Recaps

Xu Changshou received his first talisman assignment from Li Dao Path: draw and submit 140 Windwalking Talismans each month for a stipend of one spirit stone, with a harsh penalty for falling short. Yang Bailao took him to collect yellow hemp paper, where they secretly took extra, and Xu Changshou learned that Zhong Xiuping would retire in three months.

• Li Dao Path assigned Xu Changshou to draw five Windwalking Talismans a day, submit 140 each month, and accept a two-stone fine if he failed; he also gave him two bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• Yang Bailao warned Xu Changshou that his first month would be the hardest, then agreed to take him to the Paper Room for yellow hemp paper.
• Yang Bailao explained that the sect did not limit paper use, and he and Xu Changshou secretly took several thousand extra sheets while reporting only a thousand each.
• Yang Bailao introduced Xu Changshou to Zhong Xiuping, who confirmed that he would Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life in three months.

Xu Changshou renewed his resolve to pursue Foundation Establishment, completed his talisman quota, and received his first spirit stone. He disguised himself to visit Cinnabar Glow Market, where he planned to sell talismans, buy Qi Gathering Pills, and search for Thunderstorm Talisman materials.

• After hearing Zhong Xiuping and Yang Bailao talk about retiring to secular life, Xu Changshou doubted his ambitions before resolving to pursue Foundation Establishment with the Bloodline Jade Talisman.
• Xu Changshou drew 450 ordinary Windwalking Talismans over the month, bringing his stock to 900.
• Xu Changshou turned in his assignment to Yang Bailao and received his first spirit stone as his monthly stipend.
• Xu Changshou traveled to Cinnabar Glow Market disguised with a Thousand Faces Talisman to sell talismans, buy Qi Gathering Pills, and look for Thunderstorm Talisman materials.
• Xu Changshou admired a Red-Scaled Horse at the market but left after learning it cost ten spirit stones.

Xu Changshou traded Earth-Escape Talismans for Qi Gathering Pills and began selling talismans at the market. After advertising Windwalking Talismans, he attracted eager buyers and started receiving orders.

• Xu Changshou failed to find the rare materials he needed to draw Thunderstorm Talismans and visited Huang Xiangui's pill stall in disguise.
• Xu Changshou traded an Earth-Escape Talisman and a spirit stone for thirteen Qi Gathering Pills, then exchanged four more Earth-Escape Talismans for four pills.
• Xu Changshou decided he could trade unusual talismans for pills and save his spirit stones for other purchases.
• Xu Changshou set up a stall selling Fireball, Windwalking, and Sword Qi Talismans, keeping the Bloodline Jade Talisman's talismans off the table.
• Xu Changshou advertised his Windwalking Talismans, drawing a crowd; a handsome young man bought five, and several other cultivators placed orders.

Xu Changshou sold Windwalking Talismans and spent two months cultivating, then agreed to attend Zhong Xiuping’s Retirement Ceremony after Yang Bailao reminded him of the importance of social courtesies. At the banquet, Zhong Xiuping reflected on failing to achieve foundation establishment, while Xu Changshou watched the guests celebrate his departure.

• Xu Changshou sold five hundred Windwalking Talismans and planned to cultivate in seclusion with the seven hundred he had left.
• After two months of cultivation, Xu Changshou estimated that reaching the eighth Qi Refining layer would take about a year and worried about his limited time and resources.
• Yang Bailao persuaded Xu Changshou to attend Zhong Xiuping’s Retirement Ceremony, explaining that all the Servant Disciples were expected to go.
• Xu Changshou spent the day cultivating, then attended the ceremony with Yang Bailao and gave Zhong Xiuping two bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• Li Dao Path arrived and gave Zhong Xiuping ten Spirit-Gathering Pills, and Zhong Xiuping thanked the guests before the banquet began.

Xu Changshou broke through to the qi refining eighth layer after a year of secluded cultivation, and his talisman quota and stipend increased. Ye Shanhua visited him, shared news about their former companions, and asked him for a favor.

• Xu Changshou reached the qi refining eighth layer after cultivating in seclusion for a year.
• Yang Bailao accompanied Xu Changshou to turn in their assignments, and Li Dao Path raised Xu Changshou's monthly quota to 180 Windwalking Talismans while increasing his stipend by twenty Fragmented Spirit Stones.
• Ye Shanhua visited Xu Changshou and was surprised to learn he had reached the eighth layer of qi refining.
• Ye Shanhua told Xu Changshou that Lin Xian'er had reached the eighth layer, Zhang Feixian was preparing to break through, and Jiang Xiaochuan also planned to advance.
• Ye Shanhua told Xu Changshou she had come to ask him for a favor.

Xu Changshou agreed to trade Windwalking Talismans with Ye Shanhua under a Confidentiality Contract. He revealed a powerful Three-Thousand-Li-a-Day Windwalking Talisman, and Ye Shanhua took it to ask her family what they would pay.

• Ye Shanhua asked Xu Changshou to find Green Ink Peak disciples willing to sell Windwalking Talismans to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and Xu agreed after she promised secrecy.
• Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua signed a Confidentiality Contract, swearing heart-demon oaths to protect their dealings.
• Ye Shanhua discussed her pill-refining studies and promised Xu Changshou access to high-quality pills in the future.
• Xu Changshou gave Ye Shanhua a Three-Thousand-Li-a-Day Windwalking Talisman and told her to ask her family elders to set a price.
• Ye Shanhua accepted the talisman and understood that Xu Changshou's senior brother needed cultivation resources, while Xu began to ask her for a favor.

Xu Changshou bought a hundred-year yellow weasel pelt from Ye Shanhua to help his senior brother make a Spirit Brush and gather materials for Thunderstorm Talismans. After Ye Shanhua delivered the pelt, she told him that Myriad Treasures Pavilion wanted to offer a high price for his unusually fast Windwalking Talismans.

• Xu Changshou asked Ye Shanhua to find yellow weasel bristles, black antelope thunder ox hide, and moon-gazing rhino horn, and she agreed to sell him a yellow weasel pelt and search for the other materials.
• Ye Shanhua visited Xu Changshou after testing his Windwalking Talisman, and he continued drawing talismans while she waited.
• Ye Shanhua cooked a spirit meal for Xu Changshou, and they talked about the hardships faced by disciples from great lineages.
• Ye Shanhua gave Xu Changshou the dried yellow weasel pelt, and he paid her four spirit stones.
• Ye Shanhua praised the Windwalking Talisman's speed and offered to have Myriad Treasures Pavilion buy it for a high price, and Xu Changshou asked how many spirit stones she would pay per talisman.

Xu Changshou negotiated with Ye Shanhua to sell his Windwalking Talismans to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion for one spirit stone each, with a limit of ten per month and exclusive rights for the pavilion. After handing over twenty talismans, he received twenty-one spirit stones and a free bottle of high-quality Qi Gathering Pills.

• Ye Shanhua offered Xu Changshou one spirit stone per Windwalking Talisman, and he said he would consult the senior brother who drew them.
• Xu Changshou evaded Ye Shanhua that night and later told her his senior brother had agreed to supply ten talismans a month.
• Ye Shanhua secured exclusive rights for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and Xu Changshou agreed to the arrangement.
• Xu Changshou gave Ye Shanhua twenty Windwalking Talismans and received twenty-one spirit stones, including payment for the test talisman.
• Ye Shanhua gave Xu Changshou a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills as a gift, and he asked her to bring two bottles the next month.

Xu Changshou turned a weasel pelt into powerful Earth Gang Talismans, amassed Windwalking Talismans and spirit stones, and continued cultivating until he reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining. When Jiang Xiaochuan visited, he was shocked to find Xu Changshou had matched his cultivation level, and their reunion revealed how much they had both changed.

• Xu Changshou made twelve Earth Gang Talismans from the weasel pelt and stored them, the weasel's tail, and his spirit stones in the jade talisman's space.
• Xu Changshou spent over nine months drawing five thousand Windwalking Talismans while continuing to cultivate, and his wealth grew to one hundred and eight spirit stones.
• Jiang Xiaochuan visited Xu Changshou after breaking through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, expecting to outrank him, but discovered Xu Changshou had reached the same level.
• Jiang Xiaochuan asked how Xu Changshou had advanced so quickly, and Xu Changshou dismissed the question by claiming he had encountered a small fortuitous opportunity.
• Jiang Xiaochuan boasted about Great Unity Peak's conditions, while Xu Changshou recognized that their childhood friendship had changed as they grew older.

Jiang Xiaochuan told Xu Changshou that Li Linhao had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and invited their former companions to a meal. Before attending, Xu Changshou traded in his old Storage Bag and bought a high-grade one.

• Jiang Xiaochuan told Xu Changshou that Li Linhao had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and invited everyone from Gengzi Courtyard to eat at Great Unity Tower.
• Jiang Xiaochuan revealed that Li Linhao was an Immortal Second-Generation whose father was Li Yinglong and whose great-grandfather was Elder Li Tong.
• Xu Changshou agreed to attend the banquet and decided to replace his cramped Storage Bag before going.
• Xu Changshou traded in his low-grade Storage Bag and bought a high-grade Storage Bag for eleven spirit stones and ninety-four Fragmented Spirit Stones.

Xu Changshou bought a one-horned azure wolf hide and went to a reunion banquet at Great Unity Tower, where he saw how his former companions had changed. He gave Su Mo ten Qi Gathering Pills to help him break through, and Su Mo renewed his resolve to reach Foundation Establishment.

• Xu Changshou bought a one-horned azure wolf hide for eight spirit stones, planning to use it for wind-aspected talismans.
• Xu Changshou traveled to Great Unity Tower and found eight members of Gengzi Courtyard waiting for the banquet, with Lin Haoran and Su Mo absent.
• Jiang Xiaochuan and the others complained that Su Mo was late, while Xu Changshou noticed their changed, self-interested attitudes.
• Su Mo arrived in a shabby robe, and Xu Changshou noted that he had fallen behind the others at the seventh level of Qi Refining because his family could no longer provide resources.
• Xu Changshou gave Su Mo ten Qi Gathering Pills, and Su Mo accepted them and vowed again to reach Foundation Establishment.

Xu Changshou saw Liu Ru Is arrive at the Great Unity Tower with Foundation Establishment cultivator Zhang Zongchang and grew more determined to reach Foundation Establishment himself. He reunited with Li Linhao, whose Inner Sect status changed how their former companions treated him, and left the gathering considering Li Linhao worth befriending for now.

• Xu Changshou recognized Liu Ru Is nestled beside Zhang Zongchang and learned that Zhang was an accomplished alchemist from Cinnabar Clouds Peak.
• Li Linhao arrived in purple robes, and the gathered disciples learned he was an Inner Sect Disciple whose identity had been kept secret until he turned eighteen.
• Li Linhao listened as the disciples complained about their difficult work and pointed out that Xu Changshou’s high-grade Storage Bag suggested he was doing relatively well.
• Li Linhao hosted the group for a meal at the Great Unity Tower and paid the five-spirit-stone bill.
• Xu Changshou decided Li Linhao was worth befriending for the time being, while remaining unsure how their relationship would fare if their interests conflicted.

Xu Changshou spent a year and a half cultivating and drawing talismans, then broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining. After Ye Shanhua visited and bought more Windwalking Talismans, he counted his remaining supplies and planned to draw more as he prepared to pursue the tenth level.

• Xu Changshou used one-horned azure wolf hide to make twelve Flight Talismans and twenty-four Windwalking Talismans, then stored them with his other talismans.
• Xu Changshou entered a long period of seclusion, consuming Qi Gathering Pills as he cultivated toward the ninth level.
• A year and a half later, Xu Changshou broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining and reflected on the strength he had gained.
• Ye Shanhua visited Xu Changshou, congratulated him, and told him that she and Senior Brother Li had reached the tenth level while he was the only other disciple to reach the ninth.
• Xu Changshou gave Ye Shanhua ten Windwalking Talismans in exchange for ten spirit stones, then counted his assets and decided to draw more talismans for his pursuit of the tenth level.

After reaching the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, Xu Changshou hit a bottleneck and paused his cultivation. Ye Shanhua brought news of a Black Antelope Thunder Ox in Fire Mulberry Country and agreed to guide him there, leaving them to prepare for the dangerous hunt.

• Xu Changshou drew enough Windwalking Talismans to cover more than two years of quotas, then cultivated in seclusion until he reached the ninth-level bottleneck.
• At twenty-one, Xu Changshou worried that he would not reach the twelfth layer of Qi Refining before turning thirty, so he rested for several days.
• Ye Shanhua told Xu Changshou she had found a Black Antelope Thunder Ox in Thunder Marsh, in Fire Mulberry Country, and insisted on joining his trip.
• Xu Changshou agreed to take Ye Shanhua and said he could counter the beast's innate lightning with Lightning-Attracting Talismans.
• After Ye Shanhua warned him about the danger and asked when they would leave, Xu Changshou set their departure for three days later.

Xu Changshou accepted Li Dao Path’s assignment to retrieve a girl with a variant spiritual root from the Fire Mulberry Country, though he suspected the task concealed a plot against him. Before leaving, he bought a collection of basic spells and searched for a stronger offensive technique.

• After Xu Changshou turned in his assignments, Li Dao Path ordered him to retrieve a girl with a variant spiritual root from the Fire Mulberry Country and gave him a jade disc containing three spells.
• Xu Changshou questioned why Li Dao Path had chosen a weak qi refining cultivator for such an important mission and feared that his uncle-master intended to harm him.
• Xu Changshou went to the Trading Hall to prepare for the journey and bought the Complete Collection of Spells for one spirit stone.
• After finding the collection’s basic spells too weak, Xu Changshou asked the elderly attendant for stronger offensive techniques.
• The attendant let Xu Changshou inspect techniques suited to different spiritual roots, including the Thirteen Forms of the Golden Spear and Returning Blade.

Xu Changshou bought the Five Elements Sword technique and its matching Five-Cloud Sword, then practiced spells and sword attacks before leaving the Green Immortal Sect with Ye Shanhua. On the road to Fire Mulberry Country to fetch someone with a variant spiritual root, Ye Shanhua suggested Li Dao Path might be secretly protecting them.

• Xu Changshou chose the Five Elements Sword technique and bought the Five-Cloud Sword, spending 138 spirit stones.
• Xu Changshou tested the Five-Cloud Sword, mastered the basic spells in the Complete Compendium of Spells, and practiced the Five Elements Sword forms.
• Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua bought supplies and Puppet Horses before departing the Green Immortal Mountain Range on Red-Scaled Horses.
• Xu Changshou told Ye Shanhua that Li Dao Path had sent him to fetch someone in Fire Mulberry Country who possessed a variant spiritual root.
• Ye Shanhua speculated that Li Dao Path might be secretly protecting the person, prompting Xu Changshou to look toward the sky.

Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua traveled toward Fire Mulberry Country, where they were to retrieve a person with a variant spiritual root. After Xu killed a Savage Bull King to protect a nearby village, the pair reached the coast and set out across the water.

• Ye Shanhua explained that the Five Great Immortal Sects competed fiercely for talented disciples, while Xu suspected Li Dao Path had another reason for sending him on the mission.
• Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua encountered a migrating herd of savage bulls, and Xu charged out to keep it from reaching a village.
• Xu killed the Savage Bull King with a single strike of his Five-Cloud Sword, scattering the herd, then harvested the bull's hide for making Sharp Gold Talismans.
• Ten days later, Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua reached the eastern coast and boarded Ye's White Jade Boat to cross the sea toward Fire Mulberry Country.

Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua traveled to Thunder Marsh to capture the Black Antelope Thunder Ox, but found many other cultivators had come for its valuable horns. After preparing powerful Sharp Gold Talismans, Xu Changshou reached the dangerous Thunder Pool and insisted he could enter it.

• Xu Changshou directed Ye Shanhua to Thunder Marsh before visiting the Fire Mulberry royal family, so he could pursue the Black Antelope Thunder Ox before seeking the person with the variant spiritual root.
• At an inn near Thunder Marsh, Xu Changshou learned that the Black Antelope Thunder Ox had terrorized the township for ten years and that other cultivators had gathered to hunt it.
• Xu Changshou prepared talismans using the Savage Bull King's hide, drawing ten Sharp Gold Talismans with at least twice the attack power of ordinary ones.
• The next morning, Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua reached Thunder Marsh, where dozens of cultivators waited outside the lightning-filled pool.
• Ye Shanhua warned Xu Changshou that the Thunder Pool was too dangerous, but he said he was confident he could handle it.

Xu Changshou entered the Thunder Pool with Lightning-Attracting Talismans to confront the Black Antelope Thunder Ox. After absorbing and redirecting the beast’s lightning attacks, he weakened it, but it fled before he could kill it.

• A gray-robed elder and several injured cultivators emerged from the Thunder Pool, warning that the Black Antelope Thunder Ox was dangerous.
• Xu Changshou ignored Ye Shanhua’s concern and entered the Thunder Pool with his sword and Lightning-Attracting Talismans.
• Xu Changshou used a talisman to absorb a powerful bolt of heavenly lightning and detonate it at a distance.
• The Black Antelope Thunder Ox charged Xu Changshou and attacked with lightning, which he absorbed with another talisman and blasted back at the beast.
• Xu Changshou repeated the tactic until the Black Antelope Thunder Ox weakened, then charged with the Wind-Riding Art, but the beast turned and fled.

Xu Changshou killed the Black Antelope Thunder Ox as it fled the Thunder Pool, then refused to hand its remains over to an elderly couple claiming it belonged to their Meng Household. Ye Shanhua warned him that the couple might be from the Union of Joy Sect, and they prepared to attack him.

• Xu Changshou used a Windwalking Talisman to catch the Black Antelope Thunder Ox as it charged out of the Thunder Pool, then killed it with a sword strike.
• Xu Changshou stored the ox's body and head and told the crowd to disperse, while the cultivators watched him warily and the mortals bowed in thanks.
• An elderly couple claimed the Black Antelope Thunder Ox had once guarded their Meng Household and demanded its remains, but Xu Changshou refused.
• Ye Shanhua warned Xu Changshou that the couple might be from the Union of Joy Sect and explained that their combined strength was dangerous.
• The old man threatened Xu Changshou, who prepared his Sharp Gold Talisman and Earth Gang Talisman, and the old woman urged her husband to attack as they drew their swords.

Xu Changshou used an Earth Gang Talisman and Sharp Gold Talismans to kill two twelfth-layer Qi Refining cultivators who attacked him and Ye Shanhua. After returning to the inn and examining the couple’s stolen goods, he faced a new crowd of cultivators gathering to target them.

• The elderly couple attacked Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua with their Pseudo-Magic Artifacts, but Xu Changshou blocked their strike with an Earth Gang Talisman.
• Xu Changshou killed the old man and the fleeing old woman with Sharp Gold Talismans, then collected their Storage Bags and swords and escaped with Ye Shanhua.
• Ye Shanhua asked about Xu Changshou’s Sword Qi, and he said Uncle-Master Li had given him a trump card.
• Ye Shanhua appraised the swords as common Pseudo-Magic Artifacts worth about sixty spirit stones and explained that the Many Treasures Pavilion would not buy illicit goods.
• Xu Changshou emptied the couple’s Storage Bags, revealing bizarre implements, hundreds of women’s undergarments, and a dozen or so spirit stones.
• A crowd of cultivators arrived at the inn, and Xu Changshou left his room to confront them.

Xu Changshou sold the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn to the Lu Family Fort for forty spirit stones, avoiding a confrontation with the cultivators waiting to rob him. The next morning, he and Ye Shanhua left Thunder Marsh Town as its residents celebrated the Thunder God.

• Xu Changshou offered the horn to the cultivators at the inn, and the Lu Family Fort won it with a bid of forty spirit stones.
• After Xu Changshou returned to his room, the other cultivators left the inn, with some following the Lu Family Fort group into the night.
• Xu Changshou counted his gains, including the horn payment and two hundred and forty pieces of black antelope thunder ox hide for making talismans.
• Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua left Thunder Marsh Town the next morning while townsfolk worshiped a gilded statue of the Thunder God.

Xu Changshou arrived in Rising Sun City and met with Li Xiaoxian and King Li Zheng to arrange his mission to bring the Ninth Princess, Li Ling'er, to the Green Immortal Sect. He kept her ice spiritual root secret and reached her sleeping quarters, where he was to meet her.

• Xu Changshou parted from Ye Shanhua and used the Wind-Riding Art to enter the imperial city without a pass.
• Li Xiaoxian recognized Xu Changshou as a fellow disciple and brought him to meet King Li Zheng, who bowed to him.
• Xu Changshou showed Li Xiaoxian Li Dao Path's letter and agreed to wait until after the Li Household's ancestral ceremony before taking Li Ling'er to the sect.
• Li Xiaoxian suggested that Li Zheng send his Seventh and Eighth Princesses to attend Xu Changshou, but Xu Changshou refused and asked to see the girl with the variant spiritual root.
• Li Zheng told Xu Changshou that Li Ling'er did not know about her ice spiritual root, and Xu Changshou promised to pose as her bodyguard and gave Li Zheng three Windwalking Talismans.
• Li Zheng led Xu Changshou to Li Ling'er's sleeping quarters.

Xu Changshou stayed in Li Ling'er's palace as her guard and saw how her exhausting lessons left her miserable. He let her stop her arts lessons and play, but the queen confronted him and left to bring Li Zheng into the dispute.

• Li Zheng introduced Xu Changshou to Li Ling'er as the guard who would protect her and arranged for him to stay beside her room.
• Xu Changshou saw Li Ling'er collapse from exhaustion after her long daily lessons and carry her to bed.
• After Li Ling'er injured her fingernail while practicing the zither, Xu Changshou told her she no longer had to study the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting.
• Xu Changshou played games with Li Ling'er for several days, and her fatigue and sorrow faded.
• The queen scolded Li Ling'er for neglecting her studies, but Xu Changshou defended his decision, frightening the queen with his cultivator's pressure until she fled to seek Li Zheng.

After accompanying the Li Household to honor its ancestors, Xu Changshou discovered an evil spirit hiding in a side hall and realized it intended to possess him. The spirit invaded his body, leaving Xu Changshou struggling between lucidity and savagery.

• Li Zheng canceled Li Ling'er's lessons, and she spent the next half month happily clinging to Xu Changshou.
• Li Xiaoxian and Li Zheng brought Li Ling'er to the imperial mausoleum, while Li Xiaoxian led Xu Changshou to wait in a side hall.
• Xu Changshou sensed that something in the side hall was watching him and suspected the golden statue concealed a spirit.
• An evil spirit emerged from the statue and announced that it would devour Xu Changshou to resume cultivating through possession.
• The evil spirit lunged into the space between Xu Changshou's eyebrows, and his eyes began alternating between lucidity and savagery.