Chapter Summaries

Qi Shuang crossed the tide of snakes and reached the White Snake Sage’s temple, where the staircase transported him to a dazzling palace in Ryūchi Cave. A green-haired shrine maiden welcomed him and offered him a fortune after declaring him the one-thousandth human to arrive.

• Qi Shuang used his Ice Release Body Flicker Technique to pass through the ice wall and cross the tide of snakes on the ice dragon’s remains.
• Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagorihime spotted Qi Shuang near the temple and flew over to prepare for the test.
• The giant snakes abandoned the approach to the temple, and Qi Shuang climbed the steps as the torches lit one by one.
• At the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step, Qi Shuang appeared inside a crystal-lit palace and met a green-haired shrine maiden.
• The shrine maiden told Qi Shuang he was the one-thousandth human to arrive at Ryūchi Cave and showed him a pile of gold, silver, and treasures.

Qi Shuang confronted Tagorihime in an apparent treasure-filled palace and concluded that the scene was an exceptionally powerful Genjutsu. After his attempts to dispel it failed, Tagorihime vanished and the palace dissolved, leaving Qi Shuang back on Ryūchi Cave’s stone staircase.

• Qi Shuang introduced himself to Tagorihime, who claimed to serve the White Snake Sage and offered him the palace’s treasures.
• Qi Shuang suspected the treasures and palace were illusions because he had abruptly entered a new world while climbing the stone stairs.
• Tagorihime questioned whether the palace or the stairs were real, and Qi Shuang argued that the palace was Genjutsu.
• Qi Shuang tried three times to disrupt his chakra and break the Genjutsu, but the palace remained unchanged.
• Qi Shuang realized that the Genjutsu had prevented him from controlling his chakra, while Tagorihime insisted the treasures were real.
• Tagorihime disappeared, the palace burst away, and Qi Shuang found himself back on the dim stone staircase.

Qi Shuang climbed the temple steps after passing Tagorihime’s illusion trial, then encountered a blind girl who claimed to be the princess of the Country of Noon. She revealed that she had come to Ryūchi Cave to ask the White Snake Sage to find her missing brother, leaving Qi Shuang uneasy about the price she had paid.

• Tagorihime admitted that Qi Shuang had passed her test, and Ichikishimahime set off to challenge him next.
• Qi Shuang struggled with exhaustion as he climbed the strange stone steps toward the temple.
• Qi Shuang met a blind, blue-haired girl who asked whether he knew Ice Release; he said he did not.
• The girl told Qi Shuang that she was the princess of the Country of Noon and was waiting for her missing elder brother.
• The princess explained that she had given the White Snake Sage everyone who protected her as payment for help finding her brother.

Qi Shuang learned that a blind girl in Ryūchi Cave was searching for her Ice Release-using royal brother, and realized her clues matched him. Suspicious of her story, he exposed a contradiction and attacked her, leaving her bleeding on the steps.

• The girl told Qi Shuang that White Snake Sage had said she should wait for someone who could use Ice Release, and explained that her critically ill father needed an heir to the Country of Noon.
• She said her missing uncle had a son and that two black moles between her royal brother’s right big toes would identify him.
• Qi Shuang noticed that he had Ice Release and the matching moles, but grew suspicious of how the blind girl had survived in Ryūchi Cave without her guards.
• The girl claimed she had been blind since birth but liked white and thanked Qi Shuang when he complimented her blue hair.
• Qi Shuang pointed out that someone blind from birth could not distinguish those colors, then slashed her throat with his kunai and retreated.

Qi Shuang saw through Ichikishimahime’s deception and continued climbing, while Tagitsuhime confronted Orochimaru for defying White Snake Sage’s orders. The chapter left Orochimaru pinned and badly wounded by Tagitsuhime’s Sage Art.

• Qi Shuang realized the little girl had faked her blindness and vanished, then questioned whether a Genjutsu had made him see moles between his toes.
• Ichikishimahime returned to White Snake Sage and admitted she had failed to trick Qi Shuang into believing he could reunite with his family and inherit a kingdom.
• Tagitsuhime blocked Orochimaru from pursuing Qi Shuang and reminded him that White Snake Sage had ordered him to guide Ice Release Kekkei Genkai wielders to learn Senjutsu.
• Orochimaru refused to accept Tagitsuhime’s reasoning, so she used Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation to pin him with stone spikes throughout the passageway.

Qi Shuang reached Ryūchi Cave seeking the White Snake Sage and training in Senjutsu, but the Sage was away and her attendant Tagitsuhime began deliberately seducing him. The chapter ended with Qi Shuang recognizing the danger and trying to resist her charms.

• Manda struggled helplessly against the stalactites that Tagitsuhime had driven into him and realized the sages would kill him if he kept causing trouble.
• Qi Shuang climbed the final steps to Ryūchi Cave and entered its bright, ornate hall.
• Tagitsuhime greeted Qi Shuang and used her beauty and strange fragrance to leave him flustered and distracted.
• Qi Shuang asked to see the White Snake Sage, and Tagitsuhime said the Sage was away and she would receive him until the Sage returned.
• Tagitsuhime told Qi Shuang her name and leaned over to wipe his nosebleed, making him realize she was intentionally seducing him.
• Qi Shuang backed away from Tagitsuhime and tried to resist, wary of touching the White Snake Sage’s attendant.

Tagitsuhime tried to make Qi Shuang fail the final lust trial by seducing him with a dance, but he resisted and turned her offer to satisfy his desires toward a supposedly difficult dance. Tagitsuhime was intrigued by his description and waited to hear how it was performed.

• Tagitsuhime began dancing to welcome Qi Shuang, and he struggled to resist her seduction.
• Tagitsuhime teased Qi Shuang and urged him to follow his instincts, revealing that lust was his final trial.
• Qi Shuang used his ice-elemental chakra to suppress his desire, then questioned what price Tagitsuhime wanted in return.
• Tagitsuhime promised to satisfy any desire, and Qi Shuang asked her to perform a difficult dance he had once seen.
• Tagitsuhime admitted she did not know the dance, and Qi Shuang claimed he remembered every movement.

Qi Shuang taught Tagitsuhime pole dancing, using its embarrassing movements to get revenge on her for tempting him. After they both struggled to control their reactions, Qi Shuang said he still needed to teach her about the costume.

• Qi Shuang created an ice pillar for Tagitsuhime to use as a pole and explained the dance to her.
• Tagitsuhime practiced the movements easily but felt increasingly ashamed as Qi Shuang gave her more provocative instructions.
• Qi Shuang watched Tagitsuhime perform the full dance and used the Ice Seal Technique on himself to suppress his desire.
• Tagitsuhime resumed teasing Qi Shuang after the dance, while privately planning to humiliate him once he gave in.
• Qi Shuang told Tagitsuhime that she needed a special costume to fully display the dance's charm.

Qi Shuang resisted Tagitsuhime’s lust trial by focusing on cutting her clothes into an extremely revealing outfit, then urged her to perform the dance. Tagitsuhime realized her attempts had failed and ended the genjutsu, leaving Qi Shuang back on the temple steps, still determined to meet the White Snake Sage and learn Senjutsu.

• Qi Shuang used a kunai to cut Tagitsuhime’s clothes into an increasingly revealing outfit while keeping his desires in check with ice-nature chakra and concentration.
• Qi Shuang told Tagitsuhime to take a step, and the remaining gauze fell away until her outfit resembled a revealing swimsuit.
• Qi Shuang urged Tagitsuhime to wear the outfit and perform the dance, but she hesitated as her embarrassment overwhelmed her.
• Tagitsuhime realized Qi Shuang had overcome his lust, glared at him, and vanished in green smoke as the genjutsu dissolved.
• Qi Shuang found himself back on the temple steps and remained resolved to meet the White Snake Sage and learn Senjutsu.

Qi Shuang reached the White Snake Sage after passing the three Snake Princesses’ trials and met the Sage in its human form. He recognized that the shrine maidens who had tested him with Genjutsu were the same three Snake Princesses.

• Tagitsuhime told Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime that Qi Shuang had passed her test, while the White Snake Sage judged him worthy of learning Sage Art.
• Qi Shuang pushed open the temple door and entered the hall, where he met the White Snake Sage and the three shrine maidens.
• Qi Shuang knelt on one knee and explained that two knees would reveal weakness, earning the White Snake Sage’s approval.
• The White Snake Sage transformed from a giant snake into an old woman, and Ichikishimahime explained that this was its true human form through Sage Art Incarnation.
• Qi Shuang recognized the shrine maidens from the illusions, and Ichikishimahime confirmed that the three of them had greeted him with Genjutsu.

Qi Shuang met the White Snake Sage after passing the three Snake Princesses’ trials and asked to learn Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu. The White Snake Sage questioned his understanding of Senjutsu and Natural Energy, and his answer impressed her enough that she asked him to explain further.

• The three Snake Princesses introduced themselves, and the White Snake Sage explained that their Genjutsu had tested Qi Shuang on her orders.
• Qi Shuang confirmed that he had come to learn Senjutsu, and the White Snake Sage asked him to explain what it was.
• Qi Shuang described Senjutsu as drawing Natural Energy into the body and using chakra to control it while casting techniques.
• The White Snake Sage asked what Natural Energy was, and Qi Shuang said it consisted of many forms of energy found in the heavens and the earth.
• The White Snake Sage showed interest in Qi Shuang’s answer and asked him to be more specific.

Qi Shuang explained how he had reasoned his way toward understanding Senjutsu and proposed that chakra’s essence was the body’s biological energy, while spiritual energy merely controlled it. He began demonstrating his investigation into the source of biological energy by summoning food from a Supply Scroll.

• Qi Shuang told White Snake Sage that Senjutsu drew on Natural Energy from the Sun, Stars, and Molten Hellfire, surprising her with his knowledge.
• Qi Shuang explained that failing to sense Natural Energy led him to conclude that he needed an immortal’s guidance to cultivate Senjutsu.
• Qi Shuang told White Snake Sage and the snake concubines that chakra was biological energy controlled by spiritual energy, comparing spiritual energy to a bridle.
• Qi Shuang brought out a Supply Scroll, formed hand seals, and summoned a pile of food to begin investigating the source of biological energy.

Qi Shuang explained to White Snake Sage and the three snake priestesses how food-derived energy is converted and argued that chakra ultimately comes from Natural Energy. White Snake Sage accepted his insight that chakra was a weakened form of Senjutsu power and said two old acquaintances would be gratified to hear it.

• Ichikishimahime, Tagorihime, and Tagitsuhime mocked Qi Shuang for bringing so much food, and he threatened to cook snake meat in Ryūchi Cave.
• The three snake priestesses transformed into terrifying half-human, half-snake forms after Qi Shuang's remark, but White Snake Sage told them not to scare him, and they changed back.
• Qi Shuang explained to White Snake Sage that eating replenished human biological energy, while resting drew on the body's reserves.
• Qi Shuang traced energy from plants through animals and people back to Natural Energy, concluding that chakra was fundamentally derived from it.
• White Snake Sage said chakra was a weakened version of Senjutsu power and that Qi Shuang's insight had changed her view of chakra.

White Snake Sage explained that the other Sage Lands vanished after a war more than a thousand years ago, when nearly a hundred Sages fought one terrifying woman. She told Qi Shuang and the Snake Princesses that the Sages had attacked because the woman threatened nature and the world's balance.

• White Snake Sage explained that Senjutsu was older than humanity and that its difficult inheritance had caused Sage Lands to disappear.
• She said a war between nearly a hundred Sages and one woman had ended with every Sage dying, leaving only the three great Sage Lands.
• Qi Shuang suspected the woman was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, while the Snake Princesses reacted with surprise at the story.
• White Snake Sage explained that Sages drew their power from nature and were bound to protect it.
• She told Qi Shuang that the Sages had answered the world's summons and attacked the woman because she endangered the world's balance and the survival of many Sages.

The White Snake Sage explained that Kaguya Ōtsutsuki gained chakra by eating the Divine Tree’s fruit, then merged with the tree and intensified its destructive absorption of Natural Energy. The sages went to war with her after she refused to stop draining the planet and even targeted the Natural Energy within them.

• The White Snake Sage recounted how the Divine Tree appeared suddenly and grew by absorbing Natural Energy across a vast area.
• The sages placed a barrier around the tree to limit its absorption, but its growth remained within what they could tolerate.
• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki arrived from beyond the heavens and secretly ate the Divine Tree’s fruit, becoming the first person to possess chakra and the mother of Sage of Six Paths.
• After Kaguya merged with the Divine Tree, its absorption of Natural Energy increased more than tenfold and devastated some regions.
• A sage tried to negotiate with Kaguya, but she refused because she intended to claim all of the planet’s Natural Energy, including the sages’ own.
• The sages began their war against Kaguya to protect their home and themselves.

The White Snake Sage told Qi Shuang how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki defeated the sages and ruled the world before the Sage of Six Paths sealed her. She revealed that the Sage and his brother were born through the World Will’s intervention to stop Kaguya, leaving Qi Shuang baffled by how the world could make it happen.

• The White Snake Sage recounted how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki defeated the sages, ruled the world, and became known as the Rabbit Goddess.
• The White Snake Sage explained that the surviving sages of the three Sage Lands passed down senjutsu before they died from their wounds.
• Qi Shuang identified Kaguya as the evil ghost defeated by the Sage of Six Paths, and the White Snake Sage confirmed that the legend about Kaguya loving a human was false.
• The White Snake Sage revealed that the Sage of Six Paths and his brother had no father and were born through the World Will’s effort to stop Kaguya from destroying the world.
• Qi Shuang struggled to understand how the World Will could make Kaguya pregnant.

The White Snake Sage explained how the World Will caused Kaguya to bear Hagoromo and Hamura, weakening her and setting the brothers on a path to oppose her. She revealed that the sages had guided the brothers under the World Will’s instructions, while Qi Shuang listened and considered the story.

• The White Snake Sage explained that Kaguya’s bond with the Divine Tree let the World Will make the tree bear fruit through her, producing Hagoromo and Hamura.
• Qi Shuang reasoned that the brothers’ birth divided the Divine Tree’s power between them and weakened Kaguya.
• The White Snake Sage said Kaguya struggled to harm her unborn children, eventually gave birth to them, and named them Hamura Ōtsutsuki and Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
• Qi Shuang concluded that the brothers had been born as pieces in the World Will’s plan to defeat Kaguya.
• The White Snake Sage revealed that the Great Toad Sage relayed the World Will’s instructions, and that she and the other sages guided the brothers and exposed Kaguya’s rule to them.

Qi Shuang learned how Hagoromo and his brother used senjutsu to seal Kaguya and create the moon. The White Snake Sage began teaching Qi Shuang senjutsu by biting his palm, leaving him alarmed by the spreading blue discoloration.

• Ichikishimahime asked how the Sage of Six Paths brothers defeated Kaguya, and Qi Shuang explained that they inherited immense chakra and learned senjutsu from the three sages.
• The White Snake Sage explained that Hagoromo learned senjutsu from the Great Toad Sage and that the brothers sealed Kaguya after months of fighting, creating the moon and expanding the seas.
• The White Snake Sage described the difficulty of balancing Natural Energy with chakra and summoned Qi Shuang to demonstrate.
• The White Snake Sage pricked Qi Shuang's palm with her fangs, and he noticed two bleeding wounds turning blue as she insisted she was helping him cultivate senjutsu.

White Snake Sage planted a Seed of Sage Art in Qi Shuang’s palm and explained how it would help him sense Natural Energy while subjecting his body to dangerous daily tempering. Qi Shuang accepted the risks, and the snake maidens led him to the Dragon Transformation Pool for his training.

• White Snake Sage explained that the Seed of Sage Art in Qi Shuang’s palm contained Natural Energy, and Qi Shuang sensed its power with a chakra probe.
• White Snake Sage and Ichikishimahime explained that the Seed would train Qi Shuang to sense Natural Energy, while Ichikishimahime said Orochimaru’s Curse Mark Technique had been derived from it.
• Qi Shuang realized the Seed of Sage Art was dangerous, and White Snake Sage warned that its daily tempering could turn him into a snake or kill him if he failed to resist with chakra.
• White Snake Sage ordered Tagorihime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime to take Qi Shuang to the Dragon Transformation Pool and watch over him in shifts.
• Tagorihime led Qi Shuang toward the pool, where he noticed its name carved into the wall and smelled a stench of decay.

Qi Shuang learned that Ryūchi Cave’s Dragon Transformation Pool was a burial ground where dense Natural Energy gathered, and that he needed to enter it to temper his body with the Seed of Sage Art. The chapter ended with Ichikishimahime explaining how the buried snakes’ bodies made the pool rich in Natural Energy.

• Qi Shuang saw the foul, viscous Dragon Transformation Pool and asked the shrine maidens what it was.
• Tagitsuhime explained that Ryūchi Cave’s founder had only completed half of Dragon Transformation, and that later sages had inherited her wish to create a true dragon’s nest.
• Tagorihime clarified that the pool’s Dragon Transformation meant the first metamorphosis toward becoming a sage, not turning into a dragon.
• The shrine maidens told Qi Shuang he needed the pool’s concentrated Natural Energy to temper his body and make use of White Snake Sage’s Seed of Sage Art.
• Ichikishimahime revealed that the Dragon Transformation Pool was the Summoning Snake Clan’s burial ground, where Natural Energy from their bodies accumulated.