Recaps

Lin Shisan lured Xiao Han into a clash with the Lightning-Scaled Beast, then entered the Ancient Lightning Pool, where he advanced to the fourth stage of Meridian Opening and his Jiaolong True Spirit evolved into a Hornless Dragon. He sensed Ning Jiuying nearby and held back from approaching the Demon Seed, while Ling Lei rescued Xiao Han and followed him into the lightning pool.

• Lin Shisan waited with Gu Mengli for Xiao Han, planning to use the Lightning-Scaled Beast to cover his entry into the lightning pool.
• Xiao Han and Ling Lei arrived, and Lin Shisan drew Xiao Han toward the pool before slipping into the Lightning Pool Passage.
• The Lightning-Scaled Beast attacked Xiao Han and Ling Lei, badly wounding Xiao Han until Ling Lei drove it back.
• Lin Shisan endured the lightning, reached the fourth stage of Meridian Opening, and evolved his Jiaolong True Spirit into a Hornless Dragon.
• Lin Shisan sensed Ning Jiuying and chose not to approach the Demon Seed, while Ling Lei and Xiao Han entered the lightning pool to pursue him.

Lin Shisan advanced to the fifth stage of Meridian Opening and used the Starry Sky Vortex to kill Xiao Han after drawing him into the Immortal Volcano. Gai Jiuyou reminded Lin Shisan that he had promised to help her retrieve the Demon Seed, which lay deeper in the Thunder Pool.

• Lin Shisan absorbed lightning and Meridian-Congealing Pills in the Thunder Pool, opened his fifth spirit vein, and evolved his Jiaolong True Spirit into a Hornless Dragon True Spirit.
• Lin Shisan lured Xiao Han and Ning Jiuying into the Immortal Volcano, where he revealed his breakthrough and repelled Xiao Han with a Taiji Seal.
• Xiao Han burned his blood essence with the Blood Sacrifice Sword to raise his cultivation, but Lin Shisan released his Starry Sky Vortex and pulled him in.
• Ning Jiuying sensed Gai Jiuyou's terrifying aura and fled, abandoning the Demon Seed.
• Lin Shisan exhausted himself but erased Xiao Han with the Starry Sky Vortex, and Gai Jiuyou told him to help retrieve the Demon Seed.

Several cultivation factions fought over the demon seed in the Thunder Pool while Lin Shisan watched from hiding, hoping to seize the opportunity amid the chaos. As the battle escalated, Lei Potian rushed for the seed, leaving its fate unresolved.

• Ye Xingchen, Murong Xue, Lei Potian, and the five-sect alliance disputed who should claim the demon seed.
• Lin Shisan watched from behind a rock in disguise as Xiao Han and suspected the seed concealed a greater opportunity, while the Immortal Alliance's Demon-Slaying Squad waited nearby.
• Ye Xingchen made the first move toward the demon seed, prompting the others to attack him.
• Ouyang Tie blocked Murong Xue from striking Ye Xingchen, while Su Wan'er called for a peaceful resolution and Bai Youyou rejected the idea.
• Lei Potian expanded his golden Buddha phantom, crossed the lava lake, and reached to seize the demon seed.

Lin Shisan used Gai Jiuyou’s guidance to seize the demon seed and escaped into the Thunder Pool while the sect elites pursued him. He reached the Ancient Lightning Pool, where Lei Potian and the others stopped at the edge of the dangerous lightning sea.

• The demon seed burst free from Lei Potian’s grasp and evaded the attacks of the Eight Sects as Gai Jiuyou secretly guided it toward Lin Shisan.
• Lin Shisan grabbed the demon seed, suppressed its power with the Taiji Wheel, and was mistaken for Xiao Han by the gathered disciples.
• Lin Shisan challenged the others to take the demon seed from him, stored it away, and fled deeper into the Thunder Pool as everyone gave chase.
• Lin Shisan used lightning and an Origin Spirit Pill to sustain his flight, while Gu Mengli questioned why Xiao Han seemed familiar.
• Lin Shisan entered the Ancient Lightning Pool, and Lei Potian and the others stopped at the edge of its raging sea of lightning.

Lin Shisan crossed the Sea of Lightning disguised as Xiao Han, evaded the Immortal Alliance pursuers, and escaped a Lightning-Scaled Beast through a hidden fissure into the Immortal Volcano. He opened an ancient stone gate and entered a corridor whose murals recorded an ancient legend.

• Lin Shisan drew power from the lightning as he crossed the Sea of Lightning, while Lei Potian and the others pursued him and Gu Mengli recognized him as Lin Shisan rather than Xiao Han.
• Lin Shisan encountered a powerful Lightning-Scaled Beast, used Ye Xingchen’s Thousand-Li Escaping Light Talisman to draw it toward the pursuers, and escaped back into the Thunder Sea.
• Lin Shisan followed the Wolf King's Message Stone to a hidden fissure and climbed through it into a cavern inside the Immortal Volcano.
• Lin Shisan crossed the cavern past a Magma Lake and used spiritual power to open an ancient rune-covered stone gate.
• Lin Shisan entered the corridor beyond the gate and saw murals depicting an ancient legend.

Lin Shisan read murals revealing that Tianjizi had sacrificed the Nine-Phoenix Heart-Exterminating Mirror’s artifact spirit to the Eternal Night Demon Emperor, who resembled Lin Shisan and had been watching Tianjizi all along. He realized Little Nine was the artifact spirit’s remnant soul, but kept the truth from it as it slept in his arms.

• Lin Shisan recognized the mural’s white-haired Eternal Night Demon Emperor and Myriad Things Creation Cauldron as nearly identical to himself and his Little Black Cauldron.
• Lin Shisan saw Tianjizi kneeling before the Eternal Night Demon Emperor and offering the Nine-Phoenix Heart-Exterminating Mirror’s artifact spirit in exchange for power.
• The murals showed the Demon Emperor’s enormous hand tearing out and devouring the artifact spirit, while Tianjizi suffered a backlash and sealed its remnant soul in the Fire Spirit Pearl.
• Lin Shisan read Tianjizi’s final confession that the Demon Emperor had never left and had treated him as a pawn.
• Lin Shisan realized Little Nine was the artifact spirit’s remnant soul, but said nothing and gently stroked its head as it went back to sleep.

Little Nine swallowed the Fire Spirit Pearl and awakened as the Heart-Exterminating Mirror Artifact Spirit, then attacked Gai Jiuyou over their ancient grudge. Their battle left both badly weakened while Lin Shisan was caught in the devastation, and Gai Jiuyou challenged Little Nine to consider the danger to his big brother.

• Lin Shisan brought out the Fire Spirit Pearl, and Little Nine recognized it as its former body and swallowed it.
• Little Nine endured a painful fusion and transformed into a powerful Fire Phoenix, revealing the awakened Heart-Exterminating Mirror Artifact Spirit.
• Gai Jiuyou appeared, and Little Nine attacked her with waves of Crimson-Gold Blazing Flame.
• Gai Jiuyou fought back with barriers and a Black Demon Dragon, but the battle weakened both her projection and the Fire Phoenix while Lin Shisan suffered from the heat.
• As the Fire Phoenix prepared another attack, Gai Jiuyou warned Little Nine that their fight could kill Lin Shisan.

The eye of rules appeared in the Heavenly Revelation Secret Realm and began annihilating power beyond the Meridian Opening Realm. After the Demon-Slaying Squad unleashed Yellow Dragon Level power, the eye destroyed several squad members and its gaze turned to Lin Shisan’s Little Black Cauldron.

• The eye of rules appeared above the cavern, suppressing Gai Jiuyou, Little Nine, and Lin Shisan as it searched the cavern.
• The eye fixed on a rune-covered stone door, whose seven-colored light challenged its gaze and shook the cavern.
• The Demon-Slaying Squad detonated Talisman Treasures outside the cavern, releasing Yellow Dragon Level power and drawing the eye’s attention.
• The eye erased the released power and several Demon-Slaying Squad members, while the explosions’ aftershocks battered the secret realm and its disciples.
• The eye turned back toward Lin Shisan and stared at the Little Black Cauldron glowing on his chest.

Lin Shisan used Little Nine and the Little Black Cauldron to withstand the Eye of Rules and destroy the cavern, then escaped the erupting Immortal Volcano with Little Nine’s help. He reached the foot of the volcano, where Ning Jiuying confronted him.

• Lin Shisan activated the Little Black Cauldron, whose Seven-Colored Rosy Light shielded him, Little Nine, and Gai Jiuyou from the Eye of Rules’ attacks.
• Lin Shisan asked Little Nine to lend him its power, and their combined strength triggered an explosion that shattered the cavern and destabilized the secret realm.
• The Immortal Volcano erupted as the sea of lightning collapsed, forcing the Eight Sects’ disciples to flee; Ye Xingchen saved Ouyang Tie, while Gu Mengli carried Su Wan’er to safety.
• Lin Shisan cast Xiao Han’s bloodline aura into the sky, and the Eye of Rules destroyed it, making Xiao Han appear to have died under the rules’ judgment.
• Little Nine burned a passage through the lava for Lin Shisan, then fell unconscious and merged into the Nine-Phoenix Heart-Exterminating Mirror; Lin Shisan crawled out of the cavern and stored the Little Black Cauldron.
• At the foot of the Immortal Volcano, Lin Shisan encountered Ning Jiuying, who greeted him with, “Lin Shisan, we meet again.”

The Eye of Rules appeared above Lion Peak Mountain after power beyond Meridian Opening was used inside the Heavenly Revelation Secret Realm, forcing the Immortal Alliance to order all disciples out within six hours. Zhang Wujun also prepared the Demon Sect for battle as the secret realm faced permanent closure.

• Feng Xian'er and the other sect leaders demanded answers from Elder Qingming and Elder Cang Xuan about the Eye of Rules and the danger to their disciples.
• Granny Ghost raised the Demon-Slaying Squad’s presence, prompting Jian Wuhen to challenge Elder Qingming over the Immortal Alliance’s secret operation.
• Elder Qingming ordered every disciple to withdraw within six hours, warning that the passage would then close permanently.
• Feng Xian'er and the other sect leaders hurried to contact their disciples inside the secret realm.
• Zhang Wujun ordered the Demon Sect’s people to withdraw and prepare for battle if they failed to emerge before the passage closed.

Ning Jiuying tortured the badly injured Lin Shisan, believing his guardian had been destroyed, but Lin Shisan revealed he had baited him into range of the Little Black Cauldron’s power. The cauldron suppressed Ning Jiuying and healed Lin Shisan, leaving Ning Jiuying trapped as Lin Shisan prepared to fight back.

• Ning Jiuying taunted Lin Shisan and explained how he planned to repay him for past humiliations.
• Ning Jiuying beat Lin Shisan and raised his sword to kill him, but Lin Shisan’s expression suddenly became calm.
• Seven-Colored Rosy Light burst from Lin Shisan’s chest and suppressed Ning Jiuying’s strength, causing Ling Lei’s overloaded meridians to crack.
• Lin Shisan rose, picked up the Black Sword, and revealed that he had used the Little Black Cauldron to feign weakness and lure Ning Jiuying close.
• Lin Shisan’s wounds rapidly healed through the Lesser Rebirth Technique, and Ning Jiuying realized he had underestimated him.

Lin Shisan used Chaos Space and the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art to defeat Ning Jiuying, who had been possessing Ling Lei. After devouring Ning Jiuying’s Divine Sense, Lin Shisan watched Ling Lei’s limp body fall beneath the moonlight.

• Lin Shisan revealed that Xiao Han had been bait to lure Ning Jiuying out, then warned Ning Jiuying that forcing Ling Lei’s cultivation higher would make his meridians burst.
• Lin Shisan tested his strength against Ning Jiuying in two palm clashes, driving him back and worsening the cracks in Ling Lei’s meridians.
• Ning Jiuying began using his sealed Divine Sense Power to stabilize Ling Lei’s meridians and kill Lin Shisan, but Lin Shisan opened Chaos Space and suppressed him.
• Lin Shisan used the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art to devour Ning Jiuying’s Divine Sense Power, strengthening the Little Black Cauldron and raising Chaos Space’s power reduction from ten percent to twelve percent.
• Ning Jiuying’s Divine Sense dissipated completely, and Ling Lei’s body collapsed to the ground.

Lin Shisan found Gu Mengli held hostage by a black-clad figure who demanded his demon seed, and he recognized the figure as Mu Ling'er. He surrendered the seed to save Gu Mengli, while Mu Ling'er disappeared into the forest.

• Lin Shisan spared Ling Lei's life, gave him part of a Healing Pill, and left after destroying his cultivation.
• Lin Shisan received Gu Mengli's broken message asking him to save her and raced to where it came from.
• Lin Shisan found Gu Mengli injured and bound, with a black-clad figure holding a sword to her throat and demanding the demon seed.
• Lin Shisan recognized the figure as Mu Ling'er but remained silent as she counted down and threatened Gu Mengli.
• Lin Shisan handed Mu Ling'er the demon seed, and she released Gu Mengli before vanishing into the forest.

Lin Shisan carried the injured Gu Mengli through the Dense Forest as she explained how Gai Jiuyou had arranged for Mu Ling'er to take the demon seed. They reunited with Ye Xingchen and Su Wan'er, whose teasing and quiet reactions revealed their different feelings about Lin Shisan and Gu Mengli.

• Lin Shisan gave Gu Mengli a Healing Pill and carried her deeper into the Dense Forest when she could not stand.
• Gu Mengli explained that Gai Jiuyou had arranged for Mu Ling'er to steal the demon seed because Lin Shisan could not safely take it past the Immortal Alliance guards.
• Lin Shisan admitted he would rather Mu Ling'er take the demon seed than let it fall into the Immortal Alliance's hands, and Gu Mengli asked whether he still liked her.
• Ye Xingchen emerged from the bushes after searching for Lin Shisan and teased him about carrying Gu Mengli, unaware they were already Dao Companions.
• Su Wan'er joined Ye Xingchen's teasing, then quietly watched Gu Mengli resting happily against Lin Shisan as the group continued toward the exit.

Feng Xian'er waited anxiously as Lin Shisan struggled through the secret realm and finally emerged carrying Gu Mengli. Just as he returned to the Danyang Sect, Elder Qingming and the Immortal Alliance's law enforcers stopped him and declared that he could not leave.

• Feng Xian'er tracked Lin Shisan's slow progress toward the exit while disciples from the Eight Sects returned to Lion Peak Mountain.
• Ye Xingchen, Murong Xue, Lei Potian, Su Wan'er, Bai Youyou, and Ouyang Tie reunited with their sects, while the Tai Chi Hall party discovered Qi Jian was still missing.
• Bai Ziyin and Han Yansong discussed Mu Ling'er entering the secret realm and Lin Shisan carrying the Nine Tribulations Taiji Art.
• Lin Shisan emerged at the last moment with Gu Mengli on his back, and Feng Xian'er welcomed them back.
• Elder Qingming arrived with three Immortal Alliance law enforcers and ordered Lin Shisan to stop, saying he could not leave.

Elder Qingming accused Lin Shisan of being a Demon Sect spy after a recording showed a figure carrying a demon seed whose build and demonic qi matched his. Feng Xian'er refused to let Qingming conduct a dangerous divine sense sweep, while Bai Ziyin watched from above and remained unsure whether Lin Shisan deserved his intervention.

• Elder Qingming showed a recording of a demonic figure carrying a demon seed and identified Lin Shisan as a suspected Demon Sect spy.
• Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng urged Qingming to search Lin Shisan and accused Feng Xian'er of obstructing the investigation.
• Feng Xian'er said Lin Shisan had gained the demonic qi while fighting the Demon Sect in the secret realm and refused to allow a divine sense sweep.
• Elder Qingming offered to examine Lin Shisan's Storage Ring and memories, warning that he had authority to search him.
• Ye Xingchen and Su Wan'er were restrained from speaking up for Lin Shisan as the crowd grew suspicious.
• Bai Ziyin watched Feng Xian'er and Lin Shisan from above, uncertain whether Lin Shisan was a Demon Sect spy or worth intervening for.

Lin Shisan agreed to Elder Qingming’s search but made his accusers wager compensation if he proved innocent. After the search found nothing, Lin Shisan demanded that Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng honor their promises, leaving them unable to refuse.

• Feng Xian'er stood against Elder Qingming’s pressure, but Lin Shisan stepped forward and agreed to a search.
• Lin Shisan proposed that anyone who called him a Demon Sect spy wager a Spirit Artifact or equivalent compensation if the search found no evidence.
• Elder Qingming accepted the wager, searched Lin Shisan’s Storage Ring, and found nothing incriminating.
• Elder Qingming swept Lin Shisan’s Divine Sense Sea and found no evidence of demonic ties, then admitted he had sullied Lin Shisan’s innocence.
• Lin Shisan asked Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng to pay what they had promised and warned them against welching in front of the gathered elders.

Lin Shisan deflected accusations about his Demonic Qi by revealing that Ling Lei carried Ning Jiuying’s aura, then used the Heart-Exterminating Mirror to expose an Immortal Alliance Demon-Slaying Squad member who had conspired with Xiao Han against him. The chapter ended with Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng realizing their households could face ruin.

• Ling Fengshou, Xiao Changfeng, and the other elders paid Lin Shisan their stakes, and Lin Shisan prepared to leave.
• Ling Fengshou challenged Lin Shisan to explain his Demonic Qi, so Lin Shisan pointed out that Ling Lei carried an even purer trace of it.
• Elder Qingming identified Ling Lei’s aura as Ning Jiuying’s, revealing that the Demon Sect protector had possessed him.
• Lin Shisan used the Heart-Exterminating Mirror to project a recording of a black-clad Demon-Slaying Squad member bribing Xiao Han and agreeing to frame Lin Shisan.
• Elder Qingming confronted the exposed man, while Xiao Changfeng feared the scandal would destroy the Xiao Household.

After Zhao Ke was executed for helping frame Lin Shisan, Feng Xian'er demanded compensation from Qingming and the households responsible for the false accusation. She secured a private Spirit Vein from Qingming, a third-grade saber from Elder Cang Xuan, and additional gifts and oaths from the Ling Household and Xiao Household for Lin Shisan.

• Qingming killed Zhao Ke after Zhao Ke confessed that Xiao Han had ordered him to frame the Eight Sects' disciples.
• Feng Xian'er challenged Qingming for nearly damaging Lin Shisan's Dao Foundation and demanded an accounting for the slander against her disciple.
• Bai Ziyin agreed that Feng Xian'er's demands were justified, and Qingming accepted responsibility under pressure from the Danyang Sect and the Immortal Alliance.
• Feng Xian'er demanded extra compensation and public Dao oaths from the Ling Household and Xiao Household, as well as Qingming's personal third-grade Spirit Vein.
• Elder Cang Xuan gave Lin Shisan the third-grade saber Night Cry, while Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng provided the requested items and swore their oaths.

After Lin Shisan proved his innocence, Ye Xingchen and Jian Wuhen publicly supported him, while Su Wan’er thanked him and offered him a valuable pendant. Lin Shisan left surrounded by gifts and new allies as the Ling and Xiao families withdrew, resentful and humiliated.

• Ye Xingchen embraced Lin Shisan, praised him for exposing Elder Qingming, and offered him a place in the Heavenly Sword Sect.
• Jian Wuhen thanked Lin Shisan for looking after Ye Xingchen and praised how he had handled Elder Qingming’s accusation.
• Su Wan’er publicly thanked Lin Shisan for saving her and offered him the Purple Cloud Pendant, which Lin Shisan accepted at Feng Xian’er’s urging.
• Feng Xian’er led Lin Shisan away as disciples from the great sects crowded around to congratulate him and give him gifts.
• Ling Fengshou and Xiao Changfeng withdrew with their followers, angry that their actions had brought shame and losses upon their families.

Elder Qingming used captured Demon Sect spies and the Demon-Slaying Platform to draw their allies out and restore his authority. Mei Erni arrived to claim the prisoners, and Lin Shisan was shocked to see the woman connected to Mu Ling'er and his own forced spying.

• Qingming summoned the Demon-Slaying Platform and chained more than a dozen captured Demon Sect spies to it, declaring he would execute them if no one rescued them.
• Lin Shisan checked the prisoners and felt relieved that Mu Ling'er was not among them.
• As the Demon-Slaying Squad prepared to execute the spies, Mei Erni arrived and declared that they were her subordinates.
• Qingming recognized Mei Erni, while Lin Shisan realized she was Mu Ling'er's Aunt Mei and the woman who had forced him to become a Demon Sect spy.
• Mei Erni greeted Feng Xian'er and surveyed the gathered cultivators before turning her attention back to Qingming.

Aunt Mei confronted Elder Qingming on Lion Peak Mountain and revealed that she had reached the great perfection of the Sky Soaring Realm. After Qingming’s Demon-Trapping Formation was destroyed, she stood ready to take the captured people away.

• Aunt Mei mocked Qingming for his earlier public humiliation of the people he had detained, and Qingming summoned the Golden Light Demon-Trapping Formation to trap her.
• Qingming sent rune-covered chains toward Aunt Mei, but she caught one and crushed it with her hand.
• Aunt Mei unleashed her aura, revealing that she had reached the great perfection of the Sky Soaring Realm, one step below the Three Flowers Realm.
• Aunt Mei struck the formation twice, destroying its central pillar and causing the entire formation to collapse.
• Aunt Mei demanded that Qingming release the dozen or so people, while Qingming stood speechless amid the wreckage.

Elder Cang Xuan revealed that he had spent three hundred years posing as an Immortal Alliance Elder while planting demon gu in the Eight Sects’ Core Disciples. He freed the Demon Sect spies and reunited with Aunt Mei as the Third Protector, leaving Qingming and the afflicted disciples betrayed and in danger.

• Elder Cang Xuan stopped Qingming from confronting Aunt Mei and greeted her as his Second Sister.
• Cang Xuan activated the demon gu hidden in the Core Disciples, causing them to collapse and suffer as black runes appeared on their bodies.
• Ye Xingchen and Lin Shisan were also afflicted, and Feng Xian'er identified Lin Shisan’s mark as demon gu created by Cang Xuan.
• Cang Xuan confessed that he had infiltrated the Immortal Alliance for three hundred years, revealed his late-stage Sky Soaring Realm cultivation, and announced his return to the Demon Sect.
• Aunt Mei recognized Cang Xuan as the Demon Sect’s Third Protector, and he destroyed the remaining formation and freed the Demon Sect spies.
• Qingming realized that Cang Xuan, whom he had trusted and helped make an Elder, had betrayed him all along.

Cang Xuan defeated Qingming and revealed that Lin Shisan carried a Demon Gu meant to consume his cultivation. As Ning Jiuying’s Demon Spirit Clone attacked Lin Shisan, Feng Xian’er intervened, then Chiyangzi and Yue Wushuang arrived together on Lion Peak Mountain.

• Cang Xuan blocked Qingming’s sword strike, bound him with silver threads, and declared that someone else would kill him.
• Cang Xuan told Lin Shisan that his Demon Gu would eventually devour his cultivation, then revealed that Ning Jiuying had demanded his death.
• Ning Jiuying’s Demon Spirit Clone lunged at Lin Shisan, but Feng Xian’er shielded him and attacked Ning Jiuying with the Nine-Phoenix Heart-Exterminating Mirror.
• Feng Xian’er summoned a fire phoenix and threatened to destroy Ning Jiuying’s clone.
• Chiyangzi and Yue Wushuang arrived together, startling the assembled cultivators and leaving the battlefield tense.

Chiyangzi and Yue Wushuang announced that a Great Fortune Bearer was among the disciples who entered the Heavenly Revelation Secret Realm and proposed testing them by summoning the Eye of Rules. When no one volunteered, Yue Wushuang offered to remove the Demon Gu Cang Xuan had planted in them, leaving the disciples to weigh the risk against relief from the curse.

• Chiyangzi arrived at Lion Peak Mountain, freed Qingming, and said he would discuss Cang Xuan later before sealing the gathering inside an Isolation Formation.
• Chiyangzi and Yue Wushuang explained that the Eye of Rules’ unusual activity meant a Great Fortune Bearer had likely appeared among the secret-realm disciples.
• Chiyangzi and Yue Wushuang asked the Core Disciples to trigger the Eye of Rules so they could identify the Great Fortune Bearer, warning that the test could cause severe injury or death.
• When no one stepped forward, Yue Wushuang revealed that she knew Cang Xuan had planted Demon Gu in the disciples and offered to extract the Gu Poison if they cooperated.