Recaps

Xiao Hua defeated a Confucian defensive array and survived the giant beast Du’s explosive attack, then searched the area with Xiao Yin and Xiao Guo. He found that Yaotai Mountain’s underground was sealed against escape and learned Xiao Yin could not locate the National Teacher’s token nearby.

• Xiao Hua tore apart a Wood-attribute defensive array and confronted the giant beast Du hidden inside.
• Xiao Hua nearly captured the Du, but it exploded with Vast Righteous Qi, forcing him to evade the blast and flee incoming Righteous Qi Pillars.
• Xiao Hua burned the bones scattered around the ruined array, while Xiao Guo returned with rare spirit herbs and Xiao Yin found materials and the Du’s horn.
• Xiao Hua discovered that Confucian arts prevented him and Xiao Yin from burrowing deep underground, then destroyed the remaining ancient trees.
• Xiao Hua tried to guide Xiao Yin toward the National Teacher’s token, but Xiao Yin found nothing, leaving Xiao Hua to suspect the token was out of range or concealed inside a defensive array.

Xiao Hua followed Little Silver to a cold ravine, where True Person Xiangtian demanded the Spirit Seeking Rat for his tiger cat. Their confrontation was interrupted by True Person Yuanqing’s arrival, and Xiangtian left with his beast through a wind tunnel.

• Xiao Hua followed Little Silver past two fleeing Golden Core cultivators to a ravine surrounded by gray-white mountain ranges.
• True Person Xiangtian arrived with his tiger cat and offered one hundred top-grade Qi Stones for Little Silver, but Xiao Hua refused.
• True Person Xiangtian threatened Xiao Hua after his tiger cat tried to attack Little Silver, and Xiao Hua prepared to fight back.
• True Person Yuanqing arrived riding a two-headed beast, interrupting the confrontation.
• True Person Xiangtian flew into a nearby wind tunnel with his tiger cat, while Little Silver taunted the departing beast.

Xiao Hua and True Person Yuanqing entered the mist-filled formation, where Yuanqing told him about Fairy Xiangfeng and True Person Xiangtian. When Si Hong roared in anger, Yuanqing rushed to its aid and found it fighting Xiangtian’s tiger-cat.

• True Person Yuanqing joined Xiao Hua after True Person Xiangtian withdrew, and Xiao Hua agreed to cooperate with Yuanqing while pursuing their separate goals.
• Yuanqing explained that Fairy Xiangfeng was a male Nascent Soul cultivator who cherished and empowered True Person Xiangtian, his kept man.
• Yuanqing heard Si Hong roar and charged toward it, while Xiao Hua followed after realizing Yuanqing was seeking the Chilling Phantom Gall.
• Xiao Hua found Yuanqing facing True Person Xiangtian as Si Hong fought the tiger-cat, which had wounded Si Hong with its bites.
• Si Hong bit at the tiger-cat, which leapt into its mouth as Si Hong attacked its tail with its other head.

Little Silver killed True Person Xiangtian’s tiger-cat, prompting Xiangtian to attack Xiao Hua before the defensive array intervened. The array revealed a treasure and other cultivators, and True Person Yuanqing proposed that he and Xiao Hua join forces to kill Xiangtian.

• The tiger-cat dodged Si Hong’s attack, wounded Si Hong, and fought it until Little Silver flew from Xiao Hua’s hand and pierced through the tiger-cat, leaving it limp for Si Hong to kill.
• True Person Yuanqing sent his halberd toward the tiger-cat, and True Person Xiangtian countered with his flying sword before turning his fury on Xiao Hua.
• Xiangtian’s attack triggered the defensive array, whose Vast Righteous Qi cleared the fog and revealed several cultivators and a two-colored light emanating from an extraordinary treasure.
• A distant Nascent Soul cultivator charged toward the treasure, and Xiangtian pursued him; Yuanqing retrieved Si Hong and urged Xiao Hua to join him in killing Xiangtian.
• Xiao Hua agreed, while Yuanqing offered to leave the treasure to their target or split it with Xiao Hua.

The imperial formation unleashed endless iron cavalry and hidden immortal soldiers, killing many Golden Core cultivators as True Person Xiangtian and a nameless Nascent Soul cultivator raced for the strange treasure. Xiao Hua carved out a safe zone to protect the survivors, but the two Nascent Soul cultivators’ clash strengthened the formation and left the Golden Core cultivators in danger again.

• The pipa music activated the imperial formation, filling its icy rivers and pools with war riders and hidden attackers.
• Immortal soldiers ambushed and killed a Golden Core cultivator, while roughly half of the trapped Golden Core cultivators fell.
• True Person Xiangtian and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator rushed toward the jade box containing the strange treasure as the survivors tried to gather around them.
• Xiao Hua overtook True Person Yuanqing, killed several concealed immortal soldiers with his golden shears, and expanded a protected zone for nearby Golden Core cultivators.
• True Person Xiangtian and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator clashed, shaking the imperial formation and unleashing more troops that engulfed the surviving Golden Core cultivators.

Xiao Hua fought through the ice cavalrymen and immortal generals as the Confucian cultivators’ array overwhelmed the Golden Core cultivators. True Person Xiangtian battled True Person Yuanqing and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator while reaching for the strange treasure, and the chapter ended with Xiao Hua knocking Xiangtian’s cauldron away as he tried to stop him.

• Ice cavalrymen and lances appeared throughout the defensive array, killing the Golden Core cultivators while Xiao Hua fought to protect himself.
• Xiao Hua used the As-You-Wish Staff to kill a concealed immortal general and then joined True Person Xiangtian, True Person Yuanqing, and the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator.
• True Person Xiangtian fought off the nameless Nascent Soul cultivator’s hand and blocked True Person Yuanqing’s halberd with a cauldron.
• True Person Xiangtian sent his Cold Plum Flying Sword toward the strange treasure, and Xiao Hua rushed in to stop him.
• True Person Xiangtian sent his cauldron crashing toward Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua struck it with the As-You-Wish Staff and knocked it out of control.

Xiao Hua stopped the other cultivators from fighting as the imperial formation’s faint wind grew more dangerous, and he organized them into an alliance to protect themselves and approach the cliff. The four cultivators headed toward the exotic treasure under the protection of Xiao Hua’s Weak Water Bead, leaving the treasure’s identity and their escape from the formation unresolved.

• Xiao Hua warned True Person Xiangtian that his fights were worsening the imperial formation and killing Golden Core cultivators.
• As the faint wind intensified and threatened their magical treasures, True Person Yuanqing retrieved the Minghao Halberd, True Person Xiangtian reclaimed his weapons, and Xu Tingzi used a Wind-Quelling Bead.
• Xiao Hua confronted True Person Xiangtian, and True Person Yuanqing and Xu Tingzi joined him in opposing further reckless fighting.
• Xiao Hua and Xu Tingzi agreed to cooperate because they sought different things, and True Person Xiangtian reluctantly joined after Xiao Hua proposed they leave the exotic treasure untouched until they could protect themselves.
• Xiao Hua deployed the Weak Water Bead to shield the group, and the four cultivators began flying toward the cliff.

Xiao Hua guided the group through the Star Lord imperial formation and helped them reach a jade box, but the formation expanded and brought in many new cultivators. As rival Nascent Soul hands contested the treasure, a three-colored giant python descended, and True Person Xiangtian recognized the Twenty-Eight Star Lords.

• Xu Tingzi used the Wind-Quelling Bead to weaken the winds, while True Person Xiangtian guarded the group with his sword and Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiao Hua detected hidden immortal generals and directed True Person Yuanqing and Xu Tingzi to attack them as the group advanced toward the jade box.
• Xiao Hua told True Person Yuanqing to retrieve the jade box and then take custody of it, but the imperial formation expanded and the cliff retreated before Yuanqing could reach it.
• Newly arrived cultivators sent Nascent Soul hands toward the jade box, and Xiao Hua crushed their hands when they turned against his own.
• A three-colored giant python descended amid renewed winds and waters, and True Person Xiangtian identified it as the Twenty-Eight Star Lords.

A three-colored python spear grievously wounded Xiao Hua, and the Nascent Soul cultivators abandoned him to race for the unusual treasure. As the Imperial Array erupted into battle, a hidden force killed one cultivator and seized his Nascent Soul.

• A three-colored python transformed into a spear and pierced Xiao Hua, while True Person Yuanqing and True Person Xiangtian resumed their advance toward the unusual treasure.
• Xu Tingzi recognized that the Star Lord had attacked Xiao Hua for helping the others cooperate, gave up the treasure race, and stayed nearby in case he could rescue Xiao Hua.
• The Nascent Soul cultivators rushed for the unusual treasure, and a winged demon-body cultivator smashed through a giant hand before a five-colored magic treasure blocked him.
• The Imperial Array filled with icy rivers, iron cavalry, mist, and music as the cultivators fought amid its shifting formations.
• An iron spear pierced a short cultivator after his life-bound treasure was destroyed, and a Righteous Qi Pillar swallowed his fleeing Nascent Soul.

Xu Tingzi realized the Yaotai Gathering’s controlling formation might be a deadly trap and went to rescue the injured Xiao Hua, gathering nearly twenty Golden Core cultivators along the way. When a three-colored python spear attacked Xu Tingzi, Xiao Hua suddenly sprang into action and trapped it with his Sleeve Universe technique.

• Xu Tingzi suspected the Star Lord Palace had turned the Yaotai Gathering into a deathtrap and decided to seek out Xiao Hua for help escaping.
• Xu Tingzi found Xiao Hua unconscious, then agreed to protect nearby Golden Core cultivators after they swore blood oaths.
• Xu Tingzi led the cultivators through the formation, fighting iron cavalry and immortal soldiers while growing increasingly fearful of the Star Lord guarding the formation.
• A three-colored python spear descended and overwhelmed Xu Tingzi’s Heaven Shaking Hammer as he tried to retreat.
• Xiao Hua sprang up after Xu Tingzi tossed him aside and used Sleeve Universe to ensnare the python spear, while Vast Righteous Qi struck at his technique.

Xiao Hua confronted Jing Mu An, a Star Lord who tried to recruit him and then unleashed the star formation’s power. As their battle raged, Xiao Hua brought out several weapons and techniques, and Jing Mu An recognized the danger of the figure emerging from Xiao Hua’s gourd.

• Xiao Hua seized the serpent spear and forced Jing Mu An to reveal himself as a Star Lord of the Star Lord Palace.
• Jing Mu An offered to make Xiao Hua his Star General, but Xiao Hua refused and rejected the Confucian cultivator.
• Jing Mu An activated the Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl formation, trapping the cultivators as Xiao Hua attacked him with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• Xiao Hua shattered Jing Mu An’s spear and injured his arm, but Jing Mu An recovered and fought back with a bizarre weapon.
• Xiao Hua fought Jing Mu An while sending the Soaring Flood Dragon Scissors after him, then summoned a figure from a small gourd.
• Jing Mu An recognized the figure emerging from the gourd and summoned a majestic boy from his own true qi.

Xiao Hua fought Jing Mu An, who revealed his Three Qi Grand Unity cultivation and refined-spirit realm, while the defensive array’s two dragons threatened to overwhelm him. Xiao Hua suppressed the array with the Mountain River Seal and beheaded Jing Mu An’s golden body, but Jing Mu An began to self-detonate his Primordial Spirit, leaving Xiao Hua in danger.

• Jing Mu An manifested his three-colored child, blocked Xiao Hua’s Spirit Severing Primordial Light, and attacked him with inscriptions and lightning.
• Xiao Hua struck Jing Mu An with ghostly green lightning and a two-colored fire net, but a hidden suction force forced his Nascent Soul back into his body.
• Jing Mu An empowered the defensive array’s two dragon shapes with True Qi and sent them toward Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua summoned the Mountain River Seal, which suppressed the dragon shapes, Dragon Pearls, and Jing Mu An’s child.
• The Spirit Severing Primordial Light cut through Jing Mu An’s defenses and severed his golden body, but Jing Mu An began to self-detonate his Primordial Spirit.

After surviving Jing Mu An’s self-destruction, Xiao Hua concealed his survival while True Person Xiangtian tried to kill him. Xiao Hua counterattacked, but a Righteous Qi Pillar appeared and seized Xiangtian’s fleeing Nascent Soul.

• Jing Mu An’s self-destruction devastated the defensive array, leaving Xiao Hua severely injured and six Nascent Soul cultivators alive.
• True Person Xiangtian discovered Xiao Hua’s body and decided to kill him for his treasures, while True Person Yuanqing and the others searched for the jade casket.
• True Person Xiangtian’s flying sword struck Xiao Hua’s As-You-Wish Staff, revealing that Xiao Hua had been feigning unconsciousness with the Concealment of Heaven’s Guise.
• Xiao Hua attacked Xiangtian with golden light, cleaving his body and forcing his Nascent Soul to flee into the void.
• Xiao Hua sent the Sword Gourd after Xiangtian’s Nascent Soul, but a Righteous Qi Pillar descended and dragged the Nascent Soul back out of the void.

Xiao Hua defeated True Person Xiangtian, though the Righteous Qi Pillar swept Xiangtian’s Nascent Soul away before Xiao Hua could determine whether he had truly died. Xiao Hua rescued Xu Tingzi and nine Golden Core cultivators, then offered to take them under his protection as they faced death on Yaotai Mountain.

• The Righteous Qi Pillar swept True Person Xiangtian’s Nascent Soul through a closing fissure, leaving Xiao Hua unsure whether Xiangtian was dead or alive.
• Xiao Hua sent True Person Yuanqing and the other four Nascent Soul cultivators to search for treasures, then considered the incomplete magic treasures he carried.
• Xiao Hua found Xu Tingzi’s Heaven Shaking Hammer and discovered that Xu Tingzi and nine Golden Core cultivators had survived, though all were gravely wounded.
• Xiao Hua gave Xu Tingzi and the nine cultivators pills that helped them recover enough to awaken, and Xu Tingzi told them their blood oaths had transferred to Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua offered to preserve the nine cultivators’ lives and support their future cultivation if they pledged loyalty to him.

Xiao Hua took Pan Yue, the other Golden Core cultivators, and Xu Tingzi into the Mountain River Seal, then worried that breaking a Star Lord imperial formation and killing a Star Lord had exposed him to Kong Hongwu. In Star Lord Palace, Kong Hongwu watched lights fall from the Twenty-Eight Mansions into the river below, until the Bi'an constellation flared and the nearby starry river began to churn.

• Xiao Hua gave Pan Yue and the others pills to help them re-condense their Golden Cores, then took them into the Mountain River Seal to cultivate.
• Xu Tingzi asked Xiao Hua to take him into the Mountain River Seal and warned him that two Nascent Souls had vanished after their hosts died in the formation.
• Xiao Hua took Xu Tingzi inside, then worried that Kong Hongwu would retaliate for his breaking the imperial formation and killing a Star Lord.
• Kong Hongwu watched lights fall from the Twenty-Eight Mansions into the river beneath the starry sky, while Xiaoyun and the girl looked on.
• The Bi'an constellation suddenly blazed, and the nearby dragon-shaped river of stars began to whirl and crash toward the stars.

Kong Hongwu discovered that the Jing Mu An star array had been breached and sent a golden-armored divine being into the starry sky. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua secured the National Teacher's token and, having decided not to continue through Yaotai Mountain, asked the cultivators about the Heavenly Soul, Earthly Essence, and Human Vitality.

• Kong Hongwu realized that Old Man Hongmeng had sent Xiao Hua to disrupt the Star Lord Palace, then summoned a golden-armored divine being and sent it into the starry sky.
• Xiao Hua burned True Person Xiangtian's corpse, collected his belongings, and took the Cold Plum Flying Sword.
• True Person Jingting found the jade box, and Xiao Hua told him the National Teacher's token would be his while the other contents would belong to Jingting.
• Xiao Hua accepted gifts from True Person Yuanqing and the other Nascent Soul cultivators, then claimed the Suanni-shaped National Teacher's token from the jade box.
• Xiao Hua announced that he would wait for the Yaotai Gathering to end rather than continue onward, then asked which cultivator knew about the Heavenly Soul, Earthly Essence, and Human Vitality.

Xiao Hua followed True Person Jingting to a hidden protective formation as the Star Lord Palace drew every cultivator into a spreading blood-red light filled with exotic treasures. There, Jingting revealed that he had attended the Yaotai Gathering thirteen times without ever obtaining a National Teacher's token, and that spite had kept him returning after his original chance to found a nation was lost.

• True Person Jingting offered to lead Xiao Hua to a place within Yaotai Mountain in exchange for a share of what they found there.
• A blood-red meteor streaked from Yaotai Mountain, and the Star Lord Palace's rosy light spread across the sky as jade caskets and cultivators vanished into it.
• Xiao Hua urged the others to enter the light, then followed True Person Jingting while True Person Yuanqing chose to stay with him.
• True Person Jingting led Xiao Hua and True Person Yuanqing to a sandbar where three streams met, identifying it as the location of the human essence.
• True Person Jingting revealed that he had attended twelve previous Yaotai Gatherings without obtaining a National Teacher's token and had continued out of spite after the general he once hoped to help abandoned him.

Xiao Hua, True Person Yuanqing, and True Person Jingting entered the sandbar’s defensive formation after a demon beast inside briefly opened a breach. They found Nascent Soul cultivators restraining the beast and threatening an injured woman, while two familiar rivals, True Person Xifan and True Person Chu Feng, watched them with mockery.

• True Person Jingting explained how he had first entered the sandbar and offered to serve Xiao Hua in exchange for his protection.
• Xiao Hua accepted Jingting’s offer, then sensed an aura breaking through the defensive formation and dragged Jingting and Yuanqing toward it.
• Xiao Hua forced open the breach and discovered a Daoist formation concealing a sandbar where cultivators were restraining a huge rabbit-like demon beast.
• Xiao Hua recognized True Person Xifan and True Person Chu Feng among the cultivators surrounding the beast and an injured woman.
• The demon beast roared and struggled against its restraints as Xiao Hua’s group entered the formation.

Xiao Hua intervened when Fairy Jing and her demon beast were besieged, then clashed with the late Nascent Soul cultivators who emerged from the spell formations. The battle escalated as his attack shook the defensive formation.

• True Person Jingting revealed that he knew Fairy Jing, and Xiao Hua chose to watch rather than immediately help her.
• Fairy Jing called out to True Person Jingting, prompting True Person Chu Feng and True Person Xifan to challenge Xiao Hua and claim they were upholding the Daoist sect's righteousness.
• Xiao Hua pretended to leave, then struck True Person Chu Feng and True Person Xifan with a golden palm, freeing Fairy Jing's demon beast from its restraints.
• A black-armored cultivator and other Nascent Soul cultivators emerged from the spell formations, and True Lord Huode and two others attacked Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua shattered the crimson fist and restrained another attack, but the whisk in the rosy mist destroyed one of his fingers.
• The black-armored cultivator raised an iron spike, and Xiao Hua abruptly retreated as a violent impact shook the defensive formation.

Xiao Hua avenged True Person Jingting by crushing True Person Chu Feng and True Person Xifan, then clashed with True Lord Huode and the cultivators beside him. The battle paused when Fairy Jing spotted True Person Jingting’s surviving Nascent Soul near the edge of the formation.

• True Person Chu Feng used a powerful diamond-shaped magical treasure to kill True Person Jingting and injure True Person Yuanqing, while Xiao Hua rushed toward the blast.
• Xiao Hua crushed True Person Chu Feng and True Person Xifan’s physical bodies, then used the Spirit Severing Primordial Light to extinguish True Person Chu Feng’s Nascent Soul.
• Xiao Hua let True Person Xifan’s Nascent Soul fall into the mist below, where the Star Lord Palace’s force overwhelmed it, while True Lord Huode attacked with his fire gourd.
• Xiao Hua’s Spirit Severing Primordial Light clashed with True Lord Huode’s crimson flame, and Xiao Hua warned Shui Ming and the others not to interfere.
• The Xuanjia cultivator attacked Xiao Hua, who used the Sea-Overturning Seal to suppress his small halberd.
• Fairy Jing spotted True Person Jingting’s surviving Nascent Soul at the edge of the formation, and Xiao Hua realized it had only been knocked unconscious.

Xiao Hua failed to save True Person Jingting's Nascent Soul from the Star Lord Palace's defensive array and received the supposed Human Vitality from Fairy Jing, discovering that it was actually a Mother-Child Spirit Fruit. As the array forced the remaining cultivators out, Xiao Hua and green-robed Xiao Hua discussed the danger threatening Nascent Souls and the mystery behind the array.

• Xiao Hua tried to shield True Person Jingting's Nascent Soul, but the Righteous Qi Pillar swept it away before he could intervene.
• True Lord Huode, the Xuanjia cultivator, Cultivator Shui Ming, and the other cultivators were carried off by the blood-red radiance as the defensive array sealed.
• Fairy Jing gave Xiao Hua the Human Vitality, and Xiao Hua recognized the fruit as a Mother-Child Spirit Fruit after recalling Cai Zhuoxia's description.
• Xiao Hua took Fairy Jing's Ink Cloud Pupil but returned the jade box and told her to leave, while she gave him the location of her cave abode and named her demonic beast Ying Huo.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua told Xiao Hua that a powerful force threatened any Nascent Soul leaving the body, and that neither of them could break the array or rescue True Person Jingting.

Xiao Hua realized the Star Lord Palace intended to kill nearly all the cultivators at Yaotai Mountain and sent green-robed Xiao Hua into the imperial formation to find a way to survive. Xiao Hua was trapped in the formation’s blood-colored glow, and his weakening connection to green-robed Xiao Hua left him fearing something had gone wrong.

• Xiao Hua and green-robed Xiao Hua concluded that the Star Lord Palace planned to eliminate the cultivators at Yaotai Mountain and that they needed to find a flaw in the imperial formation.
• Xiao Hua urged green-robed Xiao Hua to enter the formation, and green-robed Xiao Hua reluctantly chose the Nascent Soul of a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator as his body.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua took the Ice Mirror, obtained the Kunlun Mirror from True Person Xifan’s Cosmic Bag, and absorbed Xiao Hua’s two-colored spiritual flame to refine the mirror.
• The imperial formation seized green-robed Xiao Hua and then drew Xiao Hua into the blood-colored glow, sealing much of his power and senses.
• As Xiao Hua traveled upward within the glow, he sensed that green-robed Xiao Hua’s Righteous Qi Pillar was weakening and realized something was wrong.

Xiao Hua entered a void formation and was transported into a star-filled sky, where True Lord Huode, Ao Zhantian, Shui Mingzi, and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators surrounded him. Accused of being a Confucian spy, Xiao Hua gave them a chance to leave and counted down as they stayed to confront him.

• Xiao Hua sensed that green-robed Xiao Hua had vanished but felt he was not yet in danger.
• Xiao Hua realized he was inside the void, was suddenly transported to a starry red sky, and repelled an ambush with his As-You-Wish Staff.
• True Lord Huode, Ao Zhantian, Shui Mingzi, and several dozen Nascent Soul cultivators surrounded Xiao Hua and accused him of infiltrating the Daoist sect as a Confucian spy.
• Xiao Hua denied the accusation, explained his plans to revive the Daoist sect, and demanded that the cultivators withdraw.
• True Lord Huode and Ao Zhantian dismissed Xiao Hua’s warning as a bluff, while the surrounding cultivators stayed silent as he counted down to two.

Xiao Hua fought True Lord Huode and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, using Dragon Vein Xiao Hua’s Five Qi True Thunder to break their attack. The clash left his Nascent Soul weakened, and True Lord Huode revealed that he had been targeting Xiao Hua’s sword gourd.

• Xiong Yi tried to flee the encirclement, but True Lord Huode attacked him as Xiao Hua counted down and struck Huode’s fire shuttle with lightning.
• Xiao Hua let Dragon Vein Xiao Hua control his Nascent Soul, and Dragon Vein Xiao Hua used powerful lightning to destroy two cultivators’ magic treasures.
• Xiao Hua sent the Spirit Severing Primordial Light at True Lord Huode, who rallied the cultivators into a combined attack and called on Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian to assist him.
• Dragon Vein Xiao Hua summoned Five Qi True Thunder and damaged the life-bound magic treasures of dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, leaving Xiao Hua’s Nascent Soul badly weakened.
• True Lord Huode’s fire gourd destroyed the Spirit Severing Primordial Light and reached for Xiao Hua’s sword gourd, revealing that the sword gourd had been his target.

Xiao Hua fought Shui Mingzi, Ao Zhantian, and True Lord Huode at once, using his Daoist treasures and Confucian techniques to overwhelm them. He disarmed and wounded True Lord Huode, then pressed his attack while the other battles continued.

• Xiao Hua sent the Sea-Overturning Seal and Divine Strength Centipede against Shui Mingzi and met Ao Zhantian’s dragon halberd with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• Xiao Hua recited Confucian verses that struck True Lord Huode with Righteous Qi and internal fire, forcing him to use Fire Qi Ascending to Origin.
• Ao Zhantian revealed his True Dragon bloodline as Xiao Hua drove him back with the As-You-Wish Staff.
• Shui Mingzi pierced the Sea-Overturning Seal’s phantom with his whisk, but Xiao Hua redirected his attack toward True Lord Huode.
• Xiao Hua severed part of True Lord Huode’s arm with golden scissors, stole his Fire Gourd, and attacked him with sword lights and the Spirit Severing Primordial Light.