Chapter Summaries

Lu Xueqi and the others followed a faceless figure through Tushan, where Bi Yao recognized the Golden Bells worn by Tushan Honghong and learned that Lu Yuan had risked his life to win her over. They then read Lu Yuan’s record of his marriage, political campaigns, and decision to visit Tushan, which left them facing a journey into a far wider world.

• You Ji warned the group to gather only familiar fruits and vegetables, and Yan Hong led the others to search for food.
• A faceless figure appeared beside the group; You Ji restrained herself from attacking, while Bi Yao assured her that Lu Yuan would keep things from going wrong.
• Tushan Yaya arrived, and Lu Xueqi identified her as a young Fox Spirit before following the figure toward a mountain cave.
• Inside the cave, Lu Xueqi and the others saw Tushan Honghong beside a frozen Little Daoist; Bi Yao recognized the two Golden Bells on Honghong and cried as she watched her memories of Lu Yuan unfold.
• Lu Xueqi read Lu Yuan’s record, which described his marriage to Dongfang Huaizhu, Dongfang Qinlan, and Yue Ti Xia, the fall of the Xiao Family, Yuan Mao’s rise to Demon Emperor, and his life-risking visit to Tushan.
• Lu Yuan’s record urged the group to continue exploring a vast world beyond their current understanding, and the group resented that he had left them no real choice.

The group recovered and entered another Tushan secret realm, where Bi Yao was pulled into a separate world beneath the Bitter Love Tree. The others followed after a mental surge swept them away, and they encountered a shriveled seed governed by three rules just as Bi Yao touched it.

• Lu Xueqi proposed that the group enter the next secret realm together, and Yan Hong agreed after urging everyone to eat and recover first.
• Bi Yao inferred that the trials had revealed Lu Yuan’s survival and reflected on his complicated approach to relationships, while Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er rejoiced at the possibility that he was alive.
• After recovering, the group entered a grassland in Tushan and found Tushan Honghong praying beneath the colossal Bitter Love Tree beside a giant cocoon.
• Bi Yao approached the tree and lost control of her body as her soul was pulled into another world; You Ji’s attempt to awaken her triggered a mental backlash that knocked her unconscious and swept the others away too.
• The group arrived in a filthy, dark place and saw three rules surrounding a withered seed, which said that fox blood, an item from Tushan, or knowledge of the speaker’s identity could each qualify someone to touch it.
• Bi Yao placed her hand on the seed, and brilliant light burst forth.

A faceless figure revealed the origins of the cultivation world’s major sects and described the Heavenly Books and the damaged Incense Jade Book. After the group received an hour to study the exposed techniques, a message explained the Bitter Love Tree’s connection to the Black Fox Clan and the figure’s plan to restore its core, leaving You Ji under pressure to explain Bi Yao’s knowledge and connections.

• The faceless figure explained that the worlds had split from one vast world and that High Dimension knowledge had shaped cultivation, including the Heavenly Books and Incense Valley’s Incense Jade Book.
• He identified the locations and influence of the five Heavenly Book volumes, shocking the Qingyun Sect and Incense Valley disciples with the revelations about their sects’ shared origins and incomplete inheritances.
• The figure revealed spells and cultivation techniques throughout the realm, gave everyone an hour to memorize them, and assured You Ji that Bi Yao was safe.
• A message explained that Tushan Honghong’s negative emotions had taken control of the Bitter Love Tree’s core, creating the immortal Black Fox Clan, and that the figure had taken a Little Black Fox Outside the Circle to restore the core.
• The message disclosed that the figure had married Tushan Rongrong and others, prompting You Ji to speculate about his family and the talent of his child.
• Yan Hong questioned You Ji about Bi Yao’s knowledge and urged her to explain the connections among Ghost King Sect, Qingyun Sect, and Incense Valley; You Ji decided to share what she knew while withholding important details.

You Ji explained her account of Lu Yuan’s family, while Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er suspected that Lu Yuan had survived by using multiple bodies and souls. Bi Yao received powerful fox-clan techniques, and Lu Yuan left on the Black Water Mysterious Snake after learning the Heavenly Emperor Treasure Trove’s location; the others returned from the spiritual space with the techniques still in their memories.

• You Ji told the disciples that Devil Child Lu Yuan and Dao Child Lu Yuan were biological brothers and that their father had rescued Bi Yao and the Ghost King Sect Leader's Wife from Fox Qi Mountain.
• Lu Xueqi privately rejected parts of You Ji’s account and reasoned that Lu Yuan and several other figures could be separate bodies controlled by one soul; Tian Ling Er concluded that Lu Yuan might still be alive.
• Lu Yuan passed the Insulation Claw and Tushan Rongrong’s Fox Incantation Technique to Bi Yao, who emerged from the spiritual space exhausted but able to remember them.
• Lu Yuan considered the Ghost King Sect’s invitation to attack Qingyun Mountain, then learned the location of the Heavenly Emperor Treasure Trove and departed on the Black Water Mysterious Snake.
• The group’s souls returned to the pale white space, where Zeng Shushu confirmed that their experience had not been a dream and Qi Hao focused on remembering the techniques and cultivation arts.

Bi Yao and Lu Xueqi clashed over Lu Yuan’s loyalties and feelings as the group entered another secret realm and witnessed the Black Fox Lady’s battle against a mysterious figure. The realm ended by revealing that Lu Yuan had destroyed the Black Fox Lady, transformed his bloodline, and ascended to a new world, leaving his later adventures undisclosed.

• Bi Yao entered the Spatial Tunnel first, and Lu Xueqi followed after accusing Dongfang Yuan of owing the Qingyun Sect an explanation.
• Tian Ling Er and the others entered the tunnel, where Lu Xueqi confronted Bi Yao about Lu Yuan’s loyalties and Bi Yao argued that the Qingyun Sect had no claim over him.
• Bi Yao and the group observed the Black Fox Lady’s battle against Wang Quan Ba Ye, Yang Yitan, and a mysterious figure, ending in the Black Fox Lady’s defeat.
• The realm revealed that Lu Yuan had destroyed the Black Fox Lady, recovered the Bitter Love Tree’s core, transformed his bloodline, and ascended to a new world.

Lu Xueqi led the group through a Spatial Tunnel to the ruins of Fox Qi Mountain, where Bi Yao recounted how Heavenly Sound Temple had destroyed her family’s home and led You Ji to a pit where her benefactor had gone underground. Tian Ling Er offered to use Earth Rule earth escape to investigate, but limited the descent to five people.

• Lu Xueqi warned the group to beware of attacks from those around them, then entered the Spatial Tunnel, followed by Bi Yao and the others.
• Zhang Xiaofan told Zeng Shushu that Lu Xueqi's warning might concern people from other sects, while Lin Jingyu condemned him for his past feelings for Tian Ling Er; Zhang Xiaofan accepted the criticism and followed Tian Ling Er into the tunnel.
• At the ruins of Fox Qi Mountain, Bi Yao explained that Heavenly Sound Temple had attacked her mother and the Fox Spirits, and accused the Orthodox sects of concealing wrongdoing.
• Qi Hao defended Qingyun Sect and criticized the Ghost King Sect's crimes, but Bi Yao stayed silent and led You Ji to a massive pit where she said her benefactor had entered the earth.
• Tian Ling Er explained that Earth Rule could enable earth escape and offered to take the others underground, but said she could bring only five people.

Lu Xueqi, Tian Ling Er, and Yan Hong followed Bi Yao underground and witnessed memories of the Fox Qi Mountain ruins and the beginning of Bi Yao’s bond with Lu Yuan. The group reunited above ground and discovered Lu Yuan’s record describing his plan to trace the origin of cultivation, leaving them near the secret realm’s end and uncertain about facing him.

• Lu Xueqi and Yan Hong chose to descend with Tian Ling Er while the other Qingyun Sect and Incense Valley disciples searched above ground.
• Tian Ling Er led Lu Xueqi and Yan Hong underground, where they saw the young Bi Yao, the haggard woman, and the faceless figure use the Golden Bell to comfort a little girl.
• Bi Yao told them that the young girl was her past self and that this was where her bond with Lu Yuan began, then left with You Ji.
• Lu Xueqi, Tian Ling Er, and Yan Hong decided to stay underground for up to half an hour and followed the faceless figure through the ruins.
• Above ground, Zhang Xiaofan demanded to know why Bi Yao and You Ji had returned without his Senior Sister, and You Ji’s pressure nearly sparked a confrontation before Tian Ling Er, Lu Xueqi, and Yan Hong emerged.
• The secret realm revealed Lu Yuan’s record about Fox Qi Mountain, the Heavenly Book, and his bold plan to trace the origin, leading Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er to realize they were nearing the end.

Lu Xueqi confronted Lu Yuan, who revealed that he was both the Qingyun Dao Child and the Ghost King Sect’s Devil Child, and explained why he had pursued different goals in different worlds. He said his plan was to spread cultivation and provoke a struggle that could save the world from slowly dying, leaving Lu Xueqi and the others stunned.

• Lu Xueqi recognized the mysterious figure as Lu Yuan and demanded that he reveal himself.
• Lu Yuan removed the mosaic and identified himself as the Devil Child of the Ghost King Sect, shocking Xiao Yicai, Qi Hao, You Ji, and the others.
• Lu Xueqi asked Lu Yuan to return to Qingyun Sect and help unify the world, but he said he kept his identities and their allegiances separate.
• Lu Yuan rejected unification as his goal and explained that the world’s peaceful conditions gave him no reason to intervene on humanity’s behalf.
• Lu Yuan revealed that the World Consciousness had chosen him as its enforcer and that he planned to spread cultivation methods and plunge the world into conflict so it could gain strength and escape destruction.

Lu Yuan defended his plan to force upheaval across the world, then answered Lu Xueqi’s questions about his feelings and identities without demanding that she choose him. As time at the Heavenly Emperor Treasure Trove became urgent, Tian Ling Er confronted him and boldly asked whether he liked her.

• Lu Yuan argued that sacrifices and conflict were necessary to prevent humanity and Demon Beasts from losing their future, leaving Lu Xueqi and the others unable to answer.
• Lu Xueqi asked whether Lu Yuan’s past kiss reflected retaliation, manipulation, or affection, and asked how he would handle his many confidantes; Lu Yuan said the kiss involved all three motives and left the choice of a relationship to her.
• Lu Xueqi said she needed time to decide, while Lu Yuan explained that he needed to reach the Heavenly Emperor Treasure Trove and complete Heavenly Book Volume 3 before seeking the remaining volumes.
• Tian Ling Er confronted Lu Yuan for deceiving her, and Lu Yuan deflected her accusations while trying to keep the group focused on urgent matters.
• Tian Ling Er demanded that Lu Yuan state all his identities and tell her whether he liked her, stunning everyone with her bold questions.

Lu Yuan explained why he would not unify the world and asked Tian Ling Er to choose between the Qingyun Sect and him. Tian Ling Er chose him and planned to return to the Qingyun Sect alone, while Yan Hong asked whether Lu Yuan had ever truly loved her and told him she still loved the confident young man she once knew.

• Lu Yuan told Tian Ling Er that his plans and the world’s survival left no way to avoid painful choices, and that he would respect whichever side she chose.
• Tian Ling Er said she would return to inform her parents but would follow Lu Yuan, and Lu Yuan agreed to come for her after obtaining Heavenly Book Volume 3.
• Bi Yao and Tian Ling Er traded jealous barbs, then nearly fought until Lu Yuan stepped between them.
• Yan Hong told Lu Yuan he had deceived and hurt her, then asked whether he had ever truly felt his heart stir for her.
• Lu Yuan admitted that his fondness for Yan Hong had grown into love, though he could not advance his feelings further without knowing hers.
• Yan Hong said she loved Lu Yuan if he believed her, and that the man she loved was the confident young man from their past.

Lu Yuan explained his role in Grass Temple Village’s massacre and refused Zhang Xiaofan’s plea to return to the Orthodox Path. The chapter left the Qingyun Sect disciples facing the possibility that their disagreement with him would end in a fight.

• Yan Hong said she intended to take over Incense Valley but lacked the cultivation to convince its members, and Lu Yuan offered to help through Dongfang Yuan’s avatar and speak with Yun Yilan.
• Lu Yuan told Yan Hong that his avatars shared one will through the Distraction Technique, and Bi Yao revealed that she had known his identity for ten years.
• Zhang Xiaofan asked whether Lu Yuan had faked the Grass Temple Village massacre’s revelation, and Lu Yuan explained that he had been present before Pu Zhi slaughtered the village but had failed to stop him.
• Lin Jingyu broke down over the village’s destruction, while Tian Ling Er defended Lu Yuan for risking himself to try to stop Pu Zhi.
• Zhang Xiaofan asked Lu Yuan to return, but Lu Yuan refused and said that their disagreement might have to be settled with fists.

After leaving Ten Thousand Bats Cave, Tian Ling Er and Lu Xueqi reached a tense truce over whether Tian Ling Er would answer for Lu Yuan’s actions. Meanwhile, Dongfang Yuan knocked out Shangguan Ce and Lu Yuan negotiated with Xiaobai beneath the Profound Fire Altar, leaving her to decide whether she would accept his terms and be freed.

• On the journey back, Lu Xueqi and the others surrounded Tian Ling Er and pressed her to cooperate, but Tian Ling Er warned them that she could defeat them and refused to be threatened.
• Lu Xueqi proposed that both sides take a step back, and Tian Ling Er agreed to avoid further conflict until they returned to Qingyun Sect.
• Dongfang Yuan struck Shangguan Ce unconscious inside the Profound Fire Altar.
• Lu Yuan approached Xiaobai with the Profound Fire Mirror and offered to free her in exchange for promises not to harm Incense Valley or continue her grudges against it.
• Xiaobai doubted Lu Yuan’s claims about Three-Tailed Fox and Six-Tailed Fox, so Lu Yuan told her that he would not rescue her if she continued to resist.

Lu Yuan returned the Profound Fire Mirror to Incense Valley and prepared to free Xiaobai, while Cang Song revealed how he had planned to betray Qingyun Sect and proposed turning that scheme into a trap against the Demonic Path. The chapter ended with Cang Song asking Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi to let him bear the blame while he made amends.

• Lu Yuan made Xiaobai beg for his help, warned her to honor their conditions, and returned the Profound Fire Mirror to the Profound Fire Altar.
• Lu Yuan sensed that the restored Profound Fire Mirror had sent out a ripple and waited for someone to arrive.
• Wan Jianyi asked Cang Song what he had planned to do if Wan Jianyi had not intervened, and Cang Song explained how the Demonic Path could exploit Qingyun Sect's defenses.
• Cang Song proposed luring Ghost King Sect and other Demonic Path forces into a trap by pretending to betray Qingyun Sect and using a manufactured conflict as an excuse.
• Cang Song bowed to Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi, offering to take the blame and asking to atone for his attempted betrayal through merit.

Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi discussed Qingyun Sect’s fragile future and the coming conflict with the Demonic Path, while Wan Jianyi insisted he might wield the Zhu Xian Sword despite its dangers. Meanwhile, Jin Ping'er poisoned and deposed her master, Three Wonders Fairy, to lead Joyous Union Sect into merging with Blood Refinement Hall.

• Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi watched Cang Song depart and weighed the damage Lu Yuan’s death had caused within Qingyun Sect.
• Wan Jianyi and Dao Xuan assessed which Demonic Path sects might join the coming conflict over Grass Temple Village.
• Wan Jianyi argued that he should wield the Zhu Xian Sword to eliminate Qingyun Sect’s threats, but Dao Xuan vehemently opposed the plan.
• Jin Ping'er confronted Three Wonders Fairy, whose Mana was suppressed by poison, and announced that she would take over Joyous Union Sect.
• Jin Ping'er declared that she would merge Joyous Union Sect with Blood Refinement Hall, then left after promising to cripple Three Wonders Fairy’s cultivation.

Lu Yuan brokered peace between Incense Valley and Xiaobai, securing the Profound Fire Mirror for Yun Yilan and Xiaobai’s release in exchange for Incense Valley ending its persecution of fox spirits. As Yan Hong and the others returned, Yun Yilan looked toward Incense Valley’s bright future while Shangguan Ce chose to keep their secrets buried.

• Yun Yilan reminded Shangguan Ce that their dealings with Lu Yuan must remain secret, and Shangguan Ce pretended not to know what he meant.
• Lu Yuan’s negotiations led Incense Valley to obtain the Profound Fire Mirror, revoke its fox-spirit wanted notices, and release Xiaobai.
• Lu Yuan learned that Xiaobai had once attacked Incense Valley to seize the mirror, and that poor communication had turned a potential alliance against the Beast God into a bloody battle.
• Yun Yilan and Xiaobai put their old conflict aside after understanding each other’s intentions, though neither could undo the deaths caused by their past misunderstanding.
• Yun Yilan watched the returning Yan Hong and the others, and Shangguan Ce decided to let some secrets and transactions sink into time.

Qingyun Sect’s leaders debated how to respond after learning that Lu Yuan possessed the combined abilities of several peerless geniuses, while they remained unsure what had happened at Heavenly Sound Temple. At the Ghost King Sect, Wan Renwang welcomed the Six-Tailed Fox and Three-Tailed Fox, who chose to stay and help the fox clan while keeping it distinct from the sect.

• Dao Xuan and the Qingyun Sect chiefs considered Lu Yuan nearly impossible to counter and debated whether to punish him or reveal what they knew.
• Cang Song proposed contacting Incense Valley and argued that Yun Yilan likely knew the truth, while the chiefs weighed Lu Yuan’s ties and the fragile state of their younger cultivators.
• Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi found no perfect way to bring Lu Yuan back while protecting Qingyun Sect’s reputation and world stability, and they postponed their decision because they lacked news from Heavenly Sound Temple.
• Wan Renwang welcomed the Six-Tailed Fox and Three-Tailed Fox, whose arrival strengthened the Ghost King Sect and gave the fox clan a leader to follow.
• The Six-Tailed Fox and Three-Tailed Fox decided to remain in the Ghost King Sect for now and later seek a new home for the fox clan, which they regarded as separate from the sect.

Bi Yao revealed to Wan Renwang, Xiao Chi, Six-Tailed, and Three-Tailed that Lu Yuan was the same person as several prominent disciples and leaders, and explained his plans to gather the Heavenly Book and prepare the world for an approaching war. Lu Xueqi then gave Dao Xuan, Wan Jianyi, and Qingyun Sect’s other leaders a full account of the expedition, leaving them uneasy but committed to their existing plan to lure Ghost King Sect into a trap.

• Six-Tailed and Xiao Chi warned Wan Renwang that Cang Song’s invitation to attack Qingyun Sect might be a trap, but Wan Renwang judged that Cang Song genuinely sought revenge and survival.
• Bi Yao burst in and told Wan Renwang, Xiao Chi, Six-Tailed, and Three-Tailed that Lu Yuan was the main body behind the Qingyun Dao Child, Fa Yuan, Dongfang Yuan, the Blood Refinement Hall Master, and Ghost King Sect’s Devil Child.
• Bi Yao explained that Lu Yuan had gathered several Heavenly Book volumes, sought Volume 3, and wanted to strengthen cultivators against a coming war between worlds; she gave Wan Renwang copies of the Heavenly Book and Taiji Xuanqing Dao.
• Bi Yao and You Ji left handwritten spells and other records with the Ghost King Sect group, and Xiao Chi asked You Ji to recount what they had experienced.
• Lu Xueqi recounted the expedition and Lu Yuan’s actions to Dao Xuan, Wan Jianyi, Tian Buyi, and the other Qingyun Sect leaders, who concluded that Lu Yuan’s exchange had not harmed Qingyun Sect despite their discomfort at being kept uninformed.
• Dao Xuan and the others decided to stick with their prepared plan and hoped Wan Renwang would take the bait so they could capture Lu Yuan.

Qingyun Sect prepared an ambush for the Ghost King Sect and its allies, while Heavenly Sound Temple and Incense Valley argued with Qingyun Sect on Tongtian Peak. As Wan Renwang’s forces arrived with about twenty thousand fighters, Tian Ling Er recognized Bi Yao among them and feared what her presence could mean for Lu Yuan.

• Cang Song and Dao Xuan arranged Qingyun Sect’s defenses across the peaks, concentrating elite disciples on Tongtian Peak and Dragon Head Peak while placing Tian Ling Er and Wen Min in a border ambush squad.
• Dao Xuan and Cang Song used their alliance with Incense Valley to pressure Heavenly Sound Temple, whose younger generation had been weakened by Fa Xiang’s death.
• At noon, Tian Ling Er sensed roughly ten thousand Blood Refinement Hall disciples and about twenty thousand Demonic Sect fighters approaching, and she warned Wen Min to avoid a direct fight.
• Tian Ling Er spotted Bi Yao among Wan Renwang’s forces and worried that her death or capture could turn Lu Yuan against Qingyun Sect.
• The first Qingyun Sect disciples attacked to make their defenses appear ordinary, while Wan Renwang pressed his plan to seize Qingyun Sect’s resources and neutralize its ties to Lu Yuan.

Bi Yao left Tian Ling Er to fight the Blood Sea Twelve Devils while the Ghost King Sect attacked Tongtian Peak and its forces clashed with the Qingyun coalition. On the battlefield for geniuses, Bi Yao caught Lu Xueqi’s Sky Azure Sword with the Insulation Claw, but Lu Xueqi revealed she had also learned to wield lightning and called it down.

• Bi Yao ordered the Blood Sea Twelve Devils to restrain Tian Ling Er without killing her, then followed Wan Renwang toward Tongtian Peak.
• Tian Ling Er fought the twelve devils and worried that Bi Yao was walking into the Zhu Xian Sword Formation’s trap.
• The Blood Refinement Hall’s Null Assassins, archers, and Ironclad Giant helped its forces battle the Qingyun Sect, Heavenly Sound Temple, and Incense Valley on Tongtian Peak.
• Wan Renwang led the high-level fighters toward the great hall while the elders remained behind and the geniuses gathered to fight near the plaza.
• Bi Yao seized Lu Xueqi’s Sky Azure Sword with the Insulation Claw and boasted that she could defeat Lu Xueqi.
• Lu Xueqi said she had drunk Lu Yuan’s blood during their kiss, then summoned lightning.

During the battle between the Orthodox and Demonic Paths, Bi Yao survived Lu Xueqi’s lightning attack and answered her Heaven and Earth One Sword by tearing it apart. Lu Xueqi then unleashed Slaying Ghosts and Gods, and Bi Yao chose to meet the attack head-on.

• Bi Yao used her Mental Power and the Heartbreak Flower’s protective barrier to survive Lu Xueqi’s lightning, while the surrounding sect disciples clashed as they rushed to reinforce their allies.
• Bi Yao struck Lu Xueqi in the abdomen and knocked her nearly two hundred meters through the air.
• Lu Xueqi invoked the Wang Quan Family’s Heaven and Earth One Sword, but Bi Yao tore the enormous sword art in half.
• Angry and jealous, Lu Xueqi raised the Sky Azure Sword and unleashed Slaying Ghosts and Gods, declaring that she would prove Lu Yuan had made the wrong choice.
• You Ji warned Bi Yao to dodge the defense-breaking attack, but Bi Yao refused and reached out to meet Lu Xueqi’s sword head-on.