Recaps

Xiao Hua exploited Ink Sand to accelerate his cultivation, captured Ink Serpents, and gathered more than a thousand corpses before an early Nascent Soul cultivator pursued him. He fled through the earth toward the raging Ink Storm, hoping to escape before his pursuer caught him.

• Xiao Hua discovered that Ink Sand corroded the Earth Crystal Yao Ru into spiritual energy and increased his cultivation speed by more than threefold.
• After the Ink Storm subsided, Xiao Hua captured two Ink Serpents with Earth Condensing Techniques and continued refining the Earth Crystal Yao Ru underground.
• Xiao Hua collected over a thousand Ink Serpent corpses near the surface before an early Nascent Soul cultivator detected him and gave chase.
• Xiao Hua altered his appearance with the Stealing Heaven and Changing the Sun technique and evaded underground as the Nascent Soul cultivator attacked with spells and streaks of radiance.
• Xiao Hua reached the dense Ink Sand beneath the raging storm and continued fleeing toward the surface while the Nascent Soul cultivator pursued him.

Xiao Hua was trapped by a Nascent Soul cultivator’s spell, but Giant Ink Pythons attacked and gave him a chance to escape. The cultivator continued pursuing him, and Xiao Hua finally damaged the cultivator’s magic treasure with his spirit fire before the cultivator conjured a giant hand to seize him.

• The Nascent Soul cultivator restrained Xiao Hua with a rope-like spell and dismissed him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• A Giant Ink Python attacked the Nascent Soul cultivator, and more than a dozen others emerged from underground to join the fight.
• Xiao Hua broke free as the Ink Sand corroded the restraint and fled toward the ground, while the pythons repeatedly interrupted the cultivator’s pursuit.
• The Nascent Soul cultivator struck at Xiao Hua with his magic treasure and pressure, but Xiao Hua’s Soul Sting made him pause, and Xiao Hua escaped farther.
• Xiao Hua used a speck of scarlet spirit fire to burn the rope-like magic treasure nearly beyond repair.
• Enraged, the Nascent Soul cultivator summoned a giant hand and reached down to seize Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua escaped a Nascent Soul cultivator by plunging into the Ink Storm, then hid inside a blackwood tree and found a way to refine spiritual energy despite Ink Sand clogging his meridians. He stabilized his Wood Escape Technique and began examining how the Ink Sand had affected his body.

• A Nascent Soul cultivator trapped Xiao Hua with a giant hand, but Xiao Hua broke free and charged into the Ink Storm as the cultivator withdrew to fend off Giant Ink Pythons.
• The Ink Storm filled Xiao Hua’s meridians and dantian with Ink Sand, leaving him unable to circulate his magic power.
• Xiao Hua realized the blackwood could withstand the storm and used the Wood Escape Technique to enter it.
• Inside the blackwood, Xiao Hua found that Ink Sand blocked spiritual energy, but Earth Crystal Yao Ru helped generate earth-attributed spiritual energy that he refined into true yuan.
• Xiao Hua replenished the power sustaining his Wood Escape Technique and discovered that Ink Sand had gathered differently in his blood vessels, physical body, and Dharma body.

Xiao Hua struggled to refine the vast spiritual Qi released as Ink Sand corroded his Earth Crystal Yao Ru, and the ordeal transformed his lower dantian. He then sensed that his middle dantian was imprisoned, leaving the cause of the restriction unknown.

• Xiao Hua sent his Phoenix Dharma Body onto the blackwood canopy, where it absorbed Ink Sand around its void points and became more resistant.
• Xiao Hua realized Ink Sand was releasing spiritual Qi from the Earth Crystal Yao Ru faster than he could refine it, threatening to burst his meridians and Dantian.
• Xiao Hua used the Dragon Transformation Art and Earth Evolution cultivation art to refine the spiritual Qi, but discovered that Ink Sand destroyed true essence and made even more Qi gather.
• Xiao Hua poured true essence into his lower dantian until its Ink Sand vanished, causing a new void point to form and his true essence to become denser.
• Xiao Hua sensed his Dragon Transformation Art change and realized that something massive seemed to pin down the dragon head in his middle dantian.

Xiao Hua realized that his sealed middle dantian and Niwan Palace hinted at a powerful forgotten past, but his expanded meridians were on the verge of bursting. He used the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart to burn away his True Essence and refine the Ink Sand, leaving him with his Dharma Body recalled and the Ink Sand cleared.

• Xiao Hua suspected that he had once possessed a cultivation method and power unlike those of Xiaoyu Continent, and vowed to recover his memories and seek revenge on his unknown enemies.
• With his meridians nearing their limit, Xiao Hua recalled the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart and used it to consume his True Essence, enduring severe pain as the Niwan Palace seal reacted.
• Over more than a hundred days, Xiao Hua repeatedly activated the technique while refining the Earth Crystal Yao Ru and struggling to contain the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• As the Ink Storm weakened, Xiao Hua worried that Ink Sand had trapped his Phoenix Dharma Body, then recalled it safely into his body.
• Xiao Hua used the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart several more times and completely cleared away the Ink Sand.

Xiao Hua activated the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart and survived the Ink Sand, advancing to the mid Foundation Establishment stage. The resulting fluctuations alerted two distant cultivators, while Xiao Hua continued to stabilize his cultivation deep in the Mo Ran Black Forest.

• Xiao Hua's activation of the Azure Blood Alchemy Heart sent faint fluctuations from the seal in two directions, reaching a white-haired old man and a dignified middle-aged cultivator in their secluded cave residences.
• The two cultivators tried to investigate the fluctuations but could not see their source, then separately considered how to look into the matter without breaking their heart oaths or alerting one another.
• After the last Ink Sand became Earth-attributed spiritual energy, Xiao Hua completed his technique and discovered that he had advanced to the mid Foundation Establishment stage.
• Xiao Hua reflected on the accumulated effort and dangerous conditions that had enabled his rapid progress, then resumed cultivating to stabilize his realm.
• Several strange spirit beasts swept across a barren area deep within the Mo Ran Black Forest.

Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian watched Golden Silk Armored Canopies devour a Mo Ran, then found Xiao Hua alive and approaching them in the Mo Ran Black Forest. The group faced the question of whether to share the corpse with Xiao Hua.

• Golden Silk Armored Canopies attacked and killed a Mo Ran, devouring its brain before flying away.
• Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian emerged from hiding and discussed waiting for Zhu Chenghe and claiming the Mo Ran corpse.
• Chen Yi sent Xie Zhiqian to retrieve the corpse, but he stopped when the others spotted Xiao Hua approaching.
• Xiao Hua greeted the group and began to explain how he had survived, but Chen Yi cut him off.
• Xie Zhiqian brought out the Mo Ran corpse, and Chen Yi hesitated when he asked how its shares should be divided among the four.

Xiao Hua reunited with Chen Yi, Xie Zhiqian, and Qiang Yuefeng, and learned that they were seeking the sword spirit of Nine Stars Over the Sun while Zhu Chenghe remained missing. Zhu Chenghe finally arrived, but a swarm of golden-thread armored centipedes appeared, and the group hid with Invisibility Talismans.

• Xiao Hua declined a share of the ink serpent, asking only for a piece of its hide, and Xie Zhiqian divided the remains among the three seniors.
• Xiao Hua asked about Zhu Chenghe, and Xie Zhiqian said they had been separated before the Ink Storm and had not seen him for several days.
• Qiang Yuefeng questioned Zhu Chenghe's disappearance and suspected he might have found the sword spirit of Nine Stars Over the Sun on his own.
• Chen Yi suggested Zhu Chenghe might have found a way to the hidden duel site, while Xiao Hua questioned why he would have needed their help if so.
• Zhu Chenghe arrived and mysteriously asked where the others thought he had gone.
• The group spotted more than a dozen golden-thread armored centipedes approaching the ink serpent's remains and used Invisibility Talismans to conceal themselves.

Zhu Chenghe led Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, Xie Zhiqian, and Xiao Hua to a valley where spiritual power and divine sense were sealed, claiming it held clues to the duel between Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian. He showed them a damaged Sword Pellet and proposed that the two masters had fought there using only swordsmanship.

• Golden Silk Armadillos detected Chen Yi’s hidden scent and pursued the group, forcing Zhu Chenghe and the others to flee with Xiao Hua close behind.
• Zhu Chenghe led the group to a secluded valley where their spiritual power would be sealed, and Xiao Hua collapsed before reaching the others.
• Qiang Yuefeng suggested that the Golden Silk Armadillos tracked Chen Yi by the fragrance of spiritual herbs on her, which Chen Yi admitted she had failed to erase completely.
• Zhu Chenghe revealed that he had remained inside the Mo Ran Black Forest during the Ink Storm and gave Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian three Ink Storm corpses each.
• At the valley, Zhu Chenghe showed the group a badly damaged Sword Pellet and explained that he believed Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian had dueled there without spiritual power, divine sense, or flying swords.

Zhu Chenghe explained why the group should enter the black mist to search for Changbai Sect Sword Pellets and Sky Yin Grass, then shared details about the dangers within. As sunlight briefly pushed the mist aside, he urged everyone to enter before the opening closed.

• Zhu Chenghe explained his evidence that unusual Changbai Sect Sword Pellets and Sky Yin Grass might lie beneath the black mist.
• Xiao Hua recalled Gen Qing's message and wondered how to find the Sky Yin Grass and an object that could not be controlled by divine sense.
• Zhu Chenghe gave Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xiao Hua jade slips describing the dangers and conditions inside.
• Zhu Chenghe warned Xiao Hua that the expedition was dangerous, but Xiao Hua decided to go down with the others.
• A gale and a shaft of sunlight made the black mist churn and part, revealing a valley below.
• Zhu Chenghe ordered the group to enter quickly while the mist remained open.

Xiao Hua explored the first level beneath the black mist with Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, Xie Zhiqian, and Qiang Yuefeng, and discovered a strange glimmer near a spirit herb. The group found a juvenile Soaring Vine blocking their route downward, and Chen Yi gave Xiao Hua Xianglan Bamboo to use against it.

• Zhu Chenghe led the group into a hidden space filled with pure spiritual qi and explained that natural restrictions divided it into levels.
• Chen Yi searched the young spirit herbs while Zhu Chenghe, Xie Zhiqian, and Qiang Yuefeng examined the stone wall for a way down.
• Xiao Hua spotted a faint gleam beside an ordinary herb, but Chen Yi dismissed it and urged him to rejoin the group.
• The group found a juvenile Soaring Vine, and Chen Yi explained that Xianglan Insects made Xianglan Bamboo an effective way to destroy it.
• Chen Yi handed Xiao Hua a length of Xianglan Bamboo and told him to insert it into the vine as Xie Zhiqian warned him to avoid its released substances.

Xiao Hua was sent ahead to draw away the Soaring Sky Vines so Zhu Chenghe and the others could descend to the second level. After escaping the group’s sight, he revealed his sword, drove off the vines, and entered a small cave.

• Xiao Hua used the Xianglan Bamboo to trigger the Soaring Sky Vine, whose sap sprayed toward Qiang Yuefeng as the vine opened a passage in the stone wall.
• Zhu Chenghe ordered Xiao Hua to descend first, and the Soaring Sky Vine attacked him with its spiked tendrils.
• Xiao Hua evaded the vines using Misty Steps and fled across the second level while Zhu Chenghe’s group waited above.
• Xie Zhiqian confirmed that Xiao Hua had drawn the vines away, and Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian descended to search for the route to the third level.
• Once out of their sight, Xiao Hua summoned the Prajna Heavy Sword, severed several tendrils, and forced the Soaring Sky Vines to retreat.
• Xiao Hua entered a small cave in the stone wall, and the Soaring Sky Vines withdrew.

Xiao Hua explored the caves, harvested artifact-refining materials, and rejoined Zhu Chenghe, Xie Zhiqian, and Chen Yi. They waited beside an Ice Spring for its ninth tremor to reveal their chance to reach the third level and find Sky Yin Grass.

• Xiao Hua discovered Li Mian Stone and other artifact-refining materials in a cave, then mined them and stored them in his space.
• Xiao Hua fought off a Soaring Sky Vine, collected part of it, and followed traces on the ground to find the others.
• Xiao Hua rejoined Xie Zhiqian and Zhu Chenghe, who said they were waiting for the entrance to the third level to appear.
• Zhu Chenghe invited Xiao Hua to follow them to the third level, where he could gather Sky Yin Grass.
• At the end of the cave, Xiao Hua saw the Ice Spring and swallowed a Fire Spirit Pill to withstand its chill.
• Chen Yi reported that the Ice Spring had trembled briefly, and Zhu Chenghe said they needed to wait for its ninth tremor.

Zhu Chenghe and the others used Xie Zhiqian’s Fire Bat King to open a passage beneath the Ice Spring, and Xiao Hua followed them into a slippery ice gorge. The group struggled toward a section of wall Zhu Chenghe identified, where they discovered the apparent barrier was only a reflection.

• Xiao Hua learned that spiritual sense and magic power could not be used near the Ice Spring, and Chen Yi warned that touching its rare spirit herbs would ruin them or cause injuries.
• The Ice Spring trembled and boiled, and Xie Zhiqian swallowed a medicinal pellet before sending his Fire Bat King toward it.
• The Fire Bat King triggered a powerful tremor that made the Ice Spring vanish, revealing a hollow, and Zhu Chenghe led the others inside.
• Xiao Hua and the others slid down a smooth ice slope into a narrow gorge lined with ice and spirit herbs.
• Zhu Chenghe searched the identical-looking gorge for a landmark, led the group to an ice wall, and found that it was only a reflection.

Xiao Hua and the others crossed the boundary between ice and molten rock, where Zhu Chenghe used bait and Fine Thread Jin to distract a Two-Headed Spirit Snake. After Xiao Hua gathered herbs and escaped the snake, the group continued toward a hidden entrance, while the mention of the Haotian Mirror stirred a troubling recognition in Xiao Hua.

• Zhu Chenghe warned the group about the Two-Headed Spirit Snakes and lured one toward Heavenly Silkworm Incense and Fine Thread Jin Leaves.
• After the snake swallowed the leaves, Zhu Chenghe led the crossing, and Xiao Hua gathered Sky Yin Grass and several other herbs before the snake recovered.
• Xiao Hua used Misty Steps to escape the lunging snake and handed Chen Yi one of the herbs he had collected.
• Zhu Chenghe said Xiao Hua's martial arts would be useful and asked Qiang Yuefeng to use the Haotian Mirror to locate a hidden entrance.
• Xiao Hua felt an unexplained sense that the Haotian Mirror had once belonged to him as Zhu Chenghe led the group toward the right.

Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao waited beside a vanished cold spring, discussing their plan to follow the Golden Core cultivators to Li Xiubai’s Sword Pellets and claim the Nine Stars Over the Sun sword intent. They left the entrance unentered, confident the cultivators would lead them to the prize.

• Wang Xuyyao urged Duan Yuming to enter the hole, but he suspected the cultivators below had prepared a trap and chose to wait.
• Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao discussed how their fighting in the Three Cultivation Kingdoms had advanced their sword cultivation and might have attracted Nascent Soul cultivators’ attention.
• Duan Yuming explained that they intended to let the Golden Core cultivators find Li Xiubai’s Sword Pellets first, then take the sword intent for themselves.
• Wang Xuyyao said she and Duan Yuming had tracked Zhu Chenghe after searching a Foundation Establishment woman’s soul and secretly arranging for Zhu Chenghe to learn the Sword Pellet refinement method.
• Duan Yuming praised Wang Xuyyao’s intuition, recalling how she had kept him from giving up the search during the year-long Ink Storm in Mo Ran Black Forest.

Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao pursued the group while planning to find the sword intent of Nine Stars Over the Sun. Zhu Chenghe used a blood-powered sword artifact to locate a hidden cave, and Qiang Yuefeng revealed its entrance with the Haotian Mirror.

• Duan Yuming voiced his suspicions about Xiao Hua, but Wang Xuyyao insisted they could kill him and the two confessed their feelings for each other.
• Zhu Chenghe searched the lava-worn ground for the site where Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian had fought, then decided to use his sword artifact.
• Zhu Chenghe activated the octagonal disk with his heart's blood, and its little sword flew toward a narrow crevice as Xiao Hua and the others followed.
• Qiang Yuefeng used the Haotian Mirror to reveal a circular cave hidden in the lava and opened its entrance with a green light.
• Qiang Yuefeng said he had acted to repay Zhu Chenghe for the Sword Pellets, leaving Xie Zhiqian looking uneasy.

Xiao Hua and the four Golden Core cultivators entered a cave and found a sword case and eight cracked Sword Pellets, but Zhu Chenghe suspected the area was guarded. After Chen Yi threatened him and the others explained why they needed his Lightning Evasion Technique, Xiao Hua agreed to retrieve the treasures in exchange for a Sword Pellet.

• Xiao Hua denied that he still had the object from beyond the heavens, and Chen Yi let the matter drop.
• Xiao Hua led Zhu Chenghe, Chen Yi, Qiang Yuefeng, and Xie Zhiqian through the quiet, heated cave to a lava-lit chamber.
• The group discovered a sword case and eight cracked Sword Pellets beside it, but Zhu Chenghe warned that the unguarded-looking site might conceal restrictions.
• Chen Yi threatened Xiao Hua, while Qiang Yuefeng revealed that the group had summoned him to use the Thunder Control Sect's Lightning Evasion Technique to seize the Sword Pellets.
• Xiao Hua examined the area with his Dharma Eye and agreed to make the attempt, demanding that Zhu Chenghe give him a Sword Pellet.

Xiao Hua was struck by the flying sword guarding the Sword Pellets and fell into a hidden radiance, while Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao ambushed the remaining cultivators. Zhu Chenghe and Chen Yi fled toward the cavern entrance, where an unknown envoy answered Zhu Chenghe’s plea for help.

• Zhu Chenghe gave Xiao Hua the Sword Pellets, and Chen Yi supplied him with Xianglan Bamboo marrow before he approached the sword case.
• The crimson flying sword attacked Xiao Hua; his escape failed, and he fell into the light beneath the stone after the sword struck him.
• Xie Zhiqian retrieved a Sword Pellet, but Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao ambushed the group, killing Xie and mortally wounding Qiang Yuefeng.
• Zhu Chenghe and Chen Yi rushed toward the Sword Pellets, then abruptly turned and fled when Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao moved to intercept them.
• Wang Xuyyao caught up with Zhu Chenghe and Chen Yi near the cavern entrance, and Zhu called for the envoy to save them.
• A voice outside the cave laughed and said Zhu Chenghe had done well to lead the two sword cultivators there.

Wang Xuyyao and Duan Yuming were ambushed by two Nascent Soul cultivators, who captured them and crushed their bodies. Duan Yuming’s sword attack distracted the cultivators long enough for the Rainbow Sword to escape the cave.

• A Nascent Soul cultivator seized Wang Xuyyao’s Swimming Fish Sword and struck her down as she tried to flee.
• Duan Yuming rushed out and attacked the giant hand with his Rainbow Sword, but another Nascent Soul cultivator imprisoned him.
• Duan Yuming unleashed eight Sword Pellets to break one giant hand, then was struck down while trying to summon his remaining power.
• Duan Yuming’s sword lights renewed their attack on the Nascent Soul cultivators, while the Rainbow Sword began moving toward the cave exit.
• The tall, lean Nascent Soul cultivator tried to stop the Rainbow Sword, but it flared red and shot out of the cave.

After Zhang Zhihao’s scheme left the cultivators believing Xiao Hua had died, Xiao Hua survived the Nascent Soul sword strike through his Witch Puppet and awoke in a tranquil, unfamiliar place. He discovered his divine sense worked there, but the fawn he spotted vanished into the forest.

• Zhang Zhihao revealed his Mihuan disguise and gloated that one sword cultivator’s escape had made Zhang Qingxiao’s plan more perfect.
• The cultivators left the Mo Ran Black Forest without learning that Xiao Hua had survived or that he had died in their eyes.
• Xiao Hua woke on soft grass, found his Witch Puppet split in two, and realized it had saved his life.
• Xiao Hua replaced his damaged spirit armor with Qian Tiansong’s armor and surveyed the lush landscape around him.
• Xiao Hua sensed a young deer in a stream, then discovered it had fled into the forest and could no longer be found.

Xiao Hua explored the strange fourth level, where his magic power remained frozen and the landscape ended at an unusual stone wall. He found no way out and sat waiting, watching overhead for Xie Zhiqian or Qiang Yuefeng to fall.

• Xiao Hua buried the bones, found a plum-blossom token among them, and deduced that another passage into the space had once let living people enter and leave.
• Xiao Hua questioned whether this was truly the fourth level and decided he needed an exit but could not face Zhu Chenghe and the other Golden Core cultivators alone.
• Xiao Hua transplanted patches of common spirit herbs, then waded barefoot through the freezing stream and recalled Huang Tianle’s advice to walk with his own feet.
• Xiao Hua uprooted several kinds of trees in the forest and found a stone wall marked with nine stars, which his Dharma Eye could not explain.
• Xiao Hua searched the opposite side of the grassland, found only an impassable restriction, and returned to wait beneath the place where he had fallen.

Xiao Hua discovered that his nine Sword Pellets and Meng opened a hidden doorway in the stone wall, where he found Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian seated beside a sword case. After retrieving Meng and the flying sword, he left the deeper chamber’s mysteries unresolved.

• Xiao Hua tested Zhu Chenghe’s Sword Pellet against the stars and found that it was rejected, while his own Sword Pellets and Meng entered the stone wall.
• The nine stars spun into a sword formation, which Xiao Hua memorized before a little deer led him through the newly opened doorway.
• Xiao Hua found Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian seated beside eight Sword Pellets, a sword case, and Meng, and his divine sense perceived them as sharp swords.
• The little deer leaped into the sword case, and Xiao Hua cautiously opened it and took out a flying sword identical to the one that had killed him earlier.
• Meng became movable again, and Xiao Hua summoned it into his hand and sent it into his Buddha Heart.

Xiao Hua collected the Sword Pellets, the flying sword, and a hidden jade slip from the sealed cave. The jade slip revealed why Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian had been forced to duel, leaving Xiao Hua reflecting on their friendship and predicament.

• Xiao Hua took the remaining eight Sword Pellets after treating Li Xiubai's silence as consent.
• The little deer led Xiao Hua to a hidden jade slip concealed in the boulder.
• Xiao Hua read the jade slip, collected True Person Mingjian's flying sword, and bowed farewell to Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian before the cave vanished.
• Xiao Hua learned from the jade slip that True Person Mingjian had challenged Huan Kingdom sword cultivators under pressure to defend his sect's prestige, while Li Xiubai had pursued him to restore the honor of Huan Kingdom sword cultivators.
• Xiao Hua learned that Li Xiubai and True Person Mingjian had become close friends and advanced their sword Dao together, but the Changbai Sect's elders had ordered them to produce a victor and a loser.

Xiao Hua learned the truth about True Person Mingjian and Li Xiubai’s duel and discovered their Sword Heart Seed Origin method for strengthening and controlling the Primordial Spirit. He found a way out of the fourth level, but emerged into a freezing pool with his true essence sealed.

• Xiao Hua read True Person Mingjian’s jade slip and learned that Li Xiubai and Mingjian had fought a genuine duel to the death for the Sword Dao.
• Xiao Hua discovered that the fourth-level flying sword held Mingjian’s sword intent and that the jade slip explained how Mingjian and Li Xiubai had developed the Sword Heart Seed Origin method.
• Xiao Hua decided to keep the inheritance rather than give it to the Changbai Sect or Yanzhu Sword Sect, and vowed to pass it on to worthy successors.
• Xiao Hua realized the stream could lead him out, followed it to a flaw in the restriction, and used Concealment of Heaven’s Guise to pass through.
• Xiao Hua was struck by a powerful force that froze his true essence and fell with the icy current into a deep pool.