Recaps

Xiang Qing offered Qin Han a token that would let him join the Xiang Clan once he reached the Saint Realm, while Qin Jiuxiao fled to avoid facing him. Sun Yi and Chen Kun suspected Xiang Qing had another motive, and Chen Kun sensed that people from the Xiang Clan had arrived.

• Qin Jiuxiao’s companions urged him to escape before Qin Han could use the Xiang Clan against him, and Qin Jiuxiao left while injured.
• Qin Han accepted Xiang Qing’s offer to join the Xiang Clan after reaching the Saint Realm and received a token bearing the character “Xiang.”
• Qin Han noticed Qin Jiuxiao was gone and dismissed him as a coward.
• Xiang Qing told his companions Qin Han still needed experience and revealed that his offer was meant to encourage others to absorb the Holy Water’s remaining energy.
• Sun Yi and Chen Kun suspected Xiang Qing had ulterior motives, and Chen Kun sensed the Xiang Clan’s people approaching.

Xiang Qing tried to take the Holy Water’s energy, but it grew legs, spoke, and escaped despite his attempts to stop it. Xiang Qing and the Xiang Clan experts then headed for the Land of the Four Directions, leaving the onlookers to wonder if the Xiang Clan had taken the Holy Water.

• Xiang Qing brought Xiang Clan experts to guard the Holy Water and waited until its energy had nearly run dry from cultivators absorbing it.
• Xiang Qing tried several methods to seize the Holy Water’s core but found that its energy could not be moved by ordinary means.
• The Holy Water gathered into a glowing mass, grew two legs, and escaped through Xiang Qing’s barrier after saying, “Off I go, bye-bye now.”
• Xiang Qing told the Xiang Clan members that the Holy Water had grown legs and run away, then chose to continue to the Land of the Four Directions.
• The Xiang Clan experts joined Xiang Qing on the trip, while the remaining onlookers wondered whether the Xiang Clan had taken the Holy Water.

Lu Changzhi visited Hidden Origin Peak, checked on his disciples, and gave Luo Ling'er a Saint King Realm Red Dragon Fish to cook. He suggested Qin Li take the sect patriarch with her when she went out to temper herself, but she declined, and the chapter ended as Luo Ling'er brought the enormous pot of fish to dinner.

• Lu Changzhi received a storage ring containing the Red Dragon Fish, then used the system to descend to Hidden Origin Peak and meet Gu Chen.
• Gu Chen told Lu Changzhi that his cultivation and body training had improved rapidly, while Lu Changzhi learned that Cang Wenyu and Xu Kun were in seclusion.
• Lu Changzhi gave Luo Ling'er the Red Dragon Fish, which had been at the Saint King Realm, and asked her and Gu Chen to prepare it.
• Lu Changzhi visited Qin Li in the secret realm and learned that she planned to go out to temper herself.
• Lu Changzhi offered Qin Li the sect patriarch as a sect specialty, but she declined and said she would avoid danger; he asked her to leave the next day after dinner.
• Luo Ling'er carried the giant pot of fish to the dining table, shaking Hidden Origin Peak as it landed.

A mysterious woman appeared at the southeastern sea, traced a substance’s trail, and vanished toward the Land of the Four Directions. Meanwhile, Lu Changzhi shared Saint King's fish with his disciples and traveled to find Xiao Ye, hoping to teach Xiao Ye's Tongtong and improve his own trait.

• After the Xiang Clan took all the Holy Water, Luo Zhen tried to find cultivators who would let him travel with them.
• A rift opened above the sea, and a black-clad woman arrived, searched the seawater, and followed a beam of light toward the Land of the Four Directions.
• At Hidden Origin Peak, Gu Chen ate Saint King's fish to strengthen his body, and Lu Changzhi prepared portions for the other peaks.
• Lu Changzhi delivered fish to Mu Fan at Extreme Arms Holy Land and asked about his progress in mechanical arts.
• Lu Changzhi delivered a portion to Fugui, then descended to Xiao Ye to teach Xiao Ye's Tongtong.

Lu Changzhi visited Xiao Ye, who asked for more cultivation techniques and martial skills, while Lu noticed that Xiao Ye still had one vague system task left to complete. Meanwhile, Xiang Qing visited the Cloud Heaven Holy Land for historical records and asked why the Five Symbols Sect had endured despite its limited strength.

• Xiao Ye told Lu Changzhi that outside cultivators had made the region less peaceful, though the Xiao Clan had handled its troubles.
• Xiao Ye asked whether the sect had more cultivation techniques and martial skills, and Lu Changzhi promised to consult the ancestor.
• Lu Changzhi noted that Xiao Ye still needed to use his system to display his brilliance and shock the masses, but left him to figure out how.
• Xiang Qing arrived at the Cloud Heaven Holy Land with companions and reviewed its records while Huang Yunya attended them.
• Xiang Qing asked whether the Five Symbols Sect still existed, and Huang Yunya confirmed it was in the Eastern Region but had limited strength.
• Xiang Qing asked Huang Yunya how the Five Symbols Sect could have lasted without strength.

Xiang Qing agreed to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land from minor troubles for fifty years after Huang Qianzhou offered his son Yunya’s service in exchange. The visitors then set out toward the Five Symbols Sect, whose possible secret had caught Xiang Qing’s interest, while the sect received news that outside experts were coming.

• Xiang Qing questioned Huang Yunya about how the Five Symbols Sect had survived, then decided to visit it because its name and history might connect to Xiang Li’s Five Elements Sacred Physique.
• Huang Yunya told Xiang Qing that the Extreme Arms Holy Land had blockaded the Five Symbols Sect, and Xiang Qing suspected the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had discovered a secret there.
• Huang Qianzhou emerged from seclusion and asked Xiang Qing’s party to stay, then knelt and offered Huang Yunya’s service in exchange for protection from outside experts.
• Xiang Qing promised to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land from minor troubles for fifty years and departed.
• The Five Symbols Sect received word that outside experts were coming and rushed to work overtime to protect its ancestral instructions.

Xiang Qing left his name over the Cloud Heaven Holy Land as protection, then took Huang Yunya toward the Five Symbols Sect. As the sect secretly prepared for their arrival, Huang Qianzhou resumed cultivation, puzzled by his headache, and Huang Yunya reached the sect with questions about its secrets.

• Xiang Qing wrote his name across the sky to protect the Cloud Heaven Holy Land and warned Huang Yunya not to misuse his protection.
• Huang Qianzhou returned to his secret chamber to cultivate, then woke with a headache and wondered if something had gone wrong.
• Xiao Ye noticed the characters in the sky and called for Tongtong, but received no answer, while Lu Changzhi slept to the sound of a zither.
• Liang Si warned the Five Symbols Sect's patriarchs about Xiang Qing, then used a stone to contact someone and demanded they arrive within three shichen.
• The Five Symbols Sect's patriarchs devised a plan and began preparations as Liang Si left in disguise.
• Huang Yunya rode with Xiang Qing toward the Five Symbols Sect and announced that they had arrived.

Xiang Qing led experts from the Xiang Clan to the Five Symbols Sect, where he exposed Cang Wenyu’s concealed cultivation and demanded an audience with the sect’s Saints. He suspected the sect was hiding an important secret and sought to uncover it by speaking with its strongest patriarch.

• Xiang Qing directed the Winged Bird to fly to the Five Symbols Sect, and the Xiang Clan experts searched the sect with their senses.
• Cang Wenyu met the visitors, while Huang Yunya accused the Five Symbols Sect of hiding its true strength.
• Xiang Qing revealed that Cang Wenyu was concealing Dao Comprehension Realm cultivation and ordered the sect’s Saints to appear.
• Cang Wenyu explained that the patriarchs were in secluded death cultivation, so Xiang Qing gave him pills to extend their lives.
• A Xiang Clan expert and the Winged Bird unleashed pressure on the Five Symbols Sect members, but Xiang Qing stopped them and requested a meeting with the strongest patriarch.

Xiao Ming reacted to the Xiang Clan’s Winged Bird and drew the clan’s attention toward Hidden Origin Peak. As Qin Li stopped Xiao Ming from rushing out, the Xiang Clan began searching for the hidden source of the disturbance.

• Cang Wenyu hurried to fetch the Five Symbols Sect’s patriarch, while Huang Yunya suspected the sect had hidden its strength and was responsible for past mysteries.
• Xiao Ming woke to the Winged Bird’s cry and sent out invisible sound waves that made the Saint Realm bird droop and descend.
• Xiang Qing steadied and shielded the Winged Bird, while the Xiang Clan inferred that an extraordinary Beast Race member was hidden nearby.
• The patriarchs in the shadows realized the disturbance might have come from Hidden Origin Peak and hurried to prevent the Xiang Clan from investigating it.
• Xiao Ming threw off the blanket, expanded outside the window, and prepared to attack the Winged Bird.
• Qin Li stepped in front of Xiao Ming and warned that the Xiang Clan was trying to lure them out.

Qin Li and Xiao Ming hid in the secret realm while Xiang Qing investigated the Five Symbols Sect after its Winged Bird was frightened. Xiang Qing questioned the sect’s ancient expert about its name, then accepted Huang Yunya’s suggestion to visit Hidden Origin Peak.

• Qin Li gave Xiao Ming a spirit fruit and promised to help catch and cook the creature that had disturbed him once she grew stronger.
• The Winged Bird reacted in terror outside the Five Symbols Sect, prompting Xiang Qing to enter the sect and investigate.
• An ancient expert emerged from a coffin and revealed a power comparable to Xiang Qing’s father, startling Huang Yunya.
• The old man explained that the sect was named after five Horned Elephants that had guarded it when it was founded.
• Xiang Qing asked to visit the sect’s scenic grounds, and Huang Yunya directed him to Hidden Origin Peak.

Xiang Qing accepted the Five Symbols Sect patriarch’s offer to tour the sect treasury, while the patriarch’s blunt honesty made Huang Yunya’s warnings seem like deception. Xiang Qing still suspected the real Hidden Origin Peak held something important, and Qin Li wondered if he had sensed it.

• Xiang Qing asked to visit Hidden Origin Peak, and the patriarch led the group to a smaller, recently established peak that he said had little scenery or few disciples.
• The patriarch accused Huang Yunya of trying to use Xiang Qing to settle their conflict, then offered the Xiang Clan a tour of the treasury and scripture repository.
• Huang Yunya insisted that Hidden Origin Peak and the treasury were fakes, but the patriarch agreed, prompting Cang Wenyu to admire his teaching about making the truth seem unbelievable.
• Qin Li recognized that the peak they had visited was indeed fake and reflected on how skillfully her Master made truth appear false.
• Xiang Qing told Huang Yunya to behave and accepted the patriarch’s invitation, while privately deciding to investigate the real Hidden Origin Peak later.
• Qin Li noticed Xiang Qing glance toward the real peak and wondered whether he had sensed it, then concluded the array should have hidden it from him.

Lu Changzhi woke to a system choice about Xiang Qing and the trouble Xiao Ming’s Chongming Bird had caused, then returned to Hidden Origin Peak to learn the Five Symbols Sect’s response. He told Liang Si he would handle the Beast Race matter himself and entered the secret realm.

• The system presented Lu Changzhi with three choices for dealing with Xiang Qing’s interest in Xiao Ming and Hidden Origin Peak, then gave him a temporary fifth-level Saint Venerable boost.
• Lu Changzhi used Descent through Gu Chen to return to Hidden Origin Peak and found Cang Wenyu, who explained that Huang Yunya had brought Xiang Qing and the others to the sect.
• Lu Changzhi asked Liang Si about the situation and learned that the ancestors planned to protect the sect’s ancestral precepts while finding a suitable Beast Race member to replace Xiao Ming.
• Lu Changzhi told Liang Si he would handle the Beast Race matter instead of making him give up something he treasured, then flashed into the secret realm.

Lu Changzhi and Xiao Ming provoked the Black Dragon and made the Dragon-Imprisoning Stake appear to fail, using the dragon’s rage to weaken its restraints. The Black Dragon broke free of the stake’s restraining force as the Winged Bird fled, leaving its next move unclear.

• The Black Dragon woke from a dream and raged at the Winged Bird when it mocked the dragon’s lost masculinity.
• The Winged Bird continued provoking the Black Dragon by flaunting its own body, while Lu Changzhi secretly adjusted the Cage Stake to make its restraints seem ready to break.
• Xiao Ming told Lu Changzhi about its grudge against the Winged Bird, and Lu Changzhi planned to use Black Dragon meat to win over the Xiang Clan while preparing to kill its members.
• At Lu Changzhi’s request, Xiao Ming spat water at the Black Dragon, pushing its fury and struggles to their limit.
• The Cage Stake cracked and lost its restraining force, allowing the Black Dragon to lunge at the fleeing Winged Bird before the restraints vanished completely.

The Five Symbols Sect’s treasury stunned Huang Yunya with its wealth, while Xiang Qing discovered that the sect had a powerful Beast Race creature nearby. The Black Dragon escaped and attacked the Winged Bird, but Xiang Qing restrained it before an unknown voice demanded that it be handed over.

• Huang Yunya found the Five Symbols Sect’s treasury richer than the Cloud Heaven Holy Land’s and tried to dismiss its treasures as mundane.
• Xiang Qing asked the patriarch about the unique Beast Race presence that had frightened the Winged Bird.
• The Black Dragon burst out of the Five Symbols Sect and charged at the trembling Winged Bird.
• Xiang Qing appeared and bound the Black Dragon with his Saint Venerable power as it struggled against him.
• An unknown voice called from the distant void and demanded that the Black Dragon be handed over.

A masked figure attacked Xiang Qing and tried to take the Black Dragon, while Lu Changzhi used Random Deprivation on Xiang Qing. The figure escaped with the unconscious Black Dragon after naming himself Xiang Lin, leaving Xiang Qing to report that the attacker had reached at least the Seventh Level of Saint Venerable.

• A masked figure seized the Black Dragon, then struck Xiang Qing and forced him back in their clash.
• Lu Changzhi used Random Deprivation on Xiang Qing and removed his [Heart of Insight] talent.
• Xiang Qing's clan experts confronted the figure, but the figure refused to give up the Black Dragon and challenged them to stop him.
• Xiang Qing tried to negotiate and asked the figure's name; the figure knocked the Black Dragon unconscious and answered, "Xiang Lin."
• The figure vanished with the Black Dragon, and Xiang Qing told the clan experts that the attacker was at least the Seventh Level of Saint Venerable.

Liang Si and Lu Changzhi agreed to send the captured Black Dragon back to its clan and make the Xiang Clan appear responsible for its mutilation. Xiang Qing sensed that the Five Symbols Sect had lost its unusual aura, then spotted a figure approaching through the night sky.

• Xiang Qing’s experts speculated that Liang Si had come for the Black Dragon by coincidence, while Xiang Qing concealed his doubts about the encounter and regretted losing the dragon and the Holy Water.
• Lu Changzhi told Liang Si that he had taken Xiang Qing’s Heart of Insight, and Liang Si praised Xiang Qing for avoiding a fight.
• Liang Si asked about the Black Dragon and proposed sending it back to its clan while directing its grudge toward the Xiang Clan; Lu Changzhi agreed.
• Xiang Qing returned to the Five Symbols Sect and found that the strange feeling around Hidden Origin Peak had disappeared, leaving him uneasy.
• Xiang Qing saw a figure striding through the air toward the Five Symbols Sect.

Xiang Lu arrived at the Five Symbols Sect and offered Xiang Qing a deal for the Holy Water she had taken from the Southeastern Sea Region. Xiang Qing asked what the water did, leaving Xiang Lu puzzled by his claim that he knew little about it.

• Xiang Qing and Lu Changzhi noticed a newcomer approaching with the art of space, and Lu Changzhi identified her as Xiang Lu, a Saint Venerable Realm Third Layer cultivator.
• Lu Changzhi asked Liang Si whether he had anticipated the newcomer, and Liang Si said she was neither one of their own nor one of the people from this side.
• Xiang Lu appeared before Xiang Qing and presented a jade bottle containing Qi matching that of the Holy Water from the Southeastern Sea Region.
• Xiang Qing inferred that Xiang Lu had taken the Holy Water and suspected she wanted to use it to extort him.
• Xiang Lu offered Xiang Qing the Water of Transformation, and he asked her to explain its effects before agreeing to the deal.

Xiang Lu tried to trade with Xiang Qing for the extraction method behind the Water of Transformation, but their assumptions about each other derailed the negotiation. As Xiang Qing asked to see the water, Lu Changzhi prepared to intervene from Hidden Origin Peak.

• Xiang Lu explained that the Water of Transformation was valuable, traceable, and difficult to refine, and warned Xiang Qing that her people would pursue it if it had been taken without explanation.
• Xiang Qing suspected Xiang Lu was using threats to drive up the price and asked to see the Water of Transformation before continuing the deal.
• Xiang Lu mistook Xiang Qing’s request as an attempt to demand more water and said she could provide only the portion from the sea.
• Lu Changzhi checked the system, found no Water of Transformation there, and asked Liang Si for advice on framing someone.
• Xiang Qing clarified that the portion from the sea was enough and asked Xiang Lu to take out the Water of Transformation.

Xiang Qing denied taking the Water of Transformation, while Xiang Lu’s tracking seal pointed to him. He claimed the Holy Water had grown legs and run away, and a distant voice then offered to bear witness.

• Xiang Lu asked Xiang Qing to bring out the Water of Transformation, but he pointed out that she had taken it.
• Xiang Lu found the jade bottle empty and accused Xiang Qing of taking the Holy Water, while he insisted there had been a misunderstanding.
• Xiang Lu used a tracking seal that pointed to Xiang Qing and asked him to provide either the refining method or the Holy Water.
• Xiang Qing denied having either and said the Water of Transformation had grown legs, spoken, and run away; Xiang Lu dismissed his explanation as absurd.
• The Xiang Clan experts supported Xiang Qing and asked for a thorough investigation.
• A voice from far above offered to bear witness.

Liang Si posed as Xiang Lin, swore a Heaven and Earth Oath to clear Xiang Qing of collecting the Water of Transformation, then taunted him and drove the Xiang Clan to leave. Lu Changzhi learned Xiang Lu had retreated because she did not dare fight there.

• Liang Si swore in Xiang Lin's name that Xiang Qing had collected the Water of Transformation himself, and a Heaven and Earth Oath manifested.
• Liang Si called Xiang Qing his son and warned him to return to the clan, then tried to seize Xiang Lu as she stepped through a spatial rift and escaped.
• Liang Si revealed himself as Xiang Lin, your big daddy, while Xiang Qing suppressed his anger and the Xiang Clan experts urged him not to fight.
• Xiang Qing ordered the Xiang Clan to return home, leaving Huang Yunya behind until he was warmly entertained by someone nearby.
• Lu Changzhi asked Liang Si why Xiang Lu had been so meek, and Liang Si explained that she had not dared to make a move there.

After Liang Si explained why she had avoided acting directly and admitted her oath was a bluff, Lu Changzhi returned to bed while Huang Yunya recovered. On the Xiang Clan’s journey, Xiang Qing encountered a messenger from Divination Knows and learned that the Prophet had made a gold-and-black divination to be announced in the Land of the Four Directions, prompting him to turn back there.

• Liang Si told Lu Changzhi that acting rashly could cause the local heaven and earth to reject her, and revealed that her oath had been fake.
• Lu Changzhi returned to his room, noticed his bed was disheveled, tidied it with spiritual power, and went back to sleep.
• The Xiang Clan members discussed the powerful figures they had encountered as their Winged Bird traveled through the night.
• Xiang Qing noticed a Divination Knows messenger traveling toward the Land of the Four Directions and asked what had happened.
• The messenger said the Prophet had performed a gold-and-black divination and sent him to announce it in the Land of the Four Directions.
• Xiang Qing suspected the divination might concern him and directed the Winged Bird to follow the messenger back.

Xiang Qing heard a cryptic warning from one of Divination Knows' three prophecies, then Lu Changzhi reviewed the divinations and suspected they were connected to recent events. After Qin Li prepared to leave, Lu Changzhi used Descent to visit Xiao Ye, where the system later announced it had brought him something.

• A diviner told Xiang Qing that his prophecy warned against forcing events and revealed that two other divinations had been sent out.
• Xiang Qing returned to the Xiang Clan, uneasy about the warning and his trip to the Five Symbols Sect.
• Lu Changzhi paid Heavenly Treasure Points to read news about the three prophecies and learned they appeared in Central Province, near the Five Symbols ruins, and in the Land of the Four Directions.
• Lu Changzhi wondered whether the ominous prophecies were linked to Xiang Lu and recent events, then Qin Li said she would set out that afternoon.
• Lu Changzhi used Descent to reach Xiao Ye, and after several hours the system announced it had brought him something.

Lu Changzhi received a partial External Avatar in the form of a floating head, which could comprehend the Dao and laws of heaven and earth to help refine his Seed of Chaos. At the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s Land of the Four Directions branch, Sun Yi and Chen Kun discussed the prophecies, the coming changes, and Xiang Li’s likely rise.

• The system gave Lu Changzhi a partial External Avatar shaped like his head and explained that it could comprehend the Dao to help him refine the Seed of Chaos.
• Lu Changzhi controlled the head with his mind, tested its ability to change form, and decided to find a suitable place for it to comprehend the Dao.
• At the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s Land of the Four Directions branch, Sun Yi and Chen Kun discussed the Prophet of Divination Knows’s prophecy and whether the pavilion might have to close its teleportation array.
• Sun Yi and Chen Kun considered how the three prophecies might affect the world and whether Lu Yuan’s son could rise among the younger generation.
• Sun Yi and Chen Kun discussed Xiang Li, the Five Elements Sacred Physique ruins, and the Xiang Clan’s likely efforts to secure the inheritance for him.

Lu Changzhi heard that Myriad Laws Academy had moved its Law Contemplation Gathering forward to half a month away, likely because of the three prophecies. He decided the gathering was worth attending.

• Factions across the Land of the Four Directions discussed the prophecies and the growing influence of outside cultivators as they sought ways to protect themselves and expand.
• Mu Fan visited Lu Changzhi and showed him an improved, bladed device, asking for advice on its reduced sturdiness.
• Lu Changzhi gave Mu Fan a cryptic hint, and Mu Fan left to ask Luo Ling'er to help forge a long tube.
• Sun Yi told Lu Changzhi that Myriad Laws Academy had moved its next Law Contemplation Gathering forward to half a month away.
• Lu Changzhi considered the gathering's benefits for himself and Xiao Ye, then decided to attend.

Xiao Ye agreed to attend the Dao Contemplation Gathering, while Lu Changzhi noticed an unusual opportunity developing around Luo Zhen. In the South Island Domain, Mo Gen hid the badly injured Qin Jiuxiao, who said their master had changed and might have been taken over.

• Xiao Ye set aside his worries about offending the sect’s ancestral teachings and agreed to attend the gathering.
• Lu Changzhi checked the system and saw no upcoming opportunities for Qin Jiuxiao or Qin Han, but found that Luo Zhen would gain a major boon in thirteen days.
• Mo Gen fled by flying boat with the injured Qin Jiuxiao and concealed him in a cave.
• After regaining consciousness, Qin Jiuxiao told Mo Gen that their master had changed and might have been taken over.
• Qin Jiuxiao recalled that he and the other disciples had approached their master to discuss the earlier expulsion, believing it might have been said in anger.