Recaps

Li Rui advanced his cultivation, entered the Anning Guard, and earned the Zhang Family’s enmity while pursuing a rare martial diagram and creating the Evergreen Art. After Zhang Hao’s death and the Zhang Family’s withdrawal from Clear River, Li Rui entered the New Year with new allies and Liang He’s breakthrough.

• Li Rui earned the Emperor’s Righteous Bravery archway, discovered Spirit Soil on Roebuck Ridge, and killed Zhang He and Zhang Sanfu to take it.
• The Annan Army established a garrison in Qinghe, and Ning Zhongtian selected Li Rui as grain officer and Ge Hong as Small Banner in the Anning Guard.
• Li Rui obtained the Flying Dragon in the Sky Diagram, cultivated its qi, and broke through to Seventh Rank.
• Li Rui defended Liang He from the Zhang Family, defeated Zhang Yi, and received military merits from Ning Zhongtian, while Zhang Hao vowed to kill him.
• During a month of quiet cultivation, Li Rui gained sudden enlightenment and created the Evergreen Art from the White Ape Mantle Blade.
• Zhang Hao disappeared during a demon outbreak and was killed by a Ghost Demon, while a black-robed man subdued Zhang Hao’s consciousness and renamed him Ghost Three.
• Li Rui refined the Evergreen Art, gave Liang He a Nurture Bone Pill, and welcomed the New Year with Yang Yong and Wang Zhao.
• Li Rui advised Han Qin on his swordsmanship, learned that Liang He had reached Entering Rank, and visited Wei Ming with a Spirit Medicine ganoderma.

Li Rui strengthened his cultivation and advanced through the Anning Guard while concealing his role in the Ghost Underworld Sect’s defeat. After killing Qi Cheng and Headless Slave, he returned to Qinghe as the sect retaliated against the guard.

• Li Rui drank Flood Dragon Blood, completed seventy-two Celestial Cycles, and advanced his Dragon Form to minor mastery.
• Li Rui killed Zhang Hao, a Ghost Demon who had infiltrated the Anning Guard camp, and concealed his role while Cao Wei searched for the attacker.
• Ge Hong broke through to Willow Sinew, and Li Rui secured a promotion to Patrol Guard and took command of the Tiger Sprint Riders.
• Li Rui reconciled with Qinghe’s factions, became a deputy alliance leader, and forced Mingguang Sect to surrender a wanted criminal.
• Li Rui’s Eye of Wisdom warned him of danger, and he used a trap to help Jiang Linxian kill Qi Cheng before the Ghost Underworld Sect demon could attack the guard.
• Li Rui traveled to Qingfeng Mountain Manor with Tan Hu and Huaqing Sect disciples, then hunted down and secretly killed Headless Slave.
• Li Rui returned to Qinghe and credited Ning Zhongtian and Jiang Linxian for the demon’s death, while Ge Hong and Wei Ming warned him that the Ghost Underworld Sect was retaliating against Anning Guard soldiers.

Li Rui advanced his cultivation and solved the death of Qu Chengfeng, while political schemes around Zhuang Renhe and the Anning Guard intensified. The arc ended with the Mingguang Sect surrendering amid a factional purge, as Cao Wei and Gao Zhen pursued their own plans.

• Li Rui investigated the mountain deaths, rescued Yao Xue and Qu Chengfeng, and took a Seeking Immortal Stone after finding Yao Xue’s missing senior brother dead.
• Li Rui hosted Yao Xue and Qu Chengfeng, developed Immortal Court Body Protection, and helped Yao Xue confront the heart demon she associated with him.
• Li Rui investigated Qu Chengfeng’s murder at Spring Swallow Pavilion, exposed Bao Zhu’er as an Enchanting Demon, and learned that Qu Chengfeng had been revived by the Ghost Underworld Sect.
• Li Rui and Ge Hong uncovered a plot to frame Ge Hong, then traced a dagger linked to Southern Liang and the Zhuang Family as suspicion fell on Zhuang Renhe.
• Li Rui killed Xiang Ting, erased the evidence, and gained new insight into his blade, while Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe purged Ning Zhongtian’s subordinates.
• Li Rui made Liang He his disciple and later took Liu Tiezhu as a second disciple, whose martial progress helped Li Rui release his dragon form.
• The Anning Guard surrounded the Mingguang Sect under a secret imperial edict, but Ning Zhongtian withdrew after the sect surrendered and the political stakes became clear.
• Cao Wei ordered Gao Zhen to send Mingguang Sect’s legitimate daughter to Clear River by a side road, and Gao Zhen agreed while concealing his intentions.

Li Rui killed Gao Zhen and absorbed his immortal qi while the investigation was steered toward the Ghost Underworld Sect. As the sects arrived in Qinghe City, Li Rui advanced to Sixth Rank and helped expose Jiang Baichuan’s suspected embezzlement at Huaqing Sect.

• Li Rui followed the Seeking Immortal Stone to Gao Zhen, then joined Ning Zhongtian’s troops as Chou Ping and Wu Yun’s Demon Tide ambushed them.
• Li Rui killed Wu Yun, absorbed his immortal qi, and formed an Immortal Court and Southern Heaven Gate through cultivation.
• Li Rui killed Gao Zhen, absorbed the immortal qi from Gao Chong’s body, and disposed of the corpses without leaving a trace.
• Chai Jingong investigated Gao Zhen’s disappearance, but a Masked Man pressured him to blame the Ghost Underworld Sect, and Chai Jingong submitted a case file supporting that conclusion.
• Li Rui gained the Great Dream Wandering Immortal talent and developed the Swimming Dragon Six Slashes while repeatedly challenging Jiang Linxian in dreams.
• Jiang Linxian’s lingering sword intent wounded a thief at her residence, and Liu Jiaoniang concluded that the immortal aura was somewhere in the Anning Guard.
• Li Rui accompanied the Tiger Sprint Riders to inspect Huaqing Sect, where Jiang Yan recognized his Yinglong manifestation and Han Qin learned that Li Rui had reached Sixth Rank.
• Li Rui showed Ning Zhongtian a dossier alleging Jiang Baichuan had resold more than a million gold worth of Huaqing Sect assets in one year.