Recaps

After the battle at Guhui Town, Yang Lingrui learned that Consort Xi had placed Xue Qingluan with him to draw him and the Yang Family closer to the Dynasty. He freed Xue Qingluan from her Magic Seal, then crushed her hopes of manipulating him by making clear that he could kill her at any moment.

• The four captured sect disciples chose to serve on the Tiger Chasing front lines rather than face trial in the Penal Division.
• After the Eastern Wilderness forces around Guhui Town were purged, Xiao Yize stayed to garrison the area, Qiu Ran returned to the rear to recuperate, and Yang Lingrui's companions set out for their stations.
• Five days later, Yang Lingrui summoned Xue Qingluan, who explained that Consort Xi had placed her with him to draw him into the Dynasty's plans for the Yang Family.
• Yang Lingrui concluded that the Dynasty was backing him as a newly risen prodigy and wanted him to establish an independent faction rather than depend on the He Family.
• Yang Lingrui shattered the jade bracelet and removed Consort Xi's Magic Seal from Xue Qingluan.
• When Xue Qingluan considered manipulating Yang Lingrui, he overwhelmed her with killing intent and warned that he could kill her with a thought, prompting her to kneel and beg for her life.

Yang Lingrui visited He Shenglai in the plantation, where they discussed Yang’s new status as a prodigy and He’s plans for cultivating both plants and people. He Shenglai ended by saying that now they had both reached important milestones, everyone was delighted.

• After frightening Xue Qingluan into submission, Yang Lingrui went to the plantation to meet He Shenglai.
• He Shenglai told Yang Lingrui that the Noble Family Order would soon reach Pine Mountain and advised him to wait until Essence Condensation before refining the two palms.
• He Shenglai warned Yang Lingrui not to show too much kindness to the Lanyue Sect female cultivator.
• Yang Lingrui and He Shenglai recalled their first meeting and discussed the Yang Family’s past poverty and the He Family’s difficult history.
• He Shenglai explained that the Dynasty had sent people to reassure him about Yang Lingrui’s rise, then said that both their paths had reached satisfying milestones.

The Yang Family received its Noble Family Order and generous rewards from the Tiger Chasing Dynasty, while Yang Lingqing negotiated terms for the family’s future involvement in government. The chapter ended with Yang Yuanliu preparing to follow Xuan Zhou to Chongtian City as his student and serve in the Immortal Patrol Division.

• Yang Lingrui realized that He Shenglai had used his future achievements to test and validate He Shenglai’s Dao.
• Xuan Zhou arrived at Pine Mountain with the Noble Family Order, and the Dynasty formally recognized the Yang Family as a local noble family.
• The Dynasty granted the Yang Family a Spirit Crystal mine vein, a Treasure Pavilion, and a land grant, which Yang Lingqing planned to use when the family was stronger.
• Xuan Zhou raised the possibility of a Yang Family member entering government, and Yang Lingqing asked for guarantees against obstructed advancement and cultivation.
• Xuan Zhou agreed to personally guide and protect a Yang Family junior, and Yang Lingqing brought Yang Yuanliu to meet him.
• Yang Yuanliu became Xuan Zhou’s student and prepared to serve with him at the Immortal Patrol Division in Chongtian City.

Chen Yang secretly controlled Elder Yu during a Dynasty assessment of the Yang Family’s talisman arts, helping him impress Talisman Master Jiang Chun'an and earn official registration. Jiang Chun'an also invited Elder Yu, now using the name Yu Liyang, to Talisman Mountain’s Gathering of Heroes Banquet.

• Jiang Chun'an questioned Elder Yu about the Yang Family’s talisman inheritance and success rates as Chen Yang concealed himself in Elder Yu’s sleeve.
• Chen Yang controlled Elder Yu as he refined a Divine Movement Talisman, first displaying flaws and then improving its stability with a second tracing.
• Jiang Chun'an praised the finished talisman and registered Elder Yu as a Qi Gathering Talisman Master under the name Yu Liyang.
• Jiang Chun'an gave Yu Liyang an invitation to Talisman Mountain’s Gathering of Heroes Banquet.

Chen Yang secured an invitation for Elder Yu to the Gathering of Heroes Banquet and continued preparing his avatar to obtain the Hundred Artifacts Tower’s inheritance. He chose Yao Santu as his route into the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm, and the chapter ended with Yao Santu asking the stone for help cultivating.

• Jiang Chun'an described the Gathering of Heroes Banquet, and Elder Yu gratefully accepted the invitation at Chen Yang's instruction.
• Chen Yang concluded that his avatar could pass as an ordinary stone and reviewed the forging skills it had learned at the Hundred Artifacts Tower.
• Chen Yang selected Yao Santu, a diligent but poorly gifted forging disciple, as someone who could bring the avatar into the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm.
• Steward Zhang urged Yao Santu to leave the Hundred Artifacts Tower, but relented when Yao Santu pleaded to stay until the Secret Realm opened.
• Yao Santu returned to his room, took out a green-speckled stone, knelt before it, and agreed to every condition in exchange for help cultivating.

Yao Santu used Chen Yang’s blood-related divine ability to heal his wrist and strengthen his cultivation, then devoted himself to reaching the Qi Gathering Realm. A year later, he arrived bloodied but successful to register for the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm.

• Yao Santu cut his wrist to offer blood, and Chen Yang’s green light healed the wound as the blood qi strengthened Yao Santu’s mind and cultivation.
• Yao Santu resolved to cultivate for another year and enter the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm, despite his poor aptitude and the other laborers’ doubts.
• Yao Santu told the two young laborers he would keep striving without regret, and they began helping with his work so he could cultivate more.
• A year later, Steward Zhang waited anxiously as registration for the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm drew to a close.
• Yao Santu arrived with blood-soaked clothes and announced that he had successfully gathered qi and wished to enter the Secret Realm.

Yao Santu entered the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm after breaking through to Qi Gathering through years of persistence, then excelled in several trials. When he reached Spirit Infusion, an ancient voice promised to help him.

• Steward Zhang confirmed Yao Santu had reached Qi Gathering, and the elder admired the damage to his meridians as proof of his perseverance.
• Yao Santu entered the Secret Realm with Senior Immortal Stone and began its trials among five other disciples.
• Yao Santu endured the mining trial for three hours and earned a green ball of light, then led the spirit ore sorting trial and earned another.
• Yao Santu passed the smelting trial and outperformed the remaining disciple in forging, earning a second blue ball of light and advancing alone.
• Yao Santu attempted the Spirit Infusion trial despite lacking experience, when knowledge flooded his mind and an ancient voice told him to keep trying.

Chen Yang guided Yao Santu through Spirit Infusion and Artifact Forging in the Secret Realm, helping him obtain an Essence Condensation Perfection-level inheritance. The chapter ended with Chen Yang discovering that the inheritance contained the building methods he needed for his inner grotto-heaven.

• Yao Santu completed Spirit Infusion after Chen Yang helped him absorb the forging insights, earning a golden sphere.
• The elders learned that Yao Santu had passed the Spirit Infusion trial and decided to promote him to core disciple after the trial.
• Zhu Yan and Kong Wudong forged magical artifacts while Chen Yang helped Yao Santu improve his curved saber.
• Chen Yang gave Yao Santu another piece of mysterious power, inspiring him to redo the forging steps and complete a higher-quality artifact.
• Yao Santu received the Hundred Refinements True Understanding Record, an Essence Condensation Perfection-level forging inheritance.
• Chen Yang examined the inheritance and found the building methods he needed to create his inner grotto-heaven.

Yao Santu’s artifact-forging achievement earned him a place as Ma Yongsheng’s Direct Disciple, while Chen Yang quietly returned to Pine Mountain and continued training Yang Yuanhong. The chapter left Yang Yuanhong with the strength to challenge even a Great Sect’s Direct Disciple.

• Yao Santu returned from the Hundred Refinements Secret Realm with a fine-grade spirit treasure, and Ma Yongsheng accepted him as his Direct Disciple.
• Yao Santu searched for Chen Yang after he vanished, then heard Chen Yang’s farewell and vowed to cultivate diligently.
• The Yang Family’s holdings and surrounding villages expanded as visitors flocked to Pine Mountain, while Wei Zhongyun refused gifts to follow the Main Family’s example.
• Chen Yang withdrew to a hidden cave dwelling with Yang Yuanhong, who reached the Fifth Layer Realm and mastered powerful movement and phantom-clone techniques.
• Chen Yang determined that Yang Yuanhong could kill late-stage cultivators and defeat a Great Sect’s Direct Disciple with his full strength.

Chen Yang trained Yang Yuanhong in Pine Mountain for a year, then returned him to the Yang Family Forbidden Ground as the boy’s combat ability and temperament had greatly improved. Using the Hundred Refinements True Understanding Record and treasures gathered by Yang Lingqing, Chen Yang repaired his cave heaven and established its initial spiritual energy cycle.

• Chen Yang put Yang Yuanhong through a year of dangerous mountain training until the boy’s combat control and strength improved substantially.
• Chen Yang brought Yang Yuanhong back to the Yang Family Forbidden Ground after the Yang Family’s visitors stopped coming.
• Yang Lingqing welcomed Yang Yuanhong’s return and gave Chen Yang two storage bags of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
• Chen Yang used the Hundred Refinements True Understanding Record to find and patch twelve flaws in his cave heaven.
• Chen Yang placed refined treasures in the cave heaven’s twelve spirit positions, completing its foundational circulation system after a month.

Chen Yang stabilized his internal grotto-heaven by gradually introducing creatures, then used Liu Zihao’s cultivation experiences to study the Way of Formations. As a formation insight returned through their heart-and-soul connection, Liang Yi’s soul flame went out.

• Chen Yang brought the grotto-heaven to life and found that most creatures could not survive there at first.
• Chen Yang tested its carrying capacity over multiple releases until the grotto-heaven became stable and self-sustaining.
• Chen Yang sent Elder Yu and Gao Hui toward Qiulu City ahead of the Gathering of Heroes Banquet.
• Chen Yang taught Liu Zihao the Way of Formations through an illusory world and shared Liu Zihao’s insights.
• Chen Yang realized that secondhand insights could not replace patient study and practice.
• A cultivation insight returned to Chen Yang, and Liang Yi’s soul flame extinguished.

Chen Yang learned that the Eastern Wilderness had turned the tide of the war and forced Tiger Chasing into a disastrous retreat. As Zhao Qi led a battered unit through enemy lines, Tiger Chasing reinforcements arrived just as the survivors faced another blockade.

• Chen Yang sensed that Zhao Qi and Xie Chuan were in grave danger and learned that the Seventh Prince had submitted to the First Prince, allowing the Eastern Wilderness to launch a devastating counterattack.
• Xie Chuan and the remnants of his unit retreated after repeated encirclements, carrying the unconscious Chu Xuan and badly wounded Zhao Qi while mourning Liang Yi, who had sacrificed himself to save Zhao Qi.
• Zhao Qi directed the unit south, then east and north, before turning west to evade the pursuers and reach the retreat route.
• Five Eastern Wilderness cultivators blocked the unit's path west; Xie Chuan engaged their captain while Dai Wei and the remaining female cultivator fought the others.
• Dai Wei wounded one enemy cultivator and held off the others until three figures emerged from the western forest, one of them killing an Eastern Wilderness cultivator with a kick.

Zhao Qi's battered unit reached safety with Han Wang's help, while the withdrawal report revealed the many cultivators who had died in the Eastern Wilderness counterattack. After reading the losses, the Tiger Chasing Emperor ordered the Murong Clan and Tianyang to prepare for a stronger response.

• Han Wang rescued Zhao Qi and the surviving soldiers, then used a pill from Young Master Lingshu to restore Zhao Qi's strength and clear his poisoned meridians.
• Chu Xuan learned that Liang Yi had died and wept silently as the unit continued its retreat.
• Three days later, Zhao Qi's unit reached the Tiger Chasing positions as the only unit from its direction to bring back ordinary soldiers alive.
• Yang Lingshu read the withdrawal report and saw the names of Liang Yi and many other fallen cultivators.
• The Tiger Chasing Emperor refused to send the Imperial Preceptor to the battlefield and ordered the Murong Clan to set out while Tianyang prepared the Dragon Banner.

Tiger Chasing and Eastern Wilderness remained locked in a standoff while the First Prince weighed whether to pursue peace or expand north. As he began preparing peace talks, a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon appeared over the camp, disrupting his plans.

• Tiger Chasing and Eastern Wilderness deployed their Spiritual Connection cultivators across three fronts, where Tao Yuan and an Eastern Wilderness True Person exchanged blows and both sides settled into a tense deadlock.
• The First Prince arrived at the Eastern Wilderness camp with a red-clad female cultivator and the Seventh Prince crawling on a chain, then asked his teacher about the odds of victory.
• The First Prince considered avoiding a costly war with Tiger Chasing and turning north to seize his Third Brother’s territory instead.
• The red-clad female cultivator gouged out the Seventh Prince’s eyes after he privately mocked her relationship with the First Prince, and the First Prince comforted him before preparing to send envoys to negotiate with Tiger Chasing.
• A Five-Clawed Golden Dragon descended from the western sky, and the red-clad female cultivator sealed the First Prince’s senses after he saw its golden imperial radiance.

Tiger Chasing launched a full-scale eastern offensive, forcing the First Prince of Eastern Wilderness to respond while the Tiger Chasing Emperor risked the dynasty’s future on the battle. On the Northern Frontline, Tiger Chasing’s prodigies disrupted Eastern Wilderness’s forces, and a Core Formation Cultivator came under a sudden attack.

• Consort Xi joined the Tiger Chasing Emperor before the army, and their presence strengthened the soldiers’ morale and Martial Qi.
• The red-robed female cultivator dispelled the First Prince’s projection after Tiger Chasing’s True Dragon targeted his Soaring Dragon Aura, leaving the First Prince shaken.
• The First Prince learned that Tiger Chasing had launched a full-scale offensive and ordered more Eastern Wilderness troops to the battlefield.
• The Tiger Chasing Emperor’s gamble put the dynasty’s survival at stake, since victory could restore its fortunes while defeat could lead to its collapse.
• On the Northern Frontline, yellow wind helped Tiger Chasing’s Core Formation Cultivators suppress their opponents, while a Falling Moon concealed a corrosive attack that pierced an Eastern Wilderness cultivator’s protective true essence.

Yang Lingrui used his newly refined Dual Wind Dao Tradition to aid Tiger Chasing’s three Core Formation Cultivators and injure an Eastern Wilderness opponent. After the battle, he returned to camp and unexpectedly healed Xue Qingluan’s injuries.

• Yang Lingrui used a concealed wind spike to pierce an Eastern Wilderness Core Formation Cultivator’s defenses and strike his lower back.
• Yang Lingrui escaped with Phantom Body as the Eastern Wilderness withdrew, ending the battle and giving Tiger Chasing’s exhausted forces time to rest.
• Three Tiger Chasing Core Formation Cultivators thanked Yang Lingrui for helping them through the fight.
• Yang Lingrui returned to camp, where Xue Qingluan hid the injuries and mental damage she had suffered when her Bright Moon Manifestation was destroyed.
• Yang Lingrui told Xue Qingluan to lower her mental guard and placed his palm on her head, healing her injuries with a warm force.

Yang Lingrui treated Xue Qingluan’s injuries and heard her prediction that the Eastern Wilderness would soon reinforce the battlefield. He prepared to return with her to the main camp as the reinforcements were expected within a day or two.

• Yang Lingrui used the consciousness fragment in his sea of consciousness to heal Xue Qingluan’s injuries.
• Xue Qingluan thanked Yang Lingrui and gave him her latest battle report and analysis.
• Xue Qingluan predicted that the Eastern Wilderness would send reinforcements to the battlefield within the next day or two.
• Yang Lingrui told Xue Qingluan to return to the main camp with him.

Yang Lingrui helped Tiger Chasing prepare for an orderly retreat and went to cover the evacuation of a garrison. When Eastern Wilderness forces attacked, they recognized him as the feared “Ghost” and fled.

• Yang Lingrui warned the defending general and Core Formation Cultivators to withdraw early, and several encampments moved back under his arrangements.
• Yang Lingrui and Xue Qingluan received orders to cover the retreat of two large garrisons, while He Shenglai, Qiu Ran, and Zi He were assigned other crucial tasks.
• Yang Lingrui reached his garrison and infused its Tiger Cannons and supplies with wind arts, more than tripling the army’s withdrawal efficiency.
• A spell erupted in the sky as the Eastern Wilderness forces began their attack.
• Yang Lingrui confronted more than twenty Eastern Wilderness cultivators on the First Heaven Battlefield, enveloped them in a raging gale, and made them flee when their leader recognized the “Ghost.”

Yang Lingrui faced five Eastern Wilderness cultivators whose Wind Stabilizing Pills countered his wind arts, but he overwhelmed their joint Spirit Manifestation with his World Destruction black wind. He turned the tornado inward to test how much the pills could withstand, swallowing all five as their protection began to crack.

• Yang Lingrui killed the first group of more than twenty Eastern Wilderness cultivators who had been sent to probe the garrison’s defenses.
• Five cultivators from a great Eastern Wilderness clan arrived, using Wind Stabilizing Pills to disperse Yang Lingrui’s black and yellow wind arts.
• The five formed a two-headed, four-armed Spirit Manifestation and smashed Yang Lingrui’s yellow wind manifestation, but he blocked their ray arts with a black wind python.
• Yang Lingrui unleashed World Destruction, trapping the five and breaking their Spirit Manifestation despite their pills.
• Yang Lingrui drove the growing tornado downward, engulfing the five as the Wind Stabilizing Pills’ protective barrier began to crack.

Yang Lingrui killed five Eastern Wilderness cultivators and drove their army into retreat, but a Core Formation Cultivator then ambushed him and tried to seize his Spiritual Incarnation. Trapped in an earthen prison, Yang Lingrui began refining the treasure and wounded his attacker with an exploding wind spike.

• Yang Lingrui overwhelmed the five cultivators with black wind, killing them as their leader fled and was caught by the black wind python.
• The Eastern Wilderness army retreated after Yang Lingrui's victory, but an approaching Core Formation Cultivator forced Yang Lingrui to flee.
• The Core Formation Cultivator crushed the area with a vast layer of earth, but Yang Lingrui survived by using the two hands he had received from Tiger Chasing.
• Recognizing the hands as a Spiritual Incarnation, the Core Formation Cultivator pursued Yang Lingrui and trapped him within four earthen walls.
• Yang Lingrui began refining the hands and used them to block an attack, then detonated a wind spike inside the Core Formation Cultivator's side.

Yang Lingrui was buried by the earth cultivator while trying to refine his Spiritually Connected Embodiment Hands, but the Murong Clan’s Colorful Cloud Blessed Land appeared over the Northern Frontline and sent reinforcements into battle. Murong Qiuhan arrived and attacked the earth cultivator as the First Prince redirected his forces toward the Third Prince’s territory.

• Yang Lingrui began breaking through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering, but the earth cultivator split the ground and buried him beneath falling mud and stones.
• The earth cultivator tried to seize Yang Lingrui’s hands, but a golden thread struck away his true essence as multicolored clouds and a rift appeared over the Northern Frontline.
• The First Prince recognized the Murong Clan’s Colorful Cloud Blessed Land, steadied himself with the red-robed female cultivator’s help, and ordered his forces to withdraw and attack the Third Prince’s territory in the Northwest.
• Murong Qiuhan descended onto the battlefield, identified herself, and forced the earth cultivator to flee.
• Murong Qiuhan summoned a jade seal and enlarged it into a colossal peak that crushed the earth cultivator’s technique.

Murong Qiuhan rescued Yang Lingrui from an Earth Cultivator of Essence Condensation, and he broke through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering. After she gave him five valuable treasures and helped him heal, Yang Lingrui resolved to strengthen the Yang Family as he advanced toward Essence Condensation.

• Murong Qiuhan killed the Earth Cultivator of Essence Condensation and collected the cultivator’s true essence.
• Murong Qiuhan noticed Yang Lingrui’s spiritual fluctuations had stabilized, and he broke through to the Twelfth Floor of Qi Gathering.
• Murong Qiuhan tested Yang Lingrui with the Exquisite Heart Method, but he remained unmoved and thanked her for saving his life.
• Murong Qiuhan gave Yang Lingrui five treasures, including healing medicines, a Golden Thread Dharma Robe, and a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Yang Lingrui used the medicines under Murong Qiuhan’s protection, healed his injuries, and resolved to gather resources for the Yang Family after reaching Essence Condensation.

After Murong Qiuhan explained the lifespan cost of the Murong Clan’s secret arts, Yang Lingrui joined her in battle as the Colorful Cloud Blessed Land’s forces helped Tiger Chasing push back the Eastern Wilderness. The retreating Eastern Wilderness army turned to widespread looting, while Murong Tianyang ordered Tiger Chasing troops to help the victims and win the people’s trust.

• Murong Qiuhan explained that Murong Clan members gained cultivation through secret arts but rapidly lost their lifespans outside the Colorful Cloud Blessed Land.
• Yang Lingrui recovered from his injuries and joined Murong Qiuhan in battle against the Eastern Wilderness forces.
• After the First Prince of the Eastern Wilderness ordered a retreat, Tiger Chasing pursued the enemy and turned its withdrawal into a rout.
• Eastern Wilderness soldiers and cultivators deserted discipline and plundered villages, towns, lineages, and sects as they fled.
• Murong Tianyang slowed Tiger Chasing’s pursuit and sent supplies and troops to help the people rebuild, changing their view of the dynasty.

Yuan Cheng and Yang Guanfeng encountered Eastern Wilderness cultivators plundering He'gou Town, where the wounded mayor Qu Ming tried to protect the townspeople. Yang Guanfeng felt a sudden pull from the west and decided to intervene, while Yang Lingrui raced toward the town and someone struck the cultivator about to burn it.

• Qu Ming fought five army-following cultivators who had looted households and killed their residents, but they overpowered him.
• The townspeople begged the cultivators to spare Qu Ming, while Yuan Cheng held back from intervening because he feared exposing himself and his master.
• Yang Guanfeng noticed Qu Ming’s resolve, then felt his mind and spirit stir toward the west and told Yuan Cheng to hide as he went to kill the cultivators.
• Yang Lingrui abruptly transformed into golden light and flew northeast, leaving Murong Qiuhan to chase after him.
• A cultivator prepared to burn the townspeople, but an unseen attacker struck him backward and extinguished the fire spell.

Yang Guanfeng killed five Eastern Wilderness cultivators who had attacked Qu Ming and the people of He'gou Town, but a Core Formation cultivator arrived and threatened them. Yang Lingrui and Murong Qiuhan rescued them, and Yang Lingrui recognized Yang Guanfeng as his ancestor and knelt to pay his respects.

• Yang Guanfeng killed the five Eastern Wilderness cultivators, burned their bodies with Qu Ming's fire talismans, and urged the townspeople to flee.
• A Core Formation cultivator arrived, incapacitated everyone in He'gou Town, and prepared to kill Yang Guanfeng and Qu Ming.
• Yang Lingrui arrived and shattered the old cultivator's attack with his Spiritual Incarnation, then pursued and killed him.
• Tiger Chasing cultivators arrived and recognized Yang Guanfeng as one of their own when he showed his worn Black Tiger Camp clothing.
• Yang Lingrui returned with Murong Qiuhan, recognized Yang Guanfeng after twelve years, and knelt to pay respects to the Songshan Yang Family ancestor.