Chapter Summaries

The Soul Puppet's true body summoned two rings that Lu Feng identified as Life and Death Rings, then forced the group into a cruel trial. As black shadows tormented those in the supposed Life Ring, Lu Feng realized the rings were designed to make him watch his companions suffer, and he raged against the Soul Puppet's true body.

• Lu Feng recognized the two rings as possible Life and Death Rings, while the group struggled to understand why the Soul Puppet's true body had summoned them.
• After the Soul Puppet's true body shrank the ring surrounded by black shadows, Lu Feng chose to enter it, hoping his sacrifice might end the ordeal or protect Tang Yuan and the others.
• The small ring immobilized Lu Feng, while the larger ring trapped Tang Yuan, Sun Fu, Feng Li, Qian Meng, Qian Xin, and Xiao Yixue.
• Black shadows invaded Xiao Yixue's, Qian Xin's, and Feng Li's souls, causing them intense agony as Lu Feng remained unable to move.
• Tang Yuan realized the Soul Puppet's true body meant to make them watch their companions suffer, and the group discovered that she understood their words.
• When black shadows attacked Tang Yuan too, Lu Feng angrily demanded that the Soul Puppet's true body stop and threatened to kill her.

Lu Feng used the Soul Guiding Technique to draw the shadow Soul Puppets away from his companions, but their attacks pushed him to the brink. After the Soul Puppet split in two, the gray one entered Lu Feng’s soul sea, and he collapsed as his allies feared he had died.

• Lu Feng lured the shadows into his soul sea and used his Spirit Gang Exorcism Dharma and a Spirit Soul Array to contain them, while his companions realized he had saved them by taking their attacks.
• The Soul Puppet released a vast swarm of shadows at Lu Feng, but he remained alive, leaving the Soul Puppet agitated and apparently unable to kill him.
• The Soul Puppet tore open its chest and split into black and gray bodies, and the black one tried to stop the gray one from approaching Lu Feng.
• The gray Soul Puppet entered Lu Feng’s soul sea, and Lu Feng suffered bleeding from his seven apertures as Tang Yuan and the others watched helplessly.
• Lu Feng’s strange glimmer faded and he closed his eyes, leaving Qian Xin and Tang Yuan terrified that he had died.

Sima Yiyi saved the group from the Life Ring and recounted her history with her younger sister Sima Yao Yao and Hu Wenbin, while Tang Yuan questioned her account. As Lu Feng’s Death Ring began to crack apart, Sima Yiyi warned that Sima Yao Yao had taken control of his body and urged everyone to kill her.

• Sima Yiyi helped the group break free of the Life Ring, then collapsed from weakness.
• Sima Yiyi told Tang Yuan that Sima Yao Yao had killed Lu Feng and that Hu Wenbin was her benefactor.
• Sima Yiyi described how Hu Wenbin won her family’s favor, married Sima Yao Yao, and became head of the Sima Family before giving her Crimson Nan City.
• Sima Yiyi claimed Sima Yao Yao had tried to steal her body and that Hu Wenbin sealed her inside Sima Yiyi’s soul sea.
• Lu Feng’s Death Ring began to crack, and Sima Yiyi warned that Sima Yao Yao had seized his body and could kill them all.

Lu Feng woke after sealing the Soul Puppets, and Tang Yuan and the others rejected Sima Yiyi’s claim that he had been possessed when she fled rather than choose between two bottles. Lu Feng explained that Sima Yao Yao had helped him escape the Soul Puppets, revealed that his body and strength remained badly weakened, and recounted her account of the sisters’ past; the group then asked how the secret realm had been created.

• Tang Yuan and Qian Xin defended Lu Feng when Sima Yiyi urged the others to kill him, and Lu Feng insisted that he had sealed Sima Yao Yao.
• Tang Yuan questioned Lu Feng about a private matter, then offered Lu Feng and Sima Yiyi two bottles to choose from; Sima Yiyi refused and escaped through the passageway.
• Tang Yuan discovered that Lu Feng’s body had gone limp, and Lu Feng explained that the Soul Puppets in his seal still suppressed his Soul Consciousness and left him unable to move.
• Lu Feng told Tang Yuan and Qian Xin that Sima Yao Yao had helped him seal the Soul Puppets to save herself, though his strength would be greatly diminished even after he recovered.
• Lu Feng relayed Sima Yao Yao’s account that Sima Yiyi had become delusional, possessed her younger sister, and used Evil Arts to sustain herself by devouring life souls.
• Qian Xin asked Lu Feng whether Sima Yao Yao had explained how the secret realm came to exist.

Lu Feng explained the secret realm’s origins and its dangerous passages before his group crossed safely into an ancient city and stopped to rest. Unable to sense Jiang Ruoyun through their severed contract, he feared for her as she and Si Kongtong faced another Bronze Armor in a sealed chamber.

• Lu Feng revealed that Sima Yao Yao had sacrificed herself to suppress the Soul Puppets and had made him promise to protect worthy Si Ma Clan descendants and preserve the Thirty-Six Heavens Execution Grand Array.
• Lu Feng explained that four passages crossed the realm’s heavenly curtains, with two leading to safety and two to danger, and that special keys containing the clan’s Source Blood Essence could shield their bearers.
• Tang Yuan carried the injured Lu Feng through a passage, and the group emerged into daylight on an ancient street beside a vast lake.
• Qian Xin persuaded the group to rest so Lu Feng could recover, while Tang Yuan planned to scout ahead; Lu Feng could not sense Jiang Ruoyun but believed she was alive.
• In a sealed Stone Chamber, Jiang Ruoyun insisted on facing the Bronze Armor herself because Si Kongtong was pregnant and badly injured.
• The Bronze Ring opened, and a Bronze Armor emerged as Jiang Ruoyun prepared to fight while Si Kongtong supported her.

Jiang Ruoyun and Si Kongtong defeated a Bronze Armor after it adapted to their earlier tactics, then worried that stronger enemies could overwhelm them before help arrived. While resting, Si Kongtong revealed that her unborn child’s father was a good man who did not know she was pregnant, and that he was the only man who had ever touched her.

• Jiang Ruoyun and Si Kongtong fought a Bronze Armor whose heart mark was protected, and it dodged their familiar coordinated attack as if it had learned from past battles.
• Jiang Ruoyun struck Bronze Armor again to open its defense, allowing Si Kongtong to pierce its heart mark with a flying awl and destroy it.
• Jiang Ruoyun and Si Kongtong feared that increasingly capable Bronze Armors, or Silver or Gold Armors, would kill them before Red Jie and Aunt Rong arrived.
• Jiang Ruoyun apologized for the danger and asked Si Kongtong about her child’s father, offering to help if he had wronged her.
• Si Kongtong told Jiang Ruoyun that the father was an outstanding man who had supported her as Bottle Spirit Sect’s leader, but that he did not know she was pregnant.
• Si Kongtong clarified that the child was his and that he was the only man who had ever touched her.

Si Kongtong told Jiang Ruoyun that Lu Feng was the man who had fathered her child, and Jiang Ruoyun realized he was her beloved Feng Gege. Torn between jealousy and compassion, Jiang Ruoyun initially left Si Kongtong to face Silver Armor alone, but finally rushed in to protect her.

• Jiang Ruoyun learned that Si Kongtong had concealed Lu Feng's memories after an accidental encounter in a tomb, and that she now regretted not telling him about the child.
• Si Kongtong revealed that the man was Lu Feng, the Azure Mountain Sword Sect leader known as Benevolent Heart Asura, and Jiang Ruoyun realized he was her Feng Gege.
• Jiang Ruoyun reacted with shock and resentment, then withdrew as Silver Armor emerged and attacked the injured Si Kongtong.
• Si Kongtong dodged Silver Armor while protecting her unborn child, and Jiang Ruoyun watched, torn between letting the danger silence the secret and intervening.
• Jiang Ruoyun finally rushed in with the Immortal Silk Five-Petal Brocade and attacked Silver Armor to protect Si Kongtong.

Jiang Ruoyun defeated the Silver Armor after falling into a demonic state, then revealed that she knew Si Kongtong had feelings for Lu Feng. She asked Si Kongtong to tell Lu Feng about their past and let his response decide whether Jiang Ruoyun would withdraw.

• Jiang Ruoyun's attacks slowed, but Demonic Qi surged through her and she overwhelmed the Silver Armor, breaking its silver ring mark and destroying it.
• Jiang Ruoyun stopped Si Kongtong from approaching, then returned with her aura calm and briefly visible red patterns on her cheek.
• Jiang Ruoyun apologized for her earlier behavior and told Si Kongtong she knew she had been considering stealing Lu Feng, her partner.
• Jiang Ruoyun said Si Kongtong should tell Lu Feng about their past romance and pregnancy without revealing that Jiang Ruoyun already knew.
• Jiang Ruoyun said she would withdraw if Lu Feng chose Si Kongtong, but insisted that she needed to learn his true feelings.
• Si Kongtong vowed to protect Jiang Ruoyun, who refused to let her sacrifice herself and said she did not want to owe her.

Jiang Ruoyun and Si Kongtong faced Gold Armor as Si Kongtong used the life-draining Ten Finger Lock to restrain it, sacrificing herself to protect her unborn child. Gold Armor survived and Jiang Ruoyun revealed her Blood Clan markings, while Si Kongtong resolved to warn Lu Feng if she could escape.

• Gold Armor overwhelmed Jiang Ruoyun and wounded Si Kongtong, who bound it with her forbidden Ten Finger Lock technique.
• Jiang Ruoyun shattered Gold Armor's forehead mark, but it broke free and blasted Si Kongtong aside, leaving her gravely injured and threatening her unborn child.
• Si Kongtong urged Jiang Ruoyun to save the child, and Jiang Ruoyun discovered a cocoon of life force protecting the fetus in Si Kongtong's abdomen.
• Gold Armor rose again after the rings vanished, and Jiang Ruoyun's crimson markings spread across her face as she charged at it.
• Si Kongtong recognized Jiang Ruoyun as a member of the Blood Clan and resolved to survive long enough to warn Lu Feng.

Lu Feng and the others found Tang Yuan bloodied after an encounter with a mysterious youth and powerful arrays, but Tang Yuan had survived and reached the seventh level of the Nine Revolutions Undying Art. His account led Lu Feng to identify the arrays as possibly connected to Thousand Mountains and A Glimmer of Hope, with the latter linked to Moonflower Immortal of the Saint Sect.

• Lu Feng sensed distress through the bonded array and went with Qian Meng and the others to find Tang Yuan trapped in an array.
• They found Tang Yuan standing in a pool of blood, but he warned Lu Feng not to approach and revealed that the Nine Revolutions Undying Art had reached its seventh level.
• Tang Yuan recovered by absorbing the blood Qi around him and explained that a strange youth had lured him through an illusion array before he encountered a Gravity Suppression Array.
• Qian Meng and Sun Fu suspected the first array was Thousand Mountains, whose array diagram had been bought by an unknown Rogue Cultivator.
• Lu Feng recognized the possible pairing of Thousand Mountains and A Glimmer of Hope and recalled that A Glimmer of Hope was linked to Moonflower Immortal of the Saint Sect in the Sacred Domain.

Lu Feng and his companions followed Profound Mist Mountain’s Dividing Profound Mist Realm and found Ye Lingfei dead by the river. The group reunited with Su Qing'er and discovered that Si Ma Ye and Mu Rong Yu had lost the key that might help them escape.

• Lu Feng suspected the Rogue Cultivator who bought Thousand Mountains' formation blueprint was connected to Moonflower Immortal, then agreed to investigate the mist drifting across the lake.
• Tang Yuan carried the injured Lu Feng toward the opposite shore, where the group identified Flying Catkins True Person and found Ye Lingfei dead with a mark on her neck.
• Lu Feng and Su Qing'er recognized each other, and Su Qing'er tried to approach him before Wu Yin stopped her and urged her to be reserved.
• Qian Meng confronted Si Ma Ye and Mu Rong Yu and demanded the key they had mentioned at Carefree Pavilion.
• Si Ma Ye admitted the key was no longer in his possession, and Mu Rong Yu claimed a villain had seized their storage artifacts, prompting Qian Meng to demand an account of what had happened.

The group learned that the riverfront street secretly looped back and that Profound Mist Mountain was searching for a passage through the lake into the Inner City's true center. Flying Catkins True Person triggered the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array, and Lu Feng began explaining how it worked as she scrutinized him and reconsidered his resemblance to someone from her past.

• Si Ma Ye and Mu Rong Yu said an unknown attacker had knocked them unconscious and stolen their storage artifacts, while Ye Lingfei's corpse had been left beside them.
• Wu Ying explained that the riverfront street floated atop a rotating ring, causing travelers to return to their starting point, and that crossing the rain curtain sent people into the lake.
• Su Qing'er told Lu Feng that Flying Catkins True Person had detected a lake array concealing a passage to the Inner City's center.
• Flying Catkins True Person accidentally activated the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array, causing numerous water columns of different heights to rise from the lake.
• Lu Feng explained that the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array was an entrapment array made of shifting stakes, while Flying Catkins True Person studied him and found that he resembled someone she remembered but lacked that person's worldly experience.

Lu Feng and the others investigated the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array, whose shifting water pillars contained changing array patterns and could collapse beneath anyone who lingered too long. Zhe An discovered that moving between pillars avoided the danger, and the group began to understand the array as an opportunity to study its patterns.

• Flying Catkins True Person told the Profound Mist Mountain group to enter the array, and Zhe An found that the water pillars held hidden array patterns.
• Wu Yin leaped onto a tall pillar, which collapsed beneath him, while other disciples discovered that the patterns shifted between pillars and that a pillar could vanish when its pattern disappeared.
• Qian Xin and Su Qing'er speculated that the scattered patterns had to be joined, while Lu Feng suggested that remaining in one place might trigger the danger.
• Zhe An tested Lu Feng's suggestion by leaping between pillars and found they remained stable, but one collapsed after she waited on it through a pattern change.
• Zhe An returned to shore and explained her findings to Qian Meng's group, recognizing the array as a rare opportunity to study its patterns.

Zhe An proposed treating the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array like a complex matching game, but the group discovered that each water pillar could only be stepped on once. After Qian Xin suggested that they enter in succession and call out their findings, Zhe An leaped back into the array to try the new plan.

• Zhe An explained that the group could map and match the formation patterns in the water pillars to make them sink and reveal the passage.
• Sun Fu led the formation masters onto the pillars while Su Qing'er recorded their findings from shore; Xiao Yixue stayed behind because she feared water and asked Lu Feng to explore with her later.
• After someone fell into the water, Sun Fu realized that leaving a pillar did not reset its limit, and Wu Yin ordered everyone back to shore.
• Lu Feng wondered whether the array concealed an inheritance and watched Si Ma Ye, whose confusion deepened Lu Feng's doubts.
• Flying Catkins True Person urged Zhe An and the others to treat the array as a test, and Qian Xin proposed that they enter in succession while calling out their discoveries.
• Zhe An approved Qian Xin's plan and leaped toward the lake again.

Zhe An, Sun Fu, and Wu Yin inspected the lake’s water pillars and recorded concealed array patterns, including a dangerous Seven Kill Shura Pattern and the lost Divine Radiance Heart Pattern. Flying Catkins True Person explained that the Seven Kill Shura Pattern consisted of seven different killing patterns with no fixed order, easing Zhe An’s worry about distinguishing its parts.

• Zhe An identified and recorded many water pillars before discovering several similar, sinister patterns that left her shaken and uncertain how they connected.
• Sun Fu took over the inspection, then became entranced by the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern until Wu Yin ordered him back to shore.
• Lu Feng recognized the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern from an incomplete manual he had memorized and quietly committed its location to memory.
• Wu Yin inspected hundreds of pillars, found another section of the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern, and identified the sinister pattern as the forbidden Seven Kill Shura Pattern.
• Flying Catkins True Person told the group that the Seven Kill Shura Pattern combined seven different killing patterns in no fixed order, restoring Zhe An’s confidence.

As the group began eliminating the linked water pillars, Lu Feng seized a chance to memorize the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern while pretending to investigate an attack. Flying Catkins True Person and Su Qing'er suspected what he was doing, and the chapter ended as Flying Catkins True Person hinted that his next target would be the Seven Kill Shura Pattern.

• Sun Fu warned that new patterns might appear or water pillars might collapse during the elimination, and Lu Feng reassured everyone that the array should remain balanced.
• Zhe An and Flying Catkins True Person began eliminating matching water pillars, and the first pillar shattered while Zhe An's pillar sank as expected.
• After Zhe An eliminated dozens of pillars, two dragon-shaped water pillars struck her, and Lu Feng intervened to take over her task.
• Lu Feng deliberately lingered on the pillar containing the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern and secretly memorized its array paths and inscription order.
• Flying Catkins True Person questioned whether the Divine Radiance Heart Pattern could be memorized in a few breaths, and Su Qing'er suspected Lu Feng was doing exactly that.
• Flying Catkins True Person told Su Qing'er that Lu Feng's next pillar would correspond to the Seven Kill Shura Pattern.

Lu Feng sensed the water pillars and discovered signs that a new formation might emerge, while Flying Catkins True Person tested his ability to memorize a Seven Kill Shura Pattern. As Su Qing'er affirmed her trust in Lu Feng, her words stirred Flying Catkins True Person to reconsider whether her lost beloved might still be alive and to resolve to search for him.

• Su Qing'er arranged for Lu Feng to sense nearby ordinary water pillars first, and he discovered that submerged pillars seemed to be forming a new array.
• Lu Feng noted that Zhe An's sixtieth dispelled pillar had triggered a formation change, then began sensing a Seven Kill Shura Pattern at Flying Catkins True Person's direction.
• Flying Catkins True Person realized Lu Feng was memorizing the water-pillar patterns and warned Su Qing'er that their vast difference in strength could bring tragedy.
• Su Qing'er learned that Flying Catkins True Person had lacked the strength to stop her beloved from going to his death.
• Su Qing'er said she would believe in Lu Feng, prompting Flying Catkins True Person to wonder whether her beloved had survived and resolve to seek him out.

At the secret realm’s central Stone Altar, Yue Long discovered that its complex array was a seal rather than a treasure vault, though it concealed more than a hundred treasures. He found a way to retrieve them, but warned Yue Yan that the cost could be great.

• Xia Yiyun rejected Yue Long’s attempts to win her over and threatened to kill him if he harmed Lu Feng.
• Yue Yan summoned Yue Long to inspect the array on the Stone Altar, and Yue Long struggled to understand its many conflicting auras.
• Yue Yan secretly warned Xia Yiyun not to follow them out or grow close to Yue Long, and she answered that she would only ever feel hatred for him.
• Yue Long realized the array was a sealing formation meant to contain a dangerous force, not a treasure vault, and warned that opening it could be deadly.
• Yue Long explained that more than a hundred treasures reinforced the seal and said he knew how to retrieve them, but the price could be great.

Yue Long used a Gravity Array to help Li Taiyuan and Cang Lan retrieve treasures from the Stone Altar without collapsing its seal. As the men extracted one rare treasure after another, Yue Long teased Xia Yiyun, who rejected his offer and warned that they would not be able to keep what they took.

• Yue Long explained that retrieving the treasures could cause the array to devour Li Taiyuan and Cang Lan, but they agreed to accept the risk after learning how valuable the treasures were.
• Yue Long prepared a Gravity Array and backup measures, then instructed Li Taiyuan and Cang Lan to lift a treasure cluster and replace its force in careful balance.
• Li Taiyuan and Cang Lan successfully retrieved an Illusion Dream Crystal, an Amethyst Flame Soul, and several other rare treasures, including Gold Lightning Marrow.
• Yue Long noticed Xia Yiyun's envy and offered her a few treasures if she treated him kindly, but she rejected him and warned that they would not be able to take the treasures away.

Lu Feng eliminated the water pillars in the Officialdom Plum Blossom Array, causing a Mandarin Duck Joint Burial Coffin to rise from the lake. Si Ma Ye opened it with his blood and was gravely injured by the force inside, while Lu Feng sensed a connection to the Spirit Soul Array sealing Sima Yao Yao; the chapter ended as Su Qing'er and Flying Catkins True Person reacted in terror to a new surge of array energy.

• Yue Long assured Xia Yiyun that he had mastered the array, then gave Yue Yan his Storage Ring while reminding him to save the sweet crisps.
• Xia Yiyun remembered the fellow disciples who had died and grew bitter toward Yue Long for seeming indifferent to their deaths.
• Lu Feng eliminated the remaining water pillars as the people on shore prepared for the formation to change, while Si Ma Ye quietly approached the lake.
• A Mandarin Duck Joint Burial Coffin rose from the lake, and Si Ma Ye rushed to it and opened its seal with his blood.
• The force released by the coffin shattered Si Ma Ye's meridians, and Wu Yin froze after looking inside it.
• Lu Feng sensed a response from the Spirit Soul Array sealing Sima Yao Yao and moved toward the coffin; Su Qing'er and Flying Catkins True Person then sensed a terrifying surge of array energy.