Recaps

Li Yan used the timed poison Moonlit Longing to make the Pine Soot Inkstone explode, badly wounding Patriarch Crimson Fire and forcing him to flee. Patriarch Crimson Fire temporarily contained the poison, then burned his blood essence with Blood Battle in a Bath of Fire to pursue Li Yan.

• Li Yan pretended to remain trapped in Patriarch Crimson Fire's illusion while he activated Moonlit Longing on the Pine Soot Inkstone.
• Moonlit Longing absorbed yin energy and triggered the inkstone's explosion, which destroyed Patriarch Crimson Fire's right arm and grievously injured his face while spreading a deadly force through his body.
• Li Yan fled across the desert as Patriarch Crimson Fire tracked him with his divine sense and forced the destructive poison into his left foot.
• Patriarch Crimson Fire decided to abandon his ruined body and capture Li Yan before it failed, intending to torture him before seizing another body.
• Patriarch Crimson Fire used Blood Battle in a Bath of Fire to burn his blood essence for a temporary surge in power, then raced after Li Yan.

Li Yan fled Patriarch Red Flame and entered the Ancient Caverns of Flying Sand, a deadly desert region, to escape being caught. Patriarch Red Flame remained outside as Li Yan moved toward one of the caverns, wary that lethal sand gales could begin at any moment.

• Patriarch Red Flame caught up with Li Yan despite his desperate flight, forcing Li Yan to search for terrain where he could make an ambush.
• Li Yan turned toward the Ancient Caverns of Flying Sand, gambling that the perilous death zone offered a better chance of escape than facing Patriarch Red Flame.
• Patriarch Red Flame tried to bargain with and distract Li Yan, but Li Yan shut off his six senses and continued toward the caverns.
• Li Yan reached the edge of the Ancient Caverns of Flying Sand and entered just before Patriarch Red Flame could catch him.
• Li Yan activated a spiritual power shield and the Ghost Chariot Talisman, then headed for an ancient cavern while the gale was temporarily still.

Li Yan fled into the Flying Sand Ancient Grotto to escape Patriarch Scarlet Fire, only to find that its entrances were protected by a deadly restriction. After his attempts to break it failed, he launched a powerful punch, but a huge sand vortex attacked him.

• Li Yan entered the Flying Sand Ancient Grotto during a lull in the gale winds and hurried deeper inside to avoid Patriarch Scarlet Fire.
• Li Yan discovered that an invisible restriction blocked the black-hole entrances and summoned a sand vortex whenever he struck it with enough force or used a spell to break the array.
• Li Yan tried more than twenty restriction-breaking spell arts, but the restriction absorbed his spiritual power and the vortex grew larger.
• With Patriarch Scarlet Fire nearing and gale winds possibly about to erupt, Li Yan unleashed his full cultivation and punched the restriction.
• A massive sand vortex lunged at Li Yan, and he blocked it with his crossed arms before using its force to somersault backward.

Li Yan escaped Patriarch Redfire by using the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to break through a black-hole cavern’s restriction. Patriarch Redfire was badly maimed when he chased Li Yan inside, then chose to preserve his ruined body at the risk of losing his Golden Core cultivation.

• Li Yan abandoned his plan to confront Patriarch Redfire and headed for the caverns’ edge while preparing a desperate attack.
• Li Yan found the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief among Tuban’s contents and realized it could break the cavern’s restrictions.
• Patriarch Redfire caught up and charged into the caverns, so Li Yan used Ice Spike Art to trigger vortices at several nearby entrances.
• Li Yan used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to enter a black-hole cavern, while Patriarch Redfire’s attempt to follow triggered a huge vortex that bit off his legs.
• Patriarch Redfire swallowed a Fire-Bathing Pill and meditated to restore his blood essence, risking the collapse of his Golden Core and a fall in cultivation.

Li Yan entered a black-hole ancient cavern and found an apparently empty chamber where quicksand mysteriously vanished into the ground. After an hour of cautious observation, he shifted to set up a formation, and the floor suddenly disappeared beneath him.

• Patriarch Redfire stayed outside the cavern, hoping Li Yan would emerge so he could seize his cultivation art and Heaven-Stealing Kerchief.
• Li Yan entered the cavern, confirmed its entrance restriction prevented spiritual power from passing through, and saw that Patriarch Redfire was no longer visible outside.
• Li Yan examined the empty chamber and noticed streams of quicksand flowed across the steps and vanished into the apparently solid floor.
• Li Yan waited at the entrance for an hour, watched gale winds rage outside, and decided to recover his spiritual power before exploring further.
• As Li Yan shifted to take out formation flags, the ground vanished beneath his feet and he plunged downward.

Li Yan fell into the bottomless darkness of the Flying Sand Ancient Cavern and fought off two golden giants with his body cultivation and Ghost Chariot Talismans. After surviving the second giant’s much stronger attack, he was left badly injured and tumbling deeper into the abyss as the giant pursued him.

• Li Yan fell into the cavern’s abyss, found he could not fly upward, and reinforced his spiritual power shield with Ghost Chariot Talismans.
• A golden giant attacked Li Yan with a golden fork, but his fist and talismans absorbed enough force for him to survive the blow and continue falling.
• Li Yan used the Thousand-Jin Drop technique to stay ahead of the pursuing giant, treated his injuries, and placed his remaining Ghost Chariot Talismans around his shield.
• The first golden giant stopped pursuing Li Yan when it was about ten zhang above him, and he continued falling through the dark void.
• A stronger golden giant appeared and struck Li Yan; his talismans and shield shattered, his arms broke, and the attack sent him tumbling sideways downward.

Li Yan struggled to survive in the Ancient Flying Sand Cavern as golden giants pursued him through successive sections of the abyss. Just as a third giant attacked from above and a devastating force surged up from below, the giant fled, leaving Li Yan facing an unknown threat.

• Li Yan woke during his fall, badly injured, and evaded the middle-stage Golden Core Realm giant by accelerating and changing direction.
• Li Yan realized each section of the abyss held a stronger golden giant, recovered with medicinal pills, and failed to fly back upward.
• Li Yan summoned the ancient ape puppet and prepared three magic treasures to help him withstand the approaching late-stage Golden Core Realm giant.
• Li Yan sensed a force rising from below as the third golden giant appeared above, trapping him between attacks.
• Li Yan threw the magic treasures downward, but explosions and furious roars erupted from the abyss, and the golden giant fled upward in fear.
• Li Yan felt the world-destroying force racing toward him and realized it could pulverize him within moments.

As Li Yan fell toward the golden tidal fury, a purple strange bird rescued him from the flames and entered his ancient ape puppet. The puppet transformed into a giant ape, saved Li Yan, and repelled two golden giants’ forks, while a woman’s voice revealed that it was a Thousand-Net Ancient Ape.

• Li Yan accepted that he was about to die as the golden tidal fury rose beneath him.
• A purple strange bird burst from the golden clouds, shielded Li Yan, and deflected a golden giant’s fork while three golden giants pursued it.
• The purple strange bird shrank and entered the ancient ape puppet, leaving Li Yan and his magic treasures to fall toward the pursuing forks.
• The ancient ape puppet suddenly expanded, caught Li Yan and his treasures, and knocked aside the two remaining golden forks.
• A clear voice from the giant ape called it a Thousand-Net Ancient Ape and criticized Li Yan for not knowing how to use it.

A mysterious Demon Cultivator controlled the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape puppet to carry Li Yan out of the abyss while three Golden Giants pursued them. With the puppet nearly out of spirit stones and the astral winds raging beyond the entrance, she dragged Li Yan through the restriction despite her severe injuries, leaving their escape uncertain.

• The ancient ape's voice revealed that it had spent Li Yan's spirit stones and urged him to retrieve his magical treasures so they could flee the Golden Giants below.
• The three Golden Giants combined into two crimson-gold wind-fire wheels and pursued the rising puppet, which deflected the attacks with a knee and a punch as its remaining spirit stones rapidly dwindled.
• A blast threw Li Yan from the puppet, but the ancient ape caught him and carried him toward the cave entrance while warning that the astral winds and pursuing sand left them almost no time.
• Li Yan tried to retrieve spirit stones as they neared the entrance, but the injured Demon Cultivator forcibly broke through the restriction and dragged him out into the raging astral winds.

Li Yan escaped the Ancient Flying Sand Caverns with the mysterious Demon Cultivator inside the Thousand Net Ancient Ape, who questioned his connection to the Woodflow Sect. After killing Patriarch Crimson Fire and taking his spirit stones, she carried Li Yan away and demanded that he explain himself or face a Soul Search.

• The gale winds ceased, and the Demon Cultivator pulled Li Yan from the cavern before the winds could return.
• The Demon Cultivator questioned Li Yan about his escape, the Hu Chen Lineage, and where he had obtained the Thousand Net Ancient Ape; Li Yan said a senior sister from the Woodflow Sect had given it to him.
• The Demon Cultivator carried Li Yan out of the caverns and killed Patriarch Crimson Fire with a single attack, taking his Storage Pouch and spirit stones.
• The Demon Cultivator flew with Li Yan until midnight, then threw him down and demanded an explanation, threatening to perform a Soul Search if he tried any tricks.

Li Yan explained his connection to the ancient ape puppet and the decline of the Woodflow Sect to the mysterious Demon Cultivator, who threatened to search his soul unless he revealed how he obtained it. After Li Yan disclosed the puppet’s unknown secret, she accepted his explanation, then abruptly seized him and sent spiritual power surging into his body.

• Li Yan told the mysterious Demon Cultivator that Bai Rou had given him the ancient ape puppet and clarified that they both belonged to the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan explained that the Woodflow Sect had fallen from a powerful first-rate sect to a third-rate sect, shocking the mysterious Demon Cultivator.
• Li Yan showed his Phantom Sect token, and the mysterious Demon Cultivator recognized its golden bamboo branch as a sign of Small Bamboo Peak.
• When threatened with a Soul Search, Li Yan revealed that Bai Rou had given him the puppet because it might conceal a Woodflow Sect secret and had reacted to his Divine Sense.
• The mysterious Demon Cultivator accepted Li Yan’s account, then suddenly seized his shoulder and forced spiritual power into his body.

Li Yan learned that the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape responded to five-element spiritual power before its controller revealed herself as Shuang Qingqing, a remnant soul and former Grand Elder of the Woodflow Sect. Shuang Qingqing recounted how an ambush by three demon generals destroyed her body and forced her to flee into the Ancient Flying Sand Cavern, where the late-stage demon general pursued her.

• The Thousand Luo Ancient Ape explained that Li Yan’s five-element spiritual power, rather than his Divine Sense, had activated it.
• Shuang Qingqing emerged from the puppet, introduced herself as a remnant soul, and told Li Yan she had once been a Grand Elder of the Woodflow Sect.
• Shuang Qingqing recounted how she had forged the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape and the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix, which greatly increased her combat strength.
• Three demon generals ambushed Shuang Qingqing, destroying her body after she killed one and severely wounded another.
• Shuang Qingqing fled with her Nascent Soul and the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix, but the late-stage demon general pursued them into the Ancient Flying Sand Cavern.

Shuang Qingqing recounted how she survived as a remnant soul inside the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix and entered the Thousand Nets Ancient Ape through Li Yan. She explained the spirit stones needed to make the puppet fight Nascent Soul cultivators and began sharing its history, leaving its secrets only partly revealed.

• Shuang Qingqing detonated her Nascent Soul to destroy the pursuing demonic general after transferring her soul into the Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix, where she survived as a wisp of remnant soul.
• After centuries of hiding and recovery in the black-hole cavern, Shuang Qingqing sensed Li Yan and instinctively entered the Thousand Nets Ancient Ape, regaining fragments of her memories.
• Shuang Qingqing asked Li Yan about the Phantom Sect's Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators, and Li Yan named Ancestor Da Cen and Ancestor Mo Qing.
• Li Yan asked how the Thousand Nets Ancient Ape could withstand Nascent Soul Realm Golden Giants, and Shuang Qingqing said a Nascent Soul-level soul was normally needed to control it.
• Shuang Qingqing explained that seven high-grade spirit stones could let Li Yan use the puppet to contend with an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator for about an incense stick's time.
• Shuang Qingqing began describing the Thousand Nets Ancient Ape, explaining that she had refined it as a high-grade auxiliary offensive treasure and left it in the Wood Flow Sect before going to fight elsewhere.

Shuang Qingqing explained how the Thousandfold Ancient Ape and Purple-Winged Ice Phoenix used the Muliu Sect’s secret art, Stars Turn and Shift, and recounted how the Ancient Ape was lost to the sect. She left Li Yan with the explanation that the puppet was an extra magical treasure she had obtained, while withholding further details about higher cultivation realms.

• Shuang Qingqing explained that the Thousandfold Ancient Ape’s internal formation let it reflect an opponent’s attack through Stars Turn and Shift, and described the rare materials needed to make such puppets.
• Shuang Qingqing recounted how she entrusted the Thousandfold Ancient Ape’s control method to a Muliu Sect elder, but the elder vanished amid attacks on the sect and the puppet’s secrets were lost.
• Li Yan asked why earlier Muliu Sect nascent soul cultivators had not left behind similar puppets for the sect to use.
• Shuang Qingqing explained that suitable materials were exceptionally rare, that one elder had kept his puppet as a bonded treasure, and that another had sought materials before attempting ascension.
• Shuang Qingqing ended the discussion by telling Li Yan to regard the Thousandfold Ancient Ape as an extra magical treasure she had happened to obtain.

Li Yan questioned Shuang Qingqing about the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape’s strange reaction, and she explained how his five-element spiritual power had resonated with the Thousand Luo Stone at a particular hour. Before leaving, she explained what ancient treasures were, then made clear that she was taking the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape with her.

• Li Yan asked Shuang Qingqing why the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape had reacted to him only during his first encounter with Bai Rou.
• Li Yan explained his unusual Foundation Establishment as the result of a mishap and a lucky transformation, concealing the true sequence of events.
• Shuang Qingqing explained that Li Yan’s earth and metal spiritual power had resonated with the Thousand Luo Stone’s active metal element during the hours of Shen or You.
• Li Yan asked what ancient treasures were, and Shuang Qingqing explained that they were treasures made from ancient or primordial materials or extraordinary objects shaped by heaven and earth.
• Shuang Qingqing said the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape was only a pseudo-ancient treasure and that she was taking it with her, leaving Li Yan to abandon his hope of using it.

Li Yan surrendered the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape to Shuang Qingqing, who gave him the Cloud-Piercing Willow as compensation before departing. He reached a remote mountain range with his new flying treasure and established a concealed, heavily fortified cave to stay in.

• Shuang Qingqing explained that she needed the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape and offered Li Yan the Cloud-Piercing Willow in exchange.
• Li Yan accepted the flying treasure after Shuang Qingqing warned him that stronger flying treasures could still catch it.
• Shuang Qingqing departed with the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape, warned Li Yan to keep her identity secret, and told him what to say if Bai Rou asked about it.
• Li Yan flew more than ten thousand li to a remote mountain range using the Cloud-Piercing Willow.
• Li Yan carved out a cave and concealed it behind several layers of protective formations.
• Li Yan examined the Cloud-Piercing Willow, considered its speed and origins, and brought out a folding fan and a white jade handkerchief.

Li Yan studied the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief, then began undoing the seals on the deadly poisons in his body so he could refine them and attempt to reach the foundation establishment middle stage. Meanwhile, the chapter introduced Daning City under the Pure Land Sect’s jurisdiction and ended with a man and woman together in a secret chamber there.

• Li Yan suspected that the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief’s red threads were ancient material and that he still lacked the control art needed to wield the treasure fully.
• Li Yan examined the five spiritual-power cauldrons in his dantian and began releasing and refining the poisons sealed within his body.
• Li Yan prepared to spend at least a month in secluded cultivation, using the poisons to try to advance to the foundation establishment middle stage.
• The chapter described Daning City’s place within the Pure Land Sect’s territory and explained how Buddhist thought power and Daoist vow power were obtained through worship.
• A naked man and a beautiful woman were together in a secret chamber in Daning City.

The Red Cicada Sect’s Golden Core elder killed the Pure Land Sect monk Yiguang using the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art, then left with his Storage Pouch. After nearly three months in seclusion, Li Yan broke through to the Foundation Establishment middle stage and began planning to refine his magical weapons.

• The Red Cicada Sect elder revealed that she had lured Yiguang into breaking his Buddhist discipline and drained him with the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art.
• The Red Cicada Sect elder took Yiguang’s Storage Pouch, and half a day later a monk discovered that Yiguang’s soul lamp had gone out.
• Li Yan’s breakthrough shook the desolate mountain as black vapor gathered around him and his spiritual power surged through his expanded dantian.
• Li Yan recalled surviving several dangerous bouts of chaotic spiritual power and resolved to avoid using outside power for breakthroughs again.
• Li Yan found that he had reached the Foundation Establishment middle stage, gained Divine Sense extending more than eleven hundred li, and planned to refine his folding fan and Cloud-Piercing Willow magical treasure.

Li Yan refined Blood-Hand Flying Sickle’s folding fan into the Li Fire Mystical Yellow Fan and discovered its powerful but limited flame attack. After reaching Jade Pass City on the Pure Land Sect’s border, he stopped a group of cultivators to ask why so many mortals lived there, and the burly cultivator guessed that Li Yan was new to the sect’s territory.

• Li Yan refined Blood-Hand Flying Sickle’s fan, turning it pale yellow and gaining control of an early second-level Flying Sickle Blood Mantis.
• Li Yan discovered that the Li Fire Mystical Yellow Fan could release powerful flames, but its blood river regenerated enough fire for only two full-strength attacks a day.
• Li Yan traveled north by teleportation formations and then flew toward the Pure Land Sect’s territory to save spirit stones.
• Li Yan arrived near Jade Pass City and was surprised to sense many mortals and cultivators living there.
• Li Yan blocked a burly early Foundation Establishment cultivator and his two companions, then asked why mortals lived in the city.
• The burly cultivator asked whether Li Yan was new to the Pure Land Sect’s territory, startling him.

Li Yan questioned Ouyang Jinfei about how the Pure Land Sect’s cities accommodated mortals and cultivators, while concealing his identity and pretending to be an alchemist from the Huchen Lineage. Ouyang Jinfei explained the city’s layout as they approached, and Li Yan learned that cultivators entered their district through the central temple.

• Li Yan noticed an approaching cultivator before Ouyang Jinfei did, prompting Ouyang Jinfei to treat him with greater caution and invite him to talk while flying.
• Ouyang Jinfei explained that Pure Land Sect cities housed mortals and cultivators in separate areas, while Li Yan asked questions and concealed his surprise.
• When Ouyang Jinfei tried to leave, Li Yan claimed to be an alchemical cultivator on assignment and said he belonged to the Huchen Lineage.
• Ouyang Jinfei introduced himself as an elder of Thousand Peaks Mountain and became eager to please Li Yan after hearing his claimed lineage.
• Li Yan called himself Huchen Jianghai and asked how the city districts were divided, so Ouyang Jinfei explained that mortals lived in a small outer area while cultivators used the district around the central temple.

Li Yan posed as Huchen Jianghai and offered Ouyang Jinfei a chance to buy one of his personal poison pills. After demonstrating the pill’s power, he convinced Ouyang that he was a Huchen Lineage cultivator, and Ouyang eagerly asked its price.

• Li Yan learned that Ouyang Jinfei planned to take him to the Pure Land Sect’s temple and stationed Buddha, but said he would bring his personal pills to the market.
• Ouyang Jinfei asked to buy pills, and Li Yan agreed to sell him a bottle containing two poison pills in return for his earlier help.
• Li Yan took Ouyang Jinfei and his disciples into a forest and demonstrated the pill on a tree, making part of its trunk harden like refined iron.
• Ouyang Jinfei recognized the pill’s value as a weapon and became convinced Li Yan belonged to the Huchen Lineage.
• Ouyang Jinfei asked Li Yan how many spirit stones he wanted for the pill.

Li Yan entered Jade Pass City, a hidden city under the Pure Land Sect, and learned about its marketplace and an upcoming auction. Ouyang Jinfei left him with directions and auction details that caught Li Yan’s interest.

• Three stranded figures discussed how they might use two Realm-Breaking Pearls to escape their sealed realm, while hundreds of their followers waited behind them.
• Li Yan entered Jade Pass City with Ouyang Jinfei and his two disciples, paid the entry fee, and learned that violence was forbidden under the Pure Land Sect’s protection.
• Ouyang Jinfei offered to accompany Li Yan to the Buddha’s residence, but Li Yan declined so he could explore the city on his own.
• Ouyang Jinfei told Li Yan that an auction would take place in two days and described items including Golden Flood Dragon Python eyes, Waterlinked Pearl Swords, Crystal Bone Water, and Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Teeth.
• Li Yan concealed his reaction when Ouyang Jinfei named the auction items, then received directions to the auction house and marketplace.

Li Yan learned that Crystal Bone Water would appear at an auction and considered whether his spirit stones would be enough to buy it. Meanwhile, Wang Lang mistook Li Yan for the attacker who had ruined his cultivation and investigated a series of disappearances with the Pure Land Sect, ending by revealing that both sides were searching for a mysterious stone bead.

• Ouyang Jinfei told Li Yan that Crystal Bone Water would be sold at an auction, and Li Yan weighed his limited funds against the chance to acquire it.
• Wang Lang saw Li Yan pass by and thought his back resembled the old acquaintance who had ambushed him, but he dismissed the resemblance.
• Wang Lang met Chan Monk Yize in Yuguan City and discussed the missing and murdered cultivators that both the Ten-Step Academy and the Pure Land Sect were investigating.
• Yize told Wang Lang that someone who had contacted Buddha Yiguang might have come to Yuguan City, while withholding details about Yiguang's death.
• Wang Lang revealed that his investigation concerned a missing stone bead and suggested it might be linked to Yiguang's Immortal-Subduing Bead.

Wang Lang uncovered clues linking pearl-like treasures and the deaths of sect cultivators, while Liao Song and Yi Fa investigated Yi Guang’s murder and the woman suspected of using the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art. Li Yan learned that Crystal Bone Water would be sold at the Chanting Robes Gathering, gathered supplies and spirit stones in the city, and settled into an inn for the night.

• Wang Lang told Zeng Ze that several cases involved missing or murdered sect figures and pearl-like objects, and Zeng Ze confirmed Yi Guang’s Immortal-Descending Pearl had disappeared with his Storage Pouch while his prayer beads remained.
• Liao Song told Yi Fa that the Pure Land Sect knew someone was searching for round pearl-like objects and that Mo Qing had retrieved a stone carving’s eye, while Yi Fa questioned the investigation into Yi Guang’s death.
• Liao Song warned Yi Fa that Yi Guang had fallen victim to the Seven Profound Yin Enchantress Art and ordered temple disciples to investigate suspicious people and guard against the woman.
• Li Yan visited the Chanting Robes Gathering, learned it would auction Crystal Bone Water in two days, and paid fifty low-grade spirit stones for an entry token.
• Li Yan bought two materials for his Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, sold several treasures for more than thirty thousand spirit stones, and rented a room at an inn.

Li Yan attended the Singing Robe Gathering auction and discovered that its entrance array concealed participants’ appearances and confined their Divine Senses. The auction began under the supervision of Golden Core cultivator Wang Wuzhong, who introduced Heavenly Gate Sand as the first item.

• After failing to find what he wanted in the city, Li Yan meditated and noticed his token signaling the auction was about to begin.
• Li Yan entered the Singing Robe Gathering and found that its array gave everyone identical black robes and faces, prevented Divine Sense from leaving the body, and assigned each person a distinctive floral marker.
• Li Yan found his seat in the rear row and wondered whether Ouyang Jinfei was among the indistinguishable attendees.
• Wang Wuzhong, the Gathering’s third steward and an early Golden Core cultivator, appeared to preside over the auction.
• Wang Wuzhong introduced the first lot, twenty-four zhu of Heavenly Gate Sand, a high-grade earth-element refining material.