Recaps

As the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid became ready to collect, Feng Qi attacked Rong Jingyun, while the other cultivators ambushed Lei Yuanhua and the Lei Clan. When the fighting gave way to the harvest, Lei Yuanhua and Song Wen raced for stone cushions, with Song Wen arriving first.

• Feng Qi returned to the hall and attacked Rong Jingyun, who defended herself with the Blazing Light Cauldron and an earthen-yellow flag while Heng Cheng tried to help.
• Feng Qi trapped the Blazing Light Cauldron with Earthfire Chains and sent four fire dragons against Rong Jingyun's defenses as the spirit liquid appeared in her stone bowl.
• Jie Hui and the other cultivators attacked Lei Yuanhua and the four Lei Clan members; the three monks killed the four clan members, but Lei Yuanhua escaped the ambush.
• When the bowls' white light vanished, the cultivators began collecting the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid, and Lei Yuanhua rushed toward his original stone cushion.
• Song Wen used the Thunder Escape Technique to reach a different stone cushion before Lei Yuanhua.

Song Wen seized the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid and escaped the hall, while the other cultivators fought over the remaining liquid and fled. Rong Jingyun and Heng Cheng escaped the pursuing monks, but Heng Cheng turned to face them as powerful wood-attributed spiritual energy gathered around him.

• Song Wen used the Profound Yellow Pagoda and Cold Moon Blade to interrupt the cultivators guarding a stone bowl, then collected its Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid.
• Song Wen withstood attacks from the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect and Blissful Union Sect with the pagoda and fled the hall using the Thunder Escape Technique.
• Lei Yuanhua finished collecting the liquid and fled, while Feng Qi abandoned the struggle and escaped as Rong Jingyun and Heng Cheng followed.
• Jie Hui, Jie Wu, and Jie Se pursued Rong Jingyun and Heng Cheng, and Jie Hui extinguished the Blazing Light Cauldron's blue flames with foul vapor.
• Heng Cheng slowed down, turned to face the three monks, and gathered powerful wood-attributed spiritual energy around himself.

Rong Jingyun and Heng Cheng tried to escape Jie Hui and his companions, but Heng Cheng was gravely wounded and Rong Jingyun fled with him. She left the cavern’s main route and plunged toward its bottomless cliff in search of a way to survive.

• Heng Cheng urged Rong Jingyun to flee while he controlled his demon vines against Jie Hui, Jie Wu, and Jie Se.
• Jie Hui used the Human-Skin Hand Drum to daze Heng Cheng, allowing Jie Wu and Jie Se to break through the vines and attack.
• Rong Jingyun struck back with the Blazing Fire Cauldron and blue Spirit Flame, but Jie Se’s Demon-Subduing Pestle pierced Heng Cheng’s chest.
• Rong Jingyun used a Purple Cloud Lingzhi to preserve Heng Cheng, placed him inside the Blazing Fire Cauldron, and escaped on her flying sword.
• Rong Jingyun avoided the cultivators ahead of her and flew toward the cavern’s bottomless cliff, hoping to find an exit or a place to hide.

Song Wen killed Leng Tianlu and the masked man, discovering that the man was Wang Ming, whom Feng Xinghai had secretly spared. Song Wen headed deeper into the underground passages, while Feng Qi later found evidence that his two subordinates had died.

• Song Wen used Gu insects hidden behind his thunder spears to kill Leng Tianlu and the masked man as they ambushed him.
• Song Wen removed the masked man's iron mask and recognized him as Wang Ming, whom Feng Xinghai had supposedly executed.
• Song Wen sealed both men's souls in their corpses, stored the bodies, and fled deeper underground using the Thunder Escape Technique.
• Lei Yuanhua entered the passages, while Mu Yunxin and Xue Gu turned back toward the main hall.
• Feng Qi examined the battle traces and concluded that Wang Ming and Leng Tianlu had died.

Song Wen struggled through the maze-like underground passages, used the corpses of Wang Ming and Leng Tianlu to learn about Feng Qi and his maps, then followed the Sacred Beetle Gu’s markings to an underground river. He began searching along the riverbank for the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch while Feng Qi headed deeper underground and resolved to kill him.

• Feng Qi feared that Wu Sheng’s killing of Wang Ming and Leng Tianlu would attract the First Supreme Elder’s attention, and decided to secretly eliminate Wu Sheng before he left the secret realm.
• A Sacred Beetle Gu followed Feng Qi after memorizing his aura.
• Song Wen used Soul Search Technique on Wang Ming and Leng Tianlu, learned that Feng Qi possessed a more accurate map, and discovered why Feng Xinghai had spared Wang Ming.
• Song Wen burned the two corpses, waited in vain for Feng Qi and the others, then returned to the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid Hall entrance and found the Sacred Beetle Gu’s markings.
• Song Wen followed the markings through the underground maze for a day until he reached a broad underground river, then crossed to the opposite bank and followed the river upstream.
• Song Wen watched the rocky riverbank for the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch as he traveled upstream.

Song Wen encountered Jie Hui alone in the underground river, and they fought over the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid. Song Wen revealed his Corpse King Blood Refinement Art and unleashed his Silver Corpse and Ghost King, leaving Jie Hui fleeing as the Ghost King caught up to him.

• Song Wen followed traces left by the Sacred Beetle Gu into a cave and found Jie Hui alone by a smaller underground river.
• Jie Hui recognized Song Wen as Wu Sheng and demanded the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid before attacking him with an illusion and a bone blade.
• Song Wen shattered Jie Hui's illusion with Great Cavern Divine Thunder and blocked the bone blade with his Great Lu.
• Jie Hui unleashed foul qi, but Song Wen transformed into a zombie and revealed his Silver Corpse and Ghost King.
• Jie Hui fled, but the Ghost King caught up and shattered the foul qi shield he raised.

Song Wen killed Jie Hui and searched his memories, learning how Rong Jingyun had fled through a freezing pool while the monks pursued her in search of the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch. Rong Jingyun reached an underground cave, but Jie Hui and the other monks emerged behind her and resumed their attack.

• Song Wen stopped Jie Hui’s plea for mercy and killed him, then used the Soul Search Technique to recover fragments of his memories.
• Song Wen learned that Rong Jingyun had entered a freezing pool to escape Jie Hui and the other two monks, using the Earthcore Smelting Flame to endure the cold.
• Jie Hui and the monks searched the pool’s surroundings for the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch, then followed Rong Jingyun through the underwater passage.
• Rong Jingyun surfaced in a vast karst cave, found a submerged passage leading out, and flew toward it.
• Jie Hui and the other two monks emerged from the pool, and Jie Wu, Jie Se, and Jie Hui attacked Rong Jingyun as she fled.

Rong Jingyun was gravely wounded while fleeing Jie Wu and Jie Se, but an unseen aquatic demon beast dragged her into the river after blocking Jie Se’s attack. Jie Hui discovered a nearly five-hundred-year-old Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch and rushed to seize it while the beast was away.

• Jie Wu and Jie Se attacked Rong Jingyun as she fled, and their blows left her severely injured beside the river passage.
• Jie Hui discovered a rare Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch and warned Jie Wu and Jie Se that a demon beast might be nearby.
• Jie Se tried to kill Rong Jingyun, but an ice pillar from the river blocked the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
• A nearly transparent tentacle wrapped around Rong Jingyun and the Blazing Fire Cauldron, then dragged them underwater.
• Jie Hui decided the demon beast had left the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch unguarded and sent a chain of filthy energy toward its roots.

Jie Se and the others fought the Stinger Mother Beast, whose immense tentacles overwhelmed them. Jie Hui abandoned Jie Se while escaping with the gravely injured Jie Wu, and Jie Se was crushed to death.

• The Stinger Mother Beast revealed its enormous reach, struck at Jie Hui, and seized Jie Wu after Jie Wu severed part of a tentacle.
• Jie Se wounded the monster with the Demon-Subduing Pestle, prompting it to fling Jie Wu and Rong Jingyun away; Rong Jingyun escaped downstream while Jie Wu lay gravely injured.
• The Stinger Mother Beast trapped Jie Se among its tentacles and knocked the Demon-Subduing Pestle beyond his reach.
• Jie Hui briefly hindered the monster with the Human-Skin Hand Drum, then fled through the cold pool carrying Jie Wu instead of rescuing Jie Se.
• The monster crushed Jie Se after his kasaya's protective light failed.

Jie Hui sacrificed the helpless Jie Wu to his skeleton ghost generals, while Song Wen used Jie Hui's memories to pursue Feng Qi through the underground waterways. Song Wen found Ji Ruxue fighting Feng Qi and watched Feng Qi withstand her sword formation, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Jie Hui ordered his five skeleton ghost generals to devour the badly injured Jie Wu, then left the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid Hall.
• Song Wen learned from Jie Hui's memories that a five-hundred-year-old Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch grew in a karst cave guarded by a Sting Mother Beast.
• Song Wen decided to find and kill Feng Qi before retrieving the branch, and followed the Sacred Beetle Gu upstream through the underground river.
• Song Wen discovered Ji Ruxue trapping Feng Qi in the Evil-Breaking Sword Formation and concealing himself nearby to watch their fight.
• Ji Ruxue intensified her attacks, but Feng Qi's blazing bell and defenses absorbed most of the lightning and sword light; he suffered only superficial injuries.

Song Wen intercepted Ji Ruxue as she fled from Feng Qi, then trapped both cultivators with his corpses and ghosts. Feng Qi brought out the Jade Radiance Flame, hoping its power would help him escape.

• Ji Ruxue fled from Feng Qi and attacked Song Wen when she mistook him for Feng Qi’s ally, but Song Wen blocked her strike.
• Song Wen attacked Ji Ruxue with thunder spears and refused to let her pass, while Feng Qi caught up and recognized him as Wu Sheng.
• Song Wen summoned the Profound Yellow Pagoda, a silver corpse, two bronze corpses, the Armor Ghost King, and the red-haired ghost general to surround Feng Qi and Ji Ruxue.
• Feng Qi summoned a fire phoenix to fight the Armor Ghost King, but the Ghost King extinguished its flames and split it apart with one sword strike.
• Feng Qi tried to retreat, but the red-haired ghost general and two bronze corpses blocked his escape and suppressed his flame wings.
• Feng Qi revealed the Jade Radiance Flame from an ancient cauldron, relying on the righteous spirit flame to save his life.

Song Wen killed Ji Ruxue and cornered Feng Qi, who used the Jade Radiance Flame to force a negotiation. The chapter ended with Song Wen withdrawing his ghosts and corpse puppets while Feng Qi kept the cauldron ready in case Song Wen attacked.

• Feng Qi unleashed the Jade Radiance Flame, driving back the Ghost King and bronze corpses while Song Wen ordered them to contain him.
• Song Wen used the Great Cavern Divine Thunder to interrupt Ji Ruxue’s Exorcising Evil Sword Formation, and the silver corpse killed her.
• Song Wen sealed Ji Ruxue’s soul and body, then confronted the exhausted Feng Qi as the ghosts and corpses continued to surround him.
• Feng Qi offered treasures and threatened to unleash the Jade Radiance Flame, but Song Wen pointed out that Feng Qi had little spiritual power left.
• Song Wen pretended to relent and offered to let Feng Qi leave in exchange for a soul oath and his spiritual items, then withdrew the ghosts and corpse puppets.
• Feng Qi stopped fueling the Jade Radiance Flame but kept the ancient cauldron hovering before him, prepared to activate it again.

Song Wen demanded Feng Qi’s storage ring and Jade Radiance Flame, then killed him after Feng Qi unleashed the flame in an attempt to escape. After learning how to retrieve it from Feng Qi’s memories, Song Wen collected the diminished flame and left.

• Song Wen claimed Feng Qi’s pills, storage ring, ancient cauldron, and Jade Radiance Flame under their agreement, but Feng Qi refused to surrender the flame.
• Feng Qi sent the ancient cauldron hurtling toward Song Wen and unleashed the Jade Radiance Flame, then tried to escape after using up his spiritual power.
• Song Wen vanished into the blood mist and reappeared beside Feng Qi, killing him with a longsword before searching his soul.
• Song Wen learned from Feng Qi’s memories how to retrieve the flame using the ancient cauldron and a fire-control technique.
• Song Wen spent two days refining the cauldron and studying the technique, then collected the Jade Radiance Flame, now reduced to the size of a thumb.
• Song Wen recalled the six Sacred Beetle Gu and left the area.

Song Wen searched Ji Ruxue’s belongings and found the third and fourth Lei Clan Heavenly Thunder Arts, along with part of the Exorcising Evil Sword Formation. While returning to claim Jie Hui’s yin-yang blood-weeping branch, he spotted Rong Jingyun fleeing a massive demonic beast on the opposite bank of the underground river.

• Song Wen searched Ji Ruxue’s soul and storage ring, discovering her copy of the first four Lei Clan Heavenly Thunder Arts and the first two levels of the Exorcising Evil Sword Formation.
• Song Wen examined Feng Qi’s, Jie Hui’s, and Jie Wu’s storage rings, finding useful ghost-control arts, four bottles of ten-thousand-year spirit liquid, and a Human-Skin Hand Drum that he refined.
• Song Wen set out to retrieve the yin-yang blood-weeping branch Jie Hui had found, retracing his route through the underground river.
• Song Wen heard splashing across the river and saw a huge demonic beast pursuing a black-clad figure upstream.
• Song Wen hid behind rocks and sent a Sacred Beetle Gu to investigate, learning that the fleeing cultivator was Rong Jingyun.

Song Wen helped Rong Jingyun repel a Burrowing Beast and learned that her unconscious husband, Heng Cheng, was trapped in a Blazing Fire Cauldron. He agreed to help rescue Heng Cheng in exchange for the hidden passage to the Cold Pool Grotto, while Rong Jingyun swore not to reveal Song Wen’s strength or his plans.

• Rong Jingyun fled a Burrowing Beast across the river, and Song Wen revealed himself and attacked it with lightning spears.
• Rong Jingyun blinded the Burrowing Beast with her flying sword, but it escaped into the river before she could kill it.
• Rong Jingyun told Song Wen that Heng Cheng was unconscious in an underground cavern, protected inside the Blazing Fire Cauldron.
• Song Wen offered to help rescue Heng Cheng if Rong Jingyun revealed the hidden passage to the Cold Pool Grotto.
• Rong Jingyun questioned Song Wen’s interest in the grotto, then swore a soul oath to keep his strength and plans secret.

Song Wen helped Rong Jingyun reach the underground cavern and killed the Burrowing Beast, but they found Heng Cheng dead inside the Blazing Fire Cauldron. Rong Jingyun used a Binding Soul Technique on Heng Cheng’s corpse and asked Song Wen to keep what he witnessed secret, leaving her intentions unclear.

• Rong Jingyun led Song Wen through an underwater cavern to the chamber where the Burrowing Beast guarded the Blazing Fire Cauldron.
• Song Wen ambushed the Burrowing Beast with powerful thunder techniques, shattered its defenses, and killed it with his short spear as it tried to escape underground.
• Rong Jingyun opened the Blazing Fire Cauldron and found Heng Cheng’s corpse inside, with his soul apparently not yet dispersed.
• Rong Jingyun used the Binding Soul Technique on Heng Cheng’s body, then asked Song Wen to keep his coming observations secret.

Rong Jingyun refined her dead husband Heng Cheng into a living corpse and revealed that she intended to use him and his son as ingredients for a Barrier-Breaking Pill. Song Wen copied the ancient pill formula and left Rong Jingyun believing he admired her ruthless devotion to cultivation.

• Song Wen watched as Rong Jingyun used corpse Sha to refine Heng Cheng's body into a living corpse, imprisoning his struggling soul inside.
• Rong Jingyun stored the living corpse in a corpse-nourishing coffin and asked Song Wen to keep the matter secret.
• Rong Jingyun explained that the Barrier-Breaking Pill could help a cultivator pass the Golden Core heart tribulation and required the flesh, blood, and soul of a beloved person.
• Song Wen examined and copied the ancient formula, then learned Rong Jingyun planned to use Heng Cheng because he had repeatedly been unfaithful to her.
• Rong Jingyun revealed that Heng Junxia was Heng Cheng's son with a mistress and that she had enough ingredients for another attempt at refining the pill.
• Song Wen praised Rong Jingyun's steadfast pursuit of immortality, and she appeared to regard him as a kindred spirit.

Song Wen reached the Cold Pool Grotto and fought the Stinger Mother Beast to obtain a five-hundred-year-old yin-yang blood-weeping branch. He wounded the beast with lightning and the Soul-Splitting Blade, but it remained alive as the fight continued.

• Song Wen and Rong Jingyun swore soul oaths, and Rong Jingyun gave Song Wen a map to the Cold Pool Grotto.
• Song Wen cautiously crossed the underwater passage, avoided a fish demon, and entered the grotto without detecting the Stinger Mother Beast.
• Song Wen sent two sacred beetle gu to steal the yin-yang blood-weeping branch, but a hidden tentacle attacked them.
• Song Wen summoned his Silver Corpse, two Copper Corpses, the Ghost King, and a red-haired ghost general to battle the Stinger Mother Beast.
• The Silver Corpse and Ghost King dragged the Stinger Mother Beast toward shore and severed several tentacles, but the beast sacrificed one limb to escape.
• Song Wen struck the Stinger Mother Beast with a bolt of silver lightning and the Soul-Splitting Blade, badly wounding it before another tentacle blocked the blade.

Song Wen and his companions killed the Stinger Mother Beast, recovered Jie Se's storage ring, and entered the Cold Pool to investigate its source. Beneath the pool, they uncovered a concealed artificial chamber containing a strange green flame, whose sinister cold Song Wen struggled to withstand.

• The Ghost King, two bronze corpses, and the silver corpse overwhelmed the Stinger Mother Beast, and Song Wen retrieved Jie Se's storage ring and the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch.
• Song Wen collected the Stinger Mother Beast's remains, then entered the Cold Pool with the silver corpse and the Ghost King while the other corpses stayed behind.
• Song Wen and his companions reached the pool's bottom, where he located the coldest spot and ordered the silver corpse to dig through the rock.
• The silver corpse broke through into a hidden stone chamber with a platform and a bowl-sized lamp holding a flickering green flame.
• Song Wen swallowed Soul-Burning Grass to fight the chamber's powerful, sinister chill and partially expelled the cold from his body.

Song Wen endured ten days of freezing agony to refine the oil lamp and contain the green flame, then discovered a hidden exit beneath the stone chamber. While exploring the vast underground cavern in search of Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch, he found fresh traces of a recent battle and was confronted by an enormous white shadow.

• Song Wen refined the oil lamp over ten days, sealed the green flame inside it, and stored it away.
• Song Wen discovered a hidden floor mechanism that opened a passage into a vast cavern beneath the stone chamber.
• Song Wen explored the cavern with the silver corpse and Ghost King and found an underground lake in an environment like the one where Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch had grown.
• Song Wen noticed fresh marks on the lakeshore and feared someone had already collected the branches.
• Song Wen found a large stone forest with signs of a recent battle, and an enormous white shadow shot out from it.

Song Wen entered the Abyss Pythons’ nest, killed the two beasts, and found three Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branches. As he prepared to harvest them, a lightning-fast cultivator burst into the nest to seize the herbs.

• Song Wen followed the Abyss Python to its nest and fought it with his silver corpse, discovering that a second Abyss Python was hiding inside.
• Song Wen summoned the Ghost King, and the silver corpse and Ghost King killed both Abyss Pythons.
• Song Wen searched the nest and found four snake eggs and three Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branches beside a stream.
• The six Sacred Beetle Gu began eating the snake eggs while Song Wen prepared to harvest the spirit herbs.
• A figure flickering with lightning rushed into the nest and darted toward the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branches, and Song Wen noticed the intruder.

Song Wen killed Lei Yuanhua after trapping him in the Abyss Python nest, then obtained valuable treasures and recovered before heading toward the secret realm’s exit. He reached the foot of the mountain as the secret realm’s remaining days dwindled.

• Lei Yuanhua tried to flee the Abyss Python nest, but Song Wen and his Ghost King and silver corpse blocked his escape.
• Lei Yuanhua offered to share a Heavenly Lightning Art in exchange for his life, but Song Wen refused and joined the silver corpse and Ghost King in attacking him.
• Song Wen collapsed the nest’s exit with the Soul-Splitting Blade, and Lei Yuanhua died under their combined assault.
• Song Wen searched Lei Yuanhua’s soul and storage ring, finding a three-hundred-year-old Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch and a bottle of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid.
• Song Wen recovered from his frostbite, left the cavern, and reached the foot of the mountain beneath the secret realm’s exit.

Song Wen escaped an avalanche triggered by a fight near the summit and the Twin-Winged White Tiger’s furious response. On the mountainside, he encountered the injured Mu Yunxin, saw through her attempt to win his help, and exposed her protective artifact.

• Song Wen climbed toward the stone hall exit while avoiding demonic beasts, but an avalanche erupted after cultivators fought near the summit.
• The Twin-Winged White Tiger attacked the cultivators who had disturbed it, and a second avalanche swallowed them.
• Song Wen concealed his aura and rode the avalanche downhill inside a shell of Kui Yin Heavy Water, surviving the fall.
• Song Wen found Mu Yunxin injured in the snow, but struck her when she asked him to guard her while she recovered.
• Song Wen pointed out Mu Yunxin’s exposed protective spiritual artifact, and she dropped her helpless act and cursed him for being romantically clueless.

Song Wen confronted Mu Yunxin over the treasure she had sought, but Xue Gu arrived and stopped him from attacking her. After Jie Ku and Rong Jingyun joined them near the mountain, the cultivators considered cooperating to survive the White Tiger and escape the secret realm.

• Song Wen threatened to search Mu Yunxin's soul, but Xue Gu struck at him with a flying sword and intervened.
• Mu Yunxin pretended to be injured and accused Song Wen of trying to kill her, while Xue Gu comforted her but refused to fight near the summit.
• Jie Ku emerged from the snow, and Xue Gu blamed him for provoking the White Tiger and causing the avalanche while they fought over Mu Yunxin's Illusion Spirit Grass.
• Jie Ku urged the cultivators to set aside their grievances and cooperate, and Xue Gu asked Song Wen to join them.
• Rong Jingyun arrived and explained that she had recovered from her injuries and planned to leave the secret realm.

After the White Tiger blocked the exit, Xue Gu and the others joined forces to reach the stone hall, only to learn the beast was waiting there. Song Wen then left the group and climbed the cliff alone, while the others remained beneath it.

• Xue Gu warned Rong Jingyun that the White Tiger had been alarmed, and Rong Jingyun agreed to travel with him and the others.
• Xue Gu and Jie Ku searched for missing disciples; Jie Ku found none, while Xue Gu returned with one disciple's head.
• The group waited for Mu Yunxin to recover, then set out toward the summit the next morning with Rong Jingyun's spirit cat scouting ahead.
• Rong Jingyun reported that the White Tiger was sleeping behind the stone hall's main gates and guarding the secret realm's exit.
• Xue Gu suggested luring the White Tiger away, but no one offered to risk doing so.
• Song Wen announced he would leave the group, brushed off Rong Jingyun's questions, and climbed the cliff.