Chapter Summaries

Jiang Lu watched Cen Aotian turn an ambush into an opportunity to claim the Scarlet Flame Fruits, then escape with Mu Ling'er’s help. After they continued deeper into the secret realm together, Jiang Lu left her hiding place.

• Three cultivators ambushed Cen Aotian while he fought the Flame-Armored Beast, and the beast wounded him.
• Cen Aotian lured the Flame-Armored Beast toward the three cultivators, then slipped away and collected the Scarlet Flame Fruits.
• The three cultivators trapped Cen Aotian as he tried to escape, but Mu Ling'er arrived and fought beside him.
• Cen Aotian and Mu Ling'er drove off the cultivators and killed the Flame-Armored Beast.
• Cen Aotian shared a Scarlet Flame Fruit with Mu Ling'er, and they headed deeper into the secret realm together.
• Jiang Lu climbed down from the tree after Cen Aotian and Mu Ling'er had departed.

Jiang Lu found a hidden Moonlight Lingzhi and learned that rumors pointed to a Divine Flame in the Secret Realm’s central region, supposedly emerging in three months. She left Cen Aotian’s trail behind and joined a group of cultivators who mistook her for an easy target, while she considered how to deal with them.

• Jiang Lu discovered and collected a hidden Moonlight Lingzhi and several Scarlet Flame Fruit seedlings.
• Jiang Lu overheard cultivators say the Secret Realm would remain open for half a year and speculate that the central region held a major opportunity.
• Jiang Lu decided to stop following Cen Aotian and head toward the central region on her own.
• A group of cultivators invited Jiang Lu to travel with them, assuming she was wealthy and easy to fool.
• One cultivator told Jiang Lu that rumors said a Divine Flame would emerge in the central region in three months, and Jiang Lu resolved to hurry there.

Jiang Lu turned the would-be robbers’ ambush against them, then discovered that a cave in the middle region held a Divine Flame and entered it ahead of the other cultivators. She reached a chamber swarming with Winged Insects, which left her unharmed because she had You Meng.

• Jiang Lu trapped the cultivators who tried to rob her, took their Storage Bags, and left them unconscious after giving them pills.
• Jiang Lu followed Cutie’s directions to a cave and hid as wounded disciples emerged from it.
• Jiang Lu overheard the disciples reveal that the cave contained a Divine Flame and that their master was spreading its location to other cultivators.
• Jiang Lu entered the cave to reach the Divine Flame before the competition grew, enduring its freezing air and oppressive atmosphere.
• Jiang Lu spotted Winged Insects in the cave and continued onward when they did not attack her, protected by You Meng’s status as the King of All Gu.

Jiang Lu pushed deeper into the bug-filled cavern, reasoning that the Aristocratic Clans had sent their disciples to probe the Divine Flame rather than claim it. A strange blue-violet light drew her onward, and she approached it after sensing an aura that startled her.

• Jiang Lu avoided hidden crevices filled with bone-piercing cold as she traveled through the cavern.
• Jiang Lu concluded that the Aristocratic Clans were testing the dangers around the Divine Flame before retrieving it themselves.
• Jiang Lu pressed deeper underground with Mingyue and Qiming helping her withstand the oppressive aura.
• Jiang Lu sensed something calling to her and followed a faint blue-violet light at the end of the cavern.
• Jiang Lu asked Mingyue and Qiming if they sensed anything unusual, then continued toward the light while keeping the surrounding aura in place to stay alert.

Jiang Lu was lured through the cave by a divine flame and fell into a pitch-black abyss filled with thorny black-red flowers. When she called out, the flame finally revealed itself as Chaos Fire.

• Chi Li saw the strange light, then fainted and fell from Jiang Lu’s shoulder, so Jiang Lu put her into the space.
• Mingyue and Cangchen stayed close to Jiang Lu as the cave’s aura shifted and laughter echoed around her.
• Jiang Lu sealed her senses against the divine flame’s laughter and hurried toward its aura.
• Mingyue warned Jiang Lu, but Jiang Lu fell into an abyss after the flame deliberately altered the surroundings to distract her.
• Jiang Lu landed near where she had fallen and called out to the divine flame, asking whether it was Chaos Fire and why it had lured her there.
• Chaos Fire finally appeared as a faint light and confirmed its identity to Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu encountered the Chaos Fire in its cave and persuaded it to leave with her by describing the outside world. Linglong told her that her Chaos Body could form a soul contract with the flame, and the Chaos Fire agreed before Jiang Lu could suggest another option.

• Jiang Lu guessed that the flame was the Chaos Fire, and it excitedly asked her to stay and keep it company.
• Jiang Lu calmed the Chaos Fire after it reacted coldly to her hesitation, then persuaded it to go outside with her.
• Jiang Lu realized she did not know how to get the Chaos Fire out and asked Linglong for advice.
• Linglong told Jiang Lu that her Chaos Body could form an undying soul contract with the Chaos Fire.
• Jiang Lu offered a contract, and the Chaos Fire immediately agreed, leaving her stunned.

Jiang Lu formed a soul contract with the Chaos Fire, which named itself Yuanjin and entered her sea of consciousness. She escaped the cave through a hidden passage while cultivators gathered at the main entrance, where the Wen Family’s group began entering.

• The Chaos Fire persuaded Jiang Lu to form a soul contract, confident that their shared source and her Chaos Body made them a perfect match.
• Jiang Lu and the Chaos Fire completed the contract, and the flame introduced itself as Yuanjin while calling her Lulu.
• Jiang Lu drew Yuanjin into her sea of consciousness and followed its directions toward a hidden side passage to avoid cultivators waiting at the cave entrance.
• Cultivators gathered outside the cave after rumors of a divine flame spread, though a badly injured survivor’s account of deadly danger made them hesitate.
• The Wen Family’s leader brought his group and allied clan disciples into the dark cave after receiving orders from their lineage.

Senior Brother Gong and the other cultivators found the cavern empty of the Divine Flame and reported its disappearance, prompting widespread searches and suspicion. Jiang Lu had already escaped through a hidden passage, which Yuanjin concealed beneath a shifting pile of bones, while a frustrated cultivator prepared to burn another bone pile.

• Senior Brother Gong led the Wen Family disciples through a cavern where the venomous insects and freezing chill had vanished, then found only bones and no trace of the Divine Flame.
• Senior Brother Gong reported the empty cavern to the waiting cultivators and elders, who suspected someone had taken the Divine Flame as groups rushed inside to search for themselves.
• The searching cultivators found no hidden exit or Divine Flame and gradually gave up, while Jiang Lu had already left with Yuanjin through a concealed branch passage.
• Yuanjin used the remnants of chaos power to pile bones over the hidden opening, disguising it as part of the cavern floor.
• After another half day of fruitless searching, an irritated cultivator cast a flame spell at a pile of bones.