Recaps

Hou Niao faced Yu Shangque in the Ice Pool, where the patriarch’s barrier restricted his movement and carried the heavenly lightning that had tormented him for decades. Rather than risk a desperate attack, Hou Niao used the danger to study the foundations of lightning power while Yu Shangque waited for the barrier to defeat him.

• Hou Niao found that Yu Shangque’s power had forced him out of sword spirit form and prevented him from flying, while Zhao Xintong was also immobilized.
• Yu Shangque revealed that he intended to take Zhao Xintong’s Dao physique and admitted that he would strip it from her if he could not borrow her body.
• Hou Niao told Zhao Xintong to climb out once Yu Shangque was occupied, then prepared to fight within the patriarch’s reach.
• Yu Shangque trapped Hou Niao in a barrier that secretly transmitted heavenly lightning, and Hou Niao chose to resist it instead of using the Forward Character Formula to force a brief transformation.
• Hou Niao recognized that understanding Heavenly Dao lightning was essential to giving his own lightning power real might, while Yu Shangque waited for the lightning to wear him down.

Hou Niao resisted Yu Shangque’s Heavenly Dao lightning until Yu Shangque attacked him with Prophecy, draining his life. Zhao Xintong chose to stay and use her Azure Nether Body to take on the Prophecy while Hou Niao continued fighting the lightning.

• Hou Niao endured Yu Shangque’s lightning barrier and gradually learned from the Heavenly Dao lightning.
• Yu Shangque switched to his Prophecy Technique, which began draining Hou Niao’s life.
• Hou Niao warned Zhao Xintong to leave or risk dying with him, but she refused.
• Zhao Xintong jumped onto Hou Niao’s back and asked him to entrust the Prophecy Technique to her.
• Hou Niao opened his body and mind to Zhao Xintong, who used her Azure Nether Body to bear Yu Shangque’s killing Prophecy.

Zhao Xintong turned Yu Shangque’s prophecy against him, allowing Hou Niao to kill the weakened Golden Core cultivator and escape Jade Wall Manor with her. Back in Red Leaf City, she recovered her joy and advanced to become a true cultivator ten days later.

• Zhao Xintong used her Azure Nether Body to challenge Yu Shangque’s prophecy, and the Heavenly Dao sealed his abilities.
• Hou Niao killed Yu Shangque with his flying sword while the cultivator was powerless.
• Hou Niao carried Zhao Xintong out of Jade Wall Manor and killed the Yu Household cultivators who came to investigate.
• Several days later, Hou Niao and Zhao Xintong returned to Red Leaf City, where she joyfully ate snacks and insisted on advancing in the courtyard.
• Ten days later, an unusual manifestation appeared above the courtyard as Zhao Xintong attained the Dao.

After completing his independent cultivation, Hou Niao returned to the Jade Capital and received orders to resume work in the Lizhi Sea. He headed there with the prefecture’s tacit approval to pursue the Canghai Pirates’ conflict with the Wu Sect, as rival forces gathered around a rare school of Grass-Headed Goldfish.

• Hou Niao accepted that Zhao Xintong would remain in Wei Kingdom Taihao to study divination and prepared to leave for the Jade Capital.
• Judge Cheng Wanli assigned Hou Niao to return to the Lizhi Sea, supervise Shanmen disciples, monitor the Wu Sect, and report to the Minister of Justice Prefecture.
• Hou Niao understood that his assignment gave him room to carry out Shanmen Quanzhen’s response to the Wu Sect through the Canghai Pirates.
• A school of rare Grass-Headed Goldfish drew cultivators to Wave-Clashing Islet, where the Canghai Pirates, the Tiger Fang Pirate Group, and other forces sought to profit from the passing fish.

Yan Baiyi, Yan Ziyi, Yin Qingsi, and Yin Zhilong watched rival pirate groups contest the Caotou Liu Shoal near Wave-Clashing Islet. When the Tiger Fang Pirate Group arrived, Yin Qingsi agreed that the four should withdraw and watch from a safe distance.

• The chapter explained that the Canghai Pirates were backed by Shanmen Sword Cultivators, while the Tiger Fang Pirate Group represented the Wu Sect’s influence on the Lizhi Sea.
• Yan Baiyi and Yan Ziyi of the Great Banner Sect met Yin Qingsi and Yin Zhilong of Mohe Mountain, and the four watched Rogue Cultivators gather around the Caotou Liu Shoal.
• Yan Ziyi and Yin Zhilong urged the group to descend and harvest the fish, but Yan Baiyi reminded them they were guests and should not underestimate the Brocade Continent’s cultivators.
• A Rogue Cultivator announced that the Tiger Fang Pirate Group had arrived, prompting the onlookers to scatter from the shoal.
• Yan Baiyi asked whether the group should withdraw, and Yin Qingsi agreed that challenging the arriving force would be foolish.

Yan Ziyi and her companions learned that the approaching Tiger Tooth and Canghai Pirates were fighting over the Grasshead Goldflow fish amid deeper sect rivalries. As another group rushed toward Wave-Clashing Islet, Yan Baiyi warned the younger cultivators not to trust appearances or judge without knowing the full story.

• Yan Ziyi asked a local rogue cultivator about the approaching battle, and he explained the pirates’ rivalries, suspected sect backing, and the rules governing the clash.
• The rogue cultivator said the Canghai Pirates were rumored to have raided Mirage Tower City, while the Tiger Tooth Pirates had the support of those who wanted pirate traditions upheld.
• Yan Ziyi condemned the Canghai Pirates, and Yin Zhilong agreed that cultivators should follow rules.
• Yan Baiyi cautioned Yan Ziyi and Yin Zhilong to investigate before drawing conclusions, noting that appearances often concealed the truth.
• A new group of cultivators appeared in the sky and rushed toward the islet with far greater speed than the Tiger Tooth Pirates.

The Tiger Fang Pirates and the Canghai Pirates clashed in a brutal battle above a school of Grass-Headed Goldfish. As the Canghai Pirates inflicted unexpectedly heavy losses, Yin Qingsi spotted a swordsman fighting in the center whose style resembled the Shi Clan lineage of the Northern Grasslands.

• The two pirate groups met in battle, with sixty-three Tiger Tooth Pirates facing thirty-nine Canghai Pirates.
• Yin Qingsi assessed the fighters’ realms and predicted that the outnumbered Canghai Pirates would struggle.
• The cultivators scattered into individual fights, and the northern visitors watched the savage melee claim lives.
• Yan Baiyi noticed that eight of the eleven fallen fighters were Tiger Tooth Pirates, while only three Canghai Pirates had died.
• Yin Qingsi saw a Canghai Pirate killing opponents in the battlefield’s center and recognized a resemblance to Shi Clan swordsmanship.
• Yin Qingsi decided to examine the swordsman more closely as Yan Baiyi considered what a Shi Clan fighter’s presence might mean.

The Canghai Pirates defeated the Tiger Fang Pirate Group, with Hou Niao’s unusual swordsmanship proving decisive. The victors claimed the school of Grass-Headed Goldfish, while the spectators left or submitted, and Hou Niao declined to teach others the Body Sword Technique.

• Yin Qingsi, Yan Baiyi, Yan Ziyi, and Yin Zhilong watched a mysterious swordsman fight, and the older pair recognized his shifting sword forms but could not identify his technique.
• The Tiger Fang Pirate Group’s leader ordered a withdrawal after heavy losses, and the Canghai Pirates chose not to pursue.
• The defeated Daoist Sect cultivators left, while cultivators from other groups submitted to the Canghai Pirates to claim a share of the Grass-Headed Goldfish.
• Duanmu Chai asked Hou Niao whether he had used the Body Sword Technique, and Hou Niao explained that he had found it in the Underground Repository of the Hidden Sword Tower.
• Li E praised the technique and considered returning to the Jade Capital to study it, while Hou Niao withheld his deeper insights because he had only begun mastering it.

After the Canghai Pirates defeated the Tiger Tooth Pirates and profited from the Grass-Headed Goldfish hunt, Hou Niao began taking charge of shaping the group. As he and Fang Yazi flew to find a base, they stopped to confront someone who had been following them.

• Hou Niao's fighting in the battle against the Tiger Tooth Pirates secured his standing among the Canghai Pirates, who collected their share of the Grass-Headed Goldfish harvest.
• After the fish migrated away, Duanmu Chai asked Hou Niao to learn the pirates' organization and prepare to lead them, since Duanmu Chai expected to leave the Lizhi Sea.
• Hou Niao asked Fang Yazi to stay and help him, then offered to teach him an unfinished set of sword techniques, which Fang Yazi accepted.
• Hou Niao and Fang Yazi flew northwest to find a quiet island base and discuss evaluating the pirates' members.
• The pair halted in midair, and Hou Niao asked the person who had followed them what they wanted.

Hou Niao met Yan Baiyi, Yan Ziyi, Yin Qingsi, and Yin Zhilong, clarified that his Body Swordsmanship came from Shanmen Quanzhen rather than the Shi Clan Golden Bloodline, and hinted he might travel north. Afterward, Yan Baiyi and Yin Qingsi discussed the approaching turmoil and the value of building ties with Hou Niao, whom Yan Baiyi admitted could be a dangerous opponent.

• Yan Baiyi introduced the four northern travelers and asked Hou Niao whether his Body Swordsmanship was connected to the Shi Clan Golden Bloodline.
• Hou Niao said his Body Swordsmanship belonged to Shanmen Quanzhen and expressed interest in traveling north, while Yan Baiyi offered to help him there.
• After the travelers departed, Yin Qingsi explained that Hou Niao had disavowed ties to the Shi Clan and was seeking friendship with their sects.
• Yan Baiyi and Yin Qingsi discussed the political importance of befriending Hou Niao, whom they expected to become influential in Shanmen Quanzhen.
• Yan Baiyi rebuked Yan Ziyi and said his chances against Hou Niao would be no better than even, especially because of Hou Niao’s Body Sword form.

Hou Niao and Fang Yazi spent years cultivating on a deserted island while Hou Niao consolidated his position among the Canghai Pirates. After sensing an opportunity to advance beyond the sea, Hou Niao left alone, believing his path toward core formation lay in the Law embodied by thunder.

• Hou Niao and Fang Yazi cultivated separately on the deserted island, practiced swordsmanship together, and dealt with disputes involving the Canghai Pirates.
• After veteran sword cultivators returned to the Jade Capital, the pirates’ tributes went to Hou Niao, whose power and territory continued to grow.
• Ten years later, Hou Niao told Fang Yazi that he had sensed an opportunity to advance somewhere beyond the sea, and Fang Yazi offered to accompany him.
• Hou Niao asked Fang Yazi to keep the Canghai Pirates restrained while he departed alone, hoping they would meet again after advancing.
• After searching the sea, Hou Niao confirmed his intuition and concluded that his cultivation path toward core formation lay in Law and thunder.

Hou Niao searched for the catalyst to awaken his sea of consciousness and realized that thunder was the key. When the Thunder Triangle’s storm season began to fade before he could break through, he pursued the departing thunder farther into the ocean.

• Hou Niao returned to the Thunder Triangle, where he had spent years cultivating and studying lightning.
• He concluded that thunder’s laws and the Heavenly Dao information within it could serve as the catalyst for opening his sea of consciousness.
• Hou Niao patiently endured the storm season, but the barrier around his sea of consciousness remained unbroken.
• As the lightning moved away from the Thunder Triangle, Hou Niao sensed its direction and chose to follow it into the ocean.

Hou Niao followed the shifting thunder’s momentum across the Blue Sea, enduring repeated battles with a Red Falcon Dan Bird that treated him as prey but also kept other creatures away. After the thunder changed course near an island, two Daoists debated whether to follow the Heavenly Dao’s changes or wait passively for events to unfold.

• Hou Niao pursued the thunder’s momentum deeper into the Blue Sea, where Golden Core creatures and cultivators threatened his journey.
• Hou Niao fought the Red Falcon Dan Bird repeatedly, and the wounded bird withdrew into the clouds while continuing to guard its claimed territory.
• The thunder’s momentum turned toward a course parallel to the coastline, and Hou Niao and the falcon followed it.
• The Red Falcon Dan Bird’s cries disrupted two Daoists playing Go on an island, prompting the thin Daoist to silence it with azure light.
• The thin Daoist conceded the Go match, then argued that even minor cultivators followed the thunder’s changes, while the fat Daoist urged restraint and trust in the Heavenly Dao.

Hou Niao followed a shifting trail of thunder across the Lizhi Sea with a recovering Thunder Falcon, hoping to understand the thunder and break through the barrier in his sea of consciousness. As the magnetic force near Blue Island weakened his Law Power and threatened to strand him, the Thunder Falcon hoisted him back into the sky.

• Hou Niao caught the mortally wounded Thunder Falcon after an azure light struck it and carried it away from the island.
• Hou Niao kept the Thunder Falcon alive as it recovered over several months, and they eventually flew together without fighting.
• Hou Niao continued pursuing the thunder trail, worrying about the distance from shore, dangerous sea monsters, and the trail's changing course.
• As Hou Niao approached Blue Island, Shangyuan Festival Magnetic Mountain weakened his Law Power until he could barely stay above the sea.
• The Thunder Falcon grabbed Hou Niao by the collar and lifted him back into the sky to keep pursuing the thunderclouds.

Hou Niao returned to Blue Island during the yearly gathering of beasts and studied the thunder momentum converging on the two Magnetic Saint Mountains. He decided the Thunder Falcon was hindering his insight and told it to put him down, leaving him falling from the sky.

• Hou Niao observed creatures gathering around Blue Island as its thunder momentum circled toward the two Magnetic Saint Mountains.
• Hou Niao noticed another cultivator riding a Qing Bird, but both men kept their distance and pretended not to see each other.
• Hou Niao watched the priestesses perform rites between the saint mountains as storms and thunder raged across the island.
• Hou Niao realized the thunder momentum was gathering back into the mountains and shouted for the Thunder Falcon to put him down.
• The Thunder Falcon released Hou Niao from several hundred zhang above the ground, and Hou Niao cursed it as he tried to slow his fall.

Hou Niao learned from Yao He how Yinling’s Quanzhen forces were divided and why the district had become neglected, then heard why Fang Family Fort’s people distrusted the sect. Yao He revealed that Qian Chong had recently been caught exploiting young women, leaving Quanzhen’s reputation damaged.

• Hou Niao treated the injured Town Office disciples and became acquainted with the senior brothers, including Yao He.
• Yao He explained that Yinling’s dangerous conditions and the Quanzhen Sect’s inability to control the region had led the sect to give up trying to pacify it.
• Yao He described the divide between the comfortable Town Office Commissioner Faction and the Patrol Faction, whose members guarded Yinling’s settlements and hunted demons.
• Yao He said he had returned to Fang Family Fort after the Town Office faction was injured and Commissioner Guo summoned the Patrols for support.
• Hou Niao asked about Fang Family Fort’s hostility, and Yao He revealed that Qian Chong had been caught abusing his status to gather young women for his private pleasure.

Hou Niao descended into Western Saint Mountain’s sinkhole and followed a fissure to a cavern where he encountered three Guo Sect cultivators. Qu Wuhui welcomed him, suggesting his arrival was a matter of fate.

• Hou Niao agreed to investigate the sinkhole and climbed down Western Saint Mountain with a guide.
• Hou Niao descended through the sinkhole despite increasing gravity and searched its rocky bottom.
• Hou Niao found a narrow fissure and crawled through it toward a distant, flashing five-colored light.
• Hou Niao entered a cavern and discovered three cultivators meditating, including the Daoist he had seen above Blue Island.
• Qu Wuhui introduced himself as a Guo Sect Taiyi cultivator, and Hou Niao identified himself as being from Shanmen's Quanzhen.
• Qu Wuhui told Hou Niao that the cavern was not private property and that his arrival might be fated.

Hou Niao traveled home with the Thunder Falcon and used thunder to defend himself when three Guo Sect Taiyi Daoists pursued him. He killed one of them with a deceptive Flying Sword strike, while the remaining two faced another attack from the thundercloud.

• Hou Niao began his return journey with the Thunder Falcon, and his Law Power gradually recovered as the thunder's momentum traveled in a straight line.
• When three Guo Sect Taiyi Daoists pursued him, Hou Niao hid inside the thundercloud and used bolts of thunder to disrupt their Flying Sword attacks.
• The Sword Cultivator's Flying Sword feinted against the rear Daoist, then pierced him from behind and unleashed Sword Gang inside his body.
• The Thunder Falcon fought a Qing Bird in the thundercloud, disrupting the Taiyi Daoists' attempt to drive the Sword Cultivator out.
• Qu Wuhui warned the remaining Daoists that the Flying Sword was strange as it attacked again.

Qu Wuhui and his junior brother tried to escape Hou Niao’s strange flying sword, but its attacks killed the junior brother and drove Qu Wuhui far from Thundercloud. Qu Wuhui prepared a formation and weapons to stop the sword, only to discover Hou Niao had transformed into it and kill him.

• Qu Wuhui and his junior brother retreated from the flying sword, but it relentlessly harried them despite their thunder attacks.
• The junior brother barely escaped beyond three hundred zhang, then died when the sword exploited his momentary relaxation and pierced his head.
• Qu Wuhui fled with Thunder Escape, but the flying sword pursued him for more than a dozen li.
• Qu Wuhui stopped and prepared the Thunderbright Plastic Square Formation, the Thunder Magnetism Pearl, and the Thunder Prison Sword to counter the flying sword.
• The flying sword slowed before Qu Wuhui and revealed Hou Niao, who met his sword strike and cleaved him in two.
• Hou Niao told the dying Qu Wuhui that he had used the Ancient Method Flying Sword, then cut off his head.

Hou Niao returned to the Thunder Triangle after a year pursuing Thunder, but the journey had yielded no breakthrough. By studying the Guo Sect Taiyi Daoists’ insights, he discovered that the Heavenly Dao Thunder he had comprehended too early had become a restraint on his cultivation, leaving him trapped in a dead loop.

• Hou Niao returned to the thunderclouds as the Thunder Falcon fought the Qing Bird, and the falcon killed it and consumed its Demon Core.
• Hou Niao found the Magnetic Body cultivation technique among the three Guo Sect Taiyi Daoists’ possessions and continued following the Thunder’s course back toward the Thunder Triangle.
• After a year of pursuit, Hou Niao returned to the Thunder Triangle without gaining the insight he sought, while the Thunder Falcon departed after completing its own journey.
• Hou Niao reviewed his cultivation and confirmed that Thunder could break through his sea of consciousness, but he could not understand how to apply his new knowledge of magnetism.
• After months of study, Hou Niao learned that comprehending Heavenly Dao Thunder at a low realm had imposed an extra restraint that blocked his advancement.
• Hou Niao realized that Yu Shangque’s warning about a curse referred to the harm of encountering the Great Dao too early, which had left him unable to ascend or escape the restraint.

Hou Niao struggled to break through the Heavenly Dao barrier around his sea of consciousness, which had been strengthened by his experiences at the Yu Household. By tracing the thunder force’s routes on his nautical chart, he discovered an ancient Thunder Talisman and used it to open the barrier.

• Hou Niao tested the barrier with his sword and thunder, but none of his attempts produced a response.
• Hou Niao recalled that the thunder force had taken a winding route to Blue Island and a straight route back to the Thunder Triangle.
• Hou Niao drew both routes on his nautical chart and saw that they formed the character "吊."
• Hou Niao circulated thunder intent along the character’s path and discovered it was an ancient Thunder Talisman.
• Hou Niao used the Thunder Talisman to open his sea of consciousness without obstruction.

Hou Niao comprehended the ancient thunder talisman’s “hang” formula, completing his Spirit Sense breakthrough and balancing his three sword stances before returning to Mirage Tower City. There, Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang faced the consequences of failing an assignment for the Prince of Martial Accomplishment’s Household.

• Hou Niao comprehended the “hang” formula hidden in the Thunder Triangle’s advancing thunder and realized that opening his sea of consciousness had strengthened his understanding and use of his abilities.
• Hou Niao consolidated his gains until the thunder season ended, then left the Thunder Triangle and returned to the deserted island, where he found Fang Yazi’s sign saying he had gone to seek an opportunity to ascend.
• Hou Niao checked the Canghai Pirates’ territory, found it unchanged, and headed for Mirage Tower City after more than a decade away.
• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang sat in an inn’s private room, weighed down by thirty years of struggle in the Profound Connection Realm and the pressures of their Lineage.
• The Dugu Household had offered Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang as dao companions to Wu Weijiang, and the sisters had been assigned to manage business in the Lizhi Sea region.
• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang had botched their assignment for the Prince of Martial Accomplishment’s Household.

Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang lost Prince of Martial Accomplishment's Household's shipload of medicinal herbs and spirit plants to pirates and rushed back to seek help recovering it. They found that Prince Wucheng's influence offered little leverage in the Lizhi Sea, leaving them without a clear way to avert blame.

• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang escorted the household's routine shipment from the Three Immortal Islands back toward the mainland.
• Pirates plundered the ship's entire cargo but left the sisters and crew unharmed.
• The sisters hurried back ahead of the ship, fearing they would be blamed for the household's lost resources and lose their standing.
• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang searched for Shanmen Sword Cultivators in Mirage Tower City but found no dedicated outpost.
• The Lihai Military Governor's Office dismissed the sisters' appeals despite their invoking Prince Wucheng's name.

Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang struggled to find help recovering the herbs stolen by the Wind-Chasing Pirates, realizing the Prince of Martial Accomplishment's Household could not protect them outside its sphere of influence. They ended with Dugu Lan proposing they consult a reputed Know-It-All in Mirage Tower City.

• Dugu Lan complained that the Prince of Martial Accomplishment's Household had received no meaningful support, while Xiao Qiang explained its limited influence and the shortage of medicinal pills.
• Xiao Qiang said local rogue cultivators had refused to join their pursuit of the Wind-Chasing Pirates unless offered unaffordable rewards and conditions.
• The sisters reviewed the power of the Lizhi Sea's pirate bands and recognized that neither their household nor the local authorities could readily challenge them.
• Xiao Qiang revealed that a shopkeeper had directed her to Gushe Cottage, but Dugu Lan dismissed the secretive lead.
• Xiao Qiang warned Dugu Lan not to confuse herself with the prince's household, deepening the distance between the sisters.
• Dugu Lan suggested spending spirit stones to ask Mirage Tower City's Know-It-All for advice.

Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang sought help in Mirage Tower to deal with the Wind-Chasing Pirates, then followed Know-It-All’s advice to Gushe Cottage. There they met Bai Qingqian, who welcomed them as allies through her husband’s ties to the Ke Sect Quanzhen.

• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang visited Know-It-All, who explained that the Wind-Chasing Pirates were difficult to confront without a Golden Core cultivator.
• After receiving twelve high-grade spirit stones, Know-It-All advised the sisters to seek help at Gushe Cottage.
• Dugu Lan and Xiao Qiang went to the secluded residence in western Mirage Tower and asked to meet its owner.
• Bai Qingqian received the sisters and said they were among their own because her husband belonged to the Ke Sect Quanzhen.
• Dugu Lan was surprised to learn Bai Qingqian was not herself from the Ke Sect.