Chapter Summaries

Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian followed the village chief’s group through a valley toward the Witch God’s ancestral land, suspecting they needed to disrupt a sacrifice. At a fork, they split from You Siniang and the others, then found an ancient stele whose icy touch eased the valley’s oppressive influence.

• Chu Youtian speculated that the villagers were descendants of the Witch God and that the two of them needed to stop the ritual in the ancestral land.
• After five days of following the village chief’s group, Xu Chunniang pulled Chu Youtian into bushes when the group stopped to search for them in the valley.
• Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian told You Siniang and a middle-aged male cultivator that the villagers’ senses seemed sharper in the valley, then the groups continued after them.
• The village chief’s group sped away, and at a fork Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian took the right-hand path while You Siniang and the others split onto the left.
• Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian discovered an ancient stele beside a cave, and both felt its icy touch relieve the valley’s discomfort.
• Chu Youtian tried unsuccessfully to pull the stele from the ground.

Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian disturbed a buried stone pillar, triggering an earthquake that trapped them in the cave. Elsewhere, the valley’s villagers began a sacrifice ritual for the Shaman God, while the two discovered an eighth stone pillar as the ritual started.

• Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian failed to move a rune-covered stone stele, then dug around it and discovered it was a deeply buried pillar.
• A violent earthquake erupted near the pillar, collapsed the cave, and blocked the exit, forcing Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian to travel deeper inside.
• Villagers across the valley blamed the tremors on the Shaman God, and their chiefs ordered guards to protect the altar from infiltrating outsiders.
• The chiefs arranged fifty or sixty children on the altar as offerings and began praying to awaken the Shaman God.
• You Siniang considered destroying the sacrifice, and the other infiltrating cultivators agreed that the ritual should be disrupted.
• Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian followed an ancient cadence to another stone pillar, the eighth they had encountered.

Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian discovered that the stone pillars were suppressing the Witch God as the villagers began a sacrifice to summon it. Xu Chunniang used heavenly fire to force a pillar back into the ground, restoring spiritual energy to the valley, but she disappeared amid the collapse.

• Xu Chunniang and Chu Youtian found an opening above the altar and witnessed the villagers begin sacrificing captives while cultivators fought them.
• An ancient will weakened the cultivators and strengthened the villagers as the sacrifice fed power to the Witch God.
• Xu Chunniang sent heavenly fire toward the altar, but the Witch God accelerated the ritual and drew out the villagers' lives and souls.
• Xu Chunniang pressed her hand to a restless stone pillar and, with Little Walnut's fire, drove it back into the ground.
• The valley's tremors briefly subsided as spiritual energy flowed from the pillar, and Chu Youtian emerged from the rubble to find Xu Chunniang gone.

Xu Chunniang and the other cultivators restored the stone steles in the Witch Clan forbidden area, reinforcing its seal before the area expelled them. Back in Heavenly Dao Palace, the Guardian explained that the Witch Ancestor had diverted them there, ended the trial, and began awarding prizes for their contributions.

• Xu Chunniang and the other cultivators drove the stone steles back into the ground, releasing spiritual energy and restoring the seal before they were forced out of the Witch Clan forbidden area.
• Xu Chunniang returned to Heavenly Dao Palace with only a fraction of the original cultivators, while Chu Youtian praised her and kept quiet about her fire.
• The cultivators demanded an explanation, and the Guardian admitted that the Witch Ancestor had altered the formation and sent them into the forbidden area.
• The Guardian ended the nine-stage trial and announced rewards based on the cultivators' performance in the forbidden area.
• The Guardian revived the unconscious cultivators and teleported them out, then began distributing rewards after noticing the contribution-point rankings.

Xu Chunniang received a Realm Breaking Talisman and a Storage Ring from the Guardian before being expelled from the Heavenly Dao Palace. She escaped the cultivators waiting to rob her and discovered two Top-grade Spirit Stones and a pill bottle in the ring, leaving her wondering if it held a Nascent Soul Pill.

• Xu Chunniang asked the Guardian for a way to break open a secret realm and received a Realm Breaking Talisman.
• After her request for an Immortal Artifact was refused, Xu Chunniang listed several treasures she wanted, and the Guardian gave her a Storage Ring before throwing her out of the Heavenly Dao Palace.
• Granny Gong, You Siniang, and other cultivators tried to rob Xu Chunniang, so she used a Teleportation Talisman to escape a thousand miles away.
• Xu Chunniang changed her appearance and inspected the Storage Ring, finding two more Teleportation Talismans, two Top-grade Spirit Stones, and a white jade pill bottle.

Xu Chunniang discovered that the vermilion pill from Heavenly Dao Palace was likely a rare Youthful Appearance Pill and set off for the secret realm exit. While fleeing a Golden Core two-headed crocodile, she lured it toward Xie Changyuan and the City Lord's Mansion group, then watched as they engaged it.

• Xu Chunniang identified the vermilion pill as likely a Youthful Appearance Pill and decided to wait until she left the secret realm before taking it.
• Xu Chunniang encountered a Golden Core two-headed crocodile, damaged one of its heads by detonating her small round shield, and fled as it pursued her.
• Xie Changyuan's group from the City Lord's Mansion sensed the approaching demonic beast, and Xie Changyuan ordered them to prepare for battle.
• Xu Chunniang deliberately led the crocodile toward the City Lord's Mansion group and stayed nearby to observe their fight.

Xu Chunniang watched the City Lord's Mansion group recover from her trap and followed them toward the secret realm's exit. When a pair of Golden Core Crimson Scale Rattlesnakes attacked, Xie Changyuan fled and the group scattered.

• The City Lord's Mansion cultivators fought off the injured two-headed crocodile, then suspected Shangguan Xue of knowing who had lured it there.
• Xie Changyuan defended Shangguan Xue while secretly reassuring the jealous red-clothed female cultivator that he liked her and was only pursuing Shangguan Xue because of his master's orders.
• Xu Chunniang observed the group's private exchanges from afar and continued following them as they traveled toward the exit.
• The group entered the territory of a pair of Golden Core Crimson Scale Rattlesnakes, and the female snake poisoned two cultivators with her crimson mist.
• Xie Changyuan ordered everyone to scatter and fled when the stronger male snake arrived, while the red-clothed female cultivator saw the chaos as an opportunity to escape.

Xu Chunniang discovered that powerful cultivators had concealed the secret realm’s exit behind a deadly formation and watched from hiding as it killed several groups. When sword cultivators arrived and attacked the formation, You Siniang and Tan Lang revealed themselves, leaving a tense standoff between the groups.

• Xu Chunniang found the exit concealed by high-grade formations and watched two cultivators enter and die in the trap.
• Over the next two days, several more groups were killed by the formation’s hidden setters, whom Xu Chunniang saw included six or seven Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators.
• You Siniang and Tan Lang arrived, recognized the formation setters’ claim on the exit, and concealed themselves to wait for an opportunity.
• An elderly sword cultivator led five disciples in attacking the formation, then called on the other observers to join forces.
• You Siniang and Tan Lang revealed themselves and challenged the sword cultivators, whose leader threatened to kill them first.

Xu Chunniang joined You Siniang, Tan Lang, and the sword cultivators in attacking an array at the secret realm’s exit, where its Hall Master revealed Golden Core cultivation and fought the old sword cultivator. After both were expelled from the realm, Xie Changyuan’s group arrived, and the array’s presiding cultivator tried to recruit them.

• You Siniang spotted Xu Chunniang’s hiding place and proposed that everyone join forces against the array.
• You Siniang, Tan Lang, the sword cultivators, and Xu Chunniang attacked the array, but its defenders repelled most of their blows.
• The Hall Master broke his cultivation seal and fought the old sword cultivator, while the sword cultivators opened a gap in the array.
• After exchanging several dozen moves, the Hall Master and the old sword cultivator were both expelled from the secret realm.
• Xie Changyuan and Shangguan Xue arrived with the City Lord’s Mansion group, and the array’s presiding cultivator invited them to join forces.

Xu Chunniang waited for the battle to reach its fiercest point, then used three Spiritual Qi Bullets to break open the formation and slip inside. Xie Changyuan escaped his enemies and followed her through the gap before it closed.

• Xie Changyuan rejected the middle-aged cultivator’s offer to cooperate, and You Siniang and Tan Lang agreed to join forces with him against Xie Changyuan.
• You Siniang and Tan Lang attacked Xie Changyuan while the middle-aged cultivator’s group clashed with the City Lord’s Mansion cultivators, and Shangguan Xue remained still.
• Xu Chunniang watched the formation for flaws and secretly prepared three Spiritual Qi Bullets as the fighting intensified.
• Xu Chunniang blasted a gap in the formation with the three bullets and entered through it.
• Xie Changyuan used a life-saving talisman to escape You Siniang and Tan Lang, then rushed through the gap into the formation.

Xu Chunniang disguised herself as a wounded cultivator and tricked Xie Changyuan into helping her navigate the formation. She captured him alive, crippled his dantian, and left the Heavenly Origin Secret Realm with him hidden in her small world.

• Xie Changyuan followed Xu Chunniang into the formation and asked her to help him escape, so she pretended to trust him and promised to guide him.
• Xu Chunniang used Xie Changyuan's remaining spiritual energy to help them cross the formation while concealing her true intentions.
• Xu Chunniang directed Xie Changyuan to attack a supposed formation core, causing him to be dragged into an illusion formation.
• Xu Chunniang entered the illusion formation, captured Xie Changyuan alive, shattered his dantian, and stored him and his belongings in her small world.
• Xu Chunniang left the secret realm disguised as a Foundation Establishment fourth-layer cultivator and flew toward Primordial Chaos City.

Xu Chunniang returned to Primordial Chaos City after hunting demonic beasts in Wind Cry Mountain and passed a strict inspection despite heightened searches for Xie Changyuan. She reunited with Huo Chunyan, Zhuge Yun, and the others, while Zhuge Yun began to suspect that she had secretly entered the Heavenly Origin Secret Realm too.

• Xu Chunniang avoided Primordial Chaos City, hunted demonic beasts in Wind Cry Mountain for five days, and then headed back.
• At the city gate, Xu Chunniang passed the guards' tests and entered after a Golden Core cultivator left before she had to release her divine sense fully.
• Xu Chunniang thanked the Auspicious Cloud Inn's innkeeper for keeping watch over her companions and reunited with Huo Chunyan.
• Xu Chunniang, Zhuge Yun, Huo Chunyan, Zhang Yu, and the others gathered, where Huo Chunyan challenged Zhuge Yun about drugging them before he entered the secret realm.
• Zhuge Yun wondered whether Xu Chunniang had used Wind Cry Mountain as a cover to enter the Heavenly Origin Secret Realm.

Xu Chunniang returned to Primordial Chaos City and discussed the missing Xie Changyuan and Zhuge Yun’s possible involvement. When Shangguan Xue arrived, Xu Chunniang challenged her over the deaths of two disciples in the secret realm.

• Xu Chunniang gave Zhuge Yun a Storage Bag of demonic beasts to sell, and he gave the group twenty thousand spirit stones while warning them to stay indoors during the city’s search for the missing Third Young Master Xie.
• Huo Chunyan suspected Zhuge Yun had entered the secret realm to seek revenge on Xie Changyuan, and Xu Chunniang considered whether he might have disguised himself and played a role in Xie Changyuan’s disappearance.
• After sleeping for three days, Xu Chunniang joined Huo Chunyan in Zhuge Yun’s room, where he announced that Shangguan Xue would travel with them.
• Shangguan Xue said that the two junior brothers who entered the secret realm with her had died after encountering demonic beasts, and Xu Chunniang accused her of effectively sending them to their deaths.

Xu Chunniang collected payment for the demonic beasts she hunted while Zhuge Yun began suspecting she had entered the Heavenly Dao Palace. Shangguan Xue then warned him that something connected to a demonic soul had reacted to Xu Chunniang, leaving him to question whether the reaction was certain.

• Shangguan Xue admitted responsibility for what had happened and explained that the City Lord's Mansion had driven her out after Xie Changyuan went missing.
• Zhuge Yun paid Xu Chunniang forty to fifty thousand spirit stones for the demonic beasts she had hunted at Wind Cry Mountain.
• Zhuge Yun connected Xu Chunniang's high Azure Cloud Ranking to the mysterious cultivator in the Heavenly Dao Palace and prepared to ask her about it.
• Shangguan Xue interrupted Zhuge Yun and told him that something had reacted when Xu Chunniang entered the room.
• Shangguan Xue's warning made Zhuge Yun suspect Xu Chunniang might be possessed by a demonic soul, and he asked whether Shangguan Xue was certain.

Zhuge Yun learned from Shangguan Xue that Xu Chunniang might have been planted with a demonic soul, but he decided to report the matter to the sect before confronting her. In her little world, Xu Chunniang found the crippled Xie Changyuan and confirmed she knew how to leave, prompting him to beg for her help.

• Shangguan Xue told Zhuge Yun she had sensed a demonic soul in Xu Chunniang and urged him to secretly control her.
• Zhuge Yun dismissed Shangguan Xue and planned to report the suspected possession to the sect after leaving Primordial Chaos City.
• Xu Chunniang entered her little world and saw that Xie Changyuan had survived eight days despite his destroyed dantian and severe injuries.
• Little Orange and Little White kept Xie Changyuan alive by force-feeding him spirit wine, while he hid his hatred and planned to recover and escape.
• Xie Changyuan recognized Xu Chunniang, asked where they were, and begged her to save him after she confirmed she knew how to leave the little world.

Xu Chunniang interrogated Xie Changyuan about his ties to the City Lord's Mansion and his actions against Shangguan Xue. Xie Changyuan admitted his master had ordered him to approach Shangguan Xue, but claimed he did not know the purpose and only guessed she might be used against the Carefree Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators.

• Xie Changyuan claimed to be Primordial True Person's biological son and offered Xu Chunniang his father's favor in exchange for help escaping.
• When Xie Changyuan tried to strike, Xu Chunniang's stronger divine sense injured his, and he recognized her as the Formation Master who had captured him.
• Xu Chunniang questioned Xie Changyuan about destroying her senior brother and suspected the City Lord's Mansion had allied with evil cultivators from Mount Wuwang.
• Xu Chunniang asked why Xie Changyuan had entangled himself with Shangguan Xue, then broke his hand bones when he tried to evade her questions.
• Xie Changyuan said his master had ordered him to approach Shangguan Xue, but he did not know the plan and guessed she might be used against the Carefree Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators.

Xu Chunniang told Zhuge Yun that a demonic soul had tried to contaminate her and shared her suspicions about Shangguan Xue and Primordial Chaos City. Their investigation took a sudden turn when Xu Chunniang revealed she possessed a Realm Breaking Talisman that could help rescue the trapped elders and sect leaders.

• Xu Chunniang questioned Xie Changyuan about his collusion with Mount Wuwang, but he said he had only learned of it in the past two years.
• Xu Chunniang showed Zhuge Yun the black mist of the demonic soul that had attacked her, and he explained that he had been investigating the soul inside Shangguan Xue.
• Zhuge Yun admitted that his challenge at the City Lord's Mansion and his apparent heartbreak had been part of an act, though he had truly suffered injuries.
• Zhuge Yun explained that Mount Wuwang's evil cultivators had trapped members of the Five Great Sects in the secret realm, and that the sects needed Realm Breaking Talismans to rescue their leaders.
• Xu Chunniang revealed that she had a Realm Breaking Talisman, leaving Zhuge Yun astonished.

Xu Chunniang visited the black market to confirm that the pill she had received was a Youthful Appearance Pill and considered buying more information. She left without learning the demon soul’s owner, and her question about teleportation formations was erased.

• Zhuge Yun warned Xu Chunniang to keep the important item secret and told her about the mission to free disciples trapped in the secret realm.
• Xu Chunniang went to the black market, where she overheard that the Blood Rakshasa couple might be hiding in the western part of the city and seeking Xie Changyuan’s Golden Core Pill.
• Xu Chunniang used the Heavenly Secrets Tower to verify that the protector’s pill could preserve her youth forever, paying thirty thousand Spirit Stones for the answer.
• Xu Chunniang saw that learning the demon soul’s owner would cost three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, more than she had left, and erased the question.
• Xu Chunniang asked about teleportation formations, but the words vanished from the jade tablet.

Xu Chunniang bought a Soul Searching Technique and continued to keep Xie Changyuan captive while Primordial Chaos City’s lockdown ended. She and the Carefree Sect group left the city, and Zhuge Yun asked whether Xu Chunniang was worried their unfinished commission would receive a failing rating.

• Xu Chunniang learned Heavenly Secrets Tower would not sell the information she sought, sold unwanted items at a black-market shop, and bought an expensive Soul Searching Technique.
• Xu Chunniang mastered the technique and brewed wine in her small world while Xie Changyuan grew fearful and tried to persuade her that he was worth keeping alive.
• Xu Chunniang warned Xie Changyuan to behave, recognizing that his life might be valuable because he was the son of Primordial True Person.
• After Xie Changyuan had been missing for a month, Primordial Chaos City lifted its lockdown, and Xu Chunniang and her companions left the city.
• Zhang Yu asked whether the group would continue to Wind Cry Mountain and worried about their commission rating, while Zhuge Yun said they would report the truth and asked Xu Chunniang whether she feared a failing rating.

Zhuge Yun revealed that he had obtained the Essence Devouring Bead, allowing the group to complete their commission, while Wuxiangzi and a black-robed cultivator discussed their demonic-soul experiments. After meeting two elders in the forest, Zhuge Yun sent Shangguan Xue and the others back to the sect and kept Xu Chunniang with him.

• Zhuge Yun showed Xu Chunniang and the others the Essence Devouring Bead and explained that helping them complete the guided commission was his responsibility as team leader.
• Wuxiangzi and a black-robed Golden Core cultivator discussed the demonic souls implanted in Shangguan Xue and another cultivator, and the black-robed cultivator asked for items to restore his divine sense.
• Zhuge Yun received a reply to his sound-transmission talisman and led the group to a forest, where they met Zhang Ruoxu and Elder Mo.
• Zhuge Yun gave Shangguan Xue the Jade Box containing the Essence Devouring Bead and instructed her to return to the sect with Huo Chunyan and the others.
• Zhuge Yun told Xu Chunniang to stay with him, and Shangguan Xue left with the other disciples after choosing not to reveal her concern about Xu Chunniang's demonic soul.