Recaps

Li Yingling supported Cui Hao’s assignments behind the scenes while preparing Zhang Miaoyu to help expose Second Junior Brother. Winter Melon recognized that Cui Hao had become an exceptionally capable operative, leaving him buried in work.

• Li Yingling learned that Cui Hao was handling a wide range of tasks for Winter Melon and used Great Dao Sect resources to make those assignments possible.
• Zhang Miaoyu returned to Li Yingling and doubted she could manage an important task because of her Golden Core abilities.
• Li Yingling showed Zhang Miaoyu instructions to sabotage Second Junior Brother’s plan, leave evidence that could withstand scrutiny, and spread rumors that would improve Zhang Miaoyu’s reputation.
• Cui Hao complained to Winter Melon that he was exhausted from handling all her work, and Winter Melon reflected on how reliably he completed every task.
• Winter Melon concluded that Cui Hao was a top talent at getting things done.

Cui Hao challenged Winter Melon over her dangerous assignment and argued that they should make their superiors invest in a promising plan rather than risk their lives for nothing. Winter Melon accepted his proposal, leaving Watermelon worried that Cui Hao was driving a wedge between them.

• Winter Melon asked Cui Hao about his assignment, and he admitted he had gone away to relax and done nothing.
• Cui Hao argued that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could not take on the Nascent Soul Realm Blood Qi Evil Cultivator and accused Winter Melon of sending him to his death.
• Cui Hao called Half a Watermelon into the room and urged Winter Melon to make her superiors pay a price by promising them enticing benefits.
• Watermelon recognized the appeal of Cui Hao's proposal but suspected it was a divisive tactic.
• Winter Melon praised Cui Hao's knack for getting things done and promised he would receive his due credit and rewards, while Waterman's expression fell.

Cui Hao persuaded Winter Melon to follow his plan, while Watermelon warned him that Cui Hao was manipulating them and then accepted Winter Melon’s choice to survive. Back at Stillbone Forest, Cui Hao reported his progress to Lin Luoyu and Li Xingtian, and he anticipated that Winter Melon would act within days and that he would soon face Eldest Senior Sister.

• Cui Hao left Winter Melon after planting doubts about their superiors’ orders and using him as bait to draw out hidden forces.
• Watermelon warned Winter Melon that Cui Hao’s plan could divide them, but Winter Melon admitted he wanted to live, and Watermelon agreed to let him proceed.
• At Stillbone Forest, Li Xingtian told Lin Luoyu that Elder Zhang Miaoyu was expected to arrive in a few days and that Master was investigating something with Yuyang Daozi.
• Cui Hao told Lin Luoyu that Winter Melon had accepted the plan, while Watermelon was unlikely to change his mind or send word easily.
• Cui Hao sought Li Xingtian’s support for his extensive requests to Eldest Senior Sister, then estimated that Winter Melon would act in a few days and that he would face Eldest Senior Sister in about ten days.

Winter Melon falsely reported that the evil cultivators possessed a Heavenfall to secure reinforcements from her superiors. Afterward, Watermelon was questioned about her claims and cautiously undermined them while trying to protect her.

• Winter Melon told the clay statue that the evil cultivators might have obtained Wuxuan Temple's lost Heavenfall and asked for reinforcements.
• Winter Melon admitted she had no concrete evidence, but claimed Cui Hao would stake his life on the intelligence and had a Dharma Method.
• The clay statue promised to adjust deployments, ordered Winter Melon to investigate further, and offered Heaven Beyond Heaven as a reward if the Heavenfall was real.
• Winter Melon left, privately admitting that the Heavenfall report was fabricated and that she only hoped to survive the mission.
• Watermelon told the old wooden puppet he had no evidence for Winter Melon's claim and suggested Cui Hao might have deceived her.
• The old wooden puppet gave an ambiguous response as Watermelon reflected that his death could leave Winter Melon free to act.

Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi tracked the Evil Cultivators to a mountain region and debated how to deal with them, while Winter Melon prepared to lead an attack despite the danger. Watermelon warned Winter Melon not to trust Cui Hao, and left reassured that she was still thinking clearly.

• Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin discussed attacking the Evil Cultivators’ mountain hideout, while Yuyang Daozi warned that they might escape if the sects acted too bluntly.
• Chu Xingchen proposed sending a few survivors back under an illusion so they could be studied, and Xu Jin left the arrangements to him.
• Three days after Watermelon’s report, Winter Melon began personally planning the operation against the Evil Cultivator as Cui Hao’s proposals came under her control.
• Watermelon warned Winter Melon not to trust Cui Hao and urged her to make her own plan and prepare for betrayal and retreat.
• Winter Melon told Watermelon she had only pretended to play dumb with Cui Hao, then thanked him for not exposing her; Waterman left reassured.

Winter Melon led an assault on Li Xingtian at the Stillbone Forest, but he quickly overpowered her and nearly killed Half a Watermelon as he shielded her. A masked stranger arrived and blasted Li Xingtian’s blood blade apart, leaving Li Xingtian facing a figure who claimed he smelled delicious.

• Winter Melon waited for reinforcements that never appeared, then ordered her cultivators to attack the Stillbone Forest.
• Winter Melon and her forces cut through Li Xingtian’s weaker evil cultivators before Li Xingtian emerged to confront her.
• Li Xingtian struck Winter Melon into a crater and prepared a blood blade to finish her.
• Half a Watermelon intercepted the blood blade to protect Winter Melon, but the attack began corroding his remaining arm.
• A masked stranger blasted Li Xingtian’s blood blade apart and said Li Xingtian looked delicious.

Yuyang Daozi intervened to protect Li Xingtian, exposing Cui Hao’s betrayal of Winter Melon’s group. Winter Melon tried to flee, but a masked force led by an Integrated Body cultivator arrived and demanded that Yuyang Daozi withdraw; he refused with contempt.

• Chu Xingchen sent Yuyang Daozi to support Li Xingtian while he stayed back to provide cover.
• Yuyang Daozi punched the eerie masked attacker away from Li Xingtian and blasted him with lightning.
• Winter Melon realized Cui Hao had betrayed her and ordered a planted Golden Core cultivator to kill him, but the cultivator obeyed Cui Hao instead.
• Watermelon urged Winter Melon to flee, and she tried to take him with her.
• More than a dozen masked cultivators arrived, led by a goat-masked Integrated Body cultivator who demanded Yuyang Daozi withdraw.
• Yuyang Daozi mocked the masked cultivators as lowlife trash unworthy of bargaining with him.

Winter Melon chose to return to the battle despite knowing the Heavenfall intelligence was fabricated, hoping to prove her worth and survive. As Yuyang Daozi kept the Sixteen Top Candidates occupied, Sheep Mask left to search Stillbone Forest with Winter Melon, while one of the fighters behind them fell.

• Winter Melon refused Watermelon's plea to flee and charged back toward the battlefield, determined to fight for her own chance to survive.
• Yuyang Daozi used his powerful abilities, Dharma Treasures, and Talismans to hold off the Sixteen Top Candidates despite their numbers.
• Winter Melon urged Sheep Mask to focus on the mission and search for the treasure in Stillbone Forest.
• Sheep Mask left the battle with Winter Melon to investigate Stillbone Forest, and an aura of Origin vanished behind them as they flew away.

Sheep Mask attacked Li Xingtian, but Chu Xingchen arrived and drove him off while Cui Hao and Li Xingtian confronted Winter Melon. As Winter Melon escaped with Pig Mask, they discovered that a powerful formation had destroyed Hundred-Li Flowing Clouds, and Pig Mask revealed that the power behind it did not belong to their side.

• Sheep Mask rushed Li Xingtian, but Chu Xingchen answered Li Xingtian’s signal and attacked him with Myriad Forms.
• Chu Xingchen overwhelmed Sheep Mask, who fled toward Winter Melon, while Cui Hao told Winter Melon she could still escape.
• Pig Mask grabbed Winter Melon and fled through space as Li Xingtian and Cui Hao let them go.
• Pig Mask and Winter Melon reached Hundred-Li Flowing Clouds and saw it surrounded by a vast, formidable formation.
• Pig Mask told Winter Melon that the formation’s power was not theirs, then the formation activated and flattened Hundred-Li Flowing Clouds.

After the Dongsheng Shenzhou headquarters was destroyed, Winter Melon and Pig Mask fled while Xu Jin prepared a search. At Stillbone Forest, Cui Hao questioned the captured Watermelon, who revealed his loyalty to someone in Heaven Beyond Heaven, and Chu Xingchen watched his disciples recover from the battle.

• Winter Melon realized the Dongsheng Shenzhou headquarters had been destroyed and urged Pig Mask to flee before powerful cultivators found them.
• Xu Jin refused to pursue Winter Melon and Pig Mask, ordering his people to prepare a search after the formation ended.
• At Stillbone Forest, the victors captured the remaining enemies, who detonated their Origin power; Half a Watermelon survived because his Meridians, Sea of Consciousness, and Spiritual Power had been sealed.
• Cui Hao questioned Watermelon about why he had failed to warn Winter Melon, and Watermelon said he wanted to die so the person he cared about in Heaven Beyond Heaven would not be implicated.
• Cui Hao rejoined Li Xingtian and Lin Luoyu, while Chu Xingchen watched them and threatened Yuyang Daozi for criticizing his disciples.

Xie Lingyu coordinated the three sects while Chu Xingchen returned from the operation and invited everyone to celebrate at Yuyang Daozi’s expense. At the same time, Chen Baiqing visited Li Yingling, who warned her to prioritize command and caution while cleanup continued.

• Xie Lingyu opened the doors and found Chu Xingchen trying to coax Cui Hao inside, while Lin Luoyu, Li Xingtian, Yuyang Daozi, and Xu Jin watched.
• Chu Xingchen reported that the operation had gone smoothly and said he would check on Yingling and Miao Yu’s cleanup work later.
• Chu Xingchen announced that Yuyang Daozi would pay for the celebration, and Cui Hao and Xu Jin requested expensive food, wine, and dancers.
• Chen Baiqing visited Li Yingling, who complained that Cui Hao’s requests had created extra work for her.
• Chen Baiqing explained that Cui Hao had expected the Great Dao Sect to handle most of the tasks, and Li Yingling advised her to focus on commanding and remain cautious.

Winter Melon and Pig Mask debated whether they had been deliberately spared after the Dongsheng Shenzhou headquarters was destroyed, until Chen Baiqing appeared and urged them to act as a smokescreen for a suspected high-ranking traitor. After secretly deceiving them with a claim that she served Vulture Peak, Chen Baiqing left and concluded that Vulture Peak was likely involved with Demons.

• Winter Melon confronted Pig Mask for taking her in circles, and he explained that their comrades were probably dead and that they would not return to headquarters.
• Pig Mask told Winter Melon that they had to die for the safety of the remaining Demon organization, leaving her despairing beneath a tree.
• Chen Baiqing and two bronze-masked cultivators approached the pair, and she assured them they were clean and had survived because her side had kept them alive.
• Chen Baiqing claimed that a high-ranking traitor had exposed the headquarters and told Winter Melon and Pig Mask to act as a smokescreen, then said they could seek help at Vulture Peak.
• After leaving under concealment, Chen Baiqing told her companion to inform her master that Vulture Peak was likely involved with Demons.

Cui Hao entertained Sandong and Qinghe with an increasingly exaggerated tale about infiltrating an evil cultivator organization, while Lin Luoyu let him continue. Li Yingling returned and challenged his story, leaving Cui Hao to claim that her planning had made the mission possible.

• Cui Hao recounted his supposed dangerous encounters with Watermelon and Winter Melon, impressing Sandong with his tale.
• Qinghe and Lin Luoyu listened as Cui Hao described infiltrating Golden Core evil cultivators while he was only at Foundation Establishment.
• Li Yingling returned with Chen Baiqing, Chu Xingchen, and Zhang Miaoyu, then interrupted Cui Hao and asked how he had completed the mission.
• Li Yingling revealed that the evil cultivator organization had been a sham made up of their own people, and that Cui Hao had merely gone in for tea.
• Cui Hao abandoned his boast and credited Li Yingling's wisdom, while Sandong looked confused about his earlier claim that he had managed alone.

Li Yingling reunited with her fellow disciples at the Deep Pool and announced a sect-wide gathering for that night. The gathering was set to begin with Li Xingtian away roaming.

• The sect members gathered at the Deep Pool while Chen Baiqing brewed tea and Cui Hao apologized to Li Yingling for leaving work to her.
• Li Yingling accepted Chu Xingchen’s reminder to forgive Cui Hao, gave him a light kick, and welcomed him back into the sect.
• Li Yingling greeted Sandong, Lin Luoyu, and Zhou Ping, sharing candied fruit and promising to spend time with Lin Luoyu.
• Sandong hoped Li Yingling’s return would bring a gathering, and Li Yingling asked everyone whether they were free that night.
• Everyone agreed to attend, and Li Yingling announced that the Sixty-Third Sect-Wide Gathering would begin that night.

After Li Yingling settled back into life at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge, Chu Xingchen spent a month handling occasional intelligence from the Heavenly Derivation Sect. Xu Jin and Yuyang Daozi then arrived at the sect, where Qinghe escorted them to Chu Xingchen and discovered Yuyang was another Core Disciple.

• Li Yingling relaxed her cultivation after returning and spent time chatting with Chen Baiqing and Master, while Qinghe continued spending time with Xie Lingyu and Cui Hao.
• Chu Xingchen stayed in contact with Yan Yun about developments in Dongsheng Shenzhou but was not needed to handle them directly.
• A month later, Xu Jin and Yuyang Daozi arrived at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge and Xu Jin knocked on the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array.
• Qinghe recognized Xu Jin, let the visitors inside, and offered to take them to Chu Xingchen.
• Yuyang Daozi called Qinghe a flood dragon and identified himself as Yuyang of the Great Dao Sect, leaving Qinghe surprised to learn he was another Core Disciple.

Wukong met Guangming Buddha in Gilded Sand and questioned him about the state of the Buddhist Sect and Leiyin Temple. Guangming Buddha urged Wukong to investigate alongside Xu Jin and Chu Xingchen, leaving him with a prayer bead to introduce himself.

• Wukong searched Gilded Sand for Guangming Buddha, challenging him about whether Leiyin Temple and its Buddhas remained true to their former nature.
• Guangming Buddha explained that cultivation rank did not make someone a true Buddha, and showed Wukong how greed had corrupted the Buddhist Sect.
• Guangming Buddha advised Wukong to leave the confusion surrounding the sect and investigate with Xu Jin and Chu Xingchen of the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect.
• Guangming Buddha gave Wukong a white prayer bead to present to Xu Jin and Chu Xingchen as proof that Guangming had sent him.
• Wukong accepted the bead and questioned how Guangming had dared to meet him in person, and Guangming revealed that he had once been the foremost Buddhist Child.

Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin confronted Chu Xingchen for leaving them to finish their work, but Spring Warmth soon brought them back to friendly terms. At the Deep Pool, Cui Hao cheered up Qinghe by presenting her connection to two sects as an advantage, then urged her to face the visiting Buddhist Child, Wukong.

• Yuyang Daozi scolded Chu Xingchen for abandoning him and Xu Jin after asking for their help.
• Chu Xingchen served Spring Warmth and invited Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin to stay until they had their fill.
• Qinghe complained to Cui Hao that others had called her Chu Xingchen's Flood Dragon.
• Cui Hao persuaded Qinghe that being associated with both Zhujifeng Peak and Chu Xingchen's sect gave her powerful backing.
• When the Buddhist Child, Wukong, arrived, Cui Hao urged Qinghe to show off her backing, and she flew to the main gate.

Wukong visited Chu Xingchen at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge to ask about the Buddhist Sect’s use of wish power. Chu Xingchen let him enter under the grand array’s pressure, and Wukong began asking whether the sect was secretly raising something.

• Wukong examined Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge’s Mountain-Guarding Grand Array and concluded its methods resembled those used by the Eighteen Immortal Sects.
• Qinghe questioned Wukong at the array before Chu Xingchen, Yuyang Daozi, and Xu Jin appeared to meet him.
• Chu Xingchen warned Wukong that he might refuse to answer and that Xu Jin could kill him, until Wukong showed a prayer bead from Guangming Buddha.
• Chu Xingchen recognized the bead, accepted Wukong as a guest, and opened the array, which then pressed down on Wukong as he entered.
• On the way to the Main Hall, Wukong asked where the Buddhist Sect’s wish power went, why it needed so much, and whether someone within the sect was secretly raising something.
• Wukong explained that investigating the Buddhist Sect himself would only show him information deliberately prepared for him.

Chu Xingchen questioned Wukong about the Buddhist Sect’s suspected demon-raising and tested whether he would oppose it. Wukong declared he would stop any calamity, even if that meant tearing down Great Thunderclap Temple, and Chu Xingchen sent him to investigate Winter Melon.

• Chu Xingchen reviewed Wukong’s traits and resolved not to reveal the core details of the investigation.
• Chu Xingchen told Wukong that the group had suspected demons were imprisoned beneath Right Sound Dharma Temple and that the Buddhist Sect used wish power to raise them.
• Wukong challenged Chu Xingchen’s claims for direct evidence, and Chu Xingchen rebuked him over the difference in their standing.
• Chu Xingchen asked whether Wukong would oppose the Buddhist Sect if it claimed the demons had reformed, and Wukong said he would not let even a small chance of calamity go unchecked.
• Wukong said rotten things like Great Thunderclap Temple could be torn down, and Chu Xingchen gave him a report on Winter Melon to investigate without support.

Wukong left after meeting Chu Xingchen, who impressed him with his control of the sect and a memorable cup of tea. At the Deep Pool, Cui Hao persuaded Qinghe that being tricked by Chu Xingchen meant good fortune, and Chen Baiqing joined in by getting Qinghe to volunteer for more work.

• Chu Xingchen gave Wukong a cup of tea, and Wukong was surprised by its comforting taste but left without asking for another.
• Wukong left the sect formation and decided to investigate Winter Melon for himself.
• Cui Hao convinced Qinghe that Chu Xingchen taking advantage of her meant he would later reward her with something good.
• Chen Baiqing listened as Cui Hao strung Qinghe along, then accepted Qinghe’s offer to keep working for the sect.
• Cui Hao realized Chen Baiqing was stringing Qinghe along too.

Lü Xuan checked on Bai Xuanling after her seventh tribulation and found her determined to leave Pearl-Gem Peak despite her unstable aura. At Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge, Chu Xingchen hosted Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin until an urgent message forced Xu Jin to return to the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect.

• Lü Xuan visited Bai Xuanling after her seventh tribulation and found her calm, though her aura was unstable.
• Bai Xuanling rejected Lü Xuan's concerns about her health and insisted she would rather die pursuing her goals than live as a legend in hiding.
• Bai Xuanling read an Information Jade Slip about Chu Xingchen, then left the Heavenly Derivation Sect after asking Lü Xuan to withdraw the people who no longer needed to stay.
• Chu Xingchen welcomed Yuyang Daozi and Xu Jin with a banquet, Spring Warmth, and several relaxed days at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge.
• Xu Jin received an urgent message from the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and hurried back, while Yuyang Daozi remarked that there was no time to rest once the storm began.

Li Xingtian considered how to explore a dangerous secret realm hidden in the hill by Jiaxiang Town and decided to seek reliable companions before calling on the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect. A veiled cultivator arrived at the winery, recognized him as the one who had entered the secret realm, and Li Xingtian realized he knew her as a witch he despised.

• Li Xingtian visited a winery in Jiaxiang Town and examined its unusually cold Cold-Bottle Wine.
• Li Xingtian recalled how others had repeatedly claimed secret-realm treasures before he could reach them, and he planned to explore this realm without attracting attention.
• Li Xingtian judged the secret realm to be dangerous for his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation and considered recruiting companions, including Lin Luoyu or cultivators from two sects.
• Li Xingtian decided to seek reliable people first and summon the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect only if their help proved insufficient.
• A veiled woman entered the winery, recognized Li Xingtian as the cultivator who had entered the hill's secret realm, and Li Xingtian identified her familiar voice as belonging to a witch he despised.

Li Xingtian encountered Xu Linglong, the woman who had once drained him of his spiritual energy, and agreed to explore a secret realm with her while concealing his desire for revenge. After he left, Xu Linglong compelled the waiter to drink the remaining wine until he collapsed.

• Xu Linglong introduced herself and proposed that she and Li Xingtian split the secret realm's spoils, and Li Xingtian agreed.
• Xu Linglong drank to their partnership, but Li Xingtian refused the wine and told her his name.
• Xu Linglong removed her veil, and Li Xingtian recognized her as the woman he had long wanted to find and avenge himself upon.
• Li Xingtian arranged to meet Xu Linglong in two days and left, promising he never lied.
• Xu Linglong ordered the waiter to drink all the wine, and he gulped down nearly two jars before collapsing.

Li Xingtian met Chu Xingchen and a large group of reinforcements, then arranged to explore a Secret Realm with Xu Linglong. Xu Linglong prepared to use the expedition to pursue her hidden objectives, and the two set off on their meeting with their intentions still concealed.

• Li Xingtian arrived at the meeting place and found Chu Xingchen, Li Yingling, and Yuyang Daozi with a group of reinforcements.
• Chu Xingchen explained that he had used a Teleportation Array and Yuyang Daozi’s help to bring experts, then teased Li Xingtian about Xu Linglong.
• Xu Linglong discussed Li Xingtian’s fortune and blood qi with a hidden ally, identifying Chu Xingchen as a likely target and refusing to be ordered around.
• Xu Linglong monitored Jiaxiang Town for two days, confirmed no one else had arrived, and approached Li Xingtian outside a tavern.
• Li Xingtian and Xu Linglong exchanged cheerful greetings as they prepared to explore the Secret Realm.

Li Xingtian followed Xu Linglong into the Secret Realm, where she revealed that Cloudglow True Lord was buried in its depths. At the tomb, Chu Xingchen ambushed Xu Linglong, while Li Xingtian fled and left her wondering whether to curse or praise him.

• Li Xingtian followed Xu Linglong through the pool into the Secret Realm as his master and Yuyang Daozi waited inside with an encirclement prepared.
• Xu Linglong identified the buried mighty figure as Cloudglow True Lord and activated the coiled-dragon Formation Base to enter the actual tomb.
• Xu Linglong and Li Xingtian found a coffin suspended above four mountains, where Chu Xingchen appeared in a Monkey Mask and called the tomb his own.
• Chu Xingchen attacked Xu Linglong with a wisp of brilliant blue, sending her crashing into a mountain despite her defensive strike.
• Xu Linglong noticed Li Xingtian had fled and wondered whether to curse him for abandoning her or praise him for escaping without trouble.