Recaps

Li Jingshu sneaked into Li Boyang’s room to search his drawers, while Xiluo warned her not to take the glass he had made. In Ghost God Cave, Li Boyang used a glass bead containing Yuan Qi as a precaution and began considering how Sha Qi and the Imprisoned Soul Cauldron might help him refine new materials or pills.

• Li Jingshu slipped into Li Boyang’s carefully arranged room and headed for the desk drawers, where he kept his inventions.
• Xiluo caught Li Jingshu snooping and warned her not to take the glass made from five-colored stones.
• In Ghost God Cave, Li Boyang cautiously waited for the black dog to meditate and revealed a glass bead containing enough Yuan Qi to destroy the cave if it burst.
• Li Boyang reflected on how Sha Qi had transformed the five-colored stones during firing and wondered whether other materials could be combined in the same way.
• Li Boyang considered experimenting with the Imprisoned Soul Cauldron and using it to refine pills.

After a dangerous morning glory in the mire bit him and poisoned him, Li Boyang’s Life Primordial Qi cured him, and he transplanted the plant into the temple courtyard. There, he caught Li Jingshu handling a potentially demonic butterfly knife he had refined with pill fire, and made her promise to keep Primordial Qi flowing if she wanted to use it.

• Li Boyang found a morning glory growing in Sha Qi-contaminated mire, and it bit through his defenses and poisoned him with a neurotoxin.
• Li Boyang’s Life Primordial Qi expelled the toxin, and he uprooted the aggressive plant and transplanted it into the courtyard.
• Li Boyang found Li Jingshu sneaking out of the study with the butterfly knife he had refined from meteoric iron and exotic beast horns using pill fire.
• Li Boyang warned Li Jingshu that the knife was dangerous but offered to give it to her if she kept Primordial Qi flowing to maintain Body-Protecting Gang Qi.
• Li Jingshu eagerly accepted the condition, then realized Li Boyang was sending her to eat before her academic lesson.

Li Boyang taught Li Jingshu anatomy and emergency medicine using rare plant-made scrolls, while Xiluo listened and learned. He also explained that the twelve Maxims Talismans were built from individual Maxims, a form of writing that carried far more information than ordinary scripts.

• Li Jingshu complained that Li Boyang was using medical books and herbals to teach her letters.
• Li Boyang taught Li Jingshu the names and functions of organs, along with emergency techniques such as resuscitation, bleeding control, and opening an airway.
• Xiluo listened to Li Boyang's lessons and recognized that his medical knowledge could also be used to injure or kill.
• Li Boyang explained to Xiluo that the twelve Maxims Talismans were made from individual Maxims that could be used separately.
• Li Boyang compared the information-rich Maxims to writing systems such as Chinese characters, which could convey meaning through their forms and combinations.

Li Boyang explained how the Witch of the Huai River’s Maxims Talismans combined writing and numerical principles, then used a modified talisman formation to address Li Jingshu’s lack of Yuan Qi. The formation was still being prepared, but Li Boyang expected it to help if it worked as planned.

• Li Boyang described the Maxims Talismans as a system that blended writing with numbers and said he could understand and use only the Spirituality Talisman Incantation and Energy Talisman Incantation.
• Li Boyang laid out a complex formation for Li Jingshu using glazed beads made from five-colored stones and blood ink prepared from his essence blood and other ingredients.
• Xiluo questioned why Li Boyang’s new talisman looked more complicated than the original, and Li Boyang explained that he had separated out maxims for control and conversion.
• Li Boyang told Xiluo that he was trying to solve Li Jingshu’s problem and hoped the new talisman would relieve her insufficient Yuan Qi.

Li Boyang activated a formation that transformed Earth Veins Sha Qi into gentler Earth Yuan Qi, allowing Li Jingshu to absorb it and circulate Life Primordial Qi. He chose a safer path for her than risking an innate Divine Ability and named the technique the Earth Sha Qi-Gathering Life Primal Spirit Circulation Formation.

• Li Boyang checked the formation and told Li Jingshu to guide the Yuan Qi in her body into her Dantian.
• Li Boyang activated the formation, which drew Earth Veins Sha Qi from Flying Peak and transformed it into gentler Earth Yuan Qi.
• Li Jingshu used Inner Vision to sense the Earth Yuan Qi and let it surge into her body, then followed Li Boyang's instructions to gather it in her Dantian.
• The Earth Yuan Qi nourished Li Jingshu and transformed into Life Primordial Qi suited to her, avoiding the risks of awakening an innate Divine Ability.
• Xiluo questioned Li Boyang's choice to transform the Sha Qi, and he explained that the safer result suited Li Jingshu as an ordinary mortal.
• Li Boyang decided to call the technique the Earth Sha Qi-Gathering Life Primal Spirit Circulation Formation.

The old granny left Gao Village Town’s Land God Temple in Xiao'e’s care, directing her to seek Red Boy in Li Household Village if needed. Meanwhile, Muzheng Ran led the Guirong Clan and thousands of enslaved mountain folk toward Gao Village Town for a final raid.

• The old granny emerged from seclusion and asked Xiao'e what day it was.
• The old granny told Xiao'e she was leaving on a long journey and appointed her keeper of the Land God Temple.
• The old granny told Xiao'e to find Red Boy in Li Household Village if she needed help.
• Muzheng Ran and You Chong discussed the force’s advance toward Gao Village Town.
• Muzheng Ran ordered the Guirong Clan to continue toward Gao Village Town for its last raid in the region.

Muzheng dismissed the legends surrounding Gao Village Town as his column advanced with thousands of slaves. When he confronted the town’s shaman, she challenged his belief that strength made right and unleashed a tremendous surge of Yuan Qi, shaking the Guirong Clan’s formation.

• Muzheng discussed with You Chong why Gao Village Town had become a regional hub, mocking the legend of a witch who settled nearby a thousand years earlier.
• The slaves broke into grief over their families’ deaths and the brutal treatment they had endured at the Guifang people’s hands.
• Muzheng kicked down a wailing slave, and You Chong killed another slave who rushed to attack him.
• The shaman warned Muzheng that his actions in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range would anger its spirits and gods.
• Muzheng declared that strength was the truth, citing the Guifang Kingdom’s conquest of the Tufang Kingdom.
• The shaman released a vast fluctuation of Yuan Qi that made the earth tremble and threw the Guirong Clan’s formation into panic.

An old granny revealed her immense divine power and attacked the Guirong Clan, who fought back with their own priestly abilities and elite warriors. As both sides unleashed devastating forces, she summoned carnivorous plants to slaughter the advancing fighters, and the battle began in earnest.

• Muzheng recognized the old granny as a priest and offered to halt the advance and free the slaves if she joined the Gods of the Five Directions, but she rejected his offer and attacked the column with earth spikes.
• Muzheng rallied the Guirong Clan warriors and charged the old granny, but her earth spike shattered his ritual saber and wounded him.
• You Chong attacked with wind blades while the clan's scout unit and other warriors charged through the slaves toward the old granny.
• The old granny summoned a giant carnivorous plant that swallowed nearby warriors and beasts, then scattered seeds that grew into more bloodthirsty plants.

At the Land God Temple, Xiao'e told the Deception Rabbit that Granny had likely gone to confront the Guifang Kingdom's slave-catching force near Jingyang Mountain Path. There, Granny unleashed terrifying powers against the Guirong Clan, and You Chong identified her as the Spring God · Nüman.

• The Deception Rabbit visited the Land God Temple looking for Granny, and Xiao'e said she was probably pursuing the Guifang Kingdom's slave-catching force near Jingyang Mountain Path.
• Despite suspecting Xiao'e had maneuvered him into going, the Deception Rabbit left to investigate Granny's whereabouts.
• At Jingyang Mountain Path, Granny's battle with the Guirong Clan shook the land and produced grotesque plants as the attackers tried to reach her.
• Granny caused a charred Lightning-Attracting Tree to rise, and its lightning killed dozens of Guirong Clan members as Muzheng warned the survivors to retreat.
• You Chong recognized Granny's power from an ancient legend and declared that she was the Spring God · Nüman.

The old woman revealed herself as Nüman, the ancient Spring God who had once fought the Witch of the Huai River and been bound to a human body. She slaughtered more Guirong Clan warriors, while Muzheng and the survivors invoked the Gods of the Five Directions, bringing the Roaring Heaven Clan into the battle.

• You Chong reminded Muzheng of the legend that the Witch of the Huai River had imprisoned Nüman in a human body.
• Nüman admitted her identity and explained that she hated the witch, not the mountain folk descended from her tribe.
• Nüman attacked the Guirong Clan warriors with enormous roots, killing nearly another quarter of them.
• Muzheng tore open his robes and led the surviving Guirong Clan warriors in a sacrificial rite to seek divine power.
• The Roaring Heaven Clan dispersed Nüman's storm, and the remaining Guirong Clan warriors charged at her again.

Li Boyang and Li Jingshu hurried back toward Li Household Village after he divined that a massive approaching storm would destroy the harvest. Seeing the village’s rice fields and learning that Qiwa’s family still struggled, Li Boyang resolved to do more to prevent people from starving.

• Li Boyang used the Heavenly Mandate Bone Plastron and realized the storm could ruin Li Household Village’s crops.
• Li Boyang and Li Jingshu hurried back to the village, fearing the storm would leave them without a harvest.
• Li Boyang and Li Jingshu saw the terraced rice paddies and noticed Qiwa’s family’s fields were poorer than the others.
• Li Boyang explained that Qiwa’s family struggled because Qiwa’s father had injured his head, Qiwa’s mother had left, and Qiwa was still young.
• Li Boyang resolved to take another step to help people avoid starving.

Li Boyang returned to Li Household Village with Li Jingshu and proposed keeping the Sanitation Brigade active during the busy farming season. The old village chief warned that villagers would resist when sanitation work competed with their immediate farming needs.

• Li Boyang and Li Jingshu entered Li Household Village, where a huge tree and a shrine to Li Boyang’s raccoon-cat statue stood at the entrance.
• The old village chief greeted Li Boyang and Li Jingshu, explaining that an honored guest had come to the village to meet them.
• Li Boyang asked the old village chief to keep the Sanitation Brigade operating even during the busy farming season.
• The old village chief warned Li Boyang that villagers would not cooperate when the brigade’s work conflicted with their farming interests.

Li Boyang explained his plan to organize village labor around the Fang Boar, while the old village chief warned that shared work could cause resentment and suspected Li Boyang wanted to become village chief. As Deception Rabbit waited for Li Boyang, he told Chen Yun that the Guifang Kingdom’s human sacrifices threatened the mountain folk and that her son might be the only one able to stop them.

• Li Boyang told the old village chief he wanted the Sanitation Brigade to become a Production Brigade so villagers could work together and use the Fang Boar more effectively.
• The old village chief warned that shirkers and unequal contributions could divide the village, and Li Boyang proposed setting rules for access to the Fang Boar while keeping individual plots.
• The old village chief asked Li Boyang if he wanted to become village chief.
• Deception Rabbit anxiously waited for Li Boyang at his home while Chen Yun continued sewing.
• Chen Yun asked Deception Rabbit what had happened near Gao Village Town, and he revealed that the Guifang Kingdom had begun large-scale human sacrifices three years earlier and might soon capture mountain folk.

Li Boyang learned that the hurricane was the Roaring Heaven Clan’s incarnation and agreed to help the Deception Rabbit find Granny. Meanwhile, Xiluo decided to intervene despite the kingfisher’s warnings and asked whether Grandmother had sent her a message.

• The Deception Rabbit told Li Boyang that the Roaring Heaven Clan was a god manifested as a hurricane and asked him to divine whether Granny was alive.
• The Deception Rabbit vowed to oppose the Roaring Heaven Clan because Granny had saved and taught him.
• Li Boyang agreed to help the Deception Rabbit, saying Granny was also like a teacher to him.
• At the mountain god’s temple, the kingfisher warned Xiluo not to risk her long life by interfering in a conflict between gods.
• Xiluo said she would help Red Boy and asked the kingfisher whether Grandmother had sent a message.

Li Boyang demonstrated his Riding Clouds and Driving Mist Divine Ability to the Deception Rabbit and offered to teach it in exchange for help studying the rabbit's transformations. The two continued toward Flying Peak, while Li Yu worried that his son might leave home someday.

• The Deception Rabbit took Li Boyang from Li Household Village to Flying Peak, while Li Yu and Chen Yun watched him go.
• Li Yu recalled losing his way in the mist while following Li Boyang and worried about when his son would leave home.
• Li Boyang kept pace with the Deception Rabbit using a baleful cloud, and explained that Riding Clouds and Driving Mist could be learned by those with enough Yuan Qi.
• The Deception Rabbit asked what Li Boyang wanted in return for teaching him, and Li Boyang offered lessons in exchange for studying the rabbit's transformation ability.
• The Deception Rabbit transformed into a cheetah to keep up as they hurried toward Flying Peak.

Li Boyang prepared to use an altar at Flying Peak to draw on the power of five gods and the mountain range’s Earth Veins to counter the Roaring Heaven Clan’s storm. As the ritual began, Deception Rabbit learned that Li Boyang’s many protection charms came from his mother and that tampering with them could bring out his fearsome temper.

• Li Boyang dispersed his cloud of Sha at Xiluo’s request and explained that he considered the Roaring Heaven Clan his enemy for threatening the region.
• Xiluo asked whether Li Boyang could simply shelter his family in the mountain god temple, but he implied that doing so would go against his nature.
• Li Boyang set up an altar at Flying Peak to draw on the divine standing of Xiluo and the four ghost gods and connect with the land’s Earth Veins and water veins.
• Deception Rabbit worried about the pressure Li Boyang would face, while Xiluo reassured him that Li Boyang had used the altar to change the weather before.
• Deception Rabbit asked whether Li Boyang’s protection charms were part of the ritual, and Xiluo explained that they were keepsakes from his mother and warned him not to tamper with them.

Li Boyang’s ritual disturbed the dragon veins beneath the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, awakening the Spider Queen and drawing the Roaring Heaven Clan’s attention. The Spider Queen sent Xiao Gui to investigate Flying Peak as she realized someone was confronting the Roaring Heaven Clan.

• Li Boyang used his blood and the [Energy Talisman Incantation] to stir the dragon veins across the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.
• The great black dog sensed the disturbance from Ghost God Cave and wondered what Li Boyang was doing.
• The disturbance awakened the Spider Queen, who sent Xiao Gui to investigate Flying Peak.
• The Spider Queen saw a storm stopped at the mountain range’s boundary and recognized the presence of the Roaring Heaven Clan.
• The Spider Queen concluded that someone was fighting the Roaring Heaven Clan and questioned what had happened while she slept for only a few decades.

Nüman broke free of the body imprisoning her and used her true form to destroy the Roaring Heaven Clan’s storm, though her power killed many on the battlefield and cost her life. Li Boyang survived the collapse of the altar and divined that the old granny had died, while Nüman might still endure briefly.

• Nüman manifested her true form, destroyed the Roaring Heaven Clan’s storm, and killed many Guirong warriors and mountain folk caught in her power.
• The Roaring Heaven Clan cut off the earth’s dragon veins, causing Li Boyang to lose control of them and the altar to collapse.
• Xiluo caught Li Boyang as he fell, and the Deception Rabbit asked whether he and the old granny were safe.
• Li Boyang clarified that Nüman had been the main force behind the victory and used the Heavenly Mandate Bone Plastron to divine the old granny’s fate.
• Li Boyang told the Deception Rabbit that the old granny was dead, but Nüman might survive for a little longer.

The Deception Rabbit found the old granny’s shattered corpse beneath the Lightning-Attracting Tree and used a Silk Fur Robe to restore her body for burial. He urged the surviving mountain folk, who had lost the will to live, to travel south to Gao Village Town and Li Household Village for help.

• The Deception Rabbit flew into the heart of the battlefield and found the old granny’s dismembered corpse beneath the Lightning-Attracting Tree.
• The Deception Rabbit used Xiluo’s Silk Fur Robe to restore the old granny’s body, though she remained dead.
• Nearby mountain folk knelt before the Deception Rabbit and thanked him for gathering the old granny’s remains.
• The mountain folk’s representative said they intended to follow their families in death after the old granny was buried.
• The Deception Rabbit told the mountain folk to go south to Gao Village Town and Li Household Village, and to visit the old granny’s grave if they still wanted to die afterward.

Li Boyang recovered at home after being hurt by backlash from using the Earth Veins’ power, while Chen Yun worried about his unusual behavior. Li Yu revealed that he knew their son had been injured and recalled how Li Boyang had once saved him from Tulu, leaving the story with Li Yu hoping Chen Yun would never witness his son as the fearsome “crimson fiend.”

• Li Boyang returned home injured by the backlash from using the Earth Veins’ power and rested in bed, blaming the Deception Rabbit for causing trouble.
• Chen Yun questioned why Li Boyang was sleeping in, and Li Yu admitted that he had smelled their son’s blood when he came home the previous night.
• Li Yu told Chen Yun that he had hidden his knowledge of the injury because Li Boyang did not want them to worry, and Chen Yun went to prepare nourishing food.
• Li Yu remembered being surrounded by Tulu a year earlier, when crimson Sleepy Bugs protected him before a huge Tulu struck him unconscious.
• Li Yu recalled seeing a “crimson fiend” emerge from the burning forest and realized Li Boyang had driven the Tulu away from Li Household Village.

The Guifang Kingdom sacrificed You Chong to create a new Maxims Talisman after the Guirong Clan’s destruction. Xuan Hui learned that the gods had ordered You Chong’s death because he had witnessed a god’s defeat, and his teacher taught him to protect the gods’ dignity by concealing their fallibility.

• The Guifang Kingdom’s high priest ordered You Chong to become a ritual vessel, and You Chong agreed to sacrifice himself for the Guirong Clan’s glory.
• Executioners killed people at the altar, and You Chong pierced his own skull before leaping into the blood pool as a sacrificial ritual began.
• A new Maxims Talisman took shape in the blood pool while Xuan Hui watched from the temple of the Gods of the Five Directions.
• Xuan Hui told his teacher that You Chong should have been kept alive to rebuild the Guirong Clan, and the old priest explained that You Chong’s return had made it impossible to ignore him.
• Xuan Hui realized the gods wanted You Chong dead because he had witnessed a god’s defeat, and his teacher instructed him that a priest’s foremost duty was to uphold the gods’ dignity.

Deception Rabbit and Xiao'e struggled to manage the many mountain folk arriving near Gao Village Town, while Deception Rabbit promised to solve their food shortage. In Li Household Village, the old village chief proposed forming a Production Brigade and planting a second rice crop to support the newcomers.

• Sixteen groups of mountain folk had arrived to pay respects at the old granny's grave, and Xiao'e told Deception Rabbit that many more might still be coming.
• Deception Rabbit relayed Non-Crying Child's plan to register the newcomers, record their skills and preferences, and assign them work so they could join the settlement.
• When Xiao'e asked how they would feed everyone, Deception Rabbit said he would take responsibility for the grain problem and hinted that it was part of something he already intended to do.
• In Li Household Village, the old village chief told the household representatives that the village lacked enough grain for the dozens of mountain folk who had arrived, prompting debate over buying grain or driving them away.
• The old village chief proposed enrolling the newcomers in a Production Brigade to hunt, clear land, and farm, and suggested planting a second crop of rice before August.

Li Boyang persuaded the villagers to accept the homeless people and plant a second rice crop, while Xiluo sought the former Heaven-Eroding Lord’s help with the weather. The big black dog realized Li Boyang was preparing for something major that required his full attention.

• Li Boyang argued that welcoming the outsiders would help protect the village and said the land could support more crops with enough fertilizer.
• Xiluo visited Ghost God Cave and challenged the big black dog over his past betrayal of a human who had trusted him.
• Xiluo explained that Li Boyang had asked her to maintain warm, humid weather for rice-growing villages over the coming months.
• The big black dog asked why Li Boyang could not use his altar to control the weather, then concluded that the boy was occupied with a major plan.

Li Boyang agreed to help the Deception Rabbit strike the Guifang Kingdom and rescue Nüman’s divine soul, but questioned whether they understood the risks and aftermath. He began eagerly considering the challenge, while Li Jingshu wondered what strange plans he might devise.

• The Deception Rabbit told Li Boyang he was determined to rescue Nüman’s divine soul from the Roaring Heaven Clan and argued that attacking the Guifang Kingdom first could secure grain and protect the villagers.
• Li Boyang agreed not to reject the plan, then asked about Nüman’s location, the kingdom’s capital and defenses, and how they would face the Roaring Heaven Clan and the Gods of the Five Directions.
• Li Boyang warned that acting first was not enough and that courage without a plan was recklessness; the Deception Rabbit admitted he needed Li Boyang’s help thinking the consequences through.
• Li Boyang revealed he was more cautious than the others and grew excited at the prospect of testing the gods’ strength.
• Li Jingshu watched the exchange and wondered what unusual project Li Boyang would devise and how much the Deception Rabbit could endure.

Chongming ordered a massive slave raid and sacrifice to restore the Guifang Kingdom’s authority, despite an ominous divination and reports of stolen provisions. Watching the slaughter of the kingdom’s own subjects, Xuan Hui rejected the gods who demanded it and declared that priests had the right and duty to drag them from their altars.

• A noble representative reported that the divination was ominous, and another warned Chongming that provisions had repeatedly been stolen.
• Chongming ordered further sacrifices and a sweeping campaign against factions sheltering escaped slaves.
• The Guifang Kingdom’s forces captured mountain dwellers, including people from factions that had submitted to the kingdom, for sacrifice.
• Deception Rabbit and Xuan Hui watched the ritual at Cliff Settlement City as Ghost Qi spread and the city’s people celebrated.
• Xuan Hui told Deception Rabbit that the gods treated their followers as lambs and declared that priests could cast down gods who betrayed their people.