Recaps

Gu Chen and Qin Li fought the Two-Horned Giant Rhino while Mu Fan prepared a way to exploit its hidden weak point. Gu Chen drove Mu Fan’s slick, water-coated rod into the beast from behind, making it roar in pain as Mu Fan prepared to act.

• Gu Chen’s spear and Qin Li’s flames distracted the Two-Horned Giant Rhino, but neither could break through its heavy defenses.
• Gu Qingyang and the other elders praised the disciples’ teamwork and noted that the rhino was the main obstacle to taking the city.
• Qin Li pointed out a vulnerable spot beneath the rhino’s belly, but Gu Chen saw that attacking it directly would be difficult.
• Mu Fan handed Gu Chen a thick, water-coated rod and told him to use his aim and strength to drive it into the rhino.
• Gu Chen waited for the rhino’s tail to shift, then struck the rod into its rear and used his spear to push it fully inside.
• The Two-Horned Giant Rhino roared in pain as Mu Fan told Gu Chen to move aside.

Mu Fan demonstrated the destructive power of his improved explosive warhead by nearly destroying a Two-Horned Giant Rhino. After retrieving the warhead and claiming the beast’s light, he asked the others to continue, while the ancestors watching from the void praised his methods and anticipated more from Lu Changzhi and his disciples.

• Mu Fan detonated his warhead inside the Two-Horned Giant Rhino, blasting away its rear third and leaving it mortally wounded.
• Xiao Ye and Gu Chen were stunned by the explosion, while Qin Li identified the improved talismans, materials, and array behind its power.
• Mu Fan approached the dying beast, extracted the warhead, and collected the light that emerged from its body.
• Mu Fan asked everyone whether they should continue, and the ancestors watching from the void praised his inventive combat methods.
• Thirty-Five and Thirty-Eight discussed the younger generation and looked forward to seeing what Lu Changzhi’s disciples would do next.

Lu Changzhi and the Hidden Origin Peak disciples finished battling the beasts and shared a feast, while Thirty-Eight debated whether to ask them for food. After dinner, Lu Changzhi sensed something activate beneath the city, and a brilliant pillar of white light erupted into the night sky.

• Lu Changzhi watched the disciples' formations trap the remaining beasts and continued searching the city for storage rings and other valuables.
• Five youths fled a powerful porcupine, then found a skeleton and empty jade bottles hidden inside a hollow tree and searched for an inheritance.
• The disciples struggled to travel through the secret realm, where spiritual power was scarce and the places with richer reserves were guarded by powerful beasts.
• Gu Chen, Mu Fan, Luo Ling'er, Qin Li, and Jin Fugui gathered ingredients and prepared a feast, while Thirty-Eight considered asking them for food but held back.
• After the meal, Lu Changzhi sensed a faint fluctuation beneath the city, and a brilliant white pillar burst from the ground toward the clouds.

A pillar of light appeared over the city, and Lu Changzhi explained that it guided trial participants, strengthened spiritual power, and protected those inside from the night’s effects. While his group chose to rest and hunt again in daylight, beasts across the secret realm grew frenzied, leaving other participants struggling to survive.

• After retreating from the city, Gu Chen asked Lu Changzhi about the pillar of light, and Lu Changzhi said it guided participants to cities and palaces.
• Qin Li sensed that nightfall made humans and beasts more impulsive, while Lu Changzhi explained that nighttime beast kills yielded more light and cities under the pillars were safe from beasts.
• Lu Changzhi returned to the city and settled in to sleep, while Gu Chen and the others reviewed their hunt and decided to avoid fighting beasts at night.
• Beasts across the secret realm became violent and overwhelmed many participants, while the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s younger generation was also caught off guard by the change.
• As beasts gathered around an illusion formation, a young man asked Luo Zhen whether the group should move or fight them.

Luo Zhen and the holy land elites fought off a beast tide, but a poisoned disciple died and a stronger wave forced them to flee by flying boat. They reached a silent city to escape their pursuer, only for a roar and fierce gust to rise from below.

• Luo Zhen led the group in attacking the beasts, and they discovered that killing them yielded more light.
• A silver-banded snake bit a whip-wielding youth, who died after circulating his spiritual power to expel its venom.
• A stronger beast tide overwhelmed the group's defenses, and Luo Zhen ordered everyone to flee.
• The group escaped on a flying boat and entered the city where the light shone, leaving their flying beast pursuer behind.
• The group noticed the city's unsettling silence before a low roar and fierce gust came from below.

A sudden nighttime rampage by spirit beasts and demonic beasts left the secret-realm visitors fleeing and exhausted, and those who tried to escape discovered the entrance was missing. The Five Symbols Sect disciples learned that a high-grade illusion array concealed the entrance and continued collecting resources while others panicked.

• A black leopard-like spirit beast shattered the flying boat's defenses, killed a passenger, and sent the survivors scattering.
• Luo Zhen activated an array plate, used talismans to fend off the beast, and escaped the city by flying boat with nearby disciples.
• As beasts rampaged through the secret realm, some visitors fought until their strength failed while others flew high to avoid ground-bound attackers.
• When daylight calmed the beasts, visitors gathered at the entrance and discovered it had vanished, spreading panic across the secret realm.
• A Five Symbols Sect disciple used a communication stone to tell the sect's disciples that a high-grade illusion array concealed the entrance and that they could still leave.
• The Five Symbols Sect disciples ignored the panic and continued picking up freebies.

Lu Changzhi received a mission to uncover Qin Jiuxiao’s impending bloody calamity and stop him from being killed, so he sent his External Avatar toward Qin’s location. Meanwhile, Qin Jiuxiao learned that Luo Zhen’s group had suffered heavy losses and decided it was time to settle their conflict.

• Lu Changzhi found that Gu Chen and the others had left the city to search for spirit beasts and stayed behind to gather opportunities.
• The system assigned Lu Changzhi a one-day mission to investigate Qin Jiuxiao’s bloody calamity and prevent his death, then showed him Qin’s location and planned a route for his External Avatar.
• A group of twelve debated seeking shelter in a city, and Luo Zhen agreed to follow the young man’s plan despite feeling uneasy.
• Qin Jiuxiao watched cultivators arrive at the city he and the Cloud Heaven Holy Land disciples had cleared, where newcomers had to pay resources or light to enter.
• Qin Jiuxiao received word that Luo Zhen’s group had suffered heavy losses and decided to settle things with him.

Qin Jiuxiao arranged an ambush on Luo Zhen and brought Liu Qingyan along to steal the storage ring from his hand. He left by flying boat with three masked allies, while Liu Qingyan eagerly prepared for her part in the plan.

• Qin Jiuxiao contacted an ally and learned that reinforcements would soon arrive to help him attack Luo Zhen.
• Qin Jiuxiao gave Liu Qingyan a revealing dress and led her outside the city to meet three masked figures.
• Qin Jiuxiao learned that only three people had been sent and planned for Liu Qingyan to approach Luo Zhen and cut off the finger holding his storage ring.
• Qin Jiuxiao explained the plan to Liu Qingyan aboard the flying boat and handed her a dagger.
• Liu Qingyan practiced with the dagger, secretly excited that her opportunity was near.

Liu Qingyan learned that Qin Jiuxiao intended to harm Luo Zhen and decided how to use that knowledge. Lu Changzhi followed Qin Jiuxiao to the secret realm, found Luo Zhen nearby, and discovered that a powerful stranger might be the real threat to Qin Jiuxiao.

• Liu Qingyan recalled Luo Zhen's advice, realized Qin Jiuxiao was targeting him, and chose to reclaim her lost power over others.
• Lu Changzhi followed Qin Jiuxiao's rapidly moving flying boat after noticing the bloody light around him had grown denser.
• Lu Changzhi found Luo Zhen near Qin Jiuxiao's route and suspected the two chives were about to fight.
• Lu Changzhi reasoned that Luo Zhen might be behind Qin Jiuxiao's bloody calamity, but held back to see how events unfolded.
• Lu Changzhi noticed a nearby Transcendent Realm Ninth Layer cultivator who was not with Qin Jiuxiao's group and suspected this person might threaten Qin Jiuxiao.

Lu Changzhi located the concealed Zhou Xun and watched Qin Jiuxiao’s group set a trap around Cloud Heaven Holy Land disciples. Qin Jiuxiao and Liu Qingyan found Luo Zhen’s tent empty, then heard Luo reveal that Liu Qingyan had warned him about Qin’s plan.

• Lu Changzhi used his crystal shard and the system to locate Zhou Xun, whom he suspected came from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.
• Qin Jiuxiao and his companions formed a perimeter around an area where seventy or eighty Cloud Heaven Holy Land disciples were resting.
• Liu Qingyan entered Luo Zhen’s tent, and Qin Jiuxiao followed after discovering it was empty.
• Luo Zhen appeared through a projection and told Qin Jiuxiao that he knew about the plan to attack him.
• Luo Zhen revealed that Liu Qingyan had warned him, shocking both Qin Jiuxiao and Liu Qingyan.

Luo Zhen exposed Liu Qingyan’s secret and provoked Qin Jiuxiao, then unleashed Fang Ling’s Sword Master strike against him. Qin Jiuxiao survived the blow but was gravely wounded and sent crashing into another cultivator, while the gathered crowd struggled to identify him.

• Luo Zhen told Qin Jiuxiao that Liu Qingyan had betrayed him, and Liu Qingyan denied the accusation in fear.
• Luo Zhen showed Qin Jiuxiao Liu Qingyan’s torn undergarment and taunted him about their relationship.
• Luo Zhen gave Liu Qingyan a chance to run as Fang Ling’s hidden sword erupted with Sword Intent and attacked Qin Jiuxiao.
• Qin Jiuxiao activated his Hard and Unyielding Physique, but his heart-protecting mirror only stopped the sword’s edge before its force sent him flying through the tent.
• Qin Jiuxiao crashed into a cultivator and lay badly wounded as the crowd gathered, mistook his posture for a display of toughness, and wondered who he was.

Lu Changzhi watched Qin Jiuxiao survive Luo Zhen’s betrayal and recover with a powerful pill, while Liu Qingyan fled the scene. Qin Jiuxiao regained his strength and challenged Luo Zhen to come out of hiding, leaving the gathered cultivators speculating about their conflict.

• Lu Changzhi observed Qin Jiuxiao’s bloody fortune and realized the danger of his fall had not passed.
• Liu Qingyan fled after warning a man in black that Luo Zhen had trapped Qin Jiuxiao and had another move prepared.
• Qin Jiuxiao remembered Luo Zhen’s betrayal, rose in anger, and drew the crowd’s attention to his remarkably resilient physique.
• Qin Jiuxiao swallowed a pill that rapidly healed his wounds and restored his strength.
• Qin Jiuxiao challenged Luo Zhen to stop hiding as the onlookers guessed that the two prospective holy sons were fighting over their position.

Lu Changzhi watched Zhou Xun sneak up on Luo Zhen and knock him unconscious while Qin Jiuxiao turned from his challenge to pursue Liu Qingyan. Qin Jiuxiao deliberately failed to kill her with his strike, and the bloody light above him grew darker as the crowd fled from his companions’ attacks.

• The onlookers mistook Qin Jiuxiao’s gesture toward Luo Zhen for another sign of his unusual tastes, while Lu Changzhi noticed Zhou Xun moving toward Luo Zhen.
• Zhou Xun broke Luo Zhen’s formation plates and knocked him unconscious before Luo Zhen could draw his sword.
• Qin Jiuxiao spotted Liu Qingyan fleeing, cursed her for betraying him, and chased after her.
• Qin Jiuxiao’s three companions attacked the people nearby, severely wounding two and driving the crowd into a chaotic retreat.
• Qin Jiuxiao struck the ground behind Liu Qingyan, sending her flying, but she got up and continued to flee while calling for help.
• Lu Changzhi realized Qin Jiuxiao had missed on purpose and saw the bloody light above him grow darker red.

Qin Han ignored Hua Yunfan’s warning and went to help Liu Qingyan, whom Qin Jiuxiao was trying to kill. After breaking the formation and driving Qin Jiuxiao back in their first clash, Qin Han demanded that he apologize to Liu Qingyan.

• Qin Han heard Liu Qingyan calling for help, but Hua Yunfan warned him not to get involved; Qin Han went toward her anyway.
• Qin Jiuxiao pursued the badly injured Liu Qingyan and blasted her with spiritual power until she was flung into a branch and her clothes were torn off.
• Qin Han saw Liu Qingyan and rushed to break the formation blocking his path, using a formation-breaking object after his heavy sword failed.
• Qin Han reached Liu Qingyan as Qin Jiuxiao attacked him, and the two men exchanged a powerful blow that forced them both backward.
• Qin Han judged Qin Jiuxiao to be a brute who had tried to force himself on Liu Qingyan and told him to apologize.

Lu Changzhi watched Qin Han and Qin Jiuxiao fight while a black-clad attacker targeted disciples from the Five Symbols Sect. The disciples killed the attacker and fled, while Lu Changzhi wondered whether Zhou Xun was waiting for Qin Han's old granny to appear.

• Lu Changzhi recognized Qin Han as a Heavenly Mandate protagonist and watched him clash with Qin Jiuxiao, who attacked despite Qin Han demanding that he apologize to Liu Qingyan.
• Lu Changzhi judged that Qin Jiuxiao was likely to lose, then noticed a black-clad figure approaching a Five Symbols Sect disciple.
• Lu Changzhi warned the disciple not to use his token, and the three youths lured the attacker into an ambush using a saber, a raw egg, and a spear.
• The three youths killed the black-clad figure and left after Lu Changzhi told them not to linger.
• Lu Changzhi saw that Zhou Xun had stayed near Qin Han and Qin Jiuxiao's fight and wondered whether he was waiting for Qin Han's old granny.

Qin Han gained the upper hand against Qin Jiuxiao and prepared to finish him, while Lu Changzhi chose a reward that let him track and claim Qin Han’s opportunities. Lu Changzhi ended the chapter eager to exploit Qin Han’s unusually rich fortune.

• Qin Han exploited Qin Jiuxiao’s mistake with Flame Ash Heaven-Severing Slash, sending him crashing into the ground as the pill’s effects faded.
• Hua Yunfan urged Qin Han to leave, but Qin Han refused and advanced on Qin Jiuxiao to eliminate a future threat.
• Lu Changzhi received a choice and selected the targeted talent Reap the Benefits of Qin Han’s Achievements.
• Lu Changzhi learned that the talent would reveal Qin Han’s opportunities and could transfer them to Lu Changzhi, his avatar, or a nearby disciple when Qin Han found one.

Lu Changzhi learned that he could gain the substance of Qin Han’s fortuitous opportunities, while Qin Han received their outward appearance, and decided to visit Zither Sound Valley. Meanwhile, Qin Han forced Qin Jiuxiao to apologize, but Qin Jiuxiao unleashed a Saint Realm strike, leaving Qin Han badly wounded and prompting Hua Yunfan to take control of his body.

• Lu Changzhi learned that critical strikes could let multiple people share an opportunity, including Qin Han’s coming sword epiphany in Zither Sound Valley.
• Qin Han pinned Qin Jiuxiao down and broke one of his ribs until Qin Jiuxiao reluctantly apologized to Liu Qingyan.
• Qin Jiuxiao activated a token containing a strike from Huang Qianzhou, and its Saint Realm power blasted Qin Han through several trees despite Hua Yunfan’s intervention.
• After recovering with a pill, Qin Jiuxiao charged at Qin Han, and Hua Yunfan took control of Qin Han’s body to confront him.
• Qin Jiuxiao ignored Hua Yunfan’s warning and rushed forward as the bloody light around him rapidly faded.

Hua Yunfan tried to kill Qin Jiuxiao, but Zhou Xun intervened with a hidden slash and then attacked Qin Han. Lu Changzhi chose to act openly to make Qin Han believe he had support, and asked the system for a plan.

• Qin Jiuxiao ignored Hua Yunfan’s warning and attacked Qin Han, but Hua Yunfan seized him with her will.
• Zhou Xun’s invisible blade cut through Hua Yunfan’s formed hand and freed Qin Jiuxiao, leaving Hua Yunfan unable to locate the attacker.
• Lu Changzhi recognized Zhou Xun’s attack and realized Qin Han had become the target of the bloody calamity.
• The system offered Lu Changzhi three choices, and he chose to act openly to make Qin Han feel backed by someone.
• Zhou Xun struck again, wounding Qin Han’s shoulder, while Hua Yunfan remained unaffected by the injury to his body.

Lu Changzhi intervened when Zhou Xun attacked Qin Han, then used the Dao Simplification Brush and Dao-Severing Sword to force Zhou Xun to retreat. Afterward, Lu Changzhi planned to deal with Zhou Xun later and turned his attention to fooling Qin Han.

• Hua Yunfan judged that Qin Han and she might not be able to escape Zhou Xun without paying a heavy price, while Qin Han urged her to flee.
• Lu Changzhi appeared in his sword-bearing Aptitude of a Great Emperor form and ordered Zhou Xun to spare Qin Han, but Zhou Xun remained cautious and refused to move.
• Hua Yunfan identified Lu Changzhi as at least a Sword Immortal, leaving Qin Han astonished that someone so powerful might be connected to the Qin Clan.
• Lu Changzhi used the Dao Simplification Brush to strip Zhou Xun, then sent the Dao-Severing Sword toward him with overwhelming Sword Intent.
• Zhou Xun fled and left the unconscious youth behind after Lu Changzhi demanded it, while Lu Changzhi planned to pursue him later and moved on to fool Qin Han.

Lu Changzhi revealed himself to Qin Han as Qin Yi, a powerful Qin Clan ancestor, and left him supplies and a message about the clan’s hidden past. Qin Han and Hua Yunfan left with Liu Qingyan, while Lu Changzhi buried Qin Jiuxiao and Luo Zhen separately before checking his new system reward.

• Hua Yunfan withdrew from Qin Han’s body, and Lu Changzhi introduced himself to Qin Han as Qin Yi, a secret Qin Clan ancestor.
• Lu Changzhi gave Qin Han a message talisman and supplies, then took the unconscious Qin Jiuxiao away, saying the youth had a great karma and a special use.
• Qin Han read the talisman and learned that a powerful ancestor had arranged to protect him and that he was the Qin Clan’s hope for revival.
• Hua Yunfan urged Qin Han to leave before others arrived, and Qin Han covered Liu Qingyan with a blanket, took medicine, and carried her away.
• Lu Changzhi collected Qin Jiuxiao’s and Luo Zhen’s luck, treated them, and buried each in a concealed spot before turning to the [Good Things Come in Pairs] reward.

After Qin Han’s success granted Lu Changzhi a new paired-benefit effect, Lu Changzhi followed him while the others prepared to open their city to arriving cultivators. Gu Chen let everyone enter freely, and as they settled in, Lu Changzhi received a reward for completing a random mission.

• Lu Changzhi gained the Good Things Come in Pairs effect, which promised an extra benefit whenever he obtained Qin Han’s opportunities.
• At the city, Mu Fan and the others saw another beam of light rise from beneath the ground, and Gu Chen decided they should open the city while reserving its innermost area.
• Gu Chen told the cultivators gathered outside that they could enter for free as long as they caused no conflicts.
• The newcomers entered the city and celebrated having a free refuge, while Lu Changzhi listened to them discuss the secret realm.
• Lu Changzhi received a system notification that he had completed the random mission [Harvest Your Own Leeks Yourself] and that its rewards were being distributed.

Lu Changzhi received a Waveless Robe and a Heart-Binding Devil Seed, which he planned to use on Zhou Xun to uncover clues about the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. As he slept, cultivators across the secret realm began hunting demonic beasts to gather light, while city authorities considered increasing the cost of staying in their cities.

• Lu Changzhi received 2,000 experience points, a Waveless Robe, and a Heart-Binding Devil Seed as mission rewards.
• The system explained that the Devil Race item could control someone below the Saint Realm, and that Impermanent Karma protected Lu Changzhi from its forbidden effects.
• Lu Changzhi considered using the Heart-Binding Devil Seed on Zhou Xun to learn more about the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, then left an External Avatar near Qin Han and went to sleep.
• Cultivators learned that lighting three levels of a nine-story tower could improve cultivation in the city, while lighting six might grant access to the secret realm's central cultivation site.
• After discovering that the beasts near the city were mostly weak demonic beasts, cultivators prepared to hunt them at night and gather light.
• Groups controlling the cities watched ordinary cultivators' efforts and considered raising the amount of light required to stay.

Zhou Mu ordered the Punishment Hall to investigate a suspected traitor who had secretly used another Privilege Token to enter the secret realm. Inside the realm, Qin Han recovered and prepared to resume hunting demonic beasts, while keeping his attention on the woman he truly wanted to win over.

• Zhou Xun sent a concealed message to Zhou Mu, reporting a powerful sword cultivator who appeared to have bypassed the secret realm's age restrictions.
• Zhou Mu concluded that someone had secretly kept another Privilege Token and summoned Zhuang Linfa to investigate everyone connected to the secret realm's entrants.
• Zhou Mu ordered Zhuang Linfa to find the culprit or punish someone to deter disobedience, and Zhuang Linfa returned to the Punishment Hall to consider whom to question.
• Qin Han told Hua Yunfan that he had mostly recovered, but she continued repelling beasts and urged him to rest while the unconscious woman recovered.
• Qin Han agreed that the woman needed better recovery pills so they could pick up the pace, then looked toward the woman he actually intended to win over.

Qin Jiuxiao woke after being buried and, after recalling his failed attempt to deal with Luo Zhen and Liu Qingyan, broke through in a fit of anger. He returned to his city to recover, where rumors had spread about his clash with Luo Zhen, and began searching for Luo Zhen in case of another ambush.

• Qin Jiuxiao clawed his way out of the ground and tried to remember who had saved him, suspecting that a familiar Sword Intent had intervened.
• Qin Jiuxiao recalled his failed plans against Luo Zhen and Liu Qingyan, grew furious, and unexpectedly reached a breakthrough.
• Qin Jiuxiao changed clothes and returned to his city, intending to rest, recover, and seek opportunities to grow stronger.
• People in Qin Jiuxiao's city discussed conflicting rumors about his conflict with Luo Zhen, including a story that Qin Jiuxiao had tried to force himself on him.
• Qin Jiuxiao ignored the rumors and scanned the city with his intent, searching for Luo Zhen in case he was preparing another sneak attack.

After recovering from an unexplained ambush, Luo Zhen decided to conceal his identity and grow stronger, while Lu Changzhi observed Qin Jiuxiao’s darkening progress and Qin Han tending to the wounded Liu Qingyan. As Qin Han applied medicine to Liu Qingyan, he considered testing a medicine on her.

• Luo Zhen realized he had been ambushed and buried, then decided to hide his identity and seek chances to increase his strength.
• Lu Changzhi learned that Qin Jiuxiao’s darkening progress had reached 20%, increasing his growth rate and chance of opportunities.
• Lu Changzhi watched Qin Han remain near the cave because Liu Qingyan had not yet awakened.
• Liu Qingyan woke, introduced herself to Qin Han, and asked him to apply medicine to her wound.
• While treating Liu Qingyan, Qin Han grew stirred and considered testing a medicine on her.