Recaps

Xiao Hua and Xin Xin found a way to leave the Profound Water Palace, and Xiao Hua prepared to revive Gunnian and learn about Wang Zhengfei. After learning Gunnian’s brother Gu Zhen could not be revived, Xiao Hua helped both brothers enter reincarnation together.

• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin realized they had taken the treasures without learning how to leave the Profound Water Palace, but Xin Xin assured him she knew the way out.
• Xiao Hua summoned Gunnian and explained that he could return Gunnian’s soul to his preserved body; Gunnian said Wang Zhengfei had entered the illusion through dreams.
• Gunnian asked Xiao Hua to help Gu Zhen, and Buddha Xiao Hua summoned Gu Zhen’s soul and offered to bear his karmic obstacles so he could enter the Human Path of reincarnation.
• Gunnian chose to give up returning to life and accompany Gu Zhen into reincarnation, and Gu Zhen welcomed him as his brother.
• Buddha Xiao Hua sent the brothers’ souls away together, and Xiao Hua burned Gunnian’s body and the other corpses.

After parting from Xin Xin, Xiao Hua discovered that a place from the Profound Water Palace illusion existed in the real world and found the same mysterious triangle Gunnian had given him. He then flew to Wang Zhengfei’s village, where the darkness inside Wang Zhengfei’s home left him uncertain whether the events of the dream had been real.

• Xin Xin told Xiao Hua that Cihui had asked her to direct him to Jietai Temple, and she flew away after revealing her name.
• Xiao Hua startled Xin Xin with a Buddhist Lion’s Roar and flew south from the Sage River.
• Xiao Hua found the landscape from the Profound Water Palace illusion unchanged and confirmed that the black triangle Gunnian had given him was real.
• Xiao Hua compared the triangle with one he had obtained from Qin Jian, found both concealed a vague chess piece, and kept them.
• Xiao Hua reached Wang Zhengfei’s village and found Wang Zhengfei’s home dark, leaving him unsure whether the dream’s events had happened.

Xiao Hua learned that Wang Zhengfei and his mother had been taken toward Pingxi City and rushed to rescue them from the steward, who was trying to kill them. He stopped the steward’s attack and reunited with Wang Zhengfei, though the steward’s fate remained unresolved.

• Xiao Hua visited a neighbor, who told him that Wang Zhengfei and his mother had gone to Pingxi City for a month.
• Xiao Hua sensed trouble and flew toward Pingxi City, while the neighbor mistook his sudden departure for a ghostly disappearance.
• In a forest, the steward threatened Wang Zhengfei and his mother over the gold and planned to assault the mother before killing them both.
• Wang Zhengfei’s mother shielded him and urged him to run, but he clung to her until he heard Xiao Hua’s voice.
• The steward tried to stab Wang Zhengfei’s mother, but Xiao Hua froze the dagger and pulled her out of its path.
• Xiao Hua arrived, and Wang Zhengfei joyfully recognized his master and asked him to save them.

Xiao Hua rescued Wang Zhengfei and his mother, then taught his young disciple to consider the consequences of killing the steward who had attacked them. He punished the steward with a slow, agonizing death and prepared to take Wang Zhengfei and his mother away from the village.

• Wang Zhengfei's mother tried to kneel to Xiao Hua, and Wang Zhengfei formally kowtowed nine times to acknowledge him as his master.
• Xiao Hua healed Wang Zhengfei's mother and questioned Wang Zhengfei about the steward's attack, the Wang family, and what he planned to do.
• Xiao Hua warned Wang Zhengfei that the gold and the steward's disappearance could bring trouble from the Wang family and the villagers, so Wang Zhengfei decided they should not return to the village.
• Wang Zhengfei wished for the steward to die from spreading poisonous sores, and Xiao Hua used demonic qi to make that punishment begin.
• Xiao Hua told Wang Zhengfei to watch the steward suffer, then ended the lesson and had Wang Zhengfei bring the carriage over.
• Xiao Hua offered to drive while Wang Zhengfei and his mother rested in the carriage.

Xiao Hua took Wang Zhengfei and his mother away after dealing with the steward, then learned more about Wang Zhengfei’s extraordinary dreams and talent. After settling them on a mountain, Xiao Hua began examining Wang Zhengfei with the Soul Bridge to discover why he could not sense Spiritual Qi.

• Xiao Hua rode away with Wang Zhengfei and his mother, and told Wang Zhengfei that the steward’s body would dissolve before anyone found it.
• Wang Zhengfei’s mother asked Xiao Hua about his powers, and Wang Zhengfei recounted how he had met Gunnian in his dreams.
• Xiao Hua considered Wang Zhengfei’s unusual ability to remember techniques and wondered whether to take him back to Cangxian Continent.
• At dawn, Wang Zhengfei apologized for doubting Xiao Hua, and Xiao Hua exchanged the carriage and horse for silver before flying with the two of them to a mountain.
• Xiao Hua taught Wang Zhengfei cultivation techniques, but Wang Zhengfei still could not sense Spiritual Qi, so Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge to examine him.
• The Soul Bridge entered Wang Zhengfei’s mind and reached the faint, mysterious dark clouds there.

Xiao Hua opened the Soul Bridge into Wang Zhengfei’s mysterious dark cloud and discovered a powerful star-powered seal blocking the boy’s Spiritual Qi Heaven. He told Wang Zhengfei about the restriction and asked his consent to remove it, then began explaining cultivation and asked him to guess Xiao Hua’s age.

• Xiao Hua pushed all eighteen layers of the Soul Bridge into the mysterious dark cloud, creating a passage through it.
• Xiao Hua found a strange star-powered seal at the entrance to Wang Zhengfei’s Spiritual Qi Heaven and realized the boy might have a powerful background.
• Xiao Hua told Wang Zhengfei that a restriction in his body might endanger his life and block his ability to sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and asked for his consent to break it.
• Wang Zhengfei hesitated and tried to defer the decision to his mother, but Xiao Hua urged him to decide for himself.
• Xiao Hua began teaching Wang Zhengfei about cultivators and asked how old Wang Zhengfei thought he was.

Xiao Hua encouraged Wang Zhengfei to pursue cultivation without rejecting his mother's affection, then began breaking the restriction inside the boy's mysterious dark clouds. As Xiao Hua's Heaven Cleansing Earth Purifying Art battered the restriction, a pillar of stellar power descended on Wang Zhengfei, and the restriction began to give way amid a surge of starlight.

• Xiao Hua told Wang Zhengfei not to sever his ties with his mother and explained that Master Guzhen and little monk Gunnian had chosen to be reborn together.
• Wang Zhengfei spoke with his mother, accepted the dates she had saved for him, and told Xiao Hua that watching the sky had helped him remember his father.
• Xiao Hua connected the Soul Bridge to Wang Zhengfei's mysterious dark clouds and sent the green seal characters Cleanse and Purify into them.
• Xiao Hua's attempt to break the restriction stirred violent weather and drew a pillar of stellar power down onto Wang Zhengfei.
• Xiao Hua reinforced his attack with more green seal characters, and the restriction's stars began to shatter until a tremendous surge of starlight erupted at the crucial moment.

Xiao Hua broke the seal on Wang Zhengfei’s Spiritual Qi Heaven, triggering strange celestial signs and awakening his ability to sense spiritual energy. After Wang Zhengfei recovered, Xiao Hua confirmed that he could cultivate and explained to his mother that he was a Daoist cultivator, not a monk.

• Xiao Hua cut through the descending starlight with demonic qi and used the Heaven Cleansing Earth Purifying Art to remove the seal from Wang Zhengfei.
• Ten-colored radiance, thunder, crimson clouds, and snow appeared, while sacred light flowed into the Buddha Sarira in Xiao Hua’s Niwan Palace.
• Xiao Hua found Wang Zhengfei unconscious and bald, cleaned him, and carried him to the cave; Wang Zhengfei slept for three days and nights.
• Wang Zhengfei woke feeling mentally clear, and Xiao Hua guided him to meditate until he sensed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• Xiao Hua realized that spiritual roots could help cultivation flourish and promised to take Wang Zhengfei to Xiaoyu Continent after he succeeded in cultivating.
• Xiao Hua greeted Wang Zhengfei’s mother as Madam Wang and told her that he and his disciple followed Daoist cultivation rather than monastic practice.

Xiao Hua brought Wang Zhengfei and Madam Wang from their remote village toward the Cangxian Continent, then traveled to Golden Mountain Temple while asking how the Pure Land would learn of a Bodhisattva’s attainment. The Buddha Bells rang sixty-four times, and Buddhist light spread across the Pure Land, announcing that a Bodhisattva had achieved fruition.

• Xiao Hua decided to take Wang Zhengfei and Madam Wang to the Cangxian Continent, and sent them into his space after warning them to keep their origins secret.
• Wang Zhengfei began cultivating the first layer of Qi Cultivation in his sleep, while the dormant Jiang Liuer remained in Xiao Hua’s space.
• Xiao Hua reached Jietai Temple, used his Buddhist sense to meet Abbot Xin Chan, and left after asking him a question.
• Xiao Hua traveled with Liao Ming to Golden Mountain Temple and asked how the Pure Land would know if someone achieved Bodhisattva Buddhahood.
• Liao Ming explained that sixty-four Buddha Bell tolls and widespread Buddhist light would announce a Bodhisattva’s attainment.
• The bells rang across the Pure Land, and Buddhist light spread in every direction as Liao Ming stared in disbelief.

After learning that Compassionate had attained the Buddha fruit, Xiao Hua wondered about Buddhist cultivation and why the newly made Bodhisattva had not ascended. He went to Golden Mountain Temple to discuss Jiang Liuer with Ji Mie, but found the temple strangely quiet and its monks behaving suspiciously.

• Liao Ming hurried back to Jietai Temple after Xiao Hua told him that Compassionate had attained the Buddha fruit of Manjushri Bodhisattva.
• Xiao Hua considered the mysteries of Buddhist cultivation and questioned why Compassionate had not ascended after attaining Buddhahood.
• Xiao Hua climbed to Golden Mountain Temple, whose gates were shut despite the news that temples should be holding celebrations.
• Ming Shen opened the gate while sneaking out with wine and meat, then recognized Xiao Hua and called him Martial Uncle after Xiao Hua stopped his punch.
• Yongzhong welcomed Xiao Hua into the temple, where Xiao Hua saw Ming Shen sneak away and found monks chanting listlessly before a Buddha statue.

Xiao Hua visited Golden Mountain Temple to ask Great Chan Master Ji Mie about emerging from the Nirvana Realm, but learned that Ji Mie had shut himself away after a Bodhisattva attained fruition. Miaochen questioned Xiao Hua’s purpose, while Yongzhong suggested Ci Hui might be able to draw Ji Mie into discussing Nirvana.

• Yongzhong brought Xiao Hua, who used the Dharma name Tipu, through Golden Mountain Temple, where Miaochen warned that seeing the abbot would be difficult.
• Miaochen returned to Yongzhong’s meditation chamber and asked which eminent monk had attained fruition after the temples’ Buddha Bells rang sixty-four times.
• Yongzhong explained that Ji Mie had received a Buddha decree from Thunder Sound Temple and remained behind closed doors without reading it.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he had come to ask Ji Mie how he emerged from the Nirvana Realm, startling Miaochen, who accidentally sprayed tea over him.
• Xiao Hua identified himself as Tipu and said Ci Hui of Qinglian Temple had recommended the visit; Yongzhong suggested bringing Ci Hui to debate with Ji Mie.
• Xiao Hua said Ci Hui had likely already reached Thunder Sound Temple, leaving Miaochen puzzled about why he had gone there.

Xiao Hua told Miao Chen and Old Monk Yongzhong that Ci Hui had attained the fruit of Manjushri Bodhisattva, then waited several days at Golden Mountain Temple for Great Chan Master Ji Mie. When Ji Mie finally appeared, he rejected Xiao Hua’s request to discuss Nirvana, and the two began arguing over Buddhist practice.

• Xiao Hua told Miao Chen that Ci Hui had attained the Bodhisattva Fruit of Manjushri, and Old Monk Yongzhong explained that Ci Hui’s achievement troubled the abbot.
• Xiao Hua worried about returning to Black Wind Ridge and Xiaoyu Continent but decided to wait for Ji Mie because he needed Ji Mie’s help awakening Jiang Liuer.
• For several days, Xiao Hua saw Ji Mie’s meditation room remain shut as the monks and temple visitors grew anxious.
• On the fifth day, Xiao Hua watched Ji Mie punish monks carrying water and introduced himself as Tipu, seeking instruction on Nirvana.
• Ji Mie ordered Xiao Hua to leave and dismissed his request, so Xiao Hua criticized Ji Mie’s harsh methods and approach to cultivation.
• Ji Mie grew angry and accused Xiao Hua of trying to gain fame by debating Buddhist teachings.

Xiao Hua provoked Great Chan Master Ji Mie into a battle at Golden Mountain Temple, where their Buddhist techniques clashed over the Chen River. Ji Mie unleashed Red Lotus Karmic Fire and Mountain Power, sending Xiao Hua and his Nine Dragon Scepter Staff plunging to the riverbed.

• Xiao Hua taunted Great Chan Master Ji Mie about his jealousy of Compassionate Young Monk, and Ji Mie attacked him with a golden Buddha palm.
• Xiao Hua fled toward the Chen River as Ji Mie pursued him, and their Zen staff and Nine Dragon Scepter Staff battled above the water.
• Ji Mie used Buddhist seals to summon celestial maidens and yakshas, while Xiao Hua countered with Mountain Power and shattered them with Buddhist-lit stones.
• Ji Mie revealed his two-headed, four-armed Dharma body and spread Red Lotus Karmic Fire across the sky.
• Xiao Hua’s mountain restraints dissolved against the karmic fire, and he escaped through a gap only to be struck by Ji Mie’s Mountain Power and driven into the Chen River with his staff.

After failing to persuade Great Chan Master Ji Mie to help him, Xiao Hua met Ming Shen in a cave and learned more about the abbot’s habits. Ming Shen’s stories left Xiao Hua increasingly concerned about how he could approach Ji Mie again.

• Great Chan Master Ji Mie ended his fight with Xiao Hua, warned him not to return, and flew back into Golden Mountain Temple.
• Xiao Hua walked upstream in the rain and found Ming Shen roasting a rabbit in a cave after sneaking away from the temple.
• Ming Shen praised Xiao Hua for standing up to the abbot, while Xiao Hua complained that Ji Mie had ruined his business.
• Xiao Hua gave Ming Shen spirit wine, and Ming Shen gladly shared what he knew about Great Chan Master Ji Mie.
• Ming Shen described Ji Mie as an old, harsh, and stingy abbot who beat and cursed the temple’s monks and refused to help visitors, leaving Xiao Hua deep in thought.

Xiao Hua learned of Great Chan Master Ji Mie's yearly vigil by the Chen River and realized the monk might be unable to notice a body drifting past him. Hoping to save Jiang Liuer, Xiao Hua placed him in the river, where Great Chan Master Ji Mie discovered him entering Nirvana.

• Ming Shen told Xiao Hua that Great Chan Master Ji Mie sat on a riverside rock through the night every thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month.
• Xiao Hua warned Ming Shen not to spy on Great Chan Master Ji Mie again, then wandered beside the Chen River and quietly cultivated for several days.
• On the thirtieth day, Xiao Hua found Great Chan Master Ji Mie meditating on the rock and noticed a dead body drifting in the river, which gave him an idea.
• Xiao Hua placed Jiang Liuer in a seven-colored lotus, then switched him into a broken wooden basin and concealed himself as dawn approached.
• Great Chan Master Ji Mie opened his eyes, saw Jiang Liuer sitting in the basin and entering Nirvana, and froze in shock.

Jiang Liuer entered Nirvana at Golden Mountain Temple, leaving Xiao Hua amazed and worried about who could protect him there. Xiao Hua decided to use a fire ape and created an elaborate illusory mountain abode for it, naming the cave Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

• Jiang Liuer entered Nirvana as a rainbow and Buddhist light appeared above Golden Mountain Temple, and Great Chan Master Ji Mie recognized the signs and kowtowed toward the west.
• Great Chan Master Ji Mie gathered Jiang Liuer and his broken wooden basin and carried them into Golden Mountain Temple.
• Xiao Hua worried that Jiang Liuer would be unsafe without a protector and considered using one of his fire apes.
• Xiao Hua surveyed the surrounding area, entered his space, and created a thousand-mile illusion with a towering mountain, streams, and a cave abode.
• Xiao Hua named the cave Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua lured the freed fire ape into his fabricated Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave and, after the ape mistook him for a long-lost master, agreed to teach it divine abilities in exchange for protecting an ordinary monk. The fire ape followed him into the cave, where Xiao Hua continued to conceal the illusion’s flaws.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua released the fire ape and created a strange mountain and auspicious cave to draw it in.
• The fire ape wandered away, rejected Xiao Hua’s song, then became wary of the strange mountain and entered it to investigate.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua appeared as an immortal elder, and the fire ape rushed to him and called him Master.
• Xiao Hua denied being the fire ape’s former master, but agreed to teach it divine abilities if it protected an ordinary monk and never revealed his Daoist title.
• The fire ape pledged to obey and followed Xiao Hua into the cave, where he repaired the illusion as they walked.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and taught him several divine abilities, strengthening his primordial thought with Rainbow Bloom. When Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque and Meng Mountain, Xiao Hua suspected the macaque had murdered Master Ke Qin, but he concealed his reaction and continued teaching.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and agreed to teach him despite his approaching tribulation.
• Yuan Tongtian requested staff techniques, shapeshifting, and a third ability to choose later, so Jade Slip Xiao Hua imparted several techniques and promised more instruction.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used Rainbow Bloom to help Yuan Tongtian strengthen and control his primordial thought.
• Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque and said he had searched for him on Meng Mountain, prompting Xiao Hua to connect the macaque to Master Ke Qin's death.
• Yuan Tongtian worried about Xiao Hua as the cave shook, but Xiao Hua insisted on continuing the lesson and prepared to teach him the key to shapeshifting.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua helped Yuan Tongtian master the Shapeshifting Technique, then ended their arrangement and sent him to secretly protect a young monk near the Chen River. Xiao Hua erased the Six-Eared Macaque’s memories and abandoned him in dangerous terrain before hurrying toward Great Snow Mountain with Jiang Liuer, worried about the time left before the spatial passageway collapsed.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used a Mother-Child Spirit Fruit to help Yuan Tongtian transform, then reprimanded him for showing off.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua told Yuan Tongtian to find and secretly protect a five- or six-year-old monk near the Chen River, gave him a black iron staff, and ended their connection.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua spared the Six-Eared Macaque in deference to Master Ke Qin’s wishes, erased his memories, and collapsed Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain.
• Yuan Tongtian left to seek the young monk, while Xiao Hua watched him go and then headed toward Great Snow Mountain.
• Xiao Hua threw the injured Six-Eared Macaque into dangerous mountains and continued toward Great Chan Master Ji Mie, hoping he could help Jiang Liuer awaken before the spatial passageway collapsed.

Xiao Hua returned to Little Linglong Temple, remembered the old monk, and discovered the pills he had used to sustain himself. After reopening the spatial passageway and leaving the Pure Land, Xiao Hua sensed an ominous presence, while a distant hall revealed the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One.

• Xiao Hua reached Great Snow Mountain by way of Sage River and found Little Linglong Temple buried beneath snow.
• Xiao Hua swept the temple courtyard, considered leaving Wang Zhengfei and his mother there, then rejected the idea.
• Xiao Hua found black pills in the old monk’s cabinet and took one after recognizing them as life-sustaining pills.
• Xiao Hua searched within the mountain for a possible teleportation array site, left a spiritual-sense marker, and reopened the spatial passageway.
• Xiao Hua sensed danger as he approached the passageway and hurried through before the crack closed behind him.
• Far away, the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One sat in a vast hall surrounded by Buddhist light and countless minor worlds.

The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One preached the Ananda Scripture in a crowded Buddhist assembly as the Bodhisattvas returned to their places. Manjushri Bodhisattva took his seat, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva unexpectedly appeared, leaving the World Honored One concerned about the unusual events.

• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One preached the Ananda Scripture and explained why he had taught it again after six hundred years.
• A Heavenly King announced that Manjushri Bodhisattva had returned, and Manjushri entered the hall and paid his respects.
• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One warned Manjushri that he had only reached the first of the Nine Revolutions and still had much to learn.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva merged with the golden light and took his place, while powerful Buddha light and faith filled his golden body.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s radiance appeared unexpectedly, prompting the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One to voice concern about the strange events.
• A Heavenly King reported that Samantabhadra Bodhisattva had descended, and Samantabhadra emerged from a lotus and paid his respects without entering the hall.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva restored his golden body in the Pure Land World and vowed to find Maitreya Buddha, while the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One learned that Ananda had returned. Rāgaratna Tathagata arranged for Manjushri Bodhisattva to find someone to fetch the Mahayana Tripitaka Sutras, hinting that Ananda was connected to the task and revealing a secret involving the Great Tang Empire and a Stone Monkey.

• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One had Samantabhadra Bodhisattva enter the Lotus Cleansing Pool, where he rebuilt his golden body and received an eighth-rank Lotus Platform.
• Arhat Subduing the Tiger and Ancient Buddha Dipankara praised the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One for spreading Buddhism, and Samantabhadra vowed to find Maitreya Buddha and invite him to Thunder Sound Temple.
• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One sensed that Ananda had returned but admitted he could not determine where Ananda was.
• Rāgaratna Tathagata asked the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One to spread the Mahayana Tripitaka Sutras beyond the Pure Land World, and Manjushri Bodhisattva was ordered to find someone to fetch them.
• Rāgaratna Tathagata secretly told Manjushri Bodhisattva to look to Ananda, then hinted that the sutra-fetching journey recalled a past life in the Great Tang Empire and a Stone Monkey.

Xiao Hua explored the collapsing spatial passageways, discovered that his Nascent Soul could read the Wordless Heavenly Book, and learned it contained the Five Qi Ascending to the Origin cultivation method. The scene then shifted to Black Wind Ridge, where a disciplined gathering of demons faced a Golden Eagle and a White Lion.

• Xiao Hua flew through the spatial passageways with his improved Lightning Evasion Technique and used his instinctive sense of direction to avoid danger.
• Xiao Hua activated the three Heavenly Hearts and combined the three tortoise shells into a blank, three-colored Heavenly Book.
• Xiao Hua's Nascent Soul read the Heavenly Book and recognized the Five Qi Ascending to the Origin cultivation method, but the passageway around Xiao Hua began collapsing.
• Xiao Hua sent green-robed Xiao Hua to read the Heavenly Book while he continued forward through the void.
• Thousands of birds and beasts gathered at Black Wind Ridge beneath the Golden Eagle and White Lion.

Black Bear Spirit stalled Great King Golden Eagle and Great King Ten Thousand Lions, who had besieged Black Wind Ridge for a hundred days to force out the cultivator behind its powerful formation. The two kings revealed that hidden figures in Black Cloud Ridge had enlisted them as cover, and they resolved to keep obeying those figures to survive.

• Black Bear Spirit questioned Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions about the siege, while the kings demanded to know who had created the formation protecting Black Wind Ridge.
• Black Bear Spirit claimed the cultivator had left, but Golden Eagle insisted he bring out everyone at Black Wind Ridge who was not a demon, especially the cultivator.
• Black Bear Spirit warned the kings not to risk their lives for someone else's promises, then slipped through the formation and disappeared.
• Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions discussed how Black Bear Spirit had stayed close to the formation and concluded they would need to break it to reach their objective.
• Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions admitted that powerful hidden figures had made them unwitting cover, and decided to continue serving them so they could stay alive.

Great King Ten Thousand Lions and Great King Golden Eagle discussed the siege of Black Wind Ridge, while Black Bear Spirit struggled to keep his starving demons from attacking Princess Changling’s soldiers. Inside the formation, Qin Qingyu explained how he had joined the trapped forces and realized Xiao Hua was likely the true target of the siege.

• Great King Ten Thousand Lions and Great King Golden Eagle decided to keep surrounding Black Wind Ridge and kill Black Bear Spirit’s forces if they tried to escape.
• Black Bear Spirit stopped his hungry demons from approaching the soldiers and warned them not to eat humans.
• Black Bear Spirit urged Qin Qingyu and the others to decide when they would break out, warning that the demons were nearing disorder.
• Qin Qingyu recalled joining Black Wind Ridge with Qin Xiaoyao and leading Daoist soldiers into Xiao Hua’s formation after the enemy attack overwhelmed the local demons.
• Qin Qingyu concluded that the siege was meant to starve the defenders and draw out Xiao Hua, while he had been mistaken for the absent Nascent Soul cultivator.