Recaps

Fantian refused to join the escaped Daoist senior’s plan to unite Daoist cultivators and fight Buddhism and Confucianism, so the senior attacked him. Fantian’s Ice Mou Pearl failed to stop the senior’s black-and-white hand, which was revealed to come from the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual.

• The senior’s black-and-white clouds absorbed Fantian’s pillars of light and warned him that Buddhist and Confucian forces would eventually target him.
• The senior urged Fantian to help unite Daoist cultivators, but Fantian said he wanted to cultivate in peace and avoid the conflict.
• The senior accused Fantian of hiding his ambitions and attacked after Fantian refused to handle a matter for him.
• Fantian summoned the Ice Mou Pearl and formed a vast ice fist that struck toward the clouds.
• A black-and-white hand seized and melted much of the ice fist, leaving Fantian’s Nascent Soul injured and the Ice Mou Pearl reduced to a shard.
• Fantian recognized the attacker’s power as the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual and cried out that the senior had refined it.

Fantian accepted the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual’s offer of a Fire God Pill and was carried away as the ice pillar collapsed, leaving a transformed landscape and a violent storm behind. When Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua reached the site, Ci Hui’s Buddhist teachings prompted Xiao Hua to consider how Buddhist and Daoist cultivation could both guide his path.

• The voice from the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual offered Fantian a Fire God Pill and promised to teach him Immortal Realm secret arts if he followed it.
• Fantian activated the Icy Pupil Pearl, and the great hand seized him and the collapsing ice pillar before flying away.
• The loss and return of Primordial Qi brought a ten-day storm, transforming the area between the four mountains into pools, lakes, and waterfalls.
• Xin Xin hesitated to use her communication artifact after discovering the landscape had changed, and Ci Hui declined to investigate its cause.
• Ci Hui spoke about Buddhist acceptance and truth, leading Xiao Hua to reflect on how Buddhist and Daoist cultivation paths might fit together.

Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Bodhi met Guzhen at Four Extremes Mountain and discovered that Fan Tian Shang Ren was likely dead. Guzhen used a Buddhist ritual to drain a lake into an alms bowl, leaving the reason for his action unclear.

• Guzhen arrived on a Purple-Haired Hou and said he had come by his abbot’s order to warn Fan Tian Shang Ren against joining the Daoist remnants.
• Xin Xin activated her communication artifact, but it dissolved into bubbles, and she concluded that Fan Tian Shang Ren had fallen.
• Guzhen questioned how a fourth-grade Yuan force cultivator could have been killed and then used the Lion’s Roar to challenge any hidden Daoist cultivators.
• Ci Hui, Xin Xin, and Bodhi left the mountain as Guzhen manifested his Vajra Buddha Dharma Body and prepared a Buddhist seal.
• Guzhen enlarged an alms bowl and used Buddhist light to draw the lake’s water into it.

Guzhen drained Four Extremes Mountain’s waters and investigated the traces of a battle, while Xin Xin tried to recruit him for a perilous expedition. His findings suggested that a powerful Daoist cultivator had fought Fan Tian Shang Ren, and Guzhen prepared to return to his temple and report.

• Guzhen collected all the water in Four Extremes Mountain with his alms bowl, then carefully examined the area.
• Xin Xin said Guzhen’s help would improve their chances at a dangerous ancient site, and Ci Hui agreed she could invite him.
• Xiao Hua asked to leave, but stayed after realizing Ci Hui wanted him to benefit from the journey and that Guzhen’s presence would make it safer.
• After inspecting the mountain, Guzhen questioned Xiao Hua about his temple and Xin Xin about her interest in Fan Tian Shang Ren.
• Guzhen said a Daoist cultivator far stronger than Fan Tian Shang Ren had fought across Four Extremes Mountain, and he planned to return to his temple to report.

Xiao Hua, Xin Xin, and Ci Hui investigated Four Extremes Mountain and concluded that Fan Tian Shang Ren had likely been attacked by a powerful Daoist cultivator or demon. As another Buddhist Immortal approached, Ci Hui agreed to accompany Xin Xin on her journey without asking for a reward.

• Xiao Hua took Ci Hui’s advice to stop overthinking and follow events to uncover the roots of his cultivation conflicts.
• Xin Xin explained that Fan Tian Shang Ren had lived at Four Extremes Mountain, where his powerful formation had vanished and the landscape had changed completely.
• Ci Hui judged from the rampant water-elemental Primordial Qi that Fan Tian Shang Ren had likely been attacked by a formidable cultivator and might be dead.
• Xin Xin said she still had to continue her journey despite losing access to Fan Tian Shang Ren’s magic artifact.
• A Buddhist Immortal with stronger Buddhist sense approached, and Ci Hui revealed that he had recognized Xiao Hua’s concealed cultivation.
• Xin Xin reasoned with Ci Hui about his attachment to appearances, and he agreed to join her journey without a promise or reward.

Xin Xin offered Guzhen a chance to obtain Ancient Buddha Sarira, which could preserve his consciousness through reincarnation, in exchange for his help exploring an ancient Dao Sect ruin containing an immortal artifact. Guzhen learned that Xin Xin planned to use his Buddhist alms bowl to break a formation and was left weighing whether to join the expedition.

• Xin Xin told Guzhen that Ancient Buddha Sarira could help him condense a Protector Sarira and retain his consciousness through reincarnation.
• Guzhen recognized Xin Xin’s golden hairpin as proof of her origins and accepted that she knew secret Buddhist matters.
• Xin Xin revealed that an ancient Dao Sect ruin near Four Extremes Mountain contained an immortal artifact and Ancient Buddha Sarira.
• Xin Xin asked Guzhen to accompany her and Compassionate Young Monk to break a water-element formation with his alms bowl, estimating a round trip of about twenty days.
• Guzhen hesitated over the dangerous opportunity, then asked Compassionate Young Monk whether he knew the hidden place’s location.

Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Guzhen, and Ci Hui toward Sage River to seek a forbidden ground and its immortal artifact. Along the journey, Xiao Hua and Ci Hui discussed Buddhist teachings, and Xiao Hua let go of his prejudice toward the Buddhist sect as the travelers entered warmer, more populated lands.

• Xin Xin revealed that their destination was Sage River and said only she could guide them to the forbidden ground beneath its waters.
• Guzhen agreed to join the journey, hoping to obtain the Ancient Buddha Sarira and leaving the rest of the forbidden ground’s treasures to others.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin debated Sage River’s name and the legend of the Son of Heaven Sword before Xin Xin hurried ahead on the Purple-Haired Hou.
• Xiao Hua rode with Ci Hui on the Green Lion and spent the journey discussing Buddhist teachings with him.
• Xiao Hua reflected on the value of Buddhist Dharma and Confucian cultivation, cast aside his prejudice toward the Buddhist sect, and noticed the Pure Land growing warmer and more populated.

Xiao Hua and Ci Hui reached the Sage River, where Xiao Hua witnessed the Pure Land’s unusual funeral rites and the people’s devotion to the river. Ci Hui explained that Buddhist believers regarded it as a sacred river connecting the living to the land of bliss.

• Xiao Hua reflected on Buddhism’s vast following and the power of faith as he and Ci Hui traveled through the Pure Land.
• Ci Hui told Xiao Hua they had reached the Sage River, whose waters nourished the Pure Land’s people.
• Xiao Hua noticed a family placing an elderly man’s body in a wicker basket and sending it into a calm inlet of the river.
• Xiao Hua observed people bathing, drinking the water, scattering ashes, and leaving corpses to fish and birds, while the deceased man’s family appeared pleased.
• Ci Hui explained that believers saw the Sage River as a sacred passage linking birth, death, and the land of bliss.

Xiao Hua and his companions reached Nightmare Reef Bay, where Benefactor Xin said an ancient Daoist formation was hidden. As they waited for sunset and she prepared to consult her Ink Cloud Pupil, Guzhen reacted strangely to the possibility of finding his long-lost junior brother’s remains.

• Xiao Hua and Cihui discussed how Buddhist faith shaped what people believed about Sage River, while the river revealed old bones beneath its surface.
• Benefactor Xin led Xiao Hua, Cihui, and Guzhen upstream to Nightmare Reef Bay and identified it as the site of an ancient formation.
• Cihui described the bay’s deadly whirlpools and the illusion realm that had trapped boats and caused his junior brother to disappear.
• Guzhen said he would accept not obtaining the Ancient Buddha Sarira if the formation could be destroyed and his junior brother avenged, then reacted strangely when Benefactor Xin mentioned finding remains.
• Benefactor Xin said they had to wait until sunset to enter and produced an Ink Cloud Pupil whose contents were protected by primordial formation restrictions.

Xin Xin explained what little she knew about the ancient formation at Nightmare Reef, and Guzhen revealed that he had to enter it to search for his missing younger brother, Gunnian. The chapter ended with Guzhen recounting how Gunnian vanished while delivering a letter and how he had devoted his life to finding his remains.

• Xiao Hua questioned Xin Xin about the Ink Cloud Pupil and suggested that the group avoid the formation after learning how little she knew about it.
• Guzhen said he would brave the Nightmare Reef formation regardless, leaving Cihui and Xin Xin surprised.
• Guzhen explained that Gunnian was his blood brother and that their mother died during a flood when they were young.
• Guzhen recounted how Gunnian volunteered to deliver a letter in his place and never returned.
• Guzhen said he had sworn to find Gunnian's remains and had trained as a Dharma protector so he could search deep within Nightmare Reef.

Guzhen resolved to enter the ancient formation, and Xin Xin persuaded Ci Hui to lead the way through its brief opening. As the formation activated above the whirlpools, Ci Hui searched for a door among the shifting lights while Xiao Hua studied the whirlpools for their underlying pattern.

• Guzhen said he would brave the danger to fulfill his long-cherished wish, and Ci Hui and Xin Xin offered to accompany him.
• Xin Xin explained that Ci Hui could use Heavenly Foot Penetration, or Ruyi Tong, to enter the formation during its brief opening, and Ci Hui agreed to lead.
• Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen toward the whirlpools after checking the Ink Cloud Pupil and scouting the area.
• The whirlpools churned and summoned a hurricane, while Xin Xin and Ci Hui protected the group from the storm and eerie sounds.
• A beam of light from the clouds flowed into the whirlpools, triggering the formation and filling the air with shifting light phantoms.
• Xin Xin told Ci Hui to enter any door he spotted among the phantoms, while Xiao Hua watched the whirlpools for clues to the formation's pattern.

Xiao Hua discovered that synchronized whirlpools opened a gateway into the spell formation, but the entrance appeared far away and collapsed quickly. Ci Hui used Heavenly Foot Penetration to reach it first, and Xiao Hua followed the others inside before it vanished.

• Xiao Hua realized the whirlpools' rotations controlled the spell formation and predicted that an unusual change would appear soon.
• Xiao Hua sensed the entrance forming, but Master Guzhen spotted the actual gateway several li away as the light and shadows gathered.
• Ci Hui used Heavenly Foot Penetration to cross the distance and enter the gateway before it collapsed.
• Xin Xin entered next, while Master Guzhen shrank to pass through the small opening.
• Xiao Hua shrank and followed them inside, and the gateway shattered as the waters and whirlpools returned to their former state.

Xiao Hua and his companions entered a water-filled ancient formation beneath the Sage River, where Benefactor Xin used a Daoist Ice Sealing Talisman to reveal a passage through the illusory water. They discovered a mass of bones frozen in the passage, and Gu Zhen began praying over them, believing his younger brother's remains were among them.

• Benefactor Xin thanked Xiao Hua for predicting the formation entrance, while Xiao Hua denied understanding the formation.
• Gu Zhen cautioned Ci Hui to recover his Sarira and avoid using mind power again after his earlier exertion.
• Benefactor Xin activated an Ice Sealing Talisman, freezing the formation's water and revealing an ice palace passage toward the immortal artifact.
• Benefactor Xin led Gu Zhen, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua into the passage, with Xiao Hua flying at the rear as their senses were suppressed.
• The group found hundreds or thousands of bones frozen in the passage, and Gu Zhen began reciting the Rebirth Mantra for his younger brother, but the ice wall did not respond.

After Guzhen found relief from his grief, Xin Xin led the group through the ice formation’s confusing passages. She prepared to use Six Harmonies Spirit Concealing Incense to send out a thread of her Primordial Spirit and scout the three forks, while Xiao Hua realized she suspected his Daoist cultivation.

• Guzhen recited the Rebirth Mantra before the frozen bones, eased his grief, and agreed to follow Xin Xin.
• Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen explored separate forks, then returned after finding more identical branches.
• Xiao Hua noticed a river fish beyond the ice wall and concluded that the apparent view of the river was an illusion meant to lure intruders into a deadly restriction.
• Xin Xin took out Six Harmonies Spirit Concealing Incense and explained that it could protect a Primordial Spirit sent out to scout.
• Xin Xin said she would release a thread of her Primordial Spirit to investigate the three forks, while Xiao Hua suspected she had sensed his Daoist true essence.

Xin Xin’s attempt to probe the passages with Soul Concealing Incense brought an Essence Devouring Demonic Beast’s attack, injuring her Primordial Spirit. The group continued to a poisonous water passage, where Guzhen began using his Buddhist bowl to collect the water and open their way forward.

• Xin Xin split her Primordial Spirit among the passages with Soul Concealing Incense, but the incense went out and she sensed an Essence Devouring Demonic Beast.
• Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen away from the beast, then explained that it had devoured part of her Primordial Spirit and that she needed three years to recover fully.
• Guzhen agreed to lead the group onward while Xin Xin protected her injured Primordial Spirit with Soul Condensing Golden Nectar.
• The group reached a deep-blue water wall, and Xin Xin explained that its poisonous water could be cleared with Guzhen’s Buddhist artifact bowl.
• Guzhen enlarged the bowl and began drawing the poisonous water from the passage into it.

Xiao Hua and the others crossed a poisonous-water passage while Master Guzhen collected its water, but the formation overwhelmed his alms bowl and began to collapse around them. With retreat cut off and no way to navigate through the water, Xiao Hua urged Guzhen to keep moving forward and offered to help collect the poison.

• Master Guzhen used his alms bowl to draw poisonous water from the passage while Xiao Hua and the others followed.
• Xiao Hua suspected the formation was pushing water into the bowl faster than Guzhen could collect it, and Xin Xin angrily explained the danger and defended her preparations.
• The passage shook as Guzhen's alms bowl failed to contain the incoming water, and a leak burned away part of his Buddhist light.
• The water walls began collapsing, cutting off the route behind them as more river water surged in from ahead.
• Xin Xin admitted that the passage offered no reliable direction through the water, and Xiao Hua told Guzhen they had to advance and offered to help collect the poisonous water.

Xiao Hua and Guzhen joined forces to collect the toxic water flooding the passage, carrying Xin Xin and Cihui through the danger until they reached a vast chamber containing an inverted triangular palace. After the palace’s bewitching light nearly ensnared Guzhen, Xin Xin gave him a Jialuo Golden Leaf to attach to his robe.

• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Vase to help Guzhen collect the toxic water as the collapsing passage’s waves pursued them.
• When Guzhen’s arms failed, Xiao Hua took control of both the Pure Water Vase and Guzhen’s alms bowl, enduring the formation’s mounting pressure.
• The force of the toxic water abruptly vanished, and Xiao Hua caught the Buddhist treasures after they flew from his hands.
• Xiao Hua and the others emerged into a glowing chamber, where the inverted triangular palace captivated Guzhen until Xiao Hua’s reminder broke its hold.
• Xin Xin gave Guzhen a Jialuo Golden Leaf, which he attached to his robe before it vanished with its golden light.

Xiao Hua challenged Xinxin to reveal why she wanted to enter the Profound Water Palace, warning that its dangers could outweigh any reward. Xinxin admitted that she was not seeking the immortal artifact but searching for someone who might be imprisoned beneath it.

• Xinxin gave the group Jialuo Golden Leaves, which she said could conceal them from the two Profound Water Ancient Beasts guarding the Profound Water Palace.
• Xiao Hua questioned whether the palace held treasures or suppressed a demonic beast and argued that the group should turn back rather than risk their lives.
• Xiao Hua and Ci Hui pressed Xinxin to explain what she had concealed, while Guzhen's silence showed his own doubts about proceeding.
• Xinxin said the immortal artifact could suppress anything across the Three Great Continents and revealed that finding someone imprisoned beneath it was her true purpose.
• Guzhen realized that Xinxin was searching for someone who might have been suppressed within the Profound Water Palace.

Xin Xin explained why she had come to Profound Water Palace, and Xiao Hua agreed to enter with her while wondering whether he could claim the immortal artifact. As the group approached the palace, it activated the ancient formation, leaving them caught in violent winds just as a Profound Water Ancient Beast roared nearby.

• Xin Xin said she sought someone who might be trapped beneath the immortal artifact and admitted she had prepared a way to rescue them.
• Xiao Hua considered taking the immortal artifact, but dropped the idea after Ci Hui warned him against greed.
• Guzhen led Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua toward Profound Water Palace, and Xiao Hua examined its strange runes and formation.
• Profound Water Palace rotated and released runes that drew Primordial Qi from the walls, unleashing powerful hurricane winds around the group.
• Xiao Hua suggested riding the winds into the palace, but Xin Xin warned that only its gate was safe, and a Profound Water Ancient Beast roared nearby.

Xiao Hua protected himself and his companions from the Profound Water Ancient Beast with Innate True Water, then fed the beast poisonous water when it tried to swallow their barrier. The Profound Water Palace’s sudden reaction flooded the space with Sage River water, and Xin Xin doubted the poison could harm the beast.

• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Bottle to release Innate True Water and shield Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and the others from the violent spiritual energy.
• A Profound Water Ancient Beast attacked the barrier with blue radiance, then tried to suck the Innate True Water into its mouth.
• Xiao Hua poured out more Innate True Water and the poisonous water he had collected, and the beast swallowed both.
• The Profound Water Palace trembled, the ancient beasts turned toward it, and Sage River water flooded the space.
• Ci Hui asked Xiao Hua what had happened, and Xiao Hua explained that the beast had swallowed poison; Xin Xin said the poison could not kill a beast tied to the palace and its formation.

Xiao Hua, Xin Xin, and their companions entered the Profound Water Palace after the Profound Water Ancient Beasts stopped attacking and appeared to become statues. As they explored the palace entrance, one beast revived and slipped inside after them, though they did not know danger had followed.

• Xiao Hua confirmed that the Profound Water Ancient Beast had left, and Xin Xin led the group toward the palace while warning them to stay silent near its gate.
• Xiao Hua and the others saw two motionless Profound Water Ancient Beasts standing like statues beneath the palace and carefully passed them.
• Xin Xin used four blue pearls and golden true qi to open a hidden entrance in the palace's supporting pillar, and the group went inside.
• After the entrance closed, the ancient beast Xiao Hua had scanned revived, searched outside, and entered the Profound Water Palace through a concealed opening.
• Xiao Hua stood inside the palace gate, stunned by the scene before him, unaware that the ancient beast had followed.

Xiao Hua and his companions entered a mirror-filled triangular maze in the Profound Water Palace, where the formation disoriented their sight and concealed the true entrance. Benefactor Xin proposed using a Dharma manifestation to identify the genuine mirror, but Ci Hui discovered that the palace suppressed his Bodhi Sarira.

• Xiao Hua, Benefactor Xin, Ci Hui, and Master Guzhen were disoriented by the maze’s countless mirrored triangles and guarded their minds against the formation.
• Benefactor Xin explained that only one mirror was real and that the formation targeted Confucian Clear Sight, while other spiritual techniques were restricted.
• Benefactor Xin said she had devised a method with Ci Hui’s help and suggested that the group search for a mirror that could reflect a Dharma manifestation.
• Ci Hui proposed releasing his sarira before Master Guzhen tried a Dharma Body Technique, but the palace suppressed Ci Hui’s Bodhi Sarira.
• Master Guzhen reacted with shock when Ci Hui revealed he had cultivated a Bodhi Sarira, and Benefactor Xin praised its rarity and significance.

Xiao Hua and his companions searched the Profound Water Palace’s illusory mirrors while Guzhen’s golden body endured the array’s assault. They found two possible entrances, and Xin Xin prepared talismans to open them.

• Guzhen summoned his Buddha statue golden body, which shattered many illusory mirrors but began melting under the array’s power.
• Ci Hui, Xin Xin, and Xiao Hua searched the mirrors for an entrance while Guzhen struggled to hold the array back.
• Xiao Hua spotted a triangular mirror showing Guzhen’s enlarged golden body, and Ci Hui and Xin Xin each found a matching entrance in another mirror.
• Guzhen withdrew his golden body after the group found the entrances, leaving him weak and trembling.
• Xin Xin revealed two identical talismans and proposed opening both entrances before choosing one.
• Xin Xin opened a jade box, and an ancient leaf-shaped talisman sprang out.

Xin Xin used a Wood Spirit Talisman to break the formation and reveal two passages whose summons affected the group differently. Xiao Hua and Xin Xin chose the lower passage while Ci Hui and Guzhen took the upper one, and the lower entrance sealed behind Xiao Hua and Xin Xin as they entered.

• Xin Xin activated a Daoist Wood Spirit Talisman, which spread vines across the mirror and shattered it to reveal a blue passage.
• After the second mirror broke, Ci Hui and Guzhen sensed a summons from the upper passage, while Xiao Hua and Xin Xin favored the lower one.
• Guzhen chose the upper passage, and Ci Hui accompanied him in hopes of helping him find the Ancient Buddha Sarira.
• Xin Xin chose the lower passage with Xiao Hua, and the upper entrance resealed after Ci Hui and Guzhen disappeared.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin entered the lower passage, where swirling blue light sealed the entrance behind them.

Xiao Hua and Xin Xin struggled through a passage in the Profound Water Palace as its restrictions increased the crushing pressure, and Xiao Hua realized Xin Xin did not know the way out. He sensed an exit ahead and urged her toward it, but the escalating pressure pushed them both near their limits.

• Xin Xin entered the passage with her flexible sword ready, then discovered that the growing pressure had weakened her senses and weighed down her body.
• Xiao Hua learned that Xin Xin’s Ink Cloud Pupil provided no information about the exit and resolved to focus on surviving.
• As blue and green radiance appeared in successive stages, the passage’s pressure intensified, and Xiao Hua’s use of Wind Escape caused him to sink under the restriction.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin argued about whether the passage’s radiance might lead to an exit, then hurried forward as waves of crushing pressure battered them.
• Xiao Hua sensed an exit about nine hundred zhang ahead, and Xin Xin continued onward while golden mist formed armor around her body.