Recaps

Xiao Hua discovered that the fourth level contained several separate spaces and recognized the pool chamber as the one True Person Lu Peng had once entered. Unable to use his Dharma power or escape through the sealed walls, Xiao Hua found a hidden spindle-shaped object and began draining the pool to reach it.

• Xiao Hua struggled out of the deep pool and realized that the chamber was one of several spaces on the fourth level.
• Xiao Hua searched for an exit, failed to break the sealed rock wall, and used his Eye of Delusion Breaking to locate a hidden object beneath the water.
• Xiao Hua tried to strike the object with demon hammers, but the pool water weakened his blows.
• Xiao Hua activated his puppets to dig a large pit in his space, then began transferring the pool water into it.

Xiao Hua struggled to extract a strange, weightless object from a rock wall in the forbidden land, then triggered the deep pool to rise. He escaped through a briefly revealed cave entrance and found a cultivator’s corpse before continuing down the passage.

• Xiao Hua repeatedly chiseled the rock wall and used the Prajna Heavy Sword to pull out an object that shrank into a small, weightless lump.
• The pool water rose and flooded the space, so Xiao Hua climbed onto a high slope and waited for it to reach the stream.
• A cave entrance appeared behind Xiao Hua, and he struck a cultivator who emerged from it, realizing the person was already dead.
• Xiao Hua leaped through the entrance before it vanished and concluded that the level had a pattern for entering and leaving.
• Xiao Hua found no storage pouch on the corpse, then took out the Demonic Spear Tip and cautiously continued through the cave passage.

Xiao Hua reached Haoming City and stopped nearby to study the Sword Heart Seed Origin Method. He split off a thread of his Nascent Soul and joined it with the sword intent inside Zhù Meng, successfully beginning the method.

• Xiao Hua flew toward Haoming City after its Teleportation Array restricted entry to Golden Core cultivators and above.
• Xiao Hua found a secluded place near the city, where his puppet carved a cave and he set down the Rabbit Formation.
• Xiao Hua decided to use the Nine Stars Over the Sun Sword Pellet Zhù Meng and True Person Mingjian's method to cultivate sword control.
• Xiao Hua endured the agony of splitting his Nascent Soul and sent a thread of it into Zhù Meng.
• Xiao Hua bound the Nascent Soul thread to the sword intent, which began to nourish it.

Xiao Hua recovered the poisoned Youth-Preserving Grass and tended to the spirit beasts and plants in his space. As he flew toward Haoming City for its Bidding Convention, he reconsidered bringing Xue Xue into danger and came upon a fight involving a city guard.

• Xiao Hua used Green Python venom to remove most of the beast poison from the Youth-Preserving Grass, then replanted it in his space and warned Little Silver not to touch it.
• Xiao Hua arranged the Water Pattern Butterfly eggs, Rainbow Bloom, and Xianglan Bamboo around the pool in his space, and returned the Divine Strength Centipede there.
• Xiao Hua worried that his enemies might endanger Xue Xue, and decided to help her establish her foundation before sending her back to the Thunder Control Sect.
• Xiao Hua concealed his cultivation and flew toward Haoming City, where he hoped to attend the Bidding Convention with Huo Furong.
• Xiao Hua spotted three eleventh-layer Qi Cultivation cultivators fighting, including a Haoming City guard, after passing Foundation Establishment cultivators had ignored the conflict.

Xiao Hua intervened when Haoming City guard Liu Cheng and Li Minji captured Bai Fengliang over his Ruiming Gold and tried to seize his belongings. After freeing Bai Fengliang, Xiao Hua said he had a request for him, leaving their dispute unresolved.

• Liu Cheng captured Bai Fengliang with a rope artifact, and he and Li Minji confronted him over his refusal to trade Ruiming Gold for their offer.
• Liu Cheng tortured Bai Fengliang for information about the sect that had invited him, then tried to take his storage pouch.
• Xiao Hua stopped Liu Cheng and Li Minji, freed Bai Fengliang, and warned them against bullying Qi Refining cultivators.
• Bai Fengliang explained that he wanted a Foundation Establishment Pill for his Ruiming Gold, while Li Minji argued that the material was not worth one.
• Xiao Hua told Bai Fengliang he had a request and said he would have Liu Cheng and Li Minji release him if he agreed.

Xiao Hua intervened in Liu Cheng and Li Minji’s attempt to seize Bai Fengliang’s goods, then gave Bai Fengliang a Foundation Establishment Pill and asked about the Heavenly Demon Sect. After learning that the sect had absorbed Tianqi, Xiao Hua urged Bai Fengliang to join and gather information, supplying spirit herbs and pills to help him gain entry.

• Xiao Hua restrained Bai Fengliang, took his Ruiming Stone, and exchanged Liu Cheng’s offered goods for it before sending Liu Cheng and Li Minji away.
• Xiao Hua gave Bai Fengliang a Foundation Establishment Pill and warned him that his rigid temper could put his life at risk again.
• Bai Fengliang told Xiao Hua that the Heavenly Demon Sect recruited Qi Refining cultivators generously and had absorbed Tianqi, making its cultivation techniques open to Tianqi members.
• Xiao Hua asked Bai Fengliang to join the Heavenly Demon Sect and share information when possible, without demanding an oath or promise.
• Xiao Hua gave Bai Fengliang spirit herbs and began adding Qi Refining pills to help him secure an introduction to the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Xiao Hua gave Bai Fengliang pills and spiritual herbs in hopes of steering him toward the Heavenly Demon Sect, then left to investigate the sect and Zhang Qingxiao. In a tea house, Zhang Qingxiao reunited with Zhang Yutong and discussed how observing mortal life could deepen their cultivation.

• Xiao Hua gave Bai Fengliang cultivation pills and spiritual herbs, asking only to question him someday if Bai Fengliang was willing.
• Xiao Hua left, confident Bai Fengliang would join the Heavenly Demon Sect, and resolved to learn what the sect and Zhang Qingxiao were like.
• Zhang Yutong joined Zhang Qingxiao in a tea house after he had cleared it of other customers.
• Zhang Qingxiao asked Zhang Yutong to observe the mortals below and explained how immersion in mortal life could temper a cultivator's state of mind.
• Zhang Yutong praised Zhang Qingxiao's insight and credited his guidance and support for her freedom to cultivate beside him.

Zhang Yutong and Zhang Qingxiao discussed their bond, Zhang Yuhe’s disappearance, and the prospect of revenge before Yin Meng arrived to discuss his search for the Great Universe Shifting Token. Yin Meng revealed that the damaged token had once belonged to him and was lost during an attempt to have it repaired.

• Zhang Yutong told Zhang Qingxiao that meeting him had changed how she felt about her journey and the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Sect Master.
• Zhang Qingxiao said Zhang Yuhe had not returned to the Huanjian Sect and that Duan Yuming and Wang Xuyyao were searching for the sisters in Meng Kingdom.
• Zhang Yutong promised to help Zhang Qingxiao seek revenge and argued against provoking a war between sword cultivators and Daoist cultivators.
• Yin Meng arrived and reported that his search for a mysterious item had yielded little.
• Yin Meng identified the item as the Great Universe Shifting Token and revealed that it had once been his, but was lost after it was damaged and sent for repair.
• Yin Meng explained that demonic cultivators needed the token to safely use a long-distance Teleportation Array to travel from the Cultivation Alliance.

Yin Meng told Zhang Qingxiao that the Great Universe Shifting Token had fallen into Xiao Hua’s hands and that he needed it to cross into the Three Cultivation Kingdoms. Zhang Qingxiao claimed Xiao Hua had died in the Mo Ran Black Forest, leaving Yin Meng determined to search there himself.

• Yin Meng explained that a damaged Great Universe Shifting Token had brought him to Xi Kingdom and revealed that a Thunder Control Sect disciple had taken it.
• Yin Meng identified the disciple as Xiao Hua, whom he had encountered at Lingpei Mountain Villa, and asked Zhang Qingxiao to capture him and recover the token.
• Zhang Qingxiao received a blood-red communication talisman, let Yin Meng inspect it, then shattered it without reading it.
• Zhang Qingxiao told Yin Meng that Xiao Hua had died in Ink Storm in the Mo Ran Black Forest and that his remains could not be found.
• Yin Meng decided to search the Mo Ran Black Forest personally, and Zhang Qingxiao gave him a jade slip marking the location.

Zhang Qingxiao mourned Xiao Hua, believing that his junior brother had been killed by True Person Mingjian. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua reached Haoming City, learned its rules, and reunited with Xue Xue, where he discovered that Huo Qilin had feelings for her.

• Zhang Qingxiao grieved for Xiao Hua and revealed that he had reached peak late Foundation Establishment, while vowing to avenge Shang Hua Ming.
• Xiao Hua arrived at Haoming City and learned from a city guard about its rules and restricted areas for cultivators of different realms.
• Xiao Hua sent a communication talisman for Xue Xue, but it flew out of the city, so he followed it and found her approaching with Huo Furong and Huo Qilin.
• Xiao Hua reunited with Xue Xue, who explained that nearly a year had passed and that Huo Qilin had shown interest in her.
• Xiao Hua reacted with disbelief and mockery toward Huo Qilin, while Xue Xue urged him not to provoke the higher-ranked cultivator.

Xiao Hua reunited with Xue Xue in Haoming City and turned down Huo Qilin’s offer to arrange her lodging, while agreeing to visit Fire Fierce Mountain’s three Nascent Soul elders. After securing a cave residence, Xiao Hua surprised Xue Xue by revealing that he knew alchemy and had Sky Yin Grass.

• Huo Furong introduced Huo Qilin to Xiao Hua, and the two exchanged courteous greetings.
• Xue Xue refused to return to Fire Fierce Mountain’s residence, and Xiao Hua agreed to send Huo Furong a message talisman after finding lodging.
• Huo Qilin kept offering to help Xue Xue settle in, but she declined and left with Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua chose a well-equipped cave residence in Haoming City and took Xue Xue there.
• Xiao Hua revealed his Three-legged Vermilion Bird Phoenix Pattern Furnace and Sky Yin Grass, surprising Xue Xue with his alchemy skills.

Xiao Hua prepared to refine a Ling Lei Pill for Xue Xue and gave her a technique to temper her meridians before she attempted to awaken her Thunder Beast bloodline. He began extracting Thunder Beast true blood from the beasts’ corpses, leaving the process at a critical moment.

• Xue Xue was astonished that Xiao Hua had advanced to mid Foundation Establishment, though his rapid progress made her feel increasingly distant from him in cultivation.
• Xiao Hua warmed the pill furnace, reviewed the Ling Lei Pill formula, and told Xue Xue about his dangerous experiences in Mo Ran Black Forest while obtaining the Sky Yin Grass.
• Xiao Hua gave Xue Xue a jade slip containing the elementary portion of the Dragon Transformation Art so she could temper her meridians before taking the Ling Lei Pill.
• Xiao Hua used materials from two Thunder Beasts and supplementary spirit herbs to begin refining the Ling Lei Pill.
• Xiao Hua extracted golden lightning filaments from one Thunder Beast’s blood and gathered them into a tiny Thunder Beast shape.
• Xiao Hua compressed the remaining blood until it burst into droplets, then reached beneath them and began lifting something with great effort.

Xiao Hua refined the male and mother Thunder Beasts’ true blood with Sky Yin Grass to begin making a Ling Lei Pill for Xue Xue, while Huo Qilin continued waiting outside their cave. As the pill began its eighty-one-day refinement, Xiao Hua realized he needed a different technique to temper his bones during the Origin of Earth stage.

• Xiao Hua used Samadhi True Fire and blood threads to capture the male Thunder Beast’s true blood and send it into the pill furnace.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue discussed Huo Qilin’s persistence and his pursuit of Xue Xue, while Xiao Hua chose to leave him waiting outside.
• Xiao Hua extracted the mother Thunder Beast’s true blood, added Sky Yin Grass to the pill furnace, and combined the ingredients to begin refining the Ling Lei Pill.
• Xiao Hua told Xue Xue that the Ling Lei Pill would need eighty-one days to refine, coinciding with Haoming City’s Bidding Convention.
• Xiao Hua realized that the Big Dipper Divine Fist no longer suited his bone tempering and that he needed a new method for the Origin of Earth stage.

Xiao Hua agreed to visit Fire Fierce Mountain with Xue Xue after Huo Furong invited them to meet the Three Elders and attend a small banquet. As they flew through Haoming City’s Nascent Soul residences, a city guard confronted them, and Huo Furong answered him sharply.

• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue waited inside their cave while Huo Qilin lingered outside, until Huo Furong arrived and summoned him away at the Three Elders’ request.
• Huo Furong invited Xiao Hua to visit Fire Fierce Mountain and explained that the Nascent Soul cultivators’ Bidding Convention admitted each Nascent Soul cultivator and five junior relatives or disciples.
• Huo Furong gave Xiao Hua a Fire Fierce Mountain token and invited him and Xue Xue to a small banquet with the Three Elders; both accepted.
• Xiao Hua, Xue Xue, and Huo Furong left the cave and flew through the residences of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, with Huo Furong using her token to pass the guards.
• A late Foundation Establishment city guard’s divine sense stopped the group, and Huo Furong challenged him before he asked which sect they belonged to.

Xiao Hua, Xue Xue, and Huo Furong met Yu Chen, Haoming City’s new City Guard Captain, on their way to Fire Fierce Mountain’s banquet. At the cave residence, a young attendant accidentally crushed a message from True Person Lan Yu, leaving Huo Furong to take the message inside and answer for the mistake.

• Yu Chen apologized to Huo Furong for mistaking her identity and explained that guards were managing cultivators trying to visit True Person Qingyan.
• Yu Chen introduced himself to Xiao Hua and Xue Xue, then told Xiao Hua where True Person Miyou was staying.
• Huo Furong brought Xiao Hua and Xue Xue to the Three Elders of Fire Fierce Mountain’s cave residence, where young attendants greeted her.
• A young attendant crushed a message talisman from True Person Lan Yu while competing with another attendant to earn medicinal pills.
• Huo Furong took the crushed message inside and told the attendant he would receive no medicinal pills that day.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue visited Fire Fierce Mountain, where Huo Furong brought them to meet her great-grandfather, Huo Zheshhan, at a banquet. Huo Qilin continued pursuing Xue Xue, and Xiao Hua was seated among powerful guests as Huo Zheshhan introduced him to Xuan Yunzi.

• Huo Furong led Xiao Hua and Xue Xue into the Fire Fierce Mountain residence, where Huo Qilin eagerly greeted Xue Xue and insisted on accompanying her inside.
• Huo Furong brought the group to a lavish banquet hall, where Xiao Hua saw the three identical Nascent Soul brothers known as the Three Elders of Fire Fierce Mountain.
• Huo Furong introduced Xiao Hua to Huo Zheshhan and explained that Xiao Hua had rescued her from the Heavenly Demon Sect.
• Huo Zheshhan learned that Xiao Hua's master, Wu Nai, was only at late Foundation Establishment, but praised Xiao Hua's strength and arranged a seat for him.
• Huo Zheshhan introduced Xiao Hua to Xuan Yunzi of the Lanli Sect and asked Xuan Yunzi to look after him in the future.

At a banquet, Bai Yue questioned Xiao Hua’s account of rescuing Huo Furong, prompting Huo Zheshhan to ask Xiao Hua to explain what happened. Xiao Hua recounted the rescue and revealed that he had used the Samadhi True Fire, which Huo Zheshhan asked him to demonstrate.

• Huo Zheshhan introduced Xiao Hua to Xuan Yunzi and True Person Xuemo and asked them to look after him.
• Bai Yue doubted that Xiao Hua could have rescued Huo Furong and suggested that his and Xue Xue’s actions warranted suspicion.
• Huo Qilin defended Xue Xue, while Huo Furong said Xiao Hua had rescued her after she awoke beside him and Xue Xue.
• Huo Zheshhan explained that the Heavenly Demon Sect’s cultivators were weaker than sect disciples and that lightning techniques countered demonic cultivators, then asked Xiao Hua to recount the rescue.
• Xiao Hua described the events and admitted that he had used the Samadhi True Fire, so Huo Zheshhan asked him to demonstrate it.

At Fire Fierce Mountain, Xiao Hua revealed his pure Samadhi True Fire and discussed the threat posed by the Heavenly Demon Sect. Huo Zheshhan arranged for him to toast the visiting cultivators, where Xiao Hua answered Bai Yue’s suspicions with a display of his Thunder Control Sect skills; after the guests prepared to leave, Huo Zheshhan kept Xiao Hua and Xue Xue behind.

• Xiao Hua showed the assembled cultivators his Samadhi True Fire, and Huo Paikong recognized it as the weapon that had destroyed the Heavenly Demon Sect’s demon fiends.
• Huo Zheshhan examined the demon fiends’ belongings with the other seniors, and the cultivators discussed the Heavenly Demon Sect’s unusual methods and growing threat.
• Huo Furong offered Xiao Hua Blazing Fire Brew, then escorted him as Huo Zheshhan instructed him to toast the visiting Golden Core cultivators.
• Bai Yue accused Xiao Hua of suspicious ties to the Heavenly Demon Sect, but Xiao Hua explained that his Lightning Evasion Technique had let him escape two Foundation Establishment attackers, prompting Bai Yue to drink the toast.
• Xiao Hua toasted the remaining cultivators, including the familiar-looking Liang Yu, before Huo Zheshhan kept Xiao Hua and Xue Xue behind as the guests departed.

Huo Zheshhan brought Xiao Hua and Xue Xue to the Fire Fierce Mountain elders’ cultivation room and explained his support for Xiao Hua’s trip to the Bidding Convention. After seeing Xiao Hua’s Samadhi True Fire, the elders decided they wanted to offer him even more, leaving him wary of their unexpected generosity.

• Huo Zheshhan summoned Xiao Hua, Xue Xue, Huo Qilin, and Huo Furong to the Three Elders’ quiet room.
• Huo Qilin distractedly mishandled the prayer mats while fixating on Xue Xue, and Huo Furong rebuked him.
• Huo Zheshhan reassured Xiao Hua that he did not believe the Lanli Sect disciple’s accusation and said he would take him to the Bidding Convention.
• Huo Furong reported that she had crushed a message talisman from True Person Lan Yu, and Huo Zheshhan dismissed the Immortal Music Sect’s approach.
• Huo Zheshhan said Xiao Hua’s Samadhi True Fire had changed the elders’ minds and that they wished to give him more, prompting Xiao Hua to hesitate.

Huo Zheshhan demonstrated Fire Control to Xiao Hua, then the Three Elders of Fire Fierce Mountain tried to arrange cultivation partnerships between Xiao Hua and Huo Furong, and Xue Xue and Huo Qilin. Xiao Hua and Xue Xue were left stunned and unhappy with the elders’ matchmaking.

• Huo Zheshhan summoned a lifelike firebird to demonstrate his Fire Control technique, and Xiao Hua praised it.
• Huo Zheshhan asked whether Xiao Hua wanted to learn Fire Fierce Mountain’s technique, then revealed the elders’ plan to pair him with Huo Furong.
• Huo Furong protested that Xiao Hua belonged with Xue Xue and that she did not like him, while the elders insisted they would benefit each other.
• Huo Yanshui proposed that Xue Xue cultivate together with Huo Qilin, and Huo Qilin eagerly agreed.
• Xiao Hua grew angry and Xue Xue turned pale as the elders celebrated their proposed pairings.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue refused Fire Fierce Mountain’s plan to pair them with Huo Furong and Huo Qilin, but Huo Paikong imprisoned them with his Nascent Soul power until they changed their minds. Separated into facing meditation chambers, Xiao Hua worried about the Ling Lei Pill being refined for Xue Xue’s Foundation Establishment and searched for a way out.

• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue declared that they would only cultivate together, and Huo Zheshhan said Fire Fierce Mountain would propose the match to Thunder Control Sect regardless.
• Huo Paikong restrained Xiao Hua and Xue Xue, then ordered Huo Furong and Huo Qilin to persuade them to agree.
• Huo Qilin tried to win Xue Xue over, but she reaffirmed her devotion to Xiao Hua and said she would rather die than be with anyone else.
• Huo Furong led Xue Xue away, and Xiao Hua followed; Huo Furong placed them in separate meditation chambers facing each other.
• After a day and night passed, Xiao Hua watched Xue Xue across the corridor and worried that the Ling Lei Pill’s refinement might fail while he remained trapped.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue escaped the pressure to dual cultivate at Fire Fierce Mountain after Huo Qilin intervened and begged the Great-Grandfathers to release them. They left to pay respects to True Person Miyou, returned safely to their cave residence, and ended the chapter ready to dual cultivate.

• Xue Xue refused to dual cultivate with Huo Qilin and nearly harmed herself, but Huo Qilin bit his own lip and left her unharmed.
• Huo Qilin sealed his meridians and kowtowed for a day and night before the Great-Grandfathers until they agreed to release Xiao Hua and Xue Xue.
• Huo Furong freed Xiao Hua and Xue Xue with a talisman and told them Huo Qilin had fainted from his injuries.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue decided to attend the Bidding Convention and went to pay respects to True Person Miyou, but his disciple turned them away.
• Xiao Hua and Xue Xue returned to their cave residence and found it and the pill-refining room undisturbed.
• Xue Xue told Xiao Hua she wanted to dual cultivate with him that day.

Xiao Hua comforted Xue Xue and chose not to divide his Primordial Spirit while the Ling Lei Pill was being refined, then settled his mind through Buddhist cultivation. Meanwhile, Yan Yu abandoned his plan to attack Xiao Hua but left seeking to vent his grief on an unfortunate Qi Refining cultivator.

• Xiao Hua soothed the frightened Xue Xue to sleep, then checked on the newly awakened Little Yellow in his space.
• Xiao Hua hesitated to divide his Primordial Spirit because the pain from his previous attempt had only recently eased and the Ling Lei Pill was still being refined, so he calmed himself with Buddhist cultivation instead.
• After more than ten days of closed-door cultivation, Liang Yu warned Yan Yu that Xiao Hua was protected by the Three Elders of Fire Fierce Mountain and that an attack would be dangerous.
• Yan Yu learned that the Three Elders might arrange for Xiao Hua and Huo Furong to become dual-cultivation partners, and Liang Yu also told him about Xue Xue and Huo Qilin.
• Yan Yu accepted that he could not risk opposing the Three Elders, then went out intending to kill a Qi Refining cultivator who displeased him.

Yan Yu persuaded Liang Yu to join a plan to target Xiao Hua for his treasures, while Xiao Hua refined a pill and prepared to attend the Bidding Convention with Fire Fierce Mountain. Xue Xue thanked Huo Qilin but declined to go, and the chapter ended as the Three Elders gathered to board their flying artifact.

• Yan Yu told Liang Yu that Xiao Hua might have obtained valuable treasures and Samadhi True Fire from Golden Core cultivators' storage bags, and proposed recruiting Xie Ming and Qian Han to help deal with him.
• Xiao Hua completed the medicinal-liquid fusion for the Ling Lei Pill, while Xue Xue studied the Dragon Transformation Art in their cave dwelling.
• Huo Qilin invited Xue Xue to the Bidding Convention, but she thanked him for helping her and Xiao Hua and returned to cultivation.
• Huo Furong invited Xiao Hua to the convention, and he accompanied her and Huo Qilin to Fire Fierce Mountain's flying artifact.
• The Three Elders of Fire Fierce Mountain emerged, asked why Xue Xue had not come, and Huo Qilin explained that she was cultivating for Foundation Establishment.

Huo Zheshhan and the Fire Fierce Mountain party arrived at Haoming City's mountaintop palace, where Xiao Hua discovered the city's hidden, immense network of suspended bridges. The group entered the palace's concealed interior and followed two Golden Core cultivators across a transparent bridge, leaving Xiao Hua astonished by Haoming City's foundations.

• Huo Zheshhan led Xiao Hua and the others upward on a flying artifact toward a vast platform atop Fire Fierce Mountain.
• The platform revealed an enormous palace and many other flying artifacts as Huo Zheshhan presented a token that brought his artifact to the palace gate.
• Two Haoming City guest elders welcomed Huo Zheshhan and his party, then used an artifact plaque to activate a rosy barrier around the gate.
• The gate vanished and revealed a hidden expanse of transparent suspended bridges above an abyss that Xiao Hua and a Golden Core cultivator could not probe to its bottom.
• The guest elders led Huo Zheshhan's party onward across the suspended bridge, which the group had to traverse on foot.