Recaps

After completing the meridian-cleansing step, Li Yan discovered that his senses and spiritual energy had greatly improved, but the fire poison in his Dantian made the Black Night Curtain Green Technique dangerous to use. He entered his sea of consciousness, found the Gui Water True Scripture concealed on the lake’s surface, and began reading it.

• Strategist Ji told Li Yan that he had completed the meridian-cleansing step and entered the first layer of the Wood Yin Technique, then sent him back to rest.
• Li Yan suspected Strategist Ji’s concern and teaching had been part of a careful deception, and he discovered that cultivation had expelled foul, black impurities from his body.
• Li Yan cautiously tried the Black Night Curtain Green Technique, felt the fire poison stir in his Dantian, and stopped before it could erupt.
• Li Yan entered his sea of consciousness, learned to move through it by thought, and searched its gray, hemispherical space for the immortal art.
• Li Yan focused spiritual power on the black lake’s surface, revealed the golden writing of the Gui Water True Scripture, and began reading it.

Li Yan learned the principles and first-level formula of the Gui Water True Scripture, then realized how its unusually abundant and adaptable spiritual power could let him turn Strategist Ji’s absorption technique against him. While Li Yan began planning to escape the Valley of Beasts, Strategist Ji discovered a map inside the altered jade book that pointed to an art called the Great Poison Life-Giving Art.

• Li Yan read how the Gui Water True Scripture used Five-Element generation to build immense spiritual power and understood why Dong Fuyi had told him to reach the peak of the first Qi Condensation level.
• Li Yan memorized the first-level cultivation formula and mastered entering and leaving his sea of consciousness.
• Li Yan concluded that cultivating the scripture could make Strategist Ji suffer a fatal backlash if Ji absorbed his spiritual power, and planned to find a way out of the Valley of Beasts.
• Strategist Ji noticed that the jade book’s lower portion had turned gray-brown, then found a map inside it after cautiously entering with his Divine Sense.
• Strategist Ji identified the map’s destination as a possible lake in Great Green Mountain and rejoiced at finding the Great Poison Life-Giving Art, though he could not confirm the location.

Li Yan missed the escape opportunity Dong Fuyi had secretly prepared, unaware that Strategist Ji had left to investigate the false treasure map. While Strategist Ji remained away, Li Yan cultivated and copied books to manage his temper, then realized his teacher had been gone for more than ten days and became anxious.

• Dong Fuyi had crafted a misleading treasure map to delay Strategist Ji and give Li Yan time to escape, but he vanished before he could tell Li Yan about it.
• Strategist Ji reassured Li Yan that the heat in his dantian was normal, gave him the first-level Wood Yin Technique mantra, and then left the residence.
• Li Yan cultivated in the valley, grew irritable with the servants, and began copying books until his temper gradually improved.
• After repeatedly failing to find Strategist Ji, Li Yan asked Chen An where he was and learned that he had been away for more than ten days.
• Li Yan claimed he needed Strategist Ji's help with cultivation, but Chen An could not say when he would return.

Li Yan tried to flee the valley while Strategist Ji was away, but Strategist Ji returned injured before he could escape. After answering Li Yan’s cultivation questions, Strategist Ji planned to recuperate, leaving Li Yan’s chance to flee uncertain.

• Li Yan packed his silver and prepared to leave the valley, but realized Chen An and Li Yin might stop him without orders.
• Strategist Ji returned from Great Green Mountain after an injured demon beast chased him to the mountain’s boundary, leaving him wounded and low on spiritual energy.
• Chen An told Strategist Ji that Li Yan had been copying poems and prose, and Strategist Ji dismissed the papers as a way for Li Yan to ease his agitation.
• Strategist Ji arrived at Li Yan’s room, where Li Yan abandoned his escape attempt and asked questions about cultivation.
• Strategist Ji answered Li Yan’s questions and urged him to cultivate diligently, saying he hoped Li Yan would gain the strength to protect himself if Strategist Ji died.

Li Yan persuaded Strategist Ji to let him enter Green Mountain Pass, hoping to deliver silver to his parents and find a chance to escape. Accompanied by Chen An and Li Yin, he reached the city gate, where his military rank surprised Liu Chengyong.

• Li Yan asked Strategist Ji for permission to enter the city, and Strategist Ji agreed but ordered Chen An and Li Yin to accompany him.
• Li Yan took the silver he had saved and left the valley with Chen An and Li Yin, abandoning his escape plans when he could not outmaneuver his escorts.
• Li Yan rode toward Green Mountain Pass with the two men and struggled to control his horse as they approached the city gate.
• The gate guards stopped the riders, and Chen An showed Liu Chengyong Li Yan's Deputy Defender Lieutenant badge.
• Liu Chengyong recognized Li Yan and apologized after learning that Li Yan outranked him.

Li Yan entered the city to reunite with Li Yu and Li Shan, while Marshal Hong and his junior brother discussed how to exploit Li Yan’s cultivation. Back at the Strategist’s residence, Li Yan realized Chen An and Li Yin were watching him and Strategist Ji was inspecting his belongings, leaving him wondering how to escape the valley.

• Marshal Hong and his junior brother decided to watch Li Yan closely before approaching him, hoping to learn whether he could be exploited for his cultivation method.
• Li Yan entered the city with Chen An and Li Yin, exchanged greetings with Liu Chengyong, and asked him to watch their horses.
• Li Yan reunited tearfully with Li Yu at Natural Wine House, then visited Li Shan at the Ironworks Pavilion and left silver for his parents.
• Li Yan bought new clothes and returned to the Strategist’s residence, where Strategist Ji’s Divine Sense inspected him and the clothes.
• Li Yan concluded that Chen An and Li Yin were spies keeping him under close watch and that Strategist Ji was monitoring his possessions, so he wondered how he could escape the valley.

Li Yan decided that escaping might endanger his family and began considering how to make a clean break with Strategist Ji. While a sect searched for the person who had taken items from a traitor, Li Yan cultivated and used trips into the city to build contact with Liu Chengyong and signal Marshal Hong; the chapter ended as Marshal Hong questioned Liu Chengyong about his connection to Li Yan.

• Li Yan concluded that fleeing could bring calamity upon his family and resolved to find another way out.
• A hawk-faced elder reported that an Immortal-Seeking Lineage member had gathered herbs listed in the sect's body-tempering manual, and the blue-robed scholar ordered the search to continue.
• Li Yan alternated between cultivation, soaking in a cold pool, and writing in frustration, while Strategist Ji's Divine Sense grew less attentive after finding only ordinary items among his purchases.
• Li Yan entered the city with Chen An and Li Yin, met Zeng Wen at the north gate, and rode to the barracks to find Liu Chengyong.
• Li Yan reflected that Liu Chengyong served Marshal Hong and could help him make contact with the Marshal, whose interest in Strategist Ji's martial arts manuals might aid his plan.
• Marshal Hong questioned Liu Chengyong about drinking with Li Yan, and Liu Chengyong claimed responsibility for the drinking and explained that they were fairly familiar.

Marshal Hong questioned Liu Chengyong about Li Yan and arranged for him to summon Li Yan under the pretext of incomplete enlistment records, while privately discussing the urgency of acting against Strategist Ji Wenhe. When Li Yan came to visit Liu Chengyong, the two found a chance to speak alone in the barracks, where Li Yan became interested in Liu Chengyong’s treasured sword.

• Marshal Hong questioned Liu Chengyong about his dealings with Li Yan and ordered him to arrange a meeting, claiming Li Yan’s registration records were incomplete.
• Marshal Hong privately discussed with his senior brother whether to act against Ji Wenhe sooner than planned, fearing Ji Wenhe’s strength was still increasing.
• Liu Chengyong waited anxiously for Li Yan to enter the city, then welcomed him when he arrived with Chen An and Li Yin.
• Li Yan asked to tour the barracks and entered Liu Chengyong’s quarters while Chen An and Li Yin stayed nearby.
• Li Yan asked Liu Chengyong to call him Brother Li, then examined a fine sword Liu Chengyong offered him.

Li Yan met Marshal Hong, who tested his suspicions about Ji Wenhe and revealed how a poison-drawing method could kill its vessel. Li Yan left convinced Hong was trying to turn him against his teacher, and the Marshal and his hidden companion planned to wait for Li Yan to seek their help.

• Li Yan accepted Liu Chengyong’s invitation to visit Marshal Hong’s residence after hearing that the Marshal wanted his enlistment records completed.
• Hong Linying privately received Li Yan and remarked on his unstable inner breath, prompting Li Yan to ask how severe poison could be cured.
• Hong Linying described a demonic method that transferred poison into a vessel who would almost certainly die, and Li Yan asked what became of that person.
• Hong Linying told Li Yan that Ji Wenhe might have a solution, then claimed the visit was unnecessary because the military had obtained Li Yan’s records.
• After Li Yan left, Hong Linying and his companion concluded that Ji Wenhe intended Li Yan to draw out the poison and that Li Yan had begun suspecting his teacher.

Li Yan secretly cultivated the Gui Water True Scripture while pretending to follow Strategist Ji’s instructions, and he planned to escape and kill Ji within two months. Far away, a sect learned that Strategist Ji might be the person they were searching for and prepared to arrest him.

• Li Yan met Chen An, Li Yin, Liu Chengyong, and Li Shan, then joined them for a drinking gathering after settling his business at the Marshal’s Residence.
• Over the following months, Li Yan cultivated in the cold pool, concealed his true progress, and showed increasingly strange behavior as Strategist Ji watched him.
• Li Yan realized Strategist Ji’s fire poison was worsening and resolved to stake everything on an escape attempt in two months, while also planning to kill him to protect his family.
• At a distant sect, Elder He reported that a strategist at Green Mountain Pass might be the person of the Immortal-Seeking Lineage, and the Peak Master ordered an investigation before an arrest.

Li Yan arranged a plan with Hong Linying to escape and deliver his cultivation technique, while secretly intending to kill Strategist Ji before Ji could kill him. As Ji prepared to act against Li Yan after another year of cultivation, Li Yan met his friends in the city and left his belt and silver for his parents, hinting that he might not return.

• Hong Linying and his junior brother discussed how to obtain Li Yan's cultivation technique, then summoned Liu Chengyong when he arrived.
• Li Yan returned to the valley with Chen An and Li Yin carrying a pile of purchases, then rested while thinking through his plan to kill Strategist Ji during his escape.
• Strategist Ji observed Li Yan's cultivation improving and decided he would need to attack within another year before his spiritual power weakened further.
• Li Yan entered the city and met Li Yu and Li Shan for a meal while Chen An and Li Yin sat nearby.
• Li Yan changed into the purple belt Li Shan had bought and gave his old belt and his silver to Li Shan to pass on to his parents, leaving Li Yu and Li Shan uneasy.

Li Yan prepared for an anticipated deadly confrontation while three Qi Condensation disciples traveled to Green Mountain Pass to capture him and his mortal disciple for the Enforcement Hall. After finding Ji Wenhe absent, Li Yan discovered a hurried note directing him to the army camp and set out with Chen An and Li Yin.

• Li Yan told Li Shan and Li Yu that he was taking home the belt his master had bestowed on him, then privately resolved to fight with everything he had if this was the day he died.
• Three disciples, led by Senior Brother Wu, learned that they were to capture the Immortal-Seeking Lineage member in Green Mountain Pass and his disciple, then take them back to the Enforcement Hall.
• Liu Chengyong waited in the military camp under the Marshal's secret orders while Hong Linying drew Ji Wenhe into a private discussion about new intelligence from the Meng Kingdom.
• Li Yan left the city with Chen An and Li Yin, found Ji Wenhe's stone house empty, and wrote and destroyed several drafts before hiding the ashes and leaving a final letter behind.
• Li Yan found Ji Wenhe's note telling him to come swiftly to the army camp, then dismissed Chen An's questions and prepared to go.

Li Yan evaded Strategist Ji’s spies by entering the military camp and persuading Liu Chengyong to help him leave through the supply warehouses. He refused to go to Marshal Hong’s residence, entrusted Liu Chengyong with a bottle and letter, and rode toward the North Gate.

• Chen An and Li Yin confirmed Lord Ji’s note was genuine and accompanied Li Yan into the city.
• Li Yan met Liu Chengyong at the camp, and Liu Chengyong escorted him through the guarded supply warehouses using half a tiger tally.
• Liu Chengyong told Li Yan that Marshal Hong had ordered him to bring Li Yan to the Marshal’s residence, where someone would meet them.
• Li Yan refused to go and handed Liu Chengyong a porcelain bottle and letter for Marshal Hong.
• Li Yan used spiritual power to intimidate Liu Chengyong, who accepted that he could not carry out the order by force.
• Liu Chengyong let Li Yan leave the alley, and Li Yan rode toward the North Gate while Liu Chengyong headed for the Marshal’s residence.

Li Yan escaped the city before Chen An and Li Yin realized he was missing, while Marshal Hong learned that Li Yan had offered him the first level of the Wood Yin Technique in exchange for help. Chen An and Li Yin searched the Strategist's Manor and found Li Yan gone, then faced an unexpected question about his whereabouts.

• Li Yan left through the North City Gate and escaped west into Great Green Mountain before Chen An and Li Yin could intercept him.
• Marshal Hong accepted Strategist Ji's fourth military plan, then met Liu Chengyong and learned that Li Yan had escaped and possessed formidable martial arts.
• Marshal Hong and his Junior Brother examined Li Yan's letters and decided to test the first level of the Wood Yin Technique, while considering helping Li Yan and killing him afterward.
• Chen An and Li Yin discovered that Li Yan had left the military camp alone, checked the city gates, and hurried to the Strategist's Manor.
• Chen An and Li Yin found Li Yan's room empty, and an unseen speaker asked them where Li Yan was.

Strategist Ji Wenhe realized Li Yan had disappeared and searched the Marshal's Residence, suspecting Hong Linying had helped the boy escape. He failed to find Li Yan and left, while Hong Linying and his senior brother prepared to follow their agreement and discussed a plan for dealing with Ji Wenhe.

• Strategist Ji Wenhe questioned Chen An and Li Yin, learned Li Yan had vanished after visiting the barracks, and rushed to Green Mountain Pass.
• Ji Wenhe entered the Marshal's Residence and searched its hidden chambers for Li Yan.
• Ji Wenhe found Hong Linying and another martial artist meditating in a hidden chamber, but did not detect Li Yan there.
• After Ji Wenhe left, Hong Linying revealed that a porcelain bottle Li Yan had given him had alerted them to Ji Wenhe's approach.
• Hong Linying and his senior brother agreed to proceed with their plan and discussed how to deal with Ji Wenhe.

Strategist Ji searched the garrison camp and questioned Chen An and Li Yin after failing to find Li Yan. In Li Yan’s room, he discovered how Li Yan had forged his handwriting and ruled out Chen An and Li Yin as accomplices, then turned to investigate the remaining clues.

• Strategist Ji searched the garrison camp through the night but found no sign of Li Yan, and the fire poison spreading through his body left him increasingly frenzied.
• Strategist Ji returned to the Strategist's residence and demanded that Chen An and Li Yin recount everything they had done with Li Yan; they told him all they remembered.
• Strategist Ji considered possible hiding places and helpers, including Liu Chengyong, Li Yan’s fellow villagers, the tavern, the ironworks, the military camp, and private homes in the city.
• Strategist Ji examined the ink, brush, and discarded papers in Li Yan’s room, then compared Li Yan’s writing with annotations in books he had previously marked.
• Strategist Ji realized Li Yan had studied and imitated his handwriting to forge the note, and concluded Chen An and Li Yin had not helped Li Yan escape.

Strategist Ji abducted and interrogated two soldiers to confirm that Li Yan had left Green Mountain Pass through the north gate, then began investigating the flowers Li Yan had planted. He found a piece of black silk hidden beneath an unusually sparse flower, while Hong Linying ordered the city sealed and searched.

• Strategist Ji took Feng Chuang and another soldier from the military camp and tortured them until he confirmed Li Yan had not left through the camp gate.
• Strategist Ji deduced that Li Yan had escaped through the north gate and decided the flower planting might reveal his route, while ruling out an immediate search of Li Family Village.
• Liu Chengyong suspected Strategist Ji was behind the soldiers’ disappearance, and Hong Linying ordered the south gate sealed, the north gate inspected, and the city searched for supposed enemy spies.
• Hong Linying recognized that Strategist Ji had made his move and decided to comply with Li Yan’s wishes.
• Strategist Ji released Chen An and Li Yin, searched the flowers and grasses in the valley, and found a folded piece of black silk beneath an unusually tall, malnourished flower.

Strategist Ji found a hidden map on Li Yan’s robe and followed its marked route through Great Green Mountain, where he eventually spotted Li Yan near a cliff. As Li Yan spilled water beside his rock, Strategist Ji noticed the rock changing color and realized something was amiss.

• Strategist Ji uncovered a map hidden in Li Yan’s black robe and used its scratched route to infer where Li Yan might be hiding.
• Strategist Ji sent Chen An and Li Yin to investigate Li Family Village, then checked the Natural Wine House and Ironware Pavilion before entering the mountains.
• Strategist Ji followed the map through the thorny woods, repeatedly correcting his course around Li Yan’s camouflage and misleading trails.
• Strategist Ji found Li Yan eating on a rocky ledge near a cliff and stayed concealed while he considered how to capture him.
• Li Yan startled at a sound, knocked over his waterskin, and spilled water beside the rock; Strategist Ji noticed the rock change color and felt alarmed.

Strategist Ji found Li Yan’s hidden crossbow and waited for him to fall asleep before attacking. Li Yan sprang his trap and escaped down the mountain, but Strategist Ji caught up and wounded his thigh with a wind blade.

• Strategist Ji spotted the crossbow concealed beside Li Yan and realized that Hong Linying had supplied it.
• Strategist Ji waited until Li Yan appeared to be asleep, then crept toward him to launch an attack.
• Li Yan reached for the crossbow as Strategist Ji lunged, but Strategist Ji seized the bowstring first and Li Yan rolled away.
• A trap yanked Strategist Ji over the cliff, but he slowed his fall with an immortal art and climbed back to the top.
• Li Yan fled downhill through thorny shrubs, and Strategist Ji pursued him and slashed his thigh with a blue wind blade.

Li Yan’s successive traps wounded Strategist Ji, but Strategist Ji survived, immobilized him, and recovered with a spirit stone. Strategist Ji revealed that he still planned to use Li Yan to counter his fire poison, while Li Yan realized his master had not noticed another problem.

• Li Yan triggered a spiked wooden rack, injuring Strategist Ji’s left arm, but Strategist Ji survived the trap.
• Strategist Ji immobilized Li Yan, searched the earlier ambush site, and used a spirit stone to recover from his injuries and suppress his fire poison.
• Strategist Ji returned to Li Yan, forced wooden spikes from his arm, and confronted him about his schemes and how he had learned of the plan.
• Li Yan accused Strategist Ji of trading his life for his own, and Strategist Ji admitted he had planned to use Li Yan to counter his deadly poison.
• Strategist Ji deduced that Li Yan had repeatedly kicked over the waterskins, while Li Yan realized Strategist Ji had missed another problem.

Li Yan prepared a lethal boulder trap, but Strategist Ji caught him and began absorbing his spiritual power. Hong Linying and his junior martial brother interrupted the process and attacked Strategist Ji for the jade book, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Li Yan explained how he had rigged a boulder and rope loop to drag anyone reaching beneath it over the cliff.
• Strategist Ji released Li Yan’s restraints and began absorbing the spiritual power from his dantian.
• Li Yan prepared to transform his water-attributed spiritual power into fire-attributed power to trigger Strategist Ji’s suppressed fire poison.
• Hong Linying and his burly junior martial brother arrived, having secretly followed Strategist Ji, and interrupted the absorption.
• Li Yan pointed out the jade book at Strategist Ji’s waist, and Hong Linying and his junior attacked while Strategist Ji questioned how they had tracked him.

Strategist Ji killed Hong Linying with hidden techniques, but Li Yan’s abundant fire-attributed spiritual power destabilized his cultivation and ruined his breakthrough. Li Yan wounded Strategist Ji with concealed blades, but Strategist Ji dodged the strike to his heart and broke Li Yan’s leg.

• Strategist Ji’s Wood Spike Art killed Hong Linying’s burly junior brother, and Hong Linying realized Li Yan had secretly marked Strategist Ji with Kindred Sound Bug pellets.
• Hong Linying attacked Strategist Ji while he was healing, but Strategist Ji endured a heavy blow and killed him with Fireball Art.
• The Spirit-Absorbing Great Art drew Li Yan’s abundant fire-attributed spiritual power into Strategist Ji, causing his fire poison to erupt and disrupting his breakthrough.
• Strategist Ji pulled Li Yan toward him, and Li Yan stabbed him in the abdomen with a concealed flexible blade, but Strategist Ji trapped the blade with spiritual power.
• Li Yan’s shoe blade missed Strategist Ji’s heart when Strategist Ji twisted aside, and Strategist Ji broke Li Yan’s leg with a counterattack.

Li Yan killed Strategist Ji after revealing how he had prepared to escape, but collapsed from the fire poison and his injuries. Sect cultivators found him and recognized his Fragmented Poison Body, while back in the village his family believed he was prospering and prepared to build new rooms.

• Li Yan drew Strategist Ji into his embrace and cut his throat with a concealed blade, then absorbed the spiritual power and poison flooding into him.
• As Strategist Ji died, Li Yan explained how he had used annotated books, Sound-Knowing Insects, purchases, and hidden weapons to evade Strategist Ji’s Divine Sense and plan his attack.
• Li Yan’s fire poison overwhelmed him, and he lost consciousness beside Strategist Ji’s corpse and the remains of Marshal Hong and the burly man.
• Senior Brother Wu and two other cultivators found Strategist Ji, recovered the stolen cultivation technique and a paper book, and identified Li Yan as the strategist’s disciple.
• The cultivators discovered that Li Yan had a Fragmented Poison Body and stopped themselves from killing him.
• In the village, Uncle Chang planned to repair the family house and build rooms for Li Wei’s autumn wedding, while Li Yan’s mother scolded Li Xiaozhu about her delayed marriage.

Phantom Sect elders discussed the sect’s five-year competition and criticized Junior Brother Wei for neglecting Small Bamboo Peak. The Sect Master then questioned Senior Brother Feng about the Fragmented Poison Body, and Feng explained how the stolen cultivation manual had reached a mortal strategist.

• The Sect Master settled the rewards for the five-year competition, and Senior Brother Feng remarked that Junior Brother Wei’s Small Bamboo Peak had placed two contestants despite sending only four.
• Several elders criticized Junior Brother Wei for neglecting Small Bamboo Peak, but he said he was unwilling to manage its disciples and had left its affairs to his chief disciple.
• Junior Brother Wei asked whether the Law Enforcement Hall had truly brought back someone with the Fragmented Poison Body, prompting the Sect Master to question Senior Brother Feng.
• Senior Brother Feng explained that Lianshan had stolen the sect’s original cultivation manual, died after fleeing a Gold Core cultivator’s cave, and left no trace of the manual among his scattered belongings.
• Senior Brother Feng said the Law Enforcement Hall traced the manual to an Immortal-Seeking Lineage strategist in a distant mortal dynasty, who had cultivated it and found two wood-attribute mortals with spirit roots.

Scholar Feng reported that Li Yan had developed a Fragmented Poison Body despite having mixed spirit roots, and the sect leaders debated whether to kill or cultivate him before Junior Brother Wei claimed him for Small Bamboo Peak. Li Yan awoke in a strange, beautiful room with his wounds healed, and a voice spoke to him after he pinched his face.

• Scholar Feng told the sect leaders that Li Yan had killed Strategist Ji and displayed signs of a Fragmented Poison Body, though he had mixed spirit roots.
• The sect master argued that Li Yan's poison body could make him powerful despite his limited cultivation prospects, while several cultivators considered taking or killing him.
• Junior Brother Wei offered to accept Li Yan as a registered disciple at Small Bamboo Peak, and the sect master approved the arrangement.
• The sect master agreed to ease Small Bamboo Peak's resource deductions, prompting the gathered cultivators to discuss the sect's future secret-realm expedition.
• Li Yan woke in a room overlooking a pond, found his broken and wounded legs completely healed, and wondered whether he was dreaming.
• After Li Yan pinched his face, a nearby voice told him he was awake.