Recaps

Wen Xinliang warned Li Yan that the cultivation world was deadly and taught him to distrust appearances and leave no evidence when fighting enemies. As the three approached a market, Li Yan learned that the secret realm dispute had ended with the other sects paying compensation, apparently under pressure from the Yin Demon Cliff rift.

• Wen Xinliang explained the dangers of training beyond the sect, the hidden agents among minor sects, and why cultivators had to stay alert and eliminate enemies cleanly.
• Li Yan understood that Wen Xinliang had warned him out of concern, bowed in thanks, and stopped envying Lin Daqiao and the others’ gains.
• Wen Xinliang recalled how Gong Chenying had saved Lin Daqiao from a sudden ambush by seven cultivators from a minor sect.
• As they neared the market, Lin Daqiao told Li Yan that the detained cultivators from the other sects had returned after their sects paid pills and spirit stones.
• Wen Xinliang said the Phantom Sect’s Patriarch had used the rift at Yin Demon Cliff to force the other three sects to provide compensation.

Wen Xinliang explained the deadly rift at Yinmo Cliff, its history, and the sects’ ongoing efforts to guard it, revealing that their master had served there for several years. Li Yan then asked about Wang Lang and learned of his severe poisoning and the suspicion that he had killed Quan Jiuxing.

• Wen Xinliang told Li Yan and Lin Daqiao that the rift at Yinmo Cliff connected to another realm, released dangerous fiends, and was guarded by cultivators from the four sects and the secret realm.
• Wen Xinliang explained that the rift’s rare treasures and fiend materials drew cultivators despite the high death toll, and said their master had once served there.
• Li Yan set aside his worries about the rift and asked how Wang Lang was doing; Lin Daqiao said Wang Lang had emerged from the secret realm near death.
• Wen Xinliang said Wang Lang remained poisoned despite treatment by Senior Bronze Ghost, and his cultivation had fallen to the peak of the foundation establishment middle stage.
• Lin Daqiao asked whether Wang Lang had killed Quan Jiuxing, and Li Yan repeated Qiu Jiuzhen’s claim that Wang Lang’s injuries came from Quan Jiuxing’s Crimson Gold Wheel.

Li Yan traveled with Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao toward a large cultivator marketplace, seeing the crowds and buildings for the first time. The group landed at a forest clearing outside the town and headed down the road, with Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao following two bewitching women as Li Yan wondered what they meant.

• Lin Daqiao told Li Yan that Wang Lang and other captives had been magically made fat and were facing humiliation after their release.
• Li Yan observed that cultivators of varying strengths were gathering and recognized the danger of traveling alone beyond the Phantom Sect.
• Wen Xinliang guided the group around a golden mountain and revealed a sprawling marketplace hidden behind it.
• The group landed at a busy stone platform in a forest, which Lin Daqiao told Li Yan was not their destination.
• Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao followed two bewitching women down the road, and Lin Daqiao privately hinted that the women welcomed their attention.

Li Yan accompanied Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao through a forest road toward the market, watching them charm two female cultivators while he struggled to understand their purpose. The senior brothers killed the women after suspecting they were spies, and Lin Daqiao hinted that Li Yan had missed a clue in their encounter.

• Lin Daqiao explained that vulnerable female cultivators often sought protection from powerful sect disciples, though they could also be enemy spies.
• Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao flirted with the two women as the group continued along the road, while other cultivators avoided the Phantom Sect disciples.
• Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao led the women into the woods, killed them, and soon returned without them.
• Wen Xinliang admitted there had only been a fifty percent chance the women were spies, and Lin Daqiao explained that one woman had recognized them as elite disciples despite their disguise as ordinary Phantom Sect cultivators.
• Lin Daqiao urged Li Yan to reconsider everything that had happened since they met the women, suggesting he had overlooked an important clue.

Li Yan realized Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao had used him to expose two women as likely spies, then learned about Peiyang Market as the group traveled there. The chapter ended as they reached the city gate, where Li Yan remembered his family and wondered how they were doing.

• Li Yan pieced together how Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao had baited the women into revealing insider knowledge about the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan asked what consequences killing the women might bring, and Wen Xinliang explained the risks and the market’s response.
• Wen Xinliang described Peiyang Market, its history, its powerful local factions, and its rules against flying and fighting within its borders.
• Li Yan, Wen Xinliang, and Lin Daqiao walked through the wooded approach and reached Peiyang Market’s guarded city gate.
• Li Yan remembered Uncle Guoxin, Xiaoyu, and Xiaoshan and wondered how they were doing.

Li Yan entered Peiyang Market with Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao, learning how the city’s entry fees and protections worked while taking in its crowded streets. A Foundation Establishment cultivator led the three past the gate without inspection and guided them into an inconspicuous alley.

• Li Yan joined Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao at the end of the line to enter Peiyang Market.
• Lin Daqiao explained the market’s entry fees, identity tokens, and protection for visitors, including the special treatment of Golden Core cultivators.
• A pale-yellow-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator invited the three to follow him to an elder, and they entered the city without paying or being inspected.
• Li Yan saw the market’s varied cultivators, powerful auras, shops, and welcoming attendants as the group walked through the streets.
• The pale-yellow-robed cultivator turned into an inconspicuous alley and beckoned the three after him.

Li Yan, Wen Xinliang, and Lin Daqiao entered a secluded alley in Peiyang Market, where Li Yan’s unusually powerful Divine Sense was repelled by a courtyard’s restriction. They entered the array-protected hall and met three unfamiliar Golden Core Realm cultivators, who invited them to sit before discussing their business.

• Li Yan released his Divine Sense after entering the alley and secretly extended it far beyond the range he normally showed others.
• A middle-aged voice rebounded Li Yan’s Divine Sense from the courtyard gate, and Lin Daqiao checked that he was unharmed.
• The voice invited the three Phantom Sect disciples inside and ordered Chen Tian to return to his post at the city gate.
• Wen Xinliang led Li Yan and Lin Daqiao through the array at the courtyard entrance into a spacious hall.
• Wen Xinliang introduced the three disciples to three unfamiliar Golden Core Realm cultivators, who focused their interest on Li Yan and offered them seats.

Wen Xinliang, Li Yan, and Lin Daqiao verified their identities to three Golden Core Realm elders, who praised their abilities before questioning them about killing two Red Cicada Sect cultivators in Peiyang Market. Wen Xinliang admitted they had no conclusive evidence but challenged the elders to use their Divine Senses to judge the women’s intentions, leaving the elders visibly troubled.

• Wen Xinliang, Li Yan, and Lin Daqiao presented their sect tokens and introduced themselves as disciples of Wei Zhongran.
• Elder Bai of Floating Cloud Valley assessed Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang’s combat abilities and recognized Li Yan’s unusually strong Divine Sense and spiritual power.
• Elder Chen questioned the three about killing two Red Cicada Sect women within Peiyang Market’s restricted bounds and warned that the matter required an explanation.
• Wen Xinliang admitted they had no conclusive evidence, then pointed out that the elders’ Divine Senses should have revealed the women’s intentions.
• Elder Chen, Elder Bai, and Elder Fan grew uncomfortable as Wen Xinliang’s words implicated disciples who sought favor with the Phantom Sect.

Wen Xinliang used a Guiyin Jade Slip to prove that the Crimson Cicada Sect women had approached the Phantom Sect disciples with hidden intentions, easing the elders’ concerns. After leaving the hall, Li Yan explored Peiyang Market with Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao, who explained the market’s history and free-trade stalls.

• Wen Xinliang explained why the Crimson Cicada Sect women’s familiarity with Li Yan’s junior status had seemed suspicious and produced a Guiyin Jade Slip as evidence.
• Elders Chen, Fan, and Bai viewed the recording, accepted it as solid evidence, and let Wen Xinliang, Li Yan, and Lin Daqiao leave.
• Elder Fan, Elder Chen, and Elder Bai discussed the risk of dealing with the Crimson Cicada Sect and sent warnings to their respective sects.
• Li Yan reflected on learning about formations and restrictions as Wen Xinliang led him and Lin Daqiao through Peiyang Market.
• Lin Daqiao explained how outside merchants helped keep Peiyang Market prosperous after the eight local factions had driven them out and later allowed them to return.
• Lin Daqiao told Li Yan that the crowded building was a free market where people paid three low-grade spirit stones for a stall and kept their sales without paying a commission.

Li Yan, Wen Xinliang, and Lin Daqiao visited The Return Home, a powerful shop known for buying unusual goods and selling rare treasures. They met its manager, Su Hong, who led them away from the crowded first floor to talk privately.

• Wen Xinliang chose to take the group to shops rather than spend time selling their goods in the free-trade area.
• The three arrived at The Return Home, where Ying Cai recognized Wen Xinliang and arranged for Su Hong to meet them.
• Lin Daqiao explained that The Return Home had powerful backing and dealt in rare goods, while Li Yan suspected its influence went beyond local Golden Core cultivators.
• Su Hong descended from the second floor, greeted the group, and caught Li Yan's attention with her formidable cultivation.
• Wen Xinliang introduced Li Yan and Lin Daqiao to Su Hong, who led them upstairs to speak away from the crowd.

Li Yan visited a market shop with Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao, then privately sold items to a black-robed appraiser. After the group left, Su Hong’s people linked some of Li Yan’s items to missing cultivators and clans, while the appraiser reported that he had discovered something else.

• Lin Daqiao explained that the shop’s second floor was reserved for cultivators at the foundation establishment middle stage or higher, and Su Hong directed the group to separate private rooms.
• Li Yan entered Room Bing and met a black-robed old man, who offered to sell him pills, manuals, and other goods.
• Li Yan told the old man he wanted to exchange items for spirit stones and presented them for appraisal.
• After Li Yan, Lin Daqiao, and Wen Xinliang left, a gray-clad middle-aged man told Su Hong that some of Li Yan’s items matched possessions of recently missing cultivators and clan members.
• Su Hong discussed using the items to investigate the deaths and rival groups, then the black-robed old man stopped her and said he had discovered something.

Su Hong and the Return Home shop staff examined the goods Li Yan sold and inferred that they came from the secret realm, possibly from Miao Zhengyi and a second-grade Demon Cultivator. Li Yan sold the rest of his spoils at several shops and left with more than 230,000 spirit stones, while Su Hong’s suspicions about his role remained unresolved.

• Elder Liu reported that Li Yan had sold numerous artifacts from the four sects and a Mi Beast horn, prompting Su Hong to connect the goods to the secret-realm conflict.
• Su Hong and the gray-robed middle-aged man examined the items and speculated that Miao Zhengyi and a Demon Cultivator had died, while Li Yan was likely selling goods for another Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao separated from Li Yan to handle personal matters, and Li Yan agreed to meet them at the western gate in an hour and a half.
• After checking that no one was following him, Li Yan sold his remaining Storage Pouches and goods at four shops, keeping Miao Zhengyi’s Storage Pouch and ten flying swords.
• Li Yan counted his wealth at roughly 230,000 spirit stones and headed down one of the market’s streets.

Li Yan returned to the free market to search for materials to refine the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, but found none. When a Phantom Sect girl recognized him during her dispute with Sun Guoshu, sect rules forced Li Yan to step forward, leaving him facing the burly cultivator as the argument continued.

• Li Yan browsed the free market for materials and information about the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike but found nothing he needed.
• Li Yan heard a Phantom Sect girl and Sun Guoshu arguing over her refusal to sell him a puppet for four hundred low-grade spirit stones.
• The crowd opened a path toward the dispute after noticing Li Yan’s Phantom Sect robes.
• The girl recognized Li Yan as a fellow disciple from Small Bamboo Peak, so he approached rather than risk appearing to abandon her.
• Sun Guoshu challenged Li Yan, asking whether his arrival meant the girl could go back on their agreed deal.

Li Yan confronted Sun Guoshu after finding him pressuring a novice Four Symbols Peak cultivator at Peiyang Market. Sun Guoshu mistook Li Yan’s powerful Divine Sense for evidence that he was a mid- to late-Foundation Establishment cultivator, while Li Yan learned how the man had tried to swindle the senior sister and began forming a plan.

• Sun Guoshu targeted a novice Phantom Sect cultivator, hoping to seize her puppet by exploiting her inexperience.
• Li Yan arrived, ignored Sun Guoshu’s questions, and asked the girl what had happened.
• Sun Guoshu swept Li Yan with his Divine Sense, but Li Yan’s power repelled it and convinced Sun Guoshu that Li Yan was a high-level Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• The girl explained that she had mistaken Sun Guoshu’s question about her research puppet for an offer on her other wares, and he had tried to take it before she stopped him.
• Li Yan realized Sun Guoshu made a living swindling inexperienced visitors and formed a plan after hearing the full story.

Li Yan exposed Sun Guoshu’s attempt to extort his senior sister over her puppet and secured compensation for her. He then hired Sun Guoshu to search for materials for the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike, leaving with a new local contact and a plan to keep him motivated.

• Li Yan challenged Sun Guoshu’s claim that the girl had agreed to sell her puppet and warned that he could report Sun to the Phantom Sect elders as a suspected agent.
• Sun Guoshu admitted that greed had led him to pressure the girl and begged Li Yan to spare him.
• Li Yan settled the dispute by making Sun Guoshu pay the girl one thousand spirit stones.
• Li Yan offered Sun Guoshu another thousand spirit stones and voice transmission talismans to find materials for the Guiyi Water-Parting Spike.
• Sun Guoshu accepted the errand, treating the jade slip and talismans as a chance to gain Li Yan’s protection.

Li Yan accompanied Bai Rou back from the market with Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang, learning about her past and her talent for puppetry and formations. On the way, Bai Rou offered to improve Wen Xinliang’s flying artifact, leaving the group with a five-day repair plan.

• Bai Rou asked Li Yan to return to the sect with her, and he agreed to travel with Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang as well.
• Li Yan helped Bai Rou bargain for materials at the free market, saving her more than four hundred spirit stones.
• Bai Rou told Li Yan about her former home, the declining Woodflow Sect, and how a Golden Core cultivator had brought her to Four Symbols Peak.
• Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang met Li Yan and Bai Rou at the west gate, and the four left for the sect together.
• Bai Rou spotted flaws in Wen Xinliang’s flying artifact and offered to improve its spirit-stone slots over five days.

Bai Rou agreed to inscribe arrays on Wen Xinliang’s flying artifact and Lin Daqiao’s Wu hooks, then asked Li Yan to stay behind after they returned to the sect. Li Yan’s offer of spirit stones offended her, and the chapter ended with them meeting alone on a secluded mountaintop so she could speak with him.

• Bai Rou gave Wen Xinliang a list of materials for his flying artifact and examined Lin Daqiao’s Wu hooks, identifying their Shadowmoon Centipede essence soul and offering to improve their array.
• Bai Rou agreed to attempt the Wu hooks’ array inscription, estimating a sixty percent chance of success, and Lin Daqiao accepted the risk.
• After the group returned to the sect, Bai Rou asked Li Yan to stay behind while Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao flew back to Small Bamboo Peak.
• Li Yan offered Bai Rou a Storage Pouch containing one thousand spirit stones, but Bai Rou rejected it and rebuked him for thinking she had asked him to stay for the money.
• Bai Rou led Li Yan away from the passing cultivators to a secluded mountaintop, where they landed to talk.

Bai Rou gave Li Yan an ancient ape puppet inherited from the Woodflow Sect and asked him to reveal its secret if he ever uncovered it. Li Yan accepted after his Divine Sense failed to trigger it, while Bai Rou remained uncertain whether she had entrusted the sect’s legacy to the right person.

• Bai Rou showed Li Yan an ancient puppet with early Foundation Establishment combat strength and explained that her master had passed it down as a possible key to a lost Woodflow Sect art.
• Bai Rou told Li Yan that the puppet’s formation had briefly reacted to his Divine Sense at the free market, then asked him to probe it again.
• Li Yan released his Divine Sense, but the puppet showed no reaction, and he tried to return it to Bai Rou.
• Bai Rou insisted Li Yan keep the puppet and asked him to tell her its secret if he discovered it, while allowing him to use the art himself but not pass it on.
• Li Yan accepted the puppet and its control technique, then left as Bai Rou wondered whether she had made the right choice.

Over three months, Li Yan tested the ancient ape puppet Bai Rou had given him and discovered its full-strength attack rivaled an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. His cultivation and body tempering advanced rapidly, leaving him at the late tenth level of Qi Condensation and better prepared to withstand the puppet’s attacks.

• Li Yan used the ancient ape puppet’s full-strength strike to blast a deep ravine and a huge hole through a stone wall, spending nearly half the glow in its eighty low-grade spirit stones.
• Wei Chi Tuo arrived after the blast, admired the puppet, and left after praising it.
• Li Yan tested himself against the puppet and found he could withstand about seventy percent of its attack, while stronger blows risked grievous injuries.
• Li Yan spent three months combining the Qiongqi Purgatory Art with the Gui Water True Scripture, reaching the peak of the art’s first layer’s initial stage and greatly increasing his strength.
• Li Yan reached the late tenth level of Qi Condensation and judged that he could withstand ninety percent of the puppet’s attack using the Qiongqi Purgatory body, though its full-strength strike would leave him exhausted.

Li Yan reunited with Gong Chenying, learned she had reached the False Core realm, and discovered his strength exceeded his Qiongqi Purgatory cultivation level during their spar. After putting away the ancient ape puppet, he was about to enter the secret chamber when something suddenly changed in the sky above his courtyard.

• Li Yan recalled Gong Chenying's visit after her seclusion, when she checked his health and they exchanged news of their cultivation progress.
• Gong Chenying tested Li Yan's strength, found his punch stronger than his Qiongqi Purgatory realm suggested, and questioned him about his training.
• Li Yan and Gong Chenying met twice more, while Li Yan also encountered Zhao Min twice on the rear mountain platform.
• Li Yan noticed what seemed to be movement in the ancient ape puppet, but repeated Divine Sense scans revealed nothing abnormal.
• Li Yan recalled Bai Rou's warning that powering the puppet with mid-grade spirit stones could unleash one destructive mid Foundation Establishment strike, then shrank and stored it.
• Li Yan prepared to use the round diamond crystal to enter the secret chamber when a sudden change erupted in the sky above his bamboo courtyard.

Li Yan and the Phantom Sect’s cultivators gathered as a storm gathered over Small Bamboo Peak, signaling that someone was undergoing a Core tribulation. The sect’s leaders cleared the area, Wei Zhongran and his wife arrived to guard their disciple, and the first lightning struck as the tribulation began.

• Li Yan sensed a storm approaching Small Bamboo Peak and flew up to watch the clouds gathering over its southeastern bamboo forest.
• Wei Chi Tuo, Li Changting, Zhao Min, and other cultivators arrived, but Yan Longzi ordered everyone below the Golden Core Realm to withdraw beyond a hundred li.
• Yan Longzi and the other Golden Core cultivators identified the tribulation as likely belonging to Li Wuyi and discussed the danger to anyone who remained nearby.
• Peak Master Yi went to protect a disciple in secluded cultivation, while Wei Zhongran and his wife emerged from seclusion and thanked the sect elders for guarding Li Wuyi.
• Li Yuyin and Wei Zhongran’s wife exchanged remarks as Yan Longzi watched the clouds, then lightning struck and thunder announced the start of the Core tribulation.

Li Wuyi began his Golden Core tribulation on Small Bamboo Peak while Li Yan and hundreds of Phantom Sect cultivators watched from a safe distance. The first lightning strike overwhelmed many observers, but Wei Zhongran arrived and encouraged Li Wuyi, easing the worry of his disciples.

• Li Yan flew away from Small Bamboo Peak and joined hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered to observe Li Wuyi's Golden Core tribulation.
• Li Changting, Zhao Min, and Li Yan worried about Li Wuyi while False Core cultivators watched the gathering tribulation clouds closely.
• A massive lightning bolt struck, its thunder knocking dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators unconscious and briefly sending Li Yan's flying sword out of control.
• Li Yan landed on a nearby mountain cliff, where Gong Chenying and Zhao Min noticed he had withstood the tribulation's initial pressure.
• Wei Zhongran's voice rang out, telling Li Wuyi to proceed and promising to handle everything, which reassured Li Changting, Zhao Min, and the others.

Li Yan witnessed the aftermath of Li Wuyi’s successful Golden Core tribulation and learned that Li Wuyi had endured it without assistance. As the sect arranged a celebration for him one month later, the disciples returned to their affairs and Wei Chi Tuo took over as Small Bamboo Peak’s Eldest Senior Brother.

• Li Yan watched the three-day pill tribulation from more than four hundred li away and reflected on its power and the value of facing a tribulation alone.
• Wei Chi Tuo returned with Li Yan and other disciples to Small Bamboo Peak, where Yan Longzi announced that Li Wuyi had formed his Golden Core through his own strength and would be celebrated in a month.
• The sect’s cultivators dispersed, discussing Li Wuyi’s new rank and resolving to pursue their own Golden Cores.
• Wei Zhongran praised Li Yan, Gong Chenying, and the other disciples for their progress before leaving with his wife.
• Wei Chi Tuo’s fellow disciples recognized that Li Wuyi’s advancement had changed their standing, and Wei Chi Tuo became Small Bamboo Peak’s Eldest Senior Brother.

Li Wuyi became a Golden Core elder of the Phantom Sect but publicly declared that he would remain Small Bamboo Peak’s Eldest Senior Brother and kneel to Wei Zhongran and his wife as his master and mother. The ceremony ended in uproar, and afterward Li Yan reflected on the gathering before resolving to cultivate diligently.

• A month after Li Wuyi entered seclusion, he emerged and attended the Phantom Sect ceremony for his promotion to Golden Core elder.
• Miao Wangqing learned that Li Wuyi had become her Martial Uncle and wondered how she would address him.
• Li Wuyi accepted his elder’s token, declined a cave abode on another peak, and declared that he would remain Small Bamboo Peak’s Eldest Senior Brother.
• Li Wuyi knelt before Wei Zhongran and his wife, moving Wei Zhongran to laughter and his wife to tears, while the ceremony’s attendees erupted in astonishment.
• After the ceremony, Small Bamboo Peak’s disciples gathered at Li Yan’s courtyard, where Li Wuyi beat Wei Chituo in a fistfight and called him the eternal number two.
• Li Yan remembered the gathering, then turned his attention to cultivating at Qi Condensation Realm Great Perfection.

Li Yan prepared to enter seclusion to cultivate the Gui Water True Scripture and Qiongqi Purgatory Art, while Zhao Min struggled with her feelings after receiving his message. Over the next year, the Phantom Sect flourished, even as its Nascent Soul ancestors secretly investigated disappearances across the cultivation world.

• Li Yan planned to focus on cultivation and messaged Gong Chenying and Zhao Min before entering seclusion.
• Gong Chenying urged Li Yan to cultivate carefully, while Zhao Min replied that he did not need to report his affairs to her.
• Zhao Min recalled waiting for Li Yan’s message and wondered whether she felt a sense of connection before heading to cultivate.
• Li Wuyi discussed Zhao Min’s feelings for Li Yan with Wei Zhongran and the woman in palace robes, who suspected Zhao Min’s calm reaction concealed something.
• The Phantom Sect’s disciples pursued cultivation and missions, and more than a dozen Qi Condensation Realm disciples established their foundations over the following year.
• Nascent Soul ancestors investigated alongside other sects as cultivation lineages vanished, and the affected groups suppressed news and dealt with witnesses.