Recaps

Xiao Hua bargained with the Four Seas Dragon Kings for the return of the Dongtian River dragons and the West Sea Dragon Seat, demanding rare treasures and resources. After securing several concessions, he revealed his true price: the West Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury.

• Xiao Hua demanded Metal-Wood Primordial Magnetism in exchange for allowing the Dongtian River Dragon race to return, and True Person collected it from the South Sea Dragon Palace.
• Xiao Hua demanded Innate Wood Mother from Ao Gou, who handed it over after Xiao Hua threatened to send Feng Wu to the North Sea Dragon Palace.
• Ao Dou gave Xiao Hua a Dragon Pouch containing a high-level wind escape art as compensation for his fright.
• Xiao Hua asked for Water Origin, but Ao Dou and Ao Hong insisted that none existed in the Four Seas, so Xiao Hua dropped the demand.
• Xiao Hua announced that the earlier demands had only been appetizers and demanded the West Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury from Ao Hong.

Xiao Hua forced Ao Hong to trade half of West Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury for the West Sea Dragon Seat and demanded thirty percent of East Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury for returning the Four Seas Pearl. After sending Liu Yi and Jiang Hong to Dongtian River with their forces, Xiao Hua prepared to accompany the injured Ao Hong to West Sea Dragon Palace.

• Xiao Hua negotiated with Ao Hong for fifty percent of West Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury and promised to share what he knew about the West Sea Fire Dragon Soul for free.
• Xiao Hua demanded thirty percent of East Sea Dragon Palace's Treasury from Ao Gou for the Four Seas Pearl, then broke Ao Gou's restriction and rebuked the Dragon Kings.
• Xiao Hua gave Liu Yi the Spirit Binding Lock in exchange for borrowing the Treasure Dropping Copper Coin and ordered him to lead the forces away from South Sea Dragon Palace.
• Xiao Hua told Liu Yi to send Jiang Hong and the dragons to Dongtian River, reassuring Jiang Hong that he did not intend to take control of her home.
• Xiao Hua watched the Four Seas Dragon Kings grow wary of the forces under Liu Yi and Jiang Hong, then asked Ao Hong to take him to West Sea Dragon Palace.

Xiao Hua reached the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons after escorting Ao Hong, then tricked him into investigating Xuancheng over the missing Fire Dragon Soul. As Xiao Hua and Feng Wu flew onward, Xiao Hua revealed that he intended for Little White Dragon to eventually claim the West Sea Dragon Seat.

• Xiao Hua thanked Ao Hong for escorting him and pretended to leave without sharing the promised news about the Fire Dragon Soul.
• Xiao Hua told Ao Hong that Xuancheng knew about the Fire Dragon Soul, then escaped toward the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons.
• Ao Hong realized Xiao Hua had sent him after Xuancheng and plunged into the sea, furious.
• Xiao Hua explained to Feng Wu that Ao Hong would likely punish Xuancheng for failing to report the Fire Dragon Soul's disappearance.
• Xiao Hua said he had returned the West Sea Dragon Seat only temporarily and planned for Little White Dragon to obtain it after gaining the Fire Dragon Soul.
• Feng Wu admitted he knew nothing about the Heavenly Phoenix's mission, and Xiao Hua left the matter to fate.

Xiao Hua explained how he intended to use Dragon Island’s appointment and alliances to restrain the Four Seas Dragon Palace, while Feng Wu adjusted to his new Great Sage status. They traveled into the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons to investigate the deceased Great Demon’s ancestor, and Feng Wu sensed a summons from the great hall connected to his ascension.

• Xiao Hua outlined Dragon Island’s motives for making him Dragon Master and described how Ao Zhan, Little White Dragon, and Jiang Hong could shift power among the dragon palaces.
• Xiao Hua told Feng Wu that the True Person’s reputation could deter the Dragon Race, then teased him for still wanting to fight Old Demon Zhi Feng.
• Feng Wu sensed Demon Race cultivators training nearby, and Xiao Hua decided they should search the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons for the famous ancestor of the Great Demon who had attacked him.
• Xiao Hua and Feng Wu crossed a marsh where demon beasts froze in terror at their passing, and they discussed the Sacred Realm’s unusual nature and resemblance to the Primordial Continent.
• Feng Wu said the Sacred Realm felt like home and sensed a summons from the great hall that had appeared when he became a Great Sage.

Xiao Hua and Feng Wu questioned several great demons but learned that the Six Great Sages’ legendary domains and the Great Sacred Hall could not be located. Later, Xiao Hua gathered Wenqu and Wu Daoist to discuss the origins of the myriad Saints and monsters and the mysterious value of souls, leaving the second question unanswered.

• Feng Wu and Xiao Hua questioned several great demons, who could name the Six Great Sages and their legendary domains but could not say where those places were.
• Xiao Hua and Feng Wu debated whether to seek the Great Sacred Hall and decided to follow their earlier plan instead of rushing there.
• Xiao Hua summoned Wenqu and Wu Daoist beneath the stars and asked where the multitude of Saints and Myriad Monsters came from.
• Wenqu and Feng Wu reasoned that Saints and Great Sages from realms beyond the Three Great Continents and the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons could appear among the heavenly stars.
• Xiao Hua asked what souls were used for, and Wu Daoist admitted that even his study of soul cultivation and the inheritances of the Thirteen Great Gods had not given him an answer.

Xiao Hua and his companions discussed the power of souls, the dangers of shortcuts, and why they had returned to the Three Great Continents instead of remaining in the upper realm. Their suspicions turned to the Daoist cultivators gathering nearby and to a possible Dragon Island elder behind the strange events, but the hidden hand remained unknown.

• Feng Wu and Xiao Hua reasoned that Huayue Tiantian Demon had sought countless Primordial Chaos Beast souls to escape the Primordial Continent, and Wu Daoist sensed that souls held immense power.
• Xiao Hua argued that Green Seal Script might reveal the essence of soul cultivation and urged Wu Daoist to keep searching for its true path.
• Wen Qu questioned why they had left the upper realm, and Xiao Hua defended returning to the Three Great Continents to cultivate step by step while worrying about Xu, Yue Mingxin, and Wu Tian.
• Xiao Hua sensed people approaching, and the group debated whether Daoist cultivators had come because of him or to avoid the Immortal Palace's inspectors.
• Xiao Hua and his companions suspected that the Four Seas Dragon Kings' evasiveness, Ao Dai's death, and other events might involve a powerful Dragon Island elder, but Wu Daoist said they were still far from uncovering the truth.

Xiao Hua prepared to investigate the Daoist cultivators while concealing himself as a wyrm demon, and Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian led a group of cultivators through the forest. The group avoided a bat demon, but Ao Zhantian rebuked Fellow Daoist Xin after Xin’s captured beast nearly exposed them.

• Wenqu warned Xiao Hua that testing human loyalty could cause both sides to suffer, and Xiao Hua sent Wu Daoist and Wenqu back into his space.
• Feng Wu concealed his strength but admitted that demons in the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons might sense him, so Xiao Hua used the Thousand Illusions Pearl to disguise himself as a Qixing wyrm demon.
• Xiao Hua vanished into the forest and spotted Shui Mingzi, Ao Zhantian, and the cultivators he had rescued at Mount Jade Terrace moving beneath the canopy.
• A bat-shaped demon searched the forest after detecting a disturbance, but it found nothing and flew away.
• Fellow Daoist Xin revealed himself holding a restrained small beast and explained that its sound had alerted the demon.
• Ao Zhantian scolded Xin for endangering the plan, and Xin crushed the small beast while promising to be more careful.

Xin Ping’s killing of a Moth Beast triggered a growing swarm that pursued Shui Mingzi and the human cultivators, forcing them to seek safety near the eagle bats. As a shadow appeared nearby, Xiao Hua—disguised as a python-dragon—flew toward the group after encountering a huge, bloodthirsty raptor on a mountain.

• Xin Ping killed a Moth Beast, and its blood caused nearby Moth Beasts to go berserk and summon more of their kind to pursue the cultivators.
• Shui Mingzi explained that Moth Beasts multiplied rapidly when one was attacked and that they feared eagle bats.
• Shui Mingzi led Ao Zhantian, Xin Ping, Xu Tingzi, and the other cultivators toward the eagle bats while warning them that the plan was risky.
• A pitch-black shadow appeared near the fleeing group, alerting Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian to danger.
• Xiao Hua flew toward Shui Mingzi’s group in python-dragon form after a giant raptor on a mountain fixed him with bloodthirsty intent.

Xiao Hua learned that Yuan Ya had fallen in love with Dai Er, whom he had unknowingly encountered inside Xiao Hua’s secret space. After hearing how they met, Xiao Hua accepted the connection as fate and promised to support Yuan Ya’s choice.

• Xiao Hua released Yuan Ya from the Kunlun Mirror and realized his disciple was unusually bashful and courteous.
• Yuan Ya told Xiao Hua that he loved Dai Er and asked him to decide what he should do.
• Xiao Hua was shocked to learn Dai Er was the woman Yuan Ya meant, since he had kept her in his secret space under restrictions.
• Xiao Hua realized changes in the space had weakened Dai Er’s restrictions and allowed Yuan Ya to reach her by accident.
• Yuan Ya recounted how he crossed strange cracks using the cold current of the Big Dipper Divine Fist and found Dai Er dancing beside a lake.

Xiao Hua learned that Dai Er and Yuan Ya cared for each other, then brought Dai Er out of the Shenhua Continent. Dai Er told Xiao Hua how Dongshan Yi had plotted against her and the Empress, and asked him to take her back to the Myriad Monster Realm if he ever could.

• Xiao Hua questioned Yuan Ya about his feelings for Dai Er and permitted him to share more with her.
• Xiao Hua brought Dai Er out with the Kunlun Mirror, and Dai Er begged him to save her Empress.
• Xiao Hua explained that he could not return to the Xiaoyu Continent, where the Empress was trapped in a great formation.
• Dai Er recounted how Dongshan Yi had plotted against her and the Empress, leaving her gravely injured and eventually captured.
• Dai Er asked Xiao Hua to take her back to the Myriad Monster Realm so she could report the Empress's fate, and Xiao Hua promised to try.

Xiao Hua sent Dai Er and Yuan Ya into the Kunlun Immortal Realm to cultivate and prepare to avenge Empress, then hurried toward a commotion nearby. Shui Mingzi, Ao Zhantian, and the other cultivators tried to use an eagle bat to repel the pursuing Moth Beasts, but the eagle bat redirected its attack toward them.

• Xiao Hua gave Yuan Ya the Bone Dragon Demonic Spear and charged Dai Er with helping protect him as they sought to avenge Empress.
• Xiao Hua used the Kunlun Mirror to send Dai Er and Yuan Ya into the Shenhua Continent, then dispatched the Black Bear, White Lion, and Golden Eagle and hurried toward the distant commotion.
• Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian organized the cultivators to draw the eagle bat toward the pursuing Moth Beasts so they could escape amid the chaos.
• The eagle bat's ripples shattered trees and rocks and struck the cultivators, but Ao Zhantian, Shui Mingzi, Xu Tingzi, and Xin Ping withstood the attack.
• The eagle bat saw the cultivators fleeing and aimed an even stronger rippling attack directly at them.

Xu Tingzi and the other cultivators tried to escape the Eagle Bats by heading through a swarm of Moth Beasts, but dozens of Eagle Bats closed off their route. Ao Zhantian led the group into the swarm, while the Eagle Bat patrol envoy realized the humans had disturbed the Moth Beasts during their mating season and expected the frenzied males to stop them.

• An Eagle Bat’s sound attack shook Po Hong’s Niwan Palace and disrupted the cultivators’ voice transmissions, and Po Hong warned Xu Tingzi that only one Eagle Bat was pursuing them.
• More Eagle Bats appeared behind the group, while their attacks sent Moth Beasts tumbling from the sky; Xu Tingzi led Po Hong and the others toward the swarm.
• Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian discovered that dozens of Eagle Bats had gathered and sealed the way ahead, leaving the Moth Beast swarm as the only escape route.
• Ao Zhantian ignored Shui Mingzi’s warning not to kill more Moth Beasts, revealed his dragon-shaped aura, and charged into the swarm with the other cultivators following.
• The Eagle Bat mountain patrol envoy learned that human cultivators had been spotted near Zhaolulin and ordered a report to the Mountain Lord.
• The patrol envoy reasoned that the blood of female Moth Beasts had driven the males wild and that the frenzied swarm would prevent the humans from escaping.

Shui Mingzi and the others were trapped by Moth Beasts whose bloodline power threatened to overwhelm them, but Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi fought back and broke the swarm’s blood-shadow formation. As the group tried to escape, a gigantic Eagle Bat appeared overhead and accused them of threatening Yizhao Ridge.

• The Moth Beasts self-detonated and fused into a huge blood-shadow resembling an Eagle Bat, then used their bloodline power to restrain the cultivators.
• Xin Ping’s gale failed to stop the force, while the bloodline power made Xin Ping, Ao Zhantian, and Xu Tingzi struggle to control their blood essence.
• Ao Zhantian released his Dragon Blood Dharma Body, and Shui Mingzi used waterlight to weaken the blood shadow and scatter the fused Moth Beasts.
• Shui Mingzi urged the group to withdraw, but a gigantic Eagle Bat appeared above them and challenged the humans for approaching Yizhao Ridge.

Shui Mingzi warned Ao Zhantian and the other cultivators that the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons was deadly for humans, but Ao Zhantian joined him to fight the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord while the others tried to escape the Moth Beasts. Xin Ping broke through the blood mist, only for a giant Moth Beast hand to pursue him as he fled.

• Shui Mingzi urged the cultivators to run, but Ao Zhantian dismissed the danger and prepared to fight the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord.
• Ao Zhantian revealed a Dragon Artifact from his Dragon Island training, and Shui Mingzi agreed to fight beside him while ordering Xin Ping, Xu Tingzi, and the others to break out.
• The Moth Beasts pursued the fleeing cultivators with blood mist that reacted to their human bloodlines, and Xu Tingzi and the others struck back with their divine abilities.
• Xu Tingzi used his Nascent Soul and drumstick artifact to clear a path through the blood mist, while Xin Ping escaped with his tri-colored fan.
• More than a dozen gigantic Moth Beasts formed a huge blood-mist hand and sent it after Xin Ping.

Xin Ping was trapped by a pursuing Moth Beast and called for Shui Mingzi, who was battling the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord alongside Ao Zhantian. Ao Zhantian struck down the Mountain Lord, but it reappeared and counterattacked, leaving the battle raging amid renewed waves and spatial distortions.

• Xin Ping discovered that blood from a Moth Beast had marked his body and weighed it down, so he called for Shui Mingzi to save him.
• Shui Mingzi and Ao Zhantian fought the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord as it summoned vortices and violent waves with its drumming cries.
• Ao Zhantian used his Dragon Artifact to break the waves and slash the Mountain Lord, apparently destroying it and killing several Eagle Bats.
• The Eagle Bat Mountain Lord reappeared and used icy beams to force Ao Zhantian out of the void, then surrounded him with vortices.
• Ao Zhantian released his Dragon Blood Dharma Body to destroy most of the vortices, while Shui Mingzi attacked with his Nascent Soul and whisk.
• The Mountain Lord twisted space to deflect Shui Mingzi's light threads and summoned another wave of attacks through the surrounding Eagle Bats.

Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi struggled against the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord and the Moth Beasts until a powerful Python Dragon arrived and attacked the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord. The Eagle Bat Mountain Lord escaped, while Shui Mingzi, still trapped by bloodline power, pursued the Python Dragon for help.

• Ao Zhantian failed to control his Dragon Blood Dharma Body as the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord's forces trapped him with starlight, moonlight, and disorienting fluctuations.
• Shui Mingzi left Ao Zhantian to save Xin Ping, but Xin Ping's body exploded and his Nascent Soul teleported away; Shui Mingzi was then hindered by the Moth Beasts' bloodline power.
• A Python Dragon arrived, struck the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord, and gave Ao Zhantian a chance to withdraw his Dragon Blood Dharma Body and attack the demon's subordinates.
• The Python Dragon and the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord exchanged attacks, and the Eagle Bat Mountain Lord fled into the darkness after the Python Dragon knocked him back.
• The Python Dragon refused to help Shui Mingzi, who was surrounded by blood mist and Moth Beasts, so Shui Mingzi used his magic treasure to turn insubstantial and charged toward the Python Dragon.

Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi witnessed Ao Yi drive off the Moth Beasts with his innate power, then learned that Ao Yi’s help depended on his hopes of finding a connection to the Dragon race. The chapter ended with Ao Zhantian claiming his scythe was a Dragon Artifact from Dragon Island as Ao Yi examined it, while Ao Zhantian worried that Ao Yi might keep it.

• Ao Yi crushed the Eagle Bats with his python body, while Ao Zhantian watched enviously.
• Ao Yi swept away the blood mist and pursuing Moth Beasts with three roars after Shui Mingzi called for help.
• Ao Yi transformed into humanlike form, introduced himself to Ao Zhantian, and lost interest when he learned Ao Zhantian had no ties to the Four Seas Dragon Palace.
• Ao Zhantian told Ao Yi that he had undergone Dragon Island training and shown him his scythe, prompting Ao Yi to eagerly inspect it.
• Ao Zhantian claimed his Dragon Bloodline was extremely pure and worried that Ao Yi would not return the scythe.

Ao Zhantian persuaded Ao Yi to guide the human cultivators toward Biqingyu by promising a chance to meet Dragon Island dragons, while secretly hoping Ao Sheng would come to rescue Xiao Hua. Ao Yi was revealed to be Xiao Hua in disguise, and Ao Sheng set out in fury after learning Xiao Hua had been suppressed.

• Ao Zhantian convinced Shui Mingzi that Ao Yi could protect the group on their journey through the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons.
• Ao Zhantian told Shui Mingzi that Ao Sheng might come if he learned Xiao Hua had been suppressed by Biqingyu.
• Ao Yi eagerly joined Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi, believing their journey would lead him to Dragon Island dragons and a powerful Demon King.
• The narration revealed that Ao Yi was Xiao Hua in disguise, secretly infiltrating the rescue party.
• Ao Sheng burst from the West Sea and vowed to destroy Biqingyu for suppressing Xiao Hua.

Ao Sheng defied Dragon Island’s hesitation and resolved to go to Biqingyu to rescue Xiao Hua, while Ao Zhan warned him that leaving Dragon Island’s protection could put him in danger. After clashing briefly, Ao Zhan urged Ao Sheng to let him go alone.

• Ao Sheng learned that Dragon Island’s elders had not decided whether to send troops to Biqingyu and angrily insisted on rescuing Xiao Hua himself.
• The dragon generals agreed to accompany Ao Sheng under the pretext of protecting the Young Clan Elder, and Ao Zhan arrived from the Western Sea.
• Ao Sheng explained that he had tried to report the news to Dragon Island’s elders, but the Second Elder controlled most affairs and the Fourth Elder dismissed his concerns.
• Ao Zhan praised Ao Sheng’s loyalty but warned that his actions represented Dragon Island and that the Four Seas Dragon Palace might benefit if he died.
• Ao Sheng and Ao Zhan exchanged attacks, then Ao Zhan warned that Ao Sheng could become prey outside Dragon Island’s protection and offered to go to Biqingyu alone.

Ao Sheng and Ao Zhan set out for the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons to rescue Xiao Hua, while an eagle bat reported the events at Yizhao Ridge to Fan Tian Shang Ren. Fan Tian Shang Ren learned that a cultivator had staged a rescue to become the other humans’ leader and asked to hear the full story.

• Ao Sheng left for the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons to help Xiao Hua, and Ao Zhan followed with the Dragon Generals.
• The Eagle Bat Mountain Lord learned that Yizhao Ridge had lost forty-three children and worried about explaining the failed arrangement to Ancient Bell Mountain.
• The Fourth Mountain Patrol Envoy secretly visited Fan Tian Shang Ren in a cave behind a waterfall.
• Fan Tian Shang Ren gave the eagle bat pills in exchange for information about the disturbance at Yizhao Ridge.
• The eagle bat told Fan Tian Shang Ren that a human had arranged a staged defeat and rescue to become the leader of the cultivators, and Fan Tian Shang Ren asked him to recount what happened.

Fan Tian Shang Ren deduced that several survivors of the Yaotai Gathering were heading toward Biqingyu and warned himself that their arrival could threaten his ancestor’s plans. Meanwhile, Zhai Xingzi, Zhang Daoran, and Xunkong Shangren traveled through the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons until black-robed attackers ambushed them and captured Gu Suqiudi.

• Eagle Bat told Fan Tian Shang Ren that Daoist cultivators, including one called Xuan Tingzi, were gathering at Black Wind Ridge and heading toward Biqingyu.
• Fan Tian Shang Ren identified the travelers as Xu Tingzi, Ao Zhantian, and Shui Mingzi, connected them to the Yaotai Gathering, and resolved to report his suspicions to his ancestor.
• Fan Tian Shang Ren consulted a jade slip and realized Xunkong Shangren, Zhai Xingzi, and Zhang Daoran might also be approaching, potentially as Spirit Severing cultivators.
• Zhai Xingzi, Zhang Daoran, and Xunkong Shangren paused to admire a vast field of purple demon grass while traveling through the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons.
• Black-robed attackers erupted from purple whirlpools, bound Gu Suqiudi with Law-Binding Chains, and shattered Zhai Xingzi’s starlight giant hand as he tried to rescue her.
• Zhai Xingzi summoned a star above his head and drew in pillars of starlight and moonlight as the attackers continued their assault.

Zhai Xingzi, Zhang Daoran, and Xunkong Shangren struggled against a prepared ambush by Confucian cultivators of the Xuanhuang Order, who had sealed the area and targeted them for secretly reaching fifth-grade Yuan force. As the three friends faced defeat, three mysterious vortexes appeared within the Law-Binding Chains and locked onto their attackers.

• Zhai Xingzi shattered his star into a spatial attack that tore apart the Dharma bodies of the two elders ambushing him, then prepared to charge toward Gu Suqiudi's imperial formation.
• Zhang Daoran used Drifting Snow to freeze his attackers, but another Confucian cultivator broke the ice with a three-colored Fire Crow and forced him under attacks from both sides.
• Xunkong Shangren's Howling Sky cut through Law-Binding Chains and disrupted his attackers, but two elders used Xuanhuang Orders to suppress him with Heaven and Earth Will.
• The Xuanhuang Order elders declared that Xunkong Shangren and his companions were wanted for violating the Immortal Palace's laws, while nearly ten more cultivators sealed the area.
• Xunkong Shangren realized the four could not escape, thought of Xiao Hua, and released the demonic beast Chang Geng.
• Three vortexes formed inside the Law-Binding Chains trapping Gu Suqiudi, swallowed the falling Righteous Qi Pillars, and locked onto the Confucian cultivators attacking Zhai Xingzi, Zhang Daoran, and Xunkong Shangren.

Gu Suqiudi used the Moon Shooting Bow to break the Xuanhuang Order’s ambush, allowing Zhai Xingzi and the others to escape, though the weapon left her badly chilled and likely injured her heart meridian. Hidden in a forest, the group realized that the Immortal Palace had made their rescue of Xiao Hua part of a broader hunt, and Xunkong Shangren questioned whether Gu Suqiudi should continue with them.

• Gu Suqiudi fired three arrows from the Moon Shooting Bow, breaking the Confucian cultivators’ avatars and opening a path through the defensive formation.
• Zhai Xingzi, Gu Suqiudi, Zhang Daoran, Xunkong Shangren, and Chang Geng escaped the ambush while the Xuanhuang Order’s leader ordered his forces to pursue them and report suspicions about the Gu Su family.
• Zhai Xingzi and the others changed course and hid in a giant forest, where Zhang Daoran concealed them with a formation.
• Gu Suqiudi suffered severe cold after drawing the Moon Shooting Bow for the third time in the Sacred Realm, and Zhang Daoran warned that its use had likely injured her heart meridian.
• Zhai Xingzi, Zhang Daoran, and Xunkong Shangren concluded that the Immortal Palace had targeted Xiao Hua’s allies and that their journey to Biqingyu had become more dangerous and complicated.
• Xunkong Shangren asked Zhai Xingzi whether bringing the injured Gu Suqiudi along would hinder their mission.

Zhai Xingzi and Gu Suqiudi committed themselves to rescuing Xiao Hua, while Xiao Hua secretly protected the cultivators traveling with him through the Sacred Realm of a Thousand Demons. Shui Mingzi then revealed his suspicions about Xiao Hua’s disciples and challenged Ao Zhantian’s motives for joining the rescue.

• Zhai Xingzi refused to leave Xiao Hua behind, and Gu Suqiudi insisted on accompanying him despite her worsening injuries.
• Gu Suqiudi recalled her promise to live and die with Zhai Xingzi, and the two reconciled as Xunkong Shangren and Zhang Daoran withdrew.
• Xiao Hua disguised himself as an arrogant python-dragon and secretly used creatures from Shenhua Continent to rescue Ao Zhantian, Shui Mingzi, and the other cultivators from dangers.
• Xiao Hua and the others remained unable to find Xin Ping’s missing Nascent Soul, so Xiao Hua ordered Black Bear and the other demons to keep searching.
• Xiao Hua overheard Shui Mingzi ask Ao Zhantian about Black Wind Ridge and its disciples, then accuse him of not joining the journey solely to save Xiao Hua.

Ao Zhantian and Shui Mingzi privately discussed their motives for reaching Biqingyu and whether they could profit from Xiao Hua’s forces. Xiao Hua, watching in disguise with Heavenly Eye, discovered their schemes and continued observing them.

• Shui Mingzi told Ao Zhantian that many cultivators owed Xiao Hua favors and suggested Xiao Hua’s followers could be a valuable force.
• Ao Zhantian outlined two ways to claim those forces: rescue Xiao Hua and negotiate, or kill him and take command in his name.
• Shui Mingzi admitted he hoped to use Xiao Hua’s forces as leverage to persuade a great demon connected to Ancient Bell Mountain to help rescue him.
• Shui Mingzi proposed joining forces with Ao Zhantian, warning that other rescuers might also seek a share of Xiao Hua’s influence.
• Ao Zhantian said he had come to rescue Xiao Hua and wanted him to release Ao Zhantian from his thousand-year blood oath, but warned Shui Mingzi not to harm Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua, observing them in python-dragon form with Heavenly Eye, realized the supposed rescue party had hidden motives and resolved to keep watching.