Recaps

Li Yan passed Ju Ruisheng Trading Company's fifth-grade pill-refining assessment and was made a guest Attendant. After waiting under discreet observation for four months, he learned that the company had confirmed his duties, allowing him to settle into his new position.

• Li Yan entered the assessment chamber with Chi Xuhe and agreed to refine a Falling Wind Pill using his own knowledge of its formula.
• Li Yan set up a warning formation before beginning the assessment, then ultimately passed the fifth-grade pill test.
• Chi Xuhe reported Li Yan's results, and Ju Ruisheng Trading Company approved him as a guest Attendant with a stipend and cultivation resources.
• Li Yan remained inside his assigned courtyard for more than four months while the company investigated his background and watched him.
• Chi Xuhe arrived to tell Li Yan that the company had confirmed his duties, and Li Yan thanked him.

Li Yan settled into his alchemist-steward duties at Juruisheng while using his waist token to seek intelligence about Guiqu Laixi. He learned that Guiqu Laixi was purging infiltrators from its True Transmission Hall and suspected the hidden enemy controlled the hall, but he still needed a protective talisman before traveling to Dongyi City.

• Chi Xuhe showed Li Yan around Juruisheng's marketplace and explained his duties, which included serving at the main shop and refining assigned Pills.
• Li Yan learned that Juruisheng would observe him for ten years, assigning him batches of Pill-refining work while limiting his access to other shop affairs.
• After half a year of refining, Li Yan checked his waist token and found reports that Guiqu Laixi branches were closing and many True Transmission Hall cultivators had died.
• Li Yan deduced that the enemy exposed by Wen Ruyun might control Guiqu Laixi's True Transmission Hall, but decided he could not travel to Dongyi City without protection.
• Li Yan prepared to hand over twenty fourth-grade Pills to improve his standing with Juruisheng.

Li Yan went to the Auspicious Tower to hand in a batch of Redstone Pills and encountered a hostile Juruisheng cultivator who challenged his alchemy skills. He ignored the provocation and began the formation appraisal, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Li Yan flew to the Auspicious Tower and entered the Mission Hall to hand over a mission.
• A tall female cultivator checked Li Yan’s identity token and identified him as the newly arrived steward Chen Ying, then prepared the appraisal formation for his fourth-grade Redstone Pills.
• A black-robed Spirit Transformation cultivator recognized Chen Ying and sarcastically challenged him to an alchemy contest.
• Li Yan refused the challenge and placed twenty pills into the formation while the black-robed man continued taunting him.
• The female cultivator watched warily as the black-robed man held back from acting, knowing the Law Enforcement Hall would punish him if he caused trouble.

Li Yan sought Chi Xuhe’s help to learn why Dongmen Gaozhi had confronted him at the Mission Hall. Chi Xuhe identified the man and learned that his interest stemmed from Li Yan’s assessment, while the significance of the Jade Uncarved Pill remained to be explained.

• Dongmen Gaozhi left the Mission Hall after intimidating the tall woman, and Li Yan completed his mission and departed without questioning her.
• Li Yan visited Chi Xuhe and described his encounter with the black-clad steward.
• Chi Xuhe identified the man as Dongmen Gaozhi and sent a sound transmission talisman to ask about him.
• Chi Xuhe received a reply and told Li Yan that Dongmen Gaozhi was an accomplished, arrogant alchemist who had recognized him because of the fifth-grade pill from his assessment.
• Li Yan identified that pill as the Jade Uncarved Pill, whose niche use was cultivating eye-based divine abilities.

Li Yan learned that Dongmen Gaozhi had come after him because Li Yan’s Jade Essence Pill assessment had broken Gaozhi’s long-standing boast, then returned to cultivation after dismissing the threat. Half a month later, stewards discussed the coming gambling match between the Jurui Sheng and Anyue merchant associations, and Junior Sister Qiao began sharing news about its rewards.

• Chi Xuhe explained that Dongmen Gaozhi had challenged others to surpass his Jade Essence Pill assessment record, which Li Yan had broken by refining four pills in one furnace.
• Li Yan asked about Gaozhi’s influence, heard that he was narrow-minded but lacked powerful backing, and thanked Chi Xuhe for his guidance.
• Li Yan returned to his courtyard to cultivate and decided to disregard Dongmen Gaozhi unless the man caused trouble.
• Half a month later, several Spirit Transformation Realm stewards discussed the Anyue merchant association’s arrival for a gambling match scheduled three months later.
• The stewards discussed the associations’ past contests, substantial stakes, and rewards for participants who distinguished themselves.
• Junior Sister Qiao began sharing news about internal rewards after the other stewards asked what she had heard.

Juruisheng prepared for a wager battle against Anyue, and Li Yan learned that strong performance could earn him a transfer to a branch. As he headed to the headquarters’ selection, he weighed how to earn merit without drawing suspicion and briefly remembered the hopes he had once held for his cultivation.

• Junior Sister Qiao explained that the wager battle would take place at Juruisheng’s headquarters and could offer magic treasures or positions at branches as rewards.
• A yellow-robed cultivator taunted Dongmen Gaozhi about Steward Chen Ying, prompting Dongmen Gaozhi to remember how Chen Ying had ruined his plans.
• Li Yan received Juruisheng’s notice about the wager battle and realized that earning a high-ranking steward position could help him leave his current post sooner.
• Li Yan merged his avatar with his true body and considered how to participate without attracting undue attention.
• Li Yan flew toward the headquarters selection alongside crowds of cultivators and reflected on his lost youthful hopes for immortality and a peaceful life.

Li Yan registered for Ruidan Hall’s pill-refinement contest and learned the rules for the internal selection that would choose competitors for the matches against the Anyue trading company. Dongmen Gaozhi also entered the contest, intent on humiliating Li Yan, and the chapter ended with Li Yan sensing Dongmen Gaozhi watching him.

• Li Yan registered for the pill-refinement contest at the Ruidan Hall section.
• Dongmen Gaozhi learned that Li Yan had chosen pill refinement and entered the same contest, planning to defeat him and take revenge.
• Li Yan waited in the crowd, declined Chi Xuhe’s invitation to join other cultivators, and listened as an elder explained the competition rules.
• The elder announced that the first two rounds would take place that day and the final round would select competitors for the matches against the Anyue trading company the next day.
• Li Yan sensed Dongmen Gaozhi staring at him during the explanation and recognized his hostile intent.

Li Yan advanced to the final round of Juruisheng’s internal selection while observing the competitions and noticing Dongmen Gaozhi’s pill-refining skill. That night, after Dongmen Gaozhi taunted him, Li Yan used Stealth Night Concealment to slip through Juruisheng’s grounds and reach the shadow of a courtyard wall.

• Li Yan watched a contest in which senior stewards and managers identified rare treasures, recognizing only a fraction of the objects.
• Li Yan saw Dongmen Gaozhi refine pills with practiced ease and noticed the man’s cold, sinister expression.
• Li Yan passed the second assessment in twenty-seventh place and advanced to the final, while Dongmen Gaozhi ranked ahead of him.
• Dongmen Gaozhi sent Li Yan a voice transmission mocking his refusal to compete earlier, and Li Yan ignored him and returned to his residence.
• Li Yan activated Stealth Night Concealment and crossed Juruisheng’s grounds, stopping in the shadow behind a courtyard building.

Li Yan secretly infiltrated Dongmen Gaozhi’s courtyard to investigate why the man’s alchemy resembled the technique Buluo had taught him. After learning that Dongmen Gaozhi had studied under Zuo Qiudan, Li Yan began a Soul Search to uncover the truth.

• Li Yan used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief to breach the formations around Dongmen Gaozhi’s courtyard and slipped into his cultivation room.
• Li Yan used a Bewitching Soul technique on Dongmen Gaozhi and asked where he had learned alchemy.
• Dongmen Gaozhi named Zuo Qiudan, confirming Li Yan’s suspicion that his alchemy was connected to the missing master.
• Li Yan questioned Dongmen Gaozhi further, grew grim at his answers, and began a Soul Search.

Li Yan discovered that Dongmen Gaozhi had imprisoned Zuo Qiudan and tortured him with Blood-Boring Soul Light. After rescuing and treating Zuo Qiudan, Li Yan awakened him, but Zuo Qiudan mistook him for another deception and attacked; he remained too weak to fight.

• Li Yan searched Dongmen Gaozhi's storage ring and found Zuo Qiudan trapped in a swamp, bound in chains and tormented by soul beasts.
• Li Yan pulled Zuo Qiudan from the ring, destroyed the soul beasts and their chains, and stored the unconscious man inside Tuban.
• Li Yan returned to his courtyard, cleaned Zuo Qiudan, gave him soul-healing Pills, and brought him into Tuban to recover.
• Li Yan called to Zuo Qiudan until he awakened and his memories returned.
• Zuo Qiudan mistook Li Yan for someone trying to deceive him and lunged for his throat, but his weakened body left him unable to land the attack.

Li Yan freed Zuo Qiudan from his long imprisonment and left him in a restricted area of Tuban with pills to help him recover, but Zuo Qiudan suspected the rescue was an illusion. Zuo Qiudan began cultivating to test whether his recovery was real, while Li Yan reflected on how Dongmen Gaozhi had learned of his origins and exploited his lack of powerful allies.

• Li Yan placed the injured Zuo Qiudan beside a river in Tuban, explained that he had discovered him through Dongmen Gaozhi, and promised that Buluo and Wei Zhongran had ascended to the Immortal-Spirit Realm.
• Zuo Qiudan rejected Li Yan's explanation, remained suspicious of the surroundings, and collapsed after Li Yan left him with several jade bottles of pills.
• After resting and examining his injuries and the pills, Zuo Qiudan decided to cultivate so he could judge whether his recovery and surroundings were real.
• Li Yan withdrew his incarnation, returned to Chen Ying's appearance, and considered Zuo Qiudan's troubled history and how Dongmen Gaozhi had learned he had no powerful backer.

Li Yan reviewed Zuo Qiudan’s memories, which showed how Zuo used alchemy to ascend and establish himself as a respected grandmaster in the Main Dao Realm. Dongmen Gaozhi gradually cultivated Zuo’s trust over decades, and the chapter ended as he asked Zuo to examine a precious pill formula and advise him about earlier failures.

• Li Yan saw how Zuo Qiudan used carefully prepared pills to withstand his Nascent Soul Tribulation and reflected on the strength of alchemy.
• Zuo Qiudan found a stable ascension node, entered it, and successfully reached the Immortal-Spirit Realm, arriving in the Main Dao Realm.
• Zuo Qiudan settled in a small shop as a guest deacon, advanced to Spirit Transformation, and became a great alchemy grandmaster.
• Dongmen Gaozhi met Zuo Qiudan at a private trade gathering and began investigating him, believing Zuo could be the immortal fortune he had awaited.
• Dongmen Gaozhi spent decades flattering and befriending Zuo Qiudan while concealing his intentions and withholding key alchemy knowledge.
• Dongmen Gaozhi asked Zuo Qiudan to review a pill formula and advise him based on his two previous failures, while insisting that he wanted to refine the pill himself.

Li Yan learned through a Soul Search how Dongmen Gaozhi had betrayed and imprisoned Zuo Qiudan to steal his alchemical knowledge. Dongmen Gaozhi suspected the red mist in Zuo Qiudan’s sea of consciousness concealed a pill formula that could protect secrets, and he continued torturing Zuo Qiudan to obtain it.

• Dongmen Gaozhi lured Zuo Qiudan to a rented room with a pill formula and poisoned him with cultivation-dispersing powder.
• Dongmen Gaozhi knocked Zuo Qiudan unconscious, stole his belongings, and used Soul Search to take his pill-refining methods, but the red mist in Zuo Qiudan’s sea of consciousness resisted him.
• Dongmen Gaozhi failed to break through the red mist or extract its secret through bewilderment arts, so he kept Zuo Qiudan alive and tortured him for answers.
• Dongmen Gaozhi concealed Zuo Qiudan’s disappearance by inventing a story about a woman and misleading the shop manager’s investigation.
• Dongmen Gaozhi used Zuo Qiudan’s alchemical methods to advance his own skills and came to suspect that the red mist was a pill-based safeguard for memories.
• Dongmen Gaozhi secretly resolved to obtain the suspected pill formula and continued torturing Zuo Qiudan, who refused to speak.

Li Yan reflected on Zuo Qiudan’s betrayal and ensured Dongmen Gaozhi forgot the spirit storage ring he had taken. After Li Yan and Dongmen Gaozhi advanced in the internal selection, Li Yan planned his next moves and joined Juruisheng’s gathering to receive the Anyue firm, where he quietly watched Dongmen Gaozhi.

• Li Yan learned that Dongmen Gaozhi had secretly bought a Blood Diamond Light Soul Gu insect and used it to ruin Zuo Qiudan, then hoped Zuo Qiudan would recover enough to verify the truth.
• Dongmen Gaozhi awoke from meditation unaware that Li Yan had taken his spirit storage ring and removed memories of what he considered his greatest immortal opportunity.
• Li Yan and Dongmen Gaozhi both advanced from the internal selection, with Li Yan narrowly placing eighteenth and Dongmen Gaozhi placing ninth.
• Li Yan decided to pursue another firm mission and keep a low profile while Zuo Qiudan meditated inside Tuban and steadily increased his spiritual power.
• More than two months later, Li Yan joined the cultivators and elders gathering to receive the Anyue firm, where Dongmen Gaozhi watched him with a hostile gaze.

Li Yan watched the Anyue Trading Firm arrive at Juruisheng for a wagered battle and was shocked to recognize Shuang Qingqing among its leaders. The battles were set to begin the day after tomorrow, leaving Li Yan to consider how to approach the unexpected reunion while keeping his own plans hidden.

• Li Yan considered ways Dongmen Gaozhi might die in an apparent accident without suspicion falling on him.
• The Anyue Trading Firm arrived aboard a fifth-rank azure luan, and its silver-robed leader exchanged barbs with Elder Ning.
• The silver-robed elder introduced Shopkeeper Ping, Steward Yang, and the grandmaster artificer Shuang Qingqing to Juruisheng's leaders.
• Li Yan recognized Shuang Qingqing, whom he had not seen since the lower realm, and wondered how she had joined the Anyue Trading Firm.
• The two trading firms scheduled their wagered battles for the day after tomorrow and arranged for their cultivators to learn about their opponents.

Shuang Qingqing secretly met Li Yan at a marketplace tavern after learning he had been hiding among Juruisheng’s cultivators. She confirmed his identity and discovered that his true cultivation matched her own, leaving her shocked by how far he had advanced.

• Shuang Qingqing left the inn alone after using a map to locate the Seven Chants tavern where Li Yan had arranged to meet her.
• Li Yan guided Shuang Qingqing to the Bamboo Melody Pavilion, and she challenged him to prove who he was.
• Li Yan revealed his mixed spirit roots, convincing Shuang Qingqing of his identity after she had teased him by pretending to doubt him.
• Shuang Qingqing asked about Li Yan’s cultivation, and he briefly revealed that he had reached her level.

Li Yan told Dual Qingqing about his predicament in the Main Dao Realm and recounted what had happened to the Wood Flow Sect and Bai Rou. Dual Qingqing learned that Bai Rou had survived and that the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect might have been behind the attack, then began to share her own story.

• Dual Qingqing challenged Li Yan over his cultivation and asked why he had come to the Main Dao Realm and joined a trading firm.
• Li Yan explained that he had joined the Juruisheng trading firm as Chen Ying to earn a transfer to the city with the eastern inter-realm teleportation array and avoid enemies waiting for him.
• Dual Qingqing asked about the Wood Flow Sect and Bai Rou, and Li Yan described their tribulations, Bai Rou's recovery, and her cultivation in the Phantom Sect.
• Li Yan said evidence implicated the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect in the attack that nearly killed Bai Rou, and Dual Qingqing grew furious and remembered the sect's name.
• Dual Qingqing questioned Li Yan about Bai Rou, concluded he did not know of her feelings, and began telling him about her own affairs.

Shuang Qingqing explained how she advanced through the Anyue Trading Company and offered to help Li Yan leave the Jurui Feng Trading Company and reach the inter-realm teleportation array. Meanwhile, Dongmen Gaozhi lost a pill-pattern wager battle and vowed revenge against Feng Ketian.

• Shuang Qingqing refused to visit the Cangxuan Realm until she reached the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm and offered to arrange Li Yan’s passage to the Anyue Trading Company.
• Li Yan accepted Shuang Qingqing’s offer and chose to travel separately using the jade slip map she gave him.
• Three days later, Dongmen Gaozhi lost the pill-pattern wager battle to Feng Ketian after suffering a backlash that injured his sea of consciousness.
• Dongmen Gaozhi returned to his residence and swore to kill Feng Ketian, remembering the defeat and humiliation.

Dongmen Gaozhi left the marketplace and met Li Yan, who activated his control over Dongmen Gaozhi’s soul and prepared to take him away. Li Yan then told Zuo Qiudan he would bring him out to see Dongmen Gaozhi, but Zuo Qiudan was pulled from Tuban before he could respond.

• Dongmen Gaozhi recovered from his injuries, left Juruisheng, and went to a secluded courtyard in the Rogue Cultivators’ district.
• Li Yan revealed that he had planted a soul mark in Dongmen Gaozhi and had now captured and sealed him before his planned departure from the marketplace.
• Li Yan used his Divine Sense to contact Zuo Qiudan in Tuban, where Zuo Qiudan remained suspicious that his rescue was an illusion.
• Li Yan told Zuo Qiudan he would take him outside to sense the real world and see Dongmen Gaozhi, then bring them both away from the marketplace.
• A powerful suction force enveloped Zuo Qiudan and pulled him from Tuban before he could reply.

Li Yan helped Zuo Qiudan confront Dongmen Gaozhi, then traveled to a new city to meet Shuang Qingqing. She explained that she had secured his cover for an assignment and revealed an opportunity involving a map to an ancient cultivator immortal city, leaving Li Yan to ask whether she wanted him to accompany her.

• Zuo Qiudan recognized Dongmen Gaozhi and repeatedly attacked him while Li Yan watched, then Li Yan moved them both into Tuban.
• Li Yan left the market city under a new appearance and traveled to a massive city, where he waited at an inn for Shuang Qingqing.
• Shuang Qingqing arrived and assured Li Yan that she had arranged a deacon's token and a way for him to disappear without arousing suspicion.
• Shuang Qingqing told Li Yan that she and two other cultivators had found fragments of a map to an ancient cultivator immortal city, but she had delayed exploring it because she feared the others might kill her.
• Shuang Qingqing said she now felt confident enough to join the other two, and Li Yan asked whether she wanted him to go with her.

Shuang Qingqing invited Li Yan to join her in exploring an ancient cultivator city in search of an immortal fate, and he agreed after learning about the risks and her two companions. She left to negotiate with them, planning to return to Li Yan in two days with their answer.

• Shuang Qingqing explained why she wanted Li Yan as a companion and assured him he could refuse without consequence.
• Li Yan asked how Shuang Qingqing could persuade her two companions to accept him, and she explained that her two maps gave her leverage.
• Li Yan agreed to join the journey, which would take about a year to reach its destination, and asked for details about the other cultivators and the ancient city.
• Shuang Qingqing gave Li Yan a jade slip detailing Fang Xianhu, Yin Kongjin, and her deductions about their strengths and the expedition.
• Li Yan questioned Shuang Qingqing closely about the two cultivators' abilities and past battles, then heard her travel plan.
• Shuang Qingqing left to tell Fang Xianhu and Yin Kongjin that Li Yan had to join; she arranged to return in two days whether they accepted or refused.

Li Yan checked on Zuo Qiudan and Dongmen Gaozhi, whom he had confined in Tuban, and found Zuo Qiudan recovering while Dongmen Gaozhi remained helpless and bewildered. Li Yan told Zuo Qiudan he would arrange a safe place for him to heal before setting out on a dangerous expedition.

• Li Yan replenished his Pills and talismans, sorted his belongings, and used his Divine Sense to check on Zuo Qiudan and Dongmen Gaozhi.
• Zuo Qiudan recovered enough to beat the immobile Dongmen Gaozhi, then told him to live until Zuo Qiudan regained his cultivation.
• Dongmen Gaozhi gradually realized that he was trapped in a spatial magic treasure and feared that he could not escape or call for help.
• Li Yan appeared before Zuo Qiudan, who recognized him and thanked him for rescuing him.
• Li Yan explained that he might face danger soon and offered to arrange a safe courtyard and protection for Zuo Qiudan while he recovered.

Li Yan reassured Zuo Qiudan by recounting Buluo and Wei Zhongran’s circumstances, then left him with a way to contact him and explained how he had altered Dongmen Gaozhi’s memories. After thanking Li Yan, Zuo Qiudan remained in Tuban as Li Yan’s Divine Sense phantom traveled to the frozen far north.

• Zuo Qiudan refused to stay in the city and asked Li Yan to take him along, then requested detailed news about Buluo and Wei Zhongran.
• Li Yan explained Buluo’s near-exhausted lifespan, his plan to help Buluo reach Spirit Transformation, and Buluo’s progress in the North Pasture Realm.
• Li Yan told Zuo Qiudan that Wei Zhongran had achieved Spirit Transformation and that Zhao Zhi had died beneath the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, prompting Zuo Qiudan to grieve for her.
• Li Yan gave Zuo Qiudan a jade ring containing his Divine Sense so Zuo Qiudan could contact him, and revealed that he had altered Dongmen Gaozhi’s memories.
• Zuo Qiudan thanked Li Yan for sparing him painful recollections, while Li Yan’s Divine Sense phantom traveled to the far north of Tuban and reached the ice cave among the Snow Mosquitoes.

Li Yan reflected on Qianji’s growing Snow Mosquito Clan and visited the cave where Qianji’s soul was nearly restored. He then joined Shuang Qingqing on a treasure hunt, and after more than a year of travel they reached the remote mountain where their search would begin.

• Li Yan visited the hidden ice cave and sensed that Qianji’s soul was almost completely restored, promising that they would meet again soon.
• Shuang Qingqing told Li Yan that she had negotiated his participation in the expedition, with the two of them receiving forty percent of the shared benefits and the other two men receiving sixty percent.
• Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing traveled north together, with Li Yan posing as her junior brother and using his Cloud-Piercing Blade to carry them.
• More than a year later, Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing found the remote mountain they had been searching for near the territory of a powerful Firecloud Three-Headed Cat.
• Shuang Qingqing agreed that they should descend to investigate, believing the Seventh-Tier Demon Beast would remain asleep in its volcanic lair.

Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing waited near the hidden entrance to an ancient immortal cultivation city for their companions, while Li Yan used the alias Wang Yi. Yin Kongjin arrived and secretly suspected Li Yan might be Shuang Qingqing’s puppet-controlling junior brother; Fang Xianhu had yet to arrive.

• Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing landed near the suspected entrance and hid inside Li Yan’s concealing array while they waited for the others.
• After nine days, Yin Kongjin arrived, and Shuang Qingqing introduced Li Yan as her junior brother, Wang Yi.
• Yin Kongjin inspected Li Yan, judged him to be a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator, and then set up his own array on the opposite side of the mountain.
• Yin Kongjin recalled Shuang Qingqing’s suspected puppet skills and considered whether Li Yan’s strong life aura and wood-element technique meant he knew puppet techniques too.
• Li Yan and Shuang Qingqing returned to their array and continued waiting for Fang Xianhu.