Recaps

Yu Zhengxing’s forces defended the forest belt near Ancient Loulan when nearly a thousand Undead launched an organized attack. Hou Niao and Gui Team joined the first division as the two armies collided, while the Golden Core cultivators engaged the high-tier Undead elsewhere.

• Yu Zhengxing expanded the formations and planted a long forest belt near Dragon Whisker Ravine, then gathered more than two hundred cultivators to defend it.
• Scouts reported that an Undead Legion nearly a thousand strong was approaching, and Yu Zhengxing organized the defenders into three divisions.
• Hou Niao’s Gui Team joined the first division, with Wang Gandang newly added after being rescued and won over.
• The human and Undead forces advanced toward one another as the Golden Core cultivators moved to fight more than a dozen high-tier Undead.
• Hou Niao told Gui Team to hold formation as the two armies clashed, with his team relying on its weapons, Dharma Appearance, water techniques, and Law Artifact for defense.

Hou Niao led Gui Team in repeated charges that broke through the Undead Legion and turned the battlefield in humanity’s favor. As the undead fled, the human cultivators were warned not to pursue too far because their mission was to protect, not exterminate.

• Hou Niao kept Gui Team advancing with his flying sword and close-range swordsmanship after Nan Xiangye’s sword needed time to recover.
• Nan Xiangye joined the attack, and Gui Team broke through the undead ranks before charging again at Hou Niao’s command.
• Yu Zhengxing saw that the Heaven-Connecting Realm battlefield was holding and went to join the Golden Core battle.
• Gui Team repeatedly struck where the undead were strongest, rescuing trapped human cultivators and helping shift the battle in humanity’s favor.
• The Undead Legion collapsed and fled once its numbers fell to less than twice those of the human cultivators.
• Experienced cultivators warned the others not to pursue too far because their mission was protection, not extermination.

After the forest-protection corps defeated the Undead, the exhausted volunteers faced the prospect that their unfinished forest belt could not hold back the desert. Yu Zhengxing challenged Hou Niao to question whether he had truly done everything he could, leaving Hou Niao wary of being drawn into another task.

• Yu Zhengxing’s forces won the Golden Core battlefield, though two Undead Eyeless Monsters escaped, and Gui Team’s achievements strengthened Hou Niao’s standing among the cultivators.
• The volunteers realized they had exhausted their Spirit Stones and lacked the resources to finish the forest belt’s remaining stretches.
• Nan Xiangye, Fairy Huang, Yuan Shangyuan, and Wang Gandang lamented their poverty and the uncertainty of completing the wider afforestation plan.
• A cultivator summoned Hou Niao to meet Yu Zhengxing, who walked with him through the still-bare forest belt.
• Yu Zhengxing admitted the project lacked sufficient resources and manpower but said he did not regret beginning it, then challenged Hou Niao to reconsider whether he had truly done all he could.
• Hou Niao accused Yu Zhengxing of setting another trap for him.

Hou Niao proposed using commerce guilds to fund the Binxu Desert’s forest belts and adding contributions to public welfare as a criterion for True Disciple candidates. Yu Zhengxing agreed to help push the plans forward, then asked Hou Niao to take on a difficult task, which Hou Niao accepted only within his cultivation realm.

• Hou Niao urged Yu Zhengxing to attract major trading firms by offering them exclusive rights to trade the Binxu Desert’s specialties.
• Hou Niao suggested using the upcoming Shanmen annual assembly to encourage more Sword Cultivators to serve in the Northwest by adding public-welfare contributions to the True Disciple assessment.
• Yu Zhengxing agreed to help advance the proposal, and Hou Niao suspected that his backing came from the Demon-Entering Faction.
• Yu Zhengxing asked Hou Niao to help with a difficult matter, and Hou Niao agreed on the condition that it stay within his cultivation realm.

Yu Zhengxing told Hou Niao that the Qin and Yue kingdoms were settling their conflict over the Water Spirit Pearl through a contest among Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivators. He urged Hou Niao to infiltrate the search and bring the pearl to their underground river, and promised a way in; Hou Niao still needed to learn how the plan would work.

• Yu Zhengxing explained that the Qin and Yue kingdoms had agreed to limit their dispute over the Water Spirit Pearl to a contest among Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivators.
• Yu Zhengxing said the Flowing Sand water demons also sought the pearl and that it was hidden somewhere along a hundred-li stretch of river near Sand Islet.
• Yu Zhengxing speculated about the pearl’s otherworldly origins and whether other five-element spirit pearls might appear.
• Yu Zhengxing urged Hou Niao to take the Water Spirit Pearl for their underground river, praising his combat strength and underwater experience.
• Hou Niao asked how he could evade the senior cultivators and get the pearl out, and Yu Zhengxing said he could pose as a Qin Sect cultivator with help from an insider.

Hou Niao traveled to the Flowing Sand River to meet a Qin Sect senior and seek a way into the river, where he was expected to seize the Water Spirit Pearl. He arrived at Viewing River Tower and asked for Lin Xiashi, leaving his next move to meet the senior.

• Yu Zhengxing explained that his Qin Sect contact could help Hou Niao enter the Flowing Sand River and sent him to pursue the Water Spirit Pearl.
• Hou Niao flew for five days toward the river, switching from his conspicuous Sword-Riding Technique as he neared the border.
• Hou Niao surveyed the vast river and considered the threat posed by both the Qin and Yue Sects and the powerful Water Race.
• Hou Niao reached Viewing River Tower near Suchness City and learned that Lin Xiashi was in the Wind Room on the seventh floor.

Hou Niao asked Lin Xiashi to help him enter the Flowing Sand River and steal the Water Spirit Pearl to strengthen the Ancient Loulan shelterbelt. Lin Xiashi agreed to provide an opening and a Yue Sect Token, but warned that taking the pearl away would be nearly impossible.

• Hou Niao showed Lin Xiashi the shelterbelt and explained its progress, the battle with the Undead Legion, and the need for more support.
• Lin Xiashi confessed his regret at neglecting his homeland’s restoration and resolved to join the work at the shelterbelt once local matters were settled.
• Hou Niao revealed his plan to steal the Water Spirit Pearl and place it in the underground river, asking Lin Xiashi to help him enter the Flowing Sand River.
• Lin Xiashi agreed to help Hou Niao enter and gave him a Yue Sect Token, while explaining how cultivators could sense the pearl and how difficult it would be to escape with it.
• Lin Xiashi required Hou Niao not to reveal that he was a Sword Cultivator or wantonly kill Qin Sect disciples, and Hou Niao agreed.

Yin Qingsi joined the Qin Sect’s search for the Water Spirit Pearl in the Flowing Sand River, despite the danger posed by the Yue Sect and the river itself. After leaving Yin Zhilong on the bank, she entered the water and used Water Escape to begin sensing for the treasure.

• The Qin and Yue sects deployed Heavenly Connection Natural Realm cultivators along a hundred-li stretch of the Flowing Sand River to search for the Water Spirit Pearl.
• Yin Zhilong asked Yin Qingsi to let him join the search, but she refused and warned him that the underwater mission was deadly.
• Yin Zhilong warned Yin Qingsi that six of the Yue Sect’s seven True Disciples had arrived; she replied that she was a True Disciple too.
• A signal flashed in the sky, and Yin Qingsi told Yin Zhilong to study while she was away before slipping into the river.
• Yin Qingsi activated Water Escape and used her water affinity to sense nearby creatures and search for the Water Spirit Pearl’s distinctive power.

Yin Qingsi searched her assigned stretch of the Flowing Sand River for the Water Spirit Pearl, using mystic water waves and gifts to keep the Water Race from disrupting her. After two days, she reached a Yue Sect cultivator who had been slowed by demon harassment and wrongly suspected she had searched carelessly.

• Yin Qingsi used Mystic Water Wave Technique to search the riverbed for the Water Spirit Pearl.
• When three curious water demons approached, Yin Qingsi gave them trinkets and kept them occupied with stories so they would not report her or summon more trouble.
• Yin Qingsi searched steadily and confirmed that the areas she had covered held no trace of the Water Spirit Pearl.
• After crossing seventy percent of the river's width, Yin Qingsi approached the Yue Kingdom bank and encountered a Yue Sect cultivator being harried by water demons.
• The Yue Sect cultivator saw the demons following Yin Qingsi and concluded that she must have searched carelessly because he had barely made progress himself.

Hou Niao persuaded the Flowing Sand Lord to support using the Water Spirit Pearl to restore the Snow River and plant forests in the Binxu Desert. The river wyrm agreed to guard the pearl on behalf of the Brocade Continent, though it denied being a hero or pioneer.

• The Flowing Sand Lord questioned whether Hou Niao could keep the Qin Sect and Yue Sect from interfering with the plan.
• Hou Niao argued that the forest project would benefit the Northwest, protect the Flowing Sand River, and win support from cultivators across the continent.
• Hou Niao proposed showing others the Ancient Loulan Protective Forest and placing the Water Spirit Pearl in the Snow River's underground channel for a hundred years.
• The Flowing Sand Lord realized that its Water Race would guard the pearl for everyone rather than own it, and Hou Niao argued that this arrangement would keep the treasure safe.
• Hou Niao urged the river wyrm to see itself as a defender of nature, and the Flowing Sand Lord agreed to his proposal while disclaiming any heroic ambitions.

Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi used the Water Spirit Pearl to withstand a three-sided assault while practicing the Five Elements Cultivation Method. With the Flowing Sand Lord and Lin Xiashi helping steer events, the pearl moved toward the western route to the Snow River Underground River, where the narrow passage could favor their escape.

• Hou Niao persuaded the Flowing Sand Lord to lead the Water Race after him through the western whirlpool, forcing the Qin Sect and Yue Sect to follow.
• The Flowing Sand Lord invited the three little demons into its Water Mansion, and they eagerly agreed to continue the journey.
• The Qin Sect, Yue Sect, and Water Race attacked the Water Spirit Pearl’s barrier while Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi channeled its power and learned more about the five elements.
• The Water Race quietly pushed the barrier toward the edge of the underground lake, despite a Yue Sect cultivator’s objection.
• Lin Xiashi recognized Hou Niao’s plan to change the Water Spirit Pearl’s surroundings and admired his decisive approach.

Lin Xiashi and the Qin Sect joined the pursuit of the Water Spirit Pearl into the underground river, while the Yue Sect realized it had been excluded and followed. Hou Niao and Yin Qingsi entered the crowded passage with the pearl, and Hou Niao wondered how to lead everyone back to the surface and reveal what they had accomplished.

• Lin Xiashi persuaded the Qin Sect’s senior brother to follow the Water Spirit Pearl into the underground river and accept responsibility for the decision.
• The Yue Sect’s leading Golden Core cultivator discovered the river led to the former Snow River and ordered his people to stop attacking and follow the others.
• The Water Spirit Pearl entered the whirlpool, and cultivators from the three forces crowded into the underground river after it.
• Yin Qingsi broke free of Hou Niao’s embrace and warned him that she would fight him once she regained her freedom.
• Hou Niao considered how to bring the cultivators to the surface near Ancient Loulan, protect the Water Spirit Pearl, and explain his actions.

Yu Zhengxing prepared the outnumbered defenders of Dragon Whisker Ravine to fight the approaching Undead Legion rather than abandon the shelterbelt. With aid scarce and more than ten thousand Undead closing in, he and Senior Brother Wan accepted that the battle would begin with a direct confrontation.

• Scouts reported that over ten thousand Undead, including many Golden Core Eyeless Monsters, were approaching Dragon Whisker Ravine, where fewer than six hundred human cultivators held the shelterbelt.
• Nan Xiangye warned Yu Zhengxing that the defenders had only a dozen or so Golden Core cultivators against more than a hundred Golden Core Eyeless Monsters.
• Senior Brother Wan urged Yu Zhengxing to use mobile warfare rather than risk heavy casualties defending a fixed stretch of shelterbelt.
• Yu Zhengxing explained that cultivators from Zhongshan, Shangcai, Shaji, and other small nations had arrived, while the Qin Sect and Yue Sect were occupied by a standoff over a Water Spirit Pearl.
• Yu Zhengxing proposed meeting the Undead head-on with roughly a thousand defenders before adapting their strategy, and Senior Brother Wan reluctantly accepted.

Yu Zhengxing and Senior Brother Wan prepared to defend the forest belt against the approaching Undead Legion, despite their shortage of troops and uncertainty about the enemy’s intentions. Yu Zhengxing gathered the human cultivators at Dragon Whisker Ravine, where the Undead began charging their defensive formation.

• Yu Zhengxing rejected Senior Brother Wan’s suggestion to take the fight to the Undead and explained the risks of defending the long forest belt with too few cultivators.
• Yu Zhengxing revealed that he had sent Hou Du to retrieve the Water Spirit Pearl and admitted that no one was left to protect the underground river.
• Yu Zhengxing and the Golden Core cultivators deployed nearly six hundred human cultivators along the forest belt as the Undead Legion approached.
• Scouts confirmed that fewer than seven thousand Undead were advancing together, so Yu Zhengxing ordered the humans to assemble at Dragon Whisker Ravine.
• Senior Brother Wan volunteered to lead the front as the humans formed a defensive square, and the Undead Legion charged them.

The Undead Legion used massed spell bombardment to keep the human cultivators occupied while Yu Zhengxing and the Golden Core cultivators realized the battle might be a diversion. They suspected thousands of Undead and Eyeless Monsters had gone through the underground river, leaving Yu Zhengxing to choose between defending the sky and risking a disastrous fight below.

• The Undead Legion formed a single battle formation and traded massed attacks with the human cultivators, gaining only a slight advantage.
• Yu Zhengxing questioned how many Eyeless Monsters were directing the Undead, and Senior Brother Wan warned that their tactics might conceal an abnormal plan.
• Yu Zhengxing noted that the scouts had reported ten thousand Undead, while only seven thousand appeared on the battlefield, and the cultivators suspected the missing force was using the underground river.
• The Golden Core cultivators recognized that the battle above the Protective Forest kept them from tracking activity underground, where the Undead might be attacking their vital route.
• Yu Zhengxing considered sending forces to defend the underground river but feared that few cultivators could fight effectively there against thousands of Undead and dozens of Golden Core Eyeless Monsters.

Yu Zhengxing and the Golden Cores abandoned plans to defend the underground river and Protective Forest, choosing instead to attack the Undead Legion with a surprise flanking force. As the human cultivators prepared for battle, Fang Yazi arrived to take Senior Brother Hou’s place in Gui Team.

• Yu Zhengxing ordered the cultivators to stop defending both fronts and concentrate their strength on destroying the Undead Legion’s airborne contingent.
• Senior Brother Wan and the Golden Cores supported the counterattack, and messages summoned the hidden flanking forces and alerted the other human contingents.
• Yu Zhengxing apologized for the danger to the Protective Forest, while a Golden Core questioned how the Undead Legion had acquired such sophisticated military strategy.
• Yu Zhengxing learned that the flanking force would arrive in fifteen minutes and ordered the Golden Cores to lead a counterattack half a quarter-hour beforehand.
• The Golden Cores prepared forbidden techniques, treasures, and a Flying Ship as the human formation quietly readied its attack.
• Nan Xiangye, Yuan Shangyuan, Fairy Huang, and Wang Gandang prepared for battle and discussed Senior Brother Hou’s absence before Fang Yazi arrived and offered to take his place in Gui Team.

Hou Niao used the chaos of the battle between the Undead Legion and the human-water demon alliance to merge the Water Spirit Pearl into the underground river. Afterward, he left Yin Qingsi to rally everyone to aid the humans still holding out aboveground.

• The Undead Legion swarmed toward the Water Spirit Pearl, and the humans and water demons attacked them, overwhelming them in the underwater battle.
• Hou Niao told Yin Qingsi he planned to make the Water Spirit Pearl merge with the underground river so no one could steal it.
• Hou Niao communicated with the Water Spirit Pearl, agreed to its condition, and watched it dissolve into the river.
• Hou Niao prepared to leave and asked Yin Qingsi to urge everyone to go aboveground after the battle to help the human cultivators holding out there.
• Yin Qingsi agreed and told Hou Niao she would collect a favor from him later.

The human cultivators fought the Undead Legion in the sky above Dragon Whisker Ravine, and Fang Yazi’s swordsmanship led a small team through the enemy ranks. As the Undead pressed their numerical advantage and more defenders faced danger, Lin Xiashi rallied the Qin and Yue Sects to charge; the arrival of over a thousand human cultivators broke the Undead Legion.

• The humans’ surprise attacks killed or wounded more than two thousand Undead, but the Legion regrouped and the battle turned into a prolonged fight with mounting human casualties.
• Fang Yazi led a small team in repeated charges through the Undead formation, impressing Wang Gandang and Nan Xiangye.
• Senior Brother Wan urged Yu Zhengxing to withdraw the Sword Cultivators, but Yu Zhengxing refused to leave his disciples behind.
• Hundreds of human cultivators emerged from beneath the forest belt, and Lin Xiashi led the Qin Sect and Yue Sect into battle.
• More than a thousand human cultivators, including several dozen Golden Core cultivators, joined the fight, and the Undead Legion broke after two hours.

After the Undead Legion was defeated, the human cultivators honored their dead and resolved to defend the Protective Forest. Yu Zhengxing and Senior Brother Wan argued over the losses and the future of Hou Niao, whom Senior Brother Wan planned to transfer away from the Northwest.

• The human cultivators pursued the fleeing Undead for half a month, wiping out the Legion and other Undead across the Binxu Desert.
• More than two thousand cultivators held a memorial rite above the Protective Forest and honored nearly two hundred fallen comrades, including seventeen Sword Cultivators.
• The survivors resolved that the Protective Forest had to endure, and Senior Brother Wan questioned Yu Zhengxing about the battle’s planning and losses.
• Yu Zhengxing defended his approach and privately resolved to keep Hou Niao in the Northwest because he had proved useful in dangerous situations.
• Senior Brother Wan announced that he would transfer Hou Niao to the Minister of Justice Prefecture, leaving Yu Zhengxing unable to object.

After the Yue Sect’s disciples conceded defeat, Hou Niao explained his intentions and shared his approach to sword cultivation, easing tensions with the Northwest cultivators. The group parted on friendly terms, and Fairy Huang invited Fang Yazi to visit the underground river, where the Flowing Sand Lord was waiting to speak with Hou Niao.

• Tang Youzeng lost to the Sword Cultivator, and the other Yue Sect disciples declined to challenge him.
• Yang Guanjun recognized that the Sword Cultivator could defeat him and questioned whether he was a Shanmen True Disciple.
• Hou Niao said he had brought everyone to see the Protective Forest and explained that the Heavenly Dao had guided their timing; the Yue Sect disciples accepted his account and offered to help protect the forest belt.
• Hou Niao taught his junior brothers that sword cultivators should combine techniques to suit their strengths and said he hoped to make his methods public.
• Fairy Huang invited Fang Yazi to the underground river, then told Hou Niao that the Flowing Sand Lord had asked her to invite him down to discuss something important.
• The Yue Sect disciples departed, and the cultivators exchanged friendly farewells.

Hou Niao followed Flowing Sand Lord upstream and encountered Gu Sou for the third time, finding him near a cultivator meditating in the vortex. Gu Sou challenged Hou Niao’s belief that he was saving the world and warned that the emerging Five Elements Spirit Pearls signaled a connection with the universe beyond.

• Hou Niao left his junior brothers at the underground river, where the Water Spirit Pearl’s presence had made the area safe and drawn many cultivators.
• Flowing Sand Lord found Hou Niao in a distant submerged vortex and pointed out a mysterious cultivator seated at its center.
• Hou Niao recognized the figure as Gu Sou, greeted him, and reassured Flowing Sand Lord that Gu Sou posed no threat to the Water Spirit Pearl.
• Gu Sou rebuked Hou Niao for describing his actions as saving nature, arguing that people acted for themselves and that Jinxiu followed its own laws.
• Gu Sou said the Earth and Water Spirit Pearls were objects from beyond the universe and that the remaining Spirit Pearls would appear in time, linking their emergence to the opening of the Heaven and Earth Shackles.

Hou Niao left Dragon Whisker Ravine after helping establish a vast forest belt and accepted Xiao True Person’s Fishman Seal for his new assignment in Pingliang Prefecture. He set out alone, weighing the political entanglements of the post and the chance to pursue his own path toward becoming a True Disciple.

• Hou Niao reassured the Flowing Sand Lord and returned to Dragon Whisker Ravine, where the upheaval had begun to settle and the forest-planting effort was spreading.
• Hou Niao said goodbye to Yu Zhengxing, who told him they would meet again and that he could arrange for Hou Niao to return someday.
• Hou Niao reflected on his ties to the Anhe Daoist Sect and the factions within Shanmen Quanzhen as he prepared to leave for Pingliang Prefecture alone.
• Qu Zhuya discussed Xiao True Person’s invitation and the possibility of using the Fishman Seal to find others interested in Hou Niao’s ideas about the Body Sword Technique.
• Hou Niao accepted Xiao True Person’s Fishman Seal and received a Jade Slip listing Shanmen outsiders scattered across the prefectures.
• Xiao True Person left Hou Niao holding the seal, while Hou Niao considered his new post near the Anhe Daoist Sect and his desire to follow an independent path.

Zhou Laoxi’s Unusual Pleasures Pavilion struggled with new identity-checking rules imposed by Zhongqing’s two prefectures, which drove away customers and exposed the shop to fines. After undercover inspectors caught Xiuzhen failing to check their documents, they ordered Zhou Laoxi to pay or face closure.

• The Marshal's Prefecture and Central Army Prefecture ordered merchants to verify customers’ identities and submit daily reports.
• Zhou Laoxi’s shop lost customers because mortals buying its goods found it difficult and embarrassing to obtain verification documents.
• Zhou Laoxi left Xiuzhen to mind the shop while he went to inspect the goods in the back hall.
• Two undercover inspectors entered, and Xiuzhen asked them for verification documents too late.
• The inspectors told Zhou Laoxi to pay a fine within three days or have the shop shut down.

Hou Niao helped Lanruo and Lanting secure gengjing ore from the Commandant Prefecture’s stockpile, then secretly joined their raft to escort them home. As they set off, he warned that their cargo could attract danger and said he wanted to meet their master to learn how he could help them and himself.

• Hou Niao promised Lanruo and Lanting he would help them obtain gengjing ore from the Commandant Prefecture’s share of the stockpile.
• The three prefectures divided the stockpiled ore, and Lanruo and Lanting received more than they had expected, drawing jealous looks from other merchants.
• Lanruo and Lanting loaded their goods onto a floating raft and departed Zhongqing City without saying goodbye to Hou Niao.
• The women discovered Hou Niao asleep in the cargo hold, and he explained that he had come to accompany them because the journey might be dangerous.
• Hou Niao suspected someone might target Northern Anhe’s shipment and said he also wanted to meet the women’s master.

Hou Niao escorted Li Laiheng’s group into Anhe territory while expecting the Wu Sect to make a move, but their journey remained uneventful. In Fufeng City, Black Daoist prepared to ambush Hou Niao, whose arrival he suspected, and planned to kill him in a single strike.

• Hou Niao left the investigation in Pingliang Prefecture to Li Shipeng and Su Lingyun and escorted Li Laiheng’s group toward Anhe territory.
• The raft crossed into Sanjiang Prefecture without encountering anyone, while Hou Niao wondered whether the Southern Anhe Daoists had failed to react in time.
• Black Daoist arrived at Fufeng City with a Southern Anhe disciple and learned that Hou Niao had once been a clerk there before becoming a commandant in Shanmen.
• Black Daoist explained that the Wu Sect had watched Hou Niao for years and suspected his involvement in the robbery in Pingliang Prefecture.
• Black Daoist sent the disciple away to avoid involving the Southern Anhe faction and began preparing a concealed ambush in case Hou Niao stopped in Fufeng City.