Recaps

Chen Heng asked Tu Shan Ge how someone with his background could enter a major sect, and learned that the Flower God Manor admitted rogue cultivators through a costly, dangerous banquet. He then asked Tu Shan Ge whether he had heard the honorific “Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord” or the phrase “primordial beginning true origin.”

• Chen Heng sparred with Tu Shan Ge and learned that Tu Shan Ge had no explanation for the Divine Domain’s light.
• Chen Heng asked Tu Shan Ge how he might enter one of Xudu Heaven’s major sects, but Tu Shan Ge said such sects rarely accepted outsiders.
• Tu Shan Ge told Chen Heng that the Flower God Manor held costly Flower-Gathering Banquets where only the final three survivors could become disciples.
• Chen Heng considered gathering more Yin Horse plants on his trip to the Earth Abyss to afford the banquet’s tribute.
• Chen Heng asked Tu Shan Ge whether he had heard the honorific “Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord” or the phrase “primordial beginning true origin.”

Chen Heng asked Tu Shan Ge about the Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord and the mysterious Primordial Beginning True Origin, learning of the Dao Lord’s campaign in Lapis-Free Heaven. After Tu Shan Ge guessed the true qi’s rank, Chen Heng showed him an ancient book, which horrified him as a vicious art that violated heaven’s harmony.

• Tu Shan Ge recalled that his former mistress had witnessed the Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord present captives to the Pivot Dipper Sect after conquering a Zen Pure Land in Lapis-Free Heaven.
• Tu Shan Ge described how the Dao Lord destroyed the Great Peacock King Temple’s defenses, killed its Presiding Venerable, and captured two million Peacock Monk Soldiers before Xudu Heaven’s Dao Lords deterred a Bodhisattva from taking revenge.
• Chen Heng grew more eager to join one of Xudu Heaven’s great sects and asked Tu Shan Ge about Primordial Beginning True Origin.
• Tu Shan Ge guessed that Primordial Beginning True Origin was likely upper-grade or supreme-grade ninth-rank true qi and lamented that his former mistress had never obtained the Vermilion Luminescence Sect’s Imperial Plain Jade Truth method.
• Chen Heng handed Tu Shan Ge a yellowed ancient book, and Tu Shan Ge recoiled, calling its method a terrifying evil art that violated heaven’s harmony.

Chen Heng discovered that the book he believed was a Qi Cultivation Art appeared to everyone else as a demonic artifact-forging method, raising questions about his father's legacy and death. Five days later, after cultivating, Chen Heng heard a shrill whistle and distant laughter approaching.

• Tu Shan Ge and the other foxes read Chen Heng's book as instructions for refining the sinister Blood River Cart Treasure Wheel.
• Chen Heng suspected his connection to the original owner's blood let him see the book's true contents and questioned how his father had died.
• Chen Heng asked Tu Shan Ge what the book's cover said and learned the fox saw the title, “Compendium of the Blood River Cart Treasure Wheel's Complete Formation.”
• After five days, Chen Heng returned from cultivating in the One True Dharma Realm and heard a piercing whistle, sharp cracks, and distant teasing voices.

The Tong Household’s Second Young Master arrived at Blazing Mountain with Deng Zhongzhi and revealed the secret history of the Earth Palace Golden Chapter. Chen Heng prepared to confront them, but Tu Shan Ge urged caution and sent Tu Shan Zhuang to help meet the visitors.

• The Second Young Master mocked Deng Zhongzhi and bragged about his past visits to Mount Yang Daoist’s estate.
• Deng Zhongzhi warned the Second Young Master not to offend Mount Yang Daoist and stopped him from revealing the Earth Palace Golden Chapter’s secret.
• Deng Zhongzhi recalled how the Tong Household’s patriarch and Mount Yang Daoist found the golden page, memorized its Dao Art, and could not share or decipher its contents.
• Chen Heng prepared to leave his cave abode with the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead, but Tu Shan Ge warned him not to attack the Second Young Master.
• Tu Shan Ge called Tu Shan Zhuang, and the two foxes nervously left the Divine Domain to face the suspended flying boat.

Tong Yi arrived at Blazing Mountain and demanded that Tu Shan Ge provide him with Xiao Yu, while Tu Shan Ge and Tu Shan Zhuang struggled to maintain their disguises. Chen Heng appeared and attacked Tong Yi with lightning, severing his arm.

• Tong Yi arrived at Blazing Mountain aboard the Cloud-Piercing Flying Boat with Deng Zhongzhi and twenty soldiers, greeting Tu Shan Ge as his uncle.
• Tong Yi explained that he had been confined after Censor Sun died when Tong Yi slept with Sun's concubine.
• Tong Yi privately asked Tu Shan Zhuang, disguised as Wang Duanbao, to lend him Xiao Yu, then threatened to ask Tu Shan Ge himself.
• In the main hall, Tong Yi questioned Tu Shan Ge about his missing concubines and Xiao Yu, while Deng Zhongzhi watched warily.
• Chen Heng entered, and Tong Yi turned his attention to the handsome young Daoist.
• Chen Heng fired lightning from his sleeve, and although Tong Yi raised a Talisman Artifact, the attack severed his arm and knocked him down.

Chen Heng defeated Tong Yi and Deng Zhongzhi’s forces with the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead, then held Tong Yi at swordpoint. Deng Zhongzhi offered Tong Yi’s talisman artifacts for his life, but Tong Yi refused to give them up.

• Deng Zhongzhi attacked Chen Heng after Tong Yi lost an arm, but Chen Heng blasted him back with the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead.
• Chen Heng killed the armored soldiers with a ring of fire while Tong Yi attacked with an azure-light artifact and relied on a jade defensive talisman.
• Chen Heng’s lightning depleted Tong Yi’s embryonic breath, shattered his defense, and left him defeated with a sword at his neck.
• Deng Zhongzhi killed Tu Shan Ge in combat, but surrendered his saber when Chen Heng demanded to know whether he still intended to fight.
• Deng Zhongzhi offered Tong Yi’s talisman artifacts in exchange for his life, and Tong Yi angrily refused.

Chen Heng killed Deng Zhongzhi after deceiving him into a contest, captured Tong Yi, and stayed on Blazing Mountain to cultivate. Five days later, a brilliant light emerged from his cave abode, signaling that he had broken through to Qi Refining.

• Tong Yi tried to bargain for his release by promising Chen Heng a chance to join the Five Radiances Sect, but Chen Heng said he wanted the Talisman Artifact.
• Chen Heng held Tong Yi at swordpoint and persuaded Deng Zhongzhi to agree to hand-to-hand combat, then struck him with lightning instead.
• Deng Zhongzhi died after trying to kill Tong Yi, and Chen Heng knocked Tong Yi unconscious and ordered Tu Shan Ge to keep watch over him.
• Chen Heng chose to remain on Blazing Mountain until he could break through to Qi Refining.
• Five days later, light streamed from Chen Heng's cave abode, and Tu Shan Ge realized he had succeeded.

Chen Heng completed Qi Refining by following the Primordial Beginning True Origin Scripture Spoken by the Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord, while Tu Shan Ge witnessed the extraordinary phenomena surrounding his breakthrough. The chapter ended with Chen Heng summoning spiritual energy in the cave residence.

• Tu Shan Ge watched the light around Chen Heng’s cave residence shift through blazing heat, bitter cold, and many colors before erupting into turmoil.
• Chen Heng carefully combined the sun and moon visualizations in the Purple Plain Palace and endured darkness and deceptive heavenly visions as he formed a qi channel.
• Chen Heng circulated the qi channel through every acupoint, completed Qi Refining, and shattered the channel to begin the next method.
• Chen Heng’s body rang nine times as its colored lights settled into a white halo, and he awoke feeling renewed and unshackled.
• Chen Heng beckoned, causing countless streams of spiritual energy to surge toward him.

After reaching Qi Refining, Chen Heng discovered that his primordial beginning true origin method could refine spiritual qi of every attribute, letting him gather qi without the restrictions faced by other cultivators. He drained Blazing Mountain’s meager reserves, began refining Talisman Coins, and a purple-robed Daoist in the Xiantian Demon Sect sensed his breakthrough and named the method.

• Chen Heng examined the many kinds of spiritual qi and realized Qi Refining cultivators usually had to distinguish which attributes their methods could refine.
• Chen Heng tested several kinds of spiritual qi and found that his method absorbed them all, regardless of attribute.
• Delighted by this discovery, Chen Heng drew in spiritual qi from across Blazing Mountain until he exhausted the mountain’s supply.
• Chen Heng began refining Talisman Coins to continue strengthening his embryonic breath before entering the Earth Abyss.
• A purple-robed Daoist in the Xiantian Demon Sect sensed Chen Heng’s primordial beginning true origin and smiled.

Jade Pivot learned that a descendant had comprehended the Primordial Beginning True Origin Scripture and sent Yue You to find him in the Southern Territory of Eastern Maitreya Province. The descendant was Chen Heng, who finished cultivating at Blazing Mountain, where Tu Shan Ge warned him of trouble.

• Jade Pivot and Yue You discussed the weakening Pure Yang lightning tribulation and learned that one of Jade Pivot’s descendants had comprehended the Primordial Beginning True Origin Scripture.
• Jade Pivot gave Yue You a drop of blood and asked him to retrieve the descendant from the Southern Territory of Eastern Maitreya Province.
• Yue You sent a spirit body toward the Southern Territory, then withdrew when Junior Sister Xu arrived at the grotto-heaven.
• Chen Heng finished cultivating in Blazing Mountain after using his last Talisman Coin and emerged from his secluded chamber.
• Tu Shan Ge congratulated Chen Heng on reaching Qi Refining, then warned him that information extracted from a captive suggested trouble.

Chen Heng learned how Tong Gaolu gained his cultivation and why he possessed powerful talisman artifacts, then decided to target Tong Jizhen to gain leverage in the Rong Kingdom. Chen Heng and Tu Shan Ge set out for Yuanjing aboard a Cloud-Piercing Flying Boat.

• Tu Shan Ge explained that Tong Gaolu gained embryonic breathing after an old beggar struck him, but squandered the chance to become the beggar’s disciple through his lust and cruelty.
• Chen Heng deduced that the beggar belonged to the Five Radiances Sect and learned that Tong Gaolu had received a Heaven and Earth Bag containing tens of thousands of talisman coins and three mid-grade talisman artifacts.
• Tu Shan Ge told Chen Heng that Tong Gaolu had reached the seventh layer of qi refining, while Tong Jizhen had reached the third layer and Tong Feng had attained embryonic breathing.
• Chen Heng chose to eliminate Tong Jizhen first as a pledge of allegiance and discussed the political rewards of intervening in the Rong Kingdom.
• Chen Heng and Tu Shan Ge departed Blazing Mountain for Yuanjing aboard a Cloud-Piercing Flying Boat.

Chen Heng examined the talisman artifacts he had gained and considered how his demanding cultivation art gave him far more strength than ordinary Qi Refining cultivators. As he tried to tame the Cold Dipper True Qi aboard the flying boat, Zhou Chuyu learned from Yin Gonghao that she could dominate the mortal world and asked if she should capture Chen Heng.

• Chen Heng inspected his attributes in the One True Dharma Realm and reviewed the four talisman artifacts he had taken from Tong Yi.
• Chen Heng concluded that Primordial Beginning True Origin required enormous reserves of embryonic breath but gave him a major advantage over cultivators using lower-grade arts.
• Chen Heng began channeling embryonic breath into the Cold Dipper True Qi, which surged through his body and filled him with freezing mist.
• Zhou Chuyu asked Yin Gonghao how strong she was among Qi Refining cultivators, and he told her she could sweep across the mortal world but should not underestimate disciples of great sects.
• Zhou Chuyu asked Yin Gonghao whether she should capture Chen Heng, skin him, and stuff him with straw.

Zhou Chuyu accepted Yin Gonghao’s challenge to kill Chen Heng within a month in exchange for tutelage and a chance at a great opportunity, while Chen Heng continued struggling to refine Cold Dipper True Qi. The chapter left Chen Heng preparing to try again after another failed attempt.

• Zhou Chuyu admitted that she wanted to drag Chen Heng down into the mud and agreed to Yin Gonghao’s one-month test, knowing failure would cost her cultivation.
• Yin Gonghao promised Zhou Chuyu tutelage and a chance at a great opportunity if she killed Chen Heng and cultivated a Golden Core within fifty years.
• Yin Gonghao seized disciples from Refined Rock Mountain, crushed them to death, and let Zhou Chuyu choose several Talisman Artifacts from the remains.
• Zhou Chuyu left the valley with her new opportunity, crying and laughing as she thought of her dead mother.
• Chen Heng’s attempt to refine Cold Dipper True Qi failed, killing his Mind Image before it reformed.
• Chen Heng reviewed why the process was difficult, steadied his mind, and began another attempt.

Chen Heng mastered the control of his embryonic breathing and refined the cold dipper true qi during repeated trials in the One True Dharma Realm. After arriving near Yuanjing, he prepared to use the true qi against Tong Gaolu and began a scheme targeting Tong Jizhen.

• Chen Heng repeatedly died while practicing until he learned to circulate his embryonic breathing and extract the cold dipper true qi.
• Chen Heng returned to the real world and showed Tu Shan Ge the cold dipper true qi, asking whether it could briefly freeze Tong Gaolu.
• Chen Heng injected the cold dipper true qi into Tong Yi, then learned from Tu Shan Ge that Tong Jizhen had a taste for men.
• Chen Heng ordered Tu Shan Ge and Tu Shan Zhuang to impersonate Ji Yu without alerting Tong Gaolu.
• Ji Yu arrived at the residence for a paid encounter, saw Chen Heng, and was knocked unconscious; Chen Heng asked which of them would impersonate him.

Chen Heng killed Tong Jizhen at the Spring Splendor House and learned more about the danger posed by Tong Gaolu, then infiltrated the imperial palace to seek the Imperial House’s help. He confronted the Empress after accidentally entering her bathing chamber.

• Tong Jizhen left his officers and went to the Spring Splendor House, where Chen Heng killed him with the Green Bamboo Thorn.
• Chen Heng took Tong Jizhen’s Heaven and Earth Bag and explained to Tu Shan Zhuang that he needed allies against Tong Gaolu’s formidable flesh-tempering Dao Art.
• Chen Heng ordered Tu Shan Ge to disguise himself as Tong Jizhen, then flew to the Imperial Palace to approach the Imperial House.
• Chen Heng entered the palace and knocked unconscious a maid and several palace maids after they discovered him.
• The Empress came out of the warm chamber, and Chen Heng told her not to undress while an outsider was present.

Chen Heng approached the Empress to propose joining forces against Tong Gaolu, but Rong Tuo mistook him for a disciple of a great sect. After proving he had fought Tong Yi, Chen Heng left Rong Tuo to decide whether to accept his help and demanded a considerable price.

• Chen Heng told the Empress he wanted to eliminate Tong Gaolu and asked her to summon the Imperial House's Qi Refining cultivators.
• Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao arrived, and Rong Tuo sensed Chen Heng's extraordinary qi and assumed he belonged to a great sect.
• Chen Heng let Rong Tuo's mistaken belief stand and showed Talisman Artifacts taken from Tong Yi, adding that Tong Yi was imprisoned in Yuanjing with one arm severed.
• Rong Tuo hesitated over Chen Heng's motives, so Chen Heng turned to leave; Rong Tuo hurried to call him back.
• Chen Heng said his help came at a considerable price, and Rong Tuo was shaken.

Chen Heng negotiated with Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao over compensation for dealing with Tong Gaolu, including access to the Rong Lineage’s Jade Womb Mother Pool. Rong Jin arrived and tested Chen Heng with a cup of wine, but Chen Heng absorbed the prince’s embryonic breathing and prepared to return the challenge.

• Chen Heng demanded Tong Gaolu’s cultivation resources and two thousand Talisman Coins as conditions for his help, but Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao resisted the payment.
• Chen Heng asked to cultivate in the Rong Lineage’s Jade Womb Mother Pool for seven or eight days, and Rong Tuo hesitated over granting access to the lineage’s prized resource.
• Rong Jin arrived, and Rong Tuo introduced him as the Rong Kingdom’s crown prince and a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
• Rong Jin sent Chen Heng a wine cup containing a strand of embryonic breathing as a test, but Chen Heng caught the cup and absorbed the strand.
• Chen Heng realized Primordial Beginning True Origin could absorb embryonic breathing and offered to pour a return cup for everyone at the table.

Chen Heng used wine and Embryonic Breathing to overwhelm Rong Jin and secure a Spirit Contract with the Rong Clan. He then memorized the clan’s entire library and, in the One True Dharma Realm, successfully triggered a new breakthrough.

• Chen Heng shaped wine into three swords, cut through Rong Jin’s Wind-Summoning Dao Art, and stopped the blades just short of his face.
• Rong Jin acknowledged Chen Heng’s power, and both sides signed a Spirit Contract granting Chen Heng one thousand Talisman Coins, five days in the Jade Womb Mother Pool, and Tong Gaolu’s cultivation resources.
• Chen Heng persuaded Rong Tuo to take him to the Rong Clan’s library and spent his one-hour limit memorizing every book with the Golden Cicada’s help.
• Chen Heng retired to a building, entered the One True Dharma Realm, and felt the circulating air and resounding bells signal that his attempt had succeeded.

Chen Heng used the One True Dharma Realm to repeatedly fight Rong Xuantao’s mind image, seeking to obtain the old cultivator’s Dao art. After finally acquiring Fish-Dragon Manifestation and beginning to study it, Chen Heng left the realm when Rong Jin came to summon him.

• Chen Heng reviewed his new Dao arts and artifacts, including Golden Man Substitution, the Lesser Wind and Mist-Summoning Technique, and Tong Jizhen’s Solid-Sinking Inkstone.
• Chen Heng examined Rong Xuantao’s mind image and learned that the old cultivator practiced the illusion Dao art Fish-Dragon Manifestation.
• Chen Heng repeatedly defeated Rong Xuantao’s mind image, receiving random mundane skills and Dao arts from its origin spirits.
• Chen Heng finally obtained Fish-Dragon Manifestation from an origin spirit and began studying its instructions.
• Chen Heng sensed the time had come, withdrew from the One True Dharma Realm, and heard Rong Jin summon him.

Chen Heng joined Rong Tuo’s court gathering to plan Tong Gaolu’s assassination and learned that Tong Gaolu had mastered a powerful body-tempering Dao Art. Two days later, Tong Gaolu’s household celebrated its rising influence, but Tong Gaolu suddenly sensed something unpleasant in his body.

• Rong Jin invited Chen Heng to the Palace of Worthy Virtue and offered him women, but Chen Heng refused, declaring his resolve to pursue the immortal Dao.
• Rong Jin told Chen Heng how the Rong Kingdom was founded by a Foundation Establishment cultivator and how Tong Gaolu’s ambitions grew after the kingdom’s ancestor died.
• Rong Tuo introduced Huang Zaichen and Sima Yu, then proposed ambushing Tong Gaolu with cultivators and mortal soldiers at the grand court assembly.
• Chen Heng objected to sacrificing soldiers in a futile attack, but Rong Tuo dismissed their lives and assigned Sima Yu to lead them.
• Rong Tuo warned Chen Heng that Tong Gaolu possessed a formidable Dao Art for externally tempering his flesh.
• On the morning of the grand court assembly, Tong Gaolu complained that his body felt unpleasant despite his mastery of the Earth Palace Golden Chapter.

Tong Gaolu ignored a warning of impending danger and joined the grand court procession, where the Rong Clan ambushed him and his followers. Chen Heng and the Rong Clan confronted Tong Gaolu, while Tong Xiangyan fled to find Tong Jizhen.

• Tong Gaolu felt a sudden pain in his heart but, after Tong Xiangyan urged him not to appear afraid of Rong Tuo, decided to attend the grand court assembly.
• Tong Gaolu learned that Tong Jizhen was at Spring Splendor House and ordered Qian Qi to accompany him.
• After Tong Gaolu's procession passed through the palace gate, the gate shut behind them and archers and crossbowmen attacked.
• Tong Gaolu killed attackers with his embryonic breath, and Chen Heng appeared, blocked his next strike, and declared that he had come to kill him.
• Rong Tuo and three Rong Clan members arrived with Huang Zaichen, and Rong Tuo used an iron-chain Talisman Artifact to kill Tong Gaolu's followers.
• Tong Gaolu told Tong Xiangyan to flee to Spring Splendor House, while Rong Tuo challenged Qian Qi for joining Tong Gaolu.

Chen Heng and Rong Tuo joined forces to kill Tong Gaolu after Chen Heng used Tong Yi to create an opening, then Chen Heng pretended to be badly injured to discourage Rong Tuo from turning against him. Zhou Chuyu attacked Chen Heng during his staged recovery, but he revealed he had anticipated her ambush and prepared to fight.

• Tong Gaolu killed Qian Qi and fought off the Rong Clan's attacks until Chen Heng used the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead and Green Bamboo Thorn to keep him at a distance.
• Chen Heng brought Tong Yi before Tong Gaolu and threw him toward his father, triggering the Cold Dipper True Qi hidden on Tong Yi and freezing Tong Gaolu in place.
• Rong Tuo approached Tong Gaolu and activated the Blood-Red Flying Shuttle, which pierced his skull, while Chen Heng and the others struck him until Chen Heng finished him with the Green Bamboo Thorn.
• Chen Heng left with Tu Shan Ge, then pretended to be gravely injured so Rong Tuo would not suspect him of still being dangerous.
• Zhou Chuyu attacked Chen Heng beside a mountain stream, but his concealed armor blocked her strike, and he revealed that he had known she was nearby.

Chen Heng killed Zhou Chuyu after overcoming her talisman artifacts and then burned her corpse, while Yin Gonghao recovered her soul and condemned her to a beast body. Later, Chen Heng discovered a powerful Dao Art in Tong Gaolu’s Origin Spirit and celebrated its potential.

• Zhou Chuyu ambushed Chen Heng and Tu Shan Ge, but Chen Heng fought her through a prolonged battle of talisman artifacts and techniques.
• Chen Heng used Golden Man Substitution to evade Zhou Chuyu’s killing blow, then froze her embryonic breathing with cold dipper true qi and killed her with the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead.
• Chen Heng burned Zhou Chuyu’s corpse and departed with Tu Shan Ge, while Yin Gonghao emerged, gathered her soul, and turned her into a small dog.
• Chen Heng detonated his Talisman Artifacts against Tong Gaolu’s body, seized his Origin Spirit, and discovered a Dao Art he believed could earn him a place in the Nine Provinces and Four Seas.

Chen Heng obtained Elder Tai Su’s Tai Su Jade Body from Tong Gaolu’s origin spirit and studied its requirements and dangers. He chose the Golden Cicada as its anchoring object and began refining it, triggering a loud reaction from the Dao Court’s magic prohibitions.

• Chen Heng repeatedly defeated Tong Gaolu’s mind image with talisman artifacts until he obtained the Tai Su Jade Body.
• Chen Heng learned that the Tai Su Jade Body was a powerful bodily cultivation method created by Elder Tai Su, but that it required an anchoring object and carried the risk of deadly tribulations if its concealment was broken.
• Chen Heng decided that the Golden Cicada was an ideal anchoring object because only he could see and touch it.
• Chen Heng began refining the Golden Cicada with his blood despite the Dao Court’s warning against unauthorized practice.
• The Dragon Radiance Ancient Bell rang across a distant land, and voices complained that someone had triggered the Dao Court’s magic prohibitions again.