Recaps

Qing Chen arranged a secret alliance with the Yue Household while preparing a public campaign against the Black Tiger Water Stronghold as cover for his plans. Far away, Lin Changsheng promoted six successful disciples to Silver-Rank Demon Guards, singling out Han Shi for his exceptional will.

• Qing Chen learned that the Yue Household had agreed to attack Mysterious Constancy Island alongside him, though it had offered only ten Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and disclosed no troop numbers.
• Qing Chen told Gao Yuliang to warn the Yue Household that the Inspector's Manor and Hidden Spirit Island Lord's Manor would attack the Black Tiger Water Stronghold in half a month.
• Deng Ziyue delivered thirty-five Middle-Grade Spirit Stones from the Chang Household, and Qing Chen ordered him to gather intelligence and keep the stronghold unsuspecting.
• Qing Chen sent Voice Transmission Talismans throughout the region, demanding that islands and cultivating lineages either send fighters or provide supplies for the campaign against the Black Tiger Water Stronghold.
• Lin Changsheng promoted Duan Tianya, Jueqing, He Ku, Ren Xiaoyao, Han Shi, and Wanwan to Silver-Rank Demon Guards and granted them the second-level Qi-Blood Inner Elixir Art.

After the Demon Lotus Sect prepared its disciples for battle, Qing Chen assembled a large allied force to attack the Black Tiger Water Stronghold. The Yue Household had already surrounded the stronghold, where both sides stood ready as Yue Chengfeng and Yue Feng worried about the bandits’ unusual calm.

• Lin Changsheng refined Demon Guard Life Tokens for the disciples and ordered them to prepare for the campaign against the Black Tiger Water Stronghold.
• Lin Changsheng divided fifty disciples into six teams and appointed the top performers as captains to drill battle formations.
• Qing Chen gathered sect disciples, lineage cultivators, Azure Dragon Stronghold bandits, warships, and flying boats for the assault.
• The Yue Household surrounded the Black Tiger Water Stronghold, while Yue Chengfeng and Yue Feng discussed why its defenders seemed untroubled.
• The Yue Household formed three battle formations as the water bandits prepared their defenses behind the Black Tiger Water Baleful Formation.

Qing Chen sent Gao Yuliang to raid nearby water bandits while he sailed to meet the Yue Household. The Yue leaders suddenly rushed home after learning that Pujin Daoist had broken through the Condensed Jade Sect's defenses and was heading toward their island.

• Qing Chen ordered Gao Yuliang to sweep nearby water bandit dens for resources and discreetly occupy suitable islands.
• Qing Chen arrived near the Black Tiger Water Stronghold, where Yue Chengfeng and Yue Feng greeted him before urgent messages made them hurry back to the Yue Household.
• Qing Chen watched the Yue Household's forces withdraw toward Mysterious Mountain Island instead of joining the planned attack on Mysterious Constancy Island.
• A Windcatching Hall disciple told Yue Xipo that Pujin Daoist had led Blackwood Island's Blackwood Treasure Ship through Sea Prosperity Island's defenses toward the Condensed Jade Sect's heartland.
• Yue Xipo and the Person in the Wall discussed how the Yue Household's Mysterious Mountain Island lay on Pujin Daoist's route, and Yue Xipo proposed letting the ship pass while the Yue ancestor was occupied elsewhere.

The Person in the Wall urged Yue Xipo to have the Yue Household make a desperate stand against Blackwood Island, hoping the Condensed Jade Sect would send reinforcements. At sea, Blackwood Island’s warship destroyed and swallowed two Red-Eyed Shark Demons, while Xu Wenshan realized his household had been reduced to expendable vanguard troops.

• The Person in the Wall told Yue Xipo that Blackwood Island’s attack was likely a probe and that the Yue Household should resist until the Condensed Jade Sect’s reinforcements arrived.
• Two Red-Eyed Shark Demons attacked Blackwood Island’s warship, and its cannons and offensive formation killed them.
• The Blackwood Treasure Ship used cables to drag the dead demons aboard and swallowed them.
• Xu Wenshan praised the warship’s power to Pujin Daoist, who explained how its materials made it exceptionally strong.
• Xu Wenshan reflected that the Xu Household had surrendered to Blackwood Island and was now being used as cannon fodder, and he lamented the humiliation.

Qing Chen received orders to join the defense of Chanda Island after Pujin Daoist’s Blackwood Treasure Ship broke through the Sect’s defenses. At Chanda, he met Xu Jiuling, who revealed that the enemy fleet carried the man responsible for the death of the woman he loved.

• Qing Chen read the Council of Elders’ decree ordering him to report to Chanda Island and serve under Elder Shangshan.
• Qing Chen sent Gao Yuliang and Lin Changsheng to continue suppressing bandits, then hurried to Chanda aboard the Mysterious Blood Warship.
• Qing Chen and his companions passed multiple strict inspections before landing at Chanda Island.
• Xu Jiuling told Qing Chen he had given up his position as Deputy Hall Master and become an ordinary Sect Protector.
• Xu Jiuling revealed that the head of the Xu Household, who was aboard the Blackwood Treasure Ship, had taken the woman he loved decades earlier, and she had later died by suicide.

Xu Jiuling asked Qing Chen to help him kill Xu Wenshan and the Xu Household during the Condensed Jade Sect’s coming decisive battle against Pujin Daoist. As the battle preparations neared completion, Qing Chen entered Elder Shangshan’s council hall and was attacked from above and behind.

• Xu Jiuling explained that he had been demoted after a defensive island fell and asked Qing Chen to help him destroy the Xu Household.
• Qing Chen agreed, and Xu Jiuling promised to recommend him for an audience with the Third Grand Supreme after the battle.
• Chanda Island prepared for Pujin Daoist’s arrival as Qing Chen learned that Blackwood Island had slaughtered the inhabitants of a nearby island, including hundreds of thousands of mortals.
• Xu Jiuling told Qing Chen that Elder Shangshan had summoned him, and Qing Chen entered the council hall.
• A powerful spiritual hand struck Qing Chen, who blocked it with his Dark Yin Sword Formation before a cold, resentful aura attacked from behind.

Qing Chen survived Elder Shangshan’s test and learned that his strength and obscurity made him suited to a secret sect assignment. Elder Shangshan explained why the sect needed Qing Chen personally, but had not yet revealed the assignment’s details.

• Qing Chen blocked Elder Shangshan’s Necromantic Sword Qi with Blood Baleful Intent Armor, though the attack forced him backward and cracked his defenses.
• Elder Shangshan appeared in the hall, praised Qing Chen’s abilities, and revealed that he had tested him with two mystic arts.
• Qing Chen recognized the power of Elder Shangshan’s techniques and learned the names and ranks of the One-Qi Dragon-Locking Grasping Hand and Innate Form-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi.
• Elder Shangshan praised Qing Chen’s spiritual sense, sword formation, baleful armor, and evasion technique, and Qing Chen confirmed he had mastered the Nine-Bend Cloud-Brushing realm.
• Elder Shangshan asked Qing Chen to undertake an urgent assignment, but Qing Chen suggested sending experienced senior cultivators instead.
• Elder Shangshan explained that Qing Chen’s obscurity made him a better choice than the island’s stronger, well-known veterans.

Elder Shangshan ordered Qing Chen to infiltrate Blackwood Island alone, destroy the Xu Household on Yin Tiger Island, and sow chaos in the region. After receiving powerful talismans, a formation plate, and promises of pills and rewards, Qing Chen accepted the mission.

• Elder Shangshan told Qing Chen that the Council of Elders had chosen him for a secret mission in Blackwood Island's heartland.
• Elder Shangshan ordered Qing Chen to exterminate the Xu Household on Yin Tiger Island and create chaos among Blackwood Island's forces.
• Qing Chen warned that the Xu Household's cultivators, island-protecting formation, and Blackwood's Golden Core True Persons made the mission dangerous.
• Elder Shangshan gave Qing Chen Formation-Breaking Talismans, the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation, and four Spirit Talismans to support the mission.
• Elder Shangshan promised Qing Chen a Spirit-Raising Mystic Advancement Pill, Contribution Points, and the spoils of his mission, and Qing Chen agreed to go after the Xu Household.

Qing Chen traveled to Yin Tiger Island on a mission to target the Xu Household and secretly prepared formations to prevent anyone from escaping. After reaching the island, he headed toward Yin Tiger City to set up a second barrier and tighten his trap.

• Elder Shangshan reassured Qing Chen that Blackwood Island's strongest cultivators were occupied and assigned him a mission on Yin Tiger Island.
• Qing Chen reflected on Elder Shangshan's power, judged the island's defenses manageable, and secretly left Chanda Island.
• After more than a month of travel, Qing Chen reached Yin Tiger Island and set up the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation around it.
• Qing Chen concealed his aura and asked a farming couple for directions to Yin Tiger City, then flew away as the farmers and Xiao Fei watched in awe.
• Qing Chen planned to use Su Zixuan's Small Five-Element Inverted Trapping Formation to seal Yin Tiger City and keep the Xu Household from escaping.

Qing Chen entered Yin Tiger City amid celebrations for Xu Baichuan’s wedding and prepared to infiltrate the Xu Household while seeking the island’s formation hub. He disguised himself with the Thousand Transformations mask and his aura-concealing art, leaving his true identity difficult to detect.

• Qing Chen learned that Xu Baichuan was marrying the daughter of Si Snake Island’s Island Lord, and he recalled their past enmity.
• Qing Chen assessed the Xu Household’s Heavenly Cicada Listening to Rain Formation and planned to find its central hub so he could destroy it.
• Qing Chen recalled how he had dealt with Qin Zigu and Mo Qiuxian, and how Pan Yuelian had become his maidservant.
• Qing Chen put on the Thousand Transformations mask, changed his appearance, and disguised his cultivation as the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• Qing Chen combined the mask with the Demon Seed Golden Lotus’s aura-concealing mystic art to better hide his identity, even during combat.

Qing Chen subdued a lovesick cultivator, took his invitation and command token, and disguised himself as Xu An to enter the Xu Household’s wedding celebration. He reached the inner city and headed toward the Xu residence, eyeing Xu Baichuan’s wedding display with cold amusement.

• Qing Chen considered learning a soul-searching technique as a way to obtain intelligence.
• Qing Chen used the White Bone Demon Mara Banner to seize control of a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator and took his command token, invitation, and other items.
• Qing Chen used the Thousand Transformations spirit artifact to impersonate Xu An and persuaded the inner-city gatekeeper to let him enter ahead of the queue.
• Qing Chen walked through the lavishly decorated inner city toward the wedding platform, where a Recording Stone displayed Xu Baichuan.
• Qing Chen sneered at the mention of Yin Tiger Peak and its romantic display as he continued toward the Xu residence.

Qing Chen entered the Xu Household estate and used the Soul-Seizing Divine Ability to interrogate and kill a pale Xu descendant, learning that his father, Xu Mingyuan, was guarding the Island-Protecting Grand Array in the Formation Hall. Qing Chen slaughtered his way into the hall, where Xu Mingyuan confronted him and accused him of rebelling against the Xu Household.

• Qing Chen ignored a pale Xu descendant’s insults until the man mentioned formations, then used the Soul-Seizing Divine Ability to control him.
• Qing Chen questioned the man in an abandoned courtyard and learned that his father, Xu Mingyuan, was in the Formation Hall guarding the Island-Protecting Grand Array.
• Qing Chen refined the pale man into the White Bone Demon Mara Banner and headed for the Formation Hall.
• Qing Chen burned the Xu Household disciples who tried to stop or alert others, then advanced into the inner hall.
• Xu Mingyuan confronted Qing Chen and demanded to know whether he was rebelling against the Xu Household.

Qing Chen infiltrated the Xu Household’s wedding feast after learning how to disable the Heavenly Cicada Listening to Rain Formation, then confronted Xu Jincheng as the ceremony began. He overturned a table and demanded that the wedding be called off.

• Qing Chen used the White Bone Demon Mara Banner to subdue Xu Mingyuan, learned that both formation cores had to be destroyed simultaneously, and killed the Formation Masters in the Inner Hall.
• Qing Chen ordered Mo Qiuxian’s living corpse to destroy one control core after an hour, then left for the wedding feast while the Xu Household celebrated.
• Qing Chen entered the Reception Hall and waited for Xu Jincheng, the holder of the other formation core’s Command Token, to arrive.
• Xu Jincheng entered, followed by Xu Baichuan and Lin Miaoyu, whose gaze met Qing Chen’s and stirred buried memories.
• Xu Buyan, Xu Baichuan, and Xu Jincheng challenged Qing Chen, and Qing Chen overturned a table and demanded that the wedding be called off.

Qing Chen killed Xu Jincheng, destroyed two control cores of the Xu Household’s Heavenly Cicada Listening to Rain Formation, and caused the island-protecting array to collapse. As the Xu Household mobilized against him, he sealed Yin Tiger Island and Yin Tiger City inside two new formations.

• Qing Chen evaded Xu Buyan, seized Xu Jincheng’s Storage Bag, and killed him with Demon Fire.
• Qing Chen’s Living Corpse destroyed a control core of the Heavenly Cicada Listening to Rain Formation, and Qing Chen crushed the Command Token for another core.
• The Heavenly Cicada Listening to Rain Formation went out of control and collapsed, leaving Yin Tiger Island exposed.
• Xu Baichuan secretly rejoiced at Xu Jincheng’s death, then urged the Xu Household to capture Qing Chen while Xu Buyan rang the Bronze Bell and called the clansmen to the banquet hall.
• Qing Chen activated the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation around Yin Tiger Island and sealed Yin Tiger City inside the Small Five-Element Inverted Trapping Formation.

Qing Chen overwhelmed Xu Buyan and Lin Bancheng with his formations, blood baleful intent, and demon fire before unleashing Dark Yin Sword Rain. Lin Bancheng fell wounded, and a woman in red rushed in to beg Xu An to spare her eldest uncle.

• Qing Chen trapped the cultivators and force martial artists with his demon soldiers and grudge ghosts, then attacked Xu Buyan and Lin Bancheng with the Three Yin Sword Formation, blood baleful arrows, and demon fire.
• Xu Buyan and Lin Bancheng used their defensive techniques and spirit artifacts to resist Qing Chen's assault.
• Qing Chen transformed the Three Yin Sword Formation into Dark Yin Sword Rain and shattered Lin Bancheng's Thunderfire Shield and defensive dharma artifact.
• Sword shadows struck Lin Bancheng, who screamed and fell to the ground.
• A woman in red rushed in and begged Xu An to spare her eldest uncle.

Qing Chen overwhelmed Xu Buyan and Lin Bancheng as they counterattacked with their strongest techniques. Xu Buyan escaped in a blood cocoon, leaving Qing Chen and Lin Miaoyu behind.

• Lin Miaoyu tried to stop Qing Chen, but he ignored her and used the Demon Lotus Karmic Fire to break through Xu Buyan’s Heaven Cicada Garment and talisman shields.
• Qing Chen sent his three Dark Yin Flying Swords toward Lin Bancheng, and Lin Miaoyu stepped in front of her eldest uncle.
• Lin Bancheng burned his essence blood to unleash Viper Finger against the swords, while Xu Buyan attacked Qing Chen with his flying sword and Heaven Cicada Silk.
• Qing Chen’s copper-armored corpse deflected Xu Buyan’s flying sword, and Qing Chen formed Blood Baleful Intent Armor to withstand the Heaven Cicada Silk.
• The Demon Lotus Karmic Fire burned away Xu Buyan’s Heaven Cicada Garment and wore down his final talisman shield, so Xu Buyan used Heavenly Cicada Blood Escape to flee as Qing Chen watched.

Lin Bancheng sacrificed himself to save Lin Miaoyu from Qing Chen, who then turned his attention toward the city’s trapped survivors. Outside Yin Tiger City, Xu Buyan and Xu Baichuan struggled to escape the formation until a woman revealed she had a second-tier mid-grade Formation-Breaking Talisman.

• Lin Miaoyu attacked Qing Chen, but his Dark Yin Flying Sword shattered her Frost Sword and threatened to kill her.
• Lin Bancheng took the sword strike meant for Lin Miaoyu, gave her his storage bag, and sent her fleeing with an evasion talisman.
• Lin Bancheng detonated his dantian, damaging Qing Chen’s Blood Baleful Intent Armor before Qing Chen began repairing it and looked toward Lin Miaoyu’s escape route.
• Xu Baichuan tried unsuccessfully to break the formation around Yin Tiger City, and the injured Xu Buyan arrived and also failed to breach it.
• Xu Buyan asked the trapped cultivators for Formation-Breaking Talismans, and a woman stepped forward claiming to have a second-tier mid-grade talisman.

Xu Buyan and the others broke out of the trapping formation, while Qing Chen unleashed his demon soldiers and Grudge Ghosts on the Xu Household and the people of Yin Tiger City. The city was left in silence, and Qing Chen ordered the corpses gathered.

• Xu Buyan activated the formation-breaking talismans, creating a passage through the Small Five-Element Inverted Trapping Formation, and led the survivors out.
• Lin Miaoyu escaped with her eldest uncle’s Storage Bag, while Xu Baichuan collapsed in relief.
• Qing Chen’s demon soldiers and Grudge Ghosts slaughtered the Xu Household and its guests in the Guest Banquet Hall.
• Qing Chen sent the demon soldiers and Grudge Ghosts through Yin Tiger City’s Inner City and Outer City, killing residents and burning houses.
• Qing Chen ordered his demon soldiers to bring him the corpses, and a deathly silence settled over Yin Tiger City.

Qing Chen harvested the resentment and blood energy from Yin Tiger City while pursuing the fleeing cultivators toward the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation. Xu Buyan fought the Demon Soldiers and Grudge Ghosts to protect the Xu Household, but his strength ran out as Xu Baichuan collapsed in despair.

• Qing Chen gathered the city's resentment and Blood Baleful Intent to cultivate the fourth layer of the Mingwang Scripture.
• Xu Buyan, Xu Baichuan, and the other survivors reached the edge of Yin Tiger Island and discovered the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation blocking their escape.
• Xu Buyan used the Heaven Cicada Art to ensnare and destroy some Demon Soldiers and Grudge Ghosts as the enemy forces closed in.
• Xu Buyan unleashed Heaven Cicada Wind Howl, scattering the attackers but exhausting his remaining strength and worsening his wounds.
• Xu Baichuan lost hope as Xu Buyan faced the encircling forces and fell to his knees.

Xu Baichuan begged the unseen Condensed Jade envoy for mercy, then attacked Lin Miaoyu when she scorned him. As White Bone Demon Soldiers and Grudge Ghosts overwhelmed the cultivators, Lin Miaoyu pursued Xu Baichuan instead of joining the defense, leaving their side on the brink of collapse.

• Xu Baichuan offered to become the Condensed Jade Sect's servant and even offered Lin Miaoyu in exchange for his life.
• Lin Miaoyu condemned Xu Baichuan, who blamed her and lunged at her with Heaven Cicada Silk.
• Lin Miaoyu evaded Xu Baichuan and countered with her sword, but their fight damaged her weapon as his superior cultivation wore her down.
• A cry announced that Fourth Uncle had died, and Xu Baichuan abandoned his attack on Lin Miaoyu to help resist the demon soldiers.
• Lin Miaoyu kept attacking Xu Baichuan while the cultivators fought the advancing White Bone Demon Soldiers and Grudge Ghosts, worsening their desperate position.

Qing Chen annihilated the Xu Household on Yin Tiger Island, then escaped after collecting his formation treasures and concealing his involvement. The cultivators who entered the island found a ruined city and a bloody message blaming the massacre on the Condensed Jade Sect.

• Mara Qi broke Xu Baichuan's pagoda barrier, and Lin Miaoyu killed him with her magic sword before the giant white bone beast's attack erased her.
• Qing Chen finished refining the city's resentment into blood sea baleful intent, dismissed his forces, and left the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation around Yin Tiger Island.
• Qing Chen slipped through the formation, retrieved his Formation Plates, Formation Flags, and remaining Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, and let the barrier dissolve.
• The waiting cultivators entered Yin Tiger Island and found it steeped in blood aura, with the Xu Household absent and Yin Tiger City reduced to ruins.
• The cultivators read a bloody message claiming the Condensed Jade Sect had exterminated the Xu Household for betraying it, and some sent warnings about the supposed invasion.

After the Xu Household fell, Qing Chen’s massacres earned him the feared names Blood River High Person and Blood River Old Devil. He infiltrated Si Snake Island and prepared to break through the Lin Household’s defenses, leaving its fate in his hands.

• Blackwood Island’s sub-islands panicked after the Xu Household’s destruction, and people spread the names Blood River High Person and Blood River Old Devil for the mysterious killer.
• Qing Chen listened in secret as Lin Household cultivators discussed the threat and claimed Si Snake Island’s defenses could withstand him.
• Qing Chen resented his new title and recalled that he had killed a Lin Household cultivator to steal his identity and infiltrate Si Snake Island.
• Qing Chen assessed the island’s defenses and planned to activate the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation and use second-tier high-grade Formation-Breaking Talismans.

Qing Chen had greatly increased his combat strength by slaughtering cultivators and refining their resources, then attacked Si Snake Island to test himself against its defenses. He crippled the Lin Household’s protective formation and mocked it, leaving the island poised for battle.

• Qing Chen raised his Demon Lotus Karmic Fire to the fourth revolution, extended his spiritual sense beyond two hundred and twenty zhang, and advanced the Mingwang Scripture to the peak of its fourth layer.
• Qing Chen activated the Three-Life Bewildering Trail Formation, shrouding Si Snake Island in mist and confusion.
• The Lin Household sounded its highest alert, and Lin Kaishan activated the Viper Water-Control Formation.
• Qing Chen struck the Viper Water-Control Formation with two second-tier high-grade Formation-Breaking Talismans, tearing open its defenses and greatly weakening it.
• Qing Chen laughed at the damaged formation, declaring that it was far less impressive than its reputation.

Qing Chen confronted the Lin Household and Si Snake Island cultivators, summoning an army of grudge ghosts and demon soldiers led by the Foundation Establishment late-stage Demon General Pojun. Lin Kaishan rallied the defenders and launched the first attack, leaving the battle underway.

• Qing Chen arrived at Si Snake Island, and Lin Kaishan, Lin Shouyi, and Lin Shouer gathered the Lin Household cultivators and island rogues to face him.
• Qing Chen revealed the White Bone Demon Mara Banner and summoned hundreds of grudge ghosts and demon soldiers.
• Qing Chen summoned Demon General Pojun, whose Foundation Establishment late-stage strength terrified the defenders.
• Lin Kaishan assigned Lin Shouyi and Lin Shouer to hold off Qing Chen and ordered Lin Wu to lead the islanders against the demon army.
• Lin Kaishan charged at Qing Chen with a Viper Finger as the Mangshan Viper Spear struck from behind him.

Qing Chen and Demon General Pojun battled Lin Kaishan and the Lin brothers as Si Snake Island’s defenders fought to hold their ground. Lin Shouyi and Lin Shouer unleashed a massive Tusita Qi Vortex Slash toward Qing Chen, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Demon General Pojun’s White Bone Blade Formation overwhelmed Lin Kaishan’s attack and knocked the Mangshan Viper Spear into the ground, but Lin Kaishan continued fighting him.
• Lin Shouyi and Lin Shouer attacked Qing Chen together with their Tusita Divine Finger, making his Blood Baleful Intent Armor tremble.
• Qing Chen countered with Demon Lotus Karmic Fire and the Three Yin Flying Sword Formation.
• Lin Shouyi and Lin Shouer used Tusita Turning Rotation to slow the flying swords and resist Qing Chen’s attacks.
• Lin Shouyi and Lin Shouer combined their power into a Tusita Qi Vortex Slash and sent the enormous energy storm toward Qing Chen.