Recaps

Chen Hongjie led Chen Village in a surprise attack to annihilate the Black Water Tribe and avenge the blood debt from three years earlier. Chen Village’s forces overwhelmed the settlement from two directions, leaving the battle underway as Huyan Qing fought Chen Honglie.

• Chen Hongjie gathered Chen Village’s martial artists and announced his plan to wipe out the Black Water Tribe, then asked Chen Mu for a strategy.
• Chen Mu proposed a surprise attack route, and the villagers agreed on a battle plan to minimize casualties.
• Before dawn, Chen Village’s forces set the Black Water Tribe’s buildings ablaze with flaming arrows and blasted open the rear palisade.
• Chen Mu led mounted warriors through the breach, and they routed the disorganized tribesmen while Chen Honglie confronted Huyan Qing.
• Chen Hongjie led a second force through the main gate and joined the attack on the Black Water Tribe from the opposite side.

Chen Village defeated the Black Water Tribe, captured Wu Tong and Huyan Manqi, and burned the tribe’s settlement. Later, Chen Mu continued developing rune-based computer components and completed a primitive control chip.

• Wu Tong rushed to help Huyan Qing but was intercepted by A Huo and attacked by Chen Village’s warriors.
• Chen Hongjie and the others overwhelmed Wu Tong, captured him, and learned he was the son of a Wumeng Tribe chief.
• Chen Village captured Huyan Manqi, took the Black Water Tribe’s property and prisoners, and burned the settlement.
• Chen Mu worked on rune-covered spirit wood and explained how he had designed logic, storage, and control runes for a computer chip.
• Chen Mu completed a limited but functional control chip and considered how a future computer could be useful in daily life.

Chen Mu built an early rune printer and found that Soul-Hosting Wood from Ghost Yin Mountain might let it make talismans without his constant Soul Power input. He set out with A Huo to find the material, leaving Chen Duo behind and learning that the captured Wumeng Tribe member had been released.

• Chen Mu modified a rune chip board and used it to make a wooden machine that automatically printed talismans, though he still had to supply Soul Power himself.
• Chen Mu searched his books and learned that Soul-Hosting Wood from Ghost Yin Mountain could nurture Soul Power and might enable the rune printer to work on its own.
• Chen Mu decided to travel to Ghost Yin Mountain and told Chen Duo to stay behind and continue learning to tame demonic beasts.
• Chen Hongjie and relatives came to see Chen Mu off, and Chen Mu asked what had happened to the captured Black Water Tribe members.
• Chen Hongjie said the attackers had been killed, the others enslaved, and Wu Tong had been released after his Wumeng Tribe identity was confirmed.
• Chen Mu departed with A Huo for Ghost Yin Mountain.

Chen Mu and A Huo entered Ghost Yin Mountain to find a Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Tree and obtain Soul-Hosting Wood. After fighting a White-Faced Xiao, they found traces of human activity while searching the mountain.

• Chen Mu and A Huo reached Ghost Yin Mountain with White Turtle and left their frightened horses outside the mountain’s Death Qi.
• Chen Mu and A Huo entered the mountain, where their cultivation techniques kept the Death Qi at bay.
• A White-Faced Xiao attacked them, and Chen Mu drew its attention while A Huo circled around and killed it.
• Chen Mu extracted valuable materials from the White-Faced Xiao before continuing deeper into the mountain with A Huo.
• On the second day, Chen Mu found no Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Tree but discovered traces of human activity.

Chen Mu and A Huo searched Ghost Yin Mountain and found a grove of Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Trees, which Chen Mu destroyed with Explosive Flame Talismans to harvest Soul-Hosting Wood. As they prepared to collect it, an Ice Spirit Sect swordswoman accused them of destroying her Ice Soul Grass and held a sword to Chen Mu’s neck.

• Chen Mu and A Huo found recently killed martial artists and learned that both people and demonic beasts made Ghost Yin Mountain dangerous.
• Wu Longjin ordered his people to search for the Holy Soul Grass and kill anyone who might reveal its location, while avoiding the Ice Spirit Sect.
• On his sixth day in the mountain, Chen Mu used medicinal powder to locate Yin Baleful Intent Demonic Trees and burned more than ten of them with Explosive Flame Talismans.
• Chen Mu prepared to collect Soul-Hosting Wood from the dead trees, but an Ice Spirit Sect swordswoman appeared and accused him and A Huo of destroying her Ice Soul Grass.
• The swordswoman placed an icy longsword against Chen Mu’s neck, and Chen Mu realized she was at least a Martial Master.

Chen Mu and A Huo were captured by two women after destroying the Ice Soul Grass, so Chen Mu claimed he knew where to find Holy Soul Grass to save them. After the women rushed into a waterfall to investigate, Chen Mu and A Huo hid nearby and decided to watch what happened.

• A woman in blue threatened Chen Mu and A Huo for destroying the Ice Soul Grass, while her junior sister in purple arrived and confirmed it was gone.
• Chen Mu invented a story about Holy Soul Grass guarded by a powerful demonic beast, persuading the women to take him and A Huo to its location.
• The women let A Huo collect Soul-Hosting Wood, then carried both brothers to a waterfall where warriors were fighting a golden Earth-Splitting Bear.
• The women entered the waterfall, convinced Holy Soul Grass was inside, while Chen Mu and A Huo hid in nearby brush.
• Chen Mu refused to leave and decided to watch the fight, hoping to learn whether the treasure was really Holy Soul Grass.

Chen Mu tracked Landuo after he escaped the waterfall with the Holy Soul Grass, then captured him and took the herb. He decided to use the White Turtle’s soul-seed technique to secure Landuo’s loyalty, despite the danger to his own soul.

• Wu Longjin and Landuo fought two women over the Holy Soul Grass until Landuo used an Earth Escape Talisman to flee underground.
• Chen Mu sensed Landuo’s trail and followed him while the two women chased in the wrong directions.
• After Landuo emerged in a cave and began celebrating his find, Chen Mu and A Huo broke in and subdued him.
• Chen Mu took the Holy Soul Grass and considered whether Landuo’s skills as a talisman master made him worth sparing.
• The White Turtle warned that planting a soul seed could damage Chen Mu’s soul, but Chen Mu offered to use the Holy Soul Grass to heal the damage.

Chen Mu planted a Divine Soul Seed in Landuo and used Holy Soul Grass to advance to an Eight-Rune Talisman Master before returning toward Chen Village. He found the village under attack by a coalition led by Wu Tong and sent A Huo to bring Landuo to him.

• Chen Mu planted a Divine Soul Seed in Landuo, who agreed not to resist.
• Chen Mu ate the Holy Soul Grass and advanced to an Eight-Rune Talisman Master as its power healed his sea of consciousness.
• Chen Mu, A Huo, and Landuo left Ghost Yin Mountain and returned toward Chen Village with their horses.
• Chen Mu saw flames and heard fighting at Chen Village, then hid nearby with A Huo and surveyed the siege.
• Chen Mu recognized Wu Tong among the attackers and ordered A Huo to find Landuo and bring him back.

E Bei led an attack on Chen Village with mechanical puppets and warriors from nearby tribes, but Chen Hongjie’s cavalry repeatedly disrupted his forces. E Bei trapped the cavalry in a Soul-Bewildering Array, but his puppets unexpectedly failed to obey his order to attack.

• E Bei’s forces attacked Chen Village, but its defenses and ranged weapons damaged several mechanical puppets.
• Chen Hongjie led a cavalry charge that scattered enemy fighters, then used talisman papers to blast through a puppet blockade.
• E Bei trapped Chen Hongjie’s cavalry in a Soul-Bewildering Array and offered to spare Chen Village if it surrendered to the Wumeng Tribe.
• Chen Hongjie refused to surrender, and E Bei ordered his mechanical puppets to kill the cavalry while sparing Chen Hongjie.
• E Bei’s mechanical puppets remained motionless after he gave the order.

Chen Mu and Landuo turned the Wumeng Tribe’s attack against them, helping Chen Village defeat the invading forces. After the battle, Chen Mu reunited with Chen Hongjie and found Chen Duo tending to A Huo’s minor wound.

• Chen Mu learned that Landuo had made the mechanical puppets and asked him to seize control, despite the risk of the Wumeng Tribe discovering his presence.
• Landuo turned the mechanical puppets against E Bei’s forces while Chen Mu destroyed the Soul-Bewildering Array’s flags and attacked the trapped fighters with A Huo.
• Chen Mu blocked E Bei’s escape with Rune Gun shots, and Landuo had the mechanical puppets kill him.
• Chen Duo and Chen Village’s fighters charged out as the invaders fled or surrendered, and Chen Mu killed Wu Tong with a shot through the heart.
• Chen Mu reunited with the injured Chen Hongjie and found Chen Duo bandaging A Huo’s scraped arm.

Chen Mu negotiated a secret monthly supply contract with Hou Sailei for five thousand talisman papers, each with at least six lines. After Chen Mu left Wuyan Market, Hou Sailei asked Elder Guo to follow him and discover which tribe he came from.

• Chen Mu told Hou Sailei he could supply up to five thousand talisman papers with six lines or more each month.
• Hou Sailei agreed to raise the purchase price by ten percent and signed a cooperation contract with Chen Mu, who also sold him over a thousand talisman papers.
• Chen Mu bought supplies in Wuyan Market and rode out on his Dragon-Horned Horse.
• Hou Sailei told Elder Guo about the large deal and asked him to identify Chen Mu's tribe without harming him.
• Elder Guo agreed to follow Chen Mu and investigate his origins.

Chen Mu returned to Chen Village after sensing an unseen follower and began preparing to strengthen the village, while Hou Sailei investigated Chen Village and considered protecting its production. In the talisman-making room, Landuo praised Chen Mu’s rune chip and identified gaps in his rune knowledge, leaving Chen Mu eager to hear more.

• Chen Mu escaped the feeling of being watched by returning to Chen Village and told A Huo to ask Chen Hongjie to increase patrols.
• Hou Sailei reviewed reports about Chen Village, concluded it had a powerful talisman master, and considered pressuring the Wumeng Tribe to protect its talisman-paper production.
• Chen Mu asked Landuo to operate the rune printers, and Landuo praised Chen Mu’s rune chip and unusual insights.
• Landuo told Chen Mu that his rune foundations were strong but his methods had flaws, and Chen Mu urged him to continue.

Chen Mu strengthened Chen Village’s defenses and began building a Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate the clan’s strongest members. As he started installing the array in the new Chen Clan Cultivation Tower, the project remained unfinished.

• Landuo advised Chen Mu to focus on one discipline and suggested he eventually study at an ancient academy, but Chen Mu said he could not leave Chen Village yet.
• A month later, Chen Mu completed an upgrade to the village’s defensive array, while spirit-grain farming and beast taming continued to strengthen the villagers.
• Chen Mu completed a large transaction with Hou Sailei, received a first-grade storage ring, and used much of his earnings to buy fifteen third-grade single-element spirit stones.
• Chen Mu began constructing a Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array in the Chen Clan Cultivation Tower, planning to reserve its strongest cultivation levels for clan members selected by the clan council.
• Chen Mu began drawing the runes that would guide spiritual power through the tower, but the complex array would take at least half a month to finish.

Half a year after Chen Village defeated the Wumeng Tribe’s puppet force, Chen Mu attended his cousin Chen Zihu’s wedding and learned that visitors were showing suspicious interest in the village. The Rock Peace Tribe sent Nan Huaiyuan, a Martial Master and renowned formation master, to deliver wedding gifts, and Chen Mu met him at the village entrance.

• Chen Mu attended Chen Zihu’s wedding and welcomed the bride’s father, Tie Qianren, from Ironwood Village.
• A Huo warned Chen Mu that suspicious guests had tried to enter the talisman-making room, but Chen Mu left the matter to Chen Hongjie and the others.
• Chen Shanxiong told Chen Mu that the Rock Peace Tribe had sent a Martial Master with wedding gifts, so Chen Mu went to meet the visitor.
• Chen Hongjie introduced Nan Huaiyuan, a Martial Master and prominent formation master, to Chen Mu as Chen Village’s talisman master.
• Nan Huaiyuan praised Chen Mu, and Chen Mu greeted him politely.

Nan Huaiyuan visited Chen Village’s wedding to assess its strength, while Chen Hongjie planned a show of force against two hostile tribes. In the Flame Blessing Tribe, Tuoba Ziying learned Chen Village had prospered and ordered a secret attack on the Rune Master behind it.

• Nan Huaiyuan’s arrival unsettled the wedding guests, and Chen Hongjie showed him around before he left without staying for lunch.
• Chen Mu reassured Chen Hongjie that Nan Huaiyuan would find no weakness in his rune array, and Chen Hongjie decided Chen Zihu would lead an attack on two tribes in three days.
• Tuoba Ziying grew angry when A Ruo reported Chen Haoran’s victories and his growing reputation in the Flame Blessing Tribe.
• Mingye told Tuoba Ziying that Chen Village had survived with a Rune Master’s help and had repelled a mid-ranking tribe’s attack.
• Tuoba Ziying ordered Mingye to find and kill the Rune Master, claiming the attack would not violate the order to spare Chen Haoran’s clansmen.

Chen Mu advanced his rune research with a new analyzer and prepared to improve Chen Village’s defenses and Rune Gun. A month later, he increased his rune-paper trade with Hou Sailei and obtained Qi Gathering Pills to help martial artists break through to the Qi Nourishing Realm.

• Chen Mu used the Multifunctional Analyzer to discover that crimson wolf bone had level fifteen heat resistance, making it suitable for a more powerful Rune Gun.
• Chen Mu set the analyzer to simulate how to arrange Chen Village’s defensive weapons and asked Landuo about the precision rune engraving device.
• A month later, Chen Mu told Hou Sailei he would double their monthly trade to ten thousand sheets of nine-rune paper, and Hou Sailei eagerly agreed.
• Hou Sailei gave Chen Mu five Qi Gathering Pills that could improve a martial artist’s chances of breaking through to the Qi Nourishing Realm.
• Chen Mu accepted the pills, told Hou Sailei to deduct their cost from the next trade, and left the Vast Sea Pavilion.

Chen Mu visited the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, where he befriended formation master Nan Huaiyuan and discussed their respective expertise. Nan Huaiyuan warned him that he had seen Wu Hongtian of the Wumeng Tribe in the market, leaving Chen Mu wary on his journey back to Chen Village.

• Chen Mu went alone to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion and ordered supplies from Hua Ying.
• Nan Huaiyuan approached Chen Mu and invited him to exchange insights on formations.
• Nan Huaiyuan recognized the ingenuity of Chen Village's talisman formation, and Chen Mu credited his supposed master for guiding him.
• Chen Mu completed his purchase, paid Hua Ying, and prepared to leave.
• Nan Huaiyuan warned Chen Mu that he had seen Wu Hongtian at the Listening Wind Tower, and Chen Mu promised to be careful.

Chen Mu was ambushed by Mingye, who forced him to lead her to Soul Severing Valley in search of his supposed master. As they searched the valley, Chen Mu saw how powerful she was and waited for a chance to escape.

• Chen Mu left Wuyan Market for Chen Village but was ambushed by Mingye, who injured his Dragon-Horned Horse and captured him.
• Mingye demanded that Chen Mu take her to his master, whom she had been sent to kill; Chen Mu claimed his master was in Soul Severing Valley.
• Chen Mu led Mingye into Soul Severing Valley, pretending to call for his master while she threatened to kill him if they failed to find him.
• Mingye killed a leopard-like demon beast with a returning silver throwing knife, convincing Chen Mu that she was a powerful Qi Nourishing Realm cultivator.
• After they searched nearly half the valley and encountered fewer demon beasts, Chen Mu finally spotted an opportunity.

Chen Mu escaped Mingye by using an Invisibility Talisman, then hid in a tree hollow in Soul Severing Valley. Seeking any chance to survive against his powerful pursuer, he took a Qi Gathering Pill and broke through to the Qi Nourishing Realm.

• Mingye fought the juvenile Golden-Winged Tiger while Chen Mu used an Invisibility Talisman to vanish into the forest.
• Mingye wounded the tiger until it fled, then tracked Chen Mu through the valley.
• Chen Mu ran through the mist, decided not to risk traveling at night, and returned to hide in a tree hollow.
• Chen Mu concealed the hollow with an illusion array, restored his Internal Force, and prepared to break through.
• Chen Mu took a Qi Gathering Pill, formed a Qi Sea, and entered the Qi Nourishing Realm.

Landuo discovered three Martial Master intruders inside Chen Village and called Chen Hongjie for help while Chen Mu, trapped in Soul Severing Valley, attacked Mingye with Rune Gun No. 2. Though the rune bullet badly wounded Mingye, she survived and pursued Chen Mu as he fled toward Chen Village.

• Landuo spotted three intruders moving toward Chen Village's residential area and used the illusion array to delay them.
• Landuo warned Chen Hongjie that Martial Masters had entered the village and asked him to gather the martial artists at the array core.
• Chen Mu saw Mingye searching near his hiding place and shot her with a rune-covered bullet from Rune Gun No. 2.
• Mingye survived the blast, countered Chen Mu's approach with a silver knife, and pursued him after taking a pill.
• Chen Mu burned a Windwalking Talisman and fled toward Chen Village, hoping to use its talisman array for protection.

Chen Mu returned to Chen Village with Mingye in pursuit and took control of the village-wide rune array, unleashing the Mechanism Fortress. The fortress captured Mingye and killed Wu Hongtian and his two companions, leaving Chen Mu and Landuo to consider the mechanism’s potential.

• Chen Hongjie and Chen Jianfeng’s forces struggled to hold Wu Hongtian and two intruders inside the rune array while Landuo worried they would run out of rune flags.
• Chen Mu was kicked through Chen Village’s gate by Mingye, who pursued him despite her injured shoulder, and Landuo handed him the village’s array disc.
• Chen Mu used the array disc to activate the Mechanism Fortress, whose automated gun barrels overwhelmed Mingye and captured her alive.
• Chen Mu turned the fortress’s guns on Wu Hongtian and his two companions, killing all three.
• Landuo admired the fortress, and Chen Mu reflected that combining beast souls with Rune Core programs had made its mechanisms far more powerful.

Chen Mu interrogated the captured assassin Mingye and learned that Tuoba Ziying had sent her, while Chen Haoran had joined the Flame Blessing Tribe to protect Chen Village. After hearing Mingye’s account, Chen Mu freed her, and she left the village vowing to kill him next time.

• Chen Mu and the villagers failed to make Mingye speak until Landuo threatened to refine her soul, prompting her to agree to talk in exchange for a quick death.
• Mingye named Tuoba Ziying as the person who had sent her, and Chen Hongjie explained that Chen Haoran and his wife had been captured eight years earlier by the Flame Blessing Tribe.
• Mingye revealed that Chen Haoran had surrendered a treasure and joined the tribe to persuade its leader to spare Chen Village.
• Chen Mu thanked Mingye for the information, removed her restraints, and let her leave despite knowing she might seek revenge.
• Mingye walked out of Chen Village and into the forest, then vowed to kill Chen Mu the next time they met.

After hearing about his parents, Chen Mu resolved to strengthen himself and entered seclusion to pursue advancement, eventually becoming an Earth Talisman Master. Meanwhile, Chen Village made peace with the Taiyan Tribe and chose to postpone expansion while it built up its strength.

• Chen Mu asked Landuo about ancient academies and decided to prepare for admission to the nearby Heaven-Questioning Pavilion by cultivating in seclusion.
• After two months of cultivation, Chen Mu condensed an illusory Yin Soul and broke through to the Earth Talisman Master realm.
• Chen Mu emerged from seclusion and met Tai Yunfan and Nan Huaiyuan, who had come to discuss Chen Village's plans.
• Chen Mu accepted Tai Yunfan's offer of friendship and agreed that Chen Village would not expand toward the Taiyan Tribe.
• Chen Hongjie and the others decided to wait three to five years before considering territorial expansion or advancing Chen Village to a mid-tier tribe.

Chen Hongjie took Chen Mu to the Chen Clan’s hidden ancestral land and revealed the clan’s ancient history and its danger in the Central Land. Though he warned Chen Mu to avoid bloodshed, he ultimately accepted Chen Mu’s journey and urged him to go.

• Chen Mu insisted on traveling to the Central Land to study despite Chen Hongjie’s objections.
• Chen Hongjie led Chen Mu through a hidden passage in the mountains behind Chen Village to the clan’s ancestral land.
• Chen Hongjie explained that the cavern had sheltered the clan during past calamities and that the Chen Clan had once been a mighty tribe descended from god-slayers.
• Chen Hongjie warned Chen Mu that the Central Land’s rulers had branded the Chen Clan sinful blood and that Chen Mu should avoid drawing attention to his origins by shedding blood.
• Chen Hongjie said the clan’s bloodline-awakening method was lost and that the Central Land had likely forgotten the Chen Clan, then encouraged Chen Mu to travel while he cared for Chen Village.

Chen Mu left Chen Village with A Huo and Chen Duo to pursue their studies, after arranging for Landuo and Chen Zihu to manage the village’s defenses and trade. On the journey, the three stopped at Weng Mountain Tribe, where they were invited to a bonfire feast.

• Chen Mu entrusted Landuo with the talisman-making equipment and Mechanism Fortress array plate, then arranged for Chen Zihu to take over his trade with Hou Sailei.
• Chen Mu bought two communication jade tokens and set out with A Huo and Chen Duo for the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion.
• As the three traveled through the winter mountains, A Huo noticed someone following them, but Chen Mu chose not to confront the follower.
• Chen Mu and his companions reached Weng Mountain Tribe and secured lodging for the night.
• The tribe's dark-skinned man invited Chen Mu and his companions to the annual sacrificial bonfire feast, and Chen Mu agreed after Chen Duo eagerly accepted.