Recaps

Zhang Xuezhou sought Zou Bugui’s advice on pill refinement and learned about the dangers of borrowing Demon Power and taking untested medicines. Zou Bugui began teaching him the fundamentals while reflecting on the longevity pill His Eminence wanted and the need to pass on the Yin-Yang School’s inheritance.

• Wu Chao praised Zhang Xuezhou’s progress in the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture and urged him to seek more of Zou Bugui’s inheritance to help oppose Hongku.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zou Bugui how to extract an essence from living creatures, prompting Zou Bugui to warn him against refining Human Pills.
• Zou Bugui explained that grafting Demon Power could turn a cultivator into a mindless demon-human and warned Zhang Xuezhou to keep his cultivation stronger than the mallard’s influence.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked how unfamiliar medicinal ingredients could be used to refine pills, and Zou Bugui taught him to compare their properties and medicinal principles.
• Zou Bugui recounted how Leizhenzi’s search for longevity ended in his death and considered passing the Yin-Yang School’s inheritance to Zhang Xuezhou.

After Zhang Xuezhou memorized much of Zou Bugui’s wide-ranging lessons, Zou Bugui recognized his exceptional memory and began to see him as a potential successor who could renew the Yin-Yang School. Before Zhang Xuezhou’s coming fight with Hongku, Zou Bugui gave him a pill for protection, while Zhang Xuezhou focused on turning the alchemy knowledge into practical progress for himself and Zhang Manqian.

• Zhang Xuezhou studied Zou Bugui’s lessons for nearly eight hours and said he could not remember everything, though he believed he could write down most of it.
• Zou Bugui realized Zhang Xuezhou’s memory was extraordinary and imagined he might draw on many traditions to forge his own cultivation path and help renew the Yin-Yang School.
• Zou Bugui gave Zhang Xuezhou a pill to keep in his mouth during fights involving Technique Methods, explaining that it could reduce their harm and might save his life.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Zou Bugui’s sudden kindness, and Zou Bugui admitted he hoped Zhang Xuezhou would survive his fight with Hongku but had no advice for defeating a stronger opponent.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to organize Zou Bugui’s alchemy teachings and try making pills in reality to help himself and Zhang Manqian advance in cultivation.

Zhang Xuezhou began preparing a homemade Origin-Nurturing Pill from large quantities of ordinary medicinal ingredients, using a pressure cooker in place of a pill furnace. Ren Yisheng visited after noticing the strange purchases and stayed to see how Zhang Xuezhou would handle the concentrated medicinal broth.

• Ren Yisheng heard that Zhang Xuezhou had bought over two hundred jin of medicinal ingredients and went to investigate.
• Zhang Manqian questioned Zhang Xuezhou about spending ten thousand on ingredients, and he said he planned to make medicinal meals.
• Zhang Xuezhou put a kilogram of Wuhonghua into a pressure cooker and explained that he was experimenting with ingredients for an Origin-Nurturing Pill.
• After cooking the Wuhonghua, Zhang Xuezhou replaced it with about three jin of Lieyang, filling the apartment with its pungent smell.
• Ren Yisheng arrived, learned how much Lieyang Zhang Xuezhou was cooking, and stayed to observe him.

Zhang Xuezhou tried brewing medicine in a pressure cooker and produced a potent, partly burned medicinal paste. While Ren Yisheng watched, Zhang Manqian experienced another vision that revealed unusually powerful mental strength, leaving Ren Yisheng impressed by her potential.

• Zhang Xuezhou boiled down medicinal broth in a pressure cooker, but the mixture burned before forming a pill.
• Zhang Xuezhou chilled the usable medicinal paste and tasted a little while Ren Yisheng refused to try it.
• Zhang Manqian saw a vision of Ren Yisheng raging and charging forward, then realized it was an illusion and recognized that six months had passed since her first vision.
• Ren Yisheng sensed that Zhang Manqian’s mental strength had briefly surpassed his and asked whether she cultivated the Mental Strengthening Chapter.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Zhang Manqian had only studied the Essential Instruction for Recuperation, and Ren Yisheng considered her a promising cultivator.

Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Yisheng that Hongku’s medicinal paste aided cultivation of the Heart Incantation, and Ren Yisheng agreed to test it. After swallowing a spoonful, Ren Yisheng found the practice easier and his mental power had increased by about one percent.

• Zhang Xuezhou complained about the medicinal paste’s awful taste as Ren Yisheng questioned how it had been made.
• Ren Yisheng asked whether Hongku had taught Zhang Xuezhou to prepare medicinal dishes, and Zhang Xuezhou said the paste came from Hongku and helped cultivate the Heart Incantation.
• Ren Yisheng asked to test the paste, and Zhang Xuezhou told him to take a pill-sized amount once every seven days.
• Ren Yisheng swallowed a spoonful and used his mental power to block out the intense taste.
• Ren Yisheng circulated the Heart Incantation, found it easier to practice, and noticed his mental power had increased by roughly one percent.

Zhang Xuezhou confirmed that his Origin-Nurturing Pill could produce Law Power, but Ren Yisheng and Zhang Manqian experienced very different effects after taking it. Zhang Manqian advanced to the Meridian Circulation Realm, and Zhang Xuezhou began investigating why the medicine affected each person differently.

• Ren Yisheng took Zhang Xuezhou's medicinal paste, turned red, and soon became stiff before a nearby man carried him away.
• Zhang Xuezhou retched at the medicine's smell while Zhang Manqian woke feeling stronger and found the smell irresistible.
• Zhang Manqian ate a spoonful of the medicinal paste, saw her seed sprout, and entered the Meridian Circulation Realm.
• Zhang Manqian discovered that the cultivation method and Law Power could strengthen her Supreme Purity True Technique and offer a path beyond Gene Fighting Techniques.
• Zhang Xuezhou compared the different reactions and questioned whether the medicine worked differently depending on the body's condition when an illness struck.

After breaking through in the Heart Incantation from Zhang Xuezhou’s medicinal paste, Ren Yisheng retched in the school infirmary and resolved to reproduce the medicine. He ordered matching ingredients and equipment, then claimed Ren Wuyang’s apartment so he could watch for Hongku and arrange to meet him.

• Ren Yisheng continued retching in the infirmary while the professors concluded that he had suffered acid reflux, though the stomach wash revealed no clear trace of the medicinal ingredients he had swallowed.
• Ren Yisheng wondered what the paste had done to advance his Heart Incantation and decided that the medicine-making method deserved further investigation.
• Ren Yisheng told Ren Wuyang to obtain the same ingredients Zhang Xuezhou had bought and find an old-fashioned Struggle pressure cooker to replicate the preparation.
• Ren Yisheng reflected that Hongku had evaded the Ren Household’s surveillance and decided he needed to speak with the ascetic and obtain more of the Heart Incantation.
• Ren Yisheng ordered Ren Wuyang to vacate his apartment, planning to use it for an important purpose after losing track of Hongku.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered that his Origin-Nurturing Pill paste caused discomfort when his Law Power was full, but nourished him once he had used it up. After taking the medicine, he began cultivating, while Ren Yisheng watched through surveillance and tried to understand why the Zhang siblings could take it without suffering.

• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that he needed to exhaust his Law Power before taking the Origin-Nurturing Pill, and he used Techniques to consume it.
• Zhang Xuezhou successfully controlled a greenbottle fly with the Drowsiness Technique, then took a spoonful of medicinal paste after his Law Power was nearly gone.
• Zhang Xuezhou felt new Law Power emerge and sat down to cultivate by driving it through his acupoints.
• Ren Yisheng watched footage of Zhang Xuezhou taking the medicine and cultivating, and decided to postpone questioning him while planning to ask later.
• A fly landed on the surveillance camera and blocked Ren Wuyang's view, while the workers obtained Zhang Manqian's old pressure cooker for Ren Yisheng's medicine-making preparations.

Zhang Xuezhou reached the lower stage of the Meridian Circulation Realm in the real world and reflected on how his two bodies’ cultivation experiences supported each other. At dinner, Zhang Manqian shared news of her research-group opportunity, while Zhang Xuezhou learned that Ren Yisheng was recruiting psychology students and considered trying to join his group.

• Zhang Xuezhou cultivated to the lower stage of the Meridian Circulation Realm and found the process comfortable and easier to understand than his rapid dream-world cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that his two bodies shared knowledge and abilities, allowing him to use a higher-level Supreme Purity True Technique with ease.
• Zhang Manqian told Zhang Xuezhou that Shengteng Academy’s research group had invited her to join its preparatory class, giving her access to biological gene research.
• Zhang Manqian described their new pressure cooker as Zhang Xuezhou received Canglan Academy’s notice that Ren Yisheng was recruiting top performers in a psychology assessment.
• Zhang Xuezhou became interested in joining Ren Yisheng’s research group to learn more about sequence experts and gain access to higher circles.

Zuo Teng learned that Zhang Manqian had joined Shengteng Academy’s research team and decided to negotiate with her for a blood exchange. He left his villa to approach her, hoping to gain her cooperation before his limited adaptation time ran out.

• Zuo Teng saw that Zhang Manqian had been recruited by Shengteng Academy’s research team and resented that he could not use his household’s influence to control her.
• Zuo Teng considered using Kong Liu as a fallback for his blood-exchange plan but judged Zhang Manqian’s genes to be far better suited to it.
• Uncle Zhong offered to speak with Zhang Manqian, but Zuo Teng decided to handle the negotiation himself.
• Zuo Teng planned to offer Zhang Manqian half his resources and help her reach the Third Sequence if she agreed to exchange seventy percent of her blood.
• Zuo Teng picked up his communicator and left the villa to approach Zhang Manqian.

Zuo Teng visited Zhang Manqian to negotiate for most of her blood, offering substantial compensation, but she refused. During the visit, he recognized Zhang Xuezhou as the masked sequencer who had taken Ding Hao’s place, and stayed to approach him as a potential teammate.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian prepared to move into private accommodations for their research and advanced student groups.
• Zuo Teng introduced himself and offered Zhang Manqian the Three-Star Combat Technique, cultivation support, and ten million in funds and connections in exchange for seventy percent of her blood.
• Zhang Manqian refused, and Zhang Xuezhou argued that repeated blood extraction could harm her.
• Zuo Teng recognized Zhang Xuezhou as the 29749 sequencer who had taken Ding Hao’s place and decided to speak with him instead of leaving.

Zuo Teng revealed his identity and proposed that Zhang Manqian and Zhang Xuezhou join him for the Sequencer Tournament, hoping to earn resources and compete for a place in the Zuo Household’s core. Zhang Manqian refused, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized that his physical weakness made the tournament a poor fit for him.

• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Zuo Teng as the wealthy Zuo Household heir and challenged him about pretending to be ordinary.
• Zuo Teng explained that the Sequencer Tournament could provide elite training resources, including combat techniques and equipment tailored to each fighter.
• Zuo Teng said he wanted to improve his strength and compete for a place in the Zuo Household’s core, then invited Zhang Manqian and Zhang Xuezhou to be his teammates.
• Zhang Manqian questioned how Zuo Teng would become strong enough without replacing his blood with hers, and he said other people were willing to sell him theirs.
• Zhang Manqian refused to work with Zuo Teng because Zhang Xuezhou’s physical ability was too weak for the tournament.

Zuo Teng failed to persuade Zhang Manqian to undergo a blood replacement or Zhang Xuezhou to become his partner, but he remained interested in recruiting them. Zhang Xuezhou entered Canglan Academy to join Ren Yisheng's research group, while Zhang Manqian resolved to pursue the Sequencer Tournament on her own.

• Zuo Teng offered Zhang Xuezhou a partnership, but Zhang Xuezhou placed him in a non-friends group and said they could talk again after Zhang Manqian's blood replacement.
• Zuo Teng left, and Zhang Manqian considered using her martial arts and cultivation techniques to earn recognition and enter the Sequencer Tournament.
• Zhang Manqian told Zhang Xuezhou to investigate the ancestral chickens and save her some of the medicine he planned to cook.
• Zhang Manqian accompanied Zhang Xuezhou to Canglan Academy and saw him off at his spacious apartment in Building Six.
• Zhang Xuezhou reassured Zhang Manqian that he would get along with his roommates in the psychology college research group.

After moving into an apartment alone, Zhang Xuezhou enjoyed the research complex’s free dining and met Ren Yisheng, who questioned him about his unusual tolerance for guinea fowl. Ren Yisheng introduced the Abnormal Human Research Project, and Zhang Xuezhou suspected that he himself was its research subject.

• Zhang Xuezhou settled into Room 304 and discovered that he was its only resident.
• Zhang Xuezhou went to the dining center and happily ate guinea fowl.
• Ren Yisheng found Zhang Xuezhou at the dining center and asked whether he had moved in.
• Ren Yisheng asked why Zhang Xuezhou showed no rejection reaction after eating so much guinea fowl, while Zhang Xuezhou asked about the R25 Gene.
• Old Qin explained that the R25 Gene came from the Red Rat, and Ren Yisheng clarified that their field studied people.
• Zhang Xuezhou read the Abnormal Human Research Project proposal and suspected that its subject was himself.

Ren Yisheng explained that he had formed a research project to develop the Heart Incantation and investigate whether it could preserve mental clarity in old age. Zhang Xuezhou agreed to prepare more medicine after Ren Yisheng called it a medicinal meal, while the listening professors considered the risks and benefits of the research.

• Ren Yisheng told Zhang Xuezhou that he had assembled researchers to study and develop the Heart Incantation, with Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku among his main hopes.
• Ren Yisheng explained that he wanted to learn whether cultivating the Heart Incantation could prevent mental decline in people with genetic longevity.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Yisheng to provide another batch of medicine, but said he planned to stop making it because he feared legal consequences.
• Ren Yisheng insisted Zhang Xuezhou's medicine counted as food, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed to prepare it for him.
• Professors listening nearby considered the medicine necessary for Heart Incantation cultivation and hoped the research would help them live longer with clear minds.

Ren Yisheng recruited Zhang Xuezhou into a simple research project on abnormal humans, and they grew more familiar over a free meal. Zhang agreed to let Ren observe him brewing medicine, while his cultivation remained stuck at the Blood Penetration Realm in the other world.

• Ren Yisheng explained the research project, which required occasional checks on Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation, and offered him a monthly allowance and free meals.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked whether Ren had enemies who might target him, then explained that his questions came from helping write a martial arts novel.
• Ren agreed to read Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and shared memories of a novel that had influenced him in his youth.
• Ren asked to watch Zhang brew medicine, and Zhang agreed, planning to use his medicinal ingredients to refine Origin-Nurturing Pills.
• At Supreme Peak, Zhang Xuezhou remained stuck at the Blood Penetration Realm despite taking many medicines, leaving Zou Bugui worried that he might need a Human Pill to advance.

Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Yisheng to teach him more chapters of the Ren Household’s Mental Strengthening technique, and Ren agreed. After the professors speculated about Zhang’s prospects and recalled Hongku’s role in the Heart Incantation, Ren tasted the medicinal paste Zhang had made and immediately vomited.

• While preparing medicinal paste, Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Yisheng whether the Mental Strengthening Chapter had further chapters, and Ren said the technique had six chapters and offered to teach him the third if he could keep learning.
• Ren explained that Mental Strengthening could strengthen a cultivator’s ability to intimidate others, though its greatest effects required a suitable combat technique and genes.
• Professors watching the kitchen camera discussed Zhang’s boldness and potential, but stopped speculating after Song Bu’er reminded them that Ren Yisheng opposed genetic blood replacement.
• Song Bu’er pointed out that Hongku, the Heart Incantation’s teacher, might offer Zhang another path, and the professors realized Ren was learning from Zhang’s experience with Hongku.
• Ren Yisheng tasted the medicinal paste Zhang had prepared and vomited, prompting Wang Haoran to offer to call for help and wash out his stomach.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered that Ren Yisheng needed a specific method to take the Origin-Nurturing Pill, but Ren took it too quickly and began vomiting. The professors who came to help tasted Zhang’s medicinal paste and joined him in retching.

• Ren Yisheng swallowed Zhang Xuezhou’s medicinal paste without knowing the proper method and suffered severe retching.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Ren needed a Technique to expend his Law Power and considered teaching him the Yin Entity Tracking Technique.
• Wang Haoran arrived with an emetic and helped the others treat Ren Yisheng.
• Wang Haoran tasted the paste, began retching, and learned why Ren Yisheng had avoided letting him try it.
• Qin Wenhan and the other professors sampled the paste and started retching as Ren Yisheng warned them not to eat it at random.

Ren Yisheng and the professors discussed how mastering the Heart Incantation and exhausting Law Power were necessary to take the Origin-Nurturing Pill and use the Yin Entity Tracking Technique. The professors remained divided over ancient cultivation methods, while Ren Yisheng continued experimenting and they considered trying the medicine themselves.

• Ren Yisheng learned that the Heart Incantation and a foundation of Law Power were needed to activate the Yin Entity Tracking Technique, and that the Origin-Nurturing Pill could only be taken after exhausting Law Power or entering a realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Yisheng that Master Hongku had also taught him the Supreme Purity True Technique, but said it was forbidden to teach to outsiders.
• Wang Haoran, Qin Wenhan, and Song Bu'er compared the technique to accounts of ancient healing, while Zhu Liangping questioned the value of studying ancient methods.
• Zhu Liangping and Li Yingbo doubted that strengthening consciousness could slow its decline, while Ren Yisheng argued that strengthening the spirit could sustain the brain.
• The professors debated the risks of taking the medicine until midnight, while Zhang Xuezhou had already gone to bed and they watched Ren Yisheng trace circles with his finger.

Zhang Xuezhou’s Law Power finally began to penetrate his flesh, bringing him close to the Body Control Realm, and he asked Zou Bugui about the medicines he would need next. His Venerable listened in and came to admire Zhang Xuezhou’s focus on surviving and making progress in the present.

• Zhang Xuezhou practiced the Supreme Purity True Technique on a gray wolf and sensed a tiny crack in his body as he neared the Body Control Realm.
• Zou Bugui told Zhang Xuezhou that Origin-Nurturing Pills would support the Body Control Realm and that Spirit-Forging Pills would be needed to reach the True Spirit Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zou Bugui to prepare Spirit-Forging Pills, and Zou Bugui revealed that he had already made twelve, while warning against taking them too quickly.
• Zhang Xuezhou accepted the risk of future stagnation because he needed to grow stronger before Hongku made trouble.
• Lu Baibai used a tree to relay Zhang Xuezhou and Zou Bugui’s conversation to His Venerable, who praised Zhang Xuezhou for living in the present.

Zhang Xuezhou reached the Body Control Realm and discussed ways to protect Wu Chao from Hongku’s Star-Fixing Technique. After His Excellency ordered them off Supreme Peak and departed, Wu Chao decided to return to the Holy Land and confront the threat.

• Zhang Xuezhou entered the Body Control Realm and gained faster casting and the ability to fly thirty li with the Technique Within the Clouds.
• Wu Chao told Zhang Xuezhou he feared Hongku was using the Star-Fixing Technique to curse him, and Zhang Xuezhou suggested seeking help or moving beyond its range.
• Right Envoy Lu Baibai relayed His Excellency’s orders, including that Wu Chao and the others must not linger on Supreme Peak.
• His Excellency left Supreme Peak with the five dragons and the white crane, preventing Wu Chao from seeking their help.
• Wu Chao rejected Zhang Xuezhou’s suggestion to return to the Han Dynasty and chose to return to the Holy Land to fight Hongku.

Wu Chao returned to Yedie River Holy Land with Zhang Xuezhou and found Jin Chang waiting in his cave. Jin Chang refused to attack Hongku directly but offered to help Wu Chao plant his Snake Head Incantation on him.

• Wu Chao brought Zhang Xuezhou back to his cave and realized someone had taken up residence inside.
• Wu Chao attacked the intruder with his Snake Head Incantation, but Jin Chang suppressed it and revealed himself.
• Wu Chao asked Jin Chang to act directly against Hongku, but Jin Chang refused because doing so would bring the holy lands down on him.
• Wu Chao explained that he had returned after sensing Hongku use his Incantation Technique to divine the outcome of the fighting between the Xiongnu and Han armies.
• Jin Chang offered to help Wu Chao plant the Snake Head Incantation on Hongku, using his Puppet Technique to follow the target and approach him.

Zhang Xuezhou, Wu Chao, and Jin Chang prepared for a possible fight with Hongku, and Wu Chao retrieved the Deer-Slaying Blade from the imperial supplies. Wu Chao revealed the blade’s keen edge and told Zhang Xuezhou he would have a part to play when the time came.

• Jin Chang appeared beside Zhang Xuezhou at dawn and stayed close, hoping to use him to reach Zou Bugui and secure the Yin Yang Nine Heavens Inheritance.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Chang found Wu Chao groggy after a restless night, and Wu Chao decided they should check the imperial supplies before visiting Hongku.
• Jin Chang used his Following Like a Shadow Technique to hide in Wu Chao’s shadow as they headed to the supply tent.
• Wu Chao dismissed the servants and searched through the supplies until he found the Deer-Slaying Blade, which he called the strongest weapon below a divine weapon.
• Wu Chao showed that the blade could cut Zhang Xuezhou’s hair with ease and told him he would be needed when the time came.

Wu Chao prepared Zhang Xuezhou to help assassinate Hongku, giving him the Deer-Slaying Blade and sharing a collection of deadly substances. They discovered the items were difficult to carry without a storage bag, and Jin Chang offered his bag and help.

• Wu Chao handed Zhang Xuezhou the Deer-Slaying Blade, which he had prepared for a surprise attack on Hongku.
• Zhang Xuezhou tested the blade and practiced wielding it, prompting Jin Chang and Wu Chao to comment on his butcher-like technique.
• Wu Chao recalled the benefits he had gained from recent events and regained confidence in facing Hongku.
• Wu Chao showed Zhang Xuezhou several poisonous and harmful substances he had gathered from different states.
• Zhang Xuezhou pointed out that the many bottles and jars would be difficult to carry, and Wu Chao realized they had no storage bag.
• Jin Chang revealed that he had a storage bag and offered to use the substances from the shadows during the attack.

Wu Chao abandoned his immediate assassination plan after Hongku refused to meet him, and Jin Chang urged him to discover Hongku’s desires and exploit a weakness. The chapter left Wu Chao seeking information about Hongku while Jin Chang reflected on his conflict with Zou Bugui and the struggles between people who refused to yield.

• Hongku summoned Zhang Xuezhou into his residence to meet Venerable Lei, while Wu Chao stayed outside and watched him enter.
• Jin Chang identified the many protections around Hongku’s courtyard and told Wu Chao that he needed to lure Hongku out by learning what he desired.
• Wu Chao reconsidered his plan, recognized that he knew little about Hongku’s motives, and agreed to ask Dharma Master Hongyi and others for information.
• Jin Chang reflected on Wu Chao’s aptitude and mindset, then questioned why Zou Bugui had refused to hand over the Yin-Yang Nine Heavens Sect’s inheritance.
• Jin Chang compared Zou Bugui’s refusal to yield with Hongku’s treatment of his students and concluded that such conflicts seemed to end only when one side gained complete control.