Recaps

Li Junzi reflected on why she had entered the Western Ox-He Continent and resolved to seek help for it at Right Sound Dharma Temple. At Jinshan Zhao, Chu Xingchen told Yan Yun that the tomb at Bodhisattva Man had been designed to use a lost Rules Crystal to resurrect a fallen Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.

• Li Junzi thanked her companions and said she would continue toward Right Sound Dharma Temple while they rested and went their separate ways.
• Li Junzi recalled seeing refugees flee the Western Ox-He Continent, realizing the scale of its devastation, and deciding to do what she could to help.
• Chu Xingchen returned to Jinshan Zhao, where Yan Yun asked how he had lost Xu Jin and Bai Xuanling.
• Chu Xingchen explained that he, Bai Xuanling, and Xu Jin had explored the tomb at Bodhisattva Man and discovered a ritual connected to the barrier over the Endless Sea.
• Xu Jin copied the formation three times, and Bai Xuanling determined that its missing core had been a Rules Crystal with flesh-and-spirit attributes.
• Bai Xuanling concluded that the formation had gathered blood qi and spiritual power to rebuild the dead cultivator’s body and spiritual essence, potentially bringing them back to life.

Chu Xingchen examined the failed Secret Realm plot and accepted Xu Linglong’s challenge to deal with the Buddhist Sect’s demons in the Western Ox-He Continent. He reunited with his disciples and promised Cui Hao a warm-handed lesson.

• Chu Xingchen recognized that Xu Linglong had left Dao Resonance behind to force him to distinguish the Buddhist Sect’s demons from its monsters, and he agreed to handle the affair.
• Bai Xuanling sealed the remaining Dao Resonance, and Xu Jin accompanied her back to Central Province so the three sects could study it.
• Yan Yun told Chu Xingchen that Lingyu had reached Nascent Soul Perfection and was coming to the Western Ox-He Continent, then urged him to guide her through her next breakthrough.
• Yan Yun described her Dao as grasping the myriad threads of heaven’s secrets, while Chu Xingchen described his as accepting that all things were fate.
• Chu Xingchen joined Cui Hao, Li Yingling, Li Xingtian, and Lin Luoyu in the courtyard, then teased Cui Hao about teaching him a lesson with his big hand.

At Right Sound Dharma Temple, Yuyang Daozi spoke with the former abbot about the calamity and Chen Baiqing, while the old monk questioned how she had become so devoted to her master. Chen Baiqing confronted him, then sent Yuyang to meet an important visitor from Junzi Mountain and promised the monk that her master would hear his accusations from her directly.

• Yuyang Daozi waited as the former abbot contemplated a Go stone, then questioned him about his wager with Chen Baiqing, his past, and the calamity in the Western Ox-He Continent.
• The old monk asked where Yuyang had met Chen Baiqing and how he had subdued her; Yuyang explained that she was his friend's disciple and praised her as a good young woman influenced by her master.
• The old monk speculated that Chen Baiqing might have become a demoness without her master, and Chen Baiqing entered the hall and rebuked him for discussing her behind her back.
• Chen Baiqing told Yuyang that an important person from Junzi Mountain was approaching and asked him to meet them personally; Yuyang recognized who she meant and left.
• Chen Baiqing accused the old monk of trying to warn her master against her and said he would get the chance to call her a demoness to her master's face.

Li Junzi and Yun Chuan encountered Chen Baiqing and Yuyang Daozi while traveling through the Demon Beast crisis toward Right Sound Dharma Temple. There, they found a massive coalition of powerful cultivators assembled, leaving Yun Chuan wondering why so many great sects had come to Western Ox-He Continent.

• Yun Chuan and Li Junzi fought off Demon Beasts, which fled past them as if pursued by something terrifying.
• Yun Chuan prepared to scout ahead, but Chen Baiqing and Yuyang Daozi arrived from Right Sound Dharma Temple and reassured the group.
• Chen Baiqing examined Li Junzi, then invited her and her companions to rest at Right Sound Dharma Temple.
• Yuyang Daozi carried the group to the temple, where Yun Chuan saw hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, Spirit Transformation cultivators, and many Great Dao Sect disciples protecting refugees.
• Yuyang Daozi told Li Junzi that Chu Xingchen had led the response and that the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and Heavenly Derivation Sect had also come in full force.
• Yun Chuan wondered whether the great sects’ arrival in Buddhist territory meant they were preparing for war against the Buddhist Sect.

Yuyang Daozi brought the group to the Great Hero Hall, where Li Junzi met an old monk who recognized her Broken Pen and claimed to have known the Second Sage. When Chu Xingchen arrived and learned that something had happened to Chen Baiqing, he attacked the monk and destroyed half the hall.

• Yuyang Daozi rebuked the old monk and warned Li Junzi not to engage with him, but the monk recognized her Broken Pen and greeted it as an old acquaintance.
• Li Junzi bowed to the monk out of respect for his seniority, while Yuyang Daozi accused him of shamelessly claiming connections and ordered him aside.
• Yuyang Daozi led everyone into the Great Hero Hall to wait out the lingering turmoil, and Chen Baiqing served tea while telling Li Junzi that Chu Xingchen and Fourth Junior Sister were coming.
• Chu Xingchen arrived with Fourth Junior Sister and Second Senior Brother, then questioned Yuyang Daozi after noticing Chen Baiqing’s lowered head.
• Yuyang Daozi directed Chu Xingchen to the old monk, and Chu Xingchen transformed Myriad Forms into azure light and destroyed half of the Great Hero Hall.

Chu Xingchen confronted an old monk who had sensed that Chen Baiqing was a Demoness no longer bound by heaven and earth. After Li Xingtian and Lin Luoyu helped him wound the monk, Chu Xingchen defended his disciple and reassured her that he would always stand by her.

• Li Xingtian and Lin Luoyu joined Chu Xingchen in attacking the old monk, whose Buddha light could not stop Chu Xingchen’s Myriad Forms from piercing his shoulder.
• Chu Xingchen asked whether the old monk accepted the sword strike, and the monk agreed before explaining that he had sensed Chen Baiqing might be a Demoness.
• Chu Xingchen rejected the monk’s concern about Chen Baiqing’s nature and said she should be free if he were gone, while any consequences belonged at his door.
• The old monk apologized, and Chu Xingchen withdrew Myriad Forms and returned to Chen Baiqing.
• Chu Xingchen mussed Chen Baiqing’s hair, pinched her cheek, and told her, “Master is here.”

Chu Xingchen reunited Li Junzi with Lin Luoyu and arranged for Li Junzi’s group to rest before questioning the old monk about the token of Guangming Buddha. He asked the monk to help Radiance Buddha, and the chapter ended with the monk agreeing to hear the request.

• Chu Xingchen gave the old monk the token of Guangming Buddha, then greeted Li Junzi and reunited her with Lin Luoyu.
• Chu Xingchen sent Chen Baiqing to arrange food and lodging for Li Junzi and her companions, while Lin Luoyu stayed to catch up with her teacher.
• Chu Xingchen thanked Yun Chuan and the others for looking after Li Junzi, then teased Yuyang Daozi about Lin Luoyu being mistreated.
• Chu Xingchen asked the old monk whether Radiance Buddha had sent him to find him, then asked whether he would help Radiance Buddha with a task.
• After Chu Xingchen pretended to leave, the old monk stopped him and agreed to hear what he had to say.

Wukong reached the ruined Right Sound Dharma Temple and used his connection to Chu Xingchen to gain entry past the Great Dao Sect’s guards. Inside, he met Ru Zhong Buddha, who unexpectedly asked whether Wukong knew Chu Xingchen.

• Wukong found the Right Sound Dharma Temple surrounded by powerful formations and guarded by Great Dao Sect cultivators.
• Wukong identified himself as Buddhist Child Wukong and asked to inspect the temple, but the leading disciple initially refused him entry.
• Wukong said he knew Chu Xingchen, and the leading disciple let him pass after receiving a message.
• Wukong and the Buddhist cultivators crossed the guarded refugee encampments and entered the ruined temple.
• Wukong found Ru Zhong Buddha praying alone in the half-destroyed Great Hero Hall.
• Ru Zhong Buddha asked Wukong whether he knew Chu Xingchen, leaving Wukong astonished.

Wukong met Buddha Ruzhong at the ruined Right Sound Dharma Temple, where Ruzhong ordered the Buddhist cultivators accompanying him to stay and work while Wukong continued his assignment alone. Outside, Chu Xingchen claimed Wukong owed him eight favors for invoking his name at the temple’s eight formations and said he had a small matter for Wukong to handle.

• Wukong told Buddha Ruzhong that the Great Thunderclap Temple wanted to know why he had not intervened, and Ruzhong said he had lost three wagers and would answer for the consequences himself.
• Wukong asked whether Ruzhong would help if trouble arose on the Western Ox-He Continent, and Ruzhong agreed only if he was able.
• Ruzhong ordered the Buddhist cultivators accompanying Wukong to stay and work at the Right Sound Dharma Temple, refusing Wukong’s offer to stay in their place.
• Ruzhong used his Buddha light to eject Wukong from the Great Hero Hall and shut the doors, leaving Wukong to depart alone.
• Chu Xingchen confronted Wukong outside the temple and claimed he owed eight favors for using Chu Xingchen’s name to pass through eight formations.
• Wukong accepted the debt after Chu Xingchen threatened to use his name in return, and Chu Xingchen said he had a small matter for Wukong to handle.

Chu Xingchen persuaded Wukong to seek out Guangming Buddha and use Mahayana Buddhism to reform the Buddhist Sect from within, then prepared to leave with Chen Baiqing. Back at the temple, Li Yingling ordered Cui Hao to write a hundred-thousand-word account praising her.

• Chu Xingchen showed Wukong the rebuilt Right Sound Dharma Temple and argued that the Buddhist Sect's silence had helped worsen conditions across the Western Ox-He Continent.
• Chu Xingchen urged Wukong to find Guangming Buddha and persuade him to use Mahayana Buddhism to dismantle the Buddhist Sect from within, and Wukong agreed to try.
• Wukong departed into the Western Ox-He Continent, and Yuyang Daozi asked Chu Xingchen whether the monks could be trusted.
• Chu Xingchen said they had to try and announced he would take Chen Baiqing with him, while Yuyang Daozi pretended not to mind losing her help.
• Cui Hao complained that Chu Xingchen had not brought him along, and Li Yingling reminded him of his hundred-thousand-word piece belittling her.
• Li Yingling ordered Cui Hao to write a hundred thousand words praising her, and he accepted while planning to make the praise unbearably flattering.

At Great Thunderclap Temple, the Buddhas debated Buddhist Child Wukong’s disappearance until a report revealed that Guangming Buddha had founded a rival faith, possibly with Wukong’s involvement. Ru Nan ordered the Buddhist Sect to cross the Pudu River, and the temple’s bell rang as its Arhats and Buddhas set out.

• Eighth-Turn True Buddha urged the Buddhas to act because Buddhist Child Wukong had been out of contact for months.
• Liu Peng True Buddha proposed sending Wukong a letter and waiting two days, while Shi Yun Buddha suggested Wukong might want to leave the Buddhist Sect.
• Hua Wu argued that Wukong’s Buddhist upbringing made defection unlikely, and Ru Nan agreed to send a letter while preserving some trust in him.
• An Arhat delivered a report stating that Guangming Buddha had established a rival faith, the three sects were tacitly supporting him, and Wukong might be involved.
• Eighth-Turn True Buddha and Shi Yun Buddha urged immediate action, and Ru Nan ordered the Buddhist Sect to cross the river without letting hardship stop them.
• The Buddhist Chime Bell rang, and the Arhats and Buddhas departed Great Thunderclap Temple for the Pudu River.

Chu Xingchen met Huang Miao beside the Pudu River, where they shared roasted skewers and Spring Warmth while discussing the Buddhist Sect’s response to the Mahayana dispute. As Venerable Buddha Ru Nan arrived with the Buddhas, Huang Miao revealed his former name, Huang Butui, and prepared to face them.

• Yuangu i True Buddha learned that Venerable Buddha Ru Nan was leading the Buddhas from the Great Thunderclap Temple toward the Pudu River.
• Chu Xingchen and Huang Miao roasted skewers together and discussed the Mahayana dispute and the Buddhist Sect’s response.
• Chu Xingchen shared his remaining Spring Warmth with Huang Miao, and the two watched the Buddhist procession approach.
• Huang Miao revealed that he was once known as Huang Butui and flew to the river’s center to confront the approaching Buddhas.
• Ru Nan challenged Huang Miao, and Huang Miao’s Spirit Sword struck at the procession before Ru Nan repelled it.
• Huang Miao summoned his sword back and declared that it would answer Ru Nan’s accusation.

Ru Nan confronted Huang Miao at the Pudu River, but Bai Xuanling arrived to support him and block the Buddhist Sect. Chu Xingchen then challenged Ru Nan over the Evil Buddha and hinted that he knew more about abnormalities within the Buddhist Sect, asking whether Ru Nan wanted to hear it.

• Ru Nan demanded to cross the Pudu River, and Huang Miao declared that he and the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect would stop him.
• Bai Xuanling appeared between the opposing sides and mocked the Buddhist Sect before joining Huang Miao in opposing Ru Nan.
• Ru Nan offered to let Chu Xingchen leave with Bai Xuanling and proposed discussing the Western Ox-He Continent, but Bai Xuanling refused to back down.
• Chu Xingchen joined Bai Xuanling and questioned Ru Nan's claim that the Buddha beneath the Right Sound Dharma Temple was evil, presenting the Buddha's scripture as evidence.
• Chu Xingchen told Ru Nan he might know more about abnormalities within the Buddhist Sect and asked whether Ru Nan was interested in hearing it.

Chu Xingchen negotiated with Ru Nan to let the Karma Buddhas cross the Pudu River and pursue the evil Buddha while preserving room for the three sects to investigate the Great Thunderclap Temple. After Ru Nan crossed into Western Ox-He Continent, Bai Xuanling questioned Chu Xingchen’s promise, and he hinted that the Buddhist Sect’s history might explain the imbalance between mundane and Karma Buddhas.

• Chu Xingchen told Ru Nan that the Devil Race’s Great Calamity mattered more than the evil Buddha and asked whether Ru Nan would help confront the demons.
• Ru Nan agreed to let the Karma Buddhas enter Western Ox-He Continent, but gave the three sects only one chance to ask whether the Great Thunderclap Temple had built a Little Thunderclap Temple elsewhere.
• Ru Nan crossed the Pudu River with Hua Wu True Buddha, Shi Yun True Buddha, and Su Pu True Buddha, while the other Buddhas stayed behind.
• Chu Xingchen and Bai Xuanling left Huang Miao to handle matters in Western Ox-He Continent, and Bai asked whether Chu planned to abandon Guangming Buddha.
• Bai warned Chu Xingchen that Ru Nan’s supreme treasure could make the evil Buddha’s position precarious, so Chu explained that the three sects’ promise did not mean he intended to betray him.
• Chu Xingchen asked Bai why mundane Buddhas had outnumbered Karma Buddhas since the Mahayana debate, noting that no mundane Buddhas had joined that debate.

Chu Xingchen planned to draw out the demon in the Buddhist Sect by continuing to pursue Xu Linglong, while Guangming Buddha’s teachings spread through Gilded Sand. Wukong learned that Ru Nan and three Karma Buddhas were coming to eliminate Guangming, who welcomed their arrival as a chance to fulfill his vow.

• Chu Xingchen told Bai Xuanling that Ru Nan would likely consult Ruzhong first and that he would keep pursuing Xu Linglong to avenge his second disciple.
• Wukong saw how refugees built a humble temple for Guangming Buddha as Mahayana Buddhism spread quickly across Gilded Sand.
• Wukong struggled against Mahayana Buddhism’s teachings, which challenged the doctrines he had followed since childhood.
• Wukong received a sealed message from Chu Xingchen and learned that Ru Nan had crossed the Pudu River with Hua Wu, Shi Yun, and Su Pu to eliminate Guangming Buddha.
• Guangming Buddha said he welcomed the three Karma Buddhas’ arrival because their confrontation could help fulfill his vow to return his enlightenment to the people.

Xu Jin waited over a month at Heavenly Derivation Peak before Lü Xuan admitted he could not calculate the heavenly mandate. When Chu Xingchen arrived, he explained his plan to pursue Xu Linglong and unveiled the operation’s name: Heaven’s Will.

• Xu Jin waited in the main hall while Lü Xuan calculated the heavenly mandate and teased him for his impatience.
• Lü Xuan told Xu Jin that his calculation had failed and explained that uncertainty could help people press forward.
• Chu Xingchen arrived with Bai Xuanling, Xie Lingyu, and his disciples after deciding to investigate Xu Linglong instead of attacking the Buddhist Sect first.
• Lü Xuan reported that the Three Great Sects had gathered intelligence but had not confirmed the Heavenly Demon’s location.
• Chu Xingchen named the operation Heaven’s Will and called on everyone to answer it.

Winter Melon established a new demonic force in Mayfly Ravine and began gathering resources for Xu Linglong’s plan to build an orthodox religion. Just as she settled into her improved life, the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect raided the ravine and left her staring in shock at the slaughter.

• Winter Melon reflected on her new position as Xu Linglong’s trusted subordinate and her mission to build an orthodox religion, using the Evil Spirit Cult to gather resources.
• Winter Melon received a report that plundered supplies had been secured and that several talented disciples were being trained.
• A ritual barrier suddenly enclosed Mayfly Ravine, and dozens of cultivators converged on the demonic settlement.
• The Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect cultivators exposed the secret realm beneath the river and overwhelmed the Devil Race in a one-sided attack.
• Winter Melon drew her bone sword, but the battle was already over, and she stood amid the cries of dying demonic cultivators, unable to believe the nightmare was real.

Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect cultivators overwhelmed Winter Melon and captured her at Mayfly Ravine. Cui Hao arrived and offered to let her go, leaving Winter Melon to decide whether to accept his help.

• Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect cultivators ambushed Winter Melon, sealed her powers, and subdued her while their team took control of Mayfly Ravine.
• Winter Melon tried to contact Xu Linglong but was stopped, then feared that the approaching Leader Cui might be Cui Hao.
• Cui Hao arrived, and Winter Melon recognized him and demanded that he kill her.
• Winter Melon rejected Cui Hao’s offer to save her, suspecting he wanted information, but he said he already knew what he needed and would let her leave safely.
• Cui Hao told Winter Melon that if they met again or she fell into his hands, she would have to call him her benefactor.

Cui Hao confronted Winter Melon and offered her a choice between leaving and dying, but she rejected his apparent mercy and attacked him. He then ordered her sent to the Western Ox-He Continent to be delivered to Wukong, hoping to use her to disrupt Xu Linglong’s plans.

• Cui Hao revealed that his encounter with Winter Melon was a deliberate operation intended to draw out or unsettle Xu Linglong.
• After a cultivator warned that Winter Melon was breaking through her restraints, Cui Hao let her go and advised her not to contact Xu Linglong.
• Winter Melon charged at Cui Hao, declaring that she would rather die than live in suspicion, but a Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect cultivator knocked her back.
• Cui Hao praised Winter Melon’s backbone and told her that her defeat was assured, then offered to send her to Wukong on the Western Ox-He Continent.
• Cui Hao ordered his people to send Winter Melon to Wukong, insisting that Wukong take her even if he did not want a demoness.

Xu Linglong and Baibo investigated Yuzhou City for information that could help them understand and defeat Chu Xingchen, while discussing the Buddhist Sect crisis and Winter Melon's capture. Xu Linglong infiltrated the Demon-Suppression Bureau's archives and discovered a Healer who had been taught by Chu Xingchen.

• Xu Linglong told Baibo that Winter Melon had been captured and was being sent toward Western Ox-He Continent, but argued she might still be useful.
• Xu Linglong explained that they needed to learn Chu Xingchen's reasoning and habits before they could defeat him, and Baibo agreed to follow her lead.
• Xu Linglong entered the Demon-Suppression Bureau alone after deciding Baibo did not look human enough to accompany her.
• Xu Linglong used illusions to search the bureau's archives and found a file about Chu Xingchen's work with the bureau against the Evil Spirit Cult.
• Xu Linglong overheard a female Healer wondering whether Chu Xingchen had held something back when he taught her, and realized she might be his disciple.

A Nian continued refining Chu Xingchen’s Pill Elixir, whose terrible taste and dwindling effects had turned it into a welcoming ordeal for new Demon-Suppression Bureau recruits. When Xu Linglong arrived, A Nian presented her with a bowl as a “joining perk,” claiming it was Chu Xingchen’s secret winning treasure.

• A Nian decided to pursue extreme bitterness in her Pill Elixir, but the medicine’s effects weakened as its taste and smell grew more appalling.
• Rumors spread that A Nian was adding something foul to the medicine, but the Bureau Chief let her continue experimenting because she was the Bureau’s only Foundation Establishment medicinal cultivator.
• Over the next three years, veterans turned A Nian’s Pill Elixir into a hazing ritual for new recruits, though volunteers had become scarce.
• A Nian finished a new batch and wondered how to find someone to taste it when Xu Linglong arrived at the pharmacy.
• A Nian identified Xu Linglong as a new member and offered her the Pill Elixir as a joining perk, claiming Chu Xingchen had taught her the recipe.
• Xu Linglong recognized that the bowl held ordinary medicine with weak effects, but picked it up after A Nian insisted it was Chu Xingchen’s secret winning treasure.

Xu Linglong drank a sip of A Nian’s foul pill elixir, then used subtle persuasion to ask what Chu Xingchen was like. At the Heavenly Derivation Sect, Li Xingtian told Chu Xingchen he had an inference about Xu Linglong, based on knowing her.

• Xu Linglong tasted A Nian’s pill elixir, found its effects unremarkable and its flavor worse than swill, and discarded it.
• Xu Linglong asked A Nian about Chu Xingchen while revealing her face and appealing to her admiration for him.
• At Heavenly Derivation Peak, Chu Xingchen, Lü Xuan, and Bai Xuanling discussed the reports and the need for strength in dealing with sect politics.
• Li Xingtian arrived to speak with Chu Xingchen, who left the hall and joked with his disciple about his strange expression.
• Li Xingtian asked whether Chu Xingchen had found Xu Linglong and said he had an inference because he knew her; Chu Xingchen teased him for spending plenty of time guessing what she was thinking.

Li Xingtian warned Chu Xingchen that Xu Linglong might be preparing an ambush in the Southern Jambu Continent, where Chu Xingchen had fewer protections. Chu Xingchen agreed to investigate and gave Li Xingtian Xu Linglong’s severed arm as a reward for his advice.

• Chu Xingchen teased Li Xingtian about his past with Xu Linglong before asking for his thoughts on the situation.
• Li Xingtian argued that Xu Linglong might use distractions to prepare a direct attack on Chu Xingchen.
• Li Xingtian suggested Xu Linglong could target Chu Xingchen in Yuzhou City in the Southern Jambu Continent and warned him to treat any news from there as a possible ambush.
• Chu Xingchen agreed to secretly investigate the Southern Jambu Continent and said he would bring forces from the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and Heavenly Derivation Sect if needed.
• Chu Xingchen gave Li Xingtian Xu Linglong’s arm, which Li Xingtian recognized and placed in his Spatial Ring before leaving.

Yuankong returned to Chanwood Temple as a Golden Core True Person and visited Senior Brother Yuanjing’s Śarīra Pagoda, sharing his regrets and asking Yuanjing to visit him in a dream. He then reunited with the temple’s abbot and received the treasures Chu Xingchen had preserved for him.

• Yuankong climbed to the Śarīra Pagoda and spoke to Senior Brother Yuanjing about his life, his gratitude, and his wish to keep relying on him.
• Yuankong touched the pagoda, then called back from the steps and urged Yuanjing to visit him in a dream.
• Yuankong visited Chanwood Temple’s abbot, who recognized him and welcomed him back.
• The abbot gave Yuankong a box containing a white kāṣāya, the Willow-Jade Branch, and two talismans that Chu Xingchen had left for him.
• Yuankong realized that, despite Chu Xingchen’s usual stinginess, preserving the treasures was a kindness he could not deny.

Yuankong returned to Chanwood Temple, told the Abbot about the Evil Cultivators troubling Yuzhou City, and set out to help the place that raised him. Meanwhile, Xu Linglong prepared to use Yuankong to draw Chu Xingchen to Yuzhou City, where the Eight Great Heavenly Demons could ambush him.

• Yuankong stored his belongings in the Spatial Ring Chu Xingchen had lent him and told the Abbot that Evil Cultivators were driving people from Yuzhou City.
• The Abbot explained that the Demon-Suppression Bureau lacked evidence against the Evil Cultivators, and Yuankong said he had returned to help his home region.
• The Abbot welcomed Yuankong back to Chanwood Temple and watched him leave.
• Xu Linglong, posing as a member of the Demon-Suppression Bureau, assessed Chu Xingchen’s ties to Yuzhou City and decided Yuankong could help draw him there.
• Xu Linglong planned an ambush involving the Eight Great Heavenly Demons and went with Zhao Wanqing to investigate Linqu Village while Baibo watched nearby.