Recaps

The Nine-Story Tower appeared and drew cultivators from across the secret realm, while Lu Changzhi learned that the visible tower was a replica. He changed course with Gu Chen toward the real Nine-Story Tower as crowds gathered at the fake one.

• Qin Han and Hua Yunfan discussed the rumored Saint King inheritance, and Hua Yunfan warned Qin Han to avoid conflict while pursuing the opportunity.
• Qin Jiuxiao diverted toward the tower, hoping to settle things with Luo Zhen and compete for its opportunity, while Luo Zhen chose to leave rather than risk his life.
• Qian Shenglin refused to go to the tower, citing the danger of helping the people from Eighteen City and the poison pill in his stomach.
• The tower's appearance sent cultivators rushing toward it from across the secret realm.
• Gu Qingyang told Lu Changzhi that the visible Nine-Story Tower was a replica and directed him toward the real one; Lu Changzhi changed course with Gu Chen.
• A crowd gathered at the replica, where people could enter the tower without waiting.

Qin Han entered the Nine-Story Tower and quickly cleared the first four floors, but a surprise attack on the fifth floor knocked him out and consumed most of his light. Unable to afford another attempt, he decided to try destroying the entrance statue instead.

• Qin Han learned that tower attempts required light, which was refunded for successful floors but lost upon failure.
• With Hua Yunfan guiding him, Qin Han passed the first four floors and received peak Earth Rank pills as a reward.
• Qin Han entered the fifth floor, where a palm struck before the reaction test’s countdown finished, and he was expelled.
• Qin Han discovered he lacked enough light to attempt the tower again and decided to attack the entrance statue with his flaming heavy sword.

Qin Han tried to destroy the statue guarding the Nine-Story Tower, but it struck him out and barred him from entering again. As the contest for the tower’s opportunity approached, Lu Changzhi learned Qin Han would soon encounter Xia Ya and join the Xia Clan.

• Qin Han’s sword attack fizzled against the statue, which retaliated and blasted him through a tower window.
• Hua Yunfan helped Qin Han return to the Nine-Story Tower, but an invisible force prevented him from entering again.
• Hua Yunfan urged Qin Han to study his map and token, saying strength and ability could let anyone seize an opportunity.
• The seven outstanding talents of the Extreme Arms Holy Land, geniuses of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, and members of the Buddhist Order began arriving for the contest.
• Lu Changzhi received system information that Qin Han would meet Xia Ya in three hours and gain a chance to enter the Xia Clan.
• Gu Qingyang told Lu Changzhi that they were almost at their destination.

Lu Changzhi and the Hidden Origin Peak group reached the real Nine-Story Tower, where the ancestors explained its cultivation purpose and discussed an outsider who might have entered the secret realm. Jiang Yuanyin offered Lu Changzhi access to the ninth floor, and Lu Changzhi approached the tower with the Nonhuman Plaque to test something.

• Lu Changzhi descended through an illusion with Gu Chen and the others, revealing the real Nine-Story Tower and greeting Jiang Yuanyin.
• Jiang Yuanyin told Lu Changzhi that the tower had no connection to the beast race and that the Memento Jade was under investigation.
• Lu Changzhi warned Jiang Yuanyin that outsiders might have a way into the secret realm, and learned that a spying formation had been detected the previous night.
• An ancestor explained that the Nine-Story Tower helped cultivators comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, while Lu Changzhi realized that many Saint King and Saint Realm ancestors had gathered there.
• Jiang Yuanyin gave Lu Changzhi enough light to enter the ninth floor, and Lu Changzhi brought out the Nonhuman Plaque and walked toward the tower.

Lu Changzhi used the Nonhuman Plaques to bypass the Nine-Story Tower’s entry limits, allowing the Five Symbols Sect to fill the tower. After helping everyone enter, he was the last to reach the sealed ninth floor and began preparing to cultivate.

• Lu Changzhi activated a Nonhuman Plaque and entered the Nine-Story Tower without lighting any floor markers or triggering its barriers.
• Lu Changzhi reached the ninth floor, then invited Jiang Yuanyin and Dong Li to test the plaque; they confirmed it let them bypass the tower’s occupancy limits and resist its repulsion.
• Lu Changzhi produced a large pile of Nonhuman Plaques and explained their restrictions to Jiang Yuanyin and the others.
• Jiang Yuanyin arranged the ninth floor into upper and lower levels, and the elders and disciples filled the tower using the plaques.
• Lu Changzhi entered the ninth floor last, where it sealed behind him, and sat at its center to prepare for cultivation.

Lu Changzhi filled the ninth floor with origin spirit liquid and made it comfortable enough for the patriarchs to relax, prompting one to enter sudden enlightenment. He then ate Dao Comprehension Tea Leaves Eggs, entered sudden enlightenment himself, and had the system successfully stack Perfect Sudden Enlightenment into a long-lasting state.

• Lu Changzhi poured storage rings of origin spirit liquid across the ninth floor and warmed it with fire stones.
• The patriarchs relaxed in the spirit liquid, and one reflected on overstriving before suddenly entering enlightenment.
• Lu Changzhi offered the patriarchs Dao Comprehension Tea Leaves Eggs, and they ate while enjoying the warm spirit spring.
• Lu Changzhi instructed the system to use Perfect Sudden Enlightenment when he entered sudden enlightenment from eating the eggs.
• Lu Changzhi entered sudden enlightenment, and the system stacked the effect into Long-Lasting Perfect Sudden Enlightenment.

Lu Changzhi entered Perfect Sudden Enlightenment, prompting the sect’s ancestors to protect him as he cultivated. Meanwhile, Xia Ya, controlling Dai Tianfeng’s body, searched the secret realm for the Xia Clan’s backup teleportation array so he could summon reinforcements.

• Lu Changzhi’s Sudden Enlightenment deepened into Perfect Sudden Enlightenment, astonishing Jiang Yuanyin and the others.
• Jiang Yuanyin and Dong Li placed protections around Lu Changzhi, while the ancestors left so they would not disturb him.
• Dai Tianfeng, whose body was controlled by Xia Ya, sensed the disturbance at the Nine-Story Tower and considered seeking out its cause.
• Xia Ya decided to keep searching for the Xia Clan’s backup teleportation array and beacon before his incomplete spiritual intent dissipated.
• Xia Ya planned to summon the Xia Clan, confident that its forces would overpower the people of the Land of the Four Directions.

Qin Han and Hua Yunfan discussed a strange disturbance while crowds gathered to watch the Nine-Story Tower’s challengers. At the true tower, Lu Changzhi remained in Sudden Enlightenment as an ancestor began a Saint Realm breakthrough, leaving the system unsure whether to alert him to the approaching lightning tribulation.

• Qin Han asked Hua Yunfan whether the disturbance came from a treasure, and Hua Yunfan said it might have been caused by a person before advising him to recover.
• Spectators at the Nine-Story Tower watched a challenger reach the seventh floor and debated whether the Buddhist Son or Jiang Xin would advance farthest.
• The crowd wondered why Dai Tianfeng had not arrived and discussed how the tower’s accumulated light could identify the realm’s foremost heavenly talent.
• Lu Changzhi absorbed vast amounts of spiritual power while remaining in Sudden Enlightenment, and Jiang Yuanyin and the other ancestors watched over him.
• An elder emerged from the tower and triggered a Saint Realm Lightning Tribulation, so Dong Li escorted the elder to a prepared area while Jiang Yuanyin protected Lu Changzhi with formations.
• As lightning gathered, the system wondered whether it should tell Lu Changzhi about the tribulation while he remained in Sudden Enlightenment.

Lu Changzhi remained in prolonged enlightenment on the Nine-Story Tower’s ninth floor as the heavenly tribulation ended and other entrants advanced or failed. Meanwhile, Qin Han resumed searching the forest for clues on his map and ended the morning with no discoveries.

• The heavenly tribulation ended after seven thunderclaps, and observers dismissed the gathering black clouds as disturbances connected to the Nine-Story Tower.
• Lu Changzhi remained motionless on the ninth floor while two lights stayed on the seventh floor overnight.
• A third light entered the seventh floor the next morning, one existing light went out, and another light appeared on the eighth floor.
• Some spectators left the tower to search for overlooked treasures as the crowd began to thin.
• Qin Han spotted Dongfang Clan members hurrying away from the tower but decided not to follow them and resumed searching according to his map.
• Qin Han searched throughout the morning without finding anything and continued his search.

Qin Han and Hua Yunfan found the marked location and began digging for the hidden formation, but Xia Ya, possessing Dai Tianfeng’s body, arrived and demanded Qin Han’s jade token. Hua Yunfan realized Xia Ya’s spiritual sense was far stronger than Dai Tianfeng’s had been, just as Xia Ya attacked Qin Han.

• Qin Han used the map fragment to locate the ravine, and Hua Yunfan sensed traces of formations underground.
• Xia Ya arrived at the ravine and discovered Qin Han digging while Hua Yunfan concealed herself and warned him.
• Xia Ya judged Qin Han’s potential, then noticed the jade token on him and decided to take it.
• Qin Han recognized Dai Tianfeng and refused to surrender the token, drawing his heavy sword and gathering his power.
• Hua Yunfan realized Dai Tianfeng had likely been replaced by Xia Ya and that his spiritual sense could overwhelm them both.
• Xia Ya called Qin Han an ant and attacked him for raising his sword.

Xia Ya struck Qin Han, leaving him gravely wounded as Hua Yunfan fell into a genuine, deep sleep. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi finished his Sudden Enlightenment, discovered he was close to the Saint Realm, and learned that a Five Symbols Sect ancestor had broken through while the system stored lightning tribulations for him.

• Xia Ya attacked Qin Han, and Hua Yunfan took control of his body and used a token to weaken the blow, but Qin Han was still blasted through several trees.
• Hua Yunfan told Qin Han to run and fell silent from real exhaustion; Qin Han swallowed a pill and struggled away.
• Lu Changzhi woke on the ninth floor of the Nine-Story Tower, found himself in the Late Transcendent Realm, and decided to pursue the Saint Realm after returning to the sect.
• Lu Changzhi learned that Qin Han's opportunity had disappeared while he was in Sudden Enlightenment and that a Five Symbols Sect ancestor had broken through.
• The system told Lu Changzhi it had temporarily stored his lightning tribulation and could copy allies' tribulations for a reduced fee; Lu Changzhi checked the shop and counted the stored tribulations.

Lu Changzhi synthesized three lightning tribulations into a Dual-Purpose Lightning Tribulation and decided to seek out Xia Ya to test its ability to summon a powerful tribulation against an enemy. Meanwhile, Dongfang Yao prepared to try a way to break a massive underground formation.

• Lu Changzhi learned that the lightning tribulations could be synthesized and spent five thousand experience points to create a Dual-Purpose Lightning Tribulation.
• Lu Changzhi read that the tribulation could help someone cultivate lightning laws or summon a maximum-power lightning tribulation against an enemy.
• Lu Changzhi decided to find Xia Ya in the secret realm and controlled his External Avatar to travel toward a remembered mountain stream.
• Dongfang Yao and the other Dongfang Clan youths waited beside a massive underground formation, hoping it concealed a great opportunity.
• Dongfang Yao opened his eyes and announced that he had thought of a possible way to break the formation.

Dongfang Yao activated the formation with the Dongfang Clan youths, but it triggered a powerful suction that killed many of them. He used the powerful object he had found to feed the formation, weakening the suction as the chapter ended.

• Dongfang Yao studied the formation and directed the youths to channel spiritual power and place Origin Spirit Stones at its power points.
• The youths followed his instructions, and the formation began absorbing spiritual power from the secret realm.
• The formation’s suction surged, pinning the exhausted youths to the ground and crushing many of them to death.
• Dongfang Yao realized he could not stop the formation and threw the powerful object from his storage ring into it.
• The object cracked and released immense power, causing the suction to weaken.

Dongfang Jun witnessed more than twenty soul jades belonging to the Dongfang Clan’s juniors shatter, while Jiang Xin claimed the Nine-Story Tower’s inheritance and the tower vanished. Lu Changzhi spotted an expanding spatial rift and suspected Xia Ya of the Xia Clan had created it, so he headed toward it.

• Dongfang Jun and the guarding elder watched more than twenty soul jades belonging to the clan’s secret-realm juniors shatter.
• Jiang Xin entered the Nine-Story Tower’s ninth floor, claimed its accumulated light and inheritance, and departed as the tower expelled the other challengers before sinking underground.
• Wujie tried to stop the Nine-Story Tower from disappearing, but the tower shattered his Buddha figures and vanished beneath the ground.
• Onlookers spotted a distant black line that seemed to frighten them, and some hurried toward it in flying boats.
• Aboard the Void Shuttle, Lu Changzhi identified the black line as an expanding spatial rift, suspected Xia Ya of the Xia Clan had created it, and changed course toward it.

Dongfang Yao's formation opened a spatial rift that unleashed a vast tide of spirit beasts into the secret realm. As the returning cultivators fled toward the city, Huo Zhen arrived and asked Lu Changzhi whether he had opened the rift.

• Dongfang Yao saw spirit beasts pour through the rift, fled in a flying boat, and was pursued as the beasts flooded the area.
• Xia Ya used the upheaval to escape in the opposite direction, hoping it would keep experts away from the teleportation array.
• Wujie recognized the incoming creatures as powerful spirit beasts and ordered the Buddhist Order to return to the city; leaders from other factions also turned back.
• Lu Changzhi watched the spirit beasts emerge while his External Avatar remained untouched, then decided against bringing Gu Chen and the others to hunt them.
• Huo Zhen, a Saint King Realm Sixth Stage ancestor, met Lu Changzhi beside the rift and asked whether he had opened it.

Lu Changzhi persuaded Huo Zhen to leave the spatial rift open and send spirit beasts into the secret realm, while the resulting beast tide overwhelmed outsiders across the realm. He then took Qin Li, Gu Chen, and the others toward Eighteen City to hunt spirit beasts and deal with the danger gathering there.

• Lu Changzhi convinced Huo Zhen to keep the spatial rift open and bring in about five thousand spirit beasts for his disciples to fight.
• Huo Zhen entered the rift, while Lu Changzhi instructed Zhou Xun to reveal the secret realm's entrance so outsiders would be easier to drive away.
• Spirit beasts spread through the secret realm, killing people in a flying boat and engulfing those trapped outside a city's formation.
• Lu Changzhi called Qin Li, Gu Chen, and the others away from their studies and set out with them for the area around Eighteen City.
• Lu Changzhi planned to use the approaching beast tide to draw spirit beasts toward Eighteen City and wait for them there.

Xia Ya prepared a teleportation formation and beacon to summon the Xia Clan while spirit beasts drove people across the secret realm into cities and toward the exit. As the beast tide threatened Eighteen City, the beasts suddenly rushed toward a drop of essence blood in a nearby valley.

• People near Eighteen City worried that the overcrowded city and sealed neighboring cities left them nowhere safe from the approaching spirit beasts.
• Xia Ya established a defensive formation and teleportation beacon, then waited for the Xia Clan's experts to arrive.
• Night made the spirit beasts more violent, and people in the cities debated whether to leave the secret realm through the reappeared exit.
• The beast tide grew around Eighteen City, causing casualties as defenders struggled to hold their positions.
• The spirit beasts suddenly abandoned their assault and raced toward a drop of essence blood surrounded by formations in a nearby valley.

Mu Fan and his companions lured spirit beasts together with White Tiger essence blood, then unleashed the Iron Tree’s devastating power on them. As the blast’s dust storm reached Eighteen City, Jiang Yuanyin asked Lu Changzhi whether he had taught Mu Fan the technique.

• Mu Fan had Qin Li create more White Tiger essence-blood bait so the group could gather and attack spirit beasts in several areas.
• Qin Li and Gu Chen placed the bait while Mu Fan and the others exploited the beasts’ frenzy to kill them and collect their corpses.
• Xiao Ye retrieved the essence blood, and Mu Fan dropped the Iron Tree into the gathered spirit beasts and activated it.
• The Iron Tree erupted with a vast blaze and shock wave, killing nearby beasts and blasting dust and debris across dozens of li toward Eighteen City.
• Jiang Yuanyin asked Lu Changzhi whether he had taught Mu Fan the technique that had triggered the Iron Tree’s explosion.

Mu Fan’s talisman blast devastated the spirit beasts, and the group searched the battlefield for usable essence blood. Meanwhile, the Xia Clan prepared to investigate the Nine-Tower Secret Realm, while rumors and news of the reopened exit sent its frightened inhabitants fleeing; Qin Han followed the crowd toward escape.

• Lu Changzhi told Jiang Yuanyin that Mu Fan had devised the talisman technique himself, and Jiang Yuanyin judged its blast powerful but best suited to ambushes.
• Mu Fan and Gu Chen found that the blast had killed nearly half the gathered spirit beasts, then joined the others in collecting essence blood from the survivors and corpses.
• The Xia Clan discovered that none of its members qualified to enter the Nine-Tower Secret Realm and decided to wait for Xia Ya’s remnant will to return before negotiating.
• Five Symbols Sect elders spread rumors that the cities’ protection would vanish and stronger spirit beasts were emerging, then news spread that the secret realm’s exit had reopened for one day.
• Crowds rushed toward the exit, and Qin Han heard the news from inside a spirit beast, then controlled it to follow the fleeing people.

Qian Shenglin went to Eighteen City seeking the promised light and antidote, but found it deserted. Meanwhile, Eighteen City's people thanked Lu Changzhi by giving him their light before leaving the secret realm, and Lu Changzhi learned that Zhou Xun had found someone who might be Luo Zhen among a pile of corpses.

• Qian Shenglin headed to Eighteen City after learning the secret realm's exit was open, but found everyone gone and fled when a spirit beast was drawn by his outburst.
• Qin Li guided Eighteen City's people safely toward the exit, and one person urged the crowd to give their light to the city lords before leaving.
• The people of Eighteen City praised their city lords, gave their light willingly, and invited them to visit their homes.
• Lu Changzhi gathered the light and bid farewell to the crowd, who then departed through the secret realm's exit.
• Gu Chen said the group needed to continue collecting spirit beast essence blood, while Lu Changzhi wondered whether his three protégés might be stranded.
• Lu Changzhi received word from Zhou Xun, who had found someone resembling Luo Zhen among a pile of corpses and was going to confirm it.

Lu Changzhi learned that Zhou Xun had found the badly wounded Luo Zhen and let him take Luo Zhen back to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. As the beast tide drove the secret realm’s contestants toward the exit, Wujie fled a powerful spirit beast and the gathered forces learned that the trial would likely end early.

• Zhou Xun pulled the still-breathing Luo Zhen from a pile of corpses while a spirit beast played with another victim nearby.
• Lu Changzhi checked Luo Zhen’s condition, decided he would survive, and allowed Zhou Xun to take him to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.
• Lu Changzhi tracked Qin Jiuxiao and Qin Han near the exit and waited for Qin Li to finish her trial mission.
• Wujie reconsidered his failed plans to win the secret realm as the beast tide forced people to flee.
• A powerful spirit beast approached Wujie, who escaped with the Buddhist Order disciples; a little old man then recalled the beast and went to rest.
• Contestants poured out of the secret realm, and the forces outside learned that the beast tide had forced an early evacuation.

Xia Ya learned that the Land of the Four Directions was weak and reported the Nine-Story Tower’s appearance and unusual Qi fluctuations to Xia Kun. As Xia Ya and Xia Kun’s incarnation entered the secret realm, Dong Li detected a teleportation array and went to investigate.

• Dai Tianfeng’s body sent a token and information through the teleportation array, and Xia Ya learned that the Land of the Four Directions had only two Saint Kings and few people left in the secret realm.
• Xia Ya reported that the Nine-Story Tower had appeared and that unusual Qi fluctuations might have indicated Perfect Sudden Enlightenment.
• Xia Kun ordered Xia Ya to bring any promising genius into the Xia Clan as an attendant and decided to accompany him in an incarnation.
• Xia Kun’s incarnation entered Xia Ya’s body, and Xia Ya entered the teleportation array toward the secret realm.
• Dong Li sensed fluctuations that might have come from a teleportation array, asked Old Zheng to watch the Nine-Story Tower, and hurried toward the source.

Xia Ya entered the Nine-Tower Secret Realm and headed toward Lu Changzhi after his probe detected him and his disciples. Jiang Yuanyin returned to protect them as Xia Ya approached, while Lu Changzhi waited to learn the newcomer's intentions.

• Xia Ya left the formation after finding Dai Tianfeng's corpse and flew toward the Nine-Story Tower's former location.
• Dong Li reported that Xia Ya had entered the realm and was heading for the tower, prompting Jiang Yuanyin to leave Lu Changzhi with a storage ring of defensive means.
• Xia Ya's probing intent swept over Lu Changzhi and his disciples, then fixed on Lu Changzhi.
• Lu Changzhi asked the system for Xia Ya's information, but the system said Xia Ya was outside its detection range.
• Jiang Yuanyin returned and warned Lu Changzhi that Xia Ya seemed to be after him and his disciples, while people from the tower headed to help.
• Xia Ya learned that the Nine-Story Tower had acknowledged a new master and hurried toward Lu Changzhi, angry that someone had attacked him before.

Xia Ya demanded the Nine-Story Tower from Lu Changzhi after Lu refused to join the Xia Clan, and Jiang Yuanyin struck Xia Ya down with a hidden attack. Xia Kun emerged from Xia Ya and threatened Jiang Yuanyin and the Land of the Four Directions, while Lu Changzhi received a choice from his system.

• Xia Ya arrived and offered Lu Changzhi a place in the Xia Clan’s training after asking about the Perfect Sudden Enlightenment.
• Lu Changzhi refused the offer, and Xia Ya demanded the Nine-Story Tower and threatened the group.
• Jiang Yuanyin appeared after blocking Xia Ya’s pressure, then wounded Xia Ya with a sudden blade strike.
• Xia Kun emerged from Xia Ya and threatened to destroy the Land of the Four Directions unless Jiang Yuanyin killed himself.
• Lu Changzhi received a system choice about how to respond to Xia Kun’s threat.

Lu Changzhi watched Jiang Yuanyin and the other Saint Realm patriarchs attack Xia Kun’s Saint King clone, then heard Jiang Yuanyin order them to capture it alive. Xia Kun chose to self-destruct, and Dong Li called for the countermeasure.

• Lu Changzhi considered the system’s lightning-tribulation option and asked whether he could watch from the sidelines.
• Jiang Yuanyin summoned hidden Saint Realm patriarchs, who surrounded Xia Kun and launched a coordinated attack.
• Xia Kun used a formation plate to defend himself, but a hidden dagger shattered the formation and Jiang Yuanyin struck him with his saber’s flat.
• Xia Kun threatened the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, while Jiang Yuanyin revealed that they had deliberately given him time to recover before ordering his capture.
• Xia Kun began to self-destruct, and Dong Li told everyone to use the countermeasure.