Recaps

As Great Yu’s defenses collapsed and Great Sui advanced toward Capital City, Li Ping'an refined Spirit Stones, mourned Fengyangzi, and took Lu Renjia in as Fengyangzi’s successor. With a city massacre looming, Li Ping'an claimed he might use his connections to protect their sect.

• Two street loafers tried to extort Li Ping'an, but he sent Old Ox after them.
• As shortages worsened, Li Ping'an and Old Ox refined two hundred Spirit Stones, then learned Fengyangzi had died in battle.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox built Fengyangzi a cenotaph, and Li Ping'an accepted Lu Renjia as Fengyangzi’s disciple.
• Great Sui captured Guxiao Pass, and Empress Liu Yun ordered the slaughter of surrendered soldiers and Great Yu cultivators.
• After rumors spread that Great Sui would massacre Capital City, Lu Renjia asked Li Ping'an what they should do, and Li Ping'an said he might use his connections to spare their sect.

As Great Sui’s army advanced toward the capital, Li Ping'an and Old Ox remained in Great Yu’s besieged city while the court and powerful families prepared for the dynasty’s possible fall. After Lu Renjia reported that the army had surrounded the city and that his family had secured protection, Li Ping'an considered whether Liu Yun would massacre its people.

• Liu Yun ordered the ancient locust tree, said to have been planted by Great Yu’s founding emperor, chopped down as her army marched toward the capital.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox returned to playing funeral music for meals and later watched the city grow tense as soldiers drove conscripted laborers through the streets.
• Old Ox estimated that Great Sui’s cavalry would reach the capital in half a month, but several days later Lu Renjia reported that the army had already surrounded the city.
• Lu Renjia explained that Great Yu’s emperor remained in the capital while the crown prince had gone south, and warned that Liu Yun might massacre the city if it fell.
• Lu Renjia told Li Ping'an that a Great Sui general had promised to protect his family and that he hoped to keep their sect safe as well; Li Ping'an calmly accepted the news and went to the kitchen.

Great Sui captured Great Yu's Capital City after a brutal siege, and Li Ping'an tried to protect his home and preserve his school amid the ensuing chaos. Lu Renjia arranged for Great Sui soldiers to guard their pill-refining workshop and brought Li Ping'an to meet the general who had offered his family protection.

• Li Ping'an foresaw the city's fall, celebrated the New Year with Lu Renjia and Old Ox, and left food for starving residents after someone tore down their couplets for the flour paste.
• Great Sui's attack interrupted the New Year festivities, and the army later broke through the Capital City's defenses as Liu Yong led troops inside and Liu Yun reflected on Great Sui's victory.
• Bandits and rogue cultivators rampaged through the fallen city, but Li Ping'an quietly dealt with two intruders who targeted Fengyangzi's residence.
• Lu Renjia arrived with Great Sui guards, explained that a general had ordered them to protect the workshop, and told Li Ping'an the general wished to meet him.
• Li Ping'an set out with Lu Renjia and Old Ox to meet the general, saying that preserving their school was what mattered most.

General Ai forced Li Ping'an to refine pills at the Lu Residence while secretly ordering that he be killed regardless of whether he completed the task. Li Ping'an delayed the work and concealed his skill as Lu Renjia wrestled with whether to risk helping him.

• Lu Renjia introduced Li Ping'an to his father and General Ai, who ordered Li to refine pills and promised to protect his sect.
• Li Ping'an moved his pill-refining equipment to a courtyard in the bamboo grove and began making the requested pills under guard.
• General Ai told a guard to kill Li Ping'an whether or not he finished the pills by the deadline.
• Li Ping'an deliberately slowed his work and left impurities in the pills to avoid being assigned further tasks.
• Lu Renjia turned back after his father warned him to stay away, deciding that he could not abandon his senior brother.

Li Ping'an told Lu Renjia he intended to sacrifice himself to save their lineage, while secretly planning to fake his death. In the occupied city, Liu Yong recognized Li Ping'an’s handwriting on discarded couplets and hoped he could persuade the Empress to cancel the planned slaughter.

• Li Renjia entered the guarded Bamboo Forest and warned Li Ping'an that General Ai planned to kill him after the pills were finished.
• Li Ping'an said he knew of the threat and intended to use the pills and his life to save their lineage, leaving Lu Renjia to carry it on.
• After Lu Renjia left, Li Ping'an revived the guards and continued refining pills with Old Ox, believing his plan to fake his death was nearly perfect.
• Liu Yong reflected on his military career and the Empress’s order to slaughter the city in half a month.
• Liu Yong gave food to three starving children beside their dead mother and recognized Li Ping'an’s handwriting on a pair of discarded Spring Festival couplets.
• Liu Yong realized Li Ping'an might be able to persuade the Empress to spare the city and excitedly asked where the couplets came from.

General Ai had Li Ping'an killed after deciding the pills he refined were mediocre, despite promising to protect Li Ping'an's sect. When Liu Yong arrived searching for Li Ping'an, General Ai revealed what he had done, but Liu Yong insisted that someone like General Ai could not have killed Mr. Li.

• General Ai ordered his guards to seize Li Ping'an, claiming he had promised to protect the sect but not Li Ping'an himself.
• Li Ping'an asked General Ai to keep the sect safe, and Lu Renjia tearfully brought him Yangchun Noodles before the guards struck him down.
• Lu Renjia had the servants place Li Ping'an's body in a coffin while General Ai took two of Li Ping'an's pills and dismissed his alchemy as mediocre.
• Liu Yong arrived looking for Li Ping'an, and General Ai admitted that he had ordered Li Ping'an's death.
• Liu Yong angrily ordered General Ai to take him to Li Ping'an and declared that General Ai could not have killed Mr. Li.

Liu Yong found Li Ping'an after searching for him and asked him to stop Liu Yun from ordering a massacre of Capital City, but Li Ping'an said he could not change the decision. After Great Sui's army slaughtered the city, Li Ping'an and Old Ox left for Shushan, with Li Ping'an flying on his sword.

• Liu Yong discovered that Li Ping'an was missing from the coffin and ordered a search, while Lu Renjia wrongly suspected his senior brother had turned into a sheep.
• Liu Yong searched Capital City for two days before Li Ping'an arrived at his inn with Old Ox.
• Liu Yong told Li Ping'an that Liu Yun had ordered Capital City's people massacred and asked him to persuade the Empress to change her mind.
• Li Ping'an said he could not influence the decision, then vanished before Liu Yong could say more.
• Three months after Great Yu's Capital City fell, Great Sui's army massacred the city, sparing only a handful of households.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox cleaned his school, left everything in Lu Renjia's care, and departed for Shushan as Li Ping'an flew on his sword.

Li Ping'an returned to Shushan with Old Ox after several years away and found Run Tu had taken fifty disciples as underlings and collected protection money. Li Ping'an apologized to the disciples, while Old Ox punished Run Tu for his behavior.

• Li Ping'an flew toward Shushan with Old Ox on his back and greeted Elder Han at the sect's protective formation, giving him local specialties from Great Yu.
• On Heaven-Reaching Peak, Run Tu bragged to young disciples about his past exploits and mocked Li Ping'an and Old Ox.
• Run Tu demanded Spirit Stones from several disciples, who said disciples from Bamboo Leaf Peak had also extorted them.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox arrived, and Old Ox beat Run Tu while Li Ping'an returned the Spirit Stones and apologized to the disciples on Run Tu's behalf.
• Run Tu explained that he had taken on fifty underlings while Master Qingfeng was in seclusion, and revealed that he had reached the fourth realm.

After returning to Shushan, Li Ping'an visited old friends and learned that Liu Er Dog’s battlefield injuries had ended his hopes of advancing in cultivation. He treated Situ Lei’s injuries and restored his vitality, then welcomed Qingfeng back from seclusion as Shushan’s disciple recruitment approached.

• Li Ping'an visited Liu Zongcheng, Qin Miaomiao and Situ Lei, Old Zhou, and Liu Er Dog, while learning that Yun Shu had withdrawn into seclusion with a heart demon.
• Liu Er Dog asked Li Ping'an to describe the world beyond immortality if Li attained it, and Li agreed.
• Situ Lei confided in Li Ping'an about his marital troubles and lingering battlefield injuries, so Li Ping'an examined him and prescribed treatment.
• After completing a course of treatment, Situ Lei recovered his vitality and hurried home to Qin Miaomiao.
• Situ Lei and Qin Miaomiao brought Li Ping'an specialties and a banner praising his healing, and Qingfeng emerged from seclusion ahead of Shushan's disciple recruitment.

Li Ping'an returned to Heaven-Reaching Peak, planned a pill-refining room, and prepared to recruit disciples on Qingfeng’s behalf. After catching up on letters from old friends, he arrived at Immortal-Entering Peak as Shushan’s recruitment began.

• Qingfeng emerged from seclusion and ate with Li Ping'an, who told him about his travels and his plans to build a pill-refining room.
• Li Ping'an decided Heaven-Reaching Peak needed more disciples, and Qingfeng let him choose promising candidates on his behalf.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox visited the Black Market and cut the pill-refining room budget from over two thousand spirit stones to one thousand.
• A Shushan messenger brought Li Ping'an letters from old friends, including a long account from Jing Yu complaining about stolen credit and a mysterious password mix-up.
• Li Ping'an replied to his friends, sending the unsigned letter only the words, “All is well here.”
• Three days later, Li Ping'an arrived at Immortal-Entering Peak, where over ten thousand boys and girls had gathered for Shushan’s disciple recruitment.

During Shushan’s recruitment ceremony, Li Ping'an brought Heaven-Reaching Peak’s livestock to attract disciples and accidentally unleashed a powerful sound while practicing the Turtle Breath Technique. As the trials began, he shared tea with Liu Er Dog, and they watched the newcomers with memories of their own beginnings.

• Li Ping'an arrived at Immortal Ascension Peak with Old Ox, Run Tu, and a procession of livestock to represent Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• While Li Ping'an practiced the Turtle Breath Technique, his focus triggered booming sounds that startled and injured several people nearby.
• Li Ping'an concealed his involvement as the recruitment ceremony’s speeches ended and the disciples’ tests began.
• Liu Er Dog visited Li Ping'an, and they drank tea while watching the hopeful newcomers.

During the Shushan Sect’s entrance trials, Li Ping'an took Qingfeng’s place among the sect’s leaders and noticed Yun Shu’s heart demon worsening. As the first trial candidate arrived, he used his Dharma Eye to examine her unstable aura and considered how to help her.

• More than four thousand candidates passed the first test and entered the bamboo forest for the second round, while Yun Shu visited Li Ping'an and thanked him for the Osmanthus Cake.
• Three days later, Li Ping'an sat in Qingfeng’s seat at the gathering of peak masters and elders, while Yun Shu poured wine for the leaders at her master’s request.
• The peak masters and elders argued over promising candidates as Li Ping'an watched and ate melon seeds.
• The first candidate reached the Jade Platform with blood on him, and Li Ping'an used Aura Lock to detect Yun Shu’s heart demon spreading through her aura.
• Li Ping'an realized Yun Shu’s state of mind was unstable and decided he should offer his friend some encouragement.

Li Ping'an used the Heavenly Drum to help Yun Shu confront her guilt and fear after the National War. Yun Shu found the resolve to wield her sword, but her strange cry drew everyone's attention.

• Li Ping'an recognized Yun Shu's battlefield trauma and called her back from her vision of blood and fire.
• Yun Shu told Li Ping'an that she had struggled with seeing companions and enemies die, and questioned the meaning of war.
• Li Ping'an explained war as a struggle for survival and used the Heavenly Drum to guide Yun Shu into meditation.
• Yun Shu faced a vision that demanded she kill, but she froze until memories of her loved ones and Shushan gave her a reason to fight.
• Yun Shu unleashed a dazzling sword strike, cried out strangely, and drew everyone's gazes and spiritual senses.

Yun Shu emerged from Li Ping'an’s meditation aid renewed, while Shushan’s peak masters competed to recruit the trial’s most gifted disciples. Xiao Ye, a proud scion with a supreme-grade fire spiritual root, arrived at Heaven-Reaching Peak expecting its people to court him, only to find them eating hot pot beneath a willow tree.

• Yun Shu recovered from her desolation after meditating with Li Ping'an, and Daoist Liuyun thanked him before taking her away.
• Shushan’s peak heads and elders argued over the 312 successful disciples, especially those with sword and fire spiritual roots.
• Xiao Ye arrived at the gathering and angrily confronted Qingfeng after stepping on his candied hawthorn skewer.
• Qingfeng demanded Xiao Ye as a disciple because he was rich, but Li Ping'an apologized and left with Qingfeng and Old Ox.
• After waiting two hours for them to return, Xiao Ye searched for Heaven-Reaching Peak and found its residents eating hot pot beneath a willow tree.

At the Shushan recruitment assembly, Xiao Ye was offered hot pot by Li Ping'an’s group, then fought Run Tu after catching him licking the bowl clean. Run Tu overwhelmed Xiao Ye with poison and tricks, and Li Ping'an arrived just as Run Tu knocked him unconscious with the Soul-Suppressing Brick.

• Li Ping'an’s group ate hot pot, and Run Tu brought Xiao Ye a bowl when Li Ping'an noticed him watching.
• Xiao Ye secretly licked the empty bowl, but Run Tu caught him and Xiao Ye attacked him with fire.
• Run Tu fought back with wine, poison, formations, and other techniques, pushing Xiao Ye into difficulty.
• Li Ping'an sensed the fight and flashed to the scene as Xiao Ye demanded a fair duel.
• Run Tu struck Xiao Ye on the head with the Soul-Suppressing Brick and told Li Ping'an that he had taken him down.

Xiao Ye woke after being beaten and insisted on joining Heaven-Reaching Peak, while Li Ping'an tried to dissuade him with a strange entrance question. Later, Wei Jing and Wei An visited Heaven-Reaching Peak, where Wei Jing demonstrated her swordsmanship by cutting down a willow, prompting Li Ping'an to flee after warning her about a possible hidden ailment.

• Xiao Ye woke in Li Ping'an's care, admitted defeat, and asked to join Heaven-Reaching Peak under two conditions; Li Ping'an offered him another peak and posed a chicken-or-egg test.
• Wei Jing and Wei An went to Heaven-Reaching Peak after Elder Yuan chose Wei An but not Wei Jing, and Old Ox gave them application forms with unusual questions.
• Wei Jing demonstrated her swordsmanship and accidentally cut down a willow tree, leaving Li Ping'an alarmed about the cost of damaging Shushan property.
• Li Ping'an warned Wei Jing that her swordsmanship had openings and that problems with her Shenmen Acupoint and Neiguan Acupoint might eventually prevent her from wielding a sword with her right hand.
• Li Ping'an told the sisters not to mention seeing him, then hurried away on Old Ox while Wei Jing and Wei An watched in confusion.

As Shushan welcomed new disciples, Li Ping'an took advantage of the busy day to get an expense claim approved with a dubious paper allowance. Wei Jing and Wei An then sought him out at Heaven-Reaching Peak, where they encountered Xiao Ye instead.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox passed through the new disciples’ welcome festivities, and Li Ping'an persuaded Elder Wu to approve his reimbursement for ass-wiping paper.
• Liu Er Dog greeted a nervous new disciple beneath a banner, hiding his worries behind a smile.
• Elder Wu tested Li Ping'an’s claim the next day and realized the paper allowance was excessive, then vowed to confront him.
• Wei Jing and Wei An climbed Heaven-Reaching Peak to find Li Ping'an, hoping to ask about Wei Jing’s painful acupoints.
• The sisters met Xiao Ye holding a hen, and he asked why they wanted to see Li Ping'an.

Li Ping'an declined Wei Jing's request to join Heaven-Reaching Peak, but Yun Shu invited her to Lesser Qiong Peak after seeing her swordsmanship. Before Wei Jing left, Li Ping'an treated a hidden ailment in her right hand, leaving her ashamed of having misunderstood him and reconsidering where she wanted to study.

• Li Ping'an checked Wei Jing's information and told her that her talent made her unsuitable for Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Yun Shu arrived, watched Wei Jing demonstrate her swordsmanship, and invited her to join Lesser Qiong Peak.
• Yun Shu gave Wei Jing a jade token, and Wei Jing prepared to leave with Wei An.
• Li Ping'an examined Wei Jing and discovered a hidden trap in her Shenmen and Neiguan Acupoints that threatened her right hand and cultivation.
• Li Ping'an treated Wei Jing with silver needles and told her that Shushan disciples should help one another, making her regret having misjudged him.

Li Ping'an sent off his guests, returned to tending his fields, and outwitted Elder Wu when he challenged his paper reimbursement. Three years later, Li Ping'an had earned a fortune as a healer and developed new pills, though his spirit wood still needed time to grow and he had no leads on the Great Dao Rune fragments.

• Wei Jing and Wei An thanked Li Ping'an and left, and Yun Shu gave him two magical treasures and two high-grade pills in gratitude for helping her overcome her heart demon.
• Xiao Ye asked Li Ping'an to take him as a disciple, but Li Ping'an told him to return after solving the chicken-and-egg question.
• Li Ping'an spent peaceful days tending his fields with Old Ox and Run Tu, then resumed cultivating at Heaven-Reaching Peak.
• Elder Wu confronted Li Ping'an over claiming too much paper, but Li Ping'an cited diarrhea as an abnormal circumstance and left Elder Wu speechless.
• Three years passed, during which Li Ping'an developed popular pills, treated people across Shushan, and earned money while waiting for spirit wood to grow and searching unsuccessfully for Great Dao Rune fragments.

Seven years after Great Yu's Capital City fell, Li Ping'an built a pill-refining workshop with help from his friends and launched a popular new pill. When a rival considered confronting Qingfeng over the market disruption, Li Ping'an received Jing Yu's invitation to the Three Heroes of the Nine Provinces' reunion.

• Li Ping'an spent years tending his animals, growing spirit wood, and preparing wine before he and Old Ox and Run Tu began building a pill-refining workshop.
• Yun Shu, Wei Jing, Wei An, Liu Er Dog, Situ Lei, and Qin Miaomiao helped Li Ping'an complete the workshop in less than three months.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Run Tu spent half a year refining pills, then released a cheap, effective pill that quickly sold out and disrupted the market.
• A young disciple urged his white-haired master to confront Qingfeng, but the old man admitted Qingfeng could kill him in three punches, and they reconsidered.
• Run Tu brought Li Ping'an a letter from Jing Yu inviting him to the Three Heroes of the Nine Provinces' once-a-decade reunion.

Li Ping'an sold his stock of Spirit Pills to prepare for a reunion with Jing Yu and their other friend, while Qingfeng’s shameless antics foiled a plot to cause trouble for him. After his pills sold out, Li Ping'an packed to leave for the reunion.

• Li Ping'an tripled his daily pill sales to clear his stock before the reunion.
• A young disciple recruited Cui Yuanqing and Tang Xuan to make trouble for Li Ping'an, but Qingfeng’s behavior at a tavern convinced them their plan would backfire.
• Qingfeng took Wu Liangyi’s gourd and demanded compensation, so Li Ping'an scolded him and paid Wu Liangyi with Spirit Pills.
• Li Ping'an sold all the pills he had spent half a year refining in just over ten days, earning little after expenses but gaining experience.
• Three days later, Li Ping'an packed his belongings and prepared to set off for the reunion.

Li Ping'an traveled along an ancient road and sheltered from a storm at an abandoned relay station, where he befriended a merchant caravan. After secretly defeating bandits who had targeted the merchants, he continued on his journey.

• Li Ping'an stopped at an abandoned relay station for the night with Run Tu and Old Ox.
• During a storm, Li Ping'an helped a merchant recover his hat and shared food and wine with the caravan.
• Li Ping'an sensed that someone was following the merchants, then secretly defeated bandits who planned to attack them.
• The merchants found the bandits the next morning and learned that a blue-robed man had saved them.
• Li Ping'an left the station and continued along the road, playing his Erhu from Old Ox's back.

Li Ping'an waited in Shaoxing for Monk Changqing and Jing Yu, then headed north with Old Ox and Run Tu after noticing many cultivators traveling that way. At Five Tiger Fort, he found a crowded gathering and a giant python attacking a crying child.

• Li Ping'an used his Aura Lock to sense powerful cultivators passing through Shaoxing and heading north.
• After Monk Changqing and Jing Yu failed to arrive, Li Ping'an left a message at the inn and took Old Ox and Run Tu north.
• Li Ping'an reached Five Tiger Fort, where he observed the Lü Family’s stronghold and the many cultivators gathered there.
• A giant python accompanying more than a dozen cultivators swung its tail toward a sobbing child as Li Ping'an drank tea nearby.

Li Ping'an learned that Changqing was marrying Governor Lü's daughter and traveled to Lüzhou's provincial capital to find out what had happened. There, he reunited with Jing Yu, who had also come to investigate the wedding.

• A silver-white sword strike killed the giant python before it could hit a crying child, and its cultivator owners searched angrily for the attacker.
• Li Ping'an learned from an old man that Governor Lü's daughter was marrying a monk named Changqing.
• Li Ping'an set out for Lüzhou's provincial capital with Old Ox and Run Tu, riding his Flying Sword.
• Two days later, Li Ping'an confirmed that Changqing was a handsome Buddhist Sect holy disciple and encountered Jing Yu, who had come to investigate the marriage too.

Li Ping'an and Jing Yu visited the prefect's residence to find Changqing, who had been drawn into an unexpected marriage after rescuing Lü Yao from Evil Sect cultivators. Changqing explained how he had ended up there, though his companions suspected he was not as unhappy as he claimed.

• Li Ping'an and Jing Yu bought congratulatory gifts and gained entry to the prefect's residence after Li Ping'an used the Academy Head's Knight-Errant Brush to prove Jing Yu's identity.
• Li Ping'an and Jing Yu sneaked through the residence with Old Ox and Run Tu and found Changqing chanting alone in a small building.
• Jing Yu confronted Changqing about his sudden marriage, and Changqing denied that he had agreed to marry.
• Changqing explained that he had rescued Lü Yao while investigating Evil Sect cultivators who were massacring villages, and Lü Yao had used her status as the prefect's daughter to bring him home.
• Changqing said the residence's guards made escape impossible, but Li Ping'an noted they had slipped in unnoticed, prompting Run Tu and Old Ox to suspect Changqing was enjoying his situation.