Recaps

Xiao Hua learned Zhang Qingxiao’s Shadow Concealment Art, found Burial Flower Villa missing, and then spent the next half year away. As the Thunder Control Sect prepared to depart, Wu Nai faced punishment for Xiao Hua’s absence while Qian Diheng and Cui Hongshen doubted that Xiao Hua would return.

• Xiao Hua used Shadow Concealment Art to reach the place where Burial Flower Villa had stood, but found the villa and its formation gone.
• Xiao Hua suspected that Burial Flower Villa could move, then left to handle his other business.
• Half a year later, Senior Brother Gan warned Wu Nai that he would lose his life if Xiao Hua did not return before the Thunder Boats departed.
• Qian Diheng came to see Xiao Hua off, defended him against Qian Jing’s accusation that he had fled, and went to wait for him at the mountain gate.
• Cui Hongshen angrily told Wu Nai that Xiao Hua had run away and would not return before the Thunder Boats departed.

Xiao Hua returned to Qiong Lei Peak, gave Xiang Zhili secret cultivation guidance, and joined the Thunder Control Sect’s departing expedition. Aboard the thunder boat, he settled into a quiet chamber while Cui Hongshen approached a senior cultivator to ask his name.

• Xiao Hua arrived with Qian Diheng, gave Xiang Zhili instructions from the Dragon Transformation Art, and asked him to keep them secret.
• Xiao Hua accepted his campaign reward, gave its magic artifact to Xiang Zhili, and agreed to follow Cui Hongshen during the expedition.
• The disciples boarded the thunder boats and departed Qiong Lei Peak as Helpless lamented that many might not return.
• Xiao Hua reflected on his months trapped in the Mo Ran Black Forest Secret Realm and the vast lake of pool water he had stored in his space.
• Xiao Hua entered a quiet chamber aboard the thunder boat and began refining an Azure Spirit Pill while Cui Hongshen held back from confronting him.
• Cui Hongshen went to the late Foundation Establishment cultivator and introduced himself as a disciple of Myriad Thunder Valley.

Cui Hongshen asked Zhen to arrange for him, his junior brother, and his dual cultivation partner Dui Qimeng to be grouped together when the Thunder Control Sect’s disciples reached Huan Country. Zhen agreed to try without accepting Cui’s gift, leaving Cui unsure whether he could trust the promise as the thunder boat sped up.

• Cui Hongshen asked Zhen how the Zhen Thunder Palace disciples would be assigned in Huan Country.
• Cui explained that he wanted to protect his newly foundation-established junior brother and be grouped with his dual cultivation partner, Dui Qimeng of Dui Lei Palace.
• Zhen said he would ask the leader of Dui Lei Palace about arranging the groups, but could not guarantee the request would succeed.
• Cui offered Zhen a storage pouch of Bloodred Stones, but Zhen refused it and said he should help because Cui and the others were risking their lives in battle.
• Zhen sent Cui to the quiet room to cultivate and ordered the thunder boat’s disciples to increase their speed, while Cui wondered whether Zhen would truly help him.

Cui Hongshen reached Xiao Hua and angrily blamed him for cultivating alone, while Xuntian City became crowded as cultivators gathered to oppose Huan Kingdom’s invasion. The chapter ended with a battle report arriving from the western front as cultivators entered the city to learn what had happened.

• Cui Hongshen found Xiao Hua with four disciples and angrily accused him of hiding away to cultivate before resting in a quiet room.
• The chapter described Xuntian City, its defenses and leadership, and the influx of cultivators gathering there because of Huan Kingdom’s invasion.
• A city guard carrying a battle report from the western front rushed into Xuntian City, refusing to explain the news before delivering it to Yanxi Mansion.
• Two Foundation Establishment cultivators discussed the war and speculated about the report as they approached Xuntian City’s gate.
• City guards checked the late Foundation Establishment cultivator’s identity token and allowed him to enter.

A disguised beast cultivator from Huan Kingdom tried to enter Xuntian City but was exposed by the city’s defenses and escaped. The guards prepared to report the incident to Yanxi Mansion while the cultivators at the gate discussed the threat.

• A Yanjiang Sect elder and a disguised beast cultivator presented their tokens to the guards at Xuntian City’s gate.
• The city’s detection ripple exposed the disguised cultivator, who transformed and cut through the descending halo with two enormous flying swords.
• The beast cultivator summoned wings, swept the nearby elder with a hurricane, and fled northwest before the guards could catch him.
• The onlookers identified him as a beast cultivator from Huan Kingdom, and a city guard said he would report the incident to Yanxi Mansion.
• The chapter described Xuntian City’s rugged stone-and-ice buildings and the ice-rock used to construct them.

Wang Ye convened the Golden Core cultivators of the Three Cultivation Kingdoms in Yanxi Mansion to discuss the ongoing war with the Huan Kingdom Sword Cultivators. The group questioned the Sword Cultivators’ unexpected destruction of the Zhao family and awaited reinforcements as they debated the war’s purpose.

• Wang Ye opened the Council Hall with a jade pendant, and the cultivators entered the chamber and took their assigned meditation cushions.
• Wang Ye reviewed the war’s nearly ten months of battles and said more sects and family disciples would arrive in the coming weeks.
• Zhou Qingping pressed Wang Ye about the arrival of reinforcements, and Gao Wei confirmed that several groups were already on their way.
• The cultivators questioned why the Sword Cultivators had slaughtered the Zhao family of Moqing Cave and taken its possessions so early in the war.
• Peng Die and Kou Xiangling remarked that the repeated wars seemed to serve as training for cultivators on both sides.

Dao Sect leaders mocked the sword cultivators and agreed to send forces toward Moqing Cave, but a warning revealed that the coming battle would also involve artifact cultivators, beast cultivators, bird cultivators, and the Giant race. The leaders learned that a swift bird cultivator had already probed Xuntian City and began considering how to strengthen its defenses.

• Wang Ye and the other Dao Sect leaders laughed at the sword cultivators’ accusations and resolved to retaliate for the destruction of a Dao Sect cultivation family by sending the Seven Wonders Sect toward Moqing Cave, with the Immortal Music Sect offering to join.
• True Person Pin Xuan warned the council that artifact cultivators, beast cultivators, bird cultivators, and the Giant race had joined the sword cultivators, and that Xuantian Sect disciples were approaching Xuntian City and the Fengmeng Mountains.
• Yuan Yiguang warned that bird cultivators’ speed could outmatch even sword cultivators using sword-body unity.
• A Xuntian City guard reported that beast cultivators had tried to rush into the city and asked for reinforcements; Wang Ye told him to inform the City Lord and wait for the Changbai Sect and Thunder Control Sect disciples.
• The council members concluded that a bird cultivator had recently probed Xuntian City and agreed that their disciples needed warnings about the danger of bird cultivators’ swift attacks.

Wang Ye and the other sect leaders decided to send disciples to Moqing Cave and warn them about the bird cultivators, but an ambush had already begun. Xiao Mao and the Xunyan Sect disciples were attacked in the forest, and Xiao Mao fled as a sword cultivator pursued him.

• Wang Ye and the other leaders agreed to alert their disciples and request faster reinforcements from the Changbai Sect and Thunder Control Sect.
• More than a dozen Xunyan Sect disciples, including Xiao Mao and Brother Gong, flew over a snowy forest while discussing their recent victories over sword cultivators.
• A bird cultivator sprang from the forest and attacked Brother Gong as more than twenty sword cultivators launched an ambush against the group.
• The bird cultivator froze Brother Gong with an emerald pearl, tore out his heart, and devoured it, terrifying the Xunyan Sect disciples.
• Xiao Mao assessed the battle, countered a flying sword with his orange-red whip, and fled as the burly swordsman pursued him.

Xiao Mao escaped the sword cultivators by using the Universe Ring to kill his pursuer, then hid in an icy river to recover. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua continued toward the battlefield aboard the thunder boat, wishing he could retreat into seclusion but worrying about the four disciples traveling with him.

• Xiao Mao fled the battle as the Xunyan Sect disciples scattered after Brother Gong was killed.
• When the avian cultivator rushed away, Xiao Mao revealed his mid Foundation Establishment power and used the Universe Ring to confine and kill the middle-aged swordsman.
• Xiao Mao collected the swordsman’s belongings, evaded the other pursuers, and hid in an icy river, where he circulated the Dragon Transformation Art to ease the strain on his meridians.
• Xiao Hua traveled toward the sword cultivators’ war aboard the thunder boat and considered pretending to be dead so he could cultivate in seclusion.
• Xiao Hua noticed that the four qi-refining disciples were too troubled by their worries to cultivate steadily.

Xiao Hua and nine other Thunder Control Sect disciples were assembled as the sect’s First Squad and ordered to travel to Jiming Mountain for a fast-moving mission. Senior Brother Zhen named Cui Hongshen captain, and the squad set out with the promise of recognition if they completed the mission and returned alive.

• Xiao Hua abandoned thoughts of fleeing and continued cultivating aboard the stopped thunderboat, until Cui Hongshen summoned him with the First Squad’s Captain’s Token.
• Senior Brother Zhen explained that the Council Hall had ordered ten fast-flying Thunder Control Sect disciples to Jiming Mountain, and appointed Cui Hongshen captain of the squad.
• Xiao Hua asked whether the squad could flee from danger and how he should handle old enemies from other sects, and Senior Brother Zhen urged him to preserve his life and report any attacks.
• Senior Brother Zhen warned the disciples to obey Cui Hongshen and protect the mission, then promised rewards and a place in the sect’s records if they returned alive.
• Cui Hongshen excitedly asked Senior Brother Zhen whether the First Squad would remain together throughout the war.

Cui Hongshen led the newly assigned First Squad away from the thunder boat toward their confidential mission at Jiming Mountain. The squad took shelter in a concealed cave and began introducing themselves, leaving them prepared to set out together.

• Zhen told Cui Hongshen he would command the First Squad unless every member was lost, and ordered him to protect the three Dui Lei Palace disciples.
• Cui Hongshen suggested the squad get acquainted before flying to Jiming Mountain, and Zhen Minghui led them to a dry cave.
• Zhen Minghui set up a Cloud Formation to conceal the cave, then kept the array flags after Cui Hongshen declined to hold them.
• Cui Hongshen introduced himself, followed by Zhen Minghui, Su Qing, Qiu Xu, and Xiao Hua; Xiao Hua restrained himself from denying his connection to Cui Hongshen.
• Zhen Huo and Bai Su Gu introduced themselves, and Dui Qimeng began introductions for the Dui Lei Palace disciples.

Cui Hongshen’s First Squad prepared to travel cautiously to Jiming Mountain while Xiao Hua weighed how to escape the threat of True Person Jinglü. Cui Hongshen appointed Zhen Minghui vice-captain, but Zhen recommended Xiao Hua instead.

• Mingmou and Dui Ling introduced themselves, and Dui Ling recalled Xiao Hua’s victory at the Feathered Immortal Convention and his relationship with Fairy Hongxia.
• Xiao Hua dismissed Mingmou’s questions and privately considered faking his death or changing his appearance to evade True Person Jinglü.
• Cui Hongshen and Zhen Minghui reviewed the mission jade slip and decided the squad should approach Jiming Mountain gradually to avoid a possible ambush.
• Cui Hongshen asked the squad to cooperate through the war, while Xiao Hua remained unconcerned and planned to find a chance to leave.
• Cui Hongshen named Zhen Minghui vice-captain, but Zhen Minghui declined and recommended Xiao Hua for the position.

Cui Hongshen offered Xiao Hua a chance to leave the dangerous battle, but Xiao Hua suspected a trap and chose to return to the squad. He learned that the Nascent Soul seniors, including the Sect Leader, would not join the battle for more than ten years.

• Cui Hongshen made Zhen Minghui vice captain and arranged the squad’s formation as they left the cave.
• Cui Hongshen told Xiao Hua he had obtained his captaincy to protect him and offered to cover for him if he left before the battle.
• Xiao Hua flew away, then returned after suspecting Cui Hongshen would accuse him of desertion.
• Cui Hongshen warned Xiao Hua that Foundation Establishment cultivators faced severe losses and said he could still leave at any time.
• Xiao Hua asked when the Thunder Control Sect’s Nascent Soul seniors would join the battle, and Cui Hongshen said they might not arrive for more than ten years.

Xiao Hua refused to flee with Cui Hongshen’s group and used the lull to cultivate as they traveled. Elsewhere, Senior Brother Xiang’s sword cultivators were intercepted after ambushing Daoist disciples, and a battle began between their flying swords and the patrols’ magic treasures.

• Cui Hongshen urged Xiao Hua to flee, but Xiao Hua rejected the idea and continued onward with the group.
• Xiao Hua swallowed Azure Spirit Pills and refined their medicinal power and Earth Crystal Yao Ru while traveling.
• Senior Brother Xiang and the other sword cultivators discussed their successful ambush and prepared to return to their stronghold.
• Senior Brother Xiang sensed approaching divine sense, ordered the sword cultivators to hurry, and had Junior Brother Lu send a flying sword message for help.
• Patrolling Daoist cultivators surrounded the sword cultivators and attacked, while the sword cultivators countered with their flying swords.
• Senior Brother Xiang’s flying sword clashed with a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s pagoda magic treasure.

Senior Brother Xiang and the sword cultivators fought the cultivators of Joyful Sect, but Artifact Cultivators joined the battle and turned the pursuit against them. A white-haired cultivator intervened to protect Joyful Sect’s disciples, striking the Artifact Cultivator and damaging Senior Brother Xiang’s sword before the confrontation could be resolved.

• Senior Brother Xiang damaged the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s pagoda and escaped as the sword cultivators fled toward the Fengmeng Mountain Range.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator pursued the sword cultivators, who turned back with Artifact Cultivators riding their flying swords.
• An Artifact Cultivator smashed the pagoda and transformed into a long ge, while Senior Brother Xiang joined the attack on the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• A white-haired cultivator descended and ordered the attackers not to harm Joyful Sect’s disciples.
• The white-haired cultivator’s whip broke the Artifact Cultivator’s transformed form and cracked Senior Brother Xiang’s flying sword.

Li Zongbao rescued Joyful Sect disciples by killing numerous sword and artifact cultivators with the Immortal-Piercing Whip, then continued toward Xuntian City. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua and his companions crossed an uneventful stretch of the front, and Xiao Hua began considering making a name for himself in the war.

• Li Zongbao arrived in time to save a Joyful Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator, smashing a fleeing sword cultivator and then an artifact cultivator with the Immortal-Piercing Whip.
• Li Zongbao slew more than ten sword and artifact cultivators, pursued the fleeing enemies, and killed one more sword cultivator before his spiritual power ran low.
• Li Zongbao told the surviving Joyful Sect disciples to regroup at a nearby stronghold, gave them the enemies’ belongings, and flew toward Xuntian City.
• The Joyful Sect disciples discussed Li Zongbao’s strength, white hair, and cultivation of the Mirror of Parting Emotions before gathering the battlefield spoils and leaving.
• Xiao Hua and his companions traveled across snowfields and forests without encountering enemies, and Xiao Hua decided he might be able to make a name for himself on the battlefield.

Cui Hongshen’s Thunder Control Sect First Squad encountered Seven Wonders Sect cultivators, who mocked their strength and urged them to abandon their mission to Jiming Mountain. Cui Hongshen insisted they continue, and after reaching a frozen river near the mountain, the group stopped to rest, where Dui Ling triggered an attack from an azure crab beneath the ice.

• Han Bing and two Seven Wonders Sect cultivators met Cui Hongshen and Zhen Minghui, belittled the Thunder Control Sect, and said they were heading to Jiming Mountain.
• Han Bing told Cui Hongshen to turn back, but Cui Hongshen decided the First Squad would continue and use the Seven Wonders Sect cultivators to scout ahead.
• After another ten days of travel, the squad reached a glacier near Jiming Mountain and stopped to rest beside a frozen river.
• Dui Ling spotted creatures beneath the ice, and an azure crab burst through the frozen surface and attacked her as Xiao Hua watched.

Bai Su Gu, Dui Ling, and the Thunder Control Sect cultivators battled an azure crab whose sharp Taiyi Azure Light could pierce their defenses and weapons. They finally killed it as it tried to retreat into the ice hole, with Zhen Minghui’s Thunder Brick striking its wounded abdomen.

• The azure crab attacked Dui Ling, and Xiao Hua stayed back while her defensive treasure blocked its claw before its Taiyi Azure Light cut through the protection.
• Dui Ling and Bai Su Gu fought the crab with their magic artifacts, while its azure light weakened their attacks and damaged Dui Ling’s Lightning Seal.
• Zhen Huo, Cui Hongshen, and Zhen Minghui joined the fight, and Cui Hongshen’s paired thunder pearls pierced the crab’s protective light and wounded its abdomen.
• The injured crab tried to escape into the ice hole, but Qiu Xu’s Thunder Net caught it before its claws cut a hole in the net.
• Zhen Minghui’s Thunder Brick struck the crab’s wounded abdomen, killing it and stopping its escape.

Xiao Hua's squad debated the Azure Crab's unusual azure light after killing it, and Xiao Hua later gave Dui Ling a jade slip explaining how to extract Taiyi Azure Light. Cui Hongshen followed the instructions and successfully drew a speck of the rare material from the carcass.

• Cui Hongshen and Zhen Minghui argued with Xiao Hua over whether they should have risked following the Azure Crab to find more azure light.
• Xiao Hua flew away without explaining himself, then returned and gave Dui Ling a jade slip as an apology for not helping her.
• Dui Ling discovered that the jade slip described Taiyi Azure Light extraction, and Zhen Huo and Zhen Minghui recognized its importance.
• Cui Hongshen studied the jade slip and used its method to extract a speck of Taiyi Azure Light from the Azure Crab carcass.

After collecting Taiyi Azure Light, Cui Hongshen’s squad reached Jiming Mountain and learned that the Seven Wonders Sect had already ended the siege. Cui waited at the mountain’s Reception Hall for Valley Master Zhan Xin to provide proof of the squad’s visit, while Xiao Hua quietly enjoyed Cui’s embarrassment.

• Cui Hongshen sealed the Taiyi Azure Light, and Xiao Hua finished regulating his breath before the squad resumed its journey.
• Cui Hongshen sent a transmission talisman upon reaching Jiming Mountain, and Lan Li came out to greet the Thunder Control Sect squad.
• Lan Li explained that the Seven Wonders Sect had already defeated the sword cultivators and resolved Jiming Mountain’s crisis.
• Cui Hongshen decided to wait for proof of the squad’s visit, so Lan Li led everyone into Jiming Mountain’s Reception Hall.
• Zhen Minghui learned that Valley Master Zhan was named Zhan Xin, while Xiao Hua privately mocked Cui Hongshen for arriving without knowing the Valley Master’s name.

Cui Hongshen and the Thunder Control Sect disciples confronted Han Bing over Jiming Mountain’s summons, but Zhan Xin gave them the promised token and they prepared to leave. Before they could depart, more than a thousand sword cultivators surrounded Jiming Mountain, leaving both sects to face an urgent battle.

• Cui Hongshen and his companions waited for Zhan Xin and Lan Li, then greeted Zhan Xin when he arrived with Han Bing of the Seven Wonders Sect.
• Han Bing taunted Cui Hongshen, and Zhan Xin tried to defuse the dispute by giving Cui Hongshen Jiming Mountain’s token and a gift.
• Cui Hongshen accepted the token and announced that the Thunder Control Sect disciples would return to Xuntian City.
• A disciple reported that more than a thousand sword cultivators were attacking Jiming Mountain, including some with Bright Sword cultivation.
• Xiao Hua mocked Han Bing about facing the incoming enemies, and Zhan Xin led everyone outside to assess the attack.

Cui Hongshen and the others watched as more than a thousand sword cultivators closed in on Jiming Mountain, while Xiao Hua stayed behind in the Reception Hall. Han Bing led the Seven Wonders Sect out to fight, but the sword cultivators quickly overwhelmed them and forced them back inside.

• Xiao Hua refused to join Cui Hongshen and the others, staying in the Reception Hall to refine the Azure Spirit Pill.
• Zhan Xin explained that Jiming Mountain had about four hundred disciples and that the sword cultivators had returned with over a thousand fighters despite having withdrawn after their previous attack.
• Cui Hongshen warned Zhan Xin that the cultivators should break out, but Zhan Xin said they were already surrounded and that abandoning Jiming Mountain would make it difficult to return.
• Han Bing led nine Seven Wonders Sect disciples out to meet the advancing sword cultivators, while Cui Hongshen and the others watched from the defenses.
• A crimson-faced sword cultivator broke Han Bing's bamboo attack, and another sword cultivator's blades forced Han Bing to retreat behind a Seven Wonders Sect disciple's shield.
• The crimson-faced sword cultivator shattered the shield with a single strike, and Han Bing led the Seven Wonders Sect disciples back inside while the sword cultivators continued closing in.

Han Bing, Zhan Xin, and the other cultivators watched more than a thousand sword cultivators besiege Jiming Mountain, whose powerful formation could endure their attacks only at great cost. As the Thunder Control Sect disciples prepared to fight the next day, a lazy voice interrupted Cui Hongshen’s reassurance that they would have to battle.

• Han Bing asked Zhan Xin about Jiming Mountain’s defenses, and Zhan Xin assured him that the formation could withstand the sword cultivators.
• More than a thousand sword cultivators attacked the mountain’s light shield, while Xiao Hua wondered whether Jiming Mountain concealed something unusual.
• Zhan Xin explained that the formation could endure ten days of nonstop attacks but consumed too many spirit stones, and Han Bing planned to fight at noon the next day.
• Zhan Xin told Cui Hongshen that the formation could even block a Nascent Soul cultivator, then arranged quiet chambers for the Thunder Control Sect disciples.
• Zhen Minghui suggested escaping before the battle, but Cui Hongshen said the sword cultivators would prevent them from fleeing; the disciples joked to ease their fear.
• Cui Hongshen began discussing the next day’s battle when a lazy voice said they might not need to be so nervous.

Xiao Hua urged the Thunder Control Sect disciples to flee rather than die defending Jiming Mountain, then secretly infiltrated the mountain to investigate its secrets. He discovered that Jiming Mountain and Seven Wonders Sect were hiding the Mother of Taiyi Azure Light, while Han Bing and Zhan Xin expected the Thunder Control Sect to perish in the coming battle.

• Xiao Hua argued that the Thunder Control Sect should flee if necessary, but Cui Hongshen insisted they practice a joint attack technique to protect their lives and the sect’s reputation.
• Xiao Hua withdrew from the practice and used a movement technique from Zhang Qingxiao to sneak into Jiming Mountain.
• Xiao Hua bypassed the mountain’s restrictions and entered a guarded cliffside area, prompting Han Bing and Zhan Xin to investigate an alarm.
• Han Bing and Zhan Xin revealed that Jiming Mountain had unearthed the Mother of Taiyi Azure Light with Seven Wonders Sect’s help and that the mountain’s disciples secretly belonged to Seven Wonders Sect.
• Han Bing said the Thunder Control Sect disciples would die at the sword cultivators’ hands the next day and warned Zhan Xin to prevent further mistakes with messenger disciples.

Xiao Hua overheard Zhan Xin and Han Bing planning to sacrifice Thunder Control Sect disciples, then secretly found and seized the Innate Golden Mother. The next day, Cui Hongshen confronted him about whether he would fight or stay behind at Jiming Mountain.

• Xiao Hua overheard Zhan Xin and Han Bing reveal that Jiming Mountain belonged to the Seven Wonders Sect and that they intended to use Thunder Control Sect disciples as sacrifices.
• Xiao Hua entered a hidden opening that resisted Earth Evasion and discovered the Innate Golden Mother, whose radiance was calmed by the Taiyi Azure Light in Dreamslayer.
• Xiao Hua collected the Innate Golden Mother into his space, took the two tempered flying swords, and returned to his quiet room unnoticed.
• The next day, Xiao Hua crushed Cui Hongshen's communication talisman and left his room to face the assembled disciples.
• Cui Hongshen asked Xiao Hua whether he would join them in battle or remain at Jiming Mountain.