Recaps

Chen Jin entered the battle at Yan Household Market as a corpse demon’s bell threatened the defenders. His imitation bell disrupted the demon’s control over the zombies, leaving the fight’s outcome uncertain.

• Old Man He recognized Chen Jin as a formidable fighter, saw the sword on his back, and led his family after him toward the market’s center.
• A silver-armored corpse demon entered the market, used its bronze bell to bewitch people, and cut down those who could not resist.
• Lu Gao warned the defenders about the Demon Bell Soul-Capturing Technique and rang his own bell, but the corpse demon shattered it and broke his Law Technique.
• Niu Ben attacked the corpse demon with his golden melon hammer while Lu Gao, injured and powerless, watched the defenders fall back into chaos.
• Chen Jin approached while ringing an imitation bronze bell, and its clashing chimes disrupted the corpse demon’s control, leaving the zombies confused.

Chen Jin used Yan Ji’s Corpse-Driving Bell to confuse the zombies, letting the fighters burn them and corner the corpse demon. As the demon tried to escape the marketplace, Chen Jin sent out the Slay Evil Sword, which cut off its right arm.

• Chen Jin rang Yan Ji’s Corpse-Driving Bell, disrupting the zombies and giving everyone a chance to attack them.
• The fighters set the zombies on fire and destroyed many of them, leaving the corpse demon isolated.
• The corpse demon realized its scheme had failed and tried to flee, but Niu Ben and the others pursued it.
• The corpse demon killed several fighters as it reached the marketplace entrance, while ordinary attacks failed to stop it.
• Chen Jin commanded the Slay Evil Sword to unsheathe, and it cut off the corpse demon’s right arm.

Chen Jin led a crowd toward Yan Household Stronghold after wounding the corpse demon, but the demon’s return triggered a massacre inside the stronghold. By the time Chen Jin arrived, Yan Household had fallen, and he entered alone to investigate.

• Chen Jin urged the crowd to pursue the wounded corpse demon and attack Yan Household Stronghold, while the He family stayed beside him.
• Yan Laojiu welcomed his great-uncle back, but the one-armed corpse demon attacked and fed on Yan Household disciples before running to the underground corpse yard.
• Yan Laojiu rang the bell and called for defenders, but the Yan Household disciples had died or fled as raiders advanced on the stronghold.
• Old Man He and his family left Chen Jin to search the fallen stronghold for opportunities.
• Chen Jin entered Yan Household Great Stronghold alone, intending to explore it and uncover its secrets.

Chen Jin descended into the Yan Household’s underground burial ground and killed the wounded corpse demon. He then exposed and destroyed the shadow hidden inside an old man, leaving the stronghold’s remaining threat to be dealt with.

• Chen Jin followed the Yin Baleful Qi through the stronghold and found the Yan Household’s underground coffin chamber, where he recognized an empty coffin as the one he had crawled out of.
• A corpse demon burst from the jade coffin and attacked Chen Jin, who defeated it with the Slay Evil Sword and cut off its head.
• Chen Jin entered a nearby chamber, opened a black coffin, and pulled out an old man who appeared to be dead.
• The old man recognized Chen Jin uncertainly, but Chen Jin pierced a hidden shadow on the wall with his sword, and it howled before dissipating.

Chen Jin killed Great-Uncle, recovered his Pot Heaven Bag and the Corpse-Driving Bell, and burned the Yan Household’s corpse-filled underground graveyard. As he emerged, a white-haired woman, a burly man, and a tiger-riding hunter confronted him, seeking what he had taken.

• Chen Jin searched Great-Uncle’s remains, found the Yan Household Corpse Liberation Immortal Method and his own restricted Pot Heaven Bag, then took the genuine Corpse-Driving Bell from the jade coffin.
• Niu Ben, Lu Gao, and their companions found Chen Jin in the graveyard and left after seeing the slain corpse demon.
• Chen Jin opened the remaining coffins, found Su Zhen dead, and set the underground graveyard ablaze.
• Chen Jin emerged to find the Yan Household badly damaged and many bodies strewn across the grounds.
• A white-haired old woman, a bare-chested man with a spiked club, and a hunter riding a tiger surrounded Chen Jin, with the hunter demanding what Chen Jin had taken from the graveyard.

Chen Jin confronted representatives of the Chen, Sun, and Wu households after they surrounded him at the Yan Household stronghold. Using Earth Escape, he killed Third Granny Chen and attacked Sun Meng, while Wu Wei fled.

• Third Granny Chen, Sun Meng, and Wu Wei surrounded Chen Jin and attacked him together.
• Chen Jin burrowed underground, reappeared behind Third Granny Chen, and killed her with one sword thrust.
• Sun Meng and Wu Wei regrouped and tried to persuade Chen Jin to let them leave, but he reminded them that they had attacked him first.
• Chen Jin used Earth Escape again and dragged Sun Meng into the ground.
• Wu Wei fled on his tiger while Chen Jin dealt with Sun Meng.

Chen Jin killed Wu Wei with the Slay Evil Sword and learned that Yuan Bai had left the mountains. As the female ghost vanished and the Yan Household Great Stronghold continued to burn, Chen Jin sensed a powerful presence approaching.

• Wu Wei urged his tiger toward the stronghold gate, but an eerie shadow blocked their path before Chen Jin's flying sword pierced Wu Wei's heart.
• The female ghost watched Chen Jin approach and reflected on the Demon-Ghost Alliance's defeat and her hatred of him.
• Chen Jin asked the female ghost whether she had seen the monkey, and she told him Yuan Bai had left the mountains.
• The female ghost mocked Chen Jin for being left behind, but he said he wished Yuan Bai well and planned to leave too, prompting her to disappear in anger.
• Chen Jin put on his battered bamboo hat and sensed a powerful presence approaching from outside the burning stronghold.

Chen Jin decided not to reveal himself to the arriving Zhongnan Sword Sect elder, fearing Yan Hui could turn the accusations against him. Xue Hongmei arrived at the ruined Yan Household stronghold with Yan Hui and began investigating the massacre, concluding that a sixth-realm swordsman had been involved.

• Chen Jin weighed the risks of accusing Yan Hui and escaped before the arriving elder could see him.
• Xue Hongmei and Yan Hui arrived at the burning Yan Household stronghold, where Yan Hui searched for her relatives and found the household in ruins.
• Xue Hongmei examined Wu Wei's corpse and determined that no snake demon had caused the destruction.
• Yan Hui told Xue Hongmei that bandits had attacked after her great-uncle's Lifebound Corpse went mad, while Xue Hongmei judged that a capable sixth-realm swordsman had fought there.
• Xue Hongmei uncovered Sun Meng's corpse with the Earth Travel Technique and then vanished from the spot.

After fleeing the Yan Household Great Stronghold, Chen Jin hid underground and considered returning home while Xue Hongmei failed to find him. Yan Hui returned to the Zhongnan Sword Sect Lower Court and came face-to-face with Chen Jin, who greeted her at his courtyard gate.

• Chen Jin escaped the stronghold, concealed himself underground, and considered visiting his family, partly to protect them from Yan Hui.
• Xue Hongmei searched the area but could not find Chen Jin, then returned to the burning stronghold and told Yan Hui to focus on the coming sword competition.
• Yan Hui and Xue Hongmei inspected the Nether Passage River, where Xue Hongmei concluded that the supposed thousand-year-old snake demon was not there and might never have existed.
• Xue Hongmei took Yan Hui back to the Zhongnan Sword Sect Lower Court after ordering her to settle the stronghold's affairs and stop returning home.
• Yan Hui visited a small courtyard and was stunned when Chen Jin emerged with a broom and greeted her.

Chen Jin returned to the sword sect and confronted Yan Hui, who fled in terror after seeing him alive. As Chen Jin found clarity in his courtyard, Yan Hui decided she could deny his accusations and resolved to treat him as the one who owed her revenge.

• Chen Jin greeted Yan Hui, who panicked and ran when she realized he had returned from the dead.
• Chen Jin explained to himself why accusing Yan Hui would accomplish little and chose to rely on the sect’s rule against disciples attacking one another.
• Huang Mengliang welcomed Chen Jin back, told him Yan Hui had advanced to the sixth realm, and invited him over for wine.
• Chen Jin considered destroying the peach tree he had planted for Yan Hui, then stopped and recited a verse that eased his heart.
• Yan Hui traced the troubles at Stream Mountain to Chen Jin, concluded she could deny his claims, and vowed to seek revenge for her granduncle and clansmen.

Chen Jin returned to the Zhongnan Sword Sect Lower Court, registered his return, and settled into his neglected courtyard. He considered how to hide the Slay Evil Sword and began removing Yan Hui’s restrictions from the Pot Heaven Bag so he could inspect its contents.

• Chen Jin cleaned his overgrown courtyard and reflected on how he had damaged his Qi Seed while rushing to advance to the upper court.
• Chen Jin learned that the old immortal master had been away for three years and wondered whether he had gone looking for him.
• Chen Jin registered his circumstances at the mountain gate and returned to his courtyard on South Mountain.
• Chen Jin bathed, changed into his lower court robes, and decided he could not safely carry the recognizable Slay Evil Sword openly.
• Chen Jin took out the Pot Heaven Bag and began refining away Yan Hui’s restrictions so he could see what the Yan Household had stored inside.

Chen Jin shared a meal with Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong, but Huang’s mention of the Five Elements Central Qi Scroll triggered a painful memory and left Chen Jin coughing blood. After sleeping for seven days, Chen Jin recovered enough to begin refining the Pot Heaven Bag.

• Huang Mengliang invited Chen Jin to dinner, where Chen Jin ate and drank with Huang and his wife, Ye Tong.
• Huang described the lower court’s prominent disciples, including Zhao Qianye, Liu Chen, and Yan Hui, and asked Chen Jin about the Five Elements Central Qi Scroll.
• Chen Jin realized he could not explain when or how he had learned two other Daoist methods, then retched blood and hurried home.
• Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong worried that Chen Jin’s cultivation and heartbreak had left him in poor condition.
• Chen Jin slept for seven days and seven nights, woke with his strength improved, and began refining the Pot Heaven Bag.

After recovering the Pot Heaven Bag, Chen Jin discovered a fortune inside and surprised Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong with his wealth. He went with Huang Mengliang to the mountain market to buy a sword, where they encountered Yan Hui at the Hundred Swords Studio.

• Chen Jin opened the Pot Heaven Bag, found it full of valuables and zombie-related items, and stored away his Slay Evil Sword and other belongings.
• Huang Mengliang offered Chen Jin a thousand talisman coins, but Chen Jin revealed ten thousand coins and gave them to Ye Tong as a belated birthday gift.
• Huang Mengliang accepted Chen Jin's gift and offered to accompany him to the market to buy a sword.
• On the way to the market, Huang Mengliang told Chen Jin about changes in the Lower Court and its shops and disciples.
• Chen Jin and Huang Mengliang entered the Hundred Swords Studio and saw Yan Hui leading a group inside.

Chen Jin returned to the sword sect, bought an ordinary sword and materials for practicing talisman-making, and faced the disciples’ mockery without reacting. Back in his courtyard, he began practicing the Nine Chapters of Sword Exegesis in his transformed human body.

• Yan Hui recognized the Pot Heaven Bag at Chen Jin’s waist, grew furious, then left before she could lose her composure.
• Huang Mengliang bought the Azure Spirit Sword for his wife after Chen Jin helped him secure a discount, while Chen Jin chose an ordinary sword for practice.
• Chen Jin bought talisman paper and ink, telling Huang Mengliang that he had taught himself to draw talismans.
• Fellow disciples mocked Chen Jin’s changed appearance and lost prospects, but Chen Jin calmly said he would not concern himself with their remarks.
• Ye Tong accepted the Azure Spirit Sword and advised Huang Mengliang not to disturb Chen Jin while he focused on cultivation.
• Chen Jin returned to his courtyard, circulated his practice, and began immersing himself in the Nine Chapters of Sword Exegesis.

Chen Jin resumed practicing the Nine Chapters of Sword Exegesis while rebuilding his cultivation, and his improvised sword practice brought him fresh insights. Meanwhile, Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong discussed malicious rumors about Chen Jin and suspected Yan Hui was behind them.

• Chen Jin reflected on his damaged Qi Seed and began cultivating a Dragon-Tiger Yin-Yang Qi Seed and Sword Seed anew.
• Chen Jin practiced Sword Moves and Sword Form, discovering new variations and developing his own flowing style.
• Chen Jin practiced until late into the night, then tossed down his sword and fell asleep.
• Huang Mengliang told Ye Tong that rumors claimed Chen Jin had returned in disgrace, been abandoned by Elder Qin, and harassed Yan Hui.
• Ye Tong suspected someone was spreading rumors to ruin Chen Jin's reputation, and Huang Mengliang agreed that Yan Hui was the likely source.

Chen Jin rebuilt the Lesser Five Elements Array around his courtyard, prepared talismans, and learned that the Sword Competition would take place the following month. As he gathered moonlight Qi that night, his Yin Qi Seed finally formed.

• Chen Jin used talisman materials to create a Lesser Five Elements Array that guarded his courtyard against intrusion and disturbance.
• Chen Jin continued drawing useful talismans and visited Huang Mengliang's home to share meals while asking about the upcoming Sword Competition.
• Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong discussed Chen Jin's likely return to the competition, and Ye Tong encouraged Huang Mengliang to enter as well.
• Chen Jin gathered the moon's essence Qi in his courtyard and formed his Yin Qi Seed.

Chen Jin cultivated a Yin Qi Seed and resolved to seek the rare Netherworld Mysterious Yin Baleful Intent for his Yin Sword Seed. When Huang Mengliang reported that Elder Qin Jianyuan had returned gravely injured, Chen Jin hurried to visit him.

• Chen Jin reflected on how his Yin and Yang Qi Seeds would let him form Sword Seeds, but insisted on waiting for the right Baleful Intent rather than settling for an inferior one.
• Chen Jin missed Yuan Bai and worried about the dangers the monkey king faced outside the mountain.
• Huang Mengliang came to Chen Jin and reported that Elder Qin had returned to the mountain gravely injured.
• Chen Jin left with Huang Mengliang to visit Qin Jianyuan, while Huang Mengliang noticed Chen Jin's chilling Yin Qi and worried about his cultivation.
• The lower court elders gathered at Qin Jianyuan's residence to ask what had happened and who had injured him.

Chen Jin entered the courtyard residence to see the gravely injured Qin Jianyuan after the elders rebuked him and judged his fallen state. He told Qin Jianyuan that he had dispersed his cultivation and begun anew, and the old Daoist gave him a heavy jade box whose contents remained unknown.

• Yao Wuya probed Chen Jin but withdrew when the sun and moon on Chen Jin's spiritual dais shielded him, while Xue Hongmei rebuked him for sinking into depravity.
• The elders left, and a Daoist attendant told Huang Mengliang that only Chen Jin could enter to see Qin Jianyuan.
• Chen Jin entered the dim, medicine-scented room and remembered how Qin Jianyuan had brought him up the mountain as a youth.
• Qin Jianyuan noticed Chen Jin's aged appearance, and Chen Jin wept before wiping away his tears.
• Chen Jin told Qin Jianyuan that a great calamity had forced him to disperse his cultivation and start anew, and Qin Jianyuan handed him a heavy jade box.

Chen Jin discovered that the Sun and Moon Grotto-Heaven shielded his spiritual secrets and received the Ice Soul Divine Baleful Intent Qin Jianyuan had gathered for him, which he planned to use to complete his Yin Sword Sword Seed. Meanwhile, Huang Mengliang confronted Liu Chen and his companions when they came to taunt Chen Jin, and Liu Chen decided to wait outside his courtyard.

• Chen Jin returned to his courtyard, visualized the sun and moon protecting his spiritual embryo and divine aperture, and named the inner domain the Sun and Moon Grotto-Heaven.
• Chen Jin opened Qin Jianyuan's jade box and recognized the Ice Soul Divine Baleful Intent, which he intended to use to complete his Yin Sword Sword Seed rather than condense a Qi Seed.
• Huang Mengliang reflected on the Lower Court's generational tensions and the conflict between the Pure Cultivation and Reform factions.
• Huang Mengliang stopped Liu Chen and his companions from going to Chen Jin's courtyard and told them Chen Jin was cultivating in seclusion.
• Liu Chen dismissed Huang Mengliang's explanation, while Wu Jing mocked Chen Jin; Liu Chen then led the group to wait for Chen Jin to emerge.

Chen Jin completed his Sword Seed and registered for the Sword Competition, then revealed his Sword Intent when Liu Chen and his companions confronted him. Liu Chen realized Chen Jin still possessed powerful reserves and believed the competition was his to win.

• After seven days, Chen Jin formed a deep-blue Sword Seed and set out to register for the Sword Competition.
• Chen Jin registered with Senior Brother He and received token number sixty-six.
• Liu Chen urged Chen Jin to withdraw from the competition, but Chen Jin warned him against letting others use him.
• When Wu Jing insulted Chen Jin, Chen Jin's Sword Intent struck Wu Jing's eyes, leaving him screaming that he was blind.
• Liu Chen realized Chen Jin had retained his Sword Intent and smugly concluded that he had a plan to secure victory in the Sword Competition.

After Chen Jin injured Wu Jing with sword intent, Huang Mengliang and Ye Tong discussed the incident and Chen Jin’s prospects in the Sword Competition. Yan Hui, still wary of Chen Jin’s strength, learned from Liu Chen what happened and decided not to complain to the Censorate; Liu Chen vowed to defeat Chen Jin if they met in the fourth round.

• Huang Mengliang praised Chen Jin for striking back, while Ye Tong worried that Liu Chen had baited him into revealing his strength.
• Huang Mengliang predicted Chen Jin could get through the first three rounds of the Sword Competition and signed up himself.
• Yan Hui recalled Chen Jin’s mysterious return and worried that his strength could not be judged by ordinary standards.
• Liu Chen told Yan Hui that he had failed to block Chen Jin’s sword intent because he was caught off guard.
• Yan Hui comforted Liu Chen and chose not to report Chen Jin to the Censorate, mindful that Qin Jianyuan had returned.
• Liu Chen confidently promised to defeat Chen Jin if they faced each other in the fourth round.

As rumors spread that Chen Jin wanted fellow disciples to make way so he could face Yan Hui in the Sword Competition, Yan Hui and Liu Chen interpreted his actions as a bid for revenge. Yan Hui reassured her master that she was prepared, while Chen Jin reflected on solitude during a visit to Qin Jianyuan.

• Disciples spread an unconfirmed rumor that Chen Jin had asked others to make way so he could fight Yan Hui in the Sword Competition.
• Liu Chen suspected someone was building momentum for Chen Jin, while Yan Hui concluded Chen Jin wanted to defeat her publicly and accepted the coming match.
• Yan Hui visited Xue Hongmei, who criticized the rumors, praised Yan Hui's cultivation, and warned her that Zhao Qianye was her true competition rival.
• Chen Jin visited Qin Jianyuan, who remained sickly and did not explain his condition.
• Qin Jianyuan asked Chen Jin what he was thinking, and Chen Jin said the Sword Competition was approaching while privately wondering whether he would face the world alone.

Chen Jin faced new disciple Yu Chengzhi in the first round of the Sword Competition, drawing a packed crowd eager to see how he would fare after losing his cultivation. Rather than immediately begin their match, Chen Jin calmly advised the nervous Yu Chengzhi on how to steady himself, leaving the spectators wondering whether such instruction was allowed.

• The Zhongnan Sword Sect Lower Court opened its once-in-a-decade Sword Competition, and Chen Jin was assigned new disciple Yu Chengzhi as his first-round opponent.
• Huang Mengliang wished Chen Jin luck before heading to his own match, while Chen Jin visualized the Sun and Moon Grotto-Heaven as he waited.
• A large crowd gathered to watch Chen Jin, and spectators debated whether his diminished cultivation and remaining sword intent could carry him through the opening rounds.
• Chen Jin saw Yu Chengzhi gripping his sword nervously and recalled his own first competition.
• Chen Jin advised Yu Chengzhi to gather his mind and remain calm, prompting bewilderment among the spectators.

Chen Jin won Yu Chengzhi’s match by lecturing him on the Dao until he conceded, earning the lower court disciples’ support. Yan Hui and Liu Chen resented his growing popularity, but Chen Jin’s next match was set against the formidable Song Wushang.

• Chen Jin lectured Yu Chengzhi and the gathered disciples on vanquishing the bandits in one’s heart, then ended the lecture and invited Yu Chengzhi to cross swords.
• Yu Chengzhi thanked Chen Jin and conceded, while the disciples cheered Chen Jin’s victory and hoped to hear him lecture again.
• After their informant reported the match, Liu Chen accused Chen Jin of buying the disciples’ loyalty, and Yan Hui dismissed his victory as opportunistic trickery.
• Yan Hui and Liu Chen learned Chen Jin had received a bye in the next round and waited for the third-round draw.
• Chen Jin drew Song Wushang, a proud Fifth Realm disciple with Sword Intent, and Liu Chen decided to watch the match expecting Chen Jin to lose.

Chen Jin drew attention at the Sword Competition, prompting the elders to debate whether he belonged on the platform. Song Wushang faced him in the third round, and Chen Jin drew his ordinary sword as Song Wushang regretted that he was not carrying the Slay Evil Sword.

• Liu Chen arrived late and found the crowd so absorbed in Chen Jin that no one noticed him.
• Xue Hongmei argued that the Sword Competition needed stricter entry rules, but Mo Xuanyi defended Chen Jin's first-round victory through reasoning.
• Grand Elder Yao Wuya said Chen Jin would have to prove himself in the third round, while Ma Long declined to predict whether Song Wushang could defeat him.
• Song Wushang faced Chen Jin on the platform and declared that he would make his name by defeating him.
• Chen Jin drew his ordinary sword, and Song Wushang regretted that it was not the Slay Evil Sword.