Chapter Summaries

Bai Ye agreed to take Xuehua back to Miaojiang to retrieve the Dragon Vein, then went to help Mama Di after Uncle Jiu summoned him. Mama Di revealed that an Evil Path practitioner had taken a zombie and was making it drink the blood of his enemies, leaving Bai Ye to confront the threat.

• Xuehua convinced Bai Ye to let her stay with him, but Bai Ye said they still had to return to Miaojiang for the Dragon Vein.
• Bai Ye and the others traveled to town and found Mama Di, who explained that Uncle Jiu had asked for help.
• Mama Di said he had encountered corpse herders transporting opium and discovered that one of their corpses had turned into a Jiangshi.
• Mama Di and the group initially subdued the zombie, but an Evil Path practitioner took it and killed the seven corpse herders.
• Mama Di told Bai Ye that the practitioner had made the zombie drink the blood of his enemy and lover, and that he could no longer handle it.

Bai Ye accompanied Mama Di to confront an Evil Path cultivator who had lured him into bringing more Taoist priests to strengthen a vampire. The cultivator revealed himself, only to discover that Bai Ye—not Lin Jiu—had come, disrupting his plan.

• Mama Di explained that a clever zombie and an Evil Path cultivator had been attacking villagers, and Bai Ye agreed to deal with them.
• Bai Ye and Mama Di went to the cave, where Bai Ye sensed that the cultivator and vampire were gone and realized Mama Di had been deliberately led there.
• Bai Ye concluded that the cultivator had set traps to lure Mama Di into bringing other cultivators whose blood could strengthen the vampire.
• The Evil Path cultivator appeared behind Bai Ye and the others, then panicked when he saw Bai Ye instead of Lin Jiu.

Bai Ye confronted an Evil Path cultivator who tried to bargain for his life with information about the Dragon Vein and plans against Bai Ye. Bai Ye rejected the deal and stood firm with his companions against the Evil Path.

• Evil Path tried to flee when he realized Bai Ye had arrived, but Bai Ye stopped him with lightning.
• Bai Ye questioned Evil Path and inferred that an organization was gathering Dead Dragon Veins, including people behind the Royal Zombie.
• Evil Path offered to reveal information in exchange for Bai Ye swearing an oath to let him go, claiming the organization had begun plotting against Bai Ye.
• Mama Di warned Bai Ye not to trust the offer, while Xuehua and Ren Tingting worried about the threats against him.
• Bai Ye asked whether his companions were afraid, and they said they were not.
• Bai Ye rejected the deal, saying he would investigate the Dragon Vein himself and would never cooperate with the Evil Path.

Bai Ye defeated the Evil Path practitioner and Jiangshi, then left with his companions for Xishuangbanna to seek a Dead Dragon Vein. He went straight to Zhuge Kongping, whose wife had foretold their arrival, and found him waiting outside his home.

• Bai Ye struck down the Evil Path practitioner and Jiangshi with lightning after the practitioner gave up fleeing and warned that other enemies would pursue Bai Ye.
• Mama Di thanked Bai Ye for his help, and Bai Ye offered to handle similar troubles in the future if he was available.
• Bai Ye told Ren Tingting and the others that defeating evil earned merit but warned them not to risk their lives for it.
• In Xishuangbanna, Bai Ye explained that warlords were searching for Dead Dragon Veins because Evil Path practitioners spread a rumor linking Dragon Veins to ruling the world.
• Bai Ye led the group to Zhuge Kongping, whose wife Wang Hui had divined that distinguished guests would arrive, and found him waiting outside his home.

Bai Ye and his companions visited Zhuge Kongping, whose divination had foretold honored guests, and revealed that they had come for the Dead Dragon Vein. Zhuge Kongping tried to hide that he knew its location, but Bai Ye saw through his lie and asked him to share what he knew.

• Zhuge Kongping welcomed Bai Ye, Xuehua, and Bai Ye’s disciples, then learned Bai Ye was the famed Sect Master of the Shenxiao Sect.
• Zhuge Kongping and Wang Hui discussed the Dragon Vein and realized it had drawn Bai Ye to their home.
• Bai Ye told Zhuge Kongping he wanted the Dead Dragon Vein.
• Zhuge Kongping claimed he knew nothing about it, but Bai Ye noticed his lie and asked him to reveal its location.

Bai Ye told Zhuge Kongping that he intended to revive the Dragon Vein, and Zhuge Kongping agreed to reveal the location of the Dead Dragon Vein. Bai Ye prepared to seek it out and warned Zhuge Kongping to watch the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie.

• Zhuge Kongping admitted he was cautious about revealing the Dragon Vein and asked Bai Ye what he planned to do with it.
• Bai Ye said he intended to revive the Dragon Vein and believed he could suppress it, convincing Zhuge Kongping to trust him.
• Zhuge Kongping agreed to let Bai Ye take the Dead Dragon Vein and explained that he had discovered it by chance through a Zhuge Family secret technique.
• Zhuge Kongping warned Bai Ye that something dangerous lay beneath the Dead Dragon Vein, though he had not dared to descend.
• Bai Ye asked Zhuge Kongping for the location and warned him to keep an eye on the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie.

Bai Ye warned Zhuge Kongping that keeping the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie had damaged his fortune and would bring disaster, but the jiangshi soon broke free and attacked with a horde of ghosts. Bai Ye destroyed them with lightning, while Zhuge Kongping accepted responsibility for the deaths his research had caused.

• Bai Ye and Wang Hui warned Zhuge Kongping that the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie was harming his fortune and urged him to stop keeping it.
• The Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie broke through the courtyard, and Zhuge Kongping asked Bai Ye for help after admitting his own magic could not subdue it.
• The zombie arrived with corpses and ghosts to attack Zhuge Kongping, and Bai Ye decided to destroy them despite the possible cost to his Yin Virtue.
• Bai Ye reminded Zhuge Kongping that the deaths caused by the jiangshi would be counted against him, and Zhuge Kongping accepted responsibility.
• Bai Ye unleashed lightning and reduced the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie and its ghostly followers to ashes.

Bai Ye destroyed the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie and its allies, then agreed to let Zhuge Kongping guide the group to the Dead Dragon Vein. At the hidden mountain site, Bai Ye sensed the Dragon Vein but discovered that demons were watching it, leaving the group to decide whether to enter despite the danger below and above.

• Bai Ye destroyed the Xishuangbanna Bronze Armor Zombie and the other Jiangshi and ghosts, gaining substantial merit and warning Zhuge Kongping about his karmic debt.
• Wang Hui prompted Zhuge Kongping to offer to guide Bai Ye to the Dead Dragon Vein, and Bai Ye accepted his help.
• Bai Ye questioned how Zhuge Kongping had found such a hidden place and wondered whether someone had deliberately sent him there as a test.
• Zhuge Kongping guided Bai Ye and the others by flying sword to an abandoned mountain village, where Bai Ye confirmed that the Dragon Vein was nearby.
• Bai Ye struck the village temple with lightning to drive off yellow weasels watching the site, then explained that other demons might be waiting below and outside.
• Zhuge Kongping asked whether they should still enter the dangerous Dragon Vein site.

Bai Ye and Zhuge Kongping discovered that the damaged formation core was only a decoy and speculated that Liu Bowen had deliberately left flaws so the Dragon Vein could be revived generations later. Xuehua began considering how Miaojiang might help, but Bai Ye cautioned that Liu Bowen’s plan remained only a theory.

• Bai Ye explained that the demons were minor threats to him, while Zhuge Kongping stayed wary after being lured to the site.
• Bai Ye examined the damaged formation core and concluded that the entrance was a decoy and the true Dragon Vein could not be reached there.
• Bai Ye suspected Liu Bowen had deliberately left the formation vulnerable so descendants could revive the Dragon Vein after the dynasty fell.
• Zhuge Kongping agreed that Liu Bowen might have planned for the Dragon Vein to be restored and its fortune to remain with their descendants.
• Xuehua suggested that Miaojiang’s Saintess lineage might know about the Dragon Vein, but Bai Ye warned that his theory was unconfirmed.

Bai Ye and his companions entered the hidden chamber beneath the formation, where he dispelled a phantom Wicked Dragon and met Liu Bowen. Liu Bowen revealed he had waited for someone worthy to revive the Dragon Vein and asked Bai Ye to do so.

• Bai Ye opened the concealed entrance, while the demons outside debated whether to follow or wait for him to return.
• Bai Ye seized the attacking Wicked Dragon and made it vanish, explaining that it was a dead Dragon formed from resentment and served as a test.
• Bai Ye led the group through the points of light, where they met Liu Bowen, who confirmed he had been waiting for someone capable of reviving the Dragon Vein.
• Liu Bowen explained that he had severed the Dragon Vein to protect the Great Ming Dynasty and that Zhu Yuanzhang had left a contingency plan for its eventual revival.
• Liu Bowen asked Bai Ye whether he intended to revive the Dragon Vein, believing Bai Ye was worthy of the responsibility.

Bai Ye learned Liu Bowen’s method for reviving the Dragon Veins and accepted responsibility for restoring them, though their power would only sustain a few Cave Heaven Blessed Lands. After leaving the secret realm, Bai Ye confronted demons who had gathered to seize the Dragon Vein, and they feared his response.

• Liu Bowen warned Bai Ye that reviving the Dragon Vein would not restore Spiritual Energy fully, and Bai Ye accepted that it would sustain only a few Cave Heaven Blessed Lands.
• Zhuge Kongping and the others left while Liu Bowen gave Bai Ye the revival method and the Dragon Vein, warning him to verify whether the other Dragon Veins still existed.
• Liu Bowen dissipated, and Bai Ye told Xuehua and Zhuge Kongping that he had learned how to revive the Dragon Veins and would remember Zhuge Kongping’s contribution.
• Bai Ye and his companions left the secret realm as its power faded after Liu Bowen handed over the Dragon Vein.
• The demons outside debated fleeing or attacking Bai Ye, and the tiger demon openly proposed taking the Dragon Vein by force.
• Bai Ye confronted the demons, and they pleaded that they were harmless as he reminded them they had planned to attack him.

Bai Ye spared the monsters who had coveted the Dragon Vein and explained to Ren Tingting and the others that killing harmless beings could damage their merit. After parting ways with Zhuge Kongping, Bai Ye accepted the tiger demon as a follower, named it Da Bai, and set off for Miaojiang with his group.

• Bai Ye chose not to attack the monsters, and they fled after promising to stay in their caves and cultivate.
• Bai Ye explained that harming good monsters could create karmic debt and told the group to judge Ghosts carefully rather than kill them blindly.
• Bai Ye and Zhuge Kongping parted ways, while Bai Ye privately worried about his missing senior sister.
• The tiger demon begged to follow Bai Ye, and Bai Ye accepted it and named it Da Bai.
• Bai Ye's group left for Miaojiang, leaving the other monsters amazed that Da Bai had been taken in.

Bai Ye and Xuehua returned to Miaojiang, where Grandma Xuehua confronted her about running away. After Bai Ye explained Liu Bowen’s request to revive the Dragon Veins, Grandma Xuehua considered whether Miaojiang’s Dragon Vein should be taken away.

• Xuehua worried about facing her grandma, but Grandma Xuehua met them at the village entrance and reproached her for leaving without warning.
• Xuehua apologized, and Grandma Xuehua said she had feared Xuehua was in danger.
• Xuehua told her grandma that they had met Liu Bowen, and Bai Ye explained that Liu Bowen had tasked him with reviving the Dragon Veins.
• Bai Ye said he wanted to take Miaojiang’s Dragon Vein because leaving it there could put Miaojiang at risk as the struggle over Dragon Veins intensified.
• Grandma Xuehua considered whether Xuehua and Bai Ye were telling the truth and recalled Miaojiang’s prophecy about someone who could revive the Dragon Veins.

Bai Ye received Miaojiang’s Dead Dragon Vein from Grandma Xuehua, who explained that Liu Bowen had entrusted it to the Saintesses for his inheritor. Miaojiang’s hidden faction and the Evil Path organization then reacted to losing track of Bai Ye and argued over whether to surrender their own Dragon Vein, ending without deciding who would guard it or face him.

• Grandma Xuehua confirmed that Bai Ye had inherited Liu Bowen’s legacy and handed him Miaojiang’s Dead Dragon Vein, bringing his total to three portions.
• Grandma Xuehua told Bai Ye that Miaojiang had guarded the Dragon Vein for generations and offered him help as he pursued its revival.
• Miaojiang’s hidden faction discovered that its tracking method no longer sensed Bai Ye and decided to wait for him to attempt reviving the Dragon Vein.
• The Evil Path headquarters learned that Bai Ye’s location was unknown and debated whether to give him the Dragon Vein they possessed.
• The Evil Path members realized their Miaojiang contact might benefit whichever side prevailed, then argued over who would guard their Dragon Vein and fight Bai Ye.

The factions holding a Dragon Vein planned to use Shi Shaojian to provoke a conflict between Shi Jian and Bai Ye, while Shi Jian reluctantly allowed his son to leave Maoshan before the Daoist Sect Grand Tournament. The chapter ended with Uncle Jiu’s group welcoming Simu, Jia Le, and Master Yixiu to Maoshan.

• The Dragon Vein holders decided to keep their Dragon Vein for now and scheme to turn Shi Jian and Bai Ye against each other by exploiting Shi Shaojian.
• Shi Jian questioned Shi Shaojian for wanting to leave Maoshan so close to the Daoist Sect Grand Tournament, but ultimately allowed him one more trip down the mountain.
• Shi Shaojian eagerly left after promising Shi Jian he would return soon and focus on cultivation afterward.
• Qiusheng and Wencai noticed Shi Shaojian leaving, while Ah Wei claimed he recognized Shi Shaojian’s questionable behavior from his own past.
• Simu, Jia Le, and Master Yixiu arrived at Maoshan, interrupting Uncle Jiu as he was about to discipline Ah Wei.

Uncle Jiu and Bai Ye prepared to attend the Daoist Sect Grand Tournament, while Xuehua got permission from Grandma to travel with Bai Ye. In a group chat, the Byakuya counterparts discussed their plans, including the upcoming KOF tournament and the risks of confronting Orochi.

• Master Yixiu insisted on joining Uncle Jiu and Daoist Simu despite Simu's complaints, and Uncle Jiu welcomed him.
• Qiusheng and Wencai considered following Shi Shaojian off the mountain, but Uncle Jiu's warning made them stay; Uncle Jiu then contacted Bai Ye about the tournament.
• Bai Ye agreed to attend later, and Xuehua persuaded Grandma to let her travel with him despite unfinished rituals.
• Bai Ye decided to remain in Miaojiang for now and investigate its mysteries before leaving for the tournament.
• Zombie Byakuya said he had collected three Dragon Veins but expected the remaining ones to be harder, while King of Fighters Byakuya announced his KOF '97 tournament and planned to serve as its final boss.
• The Byakuya counterparts discussed Orochi's possible revival and the danger of facing him, while Hokage Byakuya considered releasing Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Bai Ye weighed the risks of unsealing Kaguya Otsutsuki, then left the group chat to talk with Mai Shiranui before the KOF97 Tournament. Mai planned to compete with Chizuru Kagura and King, but told Bai Ye she wanted to retire from tournaments afterward so they could focus on having a child.

• Bai Ye decided that keeping Kaguya Otsutsuki sealed was safest because he could not trust her to cooperate.
• The Byakuyas discussed their urge to stir up trouble or court death, and King of Fighters Byakuya left the chat to prepare for the tournament.
• Bai Ye caught Mai Shiranui trying to leave, and she insisted she had only planned to go because King wanted her to come along.
• Mai Shiranui told Bai Ye she had formed the New Female Fighters Team with Chizuru Kagura and King and wanted to compete in the KOF97 Tournament for fun.
• Mai Shiranui said she would stop competing after the tournament because she wanted to have a baby with Bai Ye, then hurried off to meet her teammates.

Mai Shiranui joined King and Chizuru Kagura for the KOF Tournament, and the three discussed Chizuru’s sponsorship and her relationship with Bai Ye. Chizuru denied having romantic feelings for him, then urged the team to train as King wondered whether Bai Ye had grown stronger since last year.

• Bai Ye accepted that he could handle having a child with Mai Shiranui, even though he did not feel ready for parenthood.
• Mai Shiranui arrived at King’s bar, where King and Chizuru Kagura questioned why Bai Ye had not come with her.
• Mai Shiranui and King suspected Chizuru Kagura was interested in Bai Ye, but Chizuru said they were only friends and explained that she sponsored the tournament for her own reasons.
• Mai Shiranui said she did not mind if Chizuru liked Bai Ye, leaving King and Chizuru stunned.
• Chizuru suggested the team train together, while King asked whether Bai Ye was still as strong as he had been the previous year.

Before the KOF Tournament, King asked Mai Shiranui to get Bai Ye to go easy on her, while Goro Daimon agreed to return to Sakura and help revive judo after the tournament. As Andy and Joe headed back to compete, Terry remained uncertain about joining them and prayed at Jeff Bogard’s grave until Blue Mary found him.

• King asked Mai Shiranui how strong Bai Ye had become and persuaded her to ask him to go easy during the tournament, though Mai regretted agreeing.
• Goro Daimon promised his former judo teacher he would return to Sakura after the KOF Tournament and help restore judo.
• Benimaru Nikaido worried that he was falling behind Kyo Kusanagi, while Kyo woke from a nightmare in which darkness overcame him.
• Andy and Joe Higashi prepared to return for the tournament, hoping their training would help them face Bai Ye, and learned Terry would follow later.
• Terry prayed at Jeff Bogard’s grave, unsure whether to join the tournament, when Blue Mary stopped and greeted him.

Terry resolved to enter the KOF Tournament after speaking with Mary, who planned to investigate Ryo Yamazaki there. After an attack devastated the Kyokugenryu Dojo, Takuma Sakazaki ordered Ryo, Yuri, and Robert to enter the tournament to draw students and prove the style’s strength.

• Terry met Mary at a place of mourning and said he was unsure whether to enter the KOF Tournament.
• Mary told Terry she planned to participate to pursue Ryo Yamazaki, and Terry decided to join the tournament.
• Takuma Sakazaki returned to the Kyokugenryu Dojo and found its sign smashed and its disciples beaten after an attack by an unknown assailant.
• Takuma Sakazaki called Ryo, Yuri, and Robert back, concealed his encounter with the mysterious man, and ordered them to investigate before seeking revenge.
• Takuma Sakazaki told Ryo, Yuri, and Robert to form a team for the KOF Tournament to attract students and demonstrate Kyokugenryu’s strength.
• Ryo and Robert agreed to enter, and Yuri reluctantly joined them despite fearing another fight against Bai Ye.