Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Couldn’t Handle It”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun is initially willing to lend the Soul-Refining Lamp to Ji Shengtian, since it is effective against Soul Bodies, natural enemies of human cultivators. However, Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong object, arguing that Feng Jun should show restraint and avoid establishing a precedent of freely lending such a powerful treasure.
• Feng ultimately agrees because cultivating the Netherworld Domain himself would take at least two years, which is impractical. Ji Shengtian also promises to bear the Domain Causality generated by using the lamp.
• Ji Shengtian negotiates for a larger share of the rewards. Feng raises his share from the original amount by one percent, but Ji demands ten percent. The Mirror Spirit angrily agrees, telling him to take the entire ten percent and handle the operation alone.
• Because the Ji Family’s reward increases substantially, it sends additional True Immortals to the Netherworld Domain. Ji Shengtian leads a nine-person team consisting of himself, three True Immortals, and five Gold Core cultivators.
• The team initially succeeds spectacularly, using the lamp to sweep through Soul Bodies and gather soul qi. Some Gold Core cultivators become arrogant, claiming that the lamp is the only reason Feng Jun’s group is so effective, while the more experienced cultivators warn them not to underestimate the difference between possessing and refining such a treasure.
• On the fourth day, the team is ambushed. The Soul Bodies, having apparently observed the Ji Family’s activities, coordinate with numerous Celestial Demons. More than a dozen Nascent Soul-level Soul Bodies and Celestial Demons, along with hundreds of Gold Core-level enemies, surround the team.
• The attackers divide their objectives: Soul Bodies restrain Ji Shengtian, while Celestial Demons focus on killing or mentally compromising the Ji Family cultivators. The strategy exploits the fact that Celestial Demons are particularly skilled at manipulating human emotions.
• Ji Shengtian reacts furiously and kills several powerful Soul Bodies with his Divine Soul and the Ji Family’s Soul Purification Art. He then realizes that Celestial Demons are part of the ambush.
• Concerned that the attack may target him and remembering the danger of losing top combat power, Ji Shengtian becomes defensive rather than immediately committing himself to rescuing everyone. He protects one True Immortal and the Gold Core cultivator operating the lamp while cautiously counterattacking.
• By the time he takes full control of the battle and seizes the lamp himself, it is too late. The enemies retreat under the lamp’s suppression, but the Ji Family suffers catastrophic casualties:
  • Two Gold Core cultivators die.
  • One Gold Core cultivator is seriously injured and another lightly injured.
  • One True Immortal suffers devastating Nascent Soul damage and can likely only reincarnate.
  • Another True Immortal is severely wounded and has a contaminated Divine Soul.
  • A defensive True Artifact is destroyed while protecting one cultivator.
• Ji Shengtian is forced to retreat with the survivors, returning in disgrace after failing to protect the team.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun shows practical judgment. Although generous and initially unconcerned about lending the lamp, he accepts the need for restraint and agrees only because the arrangement saves him considerable time while shifting the causality burden to Ji Shengtian.
• Ji Shengtian is revealed as powerful but cautious and deeply responsible toward the Ji Family. His hesitation stems from fear of losing another major clan asset, but this caution causes him to delay his rescue efforts and contributes directly to the team’s disastrous losses.
• The Mirror Spirit displays its prideful, confrontational nature. It is willing to sacrifice part of its share rather than tolerate Ji Shengtian’s aggressive demands. Its reaction also shows its strategic intelligence: by refusing to participate, it can reduce its workload while preserving much of its benefit.
• The Ji Family’s Gold Core cultivators initially become overconfident after seeing how easily the lamp destroys Soul Bodies. Their arrogance contrasts with the caution of the older cultivators and makes their later defeat more tragic.
• The Ji Family’s experienced cultivators understand that the lamp’s effectiveness does not eliminate the need for vigilance. Their warnings prove correct when the team is ambushed.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong act as stabilizing influences, attempting to prevent Feng Jun from creating an unhealthy precedent and recognizing the risks of the transaction.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Possessing a powerful treasure does not automatically grant the judgment, coordination, or experience needed to use it safely.
• The danger of overconfidence: The Ji Family’s early success causes some members to underestimate their enemies, setting the stage for the ambush.
• Caution versus decisive action: Ji Shengtian’s concern for preserving top-level combat power is reasonable, but excessive caution at the critical moment prevents him from protecting the weaker members of his team.
• The strategic value of cooperation: Soul Bodies and Celestial Demons coordinate effectively despite their differences, demonstrating that enemies with different strengths can become far more dangerous when their roles are divided.
• Pride and negotiation: The dispute over the reward shares reflects the importance of status and dignity. The Mirror Spirit’s anger is driven less by material loss than by perceived disrespect.
• The burden of leadership: Ji Shengtian’s body and strength belong not only to himself but also to his clan. His dilemma highlights how leaders must balance personal courage against their obligation to preserve the group’s future.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun, Xuanyuan Buqi, and Qian Zhong debate whether lending out the Soul-Refining Lamp is appropriate, with the latter two urging restraint.
• Feng Jun and Ji Shengtian negotiate the reward share, eventually increasing Ji’s portion before the Mirror Spirit angrily challenges the demand for ten percent.
• The Mirror Spirit’s refusal to participate pressures Ji Shengtian to accept responsibility for operating the lamp and handling the mission independently.
• Within the Ji Family team, arrogant Gold Core cultivators dismiss Feng Jun’s contribution, while older cultivators rebuke them and emphasize the rarity and importance of the lamp.
• During the ambush, the Soul Bodies deliberately restrain Ji Shengtian while the Celestial Demons attack the rest of the team, exploiting the conflict between his duty to rescue his disciples and his need to protect himself.
• Ji Shengtian’s decision to prioritize defense and shield only selected members leaves the remaining cultivators exposed, leading to the team’s devastating losses and his humiliating retreat.

Chapter Summary: “Oversight”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After escaping a coordinated ambush by Celestial Demons and Soul Bodies, Ji Shengtian analyzes the battle and realizes that his excessive caution and desire to retain control contributed to the Ji Family’s heavy losses.
• The Ji disciples also made mistakes: one Nascent Soul cultivator failed to activate a defensive talisman immediately, worsening his injuries. Their earlier cleanup operations had gone too smoothly, making them careless.
• Ji Shengtian seeks Feng Jun’s help in treating four injured Ji Family disciples. Feng Jun agrees to perform a Deduction, but unlike the customs of the Heavenly Zither Plane, he charges a fee, signaling his dissatisfaction with the Ji Family’s previous behavior.
• Feng Jun quickly produces treatment plans:
  • The lightly injured Nascent Soul and Gold Core cultivators can recover, though the former requires nearly two centuries to restore his foundation.
  • The severely injured Gold Core cultivator can survive, but his foundation may never recover enough for him to form a Nascent Soul.
  • Ji Langji, a severely injured Nascent Soul cultivator, can be saved with limited foundational damage, but only through extremely expensive treatment involving a Heart of Life.
• Ji Shengtian initially insists that Ji Langji should be treated, but after hearing the cost, he abandons the idea and merely pays Feng Jun’s Deduction fee. He claims that Ji Langji’s own mistakes and the expense make the treatment unjustifiable.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong suspect that Ji Shengtian may have sought the treatment plan mainly to obtain information, and Xuanyuan even doubts whether the Ji Family truly possesses a Heart of Life.
• During the following two days, the injured disciples are organized for transport, the borrowed Soul-Refining Lamp is returned, and Feng Jun’s group remains in the market rather than continuing the cleanup.
• On the third day, Ji Shengtian returns with two additional Nascent Soul cultivators and proposes resuming the Soul Body extermination. He maintains that he will still take three percent of the Soul-Nourishing Liquid, arguing that stronger allies are now necessary.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi challenge him over the distribution and criticize the Ji Family for failing to anticipate the coordinated behavior of the Celestial Demons and Soul Bodies. Ji Shengtian admits that he had overlooked the possibility that Soul Bodies across the entire Netherworld Domain might communicate with one another.

Character Developments

• Ji Shengtian recognizes that his caution, overconfidence, and greed contributed to the disaster, though he still instinctively feels resentment toward Feng Jun’s group for not helping earlier. He becomes more humble and embarrassed after confronting the consequences of his decisions.
• Feng Jun remains professional but makes his dissatisfaction clear by charging for his Deduction and offering only a limited discount. He nevertheless acts honestly by revealing that his own Heart of Life could potentially save Ji Langji, despite the personal complications this might cause.
• Xuanyuan Buqi becomes more openly critical of the Ji Family’s conduct, especially its insistence on retaining a large share while relying on outside experts for protection. He also shows a cynical understanding of how powerful families preserve their status.
• Qian Zhong demonstrates a pragmatic, unsentimental view of family forces, arguing that major clans may sacrifice individuals for the survival and prosperity of the whole family.
• Ji Langji is portrayed as a victim of the battle but also as someone whose mistakes make the Ji Family unwilling to invest heavily in his recovery.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of complacency: Earlier successes led the Ji Family to underestimate the threat posed by organized Celestial Demons and Soul Bodies.
• Greed versus responsibility: Ji Shengtian’s attempt to maximize the Ji Family’s gains leaves it underprepared and damages its relationship with its allies.
• The cold pragmatism of family organizations: The Ji Family values survival and long-term strength over saving an individual member, even when recovery is technically possible.
• Trust and cooperation: Feng Jun’s decision to charge for his help reflects the breakdown of the previous cooperative relationship, while the later need for stronger companions shows the dangers of acting alone.
• Information and strategic oversight: The enemy’s ability to coordinate across the Netherworld Domain reveals that the Ji Family misunderstood the nature of the threat.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun confronts Ji Shengtian about the Ji Family’s inadequate preparations, forcing him to acknowledge its failure.
• Ji Shengtian respectfully accepts Feng Jun’s fee and treatment plans, though the cost of Ji Langji’s recovery exposes the limits of his loyalty.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong refrain from mocking Ji Shengtian openly at first, but later criticize his resource-sharing demands and question the Ji Family’s honesty.
• Feng Jun and Ji Shengtian maintain a formal relationship, but Feng Jun’s refusal to examine the patients directly and his insistence on payment reveal lingering resentment.
• The chapter ends with Ji Shengtian admitting that the Ji Family misunderstood the enemy’s ability to coordinate, setting the stage for a more cooperative but still tense continuation of the Soul Body cleanup.

Chapter Summary: “Surging Public Outrage”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Over six months, Feng Jun’s group and the Ji Family conduct an extremely effective campaign against Soul Bodies throughout the Netherworld Domain.
• They survive a major assault involving three Spirit Severing Realm Celestial Demons, nearly one hundred Nascent Soul Celestial Demons, and more than one hundred Nascent Soul Soul Bodies.
• The Mirror Spirit unexpectedly demonstrates overwhelming power, destroying a Soul Emergence Celestial Demon with two beams of white light. Ji Shengtian is astonished by the group’s hidden strength.
• Their repeated victories frighten the Soul Bodies into abandoning organized resistance. However, news of Feng Jun’s collection of Soul-Nourishing Liquid spreads across Heavenly Zither, attracting family and sect cultivators seeking a share.
• Ji Shengtian firmly refuses to let outside forces benefit, arguing that the Ji Family invited Feng Jun and paid the greatest price during the initial battles.
• Disputes intensify because Feng Jun’s group clears Soul Bodies beyond the Ji Family’s immediate territory. Displaced Soul Bodies move toward other human settlements, causing increased attacks, ambushes, and organized retaliation.
• Numerous gathering places unite in protest, demanding either access to the cleanup operation or an end to it.
• Ji Shengtian admits that the Ji Family can no longer bear the political pressure, but he refuses to reduce its existing share of the Soul-Nourishing Liquid. He proposes that Feng Jun negotiate with the other forces and provide them with shares from his own portion.
• Feng Jun criticizes Ji Shengtian for trying to preserve the Ji Family’s reputation while making him deliver the refusals.
• The chapter ends with Feng Jun suggesting that Ji Shengtian use a rule concerning the Insectoid World—family cultivators are barred from entering, so sect forces should likewise be denied access. Ji Shengtian is shocked that Feng Jun expects him to take responsibility for this decision.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Continues to display confidence, strategic flexibility, and hidden authority. He is unwilling to surrender resources merely to appease others, but he understands the political implications of the conflict. His casual attitude toward Domain Causality further reinforces the mystery surrounding his origins and backing.
• Ji Shengtian: Moves from admiration of Feng Jun’s strength to acting as the Ji Family’s uncompromising representative. Although forceful and protective of his family’s interests, he recognizes when the situation has become unsustainable. He remains unwilling to sacrifice the Ji Family’s profits, even while acknowledging the consequences of their campaign.
• Mirror Spirit: Reveals a portion of its terrifying former strength by instantly defeating a powerful Soul Emergence Celestial Demon. Its exchange with Feng Jun also adds humor and shows that it is sensitive about how its share of Soul-Nourishing Liquid is described.
• The Ji Family: Establishes itself as genuinely powerful rather than merely lucky in reaching the top of the family rankings. Its aggressive resource-gathering strategy, however, creates diplomatic and security problems for other human settlements.
• Other family and sect forces: Shift from quietly seeking opportunities to openly protesting and threatening confrontation as Soul Bodies driven from Feng Jun’s hunting areas begin attacking them.

Significant Themes

• Power and hidden strength: The Mirror Spirit’s display and Feng Jun’s attitude toward Domain Causality suggest that the group possesses far greater strength and background than it openly reveals.
• Resource competition and greed: Soul-Nourishing Liquid is so valuable that even powerful families and sects are unwilling to share easily. Ji Shengtian prioritizes preserving the Ji Family’s enormous gains.
• Unintended consequences: Feng Jun’s highly efficient extermination campaign disrupts the ecological and territorial balance of the Netherworld Realm, pushing Soul Bodies into neighboring regions and causing wider suffering.
• Political responsibility: The conflict is not simply about who is strongest; it is also about who must bear responsibility for the consequences and explain decisions to the wider human community.
• Sustainable exploitation: Feng Jun compares the settlements’ periodic harvesting of Soul Bodies to controlled fishing and recovery periods, raising the idea that resources must be managed rather than completely exhausted.
• Family versus sect interests: The chapter highlights long-standing rivalry between family forces and sects, with Ji Shengtian using institutional rules and precedent to justify excluding both.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Ji Shengtian: Their conversation mixes negotiation, accusation, and mutual respect. Ji Shengtian wants Feng Jun to absorb the political cost of sharing resources, while Feng Jun exposes this maneuver and pushes the responsibility back onto him.
• Feng Jun and the Mirror Spirit: Their brief exchange is humorous but also emphasizes the Mirror Spirit’s importance and the enormous resources required for it to recover.
• Ji Shengtian and other forces: Ji Shengtian openly confronts family and sect representatives, rejecting their territorial claims and refusing to let them benefit from the Ji Family’s efforts.
• Feng Jun and the wider human settlements: Though mostly indirect, Feng Jun’s actions become the source of their growing anger, as his success forces displaced Soul Bodies into their territories and increases their casualties.

Chapter Summary: “Tiered Pricing”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the previous cleanup of Soul Bodies in the Clear Nether Domain, Feng Jun refuses to continue supplying Soul-Nourishing Liquid to the Insectoid World under conditions he considers unfair.
• He pressures Ji Shengtian, leader of the Ji Family—the highest-ranked family—to publicly take responsibility for rejecting the other cultivators’ demands. Ji Shengtian reluctantly accepts that, as the leading family, he must speak up.
• Feng Jun argues that continuing to distribute the liquid would entangle him further in Domain Causality, especially since settlements belonging to the Seven Gates and Eighteen Daos might use the resource to develop into Lower Sects.
• Ji Shengtian points out that many family cultivators also live in the domain and would suffer if supplies were cut off. Xuanyuan Buqi advises him to compromise by selling Soul-Nourishing Liquid to them at a discount rather than simply refusing everyone.
• Following this advice, the Ji Family announces a tiered pricing system:
  • Each family receives ten drops free.
  • Additional quantities are sold at increasing prices, from two to five High-Grade Spirit Stones per drop.
• Sect cultivators attempt to secure the same discounts and larger quotas, but the Ji Family refuses, arguing that family settlements require special support while sect-backed settlements can afford ordinary prices.
• The policy wins the Ji Family goodwill among family cultivators while avoiding an openly discriminatory stance toward sect cultivators.
• Some family cultivators then demand that Feng Jun return to clear Soul Bodies for them in exchange for a small share of the profits. Ji Shengtian angrily rejects the request, explaining that the Ji Family lacks the authority to summon Feng Jun.
• Feng Jun has already left the domain with Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong. Ji Shengtian remains behind because the Soul Body crisis is unresolved, and the two True Lords do not want him accompanying them.
• Feng Jun and the True Lords travel to the Icefield Sector, where they plan to bring Vast Sea Venerable back to the Insectoid World.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more openly self-interested and uncompromising. He recognizes that he is acting against the broader humanitarian cause, but refuses to let others use moral pressure to exploit him.
• Ji Shengtian struggles between the Ji Family’s responsibility as the leading family and its fear that generosity will be mistaken for weakness. Xuanyuan Buqi’s advice helps him understand that sharing benefits can demonstrate confidence rather than insecurity.
• Xuanyuan Buqi reveals that his family’s apparent dominance is balanced by a willingness to distribute profits and support others. He acts as a blunt but insightful mentor to Ji Shengtian.
• The Ji Family adopts a pragmatic compromise: limited charity combined with carefully structured commercial pricing. This strengthens its reputation while protecting its resources.
• Ji Shengtian’s relationship with Feng Jun and the True Lords deteriorates. His earlier actions have left them unwilling to treat him as a trusted companion, and their rejection humiliates him.

Significant Themes

• Moral coercion versus personal boundaries: Feng Jun resents cultivators invoking the “greater cause” to pressure him while ignoring how their own behavior affects him.
• Responsibility and leadership: As the leading family, the Ji Family is expected to act for the benefit of the wider community, even when doing so conflicts with its own interests.
• Confidence versus weakness: Xuanyuan Buqi teaches that a powerful faction can afford to share benefits without appearing weak; true confidence allows generosity.
• Trade-offs and pragmatic compromise: The tiered pricing system balances charity, political goodwill, and profit rather than choosing between total generosity and total refusal.
• Unequal access and factional politics: The different treatment of family and sect settlements exposes tensions between the two systems and shows how economic policy can serve political interests.
• Consequences of obstruction: Because other cultivators previously interfered with Feng Jun’s actions, they lose access to his help and cannot simply demand that he return.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Ji Shengtian: Feng Jun deliberately shifts responsibility for the refusal onto Ji Shengtian, forcing the Ji Family to act as the public authority.
• Feng Jun and the wider cultivators: Feng Jun rejects their attempts to benefit from his resources without respecting his conditions.
• Ji Shengtian and Xuanyuan Buqi: Xuanyuan criticizes Ji Shengtian’s lack of confidence and teaches him that discounted sales can be a strategic display of strength.
• Ji Family and sect cultivators: The sects seek bulk discounts but are denied, leading to tension and resentment.
• Ji Family and family cultivators: Family settlements benefit from the quota system and consequently become more favorable toward the Ji Family.
• Ji Shengtian and the True Lords: Their dismissive attitude toward him, especially Xuanyuan Buqi’s remark about the mess in the Clear Nether Domain, leaves Ji Shengtian humiliated and isolated.

Chapter Summary: “Seeking Help”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vast Sea Venerable arrives with five wounded disciples and the corpse of a Nascent Soul Peak Ice-Origin Fox.
• Four disciples have divine-soul injuries. Vast Sea asks Feng Jun to determine how medicinal ingredients can supplement Soul-Nourishing Liquid, since using it alone is inefficient and wasteful.
• Feng Jun performs a Deduction, discovers that Soul-Nourishing Liquid must be combined with other medicines, and provides treatment methods for all five disciples.
• The Profound Water Sect’s supply of Soul-Nourishing Liquid becomes politically valuable. The Profound Yellow and Primal Steel Sects pressure the sect to distribute it, but Vast Sea refuses to sell or share it directly.
• A compromise is reached: Profound Water Sect disciples carry the liquid during expeditions and treat injured cultivators from other sects—at a price. This protects the sect’s members while increasing its prestige.
• After the sect sets aside supplies for the expedition, disciples with soul injuries rush to exchange resources for treatment. Elders initially suspect hoarding but learn that different injuries require vastly different amounts of the liquid.
• Vast Sea also asks Feng Jun and Qian Zhong to investigate the death of the Ice-Origin Fox, whose soul vanished before its body returned through a Spatial Anchor.
• Qian Zhong successfully deduces that the fox died two months earlier at the Fallen Immortal Ancient Battlefield, hundreds of billions of li away.
• The battlefield is revealed as the site of an ancient, nearly thousand-year war against alien gods, demons, and Incense Apotheosis cultivators. Though the invaders were eventually destroyed, the area remains extremely dangerous due to lingering destructive aura and connections to a shattered plane.

Character Developments

• Vast Sea Venerable: Revealed as protective of his sect but also politically pressured. He is willing to compromise to safeguard his disciples, despite resenting other sects’ opportunistic schemes. His inability to deduce the Ice-Origin Fox’s fate also highlights his limited expertise in Deduction.
• Feng Jun: Demonstrates both generosity and expertise by treating the disciples and improving the sect’s understanding of soul injuries. He is amused and frustrated by the political maneuvering surrounding the Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• Qian Zhong: Shows superior skill in large-scale Deduction by locating the fox’s death site in only a few hours. Her reaction also emphasizes her cautious, practical nature; she refuses to risk entering the ancient battlefield for uncertain rewards.
• The Profound Water Sect elders: Become more politically confident because of their control over a valuable healing resource, using it to enhance the sect’s reputation and influence.
• The Ice-Origin Fox: Its exceptional spatial ability and courage are emphasized. Despite being powerful and valuable to the sect, it ventured into an extraordinarily dangerous region and was killed under mysterious circumstances.

Significant Themes

• Resource scarcity and political bargaining: Valuable healing resources create tension between allied sects, revealing how cooperation is often driven by self-interest.
• The cost of healing and knowledge: Soul injuries are complex, and seemingly abundant resources can still be wasted without proper understanding.
• Sect loyalty and collective responsibility: The Profound Water Sect balances protecting its own disciples with providing aid to others, turning medical support into both a duty and a source of prestige.
• The limits of Deduction: Even powerful cultivators and entire Dao lineages can be unable to uncover hidden truths, though collaboration between specialists may succeed.
• Danger versus opportunity: The Fallen Immortal Ancient Battlefield represents the temptation of valuable remnants against the overwhelming risks of ancient destruction.
• The consequences of past wars: The ancient conflict continues to shape the present through lingering auras, shattered planes, dangerous ruins, and unexplained deaths.

Character Interactions

• Vast Sea and Feng Jun: Vast Sea seeks Feng Jun’s help with both medical treatment and investigation, trusting his abilities despite Feng Jun’s outsider status.
• Vast Sea and other sects: The Profound Yellow and Primal Steel Sects pressure him to share Soul-Nourishing Liquid, while he angrily resists their manipulation before accepting a compromise.
• Feng Jun and the Profound Water Sect: Feng Jun assists the sect’s disciples and indirectly helps the sect use its resources more efficiently.
• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong: They cooperate on the Deduction concerning the Ice-Origin Fox, combining their abilities to uncover its final destination.
• Qian Zhong and Vast Sea: Qian Zhong provides the answer Vast Sea could not obtain himself, while her reluctance to approach the battlefield contrasts with the Ice-Origin Fox’s reckless courage.

Chapter Summary: “Ancient Demon Space”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vast Sea Venerable agrees to accompany Feng Jun, Xuanyuan Buqi, and Qian Zhong to the Fallen Immortal Ancient Battlefield to investigate the Ice-Origin Fox’s death. They establish that finding the killer is their only priority; collecting Soul-Nourishing Liquid is abandoned.
• After traveling through Qian Zhong’s spatial anchor, the group reaches the enormous, violent battlefield. Feng Jun refuses to enter the dangerous outer turbulence unnecessarily.
• Qian Zhong uses Deduction to locate the suspected area, initially narrowing it to over one hundred thousand li. Feng Jun then searches persistently for eight days, reducing the area to roughly one hundred li.
• Xuanyuan Buqi discovers that the hidden location is a folded space and identifies the technique as the Ancient Demon’s Spatial Folding Art, a rare method preserved by his family.
• Feng Jun senses that mutated demon beasts may be present, but cannot determine the exact dangers or what preparations are needed.
• Xuanyuan Buqi opens the entrance, and all four enter together. The entrance immediately closes, and the spatial instability separates them.
• Feng Jun finds himself alone in a gray, developing space containing soil and vegetation. His companions are nowhere to be sensed.
• The Boss and Mirror Spirit debate the space’s origins and nature. They conclude it may be a newly born space influenced by Ancient Demon spatial laws rather than a collapsing plane.
• The Boss urges Feng Jun to seize control of the space, suggesting that new spaces may arise after the destruction of other planes. Feng Jun then wonders whether such a space could produce Ultimate Spirit Stones.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and pragmatic. Despite possessing defensive abilities, he refuses to approach the battlefield’s turbulence without necessity. His persistence and unique Deduction ability become crucial in narrowing the search area.
• Vast Sea Venerable is driven by grief and urgency after losing his mountain-guarding Spirit Beast. He prioritizes finding the culprit and is willing to enter the folded space, even offering to go in with Feng Jun if the others hesitate.
• Xuanyuan Buqi displays confidence and pride in his family’s inheritance of Ancient Demon spatial techniques. Although initially reluctant to risk Feng Jun, he ultimately insists that the group enter together.
• Qian Zhong demonstrates powerful but limited Deduction abilities. She teases Feng Jun for being unable to judge general fortune or danger, while acknowledging that his highly specific search capabilities are exceptionally useful.
• The Boss and Mirror Spirit continue their antagonistic but informative banter. Their argument reveals contrasting views of Ancient Demons, Ancient Artifacts, innate abilities, and the Great Dao, while also helping explain the space’s nature.

Significant Themes

• Caution versus curiosity: Feng Jun consistently values survival over exploration, contrasting with Vast Sea’s urgency and the group’s willingness to investigate danger.
• The limits and specializations of Deduction: Qian Zhong can read broader heavenly patterns, while Feng Jun excels at precise spatial investigation but cannot easily predict fortune, danger, or required preparations.
• Inherited knowledge and monopoly: Xuanyuan Buqi’s pride in his family’s spatial art raises questions about whether preserving secret techniques protects tradition or unfairly restricts knowledge.
• Creation, destruction, and cosmic balance: The discussion suggests that the birth of a new space may be linked to the destruction of another plane, reflecting broader laws governing the Great Dao.
• Hidden opportunity within danger: The mysterious space may contain valuable resources—or even be controllable by Feng Jun—illustrating the chapter’s recurring tension between risk and opportunity.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea agree that the investigation, not Soul-Nourishing Liquid, is the mission’s priority.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi clash over the Xuanyuan family’s secrecy surrounding spatial-folding techniques.
• Vast Sea proposes entering the folded space with Feng Jun while the others remain outside, but Xuanyuan Buqi rejects the idea of splitting the group’s responsibilities and opens the entrance for everyone.
• Inside the space, the Boss and Mirror Spirit argue over whether Ancient Demons or Ancient Artifacts possess superior innate qualities. Their dispute gradually becomes an explanation of the space’s laws and origins.
• Feng Jun acts as the mediator between the two spirits and directs the discussion toward practical questions about the space’s stability and potential resources.

Chapter Summary: “Thanks to Mountain Lord Feng”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The group discusses whether the mysterious growing space might contain Ultimate Spirit Stones or Primordial Purple Qi. The big shot explains that Ultimate Spirit Stones are most common in worlds born from Chaos, while this space seems to have been formed through feedback from Heaven’s Way. It likely contains neither Primordial Purple Qi nor many Ultimate Spirit Stones.
• Feng Jun prioritizes finding and regrouping with his companions rather than immediately searching for treasures. The Mirror Spirit objects, worried that additional companions will have to share any discoveries.
• The Kongmeng Domain Consciousness detects a group of Soul Bodies and several demonic beasts. Feng Jun raises the Soul-Refining Lamp and prepares for battle.
• True Lord Qian Zhong arrives after sensing Feng Jun mentally calling her name. She warns that the space suppresses their abilities and that Soul Bodies—especially if Celestial Demons are present—could be dangerous.
• Xuanyuan Buqi is summoned in the same way and quickly joins them.
• The enemies are revealed to be numerous Soul Bodies and five Flood Dragon Badgers, including two adults and three young. Qian Zhong volunteers to handle the beasts while Feng Jun deals with the Soul Bodies.
• With Xuanyuan Buqi’s arrival, the situation becomes much easier. The Soul-Refining Lamp destroys the Soul Bodies, while the two True Lords capture all five Flood Dragon Badgers alive.
• The group discusses how Flood Dragon Badgers can be used to lure Flood Dragons. Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong reveal that they keep such creatures in Secret Realms and harvest their blood when needed.
• Their conversation shifts to the possible ownership of the growing space. It is enormous, still expanding, and potentially valuable, but monopolizing it would be difficult because the Profound Water Sect and other major powers are already involved.
• Vast Sea Venerable finally arrives and remarks that the space remains dangerous—though, teasingly, Feng Jun’s low cultivation has helped him sense danger more easily.

2. Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates caution, fairness, and responsibility. Although he is interested in claiming the space, he refuses to exclude or kill his companions merely to monopolize its resources. He also takes the initiative in organizing the group and coordinating the battle.
• The Mirror Spirit becomes increasingly fixated on the possibility of Ultimate Spirit Stones and is frustrated by Feng Jun’s insistence on sharing discoveries.
• The big shot reveals greater knowledge of the origins of worlds and Lower Realms but becomes disappointed when it realizes Feng Jun cannot simply seize the space for himself.
• True Lord Qian Zhong remains calm and practical. She is wary of Feng Jun’s hidden abilities but cooperates readily once she arrives. She also shows personal and family interests in acquiring the young Flood Dragon Badgers.
• Xuanyuan Buqi is bold, humorous, and opportunistic. He immediately takes interest in the Flood Dragon Badgers and subtly recognizes Feng Jun’s possible ambition to control the space.
• Vast Sea Venerable joins the group late, reinforcing that powerful factions are becoming involved in the discovery.

3. Significant Themes

• Resource ownership versus fairness: Feng Jun’s desire to claim the space conflicts with his unwillingness to deprive the Profound Water Sect and other discoverers of their rightful share.
• Cooperation among powerful factions: The characters recognize that no single family can easily monopolize the space, making alliances, shared management, and an Elders Council more realistic.
• Practical value over immediate treasure: The space’s expanding size and potential to become a public or private Secret Realm may be more important than the uncertain presence of Ultimate Spirit Stones.
• Power and limitations: Even True Lords are constrained by the space’s rules, making teamwork essential and Feng Jun’s weak cultivation unexpectedly useful.
• Humor amid danger: Teasing remarks about Feng Jun’s low cultivation and the characters’ casual negotiations over captured beasts lighten an otherwise dangerous exploration.

4. Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the Mirror Spirit disagree over whether to reunite with the others before searching for treasures.
• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong exchange cautious but cooperative remarks, with Qian Zhong teasing him about his low cultivation.
• Feng Jun summons Xuanyuan Buqi by thinking of his name, leading Xuanyuan to jokingly credit Feng Jun’s “low cultivation” for the communication method.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan divide the Flood Dragon Badgers between their families, displaying both cooperation and competition.
• Through private Divine Sense communication, Xuanyuan and Qian Zhong infer that Feng Jun wants to claim the space. Xuanyuan subtly encourages this ambition.
• The group’s successful cooperation against the Soul Bodies and demonic beasts demonstrates the practical advantages of gathering together before proceeding deeper into the unknown space.

Chapter Summary: “Ambush”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vast Sea Venerable arrives late after being delayed by a swarm of Bloodthirsty Flying Ants. He defeats them because their persistent nature might otherwise lead them to Feng Jun’s group, while also collecting their shells as artifact-refining materials.
• After regrouping with Feng Jun, Qian Zhong, and the others, the group discusses the dangerous space they are exploring. They conclude that the Soul Bodies may have originated within the space, while the demonic beasts likely entered from elsewhere.
• Vast Sea asks Feng Jun and Qian Zhong to locate the Ice-Origin Fox, whose remains were recovered after an earlier expedition ended in disaster.
• Through the assistance of the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness, conveyed through the mysterious “big shot,” Feng Jun identifies the fox’s approximate death site. The Domain Consciousness is willing to help because the space has no owner and the act will not create karmic consequences.
• Feng Jun points toward a location roughly 120,000 li away. Qian Zhong verifies his result through her own deduction and confirms that he is correct.
• Vast Sea rushes ahead, crashing through mountains because of the space’s poor visibility. Xuanyuan Buqi follows with Feng Jun, while Qian Zhong catches up shortly afterward.
• Near the suspected death site, a Civet Demon howls. Vast Sea immediately attacks but crashes into another mountain in his haste, prompting amused comments about his youthful impulsiveness.
• Xuanyuan Buqi explains that Civet Demons are difficult opponents because they possess multiple lives—three at the Gold Core level and nine at Nascent Soul.
• Vast Sea reaches the area and discovers more than ten Civet Demons, including several Nascent Soul cultivators. Before he can attack, he senses a familiar presence: Qingjian, a True Immortal of the Profound Water Sect who had accompanied the Ice-Origin Fox.
• Vast Sea is delighted to learn Qingjian survived, but his relief turns to alarm when he realizes that Celestial Demons are also present.

Character Developments

• Vast Sea Venerable: Despite his powerful and dignified reputation, he is shown to be impatient and somewhat reckless in unfamiliar surroundings. His repeated collisions with mountains make him the target of lighthearted teasing. His concern for Feng Jun’s safety and his excitement at discovering Qingjian’s survival reveal a more protective and emotional side.
• Feng Jun: Demonstrates increasing confidence in his deduction abilities, though he honestly admits that the result comes from external assistance and that his range is limited. He is also cautious about karmic consequences and refuses to use the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness’s help without first confirming that no debt or danger will result.
• Qian Zhong: Successfully verifies Feng Jun’s deduction and is impressed by his abilities. However, fatigue and frustration cause her to become irritable, especially when she feels she is the only one actively handling the difficult deduction work.
• Xuanyuan Buqi: Acts as a steady and supportive companion, protecting Feng Jun and helping Vast Sea. He provides useful knowledge about the Civet Demons and gently mocks Vast Sea’s impulsiveness.
• The “big shot” and Kongmeng Domain Consciousness: The big shot communicates with Feng Jun and mediates the Domain Consciousness’s assistance. The Domain Consciousness is portrayed as powerful but cautious, avoiding direct exposure to the two True Lords.
• Qingjian: Revealed to have survived the earlier expedition, creating a major shift in the group’s understanding of the disaster.

Significant Themes

• Danger in the unknown: The unfamiliar space restricts perception and creates unpredictable hazards, making even powerful cultivators vulnerable to mistakes.
• Power versus experience: Vast Sea’s strength does not prevent him from acting rashly or being embarrassed by the environment. His behavior shows that experience in one setting does not guarantee control in another.
• Cooperation and trust: The group relies on Feng Jun’s deductions, Qian Zhong’s verification, Xuanyuan Buqi’s protection, and the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness’s hidden assistance.
• Karma and responsibility: Feng Jun’s concern over karmic consequences emphasizes that obtaining help may create obligations under the Heavenly Dao.
• Hidden alliances and escalating danger: The discovery that demonic beasts, Soul Bodies, and Celestial Demons may coexist or cooperate suggests a larger threat than initially expected.
• Humor amid tension: Vast Sea’s mountain collisions and Qian Zhong’s irritation provide comic relief while the group moves toward a potentially deadly ambush.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun consults with Qian Zhong about the origins of the Soul Bodies and demonic beasts.
• The big shot privately instructs Feng Jun to use the Ice-Origin Fox’s corpse for deduction, while Feng Jun questions the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness about karmic risks.
• Qian Zhong verifies Feng Jun’s location estimate, strengthening his credibility.
• Xuanyuan Buqi protects Feng Jun and jokes about Vast Sea’s reckless behavior.
• Qian Zhong vents her frustration at Feng Jun and the others for leaving the difficult deduction work to her, though she later acknowledges that her irritation is not truly his fault.
• Vast Sea encounters the surviving Qingjian, transforming the search from a simple investigation into a confrontation involving Civet Demons and Celestial Demons.

Chapter Summary: “Divine Ability”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qingjian is trapped beneath a cliff behind a Defense Array, surrounded by civet demons and a small group of Celestial Demons. The Celestial Demons had deliberately used Qingjian as bait, hoping to lure powerful Humanity cultivators into an ambush.
• Vast Sea Venerable realizes the situation may involve more than the visible Gold Core Celestial Demons, but Xuanyuan Buqi ignores the warning and attacks a Nascent Soul Peak civet demon.
• Xuanyuan Buqi’s overwhelming strength destroys the civet demon’s enormous tail and crushes its body. When the demon attempts to transfer into a second life, Xuanyuan also erases that life, defeating it completely while preserving its valuable pelt.
• The hidden Celestial Demons reveal themselves. More than a dozen Nascent Soul-level Celestial Demons emerge, intending to delay the intruders while one calls for reinforcements. Qingjian warns Vast Sea that the entire encounter is a trap and urges him to report the discovery of the developing space, which contains countless Soul Bodies.
• Despite the danger, Vast Sea refuses to abandon Qingjian. He uses Ice Seal to slow and restrain the demons, while Xuanyuan Buqi and the others begin dismantling the ambush.
• A Dark Civet Badger attacks Vast Sea but fails to break through his ice shield. Qian Zhong captures it with All-Directions Genesis, a technique that predicts the creature’s movement and forms a net at its destination.
• Vast Sea and Xuanyuan coordinate their abilities, alternating Ice Seal with Xuanyuan’s Character-Setting Art. This combination suppresses the civet demons and Celestial Demons, allowing Qian Zhong to eliminate them individually.
• Feng Jun activates the Soul-Refining Lamp and rapidly absorbs Celestial Demons. A Spirit Severing Realm Delusion Celestial Demon attacks him, but Feng Jun uses the Yin-Yang Mirror to halt it, while Qian Zhong’s thunderbolt cracks its Soul Body. The mirror then shatters it, and the Soul-Refining Lamp absorbs the fragments.
• A second Spirit Severing Realm entity attacks from underground using black smoke and an Incense Apotheosis technique. Qian Zhong’s “Sweet Rain” reveals an enormous tiger-like head within the smoke, while Vast Sea’s Origin Ice seals the ground and prevents its escape.
• Xuanyuan Buqi deploys the Demon-Eating Gourd to collect demons. As the battle continues, a much larger and more powerful civet demon emerges from underground, suggesting that the ambush contains even more dangerous enemies.

Character Developments

• Xuanyuan Buqi displays overwhelming combat power and supreme confidence. He remains focused on collecting civet demon pelts, even during a potentially dangerous ambush, and treats the Celestial Demons as little more than targets.
• Vast Sea Venerable shows caution and strategic judgment. Although initially worried about hidden Celestial Demons, he prioritizes rescuing Qingjian once he learns of the trap. His Ice Seal becomes crucial to controlling the battlefield.
• Qian Zhong reveals highly advanced predictive combat abilities. Her All-Directions Genesis demonstrates that she may possess knowledge or inheritance connected to ancient divination cultivators, despite dismissing herself as one.
• Feng Jun proves capable of rapidly controlling powerful treasures and defending himself against a Spirit Severing Realm Delusion Celestial Demon. His Soul-Refining Lamp is especially effective against Celestial Demons.
• Qingjian demonstrates loyalty and responsibility by warning Vast Sea not to risk himself for her and emphasizing the importance of reporting the developing space to the sect.
• The civet demons and Celestial Demons are shown to be dangerous not merely because of their numbers, but because of their unusual abilities: multiple lives, space-ignoring movement, soul attacks, and ambush tactics.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming strength versus strategy: Xuanyuan’s direct power, Vast Sea’s restraint techniques, Qian Zhong’s predictive methods, and Feng Jun’s soul-based treasures work together to overcome a carefully prepared ambush.
• Trust and responsibility: Qingjian wants the larger threat reported rather than having others endanger themselves, while Vast Sea chooses to rescue her despite the risks.
• Hidden dangers and incomplete knowledge: The visible enemies are only part of the threat. The developing space contains unknown numbers of Soul Bodies and increasingly powerful creatures.
• The value of preparation and cooperation: The group’s success depends on combining abilities rather than relying on one person. The layered use of Ice Seal and Character-Setting Art is particularly effective.
• Humanity and demonic nature: The chapter contrasts Celestial Demons’ obsession with corrupting Humanity’s souls with their relative lack of advantage against demonic beasts, emphasizing that their reputation is tied to Humanity’s emotional nature.
• Rare abilities and inherited traditions: Qian Zhong’s technique hints at the lost or mysterious power of ancient divination cultivators, whose abilities could influence not only attacks but an opponent’s decisions and movements.

Character Interactions

• Vast Sea warns Xuanyuan about the Celestial Demons, but Xuanyuan dismisses the concern and attacks anyway.
• Qingjian appeals to Vast Sea to abandon her and report the discovery, but he rejects her request and insists on saving her.
• Xuanyuan and Vast Sea establish a coordinated battle plan, alternating their suppressive techniques.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan argue over ownership of the civet demon pelts, revealing their competitive and practical personalities.
• Qian Zhong explains the nature of her technique after Vast Sea identifies it as resembling ancient divination.
• Qian Zhong assists Feng Jun when the Delusion Celestial Demon attacks, compensating for the Yin-Yang Mirror’s limited power.
• The group increasingly treats the battle as both a rescue mission and an opportunity to investigate the mysterious space and acquire unusual treasures or demon remains.

Chapter Summary: “Spatial Ownership”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The battle concludes with Xuanyuan Buqi capturing the Spirit Severing Realm civet demon in his Demon-Eating Gourd.
• Qingjian True Immortal emerges alive but badly injured. Vast Sea Venerable acknowledges that surviving the ambush was extremely difficult, especially since Qingjian and his companions had been deliberately used as bait.
• Qingjian explains how the Profound Water Sect entered the Ancient Demon Space:
  • The Ice-Origin Fox discovered the space through its spatial talent and brought Qingjian and six sect members inside.
  • They initially intended to investigate the mysterious realm, which contained Soul Bodies and seemed to be an evolving space.
  • Increasing numbers of demon beasts, Soul Bodies, and Celestial Demons attacked them, eventually trapping the group.
  • After three Gold Core cultivators died, the Ice-Origin Fox sacrificed its essence qi to strengthen the defensive formation and ultimately shattered space in a desperate attempt to save the survivors.
  • The fox remained behind out of loyalty to its role as protector and eventually died.
• A deduction performed by Qian Zhong and Vast Sea confirms that the Ice-Origin Fox had not betrayed the sect or secretly aided the demons. Its actions were motivated by caution, curiosity, and loyalty.
• Feng Jun questions how so many demon beasts entered the Fallen Immortal Ancient Battlefield without attracting notice. He suspects the Spirit Severing civet demon may have been a hidden contingency left by the gods and demons of a collapsed plane, though he admits this is based primarily on intuition.
• Qingjian reveals that the Ice-Origin Fox suspected other Spirit Severing Realm Great Demons might still be present in the space.
• Vast Sea asks Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi to search for them, but Xuanyuan instead raises the issue of ownership: the space should not automatically belong to the Profound Water Sect simply because they discovered it first.
• Xuanyuan argues that without the intervention of himself, Qian Zhong, and Feng Jun, the Profound Water Sect would likely have been destroyed.
• Vast Sea insists that the sect’s sacrifices—including the death of its protector—justify receiving the larger share.
• Xuanyuan reveals that he is speaking on Feng Jun’s behalf. Feng Jun needs a secret realm suitable for raising ferocious beasts.
• Vast Sea agrees that Feng Jun may have a portion of the space, provided he does not attempt to monopolize it. Feng Jun accepts, while hinting that he will eventually need a separate Secret Realm of his own.

Character Developments

• Qingjian True Immortal is shown to be cautious, perceptive, and willing to accept responsibility for his decisions. Although he recognizes that the expedition became a trap, he does not resent Feng Jun for arriving too late or blame others for the disaster.
• The Ice-Origin Fox is vindicated. Its actions are confirmed to have been loyal rather than suspicious. It remained with the Profound Water Sect despite having a chance to escape, ultimately sacrificing itself to protect them.
• Feng Jun demonstrates strong intuition and strategic suspicion. He remains uneasy about the abnormal number of demon beasts in the space and begins considering deeper connections to the collapsed plane and ancient divine powers.
• Vast Sea Venerable shows concern for both the truth and the Profound Water Sect’s interests. He is wary of demon beasts but acknowledges the Ice-Origin Fox’s loyalty and openly negotiates for ownership of the new space.
• Xuanyuan Buqi acts decisively and protects Feng Jun’s interests. He also displays a forceful, pragmatic attitude toward ownership and contribution.
• Qian Zhong remains rational and cooperative, assisting with the deduction and taking Feng Jun’s suspicions seriously despite their speculative nature.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: The Ice-Origin Fox’s death emphasizes that loyalty is proven through action, especially when escape is possible but protection is chosen instead.
• Trust versus suspicion: The cultivators must balance understandable wariness toward demon beasts with evidence of the fox’s long-standing loyalty.
• Ownership and contribution: The chapter raises the question of who has the right to claim a newly discovered realm—those who found it, those who sacrificed lives within it, or those who provided the strength to secure it.
• Intuition and hidden dangers: Feng Jun’s unease suggests that instinct may reveal threats before concrete evidence does. The space’s abnormal nature hints at deeper secrets.
• Cooperation amid competing interests: Although the cultivators are allies, they still negotiate over resources and future benefits rather than treating the space as automatically belonging to one faction.

Character Interactions

• Vast Sea and Qingjian discuss the expedition and the Ice-Origin Fox’s conduct, with Vast Sea cautiously probing whether the fox might have been connected to the demon beasts.
• Qian Zhong and Feng Jun cooperate in examining the possibility of a hidden conspiracy, while Xuanyuan and Vast Sea debate the ownership of the space.
• Xuanyuan uses his influence to secure Feng Jun access to part of the realm, transforming a potentially hostile ownership dispute into a negotiated arrangement.
• Feng Jun remains modest in the negotiation but makes clear that he has long-term ambitions to obtain his own Secret Realm.

Summary of “Borrowing Authority”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group negotiates ownership of the mysterious space after Feng Jun promises not to conceal any Soul Emergence demon beasts they discover.
• Vast Sea Venerable questions whether the family-based cultivators—Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi—can be trusted to share information fairly. The dispute briefly exposes the long-standing tension between family and sect factions.
• The parties agree that the space will belong jointly to four factions: Feng Jun’s side, Qian Zhong’s side, the Xuanyuan Family, and the Profound Water Sect.
• Qian Zhong avoids revealing her cultivation lineage and instead entrusts her share to Feng Jun, subtly demonstrating her confidence in him and her unwillingness to disclose her background.
• The group discusses how to locate additional Soul Emergence demon beasts despite the space’s interference with perception. Feng Jun offers to remain behind and assist through Deduction while the others search.
• Xuanyuan Buqi suggests borrowing the authority of the space’s sleeping spatial consciousness through Feng Jun’s Mirror Spirit. The idea is considered highly practical because ordinary cultivators would incur enormous causality by doing so.
• The Yin-Yang Mirror arrogantly refuses, claiming that borrowing the low-level authority would “dirty” it. The others infer that the Mirror Spirit is vastly more powerful than the spatial consciousness.
• Qian Zhong determines that the spatial consciousness has not fully condensed and that its authority may therefore be accessible.
• Xuanyuan Buqi, Qian Zhong, and Vast Sea Venerable split up to search different areas. True Immortal Qingjian remains with Feng Jun at first to guard him and recover from his injuries.
• Feng Jun insults Qingjian’s “bad luck,” causing Qingjian to resent him privately but remain silent because of Feng Jun’s reputation and influence.
• Vast Sea Venerable takes Qingjian with him despite Qingjian’s injuries. While exploring, Qingjian warns that Feng Jun may be planning to refine or seize the space.
• Vast Sea Venerable dismisses the suspicion, arguing that Feng Jun had no reason to wait if he truly intended to refine the space. He also points out that Feng Jun’s earlier actions and the Mirror Spirit’s pride suggest he is not acting dishonestly.
• Vast Sea Venerable soon detects another demon beast.
• Once the others have moved far away, Feng Jun secretly contacts the “big shot” and asks it to determine whether more Soul Emergence demon beasts are present. He reveals that, although he rejected the Mirror Spirit’s method, he still intends to borrow the spatial authority through another means.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun continues to appear cooperative and modest, but he is clearly calculating several steps ahead. His claim that he will merely wait and assist is partly a cover for his private plan to use the space’s authority.
• Qian Zhong proves highly perceptive and politically cautious. She refuses to reveal her lineage, recognizes the weakness of the spatial consciousness, and quickly understands the value of Feng Jun’s hidden resources.
• Xuanyuan Buqi acts openly and confidently, defending family cultivators while also trusting Feng Jun and treating him as a potential source of support despite the difference in cultivation.
• Vast Sea Venerable shifts from suspicion to practical cooperation. Though initially distrustful, he apologizes when necessary and ultimately judges Feng Jun fairly, showing both political maturity and confidence in his own strength.
• True Immortal Qingjian remains wary and insecure after his earlier failures and injuries. He suspects Feng Jun of ulterior motives but gradually accepts Vast Sea Venerable’s argument that his suspicions are overly petty.
• The Yin-Yang Mirror/Mirror Spirit displays extreme arrogance, emphasizing its superior nature by refusing to borrow the spatial consciousness’s authority.

Significant Themes

• Factional distrust and cooperation: The conflict between family cultivators and sect cultivators drives much of the negotiation, but mutual benefit forces them into an alliance.
• Authority and power: The characters distinguish between raw combat strength, spatial authority, and the consequences of borrowing power from another consciousness.
• Hidden motives and strategic concealment: Feng Jun’s outward cooperation conceals a separate plan, while Qian Zhong and the others also carefully withhold information about their origins and capabilities.
• Pride and hierarchy: The Mirror Spirit’s refusal reflects the story’s emphasis on differences in rank and existence; beings with higher foundations may view lower authorities as beneath them.
• Trust versus suspicion: Qingjian’s doubts contrast with Vast Sea Venerable’s more measured judgment, highlighting the danger of assuming others are as petty or opportunistic as oneself.
• Luck and reputation: Feng Jun’s influence allows him to speak boldly despite his lower cultivation, while Qingjian’s misfortune affects how others perceive and treat him.

Character Interactions

• Vast Sea Venerable and Xuanyuan Buqi argue over whether family cultivators can be trusted, but the exchange ends with an apology and agreement.
• Qian Zhong avoids Vast Sea Venerable’s attempt to probe her background by placing her share under Feng Jun’s management.
• Xuanyuan Buqi openly treats Feng Jun as someone who could provide support, surprising Qingjian and reinforcing Feng Jun’s unusual status.
• Feng Jun mocks Qingjian’s poor luck, while Qingjian silently criticizes Feng Jun’s arrogance.
• Vast Sea Venerable protects and transports the injured Qingjian, then rejects Qingjian’s suspicions about Feng Jun.
• After the search party disperses, Feng Jun privately communicates with the big shot, revealing his real intention to obtain the spatial consciousness’s authority by an alternative method.

Chapter Summary: Divine Treasures Conceal Themselves

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chubby little fellow, a divided strand of the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness, borrows the authority of the mysterious space to search for the Ice-Origin Fox’s fur and investigate the area.
• Because the space lacks its own consciousness and contains many curved spaces, the search proves extremely difficult. Although the Domain Consciousness can trace the fur karmically to a location roughly 120,000 li away, ordinary investigation is effective only within about 20,000 li.
• After nearly an hour, the chubby fellow admits that mapping the entire space may take an indeterminate amount of time. It suggests moving around to improve efficiency, but Feng Jun decides it is safer to remain in their current secure area.
• The chubby fellow reveals that a Domain Consciousness might theoretically possess or attach itself to another space, though it has never attempted this and considers it dangerous. It describes its current journey as an unusual “impromptu journey.”
• It leaves to investigate independently, while Feng Jun and the big shot discuss the situation and monitor the others. Xuanyuan Buqi is fighting a demonic beast over something valuable, while Hanhai is also engaged in battle and is hampered by someone or something he is protecting.
• The big shot cannot perceive what Xuanyuan Buqi has found, prompting discussion of a hidden divine treasure. The Mirror Spirit claims to know what it is and is eventually revealed to have secretly borrowed the space’s authority to investigate it.
• The Mirror Spirit first claims the treasure is merely Jiangzhu Grass, but its defensive behavior exposes that it is actually concerned about whether Ultimate Spirit Stone has been discovered. The chapter ends with the Mirror Spirit demanding wine and insisting that Feng Jun respect its dignity as the Yin-Yang Mirror.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and pragmatic. He understands the Domain Consciousness’s difficulties, refuses to recklessly leave the safe zone, and prioritizes avoiding unnecessary danger or owing favors to powerful beings.
• The chubby little fellow is shown to be immensely capable but inexperienced and somewhat childlike. Despite being hundreds of thousands of years old in origin, it has a playful, self-taught understanding of outside knowledge and is curious about possessing other spaces.
• The big shot becomes more relaxed and assertive. After learning that the Mirror Spirit is poor despite being powerful, it gains confidence and begins openly teasing and challenging it.
• The Mirror Spirit remains proud, secretive, and obsessed with Ultimate Spirit Stone. Its eagerness to hide its true interest reveals both its vulnerability and its desperation to locate the treasure.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Hanhai are shown to be actively encountering danger, while another True Lord—implicitly Qian Zhong—is regarded by Feng Jun as more dependable.

Significant Themes

• The limits of power and perception: Even a Domain Consciousness struggles to investigate a vast, irregular space without a local consciousness to guide it.
• Caution versus curiosity: Feng Jun repeatedly restrains the others’ impulse to explore, emphasizing that knowledge and treasure are not worth reckless exposure to danger.
• Hidden treasures and concealed motives: The space hides valuable objects, while the characters themselves conceal their intentions—especially the Mirror Spirit’s concern over Ultimate Spirit Stone.
• Immaturity beneath immense age and power: The Domain Consciousness possesses extraordinary authority but behaves like a sheltered child, relying on internet-derived knowledge and naïve analogies.
• Power versus wealth: The big shot’s attitude shifts when it realizes the Mirror Spirit, though stronger, is poorer. Their rivalry highlights the tension between cultivation strength and material resources.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the chubby little fellow exchange humorous remarks about possession, cavalry and infantry, online knowledge, and the Domain Consciousness’s lack of romantic prospects. Their relationship is affectionate but marked by Feng Jun’s skepticism.
• Feng Jun and the big shot discuss the safety of their companions and the strange treasure Xuanyuan Buqi is fighting over.
• The big shot and the Mirror Spirit engage in escalating verbal sparring. The big shot mocks the Mirror Spirit for borrowing authority, while the Mirror Spirit retaliates by belittling its knowledge and demanding wine.
• Feng Jun serves as the practical mediator, reacting with exasperation to their quarrel and refusing to let the Mirror Spirit freely accumulate more debt.

Chapter Summary: “Crimson Pearl Grass”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun confronts the Mirror Spirit for its unpaid debts and criticizes its increasingly arrogant behavior. He explains that he defended the small Soul Body because they are friends and the Mirror Spirit’s bullying made him unhappy.
• The Mirror Spirit admits that it lacks the means to repay Feng Jun. Its resources are being used to restore its origin and synchronize with the powerful Heaven-Deriving Mirror, leaving it essentially impoverished.
• The Great Lord urges everyone to stop arguing and focus on obtaining the Jiangzhu Grass.
• The Mirror Spirit accuses the Great Lord of wanting to kill and consume a fellow plant lifeform. The Great Lord initially considers absorbing the grass’s spiritual charm and Dao patterns, but changes her position when she worries Feng Jun might see her as cruel.
• She claims she may instead keep the Jiangzhu Grass as a pet or maid. The Mirror Spirit volunteers to acquire it because the Great Lord cannot reveal herself and Feng Jun is unlikely to seize it improperly.
• Xuanyuan Buqi captures more than twenty One-Horned Giant Salamanders guarding the Jiangzhu Grass, including two Nascent Soul beasts, several Gold Core beasts, and four Dust-Free juveniles. He intends to raise the salamanders rather than kill them immediately.
• The salamanders and the Jiangzhu Grass have a mutually beneficial relationship: the grass provides spiritual nourishment, while the salamanders protect it and thrive in its spiritually rich waters.
• The Mirror Spirit interrupts Xuanyuan Buqi before he harvests the grass, explaining that Feng Jun wants the Jiangzhu Grass alive.
• Xuanyuan Buqi agrees to give it up in exchange for a Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill. Although the grass could eventually become extremely valuable, its current worth is limited by the difficulty and time required to cultivate it.
• The exchange is finalized, and the Mirror Spirit sends Xuanyuan Buqi away to search for Soul Emergence Realm demon beasts.

Character Development

• Feng Jun becomes more assertive with the Mirror Spirit, refusing to tolerate its arrogance and insisting that friendship does not excuse mistreatment or irresponsibility.
• The Mirror Spirit remains proud, opportunistic, and poor at judging its own behavior, but it is also willing to compromise when Feng Jun challenges it or when the Great Lord’s benefits are at stake. Its eagerness to retain compensation reveals its self-serving nature.
• The Great Lord shows her instinctive ruthlessness as a plant-based lifeform, viewing the absorption of other plants as natural survival. However, she also demonstrates social awareness by worrying about Feng Jun’s judgment and adapting her plan.
• Xuanyuan Buqi acts pragmatically and honorably. He preserves the salamanders instead of slaughtering them, recognizes the uncertain value of the Jiangzhu Grass, and negotiates a favorable exchange when the opportunity arises.
• Feng Jun’s influence over the others is evident: even powerful beings adjust their actions based on his opinions, relationships, and moral standards.

Significant Themes

• Debt and responsibility: Feng Jun’s argument with the Mirror Spirit highlights the tension between friendship, obligation, and repayment.
• Pride versus humility: The Mirror Spirit’s arrogance clashes with its financial dependence on Feng Jun, creating both humor and conflict.
• Survival versus morality: The Great Lord views consuming fellow plant beings as natural, while Feng Jun and the others apply social and ethical ideas to the issue.
• Value and potential: The Jiangzhu Grass’s worth depends not only on its current abilities but also on the immense time, knowledge, and resources needed to cultivate it further.
• Symbiosis and stewardship: The relationship between the Jiangzhu Grass and the salamanders illustrates cooperation between different lifeforms, contrasting with the Great Lord’s instinct to absorb and dominate.
• Influence and social perception: The Great Lord’s change of plan shows that reputation and the opinions of companions matter, even to beings with fundamentally alien values.

Important Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the Mirror Spirit: They argue over unpaid debts and the Mirror Spirit’s arrogance, but the confrontation also confirms that Feng Jun regards the Mirror Spirit as a friend whose actions affect him personally.
• The Great Lord and the Mirror Spirit: Their bickering reflects a competitive but mutually dependent relationship. The Great Lord threatens to withhold Soul-Nourishing Liquid, prompting the Mirror Spirit to immediately soften and cooperate.
• The Mirror Spirit and Xuanyuan Buqi: The Mirror Spirit negotiates on Feng Jun’s behalf, offering a Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill for the Jiangzhu Grass and exploiting Xuanyuan Buqi’s willingness to bargain.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and the Jiangzhu Grass: He recognizes the grass’s importance and preserves its guardian salamanders, though he ultimately relinquishes the grass in exchange for a valuable cultivation resource.
• Feng Jun and the wider group: Even while absent from the final negotiation, Feng Jun’s preferences determine the Jiangzhu Grass’s fate and prevent its immediate destruction.

Summary: “A Strong Sense of Déjà Vu”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xuanyuan Buqi is sent to retrieve a Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill in exchange for his cooperation.
• After securing the pill, Feng Jun and the others decide to transplant the rare Jiangzhu Grass rather than leave it behind.
• The Kongmeng Domain Consciousness reveals that it can now sense areas it has already explored, allowing it to monitor the location without Feng Jun leaving a message.
• Feng Jun discusses the Jiangzhu Grass’s cultivation requirements with the Yin Soul “big shot.” The plant needs water, quiet, and Dao intent, but relatively little spiritual energy.
• They discover the Jiangzhu Grass growing in a concealed pool fed by a spiritually rich mountain stream. Its growth has stalled because the area no longer contains sufficient Dao intent.
• The grass explains that it is waiting for Dao intent to return. It accepts either outcome—renewed growth or eventual decline—with calm resignation.
• The group debates whether to transplant the grass or return it to Xuanyuan Buqi, who might consume it.
• The Mirror Spirit reveals that it secretly negotiated a “transfer fee,” claiming it had obtained three Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pills. Feng Jun uses Backtracking to discover that the actual agreement was for only one pill and accuses the Mirror Spirit of taking a kickback.
• Feng Jun reprimands the Mirror Spirit, warning that its debt will double if it repeats such behavior. Their argument highlights the Mirror Spirit’s bizarre sense of entitlement and poor understanding of value.
• As Feng Jun prepares to leave the Jiangzhu Grass behind, the plant urgently calls out, implying that it may now be willing to move.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains practical but increasingly assertive as the group’s leader. He balances his desire to obtain valuable resources with concern for his companions and refuses to let the Mirror Spirit dispose of his possessions without permission.
• The Yin Soul big shot displays deep expertise in spirit-plant cultivation and confidence in its own knowledge. It is dismissive of the Jiangzhu Grass’s lack of combat ability but willing to manage its transplantation.
• The Mirror Spirit shows a growing but questionable interest in commerce. It attempts to profit from the exchange, justifies deception as a way to repay debts, and resists Feng Jun’s authority.
• The Jiangzhu Grass is portrayed as intelligent, fragile, and highly detached from survival. Its acceptance of fate contrasts sharply with the Mirror Spirit’s greed and the others’ practical concerns.
• Xuanyuan Buqi remains mostly offscreen but is characterized as willing to tolerate being ordered around for valuable pills and possibly interested in consuming the Jiangzhu Grass.

Significant Themes

• Value and ownership: The argument over the pills raises questions about who has the right to determine how resources are used, especially when valuable items may benefit others.
• Greed versus responsibility: The Mirror Spirit treats the grass and pills as commodities, while Feng Jun emphasizes obligations, fairness, and the needs of his companions.
• Fate and acceptance: The Jiangzhu Grass accepts both renewed life and decline, embodying resignation to fate rather than attachment to survival.
• Knowledge and misinformation: Feng Jun realizes that commonly repeated “facts” about rare treasures may be unreliable, while the big shot’s firsthand expertise proves more trustworthy.
• Authority and trust: Feng Jun’s relationship with the Mirror Spirit becomes more strained as he asserts control and punishes its secretive behavior.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the big shot exchange information about transplanting and cultivating the Jiangzhu Grass, with Feng Jun testing the limits of the big shot’s knowledge.
• Feng Jun speaks directly with the Jiangzhu Grass, acting as an interpreter between its fragmented thoughts and the others.
• The Mirror Spirit and Feng Jun engage in a comedic but serious dispute over the hidden transfer fee and the misuse of Feng Jun’s resources.
• Feng Jun criticizes the Mirror Spirit’s logic and reinforces their unequal authority, while the Mirror Spirit insists that its actions are justified by its debts and the needs of outsiders.
• The chapter ends with the Jiangzhu Grass interrupting Feng Jun’s departure, suggesting that its attitude toward transplantation may have changed.

Chapter Summary: “I Can Endure Hardship”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiangzhu Grass reflects on its long history of nearly being devoured by powerful creatures. Although it appears fearless of death, it has always taken opportunities to survive.
• Previously, it protected itself from a One-Horned Giant Salamander by releasing spiritual resonance into a stream. The salamanders chose to preserve it as a long-term source of nourishment rather than eat it immediately.
• Jiangzhu Grass became so comfortable with the salamanders that it ordered them to keep quiet and move downstream when they disturbed its rest, provoking their resentment.
• A powerful newcomer captures the entire salamander colony as food. Before Jiangzhu Grass can become involved, an even stronger being arrives and intimidates the first newcomer.
• Jiangzhu Grass learns that the earlier powerful being intended to take it away and eat it. It attempts to ransom itself with two Soul-Stabilizing Pills.
• The negotiation quickly turns into a robbery threat. The powerful being demands Jiangzhu Grass’s Storage Bracelet and even threatens to repeatedly kill and revive it using a Heart of Life.
• Jiangzhu Grass briefly resists by threatening to destroy the bracelet, but ultimately realizes it cannot defeat the attacker.
• The Yin Soul big shot proposes relocating Jiangzhu Grass to Libo Shoal, where Feng Jun’s Domain Favor and a special Kindred-Path Aura can aid its cultivation.
• Once Jiangzhu Grass learns that Libo Shoal contains an attribute-free Great Dao aura produced when Dust-Free Realm cultivators advance to the Gold Core Realm, it eagerly agrees to relocate despite the noise and inferior spiritual energy.

Character Developments

• Jiangzhu Grass: Its apparent indifference to death is revealed as pragmatic survival instinct. It is cautious, suspicious, and unwilling to surrender its Storage Bracelet without guarantees, yet it can compromise when offered a valuable cultivation opportunity. Its pride appears when it identifies itself as part of an immortal lineage, but its practical nature ultimately outweighs its reluctance to serve as an attendant.
• The Yin Soul big shot: Acts domineering, threatening, and manipulative, presenting relocation as both coercion and good fortune. Its immense wood-element Life Force reveals an extraordinary origin, possibly comparable to powerful divine trees such as the Wutong Tree or Ruomu.
• Feng Jun: Remains comparatively rational and observant. He is irritated by the big shot’s teasing and unwillingness to explain matters directly, especially regarding the benefits of Libo Shoal.
• Mirror Spirit: Provides comic relief through its greed and provocative remarks, immediately focusing on how many Soul-Stabilizing Pills Jiangzhu Grass possesses and joking that Jiangzhu Grass will become soup.
• One-Horned Giant Salamanders: Their relationship with Jiangzhu Grass shifts from mutually beneficial coexistence to abandonment when they are captured by a stronger predator. Their fate highlights the harshness of the cultivation world.

Significant Themes

• Survival beneath apparent fearlessness: Jiangzhu Grass claims not to fear death, but repeatedly takes calculated steps to avoid it. Its attitude reflects endurance rather than true recklessness.
• Power and helplessness: Even powerful beings can become prey when confronted by something stronger. Jiangzhu Grass, the salamanders, and the first attacker all demonstrate the unstable hierarchy of the cultivation world.
• Pragmatism versus dignity: Jiangzhu Grass initially objects to becoming someone’s attendant because of its proud lineage, but accepts once it recognizes the exceptional value of the relocation site.
• The value of cultivation opportunities: The attribute-free Great Dao aura is far more important to Jiangzhu Grass than comfort, quiet, or perfect spiritual energy. It is willing to “endure hardship” for genuine advancement.
• Manipulation and negotiation: The relocation is presented through threats, bargaining, and intimidation rather than kindness. Jiangzhu Grass must determine whether the offer is a rescue, a relocation, or merely a more convenient form of captivity.
• Daoist balance: The discussion of clarity and turbidity suggests that even noisy, human-tainted Dao intent may contain valuable purity. Jiangzhu Grass accepts that opposites can coexist and benefit one another.

Character Interactions

• Jiangzhu Grass and the salamanders have a humorous but unequal relationship: it treats them as protectors and servants, while they resent its demands despite benefiting from its spiritual resonance.
• Jiangzhu Grass and the Yin Soul big shot engage in a tense negotiation. Jiangzhu Grass tries to bargain for its life, while the big shot alternates between threats, mockery, and claims of benevolent relocation.
• The Mirror Spirit repeatedly aggravates the negotiation by treating Jiangzhu Grass as a potential source of profit or food, prompting Feng Jun to rebuke it.
• Jiangzhu Grass recognizes the big shot’s wood-element origin and accepts that, although serving it is beneath its pride, the relationship is not humiliating given the senior’s formidable status.
• Feng Jun and the big shot disagree indirectly over who should explain Libo Shoal’s advantages. Feng Jun eventually infers that his Domain Favor is relevant, while the big shot reveals the more important benefit: the Kindred-Path Aura.
• The chapter ends with Jiangzhu Grass enthusiastically agreeing to move, while Feng Jun doubts whether its claim that it can “endure hardship” will hold up in practice.

Summary of “The Delicate Jiangzhu Grass”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiangzhu Grass prepares to leave but is stopped by the mysterious “big shot,” who demands to inspect its Soul-Stabilizing Pill.
• Feeling threatened, Jiangzhu Grass offers its entire Storage Bracelet, but the big shot insists it only wants to verify the pill’s origin.
• To intimidate Jiangzhu Grass, the big shot asks Feng Jun to display a broken arrowhead containing terrifying Slaughter Dao Intent. The killing aura severely pressures both Feng Jun and Jiangzhu Grass, though Feng Jun endures it better despite his lower cultivation.
• Jiangzhu Grass reluctantly produces a Soul-Stabilizing Pill. The big shot recognizes it as one stolen from its secret treasury and demands to know how Jiangzhu Grass obtained it.
• Jiangzhu Grass explains that it found the pill and Storage Bracelet after a Celestial Demon who had once dealt with it was killed.
• The big shot then discovers a Taiyi Life-Force Stone in the bracelet and mentions possessing a Heart of Life. Jiangzhu Grass immediately becomes interested in trading for it.
• Instead of negotiating, the big shot declares that two Soul-Stabilizing Pills, one Soul Emergence Pill, and three Nascent Soul Pills are its property and announces that it will reclaim them.
• Jiangzhu Grass protests that it found the treasures fairly and accuses the big shot of acting improperly. The big shot counters that Jiangzhu Grass may be an accomplice—or even an instigator—in the original theft.

Character Developments

• Jiangzhu Grass: Revealed as physically immobile, outwardly delicate, and extremely timid in its dealings with powerful figures, yet possessing remarkable defensive strength and firm principles. It refuses to surrender its possessions merely because someone stronger demands them. Its long isolation has also made it suspicious of outside interference, despite its considerable intelligence and accumulated resources.
• The big shot: Demonstrates overwhelming strength, arrogance, impatience, and a sharp, mocking personality. It is convinced of its moral and practical authority, treating Jiangzhu Grass as insignificant while claiming the right to recover stolen treasures.
• Feng Jun: Shows greater resilience than Jiangzhu Grass against the Slaughter Dao Intent, despite being only a High-Tier Gold Core cultivator. He also pushes back against Mirror Spirit’s attempts to show off with his property.
• Mirror Spirit: Acts recklessly and provocatively, using Feng Jun’s dangerous arrowhead to intimidate Jiangzhu Grass while ignoring the consequences. Feng Jun criticizes this increasingly irresponsible behavior.
• The Celestial Demon: Though initially predatory, it eventually forms a mutually beneficial relationship with Jiangzhu Grass. It cannot forcefully take Jiangzhu Grass’s spiritual essence and therefore resorts to negotiation and occasional mischief.

Significant Themes

• Power versus principle: Jiangzhu Grass is helpless before the big shot in terms of cultivation, but it still defends its right to keep possessions it legitimately found.
• Natural resistance and hidden strength: Jiangzhu Grass appears weak and fragile but is extremely difficult to harm, especially mentally. Its defenses make even powerful Celestial Demons unable to exploit it.
• Negotiation over coercion: The relationship between Jiangzhu Grass and the Celestial Demon evolves from attempted exploitation into cooperation because neither side can completely dominate the other.
• Ownership and moral ambiguity: The Soul-Stabilizing Pill was stolen from the big shot’s treasury, but Jiangzhu Grass did not steal it. The conflict raises questions about whether possessing found property makes one responsible for the original theft.
• Isolation versus outside knowledge: Jiangzhu Grass prefers peace and solitude, rejecting the Celestial Demon’s offers of information even though it remains quietly curious about the wider world.
• Humor through personality clashes: The chapter contrasts the big shot’s bullying arrogance, Jiangzhu Grass’s aggrieved innocence, and Feng Jun and Mirror Spirit’s bickering.

Character Interactions

• The big shot repeatedly mocks and intimidates Jiangzhu Grass, while Jiangzhu Grass responds with timid but logically sound protests.
• Feng Jun assists the big shot by displaying the Slaughter Dao arrowhead, but he also challenges Mirror Spirit for recklessly using his belongings.
• Jiangzhu Grass and the Celestial Demon once maintained a tense but ultimately cooperative arrangement: Jiangzhu Grass supplied spiritual essence, while the Celestial Demon offered Spirit Stones and Life-Force-related treasures.
• The chapter ends with the big shot accusing Jiangzhu Grass of involvement in the theft, while Jiangzhu Grass stubbornly defends its innocence.

Chapter Summary: “News of the Space”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiangzhu Grass argues against surrendering the pills it found in its Storage Bracelet, insisting that it should not lose them merely because Feng Jun and the others are rescuing it.
• The “big shot” tells Jiangzhu Grass that it will be taken somewhere with a Kindred-Path Aura and may receive Heart of Life, but Jiangzhu Grass becomes far more interested in Feng Jun’s planned Longevity Spring.
• Feng Jun tests the spring water on Jiangzhu Grass. The grass is impressed by its life-extending power and asks to grow beside the spring.
• Feng Jun discovers that Jiangzhu Grass’s absorption of Life Dao Intent has weakened the spring water’s effectiveness by roughly one percent. Jiangzhu Grass argues that it absorbs the Dao Intent to improve itself, not to steal lifespan from others.
• Jiangzhu Grass explains that its cultivation releases spiritual resonance beneficial to cultivators. It maintains that mortals and cultivators require different forms of life energy, and that absolute fairness under the Great Dao is impossible.
• Feng Jun ultimately permits Jiangzhu Grass to use the Longevity Spring, provided it slows its absorption when the spring is needed for others.
• Jiangzhu Grass reveals that the stream originated from a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone, which eventually transformed into a Spirit Vein. It has protected the source by collecting treasures such as the Taiyi Life-Force Stone.
• Feng Jun questions Jiangzhu Grass about the space’s origins and inhabitants. Jiangzhu Grass says the space was created by ancient human cultivators, later abandoned, and eventually reentered by humans attempting a Blood Sacrifice. Their souls were seized by Celestial Demons, after which the space became dominated by Celestial Demons and demon beasts.
• Jiangzhu Grass identifies one Spirit Severing Realm Celestial Demon and two powerful demon beasts: a Civet Demon and a Tiger Demon. Later, the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness reveals a third—the Golden-Winged Roc—which usually stays outside the space and once mediated a battle between the other two.
• The chapter concludes that, besides the captured Civet Demon, at least two Spirit Severing Realm demon beasts remain in the space. Their continued presence makes establishing a permanent force there extremely dangerous. Celestial Demons are considered a secondary concern because their passage allows more to arrive at any time.

Character Developments

• Jiangzhu Grass: Shows stubbornness and a strong desire for freedom, but also demonstrates reasonableness and considerable knowledge of Life Dao Intent. It negotiates confidently for access to the Longevity Spring and reveals important information about the space.
• Feng Jun: Acts cautiously and pragmatically. He recognizes Jiangzhu Grass’s argument but remains concerned about the long-term depletion of the spring. He also shifts from negotiating with the grass to investigating the history and power structure of the space.
• The big shot: Continues to pressure Jiangzhu Grass while helping clarify the practical and ethical issues surrounding the Longevity Spring.
• Mirror Spirit: Speaks little but shows strong interest in the existence of Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Kongmeng Domain Consciousness: Provides crucial additional intelligence about the Golden-Winged Roc and the remaining Spirit Severing Realm threats.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus protection: Jiangzhu Grass resists becoming an “errand-runner,” arguing that rescue should not mean surrendering its independence.
• Fairness and unequal value: The dispute over Life Dao Intent highlights the difference between what benefits cultivators and what benefits mortals. The characters acknowledge that the Great Dao does not guarantee equal treatment.
• Resource exploitation and long-term consequences: Even a tiny loss in the Longevity Spring’s power could become significant through continued use, emphasizing the danger of gradual depletion.
• Truth, knowledge, and limited understanding: Jiangzhu Grass is honest but lacks broad knowledge, while Feng Jun and the others must piece together incomplete information about the space.
• Hidden history and looming threats: The space’s human-created origins, Blood Sacrifice, and takeover by Celestial Demons suggest a larger past conflict. The surviving high-level demon beasts pose an immediate strategic danger.

Character Interactions

• Jiangzhu Grass and the big shot clash over stolen pills, service, freedom, and compensation.
• Feng Jun and Jiangzhu Grass negotiate the grass’s access to the Longevity Spring, with Feng Jun balancing its needs against the spring’s future usefulness.
• Jiangzhu Grass debates the ethics of absorbing Life Dao Intent with the big shot and Feng Jun, defending its cultivation while acknowledging that cultivators and mortals benefit differently.
• Feng Jun questions Jiangzhu Grass about the stream, the demon beasts, the Celestial Demons, and the space’s history.
• The new information from the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness changes the group’s assessment: the real obstacle to settlement is not merely the Celestial Demons but the several powerful demon beasts already occupying the space.

Summary: “Other Arrangements?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun learns important information about the mysterious space but must conceal that it came from the Yin Soul boss and the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness. Jiangzhu Grass refuses to act as a messenger because it considers deception unacceptable, so Feng Jun decides to claim he deduced the information himself.
• The scouts return after a dangerous search. Qingjian has lost an arm during another siege by Celestial Demons and demon beasts. Vast Sea Venerable promises him a pill that can restore the limb without damaging his cultivation foundation.
• The group gains no firm information about Soul Emergence Realm demon beasts, though one Nascent Soul demon beast mentioned the absent “Tiger King” before self-destructing.
• Feng Jun reveals his theory that the space was originally an Ancient Human cave residence, later moved or hidden elsewhere. A suspected demonic cultivator once obtained it but was eventually betrayed by Celestial Demons.
• The others question Feng Jun’s sudden ability to make such advanced deductions. He admits that he has concealed certain abilities and sources of information, but refuses to explain further.
• Feng Jun identifies a Golden-Winged Roc as another Soul Emergence Realm demon beast connected to the space. This raises suspicions because the Golden Roc Clan was once exterminated for allegedly colluding with demonic cultivators.
• Qian Zhong and Vast Sea Venerable discuss the history of the Golden Roc Clan. Vast Sea reveals that his grandmaster participated in its destruction, while Qian Zhong implies that she knew the grandmaster personally and considered her capable of reaching the True Immortal Realm.
• The group debates whether to leave or remain in the space to hunt the remaining Soul Emergence demon beasts and gather Soul Bodies. The Mirror Spirit strongly favors staying, but Feng Jun chooses to return to Libo Shoal because he has other plans.
• Feng Jun reveals that he has obtained Jiangzhu Grass and intends to plant it beside the Longevity Spring. He asks Xuanyuan Buqi about the plant’s habits.
• Qian Zhong and Vast Sea Venerable immediately try to buy the Jiangzhu Grass, offering Ultimate Spirit Stones. Xuanyuan Buqi reveals that Feng Jun originally obtained it by exchanging a Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill, making the grass far more valuable than they had assumed.
• The chapter ends with Vast Sea Venerable realizing that Feng Jun has a special purpose for the Jiangzhu Grass rather than intending to sell it.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more openly secretive and strategically manipulative. He acknowledges that his known abilities do not explain his current information and chooses to reveal only what is necessary.
• Qingjian suffers a serious injury, losing an arm, emphasizing the dangers of the scouting mission and his willingness to serve despite the risks.
• Vast Sea Venerable shows responsibility toward Qingjian by promising a rare restorative pill. He also becomes increasingly suspicious of Feng Jun’s hidden sources and investigates the connection between Qian Zhong and his grandmaster.
• Qian Zhong reveals extensive knowledge of ancient events and high-level treasures. Her interest in Jiangzhu Grass reflects both her family’s needs and her recognition of its Dao-comprehending value.
• Xuanyuan Buqi continues to act protectively toward Feng Jun, defending the value of the Jiangzhu Grass and indirectly exposing the enormous price Feng Jun paid for it.
• The Mirror Spirit displays a strong desire for battle, Soul Bodies, and secretly, Ultimate Spirit Stones. Its priorities differ from Feng Jun’s more cautious plans.
• Jiangzhu Grass is characterized as unusually principled and literal, refusing to deceive others even when doing so would help Feng Jun.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and concealed power: Feng Jun’s hidden connections and unexplained deductions deepen the mystery surrounding him.
• Trust and suspicion: The companions cooperate, but each recognizes that Feng Jun is withholding information. His refusal to explain himself creates both respect and unease.
• The value of rare resources: Jiangzhu Grass, Soul-Nurturing Pills, and Ultimate Spirit Stones reveal how cultivation treasures are valued according to practical impact rather than fixed prices.
• Responsibility and compensation: Vast Sea Venerable feels obligated to compensate Qingjian because he arranged the dangerous assignment that led to the injury.
• Ancient history and unresolved conspiracies: The Golden Roc Clan’s destruction, the possible demonic-cultivator alliance, and the origins of the mysterious space hint at larger historical conflicts.
• Different priorities among allies: The Mirror Spirit wants combat and Soul Bodies, while Feng Jun prioritizes the Longevity Spring and the cultivation of Jiangzhu Grass.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Jiangzhu Grass argue over whether it should deceive the others; the grass insists that it has never lied, while the Yin Soul boss mocks its supposed “ancestor.”
• Vast Sea Venerable promises Qingjian a foundation-preserving limb-regrowth pill after Qingjian’s injury.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and the others challenge Feng Jun about the source of his information, but he refuses to disclose it.
• Qian Zhong and Vast Sea Venerable question Feng Jun about the Golden-Winged Roc, leading to a tense exchange about the Golden Roc Clan and Vast Sea’s grandmaster.
• Qian Zhong and Vast Sea Venerable attempt to purchase the Jiangzhu Grass, while Xuanyuan Buqi defends Feng Jun’s decision to keep it and reveals the pill-for-grass exchange.
• Feng Jun’s plan to plant Jiangzhu Grass beside the Longevity Spring strongly implies that he has “other arrangements,” possibly connected to Yi Jue’s imminent emergence from seclusion.

Chapter Summary: The Generous Hanhai

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun explains that his insistence on protecting the Jiangzhu Grass is based less on a practical plan than on personal sentiment.
• Vast Sea Venerable reveals that he wants the Jiangzhu Grass because he hopes to obtain one of Feng Jun’s extremely rare Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pills.
• Feng Jun gives Hanhai only one opportunity to name his price. Hanhai offers eight Ultimate Spirit Stones, essentially all of his wealth, because the pill may help heal a martial uncle whose divine soul has been damaged for two centuries.
• Feng Jun accepts the offer, joking that Hanhai is “poor” compared with Yi Jue. Hanhai and Xuanyuan Buqi then exchange banter about wealth, talent, and their reputations as former prodigies.
• Qian Zhong determines that the Jiangzhu Grass is at the Nascent Soul Stage, making it valuable but still far less important than Feng Jun’s Heart of Life.
• The group discusses how to protect the grass. Qian Zhong suggests constructing a defensive grand array, though Feng Jun worries about its enormous cost and maintenance. She points out that he could reinforce it with his nearly indestructible Protective Talisman.
• Hanhai observes that if Feng Jun is absent long enough for the Jiangzhu Grass to be stolen, the much more valuable Heart of Life would probably already be in danger. This helps Feng Jun realize that he has overestimated the grass’s security problem.
• Feng Jun decides to retrieve the Jiangzhu Grass, but Hanhai asks to leave first, gather the Ultimate Spirit Stones, and receive the pill before Feng Jun becomes occupied with other matters.
• Feng Jun agrees, provided Hanhai keeps the existence of his Soul-Stabilizing Pills secret from everyone else.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun is shown to be generous but not indiscriminately charitable. He helps friends when possible while still demanding fair compensation and protecting his valuable resources. He also begins to recognize that his emotional attachment to the Jiangzhu Grass has distorted his judgment about its importance.
• Vast Sea Venerable/Hanhai demonstrates deep loyalty and filial-like devotion toward his injured martial uncle. Despite his status, he is willing to spend his entire fortune on even a chance of healing him. His usually proud and powerful demeanor is softened by his desperate request.
• Qian Zhong continues to act as a sharp, pragmatic adviser. She evaluates the grass’s true value, proposes practical defensive solutions, and helps Feng Jun see the larger strategic picture.
• Xuanyuan Buqi displays his pride and humor while reflecting on his former genius and the hardships that followed. His exchange with Hanhai reveals mutual respect between two renowned cultivators.
• Feng Jun’s concern about concealing his pills shows that he is increasingly thinking as a leader building a long-term foundation for Luohua rather than merely distributing resources in the present.

Significant Themes

• Sentiment versus practicality: Feng Jun protects the Jiangzhu Grass because of personal feeling, even though it is not his most valuable possession.
• The cost of loyalty: Hanhai’s willingness to sacrifice all eight Ultimate Spirit Stones emphasizes devotion to one’s sect and elders.
• Wealth and perspective: The characters’ joking comparisons reveal how wealth is relative, especially among powerful cultivators and major factions.
• Strategic priorities: The discussion contrasts the visible rarity of the Jiangzhu Grass with the far greater value and danger surrounding the Heart of Life.
• Secrecy and resource management: Feng Jun must carefully control information about his pills, preserving them for Luohua’s future development while avoiding unwanted demands or threats.
• The vulnerability of genius: Xuanyuan Buqi’s reflections acknowledge that talent alone does not guarantee survival; many prodigies die before reaching maturity.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Hanhai negotiate respectfully but firmly, with Feng Jun setting strict terms and Hanhai making an unusually vulnerable appeal.
• Hanhai and Xuanyuan Buqi trade humorous remarks about who qualifies as a “freak” or prodigy, while also recognizing each other’s accomplishments.
• Qian Zhong challenges Xuanyuan Buqi’s self-important tone and later advises Feng Jun on protecting the Jiangzhu Grass.
• Hanhai’s blunt reminder about the Heart of Life forces Feng Jun to reconsider his priorities.
• The chapter ends with a confidential agreement between Feng Jun and Hanhai, establishing trust but also emphasizing the importance of secrecy surrounding Feng Jun’s pill supply.

Chapter Summary: Vermilion Ginger Grass Prodigy

Key Plot Points and Events

• Vast Sea Venerable asks Feng Jun to perform a Deduction concerning a Soul-Stabilizing Pill for an injured Soul Emergence Venerable. He agrees to pay eight Ultimate Spirit Stones and promises to keep the matter confidential, with Qingjian True Immortal also agreeing to remain silent.
• Feng Jun questions whether the pill will work and why the injured cultivator refuses to undergo a Deduction. Vast Sea explains that the man’s pride and concern for the sect’s reputation make him unwilling to reveal his weakened condition. Vast Sea jokingly—or half-seriously—claims he will tie him up and bring him if necessary.
• Feng Jun, Vast Sea, and Qingjian successfully teleport directly from their current space to the Icefield Sector. Feng Jun gives Vast Sea the Soul-Stabilizing Pill first and waits for the patient to be brought over.
• While Feng Jun is away, Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong examine the Jiangzhu Grass, referred to as the Vermilion Ginger Grass. They discuss relocating it and whether the surrounding Spirit Vein might be valuable.
• Xuanyuan warns Qian Zhong not to seize the Spirit Vein prematurely, since Feng Jun may relocate the entire area or need it as a fallback location. He also goes to collect Soul Bodies while waiting, concerned about possible Celestial Demons and the danger of a future battle.
• Two days later, Feng Jun returns, revealing that the injured cultivator performed his own Deduction, decided the Soul-Stabilizing Pill posed no problem, and never appeared for Feng Jun’s Deduction. Feng Jun therefore completed nothing beyond accepting the Ultimate Spirit Stones.
• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong discuss relocating the Jiangzhu Grass and constructing a Longevity Spring at Libo Shoal. Qian Zhong asks to take the local Spirit Vein after the relocation, but Feng Jun asks her to leave it temporarily in case the new site proves unsafe.
• The Jiangzhu Grass unexpectedly communicates through Divine Sense. It offers to let Feng Jun remove useful parts of its current environment and suggests that its existing habitat could itself be transformed into a Longevity Spring.
• With guidance from the mysterious “big shot,” Feng Jun realizes that the Jiangzhu Grass has an extraordinary innate understanding of Life Force. He begins consulting it about possible Longevity Spring designs.
• The Jiangzhu Grass proves far more capable than Feng Jun’s Big Data matching when it comes to designing the overall structure and life-force circulation of the Longevity Spring. Although it lacks knowledge of many treasures, it can deduce the functions of unfamiliar ones and provide highly original, natural solutions.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Becomes more cautious and considerate toward the Jiangzhu Grass, choosing to preserve its former habitat as a backup rather than relocating it recklessly. He also recognizes the limits of his own data-based methods when compared with genuine innate expertise.
• Vast Sea Venerable: Shows loyalty and concern toward his injured martial uncle, but his inability to force the man to appear reveals the limits of his authority and the importance of sect dignity.
• Qingjian True Immortal: Cooperates readily and promises discretion, remaining a supportive but secondary participant.
• Xuanyuan Buqi: Acts protectively toward Feng Jun’s interests, restraining Qian Zhong from exploiting the Spirit Vein and displaying practical awareness of potential karmic consequences.
• Qian Zhong: Continues to look for valuable resources, especially the Spirit Vein, but accepts Feng Jun’s reasoning and respects the Jiangzhu Grass’s autonomy once it begins communicating.
• Jiangzhu Grass: Develops from a silent, reclusive spirit plant into an intelligent and cooperative participant. Its attachment to its birthplace becomes clear, as does its extraordinary specialization in transforming and understanding Life Force.
• The “big shot”: Admits that the Jiangzhu Grass surpasses its own abilities in Life Force transformation, an unusual acknowledgment of another being’s superiority.

Significant Themes

• Pride versus healing: The injured cultivator’s refusal to appear demonstrates how pride, reputation, and fear of vulnerability can obstruct opportunities for recovery.
• Trust and consideration: Feng Jun earns the Jiangzhu Grass’s cooperation by taking its emotional attachment to its homeland seriously rather than treating it merely as a resource.
• Innate expertise versus acquired knowledge: The Jiangzhu Grass knows little about treasures or the outside world, yet possesses profound natural insight into Life Force, showing that specialized instinct can surpass broad theoretical knowledge.
• Prudence and contingency planning: Feng Jun and Xuanyuan emphasize preserving fallback options, avoiding unnecessary karmic entanglements, and not committing to an irreversible relocation before the Longevity Spring plan is secure.
• Sentience and attachment: The Jiangzhu Grass’s response highlights that intelligent plants can possess memory, emotion, territorial attachment, and a desire to participate in decisions affecting their lives.
• Limits of calculation: Feng Jun’s Big Data matching is powerful for selecting materials, but it cannot replace the Jiangzhu Grass’s holistic understanding of how Life Force should naturally be structured.

Important Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea Venerable: Negotiate the Soul-Stabilizing Pill and the Deduction while balancing payment, confidentiality, and the injured cultivator’s pride.
• Vast Sea and Qingjian: Confirm their willingness to protect the secret, reinforcing cooperation among powerful cultivators.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong: Debate whether to harvest the Spirit Vein, with Xuanyuan urging caution and Qian Zhong expressing practical interest.
• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong: Discuss whether the Spirit Vein should be removed and whether the Jiangzhu Grass’s original habitat should remain intact as a reserve.
• Feng Jun and the Jiangzhu Grass: Form the chapter’s central relationship. Their conversation transforms the grass from an object of relocation into a valued consultant and collaborator in designing the Longevity Spring.
• Feng Jun and the big shot: The big shot encourages him to trust the Jiangzhu Grass’s natural talent, leading Feng Jun to recognize and rely on its professional-level understanding of Life Force.