Arc 17Chapters 401–425
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Lu Changfeng uncovered an insider’s attempt to poison him and helped the Lu Family prepare for an assault by the Liu, Xu, and Puppet Artisan families. As the attack began, he fought Liu Xuanji above the Lu Residence while Jiang Yunhe prepared to strike, and Lu Yuening watched from hiding.
Lu Changfeng used the Seven Absences to evade a coordinated attack and killed Liu Xuanji with the Great Void Finger, leaving Dragon-Slaying City’s factions scrambling to submit. He rejected the city lordship for now and led the others toward the City Lord’s Residence to deal with Liu Song and inspect Guixu.
Lu Changfeng led Dragon-Slaying City's lineages into the City Lord's Residence, broke its protective formation, and summoned Liu Song back from Guixu. Liu Song emerged with treasures, then called forth a Longbo Giant to attack Lu Changfeng, whose fate remained unresolved as the axe fell.
Lu Changfeng agreed to help Qi Zhong and the Dragon Bo Tribe after Qi Zhong killed Liu Song and explained the tribe’s crisis. They descended into Guixu and reached Yuanjiao, where Lu Changfeng prepared to face the threat from the Bingyi Tribe and the Xuanming Ice Chi.
Lu Changfeng and Qi Zhong survived a Bingyi Tribe ambush after Lu Changfeng broke the ancient Heaven-Praying Formation, then learned that Geng Pu had betrayed the Longbo Tribe. They raced toward Mount Yuanjiao to reinforce the settlement before the Bingyi could capture it.
Qi Zhong and the three Longbo warriors defeated the Ice Yi invaders, killed Geng Pu and Yu Huang, and drove the survivors away. At the Ancestral Shrine, Lu Changfeng treated the gravely ill High Priest Huai Li and restored her to consciousness.
Lu Changfeng healed Huai Li and learned about the Longbo tribe and Hongfang from A Nian, who then demonstrated the Heaven-Praying Art on Mount Yuanjiao. He answered with his own rain spell, revealing how Central Lands spellcraft differed from Hongfang’s spiritual-qi-based arts.
Lu Changfeng and A Nian agreed to exchange Longbo Tribe cultivation knowledge for Central Lands hand-seal methods, then explored the tribe’s Stele Forest. Lu Changfeng became immersed in the Thunder Marsh Dance stele and saw its complete divine intent, leaving with a new understanding of the lightning method.
Lu Changfeng claimed the Dragon God Art, broke through to the middle stage of the Sixth Realm, and continued studying the Thunder Marsh Dance. After A Nian reported his trance to Huai Li and Qi Zhong, they recognized his affinity with the ancient thunder art and decided to give him access to every stele and seek his help against the Ice Chi without pressuring him.
Lu Changfeng mastered most of the Longbo Tribe’s martial arts while the Ice Yi Tribe remained ominously quiet. Bai Qianqian arrived seeking a cure for the Lovesickness Gu, but Huai Li refused to involve the tribe after recognizing the trap meant to draw Lu Changfeng into conflict with Yan Xiu.
Bai Qianqian sought Lu Changfeng’s help to break the Lovesickness Gu and protect Qingqiu from Yan Xiu, and Lu agreed to take her away from the Longbo settlement. He brought her to an abandoned hollow, where he used spellcraft to grow a sheltered home and invited her inside.
Lu Changfeng diagnosed Bai Qianqian's Lovesickness Gu and prepared to treat it while learning about Yan Xiu's influence and the Deathless Kingdom's long-lived clans. Bai Qianqian suggested Lu Changfeng could win Ji Xian's support by marrying into her clan, leaving him amused as he continued brewing medicine for her.
Lu Changfeng treated Bai Qianqian by using Shennong Qi to weaken the Lovesickness Gu, while Yan Xiu sensed the attempt from the Sweetwood ancestral grounds. Yan Xiu considered triggering the Gu, but Niji warned that doing so could drive Bai Qianqian into the physician’s arms.
Yan Xiu activated the Lovesickness Gu in Bai Qianqian and ordered Zang Tu to kill the physician who might remove it. In a mountain hollow, Lu Changfeng saw the mark on Bai Qianqian’s forehead flare red, realizing the gu had been triggered.
During treatment for the Lovesickness Gu, Bai Qianqian’s cultivation and desire erupted, and she lost control despite Lu Changfeng’s preparations. She kissed him and broke free of the heavy earth, leaving Lu Changfeng struggling as the Gu Poison surged back.
Lu Changfeng broke through the Eight-Direction Barrier after using the Yin-Yang Passage Chapter to stabilize his dual cultivation with Bai Qianqian. While he and Bai Qianqian remained away, the Ice Yi Tribe advanced on Mount Yuanjiao with the Ice Chi, and Huai Li ordered the Longbo Tribe to prepare for war.
The Bingyi Tribe attacked the Longbo Tribe with Ice Chi’s support, overwhelming the defenders at the stockade. Huai Li began the Thunder Marsh Dance to turn the battle, but as Ice Chi descended on the altar, she was struggling to complete it.
Huai Li wounded the Ice Chi with a final lightning strike, but it nearly killed her before a White Phantom Dragon arrived and turned the battle. A Nian received a Great Restoration Pill from Lu Changfeng as Huai Li lay near death.
Lu Changfeng returned to Mount Yuanjiao, saved Huai Li with a Great Restoration Pill, and defeated Ice Chi with the ninth sequence of the Thunder Marsh Dance. With Ice Chi wounded and its power fading, the Longbo Tribe launched a counterattack that killed Fang Kui and routed the Ice Yi Tribe.
Lu Changfeng helped the Longbo Tribe defeat the Ice Yi Tribe and accepted the Ice Chi’s head and essence as thanks. He arranged passage with Bai Yu to Mount Daiyu and the Deathless Kingdom, where he intended to seek protection from Yan Xiu.
After celebrating the Ice Chi’s defeat with the Longbo Tribe, Lu Changfeng returned to Bai Qianqian and told her they would travel to the Deathless Kingdom in ten days. He reassured her that he was not pursuing Ji Xian and affirmed his affection for her.
Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian left the Longbo Tribe and boarded an Immortal Craft bound for the Laomin Kingdom, beginning their journey toward the Deathless Kingdom. The craft sailed into a sea of clouds as Mount Yuanjiao disappeared behind them.
As the Immortal Craft carried Lu Changfeng and Bai Qianqian toward Mount Daiyu, a Sea-Crossing Whale Salamander attacked the ship. Lu Changfeng killed it with three axe strikes, but a Featherfolk arrived and praised his technique.
Lu Changfeng met the Featherfolk hunter Yun Lou aboard the Immortal Craft and learned about Ji Xian’s four trials for choosing a husband. In Southern Mo, Ji Xian turned away the Qingqiu Fox Clan’s plea for refuge but became intrigued by a prophecy that her destined match was approaching.
Lu Changfeng beat Yun Lou at Go and learned more about Ji Xian’s loneliness, then parted from Yun Lou at the Laomin Kingdom’s shore and continued toward Jade Splendor Mount Hua with Bai Qianqian. After they left, Yun Lou secretly sent Ji Xian a letter reporting what he had seen and heard.