Recaps

Liu Wuxie collected his share of the Heavenly Spirit Pill profits and rejected Lei Tao’s offer to trade the alchemy technique for help with the City Lord’s Manor. On his way home, he defeated Commander Guo’s guards and humiliated Commander Guo, then left the ambush alive.

• Lei Tao let Liu Wuxie enter the Pill Treasure Pavilion after Commander Guo threatened him over the nine yang fruit.
• Master Huo paid Liu Wuxie five hundred thousand gold coins for the Heavenly Spirit Pills, and Liu Wuxie treated his illness.
• Liu Wuxie agreed to deliver a thousand pills in eight days but refused to hand over his alchemy technique in exchange for Lei Tao’s protection.
• Commander Guo and ten guards ambushed Liu Wuxie on the road and demanded the nine yang fruit.
• Liu Wuxie wounded nine guards with one saber strike, then defeated Commander Guo and left him alive with his clothes cut open.

Baili Qing arrived at the Xu Household and forcibly tore up Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue’s marriage contract, then nearly killed Liu Wuxie when he challenged her. Liu Wuxie vowed to prove her wrong, while Xu Lingxue prepared to leave for the Imperial Academy and he resolved to refine a Meridian-Restoring Pill.

• Baili Qing announced that Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue’s marriage was over, despite Xu Yilin’s objections and Xu Lingxue’s reluctance.
• Baili Qing shattered the marriage contract and struck Liu Wuxie down when he insulted her, but spared him after Xu Lingxue begged her to stop.
• Liu Wuxie promised to reclaim what he had lost and told Xu Lingxue to cultivate well at the Imperial Academy.
• Baili Qing ordered Xu Lingxue to pack and leave Canglan City with her, while Xu Yilin encouraged his daughter not to dismiss Liu Wuxie lightly.
• Liu Wuxie returned to his residence and began preparing to refine a Meridian-Restoring Pill so he could restore his heart meridian and break through to the Xiantian Realm.

Qi Enshi and Qi Ningyun decided to let the Wan Household eliminate the Xu Household rather than risk angering Baili Qing, while Liu Wuxie successfully refined two Meridian-Restoring Pills. Hu Shi revealed that he had forged unusually powerful weapons using a secret technique taught by someone in the Xu Household, and Xu Yilin made him chief artifact refiner.

• Commander Guo told Qi Enshi that Liu Wuxie had humiliated the City Lord's Manor, and Qi Ningyun demanded retaliation.
• Qi Enshi decided to let the Wan Household destroy the Xu Household, since it had already offended the Wan and Tian Households and Baili Qing was protecting Xu Yilin's daughter.
• Liu Wuxie refined two Meridian-Restoring Pills and returned to his room to prepare for seclusion and a breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm.
• Hu Shi presented Xu Yilin with ten weapons, and Xu Yilin was astonished by their quality and trace of spirituality.
• Hu Shi said someone in the Xu Household had taught him the artifact-refining technique but refused to reveal the person's identity, then asked Xu Yilin to deliver a saber scabbard to Liu Wuxie.
• Xu Yilin appointed Hu Shi the Xu Household's chief artifact refiner and promised to support him.

Hu Shi’s spiritual weapons made the Xu Household a major success and plunged the Tian Household into disorder. After repairing his heart meridians, Liu Wuxie broke through to the first layer of the Innate Realm and began cultivating Ghost Pupil, discovering that it let him perceive tiny movements with extraordinary clarity.

• Hu Shi organized the Xu Household’s artifact refiners, and its spiritual weapons drew orders from Canglan City and neighboring cities while the Tian Household’s customers canceled their contracts.
• Xu Yilin approached Liu Wuxie’s courtyard and saw Spiritual Qi gather above the Xu Household as Liu Wuxie completed his breakthrough.
• Liu Wuxie stabilized his cultivation at the first layer of the Innate Realm and realized his powerful Dantian would demand far more resources for future breakthroughs.
• Liu Wuxie cultivated Ghost Pupil by opening a pathway from his soul sea to his right eye.
• Liu Wuxie tested Ghost Pupil and found that it revealed minute changes in his surroundings, though using it quickly consumed his soul force.

After breaking through to the Xiantian Realm, Liu Wuxie went to the Song Household’s array hall to hone his saber skills and entered a long-abandoned, lethal array with Song Ling. The array conjured a thousand gray wolves, and Liu Wuxie began fighting them while searching for its flaws.

• Liu Wuxie tested his short saber, refined Heavenly Spirit Pills, and traveled to the Song Household’s array hall for combat training.
• Liu Wuxie learned that many arrays were unavailable and met Song Ling, who led him to a long-abandoned array that had killed people.
• Liu Wuxie activated the array with his remaining Spirit Stones, and he and Song Ling were transported to a plain.
• A thousand gray wolves matching Liu Wuxie’s concealed cultivation appeared, and he realized the array could make its illusions deadly.
• Liu Wuxie identified flaws in the deteriorated array and cut down a lunging gray wolf with his Saber Qi.

Liu Wuxie survived the Song Household’s deadly formation, broke through to the second layer of the Xiantian Realm, and repaired the formation before emerging with Song Ling. Song Tianhao and the elders learned of the repair and questioned Liu Wuxie about it.

• Liu Wuxie slaughtered waves of increasingly powerful enemies in the formation, including nine fifth-layer Xiantian experts, and broke through to the second layer of the Xiantian Realm.
• Liu Wuxie left Song Ling behind and repaired the formation while violent weather raged around them; the two then returned to the stone room.
• Song Ling excitedly confirmed that Liu Wuxie had repaired and improved the formation, and Liu Wuxie asked him to keep his breakthrough secret.
• Song Tianhao punished Song Ling for entering the forbidden formation, then asked Liu Wuxie whether Song Ling’s claim about the repair was true.

Liu Wuxie refused to help the Song Household after its elders insulted him, even as its formation hall began collapsing. After he nearly killed the second elder, Song Tianhao apologized and offered information concerning the Xu Household in exchange for his help.

• Song Ling urged Song Tianhao to let Liu Wuxie inspect the failing formation hub, but the first and second elders rejected the suggestion and insulted Liu Wuxie.
• As Liu Wuxie and Song Ling left, the formation hall began collapsing, and Song Ling begged Liu Wuxie to stop the destruction.
• Liu Wuxie said he might slow the collapse but refused to help without a reason, and the second elder attacked him as he tried to leave.
• Liu Wuxie nearly killed the second elder with a blade strike that broke through Song Tianhao's Spirit Cleansing Realm defense, then spared him because Song Ling pleaded.
• Song Tianhao apologized to Liu Wuxie and offered earth-shattering information about the Xu Household if Liu Wuxie helped save the formation hall.

Liu Wuxie stabilized the Song Household’s collapsing Formation Hall and learned that the Wan Household and Tian Household were targeting the Xu Household’s purple-gold ore supply. With the Xu Household’s transport teams under attack, he offered to investigate the ore vein while Xu Yilin stayed behind to defend their holdings.

• Song Tianhao warned Liu Wuxie that the Wan Household and Tian Household had allied to seize the Xu Household’s purple-gold ore vein, and Liu Wuxie agreed to help stabilize the Formation Hall.
• Liu Wuxie used formation materials and Spirit Inscriptions to keep the Song Household’s formation hub functioning for ten days, then told Song Tianhao to keep the incident secret.
• At the Xu Household, Liu Wuxie learned that masked attackers had robbed ore transports in a gorge, leaving the weapons workshops without raw materials.
• Liu Wuxie warned Xu Yilin that leaving the Xu Household could let the Tian Household seize its holdings, and volunteered to investigate the ore vein himself.
• Liu Wuxie asked Xu Yilin to attack him at low-level Spirit Cleansing Realm strength, then drew his saber and unleashed a strike that made Xu Yilin feel close to death.

Liu Wuxie defeated Xu Yilin in a spar, then entered the Sunset Mountain Range to wait for a convoy and train against Demon Beasts. After discovering that the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron could refine demon cores into liquid that strengthened his True Qi, he hunted deeper into the mountains as a Tian Household elder led a group after him.

• Liu Wuxie defeated Xu Yilin with his saber technique, and Xu Yilin agreed to let him leave for the purple gold mine while he stayed to guard the Xu Household.
• Liu Wuxie entered the Sunset Mountain Range, noticed Tian Household scouts following him, and cultivated while waiting for the convoy to approach the gorge.
• Liu Wuxie hunted a Jue'e Beast and discovered that the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron could refine its demon core into liquid that strengthened his True Qi.
• Liu Wuxie headed deeper into the mountains to hunt more Demon Beasts and test the cauldron's ability.
• A Tian Household elder confirmed Liu Wuxie was still in the mountains and led his group inside to hunt him down.

Liu Wuxie arrived at Phoenix Roosting Gorge to protect the Xu Household’s ore convoy, which was ambushed by the Stone-Breaking Army. He revealed his strength by destroying the attackers’ crossbow bolts and killing ten soldiers in one strike, while the battle remained unresolved.

• Liu Wuxie hunted Demon Beasts through the night, then headed toward Phoenix Roosting Gorge as the Xu Household convoy approached.
• Deacon Qi led the convoy into the gorge, where more than fifty black-clad soldiers trapped them and threatened them with military crossbows.
• Deacon Qi ordered the guards to prepare to break out, hoping the expert promised by the Xu Household patriarch was nearby.
• Liu Wuxie appeared on a cliff, recognized the attackers as the Stone-Breaking Army, and drew their crossbowmen’s aim.
• Liu Wuxie descended through a volley of bolts, shattered them with his saber, and killed ten black-clad soldiers with Momentum Like a Rainbow.

Liu Wuxie used the Ghost Pupil Technique and his saber to slaughter the Stone-Breaking Army soldiers while defending the Xu Household guards. After clashing with the black-clad commander, he blinded him with a soul attack and moved to disable him so he could question him.

• The black-clad commander ordered the remaining Stone-Breaking Army soldiers to kill Liu Wuxie and the Xu Household guards, but Liu Wuxie told Deacon Qi to protect the guards and attacked the soldiers.
• Liu Wuxie killed the soldiers and absorbed their essence through the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron, while Deacon Qi reassured the frightened guards that Liu Wuxie was human.
• The black-clad commander attacked Liu Wuxie after threatening the Xu Household, and the two exchanged blows, leaving the commander wounded and Liu Wuxie injured.
• Liu Wuxie absorbed more essence from the fallen soldiers, then used the Ghost Pupil Technique to strike the black-clad commander's soul and blind him.
• Liu Wuxie rushed at the blinded commander and thrust his saber toward the commander's Dantian, intending to keep him alive for questioning.

Liu Wuxie defeated and captured Zhou Hu, a commander of the Stone-Breaking Army, then tortured him into revealing a conspiracy involving the Tian Household, the Wan Household, and Canglan City's lord, Qi Enshi. Zhou Hu disclosed that the households had hired the army to target the Xu Household, while Liu Wuxie began uncovering how Qi Enshi had manipulated him.

• Liu Wuxie recovered as Deacon Qi and the guards killed the remaining attackers and erased the traces of the ambush.
• Liu Wuxie questioned the captured commander and used the Tendon-Separating and Bone-Dislocating Hand and Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Heart Technique to make him confess.
• Zhou Hu identified himself as a thousand-man commander in the Stone-Breaking Army and revealed that he had met Qi Enshi, the Tian Household, and the Wan Household.
• Zhou Hu admitted that the Stone-Breaking Army had robbed the Xu Household's goods and that the Tian and Wan households offered ten million gold coins to attack them.
• Liu Wuxie deduced that Zhou Hu had used his knowledge of Qi Enshi's past misconduct to blackmail him, and Zhou Hu's reaction confirmed the suspicion.

Liu Wuxie learned that Qi Enshi had manipulated Zhou Hu and the Xu Household to cover up his crimes, then killed Zhou Hu after discovering where the records were hidden. As the Xu Household’s shipment reached Canglan City and the Wan and Tian Households scrambled to respond, Liu Wuxie returned to the mine and approached the enemy camp at night.

• Liu Wuxie deduced that Qi Enshi had used Zhou Hu and the Xu Household to arrange the Stone-Breaking Army’s deaths, and Zhou Hu revealed Qi Enshi’s massacre of a town twenty-five years earlier.
• Zhou Hu told Liu Wuxie where he had hidden records that could expose Qi Enshi and asked him to avenge him by killing Qi Enshi.
• Liu Wuxie killed Zhou Hu, warned Deacon Qi and the guards to keep the incident secret, and sent them toward Canglan City with the ore shipment.
• Liu Wuxie headed back toward the purple gold mine while Tian Qisha learned that the Xu Household had brought ten carts of ore into the city and went to consult the Wan Household.
• At night, Liu Wuxie approached the camp of Tian Household and Wan Household experts who had been searching for him, and a patrolling disciple felt a chill at his neck.

Liu Wuxie terrorized the Tian and Wan households’ camp in the darkness, killing their disciples and leaving behind sheets of human skin. He finally revealed himself to Tian Lie and the Wan Household elder and attacked them, saying they had pursued him without even recognizing him.

• Liu Wuxie silently killed nine patrolling disciples, and the Tian Household elder and Wan Household elder discovered that the bodies had vanished.
• Liu Wuxie promised to kill someone every cup of tea’s time, then killed more disciples despite Tian Lie’s formation and the group holding hands.
• Liu Wuxie’s attacks drove the Wan Household disciples into panic; Wan Bai was killed, another disciple fled and died, and one disciple took his own life.
• The Wan Household elder and Tian Lie charged into the woods and confronted Liu Wuxie, who stood on a tree trunk and accused them of pursuing him.
• Liu Wuxie swooped down toward Tian Lie and the Wan Household elder.

Liu Wuxie killed the Tian and Wan Household fighters, forced Tian Lie to reveal their plan to destroy the Xu Household’s purple-gold mine, and then broke through to the early stage of the third layer of Innate Realm. He left the cave with greatly increased power, while the enemy’s team was due to reach the mine within a day or two.

• Liu Wuxie killed the Wan Household elder and the seven fleeing disciples, then cornered Tian Lie and severed his legs and arm to force him to talk.
• Tian Lie revealed that the Tian Household had joined the Stone-Breaking Army against the Xu Household and had sent a secret team to destroy the purple-gold mine within a day or two.
• Liu Wuxie killed Tian Lie, absorbed the essence from his body, and felt a breakthrough approaching.
• Liu Wuxie used Zhou Hu’s Spirit Stones to form a Spirit Gathering Formation in a concealed cave and absorbed Spiritual Qi from the surrounding area.
• Liu Wuxie broke through to the early stage of the third layer of Innate Realm and tested his increased power with a punch.

Liu Wuxie reached the Xu Household’s purple gold mine and warned Xu Yishan that the Tian and Wan Households planned to seize it, but Xu Yishan dismissed his warning. While Liu Wuxie devised a defensive formation, Langya’s mercenaries and elders from both rival households gathered outside the camp to plan their attack.

• Liu Wuxie hurried to the mine and entered the camp after the guards recognized him, despite their mockery.
• Liu Wuxie warned Deacon Hu and Xu Yishan that the Tian Household and Wan Household had dispatched teams to seize the mine, but Xu Yishan refused to believe him.
• Liu Wuxie surveyed the camp and designed the Surging Waves Earth Essence Formation, though he lacked the time and materials to build it immediately.
• Guards mocked Liu Wuxie as they patrolled, while he remained in his room.
• More than a hundred attackers, including Langya and peak Xiantian elders Tian Qihong and a Wan Household elder, assembled outside the camp to discuss how to enter.

The Tian and Wan households and the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps launched a night attack on the Xu Household's mining camp, trapping Xu Yishan and his guards. As Langya ordered his men to kill everyone, Liu Wuxie stepped forward to confront the attackers.

• Langya agreed to attack the camp after the Tian and Wan households assured him Xu Yilin was away.
• Xu Yishan dismissed Liu Wuxie's warning of an ambush, though Deacon Hu urged him to take precautions.
• The attackers stormed the camp, wounded the guards, and trapped them in the central clearing.
• Tian Qihong revealed that the Tian and Wan households had also sent forces against the Xu Household's businesses, and Xu Yishan ordered his men to defend the mine.
• Langya ordered his men to leave no one alive, but Liu Wuxie emerged from the darkness and challenged them.

Liu Wuxie killed a Langya mercenary with one slash and demanded that Langya’s men leave an arm behind, forcing a confrontation despite the Xu Household’s objections. He fought Langya at the mining camp and, while avoiding every strike, began gathering momentum with his saber.

• Liu Wuxie killed a Langya mercenary who attacked him, stunning the gathered Xu, Tian, and Wan Household members.
• Liu Wuxie demanded that Langya and the other outsiders sever an arm each and leave; Langya offered to withdraw, but Liu Wuxie refused.
• Langya challenged Liu Wuxie, and Liu Wuxie said he would spare Langya if he could not kill him within three moves.
• Liu Wuxie ordered Deacon Hu to seal the camp exit, then entered the clearing to face Langya despite Xu Yishan’s attempt to stop him.
• Liu Wuxie and Langya clashed with saber and mace, but Liu Wuxie calmly avoided Langya’s attacks while building momentum for a strike.

Liu Wuxie killed Langya with three saber strikes, then turned on the Tian and Wan households’ forces and helped the Xu Household seize control of the battle. As the enemy troops tried to flee, Deacon Hu and Xu Yishan joined the slaughter.

• Liu Wuxie trapped Langya with his first saber strike, then matched him in a clash that alarmed Tian Qihong and Wan Yiyun.
• Langya underwent wolf transformation, but Liu Wuxie used his second strike to cripple Langya’s arm and disarm him.
• Liu Wuxie killed Langya with his third saber strike, terrifying the Tian and Wan households’ fighters.
• Liu Wuxie charged into the enemy ranks and killed more than a dozen disciples as the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps remained stunned.
• Wan Yiyun tried to flee, but Deacon Hu’s guards fired arrows at the retreating fighters while Xu Yishan charged into the crowd.

After Liu Wuxie slaughtered the attackers at the Xu Household mine, he arranged for materials and built a powerful formation to protect the camp. With the formation complete, he made Steward Lan his disciple and entrusted him with formation knowledge under a soul contract.

• Liu Wuxie killed the remaining Langya mercenaries, and Xu Yishan apologized for doubting him and took charge of the aftermath.
• Liu Wuxie gave Xu Yishan a list of formation materials and learned that the Tian and Wan Households had attacked the Xu Household weapons workshop, while rumors spread about the missing Stone-Breaking Army.
• Steward Lan delivered three carts of materials, and Liu Wuxie directed him and fifty guards to excavate fifteen formation nodes around the mine.
• Liu Wuxie crafted fifteen formation flags and activated the Surging Waves Earth Essence Formation, concealing the camp and creating lethal defenses around its nodes.
• Steward Lan asked to learn formations, and Liu Wuxie gave him formation knowledge and a soul contract through his Essence Blood.

After returning from the mines and supplying the Pill Treasure Pavilion with Heavenly Spirit Pills, Liu Wuxie met its Pavilion Master, Bi Gongyu, and overcame his attempt to intimidate him. Bi Gongyu revealed that the pavilion’s Canglan City branch was close to being shut down, while the investigation into the missing Stone-Breaking Army was due to begin the next day.

• Liu Wuxie hunted Demon Beasts in the mountains before rejoining Lan Yu’s convoy and returning to Canglan City.
• Xu Yilin told Liu Wuxie that the investigation team had arrived and would investigate the four great lineages the next day.
• Liu Wuxie refined more than two hundred Heavenly Spirit Pills and brought them to the Pill Treasure Pavilion, promising to supply about a hundred each day.
• Bi Gongyu tried to overpower Liu Wuxie with his presence, but Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Pupil Technique made the Pavilion Master fear for his life.
• Bi Gongyu treated Liu Wuxie warmly and later told Lei Tao and Master Huo that he had sensed death when he met Liu Wuxie’s gaze.
• Bi Gongyu explained that the Canglan City branch ranked second from last and faced closure, while Master Huo urged him to secure the Heavenly Spirit Pills as an opportunity.

The imperial investigation team questioned Canglan City’s four great lineages about the missing Stone-Breaking Army, while the Song Household secretly passed its investigation details to the Xu Household. At the Xu Household, Xue Chunyu singled out Liu Wuxie’s recent trip to the Sunset Mountain Range and demanded that he answer questions, leaving Xu Yilin to realize they wanted a scapegoat.

• Liu Wuxie cultivated at the Xu Household as the investigation team began questioning the Song Household, then the Wan Household and Tian Household.
• Song Tianhao ordered the Song Household to secretly deliver its investigation details to the Xu Household, and Xu Yilin burned the report after reading it.
• The investigation team questioned the Xu Household about who had entered the Sunset Mountain Range, and Steward Lan provided a detailed list of its caravans.
• Xue Chunyu challenged the list because Liu Wuxie had entered the range eight days earlier, and accused the Xu Household of concealing him.
• Xue Chunyu demanded that Liu Wuxie appear and account for his actions, while Xu Yilin realized the team needed someone to blame for the Stone-Breaking Army’s disappearance.

Xue Chunyu used the investigation into the Stone-Breaking Army to accuse Liu Wuxie and the Xu Household, but Liu Wuxie challenged the delegation and refused to be intimidated. Meanwhile, Qi Enshi received a dossier about his crimes from twenty-five years earlier and rushed to the Xu Household as investigators uncovered signs of a battle at Phoenix Roosting Gorge.

• Xu Yilin summoned Liu Wuxie to face the investigation delegation, and Xue Chunyu pressed him about his whereabouts when the Stone-Breaking Army disappeared.
• Liu Wuxie challenged Xue Chunyu’s accusation by questioning the Xue Household’s influence in the court, creating a stalemate in the main hall.
• Qi Enshi opened a letter and dossier documenting his past crimes, suspected Zhou Hu and the Xu Household had sent them, and ordered his carriage to the Xu Household.
• Bai Qiu questioned Xu Yilin about the vanished bandits, and two soldiers reported signs of a major battle at Phoenix Roosting Gorge.
• Xue Chunyu used the new evidence to accuse the Xu Household of concealing the truth, while Liu Wuxie remained calm and wore a mocking smile.

The investigation team nearly blamed the Xu Household for the Stone-Breaking Army’s disappearance, but Bi Gongyu and Qi Enshi intervened and cleared the family of suspicion. After the others left, Qi Enshi confronted Liu Wuxie about the missing men and Zhou Hu, and Liu Wuxie refused to answer.

• Xue Chunyu urged Elder Kong to arrest the Xu Household, while Chen Lu and Bai Qiu supported taking the convoy guards to the capital for questioning.
• Bi Gongyu arrived and presented evidence that Liu Wuxie had been gathering ingredients for a new pill, defending him from suspicion.
• Qi Enshi declared that the Xu Household had suffered no recent bandit attacks and accused the Langya Mercenary Corps of being linked to the Stone-Breaking Army’s disappearance.
• Elder Kong apologized to Xu Yilin and left, ending the investigation against the Xu Household; Xue Chunyu departed with a hostile look toward Liu Wuxie.
• After Bi Gongyu left, Qi Enshi confronted Liu Wuxie about the delivered items and asked where Zhou Hu was, but Liu Wuxie refused to tell him.

After clearing the Xu Household of suspicion, Liu Wuxie repaid the Song Household by repairing its formation hub and discovered that his soul sea had turned golden. He resolved to seek the Imperial Academy’s resources and protection, but the chapter ended when an oil mill belonging to the Xu Household caught fire.

• Qi Enshi left the Xu Household after Liu Wuxie warned him about the dead, and the investigation team concluded that Langya had killed the Stone-Breaking Army.
• Liu Wuxie told Xu Yilin that the Xu Household would soon grow stronger, then agreed to repair the Song Household’s formation hub for Song Tianhao.
• Song Tianhao advised Liu Wuxie to join the Imperial Academy for protection, and Liu Wuxie completed the repairs by sunset.
• After returning home, Liu Wuxie discovered his Ghost Pupil Technique had advanced and his soul sea had become golden, greatly increasing his soul power.
• Liu Wuxie decided to enter the Imperial Academy for resources and as a backer for the Xu Household.
• When an oil mill caught fire, Liu Wuxie rushed to the scene.