Recaps

Li Cheng and his companions entered the tomb hall and fought its Red-robed Corpse Ghoul and the undead creatures guarding it. They defeated the ghoul, while two badly wounded cultivators returned safely toward the first level.

• Lin Yu and another Third Level of Qi Gathering cultivator emerged after escaping a ghost general that had killed their three companions, including Lü Liang.
• Yang Lingrui directed the wounded men to return by the leftmost passageway, and Li Cheng opened the hall doors with his phantom manifestation technique.
• A Red-robed Corpse Ghoul awakened and sealed the entrance as ghostfire skeletons and corpse-born bugs attacked the group.
• Yang Lingrui joined the Li Family cultivators to combine wind, fire, and water techniques, destroying most of the evil creatures.
• Li Cheng, Huang Yan, Zheng Huaming, Yang Lingrui, and the two Li Family cultivators overwhelmed the Red-robed Corpse Ghoul, and Li Cheng stomped it into fragments.

After the ancient tomb survivors divided its treasures, Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi discovered that Zhao Qi’s hidden pages completed the talisman inheritance. On their return journey, Zheng Huaming hinted that he wanted Yang Lingrui’s Vitality Returning Grass.

• Li Cheng and the others found the tomb owner’s hidden cave dwelling and divided its remaining treasures, with Li Cheng giving Yang Lingrui a Vitality Returning Grass.
• Yang Lingrui returned to Zhao Qi, and the two learned that only eighteen of the thirty-seven cultivators had survived the tomb exploration.
• Zhao Qi showed Yang Lingrui pages he had found in hollow stone pillars, and Yang Lingrui discovered they completed the incomplete talisman inheritance.
• Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi left Fengling Town the next morning and joined Zheng Huaming for part of the journey home.
• Zheng Huaming reminded Yang Lingrui of his Vitality Returning Grass and said another stalk would make his trip even better.

Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi returned from their journey after Zheng Huaming tried to steal the Vitality Returning Grass and kill them. Yang Lingrui defeated Zheng Huaming, and Zhao Qi received a bell and storage pouch as a reward for finding a complete talisman inheritance.

• Zheng Huaming demanded Yang Lingrui's Vitality Returning Grass and attacked him, revealing his plan to kill both travelers.
• Zhao Qi fled into the forest while Yang Lingrui fought Zheng Huaming, resisted the bell's spiritual attack, and killed him with a wind spike.
• Yang Lingrui found Zheng Huaming's storage pouch, concealed his remains, and later reunited with Zhao Qi in a bear's cave.
• Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi returned home five days later and told Chen Yang, Elder Yu, and Yang Lingqing what had happened.
• Yang Lingqing gave Zhao Qi Zheng Huaming's bell and storage pouch to reward him for discovering the complete talisman inheritance.

After Yang Lingrui offered Chen Yang an Exotic Stone, Chen Yang gained a healing ability and used it to completely cure Yang Linghu. The Yang Family then examined its valuable talisman inheritance, and Chen Yang began demonstrating that he could draw talismans himself.

• Yang Lingrui offered Chen Yang an Exotic Stone, and Chen Yang devoured it, gaining a pale green healing beam.
• Chen Yang used the beam to heal Yang Linghu's remaining injuries in an hour, restoring him completely.
• The Yang Family discussed the valuable Qi Gathering Realm talisman inheritance they had recovered from the ancient tomb.
• Elder Yu struggled to choose someone to learn talisman crafting, so he presented the inheritance to Chen Yang.
• Chen Yang read the inheritance and began drawing talismans, leaving Elder Yu, Yang Lingqing, and the others stunned.

Chen Yang studied talisman crafting and produced increasingly powerful talismans for the Yang Family, including his first Adamantine and Mountain-Splitting Talismans. Elder Yu received the new defensive and offensive talismans, then confirmed that the clan’s grand sacrifice was arranged for ten days later.

• Chen Yang refined a fine-quality fire talisman on his first attempt and decided to make talismans for Yang Family cultivators and teach promising descendants.
• Chen Yang practiced for months, mastering the Five Elements Talismans and several other talismans, though exquisite-grade results remained difficult.
• Chen Yang spent three months learning to refine the Adamantine Talisman and finally produced an inferior-grade one capable of briefly resisting a Seventh Level of Qi Gathering cultivator.
• Chen Yang refined an inferior-grade Mountain-Splitting Talisman after two months of practice and summoned Elder Yu and the others to the ancestral hall.
• Elder Yu received the two talismans and asked Yang Lingqing about the sacrifice; Yang Lingqing said the clan-wide ceremony was arranged for ten days later.

The Yang Family held its first grand sacrifice, and Chen Yang gained spiritual power, new soul flames, expanded perception, and a mysterious power from mortal prayers. He suspected that prayer power might be key to advancing to the Condensed Essence Realm, though its nature remained unclear.

• The Yang Family, Zhao Family, Liang Family, and villagers prepared offerings and altars for the grand sacrifice.
• Zhao Qi reunited with his father, Zhao Dapeng, and patiently listened to his tearful words before returning to the mountain with Liang Yi.
• The Yang Family and its allies performed rites honoring Chen Yang, while six cultivators offered their essence blood.
• Chen Yang absorbed the sacrifice’s spiritual energy, gaining the equivalent of eight years of breathing exercises and soul flames representing Zhao Qi and Liang Yi.
• Chen Yang received six new wisps of ethereal consciousness, extending his touch perception across the North Bank village.
• Chen Yang absorbed the mysterious power of mortal prayers and suspected it was connected to reaching the Condensed Essence Realm.

After the Yang Family received an invitation to the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly through the Nanshan Li Family, Yang Lingqing argued that attending would open opportunities in Wangyue City despite the Li Family’s unknown motives. She devised a plan to explain Yang Lingrui’s rapid cultivation and conceal its true cause before the family set out.

• Yang Lingqing ordered the Yang Family to welcome visiting forces but refuse all their gifts.
• Gao Hui delivered the Dynasty’s Spirit Crystals and told the Yang Family that they had been invited to the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly, recommended by the Nanshan Li Family’s Second Young Master.
• Yang Linghu explained that the recommendation followed Yang Lingrui’s encounter with Feng Ling and Li Cheng, who had raised the prospect of a marriage alliance.
• Yang Lingqing and Elder Yu agreed that the family should attend the assembly to pursue opportunities beyond the two towns, even though the Li Family might have hidden motives.
• Yang Linghu raised the risk that Core Formation Cultivators in Wangyue City would notice Yang Lingrui’s rapid cultivation.
• Yang Lingqing proposed attributing his progress to the Exotic Stone, spiritual liquid, and pills, and said Yang Lingrui would deliberately damage his Qi circulation before the trip.

Yang Lingqing persuaded the family to avoid the Li Family’s dangerous sect ties, while Yang Lingrui and Yang Linghu spent six months improving their combat skills. Chen Yang’s talisman-making advanced, but he still needed to finish a Mountain-Splitting Talisman before Ling Rui’s departure.

• Yang Lingqing warned Yang Linghu that the Li Family’s backing might involve Solitary Moon Mountain, and the Yang Family should avoid getting entangled in its affairs.
• Elder Yu spread word that he had bought cultivation pills, while Yang Lingrui set aside technique cultivation and practiced spell arts with Yang Linghu.
• Yang Linghu mastered the fourth layer of the Brute Force Art and killed a Third Level of Qi Gathering pig demon with an enlarged-arm punch, badly injuring himself in the process.
• Chen Yang healed Yang Linghu and continued studying talisman arts, raising his defective-grade Mountain-Splitting Talisman success rate to about forty percent.

Chen Yang completed a fine-grade Mountain-Splitting Talisman with the help of the mortals’ prayers, and Yang Lingrui departed for the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly after pretending to have injured himself forcing a breakthrough. The Yang Family stayed behind, hoping he would remain safe and preparing to restart the distant mine.

• As Chen Yang’s talisman refinement neared collapse, the power of the mortals’ prayers stabilized it, allowing him to complete a fine-grade Mountain-Splitting Talisman.
• Yang Lingrui received the talisman, and Elder Yu and the others celebrated that it could threaten an unprepared Eighth Level Qi Gathering cultivator.
• Gao Hui met Yang Lingrui at the foot of Pine Mountain and believed he had injured himself while forcing a breakthrough to the Fourth Layer of Qi Gathering.
• After Gao Hui and Yang Lingrui left for the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly, Yang Linghu revealed that Yang Lingrui’s apparent injuries were an act, and Yang Lingqing urged him to cultivate so they could reopen the distant mine.

Yang Lingrui arrived in Wangyue City in poor health and met Cheng Yi before Li Cheng’s attendants invited him to Spring Welcome Courtyard. Li Cheng decided to postpone Yang Lingrui’s meeting with his sister, but she called out that she wanted to meet him.

• Gao Hui and Yang Lingrui reached Wangyue City, where Cheng Yi welcomed them and arranged Yang Lingrui’s courtyard.
• Cheng Yi asked Gao Hui about Yang Lingrui’s condition, and Gao Hui explained how his cultivation had been damaged.
• Yu Fenghuo and Liu Cheshui visited Yang Lingrui on Li Cheng’s behalf and invited him to meet Miss Li.
• Liu Cheshui told Li Cheng about Yang Lingrui’s condition, and Li Cheng questioned whether he was fit to meet his sister.
• Li Cheng examined Yang Lingrui, accepted that his meridians were damaged, and suggested postponing the meeting.
• Miss Li called from the inner courtyard, asking to meet Yang Lingrui.

Yang Lingrui met Li Qingwan, who rejected the marriage arrangement and spoke warmly with him, while concealing her conversation from others. After he left, Li Qingwan confronted Li Cheng over his scheme to involve the Yang Family, and Li Cheng revealed his despair at being unable to save her from becoming a furnace cauldron.

• Li Qingwan summoned a barrier in the inner courtyard and invited Yang Lingrui to explain his circumstances.
• Yang Lingrui recounted his journey and hardships, omitting or altering key details.
• Li Qingwan said she would not force him or the Yang Family into the marriage arrangement, then complimented his appearance as he left.
• Li Cheng asked Li Qingwan how the meeting went, and she told him she had refused the arrangement.
• Li Qingwan accused Li Cheng of dragging the Yang Family into danger, and he admitted he wanted her to leave and live freely.
• Li Qingwan said their situation could no longer be changed, and Li Cheng collapsed in despair over her fate and his inability to condense his origin.

Yang Lingrui attended the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly with Li Cheng and was judged by other young cultivators to have relied on pills to advance. The assembly began with Wangyue City Lord Song Kaiyang, Li Qingwan, and two Core Formation cultivators arriving to open the demonstration.

• Yang Lingrui traveled with the invited cultivators to the Dharma Assembly grounds, where they mistook his blocked spiritual flow for evidence that he had advanced by consuming pills.
• Yang Lingrui joined Li Cheng at the Li Family pavilion, and Li Cheng apologized for his sister's rejection of their marriage arrangement; Yang Lingrui said there was no need to apologize.
• Other cultivators dismissed the Yang Family as unimportant, unaware that the family intended to appear weak and develop quietly.
• Drumbeats announced the demonstration, and Li Yuande and other local leaders appeared on a cloud platform.
• Song Kaiyang arrived with Li Qingwan and two Core Formation cultivators, greeted the crowd, and announced that the demonstration would begin.

At the ceremony, Yang Lingrui watched Core Formation Cultivators demonstrate the Five Elements and Wind arts, gaining new insight into sorcery. Li Cheng led him to a display stand in the Hall of Hundred Arts, where Yang Lingrui set out four talismans and attracted his first customer.

• Three Core Formation Cultivators demonstrated the Five Elements Sorcery, showing how true essence could transform into different spells.
• A burly cultivator demonstrated Wind Sorcery, and Yang Lingrui realized spells could be mastered through understanding rather than fixed techniques.
• Li Cheng shielded Yang Lingrui from the lightning demonstration and told him a personal display stand had been arranged.
• Li Cheng escorted Yang Lingrui to the Hall of Hundred Arts and left to return to his duties.
• Yang Lingrui arranged four talismans at the stand, and a Daoist-robed cultivator asked the prices of his Calming and Evil-Repelling Talismans.

Yang Lingrui sold talismans at the Hall of Hundred Arts and earned seventy Spirit Crystals. As he prepared to leave, Pei Xuejian invited him to meet his young master from the Jingyun Peak Su Family, an aristocratic house interested in his Divine Movement Talisman.

• Yang Lingrui sold talismans to Xu Jian'an and other cultivators, earning seventy Spirit Crystals during the day.
• Pei Xuejian approached Yang Lingrui as he packed up and said his young master wished to meet him.
• Li Cheng recognized Pei Xuejian and revealed that he belonged to the Jingyun Peak Su Family, an aristocratic house.
• Pei Xuejian explained that his young master wanted to discuss how Yang Lingrui's Divine Movement Talisman might complement the Su Family's talisman arts inheritance.
• Yang Lingrui agreed to accompany Pei Xuejian to the pavilion, and Pei Xuejian promised to return him safely.

Yang Lingrui met Su Lingyun in the hidden upper section of the Li Family’s sanctuary, where Su Lingyun and Old Qin interrogated him about his family’s Divine Movement Talisman. After Chen Yang’s protection blocked Su Lingyun’s soul attack, Su Lingyun paid Yang Lingrui for a hundred talismans and sent him away, while the chapter ended with Su Lingyun killing the boy who had been holding stones.

• Pei Xuejian led Yang Lingrui through an illusion array into a concealed garden above the Li Family’s pavilion, where he met Su Lingyun and Old Qin.
• Old Qin pressured Yang Lingrui to reveal the origin of his family’s talisman inheritance, and Su Lingyun attacked his sea of consciousness when Yang Lingrui could not name the ancestor’s former sect.
• Chen Yang’s consciousness protection repelled Su Lingyun’s soul attack, prompting Su Lingyun to suspect the Yang Family was connected to another force and to treat Yang Lingrui more cautiously.
• Su Lingyun offered Yang Lingrui 1,300 Spirit Crystals and three Rejuvenation Pills in exchange for one hundred Divine Movement Talismans, then had Pei Xuejian escort him away.
• After Yang Lingrui left, the boy carrying stones collapsed, and Su Lingyun killed him with a spiritual attack for putting the stones down.

Li Cheng received Yang Lingrui after the Su Family had mistreated him, but Pei Xuejian’s warning about the Li Family’s crisis left Li Cheng devastated. Yang Lingrui returned home determined to protect the Yang Family, grow strong enough to reach the Core Formation Realm, and one day repay the Su Family.

• Pei Xuejian returned Yang Lingrui to Li Cheng with a deathly pale face and dismissed Li Cheng’s objections about the Su Family’s treatment of its guest.
• Yang Lingrui claimed his injuries came from his own excitement and revealed that the Su Family had bought a hundred Divine Movement Talismans and given him five hundred Spirit Crystals as compensation.
• Pei Xuejian warned Li Cheng to spend time with Ancestor Yuande and Miss Qingwan, leaving Li Cheng shaken; Yang Lingrui then recovered by taking Li Cheng’s Qi Replenishing Pills.
• Yang Lingrui recognized that the Li Family’s troubles were too entrenched for him to help, while Li Cheng warned him to be cautious and said his own family was beyond saving.
• Yang Lingrui resolved to seize the chance to lead the Yang Family to survival by attaining the Core Formation Realm, trusting that the Immortal Venerable could help his family.
• Yang Lingrui vowed to repay the Su Family, Pei Xuejian, Su Lingyun, and Qin for the humiliation he had suffered.

Yang Lingrui sold the Yang Family’s talismans at the assembly and used the proceeds and other funds to buy spirit treasures for the family. After settling the purchases and thanking his helpers, he headed toward the newly opened Gambling Hall.

• Yang Lingrui sold his Fire Talismans and signed a five-year contract to supply a Fengling Town cultivator with thirty-six inferior-grade Fire Talismans each year.
• Yang Lingrui sold the remaining Calming Talismans and Evil-Repelling Talismans by dusk, earning forty Spirit Crystals.
• Yang Lingrui borrowed Yu Fenghuo and Liu Cheshui’s help to buy spirit treasures without drawing attention to the Yang Family’s spending.
• Yang Lingrui bought superior-grade Tiger Head Bracers, sold three Rejuvenation Pills for one thousand Spirit Crystals, and acquired a Black Sparrow Feather Fan.
• Yu Fenghuo gave Yang Lingrui the storage pouch containing additional spirit treasures, and Yang Lingrui paid Yu Fenghuo and Liu Cheshui two hundred Spirit Crystals as thanks.
• Yang Lingrui left the Li Family pavilion and went to look around the Gambling Hall.

Yang Lingrui explored the Dharma assembly, bought an Exotic Stone for the Yang Family’s Immortal Venerable, and decided that he had accomplished enough to return home early. He left the assembly behind after narrowly avoiding Moon Red Pavilion and watching the Dao Discussion Platform.

• Yang Lingrui toured the Gambling Hall but refused to spend Spirit Crystals on its games.
• Yang Lingrui bought the Red-nosed Daoist’s Exotic Stone for thirty Spirit Crystals after bargaining him down from his initial demand.
• Yang Lingrui left Moon Red Pavilion without entering after the matchmakers noticed him.
• Yang Lingrui watched the Qi Gathering Cultivators fight at the Dao Discussion Platform, then returned to his courtyard.
• Yang Lingrui reviewed what he had accomplished and decided to leave the Dharma assembly early and return home.

Yang Lingrui left the Golden Scale Dharma Assembly early, while Li Yuande told Li Cheng that the Li Family could not be saved and revealed his plan to secure a future for Li Cheng and Li Qingwan. Li Yuande prepared to sacrifice his life to win Qingwan fifteen years of protection from the Dynasty, and urged Li Cheng to support the promising Yang Family.

• Yang Lingrui decided to leave the assembly and bid farewell to Li Cheng, who agreed that leaving early would help him avoid danger.
• Li Yuande appeared in Li Cheng's room and told him that the Li Family's fortune had run dry, while apologizing for his own failures as its ancestor.
• Li Yuande revealed a corpse resembling Li Cheng and told him it was part of a plan to ensure Li Cheng survived.
• Li Yuande said he had agreed to demonstrate a failed Core Formation attempt to the Dynasty in exchange for fifteen years of protection for Li Qingwan.
• Li Cheng praised the Yang Family's potential, and Li Yuande instructed him to help them if they faced hardship.

Yang Lingrui received a letter from Yang Guanfeng and a protective treasure from Gao Hui before leaving Wangyue City for home. Three cultivators pursued him to rob him, but Yang Lingrui discovered them and prepared to fight back.

• Yang Lingrui told Gao Hui that he would leave early, then learned from Yang Guanfeng's letter that the ancestor was safe at the border and had sent the family Spirit Crystals and a Purple Heaven Flower.
• Gao Hui gave Yang Lingrui a Wind-Assisting Bead to protect him on the journey home, and Yang Lingrui accepted it as a return gift for the Yang Family's past help.
• Three masked cultivators, including a female cultivator from Yellow Flower Valley, followed Yang Lingrui after learning from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion that he carried valuable treasures.
• Yang Lingrui detected the pursuers with Hidden Wind in Qi and continued beyond Wangyue City's jurisdiction, where the three caught up to him.
• Yang Lingrui decided not to flee and prepared to deal with the cultivators who intended to rob and kill him.

Yang Lingrui revealed his strength after three cultivators tried to rob him, defeating them with spells and talismans. Before killing the last attacker, he learned that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had sold information about him for two hundred Spirit Crystals.

• Yang Lingrui killed the first cultivator with a wind spell after the man demanded to search his storage pouch.
• Yang Lingrui used his talismans and spirit treasures to evade the remaining pair’s attacks, then killed the wood-art cultivator.
• Yang Lingrui overwhelmed the Yellow Flower Valley female cultivator and injured her with hidden currents of wind.
• Yang Lingrui learned that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had sold information about him for two hundred Spirit Crystals, then beheaded the female cultivator.
• Yang Lingrui searched the three bodies and burned their remains with fire talismans.

Yang Lingrui was ambushed by a scarred scholar cultivator who wanted his face, and the two fought after Yang Lingrui tried to flee. The scholar saw through Yang Lingrui’s bluff and believed he had the advantage, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Yang Lingrui encountered a late Qi Gathering scholar cultivator who said he wanted Yang Lingrui’s face rather than his treasures.
• Yang Lingrui threw fire talismans and fled, but the scholar caught up with him and blocked his path.
• Yang Lingrui threatened to ruin his own face, causing the scholar to offer Spirit Crystals and approach him.
• The scholar suddenly attacked Yang Lingrui with an ink-wash arrow, but Yang Lingrui blocked it with an Adamantine Talisman and countered with a Mountain-Splitting Talisman.
• Yang Lingrui bluffed that the scholar would be the one to die, but the scholar noticed his trembling mouth and concluded he was pretending to be confident.

Yang Lingrui and the scholar nearly killed each other, but Zhao Qi arrived and finished the scholar off. Zhao Qi carried the wounded Yang Lingrui toward the Yang Family after explaining that Yang Lingqing had sent him to rescue him.

• Yang Lingrui used a high-quality Mountain-Splitting Talisman to break the scholar’s shield, leaving both men gravely wounded but the scholar still alive.
• As the scholar crawled toward Yang Lingrui to kill him, Zhao Qi’s bell attack distracted him and a golden spell struck him down.
• Zhao Qi attacked the scholar’s vital points, searched his belongings, and burned his body to ashes.
• After Zhao Qi gave Yang Lingrui spiritual liquid and a medicinal pill, Yang Lingrui told him to keep the scholar’s belongings, and Zhao Qi carried him away.
• Yang Lingrui learned that Yang Lingqing had sent Zhao Qi to find him using an imprint in Zhao Qi’s sea of consciousness.

Yang Lingrui returned to the Yang Family, recovered from his injuries, and told Yang Lingqing and Chen Yang about his journey and the powerful forces he encountered. The family concluded that the Su Family’s mistaken assumptions might shield them from scrutiny, while the strange signs at Sanglu Valley remained unresolved.

• Zhao Qi told Yang Lingrui that Elder Yu and Yang Linghu had gone to Sanglu Valley after Qinghe Town sought aid, and Yang Lingrui feared a calamity had struck the sealed valley.
• After three days of travel, Zhao Qi brought Yang Lingrui home, where Yang Lingqing took him to Chen Yang for healing; Yang Lingrui also delivered Yang Guanfeng’s letter.
• Yang Lingrui recounted the Dharma assembly and his encounters with the great Lineages, giving Chen Yang a clearer picture of the Lingyuan Realm and the Tiger Chasing Dynasty’s political balance.
• Yang Lingqing praised Li Cheng’s conduct and said the Yang Family should repay him if it gained strength, then analyzed what the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion likely knew about Yang Lingrui.
• Yang Lingqing concluded that the Su Family had mistaken the Yang Family for another force’s arrangement, and that this misunderstanding might give the family room to develop unnoticed.

Chen Yang devoured the hollow Exotic Stone Yang Lingrui brought back and gained a powerful black armor-like defensive shell. After testing it against a Mountain-Splitting Talisman, the group returned to the ancestral hall to inspect Yang Lingrui’s other spoils.

• Yang Lingrui and Yang Lingqing offered Chen Yang the pitch-black Exotic Stone, and he discovered it was hollow inside.
• Chen Yang ate the Exotic Stone and transformed its energy into a protective shell that could block spiritual sense and harden over his body.
• Chen Yang asked Yang Lingqing to test the shell with her defective Mountain-Splitting Talisman while Yang Lingrui worried the attack might hurt him.
• The talisman’s force was deflected into a rock wall, leaving Chen Yang’s shell undamaged; he judged its defense to have reached Qi Gathering Perfection.
• Back at the Yang Family ancestral hall, Yang Lingqing opened the scholar cultivator’s storage pouches and found spirit ink, an inkstone, and painting paper to go with his spirit brush.