Recaps

He Pingsheng recovered from his severe injuries in Li Yunyun’s home and began rebuilding his cultivation after discovering that all five of his nascent souls had vanished. He quickly advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and Li Yunyun called from outside to ask whether he was still alive.

• Li Yunyun carried He Pingsheng down Rouge Mountain and brought him to her home in a small village.
• Li Yunyun summoned Physician Grandpa Liu, who found He Pingsheng’s injuries beyond treatment and advised preparing for his funeral.
• After about ten days, He Pingsheng recovered enough to sit up, found a supreme-grade Great Return Pill among his treasures, and healed his injuries completely.
• He Pingsheng discovered that his five nascent souls had vanished, repaired his dantian with a Spirit-Expanding Pill, and began cultivating again.
• He Pingsheng used pills and the Treasure-Gathering Basin to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refining within a few days.
• Li Yunyun called from outside He Pingsheng’s room and asked whether he was still alive.

After recovering, He Pingsheng tested Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for spirit roots, gave them valuable supplies in repayment for saving him, and continued cultivating. Before he could reach Foundation Establishment, two Cultivation Li Family cultivators arrived to question the siblings about what happened on Rouge Mountain.

• He Pingsheng recovered, checked Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for spirit roots, and gave them a cultivation manual when he suspected they might have void spirit roots.
• After the siblings failed to cultivate, He Pingsheng offered to repay them, and Li Yunyun chose to remain in her hometown.
• He Pingsheng gave Li Yunyun Golden Bone Pills, a Spirit-Gathering Pill, a sword with nine powerful strikes, and a chest of gold and silver.
• He Pingsheng resumed secluded cultivation and advanced from the fifth to the tenth layer of Qi Refining.
• Two Qi Refining Stage cultivators from the Cultivation Li Family questioned Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo about their visit to Rouge Mountain.

Li Tong and Li Ning questioned Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo about the deaths of two Li family cultivators until He Pingsheng revealed that he had killed them. He challenged Li Tong to a duel and defeated him with a single punch, leaving Li Tong badly injured.

• Li Tong threatened Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo while investigating the deaths of two Li family cultivators, but Xiao Mo blurted out that they had not killed the Immortals.
• He Pingsheng entered the courtyard and confessed to killing the two cultivators, explaining that they had tried to steal his century-old purple ginseng.
• Li Tong dismissed He Pingsheng's claim because he was only at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, then agreed to fight him outside.
• Li Ning urged the two cultivators to move the fight away from Li Yunyun's home, and He Pingsheng and Li Tong went to a nearby mountain.
• He Pingsheng struck Li Tong with a fist phantom that shattered his sword attack and sent him flying hundreds of feet.
• Li Tong coughed up blood and urged Li Ning to flee.

After learning that the Li Family’s strongest patriarch was a Nascent Soul cultivator, He Pingsheng stayed with Li Yunyun, confident the family could not kill him. The Li Family sent its foremost Qi Refining disciple, Mu Ruolin, to capture him and bring him back.

• He Pingsheng asked Li Yunyun about the Li Family and learned that its strongest patriarch, Dao Yuan Patriarch, had a great Nascent Soul cultivation base.
• Li Yunyun urged He Pingsheng to leave, but he stayed because he believed the Li Family would return and might harm her family if he fled.
• Li Tong told West Lake Patriarch that He Pingsheng had admitted killing two Li Family disciples, while Mu Ruolin argued that the dead disciples had been greedy and He Pingsheng had spared Li Tong and Li Ning.
• West Lake Patriarch ordered Mu Ruolin to capture He Pingsheng and gave her a talisman capable of blocking a Golden Core cultivator’s full-powered strike.
• On the Flying Boat, Li Tong minimized the strength of He Pingsheng’s punch, and Mu Ruolin concluded that she could capture him if she acted carefully.

He Pingsheng faced Mu Ruolin and the Li lineage’s party over the deaths of two of their disciples. He agreed to duel Mu Ruolin and demanded that the Li lineage leave Li Yunyun and her brother alone, then went with the group to fight at Rouge Mountain.

• Dong Bie caught up with Mu Ruolin’s flying boat and joined her party, promising not to act without permission.
• He Pingsheng greeted Mu Ruolin and explained that the two Li lineage cultivators had tried to seize century-old purple ginseng and kill people.
• Mu Ruolin asked He Pingsheng to return with her for questioning, but he refused and challenged her to settle the matter through a duel.
• He Pingsheng made the Li lineage’s protection of Li Yunyun and her brother his condition if he won, and Mu Ruolin agreed.
• Dong Bie warned He Pingsheng against using tricks, and the group headed to the foot of Rouge Mountain for the duel.

He Pingsheng defeated Mu Ruolin in a direct contest of strength and secured her promise to protect Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo. Dong Bie then refused to honor the wager’s spirit and challenged He Pingsheng, who opened with an expanding fist.

• He Pingsheng challenged Mu Ruolin to block one punch, and she unleashed her strongest sword attack against him.
• He Pingsheng’s punch shattered Mu Ruolin’s sword phantom and broke through her shield before he halted it; Mu Ruolin admitted defeat.
• Mu Ruolin promised to bring Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo to the Li household as attendants and find them a good place to live.
• Dong Bie demanded that He Pingsheng return to the Li household for questioning, claiming Mu Ruolin’s wager did not bind him.
• He Pingsheng punched toward Dong Bie, and the fist rapidly expanded from ten feet to a hundred feet as Dong Bie panicked.

He Pingsheng defeated Dong Bie with a single blow, then began preparing to cultivate and gather ingredients for a pill to restore Sister Qiao’s soul and body. His plans were interrupted when True Person West Lake arrived and invited him to join the Li Household and compete in the Seven-Household Grand Competition.

• He Pingsheng shattered Dong Bie’s three defenses and defeated him, prompting Mu Ruolin to concede and remind him of her promise.
• He Pingsheng returned to Li Yunyun’s home, set cultivation goals, and studied the ingredients needed to make the Tenfold Fusion Pill for Sister Qiao.
• True Person West Lake arrived with Mu Ruolin and told He Pingsheng she would no longer pursue his killing of two Li Household disciples.
• True Person West Lake invited He Pingsheng to become her disciple, represent the Li Household at the Seven-Household Grand Competition, and receive rewards including Foundation Establishment Pills.

He Pingsheng learned that the Bushel Mountain Seven-Lineage Tournament determined each lineage’s places in the Heavenly Fire Ruins, then agreed to represent the Li Lineage. He left with promises to protect Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo and to grant him a ruins place if he won first place, confident he could reach the required cultivation.

• True Person West Lake explained that the seven lineages competed every hundred years for rankings and entry places in the Heavenly Fire Ruins, a former cultivation site of the nine-heavens mystic fire.
• He Pingsheng learned that the Heavenly Fire Ruins held fire-origin remnants, Daoist laws, and the mystic fire’s aura, but only Foundation Establishment cultivators or higher could enter.
• True Person West Lake asked He Pingsheng to compete for the Li Lineage, and he agreed on the condition that the lineage care for Li Yunyun and Xiao Mo for life.
• Mu Ruolin swore to protect the siblings, and True Person West Lake accepted He Pingsheng’s condition that he receive a ruins place if he secured first place.
• He Pingsheng said he could rise from the tenth to the twelfth Qi Refining layer with his treasures and reach Foundation Establishment after the tournament, which was just over a month away.

He Pingsheng settled at the Li Household and used its knowledge of the Spirit Realm to learn about the Heavenly Fire Continent and the distant Yellow Springs. He realized he would need Void Refinement Realm strength to reach the Thunderwaste Continent, then turned to check on Sister Qiao’s soul.

• True Person West Lake assigned He Pingsheng a palace for cultivation and put Li Yunyun and her brother in charge of tending her spiritual herb garden.
• He Pingsheng asked Mu Ruolin for a text on basic Spirit Realm knowledge, and she brought him a jade slip from the Li Household’s Scripture Repository Hall.
• He Pingsheng used the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance the jade slip into two copies of A Thousand Customs of the Spirit Realm and studied one for several days.
• He Pingsheng learned that the Yellow Springs were on the Thunderwaste Continent and that crossing between continents required at least Void Refinement Realm strength.
• He Pingsheng took out the Soul-Nurturing Banner to check how Sister Qiao’s soul was recovering.

He Pingsheng witnessed Qiao Huizhu awaken inside the Soul-Nurturing Banner and explained how he had rescued her and reached the Spirit Realm. After she returned to the banner to conserve her Soul Power, he advanced to the peak of the twelfth Qi Refining layer while preparing for the Seven-Household Grand Competition, and Mu Ruolin arrived to summon him.

• Qiao Huizhu awoke in the Soul-Nurturing Banner, briefly failed to recognize He Pingsheng, then recovered her memories of being deceived by He Asks at Tawenian Mountain.
• He Pingsheng told Qiao Huizhu how he had saved her, killed He Asks and He Thinks, and ascended to the Spirit Realm, and promised to seek a way to restore her body.
• Qiao Huizhu asked after her younger sister, then returned to the Soul-Nurturing Banner so she would not exhaust her Soul Power.
• He Pingsheng used a supreme-grade Qi-Gathering Pill to reach the eleventh Qi Refining layer and then the peak of the twelfth, stopping short of Foundation Establishment for the Seven-Household Grand Competition.
• He Pingsheng refined Essence-Gathering Pills and studied the Supreme Clarity Golden Liquid Scripture until Mu Ruolin came to tell him it was time to set out.

He Pingsheng arrived with True Person West Lake and Mu Ruolin at the Kong Household for the Seven-Household Grand Competition. The Zhu Household challenged the Li Household, and He Pingsheng faced Zhu Dong in the opening match.

• True Person West Lake showed off her Three-Colored Peacock and again urged He Pingsheng to become her disciple.
• Mu Ruolin explained that the Li Household had won the recent competitions and that she could not defeat Zhu Dong.
• He Pingsheng and his companions arrived at the Kong Household, where the seven households gathered for the round-robin competition.
• The Kong Household's elder reviewed the competition rules and invited the households to choose their opponents.
• Zhu Ci announced that the Zhu Household would challenge the Li Household, naming Zhu Dong to fight He Pingsheng.
• Zhu Dong and He Pingsheng entered the valley arena for the first match.

He Pingsheng defeated Zhu Dong with a barrage of punches in the competition, frustrating the Zhu Household’s bid for first place. Zhu Ci secretly attacked He Pingsheng’s Sea of Consciousness, but the attack failed, and He Pingsheng decided to wait until the competition ended before retaliating.

• He Pingsheng shattered Zhu Dong’s Tenfold Vermilion Divine Armor with one punch and beat back his Fire Phoenix attack with another.
• He Pingsheng’s repeated punches overwhelmed Zhu Dong, who surrendered before the fifth punch landed.
• The Kong Household Great Golden Core cultivator declared He Pingsheng the winner, and True Person West Lake praised his chances in the remaining matches.
• Zhu Ci told Zhu Dong not to lose any of his next five matches and secretly struck at He Pingsheng’s Sea of Consciousness with Divine Sense.
• He Pingsheng remained unharmed, recognized Zhu Ci’s attack, and chose to settle the score after the competition to avoid risking the Li Household’s eligibility.

He Pingsheng led the Li Household to first place in the contest, then advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm so he could enter the Heavenly Fire Ruins. After arriving at the ruins, the group passed through the formation and saw the vast, fire-filled space and the sinkhole below.

• He Pingsheng defeated the other households’ fighters with single punches, and the Li Household took first place while the Zhu Household came second.
• He Pingsheng entered seclusion and reached the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm in two days.
• The Li Household gathered its seven entrants, including He Pingsheng, and the Dao Yuan Patriarch explained why the household included lower-ranking cultivators.
• The lineages traveled by ship to the Heavenly Fire Ruins, where Nascent Soul cultivators entered first to suppress the fire-attribute laws.
• He Pingsheng followed the Li Household cultivators through the formation and saw the ruins’ fiery expanse and deep sinkhole.

He Pingsheng descended into the Heavenly Fire Ruins with the other cultivators and confronted Zhu Ci, who admitted attacking him during the competition and demanded his divine-sense-defense treasure. He Pingsheng immobilized Zhu Ci with a spatial seal and killed him with Divine Sense Nails, then claimed his saber and rings.

• True Person West Lake led the cultivators into the Heavenly Fire Ruins, where they descended cautiously through the fiery sinkhole.
• Golden Core Stage cultivators and then Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators stopped to cultivate along the walls as the fire aura grew stronger.
• Zhu Ci accused He Pingsheng of possessing a treasure that defended against divine sense attacks and admitted he had attacked him during the competition.
• After Zhu Dong stopped to cultivate, Zhu Ci threatened He Pingsheng and demanded that he hand over the treasure or be killed.
• Zhu Ci attacked with his blood-red saber, but He Pingsheng immobilized him and revealed his divine sense could take form.
• He Pingsheng struck Zhu Ci's Sea of Consciousness with two Divine Sense Nails, killing him, and took his saber and rings.

He Pingsheng searched the Heavenly Fire Ruins for the aura of the Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire, disguising himself as Zhu Ci to descend deeper. He rescued True Person West Lake from fire poison, then continued downward while she headed back up.

• He Pingsheng found no trace of the Nine-Heavens Mystic Fire's aura after spending days cultivating, so he decided to descend farther.
• He Pingsheng used the Jinlan Treasure Robe to disguise himself as Zhu Ci and kicked a Golden Core cultivator out of his way.
• He Pingsheng encountered True Person West Lake and restored his own appearance because she had a grudge against Zhu Ci.
• True Person West Lake explained that fire poison had overwhelmed her, and He Pingsheng cooled her with ten-thousand-year ice marrow and Icefield Divine Dew.
• He Pingsheng asked True Person West Lake not to reveal that he could descend so deep, then continued downward as she returned up the sinkhole.

He Pingsheng descended through the sinkhole while disguising himself as other cultivators, then spent two and a half years gathering the nine-heavens mystic fire’s aura and cultivating. He restored his cultivation to the tenth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm and prepared to leave.

• He Pingsheng told True Person West Lake that the Icefield Divine Dew had extended her lifespan and asked her to keep his secret.
• He Pingsheng descended farther into the sinkhole, deceiving Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators by changing his appearance.
• He Pingsheng reached the sinkhole’s lowest stretch and spent two and a half years condensing the aura of the nine-heavens mystic fire while cultivating.
• He Pingsheng merged the condensed aura into his body and restored all five nascent souls to the tenth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• He Pingsheng failed to break through another Dao obstacle, gathered his belongings, and decided to leave.

He Pingsheng escaped the Heavenly Fire Ruins disguised as a weak Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Zhu Wuyuan questioned him about Zhu Ci and kept him under watch. As He Pingsheng discussed leaving the Li Household with True Person West Lake, the Kong Household announced that the Li Household had won a Dragon Origin Fruit.

• He Pingsheng disguised himself as several people while ascending from the sinkhole, then concealed his cultivation and emerged pretending to be at the second layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• A fifth-layer Golden Core cultivator from the Zhu Household stopped He Pingsheng and brought him before Zhu Wuyuan, who questioned him about Zhu Ci and ordered him to remain at the temporary residence.
• He Pingsheng told Zhu Wuyuan that he had last seen Zhu Ci continuing deeper into the ruins, and Zhu Household disciples surrounded the residence where he was staying.
• True Person West Lake asked He Pingsheng whether he had killed Zhu Ci, then invited him to stay with the Li Household and hinted at finding him a Dao Companion.
• A Kong Household disciple told True Person West Lake that the Li Household had been awarded a Dragon Origin Fruit and asked her to collect it for the absent Dao Yuan Patriarch.

He Pingsheng learned that the Li Household had received a Dragon Origin Fruit, a treasure that could help nascent soul cultivators break through bottlenecks. True Person West Lake eventually lent it to him for the night, and he secretly moved it into his Treasure-Gathering Basin while distracting her with questions about reaching the Thunderwaste Continent.

• A Celestial Person Immortal Sect envoy gave True Person West Lake the Dragon Origin Fruit and forbade the households from fighting over or trading it.
• He Pingsheng asked West Lake to lend him the fruit, but she refused because it belonged to the Li Household patriarch.
• West Lake later apologized and lent He Pingsheng the fruit for one night, insisting she stay in his room while he studied it.
• He Pingsheng put the fruit in his ring and secretly moved it into his Treasure-Gathering Basin.
• He Pingsheng asked West Lake how to reach the Thunderwaste Continent, and she explained that crossing the Malice Sea required at least the void refinement realm.

He Pingsheng consumed an enhanced Dragon Origin Fruit and broke through to the eleventh layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. After leaving the Li Household, he said farewell to True Person West Lake, who accompanied him on part of his journey.

• He Pingsheng learned from True Person West Lake that Dragon Blood Fruits were rare fifth-grade Spirit Fruits, then refused her request to stay the night with him.
• After a night in seclusion, He Pingsheng ate the supreme-grade Dragon Origin Fruit and advanced to the eleventh layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Six months later, the cultivators emerged from the Heavenly Fire Ruins, and Fellow Daoist Li took the Li Household's people home; Zhu Ci was missing.
• He Pingsheng visited True Person West Lake, saw that she had restored her youthful appearance, and asked her to look after Li Yunyun and her younger brother before departing.
• True Person West Lake caught up with He Pingsheng, gave him a map, and saw him off; he gave her a Greed and Anger Fruit to help her overcome a Golden Core Stage bottleneck.

He Pingsheng accepted Wu Xiangyu’s challenge to prove his superiority in a cultivation skill, choosing combat despite Wu Xiangyu’s Nascent Soul cultivation. He Pingsheng’s halberd strike revealed immense power, and his tangible divine sense left Wu Xiangyu wondering if he was a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

• True Person West Lake was delighted to receive a Greed and Anger Fruit from He Pingsheng before Wu Xiangyu appeared.
• Wu Xiangyu threatened to expose the Li Household’s alleged cheating unless West Lake agreed to become his Dao Companion.
• He Pingsheng accepted Wu Xiangyu’s wager and chose combat, refusing West Lake’s plea not to risk it.
• He Pingsheng unleashed the Southern Bright Sky-Piercing Halberd, and its blade carved a thousand-zhang fissure through the mountain.
• He Pingsheng formed seven tangible divine nails around Wu Xiangyu, who feared He Pingsheng was a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

He Pingsheng forced Wu Xiangyu to swear an oath protecting the Li Household and West Lake Immortal Maiden, then traveled to Celestial Person City. After exploring the city and its mix of humans and demon clans, he entered the Heavenly Heart Commerce Association to seek high-grade goods.

• He Pingsheng threatened Wu Xiangyu and made him swear to never harm the Li Household or West Lake Immortal Maiden.
• He Pingsheng asked West Lake Immortal Maiden to care for Li Yunyun and her younger brother, then disappeared before she could reply.
• He Pingsheng used West Lake Immortal Maiden's map to fly to Celestial Person City and saw that humans and demon clans shared the city.
• A Mountain Antelope Tribe member offered He Pingsheng a ride and took him to the Heavenly Heart Commerce Association.
• He Pingsheng paid the mountain antelope, entered the association, and asked a woman in a green Daoist robe to summon an elder for his high-grade purchases.

He Pingsheng consulted Hanxiao about rare treasures and ingredients for the Tenfold Fusion Pill. He learned of possible sources for Rootless Grass and Yellow Springs Aura, but still had no leads on two other materials.

• He Pingsheng asked Hanxiao whether the Commerce Association sold a fifth-grade treasure that could break his Nascent Soul bottleneck, and she explained that Dragon Origin Fruit was the only local option.
• Hanxiao told He Pingsheng that Rootless Grass, another bottleneck-breaking herb, grew in a Yin Baleful Energy canyon in Divine Crane clan territory.
• He Pingsheng showed Hanxiao a jade slip listing Six-Bath Clear Dew, Nine-Gold Yang-Transforming Fruit, and Yellow Springs Aura, but the Commerce Association had none of them.
• Hanxiao confirmed that He Pingsheng intended to refine a Tenfold Fusion Pill and said he could find Yellow Springs Aura in the ancient Netherworld Emperor Palace in Vermilion Bird Race territory.
• He Pingsheng thanked Hanxiao and gave her a porcelain bottle as a token of gratitude.

He Pingsheng rescued Tian Yao, the Heavenly Fire Divine Emperor's daughter, from demons who had assaulted and poisoned her. He offered to draw the poison into his own meridians, warning her that doing so would let his divine sense see her entire body.

• He Pingsheng gave Immortal Maiden Hanxiao two supreme-grade Mingwu Pills and learned that the Divine Crane Tribe's territory lay west of the Celestial Person Immortal Sect.
• After flying west for about a month, He Pingsheng reached the border and spotted demons assaulting a human girl beside a lake.
• He Pingsheng killed the Nascent Soul demon with his Thunder Shards Gathering the Sun ability and forced the two Golden Core demons to stay put.
• The girl introduced herself as Tian Yao, the youngest daughter of the Heavenly Fire Divine Emperor, and explained that poison had left her unable to use magic power.
• He Pingsheng examined Tian Yao, confirmed the poison was third-grade, and offered to draw it into his own meridians, warning her that his divine sense would see through her body.

He Pingsheng removed the poison from Tian Yao and waited with her for her aunt to arrive. When the Void Refinement powerhouse appeared, Tian Yao falsely claimed that beasts had violated her, and her aunt mistook He Pingsheng for the culprit.

• He Pingsheng cleared the poison from Tian Yao’s body, restoring her cultivation.
• Tian Yao summoned her aunt with a jade token and offered He Pingsheng a fifth-grade spirit fruit and a place at the Divine Emperor’s Residence, but he declined.
• After about two hours, Tian Yao’s aunt arrived, and He Pingsheng recognized her as a first-layer Void Refinement powerhouse.
• Tian Yao tearfully told her aunt that beasts had violated her, and the aunt’s aura knocked He Pingsheng back and injured the two demon cultivators.
• Tian Yao’s aunt accused He Pingsheng of violating the princess, and he denied it, explaining that demon cultivators had attacked Tian Yao and he had rescued her.

He Pingsheng realized Tian Yao and her aunt intended to slaughter everyone around Skywave Lake, then refused Tian Yao’s demand that he become her servant. When Tian Yao threatened to kill him, he activated a powerful lightning talisman against her and the Black-Clad Woman.

• Tian Yao identified the two surviving flood dragons and asked her aunt to take them away for torture.
• Tian Yao demanded that her aunt kill every creature around Skywave Lake, and the Black-Clad Woman agreed.
• He Pingsheng tried to leave, but Tian Yao offered him a path to Spirit Transformation only if he surrendered his Heavenly Dao Slave Mark and became her servant.
• Tian Yao threatened to have her aunt kill He Pingsheng if he refused, claiming she could not let anyone reveal her violation.
• He Pingsheng activated a Nine-Heavens Thunder Spear talisman and sent its lightning strike toward Tian Yao and the Black-Clad Woman.