Recaps

Zhang Xiaohua left Hui Chun Valley with the Incense-Passing Cult convoy, survived an ambush on the way, and entered the cult by an Immortal Path vessel. At the cult’s mountain grounds, he hid his cultivation, learned how its halls were arranged, and began looking for a way out.

• Zhang Xiaohua parted from Nie Qianyu and the Hui Chun Valley party, secretly taught Nie Qianyu a cultivation method, and joined the Incense-Passing Cult convoy under Steward Yang’s supervision.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed an ambush ahead, then watched Peacock fight Liang Cangxu on a rope bridge before tunneling into a cave and taking a black jade slip and red ring.
• Zhang Xiaohua used a formation to trap Liang Cangxu and two attackers long enough for Peacock to survive, then returned to the convoy while Dream-Chaser watched over her.
• Peacock’s junior sisters caught up with the convoy, and Zhang Xiaohua met them before traveling onward to Dianchi Lake.
• Abbess Qingleng questioned Peacock about the ambush, gave her a Meridian Nourishing Pill, and concluded that an unknown master had intervened to save the group.
• Zhang Xiaohua boarded a Dharma Vessel that appeared in Dianchi Lake’s reflection, then discovered his divine sense was suppressed after the fleet reached the cult’s grounds.
• Qiangshi secretly buried a small ball for Lord Jingzhe while Zhang Xiaohua slept, and Zhang Xiaohua later found a Dragon Scale Fruit that a patrol disciple stole.
• Zhang Xiaohua entered the cult’s mountain region with the convoy, learned where its halls were based, and considered using Jinghai Lake to find a way out.

Zhang Xiaohua arrived at Tianmu Peak, where he defeated the Pill Division’s bullying disciples and became the Herb Division’s secret advantage in a series of wager matches. After trading pills for herbs, he deliberately won his bout with Cheng Shi, leaving the Herb Division ahead as the final matches approached.

• Deputy Hall Master Xu ordered Yang Yao to send Zhang Xiaohua to Tianmu Peak, where he joined Chen Fengxiao’s Herb Division.
• Zhang Xiaohua beat Ma Xu and Cheng Shi after they tried to bully and extort him, then Chen Fengxiao negotiated a ten-match wager between the divisions.
• Zhang Xiaohua secured a secluded courtyard and discussed his plans to study cultivation and pill refining, while Chen Fengxiao agreed to help him and explained his grievance against Hui Chun Valley.
• The first four wager matches ended with two wins for each division, and Zhang Xiaohua received a failed Jade Return Pill among the stakes.
• Chen Fengxiao took the Jade Return Pill and promised to exchange it for herbs, then brought Zhang Xiaohua Iron Bone Grass and other plants the next morning.
• Zhang Xiaohua traded pills for herbs and faced Cheng Shi in the fifth match, pretending to stumble beyond the boundary so Venerable Lei declared him the winner.
• Erdu Mu and Qian Zibi won the seventh and eighth matches, putting the Herb Division ahead five wins to two as Chen Fengxiao told Zhang Xiaohua he need not carry the final matches.

Zhang Xiaohua won the Herb Division’s wagered matches, traded herbs for pills, and settled on Tianmu Peak. While exploring, he discovered a hidden alchemy chamber and its treasures, then refused to pay for formal alchemy lessons and began examining a mysterious jade slip.

• Zhang Xiaohua defeated Ye Liaocheng by dragging him beyond the arena boundary after they both fainted, then outlasted Qi Yuntian to secure the Herb Division’s victory and three hundred taels of gold from the Pill Division.
• Zhang Xiaohua invited disciples to exchange herbs for pills, agreed to tend Tianmu Peak’s barren fields with Bai Huan, and began collecting herbs while Zou Shuming secretly watched him.
• Zhang Xiaohua discovered a concealed sword manual in the Azure Water Sword’s sheath and developed its altered sword-controlling moves into the Dream Weaving Sword Technique.
• Zhang Xiaohua explored the Pill Department’s caves, learned about Misty Hall and the destruction of the Misty Sect, and found a secluded cave to use as his home.
• Zhang Xiaohua accidentally entered a hidden underground alchemy room, broke the restrictions on the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, and found secret pill formulas, including the Jade Return Pill.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned to kindle Samadhi True Fire in the furnace, studied its arrays, and spent nearly twenty days tending fields, studying alchemy, and sorting herbs into jade boxes.
• Zou Shuming offered Zhang Xiaohua alchemy lessons from a consecrated master in exchange for five hundred taels of gold, but Zhang Xiaohua refused and concealed the offer from Bai Huan.
• Zhang Xiaohua carefully broke the restriction on an emerald-green jade slip and immersed his divine sense in it, pleased by what he found.

Zhang Xiaohua advanced his cultivation, refined Bone Condensing Pills, and was drawn into a wagered match with Lu Lihong. As the You Lan Mu Lian was moved forward, Zhang Xiaohua was selected for the dangerous expedition and prepared to leave Tianmu Peak.

• Zhang Xiaohua studied the Floating and Riding the Wind Techniques, began practicing pill refinement, and later reached the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation.
• Lu Lihong returned to Tianmu Peak, and Zhang Xiaohua agreed to wager his herbs against Lu’s Jade Return Pill in a match.
• Zhang Xiaohua lost the match to Lu Lihong, then learned that the You Lan Mu Lian sent disciples into a canyon filled with dangerous beasts and valuable resources.
• Deputy Hall Master Xu recruited Lu Lihong to follow his instructions and promised to arrange his entry into the You Lan Grand Canyon trial.
• Zhang Xiaohua overheard Senior Brother Hu and Junior Brother Qian discuss their hidden allegiance, then continued cultivating and refining pills for more than a month.
• The canyon restrictions loosened early, so the You Lan Mu Lian was moved forward and stronger disciples were selected for the expedition.
• Bai Huan told Zhang Xiaohua he had been chosen for the trial, and Zhang Xiaohua offered him pills and asked him to look after Huanhuan.
• Zhang Xiaohua packed for the expedition, extinguished the earth fire beneath the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, and tidied his pill-refining room.