Recaps

Song Wen returned from the Cheng Family mission, negotiated a share of the rewards with Zuo Shuiyun, and reported the Blood Demon's death to the Beast Taming Sect. After months of secluded cultivation, he advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage and resumed practicing alchemy.

• Blood Brow's Jade Slips lured Song Wen and others to the underground lake, where Song Wen used Great Cavern Divine Thunder to free her from the Soul Shackle; he destroyed her account Jade Slip and stored the Corpse King Reincarnation Art and Bronze Corpse Coffin.
• Song Wen waited near Zuo Shuiyun's cave, then agreed to conceal that she had subdued the Cheng Family's Blood Demon and accepted ten thousand spirit stones from her.
• Song Wen and Zuo Shuiyun reported to Lu Weicai that Cheng Ruidá and the Blood Demon had perished together, and Lu Weicai awarded each of them spirit stones and contribution points.
• Song Wen requested a year of leave to pursue a cultivation breakthrough, refused Wang Ming's request to refine pills, and spent months cultivating while completing a pseudo-third-order silver corpse.
• Song Wen advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, reported to Cai Jinglue, and began practicing the Life-Saving Pill while continuing to improve his alchemy.

Zhou Siyi brought Song Wen to the Beast Taming Sect’s Human-Snake Cavern, where he discovered the sect’s human-snake breeding operation and recognized Zhao Dapeng’s younger brother’s body in coffin Ding-97. Rong Jingyun was investigating the coffins but had found no leads.

• Zhou Siyi offered Song Wen a lucrative assignment and led him to a hidden valley with Liu Jiang, now a Hall-Guarding Elder.
• Zhou Siyi and Liu Jiang reassured Song Wen and persuaded him to enter the Human-Snake Cavern despite his suspicions.
• Song Wen saw more than a hundred human-snakes in pools and over a thousand numbered corpse coffins in the cavern.
• Song Wen found the rat-eyed man, Zhao Dapeng’s younger brother, sealed inside coffin Ding-97 with his body and soul preserved.
• Rong Jingyun told Zhou Siyi and Liu Jiang that she still had no leads in her investigation.

Rong Jingyun explained that the Beast Taming Sect was trying to create Profound Qi by refining Man-Snakes into Profound Corpses, and asked Song Wen to attempt the process. Song Wen collected the tools and materials, then went with Liu Jiang to choose a Man-Snake for his first attempt.

• Rong Jingyun told Song Wen that corpse qi and life force had to merge to form Profound Qi, and that the sect's previous efforts to refine Man-Snake Profound Corpses had failed.
• Song Wen suggested using corpse-path demonic cultivators, but Rong Jingyun said the sect had already tried that and instructed him to keep the Man-Snake Cave's secrets.
• Zhou Siyi gave Song Wen the control token for Corpse Cave Fifteen and a storage pouch containing corpse-refinement materials and techniques.
• Song Wen collected the materials and asked Liu Jiang for a Man-Snake; Liu Jiang advised him to start with a first-rank one.
• Song Wen rejected Liu Jiang's first choice as too young, and Liu Jiang allowed him to choose another first-rank Man-Snake.

Song Wen completed the first refinement of a Man-Snake and impressed Zhou Siyi and Rong Jingyun with his apparent talent for corpse refinement. Rong Jingyun arranged for him to demonstrate the process on a second-tier Man-Snake while several cultivators watched.

• Song Wen refined a Qi Refining ninth-layer male Man-Snake in Corpse Cave No. 15, using the Corpse Dao materials in Zhou Siyi's storage pouch.
• After meditating in the cave for two days, Song Wen emerged and told Zhou Siyi that the first refinement had gone smoothly.
• Zhou Siyi inspected the Man-Snake and praised Song Wen's corpse-refining talent, then called Rong Jingyun to see it.
• Rong Jingyun asked Song Wen to demonstrate corpse refinement, and he agreed while concealing his use of the Corpse Demon Sect's methods.
• Rong Jingyun brought in a second-tier female Man-Snake, and Song Wen began refining it with the techniques from Zhou Siyi's jade slip before five observers.

Song Wen completed refining a second-order human-snake, earning a post in the Human-Snake Cavern while keeping permission to study alchemy. He brought two human-snakes to his cave dwelling, confined them in formations, and fed them and his Sacred Beetle Gu.

• Song Wen finished refining the second-order human-snake after four days, and Rong Jingyun appointed him to focus on refining human-snake mystic corpses while allowing him to continue studying alchemy.
• Rong Jingyun told Song Wen that the Supreme Elder had arranged the human-snake work and gave him a veil to hide the corpse coffins, a Righteous Qi Mirror, and directions to collect notes and food from Elder Liu.
• Song Wen took two human-snakes to his cave dwelling and placed them in separate pits enclosed by Six-Harmony Demon-Locking Formations so they could recover their spiritual power.
• Song Wen fed the second-order female human-snake and the first-order human-snake, then gave the leftover food to his Sacred Beetle Gu.
• The Sacred Beetle Gu devoured a flesh ball and begged Song Wen for more, so he tossed it another one.

Song Wen completed the second corpse refinement of the Human-Snakes and brought Rong Jingyun and Zhou Siyi to inspect them. Rong Jingyun praised his work and promised to recommend him as a steward elder, while Zhou Siyi asked him to help with her corpse refinement.

• Song Wen spent several days refining Blood Spirit Pills, feeding meatballs to the Sacred Beetle Gu, and waiting for the Human-Snakes to recover before completing their second corpse refinement.
• Song Wen collected twenty meatballs from Liu Jiang, who complained that Spirit Beast Peak limited the supply out of jealousy toward Pill Peak.
• Song Wen returned Rong Jingyun's spider-silk gauze and invited her and Zhou Siyi to his cave dwelling to inspect the Human-Snakes.
• On the way, Rong Jingyun reunited with her husband, Heng Cheng, and their son, Heng Junxia, who asked when she would come home.
• After inspecting the Human-Snakes, Rong Jingyun promised to recommend Song Wen for the steward elder position, and Song Wen agreed to advise Zhou Siyi during her next corpse refinement.

Song Wen became an executive elder, advanced the Sacred Beetle Gu, and completed another corpse refinement before ending his pill dealings with Wang Ming. Wang Ming revealed that he had news connected to the Corpse Demon Sect, and Song Wen agreed to keep refining pills in exchange for hearing it.

• Song Wen received his appointment as an executive elder, drawing congratulations from the Pill Chamber and jealousy from Zuo Shuiyun.
• Song Wen fed the Sacred Beetle Gu four meatballs, then crushed more than 4,300 spirit stones as it advanced and entered slumber.
• After the Human-Snake recovered, Song Wen collected meatballs, refined its corpse, and cultivated with Blood Spirit Pills.
• Song Wen told Wang Ming that he would stop refining pills for him, but Wang Ming said he had news connected to the Corpse Demon Sect.
• Song Wen agreed to continue helping Wang Ming with pill refinement in exchange for the information.

Song Wen pretended to fear Wang Ming’s threats while using his surveillance and corpse-refinement schemes to prepare a trap. When Wang Ming returned after three months demanding the promised items, Song Wen emerged from his cave dwelling acting evasive.

• Wang Ming told Song Wen that Corpse Demon Sect cultivators were hunting a traitor and demanded pills and a hundred stalks of Silverhorn Grass, threatening to investigate Song Wen if he refused.
• Song Wen feigned panic and left, while Wang Ming believed he had found a way to control him.
• Song Wen spotted Wang Ming’s gray rat spirit beast monitoring his cave dwelling and deliberately let corpse qi escape to turn the surveillance against Wang Ming.
• Song Wen refined the two humanoid snake corpses repeatedly and briefly opened his cave restrictions to expose their existence.
• After three months, Wang Ming arrived to collect the requested items and threatened to break into the cave, so Song Wen emerged and pretended not to know what secrets Wang Ming meant.

Wang Ming robbed Song Wen of his two Man-Snakes and fled just as Leng Tianlu arrived to investigate Wu Sheng. Leng Tianlu discovered corpse baleful qi in the cave and confronted Song Wen over suspected demonic cultivation, leaving Song Wen facing punishment.

• Wang Ming attacked Song Wen, entered his cave dwelling, and demanded pills and Silverhorn Grass that Song Wen had not prepared.
• Wang Ming seized Song Wen's identity token, entered the cave, and took both Man-Snakes after Song Wen tried to stop him.
• Wang Ming threatened Song Wen with exposure of his corpse-refining arts, concealed the Corpse Coffins, and fled into the forest.
• Wang Ming saw Leng Tianlu and four Qi Refinement disciples heading toward Song Wen's cave dwelling and hid nearby.
• Leng Tianlu found Song Wen injured amid residual corpse baleful qi, questioned him, and accused him of cultivating demonic-path techniques.

Leng Tianlu arrested and tortured Wu Sheng for cultivating a secret corpse dao art, but Rong Jingyun arrived to challenge the Law Enforcement Hall’s authority. The chapter ended with Zhou Siyi revealing that she also carried Corpse-Baleful Qi, undermining Leng Tianlu’s accusation that Wu Sheng was a demonic spy.

• Song Wen notified Rong Jingyun that the Man-Snake’s corpse qi and vitality were beginning to fuse and that it had been seized before Leng Tianlu escorted him to the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Leng Tianlu interrogated Song Wen about his secret corpse dao art and suspected him of joining the sect as a demonic spy.
• Leng Tianlu stabbed Song Wen with the Soul-Splitting Blade, but Song Wen endured the soul-burning pain and Leng Tianlu was stung by the poison in Song Wen’s blood.
• Rong Jingyun entered the prison with Zhou Siyi and two Law Enforcement Hall cultivators, demanding a reason for Wu Sheng’s arrest.
• Leng Tianlu called Wu Sheng a demonic spy because of the Corpse-Baleful Qi in his cave abode, and Zhou Siyi revealed that she had Corpse-Baleful Qi too.

After Rong Jingyun exposed the Law Enforcement Hall’s mistaken accusation against Song Wen, Fang Pengyi confronted Feng Xinghai and secured an agreement to compensate Pill Peak. Fang Pengyi then invited Song Wen to choose compensation, leaving the matter unresolved as Song Wen prepared to name what he wanted.

• Leng Tianlu realized that Zhou Siyi also carried corpse baleful aura, while Rong Jingyun accused him of persecuting Song Wen and asked who had raided his cave abode.
• Song Wen identified Wang Ming as the culprit, and Fang Pengyi announced that he had already sent people to capture him.
• Zhou Siyi freed Song Wen from his chains, gave him healing pills, and escorted him with Rong Jingyun to the Law Enforcement Hall’s main hall.
• Feng Xinghai apologized to Song Wen for Leng Tianlu’s conduct, but Fang Pengyi insisted that an apology was not enough and described the lost Man-Snake and Song Wen’s torture.
• Fang Pengyi pressed Feng Xinghai into agreeing to provide an item, then offered Song Wen additional compensation and asked him to state what he wanted.

Song Wen received the Soul-Splitting Blade as compensation for Leng Tianlu’s false accusation, while Feng Qi brought the captured Wang Ming and the stolen human-snakes to the Law Enforcement Hall. Feng Xinghai sentenced Wang Ming to death, and Fang Pengyi accepted the ruling.

• Feng Xinghai agreed that Leng Tianlu would compensate Song Wen, who chose the Law Enforcement Hall’s Soul-Splitting Blade.
• Feng Xinghai ordered Leng Tianlu to hand over the blade and repay the Law Enforcement Hall for its value.
• Feng Qi arrived with the wounded Wang Ming and the two recovered corpse-nurturing coffins containing human-snakes.
• Feng Qi explained that he had ambushed and captured Wang Ming while intercepting him on the way to East Birch Market.
• Feng Xinghai sentenced Wang Ming to death for plundering a fellow sect member and endangering the First Supreme Elder’s plans, and Fang Pengyi raised no objection.

After Wang Ming was sentenced to death for robbing Song Wen, Song Wen’s scheme became clear to him, though senior cultivators likely suspected the truth. Zhou Siyi later brought Song Wen two more serpent-men to refine and unexpectedly asked whether he would join Spirit Beast Peak.

• Wang Ming realized Song Wen had baited him into the robbery, but Fang Pengyi struck him unconscious and Feng Xinghai ordered his execution.
• Fang Pengyi returned the serpent-men to Song Wen’s snake pit, praised his corpse refinement, and told Rong Jingyun to strengthen Pill Peak’s security.
• Zhou Siyi questioned Song Wen about Wang Ming’s accusation, and Song Wen dismissed it as the ravings of a condemned man.
• Song Wen sealed his cave abode and resumed refining the Soul-Splitting Blade.
• Zhou Siyi delivered two early second-order serpent-men and corpse-refinement supplies, then asked Song Wen whether he would join Spirit Beast Peak.

Song Wen refused Zhou Siyi’s invitation to join Spirit Beast Peak and her proposal to become Dao companions, then continued refining his Man-Snakes. After profound qi appeared in two of them, he summoned Zhou Siyi and Fang Pengyi, who decided to study the snakes further.

• Zhou Siyi asked Song Wen to join Spirit Beast Peak and become her Dao companion, but he refused both requests, and she asked him to keep their conversation secret.
• Song Wen placed Zhou Siyi’s two Man-Snakes in separate pits, fed his sacred beetle gu, and continued refining the Man-Snakes into corpses.
• Four months later, Song Wen completed the tenth round of corpse refinement on Man-Snakes Number One and Two, and corpse qi fused with vital qi inside them to produce profound qi.
• Song Wen contacted Rong Jingyun about the profound qi, but she did not reply, so he sent a message to Zhou Siyi, who arrived with Fang Pengyi.
• Fang Pengyi examined the Man-Snakes, left the second-order one with Song Wen for further refinement, and took the weaker first-order one to the Human-Snake Cavern for Liu Jiang to study.

Song Wen became Pill Peak’s Pavilion Guardian Elder and oversaw the Human-Snake Cavern, where Fang Pengyi confronted Zhou Xuelin over Spirit Beast Peak’s human-snakes and Zhou Siyi’s role in sharing their breeding method. Zhou Xuelin failed to recruit Song Wen or match him with Zhou Siyi, then left the cavern in anger.

• Fang Pengyi promoted Song Wen to Pavilion Guardian Elder and took him to the Human-Snake Cavern to announce his appointment.
• Fang Pengyi encountered Zhou Xuelin at the cavern entrance, and Zhou Siyi nervously hid behind Song Wen.
• Fang Pengyi placed the first-rank human-snake in a snake pit and ordered Liu Jiang to care for it and record its changes.
• Fang Pengyi accused Spirit Beast Peak of stealing Pill Peak’s human-snakes and condemned Zhou Siyi for leaking their breeding method, while Zhou Xuelin defended her contribution.
• Zhou Xuelin offered Song Wen a Pavilion Guardian Elder position at Spirit Beast Peak and proposed that he become Dao companions with Zhou Siyi, but Song Wen declined both offers.
• Zhou Xuelin left the Human-Snake Cavern in anger, while Zhou Siyi appeared embarrassed rather than disappointed by Song Wen’s rejection.

Song Wen took over the Human-Snake Cavern and learned that the Beast Taming Sect’s sect-guarding divine beast had awakened. Three days later, Liu Jiang reported that the Spirit-Nurturing Workshop had been destroyed, threatening the supply of Azure Jade Snake eggs.

• Fang Pengyi appointed Song Wen to take charge of the Human-Snake Cavern and gave him its records and a storage ring of corpse-refinement materials.
• Song Wen discovered that the storage ring held valuable materials and bore a mark, while he settled into his new duties at the cavern.
• Zhou Siyi returned to the Human-Snake Cavern and explained that the sect-guarding divine beast awakened every twenty years to feed.
• The divine beast’s cry made the ground shake, toppled the corpse coffins, and drove the Man-Snakes into a frenzy.
• Liu Jiang told Song Wen that attackers had slaughtered the Spirit-Nurturing Workshop’s disciples and killed or scattered its Azure Jade Snakes, and he suspected the two black-robed people.

Song Wen accompanied Liu Jiang and Feng Qi to East Birch Market to track down the culprit who attacked the Spirit-Nurturing Workshop. The Snow Shadow Leopard led them to Ji Ruxue’s courtyard, where Feng Qi recognized her sword practice as a technique of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.

• Liu Jiang explained that his Snow Shadow Leopard had marked one attacker and tracked the scent to East Birch Market, then persuaded Song Wen to join the search.
• Feng Qi arrived with Leng Tianlu, and the group flew to East Birch Market with the Snow Shadow Leopard.
• The Snow Shadow Leopard followed the scent into the alley where Song Wen had once lived and stopped outside Ji Ruxue’s courtyard.
• Feng Qi summoned Steward Zhao Dapeng, who identified the resident as Ji Ruxue, a supposed discarded disciple of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.
• Feng Qi recognized Ji Ruxue’s repeated sword thrusts as the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect’s basic Thrusting Sword Technique.

Leng Tianlu confronted Ji Ruxue after she was exposed as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Feng Qi stopped him from pursuing her so they could draw out her accomplices. Ji Ruxue fled into the Blissful Union Spring Night Tower, where Feng Qi demanded her surrender and Mu Yunxin publicly hinted at her past relationship with him.

• Feng Qi ordered Leng Tianlu to capture Ji Ruxue alive, and Leng Tianlu attacked her from the flying ship.
• Ji Ruxue revealed her Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation and fought Leng Tianlu, but his second strike wounded her and sent her fleeing.
• Feng Qi told Leng Tianlu not to pursue Ji Ruxue, hoping to use her to lure out her accomplices.
• Ji Ruxue entered the Blissful Union Spring Night Tower, and Feng Qi brought the flying ship to block its entrance.
• Mu Yunxin confronted Feng Qi, who asked her to hand over Ji Ruxue, and she embarrassed him by recalling their intimate past.

Feng Qi defeated Mu Yunxin in a duel outside Spring Night Pavilion and demanded that Xi Xiaogu and Ji Ruxue surrender for killing Beast Taming Sect disciples. Yan Yuyan arrived and attacked Leng Tianlu, then confronted Feng Qi over injuring her martial niece Mu Yunxin.

• Feng Qi and Mu Yunxin agreed to duel on a hill east of the market to avoid damaging Spring Night Pavilion and the surrounding area.
• Feng Qi returned victorious, and Xi Xiaogu and Ji Ruxue admitted they had attacked the Spirit-Nurturing Workshop but refused to surrender.
• Yan Yuyan arrived at Spring Night Pavilion, and Song Wen recognized her as the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect Golden Core cultivator he had met before.
• Yan Yuyan slashed Leng Tianlu and sent him crashing into a courtyard, leaving him unconscious.
• Yan Yuyan asked Feng Qi whether he had injured Mu Yunxin, and Feng Qi claimed they had only exchanged pointers.

Yan Yuyan fought Tu Lian in Eastern Splendor Market while Lan Chen revealed that the Blissful Union Sect and Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect had allied against the Beast Taming Sect. Lan Chen confronted Yang Yu at Spring Night Pavilion and explained that the alliance sought the Spirit Transformation method after the Beast Taming Sect and Nine Palaces Sect betrayed the righteous factions.

• Yan Yuyan challenged Tu Lian, who transformed into Blood Kui Armor and fought her to a standstill.
• Song Wen watched as Yan Yuyan and Tu Lian's battle devastated the area around Eastern Splendor Market.
• A mysterious figure appeared outside Spring Night Pavilion, and Lan Chen came out to meet Yang Yu.
• Lan Chen concealed herself and Yang Yu behind a barrier and said the Blissful Union Sect and Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect had allied against the Beast Taming Sect.
• Lan Chen accused the Beast Taming Sect and Nine Palaces Sect of betraying the righteous factions during the war against the Corpse Demon Sect, leaving her sects to seek the Spirit Transformation method themselves.

Yang Yu negotiated with Lan Chen over the fragments of the Spirit Transformation method, explaining that Beast Taming Sect had formed Profound Qi from corpse qi and life qi but did not know how it enabled a breakthrough. He offered to let Lan Chen meet the person who fused it, leaving Song Wen startled when Yang Yu called for Wu Sheng.

• Lan Chen demanded that Yang Yu hand over the Spirit Transformation method and threatened a joint attack by Blissful Union Sect and Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.
• Yang Yu said he possessed only fragments and offered to share them if the three sects swore to share any complete method they found.
• Yang Yu revealed that the method was related to Profound Qi, which formed when corpse qi and life qi fused, and said Beast Taming Sect had produced only a faint strand.
• Lan Chen asked to see the Profound Qi, but Yang Yu said it was nurtured by the Man-Snake Profound Corpse inside Beast Taming Sect and instead offered to show her the person who fused it.
• Yang Yu called for Wu Sheng while Song Wen and the others waited aboard the flying ship, and Song Wen wondered why Lan Chen wanted to meet him.

Song Wen met Lan Chen, who questioned him about how the Beast Taming Sect created Profound Qi, while Yang Yu refused her offer to recruit him and proposed that their three sects join forces to investigate Gou Jun’s Spirit Transformation method. After Song Wen fled East Birch Market, Ji Ruxue reported Lei Jun’s investigation into his son’s death, and Yan Yuyan considered using it to lure him out.

• Yang Yu introduced Song Wen to Lan Chen, who questioned him about fusing Profound Qi and how the Beast Taming Sect made Man-Snakes.
• Lan Chen offered to recruit Song Wen, but Yang Yu refused and gave him a communication jade slip before sending him away.
• Yang Yu urged Lan Chen to have their three sects’ Nascent Soul Cultivators pressure Gou Jun for information about the ancient secret realm behind his Spirit Transformation method.
• Yang Yu stopped Tu Lian and Yan Yuyan’s fight, and Feng Qi piloted the flying ship away from the Blissful Union Spring Night Tower with Song Wen aboard.
• Ji Ruxue told Yan Yuyan that Lei Jun had been investigating the death of his son, Lei Tianyu, and suspected the killing involved a corpse-path demonic cultivator.
• Yan Yuyan considered using Lei Tianyu’s death to draw Lei Jun out.

Song Wen accompanied Zhou Siyi to Year Mountain to see the Beast Taming Sect’s sect-protecting divine beast. He watched the cultivators feed more than a thousand mortals to a rotting fleshy pillar, and Liu Leyi explained that it was only the feeding organ of Blood Year, whose true body lay beneath the mountain.

• Zhou Siyi told Song Wen that she had arranged for him to visit the sect-protecting divine beast at Year Mountain.
• Liu Leyi warned Song Wen and Zhou Siyi to stay aboard the flying ship, keep their spiritual senses withdrawn, and not interfere.
• The flying ships entered Year Mountain’s formation and revealed a bare mountain with a deep hole at its summit.
• Cultivators threw chains of bound mortals into a fleshy pillar that rose from the hole, feeding more than a thousand people to it.
• Liu Leyi told Song Wen and Zhou Siyi that the pillar was Blood Year’s feeding organ and that its true body was hidden beneath Year Mountain.

Song Wen and the others witnessed Blood Year erupt into a frenzy and devour cultivators after being underfed. An elderly cultivator explained that Blood Year was likely gestating a Blood Kui Beast and described how the sect had learned of the creatures.

• Song Wen noticed Beast Taming Sect disciples collecting Blood Year's rotten flesh, which the Sacred Beetle Gu strongly desired.
• Liu Leyi's group fed mortals to Blood Year, and the beast erupted with immense pressure before attacking people with eighteen tentacles.
• Song Wen, Liu Leyi, Zhou Siyi, and five other Foundation Establishment cultivators escaped through the mist while Blood Year devoured many cultivators and destroyed the flying ships.
• Song Wen secretly released two Sacred Beetle Gu as the group fled, then reunited with the others outside the formation.
• An elderly cultivator said Blood Year was likely gestating a Blood Kui Beast, explained their connection to its rotten flesh, and recounted how a Supreme Elder had discovered them inside Blood Year.

Zhou Xuelin and Teng Jingshan fed the Blood Year and prepared a trap to lure Blood Kui Beasts, while Song Wen sent two Sacred Beetle Gu into the formation. Song Wen returned to the Human-Snake Cavern without learning what had happened to the Gu.

• Senior Brother Wang told Liu Leyi and Song Wen that Blood Kui Beasts could be captured by Golden Core cultivators and that feeding the Blood Year would calm it.
• Zhou Xuelin and Teng Jingshan entered the formation and fed the Blood Year meat and essence blood until its tentacles withdrew.
• Teng Jingshan and Zhou Xuelin collected the rotten flesh, then set out Demon-Luring Powder meatballs and a demon-trapping formation to lure Blood Kui Beasts.
• Teng Jingshan and Zhou Xuelin noticed two tiny black specks fall into the Blood Year's birth canal, mistaking them for insects.
• Song Wen lost contact with his two Sacred Beetle Gu inside the formation, then returned to the Human-Snake Cavern with Zhou Siyi and inspected it.