Chapter Summaries

Jiang Wang and the High Priestess negotiated the outsiders’ help against Yan Xiao, while he sought guarantees and rewards for himself and his companions. The chapter ended with Jiang Wang asking whether the Holy Clan had a treasure that could extend someone’s life by a hundred years.

• Su Qi recounted an ancient book’s account of Yan Xiao, and the High Priestess said only outsiders summoned by the Dragon God could destroy it.
• Jiang Wang pointed out that Yan Xiao could enter the God-Shaded Land, unsettling the Holy Clan members with the implication that it, too, had the Dragon God’s favor.
• The High Priestess sent Qinghua, Qing Qishu, and Qing Jiuye away and asked to speak privately with Jiang Wang.
• Su Qi trusted Jiang Wang because he knew of Jiang Wang’s past, and Wu Quji agreed to let Jiang Wang represent them in negotiations.
• Wu Quji requested a peerless divine art and Su Qi requested a map of every treasure in the Forest Sea Source Realm, but Jiang Wang instead asked the High Priestess for a life-extending treasure.

Jiang Wang negotiated with the old High Priestess for a life-extending treasure, a powerful technique, and a treasure map, but the Holy Clan offered only limited substitutes. He shared the results with Wu Quji and Su Qi, leaving the three Dragon God Envoys with uncertain information and no guarantee they could escape the Forest Sea Source Realm.

• Jiang Wang rejected the High Priestess's offer to join the Holy Clan in exchange for a thousand-year lifespan because he would have to remain in the Forest Sea Source Realm.
• The High Priestess offered Jiang Wang information about a life-extending treasure outside the realm, and he accepted it despite its uncertain reliability.
• Jiang Wang negotiated for a Holy Clan technique and a treasure map, receiving a general martial technique and a map of the Holy Clan's explorations.
• Jiang Wang showed Wu Quji and Su Qi the results, and they noted that the technique was mainly for moving and fighting in trees and the map was ordinary.
• Jiang Wang revealed that the treasure information was imprinted on his arm but would only take effect if they left the Forest Sea Source Realm.

With three days until the foretold fight against Yan Xiao, Jiang Wang secured an agreement for the High Priestess to make three Hidden Cloaks from hunted Hidden Snake hides. He and the others went to the Hidden Snake Land to gather materials and practice fighting together, where a giant bear suddenly attacked.

• Jiang Wang urged Qing Qishu to be reserved with Qinghua and asked whether the clan had more Hidden Cloaks.
• The High Priestess briefed Jiang Wang, Su Qi, and Wu Quji on Yan Xiao, including its injured left wing, and agreed to make three cloaks from their snake hides.
• Jiang Wang, Su Qi, Wu Quji, Qing Qishu, Bazhi, and Jiu Ye set out to hunt Hidden Snakes and train together before facing Yan Xiao.
• A giant bear charged at the group after a tree crashed down in front of them.

Jiang Wang and the others fought a powerful Forest Bear, which Qing Bazhi killed after it badly injured Wu Quji. They learned the bear had attacked to avenge its cub, while Qing Jiuye and Qing Qishu discovered that their arrows and shield had mysteriously vanished.

• The Forest Bear charged the group, and it smashed Wu Quji into the ground when his golden needles failed to pierce its hide.
• Qing Bazhi emerged from concealment and killed the Forest Bear with a javelin, then defended himself against Jiang Wang's accusation that he had delayed helping.
• Wu Quji said his broken bones would take at least ten days to heal, leaving the group weaker against Yan Xiao.
• Qing Bazhi explained that the dead Forest Bear was a mother searching for the cub the group had killed the previous day.
• Qing Jiuye revealed that he had lost his arrows, and Qing Qishu then discovered that his shield was missing.

After Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye discovered their Dragon God Wood weapons were missing, Jiang Wang realized Su Qi had secretly taken them and negotiated a share of the stolen arrows. While helping the others prepare to continue, Jiang Wang began to understand that the Forest Sea Source Realm followed different rules from the Present World.

• Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye discovered their Dragon God Wood weapons were missing, and Qing Qishu prayed until his shield reappeared in a tree.
• Jiang Wang noticed Su Qi signaling for a share and inferred that he had secretly taken the shield and arrows, then bargained for most of the arrows.
• Qing Qishu promised to find medicine for the injured Wu Quji, while Qing Jiuye made replacement arrows from a fallen tree.
• Jiang Wang helped Qing Jiuye shave the wood and realized the Forest Sea Source Realm's rules made its trees resistant to fire but vulnerable to wooden weapons.
• Wu Quji posed paradoxical questions about wooden weapons and their origins until Qing Bazhi, Qing Jiuye, and Qing Qishu told him to stop.

After the group found the clothes of a Qi State cultivator taken by the Night, Jiang Wang learned that people who fall asleep outside the God-Shaded Land vanish without a trace. The missing Storage Box suggested the Night—or another conscious being—had taken something deliberately, and Su Qi resolved to seek revenge.

• The group traveled back toward the Hidden Snake Land, with Wu Quji injured and carried in the formation.
• Su Qi found the undamaged robes of a missing Qi State cultivator, and Qing Jiuye said the Night had taken her.
• Su Qi noticed that the woman's Storage Box was missing, although the Night was said to leave belongings behind.
• Qing Qishu explained that the Night caused irresistible sleep outside the God-Shaded Land and that no one taken by it had ever returned.
• Su Qi concluded that the Night might have a will of its own and stood up determined to take revenge.

Su Qi told Jiang Wang about the woman he had lost, and Jiang Wang led the Holy Clan Warriors toward Hidden Snake Land to hunt for materials. As the hidden snakes attacked, a dagger-wielding figure suddenly appeared.

• Su Qi rambled about the woman who had vanished and said he wanted to take a Hidden Cloak to search for her.
• Jiang Wang took command of the group and assigned each warrior a role for hunting hidden snakes.
• The group reached Hidden Snake Land, where Qing Qishu talked about making Qinghua a hat from snake skin.
• Jiang Wang beat the ground to draw the hidden snakes out, and the swarm emerged to attack.
• As Jiang Wang and Qing Qishu prepared to draw the swarm's attention, a figure flew in with daggers in both hands.

Su Qi’s sudden attack disrupted Jiang Wang’s hunt, but the team adapted and steadily killed Hidden Snakes. Jiang Wang discovered the Hidden Snake King had divided its forces to target Wu Quji and Qing Jiuye, and he rushed to save Jiuye from the king’s ambush.

• Su Qi charged into the Hidden Snake swarm, and Jiang Wang reassigned Qing Qishu to push forward while he took reserve.
• Qing Qishu broke a path through the snakes, Jiang Wang disarmed one for Wu Quji to study, and Qing Jiuye supported the fighters with accurate arrows.
• Jiang Wang hid inside the Red Makeup Mirror and saw the Hidden Snake King divide the swarm, sending a large group toward Wu Quji.
• Jiang Wang realized Qing Jiuye was in danger and shouted for him to jump forward.
• Qing Jiuye obeyed as the Hidden Snake King, disguised as a tree branch beside him, snapped at him and missed.

Jiang Wang and his allies fought the Hidden Snake King, whose concealment and blood poison threatened the group. Jiang Wang marked the beast and wounded it, then pressed his attack as it tried to wash away the tracking aura.

• Jiang Wang warned Qing Jiuye about the Hidden Snake King's ambush, and Qing Jiuye dodged and pierced its eye with an arrow.
• Jiang Wang marked the Hidden Snake King with Traces, then found it and struck it with Old General's Twilight.
• The Hidden Snake King sent a Divine Soul attack at Jiang Wang, but Jiang Wang blocked it with Sea of Soul Flowers and wounded the snake.
• The Hidden Snake King's sweet-smelling blood poisoned the battlefield, and Qing Bazhi rescued Qing Jiuye and gave the group antidote pills from Wu Quji.
• Jiang Wang ignored the pill offered to him and charged the Hidden Snake King as it flooded its wound with blood to erase Traces.

Jiang Wang tricked the Hidden Snake King into fighting openly and used Jiujiu’s sound attack to defeat it, ending the snake horde’s assault. The group survived, though Wu Quji remained dizzy from tasting the venom.

• Jiang Wang used his memorized map of the giant trees to locate the concealed Hidden Snake King and made it believe Remembrance could track it anywhere.
• The Hidden Snake King attacked Jiang Wang while its frenzied snakes overwhelmed the others, and Wu Quji tasted the venom to identify its remaining components.
• Jiang Wang evaded the Hidden Snake King’s coils and repeated sword strikes against its tongue before baiting it into biting at his hand.
• Jiujiu’s Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow unleashed a barrage of sounds inside the Hidden Snake King, making it collapse and ending the ordinary snakes’ frenzy.
• Qing Jiuye and Qing Bazhi prepared to reinforce the others after the battle had ended, while the venom-dazed Wu Quji asked who was holding an event.

After killing the Hidden Snake King, Jiang Wang studied the captured soul snakes in his Heaven-Connecting Palace and harvested what remained of the king’s valuable hide and body parts. The group processed the spoils, while Jiang Wang questioned whether Su Qi and Wu Quji could be trusted in a coming fight against Yan Xiao.

• Jiang Wang drove the captured black snakes away from the Underworld Candle and planned to study them after returning to the God-Shaded Land.
• Jiang Wang salvaged two intact pieces of the Hidden Snake King’s hide, its fangs, and its tongue, intending to give the materials to Lian Que.
• Qing Bazhi and the others skinned the ordinary Hidden Snakes while the injured Qing Qishu sat recovering and later cried out in pain.
• Jiang Wang reflected that Su Qi had ignored his orders and Wu Quji had poisoned himself, leaving him unsure about bringing them against Yan Xiao.
• Wu Quji recovered enough to announce that he understood the Hidden Snake venom and could make an Antidote Pill, but the others ignored him.

After returning from their successful Hidden Snake hunt, the Dragon God Envoys received Source Water from the old High Priestess. Su Qi accepted his share after she promised him unrestricted access to the Holy Clan’s records about the Night Invasion.

• The Holy Clan Warriors returned with a large haul of Hidden Snake hides and were welcomed as heroes.
• Qing Bazhi gave Qinghua a crude hat made from Hidden Snake hide, leaving Qing Jiuye dejected and Qing Qishu jealous.
• The old High Priestess offered the three Dragon God Envoys a drop of Source Water each to heal injuries and strengthen their cultivation.
• Su Qi refused his drop at first and asked for every Holy Clan record about the Night Invasion.
• The old High Priestess promised Su Qi free access to the records, and he accepted the Source Water.

Jiang Wang prepared to face Yan Xiao and received a Hidden Cloak, but doubted that he and the others could kill the powerful beast. The High Priestess began explaining the Holy Clan’s secret efforts to weaken Yan Xiao, recalling an outsider she had met when she was young.

• Jiang Wang studied the black Little Snake in his Heaven-Connecting Palace but only analyzed half of its Divine Soul Daoist Art before running out of time.
• The High Priestess gave Jiang Wang one of four Hidden Cloaks and told him Qing Qishu would join the hunt to defend without attacking Yan Xiao.
• Jiang Wang warned the High Priestess that he was not confident they could kill Yan Xiao and explained his doubts about the group’s ability to fight.
• The High Priestess asked Jiang Wang to keep her explanation secret from the Holy Clan and said the Mutual Hunt’s sacrifices were intended to weaken Yan Xiao, not to honor history or the future.
• The High Priestess recalled meeting a clever, powerful outsider summoned by the Dragon God when she was young, and described the Spirit Silk Flowers and the silk used to weave her cushion.

Jiang Wang learned that a Dragon God Envoy who arrived over five hundred years earlier had helped the old High Priestess devise the Mutual Hunt tradition to weaken Yan Xiao. The High Priestess revealed her deep affection for the man, who eventually left the Forest Sea Source Realm without undergoing the Dragon God's baptism.

• The old High Priestess recounted how a Dragon God Envoy arrived more than five hundred years ago, helped the clan migrate, and discovered that Yan Xiao fed on human resentment.
• She explained that the Envoy established the Mutual Hunt so warriors could offer their heads without resentment, gradually depriving Yan Xiao of the nourishment that sustained it.
• Jiang Wang asked why the High Priestess trusted him, and she said his conduct in danger reminded her of the Envoy.
• The High Priestess said the Envoy had named her Xiao Fan and had left long ago.
• When Jiang Wang asked why the Envoy had not undergone the Dragon God's baptism, the High Priestess replied that he had his own faith.

Jiang Wang learned that Guanyan had weakened Yan Xiao over the past five hundred years and concluded that defeating it could be his way home. He and Wu Quji and Su Qi agreed to face Yan Xiao together, leaving the division of any spoils to later.

• The High Priestess told Jiang Wang that the monk Guanyan had founded the Holy Clan's Mutual Hunt tradition, recorded its history, and helped the clan survive.
• The High Priestess explained that Yan Xiao's strength had dwindled, and Jiang Wang said he had no rivals among the Dragon God Envoys who had descended.
• Jiang Wang agreed that defeating Yan Xiao could be the path home, while noting that Su Qi and Wu Quji had to choose for themselves.
• Jiang Wang promised Wu Quji and Su Qi he would not scheme against them while they faced Yan Xiao, and Wu Quji said he trusted him.
• Su Qi revealed that Yan Xiao had created Night Invasion and vowed to avenge Xiao Yu, and the three agreed to cooperate without deciding how to divide the spoils.

Jiang Wang, Su Qi, Wu Quji, and Qing Qishu set out to destroy Yan Xiao during its annual period of weakness and traveled through the Forest Sea Source Realm. They reached Yan Xiao’s lair and discovered a grove of tightly packed trees bearing human heads.

• Jiang Wang and the others left the God-Shaded Land to reach Yan Xiao’s lair while it was at its weakest.
• Qing Qishu guided the group through the Forest Sea Source Realm, steering them around forbidden zones and dangerous beasts.
• The four spent the night in a clearing, keeping Dragon God Incense burning to resist Night Invasion.
• The group reached a fallen, lifeless Dragon God Wood on the second afternoon.
• Jiang Wang flew up and saw rows of densely packed trees with a human head hanging from each one.

Jiang Wang, Qing Qishu, Su Qi, and Wu Quji found Yan Xiao in the Forest of Hanging Skulls and were drawn into the Tailless Swallow’s nest. When their attack provoked Yan Xiao, Qing Qishu lost his shield and then used his bare hand to block its deadly beak.

• Qing Qishu led the group through the silent forest, carrying no blade so he would not risk injuring Yan Xiao.
• Jiang Wang and the others reached a clearing and discovered a hut occupied by a Tailless Swallow with a bloody wound on its wing.
• The Tailless Swallow welcomed them, and its nest transformed their surroundings into a strange woven-patterned space.
• Su Qi and Wu Quji attacked Yan Xiao, but it broke Wu Quji’s golden threads and forced Su Qi to retreat.
• Yan Xiao’s peck withered and destroyed Qing Qishu’s Green Wood Shield, and Jiang Wang intercepted its next strike with Longing wrapped in Dao Essence.
• Yan Xiao evaded Su Qi’s attack and pecked at him, but Qing Qishu blocked its beak with his hand.

Jiang Wang and his companions struggled against Yan Xiao’s newly revealed abilities, including a lethal peck, spatial shifting, and an attack that disrupted Jiang Wang’s Sword Circle. Qing Qishu took a devastating blow while protecting Jiang Wang, and Yan Xiao reacted with recognition and hatred when it saw the inscription on Longing.

• Qing Qishu’s regenerative power failed to close the hole Yan Xiao’s beak had pierced through his hand, while Jiang Wang kicked Yan Xiao away.
• Wu Quji’s Lock-Sickness Golden Needle attack missed when Yan Xiao shifted through space with a beat of its right wing.
• Su Qi baited Yan Xiao into Jiang Wang’s Eight-Sound Flame Sparrow, which struck it and left it bleeding and losing feathers.
• Yan Xiao disrupted Jiang Wang’s Sword Circle with a claw attack, then attacked Jiang Wang from behind after the circle shattered.
• Qing Qishu took Yan Xiao’s claw strike while shielding Jiang Wang, and Jiang Wang caught him as he went limp.
• Yan Xiao saw the Swallow Returns to Nest inscription on Longing and shrieked, its brief recognition giving way to hatred.

Jiang Wang and his allies wounded Yan Xiao in a desperate battle, but the creature teleported away at the last moment to attack an unknown target. The chapter ended with claws sinking into flesh.

• Jiang Wang used Disillusioned Scholar while Su Qi restrained Yan Xiao with the Bag-Reaching Technique, and Jiang Wang severed Yan Xiao’s left wing.
• Yan Xiao escaped Jiang Wang’s killing blow and teleported to peck Su Qi, shattering Su Qi’s hairpin and revealing that Su Qi was a woman.
• Jiang Wang charged Yan Xiao with Old General’s Twilight as Wu Quji’s golden needle moved to a joint and briefly stopped its wingbeat.
• Jiang Wang pierced Yan Xiao’s belly, evaded its counterattack, and slashed it with Longing as the wounded creature struggled to stay clear-headed.
• Yan Xiao teleported away before Jiang Wang’s next strike, and the chapter ended with the sound of claws piercing flesh.

Jiang Wang arrived in time to kill Yan Xiao after Qing Qishu refused to strike back and let the monster attack him. Qing Qishu died from his wounds, saying goodbye to the life and future he would never reach.

• Yan Xiao stabbed Qing Qishu and tried to provoke him into fighting back so it could revive after its death.
• Qing Qishu recognized Yan Xiao's plan but refused to strike, even as Yan Xiao pecked holes into his face and urged him to fight.
• Jiang Wang reached them and cut off Yan Xiao's head, ending the monster's attack.
• Qing Qishu asked whether Yan Xiao was dead and joked about his looks before speaking of Qinghua and the edge of the Forest Sea Source Realm he would never see.
• Qing Qishu asked to punch Jiang Wang once, gently touched his face with his fist, and let his hand fall.