Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao secretly followed Liu An’s group, overheard Qiao Nian and Lei Wanche’s agreement, and infiltrated the Lei Family as Lei Chongfeng. After learning the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm’s dangers and its likely ties to the Divine Firmament Sect, he decided to enter and claim its treasures.

• Meng Zhao overheard Lei Wanche and Qiao Nian’s private agreement while remaining hidden from them.
• Meng Zhao used his abilities to take Lei Chongfeng’s identity and infiltrate the Lei Family without being detected.
• Meng Zhao learned from Lei Chongfeng’s memories about the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm’s Thunder Marsh, Poison Pit, and dangers.
• Meng Zhao discovered that the Thunder Marsh and Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Sword Art might be linked to the Divine Firmament Sect.
• Meng Zhao resolved to enter the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm and sweep it clean.

Meng Zhao joined the Lei Family expedition to the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm while disguised as Lei Chongfeng, and received a mysterious token from Lei Chongmao. The group reached the giant tree that served as the realm’s gateway and learned how it opened.

• Lei Wanche led the expedition with the Ox-Head God, Horse-Face Ghost, Liu An, Yan Libing, Qiao Nian, Shi Jiawen, and Lei Family members, while Lei Chongmao stayed behind.
• Lei Chongmao warned Meng Zhao to prioritize everyone’s safety and gave him a green wooden token containing mysterious power.
• Meng Zhao reassured Lei Chongmao while maintaining his Lei Chongfeng disguise, and Lei Chongmao asked him to protect the Lei Family elders.
• The expedition crossed deeper into Lumen Mountain and reached the giant tree that served as the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm’s gateway.
• Lei Wanche explained that the tree absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and the spiritual qi of heaven and earth on the fifteenth of each month, causing the secret realm to appear.

Lei Wanche warned the gathered groups that the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm belonged to the Lei Family and could only be entered with their key on the fifteenth. The Ox-Head God then suggested the strange landscape might allow entry without the key, leaving Lei Wanche furious and the Lei Family’s control uncertain.

• Lei Wanche explained that the Lei Family had cleared and guarded the area, and warned the visitors not to return or explore too far before the realm opened.
• The Ox-Head God said the lush landscape defied the dead node of Lumen Mountain and proposed that the tree or realm might enable entry without the key or the fifteenth-day opening.
• The Lei Family reacted angrily as the Ox-Head God's theory threatened their control of the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm.
• Horse-Face Ghost recognized that the Ox-Head God was sowing discord rather than directly confronting the Lei Family.

Meng Zhao saw that the giant tree gathered the valley’s qi and might be a treasure connected to powers beyond celestial beings, while the Ox-Head God’s speculation about entering the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm without a key drove a wedge between the gathered factions. Lei Wanche suppressed his anger to prevent a fight before they entered the realm and tried to restore the conversation by calling the tree a rare treasure.

• Meng Zhao used the Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique and saw the giant tree drawing together the valley’s qi, briefly sensing a connection between the tree and his technique.
• The Ox-Head God denied having ill intent, but Meng Zhao, disguised as Lei Chongfeng, accused him of seeking a way to enter and plunder the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm.
• Liu An warned Qiao Nian, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen to be cautious, while Shi Jiawen welcomed the growing distrust as an opportunity to pursue his plan against Qiao Nian.
• Lei Wanche judged that a fight would leave the Lei Family at a disadvantage and feared the Imperial Capital City scions might have powerful protections.
• Lei Wanche rebuked Meng Zhao, apologized to the Ox-Head God, and suggested the giant tree was a rare treasure that explained the valley’s three peacefully coexisting beast overlords.

The group examined the giant tree, whose bearing stirred their minds and strengthened the cultivation of several people, especially Meng Zhao. The Ox-Head God identified it as resembling the legendary Jianmu, though he said it was not the ancient World Tree itself.

• Lei Wanche agreed to lead the group to investigate the giant tree after Liu An supported the proposal.
• The group approached the tree and felt its will to endure and bear the weight of heaven and earth.
• The Ox-Head God, the Horse-Face Ghost, and Liu An's companions gained varying insights, while Meng Zhao forged a Primordial Spirit martial art and strengthened his foundation.
• The Ox-Head God said the tree resembled an ancient divine treasure and revealed that it was not Jianmu, the legendary World Tree.

The Ox-Head God explained that the giant tree might be a remnant of Jianmu whose power had created the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm. Meng Zhao and Lei Wanche recognized that if the tree could be moved, it could become a powerful mobile fortress, though its nature remained unconfirmed.

• The Ox-Head God recounted Jianmu’s ancient history and suggested that the giant tree was an aberrant species born from its residual power.
• The Ox-Head God cited the tree’s reversal of Yin Sha energy, its towering presence, and his own intuition as reasons for suspecting its connection to Jianmu.
• The Ox-Head God proposed that the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm might have been generated by the tree itself and could potentially be moved.
• Lei Wanche considered using the Jianmu Grotto-Heaven to secure the Lei Family’s independence and prospects, but decided to weigh the risks before acting against the outsiders.
• Meng Zhao inferred the same possibility and recognized that the Jianmu Grotto-Heaven could surpass the value of any other Grotto-Heaven he possessed.

Meng Zhao and the others failed to damage the Jianmu Relic Seed, while Lei Wanche privately ordered Meng Zhao, disguised as Lei Chongfeng, to eliminate outsiders in the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm. The chapter left Meng Zhao judging that Lei Wanche’s reckless plan could bring disaster upon the Lei Family.

• Qiao Nian suggested removing branches and leaves from the Jianmu Relic Seed, but Lei Wanche said it could not be harmed.
• Liu An and Yan Libing attacked a branch with their Qi Blades, but the tree remained untouched and the backlash churned their blood and qi.
• Lei Wanche privately told Meng Zhao that their party would be transported to separate locations in the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm and instructed him to deal with any outsiders he encountered.
• When Meng Zhao asked whether they should also target Liu An’s group, Lei Wanche declared that he intended to kill everyone in the secret realm, including them.
• Meng Zhao considered Lei Wanche’s plan rash and feared that killing powerful outsiders could bring ruin to the Lei Family.

Lei Wanche warned Meng Zhao about the Lei Family’s need to claim the Jianmu Grotto-Heaven, then led the gathered groups into the revealed world. After everyone entered, the canyon turned barren and filled with dangerous Deathly Qi.

• Lei Wanche told Meng Zhao to inform Lei Chongmao that the Jianmu remnant seed might be a movable Cave-Heaven vital to the Lei Family, while Meng Zhao resolved to claim it for himself.
• Liu An’s group of four gathered warily, and the Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost secretly agreed on their purpose for the journey.
• At dawn, the Jianmu remnant seed absorbed starlight, earth energy, and vital energy, then revealed a vast Cave-Heaven World beyond Thunder Marsh and Poison Grotto.
• Lei Wanche used the Secret Key to give the gathered groups azure spiritual light that would let them enter separate regions and eventually escape.
• Lei Wanche, the Lei Family members, Liu An’s group, the Ox-Head God, and Horse-Face Ghost entered the Jianmu Grotto-Heaven.
• After they vanished, the canyon became barren and filled with intertwined red-and-black Deathly Qi.

Meng Zhao and the others explored the Poisonous Cave Land after being transported into its deadly miasma, with Meng Zhao leading the group disguised as Lei Chongfeng. They discovered that the seemingly worthless black substance was the Earth-tier Treasure Withered Heart Marrow, and continued searching the cavern.

• Meng Zhao and the others arrived in the Poisonous Cave Land and protected themselves from the corrosive poisonous miasma.
• A giant venomous centipede emerged from the ground, revealing the danger posed by the cavern’s poisonous creatures.
• The Lei elder appointed Meng Zhao, disguised as Lei Chongfeng, to lead the group’s exploration and record their discoveries.
• The group formed a cautious scouting formation and moved in the direction the Lei elder remembered as east.
• Yan Libing recognized the sticky black substance they found as Withered Heart Marrow, a potent detoxifying Earth-tier Treasure.

Meng Zhao, Yan Libing, Horse-Face Ghost, and the Lei Family fought their way through the Poison Grotto and reached a mountain made of venomous creatures. With the group unsure whether to cross it or retreat, Horse-Face Ghost believed it was the trial they had to overcome to reach a new land.

• The group defeated a giant spider, and Yan Libing kept its deep-blue inner core after the Lei Family agreed not to contest it.
• The party faced repeated attacks from giant venomous creatures, suffering injuries until the Withered Heart Marrow and Horse-Face Ghost helped them survive.
• The group reached a ten-zhang Poison Mountain where countless venomous creatures of different species gathered together.
• Yan Libing suspected a venom king’s will was suppressing the creatures, but he did not know what ruled over every venomous species.
• The Lei Family members and Yan Libing hesitated over whether to cross the Poison Mountain, while Meng Zhao and Horse-Face Ghost remained confident.
• Horse-Face Ghost believed crossing Poison Mountain was the only way to leave the Poison Grotto and reach a new land.

Meng Zhao and the others faced a hidden Poison King whose poison-powered attacks threatened to overwhelm the party. The Poison King raised a gigantic claw of venomous insects, leaving even Horse-Face Ghost reluctant to fight as the group faced imminent danger.

• Horse-Face Ghost used Yin Sha Deathly Qi to expose and repel a poisonous blade-like limb, and Yan Libing warned the group that the Poison Mountain concealed a dangerous attacker.
• Meng Zhao considered whether the hidden creature’s poison pellet could strengthen Little Nine, while the Poison King launched a Mountain-Splitting Strike at the party.
• Yan Libing urged everyone to use Withered Heart Marrow to resist the pervasive poisonous power, which did not threaten Meng Zhao or Horse-Face Ghost.
• The Poison King gathered the venomous insects into a gigantic claw, terrifying the Lei Family members and making even Horse-Face Ghost fear the coming fight.

Horse-Face Ghost attacked the hidden Poison King while Meng Zhao warned the others of danger underground. A swarm of venomous insects engulfed the group, but Yan Libing escaped and found Lei Chongfeng already beyond the swarm.

• Horse-Face Ghost summoned his divine saber and unleashed a snow-filled attack against the Poison King's giant claw.
• Meng Zhao warned Yan Libing and the Lei Family that a threat was moving underground.
• The ground softened and erupted, releasing an immense swarm of poisonous, bee-like insects that surrounded the group.
• Yan Libing used Elixir Heart Azure Fire to burn through the insects and escape their encirclement.
• Yan Libing saw that Lei Chongfeng had escaped the swarm even more easily than he had.

Meng Zhao watched the Lei Family experts suffer heavy losses while Horse-Face Ghost battled the hidden Poison King. Horse-Face Ghost warned the others to find or destroy the creature quickly, leaving them to decide how to protect themselves.

• Yan Libing grew suspicious of Meng Zhao, while the Lei Family experts escaped the poisonous insect cloud with two dead and the survivors badly injured.
• The Lei Family elder gave Meng Zhao his recorded notes, and Meng Zhao accepted them without promising to protect the remaining experts.
• Meng Zhao considered whether Horse-Face Ghost could be recruited, but recognized that the Poison King was steadily eroding his strength.
• Horse-Face Ghost drove back the Poison King's poisonous claw, warned everyone to find its true body or destroy it, and resumed his attack.
• The Lei Family members and Yan Libing, alarmed by Horse-Face Ghost's warning, turned their attention to their own survival.

Yan Libing used Withered Heart Marrow and his essence blood to lure out the hidden Poison King, whose infant-like cry drove the Lei Family experts to kill themselves. Meng Zhao alone welcomed the cry because it stirred the Eclosion Worm, and he resolved to find its source.

• Yan Libing and the Lei Family experts searched for the Poison King's true body, while Meng Zhao sensed a vast but possibly deceptive aura hidden in the darkness.
• Yan Libing proposed gathering their remaining Withered Heart Marrow and using his essence blood to lure the Poison King out.
• Yan Libing infused the Withered Heart Marrow with his black-and-white essence blood, creating a blood-red bait with a powerful scent.
• An infant-like cry sounded through the Poisonous Cave Space, filling everyone but Meng Zhao with terror and despair.
• The two Lei Family experts killed themselves under the cry, while Yan Libing resisted it with his demonic and Confucian hearts.
• Meng Zhao felt the cry stir the Eclosion Worm and decided to find its source so he could trigger a transformation.

Yan Libing and Meng Zhao faced the Poison King after its cry had harmed Yan Libing and driven the Lei Family pair to suicide. The Poison King revealed a monstrous three-headed, six-armed form, and while Yan Libing feared they could not defeat it, Meng Zhao sensed it would be a great tonic for the Eclosion Worm and suspected it had formed from a powerful poison cultivator’s lingering will.

• Yan Libing noticed that Meng Zhao remained unharmed by the infant-like cry and grew suspicious of Lei Chongfeng’s abnormal resilience.
• The Poison King emerged from black-and-red mist as a towering creature with three heads and six arms.
• Yan Libing recognized the Poison King as a taboo existence born from the poisonous creatures in the isolated Poison Grotto and feared the Great Scholar's Handwriting might not defeat it.
• Meng Zhao sensed the Eclosion Worm yearning for the Poison King and realized the creature could serve as a great tonic.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that the Poison King’s near-human form suggested it had arisen from the remnant body and lingering will of a powerful poison cultivator.

Yan Libing unleashed the Great Scholar's Handwriting against the Bizarre Poison King, filling the Poisonous Cave Space with Vast Righteousness. The attack devastated the surrounding threats but could not guarantee the Poison King's defeat, while Meng Zhao secretly studied the Confucian power.

• Yan Libing faced the Poison King and summoned the Great Scholar's Handwriting as three infant-like cries rang out.
• The Handwriting unleashed a river of Vast Righteousness that tore through the Poisonous Cave Space and struck the Poison King.
• The Poison King met the attack with a dark-green canopy, and their collision sent shockwaves that swept Horse-Face Ghost away and destroyed the poisonous claws.
• Meng Zhao concealed himself by devouring the surrounding forces and comprehended the Handwriting's Confucian power.
• Meng Zhao realized the Handwriting's power was limited and that Yan Libing's attack might still be insufficient to destroy the Poison King.

Meng Zhao explained that the Poison King was recovering by consuming the Poison Grotto’s origin, having been created by the will of a dead yet unstiffened Heavenly Man. Yan Libing and the Horse-Face Ghost pinned their hopes on Meng Zhao, but the chapter left them facing the still-recovering monster with its nature revealed.

• The Poison King began rapidly restoring its melted heads and severed arms by drawing on the Poisonous Cave Space’s energy.
• Yan Libing urged Meng Zhao to act, and the injured Horse-Face Ghost returned and offered the strength of one final peak strike.
• Meng Zhao asked whether they knew the monster’s origin, then produced black soil and explained that the Poison Grotto came from a Heavenly Man’s corpse.
• Meng Zhao revealed that the Poison King was sustained by the dead Heavenly Man’s will and that its recovery was draining the Poison Grotto’s origin.

Meng Zhao explained that the monster was being prepared as a body for a remnant Heavenly Being Primordial Spirit, then revealed his identity to Yan Libing and the Horse-Face Ghost after they pledged to repay him for saving them. They recognized him as the Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King, though Yan Libing remained wary of why Meng Zhao had disguised himself as Lei Chongfeng.

• The Horse-Face Ghost questioned why the remnant Primordial Spirit would risk the Poison Grotto's origin, and Meng Zhao explained that it wanted to seize the monster's body and be reborn.
• Meng Zhao said he could flee the monster but feared the Poison Grotto's Lesser Heavenly Dao Will, leaving open whether he would save Yan Libing and the Horse-Face Ghost.
• Yan Libing and the Horse-Face Ghost each promised to serve Meng Zhao in return for his help.
• Meng Zhao transformed from Lei Chongfeng into his true form, and Yan Libing and the Horse-Face Ghost recognized him as Meng Zhao, the Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King.
• Yan Libing felt reassured by Meng Zhao's strength but wondered why he had concealed his identity and allowed Lei Family experts to die.

Meng Zhao forced Yan Libing and Horse-Face Ghost to pledge themselves to the Meng Family, then demonstrated his overwhelming power by destroying the Bizarre Poison King with a single finger. Yan Libing and Horse-Face Ghost were left stunned by the creature’s effortless annihilation.

• Yan Libing knelt and pledged to join the Meng Family and serve Dragon King Meng.
• Horse-Face Ghost agreed to serve Meng Zhao and offered to persuade other Yin Mountain Lineage experts to join him.
• Meng Zhao explained that the Bizarre Poison King’s power remained at the Grandmaster level despite its strength and ability to recover.
• Meng Zhao used the Qiong Tian Seal and a single finger to shatter the Bizarre Poison King and burn it to ash.
• Yan Libing and Horse-Face Ghost stood dumbfounded at Meng Zhao’s display of power.

After Meng Zhao destroyed the Bizarre Poison King, he absorbed the creature’s concentrated essence and gained an opportunity to undergo another transformation. The remnant will of the powerful being behind the Poison King appeared in the sky as a blood-red eye, leaving Yan Libing and Horse-Face Ghost shaken while Meng Zhao saw a chance to study it.

• Horse-Face Ghost and Yan Libing marveled at Meng Zhao’s power and feared how far his abilities might develop.
• Meng Zhao retrieved the milky-white essence left by the Bizarre Poison King, and the Eclosion Worm devoured it.
• Meng Zhao realized the essence would let him undergo Self-Imprisonment Cocoon again, though he decided the timing was not right.
• The sky darkened and filled with crimson lightning as Meng Zhao explained that the Poison King had been cultivated as a vessel for a powerful being’s possession and rebirth.
• A blood-red vertical pupil appeared in the sky, nearly shattering Yan Libing’s mind, while Meng Zhao recognized the danger and the chance to study the remnant will.