Recaps

Liu Yong visited Li Ping'an after returning to Anbei, reflecting on the wars that had haunted him and asking what to do with the rest of his life. He told Li Ping'an that the Demon Race had launched a full-scale attack on the Demon-Suppressing Pass, leaving another looming conflict on the horizon.

• Zhang Er met Liu Yong at Li Ping'an's home and nervously introduced himself before Li Ping'an came out to greet his old friend.
• Li Ping'an and Liu Yong caught up, and Liu Yong explained that he had returned to Anbei to spend his remaining years in peace.
• Liu Yong described how the wars had continued despite his victories and said that the screams of those he had killed haunted his sleep.
• Li Ping'an reassured Liu Yong, offered to prescribe medicine to calm his spirit, and asked what he planned to do next.
• Liu Yong told Li Ping'an that the Demon Race had launched a full-scale attack on the Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Liu Yong left at dusk, and Little Girl carried off the untouched dried mice to eat.

Li Ping'an entered seclusion on Back Mountain to contemplate the Rune Fragments, leaving Little Girl and Old Ox to run a noodle stall and wait for him. Half a year passed without word from him, until Little Girl spotted a silvery-white belt of tiny people drifting toward them.

• Li Ping'an sent a Paper Pigeon to Jing Yu asking about the war at Demon-Suppressing Pass, then decided to enter seclusion after his Visualization deepened while he studied the Rune Fragments.
• Li Ping'an told Little Girl he would sleep for months and went into a cave on Back Mountain, while Little Girl and Old Ox began selling noodles to support themselves.
• Two street thugs tried to trick Little Girl into paying compensation, but Old Ox frightened them off.
• Little Girl brought fresh food to Li Ping'an's cave every day, though she never heard or saw him emerge.
• After half a year had passed, Little Girl watched the stars from the roof and noticed a silvery-white jade belt made of tiny people drifting closer.

While Li Ping'an slept, Little Girl and Old Ox ran their noodle stall in Small Town, and Little Girl insisted that Big Ping'an had invented hopscotch. When Li Ping'an returned in winter, Little Girl joyfully reunited with him and told him about the stall and her new spells.

• Little Girl hired Zhang Er to help at the noodle stall, and his presence kept local troublemakers away.
• As winter arrived, Little Girl argued with children that Big Ping'an had invented hopscotch, then played with them beneath the Old Locust Tree.
• After the other children went home, Little Girl crouched alone by the hopscotch squares, missing her absent family.
• Li Ping'an returned to Small Town, and Little Girl transformed into a cat and checked that he was unharmed.
• Little Girl told Li Ping'an that she and Niu Niu had opened a noodle stall and that she had learned new spells as they headed home together.

Li Ping'an returned home, sensed the world’s Spirit Qi for the first time, and learned from Jing Yu’s letter that Jing Yu had died months earlier. As heavy snow fell, Li Ping'an decided to visit the Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year.

• Li Ping'an returned to the little house, where Kitten welcomed him and prepared a lavish meal.
• Li Ping'an felt a connection to the world’s Spirit Qi and sensed the Anbei Four Garrisons through his Myriad Things Sense.
• Li Ping'an found Jing Yu’s old letter, which said the Demon-Suppressing Pass was holding and described Jing Yu’s trouble with his wife over taking a concubine.
• Li Ping'an read the letter’s date and realized he had missed Jing Yu’s funeral feast.
• Kitten served dinner to Li Ping'an and Old Ox, then warmed the bed as heavy snow covered the Anbei Four Garrisons.
• Li Ping'an told Old Ox they would visit the Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, then kicked him awake when he snored through the plan.

Li Ping'an visited Kitten and Old Ox's busy noodle stall as an injured Clear Mystic Sect disciple arrived in Small Town, reporting that attackers had assaulted his sect. At the Clear Mystic Sect, an unseen expert struck down the older attacker, while the Swordmaster fled.

• Li Ping'an visited the noodle stall and saw Kitten, Old Ox, Little Girl, and Zhang Er serving a crowd of customers.
• The City God rescued an injured Clear Mystic Sect disciple, who reported that someone had attacked the sect, and sent a military officer to investigate.
• The City God took the disciple to report the attack to the Prefecture City God.
• At the Clear Mystic Sect, the Swordmaster and an older cultivator restrained the gravely wounded sect leader and demanded the sect's treasure.
• An unseen expert challenged the attackers for invading Great Sui and unleashed a torrent that shattered the older cultivator's bones.
• The Swordmaster fled on his sword.

Li Ping'an told Liu Yong he planned to leave for Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, concerned about the changes in the Nine Provinces. After the holiday, Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled north along the route of their old journey, reaching the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

• Liu Yong told Li Ping'an he had dealt with two Cultivators who tried to take advantage of the chaos, then discussed the rising number of Demon Ghost revivals and the coming changes in the world.
• Li Ping'an told Liu Yong he planned to visit Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, and the two drank together before he left.
• After the New Year, Li Ping'an entrusted his house to the Wang Family and Kitten's noodle stall to Zhang Er, then set off north with Old Ox and Kitten.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled with merchant caravans through snow and desert, then continued across mountains and rivers toward Cloud Province.
• Li Ping'an and his companions reached the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, where Kitten asked how many mountains there were.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl entered the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and saw how Yiha had united the strongholds and brought greater stability to the region. After reaching a stronghold, Li Ping'an recognized Yiha as the little boy he had once met, leaving him reflecting on how quickly time had passed.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox traveled into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and found the strongholds more connected and peaceful than before.
• When local children challenged Li Ping'an for fishing in their river, he shared Little Girl's almond paste with them and asked them to guide the travelers to their stronghold.
• The children learned that Li Ping'an came from Great Sui and led him, Old Ox, and Little Girl to their stronghold.
• Li Ping'an saw the orderly stronghold and heard from a tea seller that Yiha had unified the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
• After Old Ox reminded him, Li Ping'an realized Yiha was the little boy he had once known and sighed at the passage of time.

Li Ping'an and Little Girl traveled through the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and crossed paths with Emperor Yiha during his grand procession. Yiha briefly glimpsed Li Ping'an but could not place him, while the Crown Prince's reckless riding injured civilians; the chapter ended with an unrelated author’s account of a workplace argument at karaoke.

• Li Ping'an, Little Girl, and Old Ox left a stronghold and continued toward Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• In the Second-Largest Stronghold, Imperial Guards forced the crowd to line the road for Emperor Yiha's outing.
• The Crown Prince rode past recklessly, and Li Ping'an held Little Girl back from kneeling as the emperor's procession approached.
• Yiha noticed Li Ping'an and Little Girl standing rather than kneeling, but they disappeared before he could identify Li Ping'an.
• A subordinate reported that the Crown Prince's horse had charged into the crowd and injured civilians, and Yiha ordered officials to keep the prince under watch.
• The author described Xiao Zheng and a female coworker arguing at karaoke, then cursing the author after the author tried to intervene.

The Crown Prince rode out at dawn and stopped to eat porridge made by Little Girl, where he met Li Ping'an and tried to obtain the erhu on his back. He left the jade pendant with Little Girl despite Li Ping'an refusing it, and continued trying to tempt Li Ping'an with extravagant offers.

• The Crown Prince galloped past a hunting party and rode toward a little girl cooking breakfast.
• The Crown Prince offered Little Girl his jade pendant for a bowl of porridge, then ate and invited his guards to share it.
• Li Ping'an returned with Old Ox, recognized the Crown Prince, and insisted he take back the pendant.
• The Crown Prince asked Li Ping'an about his erhu and offered him wives and hand-warming girls in exchange for it.
• The Crown Prince boasted about his hand-warming girls, including a former princess of the Aga Tribe.

Li Ping'an left his erhu with the Crown Prince in exchange for a promise to mend his bad habits, and the agreement magically compelled the youth to keep it. After the Crown Prince suffered several days of pain trying to resist, Li Ping'an and his companions reached the Vast Sea.

• Li Ping'an agreed to leave his erhu with the Crown Prince until he returned, provided the youth mended the bad habits he had just described.
• The Crown Prince broke his promise, tossed the erhu aside, and rode away without taking the agreement seriously.
• The Crown Prince woke in the Eastern Palace with a painful mark on his palm, and the Grand Priest told Yiha that he had entered an agreement with a powerful figure.
• Yiha recognized Li Ping'an from an earlier encounter and ordered his son to honor the agreement by mending his bad habits.
• The Crown Prince found that resisting his agreement caused pain and that the erhu always returned to his bedside, while Li Ping'an arrived at the Vast Sea.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl followed Zhou Youcai's wedding procession to the Zhou Family residence, where the now elderly Zhou Youcai remembered their first journey across the Vast Sea. At the feast, Zhou Youcai noticed Little Girl among the people who had come for a free meal.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl encountered Zhou Youcai's grand wedding procession in Shayu County and followed it to Great Shun Prefecture.
• Li Ping'an recalled meeting Zhou Youcai during their first voyage across the Vast Sea.
• Zhou Youcai reflected on his youth and the journeys that had shaped his life while attending the wedding banquet.
• Zhou Youcai went outside to greet the people gathered for the free meal.
• Zhou Youcai noticed Little Girl among the children eating at the feast.

Li Ping'an shared a final toast with Zhou Youcai, who died peacefully and was offered the chance to become an Underworld official. Choosing reincarnation, Zhou Youcai recovered his memories and recognized Li Ping'an as the old traveling companion who had once advised him about adventure before he entered the cycle again.

• Li Ping'an met Zhou Youcai at the Zhou Family wedding and shared wine with his old friend without revealing his identity.
• After Zhou Youcai died, Lai Zi escorted him through the Underworld and explained that his good deeds had earned him a favorable afterlife.
• The City God offered Zhou Youcai a position as a local divine official, but Zhou Youcai chose reincarnation instead.
• Before reaching the Reincarnation Platform, Zhou Youcai reviewed his life and recognized Li Ping'an in his memories.
• Zhou Youcai entered reincarnation, answering Li Ping'an's farewell with, "Until we meet again."

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten reached Cloud Province after their boat broke, and Sun Hai guided them from the coast to his town. As refugees arrived from flooded counties and the town celebrated its Turtle God, Li Ping'an questioned why the god had protected only their county.

• Sun Hai found Kitten in the water, then saw Old Ox emerge with Li Ping'an and led the group ashore.
• Sun Hai invited Li Ping'an and his companions to town, where they passed refugees displaced by floods in nearby counties.
• Sun Hai explained that the town was holding a ceremony to thank the Turtle God for protecting it.
• Sun Hai brought Li Ping'an to his home, and later his uncle invited the travelers to bathe and eat at his inn.
• On the way, Li Ping'an questioned why the Turtle God had protected only their county and not the neighboring ones.

Li Ping'an learned that the Turtle God had become cruel and was oppressing the coastal people, so he confronted him and reclaimed the Snake Gallstone he had once given him. He decided their karmic tie was settled.

• Li Ping'an told Kitten how his friend had helped the Turtle Spirit cross the sea and later learned the old turtle had become the Turtle God.
• Sun Hai told Li Ping'an that people prayed for safety and an end to the floods but feared the Sea God's demands.
• A carp spirit recalled how the Turtle God had ordered embankments breached, flooding six counties and displacing over a hundred thousand people.
• Li Ping'an confronted the Turtle God, who begged for another chance as his aura weakened.
• Li Ping'an took back the Snake Gallstone and declared his karmic tie with the Turtle God settled.

After the Turtle God’s execution, Li Ping'an searched for a new Sea God to bring order to the coastal waters. He asked the Third Young Master to take the position, but the Third Young Master refused.

• Zhang Hai and his younger brother came to take Kitten to gather seafood, and Kitten changed from a little girl into a cat before going with them.
• Zhang Hai’s younger brother ate the candy Kitten wanted, and Kitten restrained herself from biting him.
• Li Ping'an returned from the sea with the Snake Gallstone and considered who should replace the executed Turtle God as Sea God.
• Kitten returned with Old Ox and a basket of seafood, and she cooked a meal while Li Ping'an pondered the disorder in the coastal waters.
• After tasting Kitten’s braised loach, Li Ping'an thought of the Third Young Master and summoned him through the White Jade Capital.
• Li Ping'an asked the Third Young Master to become Sea God, but the Third Young Master refused because he preferred his comfortable life in the White Jade Capital.

Li Ping'an sent Third Young Master to take charge of the Water Mansion after Turtle God's death, then prepared to leave with Little Girl and his companions. As Little Girl said goodbye to Third Young Master, he teased her about Li Ping'an and suddenly panicked when Li Ping'an reacted from afar.

• Third Young Master begged to stay in the White Jade Capital, but Li Ping'an insisted he could no longer keep feeding him.
• A young carp spirit worried that Turtle God's death would plunge the waters into chaos, then watched Li Ping'an arrive with the tantrumming Third Young Master.
• Li Ping'an gave Third Young Master Turtle God's treasured snake gallstone and told him to manage the Water Mansion properly.
• Li Ping'an confirmed to Little Girl that Third Young Master had gone to the seaside, then watched Zhang Hai and his younger brother pray for protection from floods and the Sea God.
• Little Girl visited Third Young Master with pickled cucumbers and said goodbye, but he fled after teasing her about Li Ping'an and sensing Li Ping'an's displeasure.

Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox accidentally took nuts from two squirrel spirits, then gathered replacements with them as they traveled toward Jingmen Mountain and Demon-Suppressing Pass. A gathering of forest demons learned Li Ping'an was nearby and worried about the squirrels’ powerful backing.

• Kitten and Old Ox ate nuts they found in a tree, only for two squirrel spirits to accuse them of stealing from their home.
• Li Ping'an apologized and offered compensation, then agreed that he and his companions would gather as many nuts as they had eaten.
• The group gathered nuts together, and Kitten and the larger squirrel made peace after the haul made them even.
• Li Ping'an asked the squirrels about Jingmen Mountain, then continued toward Demon-Suppressing Pass after bidding them farewell.
• The White Clothes Man told a gathering of great demons that Li Ping'an had helped the squirrels, prompting them to wonder what backing the squirrels had.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled through the mountains to Jingmen Mountain, where they waited for a Flying Boat to Demon-Suppressing Pass. While Kitten learned that Li Ping'an and Old Ox were famous, the first Flying Boat arrived and the group chose to wait for the next trip.

• Li Ping'an refused Kitten's rice mixed with rat meat and ate dry flatbread while Kitten and Old Ox ate.
• The group reached Jingmen Mountain, and Li Ping'an explained that the Three Teachings guarded the routes leading to Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Li Ping'an remembered his earlier visits to the pass and his late friend Zhang Song, Zhang Congxin.
• A Flying Boat arrived, but Li Ping'an decided to wait for the next trip because it could not carry everyone.
• A cultivator from Cloud Province recognized Li Ping'an and praised him and Old Ox, leaving Kitten surprised that they were famous.

As Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox traveled by Flying Boat toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, Liu Wuxin confronted Li Ping'an about his elder sister’s death in Small Town. Li Ping'an defended his actions and invited Liu Wuxin to seek revenge, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Little Girl overheard cultivators commenting on her and pretended to read a book, prompting them to invent a rumor about Old Ox and a pregnant cow.
• At dawn, Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox boarded the Flying Boat while other cultivators watched Li Ping'an with hostility over the deaths in Small Town.
• Liu Wuxin introduced himself as a member of the Heart Sword Sect and asked Li Ping'an why his elder sister, Liu Rushi, had been killed.
• Li Ping'an said Liu Rushi had helped Small Town perpetrate evil and explained that he had given its cultivators a chance to leave before he killed those who stayed and tried to kill him.
• Liu Wuxin challenged Li Ping'an’s right to act as he pleased, and Li Ping'an calmly told him he would be waiting if he wanted revenge.

Li Ping'an arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass with Kitten and Old Ox, reunited with the innkeeper, and heard that locals treated the Demon Race’s renewed invasion as routine. After settling in for the night, he planned to look beyond the pass, while a squad in the snow infiltrated a camp and killed its guards.

• Liu Wuxin let go of his sword and left after telling Li Ping'an he would seek justice for his elder brother in his own way.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox arrived at Demon-Suppressing Pass and went to the inn where Li Ping'an had once washed dishes.
• The innkeeper recognized Li Ping'an, gave him and his companions a room, and shared food and memories with him.
• The innkeeper said the Demon Race's invasion was nothing unusual, and Li Ping'an decided to look beyond the pass the next day.
• A squad led by a pale-faced young man gave the password and showed its waist token before the young man stabbed a guard and ordered the others to hide the bodies.

Li Ping'an and his companions sheltered from a blizzard near Demon-Suppressing Pass, where they encountered Demon Race spies disguised as guards. Li Ping'an defeated them, left Liu Maocai to deliver the survivors to the pass, and continued onward with Kitten and Old Ox.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten rested in a cave near Demon-Suppressing Pass and met Liu Maocai and his companion.
• A group of cloaked newcomers entered, and Liu Maocai recognized their mismatched guard uniforms and suspected they were spies.
• The cloaked young man threatened Liu Maocai, who introduced Li Ping'an and Divine Ox to the group.
• Li Ping'an sent a streak of light from his gourd to knock down the spies, and the young man briefly escaped before being brought back.
• Li Ping'an asked Liu Maocai to take the captured spy to the guards, then left with Old Ox and Kitten, who returned carrying a bulging saddlebag.

Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox stayed inside sealed Demon-Suppressing Pass, where Kitten tried to avoid spending their money and later befriended a boy who had traveled there with his father and brother. The boy asked Kitten to spar with him, while Li Ping'an pretended to remain asleep.

• A young cultivator told his companions how he had commanded a retreat, but they reminded him that Zhao Ling'er had held off the demons and saved his squad.
• Li Ping'an, Kitten, and Old Ox visited a wine shop, but Kitten pulled them out without ordering because she feared they would spend all their money.
• Kitten learned that the checkpoints had been sealed, so the group pitched a tent and cooked mushroom soup in a secluded corner of the pass.
• At dawn, Kitten boasted to a boy about her adventures and pill-making skills, and the boy revealed that he had killed fifty-three people on the road.
• The boy asked Kitten to fight him so he could experience the gap between himself and a strong opponent, but Kitten refused, and Li Ping'an shifted away while pretending to sleep.

Little Girl, Li Ping'an, and Old Ox watched a demon assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, where the youth joined the defenders. At the pass's command hub, Qianlong told Zhao Ling'er that Li Ping'an had arrived and warned her that great demons were hunting powerful cultivators as she headed to battle.

• Little Girl served the hungry youth porridge and dried fish while Li Ping'an and Old Ox began their morning routine.
• Little Girl heard something below the wall, and Old Ox pulled her back just before a demon lunged up from the clouds and was knocked away by his hoof.
• The demon army launched an assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, and the youth left to join the battle after checking that Little Girl was safe.
• Li Ping'an said they could go out, and he and his companions began packing up.
• At the Wolf Guards' command hub, Qianlong told Zhao Ling'er that Li Ping'an had arrived and caught spies on the way.
• Zhao Ling'er headed for the central battlefield after Qianlong warned her that great demons were targeting Upper Third Realm cultivators.

The boy charged into battle but was rescued by the Bearded Man, while Li Ping'an carried Kitten and Old Ox through the Demon Army in search of the Extraterrestrial Demons. The Demon Race command tent noticed Li Ping'an’s lone advance and ordered the surrounding forces to kill him.

• The boy joined the charge at Demon-Suppressing Pass, fought Demon Race soldiers, and was saved from a hammer strike by Old Ox before the Bearded Man carried him back toward the pass.
• Li Ping'an flew through the battlefield with Kitten and Old Ox, evading attacks as Kitten insisted she was not afraid.
• Li Ping'an searched for the familiar aura of the Extraterrestrial Demons, suspecting their influence behind the unusual Demon Race offensive.
• Li Ping'an repelled a Seventh Realm Demon Race Sword Cultivator’s ambush, then used Old Ox to break through the encircling forces.
• A middle-aged jiao-bodied commander spotted Li Ping'an’s advance on the Sand Table and ordered the Demon Army to surround and kill him.

Li Ping'an escaped the demon army after searching for Extraterrestrial Demons, while Kitten lost her treasured shoulder bag and later got it back. At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Qianlong met Li Ping'an and asked how long he planned to stay.

• Li Ping'an rode Old Ox through the demon army, struck the Red Demon Ghost, and escaped back to Demon-Suppressing Pass without finding any Extraterrestrial Demons.
• Qianlong watched Li Ping'an's escape through a grain of sand and recognized him, while a middle-aged jiao-bodied man wondered who he was.
• Kitten mourned the loss of her shoulder bag, then found it beside her after Old Ox returned it despite being badly scorched and wounded.
• The next day, Kitten chose food at the beef stall while Old Ox looked on, and Qianlong introduced himself to Li Ping'an.
• Qianlong thanked Li Ping'an for dealing with the spies and asked how long he intended to stay; Li Ping'an said he did not know.