Chapter Summaries

Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda searched Ito Makoto’s study and concluded that he had deliberately left clues to guide and protect them. They found a hidden message directing them to meet at the Old Place.

• Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda discovered a Withered Vine in the study and realized it had been preserved with soul power.
• Ji Boda reasoned that Ito Makoto had intentionally revealed his Head Soul Bone and followed them to Li Mountain to draw their attention to the Crimson Church and protect them.
• Liu Ruyan channeled soul power into the vine, but it showed no reaction.
• Ji Boda suggested checking where the vine grew, and Liu Ruyan found a hidden protrusion beneath it.
• Liu Ruyan pressed the protrusion, opening a hidden compartment, and found a note that read, “If you wish to know the truth, meet at the Old Place.”

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan followed Ito Makoto’s note to the Bamboo Forest on the Back Mountain and uncovered a buried chest full of Netherworld Blood Lilies and seeds. They suspected the cache was central to Ito Makoto’s plans, and Liu Ruyan set out to investigate the lilies’ possible uses in alchemy.

• Ji Boda realized the emphasized word “old” might point to a place Ito Makoto visited long ago, and Liu Ruyan recalled his habit of going to the Bamboo Forest on the Back Mountain when he was upset.
• Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan searched the bamboo forest and found a Withered Vine buried beneath Withered Bamboo Leaves.
• Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan dug up a sealed chest and discovered it contained Netherworld Blood Lilies and a large supply of their seeds.
• Ji Boda concluded the lilies were important to Ito Makoto’s plans, and Liu Ruyan explained their medicinal uses and considered whether they could be used to refine a Bloodthirsty Pill.
• Liu Ruyan said she would consult ancient books and materials to learn more about the Netherworld Blood Lilies.

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan discovered a letter Ito Makoto had hidden with his collection of Netherworld Blood Lilies. Through the letter, Liu learned about Ito’s family ties to the Crimson Church, her grandfather’s murder, and a secret ritual involving the lilies and the Drunken Dream Flower.

• Ji Boda found a hidden box and gave it to Liu Ruyan, who opened Ito Makoto’s letter and found two books inside.
• Ito wrote that his family came from the Crimson Church and cultivated Netherworld Blood Lilies with their mutated Withered Vine Martial Soul.
• Liu Ruyan read that Ito’s family had fled a Crimson Church factional conflict and that his grandfather had warned him about the hostile faction.
• Ito revealed that the Crimson Church had killed his grandfather and that the Drunken Dream Flower and Netherworld Soil had made the Ji and Liu Families targets.
• Ito explained that the Crimson Church valued Netherworld Blood Lilies as much as eighth-grade medicine and used them in applications described in the cultivation scripture.
• Ito wrote that Netherworld Blood Lilies and the Drunken Dream Flower were central to ancient rituals and formations that had caused the Crimson Church’s factional conflict.

Liu Ruyan read Ito Makoto’s letter and learned that the Crimson Church planned to attack the Ji and Liu Families, while Ito had deliberately hastened its move before returning to the Church. She and Ji Boda decided to use the Netherworld Blood Lilies to seek an alliance with the Chen Clan against the coming threat.

• Liu Ruyan read Ito Makoto’s letter explaining the Netherworld Soil, his family’s ties to the Crimson Church, and the Church’s plan to attack the Ji and Liu Families next year.
• Ito Makoto revealed that he had provoked the Crimson Church into acting early and left the Liu Clan, grateful for the years he had spent with them.
• Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda concluded that Ito Makoto’s box of Netherworld Blood Lilies could help them confront the Crimson Church.
• Liu Ruyan proposed offering the Netherworld Blood Lilies to the Chen Clan to secure an alliance, and Ji Boda agreed to face the coming danger with her.

Xue Churan managed the aftermath of the attacks on the Ji and Liu Families, reassuring the forces gathered in Chang'an City while awaiting news from the Imperial Capital. As the city’s clans and hidden powers began investigating or exploiting the crisis, the truth behind the attacks remained unknown.

• Xue Churan learned that most City Guard injuries and civilian harm had been contained, while a few soldiers had died from the virus.
• Xue Churan went to the Council Hall and promised representatives of the great forces that she would uncover the truth and hear their concerns.
• News of the attacks on the Ji and Liu Families and the fires spread throughout Chang'an City, alarming its residents and major forces.
• Families allied with the Ji and Liu Families offered condolences and sought clues, while their rivals privately considered how to take advantage of the crisis.
• Noble families, sects, and mysterious forces tightened security and secretly investigated as crowds gathered outside the Ji and Liu estates.

As unrest spread through Chang'an City after the attacks on the Ji and Liu Families, Xue Churan visited Chen Cong with Zuo Tinggang, who delivered the Heaven Dou Empire’s decree and gifts conferring a dukedom on him. Chen Cong accepted the honor and pledged to serve the empire, while the city’s turmoil and the mystery behind the attacks remained unresolved.

• Members of the Crimson Church secretly discussed their next move as rumors and unrest spread through Chang'an City.
• Major clans and sects held emergency meetings, while Xue Churan struggled to maintain the city’s stability amid schemes and growing tensions.
• Xue Churan visited Chen Cong at Chen Clan Villa with her attendant, who was revealed to be Sky Teal Douluo Zuo Tinggang.
• Zuo Tinggang presented Chen Cong with the Heaven Dou Empire’s decree, a Duke token, Purple Gold Coins, ceremonial clothing, and a Duke Residence.
• Chen Cong accepted the imperial gifts and pledged to fulfill his duties for the Heaven Dou Empire.

Xue Churan met with Chen Cong to discuss the Crimson Church’s attack on the Ji and Liu Families and asked the Chen Clan to help investigate. Chen Cong also outlined plans to expand his clan’s business in Chang'an City, while Xue Churan left feeling more confident.

• Xue Churan thanked Chen Cong and Dragon Horse for helping the Ji and Liu Families, then asked Chen Cong what he knew about the Crimson Church’s attack.
• Chen Cong said the Yan, You, Ming, and Yuwen Families led the main fundamentalist branch, but he knew little about their current strength or their goal in targeting the Ji and Liu Families.
• Xue Churan asked Chen Cong to mobilize the Chen Clan’s intelligence network to find the attackers, and he agreed.
• Chen Cong asked whether Xue Churan would address the rumors spreading through the city, but she said she would let them grow for now.
• Chen Cong proposed expanding the Chen Clan’s military training and entering the Soul Tool and soul master service industries, including opening a Herbal Medicine Market in Chang'an City.
• Xue Churan promised to support Chen Cong’s plans, then left the Chen Clan’s alternate estate feeling more confident.

After meeting with Xue Churan and Zuo Tinggang, Chen Cong planned to leave Chen Clan Villa with Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi so they could hunt for Xiao Yi’s third soul ring in the Chen family Secret Realm. Xue Churan and Zuo Tinggang continued their private discussion in Chang'an City, preparing for the important matter that had brought them there.

• Chen Cong promised Xue Churan and Zuo Tinggang that he would begin investigating soon, then decided to leave town to give their opponents room to act.
• Chen Cong asked Long Ma to watch over Chen Clan Villa while he was away.
• Chen Cong told Xi Xi that he would take Xiao Yi to the Chen family Secret Realm to obtain her third soul ring, and Xi Xi agreed to stay behind.
• Xue Churan praised Chen Cong’s reliability and handsomeness, while Zuo Tinggang teased her about her special attention to him.
• Xue Churan assured Zuo Tinggang that she had an important matter for him and would arrange everything properly.

Chen Cong brought Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi to the hidden entrance of the Chen family’s Space Secret Realm and guided them safely through its unstable spatial node. They entered a vast mountain forest, where an unseen person challenged them.

• Chen Cong, Chen Xiaojun, and Xiao Yi left Chen Clan Villa together on Chen Cong’s Seven Kill Sword.
• Chen Cong led them into a hidden Mountain Hollow on Purple Cypress Mountain and warned them to follow his steps through the dangerous outer region.
• Chen Cong opened the secret entrance by channeling the Chen family’s Upright Sword Qi Technique into the stone wall.
• Chen Cong protected Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi as the unstable spatial node pulled them into the Secret Realm.
• The three emerged in a vast mountain forest, where someone shouted, “Who goes there?”

Chen Cong and the children arrived at a guarded Chen Clan site, where they reunited with three elderly clan guardians and learned that two possessed Titled Battle Power despite remaining Soul Douluos. The elders welcomed Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi as the clan’s future and urged them to train hard.

• Ding Daoheng mistook the arrivals for intruders until Chen Cong identified himself and explained that he had come to visit.
• Cheng Wenge and Zhu Jiazhen arrived after receiving Lao Ding’s signal, and Chen Cong told the elders that Zhu Hongzhen would return soon.
• Chen Cong described Zhu Hongzhen’s opportunity in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and invited the three guardians to visit it later.
• Chen Xiaojun recognized the elders’ immense strength and suspected that Ding Daoheng and Cheng Wenge had Titled Battle Power as peak level 89 Soul Douluos.
• Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi greeted the three elders, who praised them and encouraged them to cultivate for the Chen Clan.

Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi entered the Chen Clan’s Vine Sea secret realm to find a suitable Third Soul Ring for Xiao Yi and support her cultivation. After learning of her extraordinary Martial Soul, the elders were astonished, while Chen Xiaojun privately reflected on his own even broader range of attributes.

• Chen Cong explained that the Vine Sea secret realm was rich in plant and vine Soul Beasts and suited Xiao Yi’s cultivation plan.
• Chen Xiaojun said Xiao Yi needed a vitality-focused Vine Soul Beast to strengthen her Ageless Evergreen Ivy’s growth, attack, and healing abilities.
• Xiao Yi requested a 5,000-to-6,000-year Soul Beast for her Third Soul Ring, and Chen Xiaojun explained that her Life and Devouring attributes let her absorb older rings.
• Xiao Yi revealed that her Martial Soul had Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth attributes, and Chen Cong explained how she had gained them.
• Cheng Wenge, Ding Daoheng, and Zhu Jiazhen praised Xiao Yi’s exceptional Martial Soul, while Chen Cong privately noted that Chen Xiaojun possessed eight attributes already.

Chen Xiaojun and the elders discussed finding a suitable Third Soul Ring for Xiao Yi, comparing two powerful Vine Soul Beasts found in the secret realm. Chen Cong revealed that the secret Treasure Spring was actually the Spring of Life, the force sustaining the realm’s flourishing forest.

• Chen Cong told Ding Daoheng that Zhu Wuneng had awakened the Wood Attribute, prompting Ding Daoheng to boast about his family’s connection to him.
• Chen Xiaojun and the elders praised the younger generation before agreeing to help Xiao Yi find a suitable Vine Soul Beast for her Third Soul Ring.
• Zhu Jiazhen described the Starry Sky Emerald Vine’s star-powered healing and the Life Vine’s unusually strong life energy, explaining that the latter grew beside the Treasure Spring.
• Chen Xiaojun asked about the Treasure Spring, and Chen Cong revealed its official name was the Spring of Life, which nourished the secret realm’s plants and soul beasts.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions explored the secret realm, whose terrain resembled the Xie Luo Mountain Range, and visited the Starry Sky Emerald Vine. Chen Xiaojun and Xiaoyi felt the vines’ star power resonate with their own soul power as they began examining the rare Plant Soul Beasts.

• Chen Xiaojun asked to visit the two kinds of soul beasts and sense their Life Force, and Chen Cong carried the group toward the tallest peak on his Seven Kill Sword.
• Chen Xiaojun noticed the secret realm’s terrain resembled the Xie Luo Mountain Range, and Chen Cong confirmed the resemblance and explained that secret realms could connect to the continent’s earth veins, water veins, and Heaven and Earth Soul Power.
• Zhu Jiazhen led the group to the Starry Sky Emerald Vine, where Xiaoyi admired and touched the gleaming vines.
• Chen Xiaojun and Xiaoyi sensed the vines’ powerful soul-power fluctuations resonating with their own, and Ding Daoheng explained that the eighth-grade Plant Soul Beasts absorbed starlight and could benefit cultivation.

Chen Xiaojun and the others visited the Spring of Life and learned about its healing power, its role in tempering the Chen Clan’s Seven Kill Swords, and legends about its divine origin. The chapter ended with Chen Xiaojun wondering whether the Life Goddess in the legends was the deity above the Hunting Goddess in the Plant Guild.

• Zhu Jiazhen praised the Starry Sky Emerald Vine as a strong potential Soul Beast for Xiaoyi and offered to reserve older vines for them.
• Ding Daoheng and Zhu Jiazhen teased each other about the traits of different Soul Master types before the group moved on.
• Chen Cong guided everyone over several hills to a clear pool fed by the Spring of Life.
• Zhu Jiazhen explained that the Spring of Life nourished the forest and could rapidly heal injuries and strengthen vitality.
• Chen Cong said the Spring of Life helped dispel the Seven Kill Sword’s killing intent and had supported the Chen Clan’s rise.
• Zhu Jiazhen and Chen Cong recounted legends that the Life Goddess created the spring, prompting Chen Xiaojun to ask whether she was the Plant Guild’s chief sacrificial deity above the Hunting Goddess.

Chen Xiaojun and the others discussed how the Spring of Life had strengthened the clan and concluded that combining its restorative power with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could aid breakthroughs. At the Life Vine, Xiao Yi chose it for her next soul ring, and Chen Xiaojun explained why its life energy suited her martial soul.

• Ding Daoheng and Cheng Wenge credited the Spring of Life with stabilizing the Old Master's injuries and preserving the elders' strength.
• Chen Xiaojun concluded that the Spring of Life could prepare the body for breakthroughs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and Chen Cong said the three Old Uncles would go there.
• Zhu Jiazhen showed the group the Life Vine, and Cheng Wenge and Xiao Yi sensed its unusual, primordial Soul Power and powerful Life Force.
• Zhu Jiazhen explained that the Life Vine had mutated less than a hundred years ago, so none had reached ten thousand years.
• Xiao Yi chose the Life Vine, and Chen Xiaojun said its life energy and her Ageless Evergreen Ivy's Life Attribute made it more suitable than the Starry Sky Emerald Vine.

Xiao Yi tried to capture a five-thousand-five-hundred-year Life Vine, but her Ageless Evergreen Ivy triggered a startling reaction from both Life Vines. Chen Cong and Zhu Jiazhen identified the vines as lower Soul Beasts drawn to the Ivy’s superior bloodline, leaving the group watching as it absorbed them.

• Zhu Jiazhen showed the group the eight-thousand-year and five-thousand-five-hundred-year Life Vines, and Xiao Yi chose to face the younger one herself.
• Xiao Yi summoned her Ageless Evergreen Ivy, whose scent and aura caused the nearby Plant Soul Beasts to tremble and the two Life Vines to attack.
• The eight-thousand-year Life Vine wrapped around the Ageless Evergreen Ivy, which then bound it in return and knocked away the other vine.
• The Ageless Evergreen Ivy’s devouring power withered the eight-thousand-year Life Vine as it continued to seek contact rather than resist.
• Chen Cong and Zhu Jiazhen explained that the Life Vines were lower Soul Beasts drawn to the Ageless Evergreen Ivy and seeking bloodline fusion and sublimation.

Xiao Yi's Ageless Evergreen Ivy overpowered and devoured an eight-thousand-year Life Vine, then absorbed the purple soul ring it produced. Xiao Yi endured the dangerous beyond-tier absorption with the Ivy's help, and her condition stabilized as she broke through her limit.

• Xiao Yi fed her Soul Power to the Ageless Evergreen Ivy, which used its upper-Soul-Beast bloodline to suppress the eight-thousand-year Life Vine.
• The Ageless Evergreen Ivy devoured the Life Vine's vitality, and a deep purple soul ring rose from its withered body.
• The soul ring attached itself to the Ageless Evergreen Ivy and sent its energy surging into Xiao Yi, alarming Ding Daoheng, Cheng Wenge, Zhu Jiazhen, and Chen Xiaojun.
• Chen Cong stopped the others from intervening and explained why the Ivy's initiative might make the dangerous absorption possible.
• Xiao Yi resisted the pain and refused to give up, while the Ageless Evergreen Ivy sent her gentle energy to stabilize her.
• Xiao Yi's aura steadied as she passed the most dangerous stage and successfully broke through her limit.

Xiao Yi absorbed a six-thousand-year soul ring at extraordinary speed, revealing her Manifested Soul Body to the three Old Masters. She completed the breakthrough with the Ageless Evergreen Ivy, while Chen Cong disclosed that Chen Xiaojun possessed Innate Soul Power Level Twelve.

• Cheng Wenge used Vast Eagle Eye and discovered that all three of Xiao Yi’s soul nests were absorbing soul power simultaneously.
• Chen Cong confirmed that Xiao Yi had a Manifested Soul Body, and Zhu Jiazhen, Cheng Wenge, and Ding Daoheng realized the significance of her talent.
• Chen Cong revealed that Chen Xiaojun had Innate Soul Power Level Twelve and that his and Xiao Yi’s talents were the family’s highest secret.
• Xiao Yi finished absorbing the soul ring as it fused with the Ageless Evergreen Ivy, and she felt her strength and bond with it grow.

After absorbing an 8,000-year soul ring, Xiao Yi suffered a dangerous eruption of excess vital essence. As her Ageless Evergreen Ivy began purifying and recycling it, her body transformed into a humanoid plant, leaving Chen Xiaojun terrified for her safety.

• Xiao Yi told Chen Xiaojun she had finished absorbing the 8,000-year soul ring, and he embraced her in relief.
• Xiao Yi suddenly collapsed as excess vital essence overwhelmed her body, and Cheng Wenge identified the cause.
• Chen Cong assessed Xiao Yi and told Chen Xiaojun her life was not yet in danger, while Chen Xiaojun held her hand and encouraged her to endure.
• Xiao Yi's Ageless Evergreen Ivy sent Life Soul Power into her and began absorbing, purifying, and returning the excess vital essence.
• Xiao Yi's hair and body changed as vines and leaves grew over her, and Chen Xiaojun feared he would lose her.

Xiao Yi suffered a painful reaction from excess essence as an External Soul Bone manifested across her skin and hair. With Chen Cong and Chen Xiaojun's help, she learned to retract it, and the chapter ended with her appearance restored except for green markings and a strand of green hair.

• Chen Cong explained that Xiao Yi's excess essence was causing an External Soul Bone to grow across her skin and hair because she lacked ordinary soul bones.
• Xiao Yi's reaction subsided, and she woke as Chen Xiaojun and the others watched with relief.
• Xiao Yi saw the branches and leaves covering her body, feared she had become ugly, and cried as Chen Xiaojun comforted her.
• Chen Cong told Xiao Yi to try retracting the External Soul Bone, and Chen Xiaojun encouraged her.
• Xiao Yi controlled the growth until her normal appearance returned, leaving green rings around her wrists and ankles and one green lock in her purple hair.
• Xiao Yi thanked Chen Xiaojun and hugged him tightly.