Chapter Summaries

After Spirit Hall won the tournament, Bibi Dong rewarded the team with soul bones and honorary positions. Lu Leng gave his defensive soul bone to Ye Lingling, and the team began the next stage of their lives in Spirit Hall.

• Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and the academies mourned the Shrek group's losses while Dai Weisi watched Dai Mubai with a ruthless glint.
• Lu Leng and the others briefly attended the banquet before Bibi Dong summoned them to the Pope's Palace.
• Bibi Dong awarded the spiritual skull bone to Hu Liena, the fire right arm bone to Yan, and the gale left leg bone to Xie Yue.
• Lu Leng declined the defensive right arm bone and asked Bibi Dong to give it to Ye Lingling, who accepted it.
• Bibi Dong announced that Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan would become honorary red-clad bishops, while Li Kai, Zhang Ping, Ye Lingling, Zi Nü, and Jiang Shanyue would become honorary Spirit Hall deacons.

Bibi Dong struggled with her feelings about Yu Xiaogang until Lu Leng confronted her and confessed that he loved her. After she rejected him and recalled her painful past, she transformed through Martial Soul Possession and roared in anguish while Lu Leng waited outside.

• After dismissing everyone, Bibi Dong wondered why seeing Yu Xiaogang suffer had upset her despite her hatred for him.
• Lu Leng returned and asked Bibi Dong whether Yu Xiaogang was the cause of her sorrow, and she struck him with her aura for speaking his name.
• Lu Leng confessed that he loved Bibi Dong, but she firmly rejected him because she was his teacher.
• Lu Leng reminded Bibi Dong that she had once said she did not oppose teacher-student relationships, prompting her to recall her former teacher and order him out.
• Lu Leng left a heart-shaped chocolate and retreated, while Bibi Dong transformed through Martial Soul Possession and roared in anguish.
• Lu Leng remained outside the door, believing Bibi Dong still loved Yu Xiaogang and hated Qian Xunji.

After Bibi Dong destroyed the Pope’s Palace, she ate the chocolate Lu Leng had left for her and remained uncertain about her feelings for him. Lu Leng began planning how to obstruct Tang San, but a month-long cold war with Bibi Dong and his lack of subordinates left him with little support.

• Lu Leng resolved to eliminate Yu Xiaogang as an obstacle to winning Bibi Dong’s love, while Qian Daoliu sensed an evil aura coming from the Pope’s Palace.
• Bibi Dong wrecked the Pope’s Palace, then ate Lu Leng’s chocolate and reflected on her complicated feelings for him.
• Hu Liena revealed that she had overheard Lu Leng and Bibi Dong; Lu Leng asked her to keep it secret and left to sleep.
• Over the following month, Lu Leng stayed in the Holy Son’s Palace and planned to divide Tang San’s forces and cut off his opportunities at Sea God Island and Slaughter City.
• Lu Leng realized that despite being the Holy Son, he had no subordinates or authority to carry out his plans.

Lu Leng reflected on how little he could accomplish without strength or allies, while Hu Liena brought news that the Forest of Nature and the Thunder Dragon had been found in Death Canyon. He became eager to reach the forest after learning its natives had resisted the Thunder Dragon.

• Lu Leng concluded that building his own strength mattered more than schemes because Spirit Hall's powerful figures were not at his command.
• Hu Liena told Lu Leng that the Shrek students had split up and returned to their respective homes and clans.
• Lu Leng regretted being unable to act against Dai Weisi without Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo, then smoked to calm himself.
• Hu Liena reported that Spirit Hall disciples had encountered the Thunder Dragon in Death Canyon and been rescued by natives from the Forest of Nature.
• Lu Leng asked where the forest was and became interested in its natives after hearing they could resist the Thunder Dragon.

Lu Leng led his group into Death Canyon to reach the Forest of Nature, passing the canyon’s entrance and beginning the Path to Heaven. The group encountered an unknown Stone Giant, and Lu Leng sent Yan to test its strength.

• Lu Leng decided to travel to the Forest of Nature with Hu Liena, Lingling, and Zi Nü, while Hu Liena offered to seek help against the Thunder Dragon.
• Half a month later, Lu Leng’s group set out for Death Canyon with Lingling, Zi Nü, Xie Yue, and Yan.
• Hu Liena explained that they would need to cross five obstacles to reach the Forest of Nature at the canyon’s center.
• The group entered Death Canyon in formation and, after about two days, reached the steep Path to Heaven.
• The ground shook and a Stone Giant burst from beneath the path, so Lu Leng ordered Yan to test it.

Lu Leng realized the Stone Men were being controlled by a hidden creature and tracked down the one responsible. The talking Stone Man surrendered, claiming it had only attacked the group because it was bored.

• Yan and Xie Yue destroyed the Stone Giant, but it split into Stone Men that kept dividing whenever they were defeated.
• Lu Leng suspected the Stone Men were controlled by a soul beast and used his Spiritual Power to identify their controller.
• Lu Leng attacked the hidden Stone Man, which tried to escape with a stone shield, a giant fist, and quicksand.
• The Stone Men turned into dirt when Lu Leng prepared another strike, and the hidden Stone Man begged him to stop.
• Lu Leng asked why the Stone Man had attacked them, and it said it had been bored and wanted to play.

Lu Leng and his companions crossed the Path to Heaven after the Stone Man vanished, then continued toward the next obstacle, Blade Wind Cliff. Lu Leng scouted across the wind-lashed cliff and found that flying over it was easier than crossing on foot.

• The Stone Man turned into dirt and disappeared after telling Lu Leng's group that it had only been playing with them.
• Hu Liena explained that the Path to Heaven was considered a relatively safe training area, and the group climbed it and rested for the night.
• The group continued through the pleasant breeze until it sharpened into powerful winds near Blade Wind Cliff.
• Lu Leng flew ahead to scout the cliff and found an iron chain bridge swaying above the gorge as fierce winds surged upward.
• Lu Leng flew across to the other side, found the air calm there, and returned to tell the group what he had discovered.

Lu Leng and Hu Liena were attacked by Wind Soul Beasts while crossing Blade Wind Cliff. Hu Liena drove off the pursuing beast, but another remained ahead as Lu Leng flew onward.

• Lu Leng carried Xie Yue, Zi Nü, Yan, Ye Lingling, and Hu Liena across Blade Wind Cliff in turn.
• A hidden attacker struck at Lu Leng as he carried Hu Liena, but he dodged and hurried toward the far side.
• A Wind Soul Beast appeared, evaded Lu Leng's lightning, and vanished into the wind; another then attacked from behind.
• Lu Leng flew forward while Hu Liena guarded their rear, using her Illusory Extinction Heavenly Fire to force the pursuing Wind Soul Beast to retreat.
• With the threat behind them gone, Lu Leng focused on the Wind Soul Beast ahead.

Lu Leng led the group through Blade Wind Cliff and into Flame Valley, where they discovered a rare Fire Ganoderma. Yan rushed toward it, and a hidden Soul Beast struck him before anyone could stop him.

• Lu Leng used Wind Scroll Remnant Thunder to disrupt the wind, expose the Wind Soul Beast, and escape Blade Wind Cliff safely.
• Ye Lingling and the others checked on Lu Leng, and the group continued onward.
• Three days later, Hu Liena identified the scorching area ahead as Flame Valley and warned the group about its fire-attributed Soul Beasts.
• The group found several Fire Ganoderma, and Hu Liena explained their benefits to fire-element Soul Masters.
• Yan ran toward a Fire Ganoderma, but a red Soul Beast leaped from hiding and sent him flying with a blow to the chest.

Lu Leng and his companions fought a Flame Lion, then faced a powerful Gallon Flame Dragon in the mountain hollow. Lu Leng revealed that the apparent battle was tied to a Fire Ganoderma, which transformed into a flame and begged him not to kill it.

• A Flame Lion attacked Yan, and Lu Leng, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena fought it until Lu Leng severed its head, but no soul ring appeared.
• A Gallon Flame Dragon appeared, and Hu Liena and Xie Yue urged Lu Leng to flee as it formed a fireball.
• Lu Leng told Hu Liena and Xie Yue not to move, then flew toward a Fire Ganoderma beneath the hollow.
• The fireball vanished, Yan’s burns disappeared, and the Flame Lion’s corpse and bloodstains were gone.
• The Fire Ganoderma trembled before Lu Leng’s blade, spoke, and transformed into a burning flame.

Lu Leng and his companions escaped an illusion, then refined Fire Ganoderma that strengthened their Soul Power. After Lu Leng reached level fifty-seven, the group learned Yan had stayed behind to train instead of continuing toward the Forest of Nature.

• Lu Leng recognized the flames as an illusion, and the fire vanished before he could attack it.
• Yan gathered and distributed the seven Fire Ganoderma, then consumed his share and began refining it.
• Yan, Ye Lingling, and Zi Nü finished refining their Fire Ganoderma, with Yan gaining three Soul Power levels, Ye Lingling one, and Zi Nü two.
• Hu Liena and Xie Yue refined their shares and each gained one Soul Power level.
• Lu Leng refined his Fire Ganoderma and reached level fifty-seven, counting his prior cultivation progress.
• Xie Yue told Lu Leng that Yan had stayed behind to train and would return on his own rather than travel with them.

Lu Leng’s group left Yan behind and crossed Flame Valley, entering a rain-soaked grassland that Hu Liena identified as the dangerous Azure Water Connecting Heaven. As the rain intensified and their Soul Power drained unusually fast, Lu Leng suspected the falling raindrops were strange, but Xie Yue saw nothing unusual.

• Lu Leng left Yan behind, and Xie Yue and Hu Liena followed the others toward the Forest of Nature.
• After several days, Lu Leng’s group left Flame Valley and crossed an open grassland as the drizzle grew into a downpour.
• Hu Liena recognized the endless, rain-drenched plain as Azure Water Connecting Heaven, a dangerous obstacle from which many people had never returned.
• Lu Leng noticed that the group was using Soul Power faster than usual and pointed out that the rain seemed to fall unusually straight.
• Xie Yue examined the raindrops and said their large size explained why they fell straight down.

Lu Leng and the others struggled through rain that drained their Soul Power until he spotted a bridge and a thatched hut. When Lu Leng flew toward the hut, an unseen force dragged him into the river, which he recognized as the Weak Water River.

• Lu Leng explained that the vertical rain was unnatural and warned that it was rapidly draining their Soul Power.
• As the rain intensified, Lu Leng used his Eye of Delusion-Breaking and spotted a bridge and a thatched hut ahead.
• Lu Leng suspected Soul Beasts might inhabit the river and flew across to investigate while the others waited.
• An immense pulling force dragged Lu Leng from the air into the river despite his efforts to escape.
• Lu Leng realized the river was the Weak Water River, where even flying creatures were pulled beneath the surface.

Lu Leng fell into the Weak Water River but Hu Liena rescued him, and the group crossed safely to a sturdy thatched hut. Ye Lingling began to feel something for Lu Leng as they sheltered from a storm, but by morning the rain had turned into heavy snow.

• Lu Leng fell into the Weak Water River, and Hu Liena pulled him out with her tail.
• Lu Leng explained that the river dragged down anything flying above it, then the group hurried across the bridge.
• Ye Lingling felt stirred by Hu Liena's quick rescue of Lu Leng and quietly loosened her hold on him.
• Lu Leng led everyone to an empty but sturdy thatched hut, where they ate and fell asleep despite planning to take turns keeping watch.
• Lu Leng woke to find the rain had stopped and heavy snow covered the ground, while Xie Yue remarked on the sudden change in weather.

Lu Leng led the Spirit Hall group through a deadly snowstorm toward a mountain range they needed to cross, while the freezing cold pushed them to their limits. Hu Liena’s soul bone briefly protected them, but Ye Lingling eventually collapsed, leaving the group’s progress uncertain.

• Lu Leng handed out warm clothes and food, then flew ahead to scout while the others followed on foot.
• Lu Leng warned the group that a high mountain range lay ahead and that its extreme cold and dangerous air currents made flying over it impossible.
• As the storm worsened and the group began freezing, Hu Liena wrapped them in her soul-bone tails to keep them warm.
• Two unseen observers watched the group and discussed whether any of them might die in the snow.
• The tails lost their effect as the group pressed on, and Ye Lingling collapsed from the cold.

Lu Leng and the others succumbed to the supernatural snow, but two petite sisters appeared and revealed themselves as snow-white spirit beasts. Lu Leng fought them until the elder sister relented and let the group pass, and Ye Lingling and the others later woke unharmed.

• Ye Lingling, Zi Nü, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena collapsed in the snow, leaving Lu Leng alone to try to save them.
• Lu Leng also fell unconscious, and two petite sisters melted the snow before approaching the five companions.
• Lu Leng pretended to be unconscious, then confronted the sisters when they revealed themselves as snow-white spirit beasts.
• Lu Leng attacked the spirit beasts with lightning and his blade, injuring one until the elder sister transformed back and granted him passage.
• The sisters vanished into snowflakes, the storm cleared, and Ye Lingling and the others woke up unharmed.

After surviving the fourth trial, Lu Leng and his companions chose to continue toward the Forest of Nature despite the danger. They reached two paths and entered the ominous black one, where Zi Nü grew frightened by the darkness and Lu Leng's talk of ghosts.

• Lu Leng suggested turning back after the group nearly died at the fourth checkpoint, but Hu Liena, Xie Yue, Zi Nü, and Ye Lingling urged him to continue.
• Lu Leng agreed, and the five set off toward the Forest of Nature while two sisters discussed the final checkpoint and the Goddess overheard them.
• After crossing the mountains and traveling for several days, the group reached a bright avenue and a pitch-black road, and Lu Leng chose the black road.
• Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Ye Lingling backed Lu Leng's choice, and Zi Nü changed her mind after the others stared at her.
• Lu Leng handed out oil lamps, and the group entered the cold black road as Zi Nü became more frightened after asking what ghosts were.

Lu Leng entered a strange space where darkness and silence stripped away his sight and hearing, while his Spiritual Power and Zhan Luo Blade seemed useless. He tried to keep moving but lost his balance and courage, leaving him unable to take another step.

• Hu Liena dismissed Zi Nü’s ghostly fears and urged everyone to stay cautious as they continued along the black path.
• Lu Leng turned around and discovered that the others had vanished, though he had heard their footsteps moments earlier.
• Lu Leng used the Eye of Delusion-Breaking and struck a stone with the Zhan Luo Blade, confirming that his surroundings were not an illusion.
• The light and sound disappeared around Lu Leng, and his Spiritual Power seemed to be swallowed by the darkness.
• Lu Leng calmed himself and tried to feel his way forward, but he lost his sense of balance and became too afraid to continue.

Lu Leng overcame his fear in the Pitch Black trial and used the silence to sense and reshape his meridians, but after regaining his hearing he found himself unable to move. When he tried to meditate again, someone cut his wrist, and circulating Soul Power only made the bleeding worse.

• Lu Leng calmed himself in the darkness and discovered he could sense Soul Power flowing through his meridians.
• Lu Leng began reshaping his body and entered a deep meditative state.
• A drop of water woke Lu Leng, who realized he had regained his hearing but could no longer move.
• Repeated water drops interrupted Lu Leng's attempts to meditate again.
• Someone cut Lu Leng's wrist, and his attempt to stop the bleeding with Soul Power made the blood flow faster.

Lu Leng endured a deadly illusion in the darkness, then used a mysterious golden light to regain his composure and drive out the Darkness Element with his Lightning Element. After discovering his wrist was unharmed, he tried to slash his way through the darkness.

• Lu Leng feared that an unseen trial was torturing him as he imagined his wrist bleeding and felt his strength fading.
• A brilliant golden light filled Lu Leng’s spiritual world, restoring his awareness and allowing him to meditate.
• Lu Leng sensed that Darkness Element had entered his Soul Power and fought it with his Lightning Element until it was expelled.
• Lu Leng discovered his wrist was uninjured and realized the bleeding had been an illusion that could have scared him to death.
• Lu Leng worried that Ye Lingling and the others might be trapped in the same trial, then summoned the Zhan Luo Blade and slashed into the darkness.