Recaps

Qing Chen interrogated captured Lesser Cold Temple disciples and tortured the White Dragon Envoy to expose the schemes behind the conflict. He prepared to use their confessions as justification to attack Lesser Cold Temple and pressure the Eight Serpent Sect, while offering the envoy a chance to cooperate.

• Qing Chen tortured a Lesser Cold Temple monk until he confessed that Dharma Master Miao Xuan had ordered rumors spread about Yuji True Person, and the monk and nun blamed each other for their roles.
• Qing Chen explained that the Demon Lotus Sect's hidden followers had uncovered Lesser Cold Temple's involvement in regional disputes, and that taking it would open the route between Earth Pass Island and the Heavenly Illumination Archipelago.
• Qing Chen had Han Shi bring out Heart-Devouring Torture Gu and inserted the bone needles into the White Dragon Envoy, who endured the pain and spat blood at Qing Chen.
• Qing Chen showed the White Dragon Envoy recordings of the Lesser Cold Temple disciples' confessions and explained how the evidence could justify an attack and provoke the Eight Serpent Sect.
• Qing Chen threatened to frame the White Dragon Envoy, destroy what he protected, and torture him for years, then offered him one last chance to cooperate.

Qing Chen broke Bai Xiangchuan’s resistance and ordered the Demon Lotus Sect to prepare to attack Lesser Cold Temple. Inside the Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda, the four cities held a martial arts tournament, where Little Stone won his opening match and sought a path to avenge his parents.

• Qing Chen persuaded Bai Xiangchuan to surrender by showing him evidence of the Eight Serpent Sect’s secret dealings, then ordered Jueqing to kill everyone else in the hall.
• Qing Chen rallied the Demon Lotus Sect’s leaders and arranged an attack on Lesser Cold Temple to seize its corridor, spirit mines, and territory.
• The Nine-Luminaries Glazed Vidyaraja Pagoda refined third-tier gold-jade fire ore as Qing Chen reviewed the fortified cities and the brutal battles fought by the people trapped inside.
• The four cities organized a tournament to select elite warriors and battle generals who would train in the forbidden grounds and might return to the mortal world as Brahma Walkers.
• Little Stone fought Sun Er in the tournament, used his nimble and underhanded moves to defeat the stronger body cultivator, and vowed to become an Elite Warrior so he could avenge his parents.

Cold Mountain Temple debated Qing Chen’s offer to help reclaim Lesser Cold Temple, weighing the danger of being betrayed against a rare chance to recover its ancestral territory. The Grand Elder committed the temple to an alliance and ordered preparations for a surprise offensive while Abbot Huan Chan was away.

• Dharma Master Huishan questioned Dragon-Seal about Qing Chen’s motives, while Dharma Master Jingxin and another elder warned that Qing Chen might be manipulating Cold Mountain Temple.
• Dragon-Seal challenged the elders over whether they would abandon their effort to reclaim Lesser Cold Temple, prompting Huishan to recount the losses from thirty-five failed campaigns.
• Huishan declared that Cold Mountain Temple would seize the opportunity to fight alongside Qing Chen and reclaim its homeland.
• Huishan appointed Dharma Master Jingxin to command the expedition and ordered him to secretly muster fifty Foundation Establishment bhikkhus, five thousand śrāmaṇera monk-soldiers, and two treasure ships.
• Huishan ordered Dragon-Seal to contact Qing Chen at Earth Pass Island in half a month and convey Cold Mountain Temple’s willingness to launch an allied offensive.

Qing Chen practiced the Primordial Magnetism Annihilation Great Art and discovered how to form the powerful Yin-Yang Primal Magnetism Baleful Seal. He hoped to refine higher-grade magnetic baleful intent to strengthen his body and advance his cultivation.

• Qing Chen practiced Magnetic Essence Step with the Magnetic Sand in his secret chamber.
• Qing Chen formed a massive Yin-Yang Magnetic Wheel and realized it could serve as the foundation for the Yin-Yang Primal Magnetism Baleful Seal.
• Qing Chen compressed the magnetic wheel into yin and yang energies, enduring severe pain as he shaped them into the seal’s embryonic form.
• Qing Chen considered refining Third Tier magnetic objects into yin-yang primal magnetism baleful intent to advance his Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method and Vajra Realm cultivation.

Qing Chen mastered Yin-Yang Primal Magnetism Baleful Seal and prepared to use his recordings to obtain more magnetic origin spells while delaying his entry into Magnetic Origin Mountain. As he continued cultivating, hurried footsteps approached his mountain.

• Qing Chen recalled mastering Magnetic Essence Step and Yin-Yang Magnetic Wheel, then sending a Projection Stone of his demonstrations to Elder Xuangu through Han Shi.
• Elder Xuangu and the senior figures of Wuji Island praised Qing Chen's performance and sent him a jade slip containing Yin-Yang Primal Magnetism Baleful Seal and information about Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain.
• Qing Chen mastered Yin-Yang Primal Magnetism Baleful Seal and reasoned that it would help him resist and wield magnetic origin power in Magnetic Origin Mountain.
• Qing Chen recorded his progress but chose to delay sending the Recording Stone so the Infinite Extremity Devil Palace would not suspect how quickly he comprehended spells.
• Qing Chen continued practicing his magnetic origin spells and studying the Third Demonic Aspect until hurried footsteps sounded at the foot of the mountain.

Xu Jiuling braved Digu Pass Peak’s deadly restrictions to deliver Xin Bairen’s secret report to Qing Chen. The report exposed collusion with the Eight Serpent Sect, while a possible summons from Heavenly Jade Island left Qing Chen facing a visit to the Sect Master.

• Xu Jiuling climbed Digu Pass Peak through its snowbound, shifting restrictions and knelt before Qing Chen’s palace.
• Qing Chen summoned Xu Jiuling into the hall, where Xu reported that Xin Bairen had evidence of three groups colluding with the Eight Serpent Sect and asked to deliver it in person.
• Xu Jiuling warned Qing Chen that Heavenly Jade Island might summon him to report his duties because the Sect Master wished to see him.
• Qing Chen considered traveling to receive Xin Bairen’s information, then heard Xu Jiuling mention the Sect Master.

Sun Wudi left Tianshu Hall after losing his temper with the Foundation Establishment stewards and hurried to Mingwang Peak in response to True Person Budong’s summons. He recalled asking his master for help obtaining a Dragon-Tiger Golden Core, then sat before him, fidgeting as he struggled to speak.

• Sun Wudi berated the Foundation Establishment stewards for resisting his orders and drove them out of Tianshu Hall.
• Sun Wudi recalled how he had given True Person Budong two hundred thousand spirit stones toward securing a Dragon-Tiger Golden Core.
• Sun Wudi flew to Mingwang Peak and passed the mountain-guarding disciples without needing to show his command token.
• True Person Budong invited Sun Wudi into the Immovable Wisdom King Hall and offered him a meditation cushion.
• Sun Wudi sat obediently before his master but soon began fidgeting, unable to bring himself to ask what he wanted.

True Person Budong gave Sun Wudi the treasures he needed to prepare for a Golden Core breakthrough and revealed his concern about hidden threats within the sect. As Sun Wudi entered seclusion under his master's protection, True Person Budong wondered how Qing Chen would respond to the conflict brewing on Heavenly Jade Island.

• True Person Budong gave Sun Wudi a Dragon-Tiger Golden Core and explained that he had spent decades preparing it to support his disciple's breakthrough.
• True Person Budong gave Sun Wudi Golden Python Rain Dew Incense, Calamity-Transcending Fine Wine, and Spirit-Enlightenment Tea, and told him to enter seclusion while he stood guard.
• Sun Wudi asked what could threaten the Azure Wave Archipelago, and True Person Budong warned that the greatest danger might come from within the sect, even from someone on Heavenly Jade Island.
• True Person Budong recalled that Wan Hun and Yuji were summoning hall leaders to undermine Qing Chen, and wondered how Qing Chen would respond to his letter.

Xue Qingxia revealed that she had reached the pseudo-core realm and drove Baili Tingfeng from Pill Lineage Peak. Meanwhile, Qing Chen arrived at a hostile elders’ meeting to report on his work, where Grand Elder Wan Hun had arranged for him to sit opposite the elders.

• Baili Tingfeng demanded that Xue Qingxia refine medicinal pills and accused her of disrespecting her seniors.
• Xue Qingxia released her pseudo-core spiritual pressure, forcing Baili Tingfeng back and revealing her cultivation.
• Baili Tingfeng warned that Xue Qingxia’s backer might fall and that another alchemist could replace her, then hurried away.
• Xue Qingxia trusted that her lord could not be shaken and reflected on how their dual cultivation had benefited her cultivation.
• Grand Elder Wan Hun and the other elders gathered for Qing Chen’s work report meeting, with Yuji and Heavenfire True Person present but Budong absent.
• Qing Chen entered the Elder Hall and calmly took the seat opposite Wan Hun, despite the hostile reception.

Qing Chen faced Elder Yuji and Grand Elder Wan Hun’s accusations in the Elder Hall, answering their hostility with a calm display of tea-making and a pointed warning about hot tempers. He offered the elders tea, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Elder Yuji criticized Qing Chen for neglecting the Elder Hall, while the other elders stayed silent and Xin Bairen seemed distracted.
• Elder Wan Hun urged Qing Chen to answer Yuji, and Qing Chen dismissed Yuji’s remarks as nonsense.
• Wan Hun pressed Qing Chen over his manner and used his divine sense to intimidate him, but Qing Chen responded with a pointed explanation of his burdens as Hall Lord.
• Qing Chen brewed Cold Mountain Temple’s Late Maple Grove Tips with Demon Lotus Karmic Fire and warned that people with restless tempers should cool down.
• Qing Chen filled five spiritwood cups with tea and asked the elders who would share it with him.

Elder Wan Hun attacked Qing Chen with his soul art during the elders’ meeting, but Qing Chen’s powerful Demon Seed Divine Sense and Six-Petaled Demon Lotus turned the clash against him. Xin Bairen concluded that Qing Chen was the strongest candidate to succeed the Sect Master, while Wan Hun was left shocked by the junior’s power.

• Elder Wan Hun secretly struck at Qing Chen with the Thousand Souls, Ten Thousand Spirits Mind-Seizing Art.
• Qing Chen manifested his blood-colored divine sense avatar and fought Wan Hun’s black shadow above the round table.
• Qing Chen summoned the Six-Petaled Demon Lotus, which blocked Wan Hun’s Soul Needles and devoured some of his resentful soul power.
• Elder Yuji realized Qing Chen’s divine sense rivaled that of a late Golden Core cultivator, and Xin Bairen stopped pretending to be dazed.
• Xin Bairen judged Qing Chen the most qualified candidate to become the next Sect Master of the Condensed Jade Sect.

Qing Chen struggled against Wan Hun’s vicious divine-sense technique as the ghost king shattered most of his demon lotus. With his defense on the verge of collapse, Qing Chen launched the Demon Lotus Treasure-Corroding Curse and released countless cursed soul seeds.

• Wan Hun unleashed his Ghost King Soul Devour technique, filling the hall with black threads and attacking Qing Chen’s blood-shadow demon lotus.
• The ghost king crushed two of Qing Chen’s blood ribbons and drove his blood shadow back, while Xin Bairen anxiously watched.
• Wan Hun’s black wind and vengeful souls battered Qing Chen’s sea of consciousness, and the ghost king shattered four more lotus petals.
• Qing Chen endured the assault, realized he had to counterattack, and cast the Demon Lotus Treasure-Corroding Curse.
• Qing Chen’s demon lotus burst into countless needlepoint soul seeds wrapped in eerie curse inscriptions, filling the hall with a rotten stench.

Qing Chen’s blood shadow used the Treasure Corroding Curse to badly damage Wan Hun’s Ghost King Phantom, while a precious talisman from Yuji saved Wan Hun from worse harm. Qing Chen devoured the phantom’s fragments to restore and strengthen his divine sense, then taunted the weakened Wan Hun.

• Wan Hun drove his Ghost King Phantom to attack Qing Chen, but Qing Chen unleashed the Treasure Corroding Curse and corroded its claw and chest.
• Yuji used a precious talisman to shield Wan Hun’s phantom from the curse, though the phantom still broke apart.
• Qing Chen’s blood shadow devoured the scattered fragments and used the Six-Petaled Demon Lotus to replenish his divine sense, which showed signs of advancing.
• Wan Hun’s aura fell sharply, and Qing Chen mocked him by asking whether he needed help breathing and why he had stopped asking for a report.

Qing Chen faced Yuji’s challenge under the Sect Master’s edict, then exposed Yuji’s alleged collusion with the Eight Serpent Sect through Xin Bairen’s testimony and evidence. The elders saw Xin Bairen turn against Yuji as he presented a jade slip explaining why Qing Chen had declared war without consulting the Elder Hall.

• Yuji presented the Sect Master’s edict and demanded Qing Chen answer for Earth Pass Island’s accounts and defenses.
• Qing Chen said his master, True Person Budong, had already submitted the requested records to the Sect Master.
• Yuji accused Qing Chen of declaring war without authorization, and Qing Chen countered that members of the Elder Hall had colluded with outsiders.
• Xin Bairen accused Yuji of colluding with outsiders and attempting to frame Qing Chen, shocking Yuji and the surrounding elders.
• Xin Bairen presented a jade slip alleging Yuji had directed Rewarding Virtue and others to cooperate with the Eight Serpent Sect, and said Qing Chen had declared war after discovering an insider.

Xin Bairen revealed evidence that Yuji had colluded with the Eight Serpent Sect, and Qing Chen won the support of four influential elders as Wan Hun was left unable to respond. Sect Master Xuanji True Lord arrived with a young man and approached the seat of honor, placing Qing Chen under the weight of his Nascent Soul power.

• Xin Bairen activated a jade slip that showed Yuji’s orders to Rewarding Virtue and arrangements with the Eight Serpent Sect’s White Dragon Envoy and Second Elder, Poison Python True Person.
• Tianhuo denounced Yuji, while Qing Chen challenged Wan Hun to say how the sect should handle the evidence; Wan Hun remained silent.
• Xin Bairen, Tianhuo, Dan Ding, and Xuanzhen drank their tea in a show of support for Qing Chen.
• Xuanji True Lord entered the hall with a young man, steadied Wan Hun with his true essence, and walked toward the seat of honor as Qing Chen felt the pressure of his power.

Xuanji True Lord arrived at the Elder Hall and disciplined Yuji for colluding with the Outer Dao and secretly dealing with the Eight Serpent Sect. He reassigned Yuji’s post, addressed the other elders, and warned that corruption within the Condensed Jade Sect posed its greatest danger.

• Qing Chen recognized the gulf between his Golden Core strength and Xuanji True Lord’s power, while Chi Xuntian greeted him without deference or hostility.
• Xuanji True Lord struck Yuji, stripped him of his position as Hall Vice Lord, appointed Tianhuo in his place, and ordered Yuji to enter secluded cultivation until he reached the late Golden Core stage.
• Xuanji True Lord credited Xin Bairen for reporting the matter but withheld a reward because Baili Tingfeng had also been involved, then warned Xin Bairen to keep his people in line.
• Xuanji True Lord treated Wan Hun’s disordered divine sense and told him to recuperate in seclusion.
• After commenting on Qing Chen’s tea, Xuanji True Lord warned that corruption among the Condensed Jade Sect’s elders and hall leaders threatened the sect from within.

Qing Chen swore loyalty to the sect, then announced that he intended to destroy the Lesser Cold Temple before turning against the Eight Serpent Sect. His plan alarmed the elders, who warned that the two factions together commanded at least eleven Golden Core cultivators and had wider religious connections.

• Qing Chen declared that he would kill anyone who betrayed the sect and punish those who spoke about the gathering.
• The elders voiced support for Xuanji True Lord, while Xin Bairen worried that he had chosen the wrong side by siding with Qing Chen against Yuji.
• Xuanji True Lord asked Qing Chen when he would eradicate the Eight Serpent Sect, and Qing Chen said he would first raze the Lesser Cold Temple.
• Wan Hun, Xin Bairen, and Elder Tianhuo warned Qing Chen about the Lesser Cold Temple's Golden Core experts and the Eight Serpent Sect's strength.
• Yuji cautioned Qing Chen that religious factions connected to the Lesser Cold Temple might intervene, further startling Xuanji True Lord.

Qing Chen persuaded Xuanji True Lord that conquering Lesser Cold Temple and the Eight Serpent Sect could greatly expand the Condensed Jade Sect’s territory, with Cold Mountain Temple’s help. Xuanji promoted Qing Chen to Deputy Sect Master, shocking the elders and leaving them unsure how to respond.

• Xuanji True Lord weighed Qing Chen’s proposed attack and recognized the strategic gains of taking Lesser Cold Temple and the Eight Serpent Sect.
• Xuanji explained that the Ancient Covenant prevented Nascent Soul True Lords from destroying great sects arbitrarily, but said he could make his stance clear without personally taking action.
• Qing Chen declared his loyalty to the Condensed Jade Sect and revealed that he had spent ten years planning the campaign with Cold Mountain Temple’s assistance.
• Elder Tianhuo and Elder Wan Hun questioned the territory agreement and how other sects might respond, while Xuanji noted their sect masters were away.
• Xuanji promoted Qing Chen from Tianshu Hall Hall Vice Lord to Deputy Sect Master, and Elder Wan Hun and Elder Yuji reacted with shock and concern.

Wang Shisan and other rogue cultivators conscripted by the Eight Serpent Sect were taken toward Guangqi Island as a war between the Blood River Old Devil and the Lesser Cold Temple intensified. As Wang Shisan feared for his survival, the chapter revealed that the surrounding sea was already engulfed in brutal fighting and Coldwater Island had nearly fallen.

• Wang Shisan complained about his uncomfortable armor and regretted enlisting with the Eight Serpent Sect, though his salary and medicinal pills had helped him reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
• The rogue cultivators aboard the spirit boat learned they were being sent to reinforce the Lesser Cold Temple, and they feared becoming cannon fodder in the war.
• An Eight Serpent Sect disciple struck a sobbing cultivator and threatened the group with military punishment if they continued to complain.
• Wang Shisan saw a fleet carrying thousands of conscripted cultivators toward Guangqi Island and listened as Liu Laosi worried about their chances of survival.
• The narration showed that Coldwater Island had been devastated, with only the Island Lord's Mansion still resisting.

Rogue cultivators suffered heavy casualties while the Condensed Jade Sect and Demon Lotus Sect used them as expendable forces in the siege of a blockhouse. The Second-in-Command of the Iron Saber Society realized that the gift he had made at Qing Chen’s Golden Core Ceremony had saved his group from the front ranks.

• The blockhouse defenders fired spell and artifact crossbow bolts into the rogue cultivators’ formation, killing several and wounding others.
• Hua Tieshou directed a Spirit Cannon blast at the blockhouse, weakening its formation barrier as the rogue cultivators cheered.
• The blockhouse defenders launched Yellow Talismans while Demon Lotus Sect cultivators attacked the barrier from the flank.
• Demon Lotus Sect guards collected the fallen rogue cultivators’ bodies, and the Second-in-Command warned his wounded disciple not to draw attention.
• The Second-in-Command reflected that the Iron Saber Society’s 450-spirit-stone gift had secured a safer position and concluded that rogue cultivators suffered in both prosperity and ruin.

Qing Chen, now Deputy Sect Master of the Condensed Jade Sect, assessed the stalled campaign against Lesser Cold Temple and asked what forces remained available. Xin Bairen reported that rival sects were tying down their Golden Core cultivators, while key elders and fighters were absent or stationed elsewhere.

• Qing Chen returned to Xuanchi Island, where Cold Mountain Temple had given him a base for the assault on Lesser Cold Temple.
• Xin Bairen reported that the campaign had taken twenty-seven Second-Level Islands but had not killed any of Lesser Cold Temple’s Golden Core cultivators.
• Xin Bairen described the Eight Serpent Sect’s advance on Guangqi Island and the battles in which Cold Mountain Temple and its allies were holding off rival forces.
• Xin Bairen said Qing Chen could deploy two Condensed Jade Treasure Ships, ten thousand cultivators, and three Golden Core cultivators besides himself.
• Qing Chen asked where Xuanzhen, Dan Ding, Xue Qingxia, and Sun Wudi were, and Xin Bairen explained that they had been assigned to guard the sect or ordered into seclusion.

Qing Chen reviewed the Sect’s costly, stalled Golden Core breakthroughs and the blockade against the Lesser Cold Temple, then questioned whether Dharma Master Su Xin could endure without outside aid. The chapter left him confident that the besieged temple could not rely on Abbot Huan Chan or Wuji Island to rescue it.

• Several Sect cultivators failed or died while attempting to break through to Golden Core, while Xue Qingxia and Sun Wudi succeeded.
• Qing Chen recognized that the Sect Master and other powers had left him the hardest challenge, and Xin Bairen listened cautiously as Qing Chen discussed the Sect’s politics.
• Xin Bairen reported that Lesser Cold Temple cultivators were fearful and largely confined to the Nine Great Guard Islands and Little Cold Island, while Spirit Crane True Person and Songshan True Person oversaw the besieging forces.
• Xin Bairen said the Sect had sealed the enemy’s supply routes and killed cultivators who tried to trade with the Lesser Cold Temple.
• Qing Chen mocked Dharma Master Su Xin’s resolve and doubted that she could hold out until Abbot Huan Chan returned from Primordial Magnetic Origin Mountain.

Qing Chen assessed the Condensed Jade Sect’s ample supplies and prepared a major campaign against the Nine Great Guard Islands and Lesser Cold Temple. He rallied seven thousand cultivators with promises of rewards, and the assembly began to answer his call.

• Qing Chen discussed the sect’s resources with Xin Bairen and recalled that he could not enter Immortal-Severing Island because its formation remained sealed.
• Qing Chen stood atop Xuanchi City’s walls and remembered the battles that had helped establish his power there.
• Qing Chen inspected seven thousand assembled cultivators and forty Mysterious Blood Warships, including a Condensed Jade Treasure Ship.
• Qing Chen urged the cultivators to conquer the Nine Great Guard Islands and Lesser Cold Temple, promising magical artifacts, doubled stipends, and shares of the spoils.
• The Second-in-Command of the Iron Saber Society shouted, “Conquest!”

Qing Chen sent the main force to attack the Lesser Cold Temple’s Nine Great Guard Islands while secretly arranging additional defenses and preparing the Demon Lotus Sect’s forces for battle. He placed Su Zixuan in command of three thousand demon soldiers, who would join the assault to draw the temple’s attention.

• Qing Chen ordered forty Mysterious Blood Warships to depart with more than six thousand cultivators, then privately sent Xue Qingxia and Sun Wudi to reinforce key positions.
• Xue Qingxia replaced Xuan Zhen True Person at Earth Pass Island, while Sun Wudi joined the campaign after advancing in both spell and body cultivation.
• Qing Chen summoned the Demon Lotus Sect’s hidden forces and inspected three thousand armored demon soldiers and their Foundation Establishment commanders.
• Qing Chen gave Su Zixuan the Devil Lord Command Token and placed all the Demon Lotus Sect forces under her command.
• Su Zixuan prepared to deploy her Spider-Mantis Essence-Devouring Soul-Slaying Formation alongside the Demon Lotus Guards’ Suspended Skull Battle Formation and a Condensed Jade Treasure Ship.

Lesser Cold Temple’s leaders argued over the Condensed Jade Sect’s overwhelming assault as its outer guard islands fell. Dharma Master Su Xin remained silent while her subordinates’ fear and anger gave way to strange, uncontrolled desire.

• Guan Lian Dharma Master demanded that Dharma Master Su Xin stop retreating after four guard islands fell and the enemy seized much of the Joyous Zen Sutra.
• Guan Lian Dharma Master grabbed a blue-robed Foundation Establishment nun and ignored her protests as the gathered monks watched in silence.
• Dharma Master Miao Xuan warned that Northern Guard Island Three was close to falling and described the Condensed Jade Sect’s ships, forces, and battle formations.
• Dharma Master Miao Xuan reflected that the temple was badly outnumbered and that its Nine Great Guard Islands might not withstand the assault for more than a few months.
• Dharma Master Su Xin continued sitting silently on the lotus platform, winding her fingers around her jeweled necklace.