Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xiaojie and Ma Wenyuan investigated the mysterious Duobaozhai, which had appeared outside their intelligence network, and sought support from Li Mingying. The chapter left them preparing to investigate the shop while negotiating a broader set of political and cultivation-world dealings.

• Zhao Xiaojie told Ma Wenyuan that Duobaozhai's unusual wares and eager shopkeeper made him suspect the shop was more than an ordinary antique store.
• Ma Wenyuan checked his map of Jiujiang Prefecture's black-market sites, found Duobaozhai missing, and arranged for his people to investigate while planning to visit it himself.
• Zhao Xiaojie returned to the Prefect's Mansion and considered whether Duobaozhai was a pawn in a larger power's scheme.
• Zhao Xiaojie met with Li Mingying the next morning and raised his concerns about Duobaozhai, prompting Li Mingying to promise an investigation.
• Zhao Xiaojie and Li Mingying prepared to discuss cooperation and intelligence involving the Han Clan, Qingtian Gate, the Demon Hunter organization, the Wang Clan, the Yan King's Mansion, and the Star Cult.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ma Wenyuan dispatches subordinates to investigate Duobaozhai and uses secret channels to gather information.
• An antique shop in Jiujiang Prefecture is secretly observed, with spiritual items circulating.
• Ma Wenyuan encounters a mysterious figure at a dilapidated temple, leading to a sword fight.
• Zhao Xiaojie and his retinue arrive, surrounding the temple. They find Marrow Cleansing Pills in a jade box, indicating a trap set by Duobaozhai.

Character Developments

• Ma Wenyuan demonstrates his martial arts skills and strategic thinking during the sword fight.
• Zhao Xiaojie shows leadership and decisiveness in managing his followers.

Significant Themes

• The changing spiritual energy era and its impact on cultivation opportunities.
• The use of traps and deception in gaining power and influence.

Character Interactions

• Ma Wenyuan and Zhao Xiaojie work together to uncover the truth about Duobaozhai, showing mutual respect and trust.
• The mysterious figure and their potential backers are revealed to be manipulating martial artists for their own gain.

Zhao Xiaojie and Ma Wenyuan uncovered Duobaozhai’s plan to lure and control talented Martial Artists with dangerous Marrow Cleansing Pills, and they alerted Earl Ying and allied forces. Wu Sanchai found a hidden entrance beneath Duobaozhai but resisted its dark influence and returned to report, leaving Zhao Xiaojie to seek help from the growing group at the Prefect’s Mansion.

• Zhao Xiaojie and Ma Wenyuan concluded that Duobaozhai was using altered Marrow Cleansing Pills to select and control powerful Martial Artists, then divided the pills among allied forces.
• Zhao Xiaojie delivered a pill and his investigation findings to Earl Ying, while Ma Wenyuan returned to hiding.
• Wu Sanchai found a rune-covered hidden door outside Duobaozhai, dispelled its formation, and opened it to reveal stairs underground.
• Wu Sanchai felt the Demonic Spirit: Drumming Flea’s warning and withdrew as Zhang Mingshu’s Life Book shielded his name from dark power.
• Wu Sanchai reported the hidden door to Zhao Xiaojie, and they went to Earl Ying, where Zhao Xiaojie met Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Sanchai leads a group, including Zhao Xiaojie and Earl Ying, to infiltrate "Duobaozhai" at night.
• Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize join them after receiving a transmission.
• They discover a hidden basement with alchemy equipment and controlled Martial Artists.
• The basement starts to collapse, and a Blood Sacrifice Formation activates.
• The group fights to destroy the formation while evading falling debris and controlled Martial Artists.

Character Developments

• Wu Sanchai demonstrates his scouting skills and concern for his companions' safety.
• Zhao Xiaojie shows leadership, strategic thinking, and powerful combat skills.
• Li Yifeng exhibits knowledge about Blood Sacrifice Formations and strong swordsmanship.
• Earl Ying displays his Core Formation Realm cultivation power and skill in placing dispelling runes.
• The controlled Martial Artists show desperation and ferocity in their attacks.

Significant Themes

• The dangers of hidden powers and their disregard for human life.
• The importance of teamwork and unity in facing adversity.
• The struggle against overwhelming odds and the need for quick thinking and adaptation.

Character Interactions

• Wu Sanchai and Zhao Xiaojie work together, with Wu leading the way and Zhao providing protection.
• Li Yifeng, Zhang Yize, and Zhao Xiaojie fight side-by-side, repelling controlled Martial Artists.
• Earl Ying and Li Mingying work together to dispel the formation, showcasing their complementary skills.
• The controlled Martial Artists attack the group, highlighting the power dynamics between them and their captors.

Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, and the others destroyed the Blood Sacrifice Formation beneath Duobaozhai and tried to escape as the building collapsed. A black-robed enemy emerged from the fog to block them, and Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng attacked him.

• Zhang Yize used Dragon Tiger Wind Cloud Transformation while Li Yifeng used Yifeng Sword Rain to subdue the controlled Martial Artists, though the victims' vitality faded as the evil power left them.
• Li Mingying broke the final rune, weakening and then extinguishing the Blood Sacrifice Formation, and Zhao Xiaojie urged the group to escape.
• Wu Sanchai reached the foggy street, where Bai Shuping, Shi Beilu, Wen Xunrong, Zhang Shaoqing, and the others were fighting enemies.
• As Duobaozhai and its underground level collapsed, Zhang Yize shielded the group with Dragon Tiger Body Protection Shield while Li Yifeng's Sword Rain Swishing drove back attackers in the fog.
• A black-robed enemy appeared behind the group and raised a barrier of black mist, revealing that their escape had been a trap.
• Zhang Yize unleashed Dragon and Tiger Roar as One, Break Evil, and Li Yifeng attacked the black-robed enemy with Sword Heart Clear and Bright, Slay Demons.

Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng helped Zhao Xiaojie drive off the shadowy figure behind the Blood Sacrifice Formation, but the enemy escaped and left them suspecting a wider plot. The group regrouped at the Dao Sect's courtyard in Jiujiang Prefecture to recover and consider what the enemy was planning.

• Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng shattered the shadowy figure's black mist shield and wounded him, but he fled into the fog.
• Zhao Xiaojie stopped the group from chasing the shadowy figure, warning that the pursuit could lead into a trap.
• Earl Ying began rescue efforts and dealt with the city's residents and Lineage representatives while the group withdrew to recover.
• Zhang Yize and Zhao Xiaojie exchanged accounts of how they had investigated the enemy and concluded that a substantial evil force might be behind the trap.
• Zhang Yize brought Zhao Xiaojie and Li Yifeng to the Dao Sect's courtyard, where they rested after nearly two days of fighting.

Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, and Li Yifeng uncovered the Netherworld Cult’s connection to Duobaozhai and learned that the cult sought the Ghost Refining Prison. After the group made plans to alert their clans, the Netherworld Cult’s leader revealed that Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize were central to its revival, while Zhao Xiaojie faced a mysterious voice from an ancient well.

• Zhao Xiaojie read Zhang Yize’s jade slip and concluded that Duobaozhai’s backers were tied to the Netherworld Cult.
• Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize decided to alert the Li family and Dragon Tiger Mountain while continuing their investigation.
• The Netherworld Cult’s leader told his black-robed followers that Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize were key to the cult’s revival and named the Ghost Refining Prison as their target.
• Zhao Xiaojie reviewed the history of the Ghost Refining Prison and the other supreme treasures as he struggled to sleep.
• Zhao Xiaojie heard a voice from the ancient well challenge him to stop the Netherworld Cult’s return, and the demon spirit within him stirred.

Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, and Li Yifeng sensed that the Netherworld Cult’s actions were disturbing the world’s balance and decided to unite the cultivation world against it. After spotting an ominous blood meteor, they began sending urgent messages to their allies and investigating the enemy’s remaining clues.

• Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize sensed a hidden force in the courtyard and agreed to stay alert against the Netherworld Cult.
• Celestial Master Zhang saw a blood-red meteor and warned that it foretold a great calamity.
• Li Sword Saint sensed a force trying to alter the world’s order and dismissed the Netherworld Cult’s schemes.
• Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, and Li Yifeng agreed to contact other cultivation sects and families to form an alliance.
• The three split up to investigate clues from the previous battle, while Zhang Yize sent Dragon Tiger Mountain an emergency signal, Li Yifeng called for help from his clan, and Zhao Xiaojie sought a Qingtian Gate or Star Cult outpost.

Zhao Xiaojie discovered a teleportation array beneath an abandoned temple and found special pills in a trap prepared by the Netherworld Cult. As he and the others investigated the site, enemies launched an attack, and the squad fought to defend the temple.

• Wu Sanchai and the squad found an underground chamber beneath an abandoned temple, where Zhao Xiaojie activated an ancient teleportation array with a Spirit Stone.
• Zhao Xiaojie returned from the array with several bottles of special pills after destroying traps in the space beyond; Wen Xunrong warned that the pills’ effects needed careful study.
• Shi Beilu and An Muyuan sensed approaching danger, and Wu Sanchai warned the squad when a sinister wind arrived.
• A black-clad attacker lunged at Zhao Xiaojie with a saber, and Zhao Xiaojie met the strike with his sword.
• The squad joined Zhao Xiaojie in fighting the attacker and the Netherworld Cult disciples who appeared behind it.

Zhao Xiaojie and his team defeated a Netherworld Cult attacker after An Muyuan exposed the enemy’s disguised form and Huang Lingai purified the black mist left by his self-destruction. They searched the ancient temple for clues, unaware that a hidden observer had slipped away to report on them.

• Zhao Xiaojie noticed that the black shadow fought stiffly, while An Muyuan used [Word Spirit · Reward Merit and Punish Sin] to reveal it as a black-robed old man.
• The old man exploded into corrosive black mist, forcing Zhao Xiaojie and the others to retreat.
• Huang Lingai used a Purification Talisman and [False Ritual · Chanting Sutras] to contain and weaken the mist as the team attacked it.
• The black mist dispersed under the golden light, and the old man vanished without a trace.
• Zhao Xiaojie praised Huang Lingai, then led the team to search the ancient temple for clues to the Netherworld Cult.
• A hidden observer watched the team and then vanished into the darkness.

Zhao Xiaojie led his squad to Mount Lu while tracking the Netherworld Cult, where they were ambushed by a black-armored cultivator and other disciples. As the squad fought back, Zhao Xiaojie sensed a stronger enemy approaching from the mountain and warned everyone.

• Zhao Xiaojie brought his squad to Mount Lu and ordered Wu Sanchai, Shi Beilu, and An Muyuan to scout ahead while the Huang brothers reinforced their defenses.
• A cold wind and an approaching rumble alerted the squad to danger, and Zhao Xiaojie prepared them for battle without using his Formation Disk.
• A black shadow attacked, and Zhao Xiaojie blocked it with his sword, revealing a black-armored strongman wielding a battle-axe.
• The squad fought the Netherworld Cult disciples as Wu Sanchai, Shi Beilu, An Muyuan, the Huang brothers, and Bai Shuping used their abilities to support the battle.
• Zhao Xiaojie forced the Black Armored Strongman back, sensed a stronger enemy on the mountain, and warned the squad after invoking Word Spirit: Bring forth a Pledge of Allegiance.

Zhao Xiaojie, Li Yifeng, and Zhang Yize broke the Netherworld Cult elder’s ghost-face attack, but a mysterious bell from Mount Lu drove him away. As Wu Sanchai pursued the retreating cultists, Zhao Xiaojie and the others discovered their enemies were not human.

• A Netherworld Cult elder appeared and attacked Zhao Xiaojie’s group with a giant ghost face.
• Li Yifeng and Zhang Yize struck the ghost face, and Zhao Xiaojie gained an epiphany that let him create a new sword technique and enter the ranks of cultivators.
• The group’s combined attacks dispersed the ghost face and wounded the elder, but a bell from Mount Lu frightened him into fleeing.
• Wu Sanchai and the others counterattacked the remaining Netherworld Cult disciples as the Black Armored Strongman led an organized retreat.
• Wu Sanchai wounded a Netherworld Cult fighter, who kept fighting despite the injury, revealing to Zhao Xiaojie and the others that the enemies were not human.

Zhao Xiaojie and his companions defeated the Netherworld Cultists at Mount Lu, but a ringing bell revealed that the cult had found an entrance to the Mount Lu Secret Realm. They reached the Stone Gate and prepared to enter before the cult could seize control.

• Zhao Xiaojie and his companions joined forces against the Death Soldier Puppets and the Black Armored Strongman.
• Zhang Yize exploited the Black Armored Strongman's hesitation and killed him with a strike to the throat.
• Zhao Xiaojie and the others finished off the remaining Netherworld Cultists and disabled the Death Soldier Puppets so they could not rise again.
• The Mount Lu bell rang, and Zhang Yize recognized it as a call for reinforcements after the Netherworld Cult found an entrance to the secret realm.
• Zhang Yize led Li Yifeng, Zhao Xiaojie, and the others through the forest to the Stone Gate, activated it with a token, and ordered everyone to prepare for battle.

Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, and Li Yifeng fought Netherworld Cult death warriors as they entered the Mount Lu Secret Realm. After petal vortexes trapped them and a roar suggested the Netherworld Cult was trying to free a sealed Primordial Ancient Beast, a mysterious woman used her connection to the flowers to guide them to safety.

• Li Yifeng led the group in a battle against the death warriors pouring through the Stone Gate into the secret realm.
• Zhao Xiaojie and his allies fought their way deeper into the realm, where Zhang Yize suspected the Netherworld Cult planned to release a sealed Primordial Ancient Beast.
• The group entered a sea of flowers, whose petals formed powerful vortexes that ensnared them and many pursuing death warriors.
• A graceful woman arrived, soothed the flower spirits, and led Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, and the others along a path out of the flower field.

After the Netherworld Cult’s Death Soldier Puppets attacked, Hua Qianyu sheltered Zhao Xiaojie and the others in Flower Immortal Valley and helped them recover. They set out to defend the secret realm, and the chapter ended as their traps struck a group of puppets entering Orchid Creek Valley.

• Hua Qianyu led Zhao Xiaojie and the others to Flower Immortal Valley, where she explained that it was safe from the Death Soldier Puppets for now.
• Zhang Yize introduced Hua Qianyu as a disciple of Lady Hua Lingyu, and Hua Qianyu described the conflict between Flower Immortal Valley’s path of life and the Netherworld Cult’s path of death.
• Hua Qianyu healed the group with her flower-based art, and Zhao Xiaojie agreed to help defend the secret realm.
• Zhang Yize and Bai Shuping proposed using traps and the terrain against the puppets, and the group split up to prepare defenses and scout.
• Hua Qianyu guided Zhao Xiaojie and the others to Orchid Creek Valley, where they set traps, illusion formations, and plant-based warnings.
• Hua Qianyu concealed the group behind a petal barrier as Death Soldier Puppets entered Orchid Creek Valley and triggered the traps.

Zhang Yize and Fairy Hua Qianyu fought a powerful Black Armored Strongman who sought revenge for his younger brother. As the enemy unleashed black qi across Orchid Creek Valley, Zhang Yize launched a decisive sword technique, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Zhao Xiaojie and his allies defeated the Netherworld Cult's Death Soldier Puppets in Orchid Creek Valley.
• A Black Armored Strongman arrived and demanded to know who had killed his younger brother.
• Zhang Yize admitted killing the man's brother and fought him with the power of his Dragon and Tiger Pills.
• Fairy Hua Qianyu supported Zhang Yize with petal blades while Li Yifeng dealt with the Netherworld Cult's followers.
• The Black Armored Strongman unleashed surging black qi, and Zhang Yize answered with Dragon Tiger Wind Cloud Transformation—Twin Spirits Manifest.

Zhang Yize, Fairy Hua Qianyu, Li Yifeng, and Zhao Xiaojie fought the Ghost Spirit unleashed by the Black Armored Strongman’s sacrifice while Death Soldier Puppets continued attacking. Fairy Hua Qianyu’s purifying magic weakened the ghost face, but it kept growing stronger as Zhao Xiaojie tried to turn his jealousy into a weapon.

• Fairy Hua Qianyu trapped the Black Armored Strongman in a floral ring, allowing Zhang Yize to strike him down, but the dark aura remained.
• The dark aura formed a powerful ghost face, and Fairy Hua Qianyu raised a Flower Realm Barrier while Zhang Yize and the others attacked it.
• Zhao Xiaojie’s Words of Command and sword strike failed to affect the incorporeal Ghost Spirit, while its sound waves and influence made the Death Soldier Puppets more vicious.
• Fairy Hua Qianyu used the flower spirits’ purifying power to dissolve some of the ghost face’s dark aura, but it grew by consuming death aura and swallowing puppets.
• Zhang Yize unleashed a dragon-and-tiger attack, and Li Yifeng’s sword strikes briefly weakened the ghost face.
• Zhao Xiaojie deliberately drew on his jealousy of the other geniuses and activated Poison of Jealousy against the Ghost Spirit.

Hua Lingyu emerged from seclusion and destroyed the Netherworld Cult’s Ghost Spirit and remaining Death Soldier Puppets at Orchid Creek Valley. She gave Zhao Xiaojie the Kuiyang Nine Forging Scripture and sent Hua Qianyu and the others to check on the Hundred Herbs Garden, where they found signs of fierce fighting but evidence that the defenders had withdrawn into its Defensive Formation.

• Zhang Yize and Li Yifeng weakened the ghost face while Hua Qianyu’s flower spirits intensified their purifying power.
• Hua Lingyu arrived playing her bamboo flute, suppressed the ghost face, and destroyed it along with the remaining Death Soldier Puppets.
• Hua Lingyu explained the Ghost Spirit and the Netherworld Cult’s plan to exploit Flower Immortal Valley’s Flower Burial, then gave Zhao Xiaojie the Kuiyang Nine Forging Scripture.
• Hua Lingyu told Hua Qianyu to lead the group to the Hundred Herbs Garden while she guarded Orchid Creek Valley and prepared to strike from afar if needed.
• Hua Qianyu led Zhao Xiaojie, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, and the others to the Hundred Herbs Garden, where they saw battle damage and signs that its defenders had retreated into the Defensive Formation.

Hua Qianyu, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, Zhao Xiaojie, and the others joined the Hundred Herbs Garden’s defenders and attacked the Netherworld Cult from the flank. Their assault shifted the battle, but Shadow Assassins and Death Soldier Puppets kept the enemy fighting, and a Shadow Assassin confronted Zhang Yize.

• The Hundred Herbs Garden’s disciples activated their defenses, prepared talismans and Spirit Stones, and protected or harvested its Spirit Medicines as Netherworld Cult followers attacked.
• Hua Qianyu, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, Zhao Xiaojie, and the others surveyed the battle and decided to reinforce the defenders with a flank attack.
• Hua Qianyu sent blade-like petals at the attackers, and Zhang Yize led the group into battle, catching the Netherworld Cult forces between them and the garden’s defenders.
• Shadow Assassins supported the Death Soldier Puppets and kept the Netherworld Cult’s battle line intact despite the counterattack.
• Zhang Yize warned his companions about the Shadow Assassins and met one head-on, while the assassin threatened the group.

Hua Qianyu, Zhang Yize, Li Yifeng, Zhao Xiaojie, and the Hundred Herbs Garden disciples fought off the Netherworld Cult’s forces as Valley Master Hua Lingyu intervened. The Garden Master awoke and struck the black fog with a Spirit Pill, forcing it to retreat gravely wounded.

• Hua Qianyu, Zhang Yize, and Li Yifeng attacked the Shadow Assassins while Zhao Xiaojie led his team in a defensive battle formation against the puppets and Black Armored Strongmen.
• The Hundred Herbs Garden disciples activated traps and formed their own battle formations, disrupting the Netherworld Cult’s assault and turning the tide.
• A flute melody weakened a Shadow Assassin as Hua Lingyu engaged a powerful Netherworld Cult figure above the battlefield.
• Hua Lingyu’s intervention steadied the Garden’s defenders, and her petals drove the Netherworld black qi back.
• The Garden Master awoke, refined Spiritual Energy into a Spirit Pill, and hurled it at the black fog, wounding it and forcing it to withdraw.