Recaps

Xiao Hua learned that Ji Ye had fused his Primordial Spirit with the Sea-Overturning Seal and had chosen to spend his final moments fighting. After Ji Ye’s Primordial Spirit vanished, Xiao Hua subdued the seal and began refining it, vowing to honor his opponent by mastering its power.

• Ji Ye explained that he had fused with the Sea-Overturning Seal through a secret Soul Cultivator art and that his Primordial Spirit was nearing dissipation.
• Xiao Hua respected Ji Ye’s wish for a final battle and attacked the Sea-Overturning Seal with the As-You-Wish Staff while using the Innate True Water and the Seven Star Great Formation to restrain it.
• Ji Ye’s final attack broke free of Xiao Hua’s formation, but Xiao Hua trapped the fleeing Sea-Overturning Seal with the Great Hand Spirit Talisman, the Innate True Water, and the formation.
• Xiao Hua struck the restrained Sea-Overturning Seal with heavenly lightning as a tribute to Ji Ye, then discovered that Ji Ye’s soul had left no trace.
• Xiao Hua summoned Little Yellow to guard the area and began refining the Sea-Overturning Seal with the Town Cloud Seal’s method.

Xiao Hua left Seven Absolute Ridge after deciding the sword cultivators could withdraw, then worried that his Thunder Control Movement had exposed his identity. He traveled to Flowing Ice Valley to find Li Zongbao and the others, but had not located them by the chapter’s end.

• Xiao Hua collected the Sea-Overturning Seal and returned to the battlefield at Seven Absolute Ridge, where he told Kan Sheng to follow the group’s decision about letting the sword cultivators leave.
• Xiao Hua dismissed questions about Ji Ye, and Gu Yu declared she would withdraw from the war and stop taking lives unless forced to defend herself.
• Xiao Hua departed using Thunder Control Movement, while Fairy Hongxia watched Gu Yu with suspicion and the Thunder Control Sect and Huanhua Sect secured victory at Seven Absolute Ridge.
• Xiao Hua flew toward Flowing Ice Valley and worried that Kan Sheng or Qian Mo might discover his identity from his use of Thunder Control Movement.
• After more than ten days, Xiao Hua reached Flowing Ice Valley and searched for Li Zongbao and the others, but found no trace of them.

Xiao Hua rescued Qingfeng Valley cultivators from Bright Sword Swordsmen, then followed their directions into the Flowing Ice Valley battlefield to find Li Zongbao. After locating the vast underground caves, he detected the communication token’s signal and found more than ten thousand cultivators fighting nearby.

• Xiao Hua followed signs of battle upriver, found Bright Sword Swordsmen attacking Qingfeng Valley cultivators, and killed one swordsman before forcing the others to retreat.
• Xiao Hua asked the rescued Qingfeng Valley disciples for directions to the Flowing Ice Valley battlefield, and Senior Brother Liu told him where to go.
• Xiao Hua entered the river passage beneath Flowing Ice Valley and flew through corpse-strewn karst caves toward the spirit stone mine vein.
• Xiao Hua’s communication token reacted, so he followed its signal into a pitch-black cave and found a vast cavern where more than ten thousand cultivators were fighting.

Xiao Hua reached Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao in Flowing Ice Valley, where Li Zongbao’s exhaustion and doubts about his ability to face the battlefield alone had weighed on him. After reuniting, Xiao Hua led the two toward the cave entrance, using his power to disable swordsmen so they could strike them down.

• Xiao Mao killed a middle-aged Bright Sword swordsman who had nearly overwhelmed Li Zongbao, then hid while Li Zongbao recovered with pills.
• Li Zongbao reflected on the limits of his strength, his failed expectations about fighting alone, and how Xiao Mao’s ambushes had helped him survive.
• Xiao Hua arrived, and Xiao Mao emerged from hiding; Xiao Hua incapacitated a Third Grade Bright Sword swordsman so Xiao Mao could kill him.
• Xiao Hua told Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao to fly ahead of him and kill the swordsmen they encountered as they headed toward the cave entrance.
• Xiao Hua stunned a Fourth Grade Bright Sword swordsman, and Li Zongbao killed him while rescuing a Joyful Sect disciple.

Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao fought through the swordsmen in the cave, using powerful talismans and their varied techniques to overwhelm their opponents. As more Bright Sword Swordsmen closed in, Xiao Hua disrupted their attack and moved to aid Xiao Mao.

• Xiao Hua wounded a Bright Sword Sixth Grade swordsman with his Leaf Sun Fan, while Xiao Mao finished him and took his storage bag and flying sword.
• Xiao Hua unleashed enormous fireball talismans that blasted several charging swordsmen, leaving them gravely wounded for Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Xiao Hua to finish off.
• Nearly ten Bright Sword Swordsmen surrounded the trio, but Xiao Hua's Soul Capturing Bell brought down two and made the rest hesitate.
• Xiao Hua used Sleeve Universe to seize one opponent's flying sword, then stored it as the swordsman fled; he trapped another swordsman in flames with the Leaf Sun Fan.
• Xiao Hua flew to Xiao Mao's aid and smashed Xiao Mao's opponent's natal small sword with the As-You-Wish Staff, then killed him with another blow.

Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao led a growing force of cultivators into the Flowing Ice Valley battle, while many others chose to leave. The trio’s coordinated attacks made them a feared team, and they continued fighting as the battle intensified.

• Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao killed their opponents, then joined Li Zongbao in clearing the swordsmen blocking their way to the karst cave.
• At the cave entrance, Li Zongbao urged the Joyful Sect disciples to follow him into battle, and Xiao Mao rallied the others to fight.
• Nearly eighty cultivators charged after Li Zongbao, while roughly twenty others left, claiming they would return to Xuntian City and report to the Council Hall.
• Xiao Hua secretly used soul thorns to weaken swordsmen as the trio and their followers advanced, drawing more cultivators into their growing force.
• Li Zongbao, Xiao Hua, and Xiao Mao combined the Immortal-Piercing Whip, Leaf Sun Fan, and Universe Ring to break apart a massive sword-radiance attack.

Xiao Hua shattered the Void Sky Sword Sect’s combined flying-sword attack, turning the battle in the cultivators’ favor, then reunited with Xiao Mao and Li Zongbao. After the sword cultivators fled, Li Zongbao led them toward the battle involving Martial Uncle Zhuo Hui.

• Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao confronted the Void Sky Sword Sect’s combined flying-sword strike, and Xiao Hua smashed most of it with his As-You-Wish Staff.
• The Joyful Sect and Taibai Sect disciples rallied and drove the sword cultivators into a retreat through the cavern.
• Xiao Hua regrouped with Xiao Mao and Li Zongbao, gave them pills, and insisted that Li Zongbao take credit for the strike.
• Li Zongbao led Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao toward Martial Uncle Zhuo Hui, despite Xiao Hua warning that his spiritual power was exhausted.

Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao followed a trail through the karst caves and found Li Feiyu of the Changbai Sect dueling the sword cultivator Qin Muming. The two men’s flying swords clashed, and Qin Muming began to overpower Li Feiyu as Xiao Hua watched.

• Li Zongbao led Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao through the caves by intuition, then hurried toward a rumbling disturbance.
• The three entered a cavern where powerful currents of spiritual energy converged around Li Feiyu and Qin Muming.
• Li Zongbao identified Li Feiyu as an upright Changbai Sect cultivator, but Xiao Hua dismissed the warning because of his enmity with the sect.
• Li Feiyu and Qin Muming formed their flying swords and attacked one another, revealing the difference between Changbai Sect and sword cultivator techniques.
• Qin Muming’s sword recovered from Li Feiyu’s strike, trapped his blade, and damaged it; Li Feiyu then forced a strand of sword radiance toward Qin Muming, who shattered it with another sword strike.

Qin Muming wounded Li Feiyu with a sword tempered by Innate Heavy Water, while Xiao Hua and his companions hurried onward to rescue Zhuo Hui. They joined the battle against a powerful giant, and Xiao Hua’s staff met the giant’s wolf-toothed club as Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao attacked.

• Qin Muming shattered Li Feiyu’s shield and stabbed a fissure into his life-bound flying sword with a blade infused with Innate Heavy Water.
• Qin Muming pursued Li Feiyu through the cavern but ignored Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao as they passed.
• Li Zongbao led Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao toward Zhuo Hui, and Xiao Hua reassured Xiao Mao about their chances against Qin Jian.
• Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao found Zhuo Hui struggling against a Giant Wolf and a huge giant wielding a wolf-toothed club.
• Xiao Hua blocked the giant’s club with the As-You-Wish Staff, while Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao struck with the Immortal-Piercing Whip and Universe Ring.

Xiao Hua and Li Zongbao drove the giant away, then Xiao Hua used his Innate True Water to trap the Giant Wolf and help Zhuo Hui attack it. The Giant Wolf blocked the water with its Fangtian Huaji, but several drops slipped inside its defense.

• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao struck the giant, and Li Zongbao used the Immortal-Piercing Whip to leave a faint bloody mark on its back.
• Zhuo Hui calmed Li Zongbao, who then helped Xiao Hua batter the giant until it fled deeper into the cavern.
• The Giant Wolf hurled its Fangtian Huaji at Zhuo Hui and sent wind blades toward Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao, but Xiao Hua stopped the blades with Innate True Water.
• Xiao Hua divided the Innate True Water to isolate the Giant Wolf and Zhuo Hui, and Zhuo Hui attacked while the Giant Wolf defended itself.
• The Giant Wolf cut through a thread of Innate True Water, but several drops fell inside its defensive perimeter.

Xiao Hua and Zhuo Hui drove the Giant Wolf, revealed as Liang Qi, into fleeing before Zhuo Hui pursued and killed him. After sharing Innate True Water and Liang Qi’s spoils, the group learned that Dao Sect forces were winning elsewhere at Flowing Ice Valley, and Zhuo Hui asked how the Foundation Establishment battle was going.

• The Giant Wolf used his inner core to create a hurricane passage through Xiao Hua’s Innate True Water, but Zhuo Hui pursued him into a lava tunnel and killed him.
• Xiao Mao told Xiao Hua that his master needed Innate True Water, and Xiao Hua gave him ninety-eight drops to take back to his master.
• Xiao Hua collected the remaining Innate True Water, while Li Zongbao declined any and Zhuo Hui warned him about the Immortal-Piercing Whip’s backlash.
• Zhuo Hui offered Xiao Hua Liang Qi’s storage bag, and Xiao Hua took half the water-element spirit stones and the Fangtian Huaji while leaving the rest to Zhuo Hui.
• Zhuo Hui reported that Xu Bo had slain Lü Jing and was helping Li Feiyu pursue Qin Muming, then asked about the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ battle.

Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, and Li Zongbao left the cavern after learning that its spirit-stone vein had long been exhausted, then Li Zongbao guided them through the maze toward the fleeing sword cultivators. They reunited with Dao Sect disciples celebrating their victory, and the other sects praised Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao for their contributions as the pursuit continued.

• Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao discovered that Flowing Ice Valley’s spirit-stone vein had been mined out, and Li Zongbao explained that the cavern had been used to test the sword cultivators.
• Xiao Hua became lost in the maze of caverns, so Li Zongbao led him and Xiao Mao toward the sounds of the battle.
• Several fleeing sword cultivators turned into a side cavern when they saw Li Zongbao, while Joyful Sect disciples arrived from behind them.
• Joyful Sect disciples thanked Li Zongbao, Xiao Hua, and Xiao Mao for helping defeat the sword cultivators, and Li Zongbao reported that Martial Uncle Zhuo Hui had slain Liang Qi.
• Taibai Sect and Qingfeng Valley disciples arrived and praised Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao, while Xiao Mao drew the group’s attention with his smooth conversation.
• Li Zongbao raised his hand and asked the gathered disciples to be quiet.

Li Zongbao learned that the battle at Flowing Ice Valley had ended with Qin Muming’s death, but a terrifying disturbance soon struck the underground mine. Xiao Hua suspected Qin Jian had planned a massacre like Quanjin Mountain, and the chapter ended as the fleeing cultivators discovered their true essence was rapidly disappearing.

• Li Zongbao received word that Zhuo Hui and Li Feiyu had helped kill Qin Muming, though Li Feiyu had suffered Qin Muming’s dying blow.
• As the cultivators prepared to avenge Li Feiyu, powerful tremors and a shockwave swept through the mine, throwing them from the air.
• Xiao Hua led the others to suspect Qin Jian had engineered the disturbance to trap and kill Dao Sect cultivators beneath Flowing Ice Valley.
• Li Zongbao and the others searched for an exit, while Xiao Hua privately believed he could escape using his evasion techniques and talismans.
• The gathered cultivators discovered that their true essence was rapidly vanishing even after they stopped moving.

Xiao Hua and the others discovered that Flowing Ice Valley’s water-attributed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi caused their true essence to vanish, leaving them vulnerable to Qin Jian’s plans. They hid in a concealed dead end, where Xiao Hua revealed that he knew something about detoxification.

• Xiao Hua realized that the blue radiance had poisoned the water-attributed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and the group found that cultivation and medicinal pills could not restore their true essence.
• Li Zongbao warned the panicked cultivators that Qin Jian might be waiting at the valley exit, and Xiao Mao advised them to avoid the swordsmen and find a safe place.
• Xiao Hua led the group into a concealed dead-end cavern with a narrow entrance, where Xiao Mao proposed investigating the poison.
• When Li Zongbao asked whether anyone understood poisons, Xiao Hua said that he had some knowledge of detoxification.

Xiao Hua discovered that contaminated water-attributed spiritual energy was entering the cultivators’ bodies and draining their true essence, even while they remained still. He left the karst cave to search for other disciples and a way out, while Li Zongbao’s group argued over whether those departing should swear to keep the cave’s location secret.

• Xiao Hua tried to identify the mysterious affliction, found that his true essence vanished as it circulated, and concealed the cave entrance with a formation.
• Xiao Hua used his Eye of Delusion Breaking to see that the cave and its spiritual energy were saturated with deep blue, and confirmed that the contaminated energy was entering Xiao Mao’s body.
• Xiao Hua warned Li Zongbao that hiding would not protect them from the tainted spiritual energy and that Qin Jian might have anticipated their refuge.
• Xiao Hua left the cave alone to search for more disciples, a way out, or a Golden Core cultivator, refusing a Qingfeng Valley disciple’s request to accompany him.
• Li Zongbao told the gathered cultivators that anyone could leave once, but a Changbai Sect disciple demanded that the departing Qingfeng Valley disciple swear not to reveal their location.

Xiao Hua searched for a weak point in the stone walls so he could escape, but found that the rock resisted his Earth Evasion and consumed his true essence. After rescuing Niu Ming from sword cultivators, Xiao Hua grew suspicious of his flying sword and secret technique, knocked him unconscious, and examined his jade slips.

• Xiao Hua found that Earth Evasion through the stone wall consumed too much true essence, so he searched for dimmer, thinner rock strata as a possible way out.
• After searching for hours and leaving more than a hundred marks, Xiao Hua heard sword cultivators pursuing a Changbai Sect disciple.
• Xiao Hua’s reputation frightened the three pursuers away, and the rescued disciple introduced himself as Niu Ming.
• Niu Ming admitted he had practiced a secret technique under a blood oath but refused to explain how he had evaded Xuntian City's inspection.
• Xiao Hua seized Niu Ming, knocked him unconscious, copied the jade slips in his storage pouch, and began examining them.

Xiao Hua discovered that Changbai Sect disciples could conceal sword essence to avoid the strange spiritual energy, and he found that dead-end caverns had unusually thin walls. Back at Li Zongbao’s shelter, he learned that thousands of cultivators had gathered and that a Changbai Sect elder named Bai Fei might know how to treat the poison.

• Xiao Hua deduced that selected Changbai Sect disciples used concealed sword essence and advised Niu Ming to seek out Li Zongbao’s group.
• Xiao Hua considered learning sword cultivation, then found several dead-end caverns with thin walls and marked his route back.
• Xiao Hua returned to Li Zongbao’s cavern and found several thousand cultivators gathered there.
• Li Zongbao told Xiao Hua that no one had identified the poison or found an effective antidote, and that one disciple had died.
• Changbai Sect disciples arrived with Ye Bei and Jian Boming, while Bai Fei remained behind and offered a possible clue about the poison.

Bai Fei traded information about the Spirit Binding Juice for a secret technique, and the group learned that the poison would fade after three days or exposure to strong wind outside water-rich areas. Their hope of waiting it out was threatened when Qin Jian flooded the karst cave with river water from Flowing Ice Valley.

• Bai Fei demanded a secret technique from Ye Bei in exchange for a jade pendant containing information about the poison.
• Ye Bei gave Bai Fei a jade slip, then confirmed from the pendant that the group had been poisoned by Spirit Binding Juice.
• Xiao Hua and the others learned that Spirit Binding Juice wore off after three days or when victims left water-rich areas and faced strong wind.
• Xiao Mao suggested they only had to endure two more days, but Xiao Hua and Li Zongbao feared Qin Jian would not let them recover in peace.
• A distant rushing sound alerted Xiao Hua that Qin Jian had diverted the Flowing Ice Valley river into the karst cave.

Xiao Hua used the Sea-Overturning Seal to blast a passage through the rock as river water threatened the trapped cultivators. Bai Fei recognized the treasure by its sound and offered its secret techniques in exchange for a place in the escape and sword-cultivator gear.

• Xiao Hua led Li Zongbao and the others to a dead-end cave, where he began smashing through the rock with the Sea-Overturning Seal.
• Li Zongbao organized the disciples to guard the cave entrance, block the river water, and keep sword cultivators away.
• Bai Fei recognized the Sea-Overturning Seal from its sounds and offered to give Xiao Hua its refining and use techniques.
• Bai Fei asked to be among the first to pass through the new passage and demanded a sword-cultivator technique and an Illusion Sword flying sword in return.
• Li Zongbao asked Xiao Hua about the offer, and Xiao Hua was astonished that Bai Fei had identified the seal by sound alone.

Xiao Hua accepted Bai Fei’s jade slip in exchange for a sword slip and flying sword, then studied the Sea-Overturning Seal while the disciples worked to break a passage through the rock wall. As the river stopped and thousands of sword cultivators attacked, the trapped sects organized their forces to defend the cave and keep the escape route open.

• Xiao Hua found that Bai Fei’s jade slip contained secret techniques for three Changbai Sect seals, agreed to Bai Fei’s conditions, and gave Li Zongbao a sword slip and flying sword to deliver in return.
• Li Zongbao organized the Joyful Sect disciples to help Xiao Hua break open the passage, while the other cultivators rotated through the defenses against the flooding river.
• After nearly half an hour, the river stopped, but Xiao Mao warned that several thousand sword cultivators had launched another attack.
• Ye Bei led the Changbai Sect disciples into battle, and Li Zongbao sent the Joyful Sect and Qingfeng Valley disciples to fight while others continued opening the passage.
• The sword cultivators skirmished and retreated instead of fighting to the death, and the cultivators suffered more losses as they tried to defend the cave.

As the cultivators struggled to hold off the sword cultivators, Xiao Hua joined the Qingfeng Valley disciples in opening the tunnel and found a Daoist formation fused with Spirit Binding Juice. He used the complete Sea-Overturning Seal to break through the rock far faster than expected, leaving the passage closer to its end.

• Li Zongbao realized the exhausted cultivators might not survive unless the passage was opened within half an hour, while the Changbai Sect disciples continued to hold back the sword cultivators.
• Xiao Hua offered to help the Qingfeng Valley disciples open the passage and told Li Zongbao that the secret technique Bai Fei had mentioned was genuine.
• Xiao Hua reached a blue formation in the tunnel, recognized that it was a Daoist formation fused with Spirit Binding Juice, and used the Rabbit Spirit Talisman to open a hole through it.
• Xiao Hua sent Fire Talismans into the opening and used the complete Sea-Overturning Seal to excavate nearly ten zhang of rock.

Xiao Hua broke through the earth and reopened the passage, then returned to the besieged cultivators just as they prepared to abandon their rear guard. His arrival restored order and morale, leaving the remaining disciples to withdraw while he faced the sword cultivators.

• Xiao Hua realized the Spirit Binding Juice near the cliff top had mostly dissipated, replenished his true essence, and drove the Sea-Overturning Seal through the earth until he opened a passage to the cavern.
• Xiao Hua sent Li Zongbao a communication talisman, and Li Zongbao announced that the passage was open and ordered the cultivators to follow their plan.
• Bai Fei rushed into the passage, while Ye Bei and Jian Boming volunteered to help the Joyful Sect hold the rear as injured disciples withdrew.
• Li Zongbao had Xiao Mao direct the evacuation, and the disciples began leaving in an orderly fashion despite the sword cultivators' increasingly fierce attacks.
• Xiao Hua returned to the cavern, promised that everyone would escape, and ordered Xiao Mao to maintain order before standing against the sword cultivators and lifting the defenders' morale.

Xiao Hua used Innate True Water to hold back the sword cultivators while the Dao Sect cultivators escaped through the passage, then destroyed the passage with fire talismans. As the group fled Flowing Ice Valley, they witnessed Qin Jian kill Xu Bo and Zhuo Hui, and Xiao Hua restrained Li Zongbao from charging at him.

• Xiao Hua told the Dao Sect cultivators to close their eyes and retreat by divine sense, then swept nearby sword cultivators aside with Innate True Water.
• Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao brought the last group through the passage, where Xiao Hua's fire talismans destroyed the passage and buried the pursuing sword cultivators.
• Xiao Hua pushed more than a hundred exhausted cultivators out of Flowing Ice Valley and urged them to flee as their magical power recovered.
• Qin Jian killed Xu Bo and Zhuo Hui when they confronted him with a rainbow glow and golden threads.
• Li Zongbao tried to attack Qin Jian, but Xiao Hua locked down his true essence and dragged him away.

Xiao Hua diverted Qin Jian from the fleeing cultivators by revealing himself as the Terrifying Phoenix, then stalled for time to recover his strength. The chapter ended with Xiao Hua sensing a hidden threat while Qin Jian calmly waited for him to finish.

• Xiao Hua stayed behind to draw Qin Jian away while Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao led the fleeing cultivators onward.
• Xiao Hua revealed his identity as the Terrifying Phoenix and lured Qin Jian into pursuing him instead of the disciples.
• Qin Jian praised Xiao Hua and admitted that he wanted to fight him after learning Xiao Hua had killed Ling Yunwu and others.
• Xiao Hua swallowed pills and meditated to restore his strength, while Qin Jian surprisingly waited without attacking.
• Xiao Hua suspected Qin Jian might be using Gu Yu's Invisible Sword, but sensed a sharp danger nearby as Qin Jian continued to wait.

Xiao Hua saw through Qin Jian’s Formless Golden Thread Sword, stole it with Sleeve Universe, and faced Qin Jian’s wolf-shaped Sword Intent with the Sea-Overturning Seal. The wolf head was smashed apart, but Qin Jian reignited the scattered sword lights and formed another fierce wolf.

• Xiao Hua detected the slowly advancing Formless Golden Thread Sword while pretending to recover, and Qin Jian kept stopping it whenever Xiao Hua moved.
• Xiao Hua used Sleeve Universe to seize the invisible sword and cut off Qin Jian’s connection to it.
• Enraged, Qin Jian attacked with a wolf-shaped Sword Intent that stirred the slaughter within Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua summoned the Sea-Overturning Seal, which crushed the wolf head and drove Qin Jian’s sword lights back.
• Qin Jian urged the scattered sword lights to reignite and gather into a new wolf beside Xiao Hua’s yellow dragon.