Recaps

Nangong Wang and Qian Baoshan celebrated their plot to use Southern Yue forces against Qing Chen, unaware of the danger awaiting them. At Linyuan City, Qing Chen answered Black Miasma True Lord’s taunts by launching a Five-Colored Rainbow from the city gate.

• Qian Baoshan told Nangong Wang that Lin Changsheng had killed over three hundred people, including some distantly connected to their households.
• Nangong Wang reassured Qian Baoshan that their deep network and secret soul restrictions would shield them from Qing Chen’s investigation.
• Nangong Wang revealed that they had handed Wuhun True Lord a map of Blackstone County’s defenses and planned to use Southern Yue, the Qing Household, and the Snake Spirit Way to seize Qiongzhou’s lordship.
• Qian Baoshan agreed with Nangong Wang and anticipated gaining resources, lifespan-extending treasures, and a chance to renew their cultivation.
• Black Miasma True Lord harassed Linyuan City with poisonous fire and taunted Qing Chen to come out and fight.
• Qing Chen answered Black Miasma True Lord’s challenge, and a Five-Colored Rainbow burst from Linyuan City’s gate.

Qing Chen revealed his Black Demon Blood Armor and used the Vajra Mound to withstand Yinshi Marquis's full-force attack. Black Miasma True Lord retreated and reported Qing Chen's strength to Wuhun True Lord, who ordered the plan to continue in Yuxi Prefecture.

• Qing Chen merged the Third Demonic Aspect with his body and confronted Yinshi Marquis's attack with the Vajra Mound.
• Qing Chen burned thirty drops of essence blood to hold back Yinshi Marquis's erosion domain, shocking Black Miasma True Lord.
• Black Miasma True Lord withdrew his troops and fled to his camp while Yinshi Marquis vanished into the poison miasma.
• Black Miasma True Lord sent Wuhun True Lord recordings of Qing Chen's battle and warned him about the Buddhist treasure.
• Wuhun True Lord ordered Black Miasma True Lord and Yinshi Marquis to keep Qing Chen occupied while the plan in Yuxi Prefecture proceeded.

As Great Jin prepared for battle elsewhere, Qing Jie led the Eighteen Caves’ Bone Cave Warship to a frontier town and ordered its destruction to destroy a node of fortune. The town’s defenses collapsed under the attack, leaving its people at the mercy of the bandits.

• Rogue cultivators in the town worried over rising spirit field taxes and conscription as the residents finished their work at sunset.
• The Bone Cave Warship and its flying boats appeared, and panic spread as the townspeople recognized the Eighteen Caves’ bandits.
• Qing Jie revealed that he had come to destroy the node of fortune beneath the town and ordered his forces to kill everyone and seize their resources.
• The bandits unleashed their attacks, quickly breaking the town’s defensive formation and demolishing its walls and houses.
• Amid the burning town and the residents’ screams, a bandit in blood-red vine armor crushed a herdboy’s Hollow-Cry Cicada.

Qing Jie slaughtered Blackstone County's town mayor and guards, then ordered his forces to destroy fortune nodes and push toward Yuxi Prefecture. Four hours later, Wuhun True Lord's army reached Blackstone City, where Li Chenjiang appeared on the walls beside Chongxu and Jia Daoyi.

• Qing Jie killed the town's Foundation Establishment mayor and a dozen Qi Refining guards by draining their five-element essence.
• Qing Jie ordered his men to loot the town, destroy its fortune node, and then advance toward Yuxi Prefecture, striking down his deputy when he questioned the plan.
• Sixty thousand troops from Southern Yue's Soul-Devouring Department arrived at Blackstone City after gathering in secret with help from the Nangong Household and Qian Household.
• Wuhun True Lord demanded Blackstone City's surrender and unleashed soul pressure against its defenders.
• Li Chenjiang appeared atop the gate tower beside Dharma Nascent Soul Chongxu and Jia Daoyi, calmly addressing Wuhun True Lord.

Li Chenjiang confronted Wuhun True Lord and the Firepit Cave Lord outside the city, then used the Dragon-Subduing Fist to shatter the Firepit Cave Lord’s attack. Wuhun True Lord stopped Li Chenjiang’s counterattack, and Li Chenjiang declared that their road was closed.

• Wuhun True Lord warned Li Chenjiang against interfering in the conflict and invoked Qin Jundi’s reputation.
• The Firepit Cave Lord attacked Li Chenjiang with a colossal palm of fire, threatening the defenders on the city wall.
• Li Chenjiang answered with the Dragon-Subduing Fist and broke apart the fiery palm, sending his fist force toward the Firepit Cave Lord.
• Wuhun True Lord intercepted Li Chenjiang’s fist force with black beams that corroded it away.
• Wuhun True Lord recognized Li Chenjiang’s fist technique and emerging rules, while the Firepit Cave Lord watched him with fear.
• Li Chenjiang faced the two True Lords and declared, “This road is closed.”

Li Chenjiang noticed suspicious gaps in Blackstone City's defenses as Southern Yue troops gathered, while Qing Chen broke away from Linyuan City to aid Yuxi Prefecture and was pursued by Yinshi Marquis. Qing Chen was left trapped in a worsening battle far from his intended route.

• Li Chenjiang questioned how sixty thousand Southern Yue troops had crossed Blackstone City's territory without any sentries or patrols raising the alarm.
• Jia Daoyi reported that reinforcements led by Xin Bairen, Lin Changsheng, and Sword Fool True Lord were heading toward Blackstone City.
• Qing Chen broke through the encirclement at Linyuan City and raced toward Yuxi Prefecture, but Yinshi Marquis blocked him with the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron.
• Qing Chen tore through Yinshi Marquis's Eroding-Heaven Domain and continued fleeing as the two fought their way toward Pingnan Prefecture and Annan Province.
• Yinshi Marquis attacked again with a stronger domain while Black Miasma True Lord kept the Guanyin Tower Master pinned inside Linyuan City, leaving Qing Chen isolated and slowed.

Wei Ting arrived to aid Qing Chen against the Yinshi Marquis, revealing that he had feigned injury and grown stronger. As the Marquis tried to escape, Qing Chen unleashed his bloodline power and used the Vajra Mound to seal him in place.

• The Yinshi Marquis transformed halfway into a Hui Dragon and prepared to strengthen the Soul-Seizing Yinshi Cauldron against Qing Chen.
• Wei Ting struck from the north with the Sea-Splitting Axe, shattering the Nine Flood Dragons Soul-Devouring Stele’s phantoms and forcing the Marquis back.
• Wei Ting revealed his peak nascent soul middle-stage cultivation and confronted the Marquis over the ambush from three hundred years earlier.
• The Marquis realized he was outmatched by Wei Ting and Qing Chen, recalled his stele, and burned his natal true essence to prepare an escape technique.
• Qing Chen ignited two hundred drops of essence blood and sent his power into the Vajra Mound, whose sealing rules descended around the Marquis.

Qing Chen and Wei Ting wounded Yinshi Marquis so severely that he fled, then split up to respond to threats in Yuxi Prefecture and Qiong Prefecture. At Blackstone City, the defenders discovered their surrounding fortune nodes had been destroyed, suggesting an insider had aided the Southern Yue assault.

• Qing Chen combined his treasures' powers with Wei Ting's axe strike to break Yinshi Marquis's defenses, crack his cauldron, and shatter nearly half of his erosion rules.
• Yinshi Marquis burned his vital essence to escape, warning Qing Chen that Southern Yue had taken the border of Yuxi Prefecture and that the Miao Frontier Gu Tribe wanted him dead.
• Qing Chen sent Wei Ting to Yuxi Prefecture and then Heavenly Abyss Pass, while he headed for Qiong Prefecture.
• At Blackstone City, True Person Wuxin reported that all the surrounding fortune nodes had gone silent after repeated assaults by Southern Yue forces.
• Lei Bao suspected an insider had revealed the nodes' locations, while Hua Tieshou suspected Lin Changsheng and Xin Bairen's departure was connected to the Devil Master's test.

Blackstone City’s defenders struggled to hold the damaged protective formation as Southern Yue forces attacked and hidden agents sabotaged the city from within. More formation-breaking talismans suddenly flew toward the defenses, leaving the city’s leaders caught off guard.

• Hua Tieshou warned that the city’s formation was failing, and explosions at internal nodes further weakened it.
• Daoist Chongxu berated True Person Wuxin and Lei Bao, while Jia Daoyi secretly conserved power and searched for an escape route.
• Li Chenjiang recognized that traitors had infiltrated Blackstone City and prepared to act while relying on Qin Jundi’s protection.
• Wuhun True Lord and Cave Lord Firepit launched coordinated attacks, and Li Chenjiang, Daoist Chongxu, and Jia Daoyi fought back to protect the city.
• As the formation faltered after nearly a hundred exchanges, hidden agents launched three Geng Metal Armor-Piercing Talismans and a Yin Baleful Thunder Jue Talisman from inside the city.

Southern Yue forces breached Blackstone City's barrier, forcing Li Chenjiang to destroy the formation and evacuate the surviving defenders aboard war treasure ships. Hua Tieshou rallied the Demon Lotus Sect and former Miao-Conquest Army to hold off the invaders while the ships escaped.

• Three Geng Metal Armor-Piercing Talismans and a Yin Baleful Thunder Jue Talisman shattered the barrier above Blackstone City's gate, and Wuhun True Lord ordered his troops to charge through.
• Li Chenjiang deployed defensive talismans and a starlight barrier, then ordered True Person Wuxin, Lei Bao, and the formation masters to detonate the city-protecting formation.
• The formation's self-destruction killed nearly a thousand Southern Yue cultivators, and Li Chenjiang ordered the surviving defenders to board the ten hidden War Treasure Ships.
• Wuhun True Lord sent vengeful souls after the ships, while Daoist Chongxu and Jia Daoyi held back the attackers and the three True Lords fought to buy time.
• Hua Tieshou rallied the Demon Lotus Sect and former Miao-Conquest Army with promises of rewards from the Azure Abyss Marquis, then led them toward the breach to hold the enemy back as the ships withdrew.

Li Chenjiang, Chongxu, and Jia Daoyi used a brief opening to escape Blackstone County's fall with seven treasure ships. At Heavenly Abyss Pass, Xiao Canglan received their report and blamed Qing Chen for failing to hold the city.

• Li Chenjiang and the defenders launched a desperate counterattack that slowed the Southern Yue army while he, Chongxu, and Jia Daoyi fought Wuhun True Lord and Cave Lord Firepit.
• Li Chenjiang revealed Qin Jundi's Fist Dao Imprint, frightening the Southern Yue cultivators long enough for the three cultivators and seven treasure ships to break through the blockade.
• The Southern Yue army captured Blackstone County's city after the escaping ships vanished toward Yuxi Prefecture.
• At Heavenly Abyss Pass, Xiao Canglan received the military report describing the city's fall and the defenders' retreat.
• Xiao Canglan condemned Qing Chen for not holding the city himself and announced that he would demote him three ranks.

At the command tent, Xiao Canglan weighed calls to punish Qing Chen for the fall of Blackstone County City and instead gave him a light reprimand with three urgent tasks. Meanwhile, a large coalition army advanced through Miaochong Prefecture, aiming to exploit Qing Chen’s predicament and seize spoils.

• Qing Zhaoye and other officers condemned Qing Chen for losing Blackstone County City, while Wei Ting and Tie Shou defended his record and the sacrifices of his troops.
• Xiao Canglan reprimanded Qing Chen, docked one year of his Immortal Stipend, and ordered him to protect the Imperial Envoy, retake Blackstone City within ten days, and investigate the traitors.
• Xiao Canglan promoted Hua Tieshou for his rear-guard service and warned that Qing Chen would face harsher punishment if he failed any task.
• An allied army of more than fifty thousand cultivators advanced across Miaochong Prefecture, intending to profit from Qing Chen’s troubles and strike while he was occupied.

Qing Chen intercepted the allied army advancing on Blackstone County’s seat and invoked wartime authority to draft its cultivators. The opposing leaders were caught off guard as he ordered them to follow him and suppress the rebellion.

• Qing Tingxue led Nangong Wang, Qian Baoshan, Qing Guhong, and more than fifty thousand allied troops toward Blackstone County’s seat to seize it from Qing Chen’s forces.
• Nangong Wang and Qian Baoshan prepared to activate their hidden measures inside and outside the city, while Qing Tingxue sensed an ominous presence ahead.
• Qing Chen arrived before the allied army with six war treasure ships and thirty thousand elite soldiers of the Qiong Expedition Army.
• Nangong Wang, Qian Baoshan, and Qing Guhong were stunned to see Qing Chen, while Qing Tingxue realized their intelligence about his supposed predicament was wrong.
• Qing Chen displayed his three official command tokens and ordered every cultivator under the allied leaders listed in the Immortal Register to follow him to Blackstone County’s seat and quell the rebellion.

Qing Chen used his official authority to accuse Qing Tingxue, Nangong Wang Jin, Qian Baoshan, and their allied forces of unlawful mobilization and suspected treason, then ordered them to join his campaign against Blackstone County Seat. The allied ranks began to waver under his threats and promises, while Qing Tingxue remained defiant as Qing Chen called them prancing clowns.

• Qing Chen ordered Qing Tingxue to lead her forces as the vanguard against Blackstone City, but she challenged his authority to command them.
• Qing Chen cited the Imperial Court’s laws and his own offices to accuse Qing Tingxue, Nangong Wang Jin, and Qian Baoshan of assembling troops without authorization.
• Qing Chen ordered Lin Changsheng and Xin Bairen to record the leaders as suspected traitors and threatened execution, confiscation, and clan extermination if they disobeyed.
• The Allied Army’s unity faltered as cultivators weighed Qing Chen’s threats against his promises of rewards and official posts for military merit.
• Qing Tingxue secretly tried to rally the wavering forces, and Qing Chen rebuked them as prancing clowns.

Qing Chen killed Qing Guhong and Fu She with his blood-path rules, then used five White Bone Demon Mara Banners to suppress Qing Tingxue. He confronted her over obstructing his execution and seized the moment her resistance faltered, appearing inches away.

• Qing Chen formed a massive blood hand and attacked Qing Guhong and Fu She.
• Qing Tingxue unleashed an ice dragon to protect Qing Guhong, but Qing Chen's five demon banners destroyed the attack and trapped her.
• Qing Chen's blood hand crushed Qing Guhong's and Fu She's defenses, killed them, and devoured their qi and blood.
• Qing Chen accused Qing Tingxue of obstructing military discipline and possibly colluding with the two rebels.
• Qing Tingxue's resistance weakened under the banners' pressure, and Qing Chen appeared directly in front of her.

Qing Chen slapped Qing Tingxue into submission and ordered her to march, while Qing Jie’s bandits launched a surprise attack on White River County. The county defenders held their formation against the first assault, but the bandits continued attacking despite heavy losses.

• Qing Chen struck Qing Tingxue, warned her to know her place, and ordered her to muster troops and march.
• Zhao Hu and Li Rui dismissed the danger to White River County and decided not to send a distress signal when the Eighteen Caves bandits appeared.
• Qing Jie led his bandits in an assault on White River County and urged them to kill the defenders and plunder the city.
• The county soldiers reinforced their protective formation and repelled the bandits’ opening attacks, while ballistae inflicted heavy casualties.
• A bandit leader warned Qing Jie that the assault was failing, but Qing Jie threatened retreaters and ordered the attack to continue.

Qing Jie feigned a disorganized attack on Baihe County City, luring Zhao Hu and Li Rui into leading the county soldiers out through the gates. Lie Feng, Bu Jingyun, and their hidden body-cultivator force then struck from inside the city, leaving the defenders caught in a trap as the assault began.

• Qing Jie kept his attacks weak while his bandits appeared to suffer heavy losses, convincing Zhao Hu and Li Rui that they were an easy target.
• Zhao Hu led fifteen hundred county soldiers out of Baihe County City to attack the retreating bandits, and the two forces clashed.
• Lie Feng, Bu Jingyun, three Vajra realm battle generals, and one hundred Boulder realm body cultivators revealed themselves after several market wards exploded inside the city.
• Zhao Hu and Li Rui realized the defenders had been trapped, while Lie Feng charged the gate officers and killed a pseudo-core banner officer with one punch.
• Bu Jingyun rushed toward the city’s formation core as Li Rui turned to intercept him with the Thunderclap Sword Art, and Bu Jingyun activated the Immovable Wisdom King Body.

Bu Jingyun and Qing Jie’s forces overwhelmed the defenders of Blackstone County, while Qing Chen forced the allied army to mobilize at full speed. The allied cultivators obeyed after Lin Changsheng executed more than a hundred who resisted, and the fleet prepared to march on Blackstone County.

• Bu Jingyun defeated Li Rui and killed the formation masters, causing the city’s protective shield to crack.
• Qing Jie revealed his strength and slaughtered county soldiers as Lie Feng’s body cultivators broke through the defenders.
• Qing Chen ordered the allied army to stow its spirit artifact-grade flying boats and reach a point outside Blackstone County within three hours.
• Lin Changsheng used the Black Yin Thousand-Soul Banner to kill more than a hundred cultivators who resisted or delayed the orders.
• Qing Tingxue withdrew aboard a Qing Household treasure ship, while Nangong Wang and Qian Baoshan ordered their forces to board without protest.

Qing Chen sent the allied force toward Blackstone County’s city while planning to use an imperial investigation to purge his enemies, but an urgent report revealed that Li Wenbi and the Eastern Prince’s heir had engaged Wuhun True Lord’s army at Fallen Soul Slope. Fearing for the heir and his own Qiongzhou plans, Qing Chen burned essence blood and raced ahead to the battle.

• Qing Chen ordered the allied treasure ships to advance toward Blackstone County’s city, with the army supervisors following behind.
• Qing Chen considered how imperial envoy Li Wenbi’s investigation could expose the powers obstructing his control of Qiongzhou.
• Jueqing and Han Shi urgently reported that Li Wenbi, Ji Jin, and their companions had begun fighting Wuhun True Lord’s vanguard at Fallen Soul Slope.
• Qing Chen erupted in anger over Li Wenbi’s decision to involve the Eastern Prince’s heir and feared the consequences if Ji Jin were harmed.
• Qing Chen donned his Black Demon Blood Armor, ignited thirty drops of essence blood, and sped toward the battle while ordering Lin Changsheng and Xin Bairen to keep the army moving.

Li Wenbi and Ji Jin were trapped at Fallen Soul Slope by Wuhun True Lord’s forces, while the Cave Lord of Firepit targeted the heir apparent with a devastating attack. Li Wenbi fought to hold off the attackers as Ji Jin faced the incoming flaming palm.

• Ji Jin and Eunuch Ding struggled to withstand the soul miasma, and Eunuch Ding urged them to retreat.
• Li Wenbi refused to abandon the people of Great Jin and used his Azure Radiance Sword to purge thousands of souls.
• Wuhun True Lord revealed that the other members of their party had been killed and said capturing Ji Jin was worth more than taking three county seats.
• Li Wenbi told Ji Jin that officials from Lingnan Circuit might be tracking them and promised to protect him until reinforcements arrived.
• The Cave Lord of Firepit launched his Fire Baleful Heaven-Burning Palm at Ji Jin while Wuhun True Lord’s demon pinned down Li Wenbi’s sword.

Ji Jin and Li Wenbi faced defeat as Wu Hun and the Cave Lord of Firepit attacked with power drawn from Southern Yue’s fortune. Explosions in Blackstone County weakened that power, allowing Li Wenbi to counterattack, but Wu Hun ordered Firepit to keep pressing Ji Jin while troops repaired the destroyed nodes.

• The Cave Lord of Firepit intensified his assault on Ji Jin’s protective pendant, while Ji Jin debated using his last-resort talismans.
• Explosions in Blackstone County destroyed fortune nodes, weakening Wu Hun and Firepit as Jueqing and Han Shi’s Demon Lotus Sect forces fled the city.
• Li Wenbi seized the opening and used his Azure Radiance Sword to cut down Wu Hun’s Three-Headed Demon Soul and clear away soul miasma.
• With Firepit’s attacks weakened, Ji Jin withdrew from the brink of using his crystal talisman and urged Li Wenbi to hold on for reinforcements.
• Firepit wanted to pursue the node destroyers, but Wu Hun ordered him to keep attacking Ji Jin and sent troops to hunt the fleeing enemies and restore the nodes.

News of Qing Chen’s military crisis reached the Imperial Capital, where the Luan-yang Princess urged Tie Qingyao to end their engagement. Tie Qingyao refused and declared that she would stand by Qing Chen through fortune or hardship.

• Secret reports spread news that Blackstone City and Baihe County City had fallen and that Imperial Envoy Li Wenbi’s party was missing.
• The Luan-yang Princess arrived at the Iron Estate and hurried to see Tie Qingyao.
• The Luan-yang Princess told Tie Qingyao that Qing Chen faced blame at court and urged her to break off their engagement.
• Tie Qingyao defended the marriage agreement and vowed to stay with Qing Chen unless he betrayed Great Jin or harmed the Iron Household.

Tie Qingyao reassured the Luan-yang Princess that Qing Chen could handle the rumors and urged her not to become a pawn in the Imperial House’s intrigues. At Fallen Soul Slope, Wuhun True Lord forced captives and cultivators to repair Blackstone County’s formation with their lives, regained the military formation’s power, and ordered it activated.

• Tie Qingyao told the Luan-yang Princess that Qing Chen’s enemies were spreading distorted rumors and that his strength and planning made his position unlikely to be hopeless.
• Tie Qingyao explained that she had investigated Qing Chen’s ruthless methods and told Luan-yang not to persuade her or let others use her as a pawn.
• Qing Chen remained unafraid of the political upheaval, believing the Iron Household could absorb its consequences and that the turmoil might aid his purge.
• The Cave Lord of Firepit sent personal guards and five Golden Core cultivators after the fleeing Demon Lotus Sect members.
• At Blackstone County, Southern Yue forces drove surviving formation masters and prisoners to repair the formation, killing and replacing those who collapsed.
• Wuhun True Lord regained the military formation’s fortune power and ordered his forces to activate it.

Qing Chen arrived at Fallen Soul Slope as Wuhun True Lord’s forces overwhelmed the defenders and killed the Cave Lord of Firepit with a single strike. The battlefield fell silent, with the fight against Southern Yue still unresolved.

• Wuhun True Lord ordered more than forty thousand Southern Yue cultivators to burn their essence blood and strengthen the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
• The Cave Lord of Firepit battered Ji Jin’s protective barrier while Li Wenbi struggled to hold back the soul miasma, and Eunuch Ding was struck down.
• Qing Chen roared a threat at Wu Hun and charged into the battlefield, targeting the Cave Lord of Firepit instead of Ji Jin.
• Qing Chen merged with the Third Demonic Aspect and entered the yang spirit state, empowering his blood path rules.
• Qing Chen pierced the Cave Lord of Firepit’s defenses with his Pojun Battle Halberd and annihilated his dharma nascent soul, killing him instantly.

Qing Chen arrived at Blackstone County and instantly killed the Cave Lord of Firepit, then confronted Wuhun True Lord while the battered Li Wenbi urged him to flee with Ji Jin. After Qing Chen revealed that he had driven Yinshi Marquis away, Wuhun launched a full-force attack, and Qing Chen gathered his power to counter it.

• Qing Chen killed the Cave Lord of Firepit with one strike and collected his remains.
• Qing Chen threatened Wuhun True Lord and refused Li Wenbi’s plea to take Ji Jin and escape.
• Li Wenbi told Qing Chen that he had evidence of Southern Yue infiltration and unlawful activities, which he had entrusted to Ji Jin.
• Qing Chen announced that he had beaten Yinshi Marquis nearly to death and forced him to retreat to Southern Yue.
• Wuhun unleashed Wan Hun Devour Heaven, and Qing Chen activated his techniques and focused his strength into the Pojun Battle Halberd to meet the attack.