Recaps

Xu Changxing fought Han Mingguan through a second shower of talismans, refusing to use his Flying Shuttle and instead countering with talismans of his own while attacking with his sword. Han Mingguan retreated under the pressure as the spectators realized Xu Changxing was breaking through his defenses.

• Xu Changxing sent his Greenwood Sword at Han Mingguan, who answered with a renewed shower of talismans and layered protective barriers.
• Xu Changxing remembered losing to this tactic in a simulation, but chose not to use his Flying Shuttle and resolved to overpower Han Mingguan head-on.
• Xu Changxing drew talismans with one hand to hold back Han Mingguan's attacks while repeatedly striking his barriers with his flying sword.
• Xu Changxing smashed through several layers of Han Mingguan's defenses, forcing Han Mingguan to retreat and draw chains from more talismans to stop the sword.
• The watching cultivators marveled at Xu Changxing's strength and worried that the tournament's other competitors could not match him or Han Mingguan.

Xu Changxing defeated Han Mingguan without moving from his spot, astonishing the tournament spectators and delighting Liu Chenyu. After Ye Hong won his own match, he challenged Xu Changxing to fight him in the tournament tomorrow.

• Xu Changxing overwhelmed Han Mingguan’s talisman barrage and won when his Greenwood Sword reached Han Mingguan’s shoulder.
• Liu Chenyu pressed Elder Li to honor their wager, while the elders realized Xu Changxing had not moved during the entire match.
• Pei Yong’an quietly spoke to Han Mingguan after the loss, and Liu Chenyu’s fellow elders praised Flying Stream Peak for producing two prodigies.
• Ye Hong defeated his opponent with his Flowing Cloud Flying Shuttle, then challenged Xu Changxing to meet him in the first match tomorrow.

Xu Changxing wagered six thousand low-grade spirit stones against Ye Hong before their upcoming match, while Liu Chenyu backed his disciple with rare treasures amid a dispute with Li Pingyang. Back at his mountain peak, Xu Changxing reviewed his fight with Han Mingguan and decided to face Ye Hong without using a simulation.

• Xu Changxing clarified that he wanted to wager six thousand low-grade spirit stones against Ye Hong, and Ye Hong accepted.
• The Core Formation elders discussed the wager and placed bets on the upcoming match, while Liu Chenyu staked heaven crystal sand and a Spirit-Nourishing Fruit on Xu Changxing.
• Li Pingyang warned that Xu Changxing might lose tomorrow and later face Han Mingguan in the losers' bracket, but Liu Chenyu stood by his wager.
• After the matches ended, Xu Changxing returned to his mountain peak and reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of his fight with Han Mingguan.
• Xu Changxing considered using a simulation to prepare for Ye Hong but chose to fight him without one.

Xu Changxing received supplies and intelligence about Ye Hong from Liu Chenyu before the tournament, then chose to rely on the Greenwood Sword rather than a defensive artifact. He restored himself and flew to the tournament grounds for his match against Ye Hong.

• Xu Changxing received pills, spirit stones, a defensive artifact, and a Message Jade Pendant from Liu Chenyu through a young Dao Attendant.
• Xu Changxing learned that Ye Hong carried an artifact designed to counter flying swords and that Liu Chenyu had bet on him reaching the fifth round.
• Xu Changxing examined the supplies and found three thousand low-grade spirit stones and a defensive artifact that could block spell attacks automatically.
• When Xu Changxing picked up the defensive artifact, the Greenwood Sword's Sword Pellet sprang out, and he decided to defeat Ye Hong using the sword alone.
• Xu Changxing resonated with the Greenwood Sword until dawn, restored himself with a Qi-Restoring Pill, and flew to the tournament grounds.

Xu Changxing faced Ye Hong in the Sect Grand Competition after Ye Hong tried to unsettle him with a speech about the Setting Sun Sect’s competing cultivation schools. Xu Changxing stayed determined and entered the arena, while Liu Chenyu worried that his Third Disciple had been affected.

• Xu Changxing arrived at the venue and drew Ye Hong as his opponent while Core Formation elders watched and placed bets.
• Ye Hong approached Xu Changxing and described the elders’ businesses and the sect’s two schools of cultivators, then urged him not to disappoint the Setting Sun Sect’s future.
• Xu Changxing recognized Ye Hong’s remarks as psychological warfare and resolved to defeat him fairly with the Greenwood Sword.
• The elders explained that Ye Hong often chatted with opponents to disturb their composure, and Liu Chenyu worried after seeing Xu Changxing standing dazed.

Xu Changxing defeated Ye Hong with a single swift strike of verdant swordlight, stunning the watching elders. After the match, Han Mingguan wondered whether he should switch to sword cultivation, and Pei Yong'an was left speechless.

• Liu Chenyu defended Xu Changxing's subdued sword intent while Li Pingyang mocked him and challenged him to another bet.
• Ye Hong opened the match by sending a Flying Shuttle at Xu Changxing, who stood motionless until the artifact reached him.
• Xu Changxing unleashed the Greenwood Sword, which shattered the Flying Shuttle and cut through three of Ye Hong's defensive artifacts.
• The arena elder declared Xu Changxing the winner, and Ye Hong protested that he refused to accept the loss.
• Han Mingguan watched Ye Hong's reaction and asked Pei Yong'an whether it was too late for him to switch to sword cultivation.

After Xu Changxing’s decisive victory, the Core Formation elders questioned the depth of his foundation and speculated about his unusual cultivation art. He offered the Spring Renewal Art to the sect and received a bottle of rare soul-nourishing pills from Liu Chenyu.

• Li Pingyang conceded the wager to Liu Chenyu and wondered how Xu Changxing’s foundation had let him destroy Ye Hong’s artifacts so easily.
• The Core Formation elders questioned Liu Chenyu about Xu Changxing’s cultivation art and warned that the sect might ask to see it.
• Xu Changxing watched the remaining tournament matches, then returned to his peak and reviewed the day’s fights.
• After Liu Chenyu’s Dao Attendant warned him that the sect might inquire about his cultivation art, Xu Changxing transcribed the Spring Renewal Art onto a Jade Slip and sent it to his master.
• Xu Changxing opened the Storage Bag Liu Chenyu had sent and found pills refined from the Spirit-Nourishing Fruit to nurture his soul.

Xu Changxing met Shi Haoyan, a Spirit Transformation patriarch interested in the Spring Renewal Art, and offered the cultivation art to the Setting Sun Sect. Shi Haoyan promised him merit points and invited him to explore an old friend’s secret realm after the competition.

• Xu Changxing admired the benefits he expected from joining the Setting Sun Sect while Liu Chenyu accidentally shattered the jade slip trying to undo Xu Changxing’s sword-intent restriction.
• Shi Haoyan visited Liu Chenyu after learning about the Spring Renewal Art and asked to meet Xu Changxing.
• Xu Changxing used his sword intent to temper the Spirit-Nurturing Pill’s effects, then met Shi Haoyan and agreed to record another copy of the Spring Renewal Art.
• Shi Haoyan explained that the art could help people without spiritual roots cultivate up to the fifth grade and promised Xu Changxing ten thousand merit points.
• Shi Haoyan invited Xu Changxing to explore his old friend’s secret realm after the competition and said he would come for him in half a month.

Xu Changxing won the tournament and used his growing resources to begin another simulation, which followed his expedition into the Secret Realm and ended with Shi Haoyan offering to guide his cultivation. Liu Chenyu accepted the offer on Xu Changxing’s behalf.

• Liu Chenyu told Xu Changxing that Granduncle-Master had awarded him ten thousand merit points and urged him to keep performing well in the tournament.
• Xu Changxing won his remaining matches, strengthened his sword intent, defeated Han Mingguan again, and claimed the tournament’s defensive robe as first prize.
• Remembering the Setting Sun Sect’s future crisis, Xu Changxing added spirit stones until his system points reached 2,000 and began a simulation.
• In the simulation, Xu Changxing exchanged 860 merit points for defensive artifacts and Life-Saving Pills before Shi Haoyan took him and Liu Chenyu into the Secret Realm.
• Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu discovered a sealed passage, and Shi Haoyan returned to lead them to the Cave Abode and help Xu Changxing refine it.
• Xu Changxing offered the Cave Abode to the sect, accepted Shi Haoyan’s offer to guide his cultivation, and saw Liu Chenyu agree on his behalf.

Xu Changxing became a peerless swordsman and slaughtered his way to Nascent Soul, then joined Shi Haoyan in confronting the Yin Corpse Sect’s awakening Old Devil. The plan ended in tragedy: Shi Haoyan detonated himself, and Xu Changxing died striking down the Spirit Transformation patriarch who had shattered his Nascent Soul.

• Xu Changxing trained under Shi Haoyan, advanced to Foundation Establishment late stage, and honed his swordsmanship in demonic Secret Realms.
• Xu Changxing entered the Dao through slaughter, formed a first-rank Golden Core, and advanced to Core Formation late stage.
• Xu Changxing killed Yin Corpse Sect elders, escaped a trap set by three Nascent Soul patriarchs, and later shattered his Golden Core to form a slaughter Nascent Soul.
• Xu Changxing told Shi Haoyan about the Setting Sun Sect’s crisis, and they devised a plan to draw out the Yin Corpse Sect’s high-level cultivators while Shi Haoyan sought the Old Devil.
• The Yin Corpse Sect awakened its Old Devil early, and Shi Haoyan detonated himself during his surprise attack.
• A Spirit Transformation patriarch shattered Xu Changxing’s Nascent Soul, but Xu Changxing ignited it and pierced the patriarch with his final sword strike before dying.

After rejecting a killing-intent golden core, Xu Changxing strengthened his wood spiritual root and began another simulation. He warned the righteous sects about the Yin Corpse Sect, but the sect’s old devils escaped their attack and soon devastated their forces.

• Xu Changxing rejected the killing-intent golden core and chose to improve his wood spiritual root.
• Xu Changxing spent two thousand low-grade spirit stones and started another simulation, forming a slaughter nascent soul three months earlier than before.
• Xu Changxing investigated the Yin Corpse Sect, reported its plans to Shi Haoyan, and helped gather seven Spirit Transformation patriarchs and dozens of Nascent Soul Cultivators.
• The allied sects found the Yin Corpse Sect largely abandoned, while its patriarchs and the unnamed Old Devil had vanished.
• The righteous sects’ kill order killed or wounded many Yin Corpse Sect cultivators, but its Spirit Transformation patriarchs remained missing.
• The Star Cloud Sect was destroyed, and three of six Spirit Transformation patriarchs who confronted the Yin Corpse Sect’s old devils fell while the newly awakened Old Devil suffered only minor injuries.

After another simulation ended in his death at the hands of the revived Yin Corpse Sect Old Devil, Xu Changxing chose Foundation Establishment late stage cultivation and paused further simulations to save points for emergencies. Shi Haoyan and Liu Chenyu arrived and discovered Xu Changxing had advanced and condensed nine cloud patterns before leading him toward a Secret Realm.

• Xu Changxing died in the simulation when the revived Old Devil shattered his sword light, and the system offered him cultivation or a first-person review.
• Xu Changxing chose Foundation Establishment late stage cultivation and decided to keep enough points for an emergency rather than simulate again before Shi Haoyan arrived.
• Xu Changxing refined his defensive robe and adjusted to his stronger cultivation while waiting for Shi Haoyan.
• Shi Haoyan and Liu Chenyu arrived, and Liu Chenyu noticed that Xu Changxing's aura had grown stronger.
• Shi Haoyan confirmed Xu Changxing had reached Foundation Establishment late stage with a solid foundation, then revealed he had condensed nine cloud patterns.
• Shi Haoyan set aside further discussion of Xu Changxing's cultivation and led him and Liu Chenyu toward a Secret Realm.

Shi Haoyan brought Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu into a secret realm that had once been his deceased friend’s cave abode. As they uncovered a formation requiring Xu Changxing’s Spring Renewal Art, Xu Changxing realized the realm’s killing intent might have caused the Slaughter Nascent Soul in his simulations, and Shi Haoyan led them toward what lay deeper within.

• Shi Haoyan flew with Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu to a forest hiding the secret realm’s entrance, disabled its maze formation, and opened the way inside.
• Xu Changxing found the realm filled with killing intent and twisted vegetation, prompting him to suspect that the realm had influenced the Slaughter Nascent Soul he formed in his simulations.
• Shi Haoyan cleared a path through the hostile forest with golden light, and he and Xu Changxing reached a plaza made of jade-like roots.
• At Shi Haoyan’s instruction, Xu Changxing poured his Spring Renewal true essence into the plaza for two hours, revealing a formation and shaking the ground beneath it.
• Shi Haoyan split the platform open, discovered another maze formation below, and gave Xu Changxing a mid-grade piece of rootless wood before leading him onward.

After Shi Haoyan left the Secret Realm, Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu gathered a rich harvest, and Xu Changxing decided not to search for the realm’s hidden core. He left his spirit fruits with Liu Chenyu to refine and sell for spirit stones, which would support his future cultivation.

• Shi Haoyan warned Xu Changxing not to become too immersed in the Secret Realm’s murderous intent, then left with his task complete.
• Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu searched the Secret Realm for several days and collected many treasures, including hundreds of spirit fruits.
• Xu Changxing considered finding the Secret Realm’s core and offering it to the sect, but chose to leave it undiscovered so he could keep his freedom near Liu Chenyu.
• Xu Changxing met Liu Chenyu at their agreed spot and asked him to refine the spirit fruits tainted by murderous intent.
• Liu Chenyu examined Xu Changxing’s unusually large harvest and agreed to exchange the refined pills for spirit stones.

Xu Changxing simulated leaving the Setting Sun Sect to train as a rogue cultivator, a path that eventually led him to form an ordinary first-grade golden core. He wondered whether to settle for that core rather than continue pursuing a sword core as he watched the rest of the simulation.

• Xu Changxing absorbed the Emerald Crystal, further improving his first-grade wood spiritual root, then started a simulation.
• Xu Changxing's simulation showed him struggling over whether to stay with the Setting Sun Sect, and he recognized that the system understood his feelings about leaving.
• Xu Changxing decided to leave the sect, gave Liu Chenyu a reason for departing, and bid farewell to the Setting Sun Sect after leaving his master a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Changxing traveled to the Artifact Soul Sect's territory and trained as a rogue cultivator, surviving betrayals and dangers while exploring Secret Realms.
• Xu Changxing formed an ordinary first-grade golden core in the sixth year of the simulation and questioned whether he should abandon his pursuit of a sword core.

Over centuries of fighting evil cultivators, founding a sect, and seeking a breakthrough, you became a powerful nascent soul cultivator but remained unable to reach spirit transformation. After Li Changge vanished during a heavenly tribulation, you traveled to the crater and began studying its lingering thunder and the Immortal Sword.

• You fought evil cultivators, defeated nascent soul old devils, and broke through to the nascent soul realm before leading a regional alliance against the evil cultivators.
• You resigned as alliance leader to cultivate in seclusion, later reaching the nascent soul middle stage as the conflict with the Yin Corpse Sect continued.
• After Li Changge led the righteous cultivators to destroy the Yin Corpse Sect, you traveled for over a century, then founded a sect when you could not find a path to spirit transformation.
• When your sect gained a second nascent soul elder, you noticed your bottleneck loosen and glimpsed a possible direction for breakthrough.
• After Li Changge vanished in a heavenly tribulation and left an Immortal Sword in a thunder-struck crater, you went there and spent two years studying the thunder and trying to resonate with the sword.

After Xu Changxing chose the sword cultivator’s legacy, he discovered that Li Changge had left it behind as a remnant soul. Li Changge made Xu Changxing cleave through the legacy’s thunderclouds with a flying sword, leaving him to fight his way forward.

• Xu Changxing reviewed his simulation’s tragic end and chose the sword cultivator’s legacy over core formation late stage cultivation.
• Xu Changxing found Li Changge’s remnant soul inside a realm filled with thunderclouds.
• Li Changge questioned how Xu Changxing was alive and why his cultivation was so weak, then accepted him as his successor.
• Li Changge told Xu Changxing to cleave through the thunderclouds with the flying sword in his hand to escape.
• Xu Changxing repeatedly slashed open a path through the thunderclouds as they quickly closed behind each strike.

Xu Changxing endured Li Changge’s thundercloud trial and received the sword intent of Li Changge’s defiant strike against the heavens. The inheritance forced Xu Changxing into Core Formation, where his new sword core cracked under the purple lightning before stronger sword intent gathered it together again.

• Xu Changxing repeatedly fought the thunderclouds with sword strikes and learned to anticipate and sever their lightning bolts.
• Li Changge observed Xu Changxing’s progress, then condensed the thunderclouds into a powerful purple bolt that struck Xu Changxing and transformed his spiritual roots.
• Xu Changxing understood that Li Changge’s inheritance was the sword intent behind his strike against the heavens, and the illusory space shattered.
• Back in his body, Xu Changxing used the overwhelming sword intent to form a sword core, but purple lightning fractured it.
• A stronger surge of sword intent caused Xu Changxing’s sword core, which had nearly shattered, to coalesce again.

Xu Changxing survived the heavenly lightning and formed an unusual golden core that intertwined a sword core with thunderclouds, transforming his spiritual roots and granting him powerful thunder abilities. He left his courtyard in a flash of lightning sword intent, alarming Han Mingguan and Liu Chenyu as they realized Xu Changxing had reached core formation.

• Xu Changxing repeatedly re-formed his sword core under the heavenly lightning until it endured, leaving purple thunderclouds suspended above it in his dantian.
• Xu Changxing discovered he could wield the dantian lightning and that his spiritual roots had transformed into thunder roots, with only a faint trace of his wood root remaining.
• Xu Changxing sensed thunder spiritual energy nearly a hundred li away and drew it in, then stopped when the resulting lightning threatened to keep tempering his core.
• Han Mingguan challenged Xu Changxing, who dismissed him before releasing a surge of thunder sword intent and flying away; Han Mingguan recognized that Xu Changxing had reached core formation.
• Liu Chenyu felt Xu Changxing's thunder sword intent pierce his protective true essence and called out for the unknown fellow Daoist to stand down.

Xu Changxing sought help controlling the fierce sword intent of his newly formed thunder sword core, and Liu Chenyu summoned Li Changge to assist him. When the two junior brothers met, their swords clashed, and Li Changge glimpsed a path forward in his cultivation.

• Xu Changxing arrived at Liu Chenyu’s courtyard after forcibly forming a golden core and explained that he could not control its powerful sword intent.
• Liu Chenyu contacted Li Changge and ordered him to return before dark, while Xu Changxing tried to stabilize his cultivation.
• Four hours later, Li Changge returned to Flying Stream Peak and sensed Xu Changxing’s sword intent lock onto him.
• Xu Changxing’s thunder sword core resonated with the thundercloud in his dantian, and Li Changge recognized the sword intent as the answer he had been seeking.
• Li Changge and Xu Changxing exchanged hundreds of flying-sword strikes, and Li Changge caught a glimpse of the road ahead.

Xu Changxing and Li Changge pushed each other to new heights in a sword duel, learning to combine sword intent with lightning as they fought through gathering thunderclouds. When Elder Li tried to intervene, the lightning struck down his bronze mirror, and the duel continued.

• Li Changge adapted to Xu Changxing's lightning and became one with his sword, breaking through a thundercloud and launching a lightning-wreathed attack.
• Xu Changxing also became one with his sword, and the two men's clash stirred thunderclouds across the sky.
• Xu Changxing and Li Changge charged into the thunderclouds and continued their battle as more than a dozen Core Formation elders gathered outside.
• Elder Li, worried that the lightning would frighten his Cloud Phoenixes, hurled a bronze mirror toward the duel to stop the fighters.
• Lightning struck Elder Li's bronze mirror twice, extinguishing its radiance, while Xu Changxing and Li Changge continued battling inside the clouds.

Li Changge and Xu Changxing fought through thunderclouds as the Setting Sun Sect elders realized their power and Shi Haoyan explained what was happening. Their sparring ended with Li Changge’s core beginning to shatter, suggesting he was advancing toward a nascent soul.

• Elder Li’s bronze mirror stopped responding after the thunderclouds’ lightning shattered the spiritual sense controlling it, and the elders recognized Li Changge’s sword light was contending with the clouds and another opponent.
• The Core Formation elders suspected Xu Changxing was fighting Li Changge until Shi Haoyan arrived with Liu Chenyu and confirmed the two disciples were sparring.
• Liu Chenyu asked Shi Haoyan to intervene, but Shi Haoyan said to wait and observed that Li Changge had found a path toward forming a nascent soul.
• Shi Haoyan praised Xu Changxing for bringing opportunities to both himself and Li Changge, while Liu Chenyu struggled to respond.
• Li Changge and Xu Changxing stopped fighting, and Li Changge’s dantian began to crack as spiritual energy surged around him.

Li Changge formed his nascent soul and shattered the heavenly tribulation with his sword, while Xu Changxing gained a new understanding of his own sword intent. Li Changge returned to his mountain to stabilize his cultivation, promising to spar with Xu Changxing after he emerged from seclusion.

• Liu Chenyu and Xu Changxing realized that Li Changge was forming his nascent soul as his breakthrough stirred the thunderclouds into a heavenly tribulation.
• Li Changge charged into the tribulation, pierced the lightning and thundercloud with his sword, and passed the tribulation.
• Xu Changxing stopped suppressing his sword core and let his sword intent soar, realizing that his own vision had been too narrow.
• Li Changge thanked Xu Changxing for guiding him, bowed to Liu Chenyu and Shi Haoyan, and returned to his mountain to enter seclusion.

After Li Changge credited Xu Changxing with guiding him, Liu Chenyu suspected Xu Changxing was a reincarnated predecessor and rewarded him with spirit stones. Xu Changxing realized the inheritance may have taken real time, leaving him questioning whether it truly existed outside the system’s simulations.

• The Core Formation elders speculated that Xu Changxing was a reincarnated Spirit Transformation patriarch and praised Liu Chenyu’s luck in choosing disciples.
• Liu Chenyu asked Xu Changxing whether he was a reincarnated sect predecessor, then offered him a reward for helping Li Changge condense his nascent soul.
• Xu Changxing asked for spirit stones so he could afford a simulation, and Liu Chenyu gave him fifty thousand while keeping the remaining treasures to sell.
• Xu Changxing realized Han Mingguan’s challenge suggested that his inheritance experience may have lasted a month in real time.
• Liu Chenyu asked whether something was wrong with Xu Changxing’s golden core, and Xu Changxing said he had regained control of his sword core and noticed something.

After returning to his peak, Xu Changxing ran a simulation to check whether his reputation as a reincarnated Spirit Transformation patriarch would cause trouble. The simulation showed Zhou Lechi dying in a secret realm and Xu Changxing growing stronger through repeated battles with demons, ending with powerful demons targeting him.

• Shi Haoyan offered to guide Xu Changxing, and Liu Chenyu asked him to help Zhou Lechi after he stabilized his cultivation.
• Xu Changxing returned to his peak, confirmed all was well, and spent ten thousand low-grade spirit stones to begin a simulation.
• The simulation showed Zhou Lechi entering a dangerous secret realm after becoming unsettled by Li Changge’s and Xu Changxing’s progress, then dying there before Xu Changxing and Liu Chenyu could rescue him.
• Xu Changxing returned to the secret realm to avenge Zhou Lechi, joined Li Changge in killing its high-level demonic beasts, and advanced to the core formation middle stage.
• Xu Changxing fought increasingly powerful demons across several secret realms, reached the core formation late stage, and eventually slew a nascent soul demon.
• The demons marked Xu Changxing for death and repeatedly laid traps for him, but he escaped each one and continued hunting them.