Recaps

Wang Ba sought more chickens to increase his lifespan and finish the Body-Strengthening Scripture, but Steward Li’s news disrupted his plans. After Wang Ba avoided being sent to the front lines, he was assigned to learn at Dingjiu Manor, where he saw an enormous supply of spirit chickens.

• Wang Ba trained Jia Seven, traded for sick chickens, and raised his lifespan to 658.7 years, still far short of what he needed for the tenth layer.
• Steward Li told Wang Ba that servant disciples had been selected for front-line duty, but he had turned down the assignment on Wang Ba’s behalf.
• Wang Ba thanked Steward Li with spirit chicken eggs and learned that Elder Qian had ordered him to help and learn at Dingjiu Manor each afternoon.
• Steward Li brought Wang Ba to Dingjiu Manor, where Wang Ba saw the many spirit chickens and recognized their potential lifespan.

Wang Ba began work at Dingjiu Manor, where he met its four Outer Sect cultivators and learned about their conflicts and poor cultivation prospects. He secretly absorbed two years of a Spirit Chicken’s lifespan and planned to judge the cultivators’ reactions the next day.

• A white-robed disciple ordered Wang Ba to wash his hands outside before he could handle the Spirit Chickens’ feed.
• Wang Ba worked through the meticulous care of Dingjiu Manor’s eight hundred Spirit Chickens as three disciples returned.
• Tao Yi introduced himself and explained that Senior Brother Shi was an elderly, stalled cultivator, Chu had driven off the former Servant Disciples, and Lin Yu demanded Wang Ba collect her eggs.
• Tao Yi warned Wang Ba about Chu and offered to support him if Chu caused trouble.
• After finishing the work and returning to Dingbaqi Manor, Wang Ba secretly absorbed about two years of lifespan from a male Spirit Chicken to test whether the cultivators could detect it.

Wang Ba worked at Dingjiu Manor while concealing his abilities and making sure the cultivators did not notice the Spirit Chicken whose lifespan he had drained. After he expertly slaughtered a chicken for Chu Erniu, Senior Brother Shi revealed that Wang Ba had raised two of the manor’s Spirit Chickens and summoned him to meet that afternoon.

• Wang Ba trained Jia Seven, prepared chicken feed, and went to Dingjiu Manor early after Niu Yong’s younger brother failed to arrive.
• Tao Yi defended Wang Ba from Chu Erniu’s insults, while Wang Ba discreetly led the drained male Spirit Chicken past Tao Yi and Lin Yu without drawing notice.
• Chu Erniu demanded that Wang Ba slaughter his monthly Spirit Chicken, and Tao Yi warned him that the bird could badly injure a mortal.
• Wang Ba swiftly killed the Spirit Chicken and caught its blood, astonishing Tao Yi, Lin Yu, and Chu Erniu.
• Senior Brother Shi told the others that Wang Ba had raised and offered two Spirit Chickens, then ordered Wang Ba to see him after work.

Wang Ba cleaned the spirit chickens, discussed his cultivation method with Immortal Shi, and received permission to study a guide to raising precious chickens. Tao Yi returned with news that demonic cultivators had slaughtered an entire city near the sect in a blood ritual.

• Tao Yi told Wang Ba that Immortal Shi wanted to meet him and might teach him beast-rearing skills.
• A Gold Core True Person streaked across the sky, prompting Tao Yi and Lin Yu to leave the manor while Wang Ba continued working.
• Wang Ba collected nearly eight hundred years of lifespan from the spirit chickens as he cleaned them.
• Wang Ba explained his spirit-chicken cultivation method to Immortal Shi, who critiqued its cost and lent him a guide to read.
• Tao Yi returned and told Wang Ba that demonic cultivators from the Fu Kingdom had sacrificed a nearby city, killing all 120,000 people there.

Wang Ba collected lifespan from Spirit Chickens and ducks while the Sect prepared for war and his attempts to reach the Underground Passage were thwarted. His lifespan reached 5,403.1 years, and a new Divine Ability, Substitute Death, appeared before him.

• Wang Ba bought more than 270 sick chickens and 120 sick ducks, brought them to his manor, and extracted their lifespan alongside that of his other birds.
• Old Hou gave Wang Ba a large supply of Chicken Feed, while Wang Ba worried about the growing pile of chicken manure and Niu Yong's absent younger brother.
• A purple-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator ordered 400 Spirit Chickens, and the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator gave Wang Ba Extreme Blood Pills to feed to Precious Chickens.
• Wang Ba failed to enter the Underground Passage at South Lake Village because more Sect disciples had arrived there.
• Wang Ba extracted lifespan from more than 470 Spirit Chickens and 120 spirit ducks, bringing his total lifespan to 5,403.1 years.
• A screen informed Wang Ba that Substitute Death had activated and could bind one living creature at the cost of 1,000 years of lifespan.

Wang Ba completed the Body-Strengthening Scripture’s tenth layer and formed a spiritual root, then tried to find a way to confirm it and learned that the poultry plague crackdown had made collecting precious chickens dangerous. He decided to leave the Eastern Saint Sect as soon as possible, but arrived at Dingjiu Manor to hear Chu Erniu crying that he would not go to the front lines.

• Wang Ba spent 4,608 years of lifespan to complete the Body-Strengthening Scripture’s tenth layer and form a spiritual root.
• Wang Ba searched West Garden Market for a Spiritual Root Testing Talisman but found none, and he sold his spirit chickens because the shops no longer bought sick poultry.
• Wang Ba learned that shops in North Pine Market had been sealed and that outer sect disciples who bought sick chickens had been arrested, making him fear that his own purchases might be discovered.
• Wang Ba resolved to leave the sect rather than risk confronting the Immortal Ascension Society and its suspected backers.
• Wang Ba reached Dingjiu Manor and heard Chu Erniu wailing that he would not go to the front lines.

Wang Ba learned that the Sect was sending more disciples to war and saw a chance to escape once they left South Lake Village. Before he could act on that plan, Chu Erniu suddenly attacked him with a sword.

• The Stone-Surnamed Cultivator told the manor residents that Chu Erniu would leave for the Fu Kingdom border and that their group would manage two manors.
• Lin Yu protested the added work, but the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator assigned her, Tao Yi, and himself duties at Manor Ten.
• Tao Yi told Wang Ba that the disciples would depart from South Lake Village in five or six days, giving Wang Ba hope that he could leave while the village was unguarded.
• As Wang Ba shoveled chicken droppings, Chu Erniu charged at him with a magic sword and shouted, "Die!"

Chu Erniu attacked Wang Ba out of resentment over being sent to the front lines, but the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator stopped him and warned him not to attack again. Wang Ba placated Chu Erniu with a pouch of Spirit Stones just as Zhao Feng arrived at the manor.

• Chu Erniu attacked Wang Ba with a magic sword and a fireball, but the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator intervened and his Leopard-Faced Black Weasel swallowed the fire.
• Chu Erniu admitted he wanted to kill Wang Ba because he resented that others could stay behind while he was sent to the front lines.
• The Stone-Surnamed Cultivator warned Chu Erniu that he would kill him if he attacked Wang Ba again, then returned inside with Lin Yu.
• Wang Ba pretended to apologize to Chu Erniu and slipped him a pouch containing twenty Spirit Stones.
• Zhao Feng of the Evil Punishment Office arrived at the Mountain Manor to collect Spirit Chickens.

Wang Ba encountered Zhao Feng at the Mountain Manor, where Zhao warned him that danger might arise during the Sect’s upcoming march and urged him to seek shelter there. After Zhao left, the others tried to make amends with Wang Ba, but Chu Erniu’s apparent repayment did not satisfy him.

• Zhao Feng arrived to collect two hundred Spirit Chickens and recognized Wang Ba, startling the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator, Lin Yu, and Chu Erniu.
• When Zhao Feng questioned Wang Ba’s chicken-stained clothes, Wang Ba claimed he had dirtied them himself and prevented Zhao from confronting the others.
• Zhao Feng privately warned Wang Ba that he suspected trouble during the Sect’s upcoming march and told him to come to the manor immediately if anything happened.
• After Zhao Feng departed, Lin Yu asked about Wang Ba’s connection to him, and the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator offered Wang Ba access to his books.
• Chu Erniu returned the twenty Spirit Stones and declared them even, while gray flecks spread from his temples; Wang Ba silently rejected the settlement.

After secretly draining most of Chu Erniu’s lifespan, Wang Ba discovered that taking lifespan from a human had cost him twice as much in a prion infection. He cultivated at Dingbaqi Manor, then found West Garden Market closed and learned that Servant Disciples needed a Sect disciple or identity token to enter Fengyang Market; the chapter ended with him arriving at Dingjiu Manor and spotting a covered corpse among Zhao Feng and several grave-faced Sect disciples.

• Wang Ba absorbed 102 years from Chu Erniu, lost 204 years to prion lifespan, and suspected that lifespan transfers between humans carried a heavy cost.
• Wang Ba ate a Spirit Chicken and cultivated the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture, condensing a drop of Yin Spirit Power more efficiently and bringing his total to twenty drops.
• Wang Ba tried to make Jia Seven swallow fire, but she refused; he noticed that her beak had hardened and her speed had improved.
• Wang Ba found West Garden Market closed and learned that its shopkeepers had been sent to work; a bookshop owner told him that Servant Disciples needed a Sect disciple or identity token to enter Fengyang Market.
• Wang Ba returned to Dingjiu Manor, where he found Zhao Feng and several Sect disciples gathered around a covered corpse, which made his heart leap.

After Chu Batian was found dead, Wang Ba concealed his role in draining Chu Erniu’s lifespan while the disciples investigated. The case was closed as an accidental death from a Demonic Cultivation Method, but Zhao Feng privately told Wang Ba that his intuition pointed to him.

• Zhao Feng questioned Wang Ba and the others about their whereabouts after Chu Batian was found dead.
• Lin Yu admitted she had spent the previous night at Senior Brother Jing’s place, and Tao Yi suggested the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator was a suspect.
• A disciple reported that Chu Batian had possessed a Demonic Cultivation Method that could deplete vitality, and the investigation concluded he had died from practicing it recklessly.
• Zhao Feng dismissed the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator and closed the case, while Wang Ba wondered how easily the investigation had ended.
• Zhao Feng privately told Wang Ba that cultivators did not need evidence and that his intuition linked Wang Ba to Chu Batian’s death.

Zhao Feng revealed that he knew Wang Ba had been involved in Chu Erniu’s death, but chose to protect him and warned him about a likely incident five days later. Wang Ba learned more about Zhao Feng’s standing in the outer sect before an urgent voice called for everyone to get out of the way.

• Zhao Feng told Wang Ba that his intuition had exposed Wang Ba’s involvement in Chu Erniu’s death, but said he would help him because Wang Ba had committed no crime.
• Zhao Feng urged Wang Ba to focus on cultivation and warned him that something unexpected would likely happen when the sect master and disciples left the sect in five days.
• Zhao Feng told Wang Ba to come to him if trouble arose and to use the Sword Qi and Jade Pendant against a powerful enemy, then flew away.
• Back at the Mountain Manor, Wang Ba heard Tao Yi and the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator explain that Zhao Feng led the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples after Lu Yuansheng’s death.
• A voice suddenly called for everyone to get out of the way.

Wang Ba and Tao Yi rushed to Ding Ten Manor, where Ye Lingyu’s unruly third-tier magic sword had frightened the cultivators. After everyone fled from the task of guiding her to the Market, Wang Ba was forced to escort her despite not knowing the way.

• Tao Yi gave Wang Ba a Spirit-Walking Talisman and guided him as they hurried to Ding Ten Manor.
• Wang Ba found Ye Lingyu apologizing to the cultivators after Question Evil, her third-tier magic sword, nearly attacked them.
• Ye Lingyu explained that she wanted to buy first-tier superior-grade Spirit Chickens and asked where she could find them.
• The cultivators suggested the Market, but Tao Yi and the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator both made excuses and fled rather than guide Ye Lingyu.
• The cultivator surnamed Zhu used his Law Power to bring Wang Ba to Ye Lingyu and left him to escort her, while Wang Ba realized he did not know the way.

Wang Ba accompanied Ye Lingyu through the Eastern Saint Sect’s mountain gate, where they saw the enormous purple chicken Fanming before heading to Fengyang Market. After the pair split up to search for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Wang Ba secretly approached the Thousand-Thousand Talisman Shop.

• Ye Lingyu brought Wang Ba through the mountain gate’s formation after he collided with its invisible barrier.
• Wang Ba and Ye Lingyu saw the purple Spirit Beast Fanming fly away, and Ye Lingyu explained that it was a divine beast among chickens and that the Sect’s Fanming was incomplete.
• Wang Ba and Ye Lingyu reached Fengyang Market, where Ye Lingyu changed into Outer Sect robes to draw less attention.
• Ye Lingyu suggested they search separate sides of the crowded Market for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and Wang Ba agreed.
• After Ye Lingyu left, Wang Ba circled through the crowd and cautiously approached the Thousand-Thousand Talisman Shop.

Wang Ba visited Fengyang Market to buy a Spiritual Root Talisman and investigate cultivation methods. He left with the talisman, a gazetteer, and a miniature compilation of the bookshop’s cultivation methods, including the Five Dragons Scripture.

• Wang Ba entered a talisman shop and bought a Spiritual Root Talisman for ten Lower-grade Spirit Stones.
• Wang Ba browsed the bookshop’s cultivation methods and discovered he could read only their introductions without buying a book.
• Wang Ba bought a copy of the Gazetteer of the Local Products of Sen, Chen, and Fu and paid extra for a miniature compilation of the available cultivation methods.
• Wang Ba chose the Five Dragons Scripture as his free cultivation method and left with the books and golden-paper compilation.

Wang Ba visited the Hundred Beasts Garden while searching for high-grade Spirit Chickens for Ye Lingyu, and found beasts far beyond his means, including a turtle ideally suited to his Substitute Death ability. He discovered the shop had high-grade Spirit Chickens and was offered a small Spirit Beast Bag if Ye Lingyu spent at least ten middle-grade Spirit Stones there, then left to find her.

• Wang Ba entered the Hundred Beasts Garden and saw its spirit beasts, including a Shield-Armored Giant-Headed Turtle priced at four hundred Spirit Stones that could greatly improve his Substitute Death ability.
• Wang Ba found the high-grade Spirit Chickens and noted their prices, then saw the shop owner put an unsold chicken back into a Spirit Beast Bag after a failed negotiation.
• Wang Ba asked the shop owner whether he could buy a Spirit Beast Bag, and the owner quoted seven or eight hundred Spirit Stones.
• The shop owner offered Wang Ba a small practice Spirit Beast Bag if his master spent at least ten middle-grade Spirit Stones on spirit beasts.
• Wang Ba agreed to try, left the Hundred Beasts Garden, and endured the lion beasts' disdainful looks again.

Wang Ba helped Ye Lingyu haggle for high-grade Spirit Chickens at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, securing a lower price but losing his chance to obtain a Spirit Beast Bag through the Hundred Beasts Garden. Ye Lingyu then gave him a spare Spirit Beast Bag of her own.

• Ye Lingyu asked Wang Ba to help her bargain for high-grade Spirit Chickens at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
• Wang Ba walked away from the shopkeeper's firm price, prompting the shopkeeper to call them back and negotiate.
• Wang Ba haggled the price down from 324 to 210 Spirit Stones per hen, and Ye Lingyu bought five.
• Ye Lingyu praised Wang Ba and gave him a spare Spirit Beast Bag.

Wang Ba accepted a Spirit Beast Bag from Ye Lingyu after learning her sword, Question Evil, had detected his Spiritual Root. Back at Dingjiu Manor, he kept his purchases and the gift secret from the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator, then hurried off to test his Spiritual Root.

• Ye Lingyu explained that Question Evil had sensed Wang Ba's Spiritual Root and gave him a Spirit Beast Bag, which he accepted.
• Wang Ba left the mountain, regretting that he had not seen Fanming, and returned to Dingjiu Manor.
• Tao Yi checked that Wang Ba was unharmed and explained that Elder Qin led the Evil Punishment Office and had lent Ye Lingyu the third-tier magic sword.
• Wang Ba answered the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator's questions about the trip but concealed his purchases and Spirit Beast Bag.
• Wang Ba excused himself to return and test his Spiritual Root, and he encountered Lin Yu as he left the Mountain Manor.

After confirming that he had four Spiritual Roots, with water strongest, Wang Ba chose the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art and discovered he needed his panel to initiate its cultivation. The chapter ended with the panel offering to convert 27 years of lifespan into initiation.

• Wang Ba avoided drawing attention to Lin Yu, who had red, swollen eyes and watched him leave with resentment.
• Back in his room, Wang Ba tested the Spiritual Root Talisman and revealed four low-grade Spiritual Roots: wood, earth, fire, and water, with water strongest.
• Wang Ba selected the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art, a water-led cultivation method compatible with his four Spiritual Roots.
• After studying the method, Wang Ba still could not draw in Spiritual Qi and suspected he needed the panel's help.
• Wang Ba opened the panel and saw that initiation into the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art would cost 27 years of lifespan.

Wang Ba used his lifespan to learn the basics of the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art and successfully entered Qi Refining. After testing his new abilities and preparing to leave with Jia Seven, he heard Old Hou relay Steward Yu’s warning not to wander for the next few days.

• Wang Ba spent 27 years of lifespan to grasp the basics of the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art, but needed a Spirit Stone to gather enough Spiritual Qi to form Law Power.
• Wang Ba reached the first level of Qi Refining and realized he would have to cultivate the Ren Water Fourfold Command Art himself from then on.
• Wang Ba cultivated through the night, exhausted eight Spirit Stones, and accumulated ten wisps of gaseous Law Power.
• Wang Ba tested his strength against Jia Seven’s movements, judged himself slightly stronger than Chu Erniu without Yin Spirit Power, and put Jia Seven in the Spirit Beast Bag.
• Old Hou delivered Chicken Feed to Dingbaqi Manor and told Wang Ba that Steward Yu had warned him not to wander for the next few days.

Wang Ba grew suspicious that Old Hou was already dead and warned himself to stay alert as the sect prepared for upheaval. At Dingjiu Manor, he was assigned to manage Ding Ten Manor alone, where he learned more about Spirit Chicken husbandry and heard that Patriarch Jiao Hu had led the Eastern Saint Sect to settle there.

• Wang Ba tested Old Hou by clasping his hand and concluded that Old Hou had no lifespan, leaving him fearful of the Immortal Ascension Society’s plans.
• Wang Ba went to Dingjiu Manor, where the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator, Tao Yi, and Lin Yu worked alongside him after Junior Brother Zhu and the others left.
• Tao Yi and Lin Yu both objected to working together and asked to be paired with Wang Ba, but the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator assigned Wang Ba to take sole charge of Ding Ten Manor.
• Tao Yi apologized to Wang Ba, and they wished each other a chance at immortality before parting ways.
• The Stone-Surnamed Cultivator discussed Spirit Chicken husbandry with Wang Ba and praised his ideas, then revealed that Patriarch Jiao Hu had insisted the Eastern Saint Sect settle there.

Wang Ba used the sect’s expedition against the Fu Kingdom Cultivation World as his chance to take lifespan from the Spirit Chickens and prepare to escape. After discovering that binding required sufficient affinity, he bound Jia Six and set out for South Lake Village.

• The Stone-Surnamed Cultivator explained how Daoist Jiao Hu had moved the Eastern Saint Sect to the Chen Kingdom after discovering traces of Fanming.
• Wang Ba found that eating a male Spirit Chicken produced five wisps of gaseous Law Power and two drops of Yin Spirit Power while gradually strengthening his body.
• The Eastern Saint Sect’s sect master, Ji Lan, led most of the sect’s forces on an expedition against the Fu Kingdom Cultivation World.
• Wang Ba drew four years of lifespan from each Spirit Chicken in Ding Ten Manor, gaining 2,460 years, then waited for Lin Yu to take over guarding the manor.
• Lin Yu asked Wang Ba to tell her if Zhao Feng came to visit, and Wang Ba agreed before returning to Dingbaqi Manor.
• Wang Ba discovered that only Jia Five and Jia Six had enough affinity to bind, chose Jia Six, packed a few belongings, and left for South Lake Village in the rain.

Wang Ba tried to escape the Eastern Saint Sect through Gou Mu’s underground tunnel, but cultivators caught him near the exit. After unknown attackers killed them, a Chief Steward ordered Bai Yu to bury the tunnel, leaving Wang Ba trapped underground.

• Wang Ba entered Gou Mu’s tunnel beneath South Lake Village and followed the memorized route toward its exit.
• Wang Ba reached the opening, where two cultivators waited, and hid as they searched for signs of someone in the tunnel.
• A sudden flash blinded Wang Ba, and the round-faced cultivator realized a creature was hiding below.
• Unknown attackers killed the two cultivators outside the opening while Wang Ba stayed hidden.
• A Chief Steward ordered Bai Yu to bury the tunnel, cutting off Wang Ba’s escape route.

Wang Ba escaped a collapsing underground passage as the Heavenly Gate Sect attacked the Eastern Saint Sect. After witnessing South Lake Village burn, he headed toward Dingjiu Manor, where Zhao Feng had told him to go, and killed an approaching cultivator with a sudden wisp of Sword Qi.

• Wang Ba sensed a powerful figure searching the underground passage, then heard Bai Yu order the passage collapsed and punish Gong Wei for resisting the Steward’s command.
• As the passage shook and began collapsing, Wang Ba decided to return to the sect and scrambled back through it while the cultivators outside dismissed the movement.
• Wang Ba climbed out of a dry well in South Lake Village and saw signs that the Heavenly Gate Sect had begun attacking the Eastern Saint Sect.
• A brilliant light shattered a barrier, and an enormous blaze fell on South Lake Village, setting it alight as its people awoke in panic.
• Remembering Zhao Feng’s warning, Wang Ba set out for Dingjiu Manor but dodged a Steel Awl thrown by an Ochre-Robed Cultivator and killed him with Sword Qi.

Wang Ba used Zhao Feng's Sword Qi to kill the Ochre-Robed Cultivator, then escaped a second attacker and reached Dingjiu Manor as the Heavenly Gate Sect's assault spread. There, Tao Yi betrayed the group and killed the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator, but a surge of Sword Qi from the sect's core interrupted the fighting.

• Wang Ba activated the Jade Pendant's Sword Qi and beheaded the Ochre-Robed Cultivator, then used a supreme-grade Spirit-Walking Talisman to flee the blue-robed cultivator.
• Wang Ba returned to Ding Ten Manor, warned Lin Yu that the Heavenly Gate Sect was attacking, and left for Dingjiu Manor as attackers approached.
• Wang Ba and Lin Yu entered Dingjiu Manor, where the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator and Tao Yi questioned them about the fighting.
• Tao Yi killed the Stone-Surnamed Cultivator, and a scar-faced cultivator broke through the Small Golden Bell Formation and attacked Lin Yu.
• A sect disciple engaged the scar-faced cultivator while Lin Yu defended herself against Tao Yi, who turned to ask Wang Ba for help.
• A massive streak of Sword Qi erupted from the sect's core, killing numerous attackers as an aged voice challenged the Heavenly Gate Sect.