Recaps

Li Yan learned that the Dizhen Domain now had far more powerful cultivators than he had realized, with fifteen Body Integration Realm cultivators and more potential breakthroughs ahead. After asking about the seven subordinate sects, he learned that Elder Hao was in seclusion attempting to reach the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

• Xue Tieyi told Li Yan that the Soul Suppressing Palace had six newly advanced Body Integration Realm cultivators and two more elders away traveling.
• Master Lan revealed that subordinate sects had seven Body Integration Realm cultivators and many Void Refinement Realm cultivators who might still break through, leaving Li Yan stunned by the Dizhen Domain's strength.
• Li Yan reflected on how little he knew about the returned sects and admitted that the transformed Dizhen Domain had made him feel trapped again by his limited understanding.
• Li Yan asked about the seven subordinate sects and then asked where Elder Hao was.
• Elder Tang said Elder Hao was in seclusion after gaining insight and was attempting the difficult breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

Li Yan learned how Elder Hao and Master Lan had stabilized and quietly overseen the Soul Prison Clan after leaving the North Ice Continent. After catching up on the Soul Suppressing Palace's growth, Li Yan admitted that he had returned because he needed something.

• Elder Tang explained that Elder Hao had entered seclusion to pursue a breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, and Li Yan said he believed Elder Hao could succeed.
• Master Lan told Li Yan that Elder Hao and Master Lan had integrated the three clans, secretly monitored them, and supplied the Soul Suppressing Palace before returning to the Immortal Spirit Realm.
• Master Lan explained that Elder Hao and Master Lan had told the palace leadership about Li Yan's wishes and planned to restore the Soul Prison Clan name gradually.
• Li Yan reflected on the Soul Suppressing Palace's rise from the weakened Dizhen Domain and considered why he still lacked the strength to lead the clan openly.
• Elder Tang asked why Li Yan had returned, and Li Yan admitted that he needed something.

Li Yan proposed that the Soul Suppressing Palace cooperate openly with the Pojun Sect to secure resources and intelligence, rather than rely on secretly controlled sects. He explained the Pojun Sect’s predicament under the Chunyang Hall and asked the elders for their views, while assuring them he had other ways to help if they refused.

• Tang Feng detailed the Soul Suppressing Palace’s control of twenty-seven small sects and its cautious efforts to infiltrate four third-rate sects.
• Li Yan said the Palace’s covert control was risky and proposed a willing partnership with the Pojun Sect to obtain resources and intelligence.
• Li Yan explained his close ties to Shangguan Tianque and his wife, the Pojun Sect’s growth, and its conflict with the Chunyang Hall over a pill cultivator.
• Elder Tang asked what would happen if the Soul Suppressing Palace refused to offend a first-rate force.
• Li Yan said he had other ways to help the Pojun Sect and had come to hear the elders’ opinions because they would handle the partnership’s practical affairs.

Li Yan secured the Soul Suppressing Palace’s agreement to cooperate with the Pojun Sect and negotiated terms that would keep the two sects balanced. He concealed his status from Shangguan Tianque and arranged for Elder Tang and the other elders to lead the negotiations.

• Elder Tang agreed to Li Yan’s plan to help the Pojun Sect, and he rebuked Tang Feng for questioning his sudden change of attitude.
• Li Yan raised concerns about relocating the Pojun Sect, evading Chunyang Hall, facing Chunyang Hall and the Moji Dao Sect, and dividing responsibilities and benefits.
• Li Yan and the elders spent more than an hour discussing conditions, with Li Yan rejecting some proposals and shaping the agreement to prevent either sect from becoming the other’s vassal.
• Li Yan revealed plans for the Soul Prison Clan’s expansion and a possible independent territory on the border between the Heavenly Demon Grassland and Human Race cultivators.
• Before inviting Shangguan Tianque out, Li Yan gave the highest seat to Elder Tang and explained that the Pojun Sect must not learn his true identity in the Dizhen Domain yet.
• Elder Tang realized Li Yan had been hiding his status from the start, and he took the central seat as Li Yan went to bring Shangguan Tianque into the negotiations.

Li Yan arranged negotiations between the Soul Suppressing Palace and Shangguan Tianque’s Pojun Sect, which agreed to abandon its old path and move under the Palace’s covert support. They chose the Changlin Sect as the faction to replace, and the chapter ended with the reasons its remote, demon-beast-haunted territory had remained unwanted.

• Li Yan brought Shangguan Tianque out of the Soul Suppressing Palace’s secret realm and introduced him to Master Lan after they reached the edge of the Heavenly Demon Grassland.
• Shangguan Tianque and Elder Tang’s side negotiated for more than two days before the Pojun Sect agreed to leave its current position and pursue a new path.
• The negotiators ruled out searching for an unclaimed location and instead decided that the Pojun Sect would replace one of the twenty-seven factions controlled by the Soul Suppressing Palace.
• After weighing resources and the risk of provoking powerful backers, Shangguan Tianque selected the Changlin Sect, one of eight small factions without outside support.
• Elder Tang recommended the Changlin Sect, whose evil cultivation method used spirit-rich bones and whose territory lay in forested mountains plagued by low-level demon beasts.

Shangguan Tianque and the others planned to relocate the Pojun Sect to the Changlin Sect’s remote grounds and prepare for the Chunyang Hall’s eventual pursuit. Li Yan learned the Soul Suppressing Palace was already preparing to emerge openly by having its cultivators practice ordinary cultivation methods, giving the Pojun Sect a way to conceal its ties to soul cultivators.

• Shangguan Tianque approved the Changlin Sect’s location and planned a secret teleportation escape, with Master Lan and Tang Feng building the arrays and their allies helping subdue the Changlin Sect.
• Shangguan Tianque expected the Pojun Sect to expand the grounds, hide its name at first, and face discovery by the Chunyang Hall within roughly twenty to forty years.
• Li Yan proposed bringing in cultivators from the Phoenix Four Clans to disguise the Pojun Sect’s backing, but Elder Tang revealed the Soul Suppressing Palace already had a plan to emerge into the world.
• Elder Hao and Elder Tang ordered Soul Suppressing Palace cultivators to learn ordinary body- or spell-cultivation methods alongside soul cultivation, both to increase their strength and conceal their identities.

Soul Suppressing Palace and Pojun Sect secretly prepared to defend against Chunyang Hall by disguising Soul Cultivators as ordinary cultivators and arranging a concealed escape route. Meanwhile, Ma Peijin grew suspicious and fearful after learning Li Yan had returned, and continued monitoring him and Zuo Qiudan.

• Elder Tang explained how Soul Suppressing Palace could use cultivators trained in ordinary techniques to disguise its forces and defend Pojun Sect, so Li Yan agreed there was no need to involve the Phoenix Four Clans for now.
• Pojun Sect and Soul Suppressing Palace spent nearly three days settling their plans, and Shangguan Tianque later returned to Pojun Sect with Li Yan and secretly informed Zuo Qiudan and Yu Banjiang of their arrangements.
• Shangguan Tianque arranged for Master Lan to stay in the sect's rear forbidden area while a secret teleportation formation was built, with Yu Banjiang secretly delivering the materials.
• Ma Peijin reflected on Li Yan's return and feared the powerful cultivator might threaten him, so he ordered his subordinates to watch the sect master's great hall and Li Yan's cave dwelling.
• Ma Peijin learned that Li Yan had left with Zuo Qiudan for Zuo Qiudan's cave dwelling before later appearing at his own cave dwelling.

Li Yan confronted Ma Peijin in his cave residence after uncovering his secret ties to Chunyang Hall and his betrayal of Pojun Sect. He effortlessly stopped Ma Peijin’s attempt to fight back and declared that he would kill him, leaving Ma Peijin helpless and terrified.

• Ma Peijin grew suspicious of Li Yan’s silence and worried that he and the others were secretly coordinating over the conscription.
• Li Yan suddenly appeared inside Ma Peijin’s cave residence despite its defensive formation, and Ma Peijin recognized him.
• Li Yan asked Ma Peijin to handle a matter concerning Elder Zuo, revealing that he knew of Ma Peijin’s connection to Chunyang Hall.
• Ma Peijin tried to activate his formation and summon his magic treasure, but Li Yan instantly stopped his magic power and left him unable to speak.
• Li Yan rejected Ma Peijin’s pleas and said he wanted him dead, while Ma Peijin realized Li Yan had controlled him without any visible spellcasting.

Li Yan used the Brain-Eating Gu to take control of Ma Peijin, leaving him conscious only as a puppet who could pass along false information. After returning to his cave, Li Yan learned from Ma Peijin’s memories that the spy served Chunyang Hall’s second-largest faction, which was backed by a Body Integration Realm ancestor.

• Li Yan frightened Ma Peijin with the Brain-Eating Gu, then struck his forehead and took control of him.
• Ma Peijin bowed respectfully as Li Yan left, then resumed his usual behavior and received a request for an audience from Ye Lou.
• Li Yan returned to his cave and recalled how he and Shangguan Tianque had decided to deal with Ma Peijin without raising Chunyang Hall’s suspicions.
• Li Yan explained that the gu insect had erased Ma Peijin’s consciousness, allowing him to control the spy and feed Chunyang Hall false information.
• Li Yan learned from Ma Peijin’s soul that the spy had joined Chunyang Hall’s second-largest faction, after the leading faction had rejected him.

Li Yan and Pojun Sect continued secretly preparing a relay teleportation route to Changlin Sect while keeping Ma Peijin’s movements under control. After five and a half years, Chunyang Hall sent Elder Yu to requisition Zuo Qiudan, forcing their plan into a more urgent phase.

• Li Yan arranged for Ma Peijin to direct his subordinates toward harmless investigations while Yu Banjiang planted convincing problems in the places they searched.
• Master Lan and Tang Feng spent years constructing a relay teleportation route, but after five years they still had not completed the connection to Changlin Sect.
• A special envoy from Chunyang Hall arrived at Pojun Sect and ordered Shangguan Tianque to meet him.
• Elder Yu demanded that Zuo Qiudan accompany him, and Zuo Qiudan persuaded him to wait until the following day so he could prepare.
• Shangguan Tianque and Zuo Qiudan returned to Li Yan’s cave dwelling, where Shangguan Tianque explained that Chunyang Hall had finally moved to requisition Zuo Qiudan.

After Chunyang Hall sent Elder Yu to summon Zuo Qiudan, Shangguan Tianque and the others abandoned their safer timetable and began evacuating the Pojun Sect. Ren Yanyu agreed to their plan to defect to Soul Suppressing Palace, and the chapter left the sect preparing to flee while some cultivators remained unreachable.

• Elder Yu let Zuo Qiudan delay his departure until the next day, giving Shangguan Tianque and the others time to act.
• Shangguan Tianque ordered Ren Yanyu to leave seclusion, Li Yan to contact Elder Tang and the others, and Zuo Qiudan to seal the sect.
• Ren Yanyu learned that Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque had arranged refuge with Soul Suppressing Palace and agreed that the plan was feasible.
• Li Yan prepared to use the completed teleportation nodes to rejoin Master Lan, Tang Feng, and the others outside the Pojun Sect.
• At night, Shangguan Tianque, Ren Yanyu, Zuo Qiudan, Li Yan, and Yu Banjiang gathered in the sect plaza as the evacuation began, though dozens of cultivators could not be reached.

Pojun Sect secretly evacuated its disciples and resources with help from Master Lan, Elder Tang, and Xue Tieyi. Chunyang Hall discovered the teleportation route had failed and learned that Pojun Sect’s outpost had been abandoned, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Yu Banjiang gathered Pojun Sect’s cultivators at the rear square, where Master Lan put them to sleep and Shangguan Tianque, Ren Yanyu, and Yu Banjiang took them into storage spaces.
• Zuo Qiudan took Bu Luo, while Li Yan had already taken Qianji and Ding Shuying away; Shangguan Tianque divided the remaining evacuation work among three groups.
• Master Lan, Elder Tang, and Xue Tieyi joined the sect leaders in splitting up to retrieve Pojun Sect’s people and goods from its cultivation cities and marketplaces.
• Tang Feng waited in a secluded valley and sensed spatial fluctuations as the others arrived.
• Elder Yu went to Chunyang Hall’s teleportation formation to travel to Pojun Sect, but the array could no longer teleport.
• Chunyang Hall later learned that Pojun Sect’s cultivation city had no guard cultivators and its shops were shut.

After Chunyang Hall discovered that the Pojun Sect had vanished, Elder Shi found evidence of a secret teleportation plan but could not learn where the sect had gone. Elder Tang, Master Lan, and Xue Tieyi reached the Changlin Sect with the Pojun Sect’s people concealed in Spirit Storage Spaces, establishing a refuge beyond Chunyang Hall’s territory.

• Elder Shi and Elder Yu searched the abandoned Pojun Sect, captured looters, and learned they were outsiders who knew nothing about the sect’s disappearance.
• Elder Shi found an intact but unusable teleportation array and concluded that Shangguan Tianque had secretly evacuated the sect after destroying its other arrays.
• Elder Shi suspected Shangguan Tianque had discovered Ma Peijin as a traitor, but she could not determine how the sect had hidden its array’s spatial fluctuations.
• Elder Tang, Master Lan, and Xue Tieyi arrived at the Changlin Sect after leaving Chunyang Hall’s territory with the Pojun Sect’s cultivators stored away.
• The three elders were greeted by Soul Suppressing Palace disciples, who guarded the forest refuge while the Changlin Sect’s original cultivators remained under guard.

Two years after the Pojun Sect and Soul Suppressing Palace began combining their forces, Li Yan asked permission to leave and visit Zi Kun in the Heavenly Demon Grassland. After confirming that the sect could manage without him, Li Yan and Qianji quietly departed.

• Elder Tang brought Shangguan Tianque, Li Yan, and the others to the open valley where the Pojun Sect would settle.
• Over the next two years, the Pojun Sect expanded and built interconnected formations while its leaders managed the alliance with the Soul Suppressing Palace and screened the awakened disciples.
• Li Yan visited Elder Tang and proposed traveling to the Heavenly Demon Grassland to see Zi Kun, estimating that he would return in about ten years.
• Elder Tang approved Li Yan's departure after considering the safeguards and agreements already arranged between the two sects, and Li Yan went to seek Shangguan Tianque's approval.
• That afternoon, Li Yan and Qianji left the Pojun Sect without Ding Shuying, who stayed behind to cultivate.

Li Yan and Qianji crossed the Heavenly Demon Grassland toward the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan while Qianji trained through dangerous battles. Near the clan, Li Yan spotted Xiang He, who met a concealed figure in a marsh.

• Li Yan guided Ding Shuying in relearning the basic Qi Condensation Stage spells, satisfied that she was practicing sincerely.
• Li Yan and Qianji traveled across the Heavenly Demon Grassland, with Qianji fighting Demon Beasts to strengthen himself while Li Yan avoided dangerous areas.
• After Qianji killed a fifth-rank Demon Beast, Li Yan stopped him from seeking further fights as they neared the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan.
• Li Yan noticed the concealed Xiang He flying through the clan's territory and watched him descend into a marsh.
• Xiang He revealed himself to a figure hidden behind a water-like curtain among the marsh plants.

Li Yan and Qianji secretly watched Xiang He meet a shadowy cultivator in the marsh and arrange an attack on an unnamed participant during the clan’s battle-formation assessment. After Xiang He departed, Li Yan told Qianji that he knew Xiang He from an earlier clash with Zi Kun.

• Xiang He met a shadowy cultivator in the marsh and asked him to target an oddity during the battle-formation segment.
• Xiang He gave the cultivator an Ornamental Pendant and a jade slip, explaining that its nearly invisible smoke could penetrate defenses but required eight hours to replenish.
• The shadowy cultivator agreed to cooperate only if the target chose him as an assistant and Xiang He’s side fulfilled the previously discussed conditions.
• Xiang He warned the cultivator to complete the task and survive the individual assessment, then vanished after removing the barrier.
• Li Yan and Qianji left their hiding place, and Li Yan identified Xiang He as a man who had once fought Zi Kun.

Li Yan suspected Xiang He was plotting against Zi Kun and hurried to the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan to check on him. After a patrol sent word to Zi Kun, the chapter ended with Zi Kun testing the newly refined Great Dragon-Elephant Array in his courtyard.

• Li Yan told Qianji that Zi Kun had won his fight, then decided to find him after suspecting Xiang He’s plans involved him.
• Li Yan and Qianji reached the clan’s outer territory and stopped before a patrol of white-robed cultivators.
• The patrol leader agreed to notify Zi Kun, and Xiao Shu went to deliver the message.
• Zi Kun tested the Great Dragon-Elephant Array, whose power had grown after Li Yan helped him replace some of its materials.

Zi Kun tested the improved Great Dragon-Elephant Array before Li Yan and the revived Qianji arrived at his residence. After Qianji attacked Zi Kun and they fought, Li Yan asked about the upcoming contest in Zi Kun’s clan, leaving the reason for his question unexplained.

• Zi Kun tested the Great Dragon-Elephant Array, then learned that Li Yan had come to see him.
• Zi Kun welcomed Li Yan and Qianji, but Qianji kicked him in the ribs and challenged him to a fight.
• Li Yan sent Zi Kun and Qianji into Tuban, where they fought until he called them back and judged Qianji’s cultivation weaker.
• Zi Kun explained that his clan master had guided his cultivation and bloodline abilities, while Qianji told him about traveling with Li Yan and working in their shop.
• Li Yan asked whether Zi Kun’s clan had an upcoming contest, and Zi Kun wondered if Li Yan had come because he knew about it.

Zi Kun explained the clan’s sequence ranking assessment and learned that Xiang He had arranged a concealed attack against him during the contest. After Li Yan identified Xiang He’s accomplice, Zi Kun recognized Xiang Fengsheng, a trusted relative of Xiang Qing, and decided to speak with Xiang Qing.

• Zi Kun explained that the clan’s sequence ranking battle would determine which disciples received greater cultivation resources, and that the Grand Elder might take him as a nominal disciple if he earned a respectable rank.
• Li Yan told Zi Kun that he and Qianji had witnessed Xiang He meeting with a concealed person outside the clan grounds and suspected the meeting concerned a plot against Zi Kun.
• Zi Kun realized Xiang He might exploit the assessment’s increased risk of death to injure or kill him and asked Li Yan to identify the person who met Xiang He.
• Li Yan gave Zi Kun a jade slip containing the person’s likeness, and Zi Kun recognized him as Xiang Fengsheng, Xiang Qing’s maternal cousin and a former fifteenth-ranked Spirit Transformation sequence disciple.
• Zi Kun said Xiang Fengsheng had been on good terms with him, then resolved to find Xiang Qing about the betrayal.

Zi Kun told Xiang Qing that Xiang Fengsheng might be working with Xiang He against him, and she agreed to investigate her cousin before they decided how to respond. Li Yan remained at Zi Kun’s residence as Xiang Longfei and other clan members treated him more warmly, while Zi Kun showed Qianji around the clan.

• Zi Kun summoned Xiang Qing and explained that Li Yan had uncovered signs Xiang Fengsheng might be involved in Xiang He's plans against him.
• Xiang Qing recalled seeing Xiang Fengsheng and Xiang He at the same tavern, then offered to investigate her cousin herself so she would not alert him.
• Xiang Qing said she needed to verify the matter and left after assuring Li Yan and Qianji that she was not dismissing his warning.
• The next day, Xiang Longfei visited Zi Kun and treated Li Yan more courteously after the clan accepted Zi Kun's bloodline and potential.
• Zi Kun showed Qianji around the clan while Li Yan stayed in the courtyard and met Xiang Longfei and several Void Refinement Realm cultivators over the next seven days.

Li Yan spent seven days in Zi Kun’s courtyard, where Void Refinement cultivators came to meet him and the clan arranged for him and Qianji to watch the sequence assessment. Xiang Qing confirmed that Xiang Fengsheng possessed the suspicious Ornamental Pendant, and the chapter ended as Li Yan arrived at the assessment grounds and recognized him among the sequence disciples.

• Void Refinement cultivators visited Zi Kun’s courtyard, and Li Yan exchanged cultivation insights with them, revealing his formidable body-cultivation knowledge.
• Xiang Longfei told Li Yan that the junior clan elder had arranged for him to watch the assessment battles, and Li Yan accepted the favor.
• Xiang Qing reported that her investigation had linked Xiang Fengsheng to Xiang He and that she had seen him wearing the Ornamental Pendant Zi Kun had described.
• Zi Kun left early to join the sequence disciples, while Xiang Longfei escorted Li Yan and Qianji to the assessment grounds using the clan’s written order.
• Li Yan arrived at the spectator area, recognized Xiang Fengsheng among the sequence disciples, and greeted the Void Refinement cultivators gathered there.

Li Yan attended the Purple God Dragon-Elephant Clan’s assessment and learned the rules while Xiang Fengsheng secretly prepared to use a magic treasure. The chapter ended with Li Yan recognizing that the battle-array duels Xiang Fengsheng would face were exceptionally deadly.

• Xiang Fengsheng finished testing the magic treasure and believed he could use it without being detected during a chaotic fight.
• Li Yan arrived and took his seat among the Void Refinement Realm cultivators, where several questioned him about his background.
• Li Yan sensed powerful concealed auras above the venue but could not determine whether the clan’s Supreme Elders were present or how strong they were.
• A Void Refinement cultivator announced that the assessment would use elimination duels, with a permitted death rate of twenty to thirty percent.
• Li Yan learned that the individual rankings’ top ten would face brutal battle-array duels, then connected the rules to Xiang Fengsheng’s plans.

Zi Kun began his sequence disciple duel against Xiang Qiong, who had awakened three powerful innate divine abilities. As Xiang Qiong approached and struck, Zi Kun became entranced by an illusion of Xiang Qing in a misty forest.

• A Void Refinement cultivator explained the battle formation assessment rules before the sequence battles began.
• Xiang Qing and Xiang Fengsheng defeated their opponents, and Xiang Fengsheng warned Zi Kun that Xiang Qiong had mastered three innate divine abilities.
• Zi Kun entered the arena to face Xiang Qiong while Li Yan watched and Qianji shouted encouragement.
• Xiang Qiong spoke seductively to Zi Kun and used an illusion that made him see Xiang Qing waiting for him in a forest.
• Xiang Qiong floated toward Zi Kun and pressed her clawed hand at his abdomen.

Zi Kun resisted Xiang Qiong’s Purple-Pupil Forest Realm illusion and brutally defeated her in their arena match. He returned to cheers from his branch while the elders discussed his remarkable strength and his standing as Xiang Yanxiu’s disciple.

• Xiang Qiong trapped Zi Kun in an illusion and lunged for his abdomen, but Zi Kun recognized the deception and seized her wrist.
• Zi Kun used his strength to slam Xiang Qiong into the arena, break her arms, and kick her head, leaving her gravely injured before the adjudicator stopped him.
• The adjudicator declared Zi Kun the winner, and a Void Refinement Realm elder treated Xiang Qiong while Zi Kun returned to his branch.
• Qianji privately criticized Zi Kun for appearing vulnerable to Xiang Qiong’s temptation, while Zi Kun’s branch celebrated his victory.
• The Body Integration Realm elders discussed Zi Kun’s robust vitality, blood essence, and soul, and Xiang Yanxiu reflected on his disciple’s hidden gifts.

Zi Kun placed third in the single combat sequence rankings, impressing Xiang Longfei's branch with his power and potential. As the clan prepared for the battle array assessment, Xiang He turned his hopes toward confronting Zi Kun there, while Zi Kun began choosing trusted assistants.

• Zi Kun fought through the single combat matches and took third place, behind two veteran Spirit Transformation cultivators whose strength reached the peak of early Void Refinement.
• Li Yan realized Zi Kun had not used his Zhili Poison and judged that he had held back to avoid killing opponents during an assessment of his potential.
• Xiang He, who placed fifth, vowed to face Zi Kun in the battle array assessment after failing to draw him as an opponent.
• Xiang Fengsheng placed eleventh, missing the top ten and losing his chance to choose Zi Kun as an assistant for his own battle array assessment.
• During the two-hour recovery period, Zi Kun began selecting four assistants and chose the injured Xiang Qing as his first pick.