Recaps

Blood Firmament and Ghost Suanni fled from the Three-Corpse Hound, while Blood Firmament turned against Blood Brow after her barrier resisted the Blood-Crying Infant. Trapped in a dead-end cavern, Song Wen persuaded them to join forces, and Blood Brow revealed how the hound could be lured away.

• The Three-Corpse Hound destroyed Blood Firmament's blood tiger and Ghost Suanni's ghostly dragon with lightning, forcing both cultivators to flee down the corridor.
• Blood Firmament used the Blood-Crying Infant's laughter against Blood Brow, but her barrier resisted it, so he attacked her with a flying sword.
• Blood Brow split into ten phantom forms as she and Song Wen fled, and Song Wen found that the corridor ended in a cavern with no exits.
• Song Wen delayed Blood Firmament's attack and proposed that he, Blood Brow, Blood Firmament, and Ghost Suanni join forces against the Three-Corpse Hound.
• Blood Brow explained that the hound guarded the prison and could be distracted by attacking it, while Blood Firmament lamented that she had not told them sooner.

Ghost Suanni revealed his Nascent Soul Peak cultivation and helped the others distract the Three-Corpse Hound long enough to flee into a corridor. Blood Firmament attacked Blood Brow and Song Wen during their escape, but Song Wen struck him with a divine sense attack, and Ghost Suanni carried the wounded Blood Firmament away as azure flames pursued them.

• Ghost Suanni revealed his Nascent Soul Peak cultivation and held back the Three-Corpse Hound while Blood Brow devised an escape plan.
• Blood Brow created nine blood-infused illusionary clones, distracting the Three-Corpse Hound as Song Wen, Blood Brow, Blood Firmament, and Ghost Suanni fled into the corridor.
• Blood Firmament slashed at Blood Brow with his crimson flying sword, and the blow sent her bronze bell crashing into her back and injured her.
• Song Wen used an azure talisman to speed ahead and tried to carry Blood Brow, but Blood Firmament redirected his flying sword toward him.
• Song Wen blocked the sword with a wall of blood and struck Blood Firmament with nine Soul-Concentrating Spikes, leaving him incapacitated.
• Ghost Suanni wrapped Blood Firmament in spiritual power and carried him away as the Three-Corpse Hound's azure flames swept down the corridor.

Song Wen, Blood Brow, Ghost Suanni, and Blood Firmament fled the Three-Corpse Hound through the Azure Netherworld Profound Fire, using Blood Brow’s lightning spell barriers to survive the flames. The barriers soon failed under another wave, leaving Ghost Suanni and Blood Firmament exposed as the hound closed in.

• Ghost Suanni caught up with Song Wen and Blood Brow, suspected Song Wen had concealed his connection to Blood Brow, and demanded a way to resist the Azure Netherworld Profound Fire.
• Blood Brow agreed to reveal how to resist the flames after Ghost Suanni promised to stop Blood Firmament from attacking her and Song Wen.
• Blood Brow cast lightning spell barriers around all four cultivators, allowing them to withstand the Azure Netherworld Profound Fire for three breaths as it swept them forward.
• The Three-Corpse Hound caught up and unleashed another wave of azure flames; Blood Brow shielded only herself and Song Wen, leaving Ghost Suanni and Blood Firmament unprotected.
• Ghost Suanni used ghost qi to resist the flames, while Blood Firmament activated his final Crimson Preservation Talisman and grew more resentful of Blood Brow.

Song Wen and the others escaped the Three-Corpse Hound through a teleportation array, but Blood Firmament immediately tried to kill Song Wen after they arrived in a small secret realm. Song Wen confronted Ghost Suanni over the betrayal, and Ghost Suanni withdrew rather than intervene, leaving Song Wen, Blood Brow, and Blood Firmament to face one another.

• Ghost Suanni had Blood Brow create illusionary doubles, and Blood Firmament infused them with blood energy to lure the Three-Corpse Hound into attacking three corridors at once.
• Song Wen, Ghost Suanni, Blood Brow, and Blood Firmament defended against the hound’s lightning attack, then fled through a corridor and escaped via a teleportation array.
• Blood Firmament attacked Song Wen with his Crimson Flying Sword after the teleportation, but Song Wen used a Minor Teleportation Talisman to evade it.
• Blood Firmament searched the small secret realm with his divine sense and found Song Wen approaching from southwest of his position.
• Song Wen asked Ghost Suanni to answer for Blood Firmament’s ambush, but Ghost Suanni refused to get involved and moved away from Blood Brow and Blood Firmament.

Blood Brow and Song Wen teamed up against Blood Firmament, who used a soul-defense treasure to resist Song Wen’s attacks. Song Wen evaded Blood Firmament’s sword strike, but the sea of blood collapsed and left him injured and exposed.

• Blood Brow escaped Blood Firmament’s attack with the Blood Escape Technique, then joined Song Wen to fight him.
• Song Wen released a sea of blood and sent eighteen Blood Shadow Clones to attack Blood Firmament.
• Blood Firmament used the Blood-Crying Infant to destroy seventeen clones and identify the remaining one, but its laughter did not affect Song Wen.
• Song Wen attacked with nine Soul-Concentrating Spikes, but Blood Firmament’s beast-bone soul treasure weakened them and protected his sea of consciousness.
• Blood Firmament’s flying sword cut through Song Wen’s blood pillar and sea of blood; Song Wen retreated into the sea, but emerged injured as Blood Firmament attacked again.

Song Wen and Blood Brow joined forces against the injured Blood Firmament, but held back their strongest abilities to avoid revealing their trump cards. Blood Brow used Phantom Karma Heartflame and illusion arts to confuse Blood Firmament, and the chapter ended as he tested another cloud of blood mist.

• Blood Brow's Soul-Breaking Awls distracted Blood Firmament and let Song Wen escape his flying sword.
• Song Wen and Blood Brow discussed how to defeat Blood Firmament while keeping Song Wen's lightning arts concealed from Ghost Suanni.
• Blood Brow attacked Blood Firmament with Phantom Karma Heartflame, then used fire and blood-mist illusions to misdirect him.
• Blood Brow's black liquid slowed Blood Firmament's flying sword, allowing her to create nine figures and flee in different directions.
• Blood Firmament tested a new cloud of blood mist with a strand of spiritual power.

Song Wen, transformed into a giant corpse, and Blood Brow attacked Blood Firmament with black needles and Purple Palace Divine Thunder, forcing him to flee after losing half his palm. Song Wen intercepted him again with a third consecutive use of the Blood Escape Technique, leaving Blood Firmament facing another giant corpse.

• Song Wen sent blood-red tentacles against Blood Firmament while Blood Firmament used a blood tiger to hold them off and struggled to remove Blood Brow's black liquid from his Crimson Flying Sword.
• The black liquid split into hundreds of needles as Song Wen vanished into blood mist and reappeared behind Blood Firmament as a giant corpse.
• Blood Brow summoned Purple Palace Divine Thunder while Blood Firmament blocked the needles and lightning, but Song Wen's claws cut off half his palm.
• Blood Firmament used the Blood Escape Technique to escape dozens of miles, then fled as Blood Brow redirected the black needles after him.
• Song Wen appeared ahead of Blood Firmament in another cloud of blood mist and attacked again, astonishing Blood Firmament and Ghost Suanni with his third consecutive Blood Escape Technique.

Song Wen and Blood Brow defeated Blood Firmament with coordinated attacks and illusions, destroying his body and trapping his Nascent Soul. Ghost Suanni demanded Blood Firmament’s storage ring in exchange for not interfering, leaving Song Wen to decide whether to accept.

• Song Wen attacked Blood Firmament while Blood Brow’s illusions confused him and concealed volleys of black needles.
• Blood Firmament’s shield shattered, the needles destroyed his legs, and his Nascent Soul fled into Song Wen’s spherical tide of blood, where tentacles captured it.
• Blood Firmament called for Ghost Suanni, who arrived and urged Song Wen to spare him.
• Song Wen insisted Blood Firmament must die but offered to negotiate a price for Ghost Suanni’s noninterference.
• Ghost Suanni demanded Blood Firmament’s storage ring, and Song Wen objected that he and Blood Brow should not leave empty-handed.

Song Wen and Blood Brow escaped Ghost Suanni after dividing Blood Firmament’s possessions, then learned that the Orchid Realm contained Withered Corpse Bamboo. They entered the underground cavern said to hold the Orchid Realm, but the barrier behind them vanished and left them with no apparent way back.

• Ghost Suanni agreed to let Song Wen and Blood Brow divide Blood Firmament’s possessions in exchange for the Crimson Refinement Tribulation Baleful Intent and a soul-defense treasure.
• Song Wen crushed Blood Firmament’s Nascent Soul, and the three divided his belongings, with Song Wen taking the Crimson Flying Sword and Blood Brow taking the infant corpse and shield.
• Ghost Suanni departed, and Blood Brow told Song Wen that the Orchid Realm held Withered Corpse Bamboo useful for corpse-path cultivation.
• Song Wen and Blood Brow hid in a beast cave for five days to recover, then followed Blood Brow through a deep pool into an underground cavern.
• Song Wen and Blood Brow passed through a water-blocking barrier into the cavern, where glowing plants grew and the barrier disappeared behind them.

Song Wen and Blood Brow discovered Lan Chen and Mo Yexue fighting a swarm of Gold-Eating Ants in the cavern. As the women debated whether to retreat, a powerful ant breached Mo Yexue’s flying sword’s defenses and spat corrosive liquid at her.

• Song Wen sensed Lan Chen and Mo Yexue being besieged by black ants and told Blood Brow what he had seen.
• Blood Brow identified the creatures as Gold-Eating Ants and warned that a fourth-rank Ant Queen and several Ant Kings were likely directing the swarm.
• Lan Chen urged Mo Yexue to leave, but Mo Yexue argued they should stay and search for Phantom Wing Butterflies and Purple-Gold Spiritwood.
• A Gold-Eating Ant evaded Mo Yexue’s careless sword strike, survived her full-powered follow-up, and rushed toward the two women.
• The Gold-Eating Ant spat foul, corrosive liquid at Mo Yexue’s face.

Mo Yexue and Lan Chen fought the Gold-Eating Ants, but an unseen force appeared to be controlling them. As Lan Chen cornered Blood Brow in a dead-end cave, Song Wen revealed himself to stop her attack.

• The Gold-Eating Ant’s venom corroded Mo Yexue’s shield and disfigured her face, but Lan Chen’s spiritual power blast drove the venom away and Mo Yexue treated her wounds.
• Lan Chen used her jade ruyi to control the fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ant, but an external force broke her hold, leading her to suspect that a stronger creature was commanding the ants.
• Song Wen and Blood Brow retreated and hid, but Lan Chen and Mo Yexue fled the ants into the same dead-end cave.
• Lan Chen spotted Blood Brow, demanded to know how she entered the Divine Blood Hall, and attacked when she rejected the accusation that she was lying.
• Blood Brow looked toward Song Wen for help, and Song Wen emerged from hiding and called for Lan Chen to stop.

Song Wen joined Lan Chen and Mo Yexue in battling the Gold-Eating Ants, and Mo Yexue killed the fourth-order ant that had disfigured her. As the four cultivators traveled together through the cave, Song Wen spotted danger above, but a formidable metal-shelled Gold-Eating Ant had already torn through the Blood Tide and leaped down.

• Lan Chen accused Song Wen of hiding until she and Mo Yexue were weakened, but Song Wen denied it and joined their fight with Blood Brow.
• Mo Yexue focused her sword on the fourth-order Gold-Eating Ant, then used pink smoke to immobilize it and cut it in two.
• Song Wen sent Blood Tide across the cave, consuming the dead ants and killing others lurking in underground tunnels.
• Lan Chen asked Song Wen to cover the cave walls and ceiling, and the four agreed to travel together through the ant blockade.
• As the group passed the place where Lan Chen and Mo Yexue had been surrounded, Song Wen warned of danger above, and a huge metal-shelled Gold-Eating Ant leaped through the Blood Tide.

Mo Yexue, Lan Chen, Blood Brow, and Song Wen fought a Gold-Eating Ant, but discovered that an unknown powerful spirit sense was secretly aiding it. When three more fourth-rank Gold-Eating Ants appeared, Blood Brow warned that an ant queen was likely nearby, and the group fled as the ants pursued them through a blood wall.

• Mo Yexue's flying sword and Lan Chen's spirit-sense attack failed to seriously injure the Gold-Eating Ant, while Lan Chen sensed that an outside demonic spirit sense protected it.
• An unhandled curved blade struck the Gold-Eating Ant's abdomen and distracted it, allowing Mo Yexue to injure its eyes while Lan Chen bound it with the Red Silk.
• Song Wen warned that more fourth-rank Gold-Eating Ants were coming, and the group hurried away as three ant kings emerged from the blood tides.
• Blood Brow created three lifelike clones to draw the ants' venom away and warned that a late fourth-rank or peak fourth-rank ant queen was likely behind them.
• Lan Chen flung the bound ant toward its kin, and a rising blood wall briefly blocked the pursuing ants and their venom before they broke through it.

Blood Brow used Maha Blackwater to counter the Gold-Eating Ants’ venom, allowing the four cultivators to fight back and wound one ant. The ants then unleashed poisonous yellow mist and concealed tail stingers within it, which shot toward Lan Chen.

• Blood Brow used her Maha Blackwater Soul-Breaking Awls to block the Gold-Eating Ants’ venom, and the four cultivators turned to fight them.
• Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, Song Wen, and Blood Brow attacked the three ants, with Song Wen’s blood-based assault creating an opening for a Soul-Breaking Awl to corrode one ant’s carapace.
• Lan Chen’s Void-Breaking Blade struck the weakened spot and cracked the ant’s carapace, leaving it badly wounded.
• The three Gold-Eating Ants spat out poisonous yellow mist that corroded Song Wen’s blood wall, while Lan Chen’s cloth bag summoned a hurricane to slow the mist.
• The ants launched concealed tail stingers through the mist, and the stingers shot toward Lan Chen.

Lan Chen, Song Wen, Mo Yexue, and Blood Brow fought off the Gold-Eating Ants in the cavern and fled after the creatures retreated. They traveled deeper into the Orchid Realm, where Mo Yexue told Yinshuo to put away the Blood Sea Seal so it would not hide the treasures they sought.

• Lan Chen protected herself from the Gold-Eating Ants' tail stingers with her treasure tower, but the stingers destroyed her gray cloth bag and ended its gale.
• Lan Chen persuaded Blood Brow and Song Wen not to flee, and the four joined forces against the yellow mist pythons and Gold-Eating Ants.
• Song Wen transformed into a giant corpse, struck a mist python, escaped its poisonous mist, and fought off a Gold-Eating Ant.
• Lan Chen and Mo Yexue shattered mist pythons while Blood Brow and Mo Yexue wounded a Gold-Eating Ant, forcing the surviving ants to retreat underground.
• The four flew dozens of miles without pursuit, and Mo Yexue asked Yinshuo to put away the Blood Sea Seal so they could spot treasures in the cavern.

Song Wen, Blood Brow, Lan Chen, and Mo Yexue searched the Orchid Realm and found several rare spirit herbs before discovering Purple-Gold Spiritwood, which Mo Yexue claimed. As the four continued onward, corpse qi filled the cavern, and Song Wen and Blood Brow saw signs that Withered Corpse Bamboo might grow ahead.

• The four traveled through the Orchid Realm and found only low-grade herbs until Lan Chen spotted two Starshine Spirit Dew Grasses, which Song Wen and Mo Yexue each took.
• The four later discovered Purple-Gold Spiritwood, and Mo Yexue claimed it in exchange for giving up her share of the other treasures.
• After Mo Yexue harvested the spiritwood, the four continued through the cavern and began sensing corpse qi.
• The corpse qi grew denser as the cavern plants became sparse and withered, delighting Song Wen and Blood Brow because the conditions suited Withered Corpse Bamboo.

Song Wen and Blood Brow discovered withered corpse bamboo guarded by a powerful zombie in the narrowing cavern. Song Wen drew the zombie away so Blood Brow could harvest the bamboo, but the creature abandoned its pursuit and turned back toward its prize.

• Mo Yexue, Lan Chen, Blood Brow, and Song Wen discussed the narrowing cavern and their lack of a way out.
• The group found six stalks of withered corpse bamboo, and Lan Chen and Mo Yexue agreed to let Song Wen and Blood Brow harvest it.
• A skeletal arm dragged Song Wen's third-rank Silver Corpse into the rubble, and Blood Brow identified the attacker as a zombie guarding the bamboo.
• Song Wen tested the zombie's response with his Ghost King, then had Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, and Blood Brow move away while he lured it out.
• A late fourth-rank zombie emerged and pursued Song Wen, but stopped after one li and returned toward the bamboo; Song Wen struck it with a blood-colored tentacle.

Song Wen, Blood Brow, and Mo Yexue fought a late fourth-rank Golden Corpse while Blood Brow worked to extract the Withered Corpse Bamboo grove. Though Mo Yexue and Song Wen badly injured the zombie, it still struggled toward the grove.

• The zombie fled beneath the Withered Corpse Bamboo and refused to emerge until Song Wen threatened the grove with a Blood Year tentacle.
• The zombie shattered Song Wen’s tentacles with its corpse qi, but Blood Brow struck it with Purple Palace Divine Thunder while Song Wen dragged it away.
• Blood Brow used six Soul-Breaking Awls to raise a huge pillar of earth containing the Withered Corpse Bamboo and its roots.
• As the zombie broke free and charged toward the grove, Mo Yexue cut it nearly in half with her flying sword.
• Song Wen battered the zombie into a deep pit with a pillar of blood, but the badly damaged zombie still launched itself back into the air.

Song Wen and Blood Brow harvested the Withered Corpse Bamboo and killed the zombie that was obsessed with it after Song Wen failed to control it. Lan Chen revealed she was searching for a Phantom Wing Butterfly, and Blood Brow discovered an array barrier sealed the cavern, trapping them inside.

• Song Wen repeatedly failed to use the Corpse-Control Curse on the zombie, whose obsession with the Withered Corpse Bamboo kept it from being controlled.
• Blood Brow and Song Wen split the six Withered Corpse Bamboos, and Song Wen killed the zombie after it mourned the empty pit where they had grown.
• Lan Chen said she wanted to find a Phantom Wing Butterfly and had learned of it from an ancient text.
• Blood Brow confirmed the cavern ended a few li ahead and revealed an array barrier in the overhead rocks had trapped them.

Song Wen, Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, and Blood Brow discovered that the Orchid Realm was sealed by an array and decided to search the Gold-Eating Ants' nest for a way out and a Phantom Wing Butterfly. They found a hidden stairway leading underground and began descending toward the nest.

• Song Wen confirmed that an array barrier blocked their escape, and Blood Brow explained that the Phantom Wing Butterfly lived symbiotically with the Gold-Eating Ants.
• Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, and Blood Brow agreed to explore the Gold-Eating Ants' nest after Blood Brow suggested it might contain a teleportation array or relics left by the Divine Blood Sect.
• Song Wen identified the nest's likely location, and Mo Yexue split open the cavern floor to reveal a stone stairway leading underground.
• Lan Chen warned that the intelligent Gold-Eating Ant Queen could command the colony and that her spiritual-sense technique would not work against it.
• The four descended the stairway, killing the low-rank Gold-Eating Ants they encountered while Song Wen secretly devoured their souls.

Song Wen and the others encountered Fu, the Gold-Eating Ant queen, who offered the treasures and Phantom Wing Butterflies in her nest in exchange for a Bronze Key Coffin so she could leave the Divine Blood Hall. The chapter ended with Song Wen questioning Fu about why generations of ant queens had remained trapped in the Orchid Realm.

• Lan Chen and the others found Gold-Eating Ant eggs and reached a cavern hall filled with the colony and its gathered resources.
• Fu, the Gold-Eating Ant queen, contacted the four through the ants and offered to trade everything in her nest for a Bronze Key Coffin.
• Fu revealed that a bloodstone exit lay ten li to the left, and Lan Chen confirmed the route with her spiritual sense.
• Fu offered Lan Chen a fourth-rank Phantom Wing Butterfly, which docilely entered Lan Chen's spirit beast pouch.
• Song Wen asked Fu whether the Orchid Realm lacked teleportation arrays and whether its protective formation could not be broken.

Song Wen and the others tried to reach the Teleportation Array in the Gold-Eating Ants' nest, but Blood Brow recognized the ant queen's plan as a trap. With poisonous mist filling the cavern and fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ants blocking their escape, the four cultivators fought their way back toward the lower cavern.

• The ant queen told Song Wen and the others where the Teleportation Array was and agreed to let them inspect it before receiving the Bronze Key Coffin.
• Blood Brow questioned why the ant queen wanted only the coffin and concluded that the supposed route to the Teleportation Array was a trap.
• The ant queen sent Gold-Eating Ants to fill the cavern with poisonous mist, and Lan Chen led the group toward the upper cavern.
• Song Wen cleared part of the collapsed stairway with a blood-colored tentacle, but a wounded fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ant blocked the passage.
• Mo Yexue carved a Vertical Tunnel through the rock, where four fourth-tier Gold-Eating Ants ambushed the group.
• Song Wen was injured by an ant's attack and used the Blood Sea Seal to retreat toward the lower cavern as the three women fought their way back with him.

Song Wen and the others searched for the Ant Queen, then discovered it was hiding in a sealed stone chamber behind a wall reinforced with Heavenly Goldwater. They broke away the surrounding stone but could not reach the chamber through its narrow passages and dense poisonous mist.

• Mo Yexue spotted a poison-free corridor, and Lan Chen suspected the Ant Queen had deliberately left it to lure them into a trap.
• Song Wen spread blood mist through the cavern hall, found the Ant Queen behind a stone wall, and sensed a chamber filled with Gold-Eating Ant eggs beyond it.
• Song Wen’s Void-Breaking Blade barely marked the unusually hard wall, and Blood Brow explained that the Ant Queen could reinforce stone with Heavenly Goldwater.
• Mo Yexue’s Sword Qi stripped away ordinary stone around the reinforced wall, exposing a large stone sphere riddled with narrow holes.
• Mo Yexue sent her flying sword through the holes, but the dense poisonous mist disrupted her control and forced her to recall it.
• Song Wen suggested that a smaller Gold-Eating Ant might be responsible for mating with the Ant Queen.

Song Wen and the others used Mo Yexue’s origin brightness true flame to break the stone sphere imprisoning the ant queen. The ant queen escaped the flames and declared that the cultivators had freed it from its long confinement.

• The cultivators discovered the ant queen inside the stone sphere, and it changed its size while demanding their Bronze Key Coffins.
• Blood Brow explained that heavenly goldwater feared yang-aligned spirit fire, and Mo Yexue attacked the sphere with her origin brightness true flame.
• Lan Chen, Song Wen, and Blood Brow fought off the ant kings while Mo Yexue burned the stone sphere.
• The sphere cracked and exploded, revealing the ant queen and its eggs as Mo Yexue’s sword struck through the poisonous mist without hitting it.
• The ant queen announced that it was finally free and thanked the cultivators, while Mo Yexue searched the mist for it.

The Gold-Eating Ant queen explained how the colony’s protective stone sphere had imprisoned her, then attacked the four cultivators with Divine Sense and the unbearable stench of spoiled ant eggs. With their escape blocked by the Teleportation Array in her nest, Song Wen proposed injuring the queen to give the others a chance to activate it.

• The queen revealed that the Gold-Eating Ants had trapped her in a stone sphere to protect her, then attacked the four cultivators with transparent Divine Sense spikes.
• Lan Chen used a soul-defense treasure to shield the group, but the queen pierced ant eggs and unleashed a stench that tormented them.
• Mo Yexue tried to counter the stench with Origin Brightness True Flame, but the queen’s attack overwhelmed her and extinguished her flying sword’s flame.
• Lan Chen tried to retreat with Mo Yexue, but the queen revealed the Teleportation Array beneath the poisonous mist, blocking their escape.
• Song Wen proposed attacking the queen while Lan Chen and Blood Brow activated the array, and the others agreed to his plan.