Recaps

Jiang Chen used Tie Zhu to shatter the Red Cardinals’ Sacred Barrier while considering the Dragon Palace, Old Zhang, and the hidden dangers of the present world. The two Cardinals’ fury earned him a huge amount of Ghost Qi, and he remained determined to grow strong enough to surpass Supreme Powerhouses.

• The Sixth Step Red Cardinal boasted that the Sacred Barrier could withstand any evil, so Jiang Chen summoned Tie Zhu and the Yin God Hammer.
• Jiang Chen realized Tie Zhu’s immunity to divine curses likely came from something it had obtained in the Dragon Palace, a place that might rival the Gods’ Mausoleum.
• Jiang Chen reasoned that Shenji and Jing Shou avoided taking over the Unusual Person World because they feared hidden beings such as Old Zhang.
• Tie Zhu struck the Sacred Barrier with the Yin God Hammer and shattered it, earning Jiang Chen Ghost Qi.
• Jiang Chen mocked the Red Cardinals’ faith, provoking their anger and earning even more Ghost Qi.

Jiang Chen baited the kings into attacking him, then escaped and returned to strike Liu Ming amid the corrupted Divine Souls. The curses overwhelmed Liu Ming, who died horribly as the other kings faced the same danger.

• The King of Equality declared Jiang Chen a temporary Netherworld employee and told the crowd that the Nine Provinces would not intervene if they attacked him.
• Liu Ming and the other kings launched a barrage of attacks at Jiang Chen, who somersaulted a hundred thousand meters away and caused their strikes to hit the Divine Souls instead.
• The corrupted Divine Souls turned on the kings, while the King of Equality, King Qin Guang, and the King of the Metropolis escaped with the Nine Provinces' younger generation.
• Jiang Chen returned and ordered several Ghost Kings to strike Liu Ming with the Yin God Hammer, after which Tie Zhu bit him in two and spat his body toward the Divine Souls.
• Liu Ming revived but succumbed to curses, and a Red-Eyed Python burst from his belly as he died, terrifying the kings who had also been cursed.

Jiang Chen drove the kings to abandon their search for divine souls, but their attempt to leave Divine Spirit Valley revealed a Ninth-Step restriction trapping everyone inside. As the Gods Organization became the likely culprit, the divine souls fell silent and Jiang Chen tried to rouse them with a hammer.

• Liu Ming died from exposure to the Gods' curse, and Zhang Jiu and Red Cardinal blamed Jiang Chen for provoking the divine souls.
• Jiang Chen chased the kings through Divine Spirit Valley, harassing them until they gave up on the divine souls and tried to leave.
• Zhang Jiu struck an invisible barrier, and the kings found that a restriction blocked every exit from the valley.
• The King of Equality returned with the Nine Provinces group and said the colorless restriction could challenge even a Nine-Step King to break.
• The kings suspected the Gods Organization had trapped them, while knocking from a fog-shrouded area quieted the divine souls and revealed Jiang Chen trying to wake them with a hammer.

Jiang Chen identified eerie blood marks appearing inside several experts, but the others dismissed his warning and accused him of lying. When he noticed the King of the Metropolis was in danger, Jiang Chen abruptly kissed him, claiming he was saving his life.

• Peiluo'er found a bloody handprint on her stomach, and Queto warned that something might be attached to her.
• Jiang Chen used his life-detection ability to say that a bloody hand was inside Peiluo'er and a bloody foot was inside the White-Robed Priest.
• The Church’s Red Cardinal and other experts dismissed Jiang Chen’s warning, and the marked people claimed they had found nothing inside themselves.
• More experts developed silent blood marks on their stomachs and joined in condemning Jiang Chen as a liar.
• Jiang Chen rushed to the King of the Metropolis and kissed him, ordering him not to move because he was saving his life.

Jiang Chen saved the King of the Metropolis by devouring the Bloody Handprint inside him, while people across the crowd died as the marks consumed them from within. He ended by accusing the flustered King of the Metropolis of taking advantage of him.

• Peiluo'er scratched open her abdomen, died, and revealed a skinless bloody hand inside her.
• The bloody hand’s appearance made the gathered powerhouses realize Jiang Chen’s warnings were true, and panic spread among those with Bloody Handprints.
• The Church’s White-Robed Priest died after tearing open his empty abdomen, revealing a bloody foot, while other infected people also perished as their organs emerged from their corpses.
• Jiang Chen used a devouring Divine Ability to pull the bloody heart out of the King of the Metropolis and into his own stomach.
• Jiang Chen accused the King of the Metropolis of taking advantage of him, leaving the King speechless and embarrassed.

Jiang Chen took the blood marks from the King of the Metropolis and King Qin Guang, becoming the next target himself. As more experts died, the enraged kings launched a combined assault on the source of the knocking in Divine Spirit Valley.

• Jiang Chen reassured the King of the Metropolis that transferring the Death Calamity had not left him cursed, and joked about their close pose.
• King Qin Guang revealed a blood mark on his abdomen, and Jiang Chen cut it out, causing it to transfer onto himself.
• The other factions suffered mounting deaths from the blood marks while the Nine Provinces group relied on Jiang Chen to stay safe.
• Queto, the Red Cardinals, the King of Equality, and other experts unleashed powerful attacks toward the fog-shrouded depths of Divine Spirit Valley.
• The kings attacked the area where the knocking continued, hoping to discover what lay behind the blood marks.

The Kings watched a blood-red mass gather the scattered organs into a body beneath Divine Spirit Valley, and their attacks failed to stop it. Jiang Chen remained unconcerned, telling Tie Zhu that he would never spit out anything he had swallowed.

• The Kings discovered that the Tomb Guard Team had dug a deep pit and were killed when the group’s attacks struck.
• The dead guards’ blood vanished into the ground, where twisting red threads appeared and animated a bloody hand.
• The threads rapidly gathered the scattered organs and began assembling a body, prompting the Kings to attack.
• Queto struck the forming figure with his Temple Hammer, but the bloody threads were unharmed and continued building its lower body.
• Jiang Chen asked Tie Zhu how to aid digestion after swallowing an ancient monster’s heart and tendons, then refused to spit them out because of the Jiang family’s ancestral rule.

The Blood Man’s chant of “undying, indestructible” drove the gathered fighters toward blood sacrifice and targeted the hidden Zheng Jue. Zheng Jue exposed his peak Seven-Step King strength and tried to escape, but the Blood Man killed him with a palm strike despite the distance.

• The Red Cardinal translated the Blood Man’s repeated Divine Language as “Undying. Indestructible,” and its chant sent the crowd’s Blood Qi into turmoil and compelled some to offer their blood.
• The Blood Man singled out a cloaked man, and the King of Equality identified him as Zheng Jue, Zhengyi Dao’s former Celestial Master’s final disciple and the Old Celestial Master’s youngest junior brother.
• The Blood Man granted Zheng Jue undying indestructibility, revealing Zheng Jue’s peak Seven-Step King aura as he fought off the compulsion.
• Zheng Jue used a Bronze Ball and Dharma-Breaking to open a passage through the barrier and rushed toward it, prompting the others to follow.
• The Blood Man blocked Zheng Jue’s escape and struck him from afar, shattering his head.

Jiang Chen faced the blood figure after it swallowed Zheng Jue, but instead of submitting to its offer of eternal life, he began eating it to gain Ghost Qi. As the blood figure tried to possess him, Jiang Chen kept provoking it, unaware of the strange changes spreading through the creature.

• The blood figure swallowed Zheng Jue and searched the crowd for powerful living beings, focusing on Jiang Chen and the black snake, Tie Zhu.
• The blood figure confronted Jiang Chen and invited him to join its path of undying and imperishable life.
• Jiang Chen agreed, grabbed the blood figure's hands, and bit into one to gain a huge amount of Ghost Qi.
• The blood figure grew angry and used the heart inside Jiang Chen to begin taking control of his body.
• Jiang Chen mocked and questioned the blood figure while it intensified the possession, failing to notice changes spreading through itself.

Jiang Chen’s corruption of the blood figure’s body forced it to back off, while he stubbornly tried to keep its heart. The Ninth-Step leaders of the major Official Organizations arrived outside Divine Spirit Valley and attacked the barrier, but the blood figure strengthened it with blood.

• The blood figure discovered spotted fur spreading over its body because of Jiang Chen’s corruption, and its attempt to grow a new hand did not remove it.
• Jiang Chen claimed the curse came from the ancient Lord of Tigers and Leopards, refused the blood figure’s offer to let him leave, and called for Tie Zhu to protect the heart in his belly.
• Tie Zhu swallowed Jiang Chen as the blood figure tried to recall its heart, while the major factions’ supreme experts arrived outside the barrier.
• The Pope attacked the barrier with a Divine Kingdom of holy light, but the blood figure covered the barrier in blood and stopped it from breaking.
• A middle-aged man with long golden hair and a cross prepared to act.

The Pope, the Holy Lord, the Talisman Gate’s Second Master, and a Shenji Sect expert attacked the Blood Man, which denied being a god’s cast-off remains. The Blood Man survived their assaults, and the Shenji Sect expert brought out a powerful mechanical tiger as the battle continued.

• The Holy Lord used nine holy weapons to break the Blood Man’s barrier, and the Talisman Gate’s Second Master joined the fight to defend his disciple Zhang Jiu.
• The Talisman Gate grand elder attacked with nine Yellow Talismans, but the Blood Man’s Blood Sha met their explosive power head-on.
• The Shenji Sect farmer struck the Blood Man with his iron ruler, then trapped his own blood-infected head in a box and bombarded it with powerful attacks.
• The Blood Man burst out of the box, weakened but alive, and taunted the farmer by mentioning Tianji.
• The Pope unleashed purifying light while the farmer retreated and transformed his iron ruler into a powerful mechanical tiger.

The King of Reincarnation watched four Nine-Step Kings struggle against Blood Man, then drew his Green Edge Sword and killed the monster with a single strike. The strike also sank Divine Spirit Valley dozens of meters, leaving the watching powerhouses stunned.

• Four Nine-Step Kings attacked Blood Man with their powerful techniques, but it repeatedly revived and contaminated anything that touched its flesh and blood.
• King Chen revealed that Blood Man had already lost its heart and a tendon to him, then asked the Nine Provinces group for digestive medicine.
• The King of Reincarnation drew his Green Edge Sword, forcing the nearby powerhouses and Nine-Step Kings to retreat more than fifty thousand meters.
• Blood Man asked the King of Reincarnation who had taught him swordsmanship, and he replied that he had taught himself.
• The King of Reincarnation brought down his sword with Heaven-Lifting Momentum, reducing Blood Man to dust and sinking Divine Spirit Valley dozens of meters.

The King of Reincarnation saved the Kings from Blood Man’s mind-controlling voice, but Blood Man returned with terrifying power and fled after sensing an unseen threat. The Kings were left wondering who stood beyond their reach, while the King of Reincarnation revealed he had not heard Blood Man’s words.

• The King of Reincarnation cut away the urge Blood Man’s voice had planted in the powerhouses’ hearts, then warned everyone to retreat.
• Blood Man emerged above Divine Spirit Valley with overwhelming power and approached Jiang Chen, blaming him for ruining its plans.
• Blood Man pulled two blood-colored organs from Jiang Chen but fled through a rift after sensing an unseen presence across the sea.
• The Kings speculated that beings beyond Kings were secretly controlling events in the Unusual Person World.
• The King of Reincarnation complained that his shoulder arthritis made carrying his sword painful, then admitted he had not heard Blood Man speak.

The King of Reincarnation distributed the Divine Soul fragments taken from Divine Spirit Valley, while Jiang Chen made sure Tie Zhu could claim a share. The King of Reincarnation then invited Jiang Chen to accompany him on a solitary journey, hinting that he was preparing to take his final step.

• The King of Reincarnation revealed that he had collected the Divine Soul fragments left behind after the battle and scattered them over the Azure Sea for the experts to claim.
• The King of Reincarnation barred Jiang Chen from joining the scramble, but allowed Tie Zhu to participate after Jiang Chen argued for his son.
• Tie Zhu swept up the remaining fragments with a wave, and Jiang Chen received system notifications as the others realized why the King of Reincarnation had kept him out.
• The King of Reincarnation invited Jiang Chen to revisit old places, and Jiang Chen agreed after sensing that the King was approaching a major breakthrough.
• The King of Equality dismissed the group's worries that the King of Reincarnation and Jiang Chen had gone to duel, and the experts headed back to the Nine Provinces.

The King of Reincarnation told Jiang Chen that King Wei Wu had entered the Blood-Colored City and revealed the fate of Zhao Qingyi, Wei Wu’s former master. He also described a mysterious river called Forgetfulness appearing in Yunnan, leaving Jiang Chen with questions about the dangerous places that might exist beyond the known world.

• The King of Reincarnation said King Wei Wu had entered the Blood-Colored City and recounted how Zhao Qingyi had entered the Fengdu Forbidden Domain seeking the truth behind the disappearance of the gods and Buddhas, then never returned.
• The King of Reincarnation told Jiang Chen that powerful figures had gathered in Yunnan, where Young Ba had reached the Fifth Step.
• The King of Reincarnation described a blood-tinged river washing through the mountains and killing all living creatures, while powerful figures fought over the bones it left behind.
• Jiang Chen asked what the river was, and the King of Reincarnation identified it as Forgetfulness, then mentioned the Dragon Palace and the Land Temple.
• The King of Reincarnation warned Jiang Chen that the appearance of such places could be dangerous and said no one in the Nine Provinces could currently deal with beings above King-Level.

The King of Reincarnation explained how the Dharma-ending Age weakened the world and made cultivation increasingly difficult. He reflected on the crises he had faced and resolved that someone had to keep defending the Nine Provinces.

• The King of Reincarnation warned Jiang Chen that powerful outsiders could threaten the Nine Provinces and asked what he would do if he became prey.
• The King of Reincarnation described how the weakening world made battles more destructive and cultivation harder, leaving most people unable to advance beyond King-Level.
• The King of Reincarnation recalled Zhao Jingtian as the most promising genius of recent centuries and lamented that he had been born too late to become a Supreme Powerhouse.
• The King of Reincarnation recounted defending the Nine Provinces through the Gu Clan's rebellion, the Dark Alliance's invasion, and Old Xiao's emergence, saying someone had to guard their home.

The King of Reincarnation began his attempt to take the tenth step, unleashing the Nine Reincarnation Swords as heaven and earth fought to suppress him. Under mounting pressure, he rejected his former understanding of the sword and began to grasp a new sword Dao.

• The King of Reincarnation explained that ancient threats and the reappearance of the River of Forgetfulness left him no time to delay his breakthrough.
• The King of Reincarnation took a step forward and began risking his life to reach the tenth step, while Jiang Chen retreated to watch.
• The King of Reincarnation unleashed his first two sword strikes, and heaven and earth responded by pressing down on him and attacking with black weapons formed from seawater.
• The King of Reincarnation performed more of his Nine Reincarnation Swords, then stopped as he questioned whether any of them truly embodied the sword Dao.
• The King of Reincarnation continued swinging under the crushing pressure and concluded that the sword Dao followed the swordsman's heart, able both to kill and defend.

The King of Reincarnation endured heaven and earth’s lethal suppression, using successive sword strikes to survive and deepen his understanding of the sword. After beginning the next stage of his breakthrough, he was struck by an internal wind calamity, and Jiang Chen recognized the danger.

• The King of Reincarnation used Slash to cleave through the prison of heaven and earth, then faced waves of powerful blood-red creatures and skeletal beings.
• The King of Reincarnation used Slaughter to annihilate the manifested enemies, but the sky collapsed upon him in another assault.
• The King of Reincarnation struck upward with Heaven-Piercing, survived the collapse with a broken sword, and then used Heaven-Opening to tear a hole in the dark sky.
• Jiang Chen watched the King of Reincarnation begin the second stage of his breakthrough, in which his body underwent powerful internal changes.
• The King of Reincarnation suddenly spat blood as wind surged inside his body, and Jiang Chen identified the attack as a Wind Calamity.

The King of Reincarnation endured the wind, water, and fire calamities and emerged reborn with immense Blood Qi. He then brought Jiang Chen through a tear in space to a remote island, where he revealed the entrance to Soldier Demon City.

• The King of Reincarnation endured the wind and water calamities by withstanding the wind and rebuilding his body with Sword Intent.
• Black-and-red fire consumed the King of Reincarnation's flesh, and Jiang Chen waited beside his apparently lifeless body through the night.
• The King of Reincarnation emerged from his carbonized remains reborn, with Blood Qi far stronger than anything Jiang Chen had seen before.
• The King of Reincarnation opened a rift in space and took Jiang Chen to a remote island covered in concealed restrictions.
• The King of Reincarnation identified the grave and bronze plate on the island as Pseudo-Restricted Zone S-23, the entrance to Soldier Demon City.

The King of Reincarnation recalled Zhao Dayuan’s death in a Restricted Zone and worked through the guilt that had burdened him for three hundred years. He then brought Jiang Chen to Dream Country, the world’s most dangerous Restricted Zone, and began explaining its strange defenses.

• The King of Reincarnation told Jiang Chen how the Imperial Guards’ expedition into Soldier Demon City ended with Zhao Dayuan and more than a dozen others missing, forcing their comrades to erect cenotaphs.
• The King of Reincarnation revisited Zhao Dayuan’s grave, admitted that he still wanted to live and protect the Nine Provinces, and let go of his guilt over surviving.
• The King of Reincarnation declared that he would take the tenth step beyond the King Realm and took Jiang Chen to the ocean above Dream Country.
• The King of Reincarnation explained that the global barrier around Dream Country kept people from entering, not things from escaping, and asked Jiang Chen why it was the world’s deadliest Restricted Zone despite never releasing a Weird Object.

The King of Reincarnation explained how Dream Country’s bell deluded kings into believing the waking world was a dream, then told Jiang Chen how his beloved Xiaoxuan entered Dream Country after falling under its influence. As the King of Reincarnation called her name, an unreadable woman appeared before them.

• The King of Reincarnation told Jiang Chen that Dream Country’s bell could delude kings anywhere, driving some to enter the Restricted Zone and causing others to fight or die trying to stop them.
• The King of Reincarnation recounted how he met Xiaoxuan, whose brilliance helped establish the Netherworld before she became the King of the Metropolis and his partner.
• When unrest in Dream Country deluded Xiaoxuan and two other kings, the King of Reincarnation confined them, but released them after one king killed himself.
• The King of Reincarnation followed Xiaoxuan as she entered Dream Country and admitted that he had never let go of her.
• A woman appeared beside Dream Country, and Jiang Chen could not sense what she was or how she had arrived.

The King of Reincarnation faced a vision of Xiaoxuan during his breakthrough and resisted Dream Country’s attempt to draw him in. After letting the vision fade, he took the tenth step into the Supreme Powerhouse Realm, leaving the Nine Provinces celebrating and other regions alarmed.

• The King of Reincarnation followed Xiaoxuan toward Dream Country while Jiang Chen tried to warn him.
• The King of Reincarnation realized the vision was a trap and refused to enter Dream Country, though watching Xiaoxuan disappear caused him great pain.
• The King of Reincarnation’s aura surged as his body and sword intent advanced, and he declared that he had entered the Supreme Powerhouse Realm.
• Powerful figures across the nations reacted with shock and concern at the King of Reincarnation’s breakthrough.
• The Ten Yama Kings and the Six Giants celebrated in the Nine Provinces, and the Spirit Treasure Sect offered free artifact forging and repairs.

After the King of Reincarnation became a Supreme Powerhouse, he confronted hidden old monsters before returning with Jiang Chen to the Nine Provinces. Jiang Chen went home, punished Tie Zhu for devouring his feast, and settled in Tang Yi’s former room to sort through his gains.

• The King of Reincarnation sensed hidden old monsters and challenged them over their refusal to fight past disasters and their attempts to restrain him.
• The King of Reincarnation opened a passage to the Nine Provinces, and Jiang Chen followed him while silently noting that other ancient powerhouses remained hidden.
• The King of Reincarnation returned to the Fengdu Forbidden Domain, while Jiang Chen went home past celebrations at the Jiangbei Branch Bureau and Jade Garden Residential Complex.
• Jiang Chen found Tie Zhu drunk amid an empty banquet and beat him awake, then ordered him to clean the apartment or face a snake-meat dinner.
• Jiang Chen went downstairs to sort through his gains in Tang Yi’s former room and reflected that what he had learned might be beyond what she could bear.

Jiang Chen visited Chen Xue, an old companion who had become stuck at the bottleneck to Grandmaster, and spent the evening talking with her about the looming calamity and her hopes for the future. He gave her divine soul fragments as a New Year's gift and promised she would live to see the Restricted Zones defeated.

• Jiang Chen assessed his gains, including over seventy million ghost qi, the Yin God's five fingers, Blood Man's tendon, and divine soul fragments he planned to share with Tie Zhu and old friends.
• Jiang Chen visited Chen Xue at her apartment, and she greeted him with excitement despite the gulf between their current strengths.
• Chen Xue told Jiang Chen that the Chen Family had divided its Sacrificial Offerings between her and Chen Xiaoyu, but she remained stuck at the Grandmaster bottleneck.
• Chen Xue expressed hope that the King of Reincarnation's breakthrough would help the Nine Provinces defeat the Restricted Zones and end the recurring turmoil.
• Jiang Chen gave Chen Xue a New Year's gift and told her to get some sleep, assuring her she would live to see the day her hopes came true.

Jiang Chen visited old friends and gave most of them Divine Soul fragments, then joined the King of Reincarnation after the Blood River reappeared near Formless City. The King of Reincarnation began revealing hidden truths about other Supreme Powerhouses and the unusual situation.

• Jiang Chen visited his old acquaintances and gave each a Divine Soul fragment, but advised Chen Xiaoyu to be cautious about pursuing a higher realm.
• Jiang Chen scolded Tie Zhu for criticizing the King of Reincarnation and told him to stop speaking carelessly.
• The King of Reincarnation summoned the Nine Provinces' powerhouses to a camp outside the Fengdu Forbidden Domain.
• King Biancheng reported that the Blood River had reappeared near Formless City and that unknown powerhouses had fought above it.
• The King of Reincarnation confirmed that Supreme Powerhouses had taken part in the battle and said it was time to reveal some hidden secrets.