Recaps

Cao Jinxing studied three foreign languages with Zhang Chengfeng, rewarded him with pills and restorative wine, and then went to Xuandu Temple for seclusion. There, Lu Bing questioned him about the Heaven-Covering Formation and left him wondering what divine beast the commander sought.

• Cao Jinxing tempered his Primordial Chaos True Qi and welcomed Zhang Chengfeng, who brought him guides to Japanese and the Greater and Lesser Frankish languages.
• Cao Jinxing gave Zhang Chengfeng two Heavenly King Pills after learning that the Red Lotus General’s power had increased by thirty percent, and Zhang said his father had recovered enough to help manage the manor.
• Cao Jinxing learned the three languages’ basic writing and grammar during a six-hour lesson, then sent Zhang home with wine made using the Wine God Stone.
• Cao Jinxing arrived at Xuandu Temple, where Lu Bing emerged from Earth Dragon Cave and asked whether Cao had used the Heaven-Covering Formation.
• Cao Jinxing told Lu Bing that the formation had shown him “Changbai Heavenly Lake, Phoenix Wings Set the Plains Ablaze,” and Lu gave him a Divine Concealment Cloak before departing.

After completing his seclusion, Cao Jinxing organized the annual elephant bathing at Shichahai and met Lu Yi, Lu Bing’s youngest son, who trained in the School Sect’s Yin-Yang Arts. The elephants suddenly went berserk and charged into the panicked crowd, leaving Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi facing an imminent disaster.

• Cao Jinxing ended his ten-day seclusion, donned his Flying Fish Uniform, and kept Lu Bing’s [Divine Concealment Cloak] after considering its history.
• Cao Jinxing sent Lu Jiaming, Sun Lang, Gu Yanzhu, and Su Yunsheng to bring the elephants from the Elephant House and Imperial Estates to Shichahai.
• Cao Jinxing met Lu Yi at Shichahai, and they discussed the yearly elephant bathing and Lu Yi’s training under the School Sect.
• Cao Jinxing recognized the School Sect as one of the Three Hidden Sects and its Yin-Yang Arts as an ancient inheritance.
• One elephant suddenly went berserk and charged toward the spectators, and the other elephants followed, throwing the bathing area into chaos.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi captured a Water Monkey and the boy who had attacked Lu Yi to save it, then learned the pair had fled Wild Ghost Village. Yi Yi began revealing that a man called Luo Lie, known as the Snake Doctor, had performed experiments there, leaving Cao Jinxing to investigate who was behind the abductions.

• Cao Jinxing used the Snowbound Siege Song to calm the charging elephants and stop the crowd from stampeding while Lu Yi searched the water.
• Lu Yi restrained a Water Monkey with the Water Dragon Chant, and Cao Jinxing shot and pinned a boy who attacked Lu Yi with the Water Monkey's transplanted hand.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi took the boy and the Water Monkey to prison, where the boy identified himself as Yi Yi and explained that he had attacked to save A Wen.
• Yi Yi said A Wen had been poisoned with a Madness Pill, and they had come to the Capital City seeking a Divine Physician at Carp Mountain.
• Cao Jinxing questioned Yi Yi about Wild Ghost Village's renewed human experiments, and Yi Yi identified Luo Lie, the Snake Doctor, as the man who performed the transplants.

Yi Yi revealed that Snake Doctor Luo Lie had taken over Wild Ghost Village and was using its people for transplant experiments while searching an underground palace beneath the ancestral hall. Cao Jinxing agreed to lead an official expedition to stop him, with Lu Yi and Huang Fangling joining the dangerous mission, and the force set out for Jinan Prefecture.

• Yi Yi told Cao Jinxing that Luo Lie descended from Snake Demon Luo Yuan, had secretly seized Wild Ghost Village, and conducted deadly Alien Beast transplant experiments there.
• Yi Yi revealed that Luo Lie had repeatedly sent villagers into an underground palace beneath the village ancestral hall to search its branching, trapped passages.
• Cao Jinxing agreed with Lu Yi to eliminate Luo Lie, and Yi Yi agreed to guide them in exchange for treatment for A Wen, the Water Monkey.
• Huang Fangling treated the Water Monkey and persuaded Cao Jinxing to let her join the expedition with her Seven-Treasure Box and other weapons.
• Cao Jinxing arranged additional Seven-Treasure Boxes for the Ghost Guards, and the group assembled with government forces before setting out for Jinan Prefecture.

Cao Jinxing’s party approached Wild Ghost Village while keeping their arrival secret from Jinan’s authorities, then discovered that Luo Lie had fused Jia Shi with the Thunder Eagle. Cao Jinxing killed the Wind Eagle and Jia Shi with two arrows, leaving Yi Yi to witness how an expert could overcome his fear.

• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi decided not to alert Jinan’s authorities until they had investigated whether officials were ignoring or aiding Luo Lie.
• Yi Yi recognized the circling Wind Eagle and revealed that Luo Lie had used the Thunder Eagle in a transplant on Jia Shi.
• Cao Jinxing drew the Ten-Thousand-Dan Bow and killed the Wind Eagle with a single arrow.
• Jia Shi slaughtered members of a Fuwei Escort Agency party and killed its second young master before noticing the Wind Eagle’s death.
• Cao Jinxing fired a second arrow from the mountaintop, killing Jia Shi, then told Yi Yi that strength could overcome fear.

Cao Jinxing learned that the Jia group was pursuing his party and prepared for their ambush at the inn. He killed Jia Fourteen underground, while Jia Six escaped toward Jade Embroidery Valley after realizing Cao Jinxing could control earth through Unity of Heaven and Man.

• Jia Six examined Jia Shi and the Wind Eagle’s bodies, found evidence of a powerful archer, and pursued Cao Jinxing’s party with Jia Fourteen.
• At an inn in Shanghe County, Cao Jinxing learned that a white-furred monkey demon had killed most of the Hundred Victories Sect and identified it as a likely member of the Jia group.
• Yi Yi described Luo Lie’s carefully trained Jia group, and Cao Jinxing had him write down what he knew about its members.
• Cao Jinxing reassured Huang Fangling that he did not consider her a burden and said that if she ever received a transplant, they would find her a Divine Beast.
• Jia Six and Jia Fourteen captured the innkeeper and waiter underground and ordered them to drug Cao Jinxing’s wine.
• Cao Jinxing seized control of the soil and impaled Jia Fourteen with earthen spears, but Jia Six escaped underground toward Jade Embroidery Valley.

Jia Shiyi warned Wild Ghost Village that Jia Tenth had been killed, but the village delayed alerting its master while he pursued the Red Anaconda in the Underground Palace. Cao Jinxing tracked Jia Six to the village and slaughtered its fighters before an elderly, tortoise-shelled expert appeared to protect Jia Shiyi.

• Jia Shiyi reached Wild Ghost Village and told Jia Er, Jia Four, and Jia Wu that Jia Tenth and the Wind Eagle were dead and that enemies might be approaching.
• Jia Four explained that their master was hunting the Red Anaconda in the Underground Palace, so Jia Shiyi alerted the village instead of interrupting him.
• A Spywing Bird informed Jia Wu that someone was chasing Jia Six, and Jia Er, Jia Four, and Jia Shiyi rushed to help.
• Cao Jinxing caught up with Jia Six and killed him with a palm strike, then attacked and killed most of the villagers who came to his aid.
• Jia Er and Jia Shiyi remained standing as Cao Jinxing advanced, but an elderly man with a fused tortoise shell blocked his sword and revealed a Tongyou Peak cultivation realm.

Cao Jinxing attacked Wild Ghost Village, killed Jia Shiyi and Jia Er, and uncovered that Luo Lie had obtained Xu Qingwei’s legacy and planned a transplant involving Red Anaconda. After escaping, Cao Jinxing told Lu Yi what he had learned and proposed waiting for reinforcements before striking; Luo Lie, meanwhile, was leading Li Xuan toward the Underground Palace’s Spirit Spring.

• Cao Jinxing confronted Turtle Demon Li Xuan, who intervened to protect Jia Er and Jia Shiyi from the attack.
• Cao Jinxing killed Jia Shiyi, crippled Jia Er’s arm, and then killed Jia Er with a hidden strike as Luo Lie and his forces arrived.
• Luo Lie revealed that he had broken through the Underground Palace’s mechanisms, obtained Xu Qingwei’s legacy, and captured Red Anaconda; he urged Li Xuan to use the Spirit Spring and undergo a transplant.
• Cao Jinxing secretly listened to Luo Lie’s conversation, then returned to the inn and reported the situation to Lu Yi.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi agreed to ask the prefect to mobilize the Guard Station’s troops and prepare to harass Wild Ghost Village while awaiting reinforcements.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi gathered troops and martial experts to attack Wild Ghost Village, while Lu Yi exposed a hidden advantage that let him control Venerable Chongxiao. After sending the force toward Jade Embroidery Valley, Cao Jinxing disguised himself with Yi Yi and took a separate route to investigate the enemy’s plans.

• Cao Jinxing suggested recruiting righteous experts, and Lu Yi sent letters to the prefect, Rosy Clouds Manor, and Xueye Lake.
• Lu Lanting received the request for troops, ordered reinforcements mobilized, and concealed his connection to Luo Lie while seeking another antidote for his daughter.
• The next morning, the prefect sent two thousand government troops, Rosy Clouds Manor sent its eldest son, and Gu Yanzhu returned with Venerable Chongxiao.
• Cao Jinxing ordered Lu Yi to lead the force to Jade Embroidery Valley while he handled other business, and Lu Yi revealed that he had secretly poisoned Chongxiao.
• Cao Jinxing covered himself with the Divine Concealment Cloak and followed Yi Yi toward Jade Embroidery Valley by a different route to investigate Wild Ghost Village.

Yi Yi and Cao Jinxing climbed the cliff behind Jade Embroidery Valley, where they discovered a vast, living Tai Sui hidden beneath the mountain. As Cao Jinxing realized Wild Ghost Village and its inhabitants might be in danger, he rushed back while Lu Yi’s forces entered the valley.

• Yi Yi used the Lightning Movement Step to scale the cliff while Cao Jinxing followed and helped him withstand an attack by a flock of birds.
• A living vine caught Yi Yi and dragged him toward a hidden hole, but Cao Jinxing cut the tentacles and sent Yi Yi safely toward the river.
• Cao Jinxing recognized the cliff’s blood-red tentacles as strands of a thousand-year-old Tai Sui whose true body spread beneath Wild Ghost Village and Jade Embroidery Valley.
• Cao Jinxing feared the Tai Sui threatened everyone in Wild Ghost Village, unleashed Demonic Shadow Doppelganger, and hurried back toward the village.
• Huang Fangling used poisonous insects and a purple antidote to clear the miasma at the valley’s southern entrance.
• Lu Yi led Huang Fangling, the experts, and two thousand government troops into Jade Embroidery Valley toward Wild Ghost Village.

Government troops stormed Wild Ghost Village, where Lu Yi led the attack against villagers manipulated by Luo Lie. Li Xuan emerged from the Underground Palace under the influence of a mind-controlling needle, and Huang Fangling recognized it as Medicine King Valley’s Spirit-Transferring Divine Needle, raising suspicion about Xu Qingwei.

• Lu Yi led the government troops into Jade Embroidery Valley and ordered them to fire on the villagers who charged out to fight.
• Jia Yi, Li Xuan, the Heavenly Eagle, and the Red Anaconda emerged from the Underground Palace after Luo Lie’s transplant succeeded.
• Jia Yi controlled Li Xuan with true qi and sent him to attack the government soldiers while he and the others rushed to the battlefield.
• Venerable Chongxiao intercepted Li Xuan’s assault on two Qianhu, but Li Xuan killed nearby soldiers before the two experts began fighting.
• Huang Fangling recognized Li Xuan’s puppet-like state as the effect of the Spirit-Transferring Divine Needle, and she and Lu Yi suspected Xu Qingwei was involved.

Cao Jinxing exposed Xu Qingwei as a living mass of millennium tai sui spread throughout Jade Embroidery Valley and ordered the government forces to retreat. After killing Li Xuan, Cao Jinxing and his companions tried to escape, but the valley’s vines rose to swallow them.

• Jia Yi, Jia San, Jia Wu, and two Alien Beasts attacked the government troops, but Huang Fangling, Duan Yunfei, He Feng, and Zheng Yun helped defeat them.
• Cao Jinxing emerged from his Divine Concealment Cloak, killed Jia Yi, and ordered everyone to flee Jade Embroidery Valley.
• Cao Jinxing killed Li Xuan with Five-Arrow Rapid Fire and the Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger, then fled with Lu Yi and Venerable Chongxiao.
• Cao Jinxing told Lu Yi that the valley’s black vines concealed Xu Qingwei’s body, which had spread through Jade Embroidery Valley as millennium tai sui.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi suspected Luo Lie was transplanting something extraordinary into Xu Qingwei, but countless vines erupted from the ground before they could escape.

A vine disaster engulfed Jade Embroidery Valley, and Cao Jinxing escaped while believing Huang Fangling and the others had been killed. He confronted Luo Lie and deduced that Xu Qingwei needed Huang Fangling’s help to separate himself from the taisui, while underground Huang Fangling awoke and met Xu Qingwei.

• Vines erupted throughout Jade Embroidery Valley, swallowed the government troops and Cao Jinxing’s companions, and dragged Master Chongxiao and Lu Yi into the abyss.
• Huang Fangling used her Seven-Treasure Box and Heavenly Thunder Bombs to clear Cao Jinxing’s path, then the vines dragged her underground as he escaped the valley.
• Luo Lie confronted Cao Jinxing and revealed that Xu Qingwei wanted him brought in, but Cao Jinxing deduced that Xu Qingwei needed Huang Fangling’s Life-and-Death Hand to separate from the taisui.
• Luo Lie explained that he could not use the Life-and-Death Hand, then threatened to kill Cao Jinxing, who drew his Embroidered Spring Saber to face him.
• Huang Fangling woke in an underground cavern and discovered that Xu Qingwei’s face appeared on a wooden stump; he introduced himself as her ancestral master.

Huang Fangling refused to free Xu Qingwei because she feared his release would create more victims, but agreed after he threatened Cao Jinxing and others. Outside Jade Embroidery Valley, Cao Jinxing killed Luo Lie, absorbed his cultivation, and broke through to the Tongyou Sixth Layer before turning to rescue Fang Ling and the others.

• Xu Qingwei explained how the Millennium Tai Sui had fused with his body and asked Huang Fangling to separate them by advancing her cultivation to Tongyou.
• Huang Fangling refused, warning that freeing Xu Qingwei would lead to another Flower-Transplanting Sect and more Wild Ghost Villages.
• Xu Qingwei threatened to capture Cao Jinxing and force him to help, so Huang Fangling agreed on the condition that Xu Qingwei harm no one else.
• Outside Jade Embroidery Valley, Luo Lie wounded Cao Jinxing, but Cao Jinxing shattered Luo Lie's staff with his finger strike and pierced his throat.
• Cao Jinxing used the Absorbing Power Great Method to drain Luo Lie's true qi, advanced to the Tongyou Sixth Layer, and killed him with Xuan Yuan Fourteen's help.
• Cao Jinxing found the Tiger Wing Formation, healed himself with a Bright Light Pill, and prepared to get Fang Ling and the others out of the valley.

Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi found the poisoned prisoners in Xu Qingwei’s Underground Palace while Xu Qingwei attempted to separate himself for a new transplant. With the captives preventing them from attacking freely, Cao Jinxing decided to learn Lu Yi’s Yin-Yang Curse Seal and use it to hinder Xu Qingwei.

• Cao Jinxing combined the Tiger Wing Formation with the Wind-Raising Formation and Snake-Coiling Formation, then sent Yi Yi to release an Invisible Falcon carrying a message requesting help.
• Lu Yi followed the dormant vines into the Underground Palace, where he found skeletons that he recognized as Xu Qingwei’s experimental subjects.
• Lu Yi reunited with Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen, and Fourteen tracked the prisoners’ scents through the palace.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi found more than two thousand unconscious prisoners poisoned and entangled beneath a web of vines.
• Lu Yi proposed using the Yin-Yang Curse Seal to interfere with Xu Qingwei, but explained that it normally required Tongyou Peak cultivation.
• Cao Jinxing declared that his cultivation and ability to learn were sufficient, and asked Lu Yi to teach him the curse seal.

Cao Jinxing used a Yin-Yang Cursed Seal to paralyze the Taisui vines and rescued Venerable Chongxiao, while Huang Fangling’s attempt to free Xu Qingwei ended in betrayal and violence. Lu Yi, Chongxiao, and Cao Jinxing arrived to protect Huang Fangling, and the final battle against Xu Qingwei began.

• Cao Jinxing learned the School Sect’s Water Dragon Chant and Soul-Chaos Cursed Seal from Lu Yi, then used the curse to freeze the Taisui’s vines.
• Lu Yi and Cao Jinxing rescued Venerable Chongxiao, checked that he had not been struck by a Spirit-Transferring Needle, and enlisted his help against Xu Qingwei.
• Huang Fangling used her Life-and-Death Hand to restore Xu Qingwei’s right knee and cut off his kneecap so she could transplant a supernatural bone.
• Cao Jinxing’s cursed seal disrupted the Taisui just as Huang Fangling was about to attach the bone, so she threw it aside and refused to help Xu Qingwei.
• Xu Qingwei’s body fused with the Taisui again, and he attacked Huang Fangling, breaking both her arms and leaving her unable to rise.
• Lu Yi and Venerable Chongxiao rushed in to shield Huang Fangling, and Cao Jinxing followed with the Eight Formation Diagram as the fight against Xu Qingwei began.

Cao Jinxing, Lu Yi, and Venerable Chongxiao fought Xu Qingwei, whose tai sui body and hidden techniques let him withstand even the Great Void Finger. As Xu Qingwei prepared to kill them, Huang Fangling transplanted a bone into her knee to gain the strength to help Cao Jinxing.

• Cao Jinxing, Lu Yi, and Venerable Chongxiao attacked Xu Qingwei, but Xu Qingwei’s tentacles and Xuanming Spear Technique wounded Cao Jinxing and overwhelmed the group.
• Huang Fangling picked up the discarded bone while Cao Jinxing, Lu Yi, and Venerable Chongxiao prepared to risk their lives in a combined attack.
• Xu Qingwei revealed that he had controlled Venerable Chongxiao with a Spirit-Transferring Needle and ordered him to kill Cao Jinxing.
• Xuan Yuan Fourteen’s Vajra Lion’s Roar interrupted Venerable Chongxiao, allowing Cao Jinxing to strike Xu Qingwei with the Great Void Finger and pierce his throat.
• Xu Qingwei survived the attack as the tai sui repaired his wound, then declared that Cao Jinxing’s group had lost.
• Huang Fangling cut off her kneecap and transplanted the bone into her leg, telling Cao Jinxing she did not want to be a burden as a distant dragon’s cry sounded.

Huang Fangling awakened the Azure Dragon bone’s power, helping Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi defeat Xu Qingwei and rescue the prisoners. As Jade Embroidery Valley burned, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five arrived too late and lamented the fates of Luo Lie and Xu Qingwei.

• Huang Fangling awakened the Shennong Jade and grew trees to shield herself and her allies from Xu Qingwei’s attacks.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi attacked Xu Qingwei while Huang Fangling and Lu Yi protected Cao as he prepared the Great Void Finger.
• Cao Jinxing pierced Xu Qingwei’s head, then burned his wooden body with the Eight Formation Diagram’s Tiger Wing Formation.
• Cao Jinxing and his companions rescued more than two thousand poisoned prisoners and fled as the Underground Palace began to collapse.
• The Tai Sui burned in Jade Embroidery Valley, and Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five arrived after the fire had ended, carrying Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees.

As Huang Fangling’s dragon transformation worsened, Cao Jinxing rushed to find help and Venerable Xu temporarily sealed the Azure Dragon Bone’s power. They headed for Medicine King Valley, while Wan Mizhai learned of the crisis and set out with the Cold Jade Ice Bed and a sword for Cao Jinxing.

• Cao Jinxing found that Huang Fangling’s dragon scales were spreading and decided to take her to Medicine King Valley for treatment.
• Lu Yi reported that the Jinan prefect had confessed, and Venerable Xu Fuyang arrived to help Huang Fangling.
• Xu Fuyang identified the Azure Dragon Bone as the cause and said the Cold Jade Ice Bed and Wan Mizhai’s Shennong Qi might suppress it.
• Xu Fuyang sealed the bone’s power around Huang Fangling’s right knee, and Cao Jinxing hurried toward Medicine King Valley with her.
• Huang Fangling sent a letter by Invisible Falcon, and Wan Mizhai abandoned his nearly finished [Fortune Creation Pill] to fetch the [Cold Jade Ice Bed] and a sword for Cao Jinxing.

Cao Jinxing rushed Huang Fangling to Zhengzhou, where Wan Mizhai used the Cold Jade Ice Bed and his medicine to temporarily seal her dragon bone. Before Huang Fangling entered seclusion, she spent the evening with Cao Jinxing, and they shared a passionate kiss as her symptoms returned.

• Cao Jinxing and Huang Fangling reached Zhengzhou Post Station after four days and nights of hard travel, arriving alongside Wan Mizhai and Medicine King Valley's party.
• Wan Mizhai treated Huang Fangling on the Cold Jade Ice Bed, temporarily halting the dragon-bone transformation and ordering her to return for treatment before noon the next day.
• Huang Fangling visited the sleeping Cao Jinxing, then persuaded him to spend her remaining time before seclusion sightseeing with her around Zhengzhou.
• Cao Jinxing and Huang Fangling explored Mount Song and the night market, where Huang Fangling painted several portraits of him.
• When Huang Fangling's pain returned, she stopped Cao Jinxing from seeking the Medicine Immortal and kissed him at an inn.

Cao Jinxing escorted Huang Fangling to Medicine King Valley, where she began seclusion to recover while he stayed to tour Medicine King Mountain. Meanwhile, Mount Hua Sect leader Yue Zongwu sought treatment for a severe arm injury, and Cao Jinxing spotted masked figures secretly watching Jingming Palace.

• Cao Jinxing gave Huang Fangling a matching silver ring and promised to ask his eldest brother to propose after her recovery, then escorted her to Medicine King Valley.
• Wan Mizhai welcomed Huang Fangling into Medicine King Cave and prepared her ice bed, while Cao Jinxing left her to begin seclusion and explored the mountain with Zhou Qiluo.
• Sun Jianbai greeted Mount Hua Sect leader Yue Zongwu, who had come to Medicine King Valley for treatment of his badly burned right arm.
• Wei Yunqing identified scorching energy in Yue Zongwu's injury, treated him with Sun Jianbai's help, and warned that he could not keep the matter hidden.
• Cao Jinxing noticed masked figures watching Jingming Palace, and Zhou Qiluo used a Thousand-Mile Mirror to confirm they were there.

Cao Jinxing subdued five masked Mount Hua Sect disciples at Medicine King Valley, then let Yue Zongwu take charge when the men proved to be his fellow disciples. Lin Zongliang revealed why they had opposed Yue and warned him that Sima Yuan was a Demon Cult elder, and the chapter ended as the Mount Hua Six Disciples fought Sima Yuan in the woods.

• Cao Jinxing defeated the masked leader and stopped the five men from spying on Jingming Palace, but Yue Zongwu intervened and claimed they had come because of him.
• Yue Zongwu offered Medicine King Valley the Sui Blade in exchange for keeping the incident secret, then took the five men out of the valley.
• Yue Zongwu unmasked Lin Zongliang and the other attackers, who were his fellow Mount Hua disciples, and Lin accused him of hoarding Three Treasures Cave and its Pure Yang Golden Elixirs.
• Lin Zongliang revealed that the disciples had learned from Langya Pavilion that Sima Yuan was Heavenly Demon Hand, a Peace Sect elder, and that they had delayed attacking Yue in hopes he would change his mind.
• Sima Yuan appeared in the woods, admitted he had waited for Yue to be weakened, and faced the Mount Hua Six Disciples as they attacked.

At a banquet in Medicine King Valley, Cao Jinxing heard the legend of Lü Dongbin’s Pure Yang Stone Inscription and realized Yue Zongwu had likely found it on Mount Hua. Meanwhile, Sima Yuan killed the Mount Hua disciples who knew about the inheritance, but learned that news of it had already been spread through the Jianghu.

• Wan Mizhai, Wei Yunqing, Sun Jianbai, and Zhou Qiluo listened as Cao Jinxing recounted Xu Qingwei’s crimes and Huang Fangling’s ordeal, and Wan Mizhai warned Cao not to let her down.
• Wei Yunqing and Sun Jianbai explained that Lü Dongbin’s Pure Yang Stone Inscription supposedly held the Pure Yang Skill, the Heavenly Dao Sword Stance, and other treasures, and Cao Jinxing connected Yue Zongwu’s pure yang qi to the inheritance.
• Sima Yuan used his mind-controlling arts and Heavenly Demon Hand to kill two Mount Hua disciples, while Yue Zongwu saved Lin Zongliang from another attack.
• Yue Zongwu died shielding Lin Zongliang from Sima Yuan’s palm strike, and Lin revealed that his martial uncle had already spread word of the inscription before Sima Yuan killed him.
• Sima Yuan realized the secret would reach the Jianghu and resolved to hurry.

After the Six Masters of Mount Hua were murdered, the Pure Yang Stone Inscriptions and other treasures were publicly revealed, drawing the Jianghu into a struggle against the Demon Cult. Cao Jinxing set out to summon government troops and race to Mount Hua on his newly acquired Vulture, Yinghuo.

• A Medicine King Valley elder reported that the Six Masters of Mount Hua had been found dead in Rock Forest, and Wei Yunqing identified signs of the Peace Sect’s martial arts while Cao Jinxing also spotted evidence of the Absorbing Power Great Method.
• An urgent message revealed that Cen Yunhe had publicized the Pure Yang Stone Inscriptions at Mount Hua’s Reflection Cliff and warned that the Demon Cult’s Tenth Elder coveted them, prompting Wei Yunqing to prepare for a race to Mount Hua.
• Cao Jinxing offered to mobilize troops in Xi’an Prefecture, and Wei Yunqing called forth a young Vulture to carry him there quickly.
• The young Vulture tested Cao Jinxing, but Xuan Yuan Fourteen frightened it into submission, and Cao Jinxing named it Yinghuo.
• Cao Jinxing flew toward Xi’an Prefecture on Yinghuo while Wei Yunqing promised to take people to Mount Hua and keep Huang Fangling safe.

Cao Jinxing flew to the Xi'an Left Guard to check whether orders had arrived to deploy troops around Mount Hua. He exposed an impostor posing as Zhao Qinglin and identified her as Xu Danqing, the Peace Sect's Thousand-Faced Fox, who attacked him with the Great Simplicity Yin Scripture.

• Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen rode Yinghuo to the Xi'an Left Guard, where Cao asked Zhao Qinglin about troop deployment orders.
• Zhao Qinglin said no orders had arrived and invited Cao Jinxing inside to wait for them.
• Cao Jinxing sensed the smell of blood beneath the feast's aroma and struck at Zhao Qinglin, who evaded with the Peace Sect's Shadow-Following Step.
• Cao Jinxing accused Zhao Qinglin of being an impostor who had killed and impersonated the real Qianhu to delay troops from reaching Mount Hua.
• The impostor removed her Human-Skin Mask and revealed herself as Xu Danqing, the Thousand-Faced Fox.
• Xu Danqing unleashed the Great Simplicity Yin Scripture and attacked Cao Jinxing.