Chapter Summaries

Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying reached the Guardian Land, where Qin Yusong demanded a spirit beast essence soul for entry. Zhao Chen suspected Qin Yusong was running a scam and stayed outside with Wu Yingying, planning to expose him before entering.

• Wu Yingying told Zhao Chen that Ge Hai was likely a preselected Saint Spiritual Academy candidate who knew where to find the Lion-bodied Snake-dancing Beast.
• Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying reached the Guardian Land and learned that entry required points and a Crimson Token to track their stay.
• Qin Yusong blocked the gate and claimed an instructor had ordered every entrant to hand over a spirit beast essence soul.
• Zhao Chen told Wu Yingying to wait outside because she had no Crimson Token, and she cursed the thief who had stolen it from her.
• Zhao Chen challenged Qin Yusong's claim, pointing out that the order carried only one seal despite three instructors being stationed there, and accused the supposed gate guard of disguising herself as a man to scam people.

Zhao Chen saw through Song Yuqing’s disguise and scheme at the Guardian Land gate, then devised a way for Wu Yingying to recover her lost Crimson Token. He left Wu Yingying waiting outside while he went into the Guardian Land to take missions and hunt spirit beasts.

• Zhao Chen accused the supposed Qin Yusong of not being who she claimed and refused to hand over spirit beast essences.
• Song Yuqing admitted nothing but returned to the gate, while Zhao Chen told Wu Yingying not to expose her scam to others.
• Zhao Chen explained that Wu Yingying could sense her Crimson Token when people presented theirs at the gate.
• Zhao Chen asked Wu Yingying to wait outside and went into the Guardian Land to take missions and hunt spirit beasts.

Zhao Chen entered Guardian Land, learned how Fang Zhong dominated the available missions, and waited for the next refresh so he could claim them himself. At midnight, Zhao Chen took every Second-Level and Third-Level Mission, along with a Fourth-Level Mission.

• Zhao Chen tricked Song Yuqing into letting him enter Guardian Land without revealing her identity to him.
• Zhao Chen registered at the plaza and learned that Fang Zhong claimed and completed every Second-Level and Third-Level Mission.
• Zhao Chen confirmed Fang Zhong returned completed mission plaques to the Mission Hall and decided to wait for the next midnight refresh.
• Zhao Chen arrived early at the Mission Hall and reviewed the refreshed Second-Level, Third-Level, and Fourth-Level Missions.
• Zhao Chen removed every Second-Level and Third-Level Mission plaque and took the Fourth-Level Mission as well.

Zhao Chen reforged a Firewood Stick into a Blood-Red Dragon Scale Arrow, accepted several missions, and set out with Wu Yingying to hunt spirit beasts. Song Yuqing followed them despite their refusal to acknowledge her, while Zhao Chen remained unconcerned about provoking Fang Zhong.

• Zhao Chen spent thirty points to reforge the Firewood Stick into a Blood-Red Dragon Scale Arrow, then accepted ten second-level missions, six third-level missions, and one fourth-level mission.
• Zhao Chen planned to complete several missions together by hunting Ice Soul Spirit Wolves and collecting nearby Ice Soul Spirit Herbs.
• Song Yuqing met Zhao Chen at the city gate and questioned him about his plans, then learned he had accepted missions that might anger Fang Zhong.
• Zhao Chen told Song Yuqing he had accepted the missions precisely because he knew Fang Zhong, and he said he would take Fang Zhong's points if Fang Zhong challenged him.
• Zhao Chen asked Wu Yingying to accompany him and help deal with spirit beast corpses, then the two headed toward the dense forest where the Ice Soul Spirit Wolves lived.
• Song Yuqing changed back into female attire and followed Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying, insisting that she would see whether Zhao Chen really had a Third-Level Spirit Body.

Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying killed three Ice Soul Spirit Wolves, collected their materials and Ice Soul Grass, and Zhao Chen gained the Nine Thunder Arrow Technique through a sign-in reward. As they prepared to head toward Dark Green Marsh, Wu Yingying sensed a Level Five spirit beast nearby.

• Zhao Chen followed Wu Yingying to a stream, where they found three Level Three Ice Soul Spirit Wolves and Ice Soul Grass.
• Zhao Chen killed the wolves with his Blood-Red Dragon Scale Arrow and the Asura Bow, while Song Yuqing watched in surprise.
• Wu Yingying processed the corpses, and Zhao Chen collected the Ice Soul Grass and made arrows from the wolves' bones.
• Zhao Chen signed in after killing the spirit beasts and obtained the Nine Thunder Arrow Technique, which let him control up to nine arrows.
• Wu Yingying sensed a Level Five spirit beast nearby as the group prepared to leave for Dark Green Marsh.

Zhao Chen followed Wu Yingying to a Fire Cloud Tiger and killed the Fifth-Level Spirit Beast using his arrows and Asura Sword. Song Yuqing watched anxiously as Zhao Chen defeated the beast, completing the kill required by his new sign-in mission.

• Wu Yingying identified the scent of a Fifth-Level Spirit Beast as a Fire Cloud Tiger, and Zhao Chen realized the hunt could fulfill both a mission and his new sign-in task.
• Zhao Chen, Wu Yingying, and Song Yuqing found the Fire Cloud Tiger in its territory, where it attacked them with flames.
• Zhao Chen shot the Fire Cloud Tiger’s Flame Cloud Wings with lightning-wrapped Ice Soul Wolf Bone Arrows, injuring and paralyzing it.
• When the Fire Cloud Tiger lunged at him, Zhao Chen severed its paw with the Asura Sword and stabbed its head, killing it.

After killing a Fifth-Level Spirit Beast Fire Cloud Tiger, Zhao Chen signed in and received Flame Cloud Swordplay. Fang Zhong confronted Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying over the missions they had taken, and Zhao Chen received a new sign-in mission to kill him.

• Zhao Chen stored the Fire Cloud Tiger's essence and signed in to obtain Flame Cloud Swordplay.
• Wu Yingying began harvesting the Fire Cloud Tiger's remains, and Zhao Chen asked her to save its tendons and bones.
• Fang Zhong arrived and demanded the tiger's remains, while Song Yuqing warned Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying that he was dangerous.
• Wu Yingying challenged Fang Zhong's claim to the missions, and Fang Zhong threatened them with his Low-Grade Spirit Tool Iron Mace.
• Zhao Chen received a system mission to kill Fang Zhong, a Third-Level Spirit Body, for a sign-in opportunity.

Zhao Chen killed Fang Zhong after easily overpowering him, then continued with Wu Yingying toward Dark Green Marsh. He gained a sign-in opportunity for the kill and received the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Golden Body, a body-tempering cultivation art.

• Fang Zhong attacked Zhao Chen with his Iron Mace, but Zhao Chen knocked him back twice with his sword.
• Fang Zhong accused Song Yuqing of siding with his enemies and insisted he would kill Zhao Chen.
• Zhao Chen killed Fang Zhong with the Asura Sword, despite Song Yuqing's shock and protest.
• Zhao Chen took Fang Zhong's Crimson Token, Storage Bag, and Iron Mace, then set off with Wu Yingying for Dark Green Marsh.
• Zhao Chen signed in after killing Fang Zhong and received the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Golden Body.

Zhao Chen looted Fang Zhong’s belongings, returned Wu Yingying’s Crimson Token, and prepared to complete missions near Dark Green Marsh. A new sign-in mission then required him to kill three Level 4 Spirit Beasts and one Level 5 Spirit Beast.

• Zhao Chen found 3,000 points, spirit beast essences, materials, and spirit medicines in Fang Zhong’s belongings, then transferred the points and essences to his Crimson Token.
• Wu Yingying refined the spirit medicines Zhao Chen gave her and advanced to a Third-Level Spirit Body on the way to Dark Green Marsh.
• Zhao Chen returned Wu Yingying’s Crimson Token, which he had secretly taken from his Mustard Seed Bracelet and mixed among Fang Zhong’s Crimson Tokens.
• Wu Yingying found her Crimson Token and was relieved that she could enter the Guardian Land.
• Zhao Chen planned to complete his missions near Dark Green Marsh and gather powerful spirit beast blood to cultivate the Nirvana Golden Body.
• A sign-in mission appeared, requiring Zhao Chen to kill three Level 4 Spirit Beasts and one Level 5 Spirit Beast.

Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying tracked the Dark Green Water Python to its lair in Dark Green Marsh and provoked it by firing at the Dark Green Water Python Fruit. Zhao Chen struck at the python’s guarded seven-inch point, where he discovered a hard Reverse Scale as the battle continued.

• Wu Yingying tracked the spirit beast to a pool in the deepest part of Dark Green Marsh, where Zhao Chen found Water Python Grass and a Dark Green Water Python Fruit.
• Zhao Chen used Ice Soul Wolf Bone Arrows to provoke the Dark Green Water Python, and the Fifth-Level Spirit Beast surfaced to defend its fruit.
• Zhao Chen studied the python’s defenses and fired a Blood-Red Dragon Scale Arrow at its guarded seven-inch point.
• The arrow rebounded off the python’s scales and struck its Reverse Scale, leading Zhao Chen to realize that the python was trying to transform into a flood dragon.

Zhao Chen killed the Dark Green Water Python and its three fourth-level snake subordinates in the Dark Green Marsh, then received a Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array Disk as his check-in reward. He discovered the disk could replenish itself by absorbing spiritual power from spirit beasts and spiritual herbs, potentially bypassing the Spirit Road’s restrictions.

• Zhao Chen pierced the Dark Green Water Python’s eye and head with Fire Cloud Tiger Bone Arrows and the Blood-Red Dragon Scale Arrow, killing it.
• Zhao Chen collected the Water Python Grass, the Dark Green Water Python Fruit, and the python’s soul essence.
• Zhao Chen pursued and captured the soul essences of three fourth-level snake spirit beasts that tried to flee the marsh.
• Zhao Chen checked in after killing the spirit beasts and received a Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array Disk.
• Zhao Chen learned the disk could absorb spiritual power from spirit beasts and spiritual herbs, and realized the Spirit Road’s restriction might not apply to it.

Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying returned safely from the Dark Green Marsh, completed their missions, and collected over ten thousand points. Zhao Chen announced that Fang Zhong was dead, leaving the missions available again.

• Zhao Chen decided to return to the Guardian Land after completing nearly all the missions, while Wu Yingying finished processing the Dark Green Water Python and three Fourth-Level Spirit Beasts.
• Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying found a grave where Fang Zhong had died and realized Song Yuqing had stayed behind to bury him.
• Song Yuqing was surprised to see Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying return unharmed, then followed them toward the Guardian Land.
• Zhao Chen turned in the mission tokens at the Mission Hall and received about seven thousand points, while the gathered people feared Fang Zhong would pursue him.
• Zhao Chen told everyone that Fang Zhong was dead and that the missions were available again.

After announcing that the Guardian Land’s dark clouds had cleared and the evil dragon was dead, Zhao Chen left with Wu Yingying and was followed by Song Yuqing, who hoped to join their group. Song Yuqing offered Wu Yingying Spirit Water to gain her approval, but Zhao Chen’s plan to hunt a Sixth-Level Spirit Beast left her frightened.

• Zhao Chen announced that the evil dragon had been slain and left the Guardian Land with Wu Yingying, while Song Yuqing followed them.
• Zhao Chen questioned why Song Yuqing was tagging along, and she offered to help fight spirit beasts.
• Wu Yingying revealed that she had reached the Third-Level Spirit Body, surprising Song Yuqing.
• Song Yuqing gave Wu Yingying a Jade Bottle of Spirit Water, which Wu Yingying handed to Zhao Chen.
• Zhao Chen agreed to let Song Yuqing come along and announced they would hunt a Sixth-Level Spirit Beast.
• Song Yuqing panicked and offered Zhao Chen two more bottles of Spirit Water if he would choose a different target.

Zhao Chen found the Sixth-Level Spirit Beast Ice Spirit Bear on Ice Spirit Peak and wounded it with the Asura Sword. The bear’s roar triggered an avalanche, and Zhao Chen carried Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing downhill toward safety.

• Wu Yingying led Zhao Chen and Song Yuqing up Ice Spirit Peak, where they found the Ice Spirit Bear’s tracks and a fresh Spirit Beast carcass.
• Zhao Chen confronted the Ice Spirit Bear and shattered its ice-spike attack with the Asura Sword.
• Zhao Chen used the Nine Heavens Thunderclap Steps to dodge the bear’s attacks and severed one of its paws with a slash.
• The wounded Ice Spirit Bear roared, disturbing the snow and triggering an avalanche.
• Zhao Chen found Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing, carried them downhill, and warned them to run from the avalanche.

Zhao Chen escaped an avalanche with Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing, then used the Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array Disk to find the severely wounded Ice Spirit Bear. He killed the Sixth-Level Spirit Beast with the Asura Sword.

• Zhao Chen led Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing to shelter as an avalanche swept the Ice Spirit Bear downhill.
• Zhao Chen sent Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing to wait while he searched the snow for the Ice Spirit Bear.
• Zhao Chen activated the Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array Disk and discovered its barrier could push the snow aside.
• The wounded Ice Spirit Bear attacked Zhao Chen, but the barrier blocked its strike and Zhao Chen severed its remaining paw.
• Zhao Chen pierced the Ice Spirit Bear's neck with the Asura Sword and killed it.

After killing a Sixth-Level Ice Spirit Bear, Zhao Chen gained an offensive Ice Sword Spirit Array and used the beast’s remains to recharge his Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array. He prepared to strengthen his Spirit Body as the Guardian Land’s Life and Death Trial began.

• Zhao Chen killed the Sixth-Level Ice Spirit Bear, while Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing helped process its corpse.
• Zhao Chen signed in and received an Ice Sword Spirit Array Disk, then replenished his Dust-Avoiding Spirit Array Disk with the Ice Spirit Bear’s remains.
• Zhao Chen entered a protected room in the Guardian Land and prepared to absorb three Fourth-Level, two Fifth-Level, and one Sixth-Level Spirit Beast essence souls.
• Zhao Chen noted that the Guardian Land had filled with more trial participants and that anyone who had not arrived would lose their qualification when the true trial began.
• Zhao Chen saw that Wu Yingying had reached the Fourth-Grade Spirit Body and Song Yuqing the Third-Level Spirit Body.
• Multicolored lights burst from the City Lord’s Mansion, and Zhao Chen recognized that the Life and Death Trial was beginning.

At the Guardian Land City Lord's Mansion, Jiang Jie announced a deadly Life and Death Trial and killed a youth who refused to enter. The crowd learned that only thirty participants would advance to the Final Spiritual Road, and the chapter ended with an unanswered question about whether all five Guardian Lands would compete together.

• Zhao Chen warned Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing to recognize Mu Chen, his former Northern Spiritual Academy classmate, and avoid fighting him.
• Jiang Jie announced that the Life and Death Trial would begin in three days and that only the top thirty would qualify for the Final Spiritual Road.
• A buzz-cut youth refused to participate and give up his Spiritual Road qualification, so Jiang Jie killed him with a conjured hand.
• Jiang Jie explained that Crimson Tokens recorded spirit beasts killed and that trial points counted regardless of how participants earned them.
• Someone asked whether all five Guardian Lands would hold the Life and Death Trial together, but the chapter ended before Jiang Jie answered.

Zhao Chen entered the Life and Death Trial Arena, where only thirty participants would pass and the rest faced exile and eventual death. Separated from Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing, he began hunting for points and killed four ambushers, then continued through the forest in search of more people to complete his sign-in mission.

• Jiang Jie explained that the other Guardian Lands had completed their trials and warned everyone to focus on passing the Life and Death Trial.
• Zhao Chen told Wu Yingying and Song Yuqing that they might be separated when the trial began, but promised to find them.
• Several hundred participants entered the Life and Death Trial Arena, where Jiang Jie announced that only the final thirty would pass and the rest would be exiled within the Spiritual Road.
• Zhao Chen learned the arena’s rules, found himself alone, and headed into a forest with his Asura Sword.
• Four participants ambushed Zhao Chen, but he killed them with one sword strike each and collected their Crimson Tokens, triggering a mission to kill ten people.
• Zhao Chen continued through the forest, killing Level 2 Spirit Beasts and wondering whether to turn back after finding no other people.

Zhao Chen confronted a group of more than a dozen participants and demanded their Crimson Tokens. After killing six people who provoked him, he forced the survivors to surrender their Crimson Tokens and Storage Bags, leaving their lives in his hands.

• A black-clothed youth and more than a dozen people approached Zhao Chen and asked whether he knew who had killed four people nearby.
• Zhao Chen demanded their Crimson Tokens, and one youth attacked him; Zhao Chen killed him with the Asura Sword and the group recognized him as the killer of the four earlier victims.
• The black-clothed youth offered spirit beast essence, but others urged him to fight, prompting Zhao Chen to demand both Crimson Tokens and spirit beast essence.
• Zhao Chen swiftly killed five people who had provoked him, leaving six corpses on the ground.
• Zhao Chen demanded the survivors' Crimson Tokens and Storage Bags, and the black-clothed youth agreed to hand them over to spare their lives.

Zhao Chen signed in at the Life and Death Trial Arena and obtained A Leaf Flat Boat, a Divine Artifact that could ferry and fly. While searching along the Corrosive Poison Water for a way to survive and find others, he discovered that riverside black soil could contain the poison and reunited with Mu Chen.

• Zhao Chen signed in and received A Leaf Flat Boat, learning that it could fly, ferry people, and replenish its spiritual energy by absorbing spiritual items.
• Zhao Chen decided to search along the Corrosive Poison Water for people who might be looking for a way out of the Life and Death Trial Arena.
• Zhao Chen tested the deadly water and discovered that a thin layer of black soil beside the river could contain it without being corroded.
• Mu Chen approached Zhao Chen with a short blade, and the two recognized each other as fellow students from Northern Spiritual Academy.
• Zhao Chen saw that Mu Chen had reached the Third-Level Spirit Body, and Mu Chen asked how Zhao Chen had fared on the Spirit Road.