Recaps

Feng Zaiyu’s group and the other cultivators split up to explore the maze beneath the tombs after Fang Guangjun warned that illusions could conceal the Foundation Establishment ghost’s lair. Li Yan followed Feng Zaiyu’s group and discovered they were using an artifact to choose the same route he sensed, while Fang Guangjun secretly pursued Tang Tian.

• Fang Guangjun explained that the surviving ghosts had retreated into the maze and warned that illusions might obscure the Foundation Establishment ghost’s lair.
• Feng Zaiyu agreed to divide the groups among the branching paths and let Fang Guangjun and Tang Tian take anything from the lair except the tomb structure and yin-energy veins.
• Tang Tian entered the first passage on the left with Wu Yizhen, and Tian Denghu followed; Li Yan went alone down the passage Fang Guangjun had identified as the likely route to the lair.
• Fang Guangjun vanished into the passage Tang Tian had taken, while Li Yan reappeared at the intersection and then followed Feng Zaiyu’s group.
• Li Yan sensed the true location of the lair and realized Feng Zaiyu’s group was using an artifact to navigate toward it, but he decided not to seize it.

Li Yan explored the tomb of underworld ghost creatures, found that its blood pool and Yin energy offered him no benefit, and took a broken pottery jar with a faint trace of soul power. He left the tomb without uncovering the jar’s secret, while Feng Zaiyu’s group survived their fight and learned that his cultivation had advanced closer to Foundation Establishment.

• Feng Zaiyu ordered his group to hold off three tenth-level ghost creatures while he fought the other two, and Li Yan passed them without intervening.
• After the battle, Feng Tao noticed Feng Zaiyu’s improved cultivation, and he warned her and his followers to keep his progress secret.
• Li Yan reached the ghost creature’s lair and found a blood pool whose essence could corrode consciousness and flesh, but neither it nor the underground Yin energy helped him.
• Li Yan discovered a broken pottery jar bearing three crude images and a faint fluctuation of soul power, but he could not determine its purpose.
• Li Yan put the jar into Tuban, searched the tomb without finding anything else of interest, and departed.

Li Yan realized someone had made a move while Fang Guangjun pursued Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen through a tomb passage. Tang Tian died to a swarm of Corpse Bees, and Fang Guangjun killed Wu Yizhen and staged the scene to make their deaths look like a monster attack.

• Li Yan sensed that someone had made their move after leaving the Foundation Establishment ghost creature's tomb.
• Fang Guangjun pursued Tang Tian and the unconscious Wu Yizhen, revealing that he had killed nine Feng family cultivators and intended to kill them as well.
• Tang Tian threw Wu Yizhen aside and fought through a swarm of Corpse Bees while trying to escape Fang Guangjun.
• Tang Tian's jade belt shattered, and the Corpse Bees stung him to death; Fang Guangjun captured his escaping soul in a jade bottle.
• Fang Guangjun killed Wu Yizhen, captured his soul, and slaughtered the Corpse Bees to make the passage look like the victims had died in a monster attack.

Fang Guangjun killed Feng family disciples and tried to eliminate Tang Tian’s group, then encountered Zhang Ming while planning to cover his tracks. Zhang Ming confronted him about his murderous intent and effortlessly stopped his attack, leaving Fang Guangjun helpless and terrified.

• Fang Guangjun ambushed and killed a Feng family branch head and his three companions.
• Fang Guangjun attacked Tang Tian’s group, but Tang Tian escaped with Wu Yizhen and tricked Tian Denghu into fleeing as a decoy.
• Fang Guangjun caught up to Tian Denghu and killed him, then intercepted Tang Tian and planned to blame the deaths on a ghost creature and Corpse Bees.
• Fang Guangjun encountered Zhang Ming and questioned whether he had heard anything, while preparing to attack him.
• Zhang Ming confronted Fang Guangjun about his killing intent at the Feng family castle and asked whether he was involved in attacks on Falling Star Valley disciples.
• Fang Guangjun attacked Zhang Ming with a black shield, but Zhang Ming drained its power and left Fang Guangjun helpless on the ground.

Li Yan poisoned Fang Guangjun and forced him to reveal that he had taken a bounty to capture or kill Falling Star Valley cultivators, then let him plead for his life. Meanwhile, the Feng family patriarch explored the Foundation Establishment ghost’s tomb, unaware that events elsewhere had taken an unexpected turn.

• Li Yan dragged the poisoned Fang Guangjun into a burial chamber and demanded to know why he had attacked them.
• Fang Guangjun confessed that hostile forces had offered rewards for Falling Star Valley disciples, and explained why he had taken some victims’ souls and killed others.
• Li Yan questioned Fang Guangjun about his earlier actions, including letting the Foundation Establishment ghost escape and killing Feng family members.
• Fang Guangjun begged Li Yan to spare him and offered to serve him, and Li Yan said killing him would be a pity.
• The Feng family patriarch inspected the Foundation Establishment ghost’s tomb and was pleased with the burial chamber and the dark-yellow leg bone he had found.

The Feng Lineage Ancestor discovered that Fang Guangjun had attacked the Foundation Establishment ghost alone and rushed to save him. As the ancestor’s crescent spade blocked the ghost’s strike, the ghost counterattacked with black vapor and severed nails, leaving the battle unresolved.

• The Feng Lineage Ancestor sensed a fight near the Foundation Establishment ghost’s tomb and sent Feng disciples to check on Feng Zaiyu’s group.
• The Feng Lineage Ancestor saw the badly wounded Fang Guangjun fleeing the gaunt woman’s soul and realized Fang had gone after her alone.
• The gaunt woman pursued Fang Guangjun and struck at his back as the Feng Lineage Ancestor hurried to intercept her.
• The Feng Lineage Ancestor’s crescent spade blocked the ghost’s claws and broke off her fingers, but she attacked the spade with a rope of black vapor.
• The ghost’s severed nails shot toward Fang Guangjun while the Feng Lineage Ancestor pulled his spade free of the vaporous rope.

Li Yan arranged for Fang Guangjun to die in a ghost’s attack so the Feng Lineage would not suspect him. The Feng Lineage’s old ancestor investigated the death but found the circumstances baffling and concealed Fang Guangjun’s corpse in his Storage Pouch.

• Li Yan’s hidden interference briefly disrupted the ghost’s black qi rope, allowing the thin, lanky evil woman to strike Fang Guangjun with five ghostly streams and kill him.
• The Feng Lineage’s old ancestor caught Fang Guangjun’s falling body and fled, while the thin, lanky evil woman abandoned her pursuit after sensing an inexplicable presence.
• Li Yan revealed that he had planned Fang Guangjun’s death, using concealed poison and the ghost attack to hide his own involvement.
• The Feng Lineage’s old ancestor contacted Feng Zaiyu, learned the others had found a massive blood pool, and examined Fang Guangjun’s corpse in an empty tomb cavern.
• Unable to explain why Fang Guangjun had sought out the ghost alone, the Feng Lineage’s old ancestor placed the corpse in his Storage Pouch.

The Feng Lineage Ancestor discovered the disastrous toll of the Yin Tomb and gathered the survivors, while Li Yan privately considered how the losses might pressure the Feng Lineage into acting against Fang Guangjun. After leaving the tomb, the Feng Lineage Ancestor showed his Third Ancestor Fang Guangjun’s corpse, and the two searched for an explanation for his baffling death.

• The Feng Lineage Ancestor found the remains of a Falling Star Valley disciple and learned that corpse bees and mutilated bodies had left several Feng Lineage disciples dead or missing.
• The Feng Lineage Ancestor gathered the survivors, where Feng Tao recognized her senior brother’s clothing and Feng Zaiyu reported that Feng Zaihua and other disciples were missing.
• The Feng Lineage Ancestor searched the tomb again, then brought the survivors, including Li Yan, out after daylight; Li Yan considered how the deaths might force the Feng Lineage to deal with Fang Guangjun.
• Feng Zaiyu reported the deaths to Feng Tao’s Third Ancestor, who worried about Falling Star Valley’s response and waited for the Feng Lineage Ancestor’s return.
• The Feng Lineage Ancestor showed his Third Ancestor Fang Guangjun’s corpse and described his death, but neither could explain how he had been killed so quickly.

The Feng Patriarch suspected Fang Guangjun had come to the Feng Lineage with a hidden agenda and opened his Storage Pouch despite the risks. The discovery of bodies inside complicated the Feng Lineage’s position, and the chapter ended as a wisp of soul emerged from a strange bottle.

• The Feng Patriarch and the Third Patriarch debated Fang Guangjun’s suspicious actions and whether to inspect his Storage Pouch before Falling Star Valley arrived.
• The Feng Patriarch opened Fang Guangjun’s Storage Pouch, overcoming its remaining divine sense restriction.
• The Feng Patriarch found the bodies of Feng Zaihua, three other Feng Lineage disciples, and Tian Denghu, raising fears that Falling Star Valley could blame the Feng Lineage for Fang Guangjun’s death.
• The Feng Patriarch and the Third Patriarch examined Fang Guangjun’s possessions but found no clear proof of his identity among his cultivation methods, belongings, or clothing.
• The Third Patriarch opened a small blue-green bottle, and a wisp of soul drifted out as the Feng Patriarch suspected it was a soul-capturing bottle.

Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen revealed that Fang Guangjun was a spy who had attacked the Feng Lineage, while the Feng patriarchs tried to understand his motives. They notified Falling Star Valley and had Feng Zaiyu question Zhang Ming, whose survival and identity remained under scrutiny.

• Tang Tian emerged from a soul-storage bottle, identified Fang Guangjun as a spy, and told the Feng patriarchs that Fang had killed Feng Lineage disciples and destroyed his body.
• The Feng patriarch showed Tang Tian Fang Guangjun's corpse, then returned Tang Tian to the bottle to recover and opened another bottle, releasing Wu Yizhen's soul.
• After hearing Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen's accounts, the Feng patriarchs concluded Fang had been an enemy spy but could not explain why he had gone alone to attack a Foundation Establishment ghost creature.
• The Feng patriarch decided to investigate the ghost creature's nest alone, notify Falling Star Valley, and seek compensation for the Feng Lineage's losses.
• The Feng patriarch ordered Feng Zaiyu to keep watch on Zhang Ming, and Feng Zaiyu visited him to discuss the incident before leaving.

Li Yan secretly left the Feng family castle and descended into a vast lake after sensing an unusual aura there. He reached a depth where thousands of powerful demonic fish surrounded him, leaving him to face a deadly swarm.

• Li Yan realized the Feng family was watching him and had the Snow Mosquito King take his place while he slipped away at night.
• Li Yan disguised himself and flew to a lake more than three hundred li east of the Feng family castle, where deep waters concealed a growing killing intent.
• Li Yan used the Water-Avoidance Art to descend into the lake and killed an aquatic demonic beast that attacked him.
• Li Yan encountered thousands of strange fish, each with cultivation at the tenth level of Qi Condensation, and recognized the danger of being surrounded by the swarm.

Li Yan descended into the lake, using his poison to destroy a swarm of strange fish before encountering a powerful humanoid magical beast. After learning that the creature’s cave lay elsewhere, Li Yan continued toward the place he had come to investigate, while the creature worried about his strength and the Feng Lineage’s absence.

• Li Yan released Green Flame Burning Gold into the water, dissolving the attacking strange fish as he sank deeper into the lake.
• After the swarm retreated, a humanoid magical beast asked Li Yan why he had entered its territory.
• Li Yan said he wanted to investigate an area below, and the magical beast confirmed that its cave dwelling was elsewhere.
• The two agreed that Li Yan could proceed as long as he did not attack the other magical beasts.
• The humanoid magical beast returned to the reefs and suspected that Li Yan was either exceptionally well concealed or too powerful for the Feng Lineage’s elders to detect.

Li Yan explored the ruins of the Thousand Mountains Ancient Battlefield beneath the lake, testing its discarded weapons and overcoming its killing intent. He followed a faint aura through a vast field of aggressive weeds and found an unusually dense cluster of roots.

• The water-ghoul-like demonic beast considered warning the Feng family about Li Yan, but decided to leave him alone after recalling his strength.
• Li Yan reached the lakebed ruins, recognized them as an ancient battlefield, and tested a tattered banner that dissolved when he infused it with spiritual power.
• Li Yan tested a broken spear and concluded that the scattered artifacts were decayed and worthless despite their faint spiritual light.
• The water-ghoul-like demonic beast sensed Li Yan's powerful Divine Sense and stopped watching him, while Li Yan continued through the battlefield.
• Li Yan crossed more than a hundred li and encountered a vast field of weeds that attacked him with scorching leaves and stalks.
• Li Yan cut down the weeds and found a dense, tabletop-sized mass of roots, identifying it as the place he had sought.

Li Yan uncovered a crystalline skull fragment beneath intelligent weeds in an ancient battlefield and brought it to the little Violet Divine Dragon Elephant. The fragment awakened the elephant’s bloodline and revealed that a powerful member of its clan had died in battle, leaving the elephant grieving as Li Yan kept the relic for safekeeping.

• Li Yan drove away the spiritual weeds and found a warm, crystalline bone fragment buried beneath their roots.
• Li Yan entered Tuban after the little Violet Divine Dragon Elephant awakened, and showed it the fragment.
• The little Violet Divine Dragon Elephant touched the bone, whose violet patterns flared and released painful, scorching yang energy.
• The elephant sensed through its bloodline that the fragment belonged to a powerful deceased member of its clan and heard that being’s despairing battle roar.
• Li Yan recognized the fragment as part of the elephant’s clansman’s skull and took it back, telling the elephant to recover before receiving it.

The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant revealed that a crystalline skull could let it forge a physical body through its inherited Soul-Burning Fire Refinement ability. Li Yan learned the process might be fatal and left uncertain whether to let it proceed.

• The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant blocked Li Yan from retrieving the crystalline skull, then revealed it could use the fragment to forge a physical body.
• Li Yan recalled the few known ways to restore the elephant’s body and doubted that such a small skull could make the seemingly impossible task feasible.
• The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant explained that its race inherited Soul-Burning Fire Refinement and that the vessel had to meet strict conditions in size and strength.
• The elephant said it would place its soul inside the skull and refine itself into the vessel, but admitted it did not know how long the process would take or whether it would survive.
• Li Yan recognized that the ability would inflict agony like soul-extraction and spirit-refinement and fell silent.

The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant prepared to use Soul-Burning Fire Refinement on the skull, while Li Yan left the lake and returned to Feng Lineage Castle. Zhu Luomu arrived to investigate Fang Guangjun’s suspected betrayal and departed with Feng Tao and Li Yan after hearing the Feng Lineage ancestor’s account.

• The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant told Li Yan it would attempt Soul-Burning Fire Refinement after three months and asked him to gather fire spiritual energy.
• Li Yan left the lake, and a water-ghost-like demonic beast watched him go with relief and confusion.
• Zhu Luomu arrived at Feng Lineage Castle and met the Feng Lineage ancestor, while the grieving Feng Tao sought comfort from her master.
• The Feng Lineage ancestor told Zhu Luomu and the branch heads that Fang Guangjun had attacked him and escaped after sending an unexplained message, though the ancestor had killed him.
• Zhu Luomu accepted that Fang Guangjun was a spy after hearing Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen’s accusations, then left with Feng Tao and Li Yan to return to Falling Star Valley.

Feng Tao warned Zhang Ming to keep the Feng Lineage tragedy secret, then explained the dangers of Thousand Mountain Marsh when he asked about the ancient battlefield there. Back in Falling Star Valley, Li Yan suspected that the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant’s yang energy had affected Feng Tao before her birth and caused her unusual spiritual roots.

• Zhu Luomu examined Fang Guangjun’s Storage Pouch while Feng Tao reflected on how close she and Zhang Ming had come to being killed.
• Feng Tao told Zhang Ming not to reveal what had happened in the Feng Lineage, and Zhang Ming agreed.
• Zhang Ming asked Feng Tao about Thousand Mountain Marsh, and she described its decayed treasures, dangerous demonic beasts, and lingering killing intent.
• Feng Tao revealed that her pregnant mother had entered the ancient battlefield and been affected by its killing intent, nearly suffering a miscarriage.
• Li Yan recalled Feng Tao’s unusual heavenly spiritual roots and suspected that energy from the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant’s skull had affected her mother while she was pregnant.

Li Yan created a vast, scorching desert in Tuban to help Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant forge a physical body using a crystalline skull. Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant began the dangerous ritual, and Li Yan watched as it endured the first signs of agony.

• Li Yan examined Feng Tao and found exceptionally pure fire-element spiritual power carrying a trace of Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant's aura.
• After three more months of cultivation, Li Yan went to a cave where Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant prepared to fuse with a crystalline skull and resolve to regain a physical body.
• Li Yan shaped five-element spiritual energy over Tuban's western grassland, transforming it into a desert rich in fire spiritual energy for Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant.
• Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant swallowed more than one thousand vicious souls, shrank, and entered the crystalline skull to begin its technique.
• Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant recited an incantation in its clan's language as purple light surged around it, and Li Yan saw its face contort in pain.

Li Yan watched the Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant separate and begin refining its three souls and seven spirits, then returned to cultivation after its consciousness fell silent. Meanwhile, Falling Star Valley faced escalating attacks, and its secluded Martial Uncle assessed the threat from four nonhuman clans as the crisis neared open conflict.

• The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant separated its three souls and seven spirits, then began burning them to refine and fuse them as Li Yan watched.
• The Little Purple Divine Dragon Elephant told Li Yan it could preserve only a sliver of consciousness, and Li Yan stayed by the crystal shell before returning to cultivation.
• Falling Star Valley suffered repeated ambushes, lost or saw twenty-six disciples go missing, and nearly ceased normal trade with the outside world.
• Lin Xinghe and his senior brother reported the crisis to their red-robed Martial Uncle, who judged that the Cangyu Sect, Snow Moon Wolf Clan, Riftwind Clan, and Night Fox Clan were nearing an assault.

Falling Star Valley’s red-robed elder planned for an imminent battle against the four clans while arranging for the sect’s survival if they lost. He ordered Xingming to lead elite disciples to safety in Saint Demon City and chose Lin Xinghe to remain and help wield the Sect Protection Array.

• The red-robed youth questioned the Qingfeng Sect’s uncertain support and ordered three trusted Foundation Establishment experts to investigate secretly.
• Xingming warned Lin Xinghe that Liupan Hall’s eager offer of aid might conceal danger, so the red-robed youth decided not to invite its cultivators into Falling Star Valley.
• The red-robed youth ordered Xingming to take elite disciples to a residence in Saint Demon City, revealing that he had prepared the refuge long ago.
• Xingming protested that Lin Xinghe should escape instead, but the red-robed youth insisted Xingming was the sect’s best hope and needed to leave.
• Lin Xinghe accepted his role in the coming fight and told Xingming that, as sect master, he was ordering him to lead the disciples away.

The red-robed youth ordered Falling Star Valley to prepare for a war against the Four Clans, including evacuating elite disciples and destroying the Earthfire Spirit Vein if necessary. Li Yan emerged from seclusion and learned that the valley was under severe pressure from enemy sects, with no reinforcements in sight.

• The red-robed youth told Lin Xinghe to evacuate disciples and detonate Falling Star Valley’s sect-protecting grand formation if the enemy could not be resisted.
• The red-robed youth ordered the affiliated lineages to join the battle and planned to keep two questionable Foundation Establishment cultivators under watch.
• The red-robed youth refused Xing Ming’s offer to accompany him while he investigated the Four Clans, and set a four-day contingency plan for destroying the Earthfire Spirit Vein and evacuating elite disciples.
• Li Yan stopped cultivating, questioned the Snow Mosquito King, and found the valley’s disciples anxious and short of supplies.
• Li Yan learned that Falling Star Valley was restricting even low-level disciples from leaving, and identified the Azure Fish Sect and the Riftwind Clan as the apparent attackers.

Li Yan investigated the secret summons of Falling Star Valley’s elite disciples by questioning Feng Tao, who concealed what she knew. After piecing together the clues, Li Yan concluded that the summons likely had another purpose beyond sending the valley’s best young cultivators on a mission.

• Li Yan decided to seek information from Feng Tao after learning that Falling Star Valley faced multiple attacking sects and could not easily trust outside allies.
• Feng Tao recalled receiving a green token with orders to return to a cave when it glowed red, and feared she had been selected for a dangerous secret mission.
• Li Yan, posing as Zhang Ming, asked Feng Tao about the sect’s standby order and the rumors surrounding the summoned disciples, but Feng Tao denied knowing anything.
• Feng Tao revealed through her reactions that she had been among the disciples summoned, and Li Yan left with this clue and the names of other attendees he had overheard.
• Li Yan reasoned that Falling Star Valley would not risk gathering its most promising young disciples for a single mission, and suspected the summons concealed another purpose.

Li Yan witnessed Falling Star Valley’s sect-protecting formation activate as its Grand Elder, Tian Xingzi, returned injured after investigating the four clans and escaping their pursuit. The pursuers gathered outside the valley and attacked the formation, while Tian Xingzi and Lin Xinghe headed to the Scripture Transmission Pavilion.

• Li Yan sensed five powerful Golden Core cultivators approaching Falling Star Valley as voices from the pursuing clans echoed across the valley.
• The valley’s sect-protecting formation activated, and Li Yan recognized the red-robed youth who appeared above it as Falling Star Valley’s Grand Elder.
• Lin Xinghe arrived, and Tian Xingzi told him that Rift Changfeng had advanced to the False Nascent Soul stage and injured him during the escape.
• Tian Xingzi explained that seven Golden Core cultivators served the four clans and identified the five pursuers closing in on the valley.
• The five pursuers reached the outer valley and attacked the formation, but Tian Xingzi dismissed their assault and went with Lin Xinghe to the Scripture Transmission Pavilion.

Lie Changfeng organized the four sects to gather elite disciples and attack Fallen Star Valley, while the allies argued over their contributions and shares. Lin Xinghe and the red-robed youth learned that most of the attackers had departed to gather reinforcements, leaving Lie Changfeng and Sang Dongxing behind as a major assault loomed.

• Lie Changfeng decided the four sects should attack Fallen Star Valley and assigned Ning Ying, Xue Qianzong, and the Cangyu Sect cultivators to gather their clans' disciples.
• Ning Ying agreed to bring only combat-capable Night Fox Clan disciples, insisting that her clan's intelligence work justified its share of the spoils, and Yuyang challenged her.
• Lie Changfeng settled the dispute, promising that the Riftwind Clan would draw more enemies while the other clans watched the Azurewind Sect and Sixfold Palace.
• Xue Qianzong, Yuyang, and Ning Ying departed to gather their forces, leaving Lie Changfeng and Sang Dongxing behind.
• Lin Xinghe and the red-robed youth arrived above the Scripture Transmission Pavilion and learned that the others had gone to gather manpower for a major assault on Fallen Star Valley.

Tianxingzi and Lin Xinghe prepared Falling Star Valley’s forces to face the allied enemy sects, while Tianxingzi warned the assembled cultivators that disobedience meant death. The chapter ended with Li Yan shaken by Tianxingzi’s overwhelming display of spiritual power.

• Lin Xinghe urged Tianxingzi to attack Lie Changfeng and Sang Dongxing, but Tianxingzi chose to let Lie Changfeng weaken the outer restrictions before launching a counterattack with the grand formation.
• Falling Star Valley gathered nearly a thousand cultivators and affiliated forces at the Scripture Transmission Pavilion, where Feng Tao learned that her parents and some of her Lineage remained at the Feng estate with an escape plan.
• Lin Xinghe told the assembled cultivators that the Cangyu Sect, Snow Moon Wolf Clan, Rifting Wind Clan, and Night Fox Clan had joined forces against Falling Star Valley, and that they were bound to fight alongside the sect.
• Tianxingzi identified himself and placed Lin Xinghe in command, then released a crushing aura and sent a blood-red “Die” into the minds of everyone present before withdrawing it.
• Li Yan, hidden in the crowd, was terrified when Tianxingzi’s spiritual attack reached his mind.