Recaps

At the old palace master's birthday celebration, Hua Youyue chatted with Yang Zhen, while Ning Wuque regained his resolve after advice from Third Lotus Seat. The old palace master proposed an alliance to stabilize the Forbidden Zone of Life, and Ning Wuque interrupted to suggest that the guests present their gifts first, giving Yang Zhen a suspicious smile.

• Third Lotus Seat warned Ning Wuque not to underestimate others and urged him to act boldly, reminding him that North Maiden Academy stood behind him.
• Hua Youyue visited Yang Zhen, who joked about his cooking and declared that he could make even the heavens roll back up; the gathering's guests briefly saw turbulent air overhead.
• Hua Youyue returned to Mo Xueling, and the old palace master arrived with Spirit Learning Palace experts.
• Yang Zhen sensed the old palace master's terrifying power and learned from Hu Tao that she had survived twenty-three heavenly tribulations.
• The old palace master proposed forming an alliance to stabilize the Forbidden Zone of Life and let young people train there.
• Ning Wuque praised the old palace master's concern for the younger generation, suggested presenting birthday gifts before discussing the alliance, and smiled pointedly at Yang Zhen.

At the old palace master's birthday gathering, the Rogue Cultivators agreed that whoever presented the gift she liked would represent them in the alliance. Their gifts failed to impress her, and Ning Wuque turned the attention toward Yang Dingtian, provoking Hua Youyue.

• The factions discussed forming an alliance, and Hua Youyue argued that Rogue Cultivators should have a seat in it.
• The Rogue Cultivators proposed choosing their leader by whoever offered the old palace master the most pleasing birthday gift, and she agreed to judge.
• Yang Zhen complained about Ning Wuque's hostility while Hu Tao questioned him about Hua Youyue.
• A Tribulation Transcendence Realm Rogue Cultivator presented an ancient-looking tablet, but the old palace master said its markings were recent and unremarkable.
• After several more gifts failed to please her, Mo Xueling urged Ning Wuque to present his gift, and he asked whether Yang Dingtian would offer one too.
• Hua Youyue trembled and glared coldly at Ning Wuque.

Hua Youyue and Mo Xueling defended Yang Zhen against Ning Wuque’s disdain, prompting Ning Wuque to challenge him by presenting the old palace master with a Half-Mountain Painting. After revealing that the painting was damaged, Ning Wuque pointed to Yang Zhen as someone who might offer an even better gift, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Hua Youyue told Ning Wuque that she wanted only to avoid falling too far behind Yang Zhen, and Mo Xueling warned him not to underestimate Yang Zhen.
• Ning Wuque announced that he had a gift for the old palace master and revealed the Half-Mountain Painting, an ancient treasure that could form mountains to attack enemies.
• Yang Zhen noticed that the Half-Mountain Painting was damaged, and the old palace master confirmed that it was only half of the original painting.
• The old palace master praised Ning Wuque’s thoughtful gift, but Ning Wuque suggested that Yang Zhen might have an even better present.
• Ning Wuque looked toward Yang Zhen, who glanced around as though he did not realize he was the person being discussed.

Yang Zhen was summoned to the stage after Ning Wuque revealed that he had won the favor of Hua Youyue and Mo Xueling, and the crowd wondered how a kitchen cook in the Void Refinement Realm could measure up to Ning Wuque. Though Palace Master Liu offered Yang Zhen a graceful way out, Yang Zhen declared that he had a gift and mocked Ning Wuque, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Ning Wuque's revelation that Yang Zhen had won the favor of both spirit maidens shocked the birthday gathering, and Palace Master Liu learned Yang Zhen worked in the Spirit Learning Palace kitchens.
• Palace Master Liu invited Yang Zhen onto the stage, while Hu Tao warned him that Ning Wuque was targeting him; Yang Zhen replied that he was up to no good too.
• Yang Zhen accepted the invitation despite the crowd's doubts, while Hua Youyue and Mo Xueling showed confidence that he would not lose face.
• Palace Master Liu welcomed Yang Zhen as one of the Spirit Learning Palace's own and said he did not need to present a birthday gift.
• Yang Zhen insisted he had a gift and mocked people who offered junk, prompting the crowd's shock and Ning Wuque's delighted reaction.

Yang Zhen accepted the challenge to present a better birthday gift than Ning Wuque’s Half-Mountain Painting and wrote an inscription in front of the gathering. The chapter ended with the crowd recoiling at the vulgar words he had written.

• Palace Master Liu agreed to let Yang Zhen and Ning Wuque settle their dispute, while the old palace master praised Yang Zhen’s malatang.
• Ning Wuque challenged Yang Zhen to present a gift connected to Literary Qi, and the Third Lotus Seat pressed him to create a Literary Talent Qi treasure himself.
• Yang Zhen denounced Ning Wuque and the Third Lotus Seat, then declared that he would demonstrate true mastery of the literary and martial arts.
• Yang Zhen wrote eight characters in one swift motion, and Ning Wuque read them aloud as “Catch a toad and squeeze the piss out of it?”
• The crowd was shocked that Yang Zhen had offered such vulgar words as a birthday gift to the old palace master.

Yang Zhen revealed that his seemingly vulgar calligraphy actually said “A splendid future, carrying the past forward and opening the way ahead,” humiliating Ning Wuque and the Third Lotus Seat. When Ning Wuque challenged whether the words could match his Half-Mountain Painting, Yang Zhen unleashed a dazzling wave of Star Literary Talent Qi, leaving the contest unresolved.

• Yang Zhen asked the Third Lotus Seat to identify his eight characters, and the Third Lotus Seat insisted they meant “Grab a toad and squeeze the piss out of it.”
• Yang Zhen’s characters blazed with Literary Talent Qi, prompting the old palace master to recognize their true meaning and praise their calligraphy and message.
• The crowd realized Ning Wuque and the Third Lotus Seat had misread the characters, and they laughed at the pair’s humiliation.
• Ning Wuque argued that Yang Zhen’s calligraphy could not defeat his Half-Mountain Painting, and Yang Zhen responded by unleashing a vast display of Star Literary Talent Qi.

At the old palace master's birthday celebration, Yang Zhen tried to refine a treasure from eight characters using Star Literary Talent Qi. He unexpectedly transformed the Qi into catchy song lyrics that drew the crowd into reading and moving to their rhythm.

• Yang Zhen shattered the eight characters into specks of Star Literary Talent Qi as he attempted his unconventional treasure-refining method.
• Yang Zhen touched the Tao Te Ching in his spiritual sense space, received a beam of dark cyan light, and realized he could proceed with his idea.
• Yang Zhen summoned the Star Literary Talent Qi inscriptions, leaving Palace Master Liu and Elder Huo unable to identify what he was doing.
• Yang Zhen shaped the Qi into song lyrics, and the crowd began reading and swaying along despite their alarm.
• Shameless Cat beat the tabletop to the rhythm and praised Yang Zhen, while Flirtatious Chicken bobbed along.

Yang Zhen successfully refined a Literary Talent Qi secret treasure from ordinary paper, creating calligraphy that could help Spirit Learning Palace disciples condense their Literary Hearts. The old palace master gave him the honor of naming it, and Yang Zhen called it “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style,” adding that people had to sing while comprehending it.

• Yang Zhen stopped the crowd from singing and dancing, then restored the lyrics to the calligraphy’s original eight characters.
• Elder Huo recognized that the celestial phenomenon meant Yang Dingtian had successfully gathered the might of a Literary Talent Qi secret treasure.
• Yang Zhen condensed the Star Literary Talent Qi Inscriptions, caught the finished calligraphy, and gave it to Elder Huo.
• Yang Zhen told the old palace master that the Saint-grade calligraphy could help newly initiated disciples condense their Literary Hearts.
• The old palace master asked Yang Zhen to name the inheritance secret treasure, and he named it “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style.”
• Yang Zhen explained that people had to sing while comprehending the secret treasure.

Yang Zhen gave the Spirit Learning Palace a calligraphy treasure that could help disciples condense Literary Hearts, but required them to sing an embarrassing song. After refusing an invitation to join the palace, he claimed the Rogue Cultivator representative position and faced Ning Wuque’s challenge to test his strength.

• Yang Zhen explained that disciples had to sing “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style” to comprehend his calligraphy, and the old palace master praised the gift.
• The old palace master invited Yang Zhen to join the Spirit Learning Palace, but he declined, prompting her to offer him a future position as a teaching elder.
• Yang Zhen asked whether the agreement to let the best gift-giver lead the Rogue Cultivators still stood, and the crowd hesitated over his low cultivation.
• Ning Wuque objected to Yang Zhen becoming leader and asked permission to test his strength in a fight.
• Yang Zhen asked Ning Wuque if he was sure he wanted to fight him.

Ning Wuque challenged Yang Zhen, but Yang Zhen insisted on fighting him and claimed he could break through first. Yang Zhen reached the Spirit Wandering Realm in moments, and Ning Wuque launched an attack that met a huge foot coming toward his face.

• Ning Wuque challenged Yang Zhen to prove he was qualified to lead, and Yang Zhen eagerly accepted.
• Hua Youyue offered to fight Ning Wuque in Yang Zhen's place, but Yang Zhen called her a little girl and sent her back, saying he was close to the Spirit Wandering Realm.
• Ning Wuque mocked Yang Zhen for not having broken through, so Yang Zhen sat down to cultivate and promised to finish in half an incense stick.
• Yang Zhen stood up moments later with the presence of a Spirit Wandering Realm cultivator, shocking the crowd.
• Ning Wuque erupted with power and sent a Literary Talent Qi Inscription longsword at Yang Zhen, only to see a huge sole rushing toward his face.

Yang Zhen kicked Ning Wuque in the face, then copied the Azure Lotus Sword Instruction and unleashed a crowd of shadow copies against him. The chapter ended as the copies charged Ning Wuque to beat him up.

• Yang Zhen rushed Ning Wuque and kicked him in the face, leaving a filthy shoe print and vegetable leaf on him.
• Yang Zhen joked about the slop on his shoe, provoking Ning Wuque into summoning the Azure Lotus Sword Instruction.
• Yang Zhen watched Ning Wuque's sword technique and said he would try it himself.
• Yang Zhen formed countless lifelike copies of himself with spiritual soul power and sent them charging at Ning Wuque.

Yang Zhen defeated Ning Wuque with a startling Shadow Clone technique that concealed his real body and signs of life. When Third Lotus Seat attacked him in anger, Yang Zhen stood his ground, and the Rogue Cultivator who had given him a stone slab intervened.

• Yang Zhen overwhelmed Ning Wuque with countless Shadow Clones, leaving the gathered Tribulation Transcendence Realm experts astonished by his skill and cultivation.
• Palace Master Liu and Elder Huo realized Yang Zhen had hidden his real body and concealed its signs of life among the clones.
• Third Lotus Seat charged into the clones and found Ning Wuque badly beaten, while Yang Zhen calmly asked whether he qualified to be the representative.
• Third Lotus Seat released a crushing wave of force at Yang Zhen, who resisted and walked toward him despite the pressure.
• The Rogue Cultivator who had given Yang Zhen a stone slab stood up and challenged Third Lotus Seat for bullying a young Spirit Wandering Realm cultivator.

Old Man Yao, the Rogue Cultivators, Palace Master Liu, Hua Youyue, and Mo Xueling rallied around Yang Zhen as Third Lotus Seat tried to confront him. Yang Zhen taunted Third Lotus Seat from behind his protectors until the furious elder accidentally broke the tense silence with a thunderous fart.

• Old Man Yao and the Rogue Cultivators stepped between Third Lotus Seat and Yang Zhen, warning the North Maiden Academy elder not to attack.
• Palace Master Liu, Hua Youyue, and Mo Xueling each openly sided with Yang Zhen, leaving Third Lotus Seat surrounded by potential opponents.
• Third Lotus Seat challenged Yang Zhen to face him, and Yang Zhen repeatedly hopped out from behind his protectors and back again while taunting him.
• Yang Zhen bragged about fearing neither heaven nor earth, then dared Third Lotus Seat to choose a duel or group brawl while he stayed behind Palace Master Liu.
• Third Lotus Seat nearly lost his temper completely, swallowed back blood, and let out a fart that silenced the birthday celebration.

Yang Zhen mocked Third Lotus Seat after he farted, then fled when Third Lotus Seat triggered a Forcibly Descending Heavenly Tribulation. As the crowd escaped the lightning, Third Lotus Seat pursued Yang Zhen, who threatened to detonate the heavenly lightning.

• Third Lotus Seat became furious after Yang Zhen mocked him, and terrifying heavenly might gathered in the sky.
• Yang Zhen fled as lightning struck Third Lotus Seat, leaving him charred and smoking.
• Palace Master Liu identified the lightning as a Forcibly Descending Heavenly Tribulation, and the crowd rushed to escape its range.
• Yang Zhen explained that Third Lotus Seat had suppressed his realm to delay his tribulation, which could now descend without warning.
• Third Lotus Seat chased Yang Zhen through the fleeing crowd, and Yang Zhen warned him to stop or face the detonation of his heavenly lightning.

Yang Zhen tried to face Third Lotus Seat’s forcibly summoned heavenly tribulation alone, but Hua Youyue warned that his charge would trigger a second tribulation. He realized the danger too late and crashed into the tribulation’s center, while the crowd discovered that Yang Dingtian was actually Yang Zhen.

• Yang Zhen stopped the fleeing cultivators and urged them to retreat, claiming he would bear the tribulation alone; his Buddha image convinced them to leave him to it.
• Third Lotus Seat reached Yang Zhen beneath the raging tribulation, and three lightning bolts struck Third Lotus Seat as he taunted his opponent.
• Yang Zhen charged toward the tribulation despite Hua Youyue’s warning that joining it would create a deadly tribulation triggered by two people.
• Yang Zhen realized the danger but could not stop himself from crashing into the tribulation’s center.
• Hua Youyue’s call of “Yang Zhen” made the crowd realize that Yang Dingtian was Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen barged into Third Lotus Seat’s heavenly tribulation, but the final bolt split and gave Yang Zhen the Heavenly Lightning Origin while Third Lotus Seat was left badly injured. The chapter ended with Third Lotus Seat demanding the origin back and Yang Zhen denying responsibility.

• Everyone at the birthday celebration recognized Yang Zhen as he rushed into Third Lotus Seat’s heavenly tribulation, prompting Third Lotus Seat to call him an idiot.
• Yang Zhen and Third Lotus Seat braced themselves as the last bolt of lightning struck, while the onlookers fled to safety.
• The thunder dragon split in two: its powerful bolt struck Third Lotus Seat, while a smaller bolt landed on Yang Zhen and was absorbed by him.
• Yang Zhen gained the Heavenly Lightning Origin and increased his presence, while Third Lotus Seat remained injured without it.
• Third Lotus Seat demanded that Yang Zhen return his Heavenly Lightning Origin, and Yang Zhen replied that it had come to him on its own.

After Yang Zhen survived Third Lotus Seat’s heavenly lightning tribulation, the group discussed the dangers of the Forbidden Zone of Life. Hua Youyue revealed that she felt compelled to enter it, and Yang Zhen agreed to go with her.

• Third Lotus Seat left with the North Maiden Academy disciples after vowing hostility toward Yang Zhen, who absorbed the heavenly lightning source.
• Hua Youyue calmed the lightning source inside Yang Zhen and explained that her True Essence leaned toward the Lightning Essence attribute.
• Palace Master Liu and Old Man Yao gathered representatives to discuss disturbances in the Forbidden Zone of Life.
• Hua Youyue explained that the zone’s poisonous gas could kill cultivators, while Old Man Yao said people also died there without warning or discernible cause.
• Hua Youyue said she felt compelled to enter the Forbidden Zone of Life, and Yang Zhen agreed to go with her.

Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue learned that a new restriction in the Forbidden Zone of Life barred powerful experts from entering, though formations could send about a thousand people inside. Palace Master Liu revealed that they were risking the journey for primordial inheritances and possible clues about the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth.

• Hua Youyue urged Yang Zhen to leave immediately if they encountered danger, and he told her not to act recklessly either.
• Palace Master Liu explained that a restriction had appeared in the Forbidden Zone of Life, preventing Tribulation Transcendence Realm experts from entering directly.
• Mo Xueling identified the restriction as one that could protect something inside or maintain the balance of the realm, and Palace Master Liu said formations could send roughly a thousand people in.
• After Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue agreed to enter, Palace Master Liu told them the Forbidden Zone might contain multiple primordial inheritances.
• Palace Master Liu warned Yang Zhen about North Maiden Academy and an unfamiliar force, then revealed the Forbidden Zone might hold secrets about the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth.

Yang Zhen learned that Palace Master Liu’s group planned to enter the Forbidden Zone of Life to stop descendants of the Shanggen Secret Clan from resurrecting their ancestors. After three days of travel, the group reached the deadly zone, where a strange sound and a bolt of red lightning greeted them.

• Palace Master Liu told Yang Zhen that Medicine Madman had left a cryptic message in Earth Treasury Roots and that it might point to the Shanggen Secret Clan.
• Palace Master Liu explained that the group intended to prevent the clan’s descendants from resurrecting members of their ancient bloodline.
• Hua Youyue insisted that they had to go because the people involved were dangerous, while Shameless Cat tried to avoid the journey.
• Yang Zhen and the others traveled by flying boat for three days and arrived at the Forbidden Zone of Life, where Medicine Madman’s two-character message was said to seal a presence like the clan’s.
• A muffled, eerie sound frightened Shameless Cat, and Flirtatious Chicken startled him into leaping onto Yang Zhen’s shoulder.
• A red bolt of lightning tore down from the sky and illuminated half the Forbidden Zone of Life.

As the gathered cultivators prepared to enter the Forbidden Zone of Life, Hua Youyue told Yang Zhen that a mysterious presence inside was calling to her, and he promised to help her become someone no one dared offend. Yang Zhen then unexpectedly sent his spirit wandering through heaven and earth, only for a mysterious force to pull his soul into the red mist.

• Yang Zhen surveyed the many factions and Tribulation Transcendence Realm experts gathered near the Forbidden Zone of Life.
• Hua Youyue told Yang Zhen that a presence within the Forbidden Zone of Life was drawing her toward it, and admitted she was worried.
• Yang Zhen promised Hua Youyue he would make her a woman no one dared to offend, and the two reflected on cultivation and the mysteries of heaven and earth.
• Yang Zhen became entranced by the red mist and unconsciously sent his spirit wandering through heaven and earth, startling Palace Master Liu, Mo Xueling, and the others.
• Hua Youyue took Yang Zhen's hand and watched the red mist with newfound resolve as Yang Zhen realized his soul had left his body.
• A mysterious force dragged Yang Zhen's soul into the red mist, where he gradually regained control of it.

Yang Zhen’s soul wandered through the Forbidden Zone of Life, where he encountered a bone mountain and a mysterious woman who looked exactly like Hua Youyue. He returned injured and told Hua Youyue that he had seen her inside the forbidden zone, leaving her shaken and asking where.

• Yang Zhen discovered he could move through the red mist by doggy paddling with his soul body.
• Yang Zhen passed an ancient bronze tree covered in corpses and a swamp filled with skeletons before finding a wooden house.
• A force dragged Yang Zhen into the house’s courtyard, where the illusion changed to reveal a vast mountain of bones.
• Yang Zhen reached the summit and saw a jade stele, a coffin, and a woman whose face he could not bear to face.
• The woman’s energy struck Yang Zhen as he fled, causing him to spit blood and return to his body.
• Yang Zhen told Hua Youyue that someone inside the Forbidden Zone of Life had looked exactly like her, and Hua Youyue grabbed his arm and demanded to know where.

Yang Zhen described seeing a terrifying woman resembling Hua Youyue atop a mountain of bones in the Forbidden Zone of Life. Mei Chaofeng opened the entrance formation, and Yang Zhen, Hua Youyue, and the others entered, while a sinister middle-aged man followed covertly.

• Yang Zhen told Hua Youyue and the others about the mountain of bones and the woman whose glance nearly killed him.
• Mei Chaofeng arrived with the Earth Profound Sect, and Palace Master Liu introduced him to Yang Zhen and the others.
• Mei Chaofeng activated the formation and warned everyone that it would remain open for only twenty days.
• Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue entered the first archway, followed by Foot Hair, Flirtatious Chicken, Mo Xueling, and the others.
• After the group entered, a sinister middle-aged man slipped toward the first archway and vanished through a ripple of True Essence.

Yang Zhen and his companions entered the Forbidden Zone of Life and learned that an ancient bronze tree stood nearby. After Yang Zhen described the corpses impaled on its branches, Mo Xueling suspected it was Blood Illusion Bronze and urged everyone to investigate.

• Yang Zhen and Hua Youyue entered the Forbidden Zone of Life and found that its strange presence had made their True Essence dormant.
• The Shameless Cat asked Yang Zhen to lead them to Bone Mountain, but Yang Zhen admitted he had forgotten the route and pointed out an ancient bronze tree instead.
• Liu Zongqi and Shi Yan of the Azure Cloud Sect asked Yang Zhen about the tree, but he denied knowing anything and walked away with Hua Youyue.
• Mo Xueling explained the Azure Cloud Sect's history with a giant bronze tree, prompting Yang Zhen to turn back and lead the group toward it.
• Yang Zhen described corpses impaled on the tree's branches, and Mo Xueling suspected it was Blood Illusion Bronze and hurried everyone after the others.

Yang Zhen and his companions discovered the Blood Illusion Bronze’s deadly power as it drew cultivators into fatal illusions. When its invisible wave caught up to them, Yang Zhen set the two women down and charged toward it.

• Shameless Cat recalled that Blood Illusion Bronze trapped people in illusions and stole their life origins, while Mo Xueling warned Yang Zhen to stay away from it.
• Hua Youyue said she felt anger toward the bronze tree despite never having heard of it, and Yang Zhen decided to catch up with Liu Zongqi and the others.
• Yang Zhen found Liu Zongqi’s group walking unresponsive toward the ancient bronze tree, and one cultivator impaled himself on a branch.
• Mo Xueling shouted for everyone to run as the tree released an invisible wave that drove people toward it like living corpses.
• Yang Zhen fled with Mo Xueling and Hua Youyue, but when the wave caught up, he put them down and charged at it.

Yang Zhen resisted the Blood Illusion Bronze’s mind-affecting presence and used the Ageless Tree’s vitality, Golden Lotus Heavenly Fire, and Gen Metal True Runes to fight the evil shadows haunting it. As the others recovered and Liu Zongqi died, a gigantic Evil Shadow Black Taotie appeared and turned its scarlet eyes on Yang Zhen.

• The ancient bronze tree’s presence controlled the group, but Flirtatious Chicken’s Golden Crow Fire briefly helped Hua Youyue and Shameless Cat resist it.
• Yang Zhen charged the tree despite Hua Youyue’s warning, and Liu Zongqi was impaled on a branch and drained by the evil shadows.
• The little sapling awakened within Yang Zhen, restoring his clarity and letting him see the shadowy creatures clinging to the tree.
• Yang Zhen drove the shadows back with Golden Lotus Heavenly Fire and Gen Metal True Runes as Hua Youyue, Mo Xueling, and the others regained consciousness.
• A giant Evil Shadow Black Taotie emerged from the tree, and Hua Youyue rushed to warn Yang Zhen.