Recaps

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian discussed forming a team for the sequencer grand event, weighing their parents against recruiting Zuo Teng. Zhang Xuezhou rejected Zuo Teng and began contacting Wang Li to fill the team.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained the Thread-Control Incantation to Zhang Manqian and described how he was using it to improve his dexterity.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian that Ren Yisheng had suggested they enter the sequencer grand event in two years and explained its team format.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted to develop Ren Yisheng's Kunpeng Combat Technique, while Zhang Manqian refused to team up with Zuo Teng because she distrusted him.
• Zhang Manqian suggested recruiting Zhang Weimeng and Song Fengying instead, and Zhang Xuezhou considered training them to help withstand opponents.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to avoid Zuo Teng and began messaging Wang Li to recruit another teammate.

After Zhang Xuezhou invited Wang Li to join his team for the Sequencer Grand Gathering, Wang Li accepted and abandoned his plans to sabotage Song Fengying’s streaming platform. He signed the deal, gained second-level permissions, and prepared to make money by livestreaming casino betting strategies to paying viewers.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Wang Li that Ren Yisheng had signed him up for the Sequencer Grand Gathering and asked whether he would join the team.
• Wang Li accepted Zhang Xuezhou’s invitation and decided to complete his blood replacement and fighting technique training as quickly as possible.
• Wang Li signed the streaming platform contract, transferred the money, and asked Song Fengying to upgrade the servers and grant him second-level permissions.
• Wang Li created the invitation-only stream Casino General and advertised paid access to his fair-weather friends.
• Wang Li planned to livestream betting strategies from a casino, hoping to profit from VIP fees before the casino banned him.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to the cave and found the Buddhist disciple gravely injured and unable to move, but only treated him after extracting a yellow feather from the Peacock Great Wisdom King. The Buddhist disciple recognized a hidden destructive power in Zhang Xuezhou and realized he had found another of his kind as he pursued the Eye of Destruction Divine Ability.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke in the other world and found the Buddhist disciple back in his own body, helpless and badly injured.
• Zhang Xuezhou initially left the cave without helping, but returned when the Buddhist disciple said he had more treasures.
• The Buddhist disciple offered the Peacock Great Wisdom King's yellow feather, and Zhang Xuezhou found it could ward off earth-element techniques and remove dust.
• Zhang Xuezhou took the feather from the Buddhist disciple's belt before agreeing to suppress his injuries.
• The Buddhist disciple recalled the previous night and recognized that Zhang Xuezhou carried a hidden destructive power, making him feel less alone on the path to control the Eye of Destruction Divine Ability.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Buddha's disciple believed they both carried a dangerous force of destruction and agreed they should work together. After the Buddha's disciple asked him to share his Divine Sense cultivation Technique, Zhang Xuezhou decided to teach him the Mental Strengthening Chapter to test whether it could help them.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned the Buddha's disciple's warning about a force of destruction inside him, then recalled Daoist Mu's failed attempt to possess him with a ghost.
• The Buddha's disciple explained that the force could grow, overwhelm its host, and make them a puppet, as he had suffered similar effects from a force inside himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked whether the Buddha's disciple had found a treatment, and the disciple described his failed remedies and the force's growing vitality.
• The Buddha's disciple proposed that they work together and asked Zhang Xuezhou to teach him his Divine Sense cultivation Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered his available Techniques and chose the Mental Strengthening Chapter to teach the Buddha's disciple.

The Buddha's Son struggled to cultivate Zhang Xuezhou's technique and urged him to travel west in search of great medicines that could strengthen Divine Sense and remove hidden dangers. Zhang Xuezhou hesitated between continuing toward Chang'an City and joining him, but the promise of a medicine that could improve his health made him lean toward going.

• The Buddha's Son found Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation technique confusing, and Zhang Xuezhou set aside his plan to use it to distinguish cultivation methods.
• The Buddha's Son told Zhang Xuezhou that a secret place to the west held great medicines that might strengthen Divine Sense and delay their bodily dangers.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to take the Buddha's Son to the Venerable One's herb garden and said he wanted to find his senior brother and return to Chang'an City.
• The Buddha's Son offered to share the medicines and claimed one could prolong life, remove bodily impurities, and help cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou became interested in the medicine's possible effects on his health and began reconsidering his plans.

Zhang Xuezhou accompanied the injured Buddha Son to a remote mountain border where a secret realm appeared, hoping to obtain a great medicine. After the realm opened, the Buddha Son warned Zhang Xuezhou to follow his steps carefully through its ancient formations.

• The Buddha Son led Zhang Xuezhou west for six days to the snowy mountain border between the Southern Jambudvipa Continent and West Ox Hezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that Demon Beasts guarded the great medicines, but the Buddha Son assured him that none were present at their destination.
• The Buddha Son explained that the place they were waiting at was a secret realm, and Zhang Xuezhou admitted he had never entered the Dao Lord's or Venerable One's palace.
• The secret realm appeared beneath the boulder, replacing the snowy mountains with lush grass, and the Buddha Son suspected the protective formation had changed.
• The Buddha Son tied his hand to Zhang Xuezhou's with his belt and carefully led him through the realm, instructing him to follow his footprints and avoid the ancient formations.

The Buddha's Disciple realized that the Earth Spirit Fruit and Zhang Xuezhou were illusions, and waited for the formation to fade while trying to keep Zhang safe. After a second group entered and vanished into the formation, the illusion dispersed, leaving the real Earth Spirit Fruit—but Zhang was gone.

• The Buddha's Disciple discovered that the Earth Spirit Fruit had no effect and realized he was trapped in an illusion formation.
• He sat still and waited for the formation to fade, hoping Zhang Xuezhou would not act recklessly.
• Venerable Hongku and Venerable Lei entered the formation, and the Buddha's Disciple warned them not to come in.
• The formation trapped the newcomers in a blizzard, and they spoke of finding the true entrance to the Earth Immortal Realm's secret realm.
• The illusion dispersed, revealing the real Earth Spirit Fruit and the moonlit secret place, but the Buddha's Disciple could not find Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou worried about his missing parents and planned to visit the Han Dynasty after dealing with the Buddha Son. In the secret land, he escaped from underground only to be buried again beneath a strange peach tree after eating one of its peaches.

• Zhang Xuezhou waited for Zhang Weimeng, posted the saved drafts of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and resumed cursing the author under the 'Dongfang Shuo' account.
• Zhang Xuezhou thought about his estranged parents, Zhang Zhong and Lady Yourong, and planned to visit the Han Dynasty after his business with the Buddha Son was finished.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to his body underground and used the Demon Power in the Peacock Great Wisdom King's yellow feather to escape beneath a peach tree.
• Zhang Xuezhou found a headless skeleton buried under the tree, then called for the Buddha Son but received no answer.
• Zhang Xuezhou ate a ripe peach, became dizzy as if drunk, and collapsed beneath the tree.
• Roots emerged from under the peach tree, bound Zhang Xuezhou, and dragged him underground again.

Zhang Xuezhou escaped being buried beneath the Drunken Peach Trees and discovered that the secret place was the Kunlun Ruins, where he became trapped in an illusion. He reunited with the Buddhist disciple, who appeared as an old man, and the two drank wine that improved Divine Sense.

• Zhang Xuezhou overheard women discuss the Drunken Peach Trees and learned that they used corpses as fertilizer and that the secret place had an owner.
• Zhang Xuezhou dug his way out of the soil, saw the trees dragging severed bodies underground, and followed the women's footprints toward an exit.
• Zhang Xuezhou found a boundary marker reading Kunlun Ruins and then became trapped in a pavilion illusion above an apparent abyss.
• An old man appeared in the pavilion, and Zhang Xuezhou realized he was the Buddhist disciple, though each saw the other as an ugly old man.
• The Buddhist disciple offered Zhang Xuezhou wine that affected Divine Sense, and Zhang Xuezhou drank it before criticizing its sour taste.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed winemaking with an old man in Kunlun, then passed out after drinking the Emperor’s Nine Treasures Wine. The Emperor sent him Earth Spirit Fruits and ordered him to leave through a formation, while he and the Golden Crow reconsidered their old grievances against Zhu Jiuyin.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that poor filtering and sterilization had spoiled the fruit wine, and the old man questioned him about making wine.
• The old man urged Zhang Xuezhou to drink more, promising that good fruit wine could benefit his Divine Sense, until Zhang passed out.
• The Emperor summoned a red-robed old man and ordered him to give Zhang two Earth Spirit Fruits and let him find his way out through the Lesser Six Vehicles Heart-Intimidating Formation.
• The Emperor and the Golden Crow discussed Zhang’s claim that better wines existed and reflected on how the outside world had changed.
• The Golden Crow raised the deaths of his son and Zhu Shiyin, but the Emperor argued that Zhu Jiuyin had suffered greater losses, and the Golden Crow accepted that their score was settled.

After waking in the real world, Zhang Xuezhou realized the old man he met in the Kunlun Ruins' secret realm was its master and that the fruit wine he drank was made with powerful medicinal ingredients. The wine was strengthening his mental power, so Zhang Xuezhou decided he wanted to return for more rather than hurry to escape.

• Zhang Xuezhou recalled the old man's mention of rare medicinal ingredients and concluded that he had encountered the secret realm master.
• Zhang Xuezhou searched for winemaking theory so he could use the master's interest in fruit wine to gain his favor.
• As Zhang Xuezhou studied and cultivated, he felt the wine steadily increase his mental power and help him advance through the fourth chapter of the Mental Strengthening Chapter.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized that even diluted medicinal wine retained some effects of its top-grade ingredients, and he wanted to drink more to complete the chapter sooner.
• Zhang Xuezhou compared the master's wealth with the Venerable One's and decided to stay in the Kunlun Ruins' secret realm in hopes of gaining another opportunity.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the hidden land’s winery with the Buddha’s son, who wanted to drink its Divine Sense-strengthening fruit wine. They discovered the Nine Treasures Wine recipe and learned that its seal bore the name Haotian, while the Buddha’s son identified Zhang Xuezhou’s Dao Lord as Lu Ya; they remained in the winery as the Buddha’s son urged Zhang Xuezhou to improve the wine.

• Zhang Xuezhou received Zhang Weimeng’s message that he planned to visit the academy, and Zhang Xuezhou promised to cover his food and lodging.
• Zhang Xuezhou awoke in a winery, where he mistook a nearly featherless crow for the hidden land’s master before the Buddha’s son appeared.
• The Buddha’s son refused to leave without tasting the Divine Sense-strengthening fruit wine and showed Zhang Xuezhou a silk scroll containing the Nine Treasures Wine recipe.
• Zhang Xuezhou noticed the seal on the recipe, and the Buddha’s son read its name as Haotian.
• The Buddha’s son told Zhang Xuezhou that his Dao Lord was called Master Lu Ya and described him as a formidable opponent feared by the Western Sect.
• The Buddha’s son urged Zhang Xuezhou to help make the wine and see whether he could improve its quality.

Zhang Xuezhou advised the Sovereign on improving his fruit wine, and they tried different methods despite disagreeing about how it should be made. The chapter ended with both men uncertain whether cooling or bottling the wine hot would produce the better result.

• Zhang Xuezhou identified the Sovereign's method as distillation and explained how it could refine the wine while preserving its flavor.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested covering the vat's vent with damp silk to limit its exposure to air, and the Sovereign followed his instructions.
• The Sovereign and Zhang Xuezhou disagreed over whether the wine should be cooled before bottling or matured while hot.
• The Golden Crow watched the disagreement and privately thought Zhang Xuezhou was talking nonsense.
• The Sovereign and Zhang Xuezhou split the wine into two batches, cooling one and bottling the other hot, but neither knew which method would work better.

Zhang Xuezhou waited in the winery with the Imperial Lord, who was disguised as the Buddhist Son, while the fruit wine matured. After discovering that the wine’s sour taste came from its ingredients rather than spoilage, Zhang Xuezhou saw a familiar face rush into the winery.

• Zhang Xuezhou stepped outside the winery, saw the dangerous cloud-wreathed realm and distant peach grove, then returned inside.
• The Imperial Lord explained that the area was deserted and full of formations, and threw the Golden Crow out of the winery.
• After waiting for half a shichen, the Imperial Lord left to check on the Golden Crow Great Emperor and the activity outside.
• Zhang Xuezhou found three extraordinary black feathers beneath the brewing pool and used them to rekindle the fire.
• Zhang Xuezhou tasted the base liquor and realized its sour, astringent flavor came from the combination of ingredients, but its potency made him tipsy.
• Someone rushed into the winery, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized the familiar face, which shocked him sober.

Zhang Xuezhou was caught brewing wine from rare fruits in the Kunlun Sacred Land, and Hongku and Venerable Lei sampled it. The wine proved to be a potent great medicine that loosened the barrier at Hongku’s Sole Self Realm.

• Hongku and Venerable Lei entered the winery and found Zhang Xuezhou drunk beside the brewing vat.
• Venerable Lei identified several rare fruits in the wine and explained that mixing Bitter Apricot with Exquisite Fruit made it taste sour and astringent.
• Hongku asked whether they could drink the wine, and Venerable Lei poured him a cup after Zhang Xuezhou tested a small sip.
• Hongku drank the wine and felt its power pry loose the barrier at the Sole Self Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou woke to find Hongku suffering severe vomiting after consuming the bitter almonds and Linglong Fruit, and he suggested using water and a hollow Arhat Bamboo to clear the contents of Hongku’s stomach. As Hongku recovered, he explained his earlier actions and the medicine’s benefits, while Venerable Lei refused to risk drinking it himself.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke and heard Venerable Lei discuss Hongku’s vomiting and the bad taste left by the bitter almonds and Linglong Fruit.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that Hongku drink water and vomit repeatedly, then proposed using a hollow tube to trigger vomiting.
• Venerable Lei reshaped the Arhat Bamboo and pushed it into Hongku’s throat, allowing Hongku to vomit through its hollow center.
• Hongku told Zhang Xuezhou that he had not caused the trouble with Venerable Yufeng and had helped keep Zhang off the Yedie River Holy Land’s arrest warrant.
• Hongku said the great medicine could strengthen their Divine Sense and help it resist perishing, but Venerable Lei refused to drink it after seeing Hongku’s condition.
• Hongku reflected that he had tested the medicine on Zhang Xuezhou and had broken through because he feared Venerable Yinghua would come after his three-year protection period ended.

Zhang Xuezhou stayed behind after realizing Venerable Lei and Hongku could rely on the Yedie River Holy Land for protection, while he could not. As Venerable Lei tried to leave the secret grounds carrying Hongku and the unconscious Zhang Xuezhou, Golden Crow arrived and attacked them.

• Zhang Xuezhou failed to conceal the jade bottles of Nine Treasures Wine and decided to stay in the secret grounds rather than escape with Venerable Lei and Hongku.
• Venerable Lei explained that the Dao Lord protected the Yedie River Holy Land, giving him and Hongku confidence that they could avoid retaliation by returning there.
• Zhang Xuezhou drank a little Nine Treasures Wine base, became drunk, and lay down to delay Venerable Lei and Hongku from leaving without him.
• Hongku urged Venerable Lei to help Zhang Xuezhou cultivate the Technique Within the Clouds and perhaps teach him the basics of the Great Glazed Treasure Body, but Venerable Lei remained suspicious of their motives.
• Venerable Lei collected the wine base and followed Hongku's directions toward the exit, carrying Hongku and Zhang Xuezhou with him.
• Golden Crow confronted Venerable Lei on Mount Kunlun, spat flames at him, and raised thunderclouds filled with golden lightning to block his escape.

Venerable Lei struggled to escape the Heavenly Emperor’s thunderclouds while the Golden Crow Great Emperor attacked him, but Hongku got them out of danger. Afterward, Hongku confronted Venerable Lei about his distrust, and Venerable Lei’s repeated reassurances began to soften his suspicions.

• Venerable Lei charged through the Heavenly Emperor’s thunderclouds but remained trapped as the Golden Crow Great Emperor struck him repeatedly.
• Venerable Lei used Hongku and Zhang Xuezhou as shields, then fought back against the Golden Crow Great Emperor as the Heavenly Emperor’s lightning nearly overwhelmed him.
• Hongku invoked his connection to the Heavenly Emperor and got Venerable Lei out of the thunderclouds, then reminded him that he should not have abandoned Wu Jin.
• Venerable Lei left the secret place and Hongku followed, telling him that he understood Venerable Lei wanted his help but feared being manipulated.
• Hongku repeated that he sought only the person behind the Incantation that killed his family, and Venerable Lei’s wariness faded as he began to feel guilty about abandoning Wu Jin.

The Imperial Lord abandoned the attempt to pursue Venerable Lei and returned to his wine workshop, where he discovered that Hongku and Venerable Lei had stolen his wine and fruit-wine lees. Zhang Xuezhou recovered from the lightning and wine’s effects, and the Imperial Lord resumed brewing while the Golden Crow Great Emperor mourned the Heavenly Court’s decline.

• The Imperial Lord decided not to capture Venerable Lei and told the Golden Crow Great Emperor to take Zhang Xuezhou back with him.
• The Imperial Lord found his wine pool emptied and the Arhat Bamboo discarded, then angrily realized Hongku and Venerable Lei had stolen his wine lees.
• The Golden Crow Great Emperor dropped Zhang Xuezhou, who explained that he had hidden two bottles of wine; the Imperial Lord noticed feathers growing on his arms and asked about his connection to Leizhenzi’s Lineage.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to ease his pain and sober up, while the Imperial Lord treated his lightning injury.
• The Imperial Lord restored the wine workshop and continued brewing, and the Golden Crow Great Emperor reflected on the Heavenly Court’s fading prospects.

The Emperor considered adding Bodhi Fruit to his Nine Treasures Wine after Zhang Xuezhou argued it could improve the flavor. While waiting for the Golden Crow Great Emperor to fetch the fruit, he discovered Zhang Xuezhou’s body had been left without its three souls and seven spirits, and a powerful incantation blocked his investigation.

• Zhang Xuezhou urged the Emperor to add Bodhi Fruit to the brew, citing its balancing properties and his knowledge of alchemy.
• The Emperor sent the Golden Crow Great Emperor to ask for Bodhi Fruits, then returned to the brewery to think over Zhang Xuezhou’s suggestion.
• Zhang Xuezhou fell asleep, and the Emperor examined him out of boredom.
• The Emperor realized Zhang Xuezhou’s three souls and seven spirits had vanished from his body.
• The Emperor saw a red speck in Zhang Xuezhou’s eyes and lost his probing thought to a powerful incantation.
• The Emperor compared the incantation to the Immortal-Slaying Incantation and thrust two fingers toward Zhang Xuezhou’s eyes.

Zhang Xuezhou endured the backlash from a clash between the secret domain's master and a mysterious flame, then woke in the Kunlun Ruins and inferred that the Western Sect's leaders might be seeking new bodies for a second life. He defused the master's killing intent by offering to share how Nine Treasures Wine aided Divine Sense cultivation.

• Zhang Xuezhou suffered bleeding eyes and a nose as chanting and lights from the distant clash disrupted his consciousness, but the Kunpeng Combat Technique helped him withstand the suppression.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed the secret domain's master fighting a flame in the Kunlun Ruins and glimpsed what seemed to be many other beings like himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to his body in the brewery, where the secret domain's master had taken the Buddha's Son's form and wiped away golden blood.
• The Divine Lord speculated that Jieyin and Zhunti were planning to replace their old bodies, and considered disrupting their scheme.
• Zhang Xuezhou inferred that the Divine Lord's killing intent came from his remark about the Buddha's Son's illness, then offered to share how Nine Treasures Wine accelerated Divine Sense cultivation.
• The Divine Lord halted his lightning and asked Zhang Xuezhou how he planned to strengthen his Divine Sense.

The emperor realized Zhang Xuezhou’s Divine Sense Strengthening Incantation offered a new path to refine consciousness and might explain the strength of his greatest rivals. After learning that Mr. Ren had taught Zhang the Technique, the emperor suspected that the mysterious figure was influencing events again, but the Golden Crow Great Emperor’s calls interrupted his thoughts.

• The emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou to repeat the Divine Sense Strengthening Incantation and recognized that it refined Divine Sense rather than increasing its volume.
• The emperor connected the Technique’s principles to his crushing defeat and concluded that stronger, refined Law Power explained the gap between him and his opponent.
• The emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou to explain the Incantation in greater detail, and Zhang suggested that he drink more Nine Treasures Wine before trying again.
• The emperor agreed to try again after drinking and considered how the Technique could affect the balance between the Heavenly Court and the Immortal Court.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the emperor that Mr. Ren had taught him the Technique, prompting the emperor to wonder whether Mr. Ren was guiding events and had planned the flame that wounded him.
• The Golden Crow Great Emperor called from outside the brewery, interrupting the emperor’s suspicions.

Zhang Xuezhou reflected on how powerful he hoped to become while the emperor watched his cultivation and worried about the Nine Treasures Wine. The empress arrived at the Kunlun Ruins, attacked the emperor after mistaking his concern for Zhang Xuezhou as evidence he was hiding a woman, and entered the winery to investigate.

• Zhang Xuezhou resolved to reach the level of the master of the Kunlun Ruins so no one could control his life and death.
• The emperor watched Zhang Xuezhou cultivate and wondered whether he would practice the Divine Sense strengthening incantation or leave after the Nine Treasures Wine was ready.
• A female official told the emperor that the empress would attack the Immortal Court if he did not return, so he set out for the palace.
• The empress arrived and accused the emperor of hiding a young woman after he tried to protect someone inside the winery.
• The empress struck the emperor unconscious with her Ruyi Vermilion Hairpin, then entered the winery to find the woman she suspected he was hiding.

The empress entered the brewery and mistook Zhang Xuezhou for a man the emperor had hidden away, while the Golden Crow Great Emperor struggled to explain why he was there. The emperor arrived to defend Zhang Xuezhou, but his explanation only deepened the empress’s suspicions, and she struck the Golden Crow Great Emperor with her hairpin.

• The empress entered the brewery and found Zhang Xuezhou beside the brewing vat, then accused the emperor of secretly meeting a man.
• The Golden Crow Great Emperor blocked the empress’s attack and explained that Zhang Xuezhou was a brewer competing with the emperor over Nine Treasures Wine.
• The empress grew angrier as the Golden Crow Great Emperor described the brewing contest and Zhang Xuezhou tried to play the fool.
• The Golden Crow Great Emperor urged the empress to spare Zhang Xuezhou until the emperor recovered, while the empress rejected his attempts to stall.
• The emperor arrived and called Zhang Xuezhou a student he planned to train against the Immortal Court, prompting the empress to strike the Golden Crow Great Emperor with her hairpin.

Zhang Xuezhou bowed to the Empress to save his life, and the Sovereign claimed him as a student to stop her from attacking him. The Sovereign decided to make the student claim real, suspecting Zhang Xuezhou could help him counter the Immortal Court and the mysterious force behind him.

• Zhang Xuezhou greeted the Empress as his teacher's wife after she struck the three-legged black bird with her hairpin.
• The Empress questioned whether Zhang Xuezhou was truly the Sovereign's student, and Zhang praised her while the Sovereign confirmed he had said flattering things about her.
• The Sovereign recovered from his paralysis and entered the winery, relieved to find Zhang Xuezhou alive.
• The Sovereign gave the Empress a shaky explanation for choosing Zhang Xuezhou, then privately considered whether Zhang was tied to the being who had once chosen Jiang Shang.
• The Sovereign resolved to turn his false claim into a real student-teacher relationship and told the Empress that he and Zhang shared an interest in wine.