Recaps

Lu Changsheng sought Spirit Stones for his Nascent Soul breakthrough and negotiated compensation from the Divine Firmament Sect for the Sword Cave incident. He asked Meng Lang for thirty thousand Spirit Stones, leaving the visitors stunned.

• Lu Changsheng learned the Scarlet Spirit Pill was ready but worried he lacked the Spirit Stones needed to break through to Nascent Soul.
• Lu Changsheng asked Ning Yuxin why she had stopped visiting Zhou Qingyu, and she said she no longer wanted to disturb him.
• Meng Lang of the Divine Firmament Sect came to Qingyun Peak with Lin Po and Luo Xianling to apologize and offer compensation.
• Lu Changsheng accepted two thousand Spirit Stones, then prompted Meng Lang to add another thousand because Ning Yuxin had also been endangered.
• Lu Changsheng listed the valuables supposedly lost in the Sword Cave and asked Meng Lang for thirty thousand Spirit Stones for himself and Ning Yuxin.

Lu Changsheng extorted Spirit Stones from Meng Lang after the damage to Qingyun Peak, then learned Luo Xianling would be taken into a supreme elder’s lineage. As the Cangyun Secret Realm approached and visitors gathered to seek the Azure Cloud Map, Luo Tian warned the sect about the Nighttime Madman, leaving Lu Changsheng upset that everyone feared his reputation.

• Lu Changsheng demanded thirty thousand Spirit Stones from Meng Lang, and Luo Xianling helped pressure him into handing over a bag of them.
• Lin Po told Lu Changsheng that a supreme elder of the Divine Firmament Sect had taken Luo Xianling into their lineage, and Lu Changsheng celebrated the protection this would bring the Cangyun Sect.
• A bell announced that the Cangyun Secret Realm was about to open, and Lu Changsheng explained to Ning Yuxin that the sect’s lost Azure Cloud Map might be hidden there.
• Xuan Cheng, Zhao Yang, and other visitors gathered at the Cangyun Sect to enter the secret realm, while Lu Changsheng prepared to cultivate quietly and began refining a Core Formation puppet.
• Luo Tian warned the sect about the Nighttime Madman, but the gathering laughed at the warning, leaving Lu Changsheng to wonder why his reputation was so bad.

Lu Changsheng entered the Cangyun Secret Realm and set up Spirit Gathering Formations to harvest its dense Spiritual Qi instead of pursuing treasures. A falling scroll struck him and turned out to be the Azure Cloud Map, leaving him stunned.

• Luo Tian announced that the Cangyun Secret Realm had opened and warned that only people under thirty could enter.
• Lu Changsheng entered the secret realm after Ye Tianyi gave him a talisman for contacting him and Zhou Qingyu.
• Shi Feng followed into the secret realm, while the elders and visitors waited outside.
• Lu Changsheng set up three Spirit Gathering Formations to gather Spiritual Qi across the secret realm.
• A scroll struck Lu Changsheng and knocked him into the ground, but he found no attacker nearby.
• Lu Changsheng opened the scroll and recognized it as the Azure Cloud Map.

Lu Changsheng obtained the Azure Cloud Map and continued absorbing Spiritual Qi while the factions in the Cangyun Secret Realm searched frantically for the artifact. After seven days, a crimson radiance appeared on the horizon, and Lu Changsheng noticed it while cultivating.

• The Azure Cloud Map fell onto Lu Changsheng, who tested its power and concluded that it was genuine.
• Lu Changsheng set up spiritual formations and absorbed their Spiritual Qi, while people throughout the secret realm and the Cangyun Sect searched for the vanished map.
• Luo Tian and the Cangyun Sect ancestor concluded that the Azure Cloud Map had appeared and was likely already in someone's possession.
• Lu Changsheng cultivated for seven days, unaware of the factions' struggles, and noticed Spiritual Qi gathering around him after he obtained the map.
• A crimson radiance rose above the clouds, and someone approached Lu Changsheng while he was still cultivating.

Lu Changsheng learned that Shi Feng’s group planned to use him and Ye Tianyi to pressure Zhou Qingyu into allowing them into a Cangyun Sect inheritance site, then traveled there. As Zhou Qingyu fought Xuan Cheng and Su Muyue to keep the site sealed, Zhao Yang slipped toward the hall, and Lu Changsheng sent his puppet after him.

• Shi Feng and his companions tried to capture Lu Changsheng, but Lu Changsheng restrained them, killed them, and learned their plan to threaten Zhou Qingyu for entry to the inheritance site.
• Lu Changsheng reached the mountain range and found Zhou Qingyu guarding the hall against Xuan Cheng, Su Muyue, and their followers.
• Zhou Qingyu refused to let the others enter unless they defeated him, and Xuan Cheng and Su Muyue attacked him together.
• Lu Changsheng watched the fight, confident that his hidden protection would keep Zhou Qingyu safe if necessary.
• Zhao Yang bypassed the confrontation and approached the hall, so Lu Changsheng sent his puppet after him.

Lu Changsheng used his puppet to ambush Zhao Yang and Su Muyue while the battle continued elsewhere. He captured Zhao Yang to ransom him and began overpowering Su Muyue, hoping to extort her as well.

• Lu Changsheng sent his puppet to confront Zhao Yang, killed his companions, and suppressed him despite Zhao Yang's attempts to fight back and escape.
• Lu Changsheng stripped Zhao Yang of his possessions and, after learning he was a core disciple, decided to ransom him to the Divine Firmament Sect.
• Su Muyue approached, and Lu Changsheng's puppet attacked her with a wooden club.
• Su Muyue defended herself with restricted artifacts, but the puppet broke through her sword attacks and kept pressing her.
• Lu Changsheng realized Su Muyue had valuable resources and hoped to capture her for another ransom.

Lu Changsheng defeated Su Muyue inside the secret realm, seized her belongings, and brought her and Zhao Yang outside. He extorted twenty thousand Spirit Stones from the Divine Firmament Sect for Zhao Yang, while an old man warned that Lu Changsheng might not survive to spend the money.

• Lu Changsheng suppressed Su Muyue, searched her possessions, and sensed that a mysterious power protected her soul.
• Lu Changsheng bound Su Muyue and Zhao Yang and brought them out of the secret realm, drawing shocked reactions from the onlookers.
• Lu Changsheng demanded to sell Zhao Yang to the Divine Firmament Sect and threatened to kill him if they refused.
• Meng Lang and Zhao Jing paid Lu Changsheng twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and Lu Changsheng released Zhao Yang.
• An old man mocked Lu Changsheng as stupid and predicted he would not live to spend the money, making Lu Changsheng frown.

Lu Changsheng humiliated Qi Lian by selling Su Muyue back to him for fifty thousand Spirit Stones, then declared that he would kill Xuan Cheng. After Zhao Yang and Su Muyue returned to the secret realm, Lu Changsheng’s puppet confronted them and witnessed their hidden powers emerge.

• Lu Changsheng raised Su Muyue’s price from twenty thousand to fifty thousand Spirit Stones after Qi Lian insulted him, and Qi Lian paid to have her released.
• Lu Changsheng threatened to kill Xuan Cheng, then returned to the secret realm as the Cangyun Sect revealed that he was the Nighttime Madman.
• Zhao Yang recovered and returned to the secret realm, followed by Su Muyue, while the crowd watched.
• Lu Changsheng sent his puppet after the injured Xuan Cheng and was surprised when Zhao Yang and Su Muyue arrived nearby.
• Su Muyue’s azure moonlight hindered the puppet, and an imposing white-haired old man emerged from Zhao Yang’s body.

Lu Changsheng revealed his overwhelming strength after the old man from the Divine Firmament Sect suppressed the puppet and Zhao Yang attacked him. As Lu Changsheng defeated the old man’s resistance, Su Muyue intervened with her azure moon, only for Lu Changsheng’s power to seize it.

• The old man used Law Power to overpower and suppress the puppet, then identified it as a Core Formation Realm puppet.
• Lu Changsheng revealed himself from the mountain forest, and Zhao Yang attacked him but was immobilized by Lu Changsheng’s pressure.
• Lu Changsheng killed Zhao Yang with Law Power and restrained the old man, displaying strength at the ninth layer of Core Formation.
• Su Muyue summoned her azure moon to stop Lu Changsheng, but his enormous hand seized it and left her unable to control it.

Lu Changsheng defeated Su Muyue, Xuan Cheng, and Zhao Yang in the secret realm, but Su Muyue escaped with the azure moon. He reunited with Ye Tianyi and Zhou Qingyu, who said the great hall held no Azure Cloud Map, while the sects outside learned that an unknown powerhouse had devastated the secret realm.

• Lu Changsheng used Law Power and Sword Qi to kill Xuan Cheng and Zhao Yang, while Su Muyue escaped after recalling the azure moon with a talisman.
• Lu Changsheng searched for the great hall but found no trace of it, then found Ye Tianyi injured among the corpses of Profound Heaven Sect cultivators, including Li Changfeng.
• Lu Changsheng gave Ye Tianyi a pill, and Ye Tianyi explained that the Profound Heaven Sect had attacked him to force Eldest Senior Brother to submit.
• Lu Changsheng and Ye Tianyi found Zhou Qingyu, who said he had entered the great hall but found no Azure Cloud Map and sensed a terrifying Sword Intent.
• Zhou Qingyu led Lu Changsheng and Ye Tianyi out of the secret realm, where the gathered sects heard Su Muyue's account of the unknown ninth-layer Core Formation expert.

After failing to find the Nighttime Madman among those leaving the secret realm, Luo Tian confronted the sects whose disciples had attacked Cangyun Sect members. The Cangyun Sect Patriarch then slapped Divine Firmament Sect elder Zhao Jing, leaving everyone stunned.

• Qi Lian used a mirror to inspect cultivators emerging from the secret realm, but let Lu Changsheng pass without checking him.
• Luo Tian and the Cangyun Sect Patriarch waited until everyone had left, then demanded answers for attacks on their disciples.
• Luo Tian challenged the Profound Heaven Sect and Divine Firmament Sect over their disciples’ attempt to seize Cangyun Sect members and use them as hostages.
• Zhao Jing claimed the Divine Firmament Sect could not be bullied, and the Cangyun Sect Patriarch slapped her across the face.

The Cangyun Sect Patriarch killed Zhao Jing and demanded an explanation from the Profound Heaven Sect, while Zhao Jing escaped as a soul through a protective talisman. With the Azure Cloud Map still missing and other factions likely to target Cangyun Sect, Lu Changsheng began considering a plan before an unexpected visitor interrupted him.

• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch killed Zhao Jing’s body and tried to erase her soul, but Zhao Jing escaped using a talisman after Meng Lang asked him to spare her.
• The patriarch ordered the Profound Heaven Sect to send someone within seven days to explain itself or face an attack, then dismissed the guests.
• The patriarch and the Cangyun Sect leaders concluded that the Nighttime Madman may have taken the Azure Cloud Map and worried other forces would blame Cangyun Sect for its disappearance.
• Luo Tian arranged for Meng Lang to take Luo Xianling back to the Divine Firmament Sect, while Zhou Qingyu refused to leave Cangyun Sect.
• Lu Changsheng reflected on the danger facing Cangyun Sect and considered a plan near the sect’s treasury, but an arriving man interrupted him.

Lu Changsheng used the Spirit Stones from the Ning Household to prepare for his Nascent Soul breakthrough while turmoil over the Azure Cloud Map threatened the Cangyun Sect. He formed his Nascent Soul, and heavenly lightning descended as his tribulation began.

• Ning Cang gave Lu Changsheng a hundred thousand Spirit Stones and asked him to prepare Ning Yuxin’s cultivation supplies within two days.
• Lu Changsheng finished preparing the pills and told Ning Yuxin how to use them, while Ning Cang urged her to leave the Cangyun Sect; she refused, and Ning Cang decided to report her suspicions about the Azure Cloud Map.
• Luo Xianling came to Qingyun Peak to say goodbye to Lu Changsheng before leaving for the Divine Firmament Sect, but he was already gone.
• Lu Changsheng left the Cangyun Sect, protected a secluded cultivation site with formations and a puppet, and began his breakthrough using nearly three hundred and thirty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lu Changsheng endured excruciating pain and formed his Nascent Soul, after which lightning struck as his heavenly tribulation began.

Lu Changsheng returned to the Cangyun Sect after breaking through to Nascent Soul, only to find the sect surrounded and facing an imminent attack. As battle began, the Cangyun Sect Patriarch and the Profound Heaven Patriarch clashed, while Lu Changsheng sensed that other powerful cultivators were waiting in the darkness.

• Lu Changsheng survived his tribulation, entered Nascent Soul, and returned to the Cangyun Sect, where Ye Tianyi urged him to leave with departing disciples.
• Ning Yuxin chose to stay and support the Cangyun Sect, and the wounded Ning Cang arrived as news spread that every route out had been cut off.
• Xuan Mei arrived with the Profound Heaven Sect’s forces and confronted Luo Tian, who revealed he had reached the ninth layer of Core Formation and drove her back.
• The Profound Heaven Patriarch appeared, and the Cangyun Sect Patriarch challenged him before the two Nascent Soul cultivators charged into the sky.
• Woken by the commotion, Lu Changsheng sensed powerful cultivators hiding in the darkness beyond the forces already gathered.

As the Cangyun Sect fought off its attackers, Lu Changsheng revealed his Nascent Soul strength and killed Zhao Jing, drawing a Divine Firmament Sect elder into the battle. The elder attacked Qingyun Peak, but its protective formation expanded to cover the entire sect and unleashed killing attacks.

• Luo Tian and the Cangyun Sect Patriarch fought the invading forces while Ning Yuxin remained on Qingyun Peak.
• Zhao Jing, inhabiting a wooden puppet, attacked Ning Yuxin and demanded to know where Lu Changsheng was, but a force dragged her to him.
• Lu Changsheng revealed his Nascent Soul cultivation, restrained Zhao Jing, and destroyed her despite her plea for her senior brother to save her.
• A Nascent Soul elder from the Divine Firmament Sect appeared and threatened to destroy the Cangyun Sect while seeking the Azure Cloud Map and revenge for Zhao Jing.
• The elder attacked Qingyun Peak, but its protective formation blocked his strike and spread across the entire Cangyun Sect, unleashing attacks toward the sky.

The Cangyun Sect’s formation held off a Nascent Soul attacker until the Thousand Net Sect Master arrived and helped break it, leaving the sect exposed to its enemies. As attackers rushed in, Qianluo was suddenly struck by an unknown sword wielder near the treasure pavilion.

• A powerful formation rose over the Cangyun Sect, and the Divine Firmament Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator struggled to break through it.
• Lu Changsheng watched from hiding and kept puppets ready to rescue anyone in danger, while a crimson Law Artifact began weakening the formation.
• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch overwhelmed the Profound Heaven Old Ghost, who called for the Thousand Net Sect Master.
• The Thousand Net Sect Master claimed he had come to retrieve the Thousand Net Tower, then attacked the formation and helped shatter it.
• Lurking enemies charged into the Cangyun Sect, and Qianluo lost an arm to a sudden sword strike near the treasure pavilion.

Lu Changsheng saved the Cangyun Sect from the Profound Heaven Sect’s assault and then destroyed the Profound Heaven Sect and Thousand Net Sect, leaving the Cangyun Sect as Cang Province’s sole overlord. He returned to Qingyun Peak with their resources and looked forward to the sect’s growing territory.

• Lu Changsheng revealed his ninth-layer Sword Dao, killed the Divine Firmament Sect expert and Qianluo, and wiped out other attackers who had emerged from hiding.
• Lu Changsheng told Luo Tian to handle the remaining enemies, then departed with the two Nascent Soul corpses to attack the Profound Heaven Sect and Thousand Net Sect.
• The Cangyun Sect defeated the Profound Heaven Sect, while its patriarch killed Profound Heaven Old Ghost and Luo Tian killed the sect master.
• The Cangyun Sect found both rival sects already razed and looted, and concluded that Lu Changsheng had taken their treasures and resources.
• Lu Changsheng returned to Qingyun Peak with more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of spoils and anticipated the Cangyun Sect’s expansion.

After Cang Province settled, Lu Changsheng cultivated in secret while the sect prepared for the Dynasty War, where Zhou Qingyu was expected to secure a place in the Divine Firmament Sect. The chapter ended with Lu Changsheng learning that the patriarch had chosen him as a candidate too, leaving him upset about being forced to compete.

• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch wondered whether Lu Changsheng was the hidden Nascent Soul expert who had saved the sect, but dismissed the idea as absurd.
• The Divine Firmament Sect offered compensation for the actions of Zhao Jing and the others, while Lu Changsheng refined three hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones without advancing.
• Zhou Qingyu entered seclusion to form his core, and Ning Yuxin began suspecting that Lu Changsheng was the expert who had saved her.
• Lu Changsheng spent a month drawing Spiritual Qi from mountain ranges as the Dynasty War approached and planned to help Zhou Qingyu improve his Sword Dao.
• Ye Tianyi told Lu Changsheng that the patriarch had selected him as one of the Cangyun Sect's candidates for the Dynasty War, and Lu Changsheng tried to confront the patriarch.

Lu Changsheng tried to avoid competing in the Dynasty War, but the Cangyun Sect Patriarch forced him to accept a participation mark by claiming he had been selected through powerful connections. After Lu Changsheng left to prepare, the patriarch admitted to Lin Po that Luo Xianling had secured him a slot, though he was unlikely to pass the Divine Firmament Sect’s selection.

• Lu Changsheng met Luo Tian, who accused him of persuading the patriarch to give him a scarce competition slot, and Lu Changsheng denied wanting to go.
• The Cangyun Sect Patriarch told Lu Changsheng that he had faith in him and claimed a powerful backer had already secured his place in the Divine Firmament Sect.
• When Lu Changsheng doubted the story, the patriarch placed an irreversible participation mark on him and made clear that he had to compete.
• Lu Changsheng left for the mountains to prepare for the Dynasty War, deciding to improve his cultivation and treat the journey cautiously.
• The patriarch confessed to Lin Po that Luo Xianling had asked the Divine Firmament Sect’s supreme elder to arrange Lu Changsheng’s slot in exchange for compensation, and admitted he had lied to get Lu Changsheng to go.

Lu Changsheng returned to the Cangyun Sect after two months of cultivating across the mountains, only to learn that his Spiritual Qi depletion had sparked rumors of a great menace in Cang Province. He left again and encountered an injured black bird with Nascent Soul Realm cultivation that might be the real menace, then retreated rather than escalate the fight.

• The ancestor visited Qingyun Peak to bring Lu Changsheng resources, but learned he had been missing for several days and left the supplies behind.
• Lu Changsheng spent two months cultivating in the mountains, draining Spiritual Qi and driving Demon Beasts from their habitats.
• Ye Tianyi warned Lu Changsheng that a great menace had emptied the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Spiritual Qi and caused Demon Beasts to flee.
• Lu Changsheng realized the rumors might have been about him, then left the sect and traveled east to cultivate in a mountain range.
• Lu Changsheng found an injured black bird in a valley that competed with him for Spiritual Qi and attacked him with fireballs and feathers.
• Lu Changsheng sensed the black bird’s strength, suspected it was the great menace, and retreated to avoid drawing attention.

Lu Changsheng encountered a group from the Divine Firmament Sect while searching for a place to cultivate and warned them about a powerful Demon Beast. They ignored his warning and headed toward it, leaving Lu Changsheng to watch from a nearby mountain peak.

• Lu Changsheng left the mountain range where an injured black bird had stopped attacking and encountered a young man, Zhao Huan, and a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• The young man apologized for Zhao Huan and the cultivator’s rude behavior, then explained that their group had come to find a Demon Beast for Zhao Huan to fight.
• Lu Changsheng told the group that a great fiend had driven away the Demon Beasts, but that he had just seen a powerful one nearby.
• Despite Lu Changsheng warning that none of them could handle the Demon Beast, the group headed in the direction he pointed, and the Nascent Soul cultivator threatened to return for him.
• Lu Changsheng settled on a mountain peak, and a sky-shattering commotion soon erupted where the group had gone.

Lu Changsheng killed Zhao Huan and the wounded Divine Firmament Sect cultivator, then took the surviving young man with him. As he headed back to the sect, the black bird led two pursuing figures straight toward him.

• The wounded young man warned Lu Changsheng to flee before a black feather struck him down, while Zhao Huan escaped through the forest.
• Lu Changsheng stopped Zhao Huan, learned he belonged to the Zhao Household, and killed him despite his threats.
• Lu Changsheng forced the Divine Firmament Sect cultivator to keep fighting the black bird, then killed him when he tried to escape; the bird withdrew without attacking Lu Changsheng.
• Lu Changsheng found little wealth on the two dead men, burned their bodies, and carried the surviving young man away.
• As Lu Changsheng headed back to the sect, the black bird approached with two black-clad pursuers close behind it.

Lu Changsheng rescued a wounded black bird while saving Ye Qingchen, then secretly bound the bird with eighteen restrictions as insurance against it refusing to pay its promised reward. The black bird woke and praised Lu Changsheng for saving it, but their conversation ended with him demanding payment.

• A wounded black bird crashed into Lu Changsheng and offered him a reward for saving its life before passing out, while two Nascent Soul cultivators pursued it.
• Lu Changsheng escaped the pursuers, returned to the sect with the injured Ye Qingchen, and removed a golden plume that was grinding away the black bird’s vitality with ninth-level Sword Intent.
• Lu Changsheng treated the black bird and Ye Qingchen, then told Ye Qingchen that the other two cultivators had died fighting the ferocious beast.
• The black bird woke inside Lu Changsheng’s robes, praised him for acting kindly, and learned that he had planted eighteen restrictions in its body.
• Lu Changsheng demanded the reward the black bird had promised, while the bird trembled at the restrictions and gave no answer.

Lu Changsheng freed the injured black chicken Ye Mitian, demanded payment, and concealed it from the Nascent Soul cultivators hunting it for a million spirit crystals. After Ye Qingchen left, Lu Changsheng learned the sect would depart for the competition in three days.

• Lu Changsheng demanded Spirit Stones and other valuables from the black chicken, then made it swear never to reveal anything about him before removing its eighteen restrictions.
• Several Nascent Soul cultivators searched Cangyun Sect for the black bird, and Lu Changsheng hid it in a King-grade Law Artifact furnace.
• The black chicken told Lu Changsheng its name was Ye Mitian, but he decided to call it Xiaohei and carried it away in the furnace.
• Lu Changsheng continued helping the Cangyun Sect Patriarch cultivate while Xiaohei recovered and wondered at Lu Changsheng's unusual talent and behavior.
• Ye Qingchen said farewell to Lu Changsheng and left to handle other matters before returning to the Divine Firmament Sect.
• Lu Changsheng planned to keep a low profile until the hunt for Xiaohei passed, but the sect announced it would leave for the competition in three days.

The Cangyun Sect and the Ning Household traveled to the royal capital for the Dynasty War, where Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi received invitations to a royal gathering. Lu Changsheng settled in at the Ning Household manor, only to receive an unexpected invitation from Ye Qingchen.

• Luo Tian led the thirty selected Cangyun Sect participants toward the royal capital, and the Ning Household joined them aboard its warship.
• During the journey, Ning Yuxin spoke with Lu Changsheng while Zhou Qingyu occasionally checked her Sword Dao progress.
• The group arrived at the Ning Household manor, where Ning Yang, Ning Jing, and Ning Xiao welcomed Luo Tian and praised Ning Yuxin and Zhou Qingyu.
• The Yue Kingdom Royal Family invited Zhou Qingyu and Ye Tianyi to a Genius Exchange Conference, prompting Ye Tianyi to go find Zhou Qingyu.
• After Ye Tianyi left, Lu Changsheng received an invitation sent by Ye Qingchen.