Recaps

Chen Heng and He Manzi ended their duel by exchanging Sword Dao techniques, and Chen Heng later agreed to help Shen Cheng seek a hidden Daoist scripture beneath the Traveling Palace. After Chen Heng and Shen Cheng’s alliance defeated several great-clan Refinement Masters, more than a dozen streaks of traveling light approached Xiao Xiujing’s secluded cultivation site.

• He Manzi asked Chen Heng how he had struck unseen, and Chen Heng explained the Force of Concealing Form and Shadow before He Manzi shared a technique for switching sword force between gang and threads.
• Chen Heng meditated in a side hall, then followed Red-Brow Daoist through a concealed passage to meet Shen Cheng at a Water-Fire Well.
• Shen Cheng revealed that the Underground Palace might contain a Daoist book used by Huo Xia Patriarch and invited Chen Heng to help seek it in exchange for a share.
• Shen Cheng said the Underground Palace might also hold a boon connected to an Innate Divine Monster, and Chen Heng left the well.
• Chen Heng joined Shen Cheng’s group in driving off Yin He, Ji Yuetan, and other Refinement Masters who attacked Bright Virtue Hall, killing several of their allies.
• More than a dozen streaks of traveling light arrived at Yiluo Hall while Xiao Xiujing was cultivating in seclusion.

Yin He and Ji Yuetan sought Xiao Xiujing’s Water-Fire Well to enter the Underground Palace, but Xiao demanded sixty percent of their gains. Xiao then recruited Ji Yuetan to kill Chen Heng, and months later Chen Heng felt the Grotto-Heaven tremble and realized the awaited moment had arrived.

• Yin He bribed Xie Liang with Crimson Yi Pills to learn about Xiao Xiujing and the Water-Fire Well, then brought Ji Yuetan to seek access to the Underground Palace.
• Xiao Xiujing demanded sixty percent of their gains, and Yin He reluctantly signed the Spirit Contract before leaving in anger.
• Xiao Xiujing told Ji Yuetan he knew of Heavenly Disc True Lord’s orders to kill Chen Heng and offered cultivation resources in exchange for Chen Heng’s head.
• Ji Yuetan showed Xiao Xiujing a precious pearl and iron disc, confirmed his cultivation could withstand attacks, and agreed to pursue Chen Heng.
• Months later, Chen Heng felt Bright Virtue Hall tremble and recognized that the awaited moment had come.

Chen Heng and the other cultivators entered the underground palace through the opened Water-Fire Wells, which scattered them across its ruined regions as the Flowing Fire Grand Transformation Grotto-Heaven began to collapse. Chen Heng opened a sealed palace while He Manzi attacked Liu Lingzheng and Wang Dian near an octagonal tower.

• Shen Cheng gathered the cultivators at Bright Virtue Hall and asked them to help him claim a heterodox Daoist scripture in exchange for keeping any other treasures they found.
• The four Water-Fire Wells transported the cultivators into different parts of the underground palace, and the grotto-heaven cracked as Qiao Rui watched from hiding.
• Chen Heng found a palace guarded by restrictions, but a giant ape and a host of strange beasts attacked him as he approached.
• He Manzi killed a flock of strange birds near an octagonal tower, then ambushed Liu Lingzheng and Wang Dian when they arrived.
• Chen Heng withdrew his True Qi from a massive pillar, causing the palace restrictions to fade and its doorway to open.

Chen Heng broke into the palace’s fourth level, found Qi Lingzi’s legacy and three precious pieces of yellow dragon gallbladder, then was trapped by Ji Yuetan after leaving. Ji Yuetan prepared to fight him at close quarters, but Chen Heng welcomed the challenge.

• Chen Heng broke the palace’s restrictions and searched its four levels, collecting talisman coins, cultivation materials, and other useful items.
• Chen Heng entered a hidden chamber and found Qi Lingzi’s skeleton, a letter, and three Jade Caskets.
• Chen Heng read Qi Lingzi’s letter and discovered that the three strange stones were yellow dragon gallbladder, rare earth-aligned Essences of the Innate Five Elements.
• Chen Heng stored the yellow dragon gallbladder and Qi Lingzi’s remains, then left the palace after deciding that one piece would suffice for his cultivation needs.
• Ji Yuetan trapped Chen Heng with the Magnetic Crow Pearl and revealed that he had prepared to stop him from returning to the palace.
• Chen Heng told Ji Yuetan there were no formidable magic prohibitions in the palace and asked whether he still intended to fight at close quarters.

Chen Heng defeated Ji Yuetan and Xiao Yi after surviving the True Proclamation Heavenly Disc’s suppression of magical power, then used their resources to complete his Tai Su Jade Body and reach the Mystery Realm’s ninth layer. He left the Underground Palace preparing to continue his cultivation.

• Ji Yuetan activated the True Proclamation Heavenly Disc, stripping everyone nearby of their magical power and artifacts, and charged Chen Heng with his bodily cultivation.
• Chen Heng revealed his completed Tai Su Jade Body, overpowered Ji Yuetan in close combat, and killed him after ordering him to kneel.
• Xiao Yi tried to calculate the Tai Su Jade Body’s Bond Object and attack Chen Heng, but Chen Heng killed him and took his belongings.
• After the disc’s suppression faded, Chen Heng collected the two cultivators’ resources and absorbed their spiritual essence, reaching the Mystery Realm’s ninth layer.
• Chen Heng summoned the World-Escaping Shuttle and reflected that the resources he gained should help him approach the peak of the ninth layer.

After reaching the ninth level of the Mystery Realm, Chen Heng manifested the Tai Su True Form and gained the Heaven-Bestowed Divine Ability Thousand Changes and Myriad Transformations. He headed to help Shen Cheng contend for the Huo Xia Patriarch’s Dao scripture, but arrived to find a fierce battle underway and rescued one of Shen Cheng’s supporters to learn what had happened.

• Chen Heng reached the ninth level of the Mystery Realm, manifested the Tai Su True Form, and learned that he had obtained the Thousand Changes and Myriad Transformations Divine Ability.
• Chen Heng tested the ability by transforming into a Bifang, other divine monsters, and Qiao Rui, while the World-Escaping Shuttle could not detect any flaws.
• Chen Heng traveled through the Underground Palace to help Shen Cheng contend for the Dao scripture left by the Huo Xia Patriarch.
• Chen Heng arrived at a battle around a nine-level palace, where Shen Cheng, He Manzi, Liu Guan, and other cultivators fought over the remaining sealed levels.
• Chen Heng sent a wounded Yellow-Clad Cultivator fleeing from his pursuer, killed the pursuing great-clan disciple, and used the World-Escaping Shuttle to transport them away.
• Chen Heng asked the Yellow-Clad Cultivator what had happened during the past few days and how the situation stood.

Chen Heng intervened in the battle over the Great Purification True Art, using a false form and Thunder Marsh Stones to devastate Xiao Xiujing’s forces and save Shen Cheng’s alliance. After the surviving enemies fled or were defeated, Shen Cheng’s group offered Chen Heng first choice of the treasures on the Palace’s eighth layer.

• The yellow-robed cultivator told Chen Heng that Shen Cheng had obtained the Great Purification True Art but was losing ground against Xiao Xiujing and the great clans.
• Chen Heng went to the battlefield, secretly coordinated with Shen Cheng, and helped him use Six Jia Spirit-Traveling Qi to trap their opponents.
• Xiao Yi appeared with what seemed to be Chen Heng’s severed head, prompting Xiao Xiujing to lower his guard and announce Chen Heng’s death.
• Chen Heng’s false form vanished, and the Thunder Marsh Stones disguised as the head exploded, killing Sima Mingye and two great-clan Refinement Masters while severely wounding Xiao Xiujing.
• Xiao Xiujing escaped, and Shen Cheng, Zhao Tong, and Shen Ming defeated or drove off the remaining enemy cultivators.
• Shen Cheng proposed that Chen Heng choose first among the treasures on the Palace’s eighth layer, and Zhao Tong and the others reluctantly agreed.

Chen Heng claimed the Ninth-Phoenix essence blood from the Palace’s Eighth Layer and planned to use it to strengthen his Tai Su Jade Body. After the cultivators broke into the Ninth Layer, they encountered the Grotto-Heaven Spirit, who struck the ground and caused the entire Grotto-Heaven to begin collapsing.

• Chen Heng used Yin-Eroding Red Water to break the Eighth Layer’s restrictions, and the cultivators congratulated him on claiming its treasure.
• Chen Heng found a cauldron of Ninth-Phoenix essence blood and stored it in his Sleeve Pouch, while two cultivators took the hall’s Azure Dragon Pillars.
• Zhao Tong attacked the Ninth Layer’s restrictions, and Junior Sister Yu led the cultivators in breaking its Small Five Elements Array.
• The Red-Brow Daoist worried about retaliation from the Aristocratic Clans, but He Manzi said the sect leaders had intended the conflict as a contest between factions.
• After the array collapsed, the cultivators found an old man in crimson robes, whom Shen Cheng identified as the Grotto-Heaven Spirit.
• The Grotto-Heaven Spirit struck the ground with his staff, shattering space and shaking the realm as a cultivator cried that it was sinking ahead of time.

As the Flowing Fire Grand Transformation Grotto-Heaven began to collapse, True Lord Ding intervened, subdued its spirit, and took the grotto-heaven into his gourd for the Jade Dawn School. After the cultivators returned to Crane-Cry Mountain, True Lord Ding invited Chen Heng and Qiao Rui to attend his lectures and carried them away with him.

• The grotto-heaven spirit allowed the unstable Flowing Fire Grand Transformation Grotto-Heaven to sink, while Shen Cheng and Zhao Tong evacuated their groups from the Underground Palace.
• Chen Heng found Qiao Rui amid the destruction, but True Lord Ding halted the catastrophe and offered the grotto-heaven spirit a place as a blessed-land spirit under Wang Ruyi.
• True Lord Ding transported the cultivators back to the Present World, then shrank the grotto-heaven and absorbed it into his Five-Colored Gourd.
• Xie Yu held back Wang Dian from accusing He Manzi, and Liu Guan urged Wang Dian to accept the defeat and let the matter end.
• True Lord Ding selected Chen Heng for several days of lectures and extended the invitation to Qiao Rui before carrying them away.

During the journey in True Lord Ding’s Bronze Palace, Chen Heng prepared to strengthen his Sword Dao before the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace selection. Qiao Rui departed with a Qiao Clan relative after learning her family dispute would be settled without bloodshed, while True Lord Ding offered Chen Heng a chance to become a retainer to Zhang Taichu if he entered the Upper Sect.

• Chen Heng studied a Daoist text and concluded that mastering Body and Sword as One was his best way to improve his chances in the Dragon Palace selection.
• A Daoist woman from the Qiao Clan arrived to take Qiao Rui, and True Lord Ding persuaded her to give him a reward for bringing Qiao Rui aboard.
• Qiao Rui told Chen Heng that Qiao Wendun would be exiled and Qiao Jingyi would resign, then asked whether she could meet him again for Dao Arts guidance.
• The Daoist woman departed with Qiao Rui, and Chen Heng thanked True Lord Ding for protecting him.
• True Lord Ding asked Chen Heng whether he would cultivate in Zhang Taichu’s blessed land and become his retainer if he entered the Upper Sect.

Ding Hэpu told Chen Heng that Zhang Taichu could support him and passed along gifts from Qiao Rui, including the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring and the Luo Dark Water cultivation method. Chen Heng asked Ding Hэpu for guidance on reaching the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, and Ding Hэpu arranged to teach him the next morning.

• Chen Heng learned that Ding Hэpu was recruiting him as a retainer for Zhang Taichu, who had once studied under Ding Hэpu's master.
• Ding Hэpu gave Chen Heng a wooden box from Qiao Rui's aunt, containing the unused Deep Void Demon-Subduing Sword Talisman and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring.
• The Five-Qi Cosmic Ring's artifact spirit appeared, introduced himself, and urged Chen Heng to cultivate so they could make the ring's name famous again.
• Chen Heng received the Luo Dark Water cultivation method from a jade tally, which Qiao Rui had persuaded her aunt to include.
• Chen Heng asked Ding Hэpu to teach him how to attain the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, Body and Sword as One, and Ding Hэpu told him to return the next morning.

Ding Hэpu sent Chen Heng into the Nine-Orifice Treasure Pearl to fight endless Fire Baleful Intent spirits using only his sword, hoping to force a breakthrough in his Sword Dao. Ten days later, Ding Hэpu sensed something inside the pearl and realized his improvised sword-training advice might actually have worked.

• Ding Hэpu gave Chen Heng the Bu Qingdu True Register and sent him into the Nine-Orifice Treasure Pearl, where Chen Heng could rely only on swordsmanship.
• Chen Heng fought swarms of Fire Baleful Intent spirits, whose attacks wounded him and whose bodies split apart rather than dying.
• Ding Hэpu removed the restrictions on the Five-Direction Spirit-Suppressing Talisman and Lunar Wheel Mirror while hosting a banquet with the artifacts.
• The Lunar Wheel Mirror revealed that Chen Heng's supposed Bu Qingdu True Register was actually a Southern Dipper Life-Storing Talisman that could restore him from severe injuries.
• Ding Hэpu admitted that he knew nothing about swordsmanship and had invented his advice, while the World-Escaping Shuttle and the others agreed not to tell Chen Heng.
• Ten days later, Ding Hэpu sensed a change inside the pearl and wondered whether his improvised advice had truly helped Chen Heng.

After surviving ten days in the Inner Landscape, Chen Heng reached the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, recovered from his wounds, and set out for the Eastern Sea instead of returning to Changying Court. There, Chen Chan’s group encountered a Vermilion Luminescence Sect procession carrying Qingzhi, who decided to travel to the Southern Territory to explain herself to Chen Heng.

• Chen Heng realized that Body and Sword as One lay within himself, attained the Fourth Sword Dao Realm, and used Sword Escape to destroy hundreds of Fire Baleful Intent essences.
• Ding Hэpu healed Chen Heng with a Southern Dipper Life-Storing Talisman, then sent him away from the Bronze Palace; Chen Heng chose to go directly to the Eastern Sea and informed Shen Yuanzhi.
• Chen Chan stopped Junior Fellow Disciple Jiang from attacking the approaching Vermilion Luminescence Sect procession and continued toward the Jade Spring Immortal Market after it passed.
• Qingzhi provoked Chen Chan with a face and a silent taunt, then learned from the older Daoist nun that Chen Chan was Chen Jade Pivot’s daughter.
• Qingzhi said she planned to visit the Southern Territory to explain how she had wronged Chen Heng, transformed into a giant azure bird, and flew away after warning the Daoist nun not to eat her ripe peaches.

Chen Heng reached Shouyang Mountain, disguised himself to avoid drawing the attention of Xie Yingyuan and the Aristocratic Clans, and set out for the Jade Spring Immortal Market to trade treasures and search for Essences of the Innate Five Elements. After boarding a ferry vessel, he sensed something through his Tortoiseshell and left his cabin.

• Chen Heng recalled the history of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan and Shouyang Mountain, then learned that the mountain’s old sealing power still blocked spatial travel.
• Chen Heng concealed his identity and decided to visit the Jade Spring Immortal Market before the Dragon Palace’s bridegroom-selection Dharma Assembly.
• Chen Heng reached a coastal city and boarded a ferry vessel bound for the mobile Jade Spring Immortal Market, which traveled on the back of a Baxia.
• Aboard the vessel, a curious girl wanted to seek swordsmanship advice from Chen Heng, but her brother warned her not to disturb him.
• After three days on the vessel, Chen Heng used his Tortoiseshell, sensed a stirring, and left his cabin.

Yao Yu and Yao Ying’s ship was attacked by a flying fish, then confronted by Windflame Island demon cultivators who used the incident as a pretext to assault the passengers. Chen Heng revealed overwhelming swordsmanship and began cutting down the attackers.

• A flying fish attacked the vessel, and Yao Yu, Yao Ying, the stewards, and other cultivators joined forces to kill it.
• The black-robed steward recognized the fish as a likely spirit pet, and Chen Heng warned that its owner might cause trouble.
• Demon cultivators from Windflame Island arrived, accused the ship of killing their pet, and demanded compensation; Yao Ying explained their ties to the Ninth Prince’s faction and Jade Spring Immortal Market’s ties to Princess Changle.
• The horned demon cultivator attacked the elderly steward and ordered his followers to kill everyone aboard.
• Chen Heng destroyed the horned demon’s attack with the Innate Great Sun Divine Light, beheaded him with Scarlet Light, and swiftly killed other demon cultivators.

Chen Heng slaughtered the Windflame Island Demon Cultivators, then traveled to the Jade Spring Immortal Market and began seeking resources for his Dao Arts. His arrival drew the attention of Huzhao Sect disciples, who suspected he had come for the Dragon Palace bridegroom selection.

• Chen Heng killed the Windflame Island Demon Cultivators, and the old steward promised that the Jade Spring Immortal Market would handle the consequences.
• Chen Heng found a Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearl among the demons’ possessions and used it to cultivate for three days while planning to seek additional resources at the market.
• Chen Heng arrived at the Jade Spring Immortal Market, a vast settlement built upon a divine Baxia, and flew toward it using Sword Escape.
• Yao Yu told Yao Ying to stop coveting Chen Heng’s Swordsmanship, while the old steward and black-robed steward discussed sending word about Chen Heng to the market’s Custodians.
• Huzhao Sect disciples saw Chen Heng’s Sword Escape and speculated that he was an unfamiliar outsider who had come for the Dragon Palace bridegroom selection.

Chen Heng entered the Jade Spring Immortal Market, met the formidable monk Hongji, and sold demon cultivators’ belongings at the Azure Firmament Tower to buy Yellow Pool Pills. While waiting, he found his name in the latest New Year's Day Appraisal, and a woman began telling him about the rankings.

• Chen Heng entered the immortal market and briefly met Hongji, who judged that Chen Heng might be a rival at the Dragon Palace's groom selection.
• Chen Heng went to the Azure Firmament Tower and asked senior attendant Peng Qing to appraise and buy his items.
• Peng Qing’s staff appraised Chen Heng’s goods, and Chen Heng asked to exchange the proceeds for thirty Yellow Pool Pills.
• Chen Heng found his name in the latest New Year's Day Appraisal among the Purple Mansion Senior Adepts.
• A woman entered and told Chen Heng that the rankings had stirred interest even in the Eastern Sea, and Chen Heng asked her to explain.

Chen Heng discussed his high placement on the New Year's Day Appraisal with Xue Wan'er, a steward of the Azure Firmament Tower, and collected the Yellow Pool Pills and Talisman Coins owed to him. He then traded a Yellow Dragon Gallbladder for a water-aligned Mysterious Gate Mushroom.

• Xue Wan'er explained how the Eight Sects and Six Schools had transformed the New Year's Day Appraisal and why Chen Heng's unusual eleventh-place Purple Mansion ranking had stirred curiosity.
• Xue Wan'er introduced herself and delivered thirty Yellow Pool Pills and Talisman Coins, explaining that the Jade Spring Immortal Market's Custodians had ordered the gift in gratitude for Chen Heng's intervention aboard the ship.
• Chen Heng asked Xue Wan'er about Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls, Cloudbeam Gypsum, and Essences of the Innate Five Elements, then offered to trade an earth-aligned essence for another element.
• Xue Wan'er consulted an elderly Custodian and returned with a water-aligned Mysterious Gate Mushroom.
• Chen Heng gave Xue Wan'er a Yellow Dragon Gallbladder in exchange, delighting her.

Chen Heng cultivated in seclusion at Jade Spring Immortal Market, purged the impurities from his origin spirit, and reached Purple Mansion, Third Layer. He then attended Azure Firmament Tower’s treasure fair at Lotus Pond Mountain, where the first displayed treasure stirred the guests’ surprise.

• Chen Heng inspected the water-aspected mysterious gate mushroom he had traded for and considered how difficult it would be to obtain the remaining ingredients he needed.
• Chen Heng swallowed a Yellow Pool Pill and cultivated for fifty days, purging his origin spirit’s impurities and advancing to Purple Mansion, Third Layer.
• Chen Heng stabilized his cultivation for ten more days, then joined Peng Qing aboard a flying vessel bound for the treasure fair at Lotus Pond Mountain.
• Peng Qing pointed out the unruly Rou Xuan Prefecture cultivators and the renowned Zhang Yuxuan as they traveled to the fair.
• Chen Heng entered a private room and learned how guests used talisman coins on jade platters to bid through the lotuses on the lake.
• A maid presented the opening treasure in a brocade box carried by a Dragon-Whisker Carp, and the guests reacted with surprise.

Chen Heng attended the Azure Firmament Tower treasure gathering, where he watched rare medicines and artifacts draw fierce bidding and secured Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls. Qin Tong tried to dominate the auction with Rou Xuan Prefecture’s wealth, but Chen Heng’s display of power forced him to withdraw; Chen Heng later left the gathering with the pearls.

• Chen Heng recognized the Iron Gall as a damaged Immortal Dao Dharma Artifact, which the Azure Firmament Tower then sold at auction.
• The gathering displayed rare goods including Minghe sand, Rebirth Water, a dream-inducing pill, and a red sandalwood tray, prompting cultivators to compete for them.
• Qin Tong offered an exceptionally high bid for Minghe sand and promised Jianjun bamboo to anyone who would not compete against him.
• Chen Heng confronted Qin Tong, whose fear of Chen Heng’s sword pressure led him to withdraw from the contest.
• The Dragon-Whisker Carp carried out a box of twenty-six Purple-Luminescent Flowing Pearls, and Chen Heng acquired them.
• Chen Heng watched the gathering a little longer, lost interest, and used the World-Escaping Shuttle to leave.

After two months of seclusion on a deserted Eastern Sea island, Chen Heng reached middle completion in Purple-Clear Divine Thunder and encountered Cui Jingzhong being pursued by a powerful Yin-Yang Demon. Chen Heng and Cui Jingzhong drove the demon off, and Chen Heng learned that it was a manifestation of Chen Chan’s art from the Xiantian Demon Sect before reuniting with Cui Jingzhong.

• Chen Heng completed his seclusion on the deserted island, where he demonstrated Purple-Clear Divine Thunder and reflected on its immense power and cost.
• Chen Heng spotted a golden-red Flying Vessel pursued by a Yin-Yang Demon and revealed himself to the people aboard, including Cui Jingzhong.
• Chen Heng fought the Yin-Yang Demon while Cui Jingzhong left the Flying Vessel and joined the battle by disrupting the demon’s defenses.
• Chen Heng struck the demon with five bolts of Purple-Clear Divine Thunder, then pursued and destroyed its escaping spirit.
• Cui Jingzhong explained that the Yin-Yang Demon was a manifestation of Chen Chan’s Divine Ability from the Xiantian Demon Sect, and he asked Chen Heng why he was there.

Chen Heng encountered Cui Jingzhong and Qiao Ting in the Eastern Sea and learned that they were fleeing Chen Chan’s pursuit after a beast-driving pill disrupted the Xiantian Demon Sect’s eight Golden Flood Dragons. Qiao Ting suspected Chen Heng had come for the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

• Chen Heng explained that he had come to the Eastern Sea to compete for first place at the Dharma Assembly, while Cui Jingzhong described how the True Lord was preparing to face the fire calamity.
• Cui Jingzhong recounted how Rou Xuan Prefecture disciples had pursued him to refine a Dragon Vermilion Pill, and how his beast-driving pill enraged Chen Chan by affecting the demon sect’s Golden Flood Dragons.
• Chen Heng learned that Chen Chan’s Yin-Yang Demon had seized several Vermilion Luminescence Sect disciples and kept pursuing Cui Jingzhong’s group.
• Qiao Ting arrived aboard a Flying Vessel and asked Chen Heng whether he had come for the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

Chen Heng and Cui Jingzhong learned that Chen Chan had used Five-Pocket Worms to spy on them and Qiao Ting, and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring explained how to remove the worms. The group discovered that the worms had been extracted, while Qiao Ting questioned the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring about its connection to the Qiao Clan.

• Chen Heng asked Cui Jingzhong whether Chen Chan’s Yin-Yang Demon had secretly tampered with their bodies, and the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring identified the method as Five-Pocket Worms.
• The Five-Qi Cosmic Ring explained that the worms could relay their hosts’ information to Chen Chan and described ways to expose or remove them.
• A woman in golden light drew five-colored rays from Cui Jingzhong and Qiao Ting, extracting the Five-Pocket Worms from their bodies.
• A voice advised that Red City Pills and a specific cultivation process could eliminate the worms while nourishing their hosts.
• Qiao Ting asked how the Five-Qi Cosmic Ring came to be with Chen Heng, and it said the Qiao Clan had given it to him to repay his kindness to Little Qiao.

Chen Heng learned that a powerful mad monk had fled to the Eastern Sea after abducting cultivators across Xudu Heaven, while Chen Chan revealed herself as his elder sister and offered him protection. The chapter left Chen Heng facing her invitation as danger from the monk loomed nearby.

• Chen Chan appeared before Chen Heng and teased him about their relationship, explaining that she was his elder sister.
• Chen Chan said she had followed Chen Heng’s actions at the Yuchen Lower Court and had sent Cui Jingzhong a warning about the mad monk.
• Cui Jingzhong told Chen Heng that the mad monk had abducted cultivators across several regions, survived attacks from the Blood River Sect, and reached the Eastern Sea.
• Cui Jingzhong rescued seven or eight Vermilion Luminescence Sect cultivators after Chen Chan’s flower basket brought them out.
• Chen Chan dismissed the danger from the local aristocratic clans and asked Chen Heng whether he would come with her or risk being captured by the mad monk.

Chen Chan met Chen Heng on a deserted island and offered him a Purity-Cleansing Seed while explaining why she wanted his help against Chen Jade Pivot. She urged Chen Heng to join her in meeting Chen Lü, whose help could aid his bid in the Dragon Palace’s selection of a son-in-law.

• Chen Chan showed Chen Heng the Purity-Cleansing Seed and used her Rhinoceros-Horn Dharma Artifact to isolate the island from divination.
• Chen Chan said she wanted to kill Chen Jade Pivot and explained that Chen Xiangxian’s divination had identified several people connected to a sign of “leaping in the abyss.”
• Chen Heng questioned why Chen Chan trusted him and asked about Chen Jade Pivot’s intentions and the relationship between Qiao Rui and Qiao Ting.
• Chen Chan said she was betting on Chen Heng because his purple mansion eleven was genuine and asked him to meet Chen Lü, who could help him contend for first place in the Dragon Palace’s selection.
• A whistle sounded in the distance, and Cui Jingzhong announced that Junior Fellow Disciple Chen was approaching.