
• After the night passed peacefully, Chen Xiaojun and his companions set out at sunrise to continue exploring.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions discovered the first Angel God's Angel Holy Sword in a hidden palace chamber. The Sword God Pearls resonated with it, but neither Chen Xiaojun nor the others could draw the sword.

• Xixi opened the chamber door and identified the sword as the first Angel God's Angel Holy Sword, explaining its connection to the second Angel God's inheritance trial.
• Chen Xiaojun's Sword God Pearls emerged and resonated with the Angel Holy Sword, especially the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Pearl and the Zhanlu Pearl.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the resonance might help his Sword God Pearls improve and seemed to involve a deeper connection.
• Luo Zhenjun and Zhu Wuneng were thrown back when they tried to touch the sword, while Xin Mengshen caught Luo Zhenjun.
• Chen Xiaojun and Zhu Yanfeng could approach the sword, but neither could draw it.

Chen Xiaojun and Xixi discovered that the palace stele recorded the faith-based godhood method and revealed its connection to the Sea God and the Angel Gods. After exploring the palace, they found an altar where the Second-Generation Angel God may have drawn the Angel Holy Sword, and Chen Xiaojun said the evil sealed beneath the land was probably gone.

• Xixi and Chen Xiaojun warned the group not to draw the Angel Holy Sword, then led them to explore another room in the palace.
• Xixi and Chen Xiaojun deciphered the stele and learned it recorded the faith-based godhood method.
• Xixi explained that the method matched the one the Sea God had left on Sea God Island and said he had likely obtained it from the Second-Generation Angel God.
• Chen Xiaojun arranged for rubbings of the method to be made, and the group explored the palace and collected documents, ancient books, and mysterious soul tools.
• The group found a circular altar near the palace, and Chen Xiaojun identified it as the likely place where the Second-Generation Angel God drew the Angel Holy Sword.
• Zhu Wuneng asked about the evil once sealed beneath the altar, and Chen Xiaojun said he believed its power was gone.

Chen Xiaojun speculated that the evil power sealed behind the sword was the Evil God's divine sense, which the Sea God had tried to keep from escaping. The discussion ended when the statue in the Palace began emitting golden light and powerful soul-force waves surged toward the group.

• At the Altar, Xixi described the rupture between the Sea God and the Angel God, and Chen Xiaojun teased that they might have been in love.
• Chen Xiaojun argued that the Angel God saw the Sea God's interference with her sword-drawing as a betrayal because the ritual was crucial to her inheritance.
• In response to Rhea's question, Chen Xiaojun speculated that the Sea God had stopped the Angel God to prevent an evil power from escaping.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed that the evil was the Evil God's disembodied divine sense, connecting its escape to the later rise of the Evil Cult Society and the Crimson Church.
• Zhu Yanfeng asked why drawing the sword was part of the Angel inheritance, but Chen Xiaojun admitted he did not know.
• Mechanical gears suddenly ground, and the statue in the Palace released golden light and waves of soul power; Chen Xiaojun shielded Xiao Yi and Xixi as the waves rushed toward them.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions were expelled from the secret realm and left the valley, disappointed that they could not explore further. They shared a meal of Chen Xiaojun’s fish with pickled mustard greens, and the chapter ended with everyone enjoying the feast.

• Chen Xiaojun and the others were suddenly transported out of the secret realm into an empty valley, and Chen Xiaojun concluded that it had closed.
• Chen Xiaojun led the group out of the valley, and he told Zhu Wuneng that he did not know if they would ever find the moving secret realm again.
• Luo Zhenjun caught a fish, and Chen Xiaojun prepared a feast featuring fish with pickled mustard greens.
• Xixi praised the dish, Zhu Wuneng asked Chen Xiaojun to cook more often, and the group enjoyed the meal.

Over dinner, Xin Mengshen learned what Luo Zhenjun’s grandfather Qing Rui liked so she could make a good impression when she met his family. Luo Zhenjun openly held her hand and promised to protect her and their family, and Xin Mengshen pledged to stay by his side.

• Xixi and Xiao Yi pressed Chen Xiaojun to reveal his cooking secrets, and he said good food came from practice, experimentation, and loving food.
• Xin Mengshen praised Chen Xiaojun’s thoughtful cooking, and Luo Zhenjun agreed that putting one’s heart into things mattered.
• Zhu Yanfeng asked whether Luo Zhenjun planned to take Xin Mengshen to meet his grandfather Qing Rui, and Luo Zhenjun firmly said he would.
• Xin Mengshen asked what Qing Rui liked, and Zhu Yanfeng told her he collected porcelain, especially pieces with a sense of history.
• Xin Mengshen decided to search Chang'an City’s antiques market for a suitable gift, and Luo Zhenjun thanked her and held her hand in front of everyone.
• Luo Zhenjun promised to protect Xin Mengshen and their family, and she promised to stay by his side.

Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi held hands as their friends teased one another about romance and finding partners. Their gathering was interrupted when three newcomers approached, including a refined young man and a strikingly beautiful young woman.

• Chen Xiaojun took Xiao Yi's hand and promised she would find happiness, while Xixi watched them with envy.
• Zhu Yanfeng teased Zhu Wuneng about finding a girlfriend, and Zhu Wuneng declared that he would find his own happiness.
• Luo Zhenjun, Xin Mengshen, and Chen Xiaojun joked with Zhu Wuneng about his secret crush, but he refused to name the girl.
• Three people approached the group, led by a refined young man and a strikingly beautiful young woman.

Chen Xiaojun welcomed Ji Boda, Liu Ruyan, and Ito Makoto to stay and share a meal, then gave Ji Boda Immortal Dew Grass for his upcoming engagement banquet. The group parted for the night with Ji Boda preparing a tent while Ito Makoto remained visibly weak.

• Ji Boda introduced himself, his fiancée Liu Ruyan, and the frail Ito Makoto, and asked to stay overnight with Chen Xiaojun's group.
• Chen Xiaojun agreed to host the three travelers and invited them to eat with everyone.
• After tasting the fish, Ji Boda asked about its fragrance, and Chen Xiaojun gave him a bag of Immortal Dew Grass as an engagement gift.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that he came from the Azure Steel Sword Chen Family and accepted Ji Boda's invitation to the engagement banquet in Chang'an City a week later.
• Liu Ruyan urged Ito Makoto to rest, and Ji Boda began setting up their tent for the night.

More than twenty black-clothed attackers launched a midnight raid on Chen Xiaojun's camp, forcing the group to fight for their lives. Zhu Yanfeng's powerful soul skills drove the attackers back temporarily, and the surprised leader realized a Soul Douluo was among their targets.

• Zhu Yanfeng spotted the intruders on watch, but the black-clothed leader ordered an attack instead of answering him.
• Chen Xiaojun, Xiao Yi, Zhu Wuneng, Luo Zhenjun, and Xixi joined the defense as the group formed a circle against attackers led by a Soul Emperor.
• Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan used their soul skills to slow, injure, and repel their opponents, while Ito Makoto struggled to reach them.
• Ji Boda took a Soul King's blow while protecting Ito Makoto and fell injured, and Liu Ruyan fought on until she and Ito Makoto were overwhelmed.
• Chen Xiaojun called for help, and Zhu Yanfeng used Stone Armor Shield and Petrification Eye to scatter the attackers and turn several of them to stone.
• The group regrouped around Ji Boda, Liu Ruyan, and Ito Makoto, while the black-clothed leader recognized Zhu Yanfeng as a Soul Douluo.

Chen Xiaojun, Zhu Yanfeng, and Ou Ya defeated the black-clad attackers who ambushed their group in a valley, then suspected that the assassins had been targeting Ji Boda. The chapter ended with Ji Boda inviting everyone to his engagement celebration, while Chen Xiaojun anticipated trouble.

• The Soul Emperor and several Soul Kings engaged Zhu Yanfeng while the other attackers charged Chen Xiaojun’s group.
• Ou Ya drove the attackers back with his second soul skill, then struck them with his eighth soul skill, killing or injuring many as Chen Xiaojun’s group followed up.
• The attackers retreated, but Zhu Yanfeng, Ou Ya, and the others caught and killed them; the survivors had taken poison rather than be captured.
• Chen Xiaojun told Ji Boda that the attackers had probably targeted him, and Ji Boda vowed to investigate.
• Liu Ruyan helped the injured Yin Tengcheng toward the tents while Ji Boda invited Chen Xiaojun’s group and the two seniors to his engagement celebration on the eighteenth.

Chen Xiaojun returned safely to the Chen Clan’s residence with Xixi and told Chen Cong about their journey to Mount Li and the First-Generation Angel God’s secret realm. After studying the faith-based godhood method, Chen Cong learned Chen Xiaojun’s master viewed gods as one power system among many, part of the universal heaven tier.

• Ji Boda, Liu Ruyan, and the injured Yin Tengcheng returned to Chang'an City and left the others after saying farewell.
• Chen Xiaojun and the others returned to the Chen Clan’s secondary residence, where Chen Cong and Long Ma welcomed them and heard about the secret realm and the black-clad attackers.
• Chen Cong called Chen Xiaojun into the inner hall, where Chen Xiaojun showed him a rubbing of the faith-based godhood method.
• Chen Cong studied the method and learned that godhood required divine power, divine sense, a divine body, and a divine office to advance together.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that his master considered gods one tier in a wider cultivation system, with comparable powers across the heavens and myriad worlds.
• Chen Xiaojun described the nine transcendent stages, nine heaven tiers, and nine Dao realms, while noting that higher tiers beyond the Dao realms remained unknown.

Chen Xiaojun explained his ideas about gods, immortals, and Martial Souls to Chen Cong, then discussed the Black-Clothed Men and their likely targets. Meanwhile, Xin Mengshen bought an antique porcelain piece to bring when she visited Luo Zhenjun’s grandfather.

• Chen Xiaojun told Chen Cong that gods were bound by divine offices and the Divine Realm, while immortals offered Soul Masters a freer cultivation path.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Martial Souls were souls at their core and that true Martial Souls at the Titled Douluo level became Dharma Forms.
• Chen Cong warned Chen Xiaojun to be cautious about the force behind the Black-Clothed Men, and Chen Xiaojun proposed spending more time with the Ji Family and Liu Family youngsters while preparing for different possibilities.
• Xin Mengshen chose and bought a piece of antique porcelain as a gift for Luo Zhenjun’s grandfather.
• Xin Mengshen wrapped the porcelain and prepared to return to Chenlin Village with Luo Zhenjun.

Chen Xiaojun visited the Ji Family, warned Ji Boda that the Black-Clothed Men might be Evil Soul Masters using Bloodthirst Dew, and gained an opportunity to spend more time in the household. The next day, he taught Old Kong how to use the spices and arranged for several new dishes to be served at the engagement banquet.

• Chen Xiaojun brought spices to Ji Boda and warned him that the Black-Clothed Men were likely Evil Soul Masters who had taken Bloodthirst Dew.
• Ji Boda agreed the engagement celebration could be a target and invited Chen Xiaojun to teach the Ji Family chef how to use the spices.
• Chen Xiaojun returned to the Ji Residence and explained the spices’ properties and combinations to Old Kong.
• Chen Xiaojun demonstrated recipes and cooking techniques, helping Old Kong learn to use the new spices.
• Old Kong asked to serve several of Chen Xiaojun’s new dishes at the engagement banquet, and Chen Xiaojun agreed.

At Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda’s engagement banquet, Ito Makoto interrupted the ceremony and demanded that Liu Ruyan leave with him. Liu Ruyan rejected his romantic claims and affirmed her love for Ji Boda, but Ito Makoto vowed to make trouble for them.

• Chen Xiaojun and his companions attended Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda’s engagement banquet at the Ji residence.
• Ito Makoto arrived with a bouquet and begged Liu Ruyan to leave with him, claiming she loved him.
• Ji Boda told Ito Makoto to stop pestering Liu Ruyan and leave, while Ito accused Ji Boda of stealing her.
• Liu Ruyan kissed Ji Boda to stop him from ending the engagement, then explained that she had treated Ito Makoto as a younger brother and loved Ji Boda.
• Ito Makoto refused to accept Liu Ruyan’s rejection and threatened that he would not let the couple live in peace.

At Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda’s engagement banquet, Liu Ruyan exposed Ito Makoto as the one who arranged the attack by the Black-Clothed Men and faked his weakness to help them strike. Ito Makoto’s schemes were revealed, and Liu Ruyan left him to face the consequences as the banquet moved toward a happy ending.

• Liu Ruyan accused Ito Makoto of sending the Black-Clothed Men to kill her and Ji Boda.
• Liu Ruyan explained that Ito Makoto had feigned weakness to delay their return to Chang'an City and had pretended to run slowly so Ji Boda would be injured saving him.
• Liu Ruyan revealed that Ito Makoto used a thirty-thousand-year Illusion Fox skull to disguise his condition, and the guests recognized the gravity of the accusation.
• Ito Makoto admitted he was wrong but said he loved Liu Ruyan, while she refused to sympathize and walked away.
• Chen Xiaojun privately praised Liu Ruyan’s cleverness and thought the banquet would still end happily.

After Liu Ruyan exposed Ito Makoto, a masked Soul Douluo and over a hundred men in black stormed the Ji Family engagement banquet. Ji Boda identified the attackers as members of the Crimson Church, and both sides began a fierce battle.

• Ji Boda asked Ji Sijian to protect Yin Tengcheng, but a masked Soul Douluo arrived and blasted the Ji Family guards away.
• More than a hundred men in black entered the venue, and Ji Chenglie, Ji Chengjian, and Liu Yirong joined the Ji and Liu Families.
• Ji Boda recognized the attackers' clothing and Bloodthirst Dew as signs of the Crimson Church, prompting the guests to ready their martial souls.
• Ji Chenglie ordered everyone to kill the Crimson Church members, and Ji Boda asked Chen Xiaojun and his companions for help.
• Zhu Yanfeng went to face the enemy Soul Douluos while Ou Ya stayed to protect Chen Xiaojun and the others.
• The masked leader ordered an attack, and the Ji and Liu Families and their guests clashed with the men in black.

The Ji and Liu Families fought the black-clothed attackers as eight Soul Douluos paired off across the courtyard. Ji Chenglie’s clash with He Tiancheng escalated into a spectacular collision between nine phoenixes and a storm of black feathers.

• Ji Chenglie and Ji Chengjian used their Nine Phoenix Arrival Flutes while Zhu Yanfeng and Liu Yirong helped repel the attackers, and Liu Yirong bound a black-clothed Soul Saint with her Drizzle Needles.
• The eight Soul Douluos paired off: Ji Chenglie fought He Tiancheng, Ji Chengjian fought Pang Yanfeng, Zhu Yanfeng fought Xiong Li, and Liu Yirong fought Yan Shenglong.
• Ji Chenglie unleashed his sixth soul skill, Nine Phoenixes Soar to Heaven, sending nine flaming phoenixes toward He Tiancheng.
• He Tiancheng answered with his fifth soul skill, Black Feather Storm, and the phoenixes and black feathers collided in a towering pillar of light.

The Ji Residence battle continued as Ji Chengjian, Zhu Yanfeng, and Liu Yirong fought their opponents with powerful defensive and offensive soul skills. The chapter left Liu Yirong trapped and nearly immobilized inside Yan Shenglong’s demonic crystal.

• Ji Chengjian used Flying Phoenix Barrier to withstand Pang Yanfeng’s Shadow Traceless attacks.
• Zhu Yanfeng expanded his Stone Armor Shields and collided with the Black Iron Giant Bear Soul Douluo’s Giant Bear Iron Wall.
• Liu Yirong launched Drizzle Piercing the Clouds, while Yan Shenglong used Darkness Devour to draw in most of the needles.
• Yan Shenglong transformed and unleashed Hell’s Breath, encasing Liu Yirong in a demonic crystal that left her struggling to move.

Liu Yirong and Yan Shenglong traded powerful Soul Skills in a fierce battle, with neither gaining a decisive advantage. Both were injured and drained, and Yan Shenglong prepared to keep fighting, confident in his Dark Demon Dragon Martial Soul.

• Liu Yirong struck Yan Shenglong with her Eighth Soul Skill, Divine Needle Dawnbreaker, piercing his defenses and driving him back.
• Yan Shenglong unleashed Demon Dragon Transformation Across Heaven and Earth, sending black dragon afterimages at Liu Yirong and knocking her into the air.
• Liu Yirong combined Origin Spirit Thunderbolt Break with her right arm Soul Bone skill, Origin Spirit Power, to launch an enhanced attack.
• Yan Shenglong met Liu Yirong's lightning-wreathed needle with a dragon claw, and their collision created a violent explosion.
• After the dust cleared, both fighters were injured and exhausted, but neither had been defeated, and Yan Shenglong remained confident he would win.

Liu Yirong and Yan Shenglong fought an evenly matched duel while the Ji and Liu families resisted the Black-Clothed Men, whose strength surged after they took Bloodthirst Dew. Nearby Soul Masters joined the battle, turning the tide against the Crimson Church attackers.

• Liu Yirong countered Yan Shenglong’s fierce attacks with her Drizzle Needles as he unleashed his Eighth Soul Skill, Demon Dragon Transformation Across Heaven and Earth.
• Ji Sijian and Liu He led the Ji and Liu forces and their guests in a counterattack against the Black-Clothed Men.
• A Black-Clothed Soul Saint ordered his men to take Bloodthirst Dew, boosting their strength and putting the defenders under greater pressure.
• Ji Boda shielded Liu Ruyan from a Black-Clothed Soul Emperor’s attempt to seize her, giving her time to retreat.
• Several dozen nearby Soul Masters arrived and fought alongside the Ji and Liu forces, pushing the Black-Clothed Men toward a disadvantage.

Chen Xiaojun and Xixi urged Ou Ya to support Liu Yirong against Yan Shenglong, shifting the battle against the Black-Clothed Men. Liu Yirong wounded Yan Shenglong with her Divine Needle True Form and launched her Eighth Soul Skill at him, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Chen Xiaojun asked Ou Ya to help Liu Yirong while he and Xixi remained with the other fighters.
• Ou Ya attacked Yan Shenglong with his Fifth Soul Skill, but Yan Shenglong blocked it with Dark Aura and was driven back.
• Liu Yirong activated her Divine Needle True Form and soul bone skills, then pierced Yan Shenglong's defense and sent him crashing into a tree.
• Liu Yirong used her Eighth Soul Skill, Divine Needle Dawnbreaker, against the weakened Yan Shenglong.

Yan Shenglong used his inherited Torso Bone Soul Skill to withstand Liu Yirong’s attack and counterattack, but Ou Ya protected her and struck Yan with his strongest Soul Skill. Yan Shenglong was sent crashing to the ground, leaving Liu Yirong and Ou Ya with the overwhelming advantage.

• Yan Shenglong activated Torso Bone Soul Skill-Demon Dragon Protection and endured Liu Yirong’s divine needle attack.
• Yan Shenglong absorbed Soul Power with his Skull Bone Soul Skill and fired a black energy wave at Liu Yirong.
• Ou Ya pulled Liu Yirong to safety and blocked Yan Shenglong’s counterattack with Sixth Soul Skill-Heavenly Sea Azure Shield.
• Ou Ya seized the opening and unleashed Eighth Soul Skill-Comet Vast Sea Setting Sun Fist against Yan Shenglong.
• Ou Ya’s water fist broke through Yan Shenglong’s defenses, shattered Demon Dragon Protection, and sent him crashing to the ground.

Yin Tengcheng unleashed Breeze and Jade Dew Paralytic Fragrance at the engagement banquet, incapacitating many guests and turning the battle against the Ji and Liu families. Ji Chenglie discovered that Chef Kong, whose real name was Kong Youde, had spent twenty years serving the Ji Family as a Crimson Church infiltrator, leaving the families in grave danger.

• Yan Shenglong called on Ito Makoto to make his move as Ou Ya prepared to deliver a final blow.
• Yin Tengcheng revealed bloodred nether blood lilies and released their fragrance, poisoning guests who had drunk Drunken Life Dew.
• Liu Yirong identified the resulting Breeze and Jade Dew Paralytic Fragrance, while Ou Ya and Zhu Yanfeng protected those who had not drunk the wine.
• Ji Chenglie confronted Yan Shenglong about the poisoned wine and spotted Chef Kong watching from the corner.
• Chef Kong revealed his resentment toward the Ji Family, and Ji Chenglie realized that Kong Youde was a Crimson Church infiltrator who had served the family for twenty years.

Chen Xiaojun’s group tried to turn the battle by mixing Drunken Life Dew with the paralytic fragrance, but Ito Makoto and Yan Shenglong revealed that Bloodthirst Dew protected their men from its effects. With the defenders weakened and outnumbered, Ji Chenglie ordered everyone to flee as the black-clothed men attacked again.

• Chen Xiaojun had barrels of Drunken Life Dew hurled at Kong Youde and the black-clothed men, and Ou Ya shattered them to spread the liquor and nether blood lily scent.
• Ito Makoto and Yan Shenglong revealed that Bloodthirst Dew suppressed the paralytic fragrance, leaving their men unaffected.
• Liu Yirong distributed Clearheart Potion to ease the poison’s effects, and Liu Ruyan helped Liu He swallow a bottle.
• Ito Makoto raised more nether blood lilies, and Yan Shenglong ordered the black-clothed men to attack again.
• Ji Chenglie told everyone to escape and asked them to avenge the Ji Family, prompting them to attempt a desperate breakout.