Recaps

Huang Xiao told Shi Hen and Liu Tengfan that Huo Lian had forbidden him from practicing the Demon Refining Formula, but Pang Ji had now instructed him to use it. Concerned that this had disrupted Huo Lian’s plans, they sent Huang Xiao to find him, while Pang Ji wondered whether Huo Lian could remove the formula from Huang Xiao.

• Huang Xiao explained that he had used a cultivation method he comprehended himself because Huo Lian had forbidden him from practicing the Demon Refining Formula.
• Shi Hen and Liu Tengfan suspected the formula might have a problem and asked Huang Xiao whether he had noticed anything unusual.
• Shi Hen told Huang Xiao to inform Huo Lian that he had practiced the formula, warning that it might affect Huo Lian’s plans for the final contest for Hall Master.
• Huang Xiao left the Demon Hall’s Main Hall to seek Huo Lian, though he was unsure whether Huo Lian would be where he expected.
• Pang Ji learned of Huang Xiao’s departure and wondered whether Huo Lian could dispel the Demon Refining Formula, while intending to make Huang Xiao continue practicing it regardless.

Huang Xiao discovered that he could not undo the Demon Refining Formula’s effects on his own True Qi, so he rushed to find the Patriarch. Meanwhile, Pang Ruyuan prepared to bring the Tomb Clan out early, and the gates to their sanctuary began opening years ahead of schedule under an order from the First Hall Master.

• Huang Xiao tried using his Heart Fire to separate his Essence Blood from his True Qi, but the Reverse Refining Method had no effect.
• Huang Xiao hurried toward Chaotic Province to find the Patriarch and ask for help reversing the Demon Refining Formula.
• Pang Ruyuan replaced his damaged Divine Sense and decided to bring the Tomb Clan out early to pursue the Longevity Pill.
• Pang Ruyuan focused on his frozen true body, and the formation sustaining it began to tremble and transmit a signal.
• Mo Pozheng saw the stone gates to the outside ripple and display an order signed by the First Hall Master.

Mo Pozheng learned that the First Hall Master had dispelled the formations sealing the Tomb Clan’s exit and ordered them to contend for the Longevity Pill. After confirming that the other Hall Masters remained asleep, Mo Pozheng prepared to leave and entrusted the clan to the Great Elder.

• Mo Pozheng read the First Hall Master’s command and discovered that the Tomb Clan could leave early to seek the Longevity Pill.
• Mo Pozheng opened the stone doors, traveled through the passage, and briefly explored the outside world before returning to the Land of Slumber.
• Mo Pozheng tested the doors to the other Hall Masters’ chamber and found them still sealed, then concluded that the Thousand-Year Period had not begun.
• Mo Pozheng told the Great Elder that the First Hall Master had opened the way out and explained that he planned to leave personally to pursue the Longevity Pill.

Mo Pozheng left the secret chamber to pursue the Longevity Pill alone while keeping the clan’s escape route secret. At the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency, Huo Lian learned that Huang Xiao had been forced to cultivate the Demon Refining Formula and feared losing his influence over him.

• Mo Pozheng took the Great Elder outside, then said he would leave alone and ordered the Great Elder to guard the secret chamber and keep their ability to leave hidden.
• Huang Xiao found Huo Lian absent at the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency and trained while waiting for him to return.
• When Huo Lian came back, Huang Xiao explained that Pang Ji had discovered his secret and forced him to cultivate the Demon Refining Formula.
• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that counteracting the formula had taken him a thousand years, and instructed him to keep cultivating it so he could answer to Pang Ji.
• After Huang Xiao left, Huo Lian realized that Huang Xiao’s cultivation made him vulnerable to the First Hall Master’s control and feared it would ruin his hopes.

Huo Lian sought Essence Blood Annihilation as a way to help Huang Xiao overcome the Demon Refining Formula and demanded the Ghost Daoist Canon from Yan Youwang. When Yan Youwang refused, Huo Lian turned to the Ghost Capital, insisting Yan could influence it and ordering him to open it.

• Huo Lian admitted his own method could not quickly resolve Huang Xiao's Demon Refining Formula.
• Yan Youwang explained Essence Blood Annihilation's effects and its connection to the Ghost Daoist Canon and the Ghost Stele.
• Huo Lian demanded the Ghost Daoist Canon, but Yan Youwang refused to reveal the Ghost Spirit Sect's secret even under threat.
• After calming down, Huo Lian asked where Essence Blood Annihilation might still exist, and Yan Youwang pointed to the destroyed Ghost Capital.
• Huo Lian ordered Yan Youwang to open the Ghost Capital, but Yan Youwang said it could not be opened by human power.

Huo Lian persuaded Yan Youwang to risk influencing the Ghost Capital's opening so Huang Xiao could search for Essence Blood Annihilation. Yan Youwang agreed, asking Huo Lian to protect the Ghost Spirit Sect's legacy if he died.

• Huo Lian told Yan Youwang to bring the Ghost Capital's opening forward and promised to help him recover afterward.
• Yan Youwang doubted Huo Lian's assurances until Huo Lian revealed he had obtained the complete Heavenly Evil Imperishable Art.
• Yan Youwang agreed to influence the opening, though he could not guarantee how much he could affect it.
• Huo Lian said Huang Xiao would enter the Ghost Capital with its sole remaining token to seek Essence Blood Annihilation.
• Yan Youwang asked Huo Lian to preserve the Ghost Spirit Sect's legacy if Yan Youwang died during the attempt.

Huang Xiao returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall, reported to Zhu Xing E, and resumed cultivating. When his Ghost Capital Token stirred ten days later, he prepared to travel to Vengeful Ghost Peak before the Ghost Capital opened.

• Huo Lian and Yan Youwang left Wei Yidao in hiding to recover, then headed for the Ghost Capital.
• Huang Xiao returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall and told Zhu Xing E about the Xuanyuan Sword and the events at Imperial Remnant Manor.
• Zhu Xing E discussed the possible danger Imperial Remnant Manor posed and urged Huang Xiao to cultivate for the Hall Master's Seat.
• Ten days later, Huang Xiao felt an aura from the Ghost Capital Token and realized the Ghost Capital might open in about a month.
• Huang Xiao packed his supreme treasures, gathered Supreme Demonic Qi, and set out to reach Vengeful Ghost Peak.

Huang Xiao hurried toward the Ghost Capital Area and discovered that Fan Liya had sent guards there to stop Yan Youwang from using the last Ghost Capital Token. He cautiously approached the guarded heart of the area, where the sentries had reached the enlightenment realm.

• Huang Xiao left the Heavenly Demon Hall without telling Zhu Xing E and headed for Vengeful Ghost Peak.
• Seven days later, Huang Xiao reached the vicinity of Vengeful Ghost Peak and began making his way toward the Ghost Capital Area while avoiding Ghost Spirit Sect disciples.
• Huang Xiao hid as a party of more than a dozen Ghost Spirit Sect members approached and overheard their leader say Elder Fan had ordered them to guard the Ghost Capital because Elder Yan held the last Ghost Capital Token.
• After the party left, Huang Xiao realized Fan Liya’s new guards could obstruct Yan Youwang’s plans and proceeded more cautiously.
• Huang Xiao found secret sentries around the Ghost Capital Area and discovered that the guards near its heart had reached the enlightenment realm.

Huang Xiao hid near the Ghost Capital while Yan Youwang took control of the Ghost Spirit Sect group guarding it and secretly told Huang Xiao the capital would open in five days. Yan Youwang’s injuries had worsened because he brought its appearance forward, but he assured Huang Xiao he had a fallback against Fan Liya.

• Huang Xiao watched Fu Ling, a newly arrived Dao Realm expert, take charge of the Ghost Spirit Sect guards near the still-closed Ghost Capital.
• When Fu Ling sensed someone nearby, Yan Youwang appeared and concealed Huang Xiao’s presence from the group.
• Yan Youwang ordered the group to send one message each day saying everything was as usual, then sat down to prevent them from contacting anyone freely.
• Yan Youwang secretly told Huang Xiao that the Ghost Capital would open in five days because he had influenced its arrival, worsening his injuries.
• Huang Xiao worried Fan Liya might discover Yan Youwang’s condition, but Yan Youwang said he had a fallback.

As the Ghost Capital neared its full appearance, Fan Liya arrived with Jiang Pandong and Jiang Pannan to confront Yan Youwang. Yan Youwang revealed that he had given Huang Xiao the last Ghost Capital Token, and the chapter ended as the Ghost Capital appeared and Yan Youwang ordered Huang Xiao inside.

• Yan Youwang and Huang Xiao waited as the Ghost Capital grew clearer, while Fu Ling reported its movements to Vengeful Ghost Peak.
• Fan Liya arrived with Jiang Pandong and Jiang Pannan, who had joined forces with him against Yan Youwang.
• Fan Liya confronted Huang Xiao, and Jiang Pandong accused Yan Youwang of betraying the Ghost Spirit Sect by giving Huang Xiao its last Ghost Capital Token.
• Yan Youwang defended his actions as being for the Ghost Spirit Sect, while Fan Liya declared he would kill Yan Youwang and purge the sect.
• The Ghost Capital appeared in full, and Yan Youwang shouted for Huang Xiao to get inside.

Huang Xiao entered the Ghost Capital with the Ghost Capital Token to seek treasures and a method to resolve the Demon Refining Formula, while Huo Lian faced Fan Liya and the Jiang brothers outside. Huo Lian refused to hand over Yan Youwang and offered the Heavenly Evil Imperishable Art and a method to restore some essence blood in exchange for his safety.

• The Patriarch told Huang Xiao that the cultivation method Essence Blood Annihilation inside the Ghost Capital could help resolve the Demon Refining Formula.
• Huang Xiao used the Ghost Capital Token to withstand the capital’s formation and ghost qi and entered the Ghost Capital.
• Huo Lian stopped Fan Liya from pursuing Huang Xiao, then refused to surrender Yan Youwang to Fan Liya and Jiang Pandong.
• Huo Lian offered Jiang Pandong and Jiang Pannan the First Part of the Heavenly Evil Imperishable Art if they stopped pursuing Yan Youwang.
• Huo Lian offered Fan Liya a method to restore some essence blood, extend his lifespan, and increase his strength, which caught Fan Liya’s interest.

Huo Lian bargained with Fan Liya and Jiang Pandong to keep them from interfering with Yan Youwang or Huang Xiao while Ghost Capital was manifested, offering them cultivation methods in return. After teaching them the methods, Huo Lian waited with the others as Huang Xiao explored Ghost Capital and approached the ruined city at its center.

• Huo Lian offered Fan Liya a method to restore essence blood and Jiang Pandong a cultivation method in exchange for their restraint during Huang Xiao's time in Ghost Capital.
• Fan Liya agreed not to attack Yan Youwang or sabotage Huang Xiao's stay, and accepted that any treasures Huang Xiao found would belong to him.
• Jiang Pandong agreed that the Heavenly Evil Sect would not attack Yan Youwang if Huo Lian returned the first part of the Heavenly Evil Imperishable Art.
• Huo Lian taught the promised cultivation methods to Fan Liya and Jiang Pandong, and they agreed to wait without starting a conflict.
• Huang Xiao entered Ghost Capital, surveyed its desolate ruins, and spotted a city ahead where he could search for treasures.

Huang Xiao used the Ghost Capital Token’s resonance to escape a mind-clouding formation and reach the Ghost Capital. He found five well-preserved courtyards at the city’s center and prepared to investigate them for the Supreme Ghost Stele and Essence Blood Annihilation.

• Huang Xiao realized a shifting formation had trapped him and clouded his mind, leaving him unable to approach the city.
• Huang Xiao sensed the Ghost Capital Token resonating with the city and followed its guidance through the formation to the city gate.
• Huang Xiao entered the ruined city and spotted several houses still standing in its center, which he suspected were protected by formations.
• Huang Xiao searched the outer ruins but found nothing, then followed the token’s aura for half a day to the central buildings.
• Huang Xiao found five connected courtyards arranged in a row and judged the largest, central courtyard to be the main one.

Huang Xiao chose the room on the far left to test the formations in the Ghost Capital before entering the central Main House in search of the Supreme Ghost Stele. After finding treasures in the courtyard and a cryptic message on the room’s door, he searched the empty room for two hours but found no hidden treasures.

• Huang Xiao studied the skeletal remains outside the five houses and decided to enter the room on the far left before attempting the Main House.
• Huang Xiao approached the house and discovered that the Ghost Capital Token no longer guided him through the more intricate formation.
• Huang Xiao opened the courtyard gate and found cultivation methods, weapons, and other treasures scattered across the ground beneath a protective formation.
• Huang Xiao read the message “Greed is human nature!” on the room’s door and left the courtyard treasures untouched as he went inside.
• Huang Xiao found the room empty and searched it for two hours, but discovered no treasures, hidden compartments, or concealed formations.

Huang Xiao investigated the four outer buildings, concluded the treasures he sought were likely in the middle building, and entered its hidden formation. The Ghost Capital Token opened a stone gate after its carvings unleashed a painful Divine Sense attack on him.

• Huang Xiao left an empty room in one outer building and reasoned that the courtyard treasures might be bait, so he avoided taking them.
• Huang Xiao searched the other three buildings and found their courtyards full of varied treasures but their rooms empty.
• Huang Xiao entered the middle building, found its courtyard and room apparently empty, and was transported by a hidden formation into an underground chamber.
• Huang Xiao followed a dim passage for nearly an hour until he reached a carved stone gate and found he had no way back.
• The Ghost Capital Token flew to the gate and emitted a black halo, bringing its carved ghosts and monsters to life and causing Huang Xiao intense Divine Sense pain.
• The stone gate shuddered and slowly rose.

Huang Xiao discovered the Supreme Ghost Stele embedded in a larger stele inside a burial chamber and tried to remove it. The Supreme Ghost Stele trapped him and began devouring his essence blood and attacking his divine sense as he struggled to stay lucid.

• Huang Xiao entered a burial chamber filled with black stone coffins and found a massive coffin, a stele, and a stone box at the far end.
• Huang Xiao realized that a smaller Supreme Ghost Stele was embedded within the larger stele and suspected formations connected it to the coffins.
• Huang Xiao examined the burial chamber, then reached for the Supreme Ghost Stele because he had little time remaining.
• Huang Xiao touched the Supreme Ghost Stele and tried to pry it from the larger stele, but it seized his hand and attacked his divine sense.
• Huang Xiao used the mental cultivation method from the Upper Clarity Scripture to resist the attack while the Supreme Ghost Stele drained his essence blood.

Huang Xiao survived after the Supreme Ghost Stele drained all his essence blood, while a gaunt man emerged from the stone coffin and left to seek more essence blood. Outside the Ghost Capital, Huo Lian and the others noticed something that changed their expressions as they waited.

• The Supreme Ghost Stele drained Huang Xiao’s essence blood, and the stone coffin opened as a gaunt man emerged.
• The man dismissed Huang Xiao’s death, discovered that more of his sleeping subordinates had died, and used the Supreme Ghost Stele’s formation to leave the chamber in search of essence blood.
• Two hours later, Huang Xiao revived through Imperishable True Qi and the Longevity Chapter, then began restoring his essence blood.
• Huo Lian, Yan Youwang, Fan Liya, Jiang Pandong, Jiang Pannan, Fu Ling, and the others waited outside the Ghost Capital, divided over Yan Youwang’s decision to give Huang Xiao the last Ghost Capital Token.
• Huo Lian looked toward the Ghost Capital, and Fan Liya and the others followed his gaze, their expressions abruptly changing.

A mysterious Ghost Spirit Sect elder emerged from the Ghost Capital and drained blood essence from Jiang Pandong and Jiang Pannan, while claiming he had killed Huang Xiao. Huo Lian learned of Huang Xiao’s death and attacked the elder, whose shock at Huo Lian’s strength left their confrontation poised to escalate.

• A withered man charged from the Ghost Capital, and Jiang Pandong discovered that the man’s touch made his blood essence surge and leak away.
• The man seized Jiang Pannan, then flung him into Jiang Pandong’s unleashed attack, leaving Jiang Pannan gravely injured and his blood essence depleted.
• The elder revealed that he had drained Jiang Pandong’s blood essence and said he had also drained Huang Xiao’s, prompting Huo Lian to demand to know what happened to the boy.
• The elder confirmed that Huang Xiao was dead and challenged Huo Lian to satisfy his hunger for blood essence.
• Huo Lian attacked the elder, who demanded to know who Huo Lian was after sensing his astonishing strength.

The Ghost Spirit Sect's First Sect Master, who had survived for ten thousand years, emerged and fought Huo Lian. Huo Lian proved far stronger than expected, and the First Sect Master fled to buy time to recover and obtain essence blood.

• Fan Liya told the First Sect Master that Huo Lian was only a little over a thousand years old, and the First Sect Master revealed that he was the Ghost Spirit Sect's ancestor from ten thousand years ago.
• The First Sect Master attacked Huo Lian, but Huo Lian sent him flying and then challenged him to fight.
• Huo Lian and the First Sect Master exchanged blows, and Huo Lian overwhelmed him and resisted his attempt to drain essence blood.
• Huo Lian revealed that he had created the Indestructible Heavenly Demon Skill, and the First Sect Master realized Huo Lian was stronger than he had anticipated.
• The First Sect Master pretended to charge, then fled, and Huo Lian pursued him.

After Huo Lian chased Yan Youwang, Fan Liya pursued them while Jiang Pandong carried the injured Jiang Pannan away for treatment. Huang Xiao recovered inside the Ghost Capital, discovered the ten-thousand-year-old Stone Coffin was empty, and suspected its occupant had awakened because of his essence blood.

• Jiang Pandong carried Jiang Pannan away and asked Fan Liya to provide the Essence Blood Restoration Cultivation Method in exchange for a price.
• Fan Liya ordered Fu Ling and the others to guard the Ghost Capital’s exit for Huang Xiao, then set off after Yan Youwang.
• Huang Xiao woke with only half his essence blood restored and decided to take the Supreme Ghost Stele and the Stone Box’s treasures.
• Huang Xiao found the Stone Coffin open and empty, and suspected its occupant had come back to life and left the Ghost Capital.
• Huang Xiao worried the awakened person might reveal his death to the Patriarch and resolved not to disclose the Longevity Chapter before heading to the Stone Box.

Huang Xiao searched the Stone Box for Essence Blood Annihilation and found the Blood Exhaustion Method, which could preserve a person in a deathlike state for ten thousand years. He realized it was likely the method the Patriarch meant and believed it might counteract the Demon Refining Formula.

• Huang Xiao opened the Stone Box and found ten cultivation manuals, but none initially appeared to be Essence Blood Annihilation.
• Huang Xiao read the manuals and learned that most prolonged life, with the strongest potentially allowing a thousand years of life.
• Huang Xiao studied the Blood Exhaustion Method and discovered it dispersed a person's essence blood and true qi, leaving them like a dried corpse until another's essence blood revived them.
• Huang Xiao suspected the people in the Stone Coffins relied on Ghost Capital Tokens and formations to bring outsiders in and gather essence blood for their return.
• Huang Xiao concluded that the Blood Exhaustion Method was likely Essence Blood Annihilation and might undo the effects of the Demon Refining Formula.

Huang Xiao studied Essence Blood Annihilation and concluded it could counter the Demon Refining Formula by dispersing its true qi, then collected the Ghost Dao pills and destroyed the manuals. He tried to take the Supreme Ghost Stele but could neither remove it nor break the surrounding stone, leaving him frustrated and weakened.

• Huang Xiao reasoned that Essence Blood Annihilation could let him disperse the true qi from the Demon Refining Formula and restore his strength with his regenerating essence blood.
• Huang Xiao decided to postpone testing the method until he left the Ghost Capital, since Pang Ji was watching him and he needed to keep cultivating the Demon Refining Formula.
• Huang Xiao inspected the medicine bottles, recognized the pills as remedies tailored for Ghost Dao practitioners, and planned to give them to Yan Youwang.
• Huang Xiao memorized the cultivation methods, destroyed the manuals, and set aside smashing the protected stone coffins until he had dealt with the Supreme Ghost Stele and found a way out.
• Huang Xiao touched the Supreme Ghost Stele without triggering an essence-blood drain, but failed to pry it free or break the surrounding stone with his imitation saber.

Huang Xiao used the Supreme Evil Crystal and Supreme Demon Pearl to draw the Supreme Ghost Stele out of its stone casing. He discovered that the casing contained the Ghost Stele’s qi and began testing whether a piece of it could do the same.

• Huang Xiao opened the box holding the Supreme Evil Crystal and Supreme Demon Pearl, and their auras caused the Supreme Ghost Stele to emerge from the large stone stele.
• Huang Xiao took the Supreme Ghost Stele but found that its ghost qi leaked out when it was separated from the casing, so he returned it to the recess and watched the qi vanish.
• Huang Xiao used the two other treasures to draw the Supreme Ghost Stele out again, then set it aside and cut a corner from the large stone stele with his Imitation Saber.
• Huang Xiao caught the severed stone piece and concluded that the casing could be cut while the Supreme Ghost Stele was removed, though he remained unsure whether the piece would contain its ghost qi.

Huang Xiao concealed the Supreme Ghost Stele’s aura and discovered that it could devour his essence blood, which seemed to nourish the people sleeping in nearby stone coffins. He began probing the stele with his divine sense, hoping to learn how to escape and deal with the sleepers.

• Huang Xiao fitted the Supreme Ghost Stele into a carved piece of the great stone stele, sealing its aura.
• Huang Xiao’s divine sense met a painful resistance when he tried to explore the Supreme Ghost Stele.
• Huang Xiao triggered the stele with his true qi, and it began devouring his essence blood before he knocked it away.
• Huang Xiao sensed faint auras from the people in the surrounding stone coffins and inferred that the stele and formation had used his essence blood to sustain them.
• Huang Xiao decided to probe the Supreme Ghost Stele with his divine sense again, hoping to understand its connection to the stone coffins.

Huang Xiao discovered that the Supreme Ghost Stele could reveal an exit and contain the Divine Senses of the people in the stone coffins. After destroying the strongest presence, he realized he could kill the others by erasing their Divine Senses—or perhaps control them and decide whether they lived.

• Huang Xiao found a pitch-black vortex after probing the Supreme Ghost Stele with his Divine Sense and recognized it as the way out.
• Huang Xiao discovered twenty-three Divine Senses inside the stele, including one far stronger than the others that he identified with the person in the enormous stone coffin.
• Huang Xiao fought the strongest Divine Sense for four hours and annihilated it, learning that it had controlled the other twenty-two presences.
• Huang Xiao erased one of the weaker Divine Senses and sensed that the person in its stone coffin had died.
• Huang Xiao considered erasing the remaining Divine Senses, then wondered whether controlling them would let him hold the people’s lives in his hands.