Recaps

Xu Xuan visited Cloud Arrival Trading House’s second manager, Xu An Guo, and learned how the Yue Kingdom and the Lingyan Xu Lineage had changed during his seclusion. He ordered Xu An Guo to discreetly expand their intelligence gathering and prepare updated regional reports before leaving for the Northern Frontier.

• Xu Xuan searched the Sinking Sand River for Black Water Gate but found no sign of its old camps, then flew to the site of his former trading house base.
• Xu Xuan found that the base had become the heavily guarded Duke of Jing'an's Villa and reunited with its second manager, Xu An Guo.
• Xu An Guo told Xu Xuan that Chen Jing had become emperor after awakening the bloodline of Origin Ao and receiving the imperial ancestor’s support.
• Xu An Guo described rival factions within the Lingyan Xu Lineage, led by Xu Linhai, Xu Linshan, and Xu Linyue, while Xu Mingxuan struggled to balance their interests.
• Xu An Guo reported that Black Water Gate had shifted its focus overseas and might have ties to an overseas demonic sect.
• Xu Xuan ordered Xu An Guo to monitor overseas developments and the Lineage discreetly, prepare maps and intelligence, and send urgent messages to the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate before Xu Xuan left for the Northern Frontier.

Xu Xuan returned to the Northern Frontier and learned that Prince Yong planned to strip the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate of its military authority. He secretly set out to stop the imperial decree from reaching the estate, and an attack on the envoy's camp began.

• Xu Xuan returned to the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate after fifteen years away and reunited with Chen Jingxuan and Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue told Xu Xuan that the Di and Rong tribes were raiding the frontier and that Prince Yong Liu Zhang intended to remove the estate's military authority.
• Xu Xuan proposed making the imperial envoy appear to have been killed by Di and Rong raiders, and Xu Yue gave him the envoy's route and intelligence on active tribes.
• Xu Xuan secretly left the city, and three days later Eunuch Wang's camp was attacked by the Di and Rong.

Xu Xuan helped his father, Xu Yue, avert a political crisis by arranging Eunuch Wang’s death during a Dirong attack, then traveled to Yue Capital to gather supplies and information. At the Listening Wind Pavilion, he spotted Su Yuqing and recognized Liu Ji of the Black Water Gate as an enemy.

• A masked figure killed Eunuch Wang during a sudden Dirong cavalry attack, and the attackers withdrew.
• Xu Yue reported the envoy’s death as a Dirong atrocity, stirring unrest at court and sidelining the order against the Marquis of Martial Might’s Estate.
• Xu Xuan warned Xu Yue to prepare for Prince Yong, the Dirong, and the Black Witch Sect, then revealed that ordinary Qi Refining cultivators could not match him.
• Xu Xuan cleared Rongdi agents from the border and traveled to the Yue Capital Immortal Market to buy materials and hear news.
• At the Listening Wind Pavilion, Xu Xuan heard that Su Yuqing had reached the Qi Refining Realm and saw her arrive with a Purple Firmament Gate cultivator.
• Liu Ji of the Black Water Gate approached Su Yuqing’s table and invited her to speak with him, drawing Xu Xuan’s attention.

Xu Xuan stopped Liu Ji of the Black Water Gate from harassing Su Yuqing, then accepted her invitation to the Flowing Cloud Lodge exchange gathering. There, he bought rare materials, acquired a recommendation to treat the imperial Seven-Cloud Lotus, and set his sights on meeting Chen Jing.

• Xu Xuan crippled a Black Water Gate disciple with a bamboo chopstick and drove Liu Ji and his followers from the teahouse.
• Su Yuqing invited Xu Xuan to a young cultivators’ exchange gathering at Flowing Cloud Lodge, and he accepted her jade admission token.
• At the gathering, Xu Xuan observed Prince Yong Chen Zhang, the State Preceptor’s disciple, and cultivators from several sects as he listened for useful information.
• Xu Xuan paid five hundred spirit stones for the Blood Jade Ginseng, ending a dispute between the Azure Wood Sect and the Profound Sword Gate.
• Xu Xuan told the Purple Sun Gate elder he could treat the imperial Seven-Cloud Lotus and received a token to enter the imperial city the next morning.
• Xu Xuan left Flowing Cloud Lodge determined to meet Chen Jing.

Xu Xuan entered the imperial palace and used his spirit-plant and formation skills to cure the Seven-Glory Lotus, earning Emperor Chen Jing’s praise and a reward. As Xu Xuan began discussing adjustments to the palace formations, Daoist Shi accused him of being Xu Chen from the Northern Frontier and a bearer of the Soaring Serpent Totem, turning the court against him.

• Xu Xuan arrived at the imperial garden and examined the ailing Seven-Glory Lotus before Emperor Chen Jing and Daoist Shi.
• Xu Xuan identified death energy caused by a mutation in the lotus and rejected two remedies as impractical.
• Xu Xuan used the Evergreen Technique and a Minor Yin-Yang Harmonizing Formation to restore the lotus.
• Emperor Chen Jing praised Xu Xuan and ordered pills, warm jade, and spirit stones given to him.
• Xu Xuan warned that the palace formations needed minor adjustments, but Daoist Shi accused him of bearing the Soaring Serpent Totem and approaching the emperor with hidden intentions.

Xu Xuan used his Azure Wood Sect Inner Sect Disciple Token to stop Emperor Chen Jing and the National Preceptor's Residence from arresting him, then left the palace with rewards and access to the Imperial City Library. Back at the inn, he received new intelligence about an artifact tied to the imperial bloodline and Prince Yong Chen Zhang's apparent ambitions for the throne.

• Chen Jing confronted Xu Xuan over their past, while Xu Xuan challenged the emperor's accusations and defended the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate.
• Xu Xuan revealed his Azure Wood Sect Inner Sect Disciple Token, forcing Chen Jing and the elder from the National Preceptor's Residence to abandon their plans to seize him.
• Chen Jing doubled Xu Xuan's reward and gave him a Jade Tally granting access to the first three floors of the Imperial City Library.
• After Xu Xuan left, Chen Jing ordered his men to watch him, while the elder questioned whether the token was genuine.
• At his inn, Xu Xuan received a Jade Slip from a Cloud Arrival Trading House spy with information about an ancient artifact in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Prince Yong Chen Zhang's secret political activity.

Xu Xuan weighed the Eternal Prince’s offer while keeping watch over Yue Capital’s growing unrest, then reunited with Su Yuqing and grew close to her. After Su Yuqing confessed her feelings and introduced him to her father, a Foundation Establishment elder from the Azure Wood Sect confronted Xu Xuan over his Inner Disciple Token.

• Xu Xuan accepted the Eternal Prince’s gifts but postponed a meeting, then examined the blood-red jade pendant and considered its possible connection to the imperial bloodline and National Preceptor’s Residence.
• During three months in Yue Capital, Xu Xuan heard reports of fighting between the Azure Wood Sect and Profound Sword Gate, a Drought Demon in Black Mountain Commandery, and demonic cultivators at Azure Cloud Ridge.
• Xu Xuan met Su Yuqing at the Listening Wind Pavilion, learned she was investigating developments in Yue Capital, and accepted her jade talisman.
• Over the following months, Xu Xuan and Su Yuqing spent time together, trained together, and grew closer until Su Yuqing confessed that she had never stopped thinking of him.
• Su Yuqing introduced Xu Xuan to her father, Su Mingyuan, who treated him coolly; Zhou Yongchang of the Azure Wood Sect then arrived and accused Xu Xuan of flaunting his Inner Disciple Token and swindling people.

Xu Xuan became Zhou Yongchang’s personal disciple and gained authority as a patrolling envoy, while the Yue Kingdom’s rulers grew wary of his rising influence. After refusing the Imperial Preceptor’s offer to take the throne, Xu Xuan learned that the Di-Rong Tribes were gathering and saw a chance to travel beyond the Northern Frontier.

• Zhou Yongchang recognized Xu Xuan’s connection to the Lingyan Xu Lineage, took him as his personal disciple, and gave him a patrolling envoy’s talisman seal.
• Xu Xuan defeated and killed a group of Demon Suppression Bureau cultivators who came to arrest him, then burned their bodies.
• The Imperial Preceptor offered Xu Xuan the throne using the late emperor’s secret edict, but Xu Xuan refused and was warned that Emperor Chen Jing would seek to eliminate him.
• Chen Zhang and Chen Jing reacted angrily to reports that the Imperial Preceptor had visited Xu Xuan, while Xu Xuan’s reputation and influence spread through the Yue Capital.
• Xu Xuan received a report that the Di-Rong Tribes were gathering and decided to travel to the Rong-Di Region beyond the Northern Frontier.

Xu Xuan planned to establish his physical foundation through the Black Serpent Tribe’s Blood Pool, secured a five-element spiritual treasure, married Su Yuqing, and traveled north to Northern Di. The chapter ended as he spotted horse bandits attacking a group of Rong and Di riders guarding an ox cart.

• Xu Xuan learned about the Black Serpent Tribe’s Blood Pool and resolved to seek it as an opportunity for physical body foundation establishment.
• Xu Xuan planned to build his foundation in stages and received the Cold Jade Marrow Heart from the Xu Lineage.
• Xu Xuan married Su Yuqing at the Xu ancestral residence, where powerful allies brought wedding gifts and the clan elders recognized his standing.
• Xu Xuan traveled with Su Yuqing and trusted subordinates into Northern Di as spring began.
• Xu Xuan halted the convoy after spotting horse bandits besieging Rong and Di riders who were protecting an ox cart.

Xu Xuan rescued the Grayrock Tribe from bandits, learned about the Black Serpent Tribe’s Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool, and treated hunters wounded by a Black Ferocious God. He confronted the beast in the Black Pine Forest and forced it to submit, leaving it alive as his servant.

• Xu Xuan’s Iron Guards rescued the Grayrock Tribe from the Blood Wolf Bandits, and Xu Xuan killed their leader with a strike of golden light.
• Priest Yan Mo invited Xu Xuan to the Grayrock settlement, where he explained the Black Serpent Tribe’s sacred shed skin and Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool.
• Wounded hunters returned to camp and reported that a Black Ferocious God had killed three of their companions.
• Xu Xuan used Yi Wood spiritual energy to stabilize the wounded hunters, then left for the Black Pine Forest to hunt the beast.
• Xu Xuan shattered the Black Ferocious God’s foreleg, pursued it, and invaded its sea of consciousness until it called him Master.

Xu Xuan subdued a black Ferocious God, obtained a Snake-Scale Fruit and a token from the Grayrock Tribe, then traveled to the Black Serpent Tribe seeking access to its Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool. Batu refused to decide the matter himself and went to consult the elders after Xu Xuan’s bloodline pressure unsettled him.

• Xu Xuan bound the black Ferocious God and found a Snake-Scale Fruit near its lair.
• Yan Mo gave Xu Xuan a Black Serpent Tribe token, and Xu Xuan left the Grayrock Tribe for Black Python Mountain.
• A scar-faced cavalryman checked Yan Mo’s token and escorted Xu Xuan’s party into the Black Serpent Tribe camp.
• Xu Xuan told Batu he wanted to use the Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool, but Batu dismissed his request and hinted that he would need to pay.
• Xu Xuan released pressure from his bloodline and offered to help resolve the tribe’s troubles, prompting Batu to report to the elders.

Xu Xuan revealed his Soaring Serpent bloodline to Elder Wushu and agreed to kill Wumuzha and recover the Black Serpent Tribe’s stolen offerings in exchange for entry to the Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool. He slew Wumuzha and retrieved the offerings, then rode back toward the Black Serpent Tribe with his guards.

• Elder Wushu asked Xu Xuan to prove he was a friend of the Black Serpent Tribe by killing Wumuzha and recovering the stolen offerings, and Xu Xuan accepted.
• Xu Xuan tracked Wumuzha’s cavalry party to a narrow valley and blocked its exit.
• Xu Xuan killed two guards with golden light, then defeated Wumuzha with his spear and a formation before taking his head.
• Xu Xuan let the surviving Golden Wolf Tribe warriors flee and recovered the stolen offerings from their abandoned ox carts.
• Xu Xuan returned to his four guards, and they set out for the Black Serpent Tribe.

Xu Xuan entered the Black Serpent Tribe’s Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool, broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, and discovered that the Chen Yue imperial family had stolen the Black-Feather Serpent God’s bones and power. He allied with the tribe to secretly prepare for a future strike against Chen Yue, then left for the south as the tribe began contacting other aggrieved tribes.

• Xu Xuan returned with Wumuzha’s head and the recovered offerings, and Elder Wushu granted him access to the Dragon-Transformation Blood Pool.
• After half a month, Xu Xuan entered the pool at Black Python Mountain, where his Soaring Serpent bloodline absorbed its power and helped him reach the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
• The Book of Time delivered Xu Zhiyi’s warning that the Chen Yue imperial family had stolen the Black-Feather Serpent God’s power and bones, used them to create its fortune-anchoring artifact, and had ties to the Blood God Cult.
• Xu Xuan exposed the blood pool’s sinister contamination to Wushu and Granny Sang, then proposed that he act as an inside man while the Black Serpent Tribe gathered allies and strength against Chen Yue.
• Wushu and Granny Sang agreed to cooperate with Xu Xuan, gave him a serpent scale for communication and concealment, and let him depart for the south.
• Wushu reported Xu Xuan’s powerful connections to the tribal elders, who ordered the tribes to prepare and secretly contact Blackstone, Wind Falcon, and others.

Xu Xuan learned that Chen Tianyuan had attacked the Xu Lineage and set out to confront him after Chen Tianci threatened to kill his family. Chen Tianyuan nearly killed Xu Xuan, but Xu Qingchan of the Jade Dragon Sword Sect intervened and declared Xu Xuan her disciple.

• Xu Xuan received a letter reporting that Chen Tianyuan had driven Xu Yue and his family from the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate and was hunting Xu Xuan.
• Xu Xuan spent months gathering intelligence while Spiritual Expanse Mountain remained cut off, and learned that Chen Tianyuan had returned as a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Xu Xuan learned that Chen Tianci had killed the Xu Lineage's Qi Refining elders and threatened to kill one Xu Household member each day until Xu Xuan appeared.
• Xu Xuan left the Purple Sun Gate to face Chen Tianyuan, who attacked him with Crimson Thunder and a Jade Seal that buried him in the earth.
• Xu Qingchan arrived from the Jade Dragon Sword Sect, blocked Chen Tianyuan's attack with her sword, and told Xu Xuan to address her as his master.

Xu Qingchan fought Chen Tianyuan to protect Xu Xuan, while the Purple Sun Gate’s Three Yangs Lock Yuan Formation forced Chen Tianyuan to retreat. After escaping, Xu Xuan killed the Chen Lineage pursuers and sent the Black Serpent Tribe the signal to begin its plan, setting the Northern Lands toward turmoil.

• Xu Qingchan shielded Xu Xuan from Chen Tianyuan and told him to flee southeast while she fought him.
• Zhang Qian, the Elder of Punishment, and Su Mingyuan activated the Purple Sun Gate’s Three Yangs Lock Yuan Formation, disrupting Chen Tianyuan’s attack and forcing him to withdraw.
• Xu Qingchan refused Zhang Qian’s offer to return to the sect and followed Xu Xuan from the shadows after assuring Su Mingyuan that Xu Xuan had escaped safely.
• Three Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators from the Chen Lineage intercepted Xu Xuan, but he used talismans, his spear, and a formation flag to defeat them, then searched the leader’s soul.
• Xu Xuan sent the Black Serpent Tribe instructions through a hidden Cloud Arrival Trading House outpost to proceed according to plan.

Xu Xuan returned to Spiritual Expanse Mountain after the Chen Lineage’s attack and took on a new role as the clan began to recover. Months later, Xu Mingxuan revealed that Xu Qingchan had checked the northern threat while he founded the kingdom of Great Xu, leaving the Yue Kingdom divided.

• Xu Qingchan rebuked Xu Xuan and Xu Mingxuan for their actions during the Chen Lineage’s attack, then appointed Xu Mingxuan clan head and Xu Xuan enforcement elder.
• Xu Xuan accepted Xu Qingchan’s orders and returned to secluded cultivation, advancing to the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining.
• Xu Mingxuan told Xu Xuan that Xu Qingchan had challenged the Rongdi tribes at the northern frontier and fought the Black Serpent Tribe’s high priest to a draw.
• Xu Qingchan and the Yue Kingdom’s State Preceptor clashed while Chen Yuanshan fought the high priest, and Chen Yuanshan later fled wounded.
• Xu Mingxuan raised a rebellion, captured nearly half the Yue Kingdom, and declared the founding of Great Xu, naming himself King Mingxuan.

Xu Xuan met Xu Qingchan at the Yue Capital Immortal Market and refined the Black Serpent Tribe’s damaged Ancient Bronze Mirror, discovering it was a Bloodline Treasure tied to his Soaring Serpent Bloodline. After the High Priest departed, Xu Qingchan ordered Xu Xuan to ascend the throne as emperor in three days and replace the fallen Chen Yue lineage.

• Xu Mingxuan told Xu Xuan that the Xu clan planned to appoint him ruler and that Xu Qingchan was at the Yue Capital Immortal Market.
• Xu Xuan met Xu An Guo, who explained Xu Qingchan’s clashes with Chen Yuanshan and the Black Serpent Tribe’s High Priest.
• Xu Qingchan and the High Priest instructed Xu Xuan to refine the Ancient Bronze Mirror with his Essence Blood, and he successfully drew it into his body.
• The High Priest agreed that the Xu clan would return the Black Serpent Tribe’s seized fortune and allow its people to enter the Great Xu Kingdom; she then left for the Liyang Kingdom battlefield.
• Xu Qingchan explained the mirror’s potential and ordered Xu Xuan to hold the Heaven-Sacrificing Ceremony in three days and ascend the throne as the Profound Emperor.

Xu Xuan established the Great Xu Immortal Dynasty and used its gathered fortune to accelerate his cultivation. After the enthronement, Xu Qingchan told him to reach Foundation Establishment within two years while she searched for the materials he needed.

• Xu Xuan traveled through Xuandu to the palace and prepared to establish Great Xu with Azure Mystery as its era name.
• Xu Xuan performed the enthronement rites, and the Ancient Bronze Mirror gathered the dynasty's fortune and channeled it into him, bringing him close to the ninth level of Qi Refining.
• Xu Mingxuan and the officials handled the new dynasty's court affairs while Xu Xuan considered how to protect it from powerful cultivators after Xu Qingchan left.
• Xu Qingchan told Xu Xuan to reach Foundation Establishment within two years and promised to seek the complete set of materials for Five Elements Foundation Establishment.

Xu Xuan discovered that a new Fate Register could transfer his karmic burdens to the Great Xu Immortal Dynasty, then advanced to the ninth level of Qi Refining as the dynasty expanded under Xu Mingxuan and Xu Qingchan. With Xu Qingchan preparing to leave and hostile factions looming, Xu Xuan entered seclusion to pursue Foundation Establishment.

• Xu Xuan's Book of Time formed the Xuanhuang Fate Register, which distributed his curses, karmic debts, and calamities across the Great Xu Immortal Dynasty and its people.
• Ten days later, Xu Xuan naturally reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, aided by his improved bloodline and spiritual roots.
• Xu Mingxuan eliminated Chen Yue's remaining factions, incorporated the Demon Suppression Bureau into the Sword-Wielding Office, and led an alliance against the Golden Wolf Tribe.
• Xu Qingchan helped install a Helian descendant as ruler of the Golden Wolf Tribe's former territory and forced Northern Frontier lineages and sects to pay taxes to the Great Xu Immortal Dynasty.
• Xu Xuan agreed to leave state affairs to Xu Mingxuan and entered seclusion to attempt Foundation Establishment within two years.

Xu Xuan advanced to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, learned that Consort Li had given birth to his second prince, and received the Azure Emperor Everlasting Body method and Dark Nether True Blood from Xu Qingchan. He had less than a year and a half left to reach Foundation Establishment.

• After half a year of seclusion, Xu Xuan broke through to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer and found that his Soaring Serpent Bloodline had grown stronger.
• Xu Mingxuan reported that Consort Li had safely delivered the second prince, Xu Xian, and that Northern Frontier groups had submitted and paid their offerings.
• Xu Xuan visited Consort Li and Xu Xian, then spent time with Su Yuqing and the eldest prince, Xu Xin.
• Xu Qingchan returned from the Northern Frontier and gave Xu Xuan the heart's blood essence of a Dark Nether Ice Toad for tempering his physique.
• Xu Qingchan taught Xu Xuan the Azure Emperor Everlasting Body method and warned him that he had less than a year and a half to reach Foundation Establishment.

Xu Xuan completed physical body Foundation Establishment, cultivated to the pinnacle of Qi Refining, and prepared to break through to Foundation Establishment. Xu Qingchan arrived with two spiritual treasures suited to his Metal-Earth Spiritual Root and stood guard as he prepared to begin.

• Xu Xuan used a Realm-Breaking Pill to advance from the tenth to the eleventh level of Qi Refining, then refined demon toad true blood to complete physical body Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Xuan continued cultivating as the Great Xu Immortal Dynasty restored its people’s livelihoods, strengthened its institutions, and maintained control over its territory.
• Xu Xuan reached great perfection of Qi Refining and prepared a Foundation Establishment Pill and the treasures Xu Qingchan had provided.
• Xu Qingchan brought Xu Xuan the Earth-Element treasure [Dark Prison Mountain] and the Metal-Element treasure [Golden Origin Light], explaining how they would support his foundation.
• Xu Qingchan told Xu Xuan to compose his mind and establish his foundation while she stood guard.

Xu Xuan established a powerful Foundation Establishment by combining the Golden Origin Light and Dark Prison Mountain, while the Ancient Bronze Mirror revealed visions of an ancient war that severed heaven and earth. After his breakthrough, Xu Qingchan gave him life-saving Sword Qi and entrusted him with leading the Taixu Immortal Kingdom and Lingyan Xu Lineage.

• Xu Xuan endured the clashing forces of the Golden Origin Light and Dark Prison Mountain as they shaped his Dao foundation.
• Xu Xuan used his transforming divine sense to loosen the Ancient Bronze Mirror’s restrictions and witnessed visions of an ancient war between gods, devils, and immortals.
• Xu Xuan saw the Soaring Serpent seal memories into the scale that became the Ancient Bronze Mirror, and he realized the war had severed heaven and earth and weakened spiritual energy.
• Xu Xuan fused the two powers with his Soaring Serpent Bloodline and successfully reached Foundation Establishment, forming a dark-gold Dao platform.
• Xu Qingchan gave Xu Xuan a strand of life-bound Sword Qi that could save his life three times, offered him cultivation resources, and urged him to lead the Taixu Immortal Kingdom and Lingyan Xu Lineage.

Xu Xuan celebrated his Foundation Establishment with a grand ceremony attended by sect envoys and foreign guests. The ceremony ended with the wounded Helian Xue seeking his help against the Heavenly Martial Kingdom, and Xu Xuan agreeing in exchange for sixty more years to study her tribe’s inherited artifact.

• The Great Xu Immortal Dynasty celebrated Xu Xuan’s Foundation Establishment, and Xu Mingxuan arranged a grand ceremony in the Yue Capital.
• Zhou Yongchang attended on behalf of the Azure Wood Sect, pledged the sect’s protection of the Taixu Immortal Kingdom, and offered to refine Xu Xuan a Pseudo-Treasure.
• Helian Xue arrived wounded during the ceremony and asked Xu Xuan to help reclaim the Black Serpent Tribe’s ancient altar from the Heavenly Martial Kingdom’s demonic sovereign.
• Xu Xuan agreed to help Helian Xue if she let him study the tribe’s inherited ancient artifact for another sixty years.
• Helian Xue accepted the terms, and Xu Xuan postponed detailed planning until after the ceremony.

Xu Xuan learned that demonic forces and ancient artifacts were stirring conflict across the Southern Region, and prepared to investigate the Heavenly Martial Kingdom while strengthening his abilities. Zhou Yongchang delivered Xu Xuan a powerful pseudo-magic treasure, the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Spear.

• Xu Xuan agreed to investigate the Heavenly Martial Kingdom and eliminate its ruler if he proved to follow the demonic path.
• Zhou Yongchang explained that demonic activity and Demonic Ancient Artifacts were driving tensions between the Azure Wood Sect and the Profound Sword Sect.
• Xu Xuan ordered his information channels to investigate the Heavenly Martial Kingdom, then spent the following months cultivating spells and Divine Abilities.
• Xu Xuan mastered the basics of the Thunder Guiding Art, Dragon-Binding Art, and Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
• Zhou Yongchang arrived in Xuandu City and presented Xu Xuan with the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Spear, a pseudo-magic treasure forged from rare materials.

Xu Xuan prepared to confront Yuchi Jin’s demonic forces, then slipped into the Heavenly Martial Kingdom and encountered a Tianwu Army outpost. The chapter ended as dozens of demonic cultivators attacked him.

• Xu Xuan accepted the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Spear and the Seven Killings of Break the Army technique from Zhou Yongchang, then trained with both.
• Xu Xuan gathered intelligence revealing Yuchi Jin’s Barbarian Dragon Battle Body, his Flame Demon Technique, and his ambitions around the Black Serpent Tribe’s ancient sacrificial altar.
• Xu Xuan entrusted the kingdom’s affairs to Xu Mingxuan, promised Helian Xue he would drive out the demonic forces, and left Xuandu with elite guards.
• At Ironwall Pass, Xu Xuan ordered the garrison to remain vigilant and crossed the border alone under cover of night.
• Xu Xuan found a Tianwu Army camp preparing a blood sacrifice and identified himself as Xu Chen of the Great Xu Kingdom.
• The demonic cultivators attacked Xu Xuan with a wave of skulls, ghostly shadows, and demonic flames.