Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Breaking the Formation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Demon Ghost King Generals are horrified by Su Qingyang’s overwhelming power, but force themselves to continue fighting because retreat is impossible.
• Nearly five thousand armored Demon Ghost cavalry assemble into a powerful army formation, intending to overwhelm Su Qingyang through a concentrated charge.
• Su Qingyang continues cutting through successive squads with the Black God Halberd, showing no visible signs of exhaustion despite the prolonged battle.
• Believing that even Su Qingyang must eventually weaken, the King General orders the entire cavalry to charge as one unified force.
• Su Qingyang meets the charge head-on. His halberd sweeps through the cavalry formation, killing soldiers and horses in enormous numbers and breaking apart the “black dragon” of the army.
• The first clash costs the Demon Ghosts nearly a thousand riders. The formation’s will suppresses their fear and prevents them from retreating, allowing the surviving cavalry to charge again.
• After another devastating clash, thousands more riders are killed. The King General deliberately sacrifices its entire force, gathering the sinister energy released by the dead to strengthen itself.
• The remaining cavalry launches a final assault, but Su Qingyang splits the formation apart and annihilates all five thousand armored riders.
• The battlefield is left covered in corpses and blood. Only Su Qingyang and the two King Generals remain standing.
• One King General condemns Su Qingyang for showing no pity toward the slain soldiers. Su Qingyang dismisses the accusation and calmly challenges them to continue, pointing the Black God Halberd at his final opponents.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang is portrayed as almost inexhaustible and increasingly terrifying. He fights with confidence and enjoyment, treating the massed army as an opportunity to test and display his strength rather than as a serious threat.
• The King Generals move from fear and uncertainty to ruthless determination. Realizing they cannot defeat Su Qingyang through ordinary tactics, they commit to sacrificing their entire cavalry force in hopes of exhausting or killing him.
• The controlling King General also reveals a conflicted side: despite its cold strategic decisions, it feels grief and guilt over the deaths of the Demon Ghost soldiers under its command.
• The Demon Ghost cavalry demonstrates total obedience to the army formation. Their individual fear and survival instincts are suppressed, turning them into emotionless weapons that continue attacking even after suffering catastrophic losses.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming individual power versus collective force: The chapter contrasts Su Qingyang’s solitary strength with the unified might of an entire army.
• Sacrifice and ruthless warfare: The King Generals willingly expend thousands of soldiers to create even the smallest chance of victory.
• Loss of individuality: The army formation erases fear, hesitation, and retreat, reducing the Demon Ghosts to instruments of slaughter.
• Pity versus survival: The King General’s accusation raises the question of whether compassion has any place in war, while Su Qingyang’s response reflects his detached, almost demonic attitude toward combat.
• Persistence and intimidation: Neither side retreats. The Demon Ghosts rely on formation discipline, while Su Qingyang’s relentless advance steadily breaks their morale and structure.

Character Interactions

• The King Generals coordinate their tactics, with one controlling the army formation and the other wielding a giant axe, ultimately deciding to unleash the full cavalry charge.
• The Demon Ghost army acts as a single entity under the King General’s command, obeying orders despite immense casualties.
• Su Qingyang directly confronts the collective will of the Demon Ghost formation, repeatedly destroying its charges with the Black God Halberd.
• At the chapter’s conclusion, the surviving King General confronts Su Qingyang emotionally, accusing him of lacking pity, while Su Qingyang responds with cold contempt and issues an implicit challenge for the final battle.

Chapter Summary: “Altar”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Qingyang confronts the King General wielding a Zhanmadao after it is provoked by his defiance. The King General unleashes its strongest attack, channeling nearly all the surrounding yin qi into a devastating slash.
• Su Qingyang counters with the Black God Halberd, empowered by Formless Qi Weapons. His sweeping strike destroys half the Zhanmadao and nearly cleaves the King General in two. Before it can regenerate, he crushes it and burns its remains to ash with pure flames.
• The remaining axe-wielding King General attacks Su Qingyang in a desperate, fearless charge. Su Qingyang destroys its axe, severs its head, and splits its body in two with a single halberd strike.
• On the main battlefield, the Pagoda Army advances through overwhelming firearms and artillery. Its dense Firearms Formations devastate the Demon Ghost defenses, while Grandmasters and blood-qi military formations suppress enemy generals and armies.
• Great Jin’s modern-style warfare proves vastly superior to the Demon Ghosts’ bows and crossbows. The Pagoda Army advances over twenty li in less than half a day, forcing the Demon Ghosts into retreat.
• Xiao Huang and the surviving King General recognize the deaths of the other two King Generals and become more cautious. They withdraw while using traps, poison, assassinations, night raids, ambushes, and attacks on supply routes to slow Great Jin’s advance.
• The Demon Ghosts eventually use several moved mountains as defensive barriers, halting the Pagoda Army’s otherwise relentless offensive in the heartland of Abundance Prefecture.
• News of the war transforms the martial world. Major sects begin to fear both the Demon Ghost calamity and Great Jin’s increasingly destructive firearms.
• In Barbarian Prefecture, tens of thousands of Demon Ghosts construct a massive altar by hollowing out a mountain. A colossal, partially buried being—apparently dragon-like—is being enshrined within it.
• A mysterious hooded man carrying twin blades observes the altar and detects a spatial vortex linking to another world. He suspects the altar is intended to summon or channel divine-level power, but leaves because the structure is not yet capable of withstanding his strength. A True General briefly senses his presence but fails to identify him.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Su Qingyang demonstrates overwhelming combat power, effortlessly defeating two King Generals and confirming himself as a terrifying force comparable to a Jiedushi. His exchanges with the King Generals emphasize his calm superiority versus their rage and desperation.
• The King Generals shift from arrogance to shock and fear after witnessing Su Qingyang kill their fellow generals. The axe-wielding general chooses a final attack rather than retreat or surrender, showing the Demon Ghosts’ inability—or unwillingness—to beg for mercy.
• Xiao Huang becomes more guarded after realizing that every other King General has been killed. Though stronger than ordinary King Generals, he recognizes that he may also be vulnerable.
• The Pagoda Army emerges as a highly coordinated, technologically advanced military force whose firearms, artillery, and blood-qi formations redefine warfare.
• The hooded twin-blade man is introduced as an enigmatic and immensely powerful observer. He appears knowledgeable about spatial distortions and divine or interworld forces, yet deliberately refrains from interfering until the altar is complete.
• The hooded man and the True General have a brief indirect interaction: the True General senses that something is wrong, but the stranger conceals himself and departs unnoticed.

Significant Themes

• Technological and military transformation: Great Jin’s firearms have created a style of warfare resembling modern artillery-based combat, rendering traditional ranged weapons nearly obsolete.
• Overwhelming individual strength: Su Qingyang’s effortless destruction of King Generals reinforces the importance of supreme personal power amid large-scale warfare.
• Attrition versus direct force: Although Great Jin dominates in open battle, the Demon Ghosts counter with guerrilla warfare, sabotage, poison, ambushes, and strategic retreat.
• Fear and shifting power balances: The Demon Ghost calamity forces sects and martial forces to reassess their neutrality, while Great Jin’s military strength becomes almost equally frightening.
• Summoning and divine intervention: The altar and spatial vortex suggest that the Demon Ghosts are preparing to summon or receive power from another world, possibly involving gods or a colossal divine creature.
• Unseen forces and impending escalation: The mysterious observer’s decision to wait implies that the altar’s completion will trigger a larger conflict involving powers beyond the current battlefield.

Chapter Summary: “Tracing Lin Muqian”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Secret Bureau spends several days searching its eight centuries of records for Lin Muqian and the Hundred Rivers Sect, following an order from the Sixth Prince, Su Qingyang.
• Vice-Director Deng Heilong discovers that neither name appears in Great Jin’s official histories. However, a fragment from the Warring States era confirms that Lin Muqian lived before Great Jin was founded.
• The records state that Lin Muqian mysteriously disappeared, after which the Hundred Rivers Sect declined and eventually vanished from the martial world.
• Since Su Qingyang is absent from the Imperial City, the vice-directors report their findings to Liu Qingni, his trusted subordinate.
• Further investigation identifies the former location of the Hundred Rivers Sect as Guishan County in Chili Prefecture, Extreme Prefecture.
• Historical records reveal that Guishan County had changed names three times because of repeated supernatural disasters:
  • Demon Tongue-Cutting Case: Over a thousand households were mutilated and killed overnight.
  • Mass Madness and Slaughter: Six hundred years ago, the entire county became violently deranged, with even infants displaying crimson eyes and baleful energy.
  • Human Skinning Incidents: Four hundred years ago, residents were forcibly fused with animal skins and died in horrific agony.
• The Secret Bureau concludes that these events were not ordinary criminal or demonic incidents and may be connected to Lin Muqian or the Hundred Rivers Sect.
• Although the danger is obvious, Liu Qingni orders that the complete information be sent to Su Qingyang.

Character Developments

• Cang Baitian grows increasingly uneasy after failing to locate Lin Muqian, revealing the pressure he feels to fulfill Su Qingyang’s first major assignment.
• Deng Heilong demonstrates persistence and scholarly resourcefulness by tracing the missing information through obscure autobiographical manuscripts and ancient records.
• Liu Qingni is shown to possess considerable authority within the Secret Bureau, acting carefully and decisively as Su Qingyang’s most trusted confidante.
• Her initial unease at the horrors surrounding Guishan County gives way to firm resolve. Her loyalty and confidence in Su Qingyang remain absolute despite the supernatural dangers involved.

Significant Themes

• Buried history and forgotten truths: Lin Muqian and the Hundred Rivers Sect disappeared from mainstream historical records, showing how time can conceal major figures and disasters.
• Mystery and supernatural horror: The repeated catastrophes in Guishan County suggest a deeper, unexplained evil tied to the region.
• Duty and loyalty: Liu Qingni chooses to report the danger honestly rather than conceal it, trusting Su Qingyang’s judgment and strength.
• The limits of official knowledge: Even the Secret Bureau, which specializes in hidden information, struggles to understand the county’s history.
• Foreshadowing: The connection between Lin Muqian, the Hundred Rivers Sect, and the county’s violent incidents suggests that Su Qingyang’s investigation will lead to a dangerous and ancient secret.

Character Interactions

• Cang Baitian and Deng Heilong collaborate closely in searching the Secret Bureau’s archives and share their concerns over the incomplete records.
• They respectfully defer to Liu Qingni, recognizing her authority as Su Qingyang’s representative.
• Liu Qingni examines the evidence with them, asks precise questions about the sect’s former location, and directs the investigation into Guishan County.
• After discovering the county’s horrific history, Cang Baitian and Deng Heilong express fear and uncertainty about whether Su Qingyang should be informed.
• Liu Qingni decisively orders them to report everything, emphasizing trust in Su Qingyang and the importance of allowing him to judge the danger himself.

Chapter Summary: “Burned to Ashes”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In Barbarian Prefecture, Hao Wenqu encounters Su Qingyang, whose overwhelming Blood-Qi Martial Saint aura fills the area with terrifying killing intent.
• Hao identifies himself as one of the Four Unknowns, members of the Tower Beyond Towers. He insists that he has no involvement in the crisis affecting Barbarian Prefecture.
• Hao explains that he came to investigate how the Demon Ghosts crossed between worlds. If possible, he hopes to use the same method to travel to their world and escape the increasingly destructive Malice of Heaven and Earth in the Human World.
• He reveals that Four Unknowns offers a sanctuary free from this Malice, allowing powerful martial artists to continue advancing. This is why many of the world’s strongest experts have joined it despite its dangers.
• Hao refuses to describe the realm where Four Unknowns is located, fearing the mysterious Immortal who rules or protects it. He warns Su Qingyang not to mention the Immortal too often, since it is merely asleep and might notice them.
• Su asks Hao to have Nangong Lan contact him if Hao successfully reaches the Demon Ghost World. Hao agrees, pleased to have Su as a potential source of protection.
• Su leaves the remaining matters in Barbarian Prefecture to Great Jin, believing that the Demon Ghosts may not be the Human World’s only future enemies.
• After Su departs, Hao finally relaxes and realizes that Su’s existence is astonishing: the Human World has produced a Blood-Qi Martial Saint, even though that path was supposedly destroyed long ago.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang: Demonstrates immense power and authority, terrifying even a Martial Grandmaster. He remains composed, inquisitive, and pragmatic, gathering information while refusing to become entangled in every local problem. His concern about future enemies suggests growing awareness of a larger threat.
• Hao Wenqu: Reveals himself to be cautious, honest under pressure, and motivated primarily by survival. Though a powerful member of Four Unknowns, he is deeply afraid of the Immortal and clearly recognizes the danger of defying Su. His curiosity and ambition are also evident in his desire to explore another world.
• Nangong Lan: Does not appear, but her previous encounter with Su and possible disclosure of Four Unknowns’ secrets influence Hao’s understanding of the situation.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and fear: Su’s presence reduces a high-level martial artist to nervous submission, emphasizing the vast gap between their abilities.
• Survival versus freedom: Experts join Four Unknowns not out of loyalty but because it provides protection from the deadly Malice of Heaven and Earth.
• Forbidden knowledge and cosmic danger: The Immortal represents a terrifying power whose secrets cannot safely be discussed, suggesting that knowledge itself may attract disaster.
• Exploration and escape: Hao’s wish to cross into the Demon Ghost World reflects the desire to escape a doomed environment, though the unknown world may bring dangers of its own.
• Lost martial traditions: The existence of Su’s Blood-Qi Martial Saint path challenges established history, implying that powerful techniques were deliberately destroyed or suppressed.

Character Interactions

• Su interrogates Hao about his identity, his connection to Four Unknowns, and the Demon Ghost crisis.
• Hao responds deferentially, repeatedly assuring Su that he is uninvolved and explaining his personal motives.
• Their conversation exposes the secrets and dangers surrounding Four Unknowns, especially the sleeping Immortal.
• Su establishes a future connection by ordering Hao to contact Nangong Lan if he reaches the Demon Ghost World, while subtly warning that refusing could have consequences.

Chapter Summary: Taking Control of Lovesickness Tower

Key Plot Points and Events

• In Cangshan City, Hua Xiaomeng secretly returns to a secluded courtyard to meet Su Qingyang.
• She reports that Lovesickness Tower has largely been brought under Su Qingyang’s control after the former master’s death. Only a few loyalists remain resistant.
• Su Qingyang asks whether Hua Xiaomeng can eliminate the remaining opposition herself. She confidently promises that the tower will soon have no disloyal members, revealing her growing ruthlessness and devotion to him.
• Hua Xiaomeng asks about the Heart-Reflecting Jade and the Wu-Deriving Scroll, two treasures currently causing turmoil throughout the pugilistic world. Su Qingyang orders her not to act yet, but to monitor them closely.
• Su Qingyang leaves the courtyard and encounters a group of men harassing the Shen family.
• Their leader is publicly insulting Shen Nanxu with obscene accusations and demanding that the Shen family hand her over, claiming to seek justice for his cousin.
• When the Shen family servants endure the abuse without retaliating, Su Qingyang intervenes by throwing an egg into the man’s mouth.
• He then appears before the group, kicks their leader into a basket of eggs, and humiliates him further, ending the chapter with the challenge: “I’ve come over. What are you going to do about it?”

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang: Demonstrates his expanding influence and strategic ambition by taking control of Lovesickness Tower rather than destroying it. He views the assassin organization pragmatically—as a useful weapon that can be replaced if necessary. His intervention on behalf of the Shen family also shows his willingness to punish vulgarity and injustice directly.
• Hua Xiaomeng: Has become deeply fearful and reverent toward Su Qingyang after learning that he killed the former master of Lovesickness Tower. She is now actively consolidating the organization under his authority and appears willing to eliminate dissent without hesitation.
• Shen Nanxu: Does not appear directly, but the insults directed at her establish her as the target of a serious conflict involving her family and the other youth’s cousin.
• The unnamed young aristocrat: Revealed as arrogant, vulgar, and emboldened by his social position. His confidence collapses when Su Qingyang humiliates him publicly.

Significant Themes

• Power and control: Su Qingyang’s takeover of Lovesickness Tower illustrates his growing command over both official and clandestine forces.
• Fear-based loyalty: Hua Xiaomeng’s obedience is driven by a mixture of admiration, terror, and dependence after witnessing Su Qingyang’s overwhelming strength.
• Pragmatism and replaceability: Su Qingyang treats organizations as tools; if Lovesickness Tower becomes unusable, he is prepared to create another.
• Justice versus abuse of power: The young aristocrat uses status and numbers to torment the Shen family, while Su Qingyang counters his bullying through immediate and humiliating force.
• The hidden struggle over treasures: The Heart-Reflecting Jade and Wu-Deriving Scroll are positioned as major sources of future conflict, with Su Qingyang beginning to investigate the larger factions surrounding them.

Character Interactions

• Su Qingyang and Hua Xiaomeng: Their master-disciple relationship is marked by Hua Xiaomeng’s submission and Su Qingyang’s calm authority. He gives her responsibility but makes clear that the organization exists under his control.
• Hua Xiaomeng and the former master’s faction: Hua Xiaomeng is preparing to suppress the remaining loyalists and complete Su Qingyang’s takeover.
• The young aristocrat and the Shen family servants: The aristocrat verbally abuses Shen Nanxu and provokes the servants, who restrain themselves despite their anger to protect the household.
• Su Qingyang and the young aristocrat: Su Qingyang interrupts the harassment with comic but forceful humiliation, physically confronting the bully and challenging him to respond.

Chapter Summary: “Colorful Black”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A mysterious young man dressed in black intervenes in a confrontation involving the Shen and Lin Families. His swift footwork and powerful martial arts immediately intimidate the gathered fighters.
• He humorously claims that a Lin Family disciple smashed his household’s precious “Phoenix Chicken” eggs, demanding exorbitant compensation. He describes the chickens as having colorful black feathers and being raised on Qilin Insects, absurdly asserting that their eggs can extend a person’s lifespan.
• When a Houtian-level Lin Family martial artist attempts to settle the matter with a small payment, the black-clad youth rejects it and deliberately provokes the Lin Family. The Lin Family men surround him, but he defeats them all in only a few punches and kicks, while deliberately avoiding serious injury.
• Su Qingyang learns from a local that Shen Nanxu was once engaged to a Lin Family young master. After discovering that he had publicly made vile comments about her, she stormed into a pleasure house, beat him and his companions, stripped him to his undergarments, hung him upside down, and annulled their engagement publicly.
• Shen Nanxu was punished by her family afterward: she knelt in the ancestral shrine for seven days and nights, cut off her long hair, and was confined for three years. Despite the Lin Family’s wrongdoing, the humiliated young master continued harassing the Shen Family through his maternal connections.
• After defeating the Lin Family fighters, the black-clad youth is warned about possible retaliation. His attitude turns cold and murderous, suggesting that he is far more dangerous than the Lin Family realizes.
• A Shen Family servant thanks him and explains that the Shen Family will not allow the incident to implicate him. The youth reveals that he once received kindness from Shen Nanxu and intervened because he could not tolerate her being humiliated.
• Hua Xiaomeng informs Su Qingyang that the mysterious person who obtained the Wu-Deriving Scroll has arrived in Extreme Prefecture but remains difficult to track. Su Qingyang recognizes that the black-clad youth is that very person.

Character Developments

• The young man in black: Demonstrates exceptional speed, combat ability, confidence, shameless humor, and fierce loyalty. Beneath his playful behavior, he possesses a serious sense of gratitude and becomes intimidating when threatened or when his benefactor is insulted.
• Su Qingyang: Remains an amused observer, gathering information while enjoying the spectacle. He quickly recognizes the black-clad youth’s importance and realizes that the Wu-Deriving Scroll’s mysterious owner is now directly before him.
• Shen Nanxu: Although absent from the present confrontation, her backstory establishes her as courageous, outspoken, compassionate, and unwilling to tolerate injustice. Her actions against her former fiancé made her a respected but controversial figure.
• The Lin Family martial artist and young master: Their arrogance and sense of entitlement are exposed. Despite attempting to preserve the family’s dignity, the Houtian martial artist is visibly intimidated, while the young master is humiliated and defeated.
• Hua Xiaomeng: Continues to serve as Su Qingyang’s capable informant, providing crucial intelligence about the Wu-Deriving Scroll holder.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus family power: The Lin Family uses status and influence to harass the Shen Family, while the black-clad youth challenges their assumed authority.
• Gratitude and loyalty: The youth’s intervention is motivated by Shen Nanxu’s past kindness, emphasizing repayment of favors and defending those who once helped him.
• Arrogance and humiliation: The Lin Family’s repeated provocations lead to public embarrassment, reversing the power dynamic between the supposedly dominant family and the outsider.
• Appearance versus reality: The youth’s ridiculous claims about magical eggs and his irreverent manner conceal his formidable martial strength and potentially lethal presence.
• Chivalry and moral courage: Shen Nanxu’s past actions and the youth’s defense of her both reflect a willingness to confront wrongdoing despite social and familial consequences.

Character Interactions

• The black-clad youth verbally clashes with the Houtian Lin Family martial artist, turning an attempted settlement into a deliberate challenge.
• He prevents Shen Family servants from helping him, choosing to defeat the Lin Family forces personally.
• Su Qingyang questions a local about the history between Shen Nanxu and the Lin Family, gaining context for the conflict.
• A Shen Family servant expresses concern and gratitude toward the black-clad youth, who reassures them of his connection to Shen Nanxu.
• Hua Xiaomeng reports to Su Qingyang about the Wu-Deriving Scroll holder, allowing Su Qingyang to connect the mysterious youth with the larger unfolding plot.

Chapter Summary: Wu-Deriving Scroll

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Secret Bureau Messaging Greyfeather Bird delivers Liu Qingni’s report to Su Qingyang. The message identifies Lin Muqian and suggests that the forbidden area Su has long sought may be located in Guishan County.
• The report describes disturbing supernatural phenomena in Guishan County, including ghosts removing people’s tongues, residents murdering one another, and humans and beasts exchanging skins. Su suspects these events may be connected to a sacrificial ritual and possibly to survivors of the destroyed Hundred Rivers Sect.
• Su orders his disciple, Hua Xiaomeng, to investigate Guishan County’s strange history and local rumors, particularly those dating back four centuries.
• Su notices the mysterious youth in black, Fang Baishi, and realizes that Fang possesses the coveted Wu-Deriving Scroll. He also senses that Fang conceals secrets of his own.
• Two martial artists—a man and a woman—observe Fang from a tavern. They plan to ambush him at night, steal the scroll, and escape before other martial forces can intervene.
• Fang retreats to a residence chosen for easy escape and examines the Wu-Deriving Scroll. Though it appears blank, activating it produces a vision of the universe and enables him to understand and improve martial arts techniques.
• Fang discovers that using the scroll severely drains his mental energy and that even the scroll has limits: it cannot further improve certain exceptionally profound techniques.
• The two tavern watchers attack Fang’s residence after nightfall. The man unleashes a powerful blade strike while the woman freezes the building with her internal energy.
• Fang apparently survives the attack and catches the man’s blade with his bare arm. The attackers are stunned that his flesh can withstand such a devastating blow.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang remains calm and analytical but shows unusual excitement upon learning that Lin Muqian and the forbidden area may have resurfaced. He becomes increasingly interested in Fang Baishi and the secrets surrounding the Wu-Deriving Scroll.
• Hua Xiaomeng demonstrates loyalty and efficiency, immediately accepting Su’s investigative orders and using her supernatural transformation to depart.
• Fang Baishi is revealed to be more than a lucky owner of the scroll. He understands its dangers, recognizes its limitations, and appears to have received it deliberately from an unnamed “old man.” His physical resilience and mysterious abilities are also greater than expected.
• The unnamed man and woman are established as opportunistic, ruthless martial artists who value secrecy and intend to seize the scroll through assassination or coercion.

Significant Themes

• Power and danger: The Wu-Deriving Scroll grants extraordinary insight and the ability to improve martial arts, but its immense value makes Fang a target.
• Hidden identities and secrets: Su suspects Fang is concealing important information, while Fang’s connection to the mysterious old man remains unexplained.
• Investigation of the supernatural: The strange events in Guishan County suggest a deeper conspiracy involving forbidden areas, sacrificial rituals, and the remnants of the Hundred Rivers Sect.
• Limits of knowledge and power: Although the scroll can clarify mysteries and elevate martial arts, it cannot overcome every limit and exacts a heavy mental cost.
• Patience versus haste: Su deliberately delays acting, believing careful investigation is wiser than rushing, while the attackers rely on a swift nighttime ambush.

Character Interactions

• Su Qingyang receives Liu Qingni’s intelligence through the Greyfeather Bird and discusses its implications with Hua Xiaomeng.
• Su commands Hua Xiaomeng to investigate Guishan County, showing their master-disciple relationship and his reliance on her abilities.
• Su observes Fang from afar, forming an indirect connection with him while recognizing the danger surrounding the scroll.
• The man and woman coordinate their theft plan in the tavern, agreeing to wait until nightfall.
• Fang privately reflects on the burden placed on him by the unnamed old man who gave him the scroll.
• The attackers confront Fang violently, but the chapter ends with their confidence shattered when he withstands the man’s blade strike.

Chapter Summary: “Fierce Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Baishi survives a devastating strike that mangles his palm, using circulating silver energy to crush the attacking blade light.
• He launches a sudden counterattack, severely injuring the male opponent with a powerful whip kick and sending him crashing through several frozen courtyard walls.
• Fang then engages the female opponent. She uses the Water-Fire Dual-Origin Art, combining blazing heat and freezing energy into a defensive vortex that redirects Fang’s attacks.
• Although Fang is a formidable blood-and-qi martial artist who has broken through twice, he initially appears slightly weaker than the two opponents in direct strength.
• Fang reveals a condensed silver Gang Qi blade and cleaves through the woman’s water-and-fire defense, leaving her exposed.
• The wounded male opponent rises from the rubble and attacks indiscriminately, striking through both Fang and the woman. The woman is killed by her companion’s saber attack.
• Fang narrowly avoids being cut in half, but suffers a severe wound across his waist and abdomen. He mocks the man for blaming him for the woman’s death.
• The male opponent launches an even more powerful saber strike, while Fang realizes he cannot win and begins fleeing toward the outskirts of Cangshan City.
• His escape alarms the entire city, but no one dares intervene because the combatants are far beyond ordinary martial artists.
• Fang reveals that he possesses both blood-and-qi cultivation and True Qi cultivation. An Essence Flower appears above him, confirming that he has reached the One-Flower Innate Realm.
• While Fang flees, Su Qingyang secretly observes the battle and becomes intrigued by Fang’s unusual cultivation, suspecting that his techniques may share a common origin and relate to the Four Unknowns.
• Fang regrets accepting the mysterious test involving the Wu-Deriving Scroll, even considering throwing it away to save his life.

Character Developments

• Fang Baishi: Demonstrates extraordinary resilience, physical strength, combat instinct, and versatility. He can combine blood-and-qi martial arts with True Qi techniques, including a powerful silver Gang Qi blade. Despite his skill, he recognizes the overwhelming danger of his opponent and retreats pragmatically. His cynical humor and constant complaints reveal a survival-focused, independent personality.
• The Female Martial Artist: Initially confident in her defensive technique, she is shocked by Fang’s sudden offensive advantage. Her sophisticated Water-Fire Dual-Origin Art proves difficult to overcome, but she is ultimately killed by her own ally in his attempt to eliminate Fang.
• The Male Martial Artist: Reveals himself to be ruthless and opportunistic. Rather than risk a fair fight or preserve his partnership, he kills the woman to remove an obstacle and then turns his full attention to Fang.
• Su Qingyang: Acts as a hidden observer. His interest shifts from merely watching the battle to investigating Fang’s unusual dual cultivation and possible connection to the Four Unknowns.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and self-interest: The male fighter abandons and kills his companion when the battle becomes dangerous, exposing the fragile nature of their alliance.
• Survival over honor: Fang has no intention of fighting to the death once he realizes he is outmatched. His priority is escaping alive, even though he complains about the consequences of his earlier choices.
• Hidden talent and mystery: Fang’s ability to cultivate both blood-and-qi and True Qi suggests an unusual background and deeper connection to the Wu-Deriving Scroll and the Four Unknowns.
• Strength versus technique: Fang’s raw physical power is countered by the woman’s sophisticated defensive art and the man’s overwhelming saber techniques, emphasizing that cultivation methods and combat intelligence can matter as much as brute force.
• The dangers of ambition: The pursuit of inheritance and the Wu-Deriving Scroll leads to betrayal, destruction, and near-death rather than glory or reward.

Character Interactions

• Fang initially overwhelms both opponents through speed and surprise, injuring the man before engaging the woman.
• The woman dismisses Fang as a lucky double-breakthrough blood-and-qi martial artist, while Fang struggles against her Water-Fire defense.
• Fang’s Gang Qi blade breaks through the woman’s protection, but the male fighter intervenes and kills her while attacking Fang simultaneously.
• Fang verbally condemns the man’s shameless attempt to shift blame for the woman’s death onto him.
• Su Qingyang remains unnoticed above the battlefield, silently analyzing Fang’s abilities and considering him a possible subject for his investigation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Baishi decides to keep the Strange Relic, despite its apparent lack of usefulness, because it represents part of the old man’s test and carries personal significance.
• He flees into the forest, but the saber-wielding pursuer quickly catches up. The man unleashes a devastating slash that tears through the earth and severely injures Fang Baishi.
• Realizing he cannot defeat his pursuer, Fang pretends to surrender and offers to answer questions. However, the opponent remains cautious and immediately attempts to kill him rather than interrogate him.
• Fang narrowly evades the killing blow and prepares to use a jade medallion, presumably an emergency aid left by the old man.
• Before he can activate it, Su Qingyang suddenly appears and effortlessly suppresses the saber-wielding man, driving him into the ground.
• A massive swarm of tens of thousands of black bats then descends upon the area. Fang recognizes that the pursuer has unknowingly become a target of a third party—the “oriole” behind the mantis.
• Su Qingyang asks Fang how he intends to repay him for saving his life. Fang tricks him by pretending to warn him of danger, then immediately flees.
• Su Qingyang remains unfazed and destroys the entire bat swarm with a single Formless Qi Weapon blade strike. The bats disintegrate into black mist rather than corpses.
• Elsewhere, watching martial artists identify the attack as the Nether-Shadow Soul-Splitting Technique and realize that the legendary Shadow Fiend has reappeared after more than a century.

Character Developments

• Fang Baishi: Demonstrates both resilience and cunning. Though badly wounded and outmatched, he uses deception, feigned surrender, and escape tactics to survive. His refusal to discard the Strange Relic shows loyalty to the old man and an attachment to its hidden significance.
• The Saber-Wielding Pursuer: Revealed to be powerful, ruthless, and highly cautious. He abandons the idea of questioning Fang and chooses to kill him immediately, but is ultimately overwhelmed by Su Qingyang and the unexpected bat swarm.
• Su Qingyang: Makes a dramatic entrance as an overwhelmingly powerful figure. He easily defeats the pursuer and annihilates the bats, while also displaying amusement and confidence when Fang tries to deceive him.
• The Shadow Fiend: Though not yet directly shown, he is established as a notorious demonic-path powerhouse with a violent history and a terrifying reputation.

Significant Themes

• The hunter becoming the hunted: The chapter embodies the idea of the “mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole,” as the pursuer focuses on Fang while unknowingly walking into the Shadow Fiend’s trap.
• Cunning versus strength: Fang survives through deception and quick thinking, while Su Qingyang dominates through overwhelming martial power.
• Hidden motives and layered danger: Every apparent conflict conceals a larger threat. The pursuit of the Wu-Deriving Scroll attracts multiple factions and escalating dangers.
• Legacy and loyalty: Fang’s decision to preserve the Strange Relic reflects his connection to the old man and suggests that the object may have deeper importance than its immediate practical value.
• Reputation and fear: The reactions of the observing martial artists show how legendary names and past atrocities continue to influence the martial world.

Character Interactions

• Fang and the saber-wielding man engage in a tense pursuit, with Fang relying on verbal surrender and deception while the man remains suspicious.
• Su Qingyang rescues Fang but immediately teases him about repayment, establishing a playful yet dominant dynamic.
• Fang responds by attempting to deceive Su Qingyang and escape, showing that he trusts neither his rescuer nor the surrounding situation.
• Su Qingyang’s effortless suppression of the pursuer contrasts sharply with Fang’s desperate struggle, emphasizing the difference in their power levels.
• The distant martial artists collectively recognize the Shadow Fiend’s technique, broadening the scene from a personal confrontation into a major event affecting the entire martial world.

Chapter Summary: “Pitiful Wretch”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Qingyang confronts a mysterious, powerful enemy hiding in the shadows after effortlessly killing an initial attacker.
• The hidden figure, the Shadow Fiend, warns Su Qingyang to leave. When Su Qingyang continues approaching, the Shadow Fiend attacks with a massive dark claw.
• Su Qingyang destroys the attack with a single slash of crimson blade qi. The apparent enemy is revealed to be a puppet rather than a living body.
• The puppet, identified as a Shadow Demon Assassin Puppet, charges Su Qingyang and detonates within ten zhang of him, releasing both flames and poisonous gas.
• Fang Baishi, who had fled earlier, hears the explosion and assumes Su Qingyang may have been killed. Although he wants to escape with the Wu-Deriving Scroll, guilt and gratitude compel him to return.
• The real Shadow Fiend remains concealed, waiting to confirm Su Qingyang’s death. However, Su Qingyang emerges unharmed and suddenly captures him from the shadows.
• The Shadow Fiend begs for his life and offers to submit. Su Qingyang uses the Soul-Mesmerizing Heart-Confounding Art to extract information about the puppet technique, then turns the Shadow Fiend into an idiot and kills him.
• The observing martial artists flee in terror after witnessing Su Qingyang’s overwhelming strength.
• Fang Baishi returns while lamenting that Su Qingyang likely saved him only because he wanted the Wu-Deriving Scroll. He bitterly concludes that he is merely a “pitiful wretch.”
• Su Qingyang appears before him and calmly invites him to stop and rest, suggesting that Fang Baishi’s assumptions may be mistaken.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang demonstrates overwhelming combat ability, casually destroying both the Shadow Fiend’s offensive technique and his suicide puppet. His calmness, confidence, and ruthlessness are reinforced.
• Su Qingyang also shows curiosity and strategic intelligence: rather than immediately killing the Shadow Fiend, he uses a soul-manipulation technique to learn about the puppet method.
• The Shadow Fiend is revealed to be extremely cautious and patient, relying on concealment, assassination puppets, and explosive attacks. Despite his reputation and experience, he is completely outmatched by Su Qingyang and reduced to helpless terror.
• Fang Baishi displays a conflicted mixture of fear, gratitude, guilt, insecurity, and self-loathing. Although he initially flees, he chooses to return the Wu-Deriving Scroll as repayment for Su Qingyang’s earlier assistance.
• Fang Baishi’s belief that everyone is using him deepens his sense of isolation, but Su Qingyang’s final appearance hints that his interpretation of their relationship may be wrong.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power versus deception: The Shadow Fiend relies on secrecy, traps, and assassins, while Su Qingyang defeats every scheme through superior strength and perception.
• Fear and reputation: The Shadow Fiend’s notorious reputation terrifies observers, but his legend collapses instantly when faced with someone stronger.
• Gratitude and moral obligation: Fang Baishi returns despite his fear because he feels indebted to Su Qingyang, revealing that his conscience remains stronger than his survival instinct.
• Self-worth and alienation: Fang Baishi’s repeated belief that he is useless and unworthy of genuine friendship exposes his deep emotional wounds.
• Misunderstanding and unexpected bonds: Fang Baishi assumes Su Qingyang’s actions are purely self-serving, while Su Qingyang’s final words suggest a more complicated relationship.

Character Interactions

• Su Qingyang and the Shadow Fiend engage in a brief but decisive confrontation, ending with Su Qingyang capturing, interrogating, and killing him.
• The watching martial artists serve as witnesses to Su Qingyang’s power and flee after realizing they cannot oppose him.
• Fang Baishi’s emotional response centers on Su Qingyang: he resents him for creating a debt, feels betrayed by the possibility that he was merely being used, yet still turns back to help him.
• The chapter ends with Su Qingyang addressing Fang Baishi directly as a “pitiful wretch,” creating a teasing but potentially compassionate moment between them.

Chapter Summary: “Hundred Rivers Sect Reappears”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Baishi is shocked to discover that the person who saved him is Su Qingyang, whom he had previously treated with suspicion.
• After realizing that Su Qingyang is powerful enough to defeat or capture him effortlessly, Fang Baishi apologizes sincerely for his earlier mistrust and ingratitude.
• Su Qingyang casually prepares roasted meat, teasing Fang Baishi about the many hidden tricks and escape methods he possesses.
• Fang Baishi admits that although he might have survived the first danger, he would likely have been killed by the powerful enemy waiting to ambush him afterward.
• Su Qingyang reveals that he initially was interested in Fang Baishi’s Wu-Deriving Scroll, causing Fang Baishi to briefly fear that he may still be in danger. However, Su Qingyang continues treating him casually and offers him food.
• While sharing the roasted meat, Su Qingyang asks why Fang Baishi risked his life to protect the scroll.
• Fang Baishi explains that he did not discover the Wu-Deriving Scroll by chance. An eccentric old man personally entrusted it to him.
• The old man claimed to be a member of the supposedly destroyed Hundred Rivers Sect.
• This revelation deeply shocks Su Qingyang, confirming that at least one survivor of the Hundred Rivers Sect exists and may be connected to recent events, including the disaster in Guishan County.
• Fang Baishi reveals that the old man was his master and expresses a strong desire to find him. Su Qingyang asks whether Fang Baishi can lead him to the man, but the chapter ends before Fang Baishi provides further information.

Character Developments

• Fang Baishi: He changes from a suspicious, defensive fugitive into a remorseful and cooperative ally. His fear of betrayal is explained by years of wandering and exposure to the martial world’s treachery. His loyalty to his master becomes clear, as does his willingness to risk death to protect the Wu-Deriving Scroll.
• Su Qingyang: He is shown to possess overwhelming strength but behaves in a relaxed, approachable manner. His teasing and willingness to share food contrast with his intimidating power. His interest in the Hundred Rivers Sect becomes more serious once he learns of a surviving member.
• Fang Baishi’s Master: Though absent, he is characterized as mysterious, unpredictable, and highly significant. His connection to the Hundred Rivers Sect and his decision to give Fang Baishi the scroll suggest a larger hidden plan.

Significant Themes

• Trust and suspicion: Fang Baishi’s mistrust stems from past hardship, while Su Qingyang’s actions gradually prove that he is not an enemy.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Fang Baishi feels ashamed of abandoning his rescuer and demonstrates deep devotion to his master by protecting the scroll at great personal risk.
• Hidden survivors and buried history: The Hundred Rivers Sect, believed to have been destroyed, may have surviving members influencing current events.
• Power versus character: Su Qingyang’s immense strength does not make him cruel or domineering; his calm behavior helps establish a contrast between true power and Fang Baishi’s fear-driven assumptions.
• Mystery and destiny: The Wu-Deriving Scroll, Fang Baishi’s master, and the Hundred Rivers Sect appear connected to a broader scheme that Su Qingyang is beginning to uncover.

Character Interactions

• Fang Baishi formally apologizes to Su Qingyang and acknowledges his superior strength.
• Su Qingyang lightly mocks Fang Baishi’s survival tactics but does not punish him for his earlier suspicion.
• The two share food around the fire, creating a moment of unexpected familiarity and trust.
• Su Qingyang questions Fang Baishi about the scroll, while Fang Baishi explains its origin and his relationship with his master.
• The conversation shifts Su Qingyang’s view of Fang Baishi from a potential holder of a valuable relic to a possible link to the surviving Hundred Rivers Sect.

Chapter Summary: “An Unexpected Name”

Plot Points and Events

• Fang Baishi recounts his childhood and his mysterious connection with an old beggar-like man.
• The old man initially appeared outside Fang’s home, seemingly deranged and helpless. Fang fed him daily until he suddenly disappeared.
• Fang grew up in poverty with his widowed mother and longed to learn martial arts so he could protect her and improve their lives.
• When his mother became seriously ill, Fang was unable to afford proper treatment and fell into despair, even intending to die after her if she passed away.
• A mysterious young girl gave Fang several pieces of silver, briefly alleviating his crisis.
• Shortly afterward, the old man returned, now lucid and imposing. He cared for Fang’s mother and helped nurse her, though he warned that her illness had become irreversible.
• While staying with Fang during his mother’s final days, the old man asked whether Fang wanted to fly and then used supernatural ability to take him soaring through the air.
• The old man taught Fang two complementary martial arts: one for strengthening the body and another for cultivating inner force. He insisted that both be practiced together.
• The old man repeatedly slipped between lucidity and madness, disappearing for long periods. Fang continued training, hoping to become strong enough to help him.
• Seven days before the present, the old man returned in a terrifying, blood-covered state, appearing almost divine. He claimed that meeting Fang had been a mistake and ordered him to conceal both the old man’s identity and the martial arts.
• Before leaving, he gave Fang the legendary Wu-Deriving Scroll and instructed him to hold onto it until he encountered “certain people.” If Fang failed to endure, he was to discard the scroll, abandon his martial arts, and live quietly.
• Su Qingyang suspects these “certain people” are connected to Four Unknowns, and that the old man deliberately used them as a possible means of protecting Fang from a greater disaster.
• When Su asks for the old man’s name, Fang recalls that he may have muttered “Lin Muqian.”

Character Development

• Fang Baishi is revealed as compassionate, resilient, and deeply loyal. Despite childhood poverty and overwhelming grief, he continued caring for his mother and later devoted himself to mastering martial arts.
• His bond with the old man became a substitute for the father and mentor he never had. Fang’s gratitude and attachment make him unwilling to abandon the old man, even after being warned away.
• Fang’s emotional recollections show that his strength is rooted not only in ambition but also in love, loss, and a desire to repay those who helped him.
• The old man is shown to be mysterious and extremely powerful, shifting between senility and extraordinary clarity. His contradictory behavior suggests hidden suffering, a dangerous past, and a larger plan involving Fang.
• Su Qingyang becomes more suspicious and analytical as he interprets the old man’s instructions and connects them to Four Unknowns and the wider martial-world crisis.

Significant Themes

• Compassion and reciprocity: Fang’s small act of feeding a starving stranger eventually leads to the old man transforming his life.
• Suffering and perseverance: Poverty, illness, grief, and helplessness shape Fang’s character but do not destroy his will.
• The bond between mentor and disciple: The old man gives Fang both martial abilities and emotional guidance, while Fang remains loyal despite the mentor’s instability and disappearance.
• Fate versus personal choice: The old man frames death as part of Heaven’s natural cycle, while his actions—training Fang and giving him the scroll—suggest that people can still prepare for or influence their fate.
• Secrets and hidden identities: The old man’s true name, his illness or madness, and the purpose of the Wu-Deriving Scroll remain uncertain.
• Protection through deception: The old man may be distancing himself from Fang not out of rejection, but to protect him from a looming catastrophe.

Character Interactions

• Fang’s childhood kindness toward the old beggar establishes the foundation of their lifelong relationship.
• The old man supports Fang and his mother during her final illness, becoming both caretaker and surrogate father.
• He introduces Fang to the wonders of martial power by taking him flying, then trains him in two interdependent disciplines.
• Fang repeatedly seeks the old man’s trust and refuses to abandon him, while the old man attempts to sever their connection for Fang’s safety.
• Su Qingyang listens sympathetically to Fang’s painful story, then shifts into investigation mode, interpreting the old man’s final instructions and identifying the possible name Lin Muqian as a major new clue.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Qingyang hears that a secret realm has opened in Guishan County, causing him to connect it with the mysterious “old codger” mentioned by Fang Baishi.
• He deduces that the old man is likely connected to the former Hundred Rivers Sect and to Lin Muqian, whose escape from the Forbidden Area may have caused the sect’s destruction.
• Fang Baishi mistakenly believes Su Qingyang is the person the old codger was waiting for. Rather than correcting him immediately, Su Qingyang says he may be able to help Fang meet the old man again.
• Fang Baishi eagerly agrees to follow Su Qingyang, hoping to see the old codger one last time because the man seemed close to death during their previous meeting.
• Hua Xiaomeng arrives with news that the secret realm has appeared in Guishan County. Su Qingyang decides to take Fang Baishi there to investigate and possibly uncover the old man’s whereabouts.
• The opening of the secret realm causes widespread alarm across Extreme Prefecture, especially because it occurs soon after the demon ghost plague devastated nearby Abundance Prefecture.
• A gathering of mysterious, immensely powerful figures discusses the event. They identify Guishan County as the former site of the Hundred Rivers Sect and question whether the new realm is connected to the sect’s destruction, Lin Muqian, or an unknown Forbidden Area.
• One member volunteers to investigate the realm. The group also discusses attempts to enter the Demon Ghost World and the threat posed by the Blood-Qi Martial Saint, ultimately deciding not to attack him for now.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang becomes increasingly suspicious that the Hundred Rivers Sect’s downfall, Lin Muqian’s escape, and the newly opened secret realm are all connected. He also begins using Fang Baishi’s mistaken assumptions to guide events in his favor.
• Fang Baishi shows deep loyalty and emotional attachment to the old codger. His willingness to face any danger in exchange for one final meeting reveals his gratitude and growing determination.
• Hua Xiaomeng remains a highly capable and vigilant subordinate. She recognizes Fang Baishi as the person who obtained the Wu-Deriving Scroll and quietly guards her position beside Su Qingyang.
• Lin Muqian, though absent, becomes more significant through others’ recollections. He is revealed to have been an extraordinary figure, talented enough to receive an invitation to join the Four Unknowns.
• The unnamed members of the Four Unknowns are portrayed as ancient, powerful beings who monitor major threats and events across the world.

Significant Themes

• Hidden history and buried causality: The chapter suggests that the destruction of the Hundred Rivers Sect may have resulted from something Lin Muqian brought out of the Forbidden Area.
• Fate and coincidence: Fang Baishi mistakes Su Qingyang for the person described by the old codger, while the secret realm opens at precisely the moment Su begins investigating the Hundred Rivers Sect.
• Loyalty and impending loss: Fang Baishi’s desire to see the old codger again reflects the pain of separation and the fear that their relationship may soon end.
• The limits of power: Even the Four Unknowns hesitate to confront the Blood-Qi Martial Saint, showing that immense strength does not eliminate danger or uncertainty.
• Cosmic malice and survival: The discussion of the Demon Ghost World and heaven-and-earth malice reveals a larger struggle involving realms, calamities, and the difficulty of escaping the world’s fundamental laws.

Character Interactions

• Su Qingyang and Fang Baishi: Su uses Fang’s misunderstanding strategically while offering him hope of seeing the old codger again. Fang responds with wholehearted trust and promises absolute loyalty.
• Su Qingyang and Hua Xiaomeng: Hua reports the secret-realm news respectfully, while Su immediately turns the information into a plan. Her private thoughts show both recognition of Fang and protectiveness toward her status as Su’s servant.
• Fang Baishi and the old codger: Though the old man never appears directly, Fang’s words establish a bond based on gratitude, dependence, and affection.
• The Four Unknowns: Their discussion reveals differing opinions about the secret realm, the Demon Ghost World, and the Blood-Qi Martial Saint, but they ultimately agree that the new realm must be investigated cautiously.

Chapter Summary: “Gathering”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter explains the nature of secret realms, or “interlayer spaces,” describing them as secondary worlds formed within or attached to the primary world. They may arise through human effort, unusual accidents, or the remnants of dead worlds being drawn into the living one.
• Although the Guishan County secret realm has appeared and attracted attention, most martial artists remain focused on obtaining the coveted Wu-Deriving Scroll.
• Su Qingyang travels toward Guishan County with Fang Baishi and Hua Xiaomeng, intentionally allowing their movements to be noticed so Fang Baishi can gain combat experience.
• Han Yubai, young master of the Severed Blade Stronghold, arrives with seven powerful subordinates and attempts to recruit Fang Baishi. Fang mocks Han’s organization and refuses, provoking an attack.
• Fang Baishi kills all eight attackers almost instantly with his palm-blade technique. Su Qingyang praises his aggressive style and potential, boosting Fang’s confidence.
• As more enemies converge, Fang boasts that he can handle them alone, though he privately asks Su Qingyang to intervene if a particularly dangerous opponent appears.
• In Qingya City, a mysterious Martial Dao Grandmaster arrives and orders the Zhou family to appear before him. His presence terrifies the city guards and citizens, implying that major powers are becoming involved.
• Elsewhere, a strange purple-robed youth falls from the sky and crashes through a cliff while remaining completely unharmed and asleep. His mysterious strength causes the assembled martial artists to avoid disturbing him.
• Around Guishan County, white mist spreads like a fairyland. Officials attempt to evacuate more than a thousand households, but the people are silently swallowed by the mist, suggesting the secret realm is expanding or consuming the county.

Character Developments

• Fang Baishi demonstrates overwhelming combat ability and growing confidence. He is eager to prove himself before Su Qingyang, though his willingness to ask for help reveals that he is still cautious beneath his bravado.
• Su Qingyang acts as both observer and mentor. He deliberately exposes Fang to danger to temper him, offers restrained praise, and remains powerful and unconcerned about the surrounding threats.
• Hua Xiaomeng admires Su Qingyang’s praise of Fang and begins to wonder whether she, too, possesses a promising future.
• Han Yubai is introduced as arrogant and self-assured, but his attempt to dominate Fang ends in immediate defeat.
• The purple-robed youth is established as an enigmatic and possibly extraordinarily powerful figure, whose casual arrival creates fear among experienced martial artists.
• The unnamed Martial Dao Grandmaster signals the arrival of an even higher level of influence and danger surrounding the secret realm.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The disparity between ordinary martial artists, Fang Baishi, Grandmasters, and mysterious figures emphasizes the vast levels of martial strength.
• Mentorship and tempering: Su Qingyang intentionally allows Fang to face danger so he can develop through real battles.
• Arrogance versus genuine strength: Han Yubai’s status and confidence are meaningless against Fang’s actual ability, while Fang’s own pride is tempered by his recognition that stronger enemies may exist.
• The unknown and supernatural danger: The secret realm’s origins, the purple-robed youth, and the spreading mist all suggest forces beyond ordinary human understanding.
• Gathering conflict: Powerful figures and factions are converging on Guishan County, indicating that the secret realm will become the center of a much larger struggle.

Character Interactions

• Su Qingyang and Fang Baishi: Su treats Fang as a promising but immature disciple or junior, while Fang seeks both recognition and protection from him.
• Fang Baishi and Han Yubai: Their exchange escalates from a recruitment attempt to open hostility, ending with Fang effortlessly killing Han’s entire group.
• Su Qingyang and Hua Xiaomeng: Su’s praise of Fang influences Hua Xiaomeng, who looks to him as an authority and becomes curious about her own potential.
• The Grandmaster and Qingya City: The Grandmaster’s command to summon the Zhou family establishes his dominance and suggests an impending confrontation with the city’s ruling power.
• The martial artists and the purple-robed youth: The crowd reacts with fear and silence, treating the sleeping youth as an unfathomable danger rather than an ordinary person.
• The officials and Guishan County’s residents: The officials attempt to protect the population, but the spreading mist overwhelms their efforts, leaving the residents’ fate uncertain.

Chapter Summary: “Immortal Realm?!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Guishan County’s entire population is abruptly ordered to evacuate during harvest season, despite no clear explanation.
• As the evacuees leave, a strange white mist spreads rapidly, isolating the county and cutting off sight, sound, and even the sense of others’ presence.
• County registrar Chen Yuan discovers that the townspeople have become unnaturally rigid and unresponsive. Soon afterward, they turn into savage, mindless attackers, slaughtering one another regardless of age, identity, or martial ability.
• Guishan County becomes a blood-soaked killing ground, with the mist concealing the massacre from the outside world.
• Martial artists gathering outside the county hesitate over whether to enter the mist. Their uncertainty ends when the earth shakes and a tremendous ancient aura emerges.
• A gigantic hollow opens in the sky, revealing a ruined gray staircase imbued with mysterious Dao essence and immortal light.
• A vision appears above the stairs, depicting a magnificent land resembling an Immortal Realm, filled with spiritual treasures, springs, flowers, and seemingly limitless opportunities.
• The martial artists become convinced that the staircase leads to true immortality. Overcome by greed and ambition, they rush into the deadly mist.
• Duanmu Heyu recognizes that something may be wrong but allows his desire to advance beyond the Grandmaster realm to overpower his caution.
• A mysterious purple-robed youth, previously drowsy, becomes interested in the phenomenon and enters after the others, amused and eager to see what will happen.
• Once everyone has entered the mist, the Immortal Realm vision fades and the hollow closes.

Character Developments

• Chen Yuan: Begins as a dutiful official leading the evacuation but quickly becomes frightened and overwhelmed when the mist isolates him and transforms the townspeople into killers. His instinct is to escape and await imperial assistance, showing practical caution rather than heroism.
• Duanmu Heyu: Displays ambition and confidence. Although he senses that the phenomenon may be dangerous, he believes a Grandmaster’s will cannot be obstructed and chooses advancement over caution.
• Purple-robed youth: Shifts from apparent indifference to genuine curiosity. The vision even stirs a trace of longing in him, but his inscrutable smile suggests he remains calm, observant, and possibly aware that the situation is more complicated than it appears.
• The martial artists: Their initial hesitation is rapidly replaced by fanatic excitement. The promise of immortality causes them to abandon reason and rush knowingly into the mist.

Significant Themes

• Greed and ambition: The promise of immortality overwhelms the martial artists’ judgment and drives them toward obvious danger.
• Illusion versus reality: The dazzling Immortal Realm vision may be genuine, but its appearance alongside the murderous mist strongly suggests deception or a deadly trial.
• Humanity’s descent into violence: The mist transforms ordinary people and martial artists alike into instinct-driven beasts, emphasizing how fragile civilization and reason can be.
• Temptation and loss of caution: Even experienced figures such as Duanmu Heyu recognize the danger but allow desire to silence their doubts.
• The unknown and supernatural power: The ancient stairs, Dao essence, and immense aura imply the opening of a realm or inheritance far beyond ordinary human understanding.

Character Interactions

• Chen Yuan attempts to communicate with the silent townspeople and questions a terrified yamen runner, but neither understands the mist’s cause.
• Chen Yuan and the runner briefly consider fleeing before the townspeople suddenly become violent.
• The gathered martial artists debate whether entering Guishan is safe, but the Immortal Realm vision unites them in shared excitement and competition.
• Duanmu Heyu’s internal conflict between caution and ambition reflects the larger reaction of the crowd.
• The purple-robed youth does not directly interact with the others but observes their frenzy and follows them into the mist with detached amusement.

Chapter Summary: “Tomb”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Qingyang, Hua Xiaomeng, and Fang Baishi arrive outside Guishan County, which is engulfed in an enormous white mist filled with a terrifying baleful aura.
• The mist immediately targets Fang Baishi. He collapses and is swallowed into what appears to be another spatial realm. Su Qingyang cannot rescue him directly without risking spatial destruction, but he trusts the protective divine powers he previously placed in Fang Baishi’s mind.
• Su Qingyang sends Hua Xiaomeng safely outside the mist and enters Guishan County alone. The mist forms an expanding vortex around him, attempting to distort space and connect the realms of yin and yang, but his overwhelming qi and blood suppress it.
• Inside the county, Su Qingyang encounters dozens of Wandering Corpses. They are former residents of Guishan County whose spirits have been removed, leaving only violent, beastlike bodies controlled by crimson chains embedded in their skulls.
• The corpses attack Su Qingyang, but his immense qi and blood crush them effortlessly. Their condition leads him to recall the Forbidden Area, the mysterious old man, and Lin Muqian.
• Su Qingyang proceeds deeper into the county. The white mist, yin winds, and deathly silence intensify, but his heightened golden vision allows him to see through the supernatural concealment.
• He discovers an enormous stone gate embedded in the trunk of a giant locust tree. The gate radiates death, stillness, and spatial instability, leading him to speculate that it may have been created by ancient martial artists attempting to cross worlds and escape the Malice of Heaven and Earth.
• Su Qingyang passes through the gate and enters a vast, colder realm. Looking back, he realizes the structure is not merely a gate—it is the entrance to a colossal tomb. He has unknowingly walked out from inside a tomb.

Character Developments

• Su Qingyang demonstrates overwhelming strength and composure. The white mist and yin winds, which would threaten ordinary cultivators, barely affect him. His confidence borders on disdain as he challenges the mysterious force behind the phenomenon.
• He also shows strategic judgment by avoiding a reckless rescue of Fang Baishi, recognizing that forcibly interfering with the spatial distortion could kill him.
• Su Qingyang’s investigation becomes more serious and intellectually driven. He connects the Forbidden Area to larger questions about ancient martial artists, other worlds, and the nature of the “correct path.”
• Fang Baishi is separated from the group and drawn into the mysterious spatial phenomenon, creating uncertainty about his fate.
• Hua Xiaomeng reacts with fear when Fang Baishi disappears but obeys Su Qingyang’s command to remain outside, emphasizing her dependence on and trust in him.

Significant Themes

• The boundary between life and death: Guishan County resembles an underworld, while the Wandering Corpses are bodies stripped of their spirits and reduced to instinct.
• Forbidden exploration and ancient secrets: The mysterious gate appears to be the remnant of an ancient attempt to cross between worlds, suggesting a forgotten history of world travel or invasion.
• The danger of escaping one’s world: The possible desire to flee the Malice of Heaven and Earth may have produced not salvation, but a deathly Forbidden Area.
• Tombs and transformation: The revelation that the “gate” is actually a tomb reframes Su Qingyang’s journey as an entrance into a burial ground or sealed realm rather than a simple passage between worlds.
• Power versus supernatural forces: Su Qingyang’s immense qi and blood allow him to resist the mist, corpses, and yin winds, establishing the vast gap between his abilities and the threats surrounding him.

Character Interactions

• Fang Baishi addresses Su Qingyang as his benefactor just before the mist claims him, but Su Qingyang is unable to intervene safely.
• Hua Xiaomeng becomes alarmed by Fang Baishi’s disappearance and looks to Su Qingyang for protection. Su Qingyang responds decisively by sending her away from the danger.
• Su Qingyang interacts primarily with the environment and its supernatural manifestations, treating the mist, corpses, and Forbidden Area as hostile forces to be analyzed and overcome.
• His thoughts also engage with information previously given by Nangong Lan, connecting the current discovery to broader guidance about the “correct path.”